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mysterysolved:
“ WHAT MAKES DAPHNE A GOOD DETECTIVE?
“ TENACITY & STUBBORNESS: A good detective doesn’t give up when things get rough. They don’t stop just because silly things like “the police” “arrest them” and threaten to put it on their “criminal...

mysterysolved:

WHAT MAKES DAPHNE A GOOD DETECTIVE?

TENACITY & STUBBORNESS: A good detective doesn’t give up when things get rough. They don’t stop just because silly things like “the police” “arrest them” and threaten to put it on their “criminal record”. They persevere! And that’s exactly what Daphne does. Growing up, it was what her parents always taught her. Her dad never let up during business deals, and her mom was a force to be reckoned with when the occasion came about. Her sisters never gave up on their dreams, and so Daphne was taught to never give up on hers. Roadblocks can be a pain in the ass, but she doesn’t let them stop her. 

CURIOSITY: Daphne is endlessly curious. She’s nosy as nosy gets. She’s the kind of person to keep her ears up. The kind of person that can hear her name being said from down the hall, a floor up, a block down from where she is. That same curiosity extends to other things. It’s one of the things she’s exceptional at –– meddling. Hence being a meddling kid. Revolutionary concept, I know. 

SERENDIPITY: The stars aligned, alright? If Daphne hadn’t ever gotten into mystery novels, if she didn’t occasionally watch the news, perched on her dad’s lap, if she hadn’t grown up in Coolsville, or Crystal Cove, maybe she’d have never been inspired to pursue mystery solving. Maybe she’d have gone on to become a beauty queen, or a makeup artist, or a journalist or something –– but no, things just worked out the right way. She met Velma and Fred and Shaggy, and things just fit together. We call that serendipity. The best kind of chance and luck. Some would even call it fate

GOOD PEOPLE SKILLS: Having good people skills is on the same level of manipulation really. A definite asset is being tactful and clever about how you get information, and that’s definitely up Daphne’s Alley. I can’t help but think about that moment in Legally Blonde when Reese Witherspoon was all like, “Happy people don’t kill themselves.. They just don’t!” Well put, Reese. Daphne’s just good at getting people to do what she wants. Se’s charming, and pretty, and that works in her favor. Sometimes it can feel like a burden, to have that be one of the only things people know you for ( being pretty –– something that isn’t so much a skill, as it is an opinion ) but she deals with it. Beat em at their own game, right? Asides from that, she can connect with people easily, and that really helps in getting information. 

GOOD GRASP ON PSYCHOLOGY: Similar to the point above, she gets people and that helps in understanding how they tick. She understands social cues and human behavior, because she’s arguably one of the most raw-feeling members of Mystery Inc ( in my opinion ). Daphne understands feeling a lot. She’s an emotional person, so she can connect with people and place herself in their positions. Good people skills and understanding psychology, combined with a certain level of empathy gives her a definite advantage, I think. 

FUNDS: I had to mention this. She has an advantage. She can afford to take self-defense lessons, and get equipment, and get bailed out of jail, and anything like that. Daphne has her own trust fund, of course, but she also has her parents to depend on if she’s in trouble before she’s gotten her inheritance. She’s very privileged and lucky like that. 

WHAT MAKES HER A BAD DETECTIVE?

IN OVER HER HEAD: Daphne, in most verses, can be tricked fairly easy. A nice guy/girl can easily get to her. That perfect balance of being charming and attractive and witty, and she’s a goner. Other than that, 

LACK OF PRACTICALITY: Unless she’s got some kind of silent-ass thousand dollar heels, girl wears some noisy ass shoes. She’s gotten used to them, of course, so she can usually stay quiet, but if she’s on an unfamiliar surface ( on top of a plane for whatever reason, or too stressed to concentrate on being quiet ) it can be easy to slip up nd expose herself. It’s simple not practical! But Daphne’s also not willing to compromise that unless she has to and the situation calls for it ( camping, at a space station, etc. etc. ). She also simply doesn’t care about learning certain skills, despite them definitely helping her in the long run ( learning to fix cars, etc. ). 

LEANING ON MYSTERY INC: When she first goes solo, it doesn’t go entirley too well. She’s been part of a team for so long, it’s weird suddenly being on her own. She doesn’t have Velmas smarts or Fred’s ingenuity and trapmaking. All she’s got is an eagerness to prove herself and . Sure, eventually she gets the hang of things. But she will never be as good as she was with Mystery Inc. It’s a crushing truth. She is good on her own –– but not great. Simply put, she works best with someone else. And that is nothing to be ashamed of. 

CONCLUSION. 

Like I mentioned above, Daphne’s lack of conventional book smarts means that when on solo cases, she’ll be playing catch up a lot. It takes longer to rescue herself, she’s slower on the uptake, and piecing things together and gathering clues and information will obviously take longer because she’s only one person working on a single case, as opposed to having four minds ( plus Scooby! ) working together. 

However, despite not being the most well trained investigator, she has what a lot of people don’t have. Drive and motivation and passion. Important things to have. Most people aren’t lucky enough to pursue something that they’re passionate about, whether because of situational issues or financial stability. Daphne though, she’s lucky. While she’ll never be rich working on cases, she has the freedom to go after what she loves and still be able to live comfortably. 

She tries not to take that for granted. 

UPDATED: 04.16.17

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