#but I drew this one based on an actual outfit I wear regularly

[meet-the-misfits]

Meet Orion!

Here's my glam rock-inspired fashion-persona, Orion, in the style he'd draw himself in! He's the cool, calm, collected adult of the group... most of the time.

Hope you like him! (Also, I forgot to mention it in the image, but his pronouns are listed in order of preference: he definitely accepts she/her but likes they/them and he/him better.)

[calmingpi]

Some more hall of tuesday stuff~

Specifically, some thought processes and concepts. Yes, I know its Wednesday, but I got too tired + didn't feel well last night to type all this out

I'm noting the design process of this one, because while writing a Tarvek thing the other day it occurred to me that I have a habit of getting attached to characters that follow some philosophies that have become attached to lolita fashion- the dislike of ones true personality, using consumerism and extravagant tastes to fill a metaphorical hole, hiding negative traits beneath literal layers of cute clothing, presenting a personality thats within specific ideals of elegance and refinement, the concept of feminine androgyny, etc

Tuesday the first

Anyway, this outfit was inspired by Baby The Stars Shine Bright

Streamer Tarvek

I can't even possibly explain why i drew this to begin with, partly because i dont actually remember. But i love this au SO much. I wrote a whole bunch of these that i never ended up finishing. Heres a couple of them

Tarveks streams are not gamer related; its more of a commentary stream but really he talks about whatever he wants. Often hes prompted by questions from the viewers, that causes him to go on extreme tangents about whatever. History, politics, pop culture, math, literally whatever. It's also not a popular stream in the grand scheme of things. He doesnt market or promote this thing at all, but he has a small and very dedicated fanbase of very strange people. In general tarvek likes having an audience and not having to act really put together and refined. Instead he can infodump to strangers and not worry about impressing people too much. And he can wear cat ears and feel only a little bit silly instead of a lot

Girl Watching With Colette

Tarvek is married to agatha and gil in this, which i believe ive mentioned, and i think ive also mentioned that he pretends the stream doesnt exist to them. They dont bother him about it, but they do watch it and regularly comment. I think hes just embarrassed about having a goofy internet outlet, and they just really love watching him excitedly talk about his interests

This was another one from the original prompt list, called "girl watching with Colette." They're sitting at a little teahouse, i think. There's a sequel prompt called "Gil watching with Colette," where Tarvek is holding a large pair of binoculars and absolutely SEETHING with anger while Colette is laughing. Otherwise exactly the same setting

Unforgiven

Before this blog, one of my first Tarvek drawings is a picture of him dressed as Nayeon from Twice. I also remember a picture I did of Lars in a Love Dive inspired outfit being complimented a lot on here, lol.

Anyway, this one was inspired by the concept photos for Unforgiven by Llesserafim. I think concept photos are a really cool form of art in general. Art direction. Needs more recognition, really!

This one was based off the "fallen angel" style of photos they did, but they also have this weird "office cowboy" style of photos? From the same album? I have no idea what that was about, but it's really funny to me. There's a horse loose in the office space. He's using the copier. I didn't know he knew how to do that. Anyway, maybe I should do an office cowboy Tarvek, too. Ive drawn him as a cowboy before, and it was really fun

I Still Feel Alive

This is actually my favorite tuesday, which is funny cause it was just coloring practice, really. But my favorite bit is really all the just. Amount of stuff i shoved in there. We're on castle wulfenbach, hes been stabbed and poisoned (dw about it), hes drinking the vaccine gil made from his notes, weve got his favorite clank girls (which by the way i unfortunately love that we have tinka without a head and anevka without a body), his weasels of course, agathas portrait (because whos office is this, really?), we've got the portal to the eldritch monster dimension out the window there, and an apple tree!

I drew Tarvek with a lot of apple themes for a while, as a reference to his condescending snake description. Its kind of funny 2 me to think of agatha and gil as adam and eve (dont ask which is which. I dont think it particularly matters, tbh), and tarvek as the evil snake, because i think its exactly how hed see himself really. Whether hes actually an evil snake or not. Token evil teammate, awful seductress, yadda yadda yadda. Really, aggie and gil arent innocent either, which makes it funnier 2 me

Godqueen

I really love the idea of tarvek as a godqueen (or godking, i just think godqueen suits him better) because he was originally supposed to be killed off in sturmhalten. He could always still be killed off, which would be very disappointing because i think we would have wasted a lot of time then. Or he could live and things would be as expected. Or we could go the funnier route and make him literally immortal. That would be hilarious to me!

Also, im pretty sure gils going to be storm king. And with agatha as the heterodyne + probably a godqueen, and gil as storm king and the only one whos graduated college, i believe tarvek should be allowed a little immortality. Or maybe financial compensation. As a treat. Make it harder for bang to bully him

Looks wise, godqueen tarvek is based on what he keeps shoving agatha in (sidenote: that is NOT anevkas dress. Can you even imagine her in that? That is his dress. I dont think he wore it, but its definitely tarveks). When it comes to dresses i always put tarvek in something really flowy and needlessly gaudy. But suits and pants should be a tighter fit. A lot of the design inspo is wizard of oz based, particularly ozma. In a lot of illustrations she wears these very loose fitting gowns, and often very simple crowns and a few specifically placed flowers

His crown is also little storm clouds. If gil was a godking hed have little lightning bolts, but i think gil shouldnt be a godking. He can already lift tanks. But if he was, hed have little lightning bolts. Theyd match!

Tuesday Anniversary

First of all, i love painting. Like i love it SO much. Ok, cool

I wanted Agatha in the picture right off the bat, but originally I was going to draw them dancing at Albias ball. I drew this, discovered i drew them facing the wrong way, scrapped it, and then crab anons drink got spilled on them, so it was not meant to be. Also, frankly, i think the impact would have been all wrong. I wanted a kind of "what tarvek wished had happened" kind of thing and instead i think it just keeps bringing back how gil and aggie danced together. And really i wanted something special for just agatha and tarvek, since i tend to do so much gil shipping with them. Its been a while where ive drawn them something of their own

So i kept thinking about tarvek and agatha ideals, from his perspective. I went back to his "when im an evil overload and agatha is my sexy dark mistress" idea, but decided to go for a more likely scenario. So this is sometime in the future, and hes happy being able to walk her down the hall for whatever it is theyre doing. Theyre in Castle of course (with the little wall hangings from the game! I love those), and shes let him dress her up in one of his flowy dresses. His outfits still really similar to the one from the ball, which is also really similar to the one from sturmhalten. I think its just a design choice he likes, so i kept that up. Agatha also has two rings, because this is a moment to themselves but theyll never stop loving gil, really

[cookieclimax]

I FINALLY finished one of the drawings of my Hazbin OC Tilly after redesigning her. Now I just gotta do the 28 expressions I did of her. I'm so glad I redesigned her, she looks SO MUCH BETTER than her old iteration and I got so much to yap about so get ready, or just enjoy my art 🫠

I had a full page of stuff but then I had to go and think up 2 new outfits cos while I love the pink, girly, coquette-ish one that I originally drew; I didn't feel like she'd regularly wear that.

I thought maybe she could spawn into hell with the cropped sweater, distressed jeans, and bare hooves, while the other outfit could maybe be a more regular outfit, idk

I also couldn't decide on a color palette for the wings so I had to separate some of the stuff from my original paper drawing cos I couldn't fit it all together.

I love braids but they're so hard to draw so I got sick of it and changed her hair to twin tails in the front faced portrait 🤦‍♀️ I'll probably do the same when I move on to the 28 expressions I did with her 😅

Idek if you can see any of the black earrings but all the earrings here are based on some pairs I own IRL. White kitty paws with pink bows, black heart guillotines, black butterfly/fairy wings.

I already said I couldn't pick a color palette for Tilly's wings, but she's a shape shifter so I thought maybe they could change color to match her outfit if she wanted, otherwise I think I like the black and gray palette? It just kinda goes with everything 🤔

ONTO ALL THE LITTLE WHAT-IF CRAP

I still want her antennae to kind of be sorta like mood indicators, that'll be seen more whenever I digitalize the 28 expressions I keep bringing up

I was also like "what if they could glow?" cos like, fairy, idk

I thought about giving her an ability that's basically just like Glendale from Centaur World's portal tummy, but not limited to the tummy area, just because I thought it would be funny for her to pull things out of nowhere that's actually her own hammerspace/pocket dimension for storage.

All the eyes stuff is just me being like "what if she reacts so dramatically to something she finds horrible to look at that she rips out her own eyes, but they can regenerate back and they looked super creepy in the process of growing back in?" and being indecisive about how that'd look

All the wings at the bottom are just a kind of non-insectoid wing choice I was thinking about cos like I said, Tilly is a shape shifter. Saw a flutterbat design with pegasus-bat fusion wings way back and I liked the concept so it stuck with me. Tried it out 5 times but the 3rd one is my favorite I think, hence the little heart.

Also, she is tall. Like 9ft6, so taller than a lot of characters but still shorter than ones like Valentino and Zestial. Unless she shifts to be taller I guess 🤷‍♀️

Congrats to anyone who read all my yapping ☺️ have a cookie 🍪

[kisskissbanggang]

Chan was the worst person to be stuck on this project with. He was punctual, he was productive, and he was polite — and you hated every second you worked together. How did he have time for his team, his band, his grades, his looks, and being disgustingly nice to you?

The first time he’d spoken to you in class, it was after you had bought gummy bears on a whim in the student store along with the new pack of pens you actually needed. You had quietly chewed on the confection in class when you heard a curious whisper behind you.

“Oh my god, are those gummy bears?”

You had stared back over your shoulder at Chan as you nodded.

“Can I have one?”

Like an idiot, you let him, and much to your dismay he’d smiled and asked if he could sit next to you the next day and the day after that, and like an idiot, you let him. And now your professor paired you together for a project.

You hated him. You hated his neat handwriting and his black wardrobe and the way he sat with his arms folded because there was no way he wasn’t trying to accentuate his already toned biceps and chest. You especially hated those arms and all the other handsome parts of him, and you hated these little smiles he gave you like he was in on some joke between the two you. Every time he brought you a snack or a drink, or let you look at his notes, or just opened a door for you, he so clearly had this little look that loudly broadcasted the thing he’d been refusing to say, and now you were dizzy with frustration every time you saw him. This had to be confronted.

Most of your work sessions were completed in a reserved study room in the basement of the library, at odd hours of the night because of course you were both night owls and you hated that, too. Each study room down here was more like a miniature conference room with a table and a few chairs, but during off-hours it was easier to reserve the rooms with a little more space and a couch inside. This was where Chan found you, sitting at the table facing the door and tapping away at your laptop. He was distracted by the sign you’d taped over the sole window on the door — do not disturb. He curiously gestured towards the sign when his words were cut short in his throat. He noticed your outfit, your makeup, your hair. You certainly looked different than usual, gorgeous in a cute dress that you did not wear to class earlier that day.

“What?” You asked plainly.

He looked from the sign, to you, and back again.

“I saw a few study groups down the hall for once,” you sighed impatiently, “I didn’t want anyone trying to trade rooms. Sit.”

Chan looked where you motioned towards the couch, as if he needed to be told, and he set up in the corner by the outlet there. He paused as he eased down on the couch with his laptop. From this lower vantage point, he could see the knee socks you’d paired with your dress. You let him attempt to work for a few minutes before you innocently relaxed your knees apart. The small move instantly drew his eye to you again. He didn’t even notice your condescending smile as you spread your knees wider, revealing your lack of panties. You were satisfied as you watched him regularly get distracted out of the corner of your eye, as he would let his gaze wander before he forced himself to concentrate.

This was the point of no return. If you’d misinterpreted or seen something that wasn’t there, you would stop if he recoiled or otherwise didn’t humor this move. You couldn’t help the smirk that pulled at your lip as you saw him stretch in an attempt to get away with subtly squeezing his cock through his jeans, trying to distract himself with the small discomfort.

You upped the difficulty. The next time Chan’s eyes drifted to your spread legs, he caught your fingers dip down, almost as if you were unaware of the soft caress you made of your exposed core after adjusting your socks. He swallowed hard, coughing and clearing his throat in the process.

“Thirsty?”

“What?” He asked, bewildered, almost roused from a dream. You slipped your hefty metal water bottle from your bag and got up from your chair as you uncapped the wide mouth. Chan sank back into the couch cushion, leaning away as you approached him and set the full bottle in his hands.

“You’re staring,” you pointed out. Chan coughed again and pointedly looked away from you as he took a sip of water. His other hand tugged and pinched at his reddening ears.

“Hey, er,” he stammered as he offered you back your water bottle, “I have to bail. I forgot I have — I need to — I should be—“

Chan watched, stopped dead in his tracks as you gently took his wrist rather than the vessel. You carefully lowered his arm in your grip, the open bottle now level with your thigh. He’d barely drank from it.

“You’re so busy being good at everything,” you cooed as you looked down your nose at him, “that I think you neglected to tell me something.” He watched, his Adam’s apple bobbing as you stepped forward, past the open bottle he still clutched. His outstretched arm was now between your legs, your bared heat radiating on his skin. “Do not drop,” you softly instructed, “do not spill.”

Chan looked up at you now, eyes glazed over as he nodded. You reached forward, stroking his hair away from his forehead before you pushed him back against the couch. Your hand stayed on his shoulder, steadying yourself as you leaned forward and lifted the skirt of your dress so he could watch. A low groan arose in his throat as your glistening pussy began to grind against the toned muscles of his arm. His eyes widened as you heard him fumble his grip on the water bottle behind you, the innocuous weight of it suddenly menacing now that you were placing importance on it. You’d given him a task, and he only wanted to do as good a job as he did with everything else.

He watched you expectantly as you ground your hips against his arm, leaving a streak of slick that he took hungry notice of to the point of inadvertently relaxing his grip. He spilled, the look of trepidation on his face contrasting with your excitement. Your fingers instantly took hold of his jaw, and the way his eyes lit up made you take a mental note to see if he’d be alright getting slapped someday. For now, you reached back and grabbed the bottle from his hand before pulling him off the couch and pushing him to the carpet. He watched as you set the bottle on the table and grabbed a towel from your bag and tossed it at him, and he didn’t need to be asked to begin cleaning. His ears perked up as he took notice of you drawing a plastic bottle out of your bag now and refilling the metal vessel. He paused, frozen as he watched you.

“I’ve been thirsty,” you explained with a wink before walking over and pressing your shoe to his chest to lay him down on the carpet. You roughly took his non-dominant arm now, stretching it out on the floor and placing the full bottle in his hand before you pushed up the sleeve of his t-shirt. The cold metal barely hovered over the floor where he held it at its base, and you lifted your dress again as you knelt down over his bicep. “Do not drop,” you repeated sweetly, “do not spill.”

Chan struggled as you manhandled his jeans open to get a hold of his throbbing cock, and he actually whimpered as you lifted the hem of his shirt with your other hand to get a better look when you began to firmly stroke his length. Your fingers danced over the ripples of his defined chest and abdomen. “You take so much time being so good but you can’t even make time to tell me you want me,” you teasingly scolded.

“I do,” Chan breathed. “I want you so bad.” His flexed bicep was tense under your slick pussy grinding against it, and the thought of him slowly getting sore as he kept whimpering and whining under you drove you mad as he did his best to be good. “How do I prove it?”

“By behaving,” you grinned as you spit into your hand to lube his blushing cock. “If you can behave until I’m done, I’ll know how much you want me and you’ll get to cum.”

Fortunately for him, you felt your peak coming fast with how intent he was to please you. “Please, baby,” Chan urged, “please cum. I’ve been so good, I need to see you cum—“

Chan cried out as you dug your fingers into the ticklish spot in his ribs. “Don’t be a brat,” you admonished, but Chan’s fervent moans and his leaking cock in your grip had already done more than enough damage, making you even needier as you climbed your peak right to the top. You squealed out a satisfied moan before your trembling legs finally relinquished his arm. Chan finally set the water bottle down on the carpet and was able to massage his sore arms, but that was all the reprieve he was allowed before he found you between his knees on the floor. Your eyes met as you slowly brought his sensitive cock between your lips.

You smirked at how Chan threw his head back, letting out groans and obscenities as you sucked and jerked his length much too fast for him to get a break. “Fuck, babe,” Chan whined under his breath, “fuck, too fast, let me enjoy it—“

“You’re going to cum,” you said seriously as you met his gaze. You let a string of saliva lewdly fall from your lips onto the tip of his cock. “Now say it.”

“I’m going to cum,” Chan breathed.

“Be grateful,” you nicely ordered.

“Thank you,” Chan said softly, his breath quickening as you stroked him faster. “I’m going to cum, thank you for helping me cum.”

Chan watched helplessly as you sucked his length deep into your mouth, lasting only moments longer before he came with a cry. You swallowed as his cock spurted down your throat and savored how his eyes rolled back before his stuttering hips finally stilled.

You sat up, wiping your mouth with the discarded towel laying by you as Chan sat up on his elbows. He grabbed the bottle of water and took a hearty swig before offering it to you, but instead he used your outstretched hand to grapple you into his lap. Regardless of what you’d just done, you still felt your face heat up as Chan kissed your lips and held you close.

“Can we do this again sometime?” He asked with hushed excitement, and you couldn’t believe you ever hated him.

[versatilewindow]

A Night in ‘Las Vegas’ (its actually Daphne’s mansion)

Find it on Ao3!

Summary:Party at Daphne's, Velma experiences requited gay panic. Written for @scrubyjay<3

A/N: if u asked me a week ago what id be writing, scooby doo lesbian fanfic definitely wouldn't have been anywhere near my mind. im kinda surprised i even had this much to say about them.

In the past few years, the Mystery Gang had made a habit of meeting up before a new semester of college started to relax and hang out before their studies took over their lives. Daphne was hosting at her childhood home (as she called it, though most would consider the estate a real true mansion) as usual, (Her parents were off on their yearly honeymoon or what Daphne would call their regularly scheduled time for absolute debauchery among other acts that are certainly in a legal grey area.) and she had full reign of the staff and tonight's event. This semester’s theme was “A Night in Las Vegas”, meaning the gang would be dressed in their best cocktail outfits, and that there were actual slot machines and gambling tables, complete with dealers using rigged card decks to make sure no one would threaten the casino’s nightly earnings, not that they were actually gambling it’s all for realism.

This was the week before most the gang’s final semester, most as in Shaggy decided that he’d rather learn some cooking skills on the job rather than some pompous 75 year old teacher at the nearest cooking school, not realizing he would instead have to deal with an egotistical 40 year old going through what was surely the world’s worst case of mid-life crisis. The rest of the gang was spread around the country, Fred was at the local state college on a football scholarship, studying business and was the VP of the school’s biggest fraternity. Daphne was studying investigative journalism at Colombia, if asked she went to school in New York, and she was in fact related to the Blakes financially backing the new Blake scholarship for students studying journalism. Velma was at Stanford double majoring in Criminal Psychology and Forensic Science, and was set to continue her studies in a Phd program at Harvard. 

Out of all the gang, Velma was the most excited for the night, she rarely got to see the others because of the physical distance between them. She walked up the marble steps outside the front doors of the Blake estate, duffel bag in tow, (they always ended up absolutely sloshed at the end of these dinners, opting to stay in one of the many guest rooms with plush king sized beds rather than waiting for a taxi) and pressed the buzzer which linked to a pager on the butler’s uniform. It was only a few moments before Jenkins opened the heavy oak doors.

“Ah, Miss Dinkley, glad to see you’ve made it here safely, would you like someone to take your bag to your room?”

“No, thank you Jenkins, Daphne wanted to get ready together and I have some things I’ll need in the bag. Is she in her room?”

“Yes, allow me to escort you there.” With that Jenkins turned into the Foyer, walking under the first of many grand chandeliers, and up the grand blush pink marble stairs towards Daphne’s suite. Before she knew it they were in front of the door to the bedroom.

Jenkins knocked on the pale door, “Miss Blake, Miss Dinkley has arrived.”

“Oh Yes! Send her in please! The door’s unlocked!” A light rustling was heard behind the door as Jenkins opened the door for Velma, revealing Daphne moving towards her vanity in a silk lavender robe that ended mid thigh. “Velma! I’m so happy you could come early!” The taller woman changed her course towards the shorter one, who seemed almost frozen in the doorway. “Come on in! Thank you Jenkins, let me know when the boys have arrived.” Jenkins responded with a light bow before swiftly turning away, no doubt to continue the prep for tonight's event. 

Velma walked in the room, closing the door behind her, and setting her bag down on the loveseat in front of the room’s TV. “I’m glad I could make it too, I wasn’t sure if I would’ve been able to trade shifts with someone at the bookstore, but Sarah S., remember her from high school? She was trying to avoid a family event that was going on earlier today, her aunts are always setting her up on dates and she didn’t want to deal with that again. So it all worked out!” 

Daphne smiled at Velma, “Oh Sarah’s wonderful, I almost forgot she worked at the bookstore too during the breaks. There’s a robe for you in the bathroom to change into before we do our manicures.” Velma turned into the attached bathroom, quickly changing into the orange silk robe she usually used while at Daphne’s, the light geometric patterns reminding her of all the sleepovers the two shared in high school. Stepping out of the bathroom, Velma saw that Daphne had already set up the station to paint their nails. “So what’s tonight’s color scheme for you? I’m going with glittery hot pink.” Daphne had started with the base coat already.

“I brought an orange leather skirt, and I was thinking of a black top, but the options I brought don’t really fit with the cocktail dress code for tonight.” Velma sat down across from her friend in a dark luxurious chair, fiddling with the collection of polishes in front of her. 

Daphne grabbed a mid-tone orange from the selection, “Don’t worry about your top, you know I have a lot to choose from.” The smile on her face was audible, and she continued, “If it’s the leather skirt I’m thinking of, it would pair great with this sheer, flowy turtleneck I have.” Daphne’s delicate hands grabbed Velma’s, and with skillful light touches started applying the polish. The two took turns with the materials, falling into a comfortable silence finishing the task quickly.

“It’s make-up and hair next, right? I have some things in my bag.” Deeming her nails dry enough, Velma stood and made her way over to the aforementioned bag, pulling out a travel toiletries bag that had her small selection of make-up. It’s not that she was against make-up in any way, it was really more for special events than the day to day, also her college-student budget meant some luxuries were limited, and make-up was on that list. Adjusting her glasses, Velma turned to where Daphne was standing next to the vanity chair, she had a slight pout on her face, the one she used to get what she wanted from anyone.

“Can I please do your make-up? You know I love to do it and you love the outcome every time.” The pout stayed on her face.

“I suppose I could let you do my makeup Daph, seeing as you’re asking so kindly.” Daphne let out a light giggle at the fake sass in Velma's statement. (They both knew that Velma would never say no to Daphne, with or without the pout, not that Velma would ever admit it.) Velma sat down, leaning against the back of the chair, removing her glasses and setting them down on the vanity to allow Daphne full vision of her canvas.

Feathery touches moved across Velma’s face, applying the primer on to soft moisturized skin. “Are you wearing contacts tonight?”

“I brought them, but I’m not sure I’ll remember to take them off before sleeping tonight.”

Daphne continued with the base make-up. “Don’t wear them, you look cute with your glasses.”

A light blush covered the tips of Velma’s cheeks and nose, it certainly wasn’t her first time hearing that phrase, but something about hearing it from Daph’s rosy lips made it different. 

Working swiftly, Daphne made her way to the eyes, she grabbed Velma’s eyeliner, leaning in close to work on the wing. The controlled, concentrated breaths tickled the lightly covered freckles on Velma’s face, the flush from before continuing on strong through the powder pink blush Daphne already placed on the high point’s of her cheek bones. Daphne leaned away from her to examine the work done, hands lingering behind on Velma’s face, a satisfied smile appearing when she decided the two sides were even. “We’ll do lips after we change, you good on your own for hair?” Velma nodded while putting her frames back on to inspect the work Daphne had done on her face. It was simple, what she liked best, but it was better than anything Velma could do on her own. Daphne had perfected her technique in blending and choosing colors, if she didn’t know the other for years, Velma would’ve expected Daphne to enroll in a fashion and design school. 

The two made quick work of the rest of their prep work, gossiping about the town’s latest scandals. (The Adam’s were being investigated for tax fraud, and the Miller’s were going through a particularly nasty divorce.) Velma straightened out her hair, smoothing it from the usual halo of frizz, stealing glances at Daphne while she did her own make-up and hair. Their gazes met each other once, staring deep into the other’s dark eyes for a beat before looking away as though nothing happened. 

The evening drew to a close, night just beginning to settle in, the others would be here soon. Their attention was now drawn to the expansive walk-in closet in the room. Daphne pulled out the sheer turtleneck mentioned before for Velma, it had shiny glittery threads spread throughout, perfect for tonight’s event, and a hot pink sequined mini dress. They both changed in front of each other, as they had many times before, but something in the air was different, there was an unspoken tension between the two of them growing from the lingering touches and frequent glances from earlier. Velma looked up from her skirt’s zipper to see Daphne’s bare back in front of her, dress unzipped. She said a light ‘I got it’ before pulling the hidden zipper up the pale back, the dress tightly hugging the curve of the toned body before her. 

The tension dissipated as they walked over to the rack of shoes covering a wall of the closet, Daphne thinking out loud, wondering if she should go with boots or a strappy pump. She grabbed a chunky platform heel for Velma, one she often borrowed, before deciding on black suede thigh high boots. Daphne’s pink phone pinged, a text from the boys, they were five minutes away. As she pulled the boots over her long legs, Daphne saw Velma staring at her thighs, pinked nose, where skin met suede, and blushed herself, not mentioning that she’d caught the other. 

Shrugging this off, Daphne stood and walked out of the closet, to the door of her room, waiting for Velma. As the shorter walked to the doorway, fingertips touched the small of her back guiding her through. The two walked to the main room on the ground floor where it had been transformed to feel like a real casino, the lights were dimmed, 5 slot machines took up a wall, a dealer’s table next to the grand fireplace, tall, small tables with tea lights and stools took up the center floor, and two servants stood at the edge, one with a tray of hors d'oeuvres and the other a tray of champagne. Meeting the ladies at the bottom were their friends, and Jenkin’s informing them that dinner would be served within the hour. The boys cleaned up well, Shaggy’s usual mop of hair gelled back, with burgundy suspenders against a white button up holding up light green slacks. Fred opted for a more classic black and white suit, with a sapphire blue tie to add his own flair. Even Scooby looked prepped for a red carpet, his nails cut, a light almond scent from soap rather than his usual distinct dog smell. 

The forty or so minutes before dinner was served went smoothly, Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne spent their time catching up at the slot machine; Fred and Velma playing black jack while laughing about funny stories from the past semester. The waiters did their jobs, handing out each person’s favorite snack before the meal, or snacks in Shaggy and Scoob’s case, leaving no glass unfilled, although they insisted they all have at least a glass of plain water for every couple of refills. 

Once it was time for the meal, the servants put their trays down to push the tables together, so the group could enjoy the dishes together. Daphne pulled her stool next to Velma’s brushing her hand against the smooth skin of the other’s thigh, and noticed how the seated girl’s relaxed, slightly tipsy posture tensed at the quick touch. The dinner continued with similar interactions, a tap of one’s foot against the other, a brush of knees under the table, dabbing away sauce at the edge of the other’s lips. If the boys had noticed these seemingly innocent interactions, they either didn’t care about the clear subtext, or were too drunk to even notice the tension growing with each lingering touch.

After they had finished eating, the ladies continued with their behavior at the table even though the others moved to the dealer’s table for poker. With a well placed hand on the other girl’s thigh, Velma took things a step further and gave a light squeeze, causing Daphne to get out her stool, pulling the other by the wrist to the nearest bathroom, offhandedly mentioning their destination to the hired boy bringing out chicken nuggets for Shaggy. 

In the bathroom, Velma locked the door behind them as the taller girl pulled her onto the granite countertop in a rushed passionate kiss. Contrary to popular belief, Velma was no stranger to Saturday night party bathroom hook-ups, but she was in her childhood best friend’s home having a bathroom hook-up, with her childhood best friend no less. The flutter in her stomach that was growing during dinner, turned into heat and a blazing fire at her core as Daphne’s supple pink lips trailed down the side of the other neck, lightly biting where the top of the turtleneck ended. A quick hand undid the button at the top of the sheer shirt, allowing Daphne more places to nip and kiss. Velma’s hands pulled the other closer as a soft moan left her lips, making Daphne continue the attack at her neck with more vigor. With a light squeeze on her butt, the orange haired girl looked up from the other’s neck with half lidded eyes before asking, “do you,” a kiss on the cheek, “want to take this” a kiss on the other, “to my room?” a kiss on the nose, “I have some things there that could make this even better” a kiss on the lips. At this, Velma hopped off the counter, straightening out her disheveled clothes as best she could before unlocking the door and rushing towards the stairs, Daphne close behind with a large grin on her face. The only thing that pulled them away from their mission of making it to the room was a quick stop telling the boys they were turning in for the night.

The next morning, Daphne figured it was a good thing her parents insisted the boy’s sleep on the other side of the house.

Bonus: after the ladies mentioned they were off to bed

Shaggy turned to Fred, he was drunk, but sober enough to notice the smeared lipstick on Daphne, or the trail of lip marks down Velma’s neck. "You're gonna have to pay up man, did you see them?"

Fred slumped down onto the table and mumbled, "Why couldn't they stick it out a few more months till after graduation, I'll have your money on Monday."

A/N: uhhhh, velma got RAILED, lets leave that as the description for the smut. I would also like to get dommed by Daphne Blake. Lmk if u liked it!

[megabadbunny]

so after sketching out the doodle for this post upon the request of the lovely @chiaroscuroverse, I decided it was high time I finally got started on something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. Thusly, I present to y’all the first installment of my sketch series New Who Companions in (Mostly) Historically-Accurate Period Costumes! :D

(clicky on the smaller images above to embiggen; clicky the read-more for costume history facts and assorted nerditude for each design!)

So long story short, I’m a big ol’ fashion history nerd, studied a good chunk of fashion history in the Western world during ye olde college days, and sometimes I like to think about what our New Who companions might have worn if they wanted to go mostly-historically-accurate in their old-world adventures. Below are some descriptions of what those costumes could have looked like, and a little bit of the historical context surrounding the ensembles. Thanks for joining me on this sartorial nerd-journey! <3

Fig. 1: Donna Noble, The Fires of Pompeii (Roman Empire, 79 AD)

So Donna’s original costume, while very pretty, is not accurate in any way; I can only imagine the designer was held back by some untold constraints (i.e. this costume is either constructed based on stylistic requests from Catherine Tate or it’s the product of executive meddling). Here, Donna wears a stola, i.e. a dress-like garment fastened with fibulae clasps and held in place with a girdle high above the waist. This garment would technically be worn by a married woman, to sort of show off her wealth and worth, but I figure Donna don’t give no shits about that, just give her the pretty dress already. She’s also wearing a palla, a shawl Roman women wore when going about their business outside. You would typically see the palla wrapped around the woman’s body to both accentuate her curves where desired, to hide her features when wanted (women might draw the hood close to the face to hide from unwanted male gazes), and to keep the material from dragging along the ground. The volume of fabric in the shawl signified a woman’s status; the more fabric, the wealthier the lady. Donna’s garments are fashioned from the finest material available, being linens imported from Egypt and silks imported from China.

Fig. 3: Bill Potts, The Eaters of Light (Scotland, c. 100 AD)

So, finding solid details on how women dressed in this time and place was fun,* but I did my best to sort of piece things together into a design that would make sense given the convergent influences and the materials (cloth/fibers, dyes, equipment) available in the area at the time. Basically, you’ve got a tunic cinched at the waist, and a woven cloak on top sporting a Pictish-type design, and simple jewelry fashioned from alloys that were commonplace at the time. Bill’s brooch and belt would definitely be met with approval from the other ladies; only peasant-women left the house without a belt.

* It was not fun. It was frustrating.

Fig. 2: Rose Tyler, The Stone Rose spinoff novel (Rome, 120 AD)

Rose’s garments and hair are intentionally sculptural in design, inspired by a series of Roman statues built around the time the story is set (I figured it was appropriate given the book’s plot!). Here she is wearing half of her Fortuna costume, on her way to save the Doctor (obv). Typically, a not-yet-married woman would only need to wear one layer (as unmarried women were, shall we say, low on the priority list in terms of Roman fashion), but here, on her way to being immortalized as the great Fortuna, an exception has been made for Rose; Marcia’s servants have draped, wrapped, and pinned some very fine material over Rose’s close-fitting tunica. Rose is also shown with a mantle, for covering her hair in public. Both Donna and Rose would have had their hair curled using a calamistrum, or an early curling iron, which varied in shape and style, but in this case likely would have actually been made of iron, and warmed over hot coals.

Fig. 4: Clara Oswald, Robot of Sherwood (England, 1190 AD)

Okay, so why did they make this look like a Halloween costume? It’s just, this episode clearly had a budget, the designer clearly did their homework, so who made what decision and where and when that led us to this? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice Halloween costume! Like, one you would have to rent instead of buy, because she is le pricey. But I’m curious to know why the designer ventured so close to the actual periodwear without actually committing to it. Like the sleeves—the flare at the elbow suggests the overdress, or bliaut, is of French design, except those sleeves ain’t near big enough, neither in terms of volume or length. Sometimes these sleeves were so long, women would have to knot them to keep them from dragging the ground. If you don’t wanna deal with big sleeves for your action heroine, that’s fine, just go with a more English design, which forewent the exaggerated trumpet-shape in favor of something more subtle. The current shape just looks weird—like, it’s halfway there, but got tired and gave up. Then you’ve got the front-lacing on the bodice; this is a nope, and only enhances the Halloween/fancy dress look. Dresses would fasten on the side or in the back; if you were upper-class, you might be looking at a modesty panel to hide the lacing in the case of the latter. The hair is another instance of halfway-there; the top half is pretty good, with its center-part and the wraparound braid, but the loose bottom portion and the salon-curls are a big no-no. Curls weren’t really in vogue in the area at the time; ladies’ hair was worn long and braided, both to keep it out of the way and to show off elaborate styles. And last but certainly not least, why the heck is Clara’s circlet shaped the way it is? It’s like they took a necklace, situated it with a bunch of slack in the chain, and stuck it to her forehead using spirit gum. Would noble ladies have worn circlets/coronets at the time? Sure! Would they have been shaped (or stuck-on???) like that? Nope! The original ensemble is full of potential but it feels like someone somewhere along the decision-making process looked at the original, better design, said, “Eh, can you modernize (read: sex) that up for me?” and then this was born. Again, it’s not horrible, just, it could have been so much more.

/rant

Fig. 5: Amy Pond, Vampires of Venice (Italy, 1580 AD)

So I realize there’s a class difference between what Amy wore in the show and what’s depicted here, but I figured the upper-class depiction made more sense, given the fashions of the other young ladies accepted into Calvieri’s school. (That being said, Amy’s original outfit still isn’t quite there; this shows an example or two of what a working-class woman would wear at the time.) On the right, Amy is wearing a velvet gown over a petticoat; even though the color and bodice-shape denote a heavy Spanish influence, the dress would have been referred to as a French gown due to its fitted shape. Were Amy to go whole-hog and give herself some true mid-sixteenth-century hair, the front would be short, and regularly wound into tight, compact little curls, while the back was kept long, for elaborate braids and updos. That’s right--the sixteenth century was technically full of mullets. Mullets everywhere.

Fig. 6: Rose Tyler, A Groatsworth of Wit spinoff comic (England, 1592)

ok but the design in the comic, just

I don’t even understand why the artist drew it this way. It doesn’t make sense, not from a costume history perspective and not even from a design/fudging-the-details-for-the-sake-of-modern-sensibilities perspective. (Also from a perspective-perspective; dude’s having some major issues figuring out how foreshortening works, but that’s neither here nor there I suppose.) It would actually be way faster to focus on what this gown does right instead of wrong. So, let’s see here: it has a lace collar, which was a thing. It has a structured, paneled bodice; also a thing. Full layered skirt, that’s good. And, that’s officially it. The rest of this design is garbage. Like, why the eff is she wearing a ruffle as some kind of low-slung belt? Is that supposed to be cartridge pleating? What century are those sleeves supposed to be from? (Do those outer sleeves even? Show up in any century to speak of, outside of my nightmares???) If you’re going to do a lace cuff at the end of the fitted sleeve, why not do it right (i.e. like the way they actually looked at the time, which was usually in a cone shape flaring out from the wrist to the elbow)? Why would the artist imagine that Rose would go to the trouble of pouring herself into this 80’s-teal monstrosity without bothering to do anything to her hair except for a ponytail? What the fuck is up with the fucking boob lace??? See, I know the artist can draw actual historically accurate outfits, because Shakespeare in this comic looks fine. His shit’s pretty accurate. But for some reason, when it came to Rose’s dress, it’s like the artist lost their goddamn mind. (Don’t even get me started on the jewelry and accents, not if there’s a loving god in this universe)

Fig. 7: Martha Jones, The Shakespeare Code (England, 1599)

So Martha has herself a lovely heavy brocade gown, trimmed in sable, accented with soft leather gloves, and topped with a cartwheel ruff round the neck. (Don’t worry; I imagine the TARDIS only carries ethically-harvested furs, like they’re grown in a lab somewhere or collected after critters have had a long and prosperous life or the hairs are vacuumed up and reconstituted by some futuristic device, etc. etc.) Elizabethan sumptuary laws dictated that folks had to dress according to social class, so depending on what your social class was, you may not have been legally permitted to wear things like silks, certain colors, certain furs, and more. Fashion was such a surging industry and indicator of wealth that, at the time, you had higher-ups selling huge swaths of land in order to have the money to dress themselves as well as possible--it was seriously that important to be fashionable. Martha’s garments indicate that she has pretty high social standing, given the materials used. Also, she wears a pretty bitchin’ hat.

Fig. 8: Yazmin Khan, The Witchfinders (England, 1612)

Yazmin’s dress sports a fashionably high-necked bodice featuring embroidered linen silk, topped with a standing collar and “wings” at the shoulders. The dark hues shown here were super-popular at the time due to a surge of obsession with melancholia in arts and literature. Yaz also wears a “Cavalier” style hat, accented with an ostrich feather. Her outfit is basically a riding-habit/hunting-habit, constructed with ease of movement in mind.

Fig. 9: Mickey Smith, Rose Tyler, and Reinette Poisson i.e. Madame de Pompadour, The Girl in the Fireplace (France, 1758)

Setting aside my many issues with this episode’s story/plot, the bugaboos I have with Reinette’s original costume design in the show are relatively minor, and I imagine can mostly be explained-away with stuff like “this is what the BBC already had on hand” and “goddamn that’s pretty.” Both pretty salient points! But I do think it’s interesting that the designer(s) went the way they did--Madame de Pompadour was actually famously not in favor of glittering gems (actually, she supposedly donated palace jewels to the French treasury more than once to help out during times of war); she tended to prefer fairly simple pearls as embellishment, instead. She also wasn’t really into big hair; obviously the styles shown here on Ms. Myles aren’t exactly Marie-Antoinette-big, but they’re definitely more voluminous and modernized than the styles the real-life MdP typically sported, which usually consisted of a slight pomp and fairly close-knit curls framing the face. (It’s also interesting that Moffat wrote her with such a heavy innuendo for sex/romance, because rumor had it she didn’t really actually enjoy things in the bedroom all that much, instead preferring to pull political strings, promote the arts, patronize motherfucking Voltaire!!!, help design architecture!!!, and keep the king constantly entertained and distracted so he literally didn’t royally fuck everything up. She was a very busy lady! Also she like. Paid contractors and artists on time? Instead of dicking them over with “credit” bullshit like other wealthy patrons??? Sorry she was just WAY more awesome than the show gave her credit for!) Anyhoo, long story short, Rose and MdP are shown here wearing gowns and hairstyles that are heavily inspired by those worn by the real-life MdP wore in some of her many many portraits.

Thanks for tuning in to my giant costume nerdfest; see you next time for part 2! <3 <3 <3

[danganronpasurvivor]

Hello,sorry if I made you cry. :) I actually have a question now. How did you come up with all of the characters because they are really well made? (Especially Akihiko and Eri in my opinion)

OH GOSH, that means so much aaaaa!!! I can try my best to explain the process from my perspective, but obviously Teshis had a huge hand in it, too!!!

I’m going to go into as much detail as I can below the cut!!! Of course, some aspects of answering would be spoilerish, so I’ll do my best with what I can share.

Personality:

So at the time, NDRV3 wasn’t really quite... a THING, yet, so Teshis and I looked towards the first and second games and started noticing patterns within the cast. This comes into play more with the Physical appearances, so we’ll get more into that later, but basically we noticed some tropes and started making our own twists on things. Ayano was the first of the non-inspired characters to be made, so her personality was actually one we decided pretty early on. Characters like Aoi and Akane were a bit slow, but very high-energy, so we wanted to make a twist on that. Ayano is more tired and spacey; She’s not dumb, she just rambles and asks questions a lot and tends to be more Quirky in her tastes and the way she presents herself.

A few other characters spawned from SUPER early talks.

Look familiar?

Over a year ago, we kept making this random character named “Person A” who was this Kid-At-Heart, kinda slow, but overall loving and caring bro. Later on we made him into the Akihiko Igarashi we know and love today. His name Akihiko is actually because of the “A” in “Person A”. For a character like him, though, we needed something to match his high-energy, and I believe it was Teshis who decided Daredevil fit best. It doesn’t do to just Stop there, though. With any character, they need Depth, a backstory, reasons for the way they are.

Akihiko is reckless, but he’s very caring and looks out for others. Why? Because he’s the 3rd oldest of 9, and both his older siblings are away at University. He’s had to take a more responsible role, but at the end of the day what he knows best is making people smile. That’s why he got into doing dumb stunts in the first place. He gets to meet all kinds of people in his life, and gets to know his very large family, so this makes him charismatic and personable, as well as very accepting of others. He tends to be a bad liar, cause even though he just wants to make everyone happy, he struggles Not being true to himself.

Eri is another twist on trying to make a character more than just a trope, however you can see that more in the answered asks than in the demo currently. As an internet sensation, it makes sense that she’s good at playing a part, that she’s very talented in lots of hobbies and regularly looks for new experiences. While she might play a dumb, cutesy girl, she’s got a lot of smarts, and having dealt with thousands of douchebags, she knows when to put her foot down and when to help others.

I hope that gives you an idea of what we thought about to make our characters more well-rounded.

Lastly, the seven self-insert-ish/Inspired characters (as I like to call them now) were all BASED on our close friends in our DnD-esque campaign December 2016. However a lot of their personalities have been fiddled with to fit the dynamics of the group. Teshi was made into more of a Tsundere and her dislike of DDR stems from Teshis own, but was exaggerated for comedic effect.Yuuki, my own character, is actually so different from me now that I hardly consider them a self-insert. I would NOT be that cool under pressure and they have much more Smarts than myself, both of which tie a lot into their backstory.

Physically:

SO, this is where Teshis and my own input starts going maybe 40-60. Obviously I drew them all, but I was constantly talking through decisions and getting opinions and ideas from Tesh, so they had a fair amount going into the designs as well!

[About Orochi]And to be completely honest: I often was winging it! I think Eri was the only character who had MULTIPLE sketches made, but Tesh had come up with the hair concept in advanced, so it was just the outfit.

And again!!! To be honest? There’s a lot I think I could have done better with. Mikio for sure I wish I had thought of something more... original. And in general I think my designs tend to be very simple, which I do for ease of redrawing, but I think it often shows as a lack of understanding basics in memorable designs. While someone like Akihiko is memorable AND simple, I think someone like Yuuki might be less distinguishable from other sources in some ways.

That does bring up the designs of the Inspired Characters, however. Characters like Teshi and Daniela were totally my own thought process since they were originally, originally Early Christmas Gifts. Then we have ones like Yorua and Anabelle who were for the Dnd-esque game and their Creators were very clear in their ideas for what their character should look like. I followed that guidance and, while adding my own touches, mostly went through with their requests. That being said I’m sure Belle, if she had known what we know now, would have come up with something very historic or fun for her character.

In general we had personalities and talents before designing the characters. That’s what really guided me in my drawing, like making Akihiko’s outfit bright and based around motorcycle suits. Orochi worked in an office building and was supposed to be someone ya kinda wanted to punch, hence his signature Smug Grin and dressier fashion. Ayano was based around the “Sporty Big Breasted Brunette Girl” trope, but she also did Snowboarding in particular, so she wears winter gear and keeps her hair in a braid. Bee Gee was our kind of Fun, Doesn’t-Look-Like-Everyone-Else design, but that’s only because I thought the trope of having her eyes hidden constantly since she’s Short and wearing a Hat would be very funny.

Talents:

To be honest, I don’t recall a lot of it, other than just going through other people’s like, lists of 150 SHSL ideas and stuff. I could go through Tesh and I’s conversations and see who came up with what, but off the top of my head I know Teshis thought of Orochi’s talent (since we wanted an “unlikeable” character, he needed a terrible talent to go with it)I know I came up with Yuuto’s as just like... a random Shower Thought ahaha.

Names:

I already went over the meanings of names in This Post Here

But here’s some screenshots about the process!!!

This ended up SUPER FRICKING LONG, sorry to ramble your ear off!!!We’ve put a lot of thought and heart into these characters, so I cannot even begin to explain just how much asks like this mean to us. And maybe if you’re looking to make your own characters this can help give you some ideas about how to do it???

In general the order of stuff wasTalent -> Personality -> Name -> DesignBut you could mix it up and do whatever feels best for your brain!!!

[shidiand]

Touhou Characters and Fans: A Comprehensive Analysis

In this article, I will be presenting my in-depth research on the characters of Team Shanghai Alice's Touhou Project in relation to their fans. The conclusions I have reached after conducting extensive minutes of research through bing.com are not based on any individuals, and especially not you in particular.

Reimu Reimu fans are among the most difficult to categorize, since Reimu is generally regarded by everyone as a good character. at this point I don't really know what to say. Everyones drawn Reimu at some point. Picasso drew reimu. campbell soups dude probably drew reimu.but with soups. yall like... uh......anime

marisa now i know i just gave this excuse with reimu but come ON if you've ever read anything marisa says in the games you can't NOT like her. actually its more interesting to look at "fans who like marisa more than reimu" than "marisa fans": they like wearing pretty, showy outfits but they won't hesitate to burrow themselves under layers of comfort clothing if theyre in that sort of mood. most of them are short. all of them think her hair is wonderful golden-blonde and fluffy and would probably like longer hair themselves. they would like to blow a smug raspberry in the face of someone they don't like at least once in their life. they would probably like to do so to someone they like, too, on multiple occasions. affectionate people.

rumia i have no idea why rumia is so popular. at first i assumed it was the work of the vore boys but it really isnt. the list of characters the vore boys are interested in is basically the same as the list of touhou girls mom someday

another theory i have for rumia's unusually high popularity is that the rumia fans enjoy "artistic cannibalism". personally i think this sounds like a lot like something else also, my sources have told me that rumia is, (this is a quote) "cute".

the inroads to vore are ever so treacherous.

daiyousei i dont know any daiyousei fans so according to these rules i made up for myself i dont have to write a fthing

cirno ANDY WARHOL THAT'S HIS NAME they have a positive world view, really likes that slight bit of uncertain girliness that some characters have

meiling personally, meiling terrifies me. not only does this woman enjoy exercise, regularly, she'll even encourage others to join in, too. incredibly intimidating. i can only imagine the RAW GAINS meiling fans boast as they shred t-shirt upon t-shirt with their meaty ab flexes, breaching doors using their pectorals, supplying first-stage propulsion for russian aerospace during squats, etc

frankly there are far cooler characters than meiling; those who do love her are very sweet people, enjoy hugging others or being hugged by taller people. easily the nicest person who appears in eosd and her fans reflect that

koakuma very business-looking character. i am led to assume, in combination with the common succubus fanon, that her fans want to be stepped on by someone wearing heels

patchouli either hentai god or depression

sakuya you love girls SO MUCH

remilia remilia fans do not experience self-doubt* (*this can be seen by the fact that they are remilia fans), have strong opinions, a desire to find objective right-ness, and, wielding the divine mandate of Heaven, enjoy being looked up to by others as a figure of sole, exclusive authority. they are happiest in the presence of great religious influence, public executions, the Holy Roman Empire, and Constantinople, but can be expelled from your lands with peasant uprising, the Magna Carta, coalitions of wealthy nobles, the Gauls, and/or trebuchets. Furthermore, it can be said that the development of the three-field system marked a turning point within the domestic agriculture of Europe; indeed, Landon and Mercedes[3] posit that the rapid spread of crop rotation across central Europe by serfs of the tenement created an economic climate where towns and trade routes could arise and flouri

flandre pick a different character

letty(?) pretty sure the only people who enjoy winter are the ones who have never actually touched snow in their life so that rules out everyone i know

HOLY SHIT, I FORGOT PC98 if you know pc98 characters then youre already doing better than me. i respect that a lot but unfortunately i personally dont know a thing so ur gonna have to go jack it to Complete Darkness or something cause i cant help you here

uhhh chen

fffffffuck this im skipping chen

alice somewhat distant people with a bad sense of time, few but very deep interests

yukari ALL OF YOU ARE THIRSTY HOES delighted by the chance to surprise others. very "ride or die" people. you used to be able to piss them off easily by calling Yukari nasty but i think they're over that now

and thats every single character in touhou project Source: my twitter timeline fanfiction.net facebook.com if youd like to submit some touhou oc's for me to consider (e.g. "Benben Tsukumo", "Iku Nagae") please dont

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Pops! Diabetes: New All-Inclusive, Smartphone Snap-On Meter

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/pops-diabetes-new-all-inclusive-smartphone-snap-on-meter/

Pops! Diabetes: New All-Inclusive, Smartphone Snap-On Meter

It's tough to find someone these days who doesn't carry their smartphone pretty much everywhere they go. That's certainly proven in recent stats showing roughly three-quarters of Americans own smartphones, and everywhere we go we see people staring at those little screens.

With that trend in mind, a number of companies have envisioned an all-inclusive glucose meter that actually adheres to the back of a smartphone, with built-in slots for test strips and lancing device.

The latest outfit to tackle this vision is POPS! Diabetes Care, a new startup based in the Greater Minneapolis area founded by a longtime type 1 who comes off a career at Medtronic's cardiovascular division. Officially formed last year, this small diabetes business recently raised $1.2M with the goal of getting this new type of phone-attached glucose meter through the regulatory review process in 2017 -- a very ambitious undertaking at a time when many traditonal glucose meter companies are flailing.

The new meter would go beyond what others have developed in this space, including the all-in-one Dario meter that plugs into your smartphone, the approved but not-yet-launched all-in-one POGO meter, and the internationally-available Mendor meter. Although those all offer an integrated, portable, cloud-connected-to-mobile app package, they are all still separate devices users must carry around in addition to their smartphones.

Nope, what POPS! has in mind is an evolution of that concept, a sort of flat cartridge that attaches to the back of your smartphone with a unique pop-open fingerpricking system that eliminates the need for traditional test strips. It was actually named the winner of last year's Venture to Stop Diabetes Challenge by the American Diabetes Association.

We talked recently with co-founder and fellow type 1 PWD Lonny Stormo, who was diagnosed with T1D in his 30s about two decades ago and is the visionary behind this new system. Frustrated by all the old-school tech that came and went, and promises of non-invasive devices that would revolutionize D-management, Stormo says he wanted to actually bring something to people with diabetes that fit into their lives.

“We are living with diabetes, and we are also experiencing wonderful consumer experiences everywhere we turn – talking on iPhones, shopping on Amazon because of the one-click experience they offer, etc. But in diabetes we haven’t been given that experience. That’s what we’re out to change for people with diabetes," he says. "Really what we’re doing is creating a great user experience. Our belief is that if you do that, people will sustain their use of (the meter and app) and you’ll lower healthcare costs because of it.”

POPS! At A Glance

The new meter-app combo they're developing hasn't yet been unveiled publicly, nor has its brand name (previously referred to as the SmartMeter) or pricing. But here's the low-down on the fascinating system POPS! is developing:

Form Factor: The unit will be a cartridge about the size of 8 credit cards stacked together, that adheres to the back of the phone. Its cover slides open to reveal three built-in lancets and strips -- eliminating the need to carry a separate meter or even a test strip vial or lancing device. Based on early feedback, POPS! changed from an original flip-case to a slide style snap-on, we're told.

Built-in Testing: The lancing tech is based on a predicate "stationary lancing device" already approved by the FDA, we're told, although Stormo wouldn't name the exact previous product(s). To test, you poke a finger on the round lancer inside, place the blood drop underneath a clear plastic strip, and then the slide the case closed before turning the phone over to see the results on the screen -- sent automatically via Bluetooth. Like other early reviewers, we wonder about the cost and hassle factor of packs limited to three strips and three single-use lancets (?)

Fewer Steps: A user study from last year shows that this new system offers users about 75% fewer steps and 93% less pain, with PWDs saying it is 86% easier to use! Whoa... now that sounds compelling, no?

Mobile App: While the exact look and features of their mobile app aren't detailed prior to the FDA filing, it will obviously include standard BG results, trends and averages, and Stormo tells us it will offer "multiple coaching elements, including a reward or incentive feature." Like many mHealth apps, the plan is to get the iOS version approved first, followed by Android, since the latter platform tends to be more complicated to get through FDA.

Data-Sharing: Like pretty much all D-devices these days, this new meter will be cloud-connected and allow for data display and sharing through the mobile app and web-based portal. It will also allow for text messaging so BG results can be sent and tracked, by a parent, spouse or healthcare provider -- though Stormo reiterates it's all about the consumer experience. In other words, while doctors and educators can log in to the portal to view data, POPS! is not focused on creating a pipeline of data to the healthcare professionals.

Interoperability?: Note that the mobile app won't allow for entering other data like carb counts or fitness device data, or even manual entry of BG results if you happen to use a different meter. And while it seems to have potential to interact with an insulin pump or CGM, Stormo indicates that they're honing in on "a great user experience" for phone-connected fingerstick testing at the moment. Hmm, hopefully not a missed opportunity here.

Timeline: FDA filing is planned for this year. The expectation is that regulatory approval won't be difficult because the company's R&D is based off existing predicate devices, including stationary lancing technology. We pressed, but Stormo wasn't willing to provide details on those predicate products.

Cost: POPS! Diabetes remains equally vague about the pricing aspects of its new meter and app, though that isn't uncommon in the pre-approval stages. We wonder if the startup may lean toward the subscription-based model that others like Livongo and One Drop have embraced, and even those in the closed loop tech space like Bigfoot Biomedical are moving toward.

Why 'POPS!' Diabetes?

Stormo tells us the startup's name is rooted in the need to find something unique and clever that stands out, and doesn't sound like a typical medical device company. You know, something that pops... and also happens to be an acronym for Patient Opportunity, Payer Savings... Hence, POPS! (with an exclamation point).

Stormo himself is an electrical engineer by trade who worked for more than 30 years at Medtronic in the cardiovascular space, serving in VP and GM roles and notably leading the Medtronic Therapy Delivery business. Back when he was diagnosed in the 90s, Medtronic had not yet acquired Minimed. Even after that happened in 2001, Stormo says he didn’t drift to the diabetes side or even share his own D-story with colleagues, in part because Medtronic's diabetes took up its home-base in California, but also because he wasn’t as open about his own illness back then.

“For the first half of my life, outside of family, I didn’t tell more than 20 people that I had diabetes. It wasn’t that I was trying to hide it, but you just don’t want that to be the center of attention in daily life. Since I’ve left Medtronic and started this venture a couple years ago, I’ve told thousands of people."

He left Medtronic in 2015 to start POPS! Diabetes Care with his brother-in-law Dan Davis, who has three decades experience in medical device manufacturing and the regulatory process, and left his consulting business to head up R&D here. They now have a 15-person team, including Davis' son Erik, who is on the governing board and up until recently Stormo's daughter in marketing, before she went to work at Medtronic.

Stormo points out he doesn't see himself as a "patient," but as a person and consumer, and that's what this is all built around...

Great User Experience

"What I was always waiting for, and what you always read about, is these 'next great things' that are going to happen," he said. "You see all these cool new technologies like the GlucoWatch that come and go, and that’s what they did – they came and went. Meanwhile, I was stuck with the same basic meter with zip-up case."

Stormo adds that while he was generally diligent in his D-management, he drew his endo’s ire for not regularly checking his BGs during the day. Instead, he checked in the morning and at night, and left his meter at home during the day.

"That was the experience being offered to me,” he said, noting that other tech failings added to it – like not being able to download meter results to a Macintosh computer. “I looked at this whole thing and watched how the traditional way of monitoring your glucose had become a commodity that was getting no reinvestment, while all these other new technologies would always flame out. I thought, there has got to be a better consumer experience we can create for people with diabetes."

Stormo chooses not to use a CGM nor does he wear an insulin pump, and he notes that many PWDs can't afford those tools, nor will they have access to closed loop systems down the road thanks to cost. The idea for POPS! is to offer a lower-tech but highly convenient solution.

"I'm glad that innovation is happening, and many people can benefit from those systems, (but) there will always be a large number of people who are not going to wear continuous monitors, insulin pumps or closed loop systems and implanted sensors under their skin. They still want to manage their diabetes and have a good experience when they're doing it. That's the group we're going after."

While there are still a number of questions about how the POPS! Diabetes product will come to market, and whether it can go up against all the other glucose meters and D-tech that exists, we're certainly interested in hearing more, and we give props to Stormo and team for thinking outside the box...

Or maybe more appropriately, for thinking more creatively inside the phone than we've seen before.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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