#but her lectures were from ''The Little Mermaid'' on if i recall correctly. i did the Betty Boop research myself as a result of a special

[show-us-kaidenshenandoah]

the western animation nerd in me wants to commission an editor (alas: i am broke) to edit together an amv of Taylor Swift's "Clara Bow" where

the Clara Bow section: would have a montage based off of Betty Boop. Because she was a caricature of Clara Bow (and also Baby Esther since Clara Bow copied her scat + baby-voice gimmick) and heavily influenced the infantilization of women in animation (for anyone who doesn't know: Betty Boop was purposefully designed to have a baby head and an adult woman's body to reflect her voice. infantalization in animation of women is based similarly off of "baby proportions in head" + "adult woman body" via peanut-shaped heads, big eyes, and facial spacing (space between nose and lips, a small bottom of the nose as well as a short height of nose, and many more) mixed with an adult body with breasts) Betty Boop, through globilization, famously impacted how Osamu Tezuka drew children and women (along with other influences, of course, but Betty Boop was one of them). So she impacted both Japanese animation and USA animation through trickle-down influences, but her biggest impact was probably on the iconic Ariel of the "Little Mermaid"

the Stevie Nicks section: would have a montage based off of Ariel from "The Little Mermaid". Betty Boop influence Glen Keane in his designs for her as he was trying to differ away from Disney's past princess designs (where you'll see stylization, yes, but also more adult-modeled facial structures) and one of the sources he looked for how to draw this 16 year-old girl was the design conventions (aka: infantilization) of Betty Boop, another famous teenage girl(? Betty's age is complicated and in constant flux depending in what age range best suits the story, but teenager is her classic statis) in western animation. From then on, seeing Ariel explode with popularity, they carry the same design philosophy to Belle and so on to success after success leading to the "Disney Renaissance" period. You can see other studios start to take note of this global success, as Dreamworks changes (it's wild seeing the facial differences between "Prince of Egypt" or "El Dorado" compared to any contemporary human-female characters from the studio) and you can even see Japanese animated properties start to change away from designing adult faces in its animated women (That generalization specifically is likely be correlation and not causation, I will fully admit, but globalization of media has lead to some fascinating influences and trends). Betty Boop was the start of this animation design trend of visually infantilizing women, but Ariel is the one who really catalysted and popularized the trend. Like. To the point that you'd be hard-pressed to not be influenced by her impact of not her, or "the Disney Princess Style" directly lmao

the Taylor Swift section: I'm not sure. I waffled between several different styles and properties ("Avatar: The Last Airbender", "Frozen", Miyazaki specifically from Studio Ghibli, "How to Train Your Dragon", "Steven Universe",... I think you could make an argument for having the Taylor Swift verse just be a montage of a bunch of properties) but I think for the infantilization throughline + chronology (as "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" came out before "The Little Mermaid") + western (USA specifically) animation stylizations of how women are designed... I think I'm going to go with the "Into The Spider-Verse" series? And say to cycle that tiny final verse with shots of all the series' female characters. because it truly has changed animation as we know it. Yet it still keeps with infant baby-heads for some of its female characters. Thankfully, not all of them as I think that would've been reductive to the movie series message about "Anyone can be Spider-man"; though even all the female adults have bigger eyes than the adult males which is one of the traits of infantalization. But it makes sense for both the teen boys and teen girls to have some infantilization in their faces since they are in-between childhood and adulthood. But yeah, the infantilization is the most prominent in Gwen and Penny. But it's cool. I don't see visual infantalization as bad btw, I just see it as a design choice that I like tracking the family tree of since it's a design choice that can be done in any style lol But I'm not confident in my choice of "Spider-verse", because it's female characters are not the main characters and I kind of want that to be an over-arching theme as well. But Gwen does sell a LOT and this series has impacted the animation industry's stylization in general (and hopefully also itd depictions of women and diversity ♡). So maybe I'll change my mind, maybe I won't. But the parts with Clara Bow/Betty Boop and Stevie Nicks/Ariel? I love that part of this concept so, so much, I'm cemented on those verses, and I am on CUSP of something with this idea lmao

like?? do you see the vision? idk, man. maybe i'll animate something or edit it myself (i won't; i'm too sickly rn lmao rip)

[sad-trash-writing]

Bite Me, Ch. 2

Ch. 1

AO3 Link

Daisy barely slept that night. Every thump against the wall or creak of the floor in her dorm was some creature of the night coming to kill her. The flickering street lamp that shone its light through her window created moving shadows of nightmare creatures on the opposite wall, but it was worse when it flicked off and Daisy could see nothing.  

When she did finally doze, she dreamed of a dark path. Somewhere in the distance, there was light, but Daisy was too far away for it to do her any good. 

The path was abandoned, but Daisy could feel eyes on her from somewhere in the shadows. She moved towards the light as quickly as she could manage, despite typical dream mechanics making it impossible for her to run as any reasonable speed. The sense of eyes on her faded as she approached.

  And then, out of the silence and blackness, something appeared in Daisy’s vision. A flash of light brown hair and a gleam of sharp, white fangs were the last things she saw. 

Daisy jolted up in bed, flailed and knocked the lamp off her nightstand. 

“What’s wrong?” her roommate, Bobbi hissed. 

Daisy’s gaze snapped to her voice. Bobbi was lying on her stomach in bed, braced so she could launch herself at any moment, and somehow brandishing a baseball bat. Daisy furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment (did she have that under her pillow or something?) before she took a breath and ran her hands through her hair. 

“Nothing,” she whispered back, “Just a…bad dream.”

Even in the darkness Daisy could tell Bobbi was skeptical, but she murmured an acknowledgment and rolled over so her back was to Daisy. 

Daisy flopped back on her pillow and stared up at the flickering shadows on the ceiling, willing herself to forget the dream. 

This sure was going to be an interesting rest of semester.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daisy never really felt anxious to go to a class before, but today was different. She told herself it was because she was excited to see what grade she got on her phenomenal presentation, but she knew it was a lie. 

She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder before she pushed through the doors to the lecture hall. 

And the first face to greet her was, of course, Jemma Simmons. Well, she didn't really greet Daisy, since she was locked in a tense discussion with Professor Coulson. Jemma’s eyes flashed to Daisy when she stepped into the room. She met Daisy’s eyes and scanned her with a accusatory glare. 

She seemed to be waiting for Daisy to do something. Probably pull out a stake and holy water or scream and run for the hills, shrieking her newfound knowledge for the world to hear. 

Daisy did none of those. She met Jemma’s eyes firmly, though she could feel her heart rate speed up at the fervid attention from someone Daisy knew could snap her neck if she slipped up. 

Then, Jemma looked away and back to Coulson and Daisy could breathe again. The entire encounter lasted maybe a second, though it felt like an eternity. Daisy marched past Jemma and Coulson and up the aisle to her usual spot near the back. 

The rest of the students seemed unperturbed by the commotion of the last class. Everyone seemed to have unconsciously chosen to sit at least one seat further away from Jemma, however. Other than that, their behavior was unchanged. The sorority girls were still on their phones in the back, the stoner who was only taking the class for the credit was already snoring softly on his desk. Everything was so ridiculously unchanged that it was driving Daisy crazy. 

And then the vampire took her seat in the front. 

Coulson pulled up the Powerpoint for the lecture and jumped into the lesson as if the last one hadn’t turned Daisy’s world upside down. Daisy did her best to focus on Coulson’s lecture, but her mind wandered and she drifted from taking notes to doodling in the margins. 

The abstract scribbles turned into shadowy monsters with black eyes and sharp claws. Daisy scribbled them out and decided to only draw cute things. She doodled a tiny mermaid in the corner, because it was the first thing that came to mind that didn't have teeth. Then, she started to wonder if there were mermaids at this school, too. 

She knew who she could ask. Her eyes found the back of Jemma’s head a few rows down from her. Jemma had a notebook sitting in front of her, but there was very little written in it. Daisy guessed that when someone had lived through the events, it was somewhat unnecessary to write down details. 

When it sounded like Coulson was wrapping up the lecture, Daisy haphazardly shoved her things into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Her curiosity was definitely outweighing her sense of self-preservation again. 

Daisy was out of her seat before Coulson finished officially dismissing them. The rest of her classmates slowly shuffled their things together around her. Someone poked the stoner out of his nap. 

But Daisy’s eyes were on Jemma, who closed her notebook and smoothly slid out of her seat and towards the door. Daisy pushed through the throng of students after her. 

Daisy caught up to and walked beside her for a few paces. “Um…hey,” she greeted. 

Jemma’s only response was to shoot her an impatient glare and keep walking.

  “So, um.” Of course, Daisy hadn’t actually thought of anything to say to Jemma once she caught her. Honestly, Daisy hadn't been expecting to get this far. “I wanted to apologize.”

Jemma quirked an eyebrow at her and slowed her pace slightly. Daisy gulped and tried to form her thoughts into words. She was suddenly aware the aura of danger that was coming off Jemma that urged her to run in the opposite direction and never look back. 

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for the other day. I was just frustrated and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you and make you sorta blow your cover,” Daisy managed. “Apology accepted,” Jemma replied smoothly, “Although, you were supposed to forget that that conversation ever happened, if I recall correctly.”

Jemma dug a pair of large sunglasses out of her bag and pushed through the doors out of the building. 

Into the blinding sun. 

Whatever Daisy had been about to say in response disappeared as Daisy’s brain conjured images of Dracula bursting into flames at the mere sight of the sun. She jogged after Jemma, unsure if she was trying to stop her or just see what would happen. 

Jemma strolled down the path along the quad, completely unperturbed, with Daisy trailing a bit behind. She noticed that Jemma was favoring the side of the sidewalk that had large, shady trees overhanging it, but otherwise giving no indication that she was bothered by the sunlight. 

“Were you going to say something, or were you just planning on staring at me all day?” Jemma retorted, snapping Daisy out of her shock. 

“I— yes, but…you’re not bothered by the sun?” Daisy blurted. 

Jemma just rolled her eyes. At the next break in the trees, Daisy watched Jemma for a reaction. The sun briefly brushed Jemma’s pale skin before being obscured by the trees again. 

Jemma was unfazed. Her skin wasn’t blistered or even red and she definitely wasn’t a pile of ash on the sidewalk.

“The stereotype of sunlight killing us was just a brand of wishful-thinking propaganda exaggerating a natural sensitivity we have to harsh sunlight, which most of us have made arrangements to minimize,” Jemma finally responded. 

“Wait, what?” Daisy asked. 

“I really shouldn’t go into detail, as you’re still not supposed to know about any of this,” Jemma replied. “But, personally, I have an arrangement with a witch that enables me to go about my life like anyone else.”

“What else is a lie? Did you not actually have to get bitten to get turned? Do you know the person who turned you?” Daisy blurted again, “Do you like…kill people?” For some reason, Daisy couldn’t picture Jemma ever killing someone, even for survival. 

Jemma stopped walking and glowered at Daisy. “How many times do you use the bathroom in a day? What’s your greatest fear? Tell me details about the most traumatic memory of your childhood.”

“Uh—”

“I’m sorry, is it uncomfortable for a virtual stranger to ask you highly personal questions?” Jemma probed. 

Daisy held her hands up in surrender. “Okay, sorry. Forget I asked.”

“Apology accepted. Again,” Jemma replied and resumed walking. Daisy followed, a bit more slowly. “Might I ask what you intend to accomplish by following me around?”

That made Daisy stop. “I…don’t know. Do you want me to leave?”

Daisy braced herself for the harsh yes she could see on Jemma’s lips, but Jemma paused. 

“No. You can stay. I was just about to get lunch,” Jemma replied, softly. 

It wasn’t exactly an invitation, but it sounded close enough to Daisy. Like she was going to pass up the chance to have lunch with someone who’s been alive for more than 400 years.

They settled into a umbrella covered table outside the dining hall, since Jemma insisted that it was a beautiful day and they didn’t need to cower inside. Daisy grabbed some soggy pizza from the buffet line, while Jemma opted for a very colorful salad. Daisy wondered what the point of eating healthy food was if you were already going to live forever, but she wasn’t going to ask another personal question after her scolding earlier. 

But she still had questions she wanted to ask. 

“So,” Daisy began, “What was Restoration-era England like?”

Jemma raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say 'What did we just talk about?'

Daisy shrugged. “It’s not a personal question. I’ve got a paper coming up and one of my classmates keeps reminding me to use reliable sources.”

That earned Daisy a chuckle. 

“To be honest, I didn’t stick around for long after Charles was executed. Regime changes tend to be dangerous for people on the fringes of society, so I moved out to the country for a few years and avoided politics,” Jemma replied with a shrug. 

“So, even way back then you were a….” Daisy froze. She had mulled the word over in her head for the past few days, but saying it out loud, to Jemma’s face just seemed rude somehow.

Luckily, Jemma just seemed amused. “You can sit here and have lunch with me, but you can’t even say the word?” She chuckled. “But yes, I was a vampire back then. I was relatively new, but I still knew how to avoid an angry mob.”

Jemma just shrugged and went back to her salad. 

Daisy was still bursting with questions. She wanted to ask more, but she figured that might stray into the personal category. “What kind of other…beings go here? Are there any mermaids here? What about ghosts?”

Jemma shot her a disapproving look and responded in a hushed voice, “You’re not even supposed to know about me. I really shouldn’t blurt the secrets of everyone on campus to you.” Daisy responded with a pout and Jemma rolled her eyes. “Fine, but everything I say stays here and no one else finds out I told you,” she hissed. 

Daisy started to get that weird tunnel vision again as Jemma’s eyes bored into her. She really should ask Jemma about that if she ever allowed Daisy to ask personal questions. 

“Honestly, there are too many different kinds of supernatural persons here to list all of them, but I can tell you that there are no ghosts or mermaids.”

“But they do both exist?” Daisy countered, leaning across the table. 

“Yes, but neither feels it necessary to get a classroom-based education,” Jemma responded. Daisy didn’t understand how someone could sound so bored when talking about this stuff.  

“What about Bigfoot?”

Jemma rolled her eyes and groaned. “Why have humans latched onto the Bigfoot myth? He was just a hungover shifter who got stuck halfway between his forms while inordinately drunk and happened to get caught by a photographer on his way home.”

After Daisy finished cackling, Jemma turned the conversation around on Daisy and asked her all manner of questions about her life. Daisy was surprised that she seemed genuinely interested in her dull tales of foster families and video games. The way she asked many of her questions made Daisy think that Jemma probably hadn’t had a lot of humans to interact with in this century. 

A few hours later, they both realized they had to other places to be and parted ways, but agreed to do lunch again sometime next week after class. 

Daisy walked away with a fresh skip in her step. Not only had she not been told off (again) by Jemma, but she managed to have a fascinating conversation with her and found that she was actually a really pleasant person to spend time with. Maybe if she spent more time with Jemma, she would be able to ask all the questions she had bubbling in her head.