Richard's Animorphs Forum

Animorphs Section => Animorphs Forum Classic => Topic started by: morfowt on June 06, 2008, 04:05:27 AM

Title: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 06, 2008, 04:05:27 AM
How do you think the series would be like if David didn't turn on the animorphs? One possibility, david could be rachel's backup during the battle in #54 and rachel might survive. Of course, a lot happens in between, so what do you think might happen?
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: StormRider on June 06, 2008, 04:56:35 AM
What if Tom wasn't a controller?  What if Visser Three wasn't insane-in-the-membrane?  What if Homer had rabies?

It iz what it iz, yo.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 06, 2008, 05:02:25 AM
so? I'm just asking what do you think the possibilities are?
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Essam 293 on June 06, 2008, 05:16:22 AM
I think David would've turned on them eventually either way. I always felt that his betrayal came too early in the series. His challenges against Jake's authority in the group should've been played out a bit more, and he should've felt like part of the family (like how Ax became) before he turned on them. It would've made a much bigger impact when his betrayal finally did come.

In fact, I probably would've held off on his betrayal as late as #49, when the Animorphs find out that the Yeerks know that they are human. Especially in the scene where Jake finds out his parents and Tom are controllers. It would've been a complete shocker if it turned out that all of a sudden David was an aid to the Yeerks in that plan (maybe he becomes a Yeerk-free double agent for Visser Three or something a few books back?)

It could've worked with the plot on David's misguided blaming of Jake and the Animorphs for the loss of his parents and his life for the Escafil Device, and getting even with Jake for that by taking his family away too (and attempting to take the families away from the rest of the Animorphs at the same time). Heck, I always felt that David had more of a potential of being Jake's arch nemesis than Rachel's.

Anyways, there are a lot of possibilities of where it would've ended up if David had stuck around a bit longer, either as a ally or an enemy. To me though, the way things turned out with him being exposed and his parents and his life being taken away in an instant, his character really only had two major options of where he would end up: Either he would've manned up and been more determined to take out the Yeerks, or he would've ended up like the whiny brat that he did and stab the Animorphs in the back, desperately trying to strike a deal to get his parents and his life back.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: StormRider on June 06, 2008, 05:47:07 AM
I think David would've turned on them eventually either way.

Exactly.  Exactly.  If David wasn't a traitorous wretch, he'd no longer be David.  He'd be...Miguel, or Roger, or Kenji or something.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 06, 2008, 06:03:28 AM
I guess this just proves the thought in my head. Everybody else hates david. They can't see him as anything more than a traitor...
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: StormRider on June 06, 2008, 06:16:46 AM
That would be because he wasn't.  David was written as a kid with no redeeming qualities.  Sure, his situation sucked, but tell me Cassie or Jake or Rachel would have reacted the same way.

Sorry, man.

David was a sadist, right from the start.  Already.  When he met Marco, the kid had issues.

Poor Daaaavid, waaah.  Poor David!  *Triumph voice*

The kid just needed to grow a pair and stop being a treasonous girl-threatening animal-torturing asshat.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 06, 2008, 07:15:18 AM
Well, what if you were in his place?

Look, without any warning, you suddenly get between a battle with a handful of Hork-Bajir, two Andalites, a Tiger, a snake, and a Grizzly bear. And suddenly. your humanity is taken away by 4 kids, a blue deer, and a hawk by explaining to him that the Yeerks are here and his parents are probably infested, and they force you to fight against these alien slugs.

Wouldn't you be shocked? Plus, the guy was already messed up from the start. Kids his age treat him the way bullies treat Tobias. Even worse. Unlike Bird-boy, the teachers don't like him and girls don't feel sorry for him. He doesn't had have any friends either since he was always moving. Add the Yeerk stuff and the guy would go insane. Jake, Cassie, and Rachel all had good environments to start with.

Sure, Marco and Tobias have been messed up too, but thanks to the other Animorphs, they have eventually coped up really well.

The weasel... ermm.. guy deserves a chance. It would also be great if, like Truth said earlier, if he had stayed longer and betrayed the Animorphs later in the series...
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Mongoose on June 06, 2008, 07:22:49 AM
I think you guys are right about how things would play out. However this has made me think, if he had stayed around beyond his three part ark then maybe he could have been inserted into the rotation as a narrator. The first person native added depth to all of the characters so it might have been interesting to get under David's skin, to see what really made him tick.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 06, 2008, 07:30:55 AM
My name is David.... hahahah... i wonder how that would sound. He would probably hate Jake, Rachel and Marco for the whole series.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Terenia on June 06, 2008, 12:09:59 PM
I'm a huge fan of David, but there is no way he would ever be anything but a traitor. Whether it happened after three books or after twenty, David is the type of person who looks out for themselves, period. He's kind of the darker side of Marco that way.

But yeah, you take someone with no friends, from an unstable militaristic home, throw his only ties to the world out the window (his parents, in this case) and tell him that he can never so much as talk to them again and oh, by the way, you have to be the "new kid" in an intergalactic war that is about 7 to 70 million slugs.

Uhhh...yeah, I can see where the kid would be a bit freaked. I think what he did was very human. The fact that the main Ani's stuck together and never quit (permanently) is the anomaly. Not the way David acted. Imagine if it was your parents, or siblings, or significant other. You haven't been to the Yeerk Pool, you don't fully understand the severity of the situation, or how complete the Yeerks control is. All you know is that the enemy is giving you a chance to see your [insert loved one here] again.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: ThermalRider on June 06, 2008, 12:34:44 PM
Well, what if you were in his place?
Essentially, the other Animorphs were in his place. They were just walking home and BAM, the war is dropped at their feet and the responsibility of the world is dropped on their shoulders like a truck. Granted, they had each other, and to some extent their families but still.

You can tell right from when David is introduced that he isn't a real good guy. He's not one of those "for the team" kind of people.

But, as for what I think would have happened, I think that he definitely would have become a traitor at some point. I think one of the major problems would be that the Animorphs (just like the readers) would never really accept him because he came in late. He wasn't there from the beginning so there would always be that "well you weren't there when.." or "you don't have the experience" or something like that. The Animorphs wouldn't do it conciously but they would probably cold shoulder David and exclude him and/or his opinion from decisions. All that would eat away at David. Plus the no trust issue would grow and grow and even if he didn't become a traitor, I think it would cause a huge rift between the members of the group.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: AniDragon on June 06, 2008, 02:28:25 PM
I actually had an idea for a little mini comic series about David. Kind of a "what if he'd showed up during a less stressfull time?" kind of thing.

One of the reasons he was so bitter is because the Animorphs didn't really have time to get him used to the whole thing because they were too busy thinking about the mission. David was an after-thought, even down to where he slept at night.

If they would have had time to think things through, they could have brought David to Erek's place, where he could have slept in a bed, had access to TV, and a giant dog park. Much better than Cassie's barn, and let's face it, the Chee would probably be a good influence on him, and they aren't bad company.

Actually, the first comic would have been something like:

*Animorphs arrive at Erek's house*

Jake: He needs someplace to stay where the Yeerks won't find him.

Erek: *looks at David* Do you like dogs?

David: Actually, I'm more of a cat per--

Marco: *stomps on David's foot* He LOVES dogs.

Erek: .....


That's not to say he wouldn't still turn bad eventually. But I think he would have stuck with them longer.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: RYTX on June 06, 2008, 02:34:41 PM
Isn't that an alternamorphs thing???

For a moment giving him to the chee does seem like a good move, but then your remember how much he tried to get out of it at the start, if he'd made a break all the chee could do is hold him. And they couldn't do that forever. (not cuz they can't, but he'd die, or hurt himself on them eventually)

Even if david had stayed and wasn't a traitor, he'd be like cousin oliver. There, but no one, especially would want him. Who don't add new main characters to a tight group, Ax as an addition works since he got in early, think how weird it would be if 1/3 of the way into the series they said "hey we got us a new blue dude."
Eventually david would go the way of cousin oliver, they'd send him up stairs and he'd just never come back down.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Duff on June 06, 2008, 02:48:01 PM
well, it would have been cool if he had stuck around for a few more books, maybe have him narrate one book which would be like 21, going through his final resolution to turn traitor and then have the next book be where hes nothlited

but in reality, the kid was a twit who only looked out for himself, dont get me wrong i love the dude, hes def got his own redeeming qualities, but he would never have made it an entire rotation, he made the decision to turn traitor on the first battle that got rough
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: ThermalRider on June 06, 2008, 02:50:31 PM
Even if david had stayed and wasn't a traitor, he'd be like cousin oliver. There, but no one, especially would want him. Who don't add new main characters to a tight group, Ax as an addition works since he got in early, think how weird it would be if 1/3 of the way into the series they said "hey we got us a new blue dude."
Eventually david would go the way of cousin oliver, they'd send him up stairs and he'd just never come back down.

This is exactly what I meant. Couldn't have said it any better.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 06, 2008, 05:56:11 PM
*sigh*

Fine. If you guys all think he's a traitor. I'd argue, but I was never good at debates...
I'll just stick with my thoughts

can I lock this thread yet? it's starting to sound like an I-hate-david thread...
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: mrlarry on June 06, 2008, 07:32:07 PM
Well, tell us your view then, morfowt
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: zaprowsdower on June 06, 2008, 08:56:00 PM
If someone hasn't written a fanfic about this yet, they should have :P...
Alright, I'll go off on a limb here and say that it's down right possible he wouldn't have been a traitor. Yes, by the beginning of 21 we know he's a down-and-out cynic, but we don't know enough of his background to completely say that he was incapable of becoming a regular animorph. Picture it this way, his home is gone, his family infested, the animorphs are all he had-at the moment of truth, the showdown at the fake summit, he very well could choose to stick with the other animorphs and fight, over crossing no-man's-land to join Visser 3. I think this would seriously impress the rest and cause them to accept him in the group; which, along with an mission to free his family, would make him a 'regular'. Yeah, he will always have that 'dark side', but I think later in the series that would compliment nicely with Rachel's darkness problems.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: filmstu2005 on June 07, 2008, 03:06:39 AM
*sigh*

Fine. If you guys all think he's a traitor. I'd argue, but I was never good at debates...
I'll just stick with my thoughts

can I lock this thread yet? it's starting to sound like an I-hate-david thread...

Lol. That wouldn't be necessary. David was written to be the Animorph we all love to hate.

This was talked before on another Animorph thread. How David was created. What the Animorphs experienced gradually over time, David had gone through in a total of 3 books, probably written over the course of a month in their world, which is a really short time period judging on all the raging emotions the Animorphs had to go through.  David was written and shifted to match the person narrating each story, serving as the best antagonist. In a way, I saw it as an escalation of his own character motives.

Learning of the Yeerk threat, feeling the insane fear that you can't trust anyone anymore, not even your family, receiving the morphing power, having to FIGHT for the first time in a dreadful war. He had to go through all those emotions on such a short notice and in a short amount of time. So his reactions mirrored our favorite Animorphs from the getgo. His sociopath issues is what made his turnout a bit different from the rest.

David sorta started off as a mixture of Marco and Tobias. He had this sarcastic mean kid nature (Marco) but was just as lonely (Tobias) from moving constantly with his family.  In #20 The Discovery David was Marco's antagonist because he reflected Marco's own behavior from the beginning of the series, a reluctant smart-mouthed kid. That was why he and Marco never get along well. They were already too much alike.  Remember how Cassie was able to manipulate  David into morphing the ****roach by using Marco as a negative comparison? It worked, didnt it? There was your rivalry.

By book 21 The Threat, David had formed his own opinion on things. In order to be a good antagonist to Jake the protagonist, David rebelled against Jake the leader. A "threat" to the Animorphs' agenda, he tried to be his own leader. Remember how he also wanted to start his own group of misfit Animorphs bent on crime? Yea. He even dared to personally challenge Jake's authority, considering himself a guy in charge of his own actions, which resulted in the famous lion vs tiger fight. Very cool idea for KA to add to the story. Shame Jake lost.

In #22 The Solution, the situation had changed dramatically and David found himself acting as Rachel's ultimate arch-enemy. Rachel had personally targeted David because she mistakenly believed he murdered Tobias. David then personally targeted Rachel for making such an insane threat against his parents. David's rage intensified and he found himself desperate to reach his own personal goals. Only problem is, Rachel's rage intensified too. And I noticed the comparisons b/w David and Rachel. Both were tall. Both blond. Both aggressive individuals. Both had a dark nature. Almost like twins. Oddly enough, throughout the entire book it was like reading about a dark sibling rivalry that had taken a turn for the worst. Brother and sister who hated each other, with a passion. And it ended up as a very interesting dynamic.

By the end of the David experience, which involved going through the phases of being aware of the Yeerk threat, and enduring all those emotions in such a short amount of time, David's own fate foreshadowed the fate of the Animorphs: A youth in desolation, torn by the negative effects and self-damaging experience of a war before his time.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: filmstu2005 on June 07, 2008, 03:14:44 AM
Wow. That was a lot of commentary.

Sorry guys.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 07, 2008, 03:36:45 AM
yeah, but that still doesn't mean I don't wish david hadn't turned traitor.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 07, 2008, 03:40:07 AM
I always thought of him as a rat (pun not intended), but still, you can't compare the guy to other Animorphs. The others had time to adjust, star with smaller missions, easier morphs, learn gradually. But David got it pretty quickly. He was treated like the "new guy". Or the "Other Animorph" like that. He probably felt lonesome, and at the same time, the 7 vs. 7 million slugs fact didn't help at all.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: filmstu2005 on June 07, 2008, 04:22:17 AM
I always thought of him as a rat (pun not intended), but still, you can't compare the guy to other Animorphs. The others had time to adjust, star with smaller missions, easier morphs, learn gradually. But David got it pretty quickly. He was treated like the "new guy". Or the "Other Animorph" like that. He probably felt lonesome, and at the same time, the 7 vs. 7 million slugs fact didn't help at all.

Yes and No. Yes he was always a rat. Yes the others had time to adjust and start off easier, but no, David CLEARLY did not get it pretty quickly. I'm sorry but he just did not get it at ALL, lol. You did see how he tried to kill them all? Probably a lost cause from the beginning. Sure he might have understood the magnitude of the situation, or maybe not, but he handled it poorly.

But yes, he was treated like the new guy. But a new guy with a serious attitude. The Animorphs were sort of a clique and they did kind of make him feel he was being controlled.  He had a reason to act as he did, but not as aggressively nor as maliciously.

And that's what drew the line. David was obviously crazy. Going through what he had to go through made him that way. Im sure he would have went along fine in life had the Animorphs not made him aware of the Yeerks. They brought it upon themselves. I mean, the signs that he would reject their offering were all there.

However you might be right. Maybe what was missing was Elfangor's sacrifice. The influence of the dying Andalite who revealed to them how serious it all was. Maybe that was it, not being there from the very beginning.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 07, 2008, 04:25:35 AM
No, my statement was misleading.. I meant that the Animorphs shoved the situation down his throat too quickly without time to adjust...  ;D

But the Animorphs had no choice. Well, they had a choice but, the choices were pretty one sided.

a. Kill David.
b. Let David be a Controller
c. Rescue David and make him one of them

Pretty one sided huh? But I guess Marco was right, they should have just let him be a Controller. The unfortunate guy. I wish he hadn't pick up the blue box from the beginning.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: filmstu2005 on June 07, 2008, 04:37:43 AM
I was with Marco. As backwards as it might have seemed, David wouldve been much safer with the Yeerks. Gotta do whats best for the team and the war. David only held them back till they were able to dump him somewhere. Literally.

I was kind of angry at the Animorphs for what they did to him, trapping him in morph. They were responsible for his condition, the way he turned out, his attacks. Marco tried to tell em! Funny how not even Cassie could see the possibilities of what might happen.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 07, 2008, 04:57:40 AM
Well, the Animorphs had another one sided choice about what to do with David.

a. Kill him.
b. Give him the blue box (A major NO!)
c.  Trap him in rat morph

I guess, they chose what they thought was the kindest punishment for David. Although IMO,being stuck as a rat is worse than death.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 07, 2008, 05:18:03 AM
yeah, your life's still over, but you still have to live it...
at least if you're dead, you don't live that life anymore.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 07, 2008, 05:27:00 AM
Quote
yeah, your life's still over, but you still have to live it...
at least if you're dead, you don't live that life anymore.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I bet he spent his time in that island wishing he would die. Of course rat instincts prevented him from doing that (human instincts too, probably).
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Terenia on June 07, 2008, 12:39:33 PM

However you might be right. Maybe what was missing was Elfangor's sacrifice. The influence of the dying Andalite who revealed to them how serious it all was. Maybe that was it, not being there from the very beginning.

I think this is a really good point. I'm doing a series reread right now and I've noticed that all of the early books go out of their way to mention just how much Elfangor's sacrifice meant to them in terms of fighting the war. Even in #4 Marco, who is on the verge of quitting, counts himself in on the mission because it has to do with helping an Andalite.
David's only experiences with Andalites were Visser Three (not so good) and Ax. Ax can come across as arrogant. Besides, Ax was always Jake's tag-along, calling him "Prince" and whatnot. That probably did not leave a very good impression on David. He didn't feel as if he owed anyone anything. The Ani's felt they owed it to Elfangor to fight.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: filmstu2005 on June 08, 2008, 02:57:24 PM
Exactly. I don't think David would have been as cruel as he was had he been involved from the very beginning.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: RYTX on June 08, 2008, 03:49:18 PM
Oh wait wait, I wanna argue that.
No

David showed he was messed up from the start.
This is a kid, who when he sees a bald eagle in his house, his first response is to get a gun and shot at it.
He has danger toys and pets, professes to never being more than the new kid at school, and handles his business to make sure he isn't screwed over.
And those are character traits from BEFORE he was attacked by space slugs.
On top of that he was perfectly fine with killing anything not human, even a morph?
That's not a habit that develops overnight
Elfangor's role affected them all, yeah, but david doesn't seem like the type of guy who would care a lot about some else's sacrifice.
David was a punk from top to bottom and would have been bound to cause problems no matter when he joined
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Duff on June 08, 2008, 04:03:02 PM
had david joined from the very beginning, it would have been alot easier for him to turn away from them when they were less capable and less prepared, and they def wouldnt have had what it took to do what they did if it had been so early in the war

The second he got the power he would be like woot lets be crime lords screw the human race we need this for ourselves, and the animorphs would have let him, they were gonna let marco walk away from it werent they, back then they didnt know how dangerous it was


I guess, they chose what they thought was the kindest punishment for David.
thats the beautiful thing about animorphs, they didnt choose the kindest choice, or the smartest choice, it was the cruelest and least humane, but they did it because they were just little kids who didnt have the stones to kill him, and thats real
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 08, 2008, 07:20:16 PM
I disagree, for one, if he joined from the very beginning, sure, he would reluctant, like Marco, but still, his family still is complete, he still has a human home, and the rest. I think the reason he got semi-insane and semi-psychopath, was that he lost his family in a single moment. Sure, David is tough, but cmon, the guy doesn't have friends. He only has his family to love.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 08, 2008, 07:23:08 PM
well he also loves tv but tv can't love him back.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 08, 2008, 07:25:45 PM
^ LOL  ;D

Ax also loves TV, not to mention cinnamon buns, but too bad they can't love him back. The Cinnamon might be actually be afraid of Ax....  ;D
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on June 08, 2008, 07:29:32 PM
no. the cinnamon bun exists to be devoured. it wouldn't be afraid of being devoured because it only exists to do that.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: zaprowsdower on June 08, 2008, 07:31:16 PM
Cinnabons would be freaking out all the time, looking over their proverbial shoulders for Andalites disguised as humans... :D
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: CounterInstinct on June 08, 2008, 08:15:56 PM
yeah, but being eaten by a human is different by being eaten by a human-morphed Andalite. I mean, these guys can eat c cinnabon in a single gulp! No chewing or savoring necessary.  ;D plus they can eat an entire tray full of cinnabon.... which makes the balance of cinnabons mussed up.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: zaprowsdower on June 08, 2008, 09:22:51 PM
Poor cinnabons-once Ax finds them, they're doomed... ;D
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: sherrilina on June 09, 2008, 09:41:12 PM
I think David would've turned on them eventually either way. I always felt that his betrayal came too early in the series. His challenges against Jake's authority in the group should've been played out a bit more, and he should've felt like part of the family (like how Ax became) before he turned on them. It would've made a much bigger impact when his betrayal finally did come.

In fact, I probably would've held off on his betrayal as late as #49, when the Animorphs find out that the Yeerks know that they are human. Especially in the scene where Jake finds out his parents and Tom are controllers. It would've been a complete shocker if it turned out that all of a sudden David was an aid to the Yeerks in that plan (maybe he becomes a Yeerk-free double agent for Visser Three or something a few books back?)

It could've worked with the plot on David's misguided blaming of Jake and the Animorphs for the loss of his parents and his life for the Escafil Device, and getting even with Jake for that by taking his family away too (and attempting to take the families away from the rest of the Animorphs at the same time). Heck, I always felt that David had more of a potential of being Jake's arch nemesis than Rachel's.

Anyways, there are a lot of possibilities of where it would've ended up if David had stuck around a bit longer, either as a ally or an enemy. To me though, the way things turned out with him being exposed and his parents and his life being taken away in an instant, his character really only had two major options of where he would end up: Either he would've manned up and been more determined to take out the Yeerks, or he would've ended up like the whiny brat that he did and stab the Animorphs in the back, desperately trying to strike a deal to get his parents and his life back.

Oh please no, even three books of him was bad enough.... ::)

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of David or his arc....

Quote
David showed he was messed up from the start.
This is a kid, who when he sees a bald eagle in his house, his first response is to get a gun and shot at it.
He has danger toys and pets, professes to never being more than the new kid at school, and handles his business to make sure he isn't screwed over.
And those are character traits from BEFORE he was attacked by space slugs.
On top of that he was perfectly fine with killing anything not human, even a morph?
That's not a habit that develops overnight
Elfangor's role affected them all, yeah, but david doesn't seem like the type of guy who would care a lot about some else's sacrifice.
David was a punk from top to bottom and would have been bound to cause problems no matter when he joined

Exactly--you can only blame so much on circumstances.  David seems to have been rotten to the core, regardless of the Yeerks....
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Animorphsjake on August 09, 2008, 03:06:43 PM
If david stayed... I would've stopped reading the series.  After the animorphs saved him, giving him a chance to save his parents, he gets so selfish, all because " Your not my boss, Jake!" he acted like such a girl. I was pretty thankfull he was turned into a rat.....man I hated when he camed back.  :evilgrin27: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: wotw2112 on August 09, 2008, 04:02:47 PM
I disagree, for one, if he joined from the very beginning, sure, he would reluctant, like Marco, but still, his family still is complete, he still has a human home, and the rest. I think the reason he got semi-insane and semi-psychopath, was that he lost his family in a single moment. Sure, David is tough, but cmon, the guy doesn't have friends. He only has his family to love.

Still, he was a loose cannon who did pretty much whatever he wanted.  How much more dangerous would he have made every single mission for them?  The series might have been a lot shorter with David in from day one.  >:D
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: wotw2112 on August 09, 2008, 04:05:46 PM
Still I would have liked to see him stick around and be better developed.  Based on how the rest of the series tries to blur the lines between good and evil it would've been more consistent to try to get the reader to commiserate with David rather than just making him the typical outcast, hopeless, bad guy who everyone hates.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Chad32 on August 09, 2008, 06:16:50 PM
I expected David to turn traitor, but they could have probably held off on it for a while longer.

I mentioned somewhere before that he had the potential to be a loose cannonball type villain that fought the Animorphs and the Yeerks. Maybe even have him be the one Crayak tempts instead of Rachel. He had the potential to be an interesting villain.

He's just one of those things that had potential, but was never used. KA brought him back just to have him mess with Rachel, instead of making him Crayak's servant of destruction against the Animorphs or whatever.

I know there would be some fans that would look cross-eyed at him for coming in late. That's why he didn't stay in the group, and why she had Estrid leave too.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: wotw2112 on August 09, 2008, 10:44:08 PM
He's just one of those things that had potential, but was never used.

How many of those are there now?  ::)
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: SuperBlue on August 09, 2008, 11:04:58 PM
I think David should've stayed long enough to have at least one book narrated by him. The Animorphs must have been feeling really generous cuz if I were one of them I'd have tried to convinve them to kill him, after all he did and all he was gonna do, there's no way they should've let him live espcially since he could still use thought speak even though he was a nothilt.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Phoenix004 on August 10, 2008, 10:47:35 AM
Even if they had wanted to kill him (which they didn't) killing him would have made them feel like they were as bad as him (even though they weren't). Besides, they figured he wouldn't last long as a rat, since he could easily be killed off by predators or lack of food. Even if he did survive what would he do? Join forces with Crayak and attempt some desperate revenge scheme? Like that would ever happen!  ::)
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Chad32 on August 10, 2008, 02:41:48 PM
Even if they had wanted to kill him (which they didn't) killing him would have made them feel like they were as bad as him (even though they weren't). Besides, they figured he wouldn't last long as a rat, since he could easily be killed off by predators or lack of food. Even if he did survive what would he do? Join forces with Crayak and attempt some desperate revenge scheme? Like that would ever happen!  ::)
If Crayak gave him his morphing powers back, plus the kind of powers he offered Rachel, then he could have been a dangerous villain. All he would have to do is agree to kill Jake.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Gaz on August 10, 2008, 03:51:35 PM
I'll admit right away that I wasn't a huge David fan. Can't say much else because it has been a long time time since I read that story arc. I'll reread those and come back here once I do.

Will say though that David wouldn't really be around very long as a rat. There are, yes, predators and lack of food. But the longest a rat can hope to live is 3 years. 4 years max if they are well off, and that's referring to pets. (I had 4 pet rats at one point)

So, maybe that was quite the punishment after all. Possibly worse than just being killed. Think about it: trapped in a morph that you know is short lived and very low in the food chain. They could have trapped him in...I don't know...tortoise morph! Those things live 100 years.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: morfowt on August 10, 2008, 05:51:43 PM
then why didn't they trap him in flea morph or some other kind of bug. doubt they live that long.
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Gaz on August 10, 2008, 06:58:21 PM
That's true. The average flea lives no more than 2 months. Or heck, even a mayfly. Those live only about a day, don't they?
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Phoenix004 on August 10, 2008, 07:13:01 PM
I doubt the Ellimist would have let Crayak make a deal to give David all the powers he offered Rachel. He probably only let Crayak make that offer to Rachel because he knew she would refuse.

And how exactly would the Animorphs have tricked David into morphing a Flea and then trapping him inside a box which a Flea can't escape from?
Title: Re: If david stayed...
Post by: Gaz on August 10, 2008, 09:53:50 PM
That's a good point I didn't think of. They needed him in a form they could keep track of. So no matter how long the critter lives, they need to be able to see him.