Richard's Animorphs Forum

I wrote and published my first fan fiction in years.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/48056665/chapters/121174033
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14247305/1/The-Experiment-Epilogue

My first stories were written when I was in high school, but I don't think my writing abilities (in terms of plot and dialogue) have improved all that much since then. I know my spelling and grammar are generally pretty great, though. Anyway, I'm looking for constructive criticism on how I could have done better. I can't guarantee I'll modify or edit this story in any way, but it's possible I might depending on the feedback.

I followed along from the day I was given a box set of the first five books in late 1998 or '99. It colored my world as many books would, gave me something meaningful and exciting to see beneath the bleak surface. This was more though -- so deeply visceral, as intense and consuming as the most profoundly formative friendships I can remember having with real people. I felt like I was with them, albeit invisible, but I considered myself an unobtrusive observer of life back then anyway.

I had a gap where I couldn't keep up with the series for a while, until I happened across the last few books I hadn't yet read while hiding out at the library after running away from home (this turned out to be a very predictable and poorly thought-out position). It was only a few months after publication. To highlight the strangely powerful and probably somewhat maladaptive connection: I can recall weeping freely at the end of the book, not so much for the events, more out of relief of a tension I didn't know I'd been holding, and a nebulous bitter guilt that I now recognize as distantly comparable to the survivor's guilt of a veteran who wasn't there with his mates.

I'm not, broadly speaking, a sentimental or emotional person. Of course, I have things that are dear to me for the people they represent, and I get wistful at the end of a good story, and I cried after Flowers for Algernon too, like probably most people who aren't sociopaths (most). This is something else, though. Even now, over 20 years later, I can't relive it in any detail if I'm to stay entirely composed.

Maybe it was just timing. Maybe anything could have fueled that childhood escapism. I like to think it was as special as it felt. A glorious flash, over almost as soon as I was aware of it. Beautiful in that way that I hate to admit has any beauty. I mean, how dare anyone suggest that something I miss so dearly is beautiful in its impermanence, right? But I know it's not exactly wrong, either.

I just hope you know how lucky we were to be there.

I'm sorry that the poll didn't load for you. I hope that if you had been able to read the other options, you may have picked one of the first four. Here are the six options as I wrote them months ago, verbatim:

1. Have Aftran morph human and become a human nothlit, living with the Chee or Free Hork-Bajir and communicating with Illim/Mr. Tidwell for intel.
2. Aftran stays in Cassie's head and receives Kandrona rays from Erek King or another Chee, participating in missions with Cassie.
3. Tom is rescued and his Yeerk is either kept alive (imprisoned) in Erek's head, or maybe Tom kills him. Aftran goes into Tom's head and pretends to be his old Yeerk, acting as a mole/spy.
4. Aftran becomes a different animal nothlit.
5. K.A.'s original ending, fleshed out by Melinda Metz, where Aftran becomes a whale and leaves the war, was the best thing that could have happened for the war effort.
6. Other? (discuss in thread)

I will admit that I got these ideas after reading some fan fictions that feature Aftran as a main character.

Tests are working?

Aftran was a known traitor to the Yeerks who knew far too much about the Animorphs. She was pretty much useless to them as an ally and letting her become a Nothlit was the only safe decision. Unlike the Hork-Bajir, the Ellimist wasn't helping out the Yeerk Peace Movement.