Richard's Animorphs Forum

Kinda think you all might be looking too hard into the "could never be normal" thing, at least in relation to the point being "so she had to die" or whatever.  Seems more just a good way of Katherine/Michael showing that war changes people, in addition to Jake's state after the war and the Jake/Cassie romantic stuff evaporating etc.

She basically goes out with a sacrifice play to save Jake.  Because he's too important politically by then, only long-shot the humans have in dealing with the Andalite brass (Ax's whole 'prince' thing).  All the kids are important, but not all of them are necessarily vital to the aftermath of it the way Jake is.  If Rachel didn't volunteer, Jake probably would have gone and tried to do it himself, and no way Rachel was ever going to stand for that.

Couple it with the "who of the Animorphs (mentally, not combat ability) is going to actually be able to kill Tom?"  Ax obviously, Marco maybe might be able to pull the trigger.  Tobias...maybe, unlikely I think due to his empathy for Jake prior to the Rachel thing.   Cassie wouldn't.  But in terms of both drama and it being "fitting", Rachel or Jake are basically the candidates in a big finale like that.  The family link, the intensity of that, the themes of 'how much do you sacrifice to win?' etc.

It's a perfect Rachel ending, actually.  Selfless, brave, something that matters as the Ellimist conversation reinforces.  It's way less narratively poignant if she goes on the impossible mission and actually makes it out alive.

I will try... six month later i will try lol

We're told what happens when they morph small things, but what about bigger things? Where do they get the extra mass?
It's a mystery -  i read a fanfic that said excess mass stored when you acquire the animal and is pulled through z-space when you morph.  a good explanation as any.  Unfortunately, every time Ax tries to explain the science someone gets bored and cuts him off lol.

Would the foreign DNA from acquiring things affect their children in any way? Could some animal DNA be accidentally passed down?

Unkown...kind of.  Elfangor was Tobias's father, and Tobias was able to have some of his memories passed down to him via DNA in book #33.  however, in that book he had just acquired Ax's DNA so maybe he got andalite ancestor powers that way?  who knows.  Ax basically didn't really believe it was real when Tobias told him

What might be the cause of the Andalite shunning of the defective in their culture?

I heard a great answer to this on the "fandalite academy" podcast.  Andalites are basically a collectivist culture, and in those cultures there can be more shame with being invalid, or otherwise unable to carry their own weight for various reasons. The shame aspect seems relevant since Ax says the shunning is for the sake of the one being shunned so that they won't be embarrassed.  Andalites are also arrogant and don't like to admit to any weakness.  Andalites are also herd/prey animals originally, so if you're into evolutionary psychology, you could say there is a bias against a member of the herd that can not longer defend themselves or the group.  It's safer for the whole herd to move one without them.

Could the brain actually be accessed through the ear?
seems unlikely, the ear hole (auditory meatus) is pretty small but supposedly in the book they can get really stretchy and can gently move around inner ear bones?  never mind all the perforated eardrums.  The nose would make a lot more sense.

Could they morph non carbon life? That would take more than rearranging carbon and other stuff that's already there.
Probably,  morphing rearranges cells but it could even rearrange atoms for we know. Andalite think splitting the atom is for dumb babies so they probably got the non-carbon life thing figured out to some degree. Also they can morph clothes.

How do thought speakers prevent their intrusive thoughts from being broadcasted?
The books only tell us that you have to be intentionally trying to send thoughts for them to be heard (theres a KASU about this but it's mostly consistent).  So private thoughts are the default, and they must make an effort to be heard.  Apparently you can accidentally 'think to loudly' and broadcast to more people than you mean to.  At least if you Ax and your ****-talking the captain you can.

Why do andalites have so much chin in the art? That seems like a waste of their body's building materials.  Do they really need it?
Aside from it being the artist's choice.... you could argue a bony structure like a chin could protect organs related to smell or a breathing apparatus or more glands or something. it could also be an attractive trait and purely aesthetic with strong chins being passed down by all the chad andalites

If the arn hadn't destroyed themselves before the yeerks infested them, do you think the yeerks would have become like the iskoort with artificial bodies much sooner?
Short answer, Yes.  Long answer... maybe... assuming the yeerks wanted to live peacefully.  More ambitious yeerks may want to create super soldiers to conquer more planets.  Some yeerks have a real empire mindset.

What's up with that gland in Ax's head that was sick in that one book? Why in his head specifically? Why not somewhere not as hazardous?
Plot reasons lol, it's more exciting if it's in the head.  Normally something wouldn't be protected by the skull if it wasn't super super important... and apparently, it can just be removed sooo... we just have to assume it's a weird evolutionary quirk of andalites.

man reading all my answers i realized how definitely cool adn not lame i am

So... after being denial to finish this series from more than 10 years ago, because i read some spoiler that said my fave character died, I finally finish it last month. Then I reread from the beginning to remember every detail that I may forget--just to fall for Tobias and Rachel thing over and over again. Ha! I remember that they are my fave chara and ship, but I just remember that I care so much about them. No wonder I fell messed up when i reach the final book. Hft. A lil' bit disappointed about Rachel chardev under ghostwriter, but still love her because Tobias's unconditional love for her.

So yeah. Let me dive into the old topics that talk about them, through the ages.

PART 1/2

A few (5) different things in this post.

1. A quick study on sword wielding in ink



2. Had a short-lived urge to get back into doing semi-photorealism in graphite, and then decided it was overdone and I'd rather spend time improving in some other style. Anyway, here's Dula Lipa (pop artist), and Greg Davies & Alex Horne (hosts of british game show taskmaster which I have been watching too much of recently)




3. Workspace reveal
Essential items:
- dining table
- laptop for reference pics and music
- tea
- ruler to get those lines straight
- quality paper that won't warp with water
- 2B pencil for primary sketches
- kneadable eraser to get rid of those primary sketches
- 0.4mm water-proof pen for lining
- 6-deck watercolour set
- 2 water brushes
- paper towel to blot/clean brushes/test colours

Welcome!

And maybe we should all reread the series. I know I've forgotten a lot since the series first came out.