#Baby Andalite

[pixelsilver]

Young andalites are born with underdeveloped eyestalks, practically nubs on their head. This is to protect the very delicate budding nerves at the end of each stalk while they're in the pouch. Once out of the pouch, the eyestalks start developing. The eyelids start completely glued closed in a similar manner to a young kitten or puppy. As they grow, the nerves lengthen and grow, causing the very elastic skin to stretch inch by inch while the eyes develop slowly at the ends of the nerves. By four months, they're completely developed. Once they're able to see out of them, the very first thing they seem to always look at is their own faces. If it's just because it's more comfortable to curl the newly developed stalks inward or if they're just fascinated with their newly discovered self, which this is around the time they start being able to recognize themselves in a mirror. But this habit soon stops when they start developing thought speak and an new fascination with the world around them.

[sarifel-corrisafid-ilxhel]

Somehow, I colored this all the way back in July and completely forgot to share it.

Baby!Sarifel is off on an adventure.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

How would a caregiver stop an Andalite toddler from trying to eat whatever they step on? Do they have a 'get that out of your hoof' phase?

2. Yes.

Booties. Like the dogs wear on the Iditarod Trail. Given how much human toddlers object to wearing shoes, this goes about as well as you might expect.

[if-you-are-tired-clap-your-hands]

Some old andalites model I did. I really tried to make Visser 3 a bit more different than Ax and Elfangor, and I think the result isn't too bad. Though his face expression make him looks like a cartoon villain.

[cygnus-is-tired]

[raydfil]

raaah andalites

[rattraptmnt]

Just finished book 54 of Animorphs 🥲🥲

[ghostalservice]

13, 14 & 29!!

THANK YOU IDA I ADORE YOU

13. What’s your longest work of the year?

Ahahaha at a cool 176,906 words, that would be wanna fly away! even if you count it as half since it's co-written, it'd still be my longest!

14. What’s your shortest work of the year?

take it slow, hold me close is only 1,666 words (Good Number) but I think it packs a real punch. It's also one of my only canon-compliant fics in this fandom! Something possessed me after the fish kiss scene, I swear. Listen to the podfic instead of reading it, please, it's absolutely a better experience and a great way to spend 14 minutes!!

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

OH THIS IS DIFFICULT but I'm going to have to pull from WFA, because it's. Special. Putting it below a cut in case you haven't read it and want to go in completely unspoiled, but. I really love this bit. It's from the prologue to chapter 14.

I am an Andalite. I am a human. I am both, and neither, and something in between. I am greater than the sum of my parts, than the flesh that encases me, no matter its form. My body is me, and yet—I am so much more than it, so much more than the things I have been told it should be. So for now, I am figuring out who I am and who I want to be. I am, as Frenchie says, keeping my options open. One day, I may make a more permanent choice. But for now, the fight continues.  Ed says it is okay to want things. I tell him it’s okay to not know what you want, and to seek it anyway.  The relationship I have with myself and who I know myself to be is more important than what I can do with my body, although I honor it for its power, for the ways it can protect this planet I’ve chosen and the people I love—for the way it can feel, the way it can grow, the way it can love. It is a great privilege to have the power to change my body, to shape it into something else, and to remain, underneath it all, myself, whoever that is. I still don’t quite know. And that, I think, is beautiful.

[pixelsilver]

What if baby ear long

[death-by-physics]

Oh! A baby Andalite.

Baby Andalite who's info dumping and calling Jake a Prince

Book 4 of Animorphs! Let's go!

The Message

Oh! It's Cassie's time to shine!

[cairavende]

Can a himbo have a high int? I know it seems like a ridiculous thing to ask, but I have questions about my beautiful blue baby alien boy, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.

See Ax is clearly intelligent. He can build a fake Yeerk emergency beacon out of a few Radio Shack parts. He can explain various technicians and has a decent understanding of Z-space.

But Ax is also like, a complete goddamn himbo. Do we really think every Andalite runs around eating garbage the first time they morph into something with a mouth? And the second time? And the tenth time? (Ok so technically the first time he only ate other people's leftovers, no garbage until later. Which kinda makes it even worse.)

Or that Andalite's don't have the concept of what to do with waste? They build spaceships, they have to end up with left over material, broken tools, things like that. Yet Ax has no idea what to do with a leftover coffee cup, and then not only takes a literal interpretation of "throw it away" but chucks it at some guy's head.

I could go on. He meets all the requirements for himbo. Except that pesky intellect.

I see two viable answers:

1. Sometimes a himbo can be smart in some areas.

2. The vast majority of Ax's foolheadery is done while in human morph. Ax's human morph is also very cute. So Ax the andalite isn't a himbo, but when he morphs into Ax the human, he also morphs into a himbo.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

one thing that I love about your eleutherophobia fics (among many many things) is that, despite being free of a Yeerk haunting his mind, Tom has now unwittingly replaced that with a reader listening to every thought and memory that he cares to share with us through the first person point of view. He’d be mortified if he ever broke the fourth wall ;)

thanks for your lovely writing and blog! definitely part of what’s keeping me going in these very weird times

Thank you! And yeah, I think a lot about the unique narration style in Animorphs, because I'm trying to imitate it. There's always an awareness that the characters are telling a story — the books open with the narrator going "I can't tell you my last name", and Marco especially will use imperatives like "don't tell anyone I said that." Clearly you is the reader, and each of the kids is meant to be aware that the reader is there.

There are some fascinating hints (handwaving Jake's line in #53) about who each narrator considers their audience. The Chronicles all state outright that each is an account of oneself (X) consciously crafted for one particular audience: Elfangor's talking to Tobias, Aldrea and Dak to Seerow Jr., Visser One to the Council (and Eva), and Toomin to Rachel. Ax says that he's narrating for his fellow andalites, so that they can better understand Earth (#8). Jake implies he's narrating for his great-grandkids: "I'll need to buy a footlocker" (#31). Tobias at one point implies he's talking to his imagined therapist (#23), but I also think you could argue that he's talking to the Ellimist (#13) or his dad (#33).

The others are a little trickier. Cassie seems to have Jake's same educational bent, but I'd argue she's trying to teach about the biology rather than the ethics of the war. Marco is probably talking to a kid his own age who thinks they're reading a sci fi novel. He's defensive ("call me Mr. Ruthless" as he feels empathy for baby seals), he's misdirecting ("now you know how I got a blowhole" instead of clarifying his role in the war), and he's desperate to impress ("I'm slightly not tall"). But he also references the reader "vegging out" and "watching TV." Rachel? I'd argue Rachel is talking to her own adult self. She doesn't care what others think of her, but she cares a lot about living with herself. She's trying to define who she is and who she wants to be, more than anyone else on the team.

[theeccentricraven]

Ten Tips to Naming Characters

I’ve seen many aspiring writers express both in person and on social media that they struggle to come up with names for characters. Some have even said, “Why is it so hard?” I, however, have never found it hard to come up with character names. I’ve even been told, “Lucky you!” I wouldn’t say my instinct is just luck. From a young age, names have been fascinating for me, partly because I’m from a big family that had baby name books hanging around. If you’re struggling with character names, there are ten tips that make coming up with a character name a breeze. 

Think of your favorite names

We all have favorite names. I sure do. Sometimes when coming up with a name for a character, especially the protagonist, I use a name that’s always been one of my favorite’s. Presto. My character has a name. 

2. Read baby name books and websites

Baby names books or websites can be your best friend. They can help you find names under certain languages, provide meanings, common associations, popular names by country and region, and a great list you can steal from. 

3. Study name symbolism and meaning in literature 

When you study names used in literature as well as popular entertainment, you can find interesting symbolism that describes the character. For example, in Nathanial Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter” there’s a character named Arthur Dimmsdale. “Dimmsdale” in Old English means “gloomy valley”, a description that fits his character. The TV series “Lost” had special meanings behind the name of each character, such as how Jack Shephard takes on the role to be the leader of the group.

4. Consider the vibes surrounding your character

Oftentimes when I come up with a character name, I think about what kind of vibes I feel with that character and ask myself what name goes with those vibes. There might be a feeling or emotion I feel goes with a name that suits the character. If I think of a character who I feel has a strong desire for justice, then I could give the name Justin.  If there is a character who I associate with love and affection or valiance, I might give the name Valerie.

5. For fantasy and sci-fi, mix and mash words

If you’re writing fantasy and sci-fi, you don’t need to be a full on linguist like Tolkien was, unless you passionately want to be. Coming up with elf names, magic names, alien names, etc. can be done just by mixing up existing words. Sometimes I take the halves of words, mix them up, and combine them. Animorphs author K.A. Applegate has said that she came up with the Andalite word “nothlit” by seeing a sign for Hilton Hotel and rearranging the letters. 

6. Name a character after someone you would like to pay homage to or mock

Sometimes I name characters after someone I knew in real life who deserves tribute. I’ve also come up with villain names by naming them after people I don’t like or notable people in real life. Be careful with this technique to avoid getting sued.

7. Study languages

Again, you don’t need to be a linguist like J.R.R. Tolkien, but if you learn another language or study linguistics in general, it’s interesting to learn the characteristics of languages. I’ve studied a lot of Spanish and Irish Gaelic that I like to use for my character name creation.  

8. Take names from other sources, like movies, books, mythology, religious books, history, places. 

In the end, you can just steal names from places, movies, books, the Bible, etc. You wouldn’t want to do this for a unique name the author invented or one that is heavily associated with an iconic character. There are plenty of names that are free for grabs. Maybe you would like to name your character after your favorite movie side character, favorite villain in a book, favorite Bible figure, favorite saint, favorite mythological hero, or favorite historical figure, etc. 

9. Use name generators

I haven’t used these myself, but I’ve seen there are a number of websites that can be helpful name generators. Examples:

www.fantasynamegenerators.com 

www.behindthename.com 

10. Don't overthink it

This might be the most important tip. I think the main reason why some writers struggle is that they overthink it. While the tips above are nice, they aren’t required. You don’t need to have literary symbolism behind the name or allude to some significant historical figure. In the end, it can be as simple as just using a name that you like or just randomly picking from the millions of names in baby name websites and Wikipedia.

I hope that helps. Have fun!  

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-unrecognizable-freelancer-typing-on-laptop-during-tea-break-3975677/

[cygnus-is-tired]

Andalites have weak little baby arms so they probably couldn’t hold obnoxiously big books like dictionaries and encyclopedias (which if I remember right Ax enjoys) for long periods of time, this gave me the idea of them using their tails to hold them up

[tunashei]

First Impression of Animorphs!

I'm listening to the Animorphs series while I work, through Animorphs Aloud - a fan made reading of the series. Here are my first impressions/random thoughts about them! Spoilers below if you haven't read them.

Book 8: The Alien

OOOOOOH AX POV! Ax Pov! This is not a drill! I am so hype

Oh the mental imagery of Ax watching the space battle above him while sitting alone in this artificial dome is so...so emotional. The strange disconnect of watching helplessly in a veritable garden of eden as your brother and others fight above you in the cold vacuum of space. I'd like to draw it

And then the absolute terror of being ejected from your ship and falling into the ocean of the nearby planet. Stuck beneath miles of water pressing down on you. Chills

Also now I'm really curious what the surface of the sea looks like if you're looking up at from below many miles

Ooooh we got little diary entries! Very amusing! This book is starting off so strong

Loving the amount of planning for taking Ax to a movie, they've learnt from previous times!

One of the reasons I was so excited for Ax pov is stuff like learning all these Andalite words, and bits of biology, the different ways of observing things. Alien perspective is so interesting

Confession time, I listened to this book before Megamorphs 1 which is before this book in the timeline. So I had no idea was a Veleek was and was rather confused they'd beaten one

I love the regular forays into Ax's Adventures with Food. Please don't eat cigarettes baby

I was cracking up at work for this whole sequence. Got some funny looks.

Going to make a prediction. Seerow's Kindness is referring to Andalites helping out the Yeerks somehow. Also Seerow is Visser Three's Andalite Host.

My man eat with he feet

I'm so here for Ax and Tobias best buds friendship

Ax confirmed canonically hetero this is a sad day for us all :(

Ok why after the semi-disaster of the movies would you take Ax to school, that is one of the most stressful confusing environments for anyone. Also schools have registers they're not going to just let you bring in a new kid

Unless maybe the teacher won't care because they've got a bloody Yeerk dying in their head! The book has predicted this predicament!

However, very unrealistic that the kids fled the room instead of crowding around the freaking-out teacher. You'd spend 20 minutes chasing them out the room and they'd still crowd around the door peeping in.

Oh this is...a bad thing to have hidden Ax. Poor Jake. This whole conversation is very tense. Ax bringing up his brother as if to remind Jake he's already lost HIS brother to this war

Ax is always described as blue-and-tan, implying he's more blue than tan. I have a hard time believing people would think he's a deer from a distance considering his colours

Huh...wouldn't it be weird to never have moonless nights? The stars are always brightest on those days, great for stargazing. I wonder how bright the night would be if you had multiple moons. Or would it not be additive?

Fascinating evolutionary implications from a species having a biological clock that makes them war every 62 years. Some kind of mass population cull? Ensuring only the strongest breed?

Ok this is pretty funny but actually made me reconsider how we appreciate stuff?? Actually kind of mindblowing. We really don't appreciate food as an art form. After I'd listened to this bit at work, my boss gave us all a tin of chocolates. Ate them on the way home and took some time to really savour the flavour. My life is being enriched by these books.

'He was a male-as all human fathers are' Implication Andalites can have female fathers??? Maybe. Would be cool.

Ax totally winning at social interaction

Aw Ax, you are being very brave :(

Huh so this Yeerk controller loved another Yeerk? I could have sworn in a previous book it said they were incapable of love, I think the one where Jake gets infested

Poor Ax. You really feel his struggle in being compared to his brother, now having to take the blame

The yeerk just fuckin bailed out the andalite?! I was not expecting this. You beat Visser Three?!

Aight so the Visser's andalite was not Seerow. He's just...some guy. Ngl was hoping for a bit more info on that, I've been very curious how Visser Three got an andalite which no other Yeerk has acomplished

Although...they're on the home world? Maybe there are other andalite controllers. Ruh roh

You guys are absolutely going to regret not putting this andalite out of his misery. He's literally begging for death and you know the horrors of being infested, and will be an incredibly powerful enemy again if you leave him. I mean, you couldn't even try to lug him out of there? How many people are going to end up killed in the future because Visser Three remains an andalite?

Called it on Seerow's Gift being helping the Yeerks. I kind of get it though I'd feel sorry for any sapient species that had to life it's entire life as a slug in a pool

Winced when Ax confessed his fears of giving humans help that would lead them to be conquerors, and Marco brushing it off. Humans would absolutely become conquerors, it's in our history

Wow. This is definitely my favourite book so far. I expected it would be, I'm very into xenofiction (when a book is written from a non-human perspective) but I think the emotional journey was also great in this. The ending was a bit quick and weak. But overall great.

[jodjuya]

More bitching about Animorphs #38.

But also I'm somewhat mollified because the writing does pick up a bit from chapter 11 onwards...

Cassie channels her inner Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately for her, Marco has also seen Star Wars, and he's not on board with this nonsense.

Cassie, what the fuck are you even talking about?? Assassinating one's nemesis is the cowardly, easy way out??

Cassie Animorphs! You! are! a! guerrilla! terrorist! Now is not the time to be channeling the Marquess of bloody Queensberry!

No, just because you, Cassie—unwilling child soldier and aspiring pacifist—don't perceive assassination to be a valid tactic of asymmetric warfare, doesn't mean that it is therefore "murder".

At least Marco knows which genre of story he's in... :/

Following this outburst, Jake is all like "I'm just too fucking tired to even breathe, let alone figure out what to do about these dropkick Andalite Irregulars and their big talk... "

And then a whole bunch of stuff happens very quickly:

Rachel is all like "no really, wtf is our plan?!"

So Marco (lightly) SLAPS RACHEL ACROSS BOTH CHEEKS in a 'snap out of it' gesture, ordering her to "wise up" and accept that they've lost the war.

Rachel, naturally, flips the fuck out and starts beating up Marco. Marco cowers on the ground and receives his beating until Jake physically steps in to pull Rachel off of him.

Tobias is like "okay, yeah, fuck this; I'm done. goodbye forever" and he peaces outta there

Then Rachel fucking GOES OFF! She's all like "I don't remember ever seeing MY signature at the bottom of the Geneva convention! And I am SO DONE with this pathetic baby shit! So fuck all you fucking losers, I'm going solo! Time to show these fucking Yeerks what REAL fucking terrorism looks like!!!" and she leaves too.

Then Cassie is like "I'm out too; if this is unwinnable then how can we justify continuing to kill Hork-Bajir Controllers when they're basically just innocent victim prisoners of war??"

(so I guess this is genuinely some character growth? she's so sickened by war she can't bring herself to continue. It's not just lazy flanderization)

Then Marco bails too

And Ax is the last man standing. He reaffirms his oath of loyalty to Jake, but Jake is like, "nah man, we're done here. No more Animorphs. Go hook up with the Andalite Ginyu Squad to get yourself home."

Next chapter: Ax hooks up with the Andalite Irregulars, and notices that they give him sus vibes... 🤔