#Elfangor's Folly

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: After the crash landing, Elfangor finds himself on Earth, alone, the only ones knowing of his presence being the five children who saw him crash. Confronted with the choice to fight or to hide, he chooses to continue the battle.

Author: KimHoppy

Note from submitter: A great fic that asks: what if Elfangor had survived?

[theoriginalnikegirl]

I mean. In a variety of ways this is just canon

I want to write an andalite/human romance fic. Full stop, no further explanation.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What animorphs fics would you recommend by yourself or others, for people who haven't read any of them yet?

Anything by Poetry/@featherquillpen! I've read a bunch of their crossovers and enjoyed every one. They're masterful at capturing the goofy-yet-horrifying tone of Animorphs, and with unexpected crossovers. Though I haven't gotten around to reading Daemorphing, I've head good things and can recommend by proxy. That's my single biggest author rec. Fic recs:

Elfangor's Folly by Kim Hoppy is an excellent longfic series retelling. The premise is exactly what the name suggests — Elfangor survives the first book and stays on Earth. My favorite part of this one is the author's ability to capture the subtly-unreliable narration of Animorphs with Elfangor's voice.

Take Me Out by neinlives is a delightful piece about the Animorphs grown up and going to college, half crack half sweetness.

The Wheel by L. Emmist is the reason my date once asked me "Why do you have a picture of a yeerk in a condom on your window?" and that's all you need to know about it.

Animorphs: Facebook News Feed Edition by Ember Nickel is exactly what the title suggests; never have I laughed so hard about Tom's death.

Speaking of which, The Tocsin by tptigger is a brilliant speculative story about Tom becoming reluctant host to a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement, and thus an even more reluctant Auxiliary Animorph.

I know I'm forgetting a bunch — I'm terrible at remembering to bookmark — so other people please weigh in with recs!

[incorrectseekerquestquotes]

Fen: Went to the cookie shop earlier. I decided not to play favorites and just bought two of each.

Seeker: Why two?

Fen: Well, how else do you decide a favorite if you cannot have another sample to make sure? Repetition is key in science, after all.

[theoriginalnikegirl]

Like I really do love fics where Elfangor lives because I love Ax and Tobias and I don't like them sad

But

Elfangor is just so JUDGY whenever he lives

[pyromancerofaronons]

It's called Elfangor's Folly and the link is

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7950103

Oh God I just finally finished the Animorphs fanfiction that I’ve been reading for like 2 weeks now because it was half a million words. It’s honestly one of the best things I’ve ever read and was such a great AU of the series and I honestly love it so much

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

AU where the group somehow manages to get Elfangor and the morphing cube out of the construction site before the Yeerks show up?

I recommend checking out Elfangor’s Folly by Kim Hoppy, which has covered this idea more thoroughly and brilliantly than I could ever hope to.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What do you think would've happened if Elfangor had survived his injury to help fight with the animorphs?

I think that this is a really fascinating idea… and also that the author Kim Hoppy has explored it more brilliantly and more thoroughly than I will ever be able to in their work Elfangor’s Folly.  This is one of the better works of fan fiction I have ever read, and it is a freaking undertaking that expands on the whole series through Elfangor’s point of view.  

[theoriginalnikegirl]

Ok so. As always, I spend a lot of my free time thinking about Rachel and recently I've been thinking about how/whether/to what extent Rachel found genuine joy in battle and I genuinely believe that Rachel rolled out of the bed on the morning they met Elfangor ready to fuck somebody up. And I recently got into a conversation on Reddit about Rachel bringing the "ready to do something about it" to the table when Tobias brought "poor Polly being hawked for used car commercials" or Cassie brought "the ethics treatment of elephants" to the tables. Like, would Cassie or Tobias have *acted* on either of those situations if not for Rachel? And would Rachel have acted on either of *those situations* if not for Tobias/Cassie? Like I kinda don't think so. And it's not because Rachel is heartless or doesn't care about being ethical/moral, she clearly does, but those issues aren't magnetic (?) to her in the way they are to Cassie/Tobias

And when Rachel brought the "let's do something about it" that's where she found joy and purpose, in taking action, and it's the same for the war overall.

End-of-series spoilers discussed after this point, also spoilers for "Elfangor's Folly" by KimHoppy

You've been warned

I feel like this is my hang-up over Rachel's death. Like, from page 1 the series was pointing to where Rachel would die and whether it was selfless or she was satisfied or she on some level was trying to avoid a world where she would have to live out "I don't know what you'll do when this all ends someday" or if she was just always going to be willing to do it no matter what, etc.

And this brings me to (one of) the things that really frustrates me about Elfangor's Folly. In all three of the epilogues, Rachel dies in a (implied suicide) car crash five years after the war, and this reads to me as even in a world wherein (much of) the worst trauma the kids, specifically Rachel, dealt with was avoided (No David, no 37) Rachel still would not have found a way to live with purpose and joy after the war

And, I partly disagree but the more I spend marinating in it the more I also... Partly agree? And I don't know if I'm being reductive or nuanced or if I'm just confused but I hate it and wish she would've lived and found a way to live out after the war but I don't know anymore

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Would you recommend any animorphs fic?

Yes!  A few I’ve recced before:

Animorphs: Facebook News Feed Edition by Ember Nickel.  This is hilarious and whacky and has some great commentary on Animorphs’ imperfect continuity.

Take Me Out by neinlives.  This one is just high-quality good fun.  It’s set in a postwar world where the characters get to be happy, which I always love.

Elfangor’s Folly by KimHoppy.  Probably my favorite long read in the Animorphs fandom, this is a full-series retelling of Elfangor sticking around to train the Animorphs that makes excellent use of subtly biased narration.

The Tocsin by tptigger.  It’s brilliant, wonderful, painful, beautiful Tom Berenson  content.  Need I say more?

The Agreement by From.The.Tower.  An “unseen scene” sort of story, this one picks up from Aftran’s point of view after #19 and grapples with a lot of the big ethical questions of Animorphs.

THE CLASS by Freak Apple.  One time, my boyfriend was like “why do you have a yeerk in a condom drawn on your window?”  This fic.  This fic is why I had a yeerk in a condom drawn on my window.  It’s the most brilliant stupidity ever written.

A few highly enjoyable crossovers:

The Hork-Bajir Job and Teach Me How to Say Goodbye by Poetry (@featherquillpen on Tumblr).  Both of these crossovers are extremely different in tone, format, content, and plot.  However, both accomplish exactly what I always want from a crossover, by providing awesome characterization for the canon team and brilliant commentary on the ways they’d function in a situation very different from canon.

The Archer with the Eyes of a Hawk by Lia.  Exactly what it says on the tin: it starts with the premise that Tobias is literally Hawkeye, in the MCU.  It goes from there.

My Little Pony: Morphing is Magic by Tricondon.  I admit I have not actually finished this one yet (nor have I finished My Little Pony) but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read so far.  I have no idea why MLP crosses over so very well with other fandoms, and by now I’ve learned not to question.

Is Jake Awake? by StellarStylus.  I was about to say “this is enjoyable pain” but really, that’s all of Animorphs.  So if you like Animorphs (probably a safe assumption) you should read this.

Anyway, I’ve been neglecting to read fan fiction for a while now (the upside of quarantine means I get to read all the YA hardcover books that were too large for me to haul to and from work every day!) so this list is definitely incomplete.  Please other people add your own recs — self-promotion is encouraged.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What's your favourite animorphs fanfiction?

Tptigger's “The Tocsin” is my personal #1 favorite!

However, a few other Animorphs fics that stand out for me:

Animorphs: Facebook News Feed Edition by Ember Nickel.  This is hilarious and whacky and has some great commentary on Animorphs’ imperfect continuity.

The Hork-Bajir Job and Teach Me How to Say Goodbye by Poetry (@featherquillpen on Tumblr).  Both of these crossovers are extremely different in tone, format, content, and plot.  However, both accomplish exactly what I always want from a crossover, by providing awesome characterization for the canon team and brilliant commentary on the ways they’d function in a situation very different from canon.

Take Me Out by neinlives.  This one is just high-quality good fun.  It’s set in a postwar world where the characters get to be happy, which I always love.

Elfangor’s Folly by KimHoppy.  Probably my favorite long read in the Animorphs fandom, this is a full-series retelling of Elfangor sticking around to train the Animorphs that makes excellent use of subtly biased narration.

Please other people add your own!  I feel bad that I’ve racked up so many dead links as things have been taken down, and this is a super-informal list off the top of my head that’s probably missing a lot of good ones.  Self-promotion is 100% encouraged.