#or couldn't afford new clothes/made your own costumes

[virginstoner666]

sometimes i get triggered seeing the youths today with their crisp-white tights, delicate pink mesh wrap shirts, perfectly gelled back ballet buns and all the "pristine posh-ness" that is modern balletcore.

but i think it's bc that's how i desperately WISHED i looked in ballet class, unlike how i actually dressed (sweaty, usually second-hand leotards, fleshy-pink tights with hairspray-mended runs, ill fitting hand-me-down leggings that were a few sizes too big.)

i literally had a hetalia graphic sweatshirt, black butler sweatpants and american horror story graphic tanks as part of my regular warm ups- and im not gonna lie i get a little jealous seeing all these fashion girlies posting in their cute knitwear, knowing my ballet experience was so much less refined.

[psiionic-hiatus]

==> Get the worst news of your sorry life.

You were assigned a permanent role as the empresses head flagship, for two reasons. One as a punishment for your time in the rebellion, one downplayed in court to be simple riots, one that was spoken about as if that was not your family that was killed less than a couple sweeps ago. And another reason being: You're just that good. Despite everything, despite your total loss of will to live, despite your migraines, despite your neurological issues, you are somehow statistically the most powerful Psionic of your generation. How, exactly, they were able to find that out, you're still not sure. Maybe they were monitoring you, you've been in training since you could walk or talk, maybe they've kept that on file.

You didn't know how to react, they had dressed you up in a stupid ornate costume before your sentencing, something with lots of jewels and tassels, and when you returned to your respite block, you felt like a jolly fat shit in fancy clothing. Like a barkbeast that belonged to the government, getting dressed up in fancy clothes just to be made to eat its own shit and do tricks afterwards. You had a day to get packed, and then it was off to the big ladies castle.

There was never any choice for you to make really, you couldn't say no to them, even if you wanted to. You had no reason not to anymore, there wasn't anything left for you, you gave everything up for your family and when they were culled it left you even more empty than before you met them. But even if you WANTED to say no, you were a wanted convict to the Alternian Empire.

You only hope that she'll be less demanding than your last boss. Maybe she'll be open to the idea of letting you be free roam- you've seen a couple different rigs in your life time that allows for movement in the psions, what a fucking dream. And if anyone were to be able to afford the tech, it'd be her.

Tonight's your last night before the change. You're essentially free for the rest of the night, and presumably most of tomorrow. You feel embarrassed for how excited you are to have a night off, to play whatever game you wanted, alone, and to cry however much you wanted, alone. But it's all shrouded by a large cloud of doom that followed your every thought.

There was no getting out of this.

[elfwreck]

Today [2013], the average American household spends less than 3.5 percent of its budget on clothing and shoes - under $1,800. Yet, we buy more clothing than ever before: nearly 20 billion garments a year, close to 70 pieces of clothing per person, or more than one clothing purchase per week. ...the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, effectively wiped out most import restrictions and duties on foreign-made clothing ... American textile manufactures couldn't compete: between 1990 and 2011, about 750,000 apparel manufacturing jobs in the U.S. disappeared...

By the way, it's basically impossible to track down how common "make your own clothing" was in the 50s through today. The google results are cluttered with fashion articles and, when you try to use more specific keywords, "history of paper clothing patterns" articles. Sigh.

...Nobody has good statistics on how many families made their own clothes throughout the 20th century and when that tapered off. I just know that: When I was a kid, my mom made a lot of our clothes; I learned how to sew.

I never made daily-wear clothes, but I made costuming, renfaire & other. I know how to follow a pattern but quickly discovered that it's not cheaper than buying clothes off the rack, for "normal" clothes.

And by the time I could afford not-the-cheapest clothes and would like to make a nice blazer for work, or pants in a style that's not currently trendy, I was large enough that a lot of the easily available patterns won't work for me. Also: They take time. Real time, even if you're good at sewing. I can pay $50-$80 for a dress from eShakti or I can pay... $30+ for fabric, ~$10 for zippers, buttons, etc, and 3-8 hours making a dress in my choice of color/style. ...Or I can visit eShakti once a week and see if the new offerings are in my range of preferences.

I *knew* that companies have been trying to shift blame for damage to the environment onto regular people's buying habits, but it has still somehow been a shock to research a topic and find the internet totally dominated by the narrative that "consumerism" and the desire to buy more stuff is entirely responsible for pollution and landfill waste, instead of factors such as planned obsolescence.

It's insidious—this widespread idea that average people are too greedy, and that's what fuels climate change and pollution. Not greedy companies.

"Consumers shop for clothes to stay on-trend and throw away perfectly good old clothes." "Consumers only wear clothes a few times before throwing them away." "A huge amount of landfill waste comes from clothing that consumers throw out." "Consumers replace their wardrobes arbitrarily to stay on-trend." "Consumer demand for 'fast fashion' is rising spite of the environmental impacts."

Statements like this make it sound like regular people want to buy and waste vast amounts of resources, and normal people's unchecked addiction to shopping is causing environmental devastation. It's horribly misleading when products are being deliberately designed to break or wear out within one or two years and to be impossible to repair.

Instead of "Americans are buying way more clothes than they did 20 years ago, causing lots of landfill waste!"

Where are the articles entitled "Clothing brands are selling poorly-made clothes that have to be replaced much more often than 20 years ago, causing lots of landfill waste!"

[write4tomorrow]

Master and Slave (Pt. 3)

Word Count: 2349

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader

Genre: Adventure / Angst / Fluff

Summary: About a year after The Rise of Skywalker, the Knights of Ren have once more gathered against the Rebellion. You were once an apprentice to Kylo Ren but after the events on Exegol, you were forced into hiding. With some of the remaining Knights of Ren, you work to rebuild what Kylo Ren was fighting to build. Yet, what happens when you are taken by the Rebellion and interrogated by the Best Pilot in the Galaxy turned General? 

Tag List: @fanboyswhereare-you @pandacookieowo @pinkisokay

Chapter 1 Chapter 2    Chapter 4

The few days after your arrival at the Rebel base were smoother than you had imagined. You were never left alone but you were given a small bedroom and some basic clothing. There was a guard outside of your room almost every moment of the day. Usually, it was a familiar face. You often found Finn or Poe waiting to escort you wherever you needed to go. 

“Finn told me a secret,” Poe said on one of your walks together. There was something about him today that made you a little uneasy. He had something he wanted to tell you, but you couldn’t tell what. You thought about using the force to see what his thoughts were, but you stopped yourself from being invasive. He had become friendly during your days together. You liked this new friendship with Poe, but you could tell he was keeping you at an arm’s distance. Still, you couldn’t help but smile when you were around Poe. 

“Oh?” you pretended to think about what it could be. “Did Finn tell you that I eat children for breakfast and I’m secretly starving here?” 

“Nope,” Poe smiled, enjoying this game between you.

“He must have told you about how I sleep then,” you pressed your hands into your pockets and gave Poe a sideways glance, “upside down, hanging from the ceiling by my claws.” 

“That’s not even a secret,” Poe laughed and you loved how the sound filled the hallway with something hopeful. It was nearly infectious.

“Oh I know,” you crossed your arms over your chest, “he told you that if I couldn’t find any children to eat, I would happily settle for grown men. I hear generals taste magnificent. Maybe a little tough, though.” Poe was laughing as you continued your charade. 

“You’re looking for a general? I mean, y/n, all you had to do was say something. Let me tell you, I taste great,” Poe stopped and gave you a wink that made you blush from toes to your cheeks, “Finn told me that you’ve never been trained for combat.” 

“Give me my lightsabers and I’ll show you how untrained I am, Mr. Dameron.” You gave him a small smile but you knew he wouldn’t give your sabers back. After the first interrogation, Poe explained that you were not allowed near any weapons - including your sabers. 

“I’m sure you’re well equipped to handle any sword play,” again, Poe gave you a knowing look that made you roll your eyes, “but I meant hand to hand combat. That day on Geonosis when we found you-”

“Kidnapped,” you corrected. Poe rolled his own eyes.

“You had almost no defensive skills,” Poe continued, “without your sabers, you were pretty pathetic.” You scoffed at the insult. A small storm of rage bubbled up within you but you held your tongue. Instead, you noticed that Poe had stopped outside of a room you didn’t recognize. 

“C’mon,” Poe led the way in, “If we’re going to be under cover together, I need to know you can defend yourself.” You walked in behind Poe, shocked by the large open space. There were mats along the ground and a wall of practice weapons and gear to the side. You almost didn’t notice what Poe had said. 

“You’re going undercover?” You stopped in your tracks. Poe turned back to you, no sign of a joke anywhere on his face. You could sense he was nervous. 

“We’re going undercover,” Poe watched you for a reaction before continuing, “We think we found a contact that knows where your friends are hiding. We have a meeting on Coruscant in three days. In the meantime, you should learn some defensive maneuvers just in case.” 

The next few days were brutal. You enjoyed fighting, sure. It gave you an outlet to expel some of your frustration but Poe was so much better than you were. Again and again, Poe would pin you against the ground. 

“You’re not trying,” Poe told you on the third day. You could tell he was becoming frustrated too. Your own frustration wanted to spill over into rage every time Poe bested you. You knew you should use the aggressive tactics that Kylo Ren had taught you. You needed to weaponize your anger and frustration. 

No, you told yourself, Not here, not to Poe.

“What are you holding back?” Poe pulled you to your feet only to shove your shoulders. It wasn’t hard, but the force of his blow was enough to make you stagger back. 

“You can take him, y/n!” Finn shouted from the edge of the mats. Over the past few days, Finn and Calrissian had begun to coach and watch your training sessions with Poe. It only made you more frustrated because it meant that there was an audience to watch you fail. 

“Poe,” you began but he was not going to let you talk your way out of this. 

“You’re not even trying!” Poe shoved you again and aggressively began walking towards you. “Do you think this is a joke? I’m putting my neck on the line. I’m putting your neck on the line and I don’t know if I can save both of us. I don’t need a burden, I need a partner! I need to know you can take care of yourself but you aren’t! You won’t defend yourself and you won’t last two seconds on this mission. You’re holding back!” Poe was practically yelling at you now. He pushed you to the ground, this time hard enough for you to fall back. Your head hit the mats and you heard laughter from someone else in the training room. Something inside of you snapped and came alive. 

From the ground, you swept Poe’s feet out from under him. He landed on the mats next to you. You got to your knees and aimed a punch for his gut but he rolled away. Your fist hit the mat hard enough to make you yell. You could feel your anger consuming you and you let it. 

Without waiting for Poe to get to his feet, you scrambled to catch his foot. Using the force, You dragged him back to you and dropped your elbow between his shoulder blades. 

“Is this what you want?” You rose to your feet, and watched as Poe pushed himself to his hands and knees. You kicked his abdomen and tried to do it again, but Poe caught your foot and twisted your ankle. You collapsed to the ground, but recovered before Poe could land another blow. He was on his feet now, looking down at you. You used the force to lift him a foot off the ground. Suddenly, you dropped him hard enough to make him stagger back. 

“How does it feel,” you dodged his kick and delivered a crushing blow to his knee. He knelt in pain. You stood and grabbed a fistful of his hair. You threw him back against the mats.

“You think I am small and useless and will burden you?” You wiped sweat from your eyes and were surprised to see how much came away. Were you crying? 

“You think I don’t know how to use my strengths. You think I don’t know my own weakness?” You kicked Poe as he looked up at you. He was bleeding from his nose and lip. Something inside of you made you realize he wasn’t fighting back anymore but you didn’t care. 

“I can take care of myself!” Your voice echoed throughout the room. You were yelling through tears and choking on your own words. Something in you felt relieved. This anger inside of you was always there. Always ready to come out. The good general might as well see it now. You go to deliver another punch but a voice stops you. 

“y/n!” Finn called to you across the mats. He and Calrissian stood still as statues. Everyone else in the training area had stopped to watch you. You looked back at Finn, not sure what to say. Before you can get anything out, something tackles you from behind. 

You realized Poe is holding you. He’s not holding you down or pinning your arms, he’s just… holding you against him. You try to fight him a little more, your anger still in control. He only wraps his arms around you even tighter. As he begins to rock from side to side, you cry in earnest. 

“I’ve got you.” Poe rested his head against yours and hugged you until you stopped crying. 

You didn’t speak the rest of the day. Instead, you allowed Poe to lead you back to your rooms and then to the briefing in silence. He didn’t try to talk to you and you were grateful for the silence. You wanted to see what his thoughts were about you, though. You wanted to know if you had hurt him, really hurt him, earlier. 

Instead, you took notes on the undercover mission quietly. You and Poe were going to be negotiating trade routes with people mildly associated with the Knights of Ren. Poe would do most of the talking while you would use your mind tricks to see what they knew. Poe would be your master and you would be his slave.

The outfit given to you was humiliating. It was incredibly tight and revealing, leaving your legs and most of your arms bare. You wanted to protest, but you kept quiet. You wouldn’t have to wear the costume until you were on the ship to Coruscant. 

Still, that moment arrived too quickly. After Poe said goodbye to Connix, Calrissian and Finn, the two of you boarded a small vessel that Poe would captain. Finn gave you a small hug and wished you luck before you stepped onto the ship. You were thankful for his kindness. Yet, after an hour aboard the ship with Poe, you decided you might as well get this over with. You’d be landing soon and you couldn't’ afford to wait any longer. You stepped away from the co-pilot’s seat and changed into your slave outfit. 

When you came back into the cockpit with Poe, you avoided his eye and took a seat next to him. You could feel his eyes on you, on your clothes and skin. There were bruises along your arms and legs from training with him. You wondered if he had similar ones. 

“Are you cold?” Poe asked, eyeing the thin fabric around your chest. You crossed your arms.

“Enjoy this while you can, Mr. Dameron,” You crossed your legs and turned in your seat so he could see your ridiculous outfit in its entirety. He was already wearing his slaver’s clothes and you hated how well he looked in them. He wore your sabers at the hilt of his belt. If things became hectic, you’d be allowed to fight with your sabers. You weren’t sure why Poe trusted you with them, or even why he trusted you to come on this mission. Still, being close to your sabers brought some comfort. You knew you couldn’t have them on your own hips. No slave girl would be allowed to carry lightsabers. 

Poe reached under his seat and pulled out a dark, heavy fabric. With one last glance at you, he tossed the bundle into your lap. 

“I hate it when you call me ‘Mr. Dameron’, you know. I definitely prefer Poe. I also thought you may want something a little warmer than that… ,” Poe motioned towards your outfit. You nodded and he watched as you wrapped the cloak around yourself. You looked back at Poe, unsure of what to say. 

“It’s okay to be angry,” Poe spoke softly. It looked like he wanted to say more, but nothing came. You wrapped the cloak around yourself just a little tighter. Poe didn’t speak as he landed the ship in a small landing garage. You were close to the lower realms of Coruscant where the criminals usually met. You had been there before, but never without one of the Knights of Ren. 

Poe stuck out his arm and led you out of the ship. The hangar had low ceilings and was incredibly dark. There were a few speeders and a couple of larger ships like the one you arrived in. However, there was more empty space in the hangar than you expected.

“Where are we meeting them?” You asked. You didn’t know the names of the people you were meeting, but Poe gave you a reassuring look.

“They’re meeting us in the hangar. They know we’re here.” Poe nodded towards a couple of men walking towards you. Your blood froze in your veins. Poe must have felt you suddenly tense up. He stopped walking and looked at you. 

“Give me my lightsabers,” Your eyes never left the men walking towards you. 

“Do you know them?” Poe began trying to unhook the sabers from his belt but he was distracted. You could sense the adrenaline spike within him. It was too late though. The men walking towards you began running, their pistols leveled at you and Poe. 

Before you could speak, a blast hit Poe. He crumpled into your arms and you staggered under his weight. You prayed that it was only set to stun, but you needed your sabers. You laid Poe’s body down on the cold hangar floor and knelt next to him. You tried to get your weapons, but you were too late. 

This was a trap. 

“I haven’t seen you in a while, Princess.” The voice was one you recognized. You turned to see two of the old Knights of Ren: Cardo and Ushar. The last time you saw their faces was when they decided to leave Vicrul on Geonosis. Cardo hauled you to your feet, one hand wrapped around your upper arm. His sneer was vicious, almost as sharp as Vicrul’s. 

“Don’t worry,” Cardo whispered in your ear, “we promised the boss man we wouldn’t hurt you.” 

The last thing you heard was the sound of a gun behind you as you lost consciousness in Cardo’s arms.

Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry, that’s a lot for one chapter, but the next couple of chapters will definitely be pretty fast paced. Thank you for reading and let me know what you think! :)

[ducklingdraws]

My Idea for a Scooby-Doo! Reboot

So a while back, after noticing that Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated was on Spectrum On Demand, I decided, "Hey, I'm gonna rewatch this show." I don't know why I did it, because I rarely ever rewatch shows. I'll watch reruns, but never have I actually decided to rewatch a television series. But, I did it for Scooby-Doo.

And frankly, I had forgotten how good the show was. It's honestly really dark, while also being absolutely hilarious; and in its humor, the show actually does really unique things with the Scooby-Doo gang, with the biggest example being this show's version of Fred Jones. It's wild. But in my opinion, the thing that really makes this show what it is...

...is its story. I feel like the story and characters are fuel for this show in a way that feels different from other shows, somehow. I don't really get it, but that's the way I see it.

So, seeing as there's all these serialized cartoon series nowadays, and Scooby-Doo is always getting rebooted in one way or another, I figured... what if I rebooted Scooby? If I had the opportunity to reboot Scooby-Doo and the only Warner Bros requirement was "just make it," what would I do with it?

Without further ado, this is To the Future, Scooby-Doo!

First up: The Premise

To kick things off, I'll discuss how the show is set up. This version of Scooby-Doo is set in the future. Technology has become more holographic and stuff like in the movies, but fashion hasn't evolved to be nothing but latex bodysuits yet. Flying cars are real but not very widely used, and clothes can tell the time.

On the biological side of things, prosthetics are holographic as well, and incredibly easy to attach. It's almost like having your original limb. Food is healthier while also being more environmentally friendly, and animals have been genetically modified for a very long time. They have been allowed to mate, which has eventually lead to many domesticated animals being able to speak!

The main setting is a large port town known as Port Intrigue, where all sorts of goods are traded, and many people lead peaceful lives. It's a nice place, and a lot of the economy is structured around it. There are other important trade cities like it, but Port Intrigue may be the most powerful.

It's also probably the weirdest, because in true Scooby-Doo fashion, no one can just "be a criminal." Heck no! Where's the fun in that?? If you're gonna try and get money through illegal fear tactics, you've gotta do it in style!!

And for some reason or another, the police get a little help with solving a lot of the more, uh... colorful mysteries. Help from a group of kids attending Intrigue High...

Next up: The Scooby Gang!

So here's the big part! All of my redesigns of the classic gang! Let's kick it off with:

FRED JONES

So this version of Fred is definitely toned back from various recent versions of Scooby-Doo, particularly the DVD movies and Mystery Incorporated. He's a lot more laid back, and has a sort of "cool guy" persona.

One day a long time ago, his parents, 2 great scientists, didn't pick him up from school, and apparently they mysteriously disappeared. So since then he's been living with Shaggy. At Intrigue High, he is in the theater program as a Tech, so he's good with pulleys and ropes and other various behind-the-scenes theater things, which makes him really good at making weird Rube Goldbergs - and traps, whenever the need arises. But when would Fred ever need to build a trap?

NORVILLE "SHAGGY" ROGERS

...Y'all can excuse the scribbles in the lower corner, right?

Anyway, this version of Shaggy is just as uptight as he always is, but instead of that only being attributed to mystery solving and creepy ghoulies, it's evolved into some much, much greater!!!

He's the mom friend now.

Y'know, telling everyone to watch their eating habits and be careful of opening soda cans because so help me if you scratch yourself...!

Long time ago he lost his arm so now he has one of those cool prosthetics. The trauma of losing it though has made him extra cautious, and a bit of a scaredy cat. Of course, he's willing to do whatever it takes for his friends, just like the Shaggy we all know!

He still likes to eat and is a bit of an amateur chef, participating in the culinary club at Intrigue High.

VELMA DINKLEY

This is my rendition of Velma Dinkley. She's still the smartest one of the group, and good at technology, but is also a boxer! She's not just strong, but also strong willed!

The Dinkley's have a long, long history of scientific endeavors, and Velma's father is a great scientist as well! Though really, it's more of a hobby for him.

Velma lives with her younger sister Madelyn (who some of you might remember from Abracadabra-Doo) and her father, Victor.

This Velma is snarky, yet quirky. She's got a real go-getter mentality, which everyone can't help but to respect.

DAPHNE BLAKE

Daphne Blake is a bit of a softie. She was never very forward with making friends, but developed a clique of her own with Fred, Shaggy, Scooby and Velma.

Her house used to be the gang's main hang out spot, but after the kids moved on to high school, they haven't been over to her house at all.

Daphne likes to draw, and really wants to be a fashion designer. In fact, she's a part of Intrigue High's costume design team for the theater program!

SCOOBY-DOO

Scooby-Doo has been part of the Rogers family ever since he was a puppy, and Shaggy was a little kid. The two have been basically inseparable their whole lives, with Scooby even attending school with everyone else.

He likes belly rubs, scratches behind the ear, and food. So in other words, he's the same Scooby we all know and love! Still fearful, but dedicated to his friends, including...

MEASLES

Shaggy and Scooby may have been buds since they were little kids, but before Shaggy, Scooby had Measles.

Since they're both GMO animals, they both have the ability to speak human language, which they would use to try and get food. Eventually, Measles was able to get Scooby into a good home with the Rogers family. Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs Rogers couldn't afford to take care of Shaggy, Fred, a dog, and a cat, but Measles promised to visit Scooby whenever she could, or that they'd at least see each other around. And she's kept that promise! Even to this day, the gang will sometimes find her in random locations, like... the Theater Program's costume box?

Measles has a lackadaisical, yet somewhat snarky personality, but definitely cares for her friends. It just may take a while to show it.

Last up: Everything Else

Uh, hm. I guess this is the generalization of the show.

Well, it's a giant celebration of Scooby-Doo. The gang wears different outfits, rarely wearing the same one in consecutive episodes. And each outfit would be pulled from a previous Scooby series (yes, including *shivers*... Get a Clue).

Also, other characters from previous series and Scooby media are not only in the show, but play decently sized rolls. For example, I already mentioned Madelyn Dinkley, but there's also Red Herring from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, or Mayor Nettles and Sherriff Bronson Stone from Mystery Incorporated (they're married from the start this time!). Even the dreaded Scrappy Doo makes his return at (what I imagine to be) the start of Season 2, hopefully to redeem himself and not be relegated to a tired joke about "lol Scrappee sux XD"

Flim-Flam is back too, but is rebranded as Frida McScam, the fast talking troublemaking free spirited girl who takes everybody's crap and spins it in her favor (and also might be psychic).

Scooby's family tree is mentioned, and his parents even have a major role in Season 1.

Just a whole lot of Scooby-Doo trivia and stuff. Stuff that I imagine the people working on the show would be way, way better at remembering and putting to use than I am!

As for the overarching plot?

Well, what futuristic setting would be complete without aliens? I imagine the aliens would be a race of owl creatures known as the Willawaw (another Scooby reference because I hope this show is FULL OF THEM). Basically, these aliens are the bad guys, both in the show proper, and in a lot of the show's backstory. They're like myth villains, or greater scope villains, or something.

I was even thinking like, when the gang ends up running, rather than using a recyclable run cycle from a side view, everyone could have brand new running animations, like to distinguish them all as unique. Although I guess that's what the running cycles were... but the chase scenes are a lot like Mystery Inc, where they were a lot more action packed. It could be great! And of course, everyone would use the classic running style at some point throughout the show, because that seems to be tradition for Scooby-Doo.

This was a really big post! But if you read all of it, thanks a million! I hope you liked the small amount of art within, or just the idea in general! Maybe I'll even draw my reimagined takes on the other characters some day. But for now, I'll leave at this.

[flameraven]

This is interesting! I didn't realize morphing was such a new tech for the Andalites, and I do remember as a kid being like "man, the Andalites sure invented the perfect spy technology but sure don't use it." I don't agree that fear of morphing is about based in losing their minds by becoming prey animals specifically-- the Andalites are already prey animals. They're very much positioned as like, space antelope before the Ellimist comes along and juices up their intelligence. Herd animals who've evolved to have even better 360 degree threat-detection than Earth equivalents. I think the fear is more about losing yourself, specifically your Andalite shape. I think even if the technology were better understood, the Andalites have a huge cultural/social barrier that would make them reluctant to use it more. Andalites are VERY invested in their identity as Andalites -- their physical form, and especially the tail blade, clearly holds massive cultural, personal, and emotional importance. They're very invested in being warriors, and being a warrior means fighting with your tail blade. (I think this is a big part of why Ax is usually in battle as himself-- he is trying so hard to live up to Elfangor's legacy as the Perfect Andalite Warrior.) We see how extremely shitty and ableist Ax is to the two disabled Andalites who show up at the end-- neither of them can fight, so they are reduced in status as "non-warriors," and crucially, one has lost their tail (or tail blade?), which really seems to make him pretty close to a non-person culturally. There's also obviously a HUGE discomfort with Alloran and the fact that an Andalite was made into a Controller. I think we see a number of times that Andalites believe suicide to be preferable, that they would rather die than have their body captured, despite that it seems their population is low enough that they really can't afford to lose warriors that way. Given that cultural mindset, I suspect the idea of voluntarily transforming yourself into another creature and losing that tail blade would be a really difficult thing to get people to do. Possibly morphing is so poorly understood because they can't get enough test subjects to actually use it reliably and really test it out. I don't remember much of what we're given about the Andalite history, but it seems plausible that this is a kind of weird, niche tech that was developed and then rushed into military use because they needed any possible advantage. (this calls into question the whole existence of the artistic form of morphing, but whatever) On the flip side-- humans fucking LOVE the idea of turning ourselves into other creatures, or adding animal bits onto a human form. We have thousands of years of stories of shapeshifters and animal-people and magical creatures that are a blend of the two. Humans are also very eager to play with ideas of gender presentation, fashion, and costume. Clothing itself started out as taking animal skins and using them for warmth and protection that our own form couldn't provide. That extended into using teeth, bones, and sinew to make weapons and tools to allow humans to do more than we could naturally. So of COURSE humans are fucking amazing at morphing. The idea is already firmly lodged in our consciousness and collective culture, this tech is just making it possible. You would probably have too many people signing up to try it out, in a post-war world. Honestly, the Andalites are probably right to be a little freaked out that humans got hold of this tech, because I bet the humans are likely to take it and run, and discover a whole lot of stuff the Andalites had no idea was possible.

Why didn't anyone in the series ask why the yeerks didn't ask Seerow for morph tech in order to escape their parasitic life?

Two things!

Thing 1: There are not only laws but taboos against sharing andalite tech. Ax loves his friends, but he still struggles with telling them about andalite tech when doing so would save their lives. He's less worried about breaking laws than he is about betraying his entire species, and he's genuinely scared that telling humans about andalite tech will lead to a second Yeerk Empire. Presumably most andalites feel the same, judging by their appalled reactions any time one discovers human morphers.

Thing 2: As of andalite-yeerk contact, morphing technology is new, poorly understood, and widely feared. We know that ~30 years later, Elfangor and Arbron still don't understand morphing and have only morphed once apiece — they're terrified when Alloran tells them to morph, and regard Alloran's willingness to morph as an outlier. So way back when Alloran was an aristh under Seerow, we can assume that morphing tech was even more rare and widely feared.

Personally, I headcanon that the two-hour limit wasn't discovered until years into the R&D process, and that even today "two hours" is an estimate based on past nothlitizations. So andalites discover morphing tech, they try it out... and a bunch of them get trapped forever. And they don't know why. And anyone trapped as a prey animal loses their mind in addition to losing their body. And maybe after much trial and (catastrophic) error, they discover that it's safe to stay another shape for 5 minutes. For 10 minutes. For 15. So on, until they get up to ~120 Earth minutes and people start getting trapped again. If that's the case, if 100s of beta testers are nothlits, then no wonder most andalites only morph when they have no choice. No wonder they're baffled and even awed by the Animorphs' casual comfort with morphing.