Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

WrightOfWay posted:

I think becoming a human has it's own set of problems in that you are an undocumented person with no family, friends or shelter in 1990's America. Definitely not insurmountable problems, but enough to influence your decision such that you might see becoming a whale as a better option.

Whales also far less likely, generally speaking, to one day be infested by a Yeerk and blow the whole game up.

# ? Sep 24, 2021 20:23

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# ? May 25, 2024 13:58

Crespolini: Mar 9, 2014

e X posted:

Yeah, that comes up a couple of times, where somebody voluntary becomes a Nolith to escape the constrains of their body. But it's always non sapient morphs, which becomes a little weird when you consider that it is totally possible to combine the DNA of different creatures of the same species to create a new genetic being, like Ax did with his human morph. I.e. Aftran could have taken DNA from the Animorphs and lived out the remainder of her days as a human, which to me at least would have been preferable to becoming an animals.

Well yes, but you're a human. Whale in the ocean is a downgrade for you. (Yes. Yes it is. You don't get to post and you can't watch The Sopranos) but for a blind slug swimming in a pool it's a big step up.

# ? Sep 24, 2021 20:23

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

In Animorphs world whales are sentient and telepathic so the choice between living as a human vs whale is just a choice between living with one of two different alien species. Not as a big a deal as turning into a regular animal and not having any companionship.

# ? Sep 24, 2021 21:34

ANOTHER SCORCHER: Aug 12, 2018

freebooter posted:

This is a really, really good book and I think easily the best Cassie book.

I remembered how this ended and thought having her nothlit as a whale (it makes sense that she can't live in Cassie) was a convenient way for Applegate to sort of just maintain that Harry Potter esque continuation of a status quo. Which is fine, it's just that in-universe it would make more sense for her to nothlit into a bird of prey so she could join the team (and help the Yeerk peace movement!) as an auxiliary aerial unit like Tobias was before book 13. But this...

...suggests that might not have played out as well with the others, who trust her less than Cassie, and wanted her gone. Happy and safe, but still gone. So that works for me.

Having said that, another thing I found frustrating about the series story arc overall but which maybe I'll reconsider when we get to it again, is that this book is the answer to the fundamental problem which also gets heavily stressed in this book: Yeerks are blind to the world and can only experience it by enslaving others. The morphing power cuts that Gordian knot. They could free the Yeerks by letting them become nothlits. But I guess by the end of it the war has gone on too long and there's too much blood under the bridge and there's just no way the Andalites will countenance that, even though it's such a perfect solution to the original problem.

edit - and also I guess there's no way the militant Yeerks, who have been running the show from the start, would accept that either

The series does kind of deal with this though, Cassie tells the group that was part of her reason for giving the blue box to Tom when she does. And later there�s a morph-capable Yeerk who just abandons the fight and suggests he�s deserting. Ultimately though the Andalites and Animorphs win the war on Earth and at the very least all the Yeerks there deserve some punishment for the whole enslavement thing.

# ? Sep 24, 2021 22:02

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Megamorphs 3-Elfangor's Secret
Chapter 1
Prologue

quote:

Aristh Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul was done with war. Sick to death of it.

He had caused the Yeerk infestation of his own prince and created the abomination now called Visser Three. He had been unable to save his friend and fellow aristh Arbron, now trapped forever in the body of a Taxxon.

Disaster piled on disaster. Failure on failure.

Now he was done with it all. He had escaped to the planet called Earth along with Loren, the human he loved. He would morph to human. Live as a human. Get lost amid the humans. Maybe even somehow, someway, find happiness.

But he still had possession of the greatest weapon the galaxy had ever known: the Time Matrix.

The Time Matrix could travel backward through time the way a Z-space craft could travel through space. It gave the person who controlled it power beyond imagining. A person traveling backward could rewrite history.

Using the Time Matrix, entire species could be exterminated. More than exterminated. They could be made never to have existed.

It was too much power to trust to anyone. Especially, Elfangor thought bitterly, a failure like him.

The Time Matrix was a sphere, taller than a human. Destroying it was physically impossible. But it could be hidden. For a while, at least.

He found an empty place. Nothing but trees. Using only the equipment available to any human, he dug a hole and rolled the device into it. He covered it.

And then, he morphed to human.

Two hours later, he was no longer an Andalite. He was trapped. Human. Human forever, no longer a part of the vast war raging between Andalite and Yeerk. He was free.

Or so he thought.

Many years later, he returned to the same spot. Desperate enough to try to use the Time Matrix. The spot had become a construction site. This time, there would be no escape.

His time ran out. Just a few yards from the machine that could have given him all the time in the world.

So that's a good summary of the Andalite Chronicles there.

Chapter 1
Tobias

quote:

My name is Tobias.

In the history of Earth I may be the strangest creature ever to live. I mean it. You have to look at mythology to find anything as weird as I am. Maybe the griffin, which was supposed to be half lion and half eagle, or the centaur, half human and half horse, or whatever.

But those are myths. I am reality.

I am half human, half hawk. Red-tailed hawk, actually. Buteo jamaicensis, like that tells you much. Homo sapiens, meet Buteo jamaicensis.

But that�s not even the end of the story. Because in addition to that bizarreness, there�s this: My father was an Andalite who had morphed to human.

So you could say I�m Homo sapiens, Buteo jamaicensis, and Andalite. What would the Latin name be for Andalites? Don�t know.

Is the glass half empty or half full? That�s what they always ask, to see if you�re an optimist or a pessimist. Am I some kind of hideous freak of nature, a twisted concoction of mismatched parts? Or am I something new and wonderful?

Depends on the day. Depends on whether I�m with Melissa, wanting to make her happy, wanting her to hold my hand, wanting to be able to take her to a movie and a burger afterward like any other guy can do with a date, maybe even hold her hand, maybe kiss her, maybe � Yeah, at times like that, the glass is half empty.

But there are other times. Times when the sun is high and hot. When the cumulus clouds are like gigantic mountains floating through a blue sky. Times when the warm air billows up beneath my wings and I barely have to flap and all of a sudden I�m so high, so totally, absolutely free, free in a way I never was as a human, free to soar and soar, alone, nothing but the sound of the wind ruffling across my feathers � and on those days the glass is spilling over.

This was a full-glass day.

I was high in the air, I don�t know, maybe a thousand feet up, the beach just ahead of me, a sweet thermal lifting me up. I could see the ocean, I could see the beach and all the people spread out there.

On a day like this, it was hard to be a pessimist. Yeah, Earth was being invaded by the Yeerks.

Yeah, all that stood against them were five kids and one Andalite with the useful power to absorb the essence - what Ax calls �DNA� - of animals and then morph into them.

And yes, we were probably even losing the last war that humanity might ever fight as a free species. But on a stunning day like this, what I saw spread out below me was not possible Controllers, but people having a nice day at the beach, loving the sun, loving the warmth, taking it easy.

Even the slaves, standing by to attend to their masters and mistresses, seemed to be having a good time.

See if you can spot some hints that something is different here. That's right! Tobias mentions thermals, while in the other books, he almost never talks about them.

Epicurius fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Sep 25, 2021

# ? Sep 25, 2021 05:17

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

I vaguely remember this one. There's actually a couple more that I own from that period besides this one and Visser, so I guess I was just getting really spotty with keeping up with them.

The main thing I remember from it is a solution to a milhist problem that felt a little too secondary-school history pedagogical to me, even then. Though reading ahead a bit, this one has a fun gimmick. Beyond the obvious topic of the story, I mean.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 07:27

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

This is the best Megamorphs book IMO. It's also probably the book that most turns up the insanity dial to 11. Just good, crazy fun. If you thought running from dinosaurs was insane then just wait until Tobias cuts Hitler's throat.

It'd be great if this started almost exactly like the first David book, with Marco suddenly freaking out when a new kid at school shows up rolling around the gigantic metre-wide sphere of the Time Matrix that he just randomly found at a construction site and thought was cool.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 11:10

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

freebooter posted:

This is the best Megamorphs book IMO. It's also probably the book that most turns up the insanity dial to 11.

Yup. I love this book; I also think it's the best Megamorphs book and one of the best books in the series. It is also thoroughly and absurdly bonkers.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 11:18

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

They do a LOT of weird poo poo in their career as shapeshifting guerilla resistance fighters but I don't think any of it matches up to what goes down in this book. Except maybe discovering a weird dying undersea human offshoot civilisation just off the coast of California. But that book is just dumb whereas this one is great because as insane as it gets, this book's story still makes perfect sense within the established canon.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 14:58

Fritzler: Sep 5, 2007

I remember liking this book a lot. I think I continued to read the chronicles when I was done with the mainstream series. A couple things from this book in particular I just really remember going into it, in a way I don�t remember for other books.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 18:47

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Haven't read this one, but guessing "Melissa" is Melissa Chapman? I vaguely recall her being friends with Rachel back before all this went down, so it's conceivable that some alternate history where different people happened to be hanging out at the mall together that night would involve her.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 22:03

dungeon cousin: Nov 26, 2012; woop woop
loop loop

Since they've both been exiled to sea I wonder if Aftran ever came across David's haunting cries.

# ? Sep 25, 2021 22:49

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

dungeon cousin posted:

Since they've both been exiled to sea I wonder if Aftran ever came across David's haunting cries.

"Lol eat poo poo. I'm off to Alaska, later"

# ? Sep 26, 2021 00:23

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 2
Jake

quote:

Tobias came swooping in through the open hayloft.

<It�s clear,> he reported.

I gave him a slight nod of the head. But I didn�t acknowledge his presence beyond that. Cassie�s slave girl was still in the room, cleaning out the cage of an injured and very vocal goose. And as Cassie is always reminding us, the fact that a slave may not be as bright as a regular person does not mean they can�t tell tales.

This particular slave was mostly deaf, which of course partly accounted for her status. But Cassie claimed the girl was otherwise reasonably smart.

Cassie grabbed the girl�s arm to get her attention, then, enunciating very clearly, said, �You can go now, September Twelve.�

�Yes, mistress,� the girl mumbled in her guttural, barely understandable speech. It came out �Yeth, mithreth.� She turned and left the room.

Melissa looked up at Tobias and winked. �Been out flying?�

<You know it. The way the weather has been lately? I wouldn�t miss a day like this.>

Ax arrived a moment later. Marco was with him.

�So, what�s up?� Marco demanded. �What�s this meeting about? Don�t you realize I have important stuff going on? I lead a busy, busy life.�

�Really?� Melissa asked naively. Melissa has never really gotten Marco�s sense of humor.

<Marco, are you hanging out with your imaginary friends again?> Tobias asked.

�Excuse me, but I no longer need friends, real or imagined. I was playing Pong. My dad bought one for us. It�s so cool. Even my mom was into it, which, in a way is sad, because seriously, who wants to be doing stuff with their mom?�

<Be nice to your mom,> Tobias said. <She�ll probably end up being your prom date someday.>

Everyone laughed. Except Ax, of course, who had no idea what a prom was. Or why it would be funny to have your mom as a date. He�s not one of us. So what can you expect?

�We have information from the Chee,� I said.

That made Marco groan. �Swell. Trouble. It always is. You know, Erek never contacts us to say, �Hey let�s have fun!� It�s always �Hey, how would you all like to go and get yourselves killed?��

�What does Erek have?� Melissa asked.

�He has information that the Yeerks are putting together a new front organization. This one, unlike The Sharing, is aimed at a very specific target.�

<What target?> Ax asked.

�Our troops,� I said. �Especially troops being sent to the war in Brazil.�

Cassie made a skeptical face. �Why would the Yeerks want to make Controllers of troops heading toward the jungle? What do they care whether we wipe out a bunch of Primitives?�

�It�s not the war they care about,� I said. �It�s that things are tough for our boys down there, and I guess harsh conditions like that make it easy to get recruits. I mean, you�re in the jungle, right? You figure �How much worse could life get?� But most of the troops survive the war, they come back home, and the Empire rewards them with homesteads, slaves, cars, and so on. Lots of times they get jobs in government or else stay in the army. Suddenly the Yeerks have another one of their own in a position of power.�

�What are we supposed to do about it?� Melissa asked. �That�s thousands of miles away.�

I shrugged. �I don�t know. But what are we supposed to do, sit around while the Yeerks destroy the war effort? Let the jungle rats continue to take up valuable land that we need?�

�Yeah, it would be a pity if some of the Primitives escaped alive,� Cassie said.

I shot a look at her. Had that been sarcasm?

She smiled blandly.

I had long suspected that Cassie might have slightly radical tendencies. A lot of blacks did.

Blacks and a lot of Jews, although not in my family. My dad was a certified POE - Patriot of Empire. Still, if you had any Jewish blood in you at all, you had to be extra careful so no one thought you were a radical.

I knew Cassie was soft-hearted toward her own slaves. But I�d never heard her make any kind of subversive remarks about the war. I�d always just assumed she was sentimental.

Even now, it was impossible to be sure what her tone of voice meant. I�m not very good at that kind of thing. I�m a mostly straightforward kind of guy. It might have been an innocent remark. Or not.

I felt my stomach churn. We couldn�t denounce Cassie as a subversive. We knew for a fact that the Triple S was heavily infiltrated by Yeerks. Denounce her to the Triple S and we might as well just turn her over to the Yeerks, and then all was lost.

What was I supposed to do?

I intercepted Marco�s gaze. He gave a slight nod. A �told you so� nod.

The question was, where would Melissa stand if it came down to eliminating Cassie? I knew Melissa was no radical. But she was Cassie�s best friend, despite being white.

I shook my head, trying to focus. The Yeerks, They were my problem. Not radicals. If the human race survived the Yeerks we�d have all the time in the world to round up the radicals and take care of them.

In the meantime �

I gave Cassie a blank look, not acknowledging what she might have meant. �We have to try to deal with this. Personally, I don�t want a world filled with Primitives any more than I want a world filled with Yeerks.�

�Jungle rats and slugs,� Marco said with a laugh. �Now there�s a nice world for decent people to live in.�

�Wonderful! Wonderful, I love it!�

The voice was unknown. I spun around, ready to do battle.

Standing there, as though it had appeared from thin air, stood a creature who could not possibly be from Earth.

It looked at first glance like the mating of a small dinosaur and a large prune. It had two legs and balanced its body with a stubby tail.

The hands were weak, flimsy things, with too many joints.

The head didn�t fit with the birdlike body. It was humanoid in shape, with a narrow lower jaw and big, mocking eyes.

The skin was wrinkled, like a prune. The flesh was dark, almost jet-black, relieved only by green that rimmed the eyes and mouth.

�Who are you?� I snapped.

�Me? Oh, I�m hurt. Devastated! You don�t remember your old friend the Drode?�

It's everyone's old friend the Drode! Also, this is a disturbing world. and I'm trying to imagine what it must have been like reading this as a kid.

Chapter 3
Jake

quote:

�I�ve never seen you before in my life,� I said.

�Well � No. Not in this life, perhaps.�

�Yeerk,� Melissa said. �Some new host body.�

�Marco,� I said. He nodded. He began to slowly morph to grizzly bear, his favorite morph.

<Who are you?> Ax demanded. <Or should I say, what?>

The creature grinned. �You, at least, are no different, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. Still the arrogant Andalite.�

�Shut up, Ax,� I snapped. �I am Supreme Leader here. I�ll ask the questions.� Having put one pushy alien in his place, I moved back to the other. �What do you want?� I demanded. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marco changing.

The creature sighed. �Well, as much fun as it is to see you all this way, I suppose for us to move on I�ll have to return you, temporarily at least, to your usual condition: sanctimonious, self-righteous, and utterly tedious.�

There was no flash of light. No bang. Nothing changed. Except that everything changed.

I changed.

Suddenly, instantly, I was a different person.

I stared at the Drode. I knew now who he was. What he was.

Whom he served.

I shot a look at Cassie. Then at the girl standing beside her. Melissa was gone. Rachel was there.

�So glad you�re back with us, Rachel,� the Drode leered. �You know you�re still my favorite Animorph.�

�What was all that?� Marco demanded mid-morph. �Some kind of hallucination?�

�No, no, no!� the Drode said. �It is glorious reality. Big Jake, Jake the perfect leader, Jake the compassionate, nothing more than a jumped-up little dictator with delusions of grandeur who insists on being called Supreme Leader!�

�No, that was not reality,� Cassie snapped. �I do not own a slave! That�s sickening! What are you talking about?�

�And where was I?� Rachel demanded.

�I was thinking how I�d have to turn Cassie in for not approving of some war down in Brazil,� I admitted. �That�s not reality.�

�I will tell you about reality,� the Drode said eagerly. �Your country is an empire, ruled by terror and torture. It has made war on the nations to the south. It slaughters peoples it calls �Primitives.� It enslaves anyone with an IQ below eighty, as well as anyone born with what you call defects. All in all, it�s my kind of place.�

�That�s bull!� Marco said hotly.

�I assure you it is all true. The Yeerks are within months of consolidating control. The lack of freedom among humans has made their conquest ever so much easier. Your few books, your two radio stations, your single television channel are all censored. Your technology is fifty years behind where it should be. Poverty is widespread, curable diseases run rampant, some women are forced to breedto repopulate the dominant white race while at the same time, in the major cities the poor and homeless are rounded up and shot -�

�Jake, let me take care of this little worm,� Rachel said.

�What�s this all about, Drode?� I asked. I wasn�t at all sure I wouldn�t take Rachel up on her offer.

�The Time Matrix,� the Drode said.

<What?> Ax�s stalk eyes snapped around to stare. <That�s a myth! No such device ever existed.>

�Oh, it existed,� the Drode said. �It exists. It was found by a lowly human-Controller, who uses the name John Berryman. He�s an actor. Not a very successful one. A lowly Controller whose Yeerk was, until he lost the battle for Leera, none other than Visser Four. And why did he lose the battle for Leera? Why, because of all of you. Ironic, eh?�

�What does this have to do with all that other stuff?�

�The Yeerk, the former Visser Four, has used the Time Matrix. He has traveled backward in time and is changing historical events. He�s rewritten the past in an effort to bring about a Yeerk victory and give himself greater power. You � the other yous � are unaware that life was ever any different. You have all been raised in an environment of delightfully ferocious oppression. It�s all quite
wonderful!�

�But slavery? Some genocidal war?� Cassie said, her voice cracking.

�Why are you here?� Rachel demanded.

The Drode sighed. �Sadly, I am here to offer you the chance to undo it all.� He spread his hands wide and smiled a hideous smile. �I want to help.�

I mean, I have to think Crayak would love this world. Whether the Yeerks win, and expand their militaristic empire based on conquest, or humanity wins, and maintains a culture based on fascism, conquest, genocide, and slavery of people they consider physically or mentally inferior, then Crayak wins.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 04:49

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

Chapter 2
Jake

It's everyone's old friend the Drode! Also, this is a disturbing world. and I'm trying to imagine what it must have been like reading this as a kid.

Yeah, I wish I could remember reading more than that scene I mentioned yesterday.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 06:05

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

I have a thought on why that's a negative for Crayak but I'm not sure if it's a spoiler. I'll hold my tongue for now.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 06:12

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

I will point out some of the changes that are maybe less horrific than war and slavery.

1, Melissa, who's probably Melissa Chapman, is a member of the team rather than Rachel.
2. Pong has just come out, In real life, it was created in 1972
3. Marco's mom isn't Visser One, and she's still living with him and his dad (and is apparently pretty good at Pong),

Also, while not a change, we find out Jake is Jewish, which we didn't know before.

Epicurius fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Sep 26, 2021

# ? Sep 26, 2021 06:12

Rosalie_A: Oct 30, 2011

Epicurius posted:

It's everyone's old friend the Drode! Also, this is a disturbing world. and I'm trying to imagine what it must have been like reading this as a kid.

Really really freaky, but at the same time, not as bad as you'd think, for reasons that are now apparent to me as pretty horrifying. A lot of the undertones and attitudes expressed didn't seem that different to what the real world was like growing up. The idea that a band of kids could be the last defense against an alien invasion to defend a world that was barely any better and wouldn't be able to set aside their own differences and biases was disturbingly realistic.

Like, take this:

quote:

Poverty is widespread, curable diseases run rampant,

and realize that this is a problem today! (though sometimes with "treatable" instead of "curable" but at this point we've lived through the point here)

or this:

quote:

What do they care whether we wipe out a bunch of Primitives?

and realize you've heard people in positions of influence and power talk like this.

It's entirely Applegate's style to present an oppressive fascist alternate reality and have bits that are similar to reality just to highlight the point of how our own society is incredibly flawed.

This is a really good one, basically.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 06:38

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Epicurius posted:

It's everyone's old friend the Drode! Also, this is a disturbing world. and I'm trying to imagine what it must have been like reading this as a kid.

I would've read this in late primary school, around ten years old, and we'd learned about the Holocaust, Nazis, fascism etc in school but they were very much A Thing Of The Past, so it probably gave me the impression that something had dramatically changed in what I knew was going to be a time travel story for this alternate universe to have happened.

I suspect the notion that fascism was a relic of history was, in the 1990s, not just limited to kids learning a basic school curriculum.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 07:15

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

freebooter posted:

I would've read this in late primary school, around ten years old, and we'd learned about the Holocaust, Nazis, fascism etc in school but they were very much A Thing Of The Past, so it probably gave me the impression that something had dramatically changed in what I knew was going to be a time travel story for this alternate universe to have happened.

I suspect the notion that fascism was a relic of history was, in the 1990s, not just limited to kids learning a basic school curriculum.

Definitely. I remember thinking the genocidal space nazis plot of Wing Commander IV felt kind of goofy and anachronistic, playing it back at release. But it suddenly felt a whole lot more relevant on revisiting it a few years ago.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 08:31

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

I know the main reason I find Animorphs and other stuff from the '90s nostalgic is because that's just when I happened to be a kid, but I think it objectively was a time of genuine optimism that was unparalleled in living memory. After the Cold War, but before 9/11 and the War on Terror/economic crash/climate change/resurgence of fascism/COVID pandemic.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 11:07

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

This part of the book didn't bother me. I'd already been exposed to this kind of idea via Star Trek, so I picked up right away that this was Mirror Universe Animorphs.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 14:29

Andrew_1985: Sep 18, 2007; Hay hay hay!

Thank you for this thread. I�ve just spent the last month catching up with this series.

Used to love reading this series, I read up to the starfish book which was my �yeah, no�� moment. Plus as I got older I never got the scholastic book pamphlets anymore.

Rereading this has been a wild ride. Just some stray thoughts I have to share.

-Thermals.
-Surely someone has picked up on the amount of people suddenly missing hands/arms.
- After the Howler incident why aren�t they telling the Chee controllers to start pushing the ideas of symbiosis. Kickstart that evolution.
-Why are they so awful to Erik? Work with the awesome dog robots. Like to help get their families somewhere safe.
-Also, I had forgotten the last book. Christ; so the Chee know their secret along with what, 100 yeerks and their hosts??! That noose is tightening. And Chapman saw Ax�s eyestalk!?
-Why aren�t they like planning to tell their families and at least moving them out to a rural areas. Like bring one family member to a remote area, use Ax and Erik to convince them. Keep them for 3 days just in case. Move the family to a secluded country town. Or even the HB colony. I know I thought about this a lot as a kid.
- Still don�t get why they don�t morph other humans etc.
-Why doesn�t Tobias turn back to human and then they use the box again?
-I liked that they let the Yeerk become the whale.
-Marco�s mum must be upset seeing her son �taken� in the shark book. That�s rough for her.
-Surely they could treat Ax better as well. Instead they just leave him out in the wilderness with a tv and an almanac. Perhaps get him some more books/basic computer.
-Stop going to the mall. Nothing good happens there.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 15:08

Silver2195: Apr 4, 2012

Chapman didn�t actually see the eyestalk. I misread it the same way at first, but the actual meaning there was that he would have seen it if it wasn�t covered.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 15:22

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Andrew_1985 posted:

- Still don�t get why they don�t morph other humans etc.
-Why doesn�t Tobias turn back to human and then they use the box again?

I can answer these two. They don't morph other humans because of issues about identity and consent. One of the things they've decided is that other sentient creatures have the right to their own bodily autonomy, and that if they take morphs of intelligent creatures without their consent, that makes them as bad as the Yeerks. So that makes them very careful about taking human morphs.

As for the Tobias question, you can only get the morphing power once in your lifetime. This is why the two hour rule is stress so much and why, when Tobias was stuck as a hawk in the first place, he couldn't have gotten morphing ability again (in addition to the fact that the Animorphs didn't know where the box was at that point.) The Ellimist gave him his morphing power back, but it has the same rules as before. He could morph back human and be human for more than 2 hours, but then he'd be stuck in human form permanently,

# ? Sep 26, 2021 17:15

ThingOne: Jul 30, 2011; Would you like some tofu?

quote:

some women are forced to breed to repopulate the dominant white race

More than anything else in the chapter, the fact that this made it past the editors surprises me the most.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 17:22

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

I think it is interestingly dated, based on the old idea of fascism where you absolutely crowbar ideology into everyone from a young age. Part of it is the need for exposition, but there is a lot of "as you know we must destroy the SAVAGE HORDES" for some middle class teenagers.

In modern times we have discovered that actually most undisturbed peole don't care about ideology and the savvy modern tyrant can do whatever they want with minimal mental gymnastics.

# ? Sep 26, 2021 18:33

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Andrew_1985 posted:

-Why aren�t they like planning to tell their families and at least moving them out to a rural areas. Like bring one family member to a remote area, use Ax and Erik to convince them. Keep them for 3 days just in case. Move the family to a secluded country town. Or even the HB colony. I know I thought about this a lot as a kid.

It's the kind of thing that makes sense in-universe but upsets the structure of what is basically a superhero story, with the balance between fighting the Yeerks and trying to stay on top of your homework and hide your secret identity. It's like how Harry Potter goes back to live with his abusive family every summer even after knowing that he has a vast fortune and a loving surrogate family via his best friend.

It's also, though, basically exactly the scenario that plays out in the ending story arc

# ? Sep 27, 2021 00:12

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 4
Cassie

quote:

I laughed. �You want to help. You. Meaning Crayak.�

�Yes, it is rather puzzling, isn�t it?� the Drode mocked.

<Why would you help?> Ax asked.

�It�s all part of a deal. My master, the great and glorious Crayak, and your friend, the simpering, meddling nitwit called the Ellimist, have a deal. Neither of them really approves of a mere Yeerk possessing the most powerful device in galactic history.�

�In other words, this Time Matrix could endanger Crayak himself,� Marco translated.

The Drode laughed. �Don�t be a fool. Nothing threatens great Crayak. However � one doesn�t want mere baboons blundering about with Time Matrices, does one? Who knows what harm they might do? Oh, sure, it�s all fun and games when they end up starting genocidal wars or engendering race hatred -�

�Yeah, what�s more fun than that?� Rachel said dryly.

�- but who knows what other damage a fool with such power may do?�

�Crayak could grab the Time Matrix himself,� Jake said. �He has the power.�

�Mmmm, well �� the Drode said.

Crayak and the Ellimist were to humans what humans are to ants. Nearly omnipotent creatures.

One evil. One good.

Perhaps. We could never be entirely sure.

<The Rules,> Tobias said. <That�s the problem. The rules of the game between Crayak and the Ellimist. Neither trusts the other with the Time Matrix. They don�t need it themselves, but they might give it to their allies.>

The Drode put his hand to his ear. �Did I just hear a bird chirping?�

�You mentioned a deal,� Marco said.

�Yes,� the Drode said. �A deal. And here it is: The six of you will be allowed to follow the Time Matrix. The former Visser Four set off on his journey two days ago. You will be translated back to that point and then the quanta that make up your atoms will be � tuned. Yes, that�s a good word for simple minds to comprehend. You�ll be fine-tuned at the subatomic level to resonate with the movements of the Time Matrix as it travels through time. Your own memories and personalities will, of course, be buffered. Protected against changes.�

<Resulting in what effect?> Ax demanded.

�Resulting in the effect that, like an echo, you will follow the Time Matrix. It plucks the chords of time and you reverberate.� He stopped and shook his head in admiration of his own words.

�Brilliantly explained, eh?�

�That�s the deal?� Jake asked. �That�s it?�

�There�s something else, isn�t there?� I asked the Drode.

The Drode laughed. �Oh, yes. There is something else, little Cassie. Cassie the killer with a conscience. Kill �em, then cry over �em. That�s our Cassie.�

�What�s the something else?� I repeated, not letting the evil little creep see that his words had hit home.�

My master Crayak has demanded a price. A payment.�

�A payment.�

�Uh-huh,� the Drode said in a parody of coyness.

�What?�

�One of you,� the Drode said. �You can attempt to save your reality, put everything back where it belongs, end slavery, replace tyranny with democracy, millions of lives saved, let freedom ring, glory hallelujah in exchange � in exchange for one, single life.�

�A life?� I asked.

�The life of one of you. That is my master Crayak�s price: One of you must die.�

This is very much one of those one sided deals. "Hey, Crayak and the Elimist want you to help them fix this time matrix thing. In exchange, one of you is going to die. That's a very Crayak deal. Also, you have to wonder why they made the Time Matrix in the first place.

I also want to mention again that I kind of love the Drode. He's so self satisfied in his henchmanness, and for a series that is remarkably complex for what it is, he's so incredibly cartoonishly evil.

Chapter 5
Cassie

quote:

�This is insane!� Marco said. �I mean, I�ve said things were insane before, but this is totally, abjectly insane!� He pointed at the Drode. �You go back and tell that manure pile Crayak, and the Ellimist, too: This isn�t on us. They can fix this and leave us out.�

�If we do nothing we go back to that other reality, don�t we?� I said to the Drode. �Jake�s some kind of junior Nazi, I�m a slave owner, all of us living like that?�

�Why wasn�t I even in the group?� Rachel demanded.

�You? A violence-prone sociopath like you, Rachel?� the Drode said with a happy laugh. �You were in a reeducation camp. This world has little room for bold, aggressive females. You were being taught your place.�

�Say what? My what?�

Suddenly, around the Drode�s wrist, an oversized watch appeared. �You all have to decide,� the Drode said, holding up the watch. �Two minutes. Ticktock, ticktock. Then all goes back to what it should be. Tick. Tock.�

He was gone as suddenly as he had appeared.

�My place?� Rachel muttered, not quite believing the word. �No one teaches me my place.�

�Okay. Two minutes. Visser Four is running around the past messing up the future. I don�t think there�s much question that we have to do this,� Jake said.

<Prince Jake,> Ax said, <Have you forgotten that there will be a price to be paid? The life of one of us?>

Jake nodded. �No choice. Too much hangs on this. Millions of lives versus one? Not even a question.�

�Bull,� Marco said. �This isn�t our fight. We sit this one out.�

Rachel rounded on him. �What? And I go back to some reeducation camp? And slavery is back? And we�re murdering natives down in the jungle or whatever? I don�t think so. I can�t believe even you could be this much of a weasel!�

But Rachel was wrong. It hadn�t dawned on her yet, or maybe on the others. But I know Jake.

There was only one life that Jake would trade away like this. Marco, too, knows Jake very well.

There was a history between Jake and the evil force called Crayak. It was Jake, more than any of us, who destroyed the Howlers and saved the Iskoort, two terrible blows against Crayak.

Jake assumed that he would be the one to die. Marco had seen this instantly. He wasn�t arguing in favor of the awful future we�d seen. He was arguing for the life of his best friend.

�We�re just going to let it all happen?� Rachel went on, in full outrage mode. �All we just experienced? Slavery? Censorship? Wars? Secret police rounding up the homeless and -�

�-and Pong?� Marco interrupted, breaking her momentum. �Look, don�t be stupid. This could just be an elaborate trap. Anyway, how do we exactly fix the past? I mean, exactly? Does one of you have a history book stored away in his head? How do we fix history if we don�t even know how it�s broke?�

It was Ax who answered. <Whatever Visser Four is attempting to do, we undo it>

�Hey, it isn�t that simple. Where do you think Visser Four is going to go to change history? He�s going to wars, I guarantee you. Killing and dying. And how do we know it isn�t our own actions in the past that caused all this?�

<Time travel,> Tobias muttered. <Too much to get a human brain around. Too complex. Too many possibilities.>

�Okay, look, time is short. It�s down to a vote,� Jake said.

�What? The �Supreme Leader� wants a vote?� Marco mocked. He was stalling. Eating up the two minutes.

<As bad a feeling as I get about this, I don�t see how we can just blow this off,> Tobias said reluctantly.

�I�d rather die than be a slave owner,� I said. �But �� I let it hang. I couldn�t look at Jake. I felt sick.

I felt Marco staring at me. He wanted to see if I understood. I met his gaze. I nodded slowly.

I wanted to explain. Jake meant more to me than anyone in the world. He meant as much to me as my own parents. But I couldn�t walk away from this. The society we�d just glimpsed? No. Whatever the price we paid we had to stop that.

Marco smiled a small, sad half smile, accepting my verdict.

<I will go where Prince Jake leads,> Ax said. <Also, I would very much like to see the Time Matrix.>

�Someone�s going to teach me my place? Yeah, right. Let�s do it,� Rachel said, laughing at her own swagger.
�Marco?� Jake asked.

�Here�s my vote: We go home and watch TV. Fifty channels, there�s gotta be something on.�

Jake shook his head. �I don�t think so. The Drode said there was only one channel in that reality.�

�One?� Marco asked, sounding shaken.

�One.�

�Well, then Visser Four is my meat.�

�Unanimous,� Jake said, smiling in amusement at Marco.

Marco turned away from Jake. The grin disappeared. He looked like he wanted to cry. Our eyes met again. And not for the first time I realized how smart Marco is underneath all the jokes. He knew we were going to do it. He knew his best friend�s life might be the price we paid. He also knew we couldn�t go into this hopeless battle thinking about nothing but that single, terrible fact.

I leaned close to Marco, so that only he could hear, and took his hand in mine. �Crayak is not going to have him.�

Marco nodded. He squeezed my hand. �You got that right.�

�Okay, it�s unanimous,� Rachel was saying. �But not till I get a chance to pack some clothes, get some things, okay? In other words, you Drode piece of dog doo, not yet, okay? Not yet! Not yet!� she yelled.

But she was yelling it to a large creature that seemed to be made entirely of steel.

We need more Cassie-Marco interactions. We don't really get a lot, and I think that's a shame, because as much as they're very different, they both love Jake and will do anything to protect him and that's the thing that ties them together.

# ? Sep 27, 2021 04:16

Malpais Legate: Oct 1, 2014

The solidarity of Marco and Cassie, both incredibly in love with Jake.

I think when I read this one, it was out of any sort of order so it was my first introduction to the Drode. It's an excellent introduction of the character.

# ? Sep 27, 2021 04:52

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

I love evil trickster types

# ? Sep 27, 2021 05:52

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Given that this is a megamorph, this is an Applegate book, right? It's interesting that basically no comment was made about how Ax fit into the group in the alternate fascist timeline.

Did the kids treat him worse because he's 'other', and they're more inclined to think in that way? Did Ax have an easier or harder time integrating with them? Easier because andalite society is also pretty militaristic, harder because, y'know, slaves and stuff.

# ? Sep 27, 2021 21:49

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

jake's narrative has an off-hand comment about ax being "not one of us", which seems pretty telling :smith:

# ? Sep 27, 2021 21:54

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 6
Rachel

quote:

�Not yet!�

It was dark.

It was raining.

And there was a very large man, on a very large horse, wearing very steel armor right in front of me.

�Rrr-EEE-hhhuhhuhh! Rrr-EEE-hhhuhuhuhh!�

The horse reared up and pranced in surprise. Hooves as big as dinner plates flailed. I had appeared right in front of it. We both had. Cassie was beside me.

�Oh, man!� I said. �I knew he�d do this!�

I glanced around in the dark. I didn�t see the others. No surprise. I barely saw the knight on his horse. A damp, sputtering campfire away through the trees cast just enough yellow light to outline the almost dainty metal boot in the ornate stirrup, the long steel shank of his thigh, the chain-mail glove that gripped the reins, the elbow joint, the helmet with a pointed visor decorated with elaborate
filigree. The red-and-gold logo on his shield.

And, of course, the sword that hung at his side in a red scabbard.

�The Tin Man?� I said under my breath.

�Uh-uh. I don�t think so, Toto,� Cassie said.

My feet were sinking into mud. And it occurred to me that sitting on a horse in the pouring rain

was probably not a good time. The red knight was very likely to be cranky.

The armored man got his horse under control. Barely.

Then, he drew his sword.

SCHWOOF!

Definitely cranky.

�Sorci�res!� he roared, his loud voice muffled by the visor.

�What?� I asked.

�I don�t know,� Cassie said nervously. �I don�t exactly speak French.�

�French? He�s speaking French?�

�Like I know?� Cassie said, a little shrilly. �I�ve only had half a year. I got a B minus on my last test.�

The knight rattled off a string of French. And then he pointed his sword right at me.

I held up my hands, palms out. �Chill,� I said. �No problem here. Just a couple of wet girls from the future out for a walk. Nice meeting you, we�ll just be on our way. No-ay problem-ay.�

�Where are the others?� Cassie wondered.

�Anglaises?� the knight shouted.

�Hey! I know that word. It means �English,�� Cassie said, sounding pretty pleased with herself.

�Anglaises! Espionnes!�

�Spy!� Cassie translated, nodding her head like she was proud. �Espionnes. Espionage. Spies. English spies. That�s what he said.�

I swiped my hand back over my forehead to get some of the water out of my eyes. It didn�t work.

I looked at Cassie. �You know, Cassie, when he says �English spies,� I don�t think it�s exactly a compliment.�

�� moi! � moi!� the red knight yelled, still holding the sword toward me.

Suddenly there came the sounds of hooves pounding mud. I glanced back and saw a vague shape pelting toward us. I caught a glint of steel armor and green fabric. And now, from all around us, men were running, sloshing, pounding through the mud.

�This is looking bad,� I said.

We were surrounded. We were getting more and more surrounded. And in the black night I saw fire-limned swords and axes and lances.

�I don�t know where or when we are,� Cassie said. �What are we supposed to do?�

�How about stay alive?�

�Morph? For all we know, one of these guys is Visser Four. We can�t morph!�

�You have another idea?�

The new horseman arrived like thunder. He splashed up and reined in. The hooves of his horse threw up mud and clumps of soggy grass. And now there was a very long, very sharp spear leveled at us from behind.

�They see us morph, they�ll kill us,� Cassie whispered.

�It�s dark,� I said. �Besides, they�ll figure we�re something supernatural. Probably run away.�

I had absolutely no confidence that I was right. But I wasn�t going to stand there and be shishkebabed without a fight.

The new knight, the one with faint traces of green on his mud-spattered, battered shield, took over questioning us. His visor was up, revealing a dark hole where we could have seen eyes and a mouth if it had been light enough.

The green knight rattled off a rapid-fire question. We shrugged. I don�t know if he noticed that I shrugged with somewhat larger shoulders. Or that my skin was turning leathery and gray.

�Ce sont des sorci�res anglaises,� the red guy explained.

�We�re English,� Cassie translated. �I�m thinking maybe �witches.� English witches. Spying English witches.�

�English?� the new knight demanded.

�Well � American actually,� I said.

�Yes, we�re English,� Cassie jumped in, speaking pointedly to me. �Totally English, Rachel, because what would a couple of Americans be doing here in France in the past, right? Back when people still wore armor and stuff? I don�t think so.�

�Ah. Right. English,� I agreed, though my voice was thickening as my tongue began to grow in my mouth, and my upper lip melded into my nose and began to grow.

�Rachel!� Cassie said. �You�re not ��

But I was. And right then, the French guys noticed.

The green knight yelled something I don�t think Cassie will ever be able to translate, and then he lowered his lance to horizontal, spurred his horse, and charged.

Joke's on Cassie. This is an SCA event.

Chapter 7
Cassie

quote:

�Look out!�

Rachel tried to jerk aside, but she was growing fast and her legs didn�t exactly match the rest of her. She was a tangled, horrific mess of mismatched body parts.

I leaped toward the spear.

Missed!

I fell into the mud at the horse�s feet. It was huge, looming high over me, draped with embroidered fabric, its head encased in jointed steel armor.

Half by accident, half by instinct I kicked the horse�s knobby left knee.

�Ahhh!� I thought I�d broken my foot!

The horse stumbled.

The spear�s point missed Rachel by millimeters. The green knight plowed on, right over me!

Hooves jack hammered the mud around me.

�Rachel!�

The horse�s chest slammed Rachel hard. But Rachel was bigger, now. Not as big as the horse,

but not small enough to be knocked over, either.

The green knight backed his horse off, cursing and yelling.

The red knight spurred his own mount. He raised his sword high over Rachel�s lumpy head.

Sproot!

Sproot!

Two immensely long, curved white tusks exploded from Rachel�s face.

The sword whizzed as it slashed in a downward arc.

CHUNKTH!

Sword blade hit tusk!

<Hah!> Rachel exulted. <Now let�s see how bad you guys are! Maybe you want to teach me my place!>

I walked back, stumbled, fell on my butt in inches of mud, picked myself up and slunk back into darkness, away from the melee. Out of the firelight.

I was no use to Rachel. Not as a human girl.

I was already morphing to wolf as fast as I knew how.

Where was Jake? Where were the others? Why were Rachel and I left to deal with this alone?

Was Jake still alive?

<Come on, tough guys. What, are you scared?> Rachel raved.

The two knights were having a hard time trying to control their horses. The mud sucked at their hooves. The bizarre new smell of elephant sent their horse brains reeling.

The foot soldiers had stayed out of the fight so far, which was all that had saved Rachel. If they had charged, she�d have been hacked apart. But the knights hadn�t given them a signal. And I guess the concept of initiative for average guys was still a few centuries in the future.

The fire blazed up suddenly.

Pounding hooves! A flash of steel, coming down hard!

<Aaaahhhh!> Rachel cried as a three-foot cut appeared in her shoulder.

The two knights spurred past Rachel and turned to come back at her. One with now-bloody sword raised. The other with lance lowered.

�Rrrachllllrrr!� I tried to scream a warning. But my mouth was pressing outward, filling with long teeth.

I was only half-morphed. No matter. There was no time!

I bounded forward and fell, face first, into the mud as my legs twisted and shrank.

I staggered up, but my arms were morphing to front legs. Fingers gone and replaced by pads.

Time wasted!

The knights charged.

Rachel bellowed.

The horses whinnied in fear but kept going.

The knights passed Rachel on either side.

It happened in an instant.

<Argghh!> Rachel cried in pain, even as she twisted and threw her trunk sideways.

I could see the spear protruding from her flank. There had to be two feet of sharp steel blade and wood shaft buried in Rachel�s side.

I saw a horse, riderless, disappear in the darkness.

Then I saw the red knight. He was held high in the air, a thick, powerful trunk wrapped around him like a python. Chain-mail hands clawed futilely at the trunk. He screamed something to the men below him.

�Hreee-EEEEEEE-uh!� Rachel bellowed in elephant rage.

The green knight was wheeling back around. He pulled his sword from its scabbard.

About half the foot soldiers were running away gibbering and yelling. But the others were coming to the knight�s aid, charging at Rachel.

I tried to stand up but suddenly I was staggered by a blow on the back of my neck. Wolf instinct rolled me over, almost as fast as a cat.

THUNK!

A spear impaled the ground beside me. I saw a wild look on the face of the foot soldier above me. He tried to yank the spear free.

Now, I was fully wolf. And the man realized he wasn�t going to yank that spear out in time.

I bared my teeth and snarled.

He turned and ran, yelling something over his shoulder. I didn�t know what, but I had a pretty good idea that it included the French word for �werewolf.�

Rachel bellowed, �Hrrrr-EEEEE-yah!�

I was up. And now I had all the wolf�s enhanced senses. I could smell the elephant. I could smell the horse. I could smell sweat and filth and moss and mud.

I could smell fear.

And in a flash of lightning I saw a scene from a medieval nightmare.

The remaining knight in wet, muddy armor, shield gone, astride a massive horse festooned in dirty green livery, was charging, sword held forward. Toward what he must have thought was a dragon.

And the dragon - the African bull elephant - was charging straight for him, tusks thrust out, trunk high in the air holding the squirming, helpless, screaming red knight.

It was no contest. Maybe with a lance the green knight might have had a chance. Not with a sword. And not against Rachel, who was going to slam his brother knight down on him with the force of a dropped safe.

I scrambled out of the mud and ran, full tilt at the knight. Padded feet flew!

A foot soldier loomed up before me, crossing himself frantically as he waved an ineffectual sword at me. I snarled. He fell to his knees.

I leaped, soared, landed lightly on the man�s bowed head, kicked off again, and sailed through the air.
I hit the green knight.

He fell away. He hit the ground, shoulder first, then face down in the mud. I landed on top of him. Many tons of gray flesh went plowing by, tree-trunk legs motoring easily across the mud.

The knight tried to get up. The mud held him captive.

<Stay down, you idiot!> I said in frustration. <You want to get stomped?>

I heard new footsteps running. And my wolf senses detected a new smell. One that was definitely out of place in this era.

I was pretty sure it was salsa.

I looked up and saw Jake and Marco.

Jake. Still alive.

<Which one of you ate at Taco Bell today?>

How bizarre does this have to be for these French knights. There you are, getting ready to fight the English, and then these two girls show up, transform into an elephant and a wolf and start attacking you,

# ? Sep 28, 2021 03:24

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Typical English perfidy.

# ? Sep 28, 2021 06:01

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

Respect to these French guys for keeping it together enough to try to having a joust with a loving elephant.

# ? Sep 28, 2021 06:08

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

I guess you don't train to fight every day of your life just to flee upon encountering a rampaging shape-shifting elephant.

(Also I can't decide if this series' commitment to onomatopoeia is impressive or ridiculous. Rrr-EEE-hhhuhhuhh! Rrr-EEE-hhhuhuhuhh!)

# ? Sep 28, 2021 06:34

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

I also want to mention again that I kind of love the Drode. He's so self satisfied in his henchmanness, and for a series that is remarkably complex for what it is, he's so incredibly cartoonishly evil.

Eh, V3 is also pretty cartoonishly one-note. The only unusual thing about him is the alien living inside his skull with him, and we only actually hear from that guy in prequels and that one scene at the river.

Bobulus posted:

Given that this is a megamorph, this is an Applegate book, right?

Yeah, I believe they were only writing the Megamorphs and Chronicles at this point.

# ? Sep 28, 2021 07:14

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Fuschia tude posted:

Eh, V3 is also pretty cartoonishly one-note. The only unusual thing about him is the alien living inside his skull with him, and we only actually hear from that guy in prequels and that one scene at the river.

True enough. He does go to seminars, though. I guess the advantage of him is that while he's in most books, its in small doses.

# ? Sep 28, 2021 12:10

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# ? May 25, 2024 13:58

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Being the history nerd that I am, what I'm trying to figure out is what turning point in history the Animorphs have presumably landed in. French vs English in the Middle Ages has quite a bit of room to it.

The obvious answer is that this is sometime during the Hundred Years' War. Agincourt is probably the most famous battle from the war, but while it was a shocking English victory in strictly military terms, it wasn't really a decisive battle in any larger sense - it went a long way to legitimize Henry's rule, mainly. For something with more immediate consequences this could be Crecy or Orleans - I could see Applegate going for something with Joan of Arc.

# ? Sep 28, 2021 15:51

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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