#gamakami

[demenior]

I think marco's whole family understood necessity. Marco didn't try to kill his own mom in that sense, but rather tried to set her free.

ooohhh! This is an AWESOME ask!

Sorry I’m answering this publiucly but I think this is such a solid point!

I do disagree with you, but because I have a very distinct headcanon about Marco’s parents (Peter and Eva).

From the get-go Marco always informed us he thought like his mother and modelled himself after her- laugh instead of cry, see the light side rather than the dark, and to do the necessary thing. Often times when Marco is feeling awful about the ways he’s plotting to hurt/kill his mother he is assuring himself that she would agree with him to do what needs to be done.

On the other hand, Marco’s father is somewhat portrayed as a ‘naive’ person. Arguably he is introduced to us as dependant on Marco, which is interesting as it switches the power between them. Marco is the adult in their relationship, doing what needs to be done so they survive. Peter is the one wallowing in sadness and refusing to let go of the past and move on.

Because of this I believe we are supposed to see that Peter is actually different from Marco and Eva in that he doesn’t share that same potential for ruthlessness.

Recall when Peter finally learns about the war and all that his kids are doing, he is very reluctant to accept the new terms of his life and a few times put himself in danger simply for not thinking right.

(I believe he called Nora/wanted to go get Nora even after Marco had said they couldn’t/it was too dangerous. And when they found out Eva/Visser One was being held prisoner to die, he was adamant they had to rescue her even though it wasn’t a sound choice- which Marco pointed out.)

So when I am saying that Peter has to live with the fact that his son tried to murder his own mother (and Peter’s wife) Peter is coming from the point of view that the right thing is to save everyone— especially family. And that you can’t hurt family no matter what. I’m honestly sure Marco and Eva have no problem with the way things worked out.

tl;dr- Peter is an old school hero, where everyone is saved with happy endings only and the right choice is always the good choice etc. Marco and Eva are from the grittier side where salvation/the right thing may not always be the good thing to do.

(Gamakami this is in no way telling you that you are wrong- totally keep whatever headcanon you may have about this family (we’re not given insight into any of the adults so they’re fairly blank slates) I just like talking about my thoughts and your ask provided a great way to share some)

:)

[krakendra]

Not sure if Ax and Elfangor's parents were left with nothing but grief. We don't know the ending as to what happened to Ax, but we do know that all of andalite culture respects the names Elfangor-Sirnial-Shamtul and Aximilli-Esgarrouth-Isthil as the greatest heros of all time. Yeah they must feel grief, but imagine the pride.

Awww. Yeah, probably, especially given how andalites are in general.

[andallthatfunstuff]

Don't take people being upset personally. Most of the world isn't mature enough to understand the difference between evil and necessity. It isn't cold, isn't ruthless, isn't evil. But yes we do have to live with certain priorities: take care of yourself first, your family second, friends third, then country and eventually world.

Thank you very much for understanding where I am coming from.

[radianceandmist]

What are your feelings on Marco?

I really like Marco's characterization. For a "comic relief" character, he has a lot of depth and darkness. I get kind of giddy when he takes a tactician/leader role in a situation, because he does it really well, and I get quite giddy when he gets grim.

From a writing/storytelling standpoint, he (and Rachel) gives a really important message: people aren't always how they appear on the surface. Specifically, that someone can smile and tell jokes but still be depressed or angry. Very often I was told, growing up, that if I was laughing then I wasn't really angry or upset about something that happened. He also lets the reader know that it's okay to do this, and that it can be a good thing to find humor in dark places. It's not lying or hiding your feelings, it's a way of coping with them.

So while his specific jokes are a bit eye-roll-inducing at times, his overall characterization and role in the story I really like.