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From The Andalite Chronicles Chapter 29

I want to focus in here on this little bit where Elfangor starts to explain something, gets discouraged and stops himself. Then Loren encourages him to continue, explicitly showing that she is interested in what he has to say.

The Andalite Chronicles is full of these little back and forth moments of them talking about themselves, sharing bits of Earth and Andalite. I feel like it encapsulates their dynamic very succinctly. They are interested in what the other has to say and actively enjoy learning about each other.

Sadly I feel like this dynamic is largely missing from Ax’s interactions with the other Animorphs. Tobias and Cassie being the exceptions, the other kids get annoyed with Ax explaining things the second they don’t find it interesting.

I know that part of it is a writing device to keep the information relevant but cut out extraneous detail. But I do notice it as a pattern that they want Ax for information exactly as long as he’s useful and no longer. I know I’m not the only one that felt a bit miffed about how Ax is treated in The Decision for basically having a chance to be rescued from earth and being excited for it. But that threatens his role as ‘Alien expert’ and the team is hostile to it. The same way all the kids are hostile to each other when they either step outside their roles or fufil them in a way they don’t like.

#animorphs #thought speak #elfangor sirinial shamtul #loren animorphs #loren fangor #aximili esgarrouth isthill #rachel animorphs #marco animorphs #the andalite chronicles #the decision #much has been said about how the kids rely on and resent each other for their roles in the team

<You know, Ax, there’s just the two of us now. We could probably drop the whole “prince” thing.> He paused, then added, <You could just call me “The Jake formerly known as Prince.”>

Aaaaaand I reached THAT part. I didn't know it was an actual line from the books and I got totally blindsided by it... I might have screamed a bit lol

Yay!!!!! I feel like no one knows that my URL is an actual quote from an actual Animorphs book instead of being merely a pun on the protagonist's name/title. And if people do know that, they don't know the whole history with The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Oh well.

#animorphs #about the blogger #the jake formerly known as prince #18 #the decision

I'm back and I have more Jake thoughts. his moralities shifting as the war goes on is fascinating to watch.

#6 — The Capture

"Ax? What do you think would happen to all those Yeerks in there if the temperature of the liquid suddenly went up to say, one hundred twenty degrees? And the liquid was all agitated?" Ax looked puzzled. <I believe the heat and the agitation might destroy them.> "Well. That would be a pity." I made a quick decision. "Ax? Watch the door to the hallway. Cassie? We may need you in some more dangerous morph. What have you got?" "Wolf?" "Perfect. But no howling." "What are you going to do?" Cassie asked. "We came here to stop this sick operation, right? Well, wiping out a hundred or so Yeerks might be a good way to start. I'm going to hook this thing back together, and Jacuzzi these filthy creeps to death."

when he was innocent. when his kill count was low. when his primary purpose for fighting in the war was still to save his brother, and when he still believed it would all go back to normal after the end. when he was willing to win it with war crimes, not out of some tactical decision but out of pure innocence and care for his brother.

#18 — The Decision (Ax):

Galuit turned to speak to Prince Jake. <I have need of you to save this planet from the Yeerks. Will you- > "Yes," Prince Jake said. <You say yes without knowing what I'm asking.> "Will it save the Leerans? Will it keep them free? And most of all, will it hurt the Yeerks?"

now it's not all out of innocence. he's killed. he's killed many. he knows he's the leader, and he knows he has to make the calls. he knows he needs to hurt the yeerks. it's his highest priority, his "most of all." hurting the yeerks.

#19 — The Departure (Cassie):

"No. I feel bad because I felt nothing. I felt. . . nothing, Rachel. At that moment I felt like I was just doing my job, you know? And now they're shutting down the clinic, and my dad tells me and I feel . . . nothing. It's been going on for a long time. Each day, each battle, each mission, I just feel less and less." I looked at Rachel. She looked away. I turned to Jake. He made the ghost of a smile and nodded his head. He understood. He knew. It was happening to him, too. But then he looked away as well.

he's killed. he's made calls. he's thinking of how many he's killed, and how many he's willing to kill, and he's also thinking about how he can't afford to think about that. he's not cassie; he's the leader. he's the prince. he kills, and soon, he stops thinking about it.

#19 — The Departure (Jake):

<Cassie must have had a reason,> Rachel said. <Of course she had a reason,> I said. <Yeah? What?> Marco demanded. <What reason could she have for giving us all up to the Yeerks?> <You really don't know, Marco?> I asked him. <You really don't know why someone would not want to kill? Or even stand by and let someone else kill?> <She has no choice!> Marco said. <There's always a choice,> Tobias said. <l can't get mad at someone not wanting to take a life. I can't get mad at someone for thinking life is sacred. I just can't.> It surprised me, him coming to Cassie's defense. Tobias lives as a pure predator. For him, killing is something he has to do for breakfast. <This is a war,> Rachel said coldly. <We're fighting for our lives. We have a right to do whatever it takes to win.> <Maybe we'll lose, maybe we'll win,> I said. <But if we win and someday it's all over, you'd better hope there are still plenty of Cassies in the world. You'd better hope that not everyone has decided it's okay to do whatever it takes to win.>

he's not that innocent kid anymore. he's realised that, maybe, he'll lose. but he has to try; has to have hope. rachel says they have a right to do whatever it takes, and he doesn't deny it, but he says that she had better hope that not everyone agrees with her. or marco. or even (maybe, probably, definitely) him.

#21 — The Threat

"Fine. Let's get out of here," I said. But Ax hesitated. He turned his stalk eyes meaningfully toward the stainless steel tub. <The Yeerks are probably already in place. Do we ... do we leave them?> I knew what he was suggesting. It would be easy to finish them off right there and then. But if we did, the Yeerks might simply be able to replace them. And they'd be warned that we knew their plan. Besides, there was something wrong about killing defenseless slugs. I was pretty sure of that. I shook my head. "Let's fly."

mirror image to the situation he was faced with before. they're right there. it would be so easy. it would be so easy to kill them. they're defenceless. a more innocent version of him would have done it without question, a great big smile on his face; we have proof. he's done it before. but this version does not, because of his morals. there was something wrong about doing it. he was not entirely sure, he was not sure with a passion, but he was pretty sure. he was pretty sure.

#ending it here for two reasons #one: no spoilers for new readers because this is right around where the book club is at #and two: the parallels. the scenes from 6 and 21 directly mirror each other and isn't there something to be said about that #jake berenson #animorphs #animorphs book club #okaaaay now I have to tag all the books.#sigh.#the capture #the decision #the departure #the threat #animorphs analysis

iconic, showstopping, never been done before etc etc

also, not to talk too much about Jake in this Ax book, but even when i read this book for the first time i found it fascinating that what's most important to him is hurting the yeerks. in a lot of other childrens' series, the focus would be on saving people, but while that's definitely presented as a good thing, it's almost just a bonus. for Jake, even at this point in the series, the main goal is striking a meaningful blow to the enemy. everything else is secondary

#animorphs book club #animorphs #the decision #anyways i love foreshadowing <3 #(also to be clear not that he would ever say that in so many words)#(he would definitely always say that the point is saving earth or saving his brother)#(but.)

They are right, of course, but they cover all the wrong parts: There is nothing uglier than a human nose.

RIP Ax, you would have loved the year 2020.

#animorphs #animorphs book club #ani 18 #the decision #nose covers for everyone!

<Yes, Captain. I have been marooned on Earth for approximately point seven standard Andalite years. I believe I am the only survivor following a battle between the Dome ship where I served and a Yeerk Pool ship. The Pool ship was assisted by a concealed Blade ship belonging to Visser Three.> The T.O. made a sneering, disgusted sound. <The Dome was separated prior to battle and . . . I was in the dome. It wasn't by choice. I was ordered to the dome.> I felt foolish defending my actions. But I didn't want it to look like I was some kind of coward. <Anyway, the dome fell from orbit and crashed in one of Earth's oceans. I was down there underwater for several Earth weeks, until the humans came to rescue me.> p. 68

So, what does point seven standard Andalite years translate to human time? I can gather that it is a different time measurement from previous comments by Ax about 2 of your hours and his comment here about several Earth weeks. But what is the translation between them?

Also, Ax, I think that they can gather that the aristh shouldn't have been in the battle. I assumed that it would have been normal to have the arisths not be in battle. But maybe I'm assuming too much here. After all, none of these adults are questioning why a child was on a battle ship in the first place. Maybe a privilege that Ax had was that he was assigned a ship that Elfangor asked for because he knew the captain wouldn't send a child into battle?

#Animorphs #Animorphs Book Club #The Decision #Ani 18