Okay so let's talk about Jerboa...
Again trigger warnings. But let me start off by saying this.
I actually didn't mind the chapter delving into her past so much. BUT I get if people are triggered or don't like it.
I mean I was shocked it was in there. But it didn't bother me that much. Guess that goes to show who I am though.
I don't know guys. Like it's bad. It really is. We've got it all here. Child abuse. Brainwashing (literally) and some loss if limb. But... I don't know. Like it took me back but...
Yeah it's probably bad that I just found it more fascinating than anything else. Like it's a very good dive into how ultimate power (and time) can corrupt you. Like... Ugh. I thought it was fascinating.
But.. I don't know. It's valid that people are upset over this part. It really is. But I grew up reading animorphs and let me tell you... That is some fucked up shit. Haha. Y'all think "oh those books with the silly covers? Psh what do they have?"
Haha how about. Child soldiers. Someone gets eaten in the first book. Mind controlling slugs. Racism. Ableism. Loss of limb. PTSD literal children being mind controlled by slugs. Cannibalistic giant centipede things. Genocide. Chemical war fair.
Oh and the series ended on one of the darkest cliffhangers I have ever seen. So yeah. Guys I've grown up reading stuff like this. It does not bother me at all. It probably should... But it doesn't. In all seriousness though guys Animorphs is an amazing series and I recommend it... But keep these in mind. To be fair they actually do have a lot of humor and character... Admittedly once the ghost writers took over it took a turn but .. we don't talk about that. But yeah. (There is an actual gay alien couple in the later books though. Being in the 90s they couldn't be obvious about it but... It's there guys. It's very obviously there. And the author's confirmed it. Not in that way. Like they did all they could do to confirm with out saying it straight out.
Anyway. Sorry Animorphs is a thing for me. I can't help but rant about it.
Continuing on. Yes this is a disturbing chapter. And I can see people being freaked out about it... But to be honest y'all can probably skip it. Actually here this is what pisses me off about all this.
Why does Jerboa exist? I literally think it's just because Sutherland came up with this fascinating character backstory.. but besides that Jerboa doesn't really do anything. Besides traumatizing children. She does that very well. Like I said earlier it didn't bother me. But I'm so fucked up that even as a child I don't think it would have bothered me. Again haha animorphs. But I don't think I'd let any of my nieces or nephews listen to that part. Maybe that's my protective side coming in I don't know. Meh. Ultimately I think it depends on who it is reading it.
So here's the thing that pisses me off. Jerboa took away animus magic. Cuz that's totally a great idea.... Fuck off man. I hate this trope. Why is this a trope? Why is this a thing? Let's take magic away! (But did anyone else notice she said only living Animi. Good job Tui. If you ever want to write a future book with Animi you can now.)
But just... Okay the obvious reason Tui did this was so they can't use magic to defeat the plants... But hey guess what? What you could've done is a spell where no magic can ever cause harm. Boom. Fixed it.
Then they can't use it to just kill Wasp. They'd have to find a way around it. Isn't that more interesting than taking it away? Like I'm sorry it's just... It's so boring and stupid.
This is exactly like when in fantasy movies they always have to leave the magic behind. Oh wow magical world. Oh wow friends. Oh no you have to go home but you're okay. Cuz being normal is good.
Cut it with the condescending crap! It pissed me off when I was 6 (seriously guys Narnia was an... Event when you watched it with 6year old tree) and it ticks me off as a 21 year old adult!
We're reading these books for the magic! Don't introduce it and then write it out so lazily! Even as a kid this would upset me.
But um yeah. So Jerboa? I kind of wish you didn't exist. Yes your backstory is... Deliciously tragic. And I'm just the sicko to find it fascinating. But y'know what. I could've lived without the taking magic away. No.
And another reason this upsets me?
Turtle. Hey anyone remember the end of his book. When he had a shut down when his magic was taken away? A vital piece of himself? No?
Well it seems like Tui has too. And it just... Fuck guys. I cried at that part! And I was ecstatic when he got it back. But nah guys.
Animus magic is too convenient. Better scratch that. Not try and be creative.
Blegh...
Oh wait... Hold on. Yeah so remember the ring? Yes the magic ring? That I'm kind of on the fence about? Guess what it adds another layer against Jerboa doing what she did. The ring shows the good magic can do. And then we had the crown showing the bad... I just .. I don't know I feel about this guy's. I just wish they weren't a thing. Cuz now I just feel like there could've been a dialogue about the good and evil of magic. But there's not really. Let's be real here. Once again one person made a decision without talking to anyone else. And I hate that. I want dialogue guys. I want conflict and then talking. You can't have one person be it all.
Cuz that's just as bad as one person running the show. But this is never gonna come up again. Just like Peacemaker is just gonna... Be Peacemaker. And it's all just... So upsetting I don't know.
I am so genuinely upset by these cheap cop outs guys. And I'm tired.
Anyway sorry guys. Prolly not the rant y'all expected. But I'm tired now. And emotionally drained from writing this.
Sounding totally cliche. I miss the magic of this series. But I feel like it's been getting drained from it. Literally and figuratively.
you know, I never really thought about this when I read this chapter (I enjoyed it too, even if some of the more violent bits made me squirm). I agree that this could've been handled a bit differently, and better, but I guess my thought when I read "one person made a decision without taking to anyone else" is, well, devil's advocate:
people do things without asking other people. obviously, yes, it would have made it 10x more interesting to have it discussed and have a dialogue between characters, but it's not unrealistic that she'd do what she did. especially considering how she probably feels about magic, and the fact that acting irrationally, and quickly, after getting teleported to darkstalker, isn't exactly a weird response.
that said, though, I do agree that a conversation would have been better. my sympathetic ass kind of likes jerboa as a character (probably because I'm a sucker for in depth backstory), so I wouldn't go so far as to say "jerboa shouldn't exist", but I agree that it could have been written a lot better.
and, yes, I totally get that books are not supposed to be 100% realistic, especially if sacrificing some realism would improve the quality of the book/series. that's just the thought that went through my head.
Oh yeah it's totally valid! And you've brought up good points. I think once again my issue is just.. I feel like there won't be repercussions here for this decision. Like I don't know I feel like it's going to be dropped after this. Which is just more frustrating to me I think.
It totally does make sense why Jerboa did what she did. I'm just saying I am sniffing out what kind of feels like a cheap way to get rid of magic. And I think that's whats really upsetting me more than anything.
And yeah my "Jerboa doesn't need to exist" is extreme. Trust me I realize this... And honestly I think I'm still just so frustrated with that choice that I myself am lashing out.
I think for me it just feels like... She really hasn't done a ton. Once again I feel like her backstory is fascinating if squiggy at times. And it does kind of add some world building but I don't know. She just feels like she hasn't done a whole besides that.. and once again. I'm just lashing out... And I'm so frustrated with where things are going.
But sometimes I just need to keep my mouth shut.
Biggest thing I think is it just feels like there should be some consequences for some of these actions. And it feels like there really isn't. Like.. at the very least show magic leaving being traumatic to Turtle. show that it's not just a good thing.
Meh. I'm just tired. And obviously this one little thing just gets to me.
Overall I don't think I hate Jerboa. But I am frustrated with her actions. Maybe a bit to the extreme. Not as much as I am about how Peacemaker was handled.
But still. I'll probably go back and be like "okay overreaction much?"
Trust me I already know I'm going to want to punch this me in the face when I reread this later.
As it is you have some awesome points. Sorry for spamming you with so much extra stuff. I clearly shouldnt write when I'm loopy of cold medicine.