first, I would have to establish the narrative structures that enable a plausible queer reading: Animorphs is fundamentally unreliably narrated. There are plenty of gaps left open in the narrative that encourage a reader to ponder their own ideas and plenty of cases to be made for character to leave something out. We don't even have to argue that Axmarco happened secretly on the down low, we can argue that the story purposefully obscures it, because the narration takes place after the events and is edited, is addressing an audience (in the 90s/early 2000s) with the intent to tell their story in a certain way.
then, I would go into the details of each their characters, how they are both othered, both a strange mixture of alien and human, one component nature, the other nurtured. How they are both alienated in very specific ways (each of the Animorphs is alienated in their own specific way, but the similarities between Ax and Marco are very striking to me): Ax is an Alien stranded on earth, confronted with and changed by human culture, while Marco is a human who was partly raised and influenced by an alien, nurtured into difference (This is why I differentiate them from Tobias who was entirely socialised human - theirs is very much cultural/social contact turning into otherness/being othered. They are also the two humans that are explicitly read as mixed.)
I would continue on with the nature/nurture aspect and expand it into a closer observation on the role cultural and natural spaces play in facilitating the queer reading/supporting the plausibility. We have, of course, the scoop, which becomes the epitome of their polymorphic identities, alien architecture furnished with earthly objects. It's also the place that promises the most secrecy and privacy from the outside world and a place that is not really accessible to us as readers - we rarely entre the scoop, as soon as Marco moves in only once, I think? There could also be a closer observation of the mall, which is the place opposing the forest where the scoop is located, or the Hork-Bajir valley at the end of the series, but that would be stuff for the actual long thing and not my short overview. (I would love to do close readings of so many Ax and Marco scenes because some of them seriously leave me with questions).
Now I still haven't really gone into the queerness of it all: I would want an overview of the textual queerness, especially Marco's, but also Ax's and their shared moments that would work for a queer reading, but then more importantly I would take a closer look at the things that are not textual, the questions and gaps left open. I like best when I have to ask myself why a text is doing this and saying that and why the words that are there eon the page are there, for what purpose, and what it COULD mean - queerness, in books not explicitly queer, is about potentiality and plausible potentiality, and I think thats exactly what axmarco has.
My conclusion would be something about the potential, the gaps and how ax and Marco as narrators make use of them but also how they and their relationships changes from the eyes of the others (I think all of my favourite axmarco scenes are from books that they narrate, which makes sense but interesting nonetheless. Also I feel like Marco makes more joke-flirt attempts in books that Jake narrates, which could mean nothing...).
I am well aware this likely does not interest a lot of people, but I would love to hear anyones thoughts on this if you happen to have read this entire text. It's always been pretty strange to me how unpopular Axmarco seems to be or how its more regarded as a joke ship, compared to other, "bigger" ships, but then again, I really love this kind of thing where I can look for clues and hints and gaps and make my own thing out of it, and not everybody likes that
amandla
blakekathryn
izzy806
2087
ellievsbear
gracieabrams
jimmyeatworldofficial
dailybridgerton
prguitarman
