freebooter posted:Anyway, this chapter does a real good job of making David say stuff which isn't wrong or incorrect, per se, but is just... off. i'm sorry but i still don't see it i understand that the characters are reacting to him like he's weird and edgy - that as a kid, i perceived him the same way because of how the other kids were reacting to him - but to my eyes now he just seems...like a 13 year old boy? the other kids are saints where david is just...normal. who wouldn't think of the criminal possibilities for morphing, even if you never follow through? who wouldn't think that tobias being bird-speciesist was kind of funny (we do, here in this thread!)? the original animorphs are the weird ones, here, for reacting to david the way they do. they're taking absolutely everything he says at face value even when, if one of them said something similar, they would perceive it as a joke or banter about it a bit instead. is david's speculation about ripping off a jewelry store really very different from marco's fantasies about using morphing in movies or getting on letterman or whatever? i feel like if david said "hey, we could be on letterman with this!" all of the kids would glare at him and say "that would expose us all to the yeerks you moron", when that was not how they responded to marco. this is just basically an extension of their failure to understand what integrating a new member means. they are trying to get him to act like they do now, after a few dozen battles, instead of remembering what things were like at the beginning of their involvement in the war and understanding why he's behaving the way he is. they've lost touch with the perspective of "normal" kids and are holding him to an unreasonable standard. Jazerus fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Apr 22, 2021 |
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 17:15 |
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# ? Apr 23, 2024 14:53 |
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I choose to believe that Socks the Cat inadvertently saved mankind by convincing Visser 3 that the White House was protected by an Andalite Bandit.
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 18:25 |
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Jazerus posted:i'm sorry but i still don't see it I agree, and I think there’s a bit of a pattern of this clumsy/rushed characterization. We’re told first, rather than shown, that Rachel is a born warrior that loves action and that Marco is a ruthless strategist, before they really have a chance to demonstrate it meaningfully. I think it just comes from the realities of writing a serialized children’s series. The books are only so long, and early on, with everything else going on in terms of exposition and explanation of alien species and morphing metaphysics, they save a bit of time by filling in the characterization in broad strokes. The difference is, with the OG Animorphs they can continue to fill in their character traits and personalities throughout the series. With David, they only have a little time to set him up so they have to try to find ways to gradually ramp up his characterization while balancing the high-stakes “world leaders infestation” plot. It ends up feeling a bit rushed and like the core team is jumping to harsh conclusions unfairly. Like I said - it didn’t stand out to me as a kid, so mission accomplished in selling the story to their intended audience! But it does feel different reading it now.
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 19:47 |
Epicurius posted:So I just want to talk for a second about how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. You might think, like I did, that you know, the caterpillar sits in there, and then, I dunno, wings grow on it and other things. That's not what happens at all.
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 21:30 |
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Remalle posted:So I'm really late to this one but I really have to ask. How the gently caress does this process evolve? Here's a Scientific American article about a theory of how it evolved: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/insect-metamorphosis-evolution/ Basically. there are three different types of insect growth. Some species have no metamorphosis. Newly hatched insects are just smaller versions of adults. Some have, like dragonflies or mosquitoes, incomplete metamorphosis. They start out as nymphs, looking like their adult form, but with no wings or genitals, which form as they grow. Butterflies though, for instance, have complete metamorphosis. They think complete metamorphosis evolved from incomplete metamorphosis, when, because of some mutation, an insect became viable to hatch from the egg early. Things like caterpillars and maggots and things like that are just viable versions of what would in other insects, be not yet born.
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 21:48 |
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Visser 3 successfully morphs Bill Clinton but then has to spend so much time dealing with sex scandals that he doesn't have time to work on the invasion.
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 23:12 |
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OctaviusBeaver posted:Visser 3 successfully morphs Bill Clinton but then has to spend so much time dealing with sex scandals that he doesn't have time to work on the invasion. When he said "I did not have sex with that woman," he thought he was telling the truth.
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# ? Apr 22, 2021 23:37 |
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ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:When he said "I did not have sex with that woman," he thought he was telling the truth. "As you can tell, she, I, and the First Lady all still exist and have not experienced terminal cellular fission. I will not be taking questions at this time."
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# ? Apr 23, 2021 00:27 |
Jazerus posted:
I find it a really interesting example, that the other kids' minds went to being in film, or Letterman, etc, while David's went to stealing for personal gain. Yes, there's personal gain in both scenarios, but it's just an interesting note that one scenario actively harms someone else. Thats not to say that there isn't a fair bit of distrust going on, but as was mentioned... something about him just seems off somehow.
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# ? Apr 23, 2021 00:45 |
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Animorphs Book 21-The Threat, Chapter 3quote:<“Off we go, into the wild blue yonder, flying high into the sun!”> Marco sang. If you're curious, this is the US Air Force Anthem, and you can listen to the whole thing quote:<“Off we go, into the …” Hey! Whoa! Pizza Hut! The guy down there on the blue beach towel. He’s got an entire large pizza!> So much for Andalites not screaming. But it makes sense if you're Visser Three and worried about Andalite Bandits to have some sort of sonic anti-bird feature at the hotel. Chapter 4 quote:<AAAAHHHHH!> It was Tobias’s turn. I mean, never say die, right? But this is quite a setup they've got here.
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# ? Apr 23, 2021 05:12 |
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note that nobody's being a smartass to Marco about how seagulls and chicken are different species so it wouldn't be cannibalism
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# ? Apr 23, 2021 06:36 |
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Homora Gaykemi posted:note that nobody's being a smartass to Marco about how seagulls and chicken are different species so it wouldn't be cannibalism True. Although, Marco also didn't make a joke to a black teenager about how her friend was a racist.
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# ? Apr 23, 2021 13:11 |
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Homora Gaykemi posted:note that nobody's being a smartass to Marco about how seagulls and chicken are different species so it wouldn't be cannibalism I see this in so many things where people think feeding chicken to birds (and tuna to fish) is cannibalism.
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# ? Apr 24, 2021 02:18 |
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Just like it's cannibalism for humans to eat cows, pigs, or sheep.
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# ? Apr 24, 2021 02:33 |
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Animorphs Book 21-The Threat, Chapter 5quote:We left. We went home. At least, Marco, Rachel, Cassie, and I went home. Ax’s home is a few billion miles away. Tobias’s home is his favorite tree overlooking the meadow that is his territory. So a lot of feeling guilty here. But we also find out that Rachel and Jake are cousins through Rachel's dad, not her mom. Also, Saddler would be about Tom's age, I guess. Chapter 6 quote:My parents drove off, but I didn’t exactly declare a national holiday and throw a party. No time. I just find the whole Tom and Jake thing interesting, because, of course, with this conversation, it's just Tom being a bossy older brother taking advantage of his parents not being home to pick on his little brother. But it's threatening because we know, and Jake knows that Tom isn't Tom, and if the Yeerk who's talking for Tom knew who Jake really was, Jake would get a Yeerk shoved in him so fast his head would spin. quote:I sighed. Then … So this isn't good.
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# ? Apr 24, 2021 04:43 |
I completely forgot this subplot
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# ? Apr 24, 2021 04:57 |
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OctaviusBeaver posted:Visser 3 successfully morphs Bill Clinton but then has to spend so much time dealing with sex scandals that he doesn't have time to work on the invasion. Newt Gingrich, Savior of Humanity.
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# ? Apr 24, 2021 11:41 |
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Some proper actual professionals posted:“Hi, Cassie, what’s up?” Can just say that I'm also following the Let's Read James Bond thread and it is mind blowing how much better the animorphs are at this than the man himself
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# ? Apr 24, 2021 14:31 |
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Animorphs Book 21-The Threat, Chapter 7quote:“Did you try and reach Marco?” I like Jake as a dog. Chapter 8 quote:I followed David’s scent as Cassie floated in absolute silence overhead. Her owl’s wings made no sound. Not even to my ears. Just to note, this is the same basic thing Tobias said, jokingly. when he took clothes from the store for David when he needed them after he demorphed. quote:“You’re not talking to someone who doesn’t know what’s what, okay? The eagle morph is just a body and basic instincts. The mind is yours. Eagles don’t bust into Holiday Inns. That was you.” We can certainly talk about David's comments here, which I sort of agree with him that there's really no good ending for somebody in his situation, But instead, I sort of want to talk about institutional vs personal leadership. We've discussed before how Visser Three is a bad leader, but he can sort of get away with, and has so far, because he's part of an institution...he's the commander of the Yeerk forces on Earth, and he's obeyed for that reason. He has the whole institution of the Yeerk government, and the Yeerk army backing him up. That's true in a lot of hierarchies...work, school, government. We do what the person in charge says, even if we don't like that person, because he or she is part of an institution we obey.. If you've ever read Max Weber's work, he calls it "rational-legal authority". Jake, on the other hand, is the leader of a resistance group with six other people in it, He doesn't have that sort of authority. If the rest of the Animorphs decide they don't want to do what he tells them to do, there's not much he can do about it, other than let them disobey him or use force to stop them. This hasn't come up with the rest of the Animorphs so far, because they all know Jake and trust him. They're letting him give them orders because they've decided that they can trust him to give them good orders (and so far, for the most part, he has). He doesn't have this with David, though, as of right now. David doesn't like him and doesn't trust him. That's why Jake is going straight to threats in response to defiance. He doesn't have any other choice.
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 04:27 |
What was the answer in Jake's mind? "I'll take care of you." ?
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 05:04 |
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Comrade Blyatlov posted:What was the answer in Jake's mind? "I'll take care of you." ? Yeah. Basically, all of the Animorphs have already decided, consciously or subconsciously, that their war is more important than David.
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 13:00 |
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Animorphs Book 21-The Threat, Chapter 9quote:Cassie had said she had an idea for getting past the security at the resort. She’d also admitted it would creep me out. Cassie is a disturbing person sometimes. Dragonflies are cool, though. They're fast, agile, and have great eyesight. Honestly, if you want an insect morph that will let you get in, spy on people, and get out, dragonflies are the ones to have. Chapter 10 quote:I drew the short straw. So I was the one to stick my fingers into the jar and touch the dragonfly. While this is gross. it's true that dragonflies can fly at up to 35 miles an hour for short periods.
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 03:44 |
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Epicurius posted:
Jake('s narration) doesn't get to be sarcastically funny very often, so I appreciate it when he is.
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 04:03 |
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I know you need to have drama and plot etc but I always get annoyed in anything when there's a big important mission coming up but instead of putting our personal bullshit on hold lets all have a big fight over dumb poo poo. David needs to chill until they can figure out a longer term plan for him and the Animorphs need to let David feel like he's got some control in his life. Jake's weird obsession with military technology owns, though he should be obsessed about Andalite military technology too. Let's hear more about Zero Space!
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 07:49 |
Pwnstar posted:I know you need to have drama and plot etc but I always get annoyed in anything when there's a big important mission coming up but instead of putting our personal bullshit on hold lets all have a big fight over dumb poo poo. David needs to chill until they can figure out a longer term plan for him and the Animorphs need to let David feel like he's got some control in his life. David is a teenager. That age is entirely about personal bullshit.
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 07:57 |
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:David is a teenager. That age is entirely about personal bullshit. Oh yeah for sure but it still drives me crazy. Like in romantic stuff when the main characters break up over a misunderstanding that could be easily resolved with a 30 second conversation, people aren't purely logical robotic beings like myself but I get system errors when I see it.
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 08:09 |
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quote:David gave me a look that was pure cynicism. “Yeah. Right. Well, how about this, Jake? I’ll handle my life. You be the big boss of the Animorphs, and I’ll take care of me.” This is a line (a few lines I guess) that really stuck in my memory. Not sure why. I guess I'd again contrast it with Marco recently - Jake has the urge to puff his chest out but is smart enough, and leader enough, to reign it in. But what he's leaving unsaid is a true and genuine threat, and way darker than whatever dickish joke Marco made.
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 09:19 |
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freebooter posted:This is a line (a few lines I guess) that really stuck in my memory. Not sure why. I guess I'd again contrast it with Marco recently - Jake has the urge to puff his chest out but is smart enough, and leader enough, to reign it in. But what he's leaving unsaid is a true and genuine threat, and way darker than whatever dickish joke Marco made. And of course, considering the next book, it's ultimately what they do.
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# ? Apr 26, 2021 18:08 |
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Animorphs Book 21-The Threat, Chapter 11quote:<Aaaaaahhhhh! Would you slow down?> Marco yelled. I hear you, Ax. quote:<Wall coming up,> Tobias reported. Also would be a bad time for them to demorph.... Chapter 12 quote:I hovered and I hovered and I hovered some more. This bellman has some very strong opinions on the attractiveness of newswomen. quote:I shot toward the ceiling, cranked a hard right and went skimming at rocket speed. The textured white plane of the ceiling just an inch above me. I spotted curtains and did a neat loop down behind them. I grabbed some curtain rod and hung on, waiting for my stomach to catch up. And they have less than 3 minutes left.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 05:18 |
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Should've had them morph to fleas, jump on Jake, then he morphs.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 09:00 |
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freebooter posted:Should've had them morph to fleas, jump on Jake, then he morphs. Nonzero chance they would have been subducted inside his skin and crushed when his skull inverts or whatever new body horror Applegate wants to write this month.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 09:06 |
Earth defeated by spider, news at 11
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 09:16 |
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They should have just had Tobias morph human and use a pair of tweezers or something to place all the fleas on Jake.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 09:23 |
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They should have done a practice run when they realised how difficult it was going to be, and then use what they learned to not waste half their morphing time on the setup.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 10:51 |
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I just remembered how they eventually deal with the G8 plot and lol it loving rules
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 11:46 |
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It really does.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 13:42 |
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Fuschia tude posted:Nonzero chance they would have been subducted inside his skin and crushed when his skull inverts or whatever new body horror Applegate wants to write this month. Get to personally witness what happens to parasites and other organisms living in the body when they morph. Actually, I wonder if it's related to how they can morph with tight clothing.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 21:16 |
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dungeon cousin posted:Get to personally witness what happens to parasites and other organisms living in the body when they morph. There is a canon answer to this in one of the ghostwritten books, where the Animorphs have been shrunken down and are inside Marco's bloodstream to save him from the tiny aliens that have taken him hostage, and he morphs into a cockroach despite orders not to because he's got rabies. They survive this, but it cures his rabies I think? It's a weird and shakey book, and I realized how weird something I just read as a child was even for this series when typing it out.
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# ? Apr 27, 2021 22:27 |
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Animorphs Book 21-The Threat, Chapter 13quote:Trapped by a spider! If you're curious, here's what a flea's head looks like close up: So, Marco is going to have other problems if he's trapped as a giant flea other than the fact that he's going to look ugly. There's a scientific law (discovered by Gallileo), called the square-cube law. Basically, it means, if something doubles in length, its surface area will increase by the square of that (so four times), and total volume by the cube of that (so 8 times). What this means in effect is that a flea that becomes human sized is going to be growing in size and weight faster than its own anatomy is going to grow. It's going to lack the muscular strength to move or even breathe. and its going to crush itself under its own weight. Chapter 14 quote:I could not stand to look at the thing. Square cube law. quote:“Come on, Marco,” Cassie said calmly. “Clear your mind of all the fear. You can do this. You will morph. Focus on the picture of yourself. Form the picture in your mind. Let go of the fear and focus on the picture of your own body.” This is a very hologram heavy adventure. Also, even for the Animorphs, this has been a pretty traumatic adventure so far, have you noticed?
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# ? Apr 28, 2021 03:52 |
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# ? Apr 23, 2024 14:53 |
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No kidding
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# ? Apr 28, 2021 07:02 |