Animorphs - The Entire Series

I wonder if Tobias will have a normal hawk lifespan while morphed or if he lives as long as a human. I would guess the hawk one which is kind of a bummer.

The lifespan of a hawk that steals from wolf packs, no less!

Don't they heal when they morph? I wonder if that includes all the small injuries of wear and tear we accumulate over time too. Might not account for some elements of aging like increased cancer risk but it could add a decent amount to longevity. Plus maybe time spent in morph doesn't age the original form? Without that though, I feel like Tobias is going to live as long as a hawk does just because he's physically a hawk. Which kinda sucks.

An injured body loses its damage on morphing. In one book later in the series they survive a grim night in the Arctic by remorphing every two hours to reset the effects of hypothermia. In a less specific spoiler, there's a book where someone gets amnesia and voluntarily avoids using their battle morph because they're not sure if it will remain injured.

I think this was something they deliberately demonstrated early on in the books while they were establishing the rules about morphing. I remember when this came out in the 90s DNA and genetic engineering were hot topics: Dolly the Sheep was just cloned, GATTACA was just released, etc. So these books really tapped into the "you are your genes, not your body" sentiment.

That being said there are some handwaves which is only appropriate since this is not hard sci fi. The most obvious one is that you can morph with clothes. But on top of that, morphing remembers your hair length and style which isn't something stored in your DNA. (I also think I remember a scene with Cassie growing out her hair when morphing back to her body, just because she can.)

In (I think?) another dozen books or so they tackle the question of "what happens to your extra mass when you morph something small" and I guarantee it's not what you expect.

Your body does heal damage on morphing, but Tobias can't morph anymore. If Tobias were a person with a hawk morph, he could morph into it when he was 13, when he was 30, when he was 70. But Tobias is now entirely a hawk, which gives him a hawk's lifespan.

To be fair the books also imply that being able to morph clones and change yourself slightly when you morph doesn't have to do with DNA but instead that the tech has some added benefits that it instills.

Also IIRC they specify that what you morph is the animal at the exact moment you acquired it. I forget if this means if Tobias's human body later is younger than everyone else and doesn't actually age.

i think morphing tech didn't exist when they first bumped into yeerks - iirc it was new in the hork-bajir chronicles when the war was in full swing - so by the time it was an option the andalites were already in the mindset of "we can't give out our tech to anyone, especially that yeerk scum"

Oh I'm not suggesting the Andalites were wrong not to give morphing tech to the Yeerks, especially once they had shown themselves to be aggressive conquerors, just that Cassie's unique perspective lets her see a way out of the entire situation. Though I think most of the Yeerks are actually required to become nothlits by whatever peace ends the war. Not 100% sure though.

Which raises an interesting question of if requiring an entire species to become nothlits to acquire morphing technology is genocide. I'd argue it's not - there's continuity of culture and individuals and yeerks in general don't want their natural bodies to start with. I'd also argue it's still fucked up, but in, you know, a way less fucked up than the other fucked up options.

The Encounter-Chapter 11


They're over the limit! Wait, now they're not! But Tobias is. Sorry, you sad little bird boy.

There's a reason I always told my friends "the first two books are surprisingly dark, and then... it takes a hard left turn into a darker place."

And then book 4 is a breather, and then book 5 turns even darker and harder, and then 6, and then 7...

And this is just the start of Tobias's mental breakdown in this book

Goddamn that was a rough chapter. I didn't remember that they almost get trapped in morph in this one, and that the description of all of them trying to get out, especially Marco, goes full-tilt body horror. Wonder if K.A. was thinking of the scene in Invasion of the Body Snatchers when she wrote that particular section.

I remember the lobster morph being a particularly bad one, description-wise so I'm looking forward to seeing how gross the morphs get. Pity that the flea morph was offscreen, do they ever use that one again? Seems like it would be somewhat helpful for low-stakes infiltration, especially if you enlist someone else in morph as a watcher to keep an eye on whoever the flea is on.

Tobias's internal monologue ending the chapter is so fucking brutal, too. I didn't remember much of what this book was and so far it is turning out to be incredibly intense.

I half-remember there being a scene where Marco almost gets stuck halfway out of a flea-morph, it's really awful. That happens a while from now, maybe in the David books. I think Cassie saves the day that time too.

...incidentally, what does the thread title refer to?

Figured it was a Wonder Twins reference, although I don't know what if anything the cougar is referencing.

Probably the Wonder Twins, who would shout "Wonder Twins Power Activate! Shape of a X" when they transformed into things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGwWNGJdvx8

Petition to change the thread title to match the cover of the current book.

Gladly. Is this something I can do myself, or do we need a mod?

PM Hieronymous Alloy, he can do it for you. He can also change the thread tag so it's no longer the Shitpost one too. Given the content of the series and this book in particular the Falconry one is the obvious choice.

Thanks. PM sent.

Kind of makes sense that the limit wouldn't be exactly two hours. Whatever units the Andalites use probably wouldn't be evenly divisible by earth hours so maybe the real number is 2:04:37 or something and Elfangor just said "2 hours" so they can remember it.

"2 of your earth hours"
"They're everyone's hours."

We need a book where the aliens give a unit of time that their universal translator has given them but is actually wildly off from the real time.

"You can only stay morphed for two hundred and eighty seven years. After that, you'll be trapped forever in that form!!"

TWO SECONDS

uh elfangor that seems kinda short

RUN YOU DUMMIES THE VISSER WILL BE HERE ANY MILLENIUM

What did happen to the morphing cube they used to get powers anyway, did the yeerks accidentally incinerate it with the andalites ship?

That's going to be revealed in about a dozen books' time, ...and you're gonna wish that damn thing just stayed buried

Turns out that somebody hid it and it becomes an important plot device at least twice.

For future reference, you can also ask me to do this - I'll usually see it if you post in the thread, anyway.

Thanks! Hope you're liking the thread.

Feel like pure shit just want him back

The Encounter-Chapter 12


So this is Tobias's life now.

https://twitter.com/MichaelGrantBks/status/1261327166244974593

I am 100% up for this.

Should I know who that person is?

I don't see how you make a book serial into a film