As our lovely fandom has a plethora of these...

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

...and we all have our own 'pet' favorite characters, be they extended family members of the Animorphs or the less utilized Villains/Monsters of the Week, and I'm curious to (hopefully) see some discussion over which 'minor' players everyone had they relate to/stuck with them/think deserved their own spin-off or Chronicles/etc.

Five minor or one-off characters that you wish could have gotten more face time. (Or would show up again)

(Originally posted by iceshade at fannish5 here.)

Comments

[nyonyo.livejournal.com]

Eva, Loren, Melissa, Aftran, Karen.

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

1. Rachel's extended family, specifically Naomi and Jordan --- but Jordan NOT in a Mary!Sue/extra Animorphs role. I'm sure there's a universe that can be well done in, but I've sadly yet to read it. And if you ever read my fic at all, this is probably rather obvious because I love to use Jordan to observe Rachel at various parts of the series for some reason.

2. Taylor --- she's somewhere between evil in one half and crazy in the other, but there had to be something else to her first that made her who she is in-series. How was someone so 'popular' that vulnerable? How did her family view her betrayal? Etc.

3. David's parents --- it's weird, but even my first time through the series I wanted to know on some level that they didn't spend the rest of forever waiting for their son to one day make it home.

4. Tom--- mainly before Jake was aware of his situation, but a sideline story involving someone continuing to appear to be living their own normal life for years while being enslaved so close/overlapping with one of the main Anis would have been fascinating. (If the fic(s) exist and anyone has recs, that would be wonderful!)

5. Eva --- the woman's character potential is WOAH, and thanks to lisacharly's The Husk (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6168085/1/The_Husk), I will never be able to have enough of her ever again in fandom. -_^

[kleenexcow.livejournal.com]

Props to Jordan but not as an extra Animorph.

No recs for Tom fic, but a chronicle from Tom/his Yeerk's POV would have been seriously awesome.

Clearly, I agree with you on the Eva. But how could anyone not?!

[rena-librarian.livejournal.com]

Damn, now I want to add Taylor to my list.

[a-happy-book.livejournal.com]

I read a Tom/Yeerk fic aggggggges ago. Like, 1998 or 1999 or 2000. I wish I could remember the name. It probably wasn't that good either but in my pre-teen eyes, it was golden

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. I detect bias here. Perhaps. ;)

Oooh, David parents! There's potential for a brutal story there.

I know, right? Because they're these obvious casualties of the war/their son's decisions so there's great 'what-if' hanging there.

[cleo-eurydike.livejournal.com]

1. Loren
2. Melissa
3. Jake's parents
4. "" ""
5. Visser Three but just in a different light. He always read a little flat to me? Maybe I just need to reread.

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

Visser Three but just in a different light. He always read a little flat to me? Maybe I just need to reread.

It is a shame he could sometimes be read almost as a parody of a super!villain where there *had* to be something more going on there. *nods*

[rattyjol.livejournal.com]

Helmacrons
David
David's parents
The whole Berenson family
Loren

[kleenexcow.livejournal.com]

Haha, twins. You posted the Berensons while I was writing my post. :D

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

Haha, I saw your Dr Who/Helmacrons prompt right after this and lol'd.

And a major yes to everything else!

[kleenexcow.livejournal.com]

What, no Mertil and Gafinilan? Has that slash fad faded from this community?

I agree wholeheartedly with all of the desire for more, more, more Loren. Homegirl was a badass! And, you know, she probably would have had something to say re: end-of-series Tobias. Also, Eva, because one can never have too much Eva.

I also wanted more of the Governor...was it alluded to that she was Cassie's president, or is that my personal canon?

Also, this is an obscure choice, but I'd have liked a late-series appearance by either Mr. Feynman (Might not be exactly his name, but I'm going from memory here) or Professor Powers. You know, a little payoff from learning about the only pre-Animorph people who every showed any interest in Tobias whatsoever by having one of them briefly show up later as a Yeerk. Maybe that crosses the thin line between Marco and Tobias' respective backstories, but, it would have been interesting.

For my final choice, I'm going to pick a family unit: the Berensons. Particularly Steve and Dan. One's a doctor and the other's a failed gymnast turned TV personality. Not to mention some core differences in the children they raised. Surely there's an interesting dynamic of personalities there. But we never got to see them together! For all that Jake and Rachel were family, there was very little extended familial interaction (minus, y'know, the David arc), which I guess was mostly explained by the divorce business, but still I wanted more.

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

What, no Mertil and Gafinilan? Has that slash fad faded from this community?

I'm sure our mod, etc, will be along at some point. Although the whale icon up top was indirectly a shout out to that lol. Glad that crossed the mind of someone else too.

Homegirl was a badass! And, you know, she probably would have had something to say re: end-of-series Tobias.

Very much so! Argh, Tobias, be nicer to your mommy! *smacks*

You know, a little payoff from learning about the only pre-Animorph people who every showed any interest in Tobias whatsoever by having one of them briefly show up later as a Yeerk.

Oooooooooooh, Tobias's English teacher from the dance? Verrrrrrrry interesting choice. I bet he would have been one of the few people that noticed when Tobias stopped showing up for his class, too. And if he made the connection from Tobias being with Rachel at the dance to possibly meaning something...? *ponders*

I'm going to pick a family unit: the Berensons. Particularly Steve and Dan. One's a doctor and the other's a failed gymnast turned TV personality. Not to mention some core differences in the children they raised. Surely there's an interesting dynamic of personalities there. But we never got to see them together! For all that Jake and Rachel were family, there was very little extended familial interaction (minus, y'know, the David arc), which I guess was mostly explained by the divorce business, but still I wanted more.

YES. YES TO EVERYTHING. ♥

[joking.livejournal.com]

Re: Dan: Rachel never got to whisk him away to the valley at the end and there was ZERO angst about it. Oh come on. Rachel would be so torn up about not being able to save her dad. And then after the war, Dan suddenly finding out that his eldest daughter was in a war against aliens and died killing his elder nephew?!

[joking.livejournal.com]

1. Dude, how did no one mention Arbron? He deserved his own Taxxon Chronicles! What did he do for all those years as a nothlit?

2. Also, who was that weird super-powerful antagonist from #41? Why did it never come up again?

3. Melissa Chapman. Again, not as a Mary Sue/extra Animorph, but just as a girl who's lost her best friend (Rachel) and her parents to the war. It's so sad!

4. Gafinilan/Mertil forever. I wanted them to have some kind of role in the final battle.

5. And of course, I'd have loved more time with the auxiliary Animorphs. I always found them so interesting, especially James.

[noapologiesx.livejournal.com]

I'm so sad the Taxxon Chronicles never happened. Arbron was def one of my favorite side characters.

[dither-spaz.livejournal.com]

YES ARBRON AND THE TAXXON CHRONICLES. ALL I WANT.

[rena-librarian.livejournal.com]

Hmm...
1. Loren. Loren Loren Loren! She got so cheated all the way around. I wanted more development of her from the minute I finished TAC and then even when I got it toward the end of the series, it wasn't enough.

2. Melissa. Because there was that glimmer of hope when Rachel left her that note, and then we don't hear from her again until they drive a tank into her house. Wut? Wouldn't getting that note and then still basically losing your best friend be super depressing? If Rachel had maintained the connection with Melissa, might it have slowed her descent into madness?

3. Mertil/Gafinilan. (Though 14-year-old me would be horrified to know that I'm a slash fan nowadays.) I would love to know how homosexuality is regarded in Andalite culture, it's something that could really go either way based on canon. I've read fic where it was total acceptance and other fic where it was frowned upon and I thought both were equally believable. And yes, I do believe KAA was trying to imply they were a couple, insofar as one could get away with that in a kid's book in the 90's.

4. Cassie's parents. They were the only set of families that really didn't have other drama going on to distract them (Rachel's family had the divorce, Jake's family was dealing with Tom and his obsession with the Sharing, Marco's dad had, well, Marco's mom), so how did they miss this giant change in their daughter's life? They were written like they were fairly calm, level-headed, and competent otherwise.

5. Pemalite Chronicles, anybody?

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

2. Melissa. Because there was that glimmer of hope when Rachel left her that note, and then we don't hear from her again until they drive a tank into her house. Wut? Wouldn't getting that note and then still basically losing your best friend be super depressing? If Rachel had maintained the connection with Melissa, might it have slowed her descent into madness?

YES. I have always been convinced it was possible to have non-Animorphs friend interactions (because aside from possibly Tobias, there is no way they didn't all have larger social circles) without them having to be Mary!Sues etc.

[a-happy-book.livejournal.com]

My girl J Berensen facing off Taylor.

*pause*

.......................Great another idea to write instead of my 19th Cent. Lit paper. :-p

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

......Or ***after**** your 19th Cent. Lit paper! :DDD

[odette-river.livejournal.com]

Edriss. Edrisssss. How has no one mentioned my bb Edriss yet? I don't know; I'm just fascinated with her and how she walks the line between having actually redeeming qualities and yet at the same time being arguably a better bad guy than Visser Three ever was.

Also Karen. Dude, how did she manage to survive after Aftran left her? Didn't the Yeerks get suspicious or something?

[buffyangellvr23.livejournal.com]

You guys said many of the ones I'd have picked.

I think I'd maybe throw in Toby, just because some after-the-war stuff with the colony would've been fun. Aftran...although I'm not sure she could've done much after becoming a whale. Tidwell/Illim after the war stuff. And did anyone say Alloran? Again, after the war stuff, or even while he was with Visser 3.

[anijen21.livejournal.com]

Alloran's the one I'm most pissed about, but I echo the Loren sentiment as well.

Ax's parents are the other. Toby, too. Clearly I've decided this years ago since I've already fic'd all the ones I was curious about...

As far as one-off characters like Gafinilan/Aftran/Mertil/Melissa/etc., I kind of just wished they'd been interwoven into the story more overall. Like I'm not super curious about their specific arcs, about what happened to all of them, but I think rather than dumping them at the end of their respective books, they could have become supporting players throughout the war. Estrid and those Andalites, too. Only the Chee and the free Hork-Bajir were allowed the opportunity to fight for their freedom on a regular basis and it just kind of bugged me.

[with-rainfall.livejournal.com]

1. The Andalites in #38 The Arrival: Arbat, Godron and Aloth.
2. The Pemalites (and their interaction with the Chee). We have an Ellimist Chronicles, why not a Pemalite Chronicles? :(
3. I think the Chee should've been fleshed out, too.
4. Karen before, during and after Aftran
5. Aftran between #19 and #29 (or, hell, after 29).
6. David's relationship with his parents, particularly his father.

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

6. David's relationship with his parents, particularly his father.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

And go!