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. -_^

[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]

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.

[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]

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.

[kleenexcow.livejournal.com]

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

[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?!

[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. ♥

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

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

Word. *fistbump*

[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]

Oh, I don't mean that slash is a fad, I just meant M/G particularly. It seemed at one point like it was everywhere. I mean, clearly, Cassie/Aftran lesbianwhalehatesex is here to stay!

OMG IF TOBIAS' TEACHER WAS YEERKED SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE HE WAS POKING AROUND LOOKING FOR HIM?! B/C THE YEERKS' RED FLAGS WENT UP OVER SOMEONE LOOKING FOR ELFANGOR'S SON AND THEY THOUGHT MR. F WAS AFFILIATED WITH THE ANDALITE BANDITS?! AND TOBIAS FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS?! OMG, THE ANGST WOULD HAVE LASTED FOREVER!!

[blue_rampion]

The beauty of Cassie and Aftran's whale love is ETERNAL. It will last foreveeeeeer!

/disappears back into the ether

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

OMG IF TOBIAS' TEACHER WAS YEERKED SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE HE WAS POKING AROUND LOOKING FOR HIM?! B/C THE YEERKS' RED FLAGS WENT UP OVER SOMEONE LOOKING FOR ELFANGOR'S SON AND THEY THOUGHT MR. F WAS AFFILIATED WITH THE ANDALITE BANDITS?! AND TOBIAS FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS?! OMG, THE ANGST WOULD HAVE LASTED FOREVER!!

OH GOD. OH GOD.

You need a school vacation to write this- quick, someone invent a nationally recognized long holiday!

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

/disappears back into the ether

*snatches at mod a few seconds too late*

HOW DOES SHE DO IT???

[kleenexcow.livejournal.com]

It's weird. Despite the fact that being suddenly whisked into Z-Space is pretty much statistically impossible, it happens more often than you might think.

[natural-blue-26.livejournal.com]

It's weird. Despite the fact that being suddenly whisked into Z-Space is pretty much statistically impossible, it happens more often than you might think.

...This describes so much that happens at this comm so well.

[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.

[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?!

[acts_of_tekla]

You know, of all the undoubtedly awkward explanations the Animorphs no doubt had to make after the war ("Sorry about parking a tank on your house, Mr. Chapman; it seemed funny at the time."), I think that might be the worst. I mean, how do you justify to a couple that you permanently turned their kid into a rat and left him on a rock in the middle of the ocean to die (pet rats only live about 3 years; I doubt wild rats make it that long), on purpose?

[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?

[rena-librarian.livejournal.com]

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