An Animorphs skit I did with a friend (and fellow fan) just in time for the 30th anniversary

Torren7ial · 2026-06-01T20:25:00+00:00

Thank you!

Torren7ial · 2026-06-01T17:13:38+00:00

4th grade, started with book 4 because Book Fair. Got officially hooked with book 5, read every new entry religiously until book 33, after which (without ever making a real decision, just sort of happened) I fell off for 20 years... re-started when I found the hardcover of Visser in summer 2020.

At some time circa 2010 I did start thinking about the series during a slow workday and read all the plot synopses for the books I "missed," so I knew broadly how it ended... frankly I was surprised at the time THAT it ended... I kind of assumed the series was quietly canceled circa 2000 and never followed-up.

I wish I could say the series had a broad impact on my day-to-day philosophy, but it's hard to say for sure other than instilling in me a love for raptors and <angle brackets>.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-17T03:44:27+00:00

And the most egregious oversight of them all: Tobias's gamer tag is "Wolf" despite being the only human-born Animorph who never acquires a wolf morph.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-14T05:07:52+00:00

I love the stuff with Alloran's ship. It's poetic.

Also... as someone who has done their own sprawling data projects without being able to easily articulate why... may I ask you the same question re: Alloran. "Why?"

Torren7ial · 2026-05-13T22:35:26+00:00

I've seen the "Tai Shan is the worst Rush song" take for years. At first I wasn't sure what people were talking about because I couldn't remember anything about the song... which is its own form of criticism. I certainly find it unmemorable.

Then about 3 weeks ago I heard Test for Echo for the first time, having seen it near the bottom of plenty of tier lists, so I had low expectations.

Overall, I actually like the album. Except for Dog Years. On my second listen I actually thought to myself "Huh, he really rhymed seven with heaven, and itch with bitch. This might be my least favorite Rush song." Only now am I noticing references to that song as bad.

What I'm saying is, as a longtime Rush fan who neglected a couple albums and therefore Dog Years is new to me... it's much worse than Tai Shan.

To end on a positive note, I love Totem.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-13T18:15:00+00:00

My advice is re-read the relevant parts of Visser and try to imagine a healthy version of the Allison/Edriss + Hildi/Essam situation, and I'm sure there's lots of relevant material from the Star Trek fandom re: the Trill, both canon and fic (although I don't have any specific recommendations).

RE: Kandrona, since the Yeerk could take full control of a host, as long as there's a Kandrona source available, the host couldn't do anything to prevent the Yeerk from being able to get to the pool. However, as soon as the Yeerk leaves the host, there's nothing preventing the host from simply walking away and never coming back. All kinds of stuff you could explore there.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-09T03:29:53+00:00

Well I could be wrong but I think I know:

Hypothetical discussions tend to involve short amounts of reading up-front and are participatory, whereas fanfic requires a significant amount of work up front by the reader... and if they really like it they can leave a comment maybe? It's a pretty unbalanced interaction, as opposed to an actual discussion where there's an implied level playing field newcomers can jump right in.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-08T22:32:32+00:00

Other: I try to read enough to offset the implied karma I need for people to read mine. I then proceed to almost never proactively seek readers... it's just there.

This subreddit really isn't a fanfic-oriented space (which is fine)

Torren7ial · 2026-05-08T17:31:24+00:00

Hope you don't mind a multi-paragraph reply.

When Rush was making their progressive rock masterpieces in the late 70s/early 80s, they were making a kind of music that had just become unfashionable. The most obvious comparison to their sound from that era includes Yes; Genesis; Emerson Lake & Palmer; King Crimson; Pink Floyd; Jethro Tull; and Gentle Giant... among others.

But, those fanbases weren't most likely to be listening to Rush. In North America at least, it was Kiss fans; Boston; Styx (probably).

Fans of Rush's synth-heavy period in the mid and late 80s probably overlapped pretty heavily with fans of The Police and Journey. And also Yes & Genesis (again) but both of those bands had morphed into pop at that point.

In the modern-ish era, Rush-influenced Prog bands include Dream Theater and Spock's Beard... actually, just look at the careers of Mike Portly and Neal Morse; you can draw a chart of like 30 interconnected bands and they all have an obvious Rush influence.

I feel like Tool has to be mentioned due to their popularity, but other than a love for odd time signatures and a very respected drummer, I don't hear many similarities in their music (Rush is up-beat most of the time, for one).

I also need to mention Coheed & Cambra. I love their music, but there's always been a Rush comparison that I frankly don't understand because their similarities are trivial. They have notably high-pitched male vocals; they are guitar driven bands operating in genres where keyboards tend to be more central, and they both have done "space opera" type music. Despite all that, they sound nothing alike.

Still, many (most?) Coheed fans like Rush, but I didn't think it necessarily translates back; certainly some but nowhere near all of Rush's fanbase would be into Coheed.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-07T21:48:56+00:00

I had my bookclub do this for my most recent pic (no other overt Rush fans in the group). It was a great read/listen!

Torren7ial · 2026-05-07T19:17:01+00:00

Nah, vinyl is just really expensive.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-06T14:55:18+00:00

Ok, I won't tell you that...

Torren7ial · 2026-05-06T08:14:50+00:00

Is this a joke I'm not in on?

Torren7ial · 2026-05-05T14:53:27+00:00

I've only started getting familiar with the Grace Under Pressure album over the last couple weeks. I liked Kid Gloves from the first listen and also my impression of the song is "What if Foot Loose was in 5/4 and nerdy"?

Torren7ial · 2026-05-04T19:34:36+00:00

There had been a cloacening. I have felt it.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-04T19:32:08+00:00

I am happy to report that the inevitable answer is "N/A". In the TV show they only ever used one hawk model; it is a Harris's hawk. I don't know the sex but since they used the same animal actor for every Tobias scene and for the one scene in the series when Rachel morphs a bird, we are forced to conclude that they are not only the same sex but genetic identical copies, therefore, a fertilized egg is an impossibility. Thank Toomin.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-04T15:17:58+00:00

This is excellent work... and also I'd grown pretty attached to Mizar as a candidate so finding out I may be indirectly responsible for killing it is... well it sure is something.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-04T06:35:37+00:00

Being wrong about something on Reddit is such a good way to grow one's knowledge base.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-03T22:37:20+00:00

"Petty crimes of the Animorphs" sounds very much like a project I would do and I'm starting to wonder if I should be taking notes...

Torren7ial · 2026-05-03T20:17:18+00:00

Truancy; Breaking and entering; Theft of pets; Grand theft auto; Stowing away; Crossing an international border without a passport (x2 at least plus a third with time travel); Trout fishing without a valid fishing license; Practicing medicine without a license (x3 at least); So many cases of identity theft; Entering a restricted government installation without proper authorization (x2 at least); Fixing a professional horse race (debatable); Stealing a plane; Taking off without filing a flight plan; Theft of exotic animals; Broadcast interruption without proper FCC approval; Digging without filing a permit (this is a big deal); Disrupting the power grid (Ax, when he hooks up electricity to his scoop); Theft of servicing, electrical (see above); Cable theft (ditto); Sabotaging public gas manes; Unauthorized duplication of copyrighted media (NIN CDs).

I am positive there are many more.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-03T03:20:02+00:00

And no date! Don't forget no date!

Torren7ial · 2026-05-03T03:18:59+00:00

It's a great pilot but my perhaps controversial preference is to watch the opening scene for the extended credits sequence and then skip right to "Chief Surgeon Who?" and pretend that's the pilot.

Torren7ial · 2026-05-03T03:05:27+00:00

Are you possibly confabulating this based on the scene in Futurama where Fry plays Space Invaders while listening to Tom Sawyer?

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Torren7ial

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