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Welcome to Animorphs Quest. This is my take on the greatest sci-fi series of the late 90s and early 2000s. You play as Jen, a 16-year-old girl in suburban America, who is placed with the burden of defending Earth from the Yeerks. You, along with your friends, are the only ones who know of this threat, and the only ones capable of stopping it. Good luck.

Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=animorphs+quest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnimorphsQM
Thread Recap: https://pastebin.com/ia2Sa1BV
Morph list: https://pastebin.com/z1tgHppp


FAQ
>What dice system do you use?
3 rolls D20, degrees of success. No crit fails or successes. DC is hidden. When I ask for a roll, I’ll make sure to say exactly what I want.
>Are write-ins allowed?
Yes. I try to remember to always include a write-in option with the votes, but sometimes I forget. If I do forget, just let me know and I’ll fix it. The only exception is votes where you have to choose between two options.
>Update schedule?
Once a day

---
Mid-afternoon finds you at Fred’s house, waiting for him to realize you’re here and let you in.

One of your teammate’s parents gave you a ride home, but you hadn’t felt like hanging around there. Your mom should be home soon, and you’re bored anyway. Seeing as it’s still the weekend and you don’t have anything better to do, you may as well check in with Fred.

His house is as massive as you remember it. You know that his dad is worth a lot of money, but it still surprises you every time.

You texted him before coming over and he said he was around, so he should be down in a second. Hopefully his dad isn’t home.

Now that you think of it, you wonder how Fred and his dad are doing. The first and last time you saw his dad, the two of them got into a screaming match within a minute of seeing each other. Not to say that was Fred’s fault at all, of course.

If you’re being honest with yourself, it’s somewhat reminiscent of your relationship with your mom.

Thankfully, the door swings open, interrupting that uncomfortable thought.

“Hey!” he says, reaching his arms out to you. You return the hug.

“It’s been a while,” he continues, “how are you?”

“It was just a week,” you shrug. “I’m fine, how about you?”

“I’m alright,” he leads you inside. “The play is still coming along. You haven’t heard anything from, uh, you know, right?”

He’s referring to your Chee friend, Emma. As far as everyone else knows, Emma is still looking into the Yeerks’ plans, but in actuality she’s been tailing your mom, to see if she’s a Controller. You figure the others don’t need to know until you actually know what’s going on.

“I haven’t,” you fudge the truth.

“What have you been up to then?”

“Just swimming and school stuff.”

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“And?” he prompts you as you follow him up his ridiculously ostentatious staircase. “How’s swimming? What school stuff?”

“Swim is the same as always. I show up, swim my races, go home.”
“Do you win?”

“Yeah. Not as much as I used to, but I still do most of the time.”


“Are you gonna do it in college?”

“You think we’ll make it to college?”

“Uh, I think my grades are good enough,” he begins, before catching your meaning. “Oh. That’s not really something I like to think about. We’ve had some close calls, but… we’ll all be alright, I hope.”

“One day at a time,” you smile.

“Anyway, what did you want to do?”

>“Let’s just fly today.” You want to get away from your mundane life, as well as any reminder of it
>“Let’s go cycling.” You were interrupted by your mom last time you took a bike ride with Fred
>“I couldn’t care less. It’s up to you.”
>Write-in

>>4935989
>“Let’s just fly today.” You want to get away from your mundane life, as well as any reminder of it
challenge him to aerial acrobatics

glad to have you back QM

>>4935989
>>“Let’s just fly today.” You want to get away from your mundane life, as well as any reminder of it

>>4935989
>>“Let’s go cycling.” You were interrupted by your mom last time you took a bike ride with Fred
ah it has returned

Closing vote in half an hour

>>4935989
>“Let’s go cycling.” You were interrupted by your mom last time you took a bike ride with Fred

>>4935989
>“Let’s just fly today.” You want to get away from your mundane life, as well as any reminder of it

>>4935998
>>4936562
>>4937130
>flying
>>4936580
>>4937091
>cycling

Set. Writing

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>>4935989
“Let’s just fly today,” you say. “It’s been too long since I was in the air.”

He grins and opens his bedroom door, “Sure. I’m always down for that.”

You follow him over to the window, which he pops open before leading you out onto the roof. He slips out of his t-shirt and jeans, leaving him in just underwear. You do the same. You’ve seen each other covered in morphing suits or covered blood often enough that the sight doesn’t faze either of you, though he still turns away from you.

Once you’re undressed, you start the morph. Your bones make strange popping sounds as they turn hollow, while your body begins to shrink. In an almost hypnotizing manner, patterns form on your skin, shifting and rippling before feathers sprout. Finally, your vision sharpens as you finish the morph with a sickening series of cracks. Morphing is as disgusting as ever. At least Fred doesn’t have any neighbors.

Looking around, you see that Fred is already finished and waiting for you. He’s always been a much better morpher than you, and you doubt that will ever change.

Without saying anything, he spreads his wings, and hops off the side of the roof, with you close behind him. His house is built on a hill, and the natural elevation lets the two of you spend a few seconds falling to build speed, before you level out just feet above the grass. Flapping your wings as hard as you can, you manage to shoot above the treeline.

From there, it’s simple to glide, catching rising pillows of warm air to rise higher and higher. You let Fred take the lead. Even though your red-tailed hawk is naturally better at this, Fred is more talented and has a love for flying that goes beyond the simple thrill you enjoy.

You’re comfortable gliding behind him, watching as he stares at the clouds. There’s some trick to the shape of them that lets him know exactly where the best thermals lie. You can sort of do it too, but you’re relying more on the instincts of the hawk, while he has carefully honed skill. Of course, that’s not to say that you haven’t picked up some tricks too.

He tries to make smalltalk as you fly, and you play along, yet it’s hard to stay focused as a hawk. Actually, it would be more accurate to say it’s hard to focus on anything that isn’t important. To the hawk, that would be catching thermals, looking for prey, and keeping an eye out for any other birds-of-prey that might challenge you. What you find important as a human occupies your thoughts too, but you’re able to look at it without being tinged by emotions.

It’s a nice feeling. You don’t have to feel stressed or upset, just filled with a calm, cool focus. You’d like to always feel this way.

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>>4937321
Ax is first to come to mind. You’re not really sure what to think about him. It’s been about a week since you last spoke to him, and you didn’t part on good terms. You had been upset about him keeping secrets from the rest of the group and botching the assassination of Visser 3. There was a perfect opportunity to get rid of your worst enemy for good, and he blew it. He said that he just couldn’t kill another Andalite. At the time, you’d been furious. You’ve killed humans without a second thought, but he couldn’t make that small sacrifice for the sake of the team?

Maybe you were being unfair to Ax before. Sometimes you forget he’s not the brave Andalite warrior he pretends to be. In reality, his people didn’t even let him see combat. You don’t know if you can forgive him, but it’s something to think about.

Putting Ax aside, your thoughts turn to your mom. You’re still not sure if she’s a Controller, or what you’ll do if she is. It makes you feel almost guilty when you think of how bitter and cruel you’ve been to her, but then again she’s acted the same way to you. You don’t know if you’d prefer her to be a Controller, unwillingly acting this way, or if she just hates you. The former would be awful, but maybe there would still be hope.

<Do you want to land on the beach?> Fred interrupts your thoughts. <I’m not sure we can make it back before the time limit, even if we turn back now.>

<Yeah, sure,> you reply, looking down. Without even realizing it, you’ve reached the ocean.

Fred starts spiraling downwards, and you follow him. You’d like to try flying out over the water, but there aren’t any thermals out there and your instincts scream at you not to.

You morph back to human after landing and Fred does the same.

“What were you thinking about?” Fred asks you. “You’ve been quiet.”

“Just about Ax. I don’t know what I’ll say to him the next time I see him.”

“You’re going to apologize to him, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“You should. You were pretty mean to him.”

“Was I?”

He gives you an incredulous look and nods. “Yeah? You yelled at him in front of everyone. I haven’t spoken to him since then, and I don’t think any of the others have either, except Tony.”

“Oh. I guess I will, then.”

“I was frustrated too, but he’s having a hard time. It’s not fair to judge him like that.”

You’re surprised to hear that from Fred. He’s always seemed like a nice guy, but you didn’t think he’d want to get involved in arguments like the one between you and Ax.

“Was that all you were thinking about?” he prompts. “You were quiet for a while.”

>>4937323
You’re not sure if you want him to know about your mom. He’s already aware of some of the details, but he doesn’t know everything and you haven’t told him you asked Emma to find out if your mom is a Controller. You could tell him your worries without mentioning Emma, though he might end up wanting to look into it himself or asking you why you didn’t tell the rest of the group. Then you’d have to figure out what to tell him if Emma does find out.

You hate being put in this position, but you have to say something.

>“That’s all.”
>“I’m worried about my mom. You know she’s an asshole, but…”
>“I need to come clean. I asked Emma to find out if my mom is a Controller”
>Write-in

>>4937324
>“I need to come clean. I asked Emma to find out if my mom is a Controller”
no secrets from Fred

Then

>write-in

'I want to try flying over the ocean. Maybe we could catch some seabird morphs.'

>>4937324
>“I need to come clean. I asked Emma to find out if my mom is a Controller”
huh, didn't notice this quest was back

>>4937324
>>“I need to come clean. I asked Emma to find out if my mom is a Controller”

>>4937326
>>4937669
>>4937862
Set. Writing

Can't finish the update tonight, will be up tomorrow

>>4937324
>>“I need to come clean. I asked Emma to find out if my mom is a Controller”

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>>4937324
“I need to tell you the truth,” you slowly begin. “I…”

He looks at you expectantly. You have no idea where to go from here. There's no way you can keep the truth from him, but you don’t even know where to start.

“I asked Emma to follow my mom instead of looking at the Yeerks’ plans. I think she might be a Controller.”

He seems confused. You expected him to be upset.

“Why are you telling me? Why not anyone else?”

“I don’t know. I guess I trust you.” It’s the truth, even though you have to admit you don’t sound very convincing.

“Thanks,” he gives you a flattered smile. “Why didn’t you tell everyone else though?”

“I didn’t want them worrying.”

“But it is kind of worrying if you’re keeping secrets. You were mad about Ax doing exactly that.”

“That’s different,” you try to defend yourself.

You stop when you see the look in his eyes. He looks genuinely worried for you.

The two of you make a strange sight, standing here on the beach. You’re in a swimsuit and he’s in his underwear. He’s seen you half naked, fresh from the fight, countless times before, but this feels different. Like you’re laying yourself bare to someone else in a way you haven’t in a long, long time.

“I’m sorry,” he sees something in your expression. “That’s not fair for me to say.”

“No, it’s true.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“If she’s a Controller?”

“I mean, what are you going to tell everyone else?”

“If Emma says it’s true and there’s something we can do, then I’ll tell everyone.”

Alarm covers his face, “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” you awkwardly laugh.

“You should tell everyone now. We shouldn’t be keeping secrets from each other at all.”

It’s tempting to just refuse, but you force yourself to stop and think about it. Telling the others would be embarrassing. You’d have to admit you asked Emma to put a personal favor over investigating the Yeerks.

However, you’ll have to come clean at some point. Even if Emma says your mom is just a normal bitch, you can’t imagine keeping a secret like that from Anna forever. You haven’t spoken to her as much recently, but she knows you too well. She could very well figure it out on her own at some point.

Then again, delaying it lets you control it. You’re not sure what the others would do if your mom has a Yeerk in her head and they found out. If it were you, and one of your friends’ parent’s was a Controller, you’d try to take advantage of it if at all possible. With intimate knowledge of their personal lives and habits, it would be all too easy to find out which other Controllers they contact and when they visit the Yeerk pool. You feel somewhat hypocritical, but you can’t stomach the thought of someone doing that to your mom, even if you’re not sure the others would actually do that.

>>4939985
Fred is still staring at you, waiting for an answer. He expects you to agree with him. You don’t know if you do or not.

>“You’re right. I’ll tell them.”
>“I can’t. I’m not going to get my mom involved in this, not when I don’t know for sure.”
>Write-in

this update was about 100 characters longer than the limit lol

>>4939987
>“You’re right. I’ll tell them."

>>4939987
>>“You’re right. I’ll tell them.”
You've got no qualms killing people, but it's different for manipulating your mom, even if it's keeping her alive.

Yeah uh, you've got no business criticizing ax.

>>4939985
>>“You’re right. I’ll tell them

ive kinda been busy, but we need to research the shelf life of rattlesnake venom now, and if it can be used in a spray bottle. Misting a kandronna pool is going to be harder to spot and block compared to a bottle or liquid payload.

>>4940029
also we should apologize to Ax

I have a flight tonight and I'm going to be out of the country and away from my PC for 2-3 weeks. I plan to either phonepost or borrow computers to keep running normally as best as I can, but there won't be any update tonight because I'll be on a plane. Otherwise the schedule should hopefully be normal

>>4939985
“You’re right. I’ll tell them.”

He smiles, “Perfect. We should probably get together as a group soon anyway”

“I might do it individually,” you say sheepishly. “I’m not really sure what they’ll think. I don’t want them using my mom as a way to hit the Yeerks and I’m not sure I can argue against that in front of everyone. It might be impossible to keep her out of this entirely, but I’m still worried they’ll want to tail her or something.”

“I won’t let that happen. Whatever you want to do, I’ll back you up.”

You reach out and pull him into a hug. “Thanks,” you say softly. “I trust you.”

“S-sure,” he stammers as you step back, his face flushed. You blush as well; you’d half forgotten the both of you are still in underwear.

“Anyway, we should probably fly back,” you change the subject. “It’ll take a while but if we leave now it won’t be too late when we get back.”

—-

The flight back is uneventful. You fill it with small talk and Fred plays along. Unimportant, but relaxing.

It’s almost like a load has been taken off your chest and you can breathe again, but then you remember you’re still waiting to hear from Emma. It shouldn’t change things either way; you can’t afford to act differently around your mom if she is a Controller, and no matter how you feel about her, you’re not ready to use her against the Yeerks. Maybe that’s selfish. Maybe she’s an extremely important Controller you can’t afford not to take advantage of. You don’t know what you’ll do then. All you can do is hope she’s not a Controller, or at least that she’s not an important one.

At least confiding in Fred worked out and you know he has your back.

When you land back at his house, you fly in his open window while he lands on the roof.

You turn back to look at him. <Don’t morph on the roof.>

<Huh?> he stops and looks at you. <Why not?>

<Do you really think you can morph back without falling off?>

<Oh. We morphed to birds up here, though.>

<I’m not going to watch you morph the rest of your body before your legs and slide off. Just come inside.>

He joins you with a flutter of wings. Sometimes he impresses you, like at the beach, but other times he can be such a ditz.

Once you’re done morphing, you crawl back out onto the roof to grab your clothes and phone. You have a new text from Emma.

[i]I have news. When can you meet?[/i]

[i]ASAP[/i] you reply.

She sends you an address and you start getting ready.

“Do you have somewhere to be?” Fred asks.

“Yeah. Emma texted me.”

“Oh. I’ll come with you.”

Out of reflex you almost say “no” on the spot, but you catch yourself. There’s no point in trying to keep things a secret now, and you’d like him to come with you anyway.

“Sure. She’s not far, we can bike.”

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>>4943244
The ride is short. The place Emma wanted you to meet at isn’t far. You’re not sure if it’s just a coincidence or if she knew you were at Fred’s house. It’s well within her abilities to know that, though it doesn’t seem like something she’d do.

She has you come to a small diner on the southern outskirts of town. It’s in an odd place for a diner; there aren’t any major roads nearby, and you don’t see any cars parked outside.

You head in anyway, and Fred follows. Emma is waiting at a table and looks up when you come in.

“What’s up with this place?” Fred asks.

Emma smiles at the two of you. “We own it. It’s nice to have somewhere discreet to meet people. How are you Fred?”

“Can we cut to the chase?” you interrupt. “I told Fred I asked you to look into my mom. What did you find?”

“She’s a Controller. I’m sorry.”

As prepared as you thought you were, the news still rocks you. An overwhelming surge of nausea forces you to stop. You’re flooded with guilt. It’s not the emotion you expected, but as you think of everything you’ve said to your mom over the better part of the past year, it fits. You’ve yelled at her, ignored her, and even told her you wished she was dead. All that time, and she’s actually been locked out of her body, silently watching as some disgusting monster pilots it, destroying your family.

“Take a seat,” Emma offers. “Have some water.”

You ignore her. Normally her serene behavior is somewhat reassuring, but now it just pisses you off. Instead of listening to her, you turn around. You want to leave, to run or fly or something instead of having to stay here, but you can’t.

“Are you okay?” Fred whispers in your ear, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“I’m fine,” you mumble, brushing his hand away. “I just need a moment.”

“Take your time,” Emma says. It makes you want to punch her. She knows what she just told you, and all she can offer is some water?

“What else?” you manage to choke out. You have to refocus on the mission now, to keep yourself steady. “Is she important? What does she do?”

“Her Yeerk seems to be low ranked. I didn’t investigate as deeply as I would have liked to, yet everything I found indicates she’s a minor host. There are far more Yeerks than available hosts, so it’s unsurprising.”

>>4943247
“Are you going to keep looking?” you find yourself asking. “Find her contacts, what she does, all that?”

“If you want me to. What are you going to do with that information? It’s your choice, but I don’t think I’ll find anything useful. I can look into what the Yeerk leadership is doing instead, if you’d prefer that.”

“Are you sure she’s not important? If there’s a chance she is, then maybe we shouldn’t stop looking.”

“I can’t definitively say she isn’t, but I would be very surprised if she is.”

“Maybe you should let it go,” Fred suggests. “I thought you didn’t want your mom involved.”

It’s not what you said earlier, but now you feel the urge to know more.

“I have to know. Keep looking.”
“I got what I needed. Just focus on the Yeerk leadership.”
>Write-in

Oops, forgot to greentext the dialogue options. Anyway, I’m glad to be back. I notice there’s not a lot of discussion from anons. A lot of it is my fault for my shitty posting rate and hiatus, but I’m curious about the anon perspective. Is there just not much you guys think is worth discussing or what? Also, feel free to post any comments/questions you have and I’ll answer (barring spoilers)

>>4943251
>I got what I needed. Just focus on the Yeerk leadership.

>>4943251
>“I got what I needed. Just focus on the Yeerk leadership.”
It wouldn't be too hard to lock her up and starve the yeerk, but we can't actually do that at least until the yeerk leadership is in disarray and orders are all mixed up.


>>4943256
beats me, I've already floated the venom idea.

>>4943251
>Ask about why your mom would have wanted you to stay away from the Sharing if she was a controller. She seemed really insistent about that.

>>4943536
She probably has a deal with the yeerk to keep her daughter out of it in exchange for compliance

No update tonight

>>4944031
take your time op, just happy to have you back

>>4943251
>“I got what I needed. Just focus on the Yeerk leadership.”

>>4943620
This
>>4943431
>It wouldn't be too hard to lock her up and starve the yeerk, but we can't actually do that at least until the yeerk leadership is in disarray and orders are all mixed up.
Also this

>>4943256
>I notice there’s not a lot of discussion from anons
Probably the posting rate and the hiatus.
I'm glad to have you back - loved the first few threads of this quest - but I imagine it'll take a little time to get a rhythm back.

>>4943256
>Is there just not much you guys think is worth discussing or what?
I guess the problem is this is an established setting we're all fairly well versed in, so there isn't a lot of lore to decipher or clues to go over

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>>4948658
>we're all fairly well versed in
speak for yourself, I've read a fifth of 1 book and have NO idea what I'm doing

>>4948666
well if this quest goes long enough you're in for some weird shit, satan

>>4948666
>That image
Oh yeah thats right Paradox/Reincarnator is on Hiatus for like a week. Guess I found the quest I can catch up on in the meantime.

Anyways if you want to know what the fuck is going on. https://youtu.be/6zrE6m3xOoE This lecture summarizes a lot of the shit you need to know. Its like 4 hours but its rather entertaining so I’d say its worth the watch.

……..this quest isn’t dead……right? God I hope not

>>4951343
Not dead, just busy a lot and I find writing on my phone really hard. I plan to have an update up tomorrow but that may be the last one until I get home

>>4943251
“Why wouldn’t my mom want me to join the Sharing? If she was a Controller, she wouldn’t have done that, right?”

“I can’t say,” she shrugs. “If I had to guess, it’s most likely that she didn’t want any trouble with her host.”

“A Yeerk wouldn’t care about that.”

“You’d be surprised.”

Again, anger boils up inside of you. It’s not Emma’s fault, but something about the way she’s handling this just pisses you off. Maybe she’s trying to be reassuring, but it comes off more like she doesn’t give a shit.

“Okay,” you force out. “I got what I needed. That’s all.”

You turn towards the door and pull Fred along with you. You’re not able to guarantee you can stay here any longer without blowing up.

“Wait,” Emma calls out. You don’t stop, but glance over your shoulder. “Don’t try to save her. I think you know better, but even if you succeed, it will expose your regular life.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

Fred follows you outside, but stops when you reach the parking lot.

“Are you really not going to try and help your mom?” he looks upset.

“No. She’s right. My mom wouldn’t be able to pretend she was still a Controller. If we hid her, the Yeerks would know a Controller went missing. Even if they didn’t care, then I’d have to deal with child protective services or whatever.”

He looks askance at you. “Don’t you care? I thought you’d be… I don’t know, more upset than this.”

However you’re feeling, it mustn’t be showing on your face. You’d like to be as calm as he thinks you are. As unintentionally aggravating as Emma’s calm was, you’d love to feel that way now. To not be upset, to just take the news and move on. You don’t feel like that though. It feels like the whole world is bearing down on you, and it’s all you can manage to appear unaffected.

“I do care,” you admit, “but I can’t stop to deal with that. I have to be ready for the next mission, the next right. It’s more important than whatever I’m thinking.”

“I guess you’re right,” he says uncertainly. “Can you just ignore it and move on, just like that?”

“Yeah,” you lie. “I’ll be fine.”

Something must leak through onto your face because he doesn’t follow when you start walking towards your bikes.

“If you [i]do[/i] need to talk or anything, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks,” you do your best to keep a tremor out of your voice. “Let’s go.”

>>4955755
On the way back to Fred’s house you get a text from Nate. He wants everyone to meet at Tony’s barn ASAP. It’s not much of a detour to head to the bus stop, so you get Fred to head there with you. The bus station has racks and locks for your bikes.

You don’t talk along the way. You’re not in the mood for it and Fred must be able to tell as he doesn’t say anything either.

When you arrive, Nate is pacing inside the barn. Tony doesn’t seem to be around. Nate must have let himself in.

“You two were together?” Nate asks as you come in. There’s some sort of energy about him today, like he’s ready for action at any moment.

“Yeah,” Fred says.

“Huh,” Nate goes back to pacing.

“Can I talk to you?” you ask.

“Sure?”

“I mean outside,” you gesture with your head. Fred looks at you like he wants to follow, but you wordlessly indicate not to.

“Alright,” Nate nods, following you out.

You just want to get this over with.

“My mom is a Controller.”

“What? How do you know?”

“Emma told me,” you begin to explain.

“Are you okay?” he interrupts you.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Anyway—“

“No, are you actually okay?”

You don’t respond. The truth is that you don’t feel okay, but you don’t want to show it. Maybe that’s because it would mean showing weakness, or maybe it’s because you’re just embarrassed. You don’t know, so you just look away tight lipped and shrug.

“Okay,” he sighs. “Okay. If you ever need to get out or anything, you can stay at my house. I’ll sort it out with my parents.”

“No need, I’ll be fine,” you reply. All the sympathy you’re getting today is starting to drive you insane.

“Okay,” he says again. He looks upset, but doesn’t press you on that issue. “How did Emma find out? Can the Chee scan for Yeerks or something?”

“No. I asked her to find out for me.”

“You mean she found out when she was tracking Controllers?”

“I mean I asked her to follow my mom. Instead of looking into the Yeerks.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” a mixture of confusion and hurt fills his face.

“I didn’t want anyone to know until there was… something to know.”

“I thought we could trust each other.”

“You can trust me.”

“I do, but do you trust me? Why wouldn’t you tell me you thought your mom was a Controller? Were you afraid I would want to use her against the Yeerks?”

You hesitate. He looks at you expectantly.

“No. I didn’t think you would do that, but it doesn’t matter anyway. She’s not important.”

“Yeah, you know that now, and now you’re telling me, but what about before you knew?”

“What if she wasn’t?” you fire back. “What would you think if I had told everyone, ‘oh, I think my mom’s got a Yeerk in her head,’ and it turned out to be nothing? I wasn’t going to risk that.”

“It shouldn’t be a risk. Talking to me, to us, shouldn’t be a risk.”

>>4955758
“I don’t know what you want to hear.”

He pauses, maybe to think.

“I’m sorry,” he finally says. “I’m sorry this happened to you, and that I reacted this way. I’m sorry there’s all this shit happening that I can’t control. I just want to know what’s going on.”

Before you can muster a response, he spots something over your shoulder.

“Tony’s here. You should catch him up on everything.”

Nate slips back inside while you glance back at Tony, who’s walking over from his house.

There’s more you want to say to Nate, but it seems he knows that and doesn’t want to hear it. Guilt and anger intermix, an ugly cocktail inside of you. You can’t tell if you’re pissed off at Nate, or just pissed off.

“Hey,” Tony say, but stops when he sees your face. “Are you alright?”

“Is everyone going to ask me that today?”

He smiles sympathetically.

You’re not sure where you stand with Tony. Out of all the Animorphs, he’s the one you speak to the least. Even before, when it was you, him, Nate, and Anna growing up together, he was always more of Nate and Anna’s friend than your own. He’s vocally disapproved of some of your decisions, but otherwise you can’t tell what he thinks.

“So what happened?” he asks.

You do your best to explain as quickly as you can. You don’t leave out that Emma was doing a personal favor for you instead of pursuing the Yeerks, but you don’t make any apologies either.

“I’m sorry about your mom,” is all he says at the end.

“That’s all?” you ask in slight disbelief.

“Sure,” he shrugs. “It’s not my place to lecture you. I might have done the same thing too, if it was my dad.”

“Oh,” you deflate. You were ready for something else, whether it was a shouting match or gratuitous sympathy.

“Anyway, there’s something you need to know. I don’t know what Nate is planning, but it’s something big. Ax is going to be here too. I know you two haven’t made up, but he’s willing to talk to you.”

“And?” you ask.

“And I think you should figure out what you’re going to say to him, if you want to talk to him too.”

>Contrite. The way you treated him was uncalled for
>Stern. He was dishonest and majorly screwed up an important mission. That cannot happen again
>Pragmatic. It doesn’t matter what happened, so long as he’ll fall in line
>Write-in

this vote is for how you want to handle talking to Ax, not what you’re saying to Tony

>>4955761
>Contrite. The way you treated him was uncalled for
let's apologize sincerely

>>4955761
>Contrite. The way you treated him was uncalled for
Can't do much more without being a massive hypocrite

>>4955761
>>Contrite. The way you treated him was uncalled for

>>4955761
>>Contrite. The way you treated him was uncalled for

>>4955761
>>Contrite. The way you treated him was uncalled for

Ded?

>>4955769
>>4955905
>>4957023
>>4958197
>>4958317
Set. Writing

>>4965728
fuck yeah

>>4955761
You have to apologize. The way you treated him was uncalled for.

“I’ll say sorry,” you shrug. “I can’t do anything else.”

“That’s good,” Tony replies. “I’m going to head inside. Ax should be here.”

You let him go, and turn to face the woods.

It doesn’t take long for Ax to arrive. He comes trotting out of the treeline, his blue fur incongruous against the brown and black tones of the forest. When he sees you, he stops.

You raise a hand in greeting, and he slowly resumes his walk towards you.

“Hey,” you say.

<Hello,> he replies through thoughtspeech. You can’t read Andalite facial expressions or body language, making it impossible to tell what he’s thinking.

After waiting a moment to see if he’ll start the conversation, you go ahead. “I’m sorry about what I said the last time we talked. It wasn’t fair.”

<It was understandable. I failed. I messed up the mission.>

You can’t pick up any emotion from his thoughtspeech. He must be stopping it from going through. It’s impossible to say if he’s angry, remorseful, or just embarrassed.

“I shouldn’t have reacted like that anyway. It was hypocritical. I’m sorry.”

<It’s alright.>

Again, he doesn’t give you anything to go off of. Maybe his coldness is a sign of some sort, but you can’t make heads nor tails of it.

<Should we go inside?> he offers. <Prince Nate had an important message, I believe.>

You sigh, “Okay. First though, there’s something else I need to tell you. I found out from Emma that my mom is a Controller.” That isn’t getting any easier to say, no matter how many times you repeat it.

Ax stops, all four of his eyes turning to look at you. <Are you sure?>

“Yeah.”

<I’m sorry to hear that.>

You want to demand more from him, to know exactly what he’s thinking, to get any clue of where you stand with him, but you can’t do that. Maybe you’ll ask one of the others for help later. For now, all you can do is follow him inside.

The others look up as you walk in. It looks like they were waiting for you. Fred and Tony look concerned, while Nate seems more focused on whatever he brought you all here for.

“Hey Ax,” he says. “Now that everyone, except Anna, is here, let’s start. I want to hit the Yeerk pool.”

You smile. This is exactly what you were looking for. Something big, something bold, and exactly the opposite of long, painful conversations with people about personal problems.

“I’m in,” you reply.

“Wait a second,” Tony interrupts. “How are we going to get in? And what are we going to do once we’re inside?”

“We got a way in from the police chief’s Yeerk,” Nate grins. “It shouldn’t be too hard to find an opportunity to sneak inside. I already worked something out with Ax for once we’re in.”

>>4965767
<Though the Yeerk pools are very well protected from sabotage, they do have some weakpoints,> Ax explains. <A series of systems protect the pool from contaminants and carefully regulate its temperature and chemical makeup. Access to the computer system at the pool would allow me to disrupt the pool greatly.>

“So all we have to do is get inside, get to the computers, and shut the whole thing down,” Nate says excitedly.

“Easier said than done,” Tony disagrees. “We can’t exactly walk inside as we are. What morphs are we going to use?”

“We could just go in as flies or dragonflies,” Nate shrugs.

Tony has a contemplative expression. “Ax, what’s a Yeerk pool like, exactly?”

<I’ve never been to one, personally,> Ax answers, <but from what I understand, they are generally warm, dark, and deep underground.>

“I’ve got an idea that might work,” Tony says. “Rats. They might be a little more conspicuous, but they’re still small, nimble, and they have good senses. They can’t be squished as easily, either.”

Neither Fred nor Ax raise any other objections, meaning even if Anna was here and disagreed, she’d be voted down. That just leaves the question of the morph.

>“A rat is too conspicuous and a fly is too slow. Let’s morph dragonflies again.”
>“Insects are a better choice than a rat, but dragonflies are too hungry to be comfortable. Let’s morph flies.”
>“Insects are too easy to squish. Let’s go in as rats.”
>Write-in

>>4965769
go as our Mom

>>4965769
Regular rats are already a huge danger to anything that needs sterile environments. Either their place is too clean for them to realize, or they're actively hunting rats even if they aren't andalites. Would there be a way for us to find out which it is?
>“Insects are a better choice than a rat, but dragonflies are too hungry to be comfortable. Let’s morph flies.”
Flies would be very effective, but they will have to commit to actually bloodsucking someone to have a minimum storage of energy. Reaaaal gross.

>Do we have any chameleons? Even humans have trouble spotting those.

>>4965772
You'll need a way for all 6 of you to get inside
>>4965774
>Would there be a way for us to find out which it is?
Ax doesn't know. They may use regular pest disposal methods you could avoid, a field that deters animals, or some more more advanced system. There's no way to know without trying, but he can confirm that you won't be killed as soon as you enter
>Do we have any chameleons? Even humans have trouble spotting those.
There should be some at the zoo, and it'll be a lot easier to get into their exhibit than those of dangerous animals

>>4965769
>>“Insects are too easy to squish. Let’s go in as rats.”

I'd like to go back to the regular schedule, but there aren't enough votes for an update tonight. I'm leaving this open for another day

>>4965769
>>“Insects are too easy to squish. Let’s go in as rats.”

Rat time

>>4965772
switching to rats

RATT

>>4965769
>>“Insects are too easy to squish. Let’s go in as rats.”

>>4965774
>Do we have any chameleons? Even humans have trouble spotting those.
>>4966377
>>4966633
>>4966636
>>4966646
>>4966804
>“Insects are too easy to squish. Let’s go in as rats.”
Set. Writing
https://youtu.be/OXQwx1EolD8

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>>4965769
“Insects are too easy to squish,” you put your two cents in. “Let’s use rats.”

“Alright,” Nate shrugs. “Rats it is.”

After that, there’s not much else to cover. Everyone is set to carry out the mission next weekend.

“I think we’re all good,” Nate finishes up, “I just need to get into contact with Anna and fill her in.”

“I can do that,” you offer. You haven’t spoken to her in a while, and you’re curious as to why she didn't respond to the texts today.

“Alright. Is everyone free for the mission next weekend?”

There are nods all around. From there, people start to split up. Ax heads back into the woods, Tony starts up some farm work, and Nate begins gathering his things.

“Do you want to go back to my place?” Fred asks.

“Maybe,” you say. “I need to text Anna first.”

“Sure.”

[i]where r u?[/i] you send.

[i]At home. I was studying,[/i] she replies quickly.

That’s odd. She replied as soon as you texted her, but not at all to anyone else earlier.

[i]isnt this more important?[/i]

[i]I have a test this week.[/i]

[i]can we talk? can i come over?[/i]


She doesn’t respond for a few minutes before sending an “okay”.

“I have to go,” you tell Fred. “I need to go see Anna. She’s acting weird.”

He frowns, “Okay. Is she alright?”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s fine. I’m just gonna head over to her house. I’ll see you later.”

“See you around.”

---

Anna’s house looks unoccupied when you arrive. There are no cars in the driveway, and nobody is visible through the windows. You can’t even see any lights on. Still, she said she was here, so you send a text that you arrived and wait on her front porch.

Soon enough, you hear the sound of someone coming down a flight of stairs, and the door opens up just a crack.

“Jen?” Anna asks quietly from inside.

“The one and only,” you reply, taking the door and opening it widely. “What’s up with you? Where have you been?”

“Just studying.”

She looks small and drawn in upon herself, standing in the doorframe. You step in beside her, swinging the door shut behind yourself.

“You couldn’t take an hour off to come see us?”

“I have an exam this week, I didn’t know how long the meeting would take.”

“We almost always keep it short. Besides, you should have said you weren’t coming.”

“Why is it a big deal?” she asks defensively. “I just missed a meeting, that’s all.”

“It’s just not like you,” you frown. “Come on, what’s up?”

“What did you guys talk about?” she changes the subject abruptly.

“We’re going after the Yeerks again. Next weekend, we’re going into the Yeerk pool, to sabotage it.”

“What!?” she focuses an alarmed stare on you. “That’s a suicide mission, you can’t actually do that.”

“We already set a date and everything,” you shrug. “I wanted to make sure you’re in.”

“I’m not. I can’t do that.”

File: Anna.png (295 KB, 509x503)

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>>4968253
“Why not? We have a morph picked out and a plan, we’ll be safe.”

She just shakes her head. “I can’t.”

You study her more closely. Her uncomfortable stance, her nervous expression, and her evasive way of speaking today come together to produce one conclusion.

“You’re scared,” you state.

She looks like she wants to deny it at first, but then shakes her head resignedly.

“I am. I’m scared. I don’t want to morph again. I don’t want to go out there fighting Controllers again. I just want to stay at home and study.”

“That won’t make you any less scared,” you argue. “The Yeerks are still out there. They’re still getting more hosts every day. We have a chance to slow them down, maybe even stop them. Let’s take it.”

Your little speech doesn’t seem to have an effect.

“I can’t do it,” she repeats.

“Why? Why are you so scared now when you were fine before? I thought you were in this for real.”

“I got shot. I almost died. Maybe you can walk that off, but I can’t.”

You do remember that she was shaken up after the mission to the observatory. A Controller with a Dracon beam took half of one her wings clean off while she was in her osprey morph. She’d seemed shaken up immediately, but she was ready to go out again shortly afterwards.

“Why were you ready to go after Visser 3 then?” you pressure her. “You weren’t scared right after, but you are now?”

“I was scared, I just didn’t have time to think about it. None of us did. All we knew was that we had one shot to kill Visser 3, and we had better take it. Since then, I have been thinking, and I don’t want to feel like that again. In pain, scared, and knowing I could and probably would die.”

You have to convince her somehow.

>Keep pressuring her. What you’re doing is important, and you can get through if you keep trying
>Bring up her family again. She knows that if the Yeerks win they’ll all end up hosts
>Tell her about your mom now. She’ll realize that this mission could help her
>Write-in

>>4968255
>Let it go. You had a lot of time to get over your dad, and she's not you.
>Suggest she tries morphing just to relax. A dog or cat or something. If she's up to it, she can be a thoughtspeech lookout well outside the area.

>>4968271
seconded

and yeah try to get her to try a fun morph here and now to help her get over her morphing phobia

>>4968271
support

No update tonight, sorry

>>4968273
>>4968271
>>4968255
Supporting both of these. She's our friend, we shouldn't force her into this.

No update again, I'll be back tomorrow

>>4970662
all good QM

>>4970662
good thing threads last forever now

>>4968271
>>4968273
>>4969231
>>4969547
Set. Writing
>>4971638
It's a blessing and a curse

>>4968255
You stop yourself before you even begin. You can’t try to pressure Anna or manipulate her. It’s disgusting that the thought even crossed your mind.

“Want to come over to my house?” you blurt. “Let’s put on a movie, like we used to. No morphing talk or anything.”

She hesitates, then smiles weakly. “Alright.”

You smile back. It occurs to you that life doesn’t always have to be about getting ready for the next fight. Sometimes, it might be alright to just give everyone else, and yourself, some time.

---

Normally, you’d pick out a horror movie, but it occurs to you that might not be the best choice today. Instead, you let Anna pick. She grabs one of the Star Trek movies your dad used to have in the house on VCR.

You don’t really find it particularly interesting, but the part where they fight the robot people is cool. Anna loves it, which you suppose is a good thing.

Nostalgia wells up inside of you as you munch on microwave popcorn. It used to be every day you were either at the swim club or doing something like this with Anna. Somehow, in spite of all the changes, in spite of everything that’s gone wrong in your life, you manage to find your way back to the same old habits with the same old people. You can’t say if that’s reassuring or worrying.

Towards the end of the movie, your cat Bubbles wanders in and onto the couch next to you and Anna. His appearance gives you an idea; you might not be able to convince Anna to run straight back into the fray, but a little morphing for fun couldn’t hurt.

You spring the idea on Anna when you head back into the kitchen to put together some real food.

“Bubbles is cute,” you begin nonchalantly.

“Sure?” Anna responds.

“He really enjoys his life. Some food, a rub every now and then, and he’s a very happy cat.”

“I think he’s just too lazy to ask for anything else,” she smiles, “but you’re right.”

“Haven’t you ever wanted to try that?”

“Just lazing around in bed? If you’d ask my mom, I already do that too much.”

“No, I mean literally trying that.”

She catches your meaning and frowns. “Morphing? I’d really rather not.”

“It’d just be for fun. There’s no risk, you can morph back any time you want to, and it’ll be fun. I promise.”

“Maybe another time,” she says uncertainly. She seemed back to her normal self before, but as soon as you bring up morphing the fear is back.

“Just tell me you’ll think about it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

You don’t know if she’s just trying to get you off her back or if she actually will, but that’s as far as you’re willing to press her for now.

“Anyway, what have you been doing?” you ask. “Besides studying.”

The change of topic helps, and soon enough she’s back on form, talking your ear off about whatever new movies and TV series she’s watching. It’s all too nerdy for you, but you’re happy just to see her enthusiastic.

File: bubbles.png (3.03 MB, 2326x1800)

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>>4971981
Eventually she turns the topic back to you. “So anyway, what have you been doing?”

“Just school and swim,” you avoid any mention of more serious topics.

“Just that? You haven’t seen anyone or done anything else at all?”

“Well, I was hanging out with Fred,” you rub the back of your neck.

“Oh yeah?” she smirks. “Do you… ‘hang out’ with him often?”

“It’s not-- I mean-- It’s just hanging out,” you awkwardly answer.

She laughs. “I’m sure. You two get along well?”

“Yeah, we do.”

“And what do you think of him? Do you like him?”

You can always count on her to get right to what she’s thinking.

>“He’s nice, but just a friend”
>“Sure, but I don’t want to mess around with a teammate”
>“I guess I do”
>Write-in

>>4971982
>“I guess I do”

Fred gang rise up!

>>4971982
>"We're pretty similar I guess. Maybe if he gets a swim bod."

>>4971982
>It’s not really like that. Both of us have our problems, so…we like to get away from them every now and then by hanging out in morphs. It’s different in a Morph. Animals don’t care about all the stuff that we do. They can just…shut it off, without even trying. It’s nice, especially with a friend.

>>4972054
oh god don't try to pressure her into morphing after she's already said no

>>4972074
Its not? That’s legitimately what we do all the time with Fred.
Like every single time.

>>4971982
>>“He’s nice, but just a friend”

>>4971982
>“Sure, but I don’t want to mess around with a teammate”
Who's got time for romance when there's aliens to fight?

>>4972297
I'll back this

>>4971982
>>“I guess I do”

>>4971982
>“I guess I do”

>>4972647
>>4972690
>"I guess I do"
>>4972054
>"It's not like that"
>>4972163
>"He's nice, but just a friend"
>>4972297
>>4972302
>"Sure, but I don't want to mess around with a teammate"
>>4971990
>"We're pretty similar I guess. Maybe if he gets a swim bod."

As this anon >>4971983 >>4972302 changed his vote and we have a tie, I'm going to hold a runoff. Reply to this to vote
>"I guess I do"
>"Sure, but I don't want to mess around with a teammate"

>>4973129
I'll change my vote back

>>4973129
>"I guess I do"
unless its too late, so for the run off I'm voting for this

>>4973129
>>"I guess I do"

>>4971982
>“I guess I do”

>>4973129
>>"Sure, but I don't want to mess around with a teammate"

>>4973129
>>"I guess I do"

>>4973129
>"Sure, but I don't want to mess around with a teammate"

>>4973140
>>4973170
>>4973286
>>4974163
>"I guess I do"
>>4973715
>"Sure, but I don't want to mess around with a teammate"

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>>4971982
“I guess I do,” you admit, trying to resist the urge to do something silly like scuff your feet or break out into a grin.

Anna has no such qualms and beams at you in delight. You wait a moment for her to continue, but she doesn’t. Instead, she just keeps grinning until you have to look away in slight embarrassment.

“What is it?” you ask. “What’s with that smirk?”

“Does he know?” she answers your question with one of her own.

You think back to the hug you shared earlier on the beach. Maybe he doesn’t know, but you think he probably feels the same way.

“Maybe,” you smile. “I’m not sure.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

You pause. Though you hadn’t planned on it, it seems inevitable now. You’re not going to go around keeping that secret. For a moment, you have a brief fear that you’ll spoil what you have now, but you brush it aside. There’s no use worrying about things like that.

“Maybe, maybe not,” you reply coyly. You know the real answer is ‘yes’, but it’s fun to string Anna along like this.

“What do you mean!?” she exclaims. “You’re just going to pretend there’s nothing going on?”

You smile at her, watching as amusement and annoyance war on her face.

“Alright,” you admit. “I’ll say something.”

Whatever she was going to reply with is interrupted by the sound of the front door unlocking. You peek out into the front hallway in confusion before realizing what’s happening. Even though it’s still the weekend, your mom always comes home at this time of the evening.

“Shit,” you say, trying to move Anna out of sight and away towards the stairs, but it’s too late.

“Jen?” your mom calls as she steps inside and sees you. “Who’s that?”

Anna must either realize there’s no avoiding your mom, or she just doesn’t care. Either way, she steps in front of you and into the hallway.

“Anna, it’s been a while,” your mom smiles.


“Hi,” Anna waves. It’s only now occurring to you that you never filled Anna in about your mom being a Controller.

“How have you been?” your mom asks.

You stay behind Anna. You don’t want to look at your mom, but at the same time it feels somewhat suspicious to avoid looking at her at all. It’s uncomfortable, but the best you can make yourself do is awkwardly staring at her feet.

Mom keeps making smalltalk, and Anna obliges her. It’s disgusting. That thing is in your own home, piloting your mom, making her chat to your best friend, and you can’t do anything but look at the ground. Nausea wells up inside of you, until you feel like you’re going to throw up on yourself. You try to take a few deep breaths, but for some reason your throat won’t let any air through. It almost feels like you’re drowning.

“I left something in my room,” you manage to stutter, before turning and stumbling towards the stairs.

>>4974573
You barely make it up the stairs and into the bathroom before you start heaving. Pulling your hair back with one hand and kicking the door shut, you kneel over the toilet. You dry heave until you’re certain you’re going to puke, but nothing comes out. For some inane reason, tears are filling your eyes.

Distantly, you hear someone coming up the stairs. You start to move to lock the door before recognizing the footsteps’ as Anna’s.

She knocks on the door. “Jen? What’s up? I know you’re in there, are you okay?”

You wipe your eyes as best as you can, and then open the door.

“I didn’t know you felt that strongly about your mom,” she quips when she sees you, before seeming to think better of it. “Shit, sorry, that was a bad joke. Are you okay?”

“Did my mom say something?” you quickly ask instead of answering her. You don’t know what your mom would even say, but you have to make sure.

“What? No, she just asked how school was going. What’s happening? Did you just throw up?”

“No, I just didn’t feel great, I think it was something I ate.”

She frowns. “That’s obviously not true. What’s going on?”

You try to find the words, but you still feel sick.

“I should have told you already,” you start, but you’re interrupted yet again by noise from downstairs.

[i]Fuck![/i]

Your mom is going back out. You can hear her leaving. If you start morphing now, you can still follow her. It could be paranoia or the urge to get out of here, but you feel like you have to find out what she’s doing. It’s not normal for her to go out right after getting home.

“Would you just tell me what’s happening?” Anna interrupts your thoughts. “Something’s up, and you’re acting really, really weird.”

>“I’ll tell you on the way. We have to go after my mom”
>Going after your mom is nuts. You just need to tell Anna what happened and stay at home
>You don’t know what’s happening to you, but you can’t trust yourself right now. Tell Anna what happened and let her decide
>Write-in

>>4974575
>Going after your mom is nuts. You just need to tell Anna what happened and stay at home
>message the others if they think they should follow. Your mom will be on the lookout for you, but not necessarily them. You can even call her up on the phone to distract her.

>>4974575
>You don’t know what’s happening to you, but you can’t trust yourself right now. Tell Anna what happened and let her decide

>>4974575
>>You don’t know what’s happening to you, but you can’t trust yourself right now. Tell Anna what happened and let her decide

>>4974578
Nate is the only one in the neighborhood besides you and Anna. He might be able to find your mom and tail her, but the odds aren't great. You can text him if you want, but I'll only put it in if I see a majority of anons voting for it

>>4974575
>You don’t know what’s happening to you, but you can’t trust yourself right now. Tell Anna what happened and let her decide

>>4974578
>Going after your mom is nuts. You just need to tell Anna what happened and stay at home
>>4974603
>>4974970
>>4975151
>You don’t know what’s happening to you, but you can’t trust yourself right now. Tell Anna what happened and let her decide
Set. Writing

>>4974575
You don’t know what’s happening, but something is wrong with you.

“I’m sorry,” you begin. You’re not sure where to go from there.

“For what?” Anna presses you. She looks deeply concerned, almost scared.

“My mom is a Controller,” you choke out.

“What? She-- I just talked to her. She’s a Controller?”

You nod.

“How long have you known? How do you know?”

“Emma told me today.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

You shrug helplessly. “I don’t know. I meant to tell you at the meeting, but you weren’t there and the chance never came up tonight. I’m sorry.”

“Shit. What are you going to do about it?”

“I told Emma I wasn’t going to go after her, but… she’s going out now and I know she shouldn’t be. I don’t know if it’s something important or not. Do you think I should follow her?”

“Why are you asking me?” Anna looks upset. “She’s your mom.”

“I don’t know what to do. Emma said she wasn’t an important Controller, so it’s probably nothing, but it doesn’t feel right to just let it go.”

“I don’t know,” Anna echoes you. She looks at your face and sees something there. “I don’t like being put on the spot, but I guess you should stay home. It doesn’t seem like it’d be good for you to go after her.”

You sag with relief. You’re not sure if it’s from not having to go out, or from having that decision taken off of your shoulders.

“Does anyone else know?” Anna asks.

“Everyone,” you admit. “I told them at the meeting.”

She looks momentarily angry before taking a second to calm down. “Okay. Why don’t we go back downstairs? I don’t want to keep standing in the bathroom door.”

“Oh,” you realize you’re still standing in the doorframe. You step out into the hallway and follow her towards the stairs. “Sorry, I don’t know why I freaked out.”

“Why are you apologizing? Of course you’d be upset.”

“No, I was being weird. I should have acted normally.”

“Stop,” she turns around to look at you again. “It’s normal to be upset like that. It makes sense and it’s natural. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Okay.”

You don’t agree with her, but you’re not going to argue. She continues down the stairs and you follow.

“Can I look in your cupboards?” Anna asks. “I’ll cook you something nice, maybe you’ll feel better.”

You take a seat at the kitchen table. “Sure.”

While she potters around the kitchen, you take a seat at the table and put your head in your hands. Maybe what she’s saying is right, but you still feel like there’s something deeply wrong with you. You’ve spoken to Controllers before without any issue, and you’ve been dealing with your mom for a while now. Knowing she’s a Controller shouldn’t change anything, but every time you think about it you feel like you’re going to suffocate.

>>4975807
“Here,” she interrupts your thoughts and puts a plate down in front of you. It’s some sort of stir fry, with rice, chicken, and plenty of vegetables. You don’t know where she got half the ingredients from, but she’s always been good at cooking.

“Thanks,” you mumble, and dig in. She fills the air with smalltalk about the movie and school, and you’re happy to try forgetting anything else happened.

Eventually Anna has to head home, and you go to bed shortly after she leaves. Your mom doesn’t come home until after you drift off.

---

Though the big mission is coming up, you still have a week to spend between now and then. What do you do?

>Prepare with Nate. Make sure every last complication is ironed out. He might be able to do this on his own, but you have to be certain
>Hang out with Anna. It’ll help both of you feel better, and you might be able to get her onboard
>Go see Fred. Make sure he knows how you feel before you start taking any risks
>Write-in

>>4975812
>Hang out with Anna. It’ll help both of you feel better, and you might be able to get her onboard

>>4975812
>Hang out with Anna. It’ll help both of you feel better, and you might be able to get her onboar
More on the former

>>4975812
>>Prepare with Nate. Make sure every last complication is ironed out. He might be able to do this on his own, but you have to be certain

>>4975812
>>Go see Fred. Make sure he knows how you feel before you start taking any risks

No update tonight

>>4976735
all good.

actually I have a small crit if you're interested, and it might be why there isn't a lot of game chatter in the threads

>>4976757
Sure, fire away

>>4976796
the tight focus on Jen means we don't get to experience much of the other characters outside who we choose to hang out with, so the world feels a lot smaller than the books did. I get that a QM can only write so many updates, but the books got around it with rotating POVs, letting the readers really feel they knew every character and understood their mindset. Trying it through Jen and Jen only leaves the rest of the cast feeling less fleshed out and the world outside the fight with the Yeerks pretty empty, so there's not a lot to talk about other than book lore

I dig the quest a lot so don't take it the wrong way, its just a feeling I've been having since you asked

it also doesn't help that Jen is more the Rachel of the group rather than the decision maker. quests are all about making active decisions and playing Wolverine rather than Cyclops gives the players less room to think up ideas and talk about strategies for handling the yeerk invasion

>>4976801
First paragraph very correct, the tight focus leaves little to discuss outside of immediate choices, few of which are particularly controversial. Last paragraph less so, plenty of room for creativity and choice-making even with a more fight-focused character. Whether quest design and player input live up.to that potential can be argued, but it's definitely there.

On that note:
>Prepare with Nate. Make sure every last complication is ironed out. He might be able to do this on his own, but you have to be certain

>>4976801
Thanks for the writeup anon.

Having Jen as the only POV is a deliberate choice, but I understand how it limits the quest. I'd be open to having other POVs at certain points, but it's something I'd need to plan out ahead of time. I'll see what I can do.

With regards to Jen not being the decision maker, I'm not sure that's entirely true. She has a lot of say in the group even though Nate is the nominal leader. Still, conflict over direction between her and Nate is something I don't think I've worked in well enough. I'd also like to get more planning and fighting the Yeerks in, but it's tough to balance that without leaving other parts of the quest by the wayside.

There's a lot to balance and it's something I'm always trying to improve even though I think I'm usually far from perfect. I really like hearing what people think and if you or any other anons have input it's always welcome.

Still tied but I can't update tonight anyway. I'll be back tomorrow

Can't update tonight

>>4975812
>Prepare with Nate. Make sure every last complication is ironed out. He might be able to do this on his own, but you have to be certain
Tie breaking

Sorry but I've been very busy this week. I'll let you guys know when I'm able to update again.