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Hey, do you want to talk via Discord? I'm Linstar#4919

--Ls

Though it's not Year of the Rabbit where I live, let's celebrate with coney stew 🍲

comes The Hunger Note Games, a crossover starring everyone's favorite Death Note Stu that contains this gem (warning for brief mentions of sexuality and bodily mutilation):

"WAIT!" shouted a handsom stranger. He was buff and had tattooes with COOL on one ripped bicep and DUDE on the other. All the ladies swooned and some of them had to run home to get happy in the bathroom. "I VOLUNTEER" he said shoving peeta out of the way and he landed in a pile of bread or something COS HE LIKES BREAD GET IT!

"Stop!" peeta said. "Catniss is my chick!" he picked up too French breads and held them like sords. He slashed around slashing the sexy man but didn't hurt him. Even throwing bread rolls at his head did nothing. The mussely man got a bread of his own and cut peeta's leg off but it was his robot leg so it was ok.

"MY NAME IS DARK YAGAMI AND I VOLUNEETR FOR THE HUUUUUUUUUUNGER GAMES!" he roared like a wrestling commenter.

The news probably shocked Jen as much as it shocked me when I was still a pup and learned that the Shadow was real.

After all, you do not want to be wanted by a dragon.

Dragons were big. They had huge claws and teeth. They could fly and shoot fire from their armpits. (Okay, just joking about that last one.)

And especially not by Drakor--he was the biggest, strongest dragon to have ever lived.

I volunteered to take first watch. While Jen went to sleep, I looked and listened for any dangerous things that could be potentially lurking out there.

After a few hours of staying awake, I heard a rustle. I shook Jen with my paw. "Jen? I heard a rustle."

Jen sat up and rubbed her eyes. "A rustle?"

"Yes, and--"

I heard another rustle. Same as the other one, but louder. The hairs of my back stood straight up.

"Run!" I shouted.

Right then, a black talon shot out of the darkness and grabbed me. I struggled to escape, but the talon just gripped me tighter.

"Escape won't be so easy, little one," said a voice that sounded like ice grinding against stone. "You'll have to get past me first."

I couldn't spot Jen anywhere. Maybe she had fled. Maybe she had been captured by someone else.

I hoped that it was the former.

The talon shifted, and I found myself looking at a dragon. His scales were obsidian black, with hints of purple. Razor-sharp spines stuck out of his back and neck like porcupine quills. His eyes were a crimson red.

The dragon spread his wings, great dark shadows. He lifted off into the sky.

His talon clenched me even more tightly, so tightly that I blacked out.

…

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a large pit. The walls were nearly vertical, making it impossible to climb out. I looked around, searching for something that might help me escape, and I spotted a grey object on the other side of the pit. Cautiously, I crept closer to the object.

As soon as I got close enough to discern what the object was, I gasped.

It was Ythakor.

He was so thin that I could see his ribs sticking out. He had numerous gashes on his side and face.

Ythakor stood up on shaky legs. His eyes, once a bright blue, were dull.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"It was the Shadow." Ythakor grimaced. "I couldn't kill him. In the middle of our fight, he ran away. Even though I was wounded, I followed him."

"Then how did you end up here?" I asked.

"Well, I would've asked the same question to you," replied Ythakor.

"You go first."

"Alright. Anyway, I followed the Shadow, and found him talking to a dragon. I stepped back, but snapped a twig. They both heard me. I bolted, but the dragon was faster. He caught me and put me here." He sighed. "Your turn."

I recited my story of me and Jen, from the moment I met her to the moment that I was taken. Ythakor listened patiently, nodding every once in a while to show that he understood. When I finished my story, he said to me, "I have something to show you."

Ythakor turned to the ground and pushed aside a slab of rock, revealing a small niche containing a dagger inside. He nudged the dagger. "Mark? You there?"

The dagger floated up to eye level and replied, "Dude! You just--is that a newcomer?"

I gaped. Ythakor grinned.

I had seen plenty of weird things in my life. Once I saw a wolf in a tree. Another time I saw a rabbit adopt an eagle. Then there was that time when Ythakor kissed a tree. But a talking, floating dagger? It made it into the top three.

Eventually, I managed to say, "Uh…"

"Oh," said Ythakor. "Luna, meet Mark, who is a magic floating talking dagger. Mark, meet Luna, alpha wolf of the famed Omega Pack."

My reply: "Um… hi?"

My thoughts: What if he stabs me? He might do that if I say the wrong thing! I can't say too much when he's around!

"Don't worry, I don't bite. But it's not like I have a jaw," Mark pointed out.

"Even if I say something insulting?"

"You're Ythakor's friend. Ythakor isn't evil. Therefore, you're not evil."

Mark had a point. (Oh, sorry. That was bad.) I asked him, "How do you know that Ythakor isn't evil?"

"Well," said Mark, "I can look inside anyone's soul. Ythakor's soul is mostly good, so I--oh, heck no. A dragon is approaching!"

Mark dropped into the niche, and Ythakor quickly slid the slab over the opening just as the morning sun was blocked by an enormous sihoulette.

Glad to see it's still doing the rounds. Seriously cannot recommend this one enough... and maybe it's now time for a reread.

(and I'll say this is both very interesting discussion and a question I don't expect to see myself addressing in my fic, so)

One other thing I thought of (which think I came off of Nesh's point) is that while a wizard-Controller could be rough in terms of knowledge being passed to the Yeerks, there's a solid chance they wouldn't be able to do any wizardry without persuading their host to go with it. As I recall, casting a spell generally requires some intent to do so, so even if you got puppeted through all the words and diagrams and what not, it wouldn't actually do anything unless you wanted the spell could go through.

Or I might be off-base there, I'd have to go digging through books to check for that sort of thing.

The sequel bit from Draco's POV is really interesting, too! Especially the bonding over Tolkien. That's also something I've got planned in my rewrite!

He gets adopted by an OC muggle couple with no children of their own. They are good to him, which makes me happy. More I will not say so as not to spoil it. As far as I can tell, this fic is well-written and everyone seems to be in character.

the dogfather

So far, it looks like the chaos will not abate very soon. My problem is that I get inspired and start a project, but if it isn't a one-shot I tend to run out of steam.

I can read numbers. I know that complex mathematics are possible. I can even see on paper how equations are constructed. Ask me to solve a complex equation or construct my own, and I will laugh, 'cause my brain didn't come with the facility to do that. Or, from another angle, I understand the concept of basketball and might even be able to get a ball through a hoop sometimes, from a limited range, but expecting me to play basketball is doomed to fail in uncoordinated misery when I run into another player or trip over my own feet or fumble so spectacularly the ball somehow ends up in my own side's basket. {= )

... The latter angle aligns with what you said about a Yeerk only being able to draw on the knowledge already memorized by the wizard, I think.

Maybe the question to ask is how fine a Yeerk's control of its host really is. If a Yeerk inhabits an artist, for instance, can a Yeerk exercising complete physical control of the artist make them paint something in the artist's style? Or, because the Yeerk itself is not an artist, would exercising complete control over the artist result in something that fails to resemble the artist's style, and is instead in the Yeerk's?

Does the Yeerk rather need to utilize compulsion, and make the artist feel the urge to paint, then sit back and let it happen? It would know the instant the artist conceived the notion of painting "help" and could put a stop to it before it happened, so there'd be little risk involved. But, if the artist resists the compulsion, or follows it by deliberately doing bad art, how much can the Yeerk really do about it?

There's no question that a Yeerk can exercise fine control over a person's language and speech faculties, but is that enough to let them compose poetry?

I actually don't remember any instances of Yeerks attempting to replicate things that require creativity in canon, so I'm really curious!

~Neshomeh

In "High", Dairine creates an entire planet full of wizards. It is made explicit in the discussion that follows that only the Motherboard actually took the Oath - all the others were just given wizardry at creation.

Granted that was an unusual situation, but so is this. Yeerks can access everything their host knows, right? Then a Yeerk in a wizard knows how to use wizardry. The fact that they got it illicitly doesn't change that.

There may be provisions for the Powers to withdraw wizardry from someone willingly using it for evil ends. It's definitely implied, maybe stated outright - but on the flip side, overshadowing exists. If everything is a choice, then you can be a wizard and willingly submit to the Lone One - even if you pretend to yourself you haven't. And that doesn't qualify for revocation. So how can we be sure this would?

hS

Ahem.

I think I come down on the side of "a person cannot be forced to do Wizardry." There's that one line, "magic does not live in the unwilling soul," or something very similar. A Yeerk might force you to make a spell circle and even say words in the Speech, but they can't make you want to do magic. I think a forced spell without the wizard's will behind it would be likely to fizzle out. The Yeerk would have to persuade you to do it... and then you'd have a chance to persuade them back; see hS's comments. {= )

Also, worst-case scenario, you can give up your wizardry and forget that magic even exists. It's something no one would choose to do except as a last resort, but it's an option. If it were done not because you rejected the gift, but as a sacrifice to prevent an atrocity, I think the Powers might even give you a second chance if you got free.

~Neshomeh

...worst case scenario, the Powers can feed a "here's how to make the Yeerk wrapped your brain be somewhere else / disappear / ... just by thinking about it" directly to the new Controller's brain.

Maybe they could - but would they? They could also have fed Nita a "make the nasty aliens just go away" spell during the fight at the Crossings, and given her the power to use it (maybe tap one of the many worldgates up there); instead, they let her stumble through with the aid of a non-wizard with a... hairdryer? It's been a while, but I think it was a hairdryer.

The books are full of examples of things the Powers could just create a spell to fix. Even if we exclude War as exceptional times, you could resolve every plot with a lot less pain and risk and loss by just giving Nita and Kit a shortcut spell. "Make my parents not notice my absence" would be a neat one for Deep, and well within their normal capabilities.

But they don't. Because doing it the easy way is not the point - in fact, it's Someone Else's point. And - a certain incidents involving a star-forged spear aside - the Powers don't hand out reset buttons when things go bad.

~

So how would a Controller Wizard story go? Depends how they got in that situation. If it came about because of the wizard's choices - such as staying behind to let others escape, knowing the risk - then I think they'd need to solve it themselves. The Speech is a persuasive medium, especially when you're in direct mind-to-mind contact, or failing that there's the brief interlude when the yeerk has to be back in the pool.

If they didn't have a choice - say they were infested in their sleep, before they even knew the yeerks were there (it's not mentioned in the Manual because their planet isn't aware of it yet) - then you have more options. The most low-key would probably be to give them a mental connection to another wizard - think A Wizard Alone. Your Controller's friends and allies making a combined mental and physical effort to free them is much more plausible than "oh dear, that's a problem, here's your fix-it spell", I think.

Of course, any of these scenarios leaves a yeerk with at least temporary access to wizardry - but probably no Manual access, of any kind. The damage they can do would be limited by what wizardry their host can remember, rather than just anything in the book. Unless they get hold of a Planetary (gulp!), we're probably not in end-of-the-world territory.

hS

First off, thanks for the thorough read! (and catching the continuity error)

Second off, *corrals the mini-Taxxon, who also made an appearance back in Chapter 1*

Third, oh no how terrible I did something that led you to opening a book. how could I do such a thing.

Now, as to the crossover mechanics questions:

• The Yeerks, as of Animorphs canon, are pretty thoroughly aligned with the Lone Power (in Young Wizards terms) and so an offer of wizardry was the sort of thing that had to be made extremely carefully.
• As to an existing wizard becoming a Controller, that would be pretty bad. We don't want Yeerks with the power to tinker the universe. Fortunately, said wizards likely have a good number of ways to avoid being infested (invisibility and teleports are good escape methods, after all), and, worst case scenario, the Powers can feed a "here's how to make the Yeerk wrapped your brain be somewhere else / disappear / ... just by thinking about it" directly to the new Controller's brain.

I'm also glad you liked my portrayal of the voluntary Controller situation!

This is surprisingly sweet, for a story where a Yeerk gains access to someone’s brain! I loved the part where Estril got to experience the sensation of sight for the first time. All the feelings and sensations, and the almost addicting, demanding sensation . . . I like that Estril has that moment of understanding why so many Yeerks went along with galactic conquest, but still keeps their desires in check and doesn’t take control of Julian. It’s cute how well the two of them are able to get along inside Julian’s head, too. Animorphs gave so little screen time to the willing Controllers, it’s not always easy to imagine what it would be like for a Yeerk and Controller to exist on friendly terms together. But I like the way you portrayed it, with Julian being a thoughtful little daydreamer who doesn’t mind letting someone else do the physical actions so he can just ponder things . . . not that I’m envious, or anything!

I only know Young Wizards through osmosis from other boarders, so I (think I) understand that a bad Yeerk would never have been made a wizard in the first place, but the idea of a Yeerk infesting an existing wizard is pretty terrifying—not only from individual Controllers suddenly becoming spellcasters, but also from gaining the knowledge of how to find other wizards. Although, perhaps a host’s magic wouldn’t work for a Yeerk? Does the wizard themself have to be willing the spell with their mind, no substitutions?

A little continuity error: Julian says, “. . . people are getting taken over by alien brain parasites?!” before Estril has explained how Yeerk parasitism works, so he shouldn’t actually know about the brain part yet! Also, you’ve got “Karadona rays,” when it’s actually “Kandrona rays.”

—you got doctorlit leafing through Animorphs novels again, you tricksy Hobbit, you!

The bext day, Luna told me that she wanted me to meet the members of the Omega Pack.

Then she had told me that I should shape-shift into a wolf, since the members of her pack were more comfortable around wolves than humans.

I pointed out that I couldn't control my shape-shiffting abilities yet.

"Just take a deep breath and close your eyes," Luna instructed. "Then picture the animal that you want to be."

After I did what I was told, I opened my eyes.

I had definitely become a wolf. I was no longer sitting upright, but sitting on my haunches instead. I looked down at my snow-white paws.

"No," Luna said. "You look too much like me. We have the same height and fur colouration. You even have silver eyes--seriously? Try something like a lioness instead, so that the members of my pack don't confuse me for you and vice versa."

I tried imagining a lioness, strong and proud. When I opened my eyes, I looked at Luna, then my paws. They were a pale sandy color, which looked dusty to me.

"Perfect!" Luna announced. "I like your white-gold fur! Let's go meet my pack!"

…

Luna had warned me that the trip would take a long time.

I didn't expect her to mean more than a day.

As we trudged through the underbrush, I kept getting snagged by branches. After what seemed like the millionth time that a twig hit my face, I transformed into a rabbit and followed Luna that way.

Eventually we came to a rest. I simply grazed on the grass, but Luna didn't eat anything. She just stared at me and licked her lips every once in a while, like she wanted to eat me.

That thought was so unnerving, I turned into a hawk. Luna stopped licking her lips, but she kept staring at me.

I walked over to her. "What's the matter, Luna?"

Luna glanced behind her.

All of a sudden, I could see every shadow, every detail. A few meters away, I spotted a tiny ant crawl under a pile of dead leaves. An eagle wheeled high overhead, so high up that normal human eyes wouldn't have seen it.

Several seconds later, my vision returned to normal.

I stumbled, gasping. Luna turned back.

"What's the matter?" she asked, worriedly.

I replied, "My vision… became very sharp. But only for a few seconds."

Luna's face became even more worried. "You must become a human."

"Why not?"

"The longer you're not a human, the more animal you'll become. The rate at which you become animal depends on how closely related you are to that animal. For example, you'll turn into animal faster if you're a sparrow than a hare."

In the blink of an eye, I was human again. I leaned forward.

"How do you know that?"

Luna leaned forward so much that I was afraid she would bite my face off. Luckily, she didn't.

"There used to be shapeshifters among us," she said, "but they succumbed too the call of the wild. They lost their ability. I can't risk losing you. From this point on, don't use your power unless there's an emergency."

"But why do I have this abilityin the first place?"

Luna leaned forward even more. "You, Jen, are descended from a powerful witch."

I had always thought that there were no such thing as witches. But then, there were such things as talking animals and shapeshifting, so I suposed that witches were also real.

"The witch," continued Luna, "had powerful abilities, like shape-shifting. You have inherited this power.

"There is one catch, however.

"Many creatures want to use you, kill you, or both. Jen, you're wanted by one of the most powerful mythical animals alive. And his name is Drakor the dragon."

More comments on AO3, but yes, I enjoyed that.

hS

The community has been lucky to have you, and I'm glad that I have the privilege of knowing you!

I, for one, am very excited to read all that you've been working on, so I'm looking forward to this!

—doctorlit

Now to get back to the riff…

I really liked it! Yue-what's-her-face is no more!

--Ls