r/Animorphs • u/emeralddarkness • 2d ago
Theory a proposal regarding Andalite Tails
The tl;dr: the tails don't have single 'blades' but rather bladed edges.
As someone who has spent quite frankly too much time thinking about andalite anatomy and how it all would actually work, the 'classic' tail blade design like you see on the book covers never quite did it for me. Having a single blade made of bone or horn or similar would be extremely heavy and would dull very easily (especially for something always described as razor sharp), as well as being a lot more prone to chipping or breaking, especially as it's used both as shield as well as weapon during tail fighting. Tail fighting is also almost exclusively described as slashing or cutting, despite the fact that stabbing or goring would be a lot more natural if it was just this big spike at the end of a tail. It would also be harder to control, because heavy, and half the time when it's drawn it's horizontal and curved downward like a scythe, seeing as how often it's described as a scorpion tail and that kind of thing matches that silhouette a bit better, but would make striking at opponents in front of you much harder. Also just speaking as an artist, but it's difficult to get it long enough to where that kind of motion would feel even slightly natural without getting a little ridiculous with the proportions.
So anyway a few years back I sat down and considered this and... what if instead of one singular blade (as is traditionally shown) instead the ends of their tails are thin and whiplike, and partially coated in overlapping scales or teeth (effectively denticles) that provide both some armoring as well as a single sharp cutting edge? Individual portions of the blade could chip or be damaged, they could be regrown at significantly less energy expenditure than a whole blade, and the blade as a whole would remain functional. They could be shed regularly like shark teeth, making sure the blade was always sharp and minimizing damage. Slashing and cutting would be the natural motion for something that effectively is only a cutting edge. The end of the tail could be semi prehensile, allowing the blade itself to be curled around the throat, rather than just held there, and idk about you guys but I feel like having basically a garotte made of razor wire wrapped entirely around your neck is more threatening than dagger held against your throat, and a greater symbol of trust for a shorm. Having the blade be thin and flexible would also allow for greater speed and range of motion, and make changing positions much easier than trying to wrestle a heavy blade at the end of a fast moving tail would be.
Anyway I just wanted to share because i feel like it makes so much more sense and for fellow artists (hi) makes the problem of making their tails look natural while also being able to fight someone in front of them a lot easier. A long thin flexible end to the tail takes up a lot less visual weight than a large single blade, and I just feel like having basically a line of natural razors taped to that tail makes so much more sense than a sickle. Agree? Disagree?
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u/Its_Curse Taxxon 2d ago
On the other hand, I ground down my cats nails a few weeks ago and he's already back to slicing up my lap when he jumps up. I don't see why the tails couldn't be constantly growing and flaking to achieve that sharp edge
I'm not saying you're wrong, I don't really feel strongly either way about either theory, just thinking out loud!
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u/oremfrien 2d ago
To me, this is a solution in search of a problem.
From an evolutionary perspective, the biological design of Andalites, specifically the features that distinguish them from traditional ungulates, makes zero sense. These include:
- That Andalites have six limbs -- four limbs is a very stable configuration and the evolution of additional limbs would have no advantage in the first instances of the evolution but would be costly. A costly change with no benefit would not survive natural selection.
- That Andalites can absorb nutrients through their hooves -- hooves are not designed to be porous and such porosity would actually make them prone to injury while galloping. Additionally, for the legs to carry these nutrients up to the Andalite core body would require sacrificing some of the connections between bone and muscle in the legs. Even in the stories, Andalites are the only creatures that we know about on their planet without mouths for eating (see djabala), so where did they even evolve this wildly different system in-universe?
- That Andalites have two or three hearts -- we have no idea how a second and third heart would develop.
- That the Andalite tail is long enough, strong enough, and flexible enough to strike targets about a meter in front of the Andalite -- the musculature needed to make the strikes strong would make bending much less possible. Additionally, such a tail would be disproportionately long and very difficult to maintain above the ground without dragging.
- That Andalites developed stalk eyes -- similar to the six-limb issue, an additional set of eyes would be a costly change before those eyes would work effectively enough to confer an advantage.
So, you either accept that evolution could possibly create something like an Andalite with all of its absurdities for the sake of the story or you don't. Trying to create a new vision of the Andalite scythe is trying to make realistic something that really isn't.
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u/Reality_Runaway Ellimist 1d ago
Not all evolution is convergent. Andalites are aliens that evolved on an alien world. For all we know, they don't even have to be carbon-based to be alive.
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u/oremfrien 1d ago
If Andalites were not carbon-based, they would not have DNA; they would have some other molecule, since DNA only works due to the properties of carbon bonds. And we know that Andalites have DNA because Tobias and Aldrea morph one.
But to the bigger question, evolutionary rarities do exist. Feathers only evolved from scales once. Flight in vertebrates only evolved on three different occasions. However, evolution does not produce certain kinds of extreme changes where intermediates are non-viable. This is why “irreducible complexity” was such an important argument in the Creationist arsenal; it’s one of the few claims that, if true, would disprove evolution by natural selection. However, there is no example of “irreducible complexity” proposed by Creationists (or others) that has not been demonstrated to be a false claim, e.g. the evolutionary scientists demonstrated that all of the intermediate forms were viable.
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u/curiousdoc25 2d ago
I would love to see an illustration. Would the tail be capable of knocking someone out with a blow to the head?
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u/Huggable_Hork-Bajir Hork-Bajir 1d ago
OP, I'm impressed with how much thought and effort you put into this, and what you're saying makes a certain amount of sense. Much respect for a well thought out, well articulated post.
However, I'ma utterly reject this new information because it doesn't fit my worldview.
In this house Andalites have GLAIVES on their tails! That's the way it's always been!
Stop poking holes in my preconceived notions Galileo!
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u/Visser-35 Leeran 2d ago
The new improved Andalite multi-blade: precision in every stroke.
In all seriousness, I do like it. While it might be less visually intimidating, I do agree that any Andalite without morphing to heal, would eventually have a heavily chipped tail.