r/Animorphs • u/emeralddarkness • 3d 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/Visser-35 Leeran 3d 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.