#I’m also gonna draw them as victims of the fears too cuz they’d be different then what they embody! :D

[bluehedron]

Discussion - The Yeerk and Dreams

Hello all! I’m gonna try out something new. I’ve been thinking of not announcing my fanfic every chapter I updated here because as a friend pointed out, we’re all here for the art. Visual is beautiful. I can’t blame that. And I’ve already have other websites to do that so this is gonna be strictly art-based (maybe to do with my own fic as more for character development and visual exploration) and reblog on Animorphs-related stuff. And shoutout to fics (I’ve been neglecting that and this blog cuz of work so apology for that). 

But I was thinking of holding discussions with you guys. I’ve thought of ideas and headcanons for my fic that I wanna explore more into them. And share them that even writers wanna try them out too for theirs.

First discussion to test the waters: what do you think about a Yeerk and the dream state of a host?

I’ve had this idea for a bit for either a chapter of my fanfic or a future book. The scenario is a Yeerk ally (yes, you read that. There’s an explanation for that and it’s not an intended alliance btw) has to go into an unconscious host to gather information for example, a password. So here are some divided sub-thoughts:

1. An infesting on an unconscious Controller. 

So I’ve been wondering if a Yeerk of a host would ever find out if another Yeerk infested their host when conscious. And doesn’t when the host’s not. When we’re asleep or fainted, we don’t know what’s going on so we wouldn’t know if another Yeerk sneak in and out for intel from our brain. Sure, a Yeerk could leave evidence such as the typical drilling through the skull and healing it back but probably the other Yeerk wouldn’t even notice this change when coming back. Basically it could be possible for a Yeerk mole to help get intel but only if a host isn’t awake.

2. The dream state

I have the thought that Yeerks don’t dream but during a host’s sleep, they in a way, ‘dream’ the host’s dreams. Kinda like you’re watching a movie like a TV while sleeping. But here’s a thought, “if you fall in a dream and die, do you die in real life?” 

The idea is depending on the severity of a dream state, would Yeerks be mentally affected by it? Say for example, my Yeerk character from my fic, has done a dive to get information before on an unconscious human but had to go through their subconscious fears, clowns and popping balloons. Which after that, she has gained an irrational fear of them now (heehee). After all, Yeerks wouldn’t understand what we humans see as easy as a second nature. Moreover, a human mind awake could be easy to comprehend with the Yeerk getting the details they need. But in a dream state, the mind world to them is so confusing and incomprehensible that they either need to deny it or temporarily bail out. Worst case scenario is literally dying from fear by the host’s dream, depending on the host’s mental state too.

Taking an example if you guys’ seen the gameplay trailer of Observer, that you put a wire to the victim’s brain and dive yourself in. But the world you see in the victim’s mind isn’t like our reality, everything’s misshapen, out of place, surreal, because the victim is actually dying or is dead.

Through a Yeerk’s POV, they’d need to piece things out to get what they want too, especially if they’re a mole. AND especially if they don’t really know what is supposed to be a human’s reality or fantasy (and the plus idea that they don’t dream doesn’t help them either).

3. The 3 day cycle

I’ve always thought the 3 day cycle Yeerks need is their usage of energy on controlling a host, physically and mentally. And that part of that 3 day is mainly on having to deal with the host’s dream/mental state. In real life, we all have mental stress, mental problems, mental dismay that we really do feel exhausted. Mental health is an important factor of our lives so why shouldn’t that apply to aliens (yes, fictional or real). It’s easy to control a body to your whims but maybe not when the mind isn’t controllable. 

Another side idea - based on the main one where my Yeerk’s host was born with half a brain, she’s able to control half of the body and also means, she doesn’t use all of her energy as easily as most Yeerks do. She’s able to converse it while cooperating with her host to move together. So it’s kinda interesting to think that Yeerks could possibly live longer if they didn’t invest a lot of their energy in fully controlling a host. Possible if the host and Yeerk has a symbiotic relationship instead of a one sided one.

4. Manipulation of a Dream world

This is where you could see this as either dark and dangerous or sweet and peaceful. This idea actually came to me as an if - which is IF Ax were to ever build a frenemy relationship with a Yeerk ally to the point he’ll ‘eventually’ allow her to infest him depending on situations (DEPENDING! I know Ax will never let that happen). 

The idea is the Yeerk helps him shape up his dream world that is very similar to his homeworld, because a Yeerk like her has some control in changing the mind’s visual pictures. It’s in a way like a virtual reality. It’s not home to him but it’s close enough to feel at peace with it. 

So about manipulation. If being forced to or having to use measures on a host, a Yeerk could change and distort the host’s dream world, like a torture device. Make them fear things beyond their control in the dream world. And that there’s no escape from the dream. Applying with number 3, there probably is a limit like using too much energy because a Yeerk distorting the dream world is like distorting ‘reality’. Another direction is if a Yeerk could repair a host’s stress or dismay by giving them dreams they want - and that’s also a big if the Yeerk has a symbiotic relationship for the host too. If there hadn’t been a war, Yeerks might actually help out people with their own problems like insomnia (I can only think of one example. I am sorry).

Of course, you could look at it this way: that this could be a possible idea for the Yeerks to look into by their science community as a means to get most controllable hosts easily. A form of indoctrination. Like the Matrix! -gets shot- Jokes aside, if the Yeerks were able to fully uncover the secrets of the mind to manipulate it better without the cost of a Yeerk’s own life, it could seriously put a turn in the tide.

One more side idea - every time a Yeerk dives into a host’s mind, they don’t see them as a Yeerk in the dream world but as either the host or a made-up version of a character, like an avatar. Another form of ‘manipulation’ of the dreamworld. 

So that’s bout it. What do you guys think? Are there some angles I’ve never thought off for this discussion? Or sounds weird since Yeerks are enemies in the Animorphs world? Or maybe Yeerks are kinda like us - there are some who are more resilisant and cold to be brought down by dreams and some affected by humans’ emotions and start to question themselves? Even Andalites could apply. Races are different but there’s always gonna be some common ground in different perspectives. 

And if this discussion idea is a good one, I’ll post out more, some probably based on my fic to be honest. Even suggested thoughts too you guys would like to discuss and that creators would like to look in and explore. These are open and general discussions, feel free to take the ideas for your own fanfic/art if you wanna try it out.

If not, ah well, I just enjoyed writing this discussion about Yeerks. Really fun to be honest!

Now back to art drawing. :) Expect a post hopefully soon or probably some experiments again.