History Fanfic / AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs

** "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" is even harsher than canon at first — being a tiger means that Jake is too conspicuous to go on missions until he gets his morphing ability back, Rachel has to [[DeathFakedForYou fake his death for him]], and both of his parents become [[AndIMustScream Controllers]] shortly after the events of #31. [[spoiler: But then he meets fellow [[ShapeshifterModeLock nothlit]] Arbron, who gives him the idea to give morphing technology to [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerks]] so they can mode-lock themselves into any body they want without having to take over someone else's. As a result, the war ends with the Yeerk Empire being peacefully decimated, and several characters who died in canon are alive.]]

* MookDepletion: Towards the end of "What if Jake was stuck in morph?", [[spoiler:Arbron gives Jake the idea to allow Yeerks and Taxxons to become [[ShapeshifterModeLock nothlits]] ''en masse'' so they can leave the war, freeing human and Hork-Bajir hosts in the process. The Yeerk forces on Earth dwindle so much that they struggle to recruit more human hosts, until it [[EarnYourHappyEnding ends with a peaceful surrender]] and almost no casualties besides [[DeathByAdaptation Visser Three]].]]

** Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?". He later gets his morphing ability back from the Ellimist ''á la'' Tobias in ''The Change'', [[spoiler:then nothlits himself as a human at the end.]] Also, instead of turning David into a rat, Jake orders him to create a new human morph and stay in it for over two hours, then turn himself into the local youth shelter.

* BadLiar: In "What if Tom's yeerk got the morphing cube from David first?", Controller Tom heads towards the school's emergency exit after getting the cube, with the excuse that he has an English test. Jake points out that he's heading away from the English classrooms. [[spoiler:Later, when Jake accidentally gives Tom the morphing power, he claims that he's an Andalite in morph, but Tom points out that you can only activate the Escafil device while in your ShapeshifterDefaultForm.]]

* BystanderSyndrome: In "What if Tom's yeerk got the morphing cube from David first?", the teachers watch apathetically as Tom beats up David, and the students pay no more attention than a glance to them. The author said in the comments that it was inspired by the [[Series/{{Animorphs}} live-action TV show]], where a lot of drama went down in the school's corridors, but even non-Controllers turned a blind eye.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: In "What if Elfangor and Loren raised Tobias?", the Fangors are ''not'' happy about the fact that their son has been risking his life and hiding it from them.

** In "What if Rachel's mom was a controller?", Naomi is even more distant from her daughters than in canon, meaning that Rachel had a PromotionToParent as a tweenager. This causes Rachel to reveal her secret to her sisters early on, and as a result, Jordan feels frustrated about how messed-up her life is.

--> '''Jake:''' <We had a deal!>
--> '''Tom:''' Deal was between you and him. Nobody asked ''me'' to promise anything.
* FamilyEyeResemblance: In "What if Tom was infested by a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement?", Aftran doesn't recognise Tom as Jake's brother until she sees "the weary defiance in his eyes."

* SecretKeeper: In "What if Rachel's mom was a controller?", after Rachel tells Jordan and Sara the truth about the Yeerk invasion, Jordan in particular often helps to cover for her with Naomi.

* RecycledPremise: "What if Tom was infested by a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement?" borrows its premise from another ''Animorphs'' fanfic called ''The Tocsin'', though it ends up going in a completely different direction.

* RoleSwapAU: Several, including "What if Tom ended up leading the Animorphs?" (while Jake is a Controller), "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" (instead of Tobias), "What if Marco was the one split in half in #32?" (instead of Rachel), "What if James, not David, became the seventh Animorph?" (ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin), "What if Elfangor and Loren raised Tobias?" (in which Mertil and Gafinilan give the Animorphs their powers and then die instead of Elfangor), and "What if Peter and Naomi got married?" (instead of Peter and Nora).

* RoleSwapAU: Several, including "What if Tom ended up leading the Animorphs?" (while Jake is a Controller), "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" (instead of Tobias), "What if Marco was the one split in half in #32?" (instead of Rachel), "What if James, not David, became the seventh Animorph?" (ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin), and "What if Elfangor and Loren raised Tobias?" (in which Mertil and Gafinilan give the Animorphs their powers and then die instead).

* MoralityChain: Certain one-shots, such as "What if David never betrayed them?" and "What if Tom ended up leading the Animorphs?", make it clear that the Animorphs as a whole are this to each other, as David proves such a frustrating addition to the team that they [[spoiler:eventually leave him to die]], and without Jake as a moderating influence [[spoiler:Marco ends up causing mass human casualties in the name of victory even when this leads to Tobias being killed in the crossfire of the final battle]].

* KindRestraints: Tom gets tied up in many chapters in order to get him to the Hork-Bajir valley without his Yeerk escaping with his body. Eva also ties Marco to a chair in "What if the yeerks all suddenly died?" and "What if they were all from different [=AUs=] á la Into the Spider-Verse?".

* GhostReunionEnding: "What if the Animorphs could use magic?" ends with [[spoiler:Jake summoning the ghosts of Elfangor, Arbron, Ax, Tom, and Rachel as he dies, who accompany him into the beyond.]]

* SparedByTheAdaptation: Many chapters end with Rachel and/or Tom and/or some/all of the Auxiliary Animorphs and/or the 17,000 Yeerks on the Pool Ship surviving the war. The premise of "What if Elfangor and Loren raised Tobias?" also requires Elfangor to survive past the first book.

* SapientEatSapient: PlayedForDrama in "What if they were caught during their first mission?". Essak 1275 kills and eats over 40 [[TokenAquaticRace Leerans]] while in lerdethak morph (a mass of snake-like vines), and it's implied to cause his host, Jake, to cross the DespairEventHorizon.

* SecretKeeper: In "What if Rachel's mom was a controller?", after [[spoiler:Rachel tells Jordan and Sara the truth about the Yeerk invasion, Jordan in particular often helps to cover for her with Naomi]].

** Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?". He later gets his morphing ability back from the Ellimist ''á la'' Tobias in ''The Change'', [[spoiler:then nothlits himself as a human at the end. Also, instead of turning David into a rat, Jake orders him to create a new human morph and stay in it for over two hours, then turn himself into the local youth shelter.]]

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: Ax is a werewolf in "What if they all went to Hogwarts?" and a human in "What if they were imprisoned?" and "What if they were pirates?" instead of an Andalite. All the aliens are humans in "What if they were in the Hunger Games?" and "What if they were in Emelan?" as well.

* GreenThumb: In "What if they were in Emelan?", Ax has the power to make plants grow rapidly, even if they've been r reduced to planks of wood.

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: Ax is a werewolf in "What if they all went to Hogwarts?" and a human in "What if they were imprisoned?" and "What if they were pirates?" instead of an Andalite. All the aliens are humans in "What if they were in the Hunger Games?" as well.

** Chapters such as "What if they played Dungeons & Dragons?", "What if they all went to college together post-war?", and "What if Jake and Cassie got married?" are fluff that take place in a post-canon world where everyone is inexplicably alive and well-adjusted.
** Downplayed with "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?", "What if they saved Jake's family?", and "What if Jake was stuck in morph?". While all of these ficlets have plenty of death and violence, the Animorphs don't have to make as many difficult decisions towards the end, meaning that many characters are spared (including [[spoiler:Tom and the 17,000 Yeerks on the Pool Ship]] in all three) and the survivors are left with fewer lingering regrets.
** Also downplayed in "What if Eva was never a Controller?". Nobody is SparedByTheAdaptation, but Marco's parents provide emotional support for all of the Animorphs.

* KillTheHostBody: Besides all the instances of this from canon, Alloran is shot in the head in several chapters in order to kill Visser Three along with him. In "What if Marco was the one split in half in #32?", [[spoiler:Robot Marco kills Tom, Eva, and many other human-controllers as well]]; in "What if Tom was infested by a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement?", [[spoiler:Rachel shoots Eva through the chest just before Visser One can tell everyone that the "Andalite bandits" are human]]; and in "What if Eva was never a Controller?", [[spoiler:Marco kills Allison Kim and Visser One together without hesitation.]]