lettersfromaplatypus

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Of all the things those Pikachus could have been dancing to, I did not expect it to be Hairspray

[source]

[lettersfromaplatypus]

I. LOVE THIS.

restless

(id in alt text)

[lettersfromaplatypus]

“But it’s not just their story… We may be Mei, Rumi, or Mirabel today. But tomorrow, we could be Ming, Celine, or Alma.”

The Matriarch Isn’t the Villain. She’s the Mirror

I often hear a discourse where Celine in K-pop Demon Hunters, Alma in Encanto and Ming in Turning Red are seen as vilains. They’re the ones who restricted the younger generation, hurt them, and are ultimately responsible for their pain, trauma and self-doubt. They’re framed as the real villains of the story. But I’d like to differ.

These are stories of intergenerational trauma. They are women who survived, repressed, and tried to protect their families the only way they knew how: through control, perfectionism, and emotional suppression.

And yet, when the next generation begins to reclaim joy, freedom, softness — they become the obstacle. Not because they’re bad people, but because they’re scarred. Their minds cling to survival strategies, unable to recognize that the environment has changed.

Alma is still stuck fleeing the colonizers.

Ming is still afraid of her true self.

Celine believes that fear and mistakes must be hidden.

It’s not about hating these characters. It’s about how unprocessed trauma twists love into control. How survival, unexamined, turns into rigidity. These women were never given space to process their own pain and they project it onto their daughters and granddaughters.

And here’s something we rarely say enough: intergenerational trauma can create toxic patterns but that doesn’t always mean there was abuse or conscious harm. Even when their love becomes suffocating or controlling, these women are not necessarily “abusive parents.” They are daughters of silence, fear, and sacrifice. And they were never taught another way. It’s important to make that distinction, especially in a world that often pushes a binary, punitive reading of family dynamics.

They’re the product of a generation that was told to endure. But endurance without healing becomes its own kind of violence.

What’s powerful in these stories is that they don’t end in vengeance. They end in confrontation and transformation. The confrontation is necessary: the younger generation refuses the silence. Refuses the shame. Refuses to carry a burden that wasn’t theirs to begin with.

The house is destroyed in Encanto.

Mei accepts her full self.

So does Rumi.

And in the best cases, this confrontation allows the elder to soften too. Alma opens up. Ming listens. And I’m hoping in the sequel, Celine will open too.

Maybe that’s also why these stories speak so deeply to POC audiences. These aren’t stories about cutting ties. They’re stories about how hard it is to transform them, to protect ancestral bonds while refusing to perpetuate inherited pain. In many racialized families, collectivity, loyalty, and intergenerational duty are sacred... even when they come at the cost of personal boundaries.

And sometimes, Western individualist frameworks read these tensions as dysfunction or villainy. But for us, they’re just the difficult truth of growing up and trying to do better.

These women aren’t villains. That would be too easy. They embody the fragile, necessary work of bringing change without breaking the thread. These stories are about refusing to inherit their pain without reflection. Because love, without accountability, is not enough.

These stories show us that each generation has something to learn from the next. And the new generation must also break free from the chains they inherited while preserving what is meaningfull.

But it’s not just their story.

One day, we’ll be the older generation.

And we’ll need to be humble enough to learn from the ones after us.

So don’t be a fool.

We may be Mei, Rumi, or Mirabel today.

But tomorrow, we could be Ming, Celine, or Alma.

And when that time comes, we’ll realize how hard it is to unlearn what once kept us safe.

So let’s have compassion for all these characters.

Because these stories show us not just how the cycle of generations works, but how it can make us better, stronger, and more connected... if we’re all willing to go through the change.

∘₊✧──────✧──────✧₊∘

If you’re curious, I’ve written more on K-pop Demon Hunters:

A post on the mental health themes woven through the songs — right here.

A breakdown of Celine-Rumi in comparaison to Gothel–Rapunzel dynamic — here.

An analysis about Rumi, Jinu, and the danger of sinking together — here.

Some book recs for each of the K-pop Demon Hunters characters — here.

[lettersfromaplatypus]

I need more social things explained to me like this please and thank you

[lettersfromaplatypus]

That scene where Clark is in the fortress and number 4 robot is like “do you want me to play the recording of your parents?” And instead of the recording of his biological parents telling him his so-called legacy it’s many recordings of his adoptive parents caring for him over the years— I CAN’T HANDLE THIS

I don’t have the brain power to properly explain this but Clark not only being an immigrant but also being an ADOPTED immigrant is just. So important to me. A surprising amount of the DC characters are adopted or come from blended families which is probably why I gravitated towards it but for now specifically CLARK. SUPERMAN. Superman, telling everyone that his parents, the ones who raised him but not birthed him, are his parents. Which might sound stupid but the amount of people hellbent on telling some adoptees that their adoptive parents “aren’t their real parents”?? Idk where this was going man, maybe I’ll try again later maybe I won’t but I just needed to say it. SUPERMAN BEING ADOPTED GIVES ME FEELS, OKAY?

[lettersfromaplatypus]

And then Jason and Tim become besties and it dawns on Bruce and Dick that they’ve basically become two parents that have to be friends now because their kids want to have play dates and sleepovers all the time so now they’re begrudgingly getting along again while Alfred is just happy to see happy kids in the manor again

Okay, consider this au

The night Bruce finds Jason is the same night Nightwing finds baby Tim Drake stalking around

Now, Dick originally wasn't going to be on the manor, they're not on speaking terms much but Alfred sounded so defeated on their weekly call, and yeah, maybe Bruce is an ass, but it's also his parents death anniversary and they were also Alfred's friends-

And sure, Bruce sucks, but he got a package with Alfred's food and an old poster of the flying Graysons that Bruce is not fooling him into believing it wasn't from him, and that was when it was the anniversary of his family-

So, he visits, to be with Alfred he says, and at night, when Bruce is out until later than usual, he goes out to search for him, just to be sure he didn't die, he says

But when he's not too far away yet he hears something crack behind him, and when he goes to look he finds a kid who fell out of a tree and has a camera in his too tiny hands, and now its looking at him with eyes that are mix between panic and admiration, he tries to get him up but the kid hurt his leg when falling-

The cave is closer than Leslie's and as long as he doesn't look the way it should be fine, also this kid looks static, why not give him something cool to remember?-

Cut to Bruce and Dick pointing at each other like the meme while Jason is next to Bruce and Tim next to Dick

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Celebrate Friendship Day with 8 Queer Romanceless Books We Love

Every year, the first Sunday of August is celebrated in the US as Friendship Day! We’re celebrating by compiling a short list of our favorite queer books that highlight friendships and don’t include romance. The contributors to the list are Linnea Peterson, boneturtle and/or turtle, Nina Waters, May Barros, Shadaras, and Alex.

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Journey Home by May Barros

Amara e Luiza are two witches that live in a queerplatonic relationship. When Luiza decides to embark on a journey throught the galaxy in a quest for the lost fortress of Laura, the Dragon Queen, she ends up finding more than expected, while Amara follows her footsteps, hoping it’s not too late.

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Lucy, Uncensored by Mel Hammond & Teghan Hammond

Lucy imagines college as more than a chance to party with other drama nerds and be roommates with her best friend Callie. College will be her fresh start. For the first time, she’ll be able to introduce herself as Lucy to people she hasn’t gone to school with since kindergarten. Plus, she happens to live an hour away from one of the most prestigious theater programs in the country. She’s always dreamed of going to Central, but when she finally has a chance to visit, it’s not what she imagined. 

While Lucy and Callie are on their campus tour, two kids from their high school make the typical transphobic comments Lucy’s gotten used to in her small town. She starts to worry that her dream school might end up being High School 2.0. What if she belongs somewhere else? Somewhere that she can truly have a fresh start? 

When Lucy finds a beautiful school with a great theater program on a list of the most LGBTQ+ friendly colleges, it seems like fate—except that the school is hundreds of miles away. And there’s something unexpected about it: it’s a women’s college. As far as she can tell, they’ve never admitted a trans woman. Will they let Lucy in? There’s only one way to find out: road trip! 

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Common Bonds: An Aromantic Speculative Anthology ed. by C.T. Callahan, B.R. Sanders, Claudie Arseneault & RoAnna Sylver

Common Bonds is an anthology of speculative short stories and poetry featuring aromantic characters. At the heart of this collection are the bonds that impact our lives from beginning to end: platonic relationships. Within this anthology, a cursed seamstress finds comfort in the presence of a witch, teams of demon hunters work with their rival to save one of their own, a peculiar scholar gets attached to those he was meant to study, and queerplatonic shopkeepers guide their pupil as they explore their relationship needs and desires. Through nineteen stories and poems, Common Bonds explores the ways platonic relationships enrich our lives.

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Road to Arcadia by Cailin Clothier

Kai Gilling, a transgender wanderer traversing the American West, has to trek hundreds of miles in his beat up Jeep, in order to reach an urban legend rumored to be the only settlement still thriving.

*

It’s a Wasteland, baby. In the uncomfortably not-so-distant future, the world has been ravaged by natural disasters, water shortages, and public apathy. People like Kai Gilling have flocked to the desert (once known as the American West) in hopes of finding a better life. After picking up a pair of siblings, the three come across a strange woman who claims to have a map to Arcadia, an urban legend rumored to be the only city thriving in the wreckage of the old world. Will they keep their hearts set on an oasis in the desert–even if it’s just a mirage? Or will they be tempted by something else

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Scrap Metal Angel by Nicola Kapron

Reality, tiny and fragile, is cut off from the sea of chaos and nightmares that surrounds it by seven Gates. One of them is open—and has been since the Stone Age. Through that opening, strange creatures and energies slip through. Some are malevolent. None are harmless. And all of them must be kept a secret. 

Every hidden magical world needs a shadowy clean-up crew. Adrian Somer is a Gatekeeper, sworn to protect the cosmic Gates, to defend reality from the unknown entities that exist beyond them, and to help those whose lives are affected by magic. 

When a grieving sorceress starts punching holes in reality to try and resurrect her murdered fiancé, Adrian must turn to a ghost from his past in order to save the city, and perhaps the world—even if that means digging up someone he thought was safely buried: the twin brother he killed eight years ago. 

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Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault

Adèle has only one goal: catch the purple-haired thief who broke into her home and stole her exocore, thus proving herself to her new police team. Little does she know, her thief is also the local baker. 

Claire owns the Croissant-toi, but while her days are filled with pastries and customers, her nights are dedicated to stealing exocores. These new red gems are heralded as the energy of the future, but she knows the truth: they are made of witches’ souls. 

When her twin—a powerful witch and prime exocore material—disappears, Claire redoubles in her efforts to investigate. She keeps running into Adèle, however, and whether or not she can save her sister might depend on their conflicted, unstable, but deepening relationship. 

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Flight & Anchor by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Young SecOps operatives 06 and 22 were about to be sent out for their first military engagement. Just a few years earlier, they were child refugees of a corporate civil war; Stellaxis modified them into supersoldiers.

But 06 and 22 have escaped their prison barracks and entered a city they can barely remember. In the dead of winter, they sleep in an abandoned shipping container and scavenge for resources.

The Director of the Stellaxis supersoldier program knows that 06 and 22 are gone, where they are, and that she has no easy way of retrieving them. The Director also knows that if she sends anyone after them, there will be a bloodbath–or at least a great deal of bad press.

But all operatives’ days are numbered. 06 and 22 must make a terrible choice: their freedom or each other.

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The Murderbot Diaries Series by Martha Wells

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. 

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. 

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. 

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth. 

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[lettersfromaplatypus]

Clark was mad at Lex for stealing Krypto. He storms into his office and pins him to a wall and everything, the whole “angry hero” shabang. Now imagine what would’ve happened to Lex if it were Kara

I mean I kinda want to see that but—

There are plenty of reasons for why Clark wants to find and save Krypto.

Clark simply just cares about others, from people to animals (from a squirrel to a fire breathing kaiju) and it’s the right thing to do. Sure, Krypto isn’t a good dog but he’s still a good boy who Clark cares about, and he doesn’t want Krypto to be alone and scared.

All valid motivations that make perfect sense for Clark and who he is.

But I can’t help but think he also didn’t want Kara to commit mass murder to get her dog back. I’m just saying, if she had come back to earth still decently buzzed only to find out that Lex Luthor stole her dog...

Lex is very, very lucky that’s not how things went down.

[lettersfromaplatypus]

You’re all correct and I love this, but I also have to say that “Marco is the Jesus of ‘Jesus take the wheel’ on this team” took me out 😂

I love how Jake is unquestionably the leader when it comes to Animorphs business and Rachel is unquestionably the leader in social situations

It even goes beyond that! Because the team is that good at listening to and respecting each other. They're always listening to whichever teammate has the best strengths for the current situation.

Like you said, Rachel leads in social situations. She coordinates outfits (Erek in #27), ties bowties (the banquet in #21), and generally excels at talking their way into and out of situations (Zone 91 in #14, the hospital in #17, etc.)

Tobias leads any time the group is all flying — rescuing George Edleman in #17, the dogfight in #24 — and any time there's a battle in the wilderness because he directs troop movements from overhead (#13, #30, etc.)

Obviously, Ax leads in matters of technology (Bug fighter in #11, repair dock in #45, sario rips in the MMs), even though he doesn't want to.

The moment the kids are in a new environment, Cassie's in charge. She's leading the survival efforts in MM2, #25, #11, #4, #42, and every other time the setting gets dangerous.

Marco's role might be the subtlest. But IMHO, any time Marco's in charge, it's because Jake's fucking up. Marco's only real coup d'etat is when Jake spirals out in #31, but he also takes charge when Jake's panicking in #16 and #25, and he spends a lot of #50-54 informally leading to make up for Jake's unwellness.

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Superman (2025) + Text posts

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Just watched Superman (2025) and like. Soul cleansed. Body rejuvenated. Hope restored.

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Tumblr users 🤝 AO3 writers

Disappearing for months to years on end then randomly reappearing to jump-scare their followers

Tumblr is crazy because what do you mean I just saw that an account I follow that's been inactive for four years liked two of my posts 💔

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Update: the skin suits. That’s some horror level shit right there how did they let that happen WHAT THE FUCK ARE THE SKIN SUITS I AM SCARED

FINALLY watching the new season of Phineas and Ferb and tell me WHY was I just jump-scared by a SCREAMING GOAT

[lettersfromaplatypus]

FINALLY watching the new season of Phineas and Ferb and tell me WHY was I just jump-scared by a SCREAMING GOAT

[lettersfromaplatypus]

at the heart of it all

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Dick, Jason, Tim: *standing and looking at Damian* Uuummmm

Damian: *staring up at them*

Jason: you want a beer?

Dick: HE’S FOUR!

Tim: I DUNNO WHAT’RE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH IT?

[lettersfromaplatypus]

Me: I am an adult, with adult responsibilities. Please don’t treat me like a little kid!

Also me: *dumping goldfish crackers into tomato soup* SWIM FISHIES SWIM. OM NOM NOM.