Dear Matthew,

Happy 2025! While it didn't start great for the United States, I find comfort in knowing I can escape with writing, reading, and you. How were Christmas and New Year's in the Afterlife? It was our first big family get-together since your death. We went to New York and caught up with all the cousins, aunts, uncles, and Gram (she moved up there temporarily with the animals last summer).

The holidays are still hard without you, but Mom, Dad, Tee, and I enjoyed ourselves. We got a little emotional on Christmas Eve—Dad and me especially—but we worked through it. Our grief has gotten easier over the past few years, but it's still there, and that's when I turn to reading and writing. Dad and I are healing a little slower than Mom and Tee, but they make great counselors when we need to talk to someone. And at least I know I have one superpower that will get me through anything—writing.

Speaking of writing, my first six months in the Wattpad Creators Program were tough, but I learned a lot, the most important thing being that I do not enjoy writing tropes, which is what Wattpad typically promotes and monetizes, but that won't stop me from continuing to write my different kinds of stories.

I started a new story called Bill and the Whistling Death, a different kind of military drama based on my job at Patriots Point. It's about a retired Navy pilot, William Beckington, who accidentally shot down his best friend during the Korean War, and he's never recovered from the trauma... until he starts volunteering at Patriots Point with the plane he flew, the iconic Corsair. Yes, it sounds a little like Top Gun, but the truth is—most of the story's inspiration did not come from Top Gun but from a 1944 movie called Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, which is about the Doolittle Raid and Ted Lawson, one of the survivors of the Raid. I wonder if you ever watched that movie? Well, regardless, it's a great movie. 

While I attempted to pitch Bill to the Wattpad Originals, they once again threw in my face that I needed to write in one of the ventricles/tropes: Hot Encounter, Dangerous Love, Werewolf, Fantasy (specifically Romantasy), Speculative Fiction, or Slice-of-Life. I know Bill's first chapter and hook were good, and that's all that matters. I'm not going to become a marketing subject for Wattpad. I won't force myself to write what I don't enjoy to get published faster. I'm a good writer, and I don't need Wattpad to tell me this—only me.

I've been dipping back into some childhood nostalgia lately. I don't know why, but wow. Generation Z really was the last generation that wasn't heavily dependent on social media. I'm a little weird when it comes to modern technology. As a 2000s kid, I enjoy reading paper copies of books instead of reading them on my phone, and don't get me started on how much I still love our VHS Player! Streaming is great, but nothing beats the occasional DVD or VHS to unlock those Core Memories (can you guess what the reference is here?). Work has been busy lately, so there's nothing like a little 2000s nostalgia after a hard day. What are your favorite memories from growing up in the 90s? I know what defined my 2000s childhood (you know this, too): Pokémon and Barbie.

Oh, wow, Matthew! I'm already at 500 words, so I'll begin wrapping it up. I hope everything is well in the Afterlife and you'll visit me in my dreams again soon! There are a few more things I would like to tell you, but I'll save them for the following letter.

Love you, Big Brother!

Love,

Vika