#probably that's why I was so into 5986

[takofukkatsumi]

I had loads of stuff, from Sherlock's overcoat + scarf to Alice Cullen's necklace. But that's banal so I should say that I once bought a yellow hoodie for the sole reason of Miura Haru.

i feel like everyone at some point in life has bought an article of clothing because it is/reminds them of something a fictional character wears or something they may wear, and i’m extremely curious what that others have bought. i have one of the exact green jackets will wears in hannibal

[whiskeysmulti]

Tell Her (a 5986 drabble)

Word Count: 751 Characters: Hibari and Gokudera Summary: It takes a cloud to stir up a storm and finally get Gokudera to get off his ass and confess his feelings for Haru. From this ASK!

"God damn it she's so fucking frustrating!"

Once again the Storm guardian was furious over something and from what Hibari could deduce it had something to do with a girl. Not that he really cared at all for Gokudera's romantic relationships but at the moment it was keeping him from his peaceful afternoon nap. The Cloud sighed, this was going to be a pain, but apparently the other male needed to get something off his chest.

"What is it now?" He closed his eyes and lay back on the rooftop, he wouldn't start a fight with Gokudera, but if he turned violent, Hibari wasn't afraid to finish it.

"Haru, she pisses me off so much sometimes!"

A small slight smile curved at the edge of the Namimori Prefect's lips, he called it, relationship drama. However, the entire school knew Gokudera and Haru were close, but not quite together yet. Stupid boys with thick skin sometimes needed it spelled out for them, but it wasn't exactly his place to tell Gokudera to chill out and just tell Haru how he felt for her.

Hibird landed on his finger and Hibari stroked the soft feathers, as he listened to the woes of the Smoking Bomb.

"She can be so stupid sometimes, throwing herself at the 10th when everyone knows she doesn't stand a chance. She's not good enough for him." Denial, Hibari had seen it since the damn day they met the girl from Midori, anyone with eyes could tell Gokudera had it bad for her and wasn't seeing the full picture.

While Gokudera was in the process of lighting a cigarette, Hibari took the one second of silence and peace as his opportunity to talk.

"You're an idiot." Leave it to the ever all of Cloud to point out the obvious to the furious Storm.

"Hibari…" Gokudera growled, just to be shushed by the man before him.

"Shut up. You know I'm right. If you didn't want her, why do you get so angry when she shows the other herbivore affection? You're jealous that she likes Sawada." He just wanted a peaceful nap, that was all Hibari had asked for today, if there was any shred of hope for him to get his rest then Gokudera needed to see the god damn light and get off his ass and finally tells Haru how he felt.

Gokudera's mouth dropped at the audacity of this fucking Cloud and his claims. "Hmph, it's not like she's going to get the 10th anyway." Gokudera protested as he hid the blush on his face at the realization that maybe, just maybe he did like Haru.

"Probably not, but that doesn't mean there aren't other guys with their eyes on her, the longer you leave her single, the more chance someone else has of catching her." Hibari smirked, if their Storm guardian had even a shred of intelligence to him he'd catch on. Haru was starting to catch the eye of a lot of guys around her so if Gokudera did want her, he needed to make a move and he needed to do it fast.

Jealous rage coursed through Gokudera as he tossed his cigarette and exhaled sharply taking in what Hibari had just said. "You really think it's that fucking easy to tell someone how you feel?"

"You do it all the time when you're angry with her, that's still a way of telling her how you feel is it not? How is this different?" Smugly Hibari smirked and lay back down to hopefully get his nap now. He struck the match and hopefully it lit a fire under the other's ass to get him to move and finally tells Haru how he felt. and if that wasn't motivation enough, then perhaps a little competition would be. "I can always tell her for you." Hibari took the ten seconds of silence as his opportunity to leave while Gokudera thought it over.

Realization hit Gokudera as what the other had said sank in. If he didn't confess to Haru, one of two things would happen. Another man would come and take her in the meantime, or Hibari was going to go behind Gokudera's back and tell her for him.

Gokudera was pissed. He'd call Haru later and see if she wanted to hang out, and maybe get off his ass and finally tell her, but right now he only had words for one person, a skylark that left him absolutely furious.

"Hibari! Get your ass back here!"

[purelyutilitarian]

I posted 191 times in 2021

75 posts created (39%)

116 posts reblogged (61%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.5 posts.

I added 215 tags in 2021

#sirius black - 28 posts

#atyd - 27 posts

#all the young dudes - 27 posts

#tfatws - 25 posts

#wolfstar - 24 posts

#remus lupin - 24 posts

#remus lupin x sirius black - 20 posts

#the falcon and the winter soldier - 19 posts

#bucky barnes - 12 posts

#tfatws spoilers - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 43 characters

#the falcon and the winter soldier episode 3

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I genuinely think Bucky doesn’t think racism exists anymore, and he has a pretty good reason (not an excuse, but a reasonable explanation).

He grew up with a certain type of visible racism.

In Wakanda, we are to assume that there is no racism whatsoever. There are no systemic issues or microagressions occurring because everyone is of the same race. This environment taught Bucky that racism does not exist anymore.

Back in America, he does not see the same kind of racism he saw growing up. Had he been rehabilitated in America, his definition of racism probably would have changed to fit the reality, but because of his experiences in Wakanda, he is blind to the newer forms that racism takes.

This is why it is so difficult for him to attribute any of Sam’s struggles (him wanting to give up the shield) to race.

263 notes • Posted 2021-03-27 16:26:47 GMT

#4

Sharon: spent years in Madripoor making bank and building a high society life for herself

Zemo: comes from royalty, was always rich

Bucky: probably collected about $5,000,000 in backpay from the us government

Sam: 👁👄👁

266 notes • Posted 2021-04-03 18:32:59 GMT

#3

From a literary perspective, it’s ridiculous that JK Rowing went so far to prove that Remus and Sirius were not gay. Those characters were very thinly veiled allegories for two of the most pressing matters in queer culture (the aids crisis and being rejected by family/forced out of your home) and she really could have left it at that and let the reader take what they want from it. Obviously those metaphors were poorly written, lycanthropy is intended to mirror aids, but is not handled as delicately as it deserves to be, and Sirius’s story is reflective of the queer experience, but it is not stated explicitly enough that life gets better after leaving home in those situations. This is made much worse by the fact that she killed characters and forced romances to ensure that the audience cannot have their own interpretations of the story.

1555 notes • Posted 2021-02-07 02:22:49 GMT

#2

Ao3 is down and honestly I don’t know what to do with myself. 10 months of quarantine and I’ve always had this one constant. This one rock upon which to stand. Tonight I’m learning a hard lesson: you can’t rely on anything.

5986 notes • Posted 2021-01-05 05:24:44 GMT

#1

WANDAVISION SPOILERS

See the full post

9477 notes • Posted 2021-02-12 09:03:13 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[autumnblogs]

Day 51: Estrangement from The Self

https://homestuck.com/story/5935

I didn’t really take Terezi’s problem with Faygo seriously the first couple times reading Homestuck, but in terms of the way that Homestuck’s different characters mirror each other, and the Trolls’ bizarre alien problems are used to directly comment on human problems, I think it makes sense to say that Terezi’s Soda Abuse should be taken exactly as seriously as Rose’s alcohol abuse.

Rose and Terezi only interact a handful of times, which is a shame, because on a certain level, they share the same basic problem; a lack of faith in the people around them combined with a crippling lack of self-worth. Though they both have strong narcissistic tendencies, Rose and Terezi display over and over again a desperate need for affirmation, and when they can’t get it from their peers, they seek it from other sources; Terezi’s manipulation by Aranea, in this sense, is parallel to Scratch’s manipulation of Rose in terms of the motivation of the one being manipulated.

More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/5936

(More indication that being on the God Tiers literally elevates characters to exist more on the narrative layer than they did before.)

https://homestuck.com/story/5937

In theory, I want the story to reward Dave’s newfound aloof optimism, but I think he’s still like... going too far in the other direction from where he started. We know he’s been questioning his relationship to Bro’s weird ideology, and he’s clearly less interested in being a Hero than he “should be” - but he’s still coping with his emotions mostly just by not acknowledging them.

He’s in for a rude awakening when he gets to the new session.

I should note that like, while Karkat and Dave’s friendship develops into a romance instead of into a platonic bromance after the reset, I don’t think we’re given much of an indication that their actual dynamic is all that different aside from being more physical.

https://homestuck.com/story/5944

Davesprite’s story is parallel with Dave’s, and as I’ve probably already said, forms a core part of Homestuck’s narrative about the distributed nature of the self, and the way that we can’t ever really know ourselves perfectly.

There are the literal material distributed selves like Davesprite, or sometimes Brain Ghost Dirk, or all the various versions of a character from other points along their own timeline, or from Doomed Timelines.

Anything we learn about Davesprite helps us to learn more about Dave. Anything we learn about Lil Hal helps us to learn about Dirk.

If Homestuck is about alienation, estrangement, then through characters like Davesprite, and Lil Hal, we learn that these people are not only estranged from each other by time and space, they are even estranged from themselves by the partitions in their own head, and by the way in which they are observed by other people, and form idealized versions of themselves to aspire to that they can never be. Other better versions of themselves exist in other timelines, and two different versions of a character both wish that they were the other.

Paul Tillich, a French existentialist philosopher and theologian talks about the idea of estrangement from the self as being rooted in the same problem that estranges us from others in his essay You are Accepted.

Maybe that’s another thing that I need to write about. I shall probably do so once we get to Davepeta’s talk about the Ultimate Self. (Did I already write a companion piece about it? Maybe I did.)

https://homestuck.com/story/5955

Okay; the plot has switched tracks, but the theme is very much still exactly what it was during Davesprite’s ramble. What is the significance of all of the alternate selves? In keeping with her very Dirk-like adherence to the idea that she is a certain person who is a certain way, and needs to be who she is, Vriska’s conception of all the alternate selves is that they are meaningless and have no signifiance.

I think it’s telling that we don’t really see any alternate Vriskas in this undead army.

https://homestuck.com/story/5957

While this seems extremely obvious to me anyway, it’s worth pointing out that Meenah alludes to the reason why The Condesce has latched onto Jane in pretty much exact words.

She yearns to have an Heiress, someone that she can teach her badass ways. In short, Meenah wants the same thing that Dirk wants - she wants ideological offspring!

https://homestuck.com/story/5961

I think with Andrew’s stated disdain for Worldbuilding (don’t quote me on that; I’m just pretty sure he said it once, and the fact that his villains are the characters who engage in long-winded worldbuilding screeds is suggestive of this as well), this is another way in which He is Fucking With Us.

The worldbuilding gives us symbols we can use to think about the themes the rest of the comic addresses, but broadly speaking, it’s not actually all that consequential.

https://homestuck.com/story/5966

Aranea continues to use language suggesting that she views the universe very much like a single organism - it’s an interesting quirk of hers.

https://homestuck.com/story/5982

As we come up on the conclusion of Disk 2, Aranea’s monologuing definitely recalls Scratch’s monologuing. (And of course, the journal entries from Mindfang before that).

The background information here is definitely relevant for one thing; helping us to understand the emotional background of the characters.

https://homestuck.com/story/5986

Long isolation and hardened pursuit of justice sounds like a certain mail-lady.

https://homestuck.com/story/5997

As in her initial conversation with Terezi, Aranea calls attention to the somewhat “fake” nature of Choice, and libertarian free will as it is often conceived of. It would not be in keeping with Caliborn’s character for him to choose the other option; just as it would seemingly not be in keeping with Vriska’s character for her to abandon her pursuit of power.

https://homestuck.com/story/6017

Terezi’s black and white worldview - her view of acts as good and evil, and her view of people as either good or evil - makes her completely incapable of coping with the shame of her bad decisions. Terezi doesn’t know how to forgive, or what forgiveness looks like - she does not know how to bridge the gap between herself and someone else once they are estranged. She has never been able to forgive Vriska. And she certainly can’t forgive herself. Not for getting into a relationship with Gamzee. Not for becoming addicted to Faygo. Not for repairing her vision. And certainly not for killing Vriska.

https://homestuck.com/story/6020

And Karkat brings it around again to the ongoing conversation about the ways characters are estranged from themselves.

https://homestuck.com/story/6043

Tavros’s single emotional triumph in pretty much the entire story.

He finally ditches his abusive girlfriend, and stops putting up with her.

Ironically, being tolerated in their wickedness is probably the last thing people need when they’re involved with it.

Letting Vriska keep on abusing him is a disservice to both Tavros and Vriska.

Really, it’s best for both of them.

https://homestuck.com/story/6050

Vriska continues the pattern of shit-talking herself. She always vacillates between vastly inflated self-esteem, and complete dejection.

https://homestuck.com/story/6054

Vriska’s vastly inflated ego is part and parcel of her nature as a Thief of Light I think.

Because she doesn’t just think the world of herself in the sense of stealing everyone else’s meaning and relevance.

Vriska assigns all the responsibility in the world to herself. If she doesn’t act, or if she doesn’t, as far as Vriska is concerned, everything that comes to pass, comes to pass because she wills it, at least at the moment.

Vriska Serket is a Megalomaniac of the highest order; she conflates herself with Lord English. She conflates herself with God.

Vriska is as alienated from herself as anyone is, and it’s because she thinks she understands who she truly is, and considers living up to the ideal version of herself a matter of ultimate importance.

https://homestuck.com/story/6056

Kanaya’s intervention is parallel to Dave and Karkat’s.

https://homestuck.com/story/6065

Caliborn has graduated from having nothing but complete disdain for everyone who is not himself to having some use for other people, but even his camaraderie only extends to those who prove themselves useful to him; he makes a mockery of friendship, and his attempts at civility are signifiers as empty as his life is of the possibility of genuine benevolence.

https://homestuck.com/story/6071

Meenah’s emotional theatrics are as genuinely disheartening as they are darkly hilarious because, like Dirk, and like Vriska, Meenah is a Dangerous PersonTM; she views the violence she is capable of as being intrinsic in her nature, and something she basically is incapable of resisting. Like everyone else in the story, Meenah is basically uneasy with who she is, but only a handful of characters are like Meenah in that they are basically resigned to that uneasiness. Instead of doing the things Meenah wants to do, she does the things she does not want to do.

https://homestuck.com/story/6241

So here we are at the end of Disc 2, in the same basic predicament we were at the end of Disc 1.

Everyone is miserable. Everyone’s relationships have broken down all but completely.

Everyone is estranged from each other, and everyone is estranged from themselves, and if they think a cute little reunion is going to resolve all of the emotional problems that they have failed to confront over the past three years, they’re in for a rude awakening.

More tomorrow, as we start in on the final quarter of Homestuck.

See you tomorrow; Same Cam Time, Same Cam Channel

[sending-the-message]

Cease and Desist to Exist by manen_lyset

I’ve known Krista Wagner since middle school. We quickly became friends, then best friends, and eventually, best friends FOR LIFE. We take that title really seriously. She and I have spoken literally every day since the day we met. If we don’t have classes together, we’ll text all day when the teachers aren’t looking. We’ve always been inseparable. Well, except for that two-week period where we had a fight because she totally tried to flirt with my brother, but that’s neither here nor there. Aside from that little scuffle, we talk all the time. I haven’t heard from Krista in three days. Now, you could say that’s probably because we’re both off on summer break, but I know better. She wouldn’t go this long without texting me. This is all because of that stupid letter she got last week. We didn’t take it seriously, but now I’m really starting to regret it, because I think it’s too late. I don’t think Krista is around anymore, and I’m terrified of what might have happened to her.

I’d just gotten home from the beach when I heard my phone going off. I checked it, and saw a new text message from Krista.

Krista: OMG WTF, I think I’m being sued.

Stacey: LOL wut?

Krista: Im not kiddng. Can I come over?

Stacey: Sure

Krista: B there in 10

I put the phone back in my pocket and started making myself a snack while I waited for Krista. It wasn’t long before she texted me saying she was coming up the driveway. I opened the door to let her in. She was holding an envelope in her hands, and looked like she’d just gotten told we had a midterm she hadn’t studied for.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Krista held the envelope to me. “Do you think this is because of the video I posted last week?”

“Which one?” I asked, as I pulled the paper out of the already torn envelope.

“Duh! The music video! I told you I was going to get in trouble! My parents cannot find out about this or they’ll kill me!” She bit her lip and started pacing around.

I shrugged. “I don’t think they can, like, sue you for that. They’d just remove your video.”

Krista let out an impatient groan. “Just read it. Tell me if you think it’s serious.”

I nodded. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said, as I unfolded the letter.

It read:

*FILE #: 1099-0630-5986 * August 5th, 2017 Krista Wagner 245 Maple Street Glens Falls, NY 12801

OBJECT: NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

Dear [Krista Wagner],

You are hereby given notice that [Krista Wagner] has breached Article 13.C of the Copyright Act of 2017. On behalf of the United States Copyright Protection Agency, we ask that you immediately cease and desist all use of the copyrighted materials, by yourself and by third parties.

If we do not receive an adequate response within 10 days of sending this letter, we regret to inform you that actions will be taken to recover damages without further notice to you.

Sincerely,

Operator 506-W13

The letter looked official: it was on this thick, fancy paper with an embossed logo at the top. I’m not sure if anyone here has seen it before, but the logo has like an eagle holding earth in its talons, with the United States colored with our stars and stripes. Does that sound familiar? And on the bottom of the letter, there was a phone number and I think a fax number, too. I couldn’t find an address or a website anywhere.

“I take that back,” I said, “this looks real.”

That was not the answer Krista wanted to hear. She slapped her hands on her cheeks and, like, MEGA-cringed.

“Why are you so worried? It’s probably nothing. Just call them and ask what video they want you to delete. No biggie,” I said, trying to reassure her.

Krista stared at her feet. She wasn’t usually the shy one.

“You do it! I’m too nervous. I don’t know what to say!” she replied.

Ok, so like, normally I’d just tell her to woman up and whatever, right? But last week, I kinda begged her to go buy tampons for me because I was too embarrassed because turns out the cashier’s this really cute guy in my class. I kinda owed it to her.

“Okay,” I said.

I picked up the phone, dialed the number, and waited. I kinda hoped the office would be closed so I could get out of this, but no such luck. I got an automated menu.

“United States Copyright Protection Agency, please input your 12-digit file number now, followed by the pound key.”

“What the fuck is a pound key?” I mumbled.

“Hashtag,” answered Krista.

I scanned her letter quickly, finding her file number at the top. I typed it in and hit hashtag. Another automated message played.

“Thank you, please hold for our next available agent.”

Dull, Beethoven-like music started playing. No freaking way was I going to suffer through that alone. I hit the speaker button and tossed the phone on the table. Krista sat down on the couch next to me and stared at it nervously. The music was kind of soothing, but since it started repeating itself every freaking minute, it got on my nerves real quick.

I snorted. “This sounds just like the music from my doctor’s office. Bet they stole it from there.”

There was a crackling noise on the line, then a woman’s voice’s trickled through the speaker. “We at the United States Copyright Protection Agency pride ourselves in following the letter of the law. I would advise against making such serious allegations.”

My jaw dropped. How long had she been listening in on us?

“Sorry,” I said.

She answered, “It’s alright. What can I do for you today?”

“I-I uhm. I got a letter,” said Krista.

“Yes ‘mam, I can see here that your file number is … 1099-0630-5986,” replied the operator. We could hear her typing something on the other side. “Ah, yes. It appears as though you’ve received a cease and desist letter. I’m afraid Krista Wagner is an infringement of Krista Wagner’s copyright.”

I looked at Krista, then at the phone. “Uh … yeah, okay. But what exactly did she infringe on?”

“Krista Wagner,” replied the operator.

Krista looked at me, and I looked at her. She made a tipping motion with her hands, implying that the operator must have been a little drunk.

“Yeah, we know who did something wrong. We’re asking what she did wrong.” I asked.

“I already told you, ma’am. It says here that the copyrighted material is Krista Wagner,” she answered in a monotone voice.

“What the heck does that even mean?” I replied.

Krista continued, “You mean one of my videos? I’m sorry I stole the music! Can I just take it down?”

The operator paused. We could hear her typing again. “I’m sorry, we’re not aware of copyright infringement on any videos,” she said.

I replied, “Then we’re okay, right? We didn’t break any laws.”

“No. Krista Wagner is infringing on Krista Wagner’s copyright,” said the operator.

I was really confused. “What’s she infringing on?”

The operator replied, “Krista Wagner is infringing on Krista Wagner, as in, the person. We already have another Krista Wagner on file. I’m afraid by continuing to exist, Krista Wagner infringes on her copyright,” she explained.

Krista and I stared at one another in disbelief.

“Are you stupid or something? You can’t copyright a name. A lot of people have the same names, what the fuck are you smoking?” I asked.

“I’m afraid it’s beyond my control. Unless she’s replaced within the next 2 days, she will be forcefully removed.”

I felt a shiver run down my spine at the oddly rehearsed way she spoke, and quickly hit the ‘End Call’ button. Obviously, this had to be a prank. Maybe some weirdo hazing ritual.

“It’s probably just Phillipe and his sis. Doesn’t his dad own a print shop or something? Probably just wanted to screw with you,” I reassured.

Krista looked a bit worried, but forced a smile. “Yeah.”

She still looked kinda rattled, so I invited her to sleep over, but she refused. We talked for a bit and I did my best to try and calm her down. She went home, I had supper and went online for the rest of the night.

That was the last time I saw Krista, but not the last time I heard from her.

We texted the next couple of days and everything seemed fine. Then, three nights ago, she texted me something really freaking weird in the middle of the night.

Krista: U awaek?

I hadn’t been until she texted me.

Stacey: Whats up?

Krista: Im scared omfg.

Krista: Theres someone out my window.

Stacey: A perv?

Kristra: No.

Kristra: Hes in a suit.

Stacey: LOL A fashion perv?

Kristra: Omg theres 3 now

Stacey: ?

Kristra: Theres a van too

Kristra: Im rly scared

Kristra: Theyre getting closer

Stacey: Call ur parents.

Krista: Theyre not home

Stacey: Call the cops

Kristra: OMG theyre banging on the window

Stacey: Call. The. Cops.

I could see she was typing a message, but then the icon disappeared. After two minutes, she still hadn’t replied. I hoped she’d followed my advice and was on the phone with 911. I waited just a little while longer before I tried to call her.

The number you have dialed is currently out of service.

I sat in my bed, alternating between texting and trying to call her, but all my texts came out undeliverable and none of the phone calls got through. There was no way my parents were going to drive my ass down there in the middle of the night, so I eventually changed gears and just tried to, like, convince myself she was pranking me now.

The first thing I did the next morning was try to call her again, but it didn’t work. I went online and tried to message her, but her profile was gone. I know you can, like, kind of lowkey delete it temporarily, so if she was pranking me, I figured that’s what she did. I was sure it wasn’t totally gone. No way she’d delete all her pics and stuff.

I waited a few hours hoping she’d finally message me, but nothing. It’s weird, I kept getting these waves of worry, then I’d convince myself it was fine, then I’d get worried again. I finally just decided I’d go to her house. I got on the bus and stopped on her street. I walked along the sidewalk I’d walked down a bunch of times with her. I slowed when I reached 243. She lived at 245.

245 was gone.

245 Maple Street, for all intents and purposes, no longer existed. I couldn’t understand what I was seeing. I’d been to her house many times before and knew the neighborhood well, but it was … different. The street literally stopped at 243, and the spaces between the homes seemed a tad bit wider, as though to make up for the now missing house. Really, looking at it, you wouldn’t think there was room for another house on the street, but I swear that’s where she lived. I SWEAR I’ve been to that house.

It was so freaking surreal. There’s no way a house can just vanish like that! I started texting all our friends asking if anyone had seen Krista. No one had any idea who I was talking about. Then I noticed our text log was gone. Her number was gone from my phone.

I thought I was going nuts.

I went home and asked my parents, “Do you guys remember Krista?”

Mum couldn’t be bothered to look up from her tablet. “Who, dear?”

“You’ve got to be kidding. Krista! She literally comes here all the time,” I answered desperately.

Dad shrugged. “Honey, you shouldn’t sneak people in here.”

I slammed my palms on the table, “She ate with us last Thursday!”

Mum looked up, leered at me, and then looked down again. “Young lady, that’s no way to talk to your parents!”

I threw my hands in the air, grunted, and rolled my eyes. “Ugh, never mind!”

I stomped up to my room. I didn’t know whether to be frustrated or scared. I actually wondered for a second if, y’know, she was just a figment of my imagination. I’d legit still think I’m crazy if I didn’t find a Polaroid of us in my room. I’m looking at it right now. She was real. She’s always been real.

I spent the next few days combing through everything I own trying to find any trace of Krista, but that Polaroid is all I could find. She’s gone. It’s like she never existed.

And if all this wasn’t bad enough, mom asked me to get the mail earlier. My blood ran cold when I saw the envelope with my name on it. It had the logo of an eagle holding planet earth in its talons. I don’t need to open it to know what it says, and I am freaking terrified.