#Detroit City Airport

[detroitography]

Map: Flight Obstruction Area Detroit City Airport 1968

The “flight obstruction area” comprises all areas of land or water below the airport referenced imaginary surfaces for each airport. Since its beginning, the Detroit City Airport has continued to gobble up residential space in the name of development, but also safety. In the recent budget presentations, the City Airport Director said they condemned 35 additional residential properties. The…

[deadmotelsusa]

Detroit’s City Airport Motel likely dates back to the 1960s and was aptly named because of it was close to the City Airport. It operated under the same name until roughly 2015. As of 2023, it’s abandoned.

[rongzhi]

Have you been to China in the past 3 years? I really want to go cause my grandma in Chengdu is getting older and I haven't been in a long time.

No, and the airfare these past few years has been insane anyway. My grandparents have all been dead for a while now. I'd like to go back again with my parents at least once more but it's harder to find a reason/time to go back as an adult, I guess, although I'd really like to!

I haven't been back since 2014 🫠 although I was lucky enough to go back pretty regularly during the summers as a kid (even if I didn't appreciate it much back then 💀).

[dtwdetroitcar]

Detroit Airport Town Cars Detroit MI | DTW Detroit Cars

DTW Detroit Cars offers premier town car services in Detroit, MI, providing luxurious and reliable transportation to and from Detroit Airport. With a fleet of high-end vehicles and professional drivers, we ensure a comfortable and stress-free travel experience. Count on us for punctuality, comfort, and convenience for all your airport transportation needs.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

New England Alfred always pulls at my heartstrings, but consider Detroit-flavoured Alfred. A city born in his brother's foreign tongue, its archives are as full of the 18th century as anything on the Atlantic, but never in English. He looks upon Frank Lloyd Write and Monet and doesn't flinch at the odd gunshot in the background. The American dream turns towards the all-American waking nightmare with the soundtrack of Delta Blues, Detroit Rock City, and the Real Slim Shady. He's dislocated a shoulder smashing on the riot shields, refusing to give another inch to the ruling class. He walks down a street that was once considered the crown jewel in America's Paris and later used to train teenage soldiers how to hunt in urban combat and shivers. He never does get as much credit for the winters here as Matt does for his.

The summer a grenade rolled under his cot in Vietnam, the rest of the country and much of the world swooned with the summer of love. That summer, San Francisco laid languorous with lust, but he went home to Detroit. Because Detroit burned. It's always burning. The Black Day In July never ended. They don't bother putting out the fires anymore. Urban sprawl drains the city like open veins, blue and red lights flashing, and that eternal American question: Who are you? It can't be answered the way it used to. "An optimist." He'd say, scoured clean by fire hoses set on strikers. But now it's harder to answer. Now, democracy's arsenal lay open on the morgue table. And a city, a country and he are vivisected by one scalpel stroke, and one bone saw blade cracks open one chest to answer. What went wrong in Detroit? What's happening to American democracy? Who are you, Alfred? Who are you?

Detroit's only real Van Gogh stares at him from under a sun hat as intently as the locals do that Bruins jersey he forgot to take off in the airport bathroom. The river that parts him from his brother whispers under the silence of the city desolate and depopulated: O, American Atlas, are your shoulders still as broad as the Spirit of the Detroit?

[rachiekiszka]

Christmas Traditions

You take Jake up to your family cabin for Christmas and he offers to read to you.

Jake Kiszka x Female reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: 18+ explicit content, unprotected sex, fingering, a *hint* of cockwarming

You loved spending Christmas at your family cabin on the lake. You had been going every year since you could remember. The small town of Kewadin, Michigan sat just about as far north as you could get in the lower peninsula, about an hour outside of the nearest city. The town was small and quiet in the summer, but in the winter it was downright deserted. Very few of its residents lived here year round, with the majority of houses being summer homes on Lake Michigan. One year when you were young your family decided it would be interesting to see what it was like in the winter. Snow on the ground, the bay practically freezing over on the coldest days, a fire roaring in the fireplace, card games all day, skiing in Boyne City. This was how you spent your winter breaks. You and your family in your own little world.

This year would be different though. This year was the first year you were taking your boyfriend Jake to your family Christmas. You weren't sure why you were nervous. You knew Jake liked your family and they liked him. He would fit in just fine. But it would be a change from your usual traditions. 

The two of you were flying out earlier than the rest of your family, so you would have a few days to yourself in the cabin. You flew through the Detroit airport and picked up a rental car, stopping to see his family in Frankenmuth before making the rest of the 4 hour drive up to Kewadin. You offered to drive, knowing the backroads closer to the cabin might get confusing, but Jake insisted. Against your better judgement, you fell asleep. You woke up several hours later as Jake gently shook you, the car pulled over on the side of route 31.

“Okay, so I may have gotten a little lost” Jake looked at you with a sheepish smile.

You shook your head, smiling, and took a look around, trying to figure out how far away you were. You noticed the sign for the maple syrup farm to your left, cluing you in to the fact that you hadn’t passed the turnoff onto Quarterline just yet. 

“I'll take over now, we’re close, but these next few turns are easy to miss.”

Before long you were pulling into the frozen gravel driveway of 4398 Juniper Drive. You were greeted with the same faded red paint on the one story house. The screen door screeched open as you and Jake pushed through with your bags. You grabbed the spare key from the hook hidden on the back of the porch chair, unlocking the front door. You showed Jake around the cabin. The small kitchen without a dishwasher, the big dining table that was often covered in puzzles, the path down to the lake. He took it all in, listening to you recount stories of years past. He paused in the hallway, looking at all of your family photos along the wall. 

“Is this you?” He laughed, pointing to the worst picture of you in existence. You were 11 years old, wearing your headgear and a nightgown. This was in fact the only picture to exist of you wearing headgear, and had made the family photo wall as more of a joke than anything else. 

“Oh my god, don’t look at that!” you laughed covering the picture with both hands.

“Oh no, let me see!” Jake tried to move your hands, a shit eating grin on his face. When you wouldn't budge, he reached his hands down to your sides, tickling you mercilessly. You squealed, writhing under his touch and immediately moving your hands in hopes of stopping him.

“Aww look at you,” Jake smiled, now able to see the full picture “Adorable as ever.”

“You don’t play fair!” you pouted, leaning back into his chest. His hands now rested comfortably around your waist. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to your temple, gently swaying you side to side. 

“So, why don’t you go give me a tour of the bedroom?” Jake spun you around to face him, pulling you in for a kiss. You pulled away, placing your hand on his chest. You could feel his heartbeat picking up at your touch.

“As much as I would love to explore the adventure that is sex in a bunk bed, we need to go grocery shopping.”

************************************

The nearest grocery store was a small market about 20 minutes outside of town. You had considered not even bringing Jake with you because you knew exactly what you needed from the store and where to find it, but you knew he’d have nothing to do at the cabin without you, and you enjoyed his company even if he did slow you down. 

You loaded the paper grocery bags into the trunk of the rental car as light snow fell around you. You could hear the faint sound of the Christmas radio station playing in the store as customers filed in and out. 

“So what now?” Jake asked as you climbed into the driver’s seat, turning the heat on high as you rubbed your cold hands together.

“Well, usually at this point my family would pick up a pizza from the place next door and decorate the house for Christmas…” You trailed off, a slight twinge of sadness in your voice.

“But you want to wait for them to decorate the house, yeah?” Jake gave you a soft smile, placing his hand over yours on the center console. “Well, why don’t we pick up a pizza, just us. We’ll go back and light a fire, and do something else to get us in the Christmas spirit?”

You grinned, nodding.

After a short wait, you were on the way home with your pizza and your groceries. Jake had hooked his phone up to the car and was playing Christmas music, singing along wholeheartedly. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as you drove, your smile never leaving your face. 

When you made it back to the cabin you quickly unloaded the groceries, putting away the things that needed to be kept cold. You and Jake were starving and you were ready to dig into that pizza. You opened the cupboard taking out two plates and two glasses, popping open the bottle of wine you had just bought.

Jake cringed, shaking his head as he watched you plop a few ice cubes into your glass, “Y/N you’re lucky I love you because under any other circumstances that would be a dealbreaker.”

“Hey! I like my wine cold, and seeing as we just bought this bottle,” You paused, holding the bottle up to his eye level, “It’s room temperature.. Yuck” you made a face, sticking out your tongue. Jake simply laughed in response.

You handed him his glass and a plate of pizza, taking your usual seat at the dining table. The sun had long since set, and it was pitch black outside, devoid even of stars in the snowy winter sky. But it was warm and comfortable in the cabin. Jake’s hand rested on your thigh beneath the table, his thumb tracing small circles against you. You met his eyes, taking a sip of your wine. Neither one of you said a word. Just finished your meal enjoying each other’s company. 

Jake offered to get the fire started while you did the dishes. When you returned to the living room, he had a strong fire burning. He had found a few candles around the room and lit them as well. The blankets and pillows from the couch had been made into a little fort on the floor in front of the fireplace. Jake sat on one of the blankets, holding a worn copy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

“I promised we could do something to get us in the Christmas spirit, and I saw this on the bookshelf earlier,” he said, gesturing to the book, “Come sit with me, I’ll read it to you.”

“Jake,” you whispered, a soft smile forming on your lips “You didn’t have to”

“Come here darling” Jake patted the spot next to him on the blanket. You curled up next to him, placing your head in his lap.

Jake began reading, running his fingers through your hair absentmindedly as he went. 

“One Christmas Eve, Scrooge, an old man, still sat busy in his office. The weather was cold, and he could hear the people in the street outside beating their hands upon their breasts and stamping their feet upon the pavement to keep warm. ‘A merry Christmas, Uncle ! ' cried a cheerful voice. It was Scrooge's nephew. ‘Bah ! ‘ said Scrooge. ‘Humbug!’ “

Jake had never read to you like this before, but it was nice. Intimate. His voice had a slight rasp to it, and you found it relaxing, although it also made your heart flutter. He made up little voices for each of the characters, occasionally peering down to gauge your reaction. 

You stayed this way for a long time, as the fire began to die out in front of you. Jake never moved, never complained or shifted beneath you, just kept reading with your head in his lap, offering the occasional touch or squeeze to remind you he was thinking of you as he read. 

As he reached the end of the chapter you sat up, stretching. Jake put the book in his lap, eyeing you up and down.

“You look beautiful, Y/N.”

“I look disheveled and half asleep” you shook your head, tucking your hair behind your ears. 

Jake however, Jake looked beautiful like this. The now low burning firelight danced across his skin giving him a soft orange glow. You leaned in and kissed him, softly, just barely dancing your tongue across his. He pulled you in closer, kissing you again, his hand finding its way into your hair.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?” your faces rested millimeters from each other, foreheads pressed together.

“I think you should give me that tour of the bedroom now”

*****************************

You lay naked in the bottom bunk of your childhood room in the cabin, your legs spread for Jake. He had made short work of your clothes, hungrily pushing you down onto the mattress. He was bent over in the cramped space, unable to sit up fully. His left hand rested on your inner thigh, keeping you on display for him. With his right hand, he teased your entrance with one finger, making slow languid circles through your wetness avoiding where you wanted to be touched most. A frustrated moan escaped your lips as Jake just barely brushed over your clit.

“Impatient are we?” Jake teased, stopping his motions entirely.

You wiggled your hips, pouting.

“Please, Jake. Please!”

“Please what darling?”

“Please touch me”

Jake met your eyes as he plunged two fingers into you without warning, drawing a strangled cry from your lips. 

“Fuck, Jake!”

His skilled fingers curled into you mercilessly, hitting you at just the right spot over and over again. Before long, you couldn’t focus on anything except Jake's hand between your legs, your thoughts scrambled as a string of profanities fell from your open mouth. You wished you could keep your eyes open in these moments to watch Jake, sweat beading on his forehead, mouth hung open, looking down at you, focused; but your eyes were screwed shut with pleasure. 

Your legs began to shake as your orgasm began to build in earnest, fighting against Jake’s hold on your thigh, keeping your legs open. 

“You can take it darling, come on, show me how good you are for me and cum all over these fingers”

Jake had no sooner finished his thought than you were clenching furiously around his fingers, your orgasm crashing into you at full speed. Your mouth hung open, wordlessly, unable to process the intense feeling. 

Jake watched in awe as you came down from your high, licking his fingers clean from your wetness. He rose from the bed, undressing himself slowly. His throbbing erection springing free of his boxers, curving up onto his stomach. He stroked himself with his hand a few times, just watching you. 

“Be careful” you cautioned as he positioned himself over you, fearing that he would hit his head on the low hanging bunk bed.

“Hmm, actually I have a better idea. '' He positioned himself on his side lying behind you, pulling your naked body against his. You could feel the warmth of his bare skin against yours, lighting your skin ablaze with need and anticipation. You felt Jake’s hand slide between your legs again, sliding a finger between your folds. “That's my angel,” he whispered against your ear, “always so ready for me.”

He replaced his fingers with the head of his cock, teasing your entrance. You couldn’t help but to shift your hips in response, chasing the desire to be full, to have him buried deep inside of you. 

“Shhh” Jake stilled your hips with a firm hand, “We’re going to take this slow and sweet darling.”

He lined himself up at your entrance, pushing into you tantalizingly slowly. Soft moans fell from both of your lips as you gave into the feeling. He paused deep within you as he bottomed out, your bodies pressed impossibly close together. His arm reached around you resting on your abdomen.

“You feel this here angel?” he pressed down lightly, “Feel me so deep inside of you?” You nodded quickly, placing your hand over his. 

He began to move inside of you, slowly, drawing out the motion, heightening every sense in your body. His hand had made its way up to your breast, massaging it, pinching your nipple between his thumb and forefinger. You could already feel your body working its way up to another orgasm. 

Jake began increasing his speed. Bringing his hands back down to your hips to hold you in place as he began to thrust into you with more force. You bit your lip, stifling a moan as he drove into you, your eyes fluttering shut as you focused on the pleasurable feeling building between your legs. 

“Don't hold back darling, I want to hear every noise that falls from those pretty lips while I'm buried in this tight, pink, cunt of yours.”

“Oh, God, Jake!” you cried out as he picked up his pace again, working his middle finger against your clit. You could feel the sweat forming between your bodies, his hot chest pressed to your back. You tried to focus on the two sensations overwhelming your senses. His throbbing cock repeatedly slammed into your g spot as his fingers worked quick tight circles over your clit. You felt your body stiffen involuntarily as you grew closer to the edge, whines and moans flowing freely from your lips. 

“Relax for me darling, relax and let it go. I want to feel you cum again all over my cock.”

You willed your body to relax, letting your orgasm wash over you. Jake pulled you in tightly to his chest as he continued to fuck you through your orgasm, soon following suit and releasing deep inside of you. You both stayed like that for a moment. You panting sweaty bodies pressed together as tightly as they could be, Jake’s cock softening inside of you. It felt warm, intimate. 

Jake pressed a kiss to your temple as he pulled out of you, heading to the bathroom to grab a towel for you to clean up. 

“I love you” Jake said as he wiped gently between your thighs.

“I love you, too”

You crawled under the covers, placing your head on Jake's chest, listening to his heartbeat. He traced small circles on your back absentmindedly. You don't remember when you fell asleep. 

*****************************

You woke up to the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen. Soon, Jake appeared with two mugs, handing one to you in bed. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a black sweater you had never seen on him before. It looked nice on him, hugged his body well… and had a little bow on the collar. That's when you realized he was wearing one of your sweaters. You chuckled to yourself, taking a sip of your coffee. 

“Someone’s in a good mood.” Jake smiled at you, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

“Interesting choice of outfits this morning”

“Ah, yeah, this.” he said, gesturing to your sweater. “I didn't want to wake you by opening the blinds but it was pretty dark in here when I woke up, I thought I pulled something out of my suitcase, but it turns out it was yours.”

You chuckled to yourself again, imagining him looking at the sweater in the light and deciding to put it on anyway. 

“Mhm, and did you happen to notice the little bow on the front babe?”

Jake looked down at the sweater, eyebrows raised.

“No, actually. No I did not. But I must say I think I'm pulling it off, don't you?” He was laughing now too. 

“Actually babe, I think you should keep it on, it looks nice on you.”

“So what’s on the agenda today?” Jake took a sip of his coffee, looking at you with his eyebrows raised.

“Not much, figured we could take a walk along the lake so you can actually see it all in the daylight. My family flies in tonight”

“Ok, well how about we start our morning with some breakfast, and I read some more of the book to you?”

“That sounds great babe” you smiled, getting out of bed and following him down the hall.

And that’s how you spent your morning. Curled up on the couch with breakfast and a cup of coffee while Jake read to you, your legs tangled together under the blankets. And just like that, you had made a new Christmas tradition, just the two of you. 

[dangerously-human]

Sitting here running through a list of which airports I have been to the most times, mainly as a reaction to learning that yup, I still feel some type of way about O'Hare just as much as I did on round one of this journey. Obviously Philly, that being my home airport (I occasionally fly out of Newark but rarely), though if we're going by total time spent, it's probably Dublin, since I usually land hours before the buses start leaving. I like that airport; there's stuff to do while still being smallish and easy to navigate, plus the staff are generally pretty helpful and I think the signs are easy enough to follow (plus, for its size, security and such usually moves fast). That might come in second, actually - I thought it was San Francisco, but I think at least one of the times I visited my parents, I flew out of LAX or San Diego, didn't I? And then there are the Florida airports, but I was so little for some of those, I'm not sure if some were Orlando or Ft. Lauderdale. (I am just old enough to remember flying to Orlando pre-9/11 and security being barely anything; flying the next year was a much more rigid affair.) Smallest airport I've ever been in was Billings. Easiest to navigate was Columbus. I remember Twin Cities being chaotic, but I was with some of my youth group on a mission trip, so it wasn't like I had to figure it out solo. Did not care for Detroit, it had very little going on for its size, and all the food places closed super early, which sucked with a flight delay (that turned into getting stuck there overnight). Nothing else really stands out.

Am I sitting here ranking airports when I could be doing schoolwork? Whoops.

[writingmochi]

a terra incognita introduction

cast: jake ✗ fem.reader

synopsis: as the world entered the middle of the 21st century, many things have changed for the better or for worse in the newly united korea peninsula: the preparation for the succession of the new conglomerates of the past decade, the uprising of deviant androids, and the new layer of life shield by walls of codes. in the middle of it, two beings are trying to understand each other and the situation of the world they live in; an unknown territory

genre: cyberpunk, cyber noir, psychological thriller, science fiction, dystopian future, politics and philosophies regarding artificial intelligence and humanity, romance, drama, angst, mature content (war and revolution, explicit smut)

based on: video game cyberpunk 2077 (2020) and detroit: become human (2018), anime serial experiments lain (1998), and tv show succession (2018-2023)

masterlist

united korea

the united republic of korea (known as "united korea") is an east asia nation on the korean peninsula. as a result of the reunification agreement back in 2025 of the former north and south korea, the state has now prospered in terms of sociopolitical and economic issues from the korean war. it now excels technologically as one of the firsts in the world to introduce commercialized androids along with other east asian countries such as japan and china. in the aftermath of the social media collapse and the cyber world war of 2027-2030, the private conglomerates of the state have released a new way to connect to the information superhighway.

FLAG

(flag link to r/alternatehistory on reddit)

INFORMATION

capital cities: neo seoul | neo pyongyang

population: 65.5 million

language: korean | english | japanese | chinese

>> HISTORY

>> GEOGRAPHY

>> GOVERNMENT

>> SOCIETY

>> ECONOMY

>> MILITARY

>> MAJOR CITIES

neo seoul

one of the capital cities of united korea and the former capital of south korea, neo seoul is a metropolis for the state's bustling life from the most traditional to the most modern. neo seoul is known for six districts that are divided by the han river flowing in the middle, known as the division of north seoul and south seoul

north seoul encapsulates the traditional side of neo seoul and the center for the city's and state's government administration

south seoul lies the center of neo seoul's economy where conglomerates build their headquarters. a distinct living cost gap can be seen to compare those living in the north and those in the south where it is connected to incheon, a major city of transportation with its international seaports and airport

neo pyongyang

one of the capital cities of united korea and the former capital of north korea, neo pyongyang is the capital of the parliament of united korea. it's located on the taedong river kilometers upstream from the yellow sea. it is known as the city where the declaration of unification was signed along with its establishment as half of the capitals of the unified countries. much of the population of neo pyongyang are citizens coming from the southern of the peninsula as they migrate to fill in the spaces and utilize materials. it is also a growing industrial hub where conglomerates built their factories, along with kaesong.

with the rise of deviancies from androids made by shim laboratories, journalists have made observations and assume that neo pyongyang is the main hub of the rebellion between androids and their creator (as one human equates to two androids), creating unrest between the two parties. yet, they also say that neo pyongyang is a better refuge for deviant androids than neo seoul.

taglist: @raeyunshm @endzii23 @fluffyywoo @camipendragon @hiqhkey @wccycc @cha0thicpisces @y4wnjunz @yeehawnana @beansworldsstuff @kimipxl @blurryriki @reallysmolrenjun @frukkoneeeeg

© writingmochi on tumblr, 2021-2024. all rights reserved

[oliviassunrise]

Of Artists and Architects

A Modern Tessjoel AU | Chapter 15

The walk across Detroit Metro to pick-up and baggage claim goes on forever. By the time Tess makes it to the other side of the airport, she wishes she’d worn shoes with a little more support. If she’d had the money, she would have booked the non-stop flight instead of the layover. Unfortunately, she’d had to opt for turning a 3-hour trip into a 6-hour trip for the sake of her bank account. Her rush through Orlando International to make her connecting flight had been hell. After barely making it to the gate and boarding, she’d found herself smushed in the same row with a couple of obnoxious Frat Chads leaving their party school for the holiday break. She’d never been subject to so much information she did not need to hear in her life. If she hadn’t forgotten her earbuds at home, she could have been spared the gripping tale of one of the boys banging some girl he was convinced was a model last spring break in Panama City. “Bro, she came like three times, and some assholes in the room next to us filed a noise complaint.” The same kid tried to hit on her but had the grace to back off after he struck out hard. Maybe if he hadn’t been so aggressive about it, she wouldn’t have been so harsh. But one can only take so many attempts to get her number and ask her if she likes beer and wings before it becomes old. After several blatant rejections to make it clear that she was not interested, she broke. “I’m at least ten years older than you, I have a professorship, and I’m fairly certain the girl from Panama City was faking it.”

Continue on AO3

[babybratzmaraj]

Fairytale:Lovely Day

Starring: Yourrage as Javion Davis

You as Yourself

Part 2

Summary: Today was the day! You were picked to be your favorite streamers assistant/manager! but when you get there you see that its nothing like sunshine and rainbows.

Warnings: Contains Foulllll language (not much but still, cussing is in it), maybe awkwardness but thats the point!, dual pov so the pov will switch.

A/N: HIIIII!!! its bratz😁 my first series on hea! this is a slowburn but trust, we shall be whores soon! i hope you enjoy this as much as i did writing it♥️ P.S. @megamindsecretlair surprise!!!! P.P.S marshawn is stilll coming, i promiseeee

You scrunched your face looking down at your phone with your best friend of 3 Years, Megan hitting you with the same expression.

“The fuck?! You should be happy like I said! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have and you gone take it!”

Today was the day you got flown out to Dallas, Texas! The beautiful, high-in-rent, ghetto city that everyone loves to go to, party or just to live for a fresh start. You rather stay in your bed and rot but Megan wasn’t finna allow none of that shit, especially when it's your first day on the job.

“Bitch, I’m just sayin’ what if I’m wasting my time? What if he don’t like me?” You threw the question in the air with an irritable look shot back at you, fixing her lips to speak but pushed out an exhausted sigh. “Ho, if you wasn’t a qualified candidate, you WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN PICKED!” she finished harshly making you giggle. “Trust, if that or those mu’fuckas ain't want you, you would not be up at 5 a.m packing, late as fuck I may add, getting ready to fly out.”

She was right, you did not think you were actually picked, that was until he sent your plane ticket confirmation information, it struck you like a big ass semi-truck, panicking since you didn’t prepare, until now.

You closed and zipped your carry-on bag and tossed it on the floor, flopping on your bed that you will miss oh so much, almost grieving it until Megan snapped you back to reality.

“Wanch, if you don’t get your ass outta my face! who knows what the fuck came outta those cheeks.”

You chuckled, reaching near your butt to grab your phone. “Listen, just because I let my food cook and give me all my nutrients, don't mean you gotta hate!.”

“YUCK!” Megan slapped her hand over her mouth, stopping herself from gagging. “Getcha nasty ass off my mu’fuckin’ modernized pager with a beautiful touchscreen.” She spat with disgust, hanging up the phone, you burst into laughter and continued your practiced routine of getting ready.

You checked every spot to make sure you put things in their collective places, leaving no stone unturned. Once completing your examination for the fiftieth time, you grabbed your glasses off of the nightstand and put them on her face, immediately annoyed that they were back dirty after you cleaned them. You didn't have enough time to even attempt to clean them, you had to say your teary-eyed goodbyes and hop in your uncle's truck to take you to the Detroit Airport, getting out of the way of traffic for both the highways and people also trying to reach their flight.

“Oh my baby girl, leaving me to go to that state,” Your tete wailed, swinging her arms around before wrapping them around you, squeezing you tightly as your other two cousins joined the group hug.

“If Yall don’t get yall grown asses off that lil girl? Y’all killing her softly.”

“Yeah!” you agreed with your uncle, “And one of yall grabbed my back titty, so when I come back, all’s y’all’s getting yall backs kneaded.”

You stepped out of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to the Texas heat smacking you in the face, already regretting flying out here, but it wasn’t your dime that got you out here on, you can’t look bad on your first day, you just got the mothafucka!

As you step further into the hell-like heat, a black SUV swerves in front of you, coming to a full stop. A short stuffy man popped out of the driver seat and crossed around the car with a smile plastered on his face.

“Yous the new assistant?” The man asked, shoving his hands out of his pockets to greet you.

“I am,” You accepted his greeting, ignoring how sweaty his hands were, ready to dip your hand in a pool full of mini sharks, which you now remembered was Prinahs. You were so caught up in correcting yourself, that you didn't notice he already put your carry-on in the trunk of the SUV. “Ma’am? We gotta dip before we won’t have a decent arrival time.”

You hurried yourself into the back of the SUV, feeling relieved that he had the air on, it was hotter than a mothafucka in Dallas! 81 degrees hot in Dallas.

Even though your southern roots grew strong, you came from the mitten state, Michigan. Home of the Buffs, Coney Dogs, and the most unique sound nobody can copy, but it was always cold as fuck. You hated the cold, the snow, the sneaky black ice that could sneak attack you and turn you into a medlife subscriber, you always complained but you knew you were never going to leave, until today, which you still couldn’t believe on the way to your new job.

You watched in awe as you saw the big freeways and highways as you flew down the interstate, seeing all the big tall buildings and seeing all different kinds of cars flying by, it almost distracted you from the knots and flips and shit that was happening inside your stomach.

“What made you want to apply to be Jay’s assistant?” The man spoke, waking you from your fear-induced trance.

“I got the random urge to apply, my best friend would literally sell me to the cartel if I passed up this opportunity.” you laughed, pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose.

He nodded, taking an exit off the highway onto a regular street. “The name’s G by the way, Jay’s uncle.”

Uncle? You’ve been watching his streams and youtube videos, even his Instagram story when he posts little shit. You had never seen or heard of this uncle, and you almost felt betrayed by this new information.

He chuckled at reading your face which showed you didn’t know this man from a can of paint. “He protects the people who wants protection, one thing I appreciate best from him.” G smiled as he continued to express his deep gratitude.

You two talked some more, unaware that you were just now pulling into the secluded driveway, anxiety quickly eating you up to the point you felt like you were going to throw up. You wiped the sweat off of your hands on the seat in front of you as you whipped your phone out of your pocket, swiping till you saw ‘Bestie Miss Westie’ contact. Connecting the call to your AirPods you looked out of the window as you enjoyed the lovely scene of a front yard he had, grass freshly cut, the bushes trimmed down to waist level, the flowers complementing the house very well.

“If you callin’ because you missed your plane, I’m- who car you in,” she spoke but quickly changed when she saw the dark blue roof above you.

“I’m almost at the house, finna shabooya my tinks.” you confessed, removing one airpod as your best friend cackled loudly in your eardrum.

You two had code names for phrases, others may think you two were weird but it's simple because bitches are nosey, ‘shabooya my tinks’ translate into ‘I’m finna shit myself’

“Bitch if you shit yourself before you meet him you will foreva be called shitty booty by me.” she laughed as you tried your best not to pull out one of your many laughs.

The SUV stopped and the rumble of the truck shook still, signaling that we were here. G gave you a look to signal you to open your door, almost having an accident when a nice dark-skinned woman smiled a Steve Harvey smile.

“Lemme call you back.” You whispered, hanging up the phone as the lady popped open the door.

“Sorry honey! I’m just so happy to meet my new friend!.” she exclaimed, holding out her hand to help you out of the SUV. You popped out of the SUV and were pulled into a big hug by her, getting the wind squeezed out of you. ‘I feel at home already.’ you thought when you heard G shout from the side of you,

“Let go of that girl! we just hired her, Shanae.”

Shanae is Javion's assistant/manager, whose place you’ll be taking while she goes on maternity leave, but luckily she won’t be leaving just yet, she’ll be training you until her little one breaks her water. Jay wanted her to be on leave now but it would have been too cruel to leave you with no tutorial, so she stayed.

“Shut up Gerald!” she hushed him as he brought your luggage around to you two, holding his heart like he was just betrayed.

“I ain't even did shit, you see how I get treated?” he scoffed as you three laughed, walking towards the front door.

Walking into the house, the cold breeze hit you dead in your face, cooling you off in an instant. You threw up your index finger, telling them to wait on you as your body readjusted to the drastic change in temperature.

When you cooled down enough, you opened your eyes to the rest of them in the dining room, waiting for you to stop being weird and join them.

You sped walked to the dining room table and there he was. Javion Davis, leaning on the wooden chair staring military knives through you because daggers wouldn’t be the word to describe it.

His hair was a mess as he just hopped out of bed for this meeting, his eyes hanging low confirmed it. His body was sculpted perfectly, his lips pouted and juicy enough to kiss, his abs protruding through his tight white t-shirt, and his dad pajama pants sagged just right so you saw his Rick and Morty Ethika boxers, he looked so much sexier in person.

You brushed your thoughts out of your head and sat across from him, taking off your Nipsey Hussle bomber jacket and tucked it behind you, leaving you in your black shirt and naked arms.

They greeted you again with open arms while Javion kept it cold and short, spoke in short words and sounds like ‘hm’, ‘yeah’, and ‘fine with me’.

When the meeting finished, he walked out of the dining room ignoring your attempts to get to know him. “Ignore him honey,” Shanae reassured, handing you a glass of peach tea with ice cubes in it.

“You didn’t have to love, I coulda got my cup.”

“Baby I know you shy, I could tell by your body language.” She spoke

“Is it that obvious?”

“Deadly. You can stay comfortably shy as you please around me, I used to be exactly like you.” she reminisced thinking about when she was first starting.

True she was his friend since high school, but a whole new position other than one of his main viewers? Scared her shitless, but she got used to it as she was a natural at being a manager.

She told stories of how crazy this job can get but how she would never trade it for anything in the world and other stories from her childhood and how she met Jay, turns out y’all had a lot in common than you thought, feeling more at ease with the future of this job. She led you to the room you would be staying at with your bags already placed on the bed along with a note from Gerald.

‘Good luck suga, if you need me I'll be here,’ with a sorry excuse of an arrow pointing to his number below. You thought it was a nice gesture so you tucked the note into your pocket and whipped out your phone. “You need anything?” Shanae asked, waddling inside the room.

“I should be ok, thanks anyway.” you politely declined her offer. You didn’t want a pregnant woman to do a lot of unnecessary movements, you’d feel guilty having a pregnant lady do manual labor even when she says it's no problem.

“Okay sweetheart, and don’t worry about Javiontaion, he a asshole but he means well. Enjoy your room!” she finished, closing the door behind her.

“Why the fuck do I need a new assistant? My current one is perfectly fine.” he tossed the question towards his uncle, taking one last puff out of his blunt before putting it out.

“Boy, for someone who swear they nonchalant, you give too much of a fuck.” he shot back, leaning against the wall next to the door.

“Unc, I don’t know this bi-” he started but quickly corrected himself. He rubbed his hand down his face, rubbing them together before resting his elbows on his legs.

“I don’t know lil ma from a lick of shit, my assistant is fine for right now.”

“Keyword, right now.” she chimed in, pushing the door open a little. “What happens when my water breaks? Who is going to keep you level-headed? Handle your financial situations and shit? Make sure you make your meeting on time? You can’t even remember to wash the damn dishes!”

He sighed an irked sigh wishing he didn’t have to have this conversation for the millionth time before you came here. You weren’t the problem, he just didn’t trust people well, especially being this close to him and all in his business, for all he knows you just tryna rob him blind and dip, Hell, even sending you the information to get down here was a hassle!

“Y’all know how I am, I can’t warm up to shorty as fast as y’all want me to.”

“We planned this 5 months ago nigga, Im finna bust at any given moment.”

“Not to mention,” G chimed in, “If she was like that, I would have not brought her ass here, to the place you lay yo head at.” and he wasn’t lying. G always had a knack for feeling bad vibes from someone, it's how he was able to sniff out a few of his friends who were just using him and his kindness.

He sat there staring at the ground still thinking how he was going to warm up to you, he didn’t want to but for the sake of everyone else, he was going to attempt.

“Fine, but don’t think Peter Pan finna sprinkle his magic dust and imma love her ass overnight.” he gave in, earning a squeal from Shanae.

“I’m telling you, he does not like me, Meggie.” You sighed laying on the purple blanket, feeling her stress seep into the bed.

“What now?! what told you he dont like yo ass.”

“He literally only spoke in baby dick words.” You pointed out, “No full sentences, no actual greeting, not even an eye roll or a smack of the teeth. Ian get SHIT.”

“Baby, you are a stranger in his house. I know you want someone to like you offrip, but for some people that just ain’t possible.” she said motherly, popping a Reese into her mouth. “He gone warm up to you, but you gotta be patient, which won't be a problem since you so damn shy.” she giggled, making you jerk your head back.

“Wanch!” you chuckled at her sneaky drag, “Why can’t we have one good conversation?”

“Because when are we normal?” she made known, you both just laughing y'all little hearts away, It was never a dull moment with your bestie and somehow you just felt like she was going be your sane person on this adventure.

[rimouskis]

In the interest of wanting to love life again: what was your favourite moment of the Penguins season this year? Any happy memories?

I had a really great season, man.

I saw games with seven different fandom friends and got to introduce three of them to the city for the first time. I got to see so many wins alongside them, including several friends' first pens wins. I got to watch the Pens win a Pride game, which was amazing and so fun.

I got to see Geno's 1000th game in Chicago (with my family, who'd never been to a hockey game before), and then flew back to Pittsburgh to see them celebrate it on home ice—with Geno winning it in a shootout that was probably the coolest experience I've ever had in a hockey arena.

I got to see Tanger's 1000th game and share that with a friend. Seeing the funky fun little warmups (which I missed for Geno's in Chicago because the arena workers were mean 😂) was super special and cool.

I got to go to the night of assists, which was a lifetime experience, special and made all the better by getting to share it with a fandom friend.

I got to go to a Geno fan signing with another friend, and say hi to him as he signed my jersey and thank him for signing with the pens. he said he was glad to sign, too:)

I got to live through contractgate, which was horrible-at-the-time but also a really unifying experience.

I felt a thousand, no, a million times worse when Geno pulled that dumbass "I'm gonna test free agency 💅" move this summer that made me just SOB in the arrivals lane at an airport on the very first business trip I've ever made in my career ahahaha.

and it's weird and silly, because I'm a person who really needs to reframe those upsetting moments into something good. it's how I live with them. I remember how hopeless I felt—my plane had been turned around, I was late to my first business trip ever, I was about to meet my high-powered boss in person for the first time, I was standing in the Detroit heat waiting for 45 minutes for a shuttle to take me to the grimiest hotel I've laid eyes on because my connecting flight had been delayed until the next day... and I was just crying into my mask as I tried to console my fandom friends and keep my wits about me because it kind of felt like the world was ending.

and it wasn't... about... the team. in a way it wasn't even fully down to being about geno. do not get me wrong: I was personally devastated by the idea of him not coming back. he's one of My Guys. I was in denial about what I would do if he didn't sign with the Pens. I was so torn up about it that I stayed up for hours even though I was exhausted.

but the fear that kept me up in that really weird, shitty hotel room was the thought that my fandom was going to circle the drain because of it. we saw what a ship split did to tk/np, didn't we? their situation was different from sidgeno's... they lacked the amount of history, the sheer years... but nonetheless, I'm really, really aware of how small and tight-knit our corner of hockey fandom is. I was terrified of the possibility of geno leaving and that fracturing this really beautiful chunk of the internet that I've called home for the majority of my adult life, at this point.

that didn't happen. not only did it not happen, but I was in a vacation dreamland, barely needing to work on a business trip in the most gorgeous fantasyland location I've ever seen, having impressed my boss and nailed my part of the trip. all my anxiety—over the trip, over my job, over my fandom, over geno, over sid, over my friends dealing with this—was real, but it didn't win. instead I practically experienced euphoria on the shoreline.

I remember getting the text from a friend at close to midnight or whenever it was. geno had signed. things were going to be okay. things were going to be great.

and they were. I had so much fun this season, man. I really did. I wrote 14ish new fics this season. I participated in three (four? maybe more?) fic fests. I went to so many games that I felt gluttonous about it. I talked to tons of people all over this fandom. my friendships grew stronger. I traveled to two different states to visit fandom friends. I'm flying across the ocean to see more in the coming months.

and like... that's what matters. that ACTUALLY impacts my life, more than a man leaving a team, more than a team losing games. as important as certain players or records are to me, that's all stuff I can come to accept (well... some things I can accept. I don't think I'd ever have gotten over geno had he left. I get nauseous thinking about it. let's not muse on it. it didn't happen and that's what matters).

what I wouldn't have been able to accept was this space—this fandom, this lovely little corner where we talk about and joke about and blog about and meme about and write about the pens—unraveling. I'm not naive enough to expect this place to be around forever, and it already looks radically different from what it was when I joined it, but I'm determined to help preserve it for as long as I can. I want this to be a fun space. A creative one. Someplace where we're having a good time but also talking about things that matter to us and learning about the sport.

I told you all in a post a long while ago after I went to seattle that I want to be more assertive and honest about how much online friendships mean to me. the fact that there's this online community is sick. we're all in this cool little boat together and that is impressive and interesting and unique and I love it. I love fandom, and I love THIS fandom, and I love Sid and Geno and what we do in the name of their friendship. this place has enriched my life in ways I can't even tell you about. it's so cool. it is SO cool.

so.... I don't know what else to leave you with but this picture of the coastline I sat at on a cool July night, with my career changing in amazing ways and my anxieties quelled and my body flooded with adrenaline over the news that Geno Was Back and my mind BURSTING with creativity over a new story idea that was billowing out of me like smoke.

I sat there, headphones in, a song by one of my favorite bands playing on repeat as the sun set and the world turned the most intense shade of blue I'd seen in my life. I kept mouthing along to the words—Die if I must, let my bones turn to dust, I'm the lord of the lake and I don't want to leave it.

I just couldn't get over how lucky I felt. what a life I had. what fortune had come into my life. how crazy it was that things, like they seemingly so often do, worked out.

if I REALLY wanted to be trite, I could say something right now like "well, it was about time my luck ran out." but I don't feel like it has. tonight wasn't fun, but this season isn't about tonight for me.

this season is about:

the look on my friend's face as we caught sight of Sid at the night of assists and had that christ-he's-real moment

starting a podcast with my friends and getting to create silly goofy stuff in fun new ways

my dad being kind of alarmed at me screaming down at the ice and getting to explain to my sister what a power play was

getting to boo and cheer with the fans (and my friends). during overtime and the shootout for Geno's 1001th game, and the ecstasy of him winning it all.

having players walk past me and my friends at our dinner tables randomly in the city and getting to laugh about how cool/funny an experience that is 😂

having geno help me win a game of blackjack, which will forever be one of the coolest things I've been able to experience

organizing trips for people who've never seen the city before and having them tell me how fun experiencing pgh is, which is so meaningful as someone who's done a lot of growing up here

meeting new friends, both online and in person, and getting to learn about them and write with them and create with them

writing. writing. writing. the thing I've loved to do since I was a child. the thing I want to dedicate myself even more fully to.

reading the works people in our fandom write and share, which is such an overwhelming act of community and passion that I need to remind myself of how extraordinary it is

sitting out on the edge of the water and marveling at what a life I had, literally none of it possible without fandom. nothing in my life has shaped my literal life path as much as this fandom and S+G.

this is overly sentimental and perhaps cloying, but god, do I mean it. I mean it so earnestly I can't even be embarrassed about it.

life is good. tonight was hard, and I saw things that are going to stick with me and probably upset me, but the positives outweigh the negatives as a rule in my life. I can't live otherwise. I won't tell anyone else how to deal with stress or fear, and I'm trying to get better at that, but in the meantime I'll leave you with that image of the big blue world all laid out in front of me and me feeling every feeling in the world there was to feel, because I was so overwhelmed with the previous 24 hours that it was all I could do to sit there and let it run its course.

I'm an optimist, for better or worse, because it's the way I make life bearable. and, because I'm also kind of corny, I'm going to go back to that blue dusk eating up the whole sky and melting into the water and remember how I felt.

that's why I'm here. I hope there are moments from this season that made you feel like that, too. I hope you, like me, feel that those moments greatly and meaningfully outweigh bad ones.

it was a good year. I can't wait for whatever comes next.

[walkingdetroit]

Grounded in Detroit

This photo was taken 17 years ago in my backyard when my mom came to visit me in the suburbs. It’s hard to believe that I was once engaged with a car, boat, house, and weekend trips to Home Depot.

That was also the most miserable time of my life.

After a year in the suburbs, I put in my notice at my job in Southfield and started to line up interviews in San Francisco. In April 2008, I took a one-way flight to SFO where my sister picked me up at the airport and brought me to an apartment I had never seen before. Two roommates welcomed me with open arms, and at 23 years old, I finally began to live the life I had always dreamed about. Walking out my door to grab coffee. Hopping on the bus to go to work. People-watching along city streets, happenstance meetings, and serendipitous moments wherever I went. There was something magical about being 20-something in an unfamiliar city, and I didn’t miss the security I once had. 

16 years later, I’m still living the life I had always wanted- but I’m now back home in Michigan. I never would have dreamed that I would be able to live Downtown Detroit, walking to cafes and the grocery store, but here we are. 

Detroit has come a long way these past 16 years, and so have I. Every now and then I compare myself to people with a lot of material things, and then I remember how unhappy I was when I had everything at such a young age.

This is my own reminder, and yours, to remember who you are, what values you hold, and what type of life you truly want to live. To me, less is more, and meaning is found in the moments- not the material.

Grateful for my unconventional path since 2008- and for feeling grounded here in Detroit. 💚

[forbidden-sin-bin]

By Your Side | Chapter 1

Summary: After your flight is delayed for an extra day, you decide to look around for what Detroit has to offer. A poster depicting the debut album of a rapper called Eminem catches your eye when you enter an certain old record store...

Word count: 3,728 words

---

Three Years Later...

March 4, 1997

---

“...Can I listen to it now?”

“No, Quinn.”

“...How about now?”

“Baby, no.”

“...Now?”

You sighed for the umpteenth time today. “Quinn honey, I thought we already agreed you can listen to it when you’re older.”

“But I am older!” The toddler argued, kicking the seat in front of him with both legs. “I’m four now. That means I’m older. You promised.”

"Three." You corrected. “And I did, but being four is not old enough.” You firmly stated, placing a hand on his chest to stop him from keeping your poor mother from waking. “When I mean older, I mean when you’re completely grown up, okay?”

Your nephew whined. “But I’m borrrrrred.” He threw his head back dramatically against his booster seat, staring at the ceiling of the van. “It’s boring.”

You looked at him sympathetically. “I know baby, I know.” Choosing to ignore his complaint of “I’m not a baby anymore”, you re-winded the cassette tape a few seconds back before hitting play, the opening to Salt-N-Pepa’s ‘Shoop’ bursting from your headphones.

You were gonna be honest: you hated having to wake up at 3 in the morning just to drive to Detroit for a slightly cheaper flight to New York City; and it’s not for you and Quinn’s first vacation trip there either, you had a callback to attend. If things went well, maybe another, and then you’ll see if you’ve gotten the unnamed part of some movie. You weren’t counting on it though, chances were few and far in between, actually getting the part were even fewer.

Still, it’s too late to back out now, considering you’ve auditioned once in Toronto, your hometown, and this trip to New York has been planned for months already.

You looked over at Quinn, who was tossing himself back and forth even while being seat belted to his booster seat. Usually you would try to get him to calm down, but you really can’t blame the recently-turned three year old for his mind-numbing boredom. If anything, he’s got enough problems do deal with as is.

Having no birth mom, a dad that hardly does much to help, and a suspecting future diabetic, your boy’s got more than enough on his plate. A few complaints and tantrums here and there really isn’t a big deal, but god, you really wanted peace and quiet after having only 3 hours of sleep yesterday. 

Looking out your window to stare at the slowly brightening sky, your eyelids gently closed shut, drifting you in and out of sleep. It wasn’t much at all, but anything to keep your brain from swelling out of its skull, you suppose.

---

And just as your morning could not get any worse... it just got worse.

“Due to overbooking, passengers may be asked to leave the plane and await the next flight. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience.” The automated voice on the loudspeaker echoed throughout the waiting area of the airport.

Of course, of all the passengers they decided to involuntarily bump, it had to be yours.

So there you are, once again, slouched in one the many rows of seats at the gates, watching your parents argue with the airport staff with their increasing frustration, all while Quinn was quietly focusing on eating his cup of oatmeal your parents bought him for breakfast. Brown sugar not included, of course.

Hiding a yawn, you looked away from the ongoing drama and instead watched your little man enjoy his meal. Quinn catches you staring and raised his bowl to you. “Want some?” he asked, always polite to a fault.

You gave him a smile and ruffled his hair affectionately. “Nah, it’s all yours.” 

He shrugged and resumed eating. “...What’s they doing over there?” He asked, mouth full.

“Oh nothing, too many people on the plane so we’re just gonna wait for the next one.” You had no reason to lie to him, not that there was anything to lie to him about anyway. You swore this kid had already unlocked his sixth sense and was using it like a superpower to detect lies and all that.

He hummed in response, swallowing. “When’s the next one?” You shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe in a few hours, or maybe tomorrow. If it’s tomorrow though...” You leaned forward, whispering. “You wanna take a trip around Detroit?”

“Yeah!” He paused before asking: “What’s Dee-troyt?” You stifled a laugh.

“It’s the name of the city we’re at.” You replied. “It’s like Toronto, except Toronto is so far away, we’re in a different place that has a different name. This place is called Detroit.” 

“Why?”

“Because we’re in a different country; cities can only be in one country.”

“Why?”

“Otherwise there would be two Toronto’s, or two Detroit’s. That would be confusing, right?”

“...Why?”

“Well... It’s like having two different friends, but they have the same name. Isn’t that confusing?”

Finally seeming to get the picture (for now), he nodded vigorously. Seeing as the curious beast is satisfied for the time being, you took a sip from your water bottle and leaned back, trying to rest.

Unfortunately, Quinn had other ideas to ask. “Mama?” 

Your eyes shot open. ‘Not again, goddammit.’

“Baby, I told you to call me auntie, okay? I know it’s hard, but I can’t be mama and auntie at the same time, alright?”

You almost caved in at the sight of his puppy-eyed look as he looked down. “But... all my friends have a mama? Why can’t I have a mama?” You winced, knowing how badly this would affect him. At the same time, you hated to see him cry, and him crying now would just be another problem on your parent’s workload.

“...Does... Do you feel better when you call me mama?” He nodded, pushing out his bottom lip. 

“Alright, well, here’s the deal: I can allow you to call me mama, but in return, I want you to practice calling me auntie, okay?”

And just like that, his entire mood brightened. “Okay!”

“Good man. Now finish your breakfast, it’s already cold.”

---

A few hours later, you and your family are now unzipping your suitcases, taking out essentials to freshen up and clean yourselves. You too took out your toothbrush, cup, and face towel to place on the bathroom counter.

As you leaned down into the running sink, washing your face, you pondered on how you were going to spend the rest of the day while also managing to convince your family to even bother going out. As your mom would describe it; ‘Detroit is a messy, messy place,’ too much crime, too much poverty, too little safety for tourism. 

Yet obviously, you weren’t going to be cooped up in this two-star hotel for the next 18 hours either.

Turning off the sink and lightly wiping your face dry with your face towel, you tossed it back onto the counter and clapped your hands once. “Okay, so, what now?” In reply, all three of your family members looked at you - with varying degrees of expressions - and blinked. 

Yep, you saw that coming.

“What now?” Your mom said first. “I guess we sleep for a bit, maybe watch some tv, then get some lunch later.”

“Well that’s the true, but what about actually doing something?” You tried. “Like, are we gonna be staying in all day? Don’t you wanna go out and see the city?” She shrugged.

“Probably not. Have you seen the houses? Everything’s so run down, it’s not safe.”

“I get that, but we don’t know that for sure unless we try.”

“The moment we try is the moment we’ll be too late to get out of trouble.”

“Yeah, but-”

“No buts, we’re not going out.” Your mom told you in a firm tone. 

You tried to look to your dad for backup, but he simply shrugged. “Just listen to your mom, okay?” He patted your shoulder, and you could do nothing else but sigh. 

“But I wanna go outside.”

Your head snapped up to look at your boy, sitting on top of one of the hotel beds, crossed legged and bouncing on the spot. Suddenly, a devious plot began to hatch in your head.

“You see? Even Quinn agrees with me.” You walked over and patted his head while looking at your parents pointedly. “We can’t be cooped up in a hotel all day, otherwise we’d be wasting the day doing nothing, except maybe watching tv.” You looked towards Quinn. “Do you wanna stay here all day?” The toddler shook his head furiously, eliciting a grin from you. “Ha ha, exactly.”

“Y/N, no.” Your father scolded, pointing towards you. “It’s too dangerous, and we are NOT bringing Quinn to anywhere dangerous. You should know better.”  

Still, you weren’t about to go down without a fight, now that you’ve got backup. Putting your hand on your hips and jutting your chin out, you retorted: 

“I know. I do know better, and that’s making this a good vacation. Right now, day one is not going well at all.” Before your dad could speak up again, you continued: “Look, I’m not asking you guys to bring us to literal alleyways or the sewers or something like that. I just want us to take a drive around the city, okay? We don’t even have to get out of the car, we can just look out the windows.”

Your mom hummed suspiciously, not convinced. “And what is there to look at? Run down houses and abandoned buildings?”

“Every city has them, even Toronto has them, we’re not in a warzone, we’re in a neighboring city.” You argued. “Come on, I know Detroit doesn’t look like New York, but if it was too dangerous, we wouldn’t even be here right now.”

The room was silent and tense, neither side stubbornly glaring each other down. 

Of course, you knew you were being a tad irresponsible, reckless even, but for years you were always the goody-two-shoes that followed your parents every whim. This was probably the first time in ages you’ve actually stepped up and suggested something that you normally wouldn’t do.

In the middle of the silence, the atmosphere quickly shifted at the sound of Quinn’s equally loud stare, innocently blinking between his grandparents and you. That of course distracted you enough to look at him.

“Hey kiddo,” You murmured, stroking his hair softly. “What do you think? Do you wanna go outside later? Look at the city? Maybe get some snacks?” 

After making a face that look like he was thinking hard, your nephew nodded again. “Uh huh.” He replied, looking to mom and dad pleadingly. “Can I? Please?”

‘Yes,’ Your mind could’ve done an evil villain cackle for the theatrics. ‘Nobody says no to the “please” from my boy. He said please, I trained him well.’

To be more accurate, it was a family effort of teaching him manners. Still, no grandparent can survive the puppy eyed look of a polite grandchild just wanting to get some fresh air unscathed. Probably.

Seeing your dad shake his head and turn away, rubbing a palm across his face, while your mom gave you a look that meant you were about to get a stern telling off later today meant that you were absolutely grounded in some form. Despite graduating high school last year, you had yet to move out and find a job. Therefore, you were still under the house rules. Seems like a fair trade off, so you couldn’t complain.

You watched as your parents moved to the side of the room, whispering to each other seriously. Deciding to let them talk in peace, you sat down on the bed beside Quinn, patting the spot to your side for him to crawl over and mimic your crossed legs. “You doing okay, baby?” You asked. He shrugged without comment, looking down at his lap. A small smile crept onto your face. “Tired?” You tried again, receiving the exact same response. You let him be, the two of you staring off into space to await your verdict from mom and dad.

After what seemed like hours when it had been only minutes, your parents finally made your way over to the foot of the bed and looked at you two expectantly. Your head shot up quickly.

“We’ve decided.” Your mom’s voice was stern and final.  “We can go outside-”

You and Quinn broke into smiles as you shared a tiny “Yesss!” and a fist pump.

“-But right now, we’re taking a rest.” She finished. Both of your shoulders slumped simultaneously as you shared a look. 

“Eh... fair trade, don’t you think?” You asked him. He nodded in agreement. “Mm hmm.” Clapping your hands once, you hopped off the bed. “Alrighty big guy, nap time! Go get changed.” You watched as he followed suit, running to his suitcase on tiny little legs.

A harsh tap on your shoulder forced you to look back, finding yourself facing your dad. “You are so childish,” He whispered harshly. “What’s gotten into you today?”

You couldn’t answer that, to be honest. “Uhh...” Trailing off, you raised your hands in an act of surrender. “I have no idea.”

“Well, don’t do it again.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

--

“Y/N. You JUST said you weren’t going to get out of the car.”

“I know, but-” You frantically gestured toward the record store with a worn out sign that read ‘Golden Jet Records’. “It’s a record store! It’s got music there that I probably haven’t seen yet! Five minutes, I promise-”

“Oh my god.” Dad leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, absolutely finished with you. 

You heard a giggle to your right, and you gave Quinn a wink alongside a smirk before looking back at your parents seated in front of you.

“No, really. Just look outside! Do you see anyone about to hurt us? Do you see any gangs or crowds or anybody that remotely looks suspicious?” You raised a brow at them. “Look, I get it. I know this city’s got a lot of problems, but not the entire city is gonna be having violence or illegal activity at every corner, okay? Just a quick look, and that’s it.”

Hearing mom and dad mutter amongst themselves, you leaned back into your car seat, shutting your eyes and sighing through your nose.

“Fine.”

You shot up eagerly. “Really?!”

“You have five minutes.” Dad taps his watch threateningly. “If you’re not back by then, we’re leaving you behind.

While it may have been a threat, it completely flew over your head as you leaned forwards and gave your parents a kiss on the cheek each. “Love ya! I’ll be back!”

Practically throwing yourself out of the car, you heard Quinn’s voice in the distance as you jogged away: “Hey! I wanna go too! Can I go?”

You didn’t hear what your mom had to say as you stepped into the store and was met with the familiar old store scent.

---

The walls were painted with the old, unwashed white with the usual rectangular ceiling lights that would start making you think the whole place was dimmer than it actually seemed. And of course, there were rows upon rows of boxes and shelves filled with vinyl's, cd’s, and cassettes. There were only a few people here and there, with the store owner at the front desk of course, none of them paid any mind to you entering.

Five minutes to see if you manage to catch something good... time to get to work.

You scoured through the cassette section to find that they were ordered in both alphabetical order and in genre. Off the top you found the usual famous artists and albums; Hair metal bands like Metallica, Bon Jovi or Motley Crue, various levels of rock music - Alt rock seemed to be the trend this decade - like Nirvana or Pearl Jam, and obviously there were the pop artists who could always make it to the top 100: Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Toni Braxton... the list goes on and on. 

And of course, there was Hip-Hop. That one music genre you didn’t dare tell your parents you were warming up to. The controversial, thought provoking lyrical rhymes on a hard beat that kept you lip-syncing or muttering under your breath without even realizing it. Unsurprisingly, the store had plenty of it, from Nas, to Common, to Notorious B.I.G., to the Wu-Tang Clan, the whole nine yards more or less.

If you had the budget to buy more than one cassette, you would. Unfortunately you had to choose wisely... if you could.

Yet as the seconds ticked by and your hopes of purchasing another tape for the collection faded, a glimpse of the night sky, just brushing by the edge of your vision, caused you to take a second look.

A poster taped to the window, faded and worn, probably having been there for a bit, showed off a simplistic album cover; The dark blue gradient dotted with white specks of stars, with a violet line at the center that was probably meant to be either a horizon line or a beam of light somehow caught your attention. In capital letters, the name ‘EMINEM’ was displayed along the top half of the cover, with the bottom half titling the album as: ‘INFINITE’.

‘Huh.’  

Having completely forgotten your browsing, you moved to take a closer look.

It was simplistic, no photo of the artist itself and no detailed graphics that would suggest it to have earned a parental advisory sticker on the corner. It was rather plain, yet oddly enough it somehow fits. 

You couldn’t recall an artist by the name of Eminem before, assuming he was completely new and undiscovered, maybe this was his first release? Though the bent corners and slightly aged look suggests it was released a while back, or the person wasn’t very careful, it didn’t reduce the calming feeling that miraculously took a hold of you when you continued to stare, hell, maybe even admire it a bit.

Out of all the pictures, posters, and promotions in this store, why was this unknown little poster the one that had you wanting to know more?

Granted, if you hadn’t heard of this artist or album, let alone seen it, in Toronto, chances are it probably wasn’t even known anywhere outside of Detroit. There’s an even bigger chance it was hardly half-decent to listen to, and if it was, it would be a tape you would shelve and have it collect dust after the first listen. And yet... your gut instinct told you to give it a chance, and your mind was already set on making sure any other option was worth the same amount of curiosity. 

“Are you looking for something?”

The bored, disinterested voice belonged to the middle-aged man at the counter, startling you out of your thoughts. Forcing a gulp down your throat, you replied with a slight stutter: “N-No... A-actually, wait- yeah; could... could you tell me more about that album over there?” You pointed to the poster.

The receptionist leaned over the counter to take a better look, before realizing. “Oh, that? That’s from one of the local rappers around here, nothing special really; He’s here pretty often.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh! Well that’s nice to hear.” A few seconds of silence passed before you spoke up again. “So, do you know where I can buy a cassette here?” 

“Sorry kid,” the man shook his head. “I’ve only got the vinyl’s and the CD’s here. If you’re looking for the cassettes, you gotta wait for him to arrive. He sells most of his stuff in the back of the trunk of his car.” He narrowed his eyes at you with suspicion and curiosity. “Didn’t know Marshall had a fan...” he muttered.

You squinted back. “Who?”

“Eminem. His real name’s Marshall.”

“Ah... okay then... Do you know when he’ll be here?”

He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Actually, he should be here any minute now. His shift ends at six, so...” Looking out the window, his eyes widened as he seemed to recognize a certain car backing into the parking lot. “There’s your guy.” He pointed to an old reddish car. 

Thanking the man, you exited the store just as the engine of the car went silent. ‘Alright, just relax.’ You thought, trying to push down the nerves of having to talk to a stranger. ‘Put those acting lessons to use and don’t be a bitch.’ Easier said than done.

The driver’s door clicked open, and you blinked once, twice, three times as you finally realized that the guy was, in fact, Marshall.

He didn’t look much older than you, probably only a couple years your senior. Even from the distance between you, he probably stood to be of average height, if not a bit shorter. His hair was short, dark and buzz-cutted, probably his preferred look alongside the clean shaven face. Judging by his attire, a pair of sweatpants and a grey sweater loosely worn over his average, yet slightly chubby frame, he looked to have been around this side of Detroit for most of his life. 

There was one thing you really didn’t want to mention... but you weren’t expecting a pale-skinned guy. He was white, for sure, and if your memory serves you right... there weren’t many white rappers in the industry. Aside from the Beastie Boys and the highly questionable Vanilla Ice, hip-hop was a mostly black oriented genre. But hey, you didn’t care about a person’s ethnic background in the slightest; as long as they could make music, whatever genre they chose, that’s more than enough.

You almost didn’t catch him looking straight back in your thoughts, looking around the parking lot to check for anyone else, then back at you to realize that he was the person you had your eyes on. Not knowing how else to react, you gave a small wave.

It seemed as if he wasn’t used to people waving him over, let alone someone that doesn’t even look like they were from Detroit. His expression was guarded and suspicious as he made his way over to you.

Finally reaching the curb, the pale boy jutted his chin at you - his blue eyes flashing threateningly -  before asking: 

“The hell do you want?”

---

(End of Chapter 1)

---

A/N: This took WAY TOO LONG. Holy shit I’m so sorry guys. I figured to end it at the very beginning of your conversation with Em after realizing how freaking long it got, so I’m moving the dialogue over the Chapter 2. I promise, updates will (probably) be faster. 

But AYYYYY CHAPTER 1 IS OUT LETS GOOOOOO

Taglist: @eminemsorangejuice , @slimshay-castle

(Let me know in my ask box if you would like to be added to the taglist!)

[dtwdetroitcar]

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[foundress0fnothing]

What can you tell me about you anti rom-com WIP? I’ll take anything you are willing to give. Thank you 💕

This is one I’m hoping to have ready to start posting sometime in December! Thanks for asking💕

Gwyn and Azriel meet at the airport on Christmas Eve, both of them flying to New York City from Detroit—Gwyn’s surprising a long-distance boyfriend for Christmas since she’s been away for an MFA and Azriel, who had flown out to surprise Elain, is returning home after being unceremoniously dumped for a guy she met in small-town MI. They’re seated next to each other on the plane and start talking about love and…it doesn’t go well.

Almost a year later, they meet again as everyone gathers to get ready for Emerie and Mor’s Christmas wedding and, through a series of awkward encounters with former partners, decide to start fake-dating until the wedding is over to save face and avoid any pity or questions.

It’s probably not a surprise what happens next lol, but I’m excited to pull it all together (I’m thinking during nanowrimo camp in July, maybe?)

[motownfiction]

luggage

When she was a teenager, Steph didn’t look too far out into the future. Not all the time, anyway. She didn’t want to miss what was right in front of her.

She thinks maybe that was why she never took to photography. When you stare through a lens to capture a moment, you miss it. It becomes about the shot, not the feeling. She always hated the parents at concerts and graduations who watched the whole production with a lens on their good eyes. How narrow of them.

Steph never wanted to be narrow. She never wanted to cast herself into a future that was never written, anyway.

But when she did think about it, it was a little more glamorous than this.

Sometimes, she let herself have a very Sam-like fantasy of being a successful artist in New York City or Paris or Rome. She’d live in a world of paints and clays until the holiday season, when she’d board a plane and fly for hours to get back home for her mother. Those fantasies involved a lot more luggage. They involved a lot more distance and establishment and a name – that when people saw Stephanie Dawn Armstrong written on her passport (with a thousand stamps, of course), they’d remember her from an art show or a book or something.

Somewhere, not so deep inside herself, she must have known it was far-fetched. After all, her mother is an artist, too. Never got her much past a few rec centers and hospitals.

Her real life requires no luggage at all. At least, not around the holidays. She usually doesn’t even need to put gas in her car before driving over to her mother’s house. There was a time when she lived away from home (157 miles away, to be almost-about-exact-ish), but that didn’t last long. There’s something about Detroit that ropes people back in. No one’s gone for long. They can’t stop listening to the music. If you go too far west, Michigan doesn’t make a noise. Steph remembers. Walking all night long, humming to herself. What does it take (what does it take?) to win your love for me?

No one ever knew what she was doing.

No one but Katie, once she got out to school there, too.

Steph looks at Katie tonight, brushing the tangles out of Jenny’s hair and helping Judy with the tiny, impossible clasp on her favorite necklace. They’re about to get in the car for that ten-minute trip to see Steph’s mom. No river, no woods, just Grandmother’s house in the nearby suburbs. No stories from the art world. No luggage necessary.

But if it means Katie. If it means these girls.

Steph never liked carrying heavy bags through an airport, anyway.

(part of @nosebleedclub december challenge -- day 14!)