Westcity

Westcity
max takes the slow way as reply to Helpful

Abraham Kim
Westcity life
The funny thing about the long way was that distance wise it was more direct and fewer miles. The only reason the short way got you to Westcity more quickly was because of the high speed limit and the lack of stop signs, traffic lights, and turns.

You didn't get to...

Westcity
mckayla wants a new life as reply to Running Away

Abraham Kim
New York Imogen Howe Westcity
McKayla had always wanted to move toĀ  New York . This desire she kept at bay. Deep down she knew the city would break her. It was a place where everything was monetized. To have fun in the city and live a good life you needed money.

She didn't have money...

Westcity
the usual as reply to Found that Weird

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe Michigan
This airport felt drab. She remembered how she felt at the airport near Westcity felt. More exciting. Running away from the cafe and Imogen. All of her responsibilities.

When she had ample time before boarding time she thought about getting a book from the store. Instead she decided to get caught...

Westcity
a burning desire as reply to The Silence

Abraham Kim
Imogen Howe Westcity
He was back on road. Out west. Where the beers were smaller but the people were larger.

He had to order more beers than usual to feel a buzz. He wasn't used to ordering this many beers. When leaving the bar he'd feel uncomfortable. Worried that he'd be driving drunk. But...

Westcity
would be better because as reply to The Silence

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe
So began driving without a destination. Out west. The only thing he could think was 'i've done this before. so many damn times.'

this time he didn't believe it would be different. He was driving out west again. Nothing new would happen.

Maybe he would stop by Denver's. But what would come...

Did This as reply to going back to her old life

Drew
Blue Man Imogen Howe Westcity
Marc woke up feeling almost like theĀ  Blue Man . He felt something strange, something bad. It was nice with her all the west. But the closer she got the more intense her feelings did.

And he felt them all.Ā 

Regret and shame. So many mistakes. She ran away instead of...

Westcity
going back to her old life as reply to They Said

Abraham Kim
Westcity
The whole drive back she thought about the way BAKA looked at her. He knew who she was and her connection to Keith.

But the officers wouldn't listen to him. Nobody would. They would throw him in a room and let him rot. Maybe someone might even kill him.

It was time...

Westcity
time to head back as reply to He Thought

Abraham Kim
Imogen Howe Westcity
And before he was done with his fries and drink they came.

Boys in blue. Busted through his window and grabbed him. Yanked him onto the ground. Cuffed him and screamed. "STAY DOWN YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Baka was confused. First that it wasn't Chubbs and his squad that was taking...

Just like Her as reply to driving to westcity

Drew
Westcity
The years of avoiding everyone and everything fearing for his life seemed fast behind him. Instead he felt relieved, for some reason BAKA leaving him was like a storm cloud gave way to a sunny sky.Ā 

He felt lighter, he didn't really have any worries right now. Just to get...

Westcity
driving to westcity as reply to New Pot

Abraham Kim
Hyundai Westcity
Marc spent a few days at Denver's farm. His gal helped him buy a car at a used car shop in town. He decided on aĀ  Hyundai SUV that fit in pretty much anywhere you went.

He was going to drive back toĀ  Westcity . Where he met Denver for the...

Weā€™re going to Cambridge as reply to baka employed again

Drew
Westcity
Marc Love doesnā€™t remember falling asleep but he was jolted awake from a train passing.Ā  It was dark outside so that made sense but he last rememberedĀ  Westcity now he was in England.Ā 

The only person next to him was a portly woman on her phone. The phones volume was...

Westcity
okay. lets go as reply to Where was Jack

Abraham Kim
Westcity
"Who isĀ  Westcity for? hell if I know." the barrel chested, pot bellied man in the cowboy hat said before leaning forward to take a shot. afterwards he leaned back again and took a drag off the cigar. "All I care about is that there's more people coming in every...

Where was Jack as reply to love in westcity

Drew
Westcity Blue Man
Marc didn't understand how he had arrived.Ā  Westcity back again. He was a bit off balance. Dizzy even. The low lights of the bar didn't help, but another thought worried him more.

"How did I get here?"

He looked down a wood table held a dark liquor drink in a nice...

Westcity
love in westcity as reply to Part of it

Abraham Kim
Westcity cash
Marc Love walked into the bar. It was dark inside. Dark outside too. It was dark everywhre. He was sleeping in more. His schedule shifted. He wasn't aimless. He had come here searching for the man he used to have a telephatic connection to.

He didn't know much about him. Just...

Ever Happen to You as reply to seasick

Drew
Seaside Rest Imogen Howe Westcity Flushing
It was raining then at theĀ  Seaside Rest , the weather had took a turn.Ā  Imogen Howe had to tell a woman at the door that it sometimes does this.

"Everything will be right in the morning." she told her, and tried to light her cigarette.

The wind blew it the...

Why not as reply to would he still?

Drew
Blue Man Italy Westcity cappuccino
TheĀ  Blue Man was on a boat. He let the thought swim around in his head. He hadn't thought of himself like that in awhile. Had been Marc Love. Marco to everyone on the trip. Through various means he managed to escape it all toĀ  Italy the sun surrounded him...

Westcity
steve alone as reply to To Do

Abraham Kim
Westcity town
He turned the sign around. From the inside it read OPEN but from the outside it read CLOSED.

There weren't many customers. So they wouldn't mind. And Chip. Well. Old Chip would cut him some slack if he were here.

Steve had to go. That tune had burrowed itself deep into his...

To Do as reply to not the middle ages

Drew
Westcity Imogen Howe
Steve hadnā€™t been fromĀ  Westcity but a smaller town. Just worked in Westcity, in some ways that was his big city. He remembered when he first got the job he was nervous.

The first class everyone was looking at him to give directions. The microphone wasnā€™t working and he had to...

Every Day as reply to anyone here?

Drew
Westcity
She heard a bang, and the music turned down abruptly.

Then a man appeared behind the counter. It wasn't the old guy. It was someone else. Although there were similarities.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

The guy said, she looked at him credulous. He looked familiar.

"Just twenty, on...

Westcity
coffee flavored water as reply to Accent

Abraham Kim
Westcity coffee
After getting into the room Imogen went straight to bed and laid face down.

"Ughhh" she groaned.

Jack tried playing along. Acting tired as well. But it seemed like she was actually beat tired.

Perhaps there was a wall between them. Everything felt harder now. Before, when they had ran away together, being...

Westcity
somewhere in westcity as reply to Found This

Abraham Kim
coffee Imogen Howe Westcity sun
There's a kind of tired where even coffee doesn't work.

This was one of Imogen's favorite times to drink a coffee. So long as she didn't need to do anything. In this case she didn't. Jack -- acting as Keith acting as an Englishman -- was driving and seemed to have...

Westcity
maybe he needed to listen? as reply to Perfect

Abraham Kim
Rust Bar conspiracy Imogen Howe Westcity
The heat and humidity had him drenched. By the time he arrived at Rust Bar , he no longer smelled like the cologne.

There goes the plan, Jack thought. He figured he'd tell Imogen the story anyway now that he didn't smell like he was trying to go on a date....

Westcity
can you meet? as reply to Stay Inside

Abraham Kim
life Imogen Howe Rust Bar Saturday service industry Westcity town
After establishing a routine... Jack developed his routine further.

Now he spent most of his days between two activities. Staring out his window and walking around aimlessly.

The two activities were interluded with a session at the gym.

Jack could blend in for the most part so long as he wore a hoodie....

Toilet Paper Guy as reply to jack had free time

Drew
Westcity Imogen Howe
The park wasn't anything special. A bowl of green with a stripe of grey cutting through. Where joggers and rollerbladers went by. There was a playground and a pavilion. It was enough forĀ  Westcity . Jack liked it, but still felt out of place.

He was wearing sunglasses and a...

Westcity
jack had free time as reply to Trapped

Abraham Kim
life Westcity Imogen Howe
Jack was doing overhead barbell presses when the text came. He felt the vibration distinctly. His phone now muted almost every notification so when it did vibrate it was impossible to ignore.

Plus it meant that it was one person. He had even muted Aaron awhile ago. They still texted all...

Westcity
like imogen howe as reply to His Teeth

Abraham Kim
Westcity town Imogen Howe
Most things would arrive in two days. Crazy he thought, how the cafe needed constant influx of supplies. Otherwise the place couldn't run.

Kind of like his own body. He had to keep breathing. Oxygen. Every breath. Didn't matter how many breaths he had taken in his life before. If he...

Westcity
jack feels lonely as reply to Let the Mud Settle

Abraham Kim
Westcity PBR town Imogen Howe nostalgia
Jack felt especially lonely that night.

He hadn't talked to anyone he knew in four weeks. Almost a month now.

At first it was nice. A relief from his past life. Breathing room.

But now he longed to talk to somebody. Only he didn't want to talk to someone from his actual life....

Westcity
i hope so, calvin as reply to Ring Off

Abraham Kim
Westcity
She didn't take the ring off because she was interested in Calvin. She took it off because she was embarrassed to say she was looking for a man named Keith. And of course Calvin would ask, is that your husband?

She would feel stupid saying no. I am married though. To...

Westcity
where'd you go? as reply to Find the Time

Abraham Kim
notebook Westcity
She couldn't find the time anymore. Back then she could only write regularly because of a trick she learned from a co-worker named Abe.

He said, "All you need to do is have aĀ  notebook with you. Make sure it's not a nice one. The nicer the notebook, the more you'll...

Find the Time as reply to a routine

Drew
Imogen Howe Westcity Facebook LinkedIn
Imogen Howe Ā  was worried. Keith hadnā€™t replied in a week, and his phone location just showed up as cannot find. Part of her wanted to go there, but she also didnā€™t know if this was him trying to tell her something.Ā 

What if she was the cruel one? If she...

Westcity
close enough as reply to Called Out

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe Airbnb
Jack was lost. It'd been months. He should've had his book out by now.

Instead he had run from California. Nobody online knew where he was.

He'd gone to Westcity . Big enough that he could blend in. small enough that he felt a part of something. And the real reason. It...

Westcity
swell as reply to Been Changed

Abraham Kim
Imogen Howe Westcity
Keith had always found his upbringing sad. Over the couple days he told it to Imogen Howe , he realized it wasn't sad at all. Had he read a similar upbringing in another man's biography he wouldn't pity the guy. Would find it relatable. Nothing to be ashamed of.

That's what...

Westcity
a real american event as reply to In Response

Abraham Kim
Westcity Seaside Rest
Cash's Cup ironically didn't accept cash.

Why the hell is it called Cash's cup then? one young man remarked.

It's the name of the barista.

Oh well that makes sense, the young man said while returning to his phone. I like that guy!

No that's not Cash. That's James. He's just a barista.

But you...

In Response as reply to still prepared for the worst

Drew
Westcity TikTok
"Here you go sir, uh thats a really flat white." He lowered his tone a little."Sorry sir our manager makes us say that, its just a normal flat white."

He was at Cash's Cup, a new shop inĀ  Westcity . At least thats what the sign made him believe.Ā 

"You guys...

Westcity
still prepared for the worst as reply to To Be Early

Abraham Kim
Seaside Rest bulletproof Westcity
After bineg shot at theĀ  Seaside Rest , he never parted with theĀ  bulletproof . Even slept in it.

How different would life be right now had he been wearing it. He thought to himself. Thought this a lot. But this always led to the realization that it wasn't just the...

Westcity
some crazy shit as reply to Is Good

Abraham Kim
Westcity
The evening light fitlered through the dust. Few people were in the bar. Nobody caught Red's attention. They were all the usual crowd. Everybody except for one.

The man at the bar. Nursing a scotch. Hunched over. Deep in thought. Red knew the look of a man in rumination. He'd been...

Westcity
making dave disappear as reply to A Good Guy

Abraham Kim
Westcity
They held a funeral for Dave. They couldn't risk exposure. The easiest thing to do was say he was dead, hold a funeral, but actually ship him two thousand miles east.

The killer was never found. Or never revealed. The blue group was able to figure out the shooter but they...

Westcity
one day would be plenty as reply to Wanted

Abraham Kim
Westcity Spacecity car McDonalds McFlurry
Keith's apartment was the second story of a mixed commercial/residential brick building on a moderately busy part of town. The town wasn't big. The strip he lived on sat mostly empty past eight, unless there was some significant event taking place. Most of the foot traffic came during the day....

An Ice Cream as reply to ages ago

Drew
Westcity
The water crashed and swelled in front of her. It smelt like the ocean on the other side she thought. It surprised her how big the waves were. How much the sound surrounded her.Ā 

There was chaos but predictability. She just had her feet in the water. She liked how...

Westcity
chip's gas station as reply to The Exact Address

Abraham Kim
gas station Imogen Howe Westcity town gatorade Gardetto's
She was at aĀ  gas station called Chip's. Out in the middle of nowhere with nothing else around.

Imogen Howe was pleasantly surprised to fill her car up at gas station that didn't belong to a franchise. She couldn't remember the last time she used any station other than Marathon,...

Times like These as reply to all she could do

Drew
Westcity
Alan searched the house for his keys. His eyes glued to her little dot. Moving further and further west. Could she be going to her parent's? That was an hour south more or less. No what the fuck.Ā 

He tried calling again it just rang and rang.

"Hey Siri, call Aaron."

"Helllooo"


"Hey...

His Day as reply to made him smile

Drew
Westcity
When he was home he retreated back to his former self. Aaron communicated with grunts and groans, and only existed in common spaces out of necessity food, or water. His Dad was fine with this accustomed to be alone most of the time. Adult life seems to pull at you...

Westcity
sean is cool as reply to Like the Rest of Us

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe Boston
Alan knew hating Sean was childish. He'd played this scene before. Knew where it headed 99 out of 100 times, and still he couldn't escape his role.

Sad too. He liked Sean. Always had since they said hi while Alan moved in. They probably would be friends had they had something...

Like the Rest of Us as reply to cool people butting in

Drew
Imogen Howe Westcity
The house was big, rooms on every floor except the basement where the show was. 5 or so bands Sean knew. It wasn't his house, but as they walked there he told Imogen that he practically lived there. He was an organizer, an ENFP he said to her. Alan could...

Like Death as reply to first time out in a while

Drew
Imogen Howe Westcity
Alan doesn't remember much of the night. He remembered at one point coming too, and both Jack and Aaron were carrying by the arm. Then he remembers seeing the girls. Then theres a bush and he was puking again.Ā  Imogen Howe was getting mad at Aaron and Jack for letting...

Westcity
first time out in a while as reply to His Shoes

Abraham Kim
Westcity
"You threw up on my shoes. And your own," Jack said. "That's bad luck. Because if you had only thrown up on your shoes I would let you borrow mine. But I don't think there's any chance you can fit into Aaron's shoes."

They all looked down at Aaron's size 14...

Westcity
high school rules as reply to Stumbled Out

Abraham Kim
Imogen Howe Death Cab for Cutie Westcity
Imogen Howe listened to Death Cab for Cutie while driving up highway 47.

It was an older album. Reminded her of high school.

During the day it felt more like she was in the middle of nowhere. But in the dark she could imagine and reminisce. She'd feel like she was in...

Westcity
alone as reply to Change

Abraham Kim
new year Chicago town Westcity
Tonight she was alone. The stillness was heavy.

Ashley was still out in Chicago. When they spoke, Imogen would be confused as to whether Ashley would be back for the new year party. Sometimes Ashley would make it sound like she was definitely coming back. Sometimes she made it sound like...

Dissolve Away as reply to bed

Drew
Westcity
Alan was in the latter. One of the only bars heā€™d ever seen where people still smoke. Aaron brought them three beers in ice cold glasses. Alan was particularly buzzed, and the beers flew by. None of them had had dinner and that might have been a contributing factor. Replacing...

Westcity
the cafe had some dark times as reply to Heart Sunk

Abraham Kim
Imogen Howe cafe Westcity town Thievery Corporation
Alan wondered if anyone else in town was thinking of calling in. He wondered if they might spill the beans that Jack was inĀ  town . Hiding.

The windshield wipers pushed the snow that had accumulated while he sat inside off. The wiper did this twice more before Alan hit the...

Westcity
no answer as reply to After

Abraham Kim
snow Westcity
A gentle storm came.Ā  snow enveloped all of town. Alan took out the old shovel and cleaned out the driveway for his mom. He would be sore from that he knew as he drove to Larry's diner for breakfast.

"You must be hungry." the waitress commented at Alan ordering three eggs...

After as reply to alan's new routine

Drew
Westcity Imogen Howe
Alan's mom was happy, a little concerned, as Alan was paying rent inĀ  Westcity , but it was nice to have him home. She thought about asking him the night before at dinner, but he was talking a lot, he was letting her into his life. So that was nice....

Westcity
alan's new routine as reply to Just Fine

Abraham Kim
new year Westcity
Christmas came and past. And Alan found himself to be still here. Still staying at his mom's house.

He hadn't gone on a date with Imogen yet. Still just texting each other everyday.

Jack was still in town. Maybe everybody was holding off on making big decisions until the new year started?

Imogen...

Westcity
jack bites his tongue as reply to Anything Else

Abraham Kim
Westcity
When he arrived at Alan's he could tell nobody was awake. There was only the soft night lights in the inside. But for some strange reason Alan's car wasn't parked outside. Had he already gone back to Westcity ?

Jack thought of what he should do. He was so tired. But...

Westcity
limbo as reply to Imogen

Abraham Kim
winter break Imogen Howe Westcity
That light always took too damn long. During the day you noticed less because there'd be traffic you'd wait on. But at night when nobody was around the waiting became unbearable. They needed to turn that intersection into a blinking yellow on one side and blinking red on the other...

Westcity
with milk as reply to Nothing Too Special

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe
When he got home he couldn't to any of the usual things he would do. He was jittery. When trying to look at a screen he felt like puking. The only thing he could do was close his eyes and sit there. Eventually he laid down. He didn't fall asleep...

Westcity
in the morning as reply to Interesting

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe diner
When Alan awoke he could tell by the sound and air that he was alone. His mom was probably at her dance class. But Jack? He had no clue. Alan didn't think Jack would leave without saying goodbye. thus Alan could only assume that Jack went outside for a walk...

Think Jazzy as reply to someone else

Drew
Westcity Blue Man
His mom was happy to have him back. She wanted to see more of him. She was torn though. She would tell her friends at the Zumba class.

"Its nice to have him back, but I just hope he finds his thing though."

"Just enjoy this time, boys always leave home so...

Friday Party! as reply to white morning

Drew
Imogen Howe Westcity
He was happier than he should be just driving to get cat food, then going to a coffee shop. He was imagining what he'd say to Imogen Howe . Maybe he would pretend he didn't know her when he walked in, or maybe he'd just say the usual. He wanted...

Westcity
alan is confused as reply to Alan Said

Abraham Kim
Westcity
He had five days left. Then it was back toĀ  Westcity . Back to the eternal nothing. The dark version of happily ever after. Alan didn't want to think about that right now though. He was in his old bedroom at his mom's. She was watching TV in the living...

Westcity
nice to be here as reply to This Month

Abraham Kim
Westcity GPA Imogen Howe
That other girl went toĀ  Westcity Community College the first year out of high school. The plan was to apply again during that first year and transfer to a university. The plan then quickly changed to transferring after two years. She could save more money that way.

HerĀ  GPA was over...

Seen as reply to in the future, he'd remember

Drew
Instagram Twitter Imogen Howe Westcity
He read something last night. Maybe it was onĀ  Instagram orĀ  Twitter , where you donā€™t remember like the top writer or the top football player, but you remember a good teacher or a good coach. These people you read about donā€™t really matter itā€™s the people who are close...

Westcity
in the future, he'd remember as reply to Choose Here

Abraham Kim
coffee Westcity winter break Imogen Howe
He awoke later and later each morning. Soon he realized that he was waking up at 11. He needed to get out of here. HIs parents house. It stirred a laziness in him. Maybe moving back with his mom would be impossible. He began to understand why some of his...

Choose Here as reply to what would it be like?

Drew
Westcity Imogen Howe
In the car he took a drink of his coffee. Damn, he thought, that was good. Way better thanĀ  Westcity and cheaper, he checked his bank app 3.10 for that a scone, Jesus.

He drove back through familiar streets, he decided to take the long way. That was nice, he liked...

Westcity
what would it be like? as reply to She asked

Abraham Kim
Westcity Imogen Howe home
Aaron was doing well on paper. New York City. Chef. Self Made.

But because he texted him everyday he knew that his personal life was different.

"He's doing fine." he said. He could've said that he was doing good. But he didn't. Why?

"That's good." Imogen smiled. Did she hear him wrong? Good?...

On the Cold as reply to get the writing out of the way

Drew
Westcity New York Georgio's
He went to Brooklyn next, not sure why just seemed like she would live there. He thought it was a funny thing he was doing searching for one person in a city of millions. Maybe inĀ  Westcity you could do that. Plan to accidently meet someone. Like they were only...

Westcity
get the writing out of the way as reply to Coffee Shop

Abraham Kim
Westcity Spacecity dog
At the coffee shop he hoped Mari would be there. Knew she wouldn't. She probably lived someplace further out. Probably didn't make as much as Jackie. Maybe Mari lived out in Queens or Long Island. The people in this coffee shop looked hip and rich. A world Joey didn't belong...

Coffee Shop as reply to stuck

Drew
Westcity
The door felt smaller now, almost minuscule so he couldn't really leave. Or he didn't feel like it. He checked his pulse. A habit he had back when the panic attacks were bad. He had to check if when he was feeling bad his heart was just beat fast. Then...

Joey Thought as reply to maybe

Drew
Georgio's Westcity
She pulled him out on the streets. Not that she was walking fast, she just wasn't taking everything in. Joey stopped bewildered and confused at each crossing.

Jackie's voice pushing him into action "Walk walk walk!" .

"Gotta move dufus, don't want to have to leave you." With this she smiled....

Westcity
maybe as reply to Into a line

Abraham Kim
New York Westcity barista tea
They say, there's still a land where kings bow to monks.

New York was not that.

Joey arrived to a flurry of sounds. Loud metal banging on metal. Jackhammers. Sirens. Motors. Horns.

He made his way to Jackie's. Took a few wrong turns. But finally arrived just in time before pissing his pants....

Westcity
goodbye. hello as reply to His Water

Abraham Kim
Westcity goodbye hello
At the dinner he had been anxious to leave. Immediately after leaving the parking lot of motel he felt like he lost something. This phase was now over. It was goodbye to Sammy. The Motel. And those dance lessons he used to do. He would never see them again.

But there...

Westcity
lets get this over with as reply to Vegetables

Abraham Kim
Lexus hospital Westcity beer Busch Light gatorade Thirsty Thursday
"Why aren't you eating anything?"

Dick looked up. Jimmy had his palms faced up.

"Come on. Aren't you hungry?"

"No. Not really."

Jimmy said nothing. But it seemed like he was waiting for permission to scarf down Dick's omelet.

"Why don't you have this."

"No way? Thanks, man!"

Casey was out of the house. Going to get...

Westcity
casey as reply to Morale

Abraham Kim
Facebook Westcity plasma
After Jimmy passed out Dick opened his laptop and checkedĀ  Facebook . Alice had posted photos from the ski resort.

There were also photos posted by Casey. He was at some show tonight. Posing with the band. He was "in" over there inĀ  Westcity . The respected musicians and venue managers...

He Had to Go as reply to woman found dead (2nd attempt)

Drew
Westcity Gas City
Marc shifted his weight in his cot. He had been awake since 4am, now the first sign of light. Was trickling through the stain glass windows. He for the past 6 months felt good when he woke up, like he was part of these walls. He cleaned the glass, he...

Westcity
woman found dead (2nd attempt) as reply to A few seconds

Abraham Kim
car Westcity diner
When you have a car that's old enough to have miles under it's belt, but not too old that the repairs are getting costly, it can be easy to think that that car can go on forever. Can be difficult to imagine that one day theĀ  car will become un-drivable....

Westcity
an image of crimson as reply to Smiling

Abraham Kim
Poland 2016 David Lynch idea Westcity Blue Velvet
In a glass covered hallway, a man draped in navy blue walked. The air outside seemed ready to turn over to late fall. For now the temperature was cool enough for a suit. But not cold enough to warrant a coat.

Navy blue was a more popular color over in Europe....

Westcity
woman found dead as reply to A few seconds

Abraham Kim
Westcity Gas City
He gathered his thoughts. Reflected on what he had gone through the past six months. Finally realized that he had in fact stayed in this new town for six months. He had been going toĀ  Westcity beforehand. Made a big rush to get there too. But once he found this...

He didn't Lie

Drew
Westcity
There was another guy important in all this. He was in the bar with Dave. It wasn't Lenny's creator, the mad writer slowly drifting into obscurity. Nor was it Dave. It was the bartender. His friends called him Pete. For a long time he worked in a small town bar....

A few seconds as reply to young energy

Drew
Westcity
Marc thought for few seconds stopped in the middle of the parking lot. The sun beating down on his face, and forcing him to sneeze. Why the fuck am I going toĀ  Westcity thats where they would expect me. This obvious thought scared him more than anything. He had been...

Smiling as reply to young energy

Drew
Westcity
If he was being honest with himself its the first time Marc felt at home. At this church heaving all this furniture around. To what end? He just slept here, so he felt indebted. He couldn't shake it. For the first time in his new life he was being cared...

Westcity
en route as reply to What to do

Abraham Kim
Westcity
When he finally decided to drive toĀ  Westcity he felt calmer. Linda would be there he thought. And if she wasn't, then her job was complete. She had been tasked to simply get him to return finally.

It would be at least 10 hours until he arrived. That would be if...

What to do as reply to destination Westcity

Drew
Westcity The Blue Man gas
Mark Love always liked Westcity , while he had been avoiding it like the plague it was nicea nice place to live. Thats were it all started he thought, or where he ended.Ā  The Blue Man ,he wasn't really ready to go back, but all he could think about was...

Westcity
destination Westcity as reply to Before

Abraham Kim
mind Westcity loops
The frazzled plea from inside stuck with Marc Love as he drove away from the sunset. He had knocked. Twice. In case she hadn't heard. Then he was about to go away. Sometimes people didn't want to answer the door. You couldn't wait forever.

She had yelled out to let him...

Before as reply to ennui

Drew
Westcity
Laying in the bathtub she had a thought. You can be anyone you want to be. She liked that, held on to it, like a small ball close to her chest. Then a knock came from downstairs. She was in the bath, when she was in the bath she had...

Westcity
bar food as reply to The Garage

Abraham Kim
podcast life inspiration Westcity Airbnb hotel
Lenny's creator inhaled the pizza. He had heard you were supposed to sit while eating. Otherwise you wouldn't enjoy it and your body would struggle to digest. He'd heard this on a podcast .

He had consumed countless podcasts over the past few years. There was a time when a new...

He bet as reply to dave flies to westcity

Drew
Westcity Airbnb
Westcity reeked of marijuana or maybe that was just where Dave decided to sleep. A big house, at one time probably pretty nice, was decorated now with greek letters. The inside hacked and cut into seperate rooms for 30 men or boys. And thats where Dave's spontaneousĀ  Airbnb was. Fuck...

Westcity
dave flies to westcity as reply to Tried to close

Abraham Kim
dark social media McDonalds Westcity lifestyle business trip
Although he drove all night, Dave was no where near falling asleep. The dark , being unable to see the details of the terrain, brought his mind to a corner of his past. Memories he had forgotten. One vivid memory was of how he had met a man named Peter.

Dave...

Marc Felt Uneasy as reply to theories

Drew
Westcity
Marc was having his coffee at the diner. They knew what he liked, the usual they would say, and beyond that just uhuhs and thats okay sweetie followed. Nothing else. They knew how he took his coffee, which before that was reserved to, well if he thought about it, his...

Westcity
cheap houses as reply to Back down to Earth

Abraham Kim
dishes Gas City Youtube California Westcity soap
Manufacturers put scents into dish soap because research revealed that it made the washer think their dishes were getting cleaner than when using unscented soap. Technically the scents weren't required for the cleaning. Max knew this. But he still enjoyed scrubbing it into the plates. He also enjoyed wiping them...

Still Nothing as reply to open life in gas city

Drew
Spacecity earth Westcity
It didn't register that Keith was going to die. The doctors told him it was the perfect storm, his mother smoked, his dad drank, and he spent almost a decade in space. His body had tried to adapt to all these things and everything else Keith through at it, but...

A Slice as reply to do you want to talk about it

Drew
Westcity Spacecity Georgio's
Joey left the bar, a little sway in his walk. A bit sadder than when he started the night. Joey looked at his phone again no messages. There was some likes on a picture he posted. The first picture in awhile. When he was with Carianne she would tell him...

Creepy as reply to lies

Drew
Westcity
When Joey Blau settled down he thought about Carianne. When he was with her he was a bit less nervous. He used to tell her she allowed him to be himself. She realistically didn't really follow his schedule, this he used to get mad about it. But other times would...

Caring as reply to what would happen?

Drew
Westcity cafe
He didn't really get why, but since Monday morning everything was going good in his life. Like clockwork, he'd wake up to texts from his friends, memes he'd never think they would have sent.Ā  When he went to the Westcity cafe Ā it seemed like they knew he was coming. People...

Westcity
what would happen? as reply to Happy

Abraham Kim
software Westcity AI
TheĀ  software Keith wrote automated the orderly guy's schedule down inĀ  Westcity . Now all his food was delivered to him. Fake messages from his friends' phone numbers arrived at his inbox to which he would respond. Keith's script intercepted these messages, prevented them from going to the friends' devices....

Happy as reply to tight

Drew
Westcity
That night Cal couldn't sleep he listened to Keith's theory. It wasn't particularly amazing, nor Cal would say useful, but Keith had done a lot of watching on one guy, and he was sure he could figure out what to make him happy. Cal sipped his espresso and listened as...

Westcity
tight as reply to The Theory

Abraham Kim
Spacecity beer weed Westcity electricity poop
electricity was free up here. They had solar panels facing straight out into the sun. And boy did the station eat up a lot of juice. So many computers and appliances everywhere. And the whole infrastructure that allows people to survive inside ofĀ  Spacecity . the mechanism that taks the...

Westcity
space babies as reply to The Giraffe

Abraham Kim
earth Westcity space giraffe zoo museum
He looked out the window. earth was in view. He felt small again. Like that moment he realized how high the chewing mouth was above. Keith had tried to get the giraffe to recognize what he had just recognized. That the giraffe was so tall. But the animal gave no...

Westcity
home by friday as reply to He's gaining on Them

Abraham Kim
oil Westcity
They could smell the oil while trailing them. The assistant grew nervous. Once they caught up with the blue man. Would it be as easy as they had planned? They'd been on the road all week. It seemed to soon for it all to end. But there wasn't much to...

Some Water as reply to cocoon

Drew
Instagram TikTok Westcity Spacecity
Keith was in the public space outside of Marianna's room. His other friend just left to bed, and left Keith to find his way back home. He stayed on the couch in the public space. Scrolling through the most recent new's on earth. Then toĀ  Instagram then toĀ  TikTok and...

Westcity
bus stop as reply to Still Listening

Abraham Kim
bus time voice college Westcity Asian optimism
They hadn't planned a meeting spot before heading out. They agreed to call each other and triage live. But his phone was about to die. So he sent a text saying ' meet at the corner of Jacob and Penny '.

When he arrived at the intersection there were about seven...

Westcity
kindness free as reply to Old Song

Abraham Kim
money employees Amazon barista Westcity kindness smile
The sign was JC's idea. Kindness indeed was free at The Blue Moon Cafe. In terms ofĀ  money at least.

There was still something to be expensed though at the end of the day. TheĀ  employees providing theĀ  kindness paid something of themselves. A smile, or a sincere grin was free...

Westcity
no reason as reply to Small World

Abraham Kim
Westcity social media Grand Canyon
Kyle saw her. Wondered: what the hell is she doing here? Got out as quick as he could without causing suspicion. However he thought she saw her. They never met eyes. But he stood in that corner too long for her not to have seen him. The question wasn't whether...

Westcity
seeking home as reply to Anyway

Abraham Kim
home Westcity Facebook Airbnb
Some people find a place they call home. They can die peacefully there.

Others will roam restlessly. Couple places always in mind as candidates. Potential homes.

But no definitive home .

Her dad knew that small town she grew up in was home. He was ready to die there. Had no thoughts of...

Westcity
driving in as reply to It wasn't so Simple

Abraham Kim
Westcity winter car SUV oil United States
She hadn't been to The Blue Moon since her college days. No scratch that. The place hadn't opened until a year after graduation.

She had not been to The Blue Moon Cafe since she was 25. That was when she finally departed from that wretched town.

Everything about Westcity was wretched....

Westcity
in the afternoon

Abraham Kim
coffee Westcity IPO circadian rhythm
In the afternoon he went to Roger's. No matter how busy.

Even in the midst of theĀ  IPO and he was working 16 hour days, he made time forĀ  coffee at Roger's.

By that time he'd already had double the average coffee consumption of a normal man inĀ  Westcity .

He was abnormal....

Westcity
surrounded by strangers as reply to Jack's Place

Abraham Kim
chess rent Westcity coworking space decentralized
He had a client. Who wanted aĀ  decentralized version ofĀ  chess .com built.

Jack didn't think it could succeed. But he took the gig on anyway. It paid the bills. Not that he had much bills to pay. He wasn't a dad and he didn't have any parents he had to...

Westcity
a joke as reply to Still Funny

Abraham Kim
friends Death Cab for Cutie Westcity iPod bookstore Pitchfork vinyl Pavlov's Dogs
The first thing I did after hanging up was drive out to the ravine. Jesse and I didn't come here often. But when we talked about ourselves with other people we made it sound like we always came out here. Matter of fact, we didn't hang out much at all.

Yet...

Westcity
civies as reply to No Doubts

Abraham Kim
Westcity library cafe coffee
Carl waited at the cafe alone for about 20 minutes. Nervous.

He had a lot to tell his supervisor. He had researched at theĀ  Westcity publicĀ  library all weekend. Old newspapers. And now he had a thesis. But then ten minutes past. His coffee cup was empty. He wanted another, but...

Westcity
Imo

Abraham Kim
college student Westcity conference friends
I hadn't seen Imo in years. She told me she was in town for a conference nearby, but I was pretty sure she had signed up for the conference only because it was in my town.

We had been best friends. Even after we were no longer that, we had held...

Westcity
medical mile

Abraham Kim
Westcity beer brain drain European
I hadn't seen him in months. Used to hang out each weekend at the least. Was excited to hearĀ  he had moved over by The Medical Mile. Where the fancy, new buildings were. I'd heard good things about it. How it was going to boostĀ  Westcity 's economy, bring new...

unexplainable as reply to Something

Abraham Kim
rain coffee school shooting newspaper Westcity condensed milk white people superstitious horoscope
People couldn't stop talking about theĀ  rain . They couldn't remember the last time it had rained this much. Not that it had rained everyday. But that it had rained every week. Was it ever like that before? Rain at least once a week? Hop Tsing thought about this as...

Westcity
welcome

Abraham Kim
hackathon email website cafe coffee Westcity sans-serif laptop whiteboard
Entering the hackathon was exciting in itself. Andrew Cook sat toggling between two browser tabs. One his email where he re-read the welcome email . The other the event website . An hour passed with him toggling these two tabs. He was seated at a table in his favorite cafe...

denver as reply to Air

Abraham Kim
TikTok homeless Westcity life alcohol gun
His views dropped fast. He went from being the #1 watched TikTok influencer to being homeless in two weeks. The man in the nice suit who had been with him through his stardom abandoned him the moment any association with The Blue Man became inconvenient. The man with the nice...

Westcity
four miles west

Abraham Kim
Westcity service industry smartphones hackathon project manager stairwell glass steel monolith information age bubble social justice warrior
Four miles west of where Andrew Cook received his 2nd coffee, James Sallis climbed the set of stairs that must've cost at least 2.5 million dollars to design and construct. He thought of the principle of spending that much on just a stairwell. Of course this was no ordinaryĀ  stairwell...

Westcity
winning a hackathon

Abraham Kim
Mark Zuckerberg Facebook Bill Gates Westcity email Harvard oral fixation hackathon
Thoughts of another drink swarmed the young man who sat at the table near the window at a cafe off Baker Ave. Usually the slim, hoodied figure got more coffees than his brain and nerves needed because he was procrastinating on some pending school deadline.

But this time around there was...

Westcity
summer work as reply to Hey Ya

Abraham Kim
Hyundai Westcity millennials
"Now I know there's a lot of millennials out there. So this next song goes out to you. You'll know what song it is right from the first line. If you don't then you must not've been rockin it in the 2000's. Keep it dialed here to one oh two...

Westcity
what makes something alive?

Abraham Kim
girlfriend Westcity deep work life car Ford Travis Scott food trees
Walter met his first girlfriend after moving to Westcity because of his habit of taking afternoon walks. No matter how hot it got he vowed to take a walk during the afternoon when his brain would be fried anyhow. No point in trying to pull of any deep work during...

Westcity
moving as a non young person

Abraham Kim
college peanut butter parents House of Cards coffee Bialetti Westcity student budget Indeed neoliberal subreddit
He thought he could move in one day. He had always been able to move in one day before. This is not to say that he'd have his entire place unpacked, but everything from the truck would be unloaded into the new space.

This was the first time he couldn't empty...

Westcity
Untitled Shared at Jul 04, 2022

Abraham Kim
internet grocery store millionaire Westcity British weather information
EveryĀ  British person that he knew complained about theĀ  weather back home. Most of the year was cold, wet, and gray. He couldn't know for sure, since he had never been there, and had not even bothered to ever verify this account by checking the weather of that small island....

PO Box 915
this, is all as reply to Connect the dots

Abraham Kim
Westcity stoic aviators florescent
AĀ  stoic face, half covered inĀ  aviators walked through theĀ  florescent halls of theĀ  Westcity police department laboratory, being led by a police officer in his middle age.

"Like I said, this one is a real doozie. Nobody at Oakwood could figure it out, so they called us in." he looked...

PO Box 915
pattern before the pattern as reply to Change

Abraham Kim
Georgie Wilcox Westcity drive Subaru fire whispers pattern
There was a non insignificant fire in the town she had just moved to. Was she already using the word 'move'? She would be there less than a month. She couldn't use that word.

The fire initially seemed like it wouldn't pertain to her case. But she decided to look more...

PO Box 915
waiting to serve as reply to Thank You Richard

Abraham Kim
money retire abortion Westcity podcasts mid-wit debauchery pride women homemakers
For years... actually decades by this time... Richard had a calm "fuck off" ready to serve his sister the moment his she would reach out for help. The two had been close before the money , and when he first began earning real money he couldn't be more excited, the...

PO Box 915
type of cafe where you stay as reply to The hawk

Abraham Kim
rain podcasts Westcity cafe teeth America Georgie Wilcox housewife programmer
TheĀ  rain had come suddenly. Sammy had not checked the weather this morning. It had seemed like one of those days where the weather was going to stay put the entire time.

She didn't mind the rain. Her car was built to handle wet roads and she felt safe inside of...

Westcity
The City I

Abraham Kim
Westcity TV Netflix driver's license
The drive toĀ  Westcity took over an hour.

But it was worth taking every weekend as soon as I got my driver's license .

I couldn't even imagine what I was spending my weekends doing before I got that thing. Probably watching a lot ofĀ  TV , we didn't have smart...

Westcity
Circle Park

Abraham Kim
Westcity coffee Thursday American freedom weekend
There's an imprisoning feeling that comes with the American car culture, although I bet when cars were becoming a mainstay of life, it was all aboutĀ  freedom .

Drive whenever, wherever you want. Don't get stuck in crowds and be chained to public transit's timetables.

Because driving has been the default travel...

Westcity
Death Cab to community college

Abraham Kim
Westcity Monday Thursday Chemistry community college Death Cab for Cutie
One summer I drove to Westcity Monday through Thursday .

It was my favorite semester, although the class I was taking was not my favorite. Intro to Chemistry .

I took it at the community college nearby my parents house so that I could save some money on the tuition. Nearby meaning...

Westcity
Descending

Abraham Kim
Westcity aesthetics Germany flyover country toys Settlers of Catan
After the fog I saw what looked like computer chips. The layout of a semi large city in the middle ofĀ  flyover country . As we flew closer the cars on the highway looked like toy cars. Those things would kill you if they hit you down there. But from...

Westcity
Chase

Abraham Kim
Westcity afternoon sunglasses
He knew his way around Old Town that was for sure.

I remember when they came to get us his back was to the entrance of the cafe. So he didn't notice until I pointed them out. That's when a look changed in his face. In a flash.

I can't say how...

X Series [0]
VII

Abraham Kim
Berlin Westcity coffee Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky dopamine Facebook tea Louvre October uncanny popcorn movie theater seltzer water St. Petersburg
As he grew older he found it harder to recognize people. He still could recognize everyone, but there was a time in high school when he couldn't imagine not being able to see and old classmate and knowing it was them right away. Even if they were to meet inĀ ...

X Series [0]
V, VI

Abraham Kim
Imogen Howe college cafe Westcity GPA tea depression support group white tea graphic designer
V. The first time around Imogen Howe didn't treatĀ  college seriously. She blamed herĀ  depression . This time it'd be different she said.

But she was still depressed. So she looked back again hoping for other reasons for her failure. With each recall she could't find anything unrelated to herself and...

X Series [0]
IV

Abraham Kim
barista coffee Facebook college beer Imogen Howe Westcity service industry blue chip
She thought she might be able to be aĀ  barista forever. So long as she owned the cafes one day. Making 12 bucks an hour plus tips was just not going to cut it for the rest of her life.

The people and their tips were nice. They meant well, but...

Flash Fiction Practice
Untitled Shared at Dec 28, 2021

Abraham Kim
Westcity Jean Gras cappuccino coffee cafe Christmas Eve
So nice to see you, Jean greeted me with a hug.

After our pleasantries and a moment of silence where the both of us looked outside at the gentle snow fall she asked me something. Something real. Definitely the first real statement of our conversation.

I'm surprised to learn you're inĀ  Westcity...

Flash Fiction Practice
Matthew McConaughey

Abraham Kim
Westcity coffee Matthew McConaughey Hollywood Austin
Matthew McConaughey had an office in a building I helped manage right out of college. His was one half of the third story to an unassuming brick building in a quieter, yet still urban part of Westcity . It was one of those neighborhood urban spots rather than the main...

Flash Fiction Practice
On the road

Abraham Kim
Airbnb Westcity cigarette Imogen Howe staycation Chicago Camel
She liked the idea of a stranger in an Airbnb in town. It felt more exciting than a local just doing a staycation , which was a word she'd never heard before. At first she thought she might want to do a staycation, but then she couldn't ignore just how...

100 LLC
Untitled Shared at Sep 03, 2021

Abraham Kim
Westcity Seoul Slack
The most interesting client was by far a man named Justice who lived in Seoul . By the time I joined the project, the team consisted of two Korean developers who had been working under Justice for an indeterminate amount of time and Pierce's two most senior devs stateside. I...

Flash Fiction Practice
She whispered patiently

Abraham Kim
Westcity Jeannie Hammond cigarette
It had rained everyday until Friday so the air was cool. The clouds didn't give us their all, she thought as she looked up. Or new clouds had simply formed already in their place after falling to the ground as rain.Ā 

When was a cloud in the air, that cloud?...

Flash Fiction Practice
Driving down 131

Abraham Kim
Westcity Crystal Castles
In the evening, the drive down 131 was remarkably different given the hour. One hour it would be magic hour, that perfect photographic lighting. Half hour later it would be twilight.

After a certain moment, small movements of time would no longer matter. Two or three hours could pass and the...
More than decent
I honestly can't claim any horizon projects because I'm not working on anything at the moment that I have outcome based expectations for yet.

I do have general expectations for continuing to develop the world ofĀ 
Westcity
and the characters within it... which I'm doing in the "I found the diaries of Greco" series, but even with that I see it more as practice than a thing I'm horizoning.

Let me know if I'm thinking of horizon projects different than you. I'm interpreting it as the biggest, active project that you are planning to complete.

---

Similarly to the saving hte best part for later fallacy that writers make, I think you should just write it through. Write it through because then the real part begins. Finding what's wrong with it and why it sucks.

Most writers seem to do a better job with fixing bad writing then creating bad writing. Most writers refuse to write bad stuff so they sit with their phone in their hands staring at
reddit
orĀ 
Twitter
or motiviational
Youtube
videos instead.

Trust me, your story's going to suck really bad. No matter how great you think it is in your head. So get it out and then let's make it good.

I touch on this inĀ 
Rewriting is easier than writing Yours Truly
Ā 

Also recommend the article that's mentioned in that post. In fact just read that.
Abraham Kim
Three & nth
Exactly -> about a kernal sticking with you.

I think this is why it's more important at our level to try many different projects rather than get hung about one not working out so well.

When you say slow projects mean something more to us... I'm reminded of long projects. Like my world ofĀ 
Westcity
I've been working on for years. Or at least in the world for years, even though I might not write for it for months at a time.

but I wouldn't call that a slow project... more of a long proejct.

right as i wrote this i just realized... it is slow. Just not slow in the way the slow projects I was imagining in my previous comments were.Ā 

Macro Slow vs micro slow.

I love writing forĀ 
Westcity
... I love that you called it westtown that's hilarious. and no that's not justĀ 
Lansing
orĀ 
East Lansing
... it's kinda more Lansing +Ā 
Grand Rapids
+ something else more imaginary.Ā 


but because I love writing for it and it's the world I've been forming for so many years, I feel like it's sacred and I shy away from writing for it.

I think actually the next step is to not treat it as sacred and go all in on it in terms of execution. Wht do I have to lose? what do i fear i will lose?Ā 

I'll tell you. I fear that I will lose my profound love for that world.Ā 

BTW think it's hilarious you called Gabriel Gabe. Think that's the first time anyone's called him that here.
Abraham Kim

Flash Fiction Practice
Killing an afternoon

Abraham Kim
Westcity Balloon House cappuccino My Bloody Valentine
It was after dropping off Sal for his afternoon Chemistry class that she had a day to spare. Just a few hours more honestly, but hours in the afternoon seemed to stretch on for her these days. Mornings and evenings would fly by but the liminal space of sunny, summer...
Better than New York
It's very funny that you say that
Westcity
sounds like your type of place. Because when I first read that few days ago I immediately thought that can't be true. How could Keni belong in a place like Westcity??!!

I now read this again and I think. Of course. Yes. She would belong there. I can't put it into words right now but I do see such a place for you there.

Forgive me if I ever turn attributes of you into characters within Westcity haha.
Abraham Kim

Echo and Narcissus Writing Club
Lunch -- Play, Perspective, and Narrative Voice Assignment

Abraham Kim
Westcity Instagram arugula coffee Leo Michael Douglas devil's advocate Ryan Gosling Jonah Hill Matt Damon
The error is nested so deep within the stack trace he feels cortisol flood out from his capillaries. After a few seconds of leg shaking he shuts down the laptop, shoves it into his messenger bag, and escapes.

Outside he is cast Instagram Blue. Bad day for perfect weather he thinks...

Flash Fiction Practice
An alcoholic town

Abraham Kim
Westcity
I lived in a town with afternoons wide open to things like coffees, long lunches, and most importantly drinks. Although every one of my friends were employed in a variety of industries, you would think they all shared the same goal. To get out of working in the afternoon.

My...

Abe's Blog
Rewriting is easier than writing

Abraham Kim
Westcity John Swartzwelder Sylvester Stallone
There's a strategy I've seen mentioned independently by some of the most prolific writers. John Swartzwelder puts it best here:

But I do have a trick that makes things easier for me. Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all...