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things-about-cars-in-posts · 4 months

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Do u know any reason why the Dodge Durango and Dodge Charger look kinda similar?

I see them on the streets all the time and I've noticed (at least the newer ones) have the same headlight and tail light design

Well, the short answer to that is "design language". The explanation of that short answer, however, is a bit more complicated than that, and is about why cars look the way they look - what makes them different, what makes them similar, what makes them change and how to tell them apart. So hop on under the Read More and come learn all that!

Design language is the sum of design rules and guidelines that make a brand's product range both distinct from others and coherent within itself. If you've ever recognized whose commercial it was, who printed the book, who manufactured the device, who designed the car, that was design language doing its job!

You know those "If [brand] made [thing]" renders you see out there? That's following a brand language: crossing what [thing] looks like, which is usually pretty well determined, with the much more nebulous concept of what [brand] looks like. Defining a design language is defining the answer to that second question.

So, let's look at the Dodge lineup in 2011 (the first year with both current Charger and current Durango).

There's a couple of key shared traits: the trapezoidal grille (facing downwards in 'friendly' cars and upwards in 'aggressive' ones), the small indentation in the middle of the hood, the single angular headlight housing containing two round lighting elements, and some more minute stuff. Except one of these cars features none of that, because sometimes, when updating (and, especially, when bringing back) a model, the design traits of its ancestors are taken into account, and for the Challenger, Dodge's then-current design language was almost totally disregarded in favor of faithfulness to its 1970 ancestor.

Whereas the new Charger did the exact opposite, its 2006 revival being completely based on 2006 Dodge's design language, with extremely little left of the '60s original (I see the rear window shape and the beltline if I'm being Christmas generous). Of course, this already works towards the similarity we're getting at.

But the bulk of a car's design decisions are not about design language, but about the kind of car it has to be. A designer must contend with aerodynamics, safety requirements, customer needs and expectations, with the end result being that cars of the same segment will usually end up having the same basic proportions and largely overlapping silhouettes. See the cars below:

Sure, very different styles can produce a more angular or more soft outline (see the two cars in the background), but within the same era and segment many completely different cars will be almost indistinguishable between the wheels (see the two cars in the foreground). So the most design freedom is usually found in lights and grilles, since those can be quite radically altered in shape and proportions without interfering much with functionality (unlike for example window shapes or rooflines), and even slight changes in them can alter the look and perception of a car, because we parse them similarly to faces, and thus they can make a car looks angry, sad, silly, goofy, or adorably gleeful.

So most often, the most distinctive features of a car -and by extension of a design language- are found in lights and grilles (the outline of the headlights, the inside arrangement, the grille's shape, proportion, pattern, etc.), with the rest of the car being shaped by general principles like "angular design", "simple, smooth lines" or the likes. So if you want to learn to recognize cars, lights and grilles are usually what you should focus on, as you need to be an expert for your average car's overall shape to tell you much more than its segment and decade (and perhaps market, but that's a longer conversation). That does explain, doesn't it, why lights and grilles are similar in Charger and Durango, two cars in very different segments designed to look aggressive in a distinctly Dodge way.

Let's exemplify this principle with three cars from the same segment, decade and country: In the mid-00s, Audi introduced a tall, chrome-lined downward trapezoid grille that contained the number plate; Mercedes had their classic grille -with the thick top chrome strip, small silver accents and the underlying middle line- and “merging circles” headlights; BMWs still had their staple "kidney grilles" and their quad circular headlights now contained in a wide, flat shape with round, downwards curving edges.

So even when these brands made different cars in different segments, those key traits kept them perfectly recognizable as theirs.

As you see in Mercedes, a brand's designs can get very consistent - but it can also get very inconsistent, too. For one, you don't design for a manufacturer, you design for buyers, so the design will change with who the buyers are, what they want, what they're attracted to - and when that is pretty consistent within a brand you get a lineup like Volvo's...

...whereas if you have a brand whose buyers vary wildly in all metrics that matter, you get a lineup like Kia's.

(I love this picture because you keep thinking "Well those two look similar at least" and they keep turning out to be two versions of the same car.)

The lineup's styling is also going to be more cohesive the more precious brand recognition is for it: a Ferrari needs to look like a Ferrari because that's most of why people buy a Ferrari to begin with, whereas the last time a Skoda didn't look like a Skoda it literally called for advertising.

Design languages also change and evolve with time, of course, and that's an element at play in the observation that spurred this post: Charger and Durango look similar not just because they were designed with the intention of looking similar, but also because they were updated with the goal of remaining similar, and were made even more so by the use of similar solutions to modernize their looks.

You'll notice that this was just an update of lights, bumpers and grilles - and indeed, these are what's known as "facelifts": where a new generation is usually redesigned from the ground up or retains little more than the core structure, facelifts are instead intragenerational updates that stay clear of radical changes (at most, things like hood and fenders can get updated if new headlight shapes require it).

But as we covered, those are the parts that matter - so while something as little as a facelift can be absolutely impossible to notice...

(seriously, two of my neighbors have these and it took me weeks of seeing them side by side to notice differences)

...it can also be effective enough to carry a model into a new decade...

...ore even powerful enough to completely salvage a car's design, and by extension its fortunes.

However, of course, it can wield the opposite power just as well.

Christ. Welp, no mistaking that for not a BMW now, is there. But to be clear, while BMW's styling has completely gone down the gutter lately, don't get the impression that any brand at any time is beyond a miss in this regard.

So, to close, while there is merit to the claim that cars today seem all the same, as we've discussed that's only true -and for good reasons- when looking at them from a distance. But when a landscape seems depressingly monotonous, you just have to look closer. And so, getting closer, analyzing the traits that weren't dictated by their nature, the decisions that weren't made for them by external factors, looking at what of them was shaped by agency and not necessity, they will all reveal themselves to all be different and to all have a personality of their own (bland as it may be). And that personality will change over time: changes are normal within a life, and actually good - they're a sign that life has been long enough to outlive the trends and ideas that shaped it, and that it's open to the new ones that have blossomed since. Trying too hard to fit in or stand out or seeking change for its own sake without a clear direction can ruin something good, sure, but change can also be very positive: it can allow keeping up with the times, or even a transformation for the better that lets go of what didn't work and accentuates what was good - and often, when it's done right, the world rewards it. And none of this requires a distancing from heritage or family, or even identity. In fact, as seen with our two cars, change can make a family bond even tighter.

This year will bring lots of change. Here's hoping we all manage to make it change for the better.

So yeah, hopefully that answers your question, anonymous asker who may well have fucked off to Hollywood in the over month and a half it took me to get to this (whoopsie)! Immense thanks to @ldub0775 for the effort and thought he joined me in pouring into this post, and to all followers reading this for sticking around into 2024 to witness that effort's fruits. Trust me, you will really like what's coming.

Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question: if you liked this post, you might like those - or the blog’s Discord server, linked in the pinned post!

#design language #car design #dodge charger #dodge durango #dodge challenger #audi #mercedes #bmw #volvo #kia #the great catchup

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itsflorasdiary · 4 months

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and she is all done !!

i actually finished this on the 28th…but i forgot to take photos…

also, happy new year everyone:]]

instagram

info and stuff !!

100% cotton yarn in red, natural/stone, and pink

no pattern followed/based off measurements and a dream

used a tutorial for the heart granny sqaure (link)

#crochet #crochet skirt #heart skirt #crochet heart skirt #fiber crafts #fiber arts #crochet clothes #yarn #heart #so so so fucking happy with this skirt omg #i wore it to a catchup with a friend !!#its a really good summer skirt to be honest 😭 though i wish i could make some minor changes to the measurements. but the belt works great !!#happy gal

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elis-corner · 7 months

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Xisuma being the angel in Cleo's game is perfect fuel for all the Watcher!Xisuma headcanon-ers.

#i expect a ton of fanart when i go looking lol #x <3 #xisuma #hc <3 #hermitcraft #the great hc catchup

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thefakerachelray · 7 months

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“I never thought Monarch would akumatize my daughter” says woman who voted for the Monarch Akumatizing People party

#she voted for that party without knowing it though so I’ll give her a pass #and seeing her go off on Gabriel was great #miraculous ladybug #ml season 5 catchup

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simplydm · 10 months

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xB the type of guy to say “woot” out loud

#sad that I’m so behind but thrilled bc the lore is great #hc9 catchup

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dieschwartzman · 2 years

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another year of wondering if the bread lion will ever be dethroned

#gbbo #great british bake off #i was originally going to watch this week on catchup because i had a trampolining taster but my legs have seized up so i cancelled

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onhoude · 1 year

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I like this game already. Peak uni energy.

#*untagged onhoude #so yea i booted up honkai star rail #you bet im collecting the researchers' notes to each other #theyre so whimsical #I also really appreciate turn-based combat because I'm really not good at fast reactions so as few of them as possible is great for me #the game's also fun for language practice! and well I fell so far behind with genshin id just be playing catchup #himeko is so cute #also kafka my heart could you do that again

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knightlyss · 1 year

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how do sam’s adds keep getting more insane sir what

#critical role #critrole lb #hello i'm gambling with my sleep and playing catchup #wt is this add lmao #skdfjsl kyle is not having it #great tour tho

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ars0nism · 2 years

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did i leave before finishing stormblood. did i. none of you know about the zenos brainrot ive had since i left. none of you understand how much i have talked about him. i spared you so much

#migth do a fun little catchup (bingeposting about this cringe loser)#since i left. i beat endwalker right. im caught up #so here goes!#yes i want to fuck lahabrea now. yall know how much i love old men they made him hot and it is upsetting #surprisingly enough my favorite character in the end is nero! zenos is the hyperfixation (which extends into the rest of his shit family)#but nero is the favorite child. i want to punch him hes great #i did rant about the end of endwalker. both emet selch & zenos were treated wrong i SWEAR TO FUCKOINGds #anyway #i still love the game btw #switched to white mage! funnily enough #healer main moment #i didnt like how friendly we were with emet selch at ultima thule there i said it that man literally founded the fascist empire ??#concerning. anyway #i was also pissed off about murdering zenos bc they just. they brought him back just to kill him again. what was the point #not to mention the fact that he literally helps you and you just. kill him and leave him there.#hes straight up the closest thing you have to a rival and the game treats his death with the same weight as any common enemy #6.2 before barbarricia made it WORSE but after?? that convo with zero. man #i miss him.#ars0nism's ffxiv adventures #btw #i have over 500 hours in the game now <3 #i have been levelling alt jobs. have sage whm & rpr at 90 #drk is getting there. slowly. its 68 rn #i cant play rn because im at my dads it is so upsetting #i also have over 140k words of fanfic and like 30 or more pieces of art on my laptop ignoring the school sketches #most of these are ocs (myron in particular shows up several times)#but also zenos is in like. a third of them. i like drawing his hair its therapeutic #i love this game dude. i love it so much. even when it enrages me with certain plot decisions #gaius's arc wouldve been near perfect with just a few small changes i just know it. like i know you cant focus on one character too much #when you have THIS MANY characters (unless ur me writing detailed backstories for all my ocs because i am insane)

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bearhugsandshrugs · 6 months

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Soft fluffy Dammon dating drabble? Maybe postgame in Baldur's Gate? - @aurasyn

Yesssss I love me some Dammon. I'm even writing Dammon x Reader for you. Because it's you.

You're standing outside Bloomridge Park, just at the entrance. Wearing your favorite dress, you pinned up your hair in a messy bun – cute, but not too much. After all, you weren't really sure if this was a date, or all in your head.

Dammon had asked you if you wanted to meet him for a stroll through the park two days ago when you visited him in his shop to check on him. He'd looked good, as most of his worries seemed to have fallen off his face after you'd destroyed the Netherbrain. That night you hardly slept, tossing and turning in your bed trying to shut out the questions that were keeping you awake: Had he really asked you out or was that a catchup between friends? But then again, why had he eyed you with such intensity the moment he'd spotted you? Why had his voice cracked when he had asked you if you had time? Had it really? Were you just imagining things?

Well. You'll find out soon enough.

It doesn't take long for Dammon to stroll around the corner of the street, and you almost do a double take as you realize he looks different: He's wearing a dark gray shirt, several of the buttons undone, and you see the ridges across his chest peek out underneath. The pants he's wearing are of a thinner fabric than his usual smith gear, and your heart skips a beat as you wonder what his ass looks like in them. Then, you see it: He's holding a small present in his left hand.

"It's good to see you", his voice pours into your ears and down to your heart, that damned smooth sound you've come to crave. "You too", you tell him, and there's a moment of awkward tension as you realize you've never seen him outside the smithie. Are you supposed to hug? Shake hands?

Dammon breaks the tension by pulling you in with his hand around your waist, planting a soft kiss on your cheek. When he looks at you again, he breaks into a confident but gentle smile. Oh. Yes. This is a date, alright.

"You look great", he continues as he offers you his arm to hook yours into as you walk through the park. "But then again, you always do." This time you chuckle. "I've only ever walked into your shop dressed in armor, sweat, and occasionally blood", you protest. "Well, maybe except for Thursday." He hums as you stroll through the shade of the big, blooming trees. Miraculously, Bloomridge Park did not suffer much destruction during the Netherbrain's attack, making it an even sweeter oasis in the otherwise wounded city. "You're forgetting that I not only see you walk in, I also get to watch you walk out."

The way his tone lowers at the end of his sentence sends a shiver down your spine, and you swallow several times before you even know what to say. From the corner of your eyes you see he's watching you, and oh, fuck, he can definitely tell you're blushing. But when you meet his gaze there is only sincerity.

"By the way", he switches the subject, and you half wish he wouldn't, now that you hadn't even replied. "I got you something." He hands you the little present, a small box unceremoniously decorated with a small bow. "That... you didn't need to", you object, but he shakes his head. "I know. But I wanted to."

When you open it you find an intricate silver key.

"I made it myself", Dammon explains. You take it out to inspect it more closely, and it is of excellent craftsmanship: small flowers, autumn crocuses, adorn the key. A small memory comes rushing in as you recall that you were holding an entire basket full of the flowers when you first met Dammon in the Emerald Grove. The fact that he remembers... your stomach twists.

"It's beautiful", you tell him truthfully. "But what is it for?" You've come to pause on a grassy spot, as secluded as anything can be in the park, and being here with him, alone, sends your heart into a stutter. The tiefling gives you a soft smile before taking your hands.

"I like you", he says, and you feel like you're falling right into those deep blue eyes. "This key... it's for my heart. It's yours. If you want it." Your mouth falls open as you try to comprehend: he.... likes you. He... wants you. "Yes." It's all you can bring out, and it's more than enough, as he brings his mouth to yours and kisses you. His lips are warm on yours, tenderly teasing you, as he sucks on your lower lip. When you break apart, you find yourself grinning wider than the whole sky.

Chuckling, Dammon lets out a small sigh of relief. "Good", he says, "that's good. Otherwise that reservation I made for dinner would have been a lonely feast."

#dammon #my writing #dammon x reader #fluff #drabbles #thank you for this aura #he's so cute and i will not accept anything else

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whimsical-roasting · 10 months

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You reblogged that Sam gifs post and it reminded me of that headcanon i have of being Sam’s friend but you’re feisty and take no one’s shit. Like he’s always takes the high road and you’re like when they go low i go lowER. I would fight that Akufo dude for him no questions asked.

hi wifey <3 you are absolutely right!! i fucking love that idea of Sam having a bestie who'd throw hands for him.. it's on sight all the time.

special thanks to @sokkigarden for bouncing ideas off me, love you bby. okay, i wanna write about being friends w the AFC Richmond boys more, so if yall have ANY thoughts on being friends with ANY of the lads then send me requests on it so we can DISCUSS

OKAY BUT BEING BESTIES WITH SAM OBISANYA

he's such a wholesome and loyal friend... a breath of fresh air yknow?? Dani is more of that 'unconditional sunshine' energy, but Sam is positive whilst still keeping it real w you

and sooo you're hella loyal to him too. well, you're loyal to everyone you care about. you'd take a bullet for them, no questions asked, but probs a lot of cussing involved (same, but i'll come back to this)

sharing an airpod each if yall go out on a walk or join the team on a bus ride - if you're dating jamie then he NEEDS you next to him on the ride back, probs uses your shoulder to sleep on and has an arm around your waist so you can't leave, but that's a diff post ahahaha

having a shared spotify playlist that you both keep adding music too...the vibes are all over the place. "Y/N, I was trying to jam out to J.Cole, and then Adele came on??" "Oh yea, I was sad bout something earlier"

blanket forts and microwaveable caramel popcorn for when he's missing home

playing as him in FIFA when you're with the lads and yellin "YEA THATS MY BESTIE" every time you score as him

pinching his earlobes like his dad would for good luck on the days of a big match/when he's really nervous

since opening OLA'S, you join him when he attends small business owner conventions, but that's mainly to try the free food

since i'm vegetarian, telling him that his menu looks great but you can only stick to sumn like the jollof rice.. so next month when he invites you over to his restaurant for a catchup dinner there's a whole new lil section for vegetarian dishes on the menu (or whatever dietary inclusivr thingy etc.)

warning Sam about Afuko because "a man simply doesn't feed you pasta and lobster and send you a stack without something in mind" and him being like ??? what and you groan, "did you watch the tiktoks I sent you??"

hearing about how the Afuko rejection went and Sam only focusses on "he called me medium talent??" and you're SEETHING

you're like "what the living F U C K" and he's like "oh hey Y/N, don't worry, I know I am not medium talent" and you're like "what? no, shut up, obviously not, but that's not the POINT here. how did that ASSHOLE have the audacity to speak to you like that?!!"

you're searching up flights to Nigeria and opening a google map from the airport to Afuko's business residence or something, and Sam is like, "seriously, forget that guy. bullet dodged." and you're angrily muttering about how Afuko's gonna have to dodge the bazooka you're gonna smuggle onto the plane

"We cannot be best friends if you end up in jail because you tried to smuggle a bazooka onto the plane." "I just wanna talk to him...with a bazooka." "No." "Pleas-" "No."

telling Sam you might be getting feelings for Jamie and being nervous he'd be mad because of their relationship in S1, but you promise he's changed, and Sam is like, I know

wearing the Obisanya jersey and the rest of the boys are like 'hey why don't you ever support our merch' so like every match you're switching out jerseys before texting a pic to the groupchat

running into that Francis guy who's Afuko's right-hand man and "accidentally" stepping on his foot real hard like OOPS

giving him updates on your love life and vice versa. "Y/N, please tell me this one is not a loser." "Um, Sam, shut up; you know my rizz only seems to work on losers??" "hey, Jamie told me that telling a woman my favourite movie is Ratatouille is a bad idea... is it?" "just bake her a lasagna or something and say that's how you learnt to cook." "I am not doing that." "dammit, I thought we'd get lasagna for dinner"

doing random tiktok trends or challenges - the baking one where one person is blind, one is deaf, and one is mute, but they all gotta work together to bake a cake!! sam (tape around his mouth) x you (blindfolded) x jamie (loud ass headphones on)

jamie: pass the FOOKIN sugah!! *back turned to yall as he stirs the mix*

you: WHAT. WHERE. *randomly smacking shit, picking up the salt and dropping it on the counter and onto a spoon*

sam: mmmhnph! *waving his hands in your face like NO but you can't see*

you: *turning to jamie with a spoonful, which he probs tastes absentmindedly whilst stirring* OI TASTE THIS

jamie: FOOKS SAKE

#sam obisanya #besties with sam obisanya #sam obisanya x reader #ted lasso #ted lasso x reader #jamie tartt x reader #afc richmond

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things-about-cars-in-posts · 4 months

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might be a bit of a boring question but how do you feel about the Mazda b series? and if you have nothing to say about that one then I'd love to hear your thoughts on the tacoma

So thoughtful of you to give me a backup question, but worry not! If I've got nothing to say about a car, I will find it, goddamnit, if it'll take me two months! Which it very nearly did. Sorry. Anyhow! In reverse order of generations:

1. 5th

it would take state-backed effort to get me to care for -hell, care about- this last one, which did not excel in looks nor performance nor, from what I can tell, reliability nor comfort. It feels like it would be a very complex thought experiment to come up with the buyer this would be the best choice for, even in its time. (However, while the enthusiasts' metric of evaluation is competition, the owners' metric is their own expectations, so it is certain and valid and good that millions of owners were chuffed about their purchase and I love that for them and do not whatsoever seek to rain on their parade.)

2. 4th

Neat! Even beyond the spectacular decals, I just love Japanese pickups of this era (the ones yankees call "small pickups" and we call "pickups" because we don't have those useless fuck-off-gargantuan shit yankees love to pretend has any use). So much so that I want two of them. Neither are this (they're the Toyota Hilux and the Nissan D21), but objectively they're all about the same and my preferences are purely based on aesthetic minutiae.

3. 3rd

First I see of it! The front is kind of unfortunate, but it reminds me of the Yugo so it's on my good side. The rear taillights also have a kind of Soviet quality to them, I'm sure there's some -az car with rear lights just like those.

4. 2nd

HELL FUCKING YEAH *checks pronouns* SISTER! I love this thing. Especially the REPU, where PU stands for Pick Up and RE stands for...

Yep :D, this was the time when Mazda was shoving rotaries left and right into applications they were comically unsuited for absolutely no discernible reason, and we're all glad that they did, because Lord knows no one else had the lack of sense to do it.

Yes the ROTARY POWER* on the back of it is factory! *BITCHES

5. 1st

Yeah, this is at the edge of car period that excites me. Not that I think it looks bad or is bad or anything, it just starts to feel too... historic for me to connect to? I guess a Mazda pickup from the early '60s is just not for me.

It seems I guessed wrong.

This Ghibli-esque little thing is the 1959 Mazda K360, being a kei truck with the then maximum of 360cc of engine. It was a popular taxi (taxi!) in Myanmar...

...where it kept being produced until the early '70s, when it got replaced by the other other truck Mazda was making by the early '60s, the B360.

Wow I really was wrong there huh.

These were probably a sort of "Eastern Europe getting Fiat's scraps" kind of deal, since while these were manufactured in Myanmar from '72 to the mid-90s (mid-90s!), by 1972 Japan had already long been getting the B360's replacement i.e. the Mazda Porter, which OOOO0000°°°°°ººººº⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰ my GOOOOOODDDD

OMGOMGOMG THIS IS THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD

I don't even want to own one of these, I want to cuddle it. I want to protect it.

OMG THIS ONE HAS TINY LITTLE HAYASHIS WITH TINY LITTLE LETTERING ON ITS TINY LITTLE TIRES

*faints* *a feeble, wiggly speech bubble appears from below the table* Tacoma's good btw. Best of segment by miles.

Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question: if you liked this post, you might like those - or the blog’s Discord server, linked in the pinned post!

#mazda b series #mazda k360 #mazda b360 #mazda porter #the great catchup

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stvharrngton · 5 months

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a lesson in romantics; lesson seven

summary: a multi-part series where reader is the new art teacher at hawkins high and the history teacher, mr. harrington, takes a shine to the new girl. mutual pining ensues on their road to love 🥀

a/n: we are finally back!! i’m so sorry i took me so long to get this going again after kinktober but i promise to regularly update now 🥺

characters: steve harrington x fem!reader, robin buckley, mentions of the readers family/ex

word count: 1.7k

warnings: angst, cursing

taglist: @inkluvs @dukesmebby @sweetbabygirlsworld @kennedy-brooke @gvf23 @nix-rose

series taglist: @pbs-theundeadmaggot @alana4610 @onceuponaoneshot

SERIES MASTERLIST

HAWKINS, DECEMBER 1992

Steve had it all planned out. The perfect date that you hadn’t even said yes to yet, that he hadn’t even asked you on yet. But he was prepared, nonetheless.

He’d been sitting on the plan throughout the winter break. You revealed to him that you planned to go home for the holidays, to see your family and spend the break with them. His brain started working overtime from the first day, what he could possibly say to you, in what way he could ask you.

He called your Mom’s house to wish you well on Christmas, your voice ringing through the receiver making Steve all warm inside. He felt like a teenager again, like a boy with his first crush on the pretty girl. He was unable to get your voice out of his head for the rest of the break.

New Year’s Eve soon rolled around and you were back in town. Steve had arranged to meet you for coffee, a quick catchup prior to the big New Years Party at Steve’s place later on. You had originally planned to meet at your favourite bakery across town, until you called that morning and asked Steve just to meet at your apartment.

Steve knocked at your door, his heart thumping against your chest. He wondered if he would always feel this nervous when it came to you, or if it was just the unsaid question that lingered on his tongue. He clutched a gift bag in his hand, patiently waiting for you to answer.

The door swung open and there you were. You looked cosy and comforting, a little bit like home. You welcomed Steve inside with a side hug, squeezing at his side. He handed you over the gift, insisting it was only a little something from Robin and himself for Christmas.

Steve could tell something was off, that you were different somehow. Your eyes didn’t light up the same as they did before, your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes. It did worry him a little, made him wonder if he’d done something, or if something had happened back home.

You sat over your steaming mugs, the coffee warming your hands from the bitter cold outside. “How have the holidays been? How was home?” It was a simple question, Steve thought. Desperately hoping you would open up to him.

“Home was okay,” you replied quietly with a shrug, “I told my Mom about you, she said she’d love to meet you.” Thinking about it brought a small smile to your face, and an even bigger one to Steve’s.

“Your Mom has great taste.” Steve replied with a smirk, bringing the mug to his lips, his eyebrows wiggling over the rim.

“Saw my ex,” the smile immediately disappeared when you uttered the words. A look of uncertainty replaced it instead.

“Oh,” it was said with a nod, a hint of caution around his voice, “how did that go?”

Steve didn’t know all of the details, you never talked about your ex much but what Steve did know about them, he didn’t like it. You had expressed that the breakup was messy, hinted that your ex didn’t treat you right, that you moved to Hawkins to get away from them.

“Weird?” It was the only way you could describe it, you were fighting with your heart and your brain, “He apologised for everything that happened, practically begged me to forgive him and take him back.”

You couldn’t look Steve in the eye, your gaze trained on the steaming mug of coffee in your hands. You liked to think it came from a place of care, though you suspected there was a hint of jealousy but Steve’s demeanour changed every time you mentioned your ex boyfriend.

“And?”

“I don’t know,” you said quietly with a shrug, “he seemed genuine, like he really meant it. And things ended so messy, there was just never any closure for any unresolved feelings, I guess.”

Your voice was uncertain, almost like you were hiding something and Steve could tell. It was like there was something you weren’t telling him, something you couldn’t bare to say.

“Right.”

Steve’s tone was sharp and so unlike Steve. He was never this way with you, never harsh, never snappy. It made you blink twice, your eyes narrowing at the man sitting across from you.

“What?” was all you asked, straightening your back as you eyed him.

“Nothing!” Steve held his hands up in his defence, trying to downplay his attitude, “I just don’t think it’s such a good idea to forgive so easily, maybe he’s not good for you.”

Steve’s heart sank to his stomach the moment the words left his mouth. But he was speaking from a good place and God, he wished you would listen to him.

On the other hand, Steve’s words stung. A prickly, cold sting in your stomach that hurt in a way you never thought they could. You knew his words were probably true, that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to go back to your ex but your head was a mess and you couldn’t think straight.

“What, and you are?” Your tone was accusatory, your voice dripping with a venom you never thought you could use on Steve. You regretted the words as soon as they left your mouth but it all got a little much, your head spinning with conflicting thoughts.

“What?! No, that’s— that’s not what I meant,” Steve stammered, lost for words at your question. His cheeks began to heat up, his palms growing clammy. Sure, Steve had feelings for you but fuck, you didn’t need to find out and you certainly weren’t supposed to find out like this.

“I just meant, you moved to a whole new state! New job, new home to get away from this guy, y’know?” Steve desperately tried to reason with you but it seemed the more he spoke, the more upset you looked. “I’d hate for him to do that to you all over again.”

Steve was sincere and you knew he was. You knew he was speaking from his heart and that you should listen but damn, were you stubborn and not prepared to hear this right now. You didn’t know what to think, you didn’t know what to feel. Your heart was saying one thing and your head another. And you really, really wished your head would win this battle.

Your anger soon subsided, it turned into a dull ache and a bitter sadness at the pit of your stomach. You needed time, you needed space. “I think—, I don’t know, I think I need to be alone for a little while.” You spoke quietly now, your eyes meeting Steve’s for only a second. His warm brown orbs not sparkling with the fondness they usually held for you behind his glasses.

Steve could only nod silently, his eyes not quite meeting your gaze as he stood from the kitchen table, coffee only half drunk. He took a breath in, fingers scratching at his neck as he spoke, “It’s okay, I get it,” he paused, jacket in hand, “and I’m sorry, y’know? For prying, I guess but I hope you figure it all out.”

So Steve picked up his broken heart and left your apartment, shutting the door closed behind him. The drive back to his house was silent, no radio, the only sound was the hum of the engine and the cool wind outside.

The feeling as he shut the door behind him was painful, the thumping sound of the early 90s blasted from the stereo in Steve’s living room, Robin in the kitchen with a wide, excited smile on her face when she saw her best friend walk into the room.

“Used my spare key, hope you don’t mind,” she started, urging him to take a seat. It was uncommon that Robin would show up at Steve’s place unannounced and not to say that Steve wasn’t expecting Robin but he certainly wasn’t expecting her this early, “so, how’d it go? Did she say yes?”

Steve could only groan in response. Your disaster of a conversation, what was supposed to be Steve asking you out on a date, replayed in his mind. “Don’t even go there,” he sighed, setting his head in his hands as his elbows rested on the table, “it was a fucking car crash Robin.”

Robin can’t say she was shocked at Steve’s ability to put his foot in it from time to time, to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, “What happened?”

“I can’t, fuck—,” Steve’s fingers raked through his hair before pushing his glasses up his face, finger and thumb pinching at the bridge of his nose, “long story short, her ex might be back in the picture? I said something that I probably shouldn’t have but I was just trying to look out for her, Robs, really, I was.” He sighed now, thinking back over his words. Steve didn’t regret what he said, more regretting the timing of them. “Then she said she wanted to be alone so I don’t think she’s gonna show at the party tonight either.”

“Oh, Steve,” was all the younger girl could say. She knew Steve liked you, really liked you, even if he denied it as such. “I’m sorry, that sucks big time.”

“Yeah, thanks, Robin.” The older of the two rolled his eyes with a groan, his tough exterior softening once he felt Robin’s hand on his shoulder, her fingers squeezing gently over the material of his sweater.

For once, Robin was at a loss for words. Unsure what to say to make Steve feel better, if it was even possible for him to feel better. “Maybe give her a little time? Everything’s happened so fast a bit of space might be good.”

Steve had no choice but to listen to Robin because deep down he knew she was right. Badgering you and pushing you wouldn’t make it better, wouldn’t make you change your mind. Even though all Steve wanted to do was talk to you, to hear your voice, hear your laugh. To see your smile and your pretty eyes but it wasn’t meant to be.

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