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#i wanted to make something really nice for guanyu because he is one of my top 5 drivers and he deserves good things
mountinez · 10 months
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"Mr. Zhou is outstanding!" - says The Hollywood Reporter In a world where machines control reality, the future of humankind is in the hands of the Mantis (Zhou). Who needs to run against the clock to free as many minds as he can before it's too late.
@f1blrcreatorsfest week 2: textures + 90s retro [VHS/movies];
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the-offside-rule · 5 days
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Zhou Guanyu (Stake Sauber) - Oblivious
Requested: NO BUT WE NEED MORE ZHOU CONTENT
Warnings: y/n being a complete idiot
GIF from @jamesvowles
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Zhou Guanyu adjusted his sunglasses as he stepped into the cozy little coffee shop nestled in the corner of their favorite street. The familiar aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods wafted through the air, making him smile. He glanced around, quickly spotting Y/n at their usual corner table, engrossed in a book. "Hey, Y/n." He called out, walking over and taking a seat across from her. Y/n looked up, her face breaking into a bright smile. "Zhou! You're right on time."
"Wouldn't miss it." He replied, returning her smile. He waved at the barista, signaling their usual orders. "So, what's the book today?" He asked. "It's a mystery novel." She said, closing the book and setting it aside. "You know me, always trying to solve things before the characters do." He smiled. "Yeah, you always were the clever one," he said, leaning forward slightly. "So, any plans for the weekend?"
"Not really. Just the usual, maybe a movie marathon. What about you?" Y/n shrugged. "Actually, I was thinking-" Zhou began, choosing his words carefully, as Y/n looked up from her book in curiosity. "It would be nice to do something together. Maybe go for a walk in the park, or catch that new movie you've been talking about." Y/n set her book aside, beaming. "That sounds fun! I always enjoy hanging out with you." Zhou felt a flicker of disappointment at her casual tone but pressed on. "You know, Y/n, there's something special about spending time with you. It's like… you make everything better."
"Aww, thanks, Zhou. You're such a good friend." She said, patting his hand across the table. Zhou chuckled softly, trying to keep his frustration in check. "Of course, I am a good friend." He repeated. "But sometimes, I wish you could see me as more than that." Y/n tilted her head, a puzzled look crossing her face. "More than a friend? Like a best friend?" Zhou took a deep breath, deciding to be more direct. "Y/n, what if I told you that I like you? Like, really like you." Y/n blinked, clearly taken aback. "Wait, what?"
"I like you, Y/n." Zhou said, his voice steady but gentle. "More than just as a friend." For a moment, Y/n sat in stunned silence, processing his words. "You… like me? As in… you have feelings for me?" Zhou nodded, watching her intently. "Yes, exactly. I've been trying to drop hints, but I guess I wasn't clear enough." Y/n's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my gosh, Zhou, I had no idea! I thought you were just being your usual sweet self."
Zhou smiled, relieved to finally have everything out in the open. "I was being my sweet self because I care about you a lot. And I wanted to see if maybe you felt the same way." Y/n's expression softened, and she reached across the table to take his hand. "Guanyu, I… I'm surprised, but in a good way. I never realized… but now that I think about it, maybe I've been feeling the same way too." Zhou's heart soared at her words. "Really?"
Y/n nodded, a shy smile spreading across her face. "Yeah, really. I guess I just needed a little nudge to see it." Zhou laughed, his relief turning into joy. "Well, I'm glad I finally said something. So, what do you say we organise a date?" Y/n squeezed his hand, her eyes twinkling. "I'd like that, Guanyu. I'd like that a lot."
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prienova · 2 years
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I showed my friend, who knows almost nothing about f1 and has absolutely no filter, photos of each driver on the 2022 grid and made her name and give me her first impressions on them and 😭. She just said whatever came into her head at the time, none of this was really thought over :). Everything is under the cut since this is such a long post!
Max Verstappen: William Osbourne
italian or spanish vibes
slightly dark and broody vibes
takes racing very seriously
“He is either super nice or an absolute asshole, or maybe he’s both who knows.”
Sergio Perez: Kristopher
A little lost but everyone loves it
100% has compilations on youtube that are like “kristopher being kristopher for 8 minutes and 23 seconds”
Has spent so long in f1 that everyone is telling him to quit
Very enthusiastic and his fans are very loyal
Charles Leclerc: Alexio 
“Damn he’s fine as hell!”
Hot, sexy, and hardworking
Has so many smutty fanfics written about him but he doesn’t know that they exist
Famous for his dimples and general smolder
Carlos Sainz: Akaash
“Oh my god, is he indian? YES DESI REP!” (She was so exited, I felt bad telling her he is spanish)
Could act in a movie as a fuckboy
Nice enough but might break your heart
Hard to approach but well liked by others
Lewis Hamilton: Joseph (but goes by Joe)
“Why are these guys so hot?”
Very wholesome and doing his best
“He looks like a good driver, I’d let him grip my steering wheel” ;)
Probably posts thirst traps after workouts
George Russell: George (she got one!)
Smiles and laughs but is secretly sad inside
“Is he gay? He feels gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I am too and my senses are tingling.”
Solid driver
After seeing him in his williams era: “Awww, look at his hair, what a gem :)”
Fernando Alonso: Alec La Chance
Old man, people are begging him to retire but he stays out of spite
Has a questionable hairstyle
Can come off as rude and scary but he is just blunt
Has probably hazed the new drivers each year
Esteban Ocon: David
Sweet guy, seems very bubbly and fun to be around, has a cute face
Would hype you up if you were feeling down
“He's that one cousin who you see at family gatherings every 4 years that you get along with super well but never talk to outside of those gatherings as neither of you can seem to make the effort to reach out.” (yes, this is her exact wording 😭)
“Is his hair wet or is that just an unholy amout of hair gel?”
Daniel Ricciardo: Arnesto
Very popular among the guys and gals ;)
Very chill and well liked
“He’s so smiley, I love his teeth!”
Looks like he belongs in FIFA
Lando Norris: Theodore
“How old is this guy? I thought you said they had to be 18 to drive or something.”
Has an “I’m not like other boys” mentality
Probably reads those romance webnovels that all have the exact same plot and cries when he finishes them because he wants to be loved
Says “pog” and “sus” unironically
Valterri Bottas: Scott
“He’s giving me australian vibes.”
Has a nice smile, seems chill and relaxed, very reliable
Not a fan of publicity but deals with it only because he has to
Comes off as tough and intense but is actually a total sweetheart, gives off major dad energy
Zhou Guanyu: Andrew
“Ooooh, I like him. He would bump into me on the way to work, spill my drink, and buy me coffee as an apology.”
A solid dude and a good friend
Seems like a good sport
She spent almost ten minutes drooling over his modeling pictures 💀
Kevin Magnussen: Gordon Ramsay
Has strong father vibes but is unhinged
Head empty, only cars
Has questionable morals but everyone loves him
Stoner energy
“He looks like if someone tried to copy Gordon Ramsay but changed it up a bit so it wasn’t obvious.”
Mick Schumacher: Brad
Very charismatic
“What happened to his hair? Why would he cut it like that?” (I showed her before and after photos of that one haircut)
Very sweet but is also a menace to society
Looks like he would enjoy cherry flavored cough medicine
Pierre Gasly: Chadwick
Very cool and suave, flirts a lot, secretly sad inside
Throws parties often
Would have went into finance if f1 didn’t work out
Has a small but devoted fanbase, extremely underrated driver
“I can’t tell if I would trust him or not.”
Yuki Tsunoda: Benjamin
Very nice, another solid guy
“He has the same hair my brother did when he was 12.”
Can drive an f1 car well but gets too nervous to drive on regular streets because he doesn’t trust himself to not start speeding
“He’s cute, I’d date him.”
Sebastian Vettel: Gandalf
Very nice and wise, pleasant to talk to
Wins a lot, has many fans that thirst over him and his scruffy hair
Could have been a footballer but chose to go into f1 instead
“He has fun uncle energy, I want to smoke a joint with him.”
Lance Stroll: Jacob from Twilight
“THIS GUY’S HAIRCUT IS EVEN WORSE THAN BRAD’S!”
When he got rid of his old hair, his passion for the sport left with it
Sometimes gets intimidated by some of the intense racers
“Someone please tell him to grow his hair back out, it looked so good.”
Alex Albon: Jughead from Archie
Has a good portion of haters for no reason
A bit awkward but very sweet
Pulls off the red hair VERY well
“I want to be his bottle of hairdye.”
Nicholas Latifi: Santander
Is either the best driver currently or very bad
Looks very intuitive and thoughtful
Seems handy and domestically skilled
“I like his hands, do you think he moisturizes?”
I honestly can’t tell which one is my favorite 😭
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Ranking all the Driver logos of the 2023 F1 grid
My ranking of the logo designs of the grid, doing main drivers only. Ranked based on the graphic design quality. A good logo is simple and recognizable.
Not bringing any driver biases into this, if your logo sucks you're on the bottom.
Starting at number 20 and counting up to 1! Let's go!
20. Kevin Magnussen It's hard to find his official logo, but this seems to come up the most. While initials with driver number is a good idea, the font kills it. Having a brush-like font makes it too complex and messy. It doesn't look bad but it's not logo material
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19. Esteban Ocon
I'll be honest I don't even know what's going on in the middle there. But this is more of a simplified signature, that isn't what you want in a logo. If the E and O were bolder with that swoop we might be on to something, but instead we have this mess.
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18. Zhou Guanyu
This logo is at least clear, however it is still burdened by being a little too complex. Plus it reminds me of Monster Energy font which isn't helping. The split in the Z is lost when viewed at a distance. This could be good with a little more polishing but for now it's trying to do too much.
This is an example of having elements that don't add anything, this would be the same or even improved without the border lines.
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17. Lewis Hamilton
Getting controversial here. While this is a nice logo, and there is thought put behind it. This could be anything. There is nothing specific to the driver here. It's too abstract. Now as a 7-time world champion he can make this logo synonymous with himself. But this logo feels impersonal. This could be a car or computer logo for all I can tell.
Additionally the excess of lines in the detailing makes it unnecessarily complex.
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16. Fernando Alonso
This logo suffers from a lot of the same problems as Esteban's. It's better because that bold arrow is distinctive and makes it stand out. But it's over doing it with the excess of squiggles. I think if it were just the A with the arrow making the line through this would be a top 10 design, but it tries to do too much.
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15. Nico Hulkenberg
For some reason it's really hard to find what this man's logo even is. Some sources have it as just his name in block letters. Regardless just the driver number is lazy. It's fine, however it really has no thought put into it.
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14. Carlos Sainz
Another number logo. This one beat out Hulkenberg just a bit because there is more stylization put into the numbers. The sleek design looks like a track. So for a number logo this one is the best, but it is still just a number logo.
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13. Logan Sargeant
It was really hard to find a high quality image of this one. I don't dislike it. The logo is clean. I like the way the letters run into each other, but it feels a little lazy for an initials logo. The font is also something that I could probably find on any PC so it lacks that customization Furthermore it is without an element of personalization. This is basically doing the bare minimum for an initials logo.
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12. Yuki Tsunoda
This one is similar to Dani's. It has bold blocking which makes for a good clean logo. It's inspired by a Japanese symbol for luck. Simple, clean lines, recognizable at a distance, this is a pretty good one.
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11. Daniel Riccardo
Don't get me wrong I do like this one. It's unique and definitely stands out from the rest. However it suffers from a little too much abstraction. Yes if you look closely you can make out a D and an R, but it isn't clear. So good logo, but went a bit too far in some areas.
I feel like some people might disagree with me here, but just because it looks cool doesn't mean it's necessarily a good logo.
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TOP 10!
Beyond here I think all of these are great logos, it's just a matter of nitpicking.
10. Valtteri Bottas
This one is just sleek. The single line ending in that nice curve is so good. The V blending into the lowercase B is so smooth. A lot going on in such a simple design. It's on the more abstract end for initials but it's not pushing it too far. The looping effect it has for directing the eye is really effective.
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9. Lance Stroll
This is really good for a clean initial logo. Simple, bold with a little bit of stylization. It's doing a lot more than Logan's(same initials) The only thing that bothers me about it is the gap, I like it, but it seems a little off in my opinion. But over all this is a good example of a nice initial logo.
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8. Oscar Piastri
Another one I had a really hard time getting a quality image for. This is another good example of an initials logo with a personal touch. Love the simple lettering and the dashes connecting the two letters. This has way more custom touches which is why it stands out compared to Logan's.
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7. Alex Albon
Now this is just satisfying to look at. Double initials really work here. It's about what I'd expect from a double A situation, nothing super innovative, but they made something really nice with it. The use of blank space between the letters also creates a nice through line for the eye.
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6. Sergio Perez
This one is a little complex but it makes up for that fact because it does something that a lot of logos struggle with. It incorporates the driver's number(there are better examples higher on the list).
I am happy that someone saw the potential to sneak the driver number into the initials, that's easy to do with number 11 and it's pretty effective here.
If the 1's weren't hollow this would be even higher, remove the serifs and fill in the 1s and this is top 2 easy, but for now it's number 6.
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5. Max Verstappen
This is a really clever combo of Max's initials. M and V sharing similar design elements really lends itself nicely to this concept. The logo takes advantage of that perfectly creating something simple and recognizable.
The symmetry is also very satisfying in this one. It's a really good example of how lettering can be combined with geometric shapes to great results.
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4. Pierre Gasly
This is just a great design. The simple letters that are connected fitting within an invisible geometric shape, beautiful. This is just satisfying to look at. It's simple, has the letters that are obvious, has a high level of custom appearance and is a really sleek design.
This one is essentially tied with the number 3 spot. I had a hard time choosing because they are both such good designs. The reason this is in number 4 is only because it's a little less pleasing to the eye but that is subjective. So it's effectively a tie.
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3. Charles Leclerc
This is fantastic logo design. It's helped by the fact that the letters get to mirror each other in a really nice way. It does a similar thing to Pierre's having a simple geometric shape outline the whole thing.
The negative space mirroring the positive space is what set it a part just a little, that's a really sophisticated design choice and is visually satisfying. It helps create a nice flow that compliments the lettering.
It's sleek, bold, the letters are clear, this is what a logo should look like. The bold outline helps it stand out even more while not overly complicating the design.
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2. Lando Norris
At first glance Lando's is very similar to Lance's, however it is so much better. It almost mirrors itself and has nice motion to it almost creating a swirl.
However the real genius of this design comes into play with the negative space between the initials. It creates the number 4! A super clever way to incorporate the driver's number into the initials as well. Making use of all the space in a logo while only using 2 lines, now that is just good design work right there.
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1. George Russell
There were a lot of close ones on this list, but George's is the clear winner. This is a logo where I see it and I'm just impressed. It's so simple but they somehow managed to combine his initials with his driver number. Brilliant! This is the kind of design that not anyone could come up with.
Sometimes you see just the number, sometimes it's the initials. Either way it works, they almost created an optical illusion in the best possible way. This is beyond clever and is such a good example of what good graphic design can do.
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That's my list! Hopefully you had fun reading.
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heyitsspaceace · 2 years
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Hello, since the forms were anonymous, do u think u can post some of the reasoning of some for how they rated some of the drivers?
Ur post abt the 100 respondents let us see some thoughts, and I know some of the comments that u have mentioned was from me (i know i'm the one who thirsted on yuki's thighs)
I personally wouldn't mind if u'd publish the reasonings or the thirst paragraphs
I think it'll be either really funny, lovely, or horny or weird
oh my friend you've opened the floodgates
anyways here's the og link the quiz
so here are some memorable responses
Yuki Tsunoda
"He has a manly, manly body with a nice set of abs. He can successfully backflip into a pool and he's just plain hilarious. Plus he's got no filter, can cook you breakfast in the morning and can even sing. multi-talented"
"*Fernando Alonso voice* YUkiii"
"Have you seen those thighs?! And he's just so soft especially in pastel clothes, he loves food, and his eyes when he smile just melts me. Did I mention his THIGHS?"
"So smol. Idk who any of these are but he looks like he finished his A-levels and went 'fuck it' before turning up at the local f1 track and won."
"Food obsession, funny, homoerotic tension with Pierre, what more could you want in a man?"
"Even thou wer'e the same height, he'll forever be my short king and the thighs."
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Lando Norris
"Less baby than Yuki but Baldo Norris is haunting my dreams"
"the hair ✨✨"
"An absolute icon. Gen z at its finest ✨"
"When I watch his intweviews it's always has me rolling at some point , mammmmm those choclate curls."
"British +1 for the hair"
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Fernando Alonso
"This man. So hot. Renly tormenting Stannis with a peach was inspired by this man. One sexy motherfucker. Unfortunately dates women he’s own age. An absolute menace. He’s in it for the long con, when Yuki retires Nando is the shortest on the grid. Chase that title king!"
"Best Friend's Dad who will fight anyone for you. Also, makes a great sandwich."
"Unhinged petty energy, I thrive to be like him"
"He's a bastard menace and also petty as FUCK. I love the drama this old man generates"
"he’s a bastard but there is something attractive about it"
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Valtteri Bottas
"underrated unproblematic king"
"best wag & tiktok, porridge king"
"Gentleman ♥️"
"Malewife"
"THIS is the ideal male body. Sorry if society isn’t ready for it. Sexy AF"
"I have a thing for people from Finland. He gives me a warm fussy feeling, and he’s gender envy"
"I like how he keeps showing his ass. I respect that hustle."
"Idk what about this man but I feel absolutely safe around and I have never met him in my life."
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Sergio Perez
"also Dilf but also cheater"
"Decent driver, I cheered when he won. Wish he said fuck team orders, I’m here for ME!"
"Everyday i hate this man more and more i used to actively root for him but now all he does is terrorize my faves as per the rbr agenda and the wifecheating thing is hilarious but horrible no bonus points for being petty or occasionally hot from one angle sadly so 1"
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Zhou Guanyu
"actually a talented dude, his modelling pics were just too good"
"He so sexy,he cute,he hot my husband"
"down points because he has more style than me"
"Very cute. Best friend who doesn't really show care about much but will randomly give food and 3am 'I can't sleep so you're going to deal with it' texts. Also, says 'don't die' instead of goodbye. 10/10"
"A Goddamn Model. Absolute beauty. Also he looks like someone I'd come across at the mall. One point deducted bc I dont like boba but he does."
"Fashion icon, he is the moment when he steps on track."
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Sebastian Vettel
"Daddy" x2
"Okay! Cool teacher that has been there for a year or two but it feels like forever. Gives off an ally to whoever needs one vibe. Like a 'You're gay? Great (insert support here)! Now let smash this quadratic formula!' Will die for any of his students."
"How much time do you have to hear me talk about the love of my life? Love al his eras has never done anything wrong in his life I would support him ni matter what team he races for and how much of a bastard he is. Crid over sebtirement many times and now i will force myself to watch races that are at 3am for me because i can’t miss any of his remaining races. Giving him 10 bonus points for being hot asf with every look and bringing back the sebstache his official score is 100/10"
"HIS PERSONALITY IS VERY SEGGCY. SAVE THE BEES. physically tho, not my type, aha"
"I have a thing for Germans too"
"Activism so hot on seb"
"Invented flirting. Has Lee Mckenzies number. Has the charisma bill Clinton thought he had."
"I like how this man likes bees. You go, little bee man!"
"Red Bull twink era was a 10, now -1 point because of the hair"
"Babygirl-coded old man"
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Mick Schumacher
"He's just a golden retriever (and I'm German and biased)"
"gorgeous gorgeous shoulder to waist ratio. angel baby"
"Normally an 8 but u chose the right pic i guess also does have sexy moves on track when given the chance"
"Cute smile a little twink-ish"
"Ray of sunshine, I’m always rooting for him. Does amazing things in a shitty shitty car. If Sebastian teaches him to flirt is over for all of us."
"self explanatory, I would kill for him as well. fun fact my dad would yell at me and my brother when we were little if we said Michael like the English pronunciation and not the German, because "U can't disrespect a Schumacher". So I won't."
"That one boy who excells at P.E and his exams. No one knows how or why. Probably plays for a local football team."
"Seems nice, i want to see what would happen if you put him in a competitive car. Can say "rawr" without making me cringe"
"Very golden retriever wonder bread and love him for it"
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Lewis Hamilton
"Smash. I dont care for the NDAs, I'll screw this man. Love him to bits"
"sebs boyfriend. literally so fucking hot. also a king. 8x world champion"
"Walk walk fashion baby"
"1) the tattoos, 2) the smile, 3) his eyes when he smiles, 4) the way he says Bono"
"he is the most beautiful man i have ever seen. hes sexy and handsome, of course, but hes also BEAUTIFUL."
"I like him, i like his angst, i want him to win"
"Babygirl-coded old man two EXCEPT this one's wayyy more beautiful than what should be legal. Like holy fuck. Also he's like the only driver who I desire carnally"
"handsome, aware of social issues and uses his platform to spread awareness, has a dog"
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Kevin Magnussen
"dilf" x3
"The beard *chefs kiss*"
"that's my type right here"
"fok smash. but like sometimes is soft a lil."
"He’s Danish, I’m legally contracted to like people from Denmark"
"Head teacher vibes. Tries his best but is often caught between teachers, students, and everyone else. Mr Vettel doesn't always agree with him, but they respect eachother alot."
"This man is really driving that shitbox to points finishes, gotta appreciate"
"He’s married😔"
"Dilf, tats, beard"
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Carlos Sainz
"TITS"
"he always looks super dramatic but really his favourite hobby is playing golf"
"Smooth operator" x4
"idk he looks constantly like he doesn’t know where he is or why he’s there"
"SMOOOOTHHHH OPERATOR. Deserves all the love in the world"
"You and that one friend who have grown apart over the years because life sucks and gets in the way, but who will always makes sure you're ok and will drop anything and everything to help if you aren't. That's him. He's the friend."
"🌶️🌶️🌶️"
"Tits and thighs, deadly combo, it should be illegal."
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Pierre Gasly
"oui oui, has labrador energy"
"the hottest right after Sir Lewis. He had an amazing glowup and i can't forget the way he was whoring around with diff women. Really, REALLY desirable. HIS BODY IS AMAZING, MF WORKS OUT A LOT. his voice is hot and is humor is exactly my favourite kind"
"I highly respect his horny on main attitude"
"hot."
"french slut we love it"
"IM OBSESSED. I LOVE HIM. Him + yuki= fav couple in the paddock"
"MY KING MY HUSBAND MY BABY"
"I think about monza 2020 every day i need this man to succed or so help me, I JUST WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY!!! (also very hot)"
"I want him to break my heart so bad that i spend every night sobbing on the bathroom floor that i miss him while he forgets about me immediately aka good 4 u vibes. If he asked me to commit a crime i would do it"
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Max Verstappen
"just love him ♥️ Dork!"
"Aww u put the out of office max, soft max is the best and besides yuki, he also has got one of the nicest thighs on the grid and his lip freckle is just so cute i wanna kiss ot and pull at his post race hair thank god also that his wearing curved caps more these days and ahhh so fucking soft love him"
"Cute, hot after the races"
"That one person you know who says they're a twitch streamer/influencer and you're like 'Having two followers and led keyboard doesn't make you a streamer Barry' but then you check his Twitch and he isn't half-bad? You watch in secret of course until you accidentally sub with Prime and the entire friendship group gets dragged into becoming Max's #1 Supporters. Will tease you about it (affectionate)"
"Post race Max hits different"
"When I tell you I had the most epic haters to lovers with this man. I didn't like him at first at all but now I still don't love him but I do have a strong liking to him . His smile and thighs ."
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Lance Stroll
"My favorite color is green, my lucky number is 18. Hate to see people living the dream I can’t 😔"
"i just love lance and I mean look at his hair"
"actually boyfriend material tbh"
"Andrew Rannels but make it F1"
"idk idk idk dont come for me but i love this unbothered king so fucking much"
"wonderful eyebrows. expressive face, love the faces he makes. seems very polite and respectful. cute smile. i am not immune to dark hair dark eyes combo."
"Blah blah he bought his seat, whatever he seems sweet okay? Also love a snarky comment here and there"
"ANOTHER UNDERRATED KING everyones like hes just a rich kid blahblahblah umm okay so is 90% of the grid?! Good vibes good energy occasionally hot and not as bad of a driver as people want to believe"
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Daniel Ricciardo
"AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI, miss him winning"
"My babygirl. I will die defending him. I love everything about him. How can i not?"
"perfection. beautiful boy"
"Also thighs plus the tattoos (so of course special mention to the thigh tattoo)"
"how could u not love himmmm seriously. I hope he bankrupts McLaren. Also I'm getting my friend into F1 by exploiting her crush on Daniel."
"He feels like a day spent by the pool in Spain with your best friends, good music and cocktails"
"The curls, the nose, the side profile, the smile!?! This really doesn’t need any reasoning."
"he's hot, the curls, the tattoos but his character makes him a real 10/10"
"It’s either 1000000/10 or your wrong."
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Charles Leclerc
"the (himboest) prettiest boy on the grid"
"most gorgeous man in motorsport"
"kitty<3 he’s my babygirl"
"There he is my baby, king of my heart, loveliest boy, tu es bel, tu es mon ange, so fucking beautiful, i actually cried once (thrice) just looking at his pics and gods have u seen that latest thirst trap from ferrari and i am the perfect height to just bury my face onto his chest and his eyes (everchanging and twinkling, tho not much these days so f u ferrari), and his dimples, i just wanna poke those dimples and have you seen his upper bod, its the perfect mix of abs and a lil tum tum and i rlly wanna boop his perfect nose and run my fingers thru his hair (i bet itd feel like clouds) and he'd whisper sweet nothings in english italian and french. And really his thighs are perfect too, like the way he manspread on that pic on the yacth (i died, true story) and u know that beauty mark near his nose, i wanna kiss it so bad and the one on his neck too and the ones on his torso and i love the way he plys piano and the way he wears jewelry (that's hot) i just rlly love him even when he's a lobster"
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Nicholas Latifi
"the 2 things I know about him is that he's canadian and he likes nutella"
"Listen, i just saw that gamer!nicky photo and it did things to me"
"That one person who is lovely but one bad day away from snapping. Pls, give him a hug."
"i like his nose a lot. legendary eyebrows. hot streamer boy nicholas forever in my heart. hes also very nice and friendly looking and i feel bad for him jskfkalfjfbsk"
"This man really likes Nutella and that's really sexy."
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George Russell
"GEORGE!!!!!!!!!!!! acts like a private school boy"
"it's so much fun to see my brother annoyed every time he is told he looks like Russell. I love convincing people he looks like russell. He does. I can convince you too."
"bf material right here as well"
"The guy who comes in to assemblies to give those talks on stupid things. Like a Tedx talk level of why... kinda cute tho"
"Him fanboying over Daniel Is my suicide prevention. Also is so nice 😭"
"Something about a guy that loves a powerpoint and knows the rule book and WILL ARGUE... debate kid vibes but hot? very confusing! I also really enjoy his brand of british accent"
"my beloved, I'll rate him 100/10. Love his eyes, his appearance, his accent, his talent and his personality. (love his friendship with alex as well)"
"Fantastic driver. And he’s the biggest DR fanboy so he gets extra rights"
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Esteban Ocon
"adore him a lot. got a soft spot for the man because of his childhood story. and he looks very hot at times without excess gel in his hair"
"Fav string bean"
"love him fr <333 estie bestie truely the most real nickname"
"He's french :( but he's friends with Mick :) , soo fuck it, he gets a 5"
"I fell in love with him when he and max almost got into a fistfight. General mischievous vibe."
"estie bestie...we stan"
"estie bestie! but idk i also spell like este maybe i'm a fake fan. i think he is cool! and also like that he comes from a more humble bg ig"
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Alex Albon
"albon pets >>> anything else"
"i like his name and his girlfriend!!"
"Boyfriend material + nice and comfy"
"a sweetie. a cutie. i love his laugh"
"Tho if u had put in lily, i'll give her a 10 too"
"his cats>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ❤️❤️🥰❤️❤️❤️😍"
"WILL NEVER FORGET HIS ICONIC ROOKIE POEM"
"If you don't like alex albon i do not trust you!!!!!'
"love his smile, his positive energy. and his friendship with george. and his cats."
"🫶🫶🫶 very boyfriend coded (would steal lily off him though) kind sweet nice deserves good things"
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and that's all!
IF ANY OF YOU SEE YOURS AND WOULD LIKE IT REMOVED PLEASE LET ME KNOW I WILL OBLIGE!
43 notes · View notes
gamerwoo · 5 years
Text
Mingming: I Don’t Dance
Anonymous asked: what if i just,, requested mingming fluff,, is this allowed
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Characters: Mingming x gender neutral reader (featuring UNINE)
Genre/warnings: soulmate au, dancer au, college au, fluff, slight crack, even slighter angst
Word count: 7,509
Summary: In which you sometimes do what your soulmate is doing at the exact same time. So you always hated dancing until you found out your soulmate was good at it.
a/n: this wasn’t looked over, so I apologize for any errors that’re in it, and I apologize if I accidentally use she/her pronouns because that’s what I’m used to but I tried my best to keep it gender neutral (and I know some of y’all will read this and be like “how come reader never did what Mingming did when they were alone and vice versa” and it’s because if that happened, the story would be shorter and wouldn’t go how I wanted to so let me live 😤😤)
It started when you were 15. Your body would start doing things you weren’t telling it to, and you couldn’t stop it, either. You’d suddenly start moving your hand in writing motions while you were just sitting on the bus, or you’d find yourself miming throwing a ball in the middle of the school hallway. But that was how you knew your soulmate was out there, so you couldn’t complain.
You could complain when you turned 16 and it only got worse.
Growing up, you were a clumsy kid. You hated anything that required any sort of coordination and you did your best to avoid anything and everything that would embarrass you -- save for gym where you just tried your best not to draw attention to yourself.
But when you turned 16 -- god, did it get worse. You found yourself dancing -- full on dancing -- in the hallway or in class or walking home. Your soulmate was just always fucking dancing and you hated it because you’d trip over your own two feet immediately after your body was back in your own control. 
Thankfully, by the time college came around, you’d gotten used to this. You’d actually even gotten slightly more coordinated -- emphasis on slightly. You still tripped and slipped up sometimes, but you were better than you were before. And...you kind of got used to the sudden dancing. People would commend you on it and it made you feel validated and talented. So the dancing was something you could definitely deal with. You still didn’t like it and you were bad at it, but you could put up with it.
Your soulmate, however, never got used to your odd movements. Falling over during practice, randomly tripping over nothing, and suddenly getting wobbly were things that were difficult to work around as a dancer. Especially in college when he formed a dance team with a few of his friends. 
“Nice one,” Guanyue snorted when Mingming suddenly spun around and fell right on his butt in the middle of working on a certain part in the choreography.
Mingming just huffed, staying in his spot on the floor, “This is impossible.”
“Kind of ironic how you got a soulmate who can’t even stand upright,” Jiayi giggled.
“It’s not funny,” Mingming whined, his hands covering his face as he let himself lay on his back. “How can I be a professional dancer if I suddenly trip up in the middle of a dance?”
Mingming wasn’t upset with you or anything, he just was upset with the situation. He hoped that his soulmate would, y’know, get better at walking, but over the years, very little seemed to change. Sure, he didn’t fall over as often, but it was still more often than he’d like.
“At least you’re not stuck trying to do splits out of nowhere like Jiayi,” Hanyu deadpanned, though the hints of a smirk were on his face when he looked over at the boy in question.
Jiayi’s soulmate was some sort of gymnast or cheerleader or something because the poor boy was always stuck trying to bend his body in ways that simply weren’t possible for him.
“I’m getting bendier,” Jiayi insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.
Mingming pushed himself to sit up again, staring at himself in the mirror across the room, “I just wish...I could do something to help them. They’re probably suffering way more than me.”
“When you meet them, you can re-teach them how to walk,” Zhenning joked as he helped Mingming back to his feet. “Let’s just try that part again, yeah?”
Little did Mingming know that his chance to not only help himself but help you was coming a lot quicker than he thought.
-
DANCERS WANTED FOR DANCE GROUP
No experience needed
Please come to UNINE Dance Studio this Saturday at noon
It was a bright pink flyer with big, black, bold writing on it that caught your attention. But you didn’t plan on doing anything with it. You simply read it since it caught your eye, but that was--
“Hey,” a boy with a bright smile -- albeit, a little shy -- said as he walked up to you.
--...it.
“I’m sorry if this is really weird,” he began with a shy laugh, running a hand through his dark brown hair. “I just saw you reading the flyer and my friends are like, really hoping for people to come so--”
“You posted these?” you asked, gesturing to the flyer.
“Well, me and my friends. We’re dancers and...yeah... Basically, I just walked over here to convince you to go.”
You scoffed, shaking your head, “Sorry, but I’m not a dancer.”
“Anybody’s a dancer,” he shrugged with a hopeful smile. “You just have to be able to move and memorize things.”
“Not if you fall over ever two seconds.”
“Trust me, I’m used to that,” he laughed.
“What, you fall over?”
“Sometimes.”
You gave a little pout, “Well now you’re just saying things to convince me.”
“I am not!” he insisted with a light laugh. “I can prove it if you come by on Saturday...?”
You frowned, looking between the paper and the cute boy giving you a pleading smile. It didn’t help that he made your stupid heart flutter when he looked at you like that -- or looked at you in general.
“Fine,” you sighed.
You could see the way his eyes lit up with excitement, crinkling in the corners as his smile widened.
“Thank you! Seriously, thank you!” he said, bowing to you. “Oh, um, my name’s Mingming, by the way -- Yao Mingming. I’ll...be there. Well, obviously -- you knew that. Sorry...”
“Ah, sorry about him,” another boy around Mingming’s height with a goofy smile came up behind him, placing his hands on his shoulders. “He’s a little awkward. Anyway, thank you. We’ll see you Saturday.”
As Mingming was dragged off shouting ‘Jiayi, were you listening the whole time?!’ you were left standing there by the wall the flyer was taped to, giving an awkward wave and a mumbled, “Alright, bye...”
-
When Saturday rolled around, you found yourself opening the doors to the small dance studio not too far from campus. You figured you’d probably embarrass yourself a little bit, but odds were that you wouldn’t know anybody in the studio -- well, other than the two strange boys you’d already met.
Thankfully, you were correct.
You noticed nine boys that stood toward the front of the room by the mirrors, bowing to and greeting the small crowd that was let in. There was a small handful of boys and girls alike that had seemed to come to this meeting of sorts to make this dance group.
The boys who were putting together this group seemed excited to have as many people as they did. One looked a little intimidating, another a little more serious than you expected, and another had a smile that lit up the whole room and then some. You had to admit, the group seemed a little...different from each other, but you weren’t here to judge them -- they were here to judge you.
You met the eyes of Mingming who grinned at you, giving a small wave as a thanks for coming. You just nodded and corralled together with the other people as he was nudged in the side by the boy apparently named Jiayi.
Once everybody was seated and quiet, one of the boys explained how it would work: they’d teach the group a simple dance and whoever did it well would get to stay. They planned on being a competitive team so they needed people who at least had teachable potential, which was understandable. You just hoped that your years of experience dancing because of your soulmate was enough.
“Five, six, seven, eight--”
Your body started doing the moves, but you knew you weren’t the one controlling it. It was normal to you at first since you’d experienced this so many times already, but it took a few rounds of you doing the moves to realize that this meant your soulmate was in the room. Your eyes widened as you stifled a gasp before your shock brought you back in control of your own body. You pause briefly after being brought off autopilot, and in your rush to keep up with everybody else, you tripped over your own feet, landing on the shiny hardwood floor, right on your hands and knees. 
“Hang on!” one of the boys called over the commotion, catching your slip-up in the mirror. He moved through the small crowd to get to you, bending down on one knee to check on you. “Are you okay?”
You looked up into the brown eyes of Mingming as he smiled at you.
“Y-yeah,” you nodded. “Sorry for messing up.”
“Don’t worry,” he smiled, holding a hand out to help you up as he stood, “you were doing really well. Try it again, okay?”
You nodded again, taking his hand and letting him help you to your feet. He nodded at you before he went back to the front of the room, but your heart was still beating rapidly in your chest -- and not just from the dancing.
“Alright, let’s try again,” the more serious-looking one called out. “Five, six, seven, eight--”
Just before the group started up with the same movements again, you caught his eyes looking at you in the mirror with a flustered smile on his face.
-
“I think we made some good picks,” Guanyue nodded as he gathered his things into his duffel bag. “That _____ person showed a lot of potential. I think they might have a little bit of dancing experience.”
“Not a lot, though,” Youwei pointed out. “They’re the only one who fell down.”
“We’ve all been there,” Wenhan said, waving the comment away. “What’s important is that they showed potential to improve. And our first competition isn’t for two months so that’s plenty of time.”
“Plus, we now have a group of 17 people to work with,” Chunyang added in with a small shrug, “so we can always hide them if they do bad.”
“Yeah, we’ll just-- Ah! Ow!”
As Mingming went to straighten up from where he was crouched down packing his backpack, he suddenly threw his head forward, his forehead bouncing off of Chunyang’s shoulder.
“What was that?” Jiayi decided to ask with a soft giggle.
Mingming frowned, rubbing his forehead, “I have no idea.”
“I think your soulmate’s having a bad day,” Zhenning laughed, trying to lighten the mood as Mingming put his water bottle against the tiny bump forming on his forehead
Outside, you were sitting in your car alone. Your forehead was pressed against the steering wheel, a loud groan falling from your lips.
They’d really chosen you to be on their dance team.
You were screwed.
-
Wenhan, Guanyue, Changxi, Youwei, Zhenning, Jiayi, Hanyu, Chunyang, and Mingming. Those were the boys who had started the dance team. You weren’t really sure why they wanted to, and the only explanation they gave was “we wanted to”, but now you were apart of it.
And you were not happy.
The first practice was only two hours long, and you didn’t do well. You’d bumped into one of the girls, tripped and fell into Chunyang, and you accidentally tripped Zhenning. But truthfully, you couldn’t get your head into focusing because you knew somewhere in that dance studio was your soulmate, and that was both exciting and terrifying. All the people on the team were good dancers, and you were pretty sure they’d be embarrassed to have somebody like you who could barely dance be the person they were supposed to spend the rest of their life with.
After that practice, the nine boys that had created the dance team honestly considered kicking you off. However, Mingming saw the potential and felt bad just kicking somebody off after the first day.
“Alright, they’re your responsibility, then,” Wenhan told him a little more sternly. “You teach them and make sure they can do the routine before the competition.”
While Mingming was definitely nervous that he’d have to end up staying after a little longer with you to work one-on-one, he was determined to help you so he wouldn’t have to give you the bad news.
So he nodded, “I’ll make sure of it.”
So the next practice, you heard your name being called as everybody went to get their belongings from the back of the room. You turned back around to see Mingming standing by the mirrors, offering a shy wave and a smile. You walked over to him, stopping a few inches away.
“Y-yeah?”
“I noticed you’ve been struggling a bit with the moves we’ve learned so far,” he said with a tiny shrug, and you instantly felt embarrassment shoot through you. Were you really doing so poorly that Mingming noticed? No doubt the rest of the group must’ve noticed, too. “I figured I could offer some help.”
Even though the last thing you wanted was to stay in the studio longer than necessary to dance -- something you still weren’t completely sold on -- you figured it was that, or go through the awkwardness of quitting only two classes in.
But you had to admit, you felt a tinge of guilt keeping Mingming back in the studio, too. No doubt he had homework to do and classes to study for.
“Are you sure?” you wondered slowly. “I don’t want to burden you. You shouldn’t have to--”
“It’s not a big deal,” he shrugged with a sheepish smile, his brown eyes looking elsewhere now. “I usually stay back, anyway. I like dancing so I make sure to practice as long as I can. I have about an hour of free time now, anyway.”
“O-okay...sure...”
“Cool!” he smiled, seeming a little shocked but pleased you agreed. “Okay, uh...l-let’s start from the beginning, then?”
As people started filing out of the room, Mingming started counting the steps as he slowly showed you exactly what to do. He said he wanted to get the moves down in your head before figuring out the timing. He thought maybe that doing both at once was what was confusing you during practice.
Before his eight friends left, they glanced back and watched how patient Mingming was with you. He was standing behind you and moving your arms exactly where they had to go, telling you they should always be at a certain angle for that move so everybody would match, and he hoped it would make it easier on you if he gave you an angle number to visualize in your head. Some of them quietly teased him as they left, giggling and singing “_____ and Mingming sitting in a tree--” while the others just smiled softly and followed behind the more immature members.
Mingming made good use of the whole hour, spending the whole time teaching you. You didn’t even make it up to the point the rest of the group was at, but you at least felt a little more confident in the parts he got to teach you. Definitely not 100%, but better.
However, he noticed that you seemed a little worried. He knew he didn’t make it as far into the dance as he should’ve, and he knew that you were now deemed his responsibility. 
“_____?” he spoke up, causing you to turn once again as you were going to get your stuff. When you turned to look at him, you couldn’t tell if he was blushing or if his faced was just flushed from dancing, but his eyes were cast downwards. “Would you want to practice again tomorrow...? You don’t have to! It’s just that you’re not completely caught up -- not that you’re doing bad -- but I don’t want you to feel behind or like you’re lacking -- which you’re not at all -- but I just--”
“Sure, Mingming,” you sighed, too tired to come up with a response better than that.
Still, Mingming was looking at you now, a toothy grin on his face, “Cool! What time is good for you?”
“Maybe around 2?”
“Sounds good! See you tomorrow afternoon!”
You simply nodded in response before going to grab your bag. You politely wished Mingming a good night before leaving the studio, walking down the hall and out of the building to the parking lot. But as you were walking to your car, you suddenly leaped into the air and clicked your heels together, throwing your fists into the air like you were celebrating. You even jumped in an excited circle before your body was finally yours again, leaving you standing in an almost empty lot, looking around in confusion.
-
“I think we can cut it here for now,” Mingming panted as he nodded at you in the mirror. He’d gotten you caught up on all the moves, now he just had to work on timing next time. “What time is it?”
You went over to your stuff, pulling your phone out of your bag and laughing at how late it had gotten, “Almost 5.”
“Jeez,” Mingming laughed nervously, running a hand through his sweaty hair, “I didn’t mean to keep you here for three hours. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” you shrugged, gathering your bag and hanging it off your shoulder, “I needed the practice.”
“You wanna get dinner?” he blurted.
You paused, your eyebrows furrowing as you looked at Mingming -- who couldn’t seem to look at you, “Dinner...?”
“I just meant...y’know, since I kept you so late, and we’ve been exerting a lot so it’s good to eat after,” he quickly explained, and you were surprised he didn’t trip over his words with how fast he was talking. “It’s my treat to make up for keeping you here for so long.”
Not only could you not pass up free food, but you didn’t quite know how to tell Mingming no. Especially with the innocent look he was giving you.
“Nowhere too expensive,” you told him, a slight pout in your voice.
Mingming chuckled with a nod before he went to retrieve his own bag, “Don’t worry, I know a good place.”
“Shouldn’t we shower first?” you asked as he opened the door for you to leave first.
“Nah, I go there after practice a lot. Not many people are there, but they make amazing food.”
Once the two of you were outside, he said it was walking distance from the studio, so you left your stuff in your car before you walked side-by-side with Mingming to wherever it was he was taking you. He wouldn’t tell you where it was or what it was, but you trusted him enough to not try anything weird. He just promised you’d love the food as much as he did.
The trip was a little awkward, especially when you felt yourself lose control of your body. Thankfully, your soulmate was just walking -- presumably to class or back to their dorm -- but you were hoping you didn’t look too nervous when that happened.
You and Mingming were hardly speaking until your body was back in your control, and you tripped over your own feet when you suddenly changed back to your own walking speed. He managed to catch you before you hit the sidewalk, letting out a soft laugh as he steadied you back on your feet.
“You do that a lot, don’t you?” he joked lightly, trying to make some sort of conversation.
You shrugged, an embarrassed blush coming to your cheeks, “I’m kind of a clumsy person sometimes.”
“Don’t worry, some people are just clumsy. I’m used to experiencing it anyway.”
“Really?”
“Mhmm,” he nodded but didn’t elaborate. “You are doing better with staying on your feet while dancing. Let’s just hope it stays that way when we work on timing.”
He suddenly stopped outside a tiny restaurant that was on a busy strip, though people didn’t seem to be going inside. From the sign outside, you saw their specialty was soup dumplings, so you assumed that’s what you were there to eat. Mingming held the door open for you, a little bell dinging to signify customers before you went inside, Mingming following behind you.
The two of you greeted the hostess before Mingming brought you over to a table by the window. He said he always sat there -- usually with Guanyue because that’s who he often went with. The waitress smiled when she saw him and asked if he wanted his usual, to which he nodded eagerly and thanked the woman before turning back to you.
“I don’t know if you like soup dumplings, but you’ll love them from here even if you normally hate them,” he insisted with a warm chuckle. “If you don’t, I’ll buy you dessert, too.”
“You don’t have to,” you told him, to which he just shrugged.
The two of you sat in another silence, you looking around the small restaurant while Mingming people-watched through the window. As you looked around the space -- it seemed family owned and operated, which you thought was nice -- you couldn’t help but think about the dance team and how you were afraid of holding them back. It was clearly obvious you were a klutz so why you?
“Why did you guys even let me onto the team?” you wondered suddenly, looking curiously at Mingming.
He shrugged, his gaze moving away from the window and to you, “We saw the potential you had. You can pick up the moves, you just need a little extra practice.”
“But isn’t that just more work? That seems more trouble for you than it’s worth.”
He cocked his head to one side, looking almost puppy-like, “Why do you say that?”
“I’ll just hold you back,” you admitted bluntly. “C’mon, you can’t tell me that you wish you didn’t invite me to go to auditions that day.”
As the waitress came over with the orders of soup dumplings, Mingming tore away from the conversation to thank her. She walked away, and the conversation was basically forgotten by both of you in favor of food. Of course, you being you, you burnt your tongue trying to eat the dumpling, letting out a soft “ow” that had both you and Mingming laughing quietly.
Not much conversation was made as the two of you ate. Both of you were too focused on eating to say much, but you did manage to at least make some small talk. Mingming asked what you were going to school for, so you asked him the same thing. You talked about your classes, what you did other than practice, and the like. You thought he was a pretty nice guy, and kind of interesting, honestly. He seemed to only have his eight friends, though, and you wondered if he was just too shy to make other friends.
After the both of you were done -- and you had to admit that they were the best soup dumplings you’d ever had -- Mingming paid and left a generous tip before the both of you left, thanking the staff on your way. 
As you were walking, you were left in silence again, your hands in your pockets of your jacket as it started to drizzle. You had been walking for only a couple minutes, almost back to the parking lot when you heard, “I don’t wish that.”
You turned your head to look at Mingming, “What?”
He was smiling, still looking straight ahead as he shook his head, crossing the street to the parking lot, “You said before that I probably wished I didn’t invite you to auditions. I don’t wish that. I’m glad I ran into you looking at our flyer.”
You scoffed, “Why? I’m the worst one on the team.”
“Because...well... _____, if I’m honest with you, I liked hanging out today,” he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head shyly as the two of you stopped by your car. He turned to face you, but he didn’t look at you. “If I hadn’t invited you that day, we wouldn’t have even met. We wouldn’t have gotten to hang out, and you wouldn’t have experienced the world’s greatest soup dumplings.”
“Mingming, we hardly spoke,” you laughed.
“Yeah, but you didn’t ignore me, either. It was a good mix, y’know? You’re not too quiet but you don’t talk my ear off.”
You assumed Mingming just felt awkward around you, but it felt nice knowing that he felt...content. You didn’t even notice you were smiling until one spread across Mingming’s face seeing you smile.
“I’ll see you at practice this weekend, okay?” he said before he waved and turned to go to his own car. “Get home safe, _____!”
You watched as Mingming jogged to his car before you got into your own, figuring he’d think it was weird if he saw you watching him. But you couldn’t help but think on the drive back to your dorm, and even once you were in your dorm, about how Mingming seemed to genuinely like you.
-
“You liiiiike them!” Jiayi sang.
The boys were talking about what they had done earlier that week as they got ready for practice. As always, they were the first ones in the room, arriving before everybody else. Mingming had mentioned he mostly just went to class and went to the soup dumpling place once before Chunyang had mentioned Mingming stayed after last practice with you to help you out. Then the questioning began.
“Did you see them again after?” Guanyue giggled.
Mingming shrugged, “Yeah, the next day to practice. We got kinda sidetracked though, so we were here for almost 3 hours.”
“And that’s when you went to the dumpling place!” Changxi realized, slowly getting louder toward the end.
That was when Jiayi decided to call him out, pointing out that Mingming had to have some level of feelings for you if he took you to his little hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
“I hate to say it, but Jiayi might be right,” Youwei admitted with a slight smirk.
“I do not like them,” Mingming stated, though the tips of his ears were turning pink. “Besides, I have a soulmate out there. _____ hasn’t shown any signs of being it. We’ve never done the same thing as each other when we’re together, and that’s too much to just be coincidence.”
“You’re allowed to have a crush even if you have a soulmate out there,” Wenhan shrugged, “but I understand how you feel about it.”
“Still, you’re not a bad person if you do like _____ and decide to ask them out,” Guanyue smirked, clearly trying to push the younger boy to build up the courage to take you on a real date.
“I barely know _____,” he mumbled. “We’ve just been talking about practice.”
“That’s what a date is for,” Hanyu informed him.
Mingming felt a slap to the back of his head before he saw Zhenning walking passed him to start stretching, “Duh.”
-
Practices and ‘tutoring sessions’ as Wenhan jokingly referred to them as were going by quickly, and the date for the competition was arriving quickly. Everybody had to admit you were improving, but Mingming still wanted to make sure you were understanding and remembering the steps, rhythm, and timing. But with only two weeks until the competition now, he had decided you wouldn’t need one-on-one training anymore.
During the weeks you’d spent with Mingming, you’d grown closer than you thought you would. Awkward silences weren’t awkward, small talk was replaced with full conversations and new inside jokes, and you started to look forward to practicing with your ‘trainer’. One might say you were developing a crush on him.
Meanwhile, Mingming already knew he kind of liked you -- he’d known since Jiayi teased him for it. But those feelings only worsened the more time he spent with you, and he was starting to wonder if he should take his friends’ advice before it was too late. He only ever really saw you alone when he was helping you between practices, so he figured this would be his last chance.
“You completely nailed it,” he praised through labored breaths, giving you a tired but proud smile as he held his hand up. “You didn’t mess up, fall over, or go off beat.”
You hit his hand in a high five, beaming at the compliment, “It’s thanks to you, though.”
He shrugged, “I can teach somebody how to dance but it doesn’t mean they’ll be good at it. You put in the work and dedication, _____. It’s been really nice seeing you grow as a dancer, actually.”
You couldn’t help but blush, smiling at the floor, “Thanks.”
Mingming thought you looked absolutely adorable. Even with your sweaty face, messy hair, and baggy clothing you wore to practice, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you, smiling to himself as you smiled at your feet. Your smile lit up the room, and he found it giving him that little bit of courage he needed.
He stepped forward, putting a hand under your chin so you’d look back up at him. Then he leaned in, pressing his lips softly to yours.
Your eyes widened, not expecting the action at all. But you also didn’t have time to react in any other way before Mingming was pulling back, fear and surprise on his own face as he lightly touched his bottom lip.
“I-I’m... _____, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-- I mean, I did but--” he rambled, tripping over his own words before he was shaking his head, “I-I’m just sorry.”
Then he was running to the exit, swiftly grabbing his back before slipping out the door. He figured that the good thing was he wouldn’t have to be alone with you again so it wouldn’t be too awkward. The bad thing was that he would still have to see you at practice, and it would at least be a little awkward.
You were still frozen in the practice room, not quite understand what happened. Still, your lips felt tingly as you stood there, your hand slowly going to touch your own lips like Mingming had.
And outside, Mingming touched his again, too, even though he didn’t mean to.
-
The tension was obvious. Mingming wouldn’t go near you or even look at you. He didn’t greet you when you came in like he always did, and everybody noticed it -- especially his friends. You had gotten close to a girl in the group named Alina, and she had asked about it one afternoon as the two of you were walking to the parking lot, saying she didn’t want to pry if you didn’t want to talk about it. You explained the out-of-nowhere kiss between you and Mingming, and even she was confused as to why he suddenly ran away after gathering the courage to do that without warning.
Mingming’s friends had stayed in the practice room after everyone left, asking Mingming to hang back with them.
“What’s up?” Wenhan asked.
“What do you mean?” he wondered. “You’re the ones who told me to stay back.”
“Because you’re not acting right, especially toward _____,” Youwei stated, hands on his hips. “Did something happen?”
Mingming sighed, hoping he wouldn’t have to tell his friends about this. He knew they’d tell him he was silly or stupid or something in between, so he just ran a hand through his hair as he prepared for the onslaught of insults.
“I kissed _____,” he admitted.
The eight boys gasped, some looking genuinely surprised, and others looking beyond excited.
“Really?” Zhenning grinned.
“Wait,” Changxi stopped his clapping, frowning suddenly, “but neither of you have spoken to each other, so... Did something go wrong?”
“Well, no...” Mingming began, looking away with furrowed eyebrows as he thought back to the moment he tried not to think about. “Kinda? Well, not from their part. I don’t know, they just seemed...shocked. They didn’t say anything or kiss me back or react.”
“So then...what happened?” Jiayi pressed.
“I just...felt...guilty,” Mingming said with a defeated look. “I like _____ a lot, but I feel like I shouldn’t. My soulmate is out there, and here I am, giving my time and attention to somebody else when I should be finding my soulmate. It just felt...wrong. Not like the kiss wasn’t good! But it made me feel like I was cheating on my soulmate.”
“So what did you do after you kissed them?” Chunyang asked.
“I...kinda ran...”
Hanyu rolled his eyes, letting out a disappointed sigh, “Oh my god, Mingming...”
“That’s actually the dumbest thing you could’ve done other than headbutt them,” Zhenning informed him, arms crossed over his chest.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Mingming mumbled, looking down at the floor. “They’re clearly over it, and I’m trying not to think about it. If it meant anything to them, they would’ve tried to talk to me or something but they avoided me, too. It’s better to just move on and focus on the competition next week.”
“Are you sure...?” Wenhan asked slowly, concern written all over his face.
From the point they’d brought up Mingming’s possible feelings for you up until he kissed you, they could tell how much Mingming grew to like you. The two of you were always joking and laughing together before and after practice, and sometimes they boys would go to the practice room afterwards to check up on him and see the two of you chasing each other around the room as you laughed and yelled at each other. Even now, it was obvious Mingming was upset he ruined your friendship, so they wanted to make sure he would be okay.
Mingming just nodded, “It’s better that--”
Before he could even finish his sentence, he had suddenly slipped like he was on ice, falling straight onto his back with a huff of air being pushed from his lungs. He just laid on the floor as his friends surrounded him, looking down at him in curiosity and concern.
He nodded with a soft sigh, “I probably deserved that.”
Outside, Alina was giggling softly at you before holding out a hand to help you to your feet. You declined with a shake of your head.
“I’d rather just...stay down here,” you decided.
She chuckled, rolling her eyes, “_____, you’re being over dramatic.”
“He kissed me, apologized, and ran!” you reminded her, clearly upset over what happened with Mingming. “Was it me? It was me, wasn’t it? But why would he kiss me if it was me that was the problem? Alina, what if I’m a bad kisser?”
“You said you didn’t react, so you can’t be a bad kisser if you didn’t even kiss him back,” she pointed out before sitting down beside you on the ground. “If you like him, why don’t you ask him?”
“Because then I’ll have to stay on this dance team,” you grumbled, sitting up and brushing the gravel and pebbles from your hair. “He’s the only reason I stuck around.”
“Do you still hate dancing?”
“Well, no, not anymore... But I don’t like doing it in front of people, and we have to to compete.”
“Then think of it this way: now that you don’t have Mingming keeping you here, you can quit the team after the competition.”
“I guess...” you sighed, still not pleased with the outcome.
“C’mon, I’ll take you for dinner,” she chuckled, standing up and finally helping you up as well. “Maybe it’ll cheer you up.”
-
Your hands were clammy and shaking as you waited back stage. You were on deck, watching the group before you perform. They seemed so polished and precise and that made you nervous. You knew the rest of your group was amazing, but would you be? Would you drag them down? Would you be the reason they didn’t place high?
Mingming couldn’t stop looking at you. He could tell your nerves were getting the best of you, and all he wanted to do was hug you and give you words of encouragement, but he was afraid he’d make things worse. So he stayed where he was, stretching and eyeing you.
Alina was the one to go over to you, offering a small smile, “You look terrified.”
“I am terrified,” you confirmed. “I don’t know if I can do this...”
“_____--”
Before she could say anything, you had jogged over to the exit to go to the hall. You wanted to just go hide out in the bathroom and hope nobody noticed you were gone. Maybe your group would win without you there and you could just avoid them forever so you didn’t have to face them after ditching them.
Mingming, however, noticed you leave, his feet moving without him even having to think about it.
“I’ll be back,” he said over his shoulder before sprinting off after you.
He looked down the way you’d gone, not seeing you at the end of the hall, but he still went that way anyway. He reached the end of the hall and saw the door to their dressing room close, so he jogged over and lightly knocked on the door.
No answer.
“_____?” he asked.
“Nobody’s here,” you replied before mentally slapping your forehead. That was a dumb response.
He chuckled, “_____, I just wanna talk. What’s wrong?”
You sighed, figuring you’d already blown your cover so why not open the door? Things couldn’t get any worse, could they?
Mingming looked genuinely concerned as he looked at you. You didn’t reply to his question, though. You just turned and walked further into the empty room, allowing him to enter and close the door.
“Why’d you run off?” he wondered.
You shook your head, “I can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Mingming, I’m so bad!” you told him, turning to face him.
“You are not.”
“Stop trying to encourage me, I know you say that to be nice!”
“No, I mean it.”
“I’m going to be the reason you guys don’t get first place,” you frowned, looking at the floor. “I don’t want to hold anybody back.”
He let out a laugh, and that surprised you. You looked up at him to see him walking over to you, placing his hands on your shoulders.
“Winning’s cool, yeah, but this is our first competition together. We don’t expect first,” he explained, “we’re just here to have fun and do the best we can.”
“But everybody else always said--”
“I know what they said, but don’t listen to them,” he told you, looking deep into your eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“Y-yeah...”
“Then come on stage with us and do it. You can do it, I know you can. I’ve seen you run that dance without falling so many times, and I know you can do it this time.”
Slowly, you nodded, taking a deep breath and holding it before slowly letting it out, “Okay...”
He smiled, patting your shoulder, “Alright, let’s go.”
As you followed Mingming to the door, your nerves took over again and you blurted, “I’m quitting after this performance.”
Mingming paused and turned to look at you. You saw hurt flash in his eyes before it was replaced with an unreadable expression. He didn’t say anything for a moment before he finally nodded.
“O-okay...”
He turned an carried on out of the room, feeling a pang of disappointment in his heart, but he tried to ignore it. You just silently followed him, feeling sad as well, but you weren’t sure why.
By the time you reached the backstage area again, the group before you was walking off the stage. Guanyue ran over, his eyes wide with worry.
“Thank god you’re back,” he breathed in relief. “We’re on, c’mon!”
Mingming glanced back at you before following the older boy, so you followed behind them. Your group waited at the side of the stage before you were announced, signaling you to get into your positions.
As you got into your spot, Mingming’s words kept ringing in your head. All of the moves, the timing, the rhythm played on a loop in your head. You could do this dance in your sleep. You could do this dance a million times without messing up.
You could do this.
The music started, and your body moved on instinct. You didn’t blank, you didn’t freeze up, and you didn’t panic. Hearing the music, you were back in your own little world, remembering every step, how to do it, and when. You had this, and you would celebrate that later.
But something happened. Somebody messed up, but it wasn’t you.
Mingming’s actions were no longer his own. He started doing moves he wasn’t supposed to and he couldn’t stop himself. He knew whose moves they were because he’d done them almost as much as he’d practiced his own. Glancing across the stage, he saw you doing the moves he’d taught you at the exact same time as him.
His eyes widened as the realization hit him.
His body was suddenly back in his own control, but in his rush to correct his actions, he tripped over his own feet and fell to the side, catching himself on his hands. However, the thud he made was a lot louder than he thought it would be.
Across the stage, you had fallen on your side. But this time, it wasn’t you who fell -- at least, it wasn’t on your own accord. Your actions weren’t your own as your feet randomly tripped over themselves, sending you sliding a little bit before you looked up at your group in panic. Only instead of meeting upset or worried faces, your eyes met the amused expression of Mingming on the floor.
Knowing he still had control over you, Mingming got to his feet, you mimicking his actions at the exact same time. He got back into the dance easily, which helped you, even when your body was back under your control.
You were relieved when the dance was over, all of you in your ending poses at the audience cheered and clapped despite the two slip-ups. Nobody except Alina and Mingming’s friends knew about your ‘thing’ with your soulmate, so they understood your mess ups, laughing, teasing, and playfully hitting you as the group walked off the stage. Once in the safety of the darkness backstage, Mingming paused by the curtains to wait for you, beaming when he saw you trailing behind everybody with your head down. You still felt bad because you were technically the reason for the mistakes. You had started it -- you caused Mingming to do the wrong thing, and you--
Before you could finish your negative thoughts, you felt a warm hand against your cheek before you just barely saw Mingming lean in. His lips pressed against yours like last time, but this kiss was much more confident, his lips firmly against yours in a sweet kiss. And he didn’t pull away before you could kiss him back.
You could hear your group behind him whooping and clapping, making you giggle shyly against his lips before he pulled away, the happiest smile you’d ever seen him wear on his face.
“That kiss, I’m not sorry for.”
-
[Bonus: one week later]
It was ‘law’ that you got properly acquainted with Mingming’s friends -- at least, that’s what Jiayi claimed, and the other seven just agreed with him. So the ten of you were gathered at a handful of tables that were shoved together at Mingming’s favorite restaurant, you sitting between Mingming and Zhenning as you ate your soup dumplings.
The group still joked about how they still managed to get third place at the competition, claiming they were either that good or the competition was just really bad. Either way, they were proud of their small trophy that they proudly showed off in the practice room.
“We should give everybody a break from practicing,” Wenhan decided. “Maybe take a couple weeks and then train for the next competition.”
Guanyue nodded, “I agree. Give everybody time to relax before we start up again.”
Mingming turned to you, suddenly remembering your statement in the dressing room, “Are you still quitting?”
“What?!” Zhenning gasped.
“Why?” Jiayi whined, sounding like a disappointed child.
“_____, you wanted to quit?” Wenhan asked, not seeming upset with you but definitely curious. “Why is that?”
You just shrugged, keeping your eyes on your dumplings now that the spotlight was on you, “I just never really liked dancing before...”
“What about now, though?” Youwei inquired. “You danced with us for so long -- don’t you like it now?”
“And you improved a lot!” Changxi grinned.
You looked up at Mingming at the mention of you improving. You had to admit, you did like the times Mingming helped teach you. He made dancing a lot more enjoyable than you used to find it.
“I guess I kinda like it now,” you decided with a small smile.
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