#my eyes definitely watered over some of those vids today

[zevlors-tail]

I searched ragbros on tiktok looking for some nice wholesome content and all I got was angst. ☹️

[onyourzeus]

• the answer | psj

ykcyj ➝ arskyh

title: the answer pairing: park sungjin (of day6) & you genre: FLUFF, non-idol!au words: 2.7k

author’s note: requested by this anon for a pregnant s/o headcanon with sungjin. 

truthfully, this prompt is very new to me and at first, i thought i wouldn’t be able to write something. but i think i tried? i hope it is still enjoyable! (i have been binging sungjin compilation vids recently... i am in deep)

any requests? check my pinned post if i’m accepting any at the moment, thanks!

sungjin is the most animated husband to a pregnant partner you’ve ever seen

and you have a handful of your friends who have gone through the “journey”

way before you did, so seeing the way their significant others react 

to the baby bumps and sudden emotional breakdowns during double dates 

it’s quite a show, really. they’re either so stunned, so careful due to their partner being more “fragile” than normal 

and others who look calm and collected, seeming to have read every book on pregnancy and child bearing they can get from the local library 

and of course, their partner admires the dedication and earnest reactions they all have towards this new beginning for the both of them: a life, growing inside their belly. how exciting

(and terrifying. absolutely terrifying)

so when you finally used one (that turned out to be five, just to be sure) pregnancy test you kept hidden in one of the bathroom cabinets

the rush of emotions start falling out: disbelief, pure bubbling joy, adrenaline rush of excitement, and then a few heavy pounds of anxiety

“baby you’re taking too long in the…” you hear sungjin’s concerned voice coming closer to you, and it trails off when the two of you meet eyes for the first time that night

that you realize you’re pregnant

“how many did you take?” is his first question, tone void of anything that you’re suddenly scared he didn’t want this yet 

“five,” you reply quietly, sitting on the edge of the bathtub while holding onto the tests strips

“should you take one more just in case?” he asks again, eyes wide and mouth hanging way too open for your liking

whining to him you say, “we might as well go to my doctor to make sure at this point because i think five is overkill already.”

a pregnant pause

you’re getting just a tiny bit annoyed at sungjin’s non-response at this point. he just looks like a fish out of water, and if you just didn’t find out you’re pregnant and are currently registering your own emotions, you’d have slapped him silly right there

but that’s just how sungjin reacts, especially with how important this all is to the trajectory of your shared life

“come here,” he tells you, arms spread out. face still nonchalant, but you swear you heard a hint of joy in that tone

you give in, though, because it’s sungjin and he’s suddenly getting teary eyed and you don’t want him to wait any longer—

“what do you think?” you whisper against his ear, folding into his embrace as he tightens his grip around your waist. the doubts that filled your mind about him not wanting this for any reason disappeared right when his warmth embraced you

“i think you’re gonna be the best parent ever,” he says but the way he’s squeezing you so hard causes you to audibly squirm

he lets go in a flash, apologizing back and forth 

“sungjin it’s okay!!” you laugh, tears of joy welling up in your eyes because sungjin is already panicking about hurting the baby in some form due to him hugging you too much “i think the baby will be fine for now!!”

“let’s go,” he states, his hands holding onto yours and his eyes determined 

“to where?” you laugh incredulously. sungjin’s switching of emotions in two seconds flat is hilarious to you, but you humor him for a moment

“to the doctor, so we know you’re healthy and the baby is healthy and what else we need to prepare for so that you can—”

it’s 9pm

ok it’s time to shut him up now

kissing his lips softly, you rest your forehead against his and the two of you share the peaceful silence inside your bathroom, in your own house, where your family soon will bloom

“too soon, sungjin,” you remark, smiling as you feel him blush inches away from you

he nods briefly, taking his time to kiss both of your cheeks and you indulge in his genuine love and care

“i’m so happy to do this with you,” he says, “to build our family together” 

“i am too” 

“should we start planning on the nursery room?” and there he is again, back to going on overdrive it makes you the less crazy one

you calm him down and remind him that it was grocery shopping day tomorrow then you can set up the appointment for your gynecologist. it seems to bring sungjin’s excitement down

by the end of the day, all the scrambling emotions you had accumulated once learning about your pregnancy has dwindled down to the most important one you have: gratefulness for sungjin

so that was just the beginning, right 

in the following weeks that you have been confirmed to be pregnant yes, congratulations, a lot of things have changed in the household 

from your newly bought maternity clothes, to less hours spent at work, and the empty room in your house finally being given the opportunity to bring it to life 

it wasn’t only you doing the renovating, actually sungjin doesn’t want you near any tools or paint brushes at all 

he wants the baby safe as well as your physical body 

he is overreacting. you are only a month in

“you tell me the color of the walls, where the crib should be, and the paintings you want hung. i’ll do the work. deal?”

“no take backsies?” it sounds like a plan too good to be true

sungjin chuckles at your suspicion, but nods firmly

“fiiiine” 

there was definitely a change in atmosphere in your relationship, however. it suddenly became a bit more… intuitive? it boggles your mind because sungjin has always been the perfect husband for you since day 1

but each passing day, he’s becoming so much more careful, gentle, and all-knowing with you

for example the one morning that you just felt the urge to throw up everything you ate the day prior among other things

sungjin had already prepared the bathroom with extra paper towels, a glass of water to gargle with

and even brought awaiting breakfast in bed, just a few fruits maybe an oatmeal and brewed tea (just the way you like it)

he doesn’t take too much time in the bathroom when he showers (and sings loudly) before a gyne appt or just when the two of you were supposed to bond that night

this is kind of a given but grocery shopping is more of a competition than cooperation months before

who brings the most bags and gets to the car the fastest (without spilling anything) will not cook food that day 

now, sungjin doesn’t hesitate but almost force you to stand by the entrance of the place, and make you wait there until he finished putting the stuff in the car and drive where you were 

“i need exercise too, sungjin” you’d poke him on the side while on the drive home, and sungjin just half-smiles

those days he’d try and order take out instead because, well, sometimes he just doesn’t want to cook

and you’re prepared for this, at least he lets you continue your hobby of being the master chef in the kitchen

it’s a nice way to bond with the baby and your husband. as sungjin plays music in the living room through a speaker or by singing himself

you enjoy trying new healthy recipes

the baby bump is forming shape now, your clothes definitely give out a hint. it’s been a complicated ride of what to feel about it

excited, thrilled, of course, sungjin takes a moment in the morning to really look at you

and his child that you bear so beautifully, and with so much grace

the sun shines somewhat through the curtains, and sunjin wonders how you sleep so amazingly well 

his eyes never tire of tearing up with incoming thoughts of the next few months, years with you and your little boy or girl. he doesn’t even have an inch of doubt that you’re going to raise them well, and raise them kindly

on the other hand, as sungjin thumbs over your cheek, admiring your presence in front of him...

synchronized breathing

sungjin is afraid if he will not be enough for his child. there’s so many things that can go wrong in the first three years, let alone the moment they’ll come to this world

what if he gets cold feet? what if he cannot financially support the two of you anymore? what if you become disappointed at how he’s presenting himself as a good father? 

it pains sungjin to realize all of these what-ifs. with a few more minutes to spare before he has to go to another day at work, sungjin makes sure to feel the curve of your belly, and transfer over his warmth to you 

he closes his eyes, immersing himself with the beat of his heart, knowing that it’s for you and your family

if you’re lucky, you wake up to the whispers of sungjin about the many different things he loves about you, his forever partner, the future super parent of your child

resisting to open your eyes and see his embarrassed face is almost harder than not drinking coffee nowadays

but you get used to it, just barely seeing how shiny his eyes get, how relaxed his features become and how much love leaves his lips

saying your name, singing to the baby a little good morning jingle, telling you both

“i love you so much, more than you can know in this lifetime” 

and when sungjin is busy at work, half relegating tasks to his employees and the other burying down the anxiety about leaving you at home all day alone

you do your part to ease his worries, sending him cute texts throughout the day 

sometimes he even asks about the belly more than about you

“hows the baby?? can i see?? does it feel different today?? did you feel a kick? do you think it will be twins??”

(god you hope not)

“sungjin you are at work and i can hear your colleagues laughing at your excitement, quiet down!”

he’s so proud, so so proud of you. getting those texts and short calls from you while he’s away does more assurance than you think

he readied himself by asking his family members about parenting, asking his friends about their opinions, and reading so much online that he’d forget to do his share of the workload in the office

being 100% prepared is his mission, and he thinks you’re not taking it seriously. you say it comes with intuition for you because, well, you’re carrying the baby. but there’s one thing the both of you just cannot explain to each other which confuses sungjin all the more

your cravings

it was fairly normal in the beginning, maybe you wanted cheese on everything one day, and then you just had to add peanut butter on your garlic bread… okay, at least sungjin didn’t have to eat it with you

but the times that you didn’t have the ingredients you were specifically asking for, sungjin was at a loss for words

“sungjin…” you whine on the bed with him, sitting up as best as you can with the bump and pushing his shoulders so he gets up. he was lying down but had his back facing you, as he he had tried multiple times to convince you to go back to bed already

it wasn’t successful

“babe it’s too late to go out,” he’d murmur, hugging the pillow close to him as if to block out your voice. this offends you, a little over the top than normal, so you continue shaking him up

“but i neeeed it. the baby neeeeeeds it. you want the best for baby, right? anything baby wants, baby gets, right?” you say with a pout, although futile as he couldn’t see you

sungjin groans lightly, understanding that cravings aren’t even explainable on your end but there must be something in the house that can, well, emulate what your tastebuds desired— or, sorry, the baby

“we have leftover vanilla ice cream in the fridge, sweetheart, will that be okay for now? we’ll get the other flavor tomorrow morning,” sungjin calms you down, turning over to see your face soaked with fresh tears

this gets him to sit up, cuddle mode on, but you refuse

“baby, i’m sorry—”

“no i’m sorry sungjin, i just wanted to eat because i can’t sleep if i don’t but you’re upset and now i feel so lumpy and gross and—”

“hey hey no,” he scolds you softly, never liking the way he hears you call yourself such a word. his arms embrace your from behind, hands secured on your bump as he peppers you with tender kisses on the side of your face, kissing the tears away

“sungjin i don’t look cute right now,” you pout, somehow knowing what you’re saying is ridiculous to a point and irrational, but also the way you’re thinking isn’t logical right now

“that’s a lie,” sungjin tells you. “don’t ever believe that.” 

you find his hands caressing your bump, and intertwine them together. sungjin lets you breathe in and out for a minute, as he finds it the best way to help you out when emotions start to overwhelm you

no words, no distractions, just the feel of him and his security

“do you really want strawberry cheesecake ice cream right now, babe?” he finally asks as the tension from your body dissipates. you nod and crane your neck to the side just enough to meet his lips with yours

one kiss, two kisses

sungjin looks at you brightly, smiles and nods once

“okay, i’ll get it for you, you just stay here and rest. okay?” 

exhausted from the emotions but still hungry from your cravings, you follow his words. after, he tucks you back in bed, gives your bump a quick peck and goes out the door

“don’t forget the potato chips :c” you text him 5 mins later

“of course love, pickle-dill and strawberry ice cream ready for you soon ;)”

when he came back, he didn’t think to spend the next 20 minutes watching you put the potato chips as a sort of topping for your ice cream

suffice to say, it was a strange night that ended in laughs, you trying to get him to take a bite (which you succeeded), reminiscing on old times, and falling asleep with him fitting right by your side perfectly

it were these moments that you feel more and more in love with sungjin because he doesn’t just care for you

he cares with all of his being, and you make sure he knows how much he’s appreciated with the little things he does, and the big things he shows off to you

the nursery room gets done earlier than expected, and surprisingly enough sungjin let you paint a patch or two of the wall. you spend time off decorating the whole place with pictures of the two of you way back then, pictures of your child’s (favorite) uncles, paintings you have finished that embodied the love you have for your future family, everything that reminded you of home with sungjin

“you think our baby will like it?” sungjin asks you right after hes finished with the last picture frame. it was empty, undecorated, but hung right next to the crib. 

“absolutely, appa made it with love.”

“and sweat”

and he holds you right there, the fresh scent of furniture and a new beginning amidst the air

he holds you and your blossoming family in his careful, gentle hands. and you whisk yourself away in the moment and how perfect it was, how grateful you are to live this through with sungjin

a slight kick reverberates within your bump, and sungjin glances at you immediately

another bump, and the two of you slowly form the widest grins

“i guess you got your answer, sungjin.”

his answer has already been in front of him

[am-imagines]

Got Moves. - Alex Morgan Imagine.

Requested by an anon:  his kinda sounded better in my head buttt, could you do one where Alex and the reader are dating and the reader and the younger girls go out to the club while everyone else stays at the hotel for a chill day. And then the girls get really drunk that the reader starts dancing/twerking at the club and no one knew she could dance like that and posted it to social media. And they don’t remember what happened the next day. so then when the team reunites the next day, they tease the reader

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” You ask Alex.

The team is getting ready for a fun evening, but while you and some of the youngsters want to go clubbing, the rest are happy to stay behind and have some pool fun. It’s been some time since you had a drink, and even longer from the last time you had a chance to properly dance.

In all honesty, the team has never seen your moves. In a way, you’re grateful for that. No one knows what they would do with that intel, but you’re pretty sure the teasing would be endless. Maybe they would try to start some sort of competition between Sonnett and you. Not trying to brag but, you would win without a doubt.

“I’m sure. Have fun, okay? Don’t let them break the law.”

You chuckle at her words and nod.

Even when you’re missing her already, you understand she needs some time for herself after dealing with people day in and day out. As much as she’d like to have some privacy in town, she’s Alex Morgan; everyone wants a piece of her.

Media is exhausting as it is, and you’re not gonna ask her to sacrifice the little free time you have just for a drink.

“I’ll try my best.”

There’s a smile on your lips when you lean down to kiss her. Her arms wrap around your neck as she brings you closer. Truthfully, you could do that all day long. And you would; if Rose and Mal hadn’t convinced you to go with them. O’Hara doesn’t count like an adult when alcohol is involved. She would drink her way around a concussion if left unsupervised.

“Y/N! You coming?”

Lavelle’s voice breaks the spell. You pull back reluctantly much to Alex’s amusement. The fact she wants you to have fun doesn’t mean she won’t try to keep you there as long as possible. So, she kisses you again until you forget about the girls.

“Y/L!”

“Go,” Alex says this time. “You don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“Are you sure?” You ask, leaning down to steal another kiss.

“Oh my God. Y/L! You and Janice can make up for this hard separation with sex when we get back. Now, hurry up! The car is here.”

With a sigh, you let Alex go as she chuckles with that mischievous glint in her eyes. That woman drives you crazy in all the right ways; unlike Kelley.

“Real classy, O’Hara!” You shout over your shoulder. “Have you ever heard of love?”

“I have, but that doesn’t mean our face holes are attached together all the damn time.”

You shake your head at that. There’s no way to win with an impatient Kelley. You should’ve known, but when you kiss Alex, it’s easy to forget everything else.

“Love you,” you mouth to Alex while you’re dragged away by a bunch of teenagers.

By the time you make it to the car, you start wondering if their ID’s are fake.

***

The club is packed, but there’s always space for the USWNT. They make space in a private area where the girls and you can do almost anything you want. You claim a corner of the dance club with a drink in hand, that’s enough for the fun to start.

The neon lights flash along with the music, and you follow the girls as they “dance”.

You’re basically jumping on the spot while moving your arms around; barely ducking in time before Sam wacks you in the face. It’s fun even when their rhythm sucks. Someone puts another drink on your hand as you keep fooling around. You enjoy the moment among the younglings of the team, and wonder if this is how it feels to be a parent.

The songs blend together, but at some point the beat drops. You can feel the bass in every single atom of your body, and you smirk.

The beat calls you with its sensuality, and before you know it, your body moves on its own accord. You wish Alex would be there. You would guide her back to your booth and give her a lap dance she couldn’t forget.

You would tease her with the dangerous move of your hips as you flow with the wavelength of the music around you. It fills your body with a different kind of energy; provocative by nature. It feeds your primal side, and you simply don’t have to think.

Your hips sway with that instinct as if luring a prey that isn’t there. The bass leads the way until you’re fully immersed in that moment; going down while your shoulders invite to the touch that won’t come.

It’s such a pity Alex decided to stay at the hotel. She would have liked this song.

Who knows? Maybe you could have convinced her to ditch the girls and go back to your shared room. Instead, you’re doing shots with Kelley until she’s wasted.

She’s laughing uncontrollably; trying to get into the table for God knows what reason.

Rose, Mal and Sam are on their phones, talking among themselves about something you can’t hear above the music.  They don’t even notice when you approach, and that seems like a good time as any to call it a night.

Only then you realize you’re phone is nowhere to be seen. Thinking about it, you didn’t have it with you leaving the hotel. It’s probably forgotten somewhere in your room, and you blame Kelley for that. Yes, technically you were too busy kissing Alex to even think about the damn phone. But maybe you would have remembered if O’Hara wasn’t rushing you so damn much.

“Lavelle, can you call an Uber?”

“On it,” she says without looking at you.

“Damn, Y/n! You got moves! Can you teach me some of those?” Mal asks.

“Maybe next time,” you answer with a smirk.

“Oh, I bet certain forward would really really like to see them,” Kelley adds before winking with both eyes.

Totally wasted.

“O’Hara?”

“What?”

“Shut the hell up.”

***

You wake up groggy the next morning; not hungover but you’ve definitely had better days.

Alex is nowhere to be seen, but she left a note telling you she’ll see you at breakfast. You groan after reading it, and cuddle into her pillow for five more minutes. This would be the perfect time to cuddle with her instead of the pillow, but that can’t really happen now.

You leave bed, shower and change before starting a hunt for coffee, love, and food in that specific order. The slight headache reminds you exactly why you don’t drink that much anymore.

Everyone turns their attention to you as soon as you enter and you wonder what’s going on as you shamelessly sit down on Alex’s lap. She’s your girlfriend, she’s offering you a steaming cup of coffee, and they can suck it.

It’s not like Kelley is going to move when she’s slumped all over the table; probably half dead. And you’re not going to sit on Tobin’s; Press would probably try to murder you.

“Did I miss something?” You ask when the team keeps giving you weird looks.

“Oh, God. She doesn’t remember,” Rose mutters into her orange juice.

“Remember what?”

“Yesterday we went to a club.”

That’s extremely unhelpful and you roll your eyes at that. You turn to face Alex, but she won’t meet your eye. Oh, now you really want to know what’s happening if it makes Alex fucking Morgan act like that.

“Yeah, I know. I remember Sam almost gave me a black eye while we had to drag Kelley away from the table. Her dancing is not the kind that should be broadcast.”

Alex looks up at that; eyes darker than they were a moment ago. Interesting.

The girls laugh at your comment but still, you’re even more confused. Apparently, there’s something you can’t remember even when the night is clear on your head.

“Have you checked your Insta?” Christen finally throws you a bone.

“I don’t know where’ my phone is.”

After a soft kiss, Alex lets you borrow hers to check your mentions and sure enough; there’s a vid of a very specific dance you remember. What you can’t recall is; the exact moment they started recording.

“I didn’t know you could dance like that,” Sonnett chimes.

“Yeah, no offense, but that was the point.”

You poke Kelley’s side but she doesn’t react until the fifth time.

“What do you want?”

“Why the fuck did you record me?”

“Al deserved to see it.”

“You ever heard of DM’s?”

“With the way you hog each other in public, I thought you wouldn’t mind.”

You don’t have a comeback for that so you solely wait until Kelley is dozing off again before pouring half a glass of ice cold water into her head.

“What the hell?” She shouts jerking awake just to glare at you.

“I hate you.”

“No, you fucking don’t.”

“Shows us the moves, Y/n!” Ash interrupts your staring contest with Kel.

“Sorry, those are reserved for number thirteen only.”

“Do I get to see them now?” Alex whispers.

So, that’s it. You knew she would have liked that dance. And you don’t mind putting on a very private show for her. However, it wouldn’t be good for your reputation to give on so easily.

“Tell you what, win the scrimmage today and I’ll see what I can do.”

Appealing to Alex’s competitiveness is like playing with fire, but you plan to burn.

“Game on.”

“You two are seriously disgusting.”

“O’Hara?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll shut the hell up.”

[geekygoddesss]

Vids and Tricks

Free days are the best days, everyone knows that. The reason what weekends are the best and why all of those days in between hard days of work were the best had a really simple explanation and it is simply because they are the best in the world, just like today. So far, today it’s perfect.

It is one of those days, if not the only day that I and the rest of the team have had some sort of free time in between all of the mess it’s been going on in this production. I work with my boyfriend, I have done it for a while and being his ‘stylist’ and assistant was not as easy as it sounds, not easy at all if you really think about it. As an actor, he had to be in so many places at a time and rarely had some sort of break in between productions but in the middle of all the projects he was currently working on, this one took the big crown for a lot of reasons and it’s been by far the biggest and most complicated one I have ever witnessed.

Funny thing, we thought we were over with the filming of this project almost a year ago, we call it a wrap and went back to London happier than ever for completing such a big thing, but little did we know, there were some major mistakes in post productions, scripts and everything in between, a series of unfortunate events that lead us all the way back to the middle of Canada, on a house with no cell service, bad internet but an amazing view, thing that we could barely enjoy since the hours of filming were crazy and our free time was mostly spent on crucial things like eating or sleeping or usually getting a lovable but that is another story.

We have been crazy busy these last months. Until today, the perfect day.

It was a hot summer day in Canada, a Sunday to be exact and for once, we were work free and had a full mansion to ourselves, again, it was the perfect day in all shapes and forms. Since the moment we woke up, we knew, this is the kind of day we have to prepare for, so we did; we spend all morning getting all the equipment: beers, some big stake to roast later, groceries of all kinds, floats and last but not least, sunscreen, because we decided, today it’s pool day and we will make the most of it.

The moment we finally got back to the mansion, the moment I changed into a good swimsuit and go out in the sun, I love summer and I would make sure to enjoy it at it’s best while I still can, make my best to get a good tan and relax, turn my phone off, forget the world, today is a day to relax.

So I changed my clothing, dragged one of the long chairs in front of the pool and laid in there, headphones on my ears, canceling the world and the ones around me. This is me moment.

I felt like I was in heaven, the warm sunlight against my skin, the freshness of the air around me and the beat coming from my headphones made me feel like I was in my zone, the perfect zone to be in and that is just how I laid, for hours and hours. I barely notice what goes around me, I am too in my head to even think about anything, but just when I am starting to catch some sleep and fall into some deep slumber that I was feeling the need of having for the past week, a splash of water hits my feet and my eyes are opening in big surprise. That really took me off guard.

“(Y/n)!” I hear my boyfriend’s voice yell from the other side of the pool with a hint of impatience in his voice.

“Yes?” I say in the exact same tone, as I slide myself up on the chair and sit up, lifting my sunglasses off my face and looking over at Tom, who had a sneaky smile on his face as he got himself out of the pool and walked to my direction.

“Are you listening at all?” He asks, shaking his head like a dog and splashing little drops of water all around.

“Sorry, I had my headphones on” I say, pulling the chord from them and leaving them on the little table right beside me along with my phone “what’s up?” I ask, looking up at him with a questioning look.

“I’m just about to make my biggest trick” he says, bragging, as he walks fast along the perimeter of the pool and reaching the diving platform and going up on it and walking straight to the edge.

His movements were too quick. I guess he’s been doing this for a while, it’d make sense, that would explain the splashing sounds going around and laughs everywhere, maybe I was missing out, but I didn’t care, I was having fun on my own.

“Which is?” I ask, raising my eyebrow as he happy bounces a little on the platform with the balls of his feet.

“So I jump from here, right?” he explains, pointing down at his feet and looking at me directly, making sure I was following.

“Ok” I nod

“But then Harrison throws the float and I go right through it, with… wait for it, a flip”

“Oh gosh” I shake my head, not believing or even picture how that would look like.

“Easy” he teases nodding at Harrison, who is already picking the float from the pool and walking out of the pool.

“No, not easy, you’re going to hit yourself or something” I say, Immediately objecting. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great gymnast in general, when he is on the ground but in the water it seemed a little dangerous, he looked too convinced, I knew how a good (bad) hit in the water feels like and I would hate for that to happen to him. “babe” I say, a little whiny tone in my voice.

“Babe, I’ll be fine, I’ll just hit the water at best, it’s alright” he says, chuckling. Again, too sure of this and waving this all off  “just record everything, would you?” he asks. So just for the record, I do it.

“There’s no way you’ll make that jump” I say, grabbing my phone from the table and opening up the camera.

“I will!” he says, making it sound like he was defying me.

“Don’t break your back” I say as a full warning “We don’t want broken lead characters in here” I scoff as I get him in frame.

“I won’t, I promise” he chuckles, taking a deep breathe and preparing for his biggest trick.

Sometimes he didn’t believe me when I said I loved him doing tricks all around and perfecting his ability as a gymnast after such a long time of quitting training, he said I was too paranoid that he would get hurt and become something bigger when he assured me ‘he knew what he was doing’ and I got to admit, he is right, I was paranoid and I did not want my baby to get hurt, so naturally, when things went don't to him doing these kinds of tricks, they would end up either really good or really bad. We couldn’t afford another broken nose from jumping, so I got my fingers crossed that he will be fine now that he’s in the water.

He takes one big breath and backs up on the platform just enough. He and Harrison make one serious eye contact before going on with the trick, because he seems to give his friend one silent green light as he moves on, he takes a big impulse on the platform and jumps up high, Harrison throws the float with great accuracy and Tom does indeed go through it in the first try(ish). His body go straight to it at first, but when the float is around his torso he curls his body up, doing one big flip in the air and landing on the water in the perfect position.

It takes him a brief second to catch his breath and I take it as well, because my jaw drops at the he just did and I have to control my hand from dropping the phone, that jump was really amazing.

“WOAH” He yells in emotion “OH. MY. GOD” looking up at everyone as Harrison laughed and his mom shook his head in surprise.

“That was awesome!” Harrison’s mom says, laughing in happiness.

“Did you get that?!” Tom yells, pointing at me  “Did you get it?!”

I stutter and struggle to find coherent words as I laugh “I did, I think I did” I said laughing as I stopped the video “I can’t believe it”

“Let me see” he says, sinking in the water and swimming to the edge. I move to the edge of the pool and sit on the slightly hot floor being careful to not be too close to the actual water. Tom emerges from the water and grabs on the edge of the pool as he pulls himself up and sits beside me on the floor. I put the video on the phone and show it to him as he cleans the bits of water left on his eyes and stares at the screen. He laughs at himself.

“That was awesome” He laughs, getting a little closer and leaning his chin on my shoulder this time. “I told you I would do it” he mumbles on my ear, kissing my cheek softly.

“I eat my words I guess” I chuckle, playing the video once again.

He finds it hilarious like we all did and before we can even notice, my phone is being passed around between the people around us, all of them playing the video a million times and checking out one more time, the incredible talent my boyfriend has.

I watch everyone’s reaction one by one and smile at their happiness. This was definitely being a good day for all of us. I think I was getting too much in my own thoughts like it has happened in the past, I yell in surprise when two familiar arms grab me and pull me out of my spot, throwing me in the pool along with him. There’s a cold current going around my body, all of it and I can’t help but yell in surprise once again and I emerge to the surface and find my boyfriend laughing and hugging me and I shake the excess of water off my face. That was not very nice.

“Ah! TOM” I exclaim loudly, splashing water on his face, totally with the intention of pushing him off just a little. “shit, it’s cold” I say, hugging my own body and shaking.

“Post that” He says, ignoring my words and pointing at Harrison as he swims towards me.

“Fine” he nods, making a thumbs up as he grabs my phone and sits on the same place he has been sitting for the entire afternoon.

I feel Tom wrap me in a hug, kiss on my forehead repeatedly and then presume “You defy me and I proved myself”

“I know I’m sorry” I chuckle, looking up at him  “you can do cool tricks, I think I know that”

he proudly smiles “I will take that as an apology and I accept it” he says, kissing my lips shortly and hugging me closer “now are you going to stay and swim with me or are you going to be boring and sleep in the sun?” he asks, his faded eyebrows raising.

“I wasn’t sleeping, dummy” I say, pinching his tummy a little once and then twice.

“Ouch, ouch” he says, laughing, so I stop. He moves his hands to mine and wraps them around his torso as he asks once again “so?”

I consider it for a good five seconds. Yeah sure, laying under the sun with music on for the rest of the day did not seemed like a bad idea at all, but really thinking about it, I liked the idea of hanging out with Tom just a little more on his free day, I was a great time before, but I was sure that with him I would just make my day a lot better.

“I think I’ll stay like this” I say, hugging myself to him as he smiles and kisses my forehead “not everyday you get a free day so” I mumble kissing his cheek lightly “I’ll take some advantage”

“That’s the spirit” he chuckles, squeezing my sides and swirling us around.

We hear music being played on the background, which is just perfect because it sets the perfect scene, so I lay on him and let him lead us whatever he would like us to go. Suddenly the cold was being lifted off my body and his body heat was passing onto me, making me comfortable and making me stay between his arms longer.

“Don’t be gross on the Pool” he hears his friend call in the background.

We laugh.

“Fuck off man” Tom says laughing, lifting his middle finger in the air for a brief second as we kept walking in the pool and dragging me with him.

“Where are we going?” I ask him in a small mumble, looking up at him and that smile I love so much.

“Be gross on the pool” He mumbles back, looking down at me and pecking me on the lips.

That was how I noticed he was done doing all of his tricks for the day, because today it’s his free day and it will be all about relaxing, and if relaxing meant that I would get to stick all day to his side, then I would do it without question. Because this kind of days, along with him, made it seemed just like a dream.

[lottieandlouise]

how to make it in the beauty industry by lou teasdale

From the death of the make-up artist and the rise of the beauty influencer, to cultural appropriation, contouring and boys who love make-up, Lou Teasdale offers some sage advice for all those looking to break into one of the biggest industries in the world.

A post shared by Lou Teasdale (@louteasdale) on Mar 22, 2017 at 3:05am PDT

Lou Teasedale is the make-up artist with the enviable task of keeping the 1D boys looking beautiful. Starting work in the industry 15 years ago, Lou has become one of glammest and most in demand make-up artists working today. She reflects on a changing industry and offers some tips to help guide you through it…

Everyone always asks me how to break into the make-up industry, what steps I took and what advice I can give. Well, how I did it is useless to all of you now because so much has changed. The old school beauty path vs. the new school beauty path isn't the same, but hopefully I can still help. I started my career 15 years ago, when YouTube was just for watching music videos, and the now editors of British Vogue were writing the first fashion blogs on Myspace. There were no beauty tutorials, and contouring was only taught as theatre make-up.

I went to London College of Fashion and studied Fashion Styling and Make-up before going on to work as an assistant. The beginning of most make-up artists' careers consist of over-priced courses, maybe some time as a counter girl for minimum wage, assisting on shoots that you'll get no money for and living in crappy flats in the city desperately hoping to get a break. But from working as an assistant, I managed to join the X Factor glam team, and from there got taken on by One Direction when they signed a record deal.

Fast-forward to 2017 and with Instagram, YouTube and vlogging it's a brand new industry! This generation of make-up artists are self-taught and self-employed, all from their bedrooms. They are more accurately described as "beauty influencers", and they are walking advertisements for both their skills and the products they are using. Selfie culture has introduced a multitude of faces that can move product. The digitalisation of the beauty industry demands that companies use influencers to create brand awareness and sell their products for them. Social media now dominates how we use and understand beauty and lifestyle. Not only that, beauty influencers have the ability to make serious money through sponsored ad posts. Much like when I started, and had to take assisting jobs for free, in the beginning of your beauty influencer career you need to tag loads of products and use tons of hashtags to get your content noticed. Once your profile begins to get traction, brands begin approaching you. Now, they have truly embraced the idea that girls trust their social media feeds more then they trust celebrity-endorsed adverts.

So the question is, in 2017, how do I become a beauty influencer? Here are some tips and tricks to be social media savvy. 

A post shared by Lou Teasdale (@louteasdale) on Mar 20, 2017 at 1:15pm PDT

Content, content, content... We used to have to go "testing". Shooting in our free time, for nothing. And then the only people who saw those shoots were the people we dragged our portfolios around IRL. Long. How hard is it to be constantly curating some easy beauty content for your followers to consume? Your Instagram, YouTube, vlogs, etc. need to be constantly spitting out vids and cool images. And that's easy compared with how we did it. The more, the better. If anyone tells you less is more, check their followers and I bet they have none. Contour your content and keep a consistent aesthetically pleasing theme on your social media pages. Even down to cleaning your tools, no one wants to see a filthy beauty blender on YouTube.

No trolling... Social media is your beauty community. I use it to meet other make-up artists or assistants on shoots and to keep in touch with everyone... but then it's easy to be super nice to real life people. These days you need to be sending love and emojis back and forth on each others tutorials. Be interactive, follow and support each other. 

A post shared by Lou Teasdale (@louteasdale) on Apr 7, 2017 at 8:38am PDT

Basic bitch problems... Social media has demanded that the industry check themselves before every photo shoot, catwalk or selfie. Ten years ago when images of white girls in cornrows or wearing bindis simply graced the pages of Vogue, the reader was silenced and we, the makers of the content, could produce whatever we wanted. By definition, cultural appropriation is the use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture. And the internet is reminding us stealing from other cultures is just not cool. Culture isn't a fashion statement or a beauty moment for us to use as we please. Make sure your content is not offending anyone please!

Brush up on boyfriend make-up...

Boys have been wearing make-up long before David Bowie transformed into Ziggy Stardust, or KISS ever took to the stage, but it seems recently make-up is finally on the way to becoming totally genderless to society. Images online of guys rocking a smokey eye or a bright pink lip better than you has made make-up on boys the new normal. This is not to be confused with the idea that boys wearing make-up is a hot new trend, it's just refreshing to see the internet and the beauty world breaking another barrier between the genders through exposure. Make-up as an art form should never be left just for girls or famous rockstars, and I truly believe it is because of social media that it is becoming more socially and culturally accepted to see make-up on boys. Finally. So don't be afraid to give your feed some gender-bending glam.

Your next IG selfie make-up how to… Prep and clean your face. Mix in a drop of liquid illuminator with your foundation for dat glo. Apply foundation evenly with a wet beauty blender -- wet it loads then ring it out, these are NOT meant to be used dry! With a darker foundation stick, sharply contour your cheekbones, temples, nose and chin with prominent lines. Blend. Contour those cheekbones one more time. With concealer and setting powder, pack that lighter, brighter colour under your eyes. Also, apply lighter colour under cheekbones and middle of the forehead and down the bridge of the nose. Blend. Liquid highlighter and powder highlighter on tops of cheekbones and tip of your nose. Bit more highlighter. Bit of bronzer. With a good pomade, shape and fill your brows. Now eyes (we've only just started you know). Take a warm, rich red / copper colour and apply all over the lid and buff into the crease. Sweep the red under your waterline as well. Take a true gold pigment and dab the pigment onto the centre of the eyelid, making it the focus point of your eye. Grab some falsies and glue them on for that dramatic lash game, Cheryl Cole's are actually surprisingly good. Finish off with mascara on both your falsies and lower lashes. Use a light-brown liner and liquid lipstick to finish the look.

A post shared by Lou Teasdale (@louteasdale) on Nov 24, 2016 at 8:59am PST

Your next Raya date make-up (no make-up make-up) how to… Prep and clean your face. Cover up any spots (don't panic and pop the big one that grew over night) with concealer. Hold tissue to your bleeding spot because you popped it. Take an elixir and mix it in with your foundation. Apply foundation evenly with a wet beauty blender. Conceal under eyes. Lightly contour your cheekbones with a darker powder or bronzer. Lightly apply highlighter to cheekbones and cupids bow. Fill in eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil. In the crease, blend in a nude taupe colour to define your eyes. Apply a couple layers of mascara. Carefully apply red lip liner, fill in with a matte liquid red lip.

Your next festival look where you won't culturally appropriate how to…. Prep and clean your face (make sure it's water in that bottle, not vodka). Apply a tinted SPF moisturiser all over your face. Lightly fill in brows with a pencil. Grab a red eyeshadow (or red lipstick) with lots of pigment and apply all over the lid and crease and under waterline. Apply an iridescent glitter highlighter generously all over your cheekbones. Apply a couple layers of mascara… red mascara is even better. Put your hair in space buns.

[coconutseaways]

June 7, 2017 - Two more sleeps!!!

At last...Our self steering is installed, the bow sprit attached. The mast has been packed and sealed and the sails are ready to fly...At last. This past week has been hectic and stressful trying to make sure every affair is in order: We dropped the car off with family of Mike's and no longer have land transportation other than two feet and a heartbeat (Well 4 and 2 but you get it). It was a bittersweet goodbye. It's so strange not being able to see the car from our anchorage. Not being able to jump in and go pick up whatever. But glad we no longer have to worry about these crazy Canadian drivers haha. So we have done our last shop, and stocked up on everything we really need (which is peanut butter, coffee, hot chocolate and chocolate if you looked at our inventory). We have easily enough food to last a few months for our 2 week trip. Which needs to be less than 2 weeks. Since our first booking is on the 23 of THIS MONTH! Ya I'm kind of freaking out 😧😨😫 but we have calculated the distance (~1650 nautical miles) and how much we need to do each day. With a magnificent wind from the west Mike assures me we will make it in time, and that we will have a couple days to spare. He was able to do long runs on his own, having to steer through some absolutely terrible conditions when coming down from Quebec City to Chester Basin, Nova Scotia (where we are now). And it was October...so it was cold. Now we are going to be in 24 degrees water, with 2 of us and an autohelm to help us out. We will be able to go 24 hours a day and do our 4 hour shifts quite happily. Hot chocolate will be my addiction I'm sure. I'm so excited to just see water. In every direction, nothing but sea and sky, sky and sea. The must-do jobs have taken time due to the wind and weather. Going up the mast requires a calm day which are far and few between here in Nova Scotia (yes I'm complaining about the wind again). We've had to wait it out and finally, the winds slowed enough to let Mike go up this morning. Cutting it close as usual. He went up and adjusted the rigging to his satisfaction. I hate hoisting him all the way up there. It's a little bit tough, but the winch on the mast does most of the work. I just have to crank the handle and keep the cable rolling nicely. But then when he's up there I just stand at the bottom waiting, trying not to rock the boat by stepping around, because the movements are so exaggerated at the top of the mast. We kiss before he goes up and we kiss as soon as his feet are back on deck. We do everything as safely as we can but you never know. We are winning! The rigging is set! The rigging job was exhausting; Mike used a lot of concentration and energy being up there so once he was done, we took a well deserved tea and cookie break :) After Mike had rested a bit after that big job, we lifted anchor and went to the marina to fill up our water tanks and every bottle we had. Water is gold and we will treat it as such. I am not concerned that we will run out before we get there but always better to be safe than sorry. We leave Saturday morning as soon as this large system just passes us. The first 6 hours might be a little rough and wet (phrasing...I know) but the storm passes quickly and then we have a beautiful westerly wind to blow us all the way there. The wave pattern is in our favour, with very low waves and in our direction. We estimate it will take 24-36 hours to cross the cold wall where we slip into the Gulf Stream of warm 20+ degrees weather. We plan to head southeast so we intercept the stream in the shortest amount of time but also so that the current is with us and we get a nice ride east with it before it starts looping around. If we go too far straight south, we will hit the stream when there is counter current and will have to fight it. Not a good idea. We have set up the route in our gps and we are ready to start our grand voyage!! No more phone!! No more data!! Ahh. Not gonna lie, I will miss it. I am notorious for scrolling fb aimlessly and I know it will be good to get off of this screen for a bit. Other than to read that is, since I did store a bunch of books on here to keep me busy. We have a lot of actual paper books too so I think I'm set. Mike and I have already finished one that we have been reading together. Wilbur Smith: "Desert God". Pretty good story. It definitely helped us pass the evening hours when it was dark and too cold to do anything without being under a blanket. We bought the next book in the series at walmart. We walked past the books which I don't normally pay attention to and the book caught my eye immediately. The only book from that author and it is the next one in the series that we just read. Coincidence? As Gibbs would say, "there's no such thing as coincidence" But anyways no phone. At least until we get there. Then I will probably pick up a SIM card so I can contact friends and family. At least there's wifi all over the place in any event. The inreach is able to send emails and SMS messages, but only a limited amount. We can post to fb but just text. So I will collect a nice amount of pictures on the crossing and I promise to do a nice big post with all of the pics and the story of our crossing. I bet some of you are wondering about my last blog when I said I would be getting in the water before we pull anchor. Well guess what I did!!! Fully suited up I got in and got a little bit of video and a couple pics. There wasn't too much around today but I did manage to get a school of tiny fish and a moon jelly. But the one I really wanted to get is this devastating looking jellyfish. It's purpleish red and the tentacles are long and stringy. Around the hood it looks like stringy fibreglass. I could just imagine how bad those stings would hurt. There was one hanging around the boat in the morning while I was hoisting Mike up the mast...of course when I can't get a pic. And when I was snorkelling I did find one but he ended up being right underneath me and I had to back away quickly so those tentacles didn't mess me up. When I tried to come in and find it again, it was gone. elusive little bastard. Probably the size of a dinner plate and the tentacles were easily 2 feet long. I will find this jelly again!!! Mike is so great, he rowed around in the dinghy near me in case I needed him and was also trying to spot jellyfish for me to record. We are such a great team together. It was awesome to get in the water and tryout my new wetsuit. It's so thick and warm I love it!!! I get cold so fast in the water. Can't wait to get into some wilder seas. It was pretty sweet. A few vids and pics will be up right after this. So this will be the last blog until we reach the Azores and I am able to get wifi or a SIM card to hook my phone up. But you can follow us at this link https://share.garmin.com/CoconutSeaways (password is coconut) and watch us track across the Atlantic. This is an awesome unit that allows us to share our track, our route and any messages we send out. Every 4 hours our position will be pinged out. I hope you guys have enjoyed the lead up to this great adventure. I know it's been a lot of talk about work and sitting around and waiting for this or that. But now the real excitement begins. The real trip across the ocean is beginning and I couldn't be more excited. Thanks for following us and reading this blog. I appreciate any and all the support we've received in this epic journey we are about to embark on. I love you all and will see you guys on the other side of the Atlantic.