Candidly Brash with C.Blue

[featuring Raven Johnson]: I'm bacckkkkkkkkkkk. I know it's been a minute, so I won't even drag this out. 2022 was supposed to be the year of love for me, and so far, the metrics are basically non-existent. Coming from the most traumatized depth of my soul, fuck love (just kidding)! Since it's warming up outside, it's back to the streetssss soon and very soon. In this episode, we're just checking back in and providing updates on what we've been up to, new revelations, "a-ha" moments, and closing the chapter on dating for the podcast! Also, this episode is the raw recording. No edits, just vibes! Enjoy!

[featuring Yana]: If "bad" words make you cringe or uncomfortable, this definitely isn't the episode for you! The dating and relationships series would be incomplete without talking about sex, orgasms, and everything else in between. Yana and I have been friends for 15 years, so I can promise you, there were so many topics that were untouched or grazed over, but I hope you get a kick out of this one! I know the title says Pu$$y Talk, but to my men, there's some good content here for you too! Did I mention this is my first time doing an episode straight with no edits? Yeah. Y'all are getting the 100% raw and uncut from now on. Tune in, listen, learn, and enjoy!

[featuring Kayla and Jordan]: Sorry for the mid season break. I don't have any explanation other than life, but I'm back! I'm working on pulling in more diverse participants consistently, so I have two guests again, but to answer your next question, no, they're not in a relationship like the Green Flags episode. We have Kayla, a Black woman "20 something" who has been in a couple relationships, but she is currently single and has never been in anything that can make her say, "yes! I've been in love," and Jordan, a Black man "20 something" who has been in love and is currently in a relationship and in love right now. We explore our foundations of love (have we ever seen strong examples or are we just out here trying to figure it out as we go), love languages, expectations, past experiences and "hot takes" on love. We honestly landed at the intersection and interconnection of love and relationships most of this episode, so if you tune in, you'll get a solid cross gender dialogue about both! 

[featuring Mar]: I'll be honest up front! This episode is all over the place just like my dating life. Mar and I were on joke time most of the episode, but this has definitely been one of my favorites to record. We discuss our dating experiences (highlighting some of the best and worst), reflect on our own toxic dating traits, pinpoint turn-offs during the dating phase, and even dive into the millennial dating favorite "situationships". Half of my editing for this episode was cutting out us dying laughing, so I know you're going to love this because we had a good Black ass time recording it. It started to get a little raunchy, and I had to catch myself. We're saving the nasty stuff for another episode *insert purple demon emoji*

[SPOILER ALERT- featuring Raven Johnson]: I still wanted to share this outtake and moment of reflection/reaction to the Decision Day episode of Season 12 (Atlanta) of Married at First Sight. This is focused on Chris and Paige because they have been sending me into a frenzy the entire season. It got so bad, I stopped watching the regular season and only tuned in for the Decision Day because I wanted to see Paige take her power back and I definitely didn't get to see that. I still had to turn it off before I even found out the true final decision. I guess I'll try again on the reunion.

[featuring Raven Johnson]: We're digging into how familial trauma plays a foundational role in how you show up in relationships with your intimate partners, how relationship trauma can perpetuate childhood trauma, know when you have relationship PTSD and what healing actually looks like and how the process is NOT linear. I honestly had some uncomfortable moments of processing (I don't actively mention it in the episode, but the editing made me cringe, like "throw this whole thing away because why was I was reading myself out loud like this"), but I am so glad I did it and now this episode is behind me! Yes!

[featuring Kamry Stanford]: When I originally conceptualized this episode, it was going to be one hour discussing the impacts of both familial and intimate relationship trauma. The more I thought about the two experiences separately, the more I realized I had too much pain to try and squeeze into 60 minutes of content. The Trauma & Healing has been broken into two separate episodes for you. In this Part 1 episode, we focused on family. Specifically, the impact our parents and how their relationships with one another and us impacted our upbringing. How we communicate, process pain, trials, and tribulations, accomplishments and honestly how we view the world and what's considered "normal" is largely based on our parents. I'm not sure which matters most, nature v. nurture, but it all plays a significant role in our identity and orientation to the world. In this episode, get ready to unpack and address some things that have shown themselves as 20 somethings, being raised by Baby Boomer and Generation X parents. We'll also be talking about healing and how we've been actively working with our parents to build better relationships and futures as a family. 

[featuring Tyra Keitt]: I feel like red flags are my specialty at this point. I can pinpoint them quickly and exit stage left even faster! I brought in my line sister (who is also single, and we found out during the recording coincidentally has a very similar track record with her ex) to discuss red flags in dating, relationships, and even friendships. We even go far enough to discuss red flags in dating that turn into black flags in relationships, and knowing when it's time to truly walk away. Discernment of red flags is such an important skill to have when dating, but it's one of those skills that can only be developed through dating. It feels like one of those things that align to having to get your feelings hurt or your heart broken to fully understand, which absolutely sucks, but so worth it now that I understand exactly what I need/am looking for in partner.

[featuring Jasmine Davis and Trey Evans]: I'm no "relationship guru," but I realized pretty early that my understanding of relationships and compatibility was developed through the hard lessons I learned through relationship failures. No one ever taught me green flags in dating. What are the positive traits I should be prioritizing when I'm dating and getting to know someone? My answer to this question was only based on knowing what I don't want, and we all know that knowing what I don't want is not synonymous to knowing what I do want. I brought in some back up on this episode because I clearly haven't seen a lot of green flags in my dating experiences since I'm still single, so you'll get to hear from two of my friends engaged to be married in the fall to bring some balance to the conversation. I know my male audience wants to be represented in these topics often, so don't say I'm not inclusive. 

[featuring Morgan Robinson]: I thought my 20s would be full of relationships, love, marriage, and kids. Now, I'm over 25 and wondering if I'm even doing this right. I realized my expectations for my 20s around dating and relationships were based on standards that were set by 14 year old me that had been socialized into believing that a husband and kids equaled "success" in my 20s. Clearly, I have a lot to unlearn.