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cyarskj1899 · 2 years

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10 Secrets To Feeling Super Sexy (When You Don't)

Shellie R. Warren

Jul. 27, 2019 12:58PM EST

Rihanna. Ryan Destiny. DeWanda Wise. Jill Scott. Kelly Rowland. Nicole and Bria Murphy. Kelis. Tika Sumpter. Yara Shahidi. Meagan and L'Myia Good. Janelle Monáe. Toni Braxton. Leela James. Karen Obilom. Nia Long. Lynn Whitfield. Lauren London. Sanaa Lathan. The late Aaliyah. Kerry Washington (especially in the movie She Hate Me). I could go on and on, Lord knows, but when I think of celebrity women who are also quite sexy (at least to me), those are some of the ones who immediately come to mind.

What's dope about the list is they're all different when it comes to their look, their style and their age. At the same time, what they each have in common is there's a hint of mystery and exoticness about them.

Regardless of your sexual preference, when you see them, you tend to do a double-take and, if you were the type to share your WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday), they are the kind of women who would be on your list. They are appealing. They are exciting. Yep—they are sexy.

The reason why I listed them is because if I threw out the names of some of my friends or the woman who does my nails or this chick that I always see whenever I go to a particular mall, you wouldn't have a point of reference. My point in saying that is, a lot of women exude sexiness regardless of size, economic status or platform. Not only that, but just by being a woman alone, there are simple things that we can do to turn the volume up on our own sexiness in 10 minutes or less.

If you've got days when you don't feel your best but you want to feel a little more sultry, risqué or even glamorous, I think if you try some of the following hacks, you'll start feeling intensely excited about your own damn self. After all, the sexiest women radiate from the inside out, not the outside in. That is the foundational key for all things sexy.

1. Invest in Some Sexy Underwear

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I'll be working on an article about the expiration dates of various things soon enough. But for now, just know that if you haven't gotten new bras and panties within the past 6-12 months, you are seriously overdue. If you know that some of your underwear has been in your drawers for at least three Christmases, treat your body to some new stuff. Then make sure that some of what you get is on the sexy side—lace bras, high-cut panties…things that make you feel like you've got a hot date with the finest man alive whenever you put that kind of stuff on (even if you don't).

Oh, and if you're like me and, because your "girls" are on the super-big-and-full side, it's hard to find sexy brassieres, one of the other writers here wrote about some of the sexy bras that she loves. Also, an overseas brand that I've come to adore is Figleaves. I can personally attest to the fact that the way you move changes when your undies are on the sexy tip.

2. Paint Your Nails (a Blue-Based) Red

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Red is a fascinating color. As far as color psychology goes, it represents love, passion, fire and desire. What's really cool about the hue is it's something that women of any shade or ethnicity will look amazing in. If you're a woman of color, the key is to look for one that has a blue-base to it. It's more sophisticated and will complement your complexion better. As far as red lipstick goes, The Zoe Report has a list of 'em. But if you want to give your fingers and nails a bit of a red sexy pop, Red Diamond Crushed Diamonds Patent Shine 10x Nail Lacquer is a great-high end nail polish while China Glaze's Heart of Africa is a pretty awesome department store find.

3. Curl Your Eyelashes

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Something that all of us should have in our possession is an eyelash curler. It has a way of opening up your eyes and extending the length of your lashes simultaneously. With curly lashes and a coat or two of mascara on them, you can flirt all day long without saying a single word.

4. Apply a Shimmery Lip Gloss

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Anyone who knows me knows that if I've got an addiction to anything, it's lip gloss. I really can't tell you how many tubes that I have; it really is low-key a problem. I think what I like so much about gloss is I can put some on real quick, with or without lipstick, and my lips will instantly have a sexy pout to them.

If you really want your lips to stand out, go with a gloss that has some shimmer in it. Some brands that I think work pretty well include C.O. Bigelow Mentha Shimmer Bare Mint, sweetnectarbeauty's Vegan Lip Gloss and Maybelline New York Lip Studio Electric Shine Prismatic Lip Gloss Makeup, Lunar Gem. To tell you the truth, you can easily make some of your own too. All you need is some coconut oil, make-up grade glitter and a couple of other items and you're all set. Get the walk-through on how to do it here.

5. Also Apply Some Bronzer to Your Skin

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Remember how I said that actor Ryan Destiny is super sexy to me? One of the things that I find to be so alluring about her is her deep chocolate skin that seems to have no pores or flaws. Yeah, smooth skin is definitely all-the-way-up sexy.

I wasn't blessed with that kind of skin, but I will say that exfoliation, sulfur soap (it's great if you've got acne) and using sweet almond oil as a moisturizer has done wonders! Also, when I want my skin to have a radiant glow, bronzer makes that happen.

Girl, if you've never gone out with some bronzer on your skin, words can't express how much you're missing out! Forget what others will think; you'll have a hard time walking past a mirror and not staring at your own self! So yeah, make an investment into your complexion and cop some.

(By the way, this is something else that you can make at home. For step-by-step instructions on how to make shimmering body lava, click here.)

6. Rub an Essential Oil onto Your Hair

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OK, so you do have a favorite scent, right? How often do you put it on? Me? I'm an essential oils gal myself. Usually I blend two or three of them together to come up with a signature smell. Anyway, while putting a fragrance on your wrists and neck is all good, don't sleep on rubbing some of it onto your hair. For one thing, it will linger there longer than most other places. Plus, it has a way of leaving a trail wherever you go.

Oh—if you're kind of new to the whole essential oil thing, some scents that are really sexy include rose, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli and cinnamon.

9. Rock Some Glasses (Whether You Need Them or Not)

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A couple of years back, for about six months or so, I had to wear some prescription glasses so that they could correct a mild astigmatism that I had (one that existed, apparently since birth, that made itself known after I turned 40). But with all of the frames I've got in my bedroom, you'd think I was blind as a bat! I've always liked how a good frame looks on my face. On both men and women, I think glasses are uber sexy.

It appears that I'm not the only one; glasses seem to have a psychological effect on all of us. They frame our face, show off our personality, give off a vibe of confidence, intellect and a bit of quiet reserve, and they definitely offer up a hint of mystery.

That's why you should treat yourself to a pair of glasses (prescription or not optional); not because your vision necessarily needs them, but because wearing frames is another easy way to look and feel sexy in a matter of moments.

10. Wear an Oversized Men’s Button-Down Shirt

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A couple of years ago, a popular fashion trend was women wearing a man's button-down dress shirt. To me, it's not a "trend" so much as a classic go-to. It's empowering and feminine. It looks great on all body types. And, it's the kind of thing that you can wear with a tailored business suit or just to lounge around the house in. And, if you've got a significant other, he's probably gonna find that to be as seductive as any lingerie number you own. It's a win/win all the way around. Stay sexy, sis!

Featured image by Getty Images

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter here and check out the related reads below:

Quick & Easy Self-Esteem Hacks That Will Have You Feeling Yourself

4 Women On Loving Your Beauty As A Black Woman

7 Black-Owned Lingerie Brands That Will Revitalize Your Sexy

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9 ways to feel confident and sexy when you feel old, fat and gross ›

19 Ultimate Secrets to Be a Sexy Man [Even Without Good Looks] ›

A Lingerie Designer's Best Advice For Feeling Sexy In Your Skivvies ... ›

How to Feel Sexy Right Now | Allure ›

How to be sexy: I tried to be sexy for a week and this is what happened ›

4 Ways to Be Really Sexy with Your Boyfriend - wikiHow ›

How to Feel Sexy – Dita Von Teese Tips on Feeling Sexy ›

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5ft2sunflower · 1 year

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TikTok Is Obsessed With Water. Experts Are Concerned

Welcome to WaterTok, where the ice is loud, the vibes relentlessly positive, and the beverages zero-calorie

BY EJ DICKSON | APRIL 14, 2023 | Article Link

“I’m on my second water of the day and it is 11:55, so I am cruisin’ with the water goals today!” Tonya Spanglo cheerily announces in her TikTok video. She bounds over to her “water bar,” a collection of sundry Skinny Mix syrups on a Lazy Susan. Cotton candy flavor? Nope. Dragon fruit acai? Nah, not today. She settles on coconut, mixed with a packet of pineapple flavoring, because, as she trumpets, “Mama’s trying to have a pina colada!” She breaks out her peach-colored, 40 oz. Simple Modern cup, twirls around her straw, and takes a sip before breaking out into Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).”

Welcome to WaterTok, where the ice is loud, the vibes relentlessly positive, and the beverages zero-calorie. The hashtag, which has about 94.1 million views, features a panoply of upbeat, mostly white women in athleisure with charming Southern accents, showing off their recipes for flavored water in their giant metal Stanley cups. There is peach-ring flavored water. There is Dole Whip-flavored water. There is even banana-split-flavored water, and, perhaps most infamously, birthday cake.

With her messy bun, Oklahoman twang, and relentlessly upbeat manner, Spanglo, who goes by @takingmylifebackat42 on TikTok, is the undisputed champion of the genre, posting her first concoction — a coconut-and-pineapple-flavored beverage mixed with Sonic’s ocean water packet, which she dubs “mermaid water” — in June 2022. “I have been dubbed the queen of WaterTok,” she tells Rolling Stone, as her four-year-old granddaughter plays in the background (later, she will request a sip of water, though Spanglo will inform me that it is plain). Through posting her water recipes on TikTok, she’s garnered more than 700,000 followers, as well as an affiliate partnership with Skinny Mixes, from which she says she gains a 10 percent sales commission with her videos. (A rep for Skinny Mixes confirmed to Rolling Stone that following Spanglo’s mermaid water video, Mermaid sold out a record seven times.)

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Like many other food trends on TikTok, #WaterTok could be seen as relatively innocuous, if not a little silly; many commenters have pointed out that flavored water is essentially juice, or that using artificial sweetener-laden Skinny syrup is not exactly healthy. Others have noted that WaterTok skews heavily white, female, and Southern (a critique that Spanglo, who is all three, dismisses: “Maybe I need to do more research, [but] I do not know where that came from,” she says).

Meagan Anderson, an over-40 lifestyle influencer from Texas who has made her own #WaterTok videos involving collagen, acknowledges that even she was wary when she first saw the trend: “Water seems so simple. And flavored packets have been around forever. It’s basically the same thing as Kool-Aid to someone my age,” she tells Rolling Stone. “It was funny — the younger generation was basically making Kool-Aid come back again, kinda like skinny jeans or parachute pants.”

Yet watching content creators on TikTok playing alchemist with various flavored packets and syrups is admittedly hypnotizing, even if it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. Some experts, however, have genuine concerns about the trend, pointing out that because many of the videos are targeted toward weight loss, the videos could be harmful to those struggling with disordered eating habits.

WaterTok “has the element of danger because it is a classic eating disorderbehavior that happens,” says Jillian Lampert, chief strategy officer for the Emily Program and Veritas Collaborative, which offers comprehensive eating-disorder treatment programs in nine states. “In their fear and anxiety about eating and weight, they try to minimize the calories that come in.” Lampert refers to the practice of filling up on fluids as a means of ignoring hunger cues as “long-term, old-school eating disorder behavior.”

To be fair, not every WaterTok video is hashtagged #weightloss, and the trend is not overtly coded as a weight-loss method. Yet its origins are indeed rooted in weight loss, at least according to Spanglo, who is not the original progenitor of the trend but has certainly done more than anyone else to popularize it. Spanglo tells Rolling Stone she began drinking flavored water as a way to meet her water goals after having gastric sleeve surgery three years ago, with her doctor recommending she drink at least 64 ounces per day to aid in her recovery. She says drinking plain water made her literally ill: “It would make me so full I would puke. You feel like something is erupting in your esophagus,” she says. She had already been using Skinny syrups to flavor her coffee, so she decided to try using them to flavor her water; following her surgery, she has lost more than 220 pounds, she says.

Spanglo says she started posting her water recipes on TikTok last year, with her mermaid water and her “unicorn” water — a mix of a pink Starbursts packet and Skinny syrup’s blue raspberry frosting flavor — racking up millions of views. Along with her general weight-loss content, she now posts water recipes almost every day, most of which get hundreds of thousands of views; after featuring her new clear cup (“so people can see all the colors”) in a recent video, the cup sold out on Amazon within two hours of the video going live.

Though Spanglo says her followers range widely in terms of demographics, she estimates that about 60 percent are gastric bypass patients like her who are trying to meet their water goals. “We have built this weight-loss community and we are all getting healthier and happier together,” she says.

Lampert, however, has concerns about WaterTok, particularly since much of the content is marketed with the hashtag #weightloss. Though, she says, it will likely prove harmless for the majority of those who encounter it, for people who are vulnerable to developing disordered eating habits, “it can very easily be a way for people to feel like they are ingesting food and adequate nourishment when they are not,” she admits.

In addition to the fact that many people with eating disorders drink excessive amounts of water to drown out hunger cues, there are also significant healthissues associated with overconsumption of water, says Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, the CEO and chief medical officer of Within Health, a remote treatment program for people with eating disorders. She cites hyponatremia, a condition that causes low levels of sodium in the body and can potentially lead to cardiac effects, as one potential complication.

“Anything that is egging us on to drink water to lose weight has the potential to take us out of being balanced and thoughtful in our pursuit of health, to doing things that become dangerous,” she says. Though there is a clear distinction between trying to stay well-hydrated (the standard rule of thumb for adults is about 64 fluid ounces, or eight cups, per day) and overconsumption of water to the point of risking one’s health, Oliver-Pyatt cautions that using water as a weight-loss tool makes it easier for people to lose sight of that distinction. “If you’re drinking water to lose weight, Houston, we have a problem,” she says.

That concern is exacerbated by the nature of TikTok’s algorithm, which recommends content to users that they are more likely to engage with, regardless of whether they’re actively searching for it. Due to its algorithm and its relatively young user base, TikTok has come under scrutiny from eating disorder specialists, who have argued that the platform prioritizes potentially harmful content in the form of weight-loss ads and potentially triggering “What I Eat In a Day”-type videos.

In response to this criticism, TikTok issued a policy limiting weight-loss product ads for those under 18, and it has also added a disclaimer to weight-loss searches on the app. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for TikTok noted #WaterTok does not appear to be violative of any of its policies, stating, “content that promotes, normalizes, or glorifies disordered eating is prohibited on TikTok and we remove content that violates those guidelines.”

Nonetheless, despite these safeguards, Lampert says the prospect of falling down a weight-loss-content rabbit hole on an app like TikTok can be dangerous for those struggling with disordered eating.

“From a client perspective, we hear so much [about TikTok], regularly, with clients under 40,” she says. “The story used to be, ‘I heard about this diet from a friend and then before I knew it I was out of control.’ Now, all of the stories start with, ‘I was online and I saw this thing and I got sucked into it, and even when I tried to change my content I couldn’t, and my whole feed was around diet and weight loss.’ That’s really striking to me as a clinician.”

When asked about whether her WaterTok videos promote disordered eating, Spanglo says she never advocates for flavored water as a meal replacement (though she does make videos promoting protein shakes for this purpose), and that she notes in most of her videos and Lives that she is not a trained dietitian or nutritionist. “I’m not telling you what’ll work for you. I’m saying what worked for me,” she says. Anderson says that she is “12,000 percent against” using flavored water as a “cheat or hack”: “I am anti-diet and anti-skipping calories. I am pro giving your body things it needs,” she says. “This does not add to your nutritional needs. It’s just elevating your water.”

Yet with WaterTok booming and receiving media coverage around the world — Spanglo says that within the past 48 hours alone, she received requests from Katie Couric, the Drew Barrymore show, and the New York Post to talk about her videos — it’s easy to see how that message could potentially get lost in a sea of general diet and weight-loss content promoted as wellness.

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“It will help some people because they’ll drink more water,” says Lampert. “But some people will think that drinking birthday-cake-flavored water is the same as eating birthday cake. And it’s not.”

Update 1:40 p.m., 4/14/23: This story has been updated to include comment from a TikTok spokesperson.

#TikTok #WaterTok #Flavored water #Jillian Lampert #Tonya Spanglo #Lifestyle influencer

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erineverly · 2 years

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❝ guess who’s home early! where’s my… oh, my goodness. ❞ erin’s nose wrinkles in tandem with her brow, her lips parting in disbelief as she fails to conceal how she’s really feeling about the sight in front of her. a flurry of emotions flickers across her features and eventually a full-bodied sigh escapes her. she definitely needs a moment to process the fact that her precious, sweet, angelic baby girl is dressed as m.ichael m.yers, running towards her on her wobbly legs, clutching a plastic knife in her tiny hand, eager to greet the curly-haired brunette and show off her brand new outfit — the infamous mechanic jumpsuit paired with ghostly pale, creepy-looking mask, ketchup smeared all over, imitating blood. as erin struggles to understand why on earth anyone would think this is a great idea and an age-appropriate halloween costume, m.eegan remains perched on the leather couch, laughing so hard that it’s a wonder she hasn’t busted a lung yet.

today is evie’s first halloween, or at least the first one where she kind of understands the idea of dressing up and can go from one house to another with her mom, admire the decorations and enjoy some candy. she’s still too young to understand what this holiday is all about, neither can she truly grasp the meaning of most halloween costumes ( including the one she’s wearing right now ). which is why erin made sure to plan her outfit months in advance, every detail meticulously tended to and taken care of — she wanted to put her daughter in something cute, but also something that she could wrap her head around, something that would put a giant smile on her face.

just like her own mother when she was about the same age, evie is obsessed with disney princesses and there’s one in particular that bears a striking resemblance to the little girl — snow white. every time she spots her favorite character on the tv, her pale skin, dark curls and the red headband, evie goes absolutely ballistic. there’s nothing the little girl loves more than snow white. which is why erin spent hours, stayed up late and woke up early, trying to sew the most beautiful costume on the planet… and now her child is dressed as a murderer and having the time of her life. great, just great.

❝ pwetty. pwetty pwincess, ❞ evie chirps in her tiny voice, smiling disarmingly at her mom. erin doesn’t want to break her innocent heart so, despite feeling nauseous, she crouches down and pretends to be completely in awe of the costume that’s being presented to her. her hand lands over her heart and she gasps again, watching her baby twirl and dance happily. ❝ ev and i decided this is way prettier than the princess costume, ❞ meegan explains, practically beaming at her friend, clearly oblivious to how inappropriate it is to dress a toddler in a costume that represents all kinds of evil things. they could have as well picked the grim reaper, erin thinks to herself, fighting off the urge to tell the other how she feels. she doesn’t want to sound mean or come off as ungrateful, after all meegan does spend a lot of time with evie and babysits her whenever erin needs to go to work or wants a moment to herself, but… this is a lot to take in.

❝ isn’t this the funniest thing ever? the coolest halloween costume, right? ❞ meegan asks, giggling as she gently pats the toddler on the back. erin can only shake her head in response, afraid if she utters even just a word, she’ll end up fighting with her best friend in front of her daughter or worse… hurt meagan’s feelings. they clearly have a different definition of a cool halloween costume and fun. she doesn’t find it one bit funny, especially when she thinks about how much evie hates getting her curls wet and screams bloody murder every time she as much as reaches for the shampoo bottle, and she’ll have to somehow get all the fake blood out of her hair. amazing. besides, putting an innocent baby in a costume so scary and vile should be illegal. for little children halloween should be all about cuteness, making caramel apples, visiting pumpkin patches, baking cookies, not gore and slasher films and haunted houses. m.ichael m.yers isn’t just an inappropriate costume choice, it’s disturbing and says a lot about the child’s parents. grown ups can dress as whatever, sultry, scary, it doesn’t matter because grown ups can understand the meaning of what they’re wearing. but children? they’re simply too little. she’s been planning on taking a bunch of pictures of evie tonight and she wants to be able to show them to her friends without cringing.

❝ mhm, wow — you look beautiful, honeybun, but mommy though you wanted to be snow white and wear the cute dress? and the red headband? come on, it’s getting late. we should probably change while we still have some time left, ❞ erin subtly suggests, but the toddler shakes her head and even stomps her foot stubbornly. a sigh falls from the brunette’s lips. and so it begins, she thinks, deciding she’ll have to have a serious conversation with meegan about all this later tonight. it’s ridiculous…

#drabbles.#halloween.#au verse: 1985.

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theprivatearchives · 2 months

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5th January 2021

I watched most of the Anne of Green Gables movie with Megan Follows today, since I was watching Anne With an E and I have so many thoughts. Just the appearance of what you see has such stark difference to how the newer Anne looks and it is incredible just hom huch difference it makes when you go from an 80s set with 80s cameras and everything to a set of the late 2010s. It's incredible.

Well as I was watching the film, I did think how terribly fast everything was progressing. There are SO many great scenes in Anne, but it felt like the film was constantly clopping along at a fast pace jumping time here and there, whereas Anne With an E seemed too much to the other side where I was thinking "how can they draw these things out for so long?"

One thing I love about Anne With an E, though, is how they take the time to build the minor characters. :} (The major ones, too, actually.) I was so excited when Matthew mentioned Jerry the farmhand in the movie, but he was literally never in a scene. He was just mentioned twice, whereas in Anne With an E, he is a real-time character and one of my absolute favourites if I'm honest.

The same thing goes for every one of the school-yard kids, including Gilbert. I didn't use to mind the lack of breadth and depth to Gilbert and Anne in their younger years, but I guess after seeing Anne With an E, I missed the backstory and multiple scenes that just weren't in Anne of Green Gables - the movie.

I wonder if it was because I had grown accustomed to Amybeth's Anne, or something else entirely, but seeing Meagan play younger Anne always felt a little "off" to me. Even though I think she is much lovelier than Amybeth's version. That said, Gilbert in the TV show is nicer-looking than Gilbert in the film, although neither of them are that great. Marilla is one and the same. XD

I hate Prissy and Mr. Phillips in both versions. :yuck:

Anyway, the nicest thing about Anne of Green Gables - the movie rather than Anne With an E has to be the wholesomeness. I can watch it with my whole family and not have to worry. It's beautiful and funny, uplifting and curious and there's no "modern nonsense" sewn into the pattern. Anne With an E seems to forget every so often that it is a period show based on an irrepressibly positive book / book series and instead it brings in all kinds of 21st century bull. I won't go into detail as I don't want my post to get deleted, but if you're over 19 you'll probably pick up on it if you know the original story and you watch the show. It's entirely unfortunate and I with the creators didn't see this show as an opportunity to indulge their own philosophies and use it as a vehicle to bring their ideals into the living rooms of houses all around the world.

The single part that I appreciated that they added was the bit where Anne "becomes a woman" for the first time. That is brilliant. Perhaps not too suitable if there is a wide male audience but if it's primarily a female audience, which I'm pretty sure it is, that will land /very/ well indeed. Lol

#reposting my very old fandom posts from an old site

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meowmeowbeepy · 8 months

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A tale of how I was a poo poo pants

This weekend Ben was busy but came up so we could have an afternoon/evening date. Yay! I was happy. We had a perfectly unplanned date starting w/ La La Land that I was wanting for some reason even though I've really only been there once but had a good impression. Then we went to Hermann Park near the Med Center. It was friggin cold but lovely. The Japanese tea garden was serene, and it was just nice being outdoors I guess. I don't really remember any of it from childhood. Maybe the outdoor pavilion a little bit. Afterwards, we spontaneously went to his friends house, and I got to play with their super cute almost 2yo daughter. At this point of my life I LOVE playing with OTHER people's kids a lot :) We also just hung around and chatted a bit. Because these are Ben's friends, the process of being less awkward and more friendly and personal improves with increasing minutes of face-time. But it's a weird, unavoidable, IMPORTANT thing. Just to collect minutes and hours and place them in the bank so that we can know understand one another more casually. It goes both ways, and it's just a weird thing all couples (who don't come from the same friend circle) have to do! It is also a beautiful thing, don't get me wrong. But I am overall feeling impatient. This past time we were able to talk about both broader and smaller, personal things. I enjoyed the conversation thoroughly even tho I think Meagan must be SO tired, and I felt like we over-extended our stay. It was lovely, I liked every moment at their house. But it was indeed getting late and with Benny having to drive back to Galvy, we were going into the night a wee bit. At least that's what I was concerned about. PLUS I was hungry :) The original place we set on had a 45 min to 1.5 hr wait time. Grr. Then we tried a few other places in the 10-15 minute vicinity that all either looked more crowded outside the restaurant, didn't have parking, or only had valet parking. I was also driving and didn't do well with my own stress of deciding on the fly and being hangry. In hindsight, we could have just paid for parking. Maybe bc I know how Ben feels about downtown Houston already, I was even more irritated that things weren't working out. He didn't speak on it much and really didn't add a bit of stress to me. But I really took it away and spiraled into panic/stress/poo poo pants crankiness. Eventually, it was 9pm, and I called it. Which in hindsight I am glad bc I think it would have put him behind on Sunday if we stayed out too late. But I descended into a silent poo poo pants status, and Ben felt I was mad at him. We said goodbye in that state, and I felt guilty that we had a perfect date until I got crappy. We talked about it and said I was sorry. So all was good very quickly! But I felt like (again) Benny is so good to me. Even when I am *ruining* things, he doesn't make me feel like a bad guy. He is sad and affected by my mood which does make me feel bad bc I understand things are bad bc of me in the moment, but he is afraid that he did something wrong. Poor Benny. I must be sweeter and kinder to him. Even if it means I gotta suck my poo poo pants back up and just chill tf out

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creaturebehavior · 2 years

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I do have a lot of free time and i am on my phone too much and i do wish i went outside more but the agoraphobia is so real and i do wish i was able to do more stuff and i do wish i had more friends. but at least i have two very amazing friends (although me and meagan don’t really talk these days we just kind of say “i love you” and “i miss you” cuz i have no energy to socialize but she’s my sister i feel so secure with her it’s okay if i can’t say much for awhile. most of our communication goes unsaid anyway because her and i are constantly communicating that we love each other at every second of every day and night. her and i both existing at the same time is the same thing as her and i saying i love you.) and i have time and space to try and rest in between my mind’s antics and the antics of the household i live in.

it’s past the time for me to return to school in time. which gives me room to think “what now?” instead of “do i actually have it in me to return to that toxic school?”

what now? what’s next? i’m not ready for the next yet, but i am trying to create and cultivate room for opportunity. wondering, what else is possible?

grateful for time and space. this in itself is an opportunity

#processing

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lexasdagger · 3 years

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#Sophie Moore #Ryan Wilder #Jada Jet #wildmoore #Meagan Tandy #Javicia Leslie #Robin Givens #Batwoman #batwomanedit #myedit #ash's edits #I have feelings about Jada's reaction #but both Sophie and Ryan having the same opened mouth reaction is hilarious to see next to each other #do we think Sophie will bring this up in the future in their relationship #Ryan giving her a hard time about something so she goes #'remember that time you left me in bed and your mama almost got a free show'#but instead of getting the reaction she wants Ryan bursts out laughing #Ryan: Sorry baby. At least that was better than the time Luke---#Sophie: Nope. We're not reliving that time.

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shaftking · 3 years

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I think a thing to note is that black cottage core folk tend to get bullied for being into that instead of mainstream media things like that black woman who got bullied for making a cottage core joke about hot girl summer and so many people went "she's not black, we don't claim her"and some really awful stuff got sent her way for not knowing who Meagan stallion was (about the cottage core post about how only white people do it, sorry if this was rude or such. I hope you have a nice day today)

Youre not being rude! I’ve seen a few black cottagecore enthusiasts(?) get some really rude comments about how they’re doing something that’s “for white people” and stuff like that.

Cottagecore is ultimately just an aesthetic and the fact that a few shitty people also like it doesn’t change that fact. The type of people who like to come after nonwhite people for liking “white” interests are upholding the same kind of racism as people they claim to hate. This happens a lot in black communities, I’ve noticed. Black people who like to keep other black people down because they engage in certain habits or interests that they typically associate with white Americans and don’t like to see them succeeding or doing something that goes against what they view as good values or norms. I think the anti cottagecore thing is just an expansion of that attitude, filtered through a social justice or progressive leftist lens or maybe just wearing the kind of hat.

I hope you have a nice day too.

#ask #just an observation

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icedjuiceboxes · 1 month

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OKAY. So i've never been the biggest fan of emily's design under the context of the story and journey she goes through. Don't get me wrong, her design is AMAZING and I couldnt design her any better. But the fact she wears the same set of clothes she left dunwall in is DUMB. I HATE IT.

First off the climate. With basic knowledge of fabrics and what suits what climates, her dunwall clothes is not built for hot weather and I just know that girl is already overheating at 7am.

Going off fabrics, its so obvious that her clothes are gonna make her stick out like a sore thumb amongst the commoners of Karnanca.

All emily does to keep low is to cover her face. which helps, but her clothes still gives her away and I hate how there's no little reaction from npc about her beside being like "hi there stranger!" ITS SO UNBELIEVABLE. And emily is stated in her wanted posters she's in karcana and we're literally told that strangers arent welcomed by the grand guard.

And this is me just calling out for equality, but it sucks we don't get a cool "masked felon" moment with emily. In DH1, wanted posters are updated depending on how you completed the mission. We never get that with Emily. We get no reaction from the citizens as Emily is tearing through the city.

SO. MY PROPOSAL.

Introducing Emily Kaldwin, AKA The Black Sparrow, the fearsome pirate that appeared from the mist and the shadows.

Emily using the abandoned luggage left on the dreadful wale to cobble together an new outfit to stay anonymous . ( also in the corroded man she diys together a costume so-)

I thought the pirate aesthetic was perfect because Karnaca is a coastal town, emily uses a telescope, and it creates the perfect cover story for emily to suddenly appear in Karnaca under the guise of a new pirate to terrorise the city in a new time of crisis.

Citizens dubbing her the black sparrow, captain of the dreadful wale (One of many out of her fleet she says) (Meagan is ready to murder emily).

Her sudden appearance being believable because hey, we see pirates all the time, and shit is hitting the fan, yeah it makes sense we're seeing crime rise and new pirates arrive on shore.

Citizens reacting to her because of the mysterious and intrigue, and the worry of wondering what she's after. The Duke updating emily's poster to say the black sparrow (The citizens don't buy it. there's no way that's the empress) The newspaper updating on the black sparrow's deeds, reflecting players's choices and chaos level. (LIKE, if you rescue hypatia everyone would be pleased to know the good doctor is safe.) This ties back into Emily's reputation being ruined with the crown killer accusations, and even saving it or worsening it under the guise of Black sparrow.

Jindosh deducing Emily as the empress based off her mannerisms and intellect, RATHER THAN JUST HER CLOTHES. (you telling me that only the smartest planet on earth could tell that's the empress because of her clothes? fuck you.) I think it's more compelling if jindosh saw beyond the clothes (or the parts that emily kept from her imperial clothes to notice its of higher quality mixed with commoners clothes.) Jindosh taunting emily she can hide and alter her appearance but she can never change her core, and it will always betray her (and thus tying in jindosh's non-lethal that hey. to change someone completely you gotta fry their brains.)

I REST MY CASE YOUR HONOUR. PIRATE EMILY.

#my dh rambles #my dh doodles #emily kaldwin #me looking at her funko pop: huh. she looks like a pirate here. OH. oH.

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nahimjustfeelingit-writes · 3 years

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Ok so since you’re a Meagan fan maybe you can help me and to anyone else who loves her y’all can chime in below. Me and my sister were talking yesterday about music. Now this started bc we were in the car and mulatto song came on and I immediately switched it to Bluetooth. She asked why I turned it off, I said I don’t care for her music so then we started talking about music in general and Meagan came up now warning my sister is a Meagan Stan she goes hard for her like kodak does for trump🥴. She kept trying to push that Meg was a lyricist and one of the best rappers out right now she has all this range etc… I told her I don’t feel that way bc I have tried to give Megan music a shot but every song I’ve tried to play is about the same 3 things sex,alcohol or hating ass bitches. Now maybe I didn’t catch the right song but after 10 diff songs I got tired. However I don’t want to keep discrediting her if she is as talented and creative as some ppl say she is. It’s just not my cup of tea rn. I need music that feeds my psyche not fuels my libido. Also though from what I’ve heard she might have an alcohol problem and while idk if that’s true, ppl love making up rumors. I don’t want to support that type of music if it’s contributing to toxic habits. If you all know of any different songs from her I would love to try them out it just seems the ones I’ve listened to were pretty much the same.

So most of Meg’s music is about sex, drinking, how cocky she is, how she pimps niggas, how she loves her body, her being educated, having money, anime, her haters, etc. if you are looking for songs about her parents, her childhood, being in an abusive relationship, what’s going on like police brutality, or anything she’s been through like that I can’t think of anything. Megan doesn’t make songs like other female rappers who rap about real life struggles. Just because she doesn’t rap about those things like Lauren hill would or other female rappers like her doesn’t mean she isn’t lyrical. She actually can rap really really well, and she is one of the best honestly right now. She even said that she gets inspiration from 36 Mafia, Pimp C, Project Pat, etc. which makes since lol

I love that she raps about anime and she has great word play and she makes it very fun. Meg gets me hype she’s that home girl that you love to turn up with on the weekend lol. Every time I listen to her music it lifts my spirits. And I love how in your face she is too. Have you listened to her freestyles too? Circles is good and I love how her unreleased songs on Something For The Hotties is very southern and true to her as well. Her features are also great I loved her feature with BTS, Maroon 5, DJ Khaled, Ariana. Tina Snow Interlude is good. But all in all if she’s not for you that’s okay. Most artist rap about the same things. Just like R&B artists sing about sex and heartbreak. Just know she isn’t poetic like No Name, Lauren Hill, or anybody like that lol. But she could be if she wanted to. Also, her mother is another inspiration because she listened to a lot of her moms music which was similar lol so yeah.

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popcornandgreenolives · 3 years

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pitch

Series Review (Season 1)

IMDb Summary: A young pitcher becomes the first woman to play in the Major Leagues.

These days, whenever I see commercials on Fox for The Masked Singer or Alter Ego, I can’t help but think, “they keep these shows but they cancelled Pitch?!”

I miss this show so much :(

While some people scoff at the idea of a woman playing in any male professional sport (that’s right, I have seen those asshole comments under the YouTube trailer) I think the show did a pretty solid job in depicting a woman playing Major League Baseball in such a believable way - she may not have had the physical strength, but she had that one special pitch - without it coming off as cheesy or patronizing.

My curiosity for the show was first piqued after having heard MPG on his Saved by the Bell podcast referring to Pitch as one of his most favorite projects that he’s ever done, several times expressing that he thought it was criminally cut short. Well, he wasn’t wrong. I cannot say enough good things about this show – it was so SO good – from the writing, the acting, the attention to all of the baseball-related detail – it just really sucked me in from the beginning and breaks my heart that it ended so soon.

What I liked:

The writing and production value. Is this show a sports drama or a soap opera? At times, I wasn’t sure, but I think the writers did an excellent job of balancing both. It was a believable peek into the inner workings of a Major League Baseball team, and a realistic glimpse into the lives of professional athletes – the challenges and pressure of being a rookie, contrasted by the jadedness of a veteran. The storylines were compelling and only got better as the series went on. That, along with the way that it was shot (the game footage was all shot utilizing the same cameras and angles used during real-life MLB games), the set design (the clubhouse was modeled after the real-life San Diego Padres clubhouse), and the fact that Fox had an exclusive deal with MLB to use their logos and facilities added to the authenticity of it all.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Mike Lawson. Zack Morris may have been trash but Mike Lawson is fire!!! I was completely sold on his portrayal of the veteran baseball player and the range of emotions that someone in the twilight of their career must be feeling – he was egotistical and arrogant, a leader and a mentor, but also emotional and sad knowing his days on the field were numbered. I loved, loved LOVED MPG in this role – he convinced me that he deserves way more credit than for just being a child star - he is a great (and definitely underrated) actor.

Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker. With regard to famous people, I always hear cliche stuff about famous people like: it’s not always as glamorous as it looks; there’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes. The character of Ginny was the epitome of that. From the outside, she seemed to be a rock star, with tons of adoring fans excited at the prospect of the first female Major League Baseball player. But a sudden rise to fame isn’t without consequence (as was represented so well in Episode 6) – she did a great job of depicting the emotional and mental toll of essentially still being a famous kid, chasing the youth that you never had, while balancing the pressure of being in the spotlight and being expected to act like an adult and being mindful of maintaining a public image and being a role model.

Blip and Evelyn (Mo McRae and Meagan Holder). I loved their individual friendships with Ginny – he was one of her oldest friends, and she was her one closest girl friend – as well as how they treated her as part of their family. In the beginning I saw Evelyn’s character as being more of a Real Housewives of San Diego-type, but I was glad to see her evolve from being just a WAG into a more multi-dimensional and business-minded woman. Together, Blip and Evelyn seemed like #couplesgoals – I liked that while she was as supportive and loving as she could be for her husband, his career, and the kids, that it was also shown that it also takes a lot of sacrifice, understanding and flexibility being a wife of a top athlete.

Amelia (Ali Larter). I initially saw her character as mostly being self-serving and only being in it for Ginny’s fame, but as the episodes went on, I grew to like her more and more. With the revelations of Ginny’s mom being estranged, and Will becoming less and less trustworthy, she was like the big sister that Ginny didn’t have but desperately needed. It broke my heart at the end seeing Amelia leaving Ginny behind.

Al (Dan Lauria). He seemed like the grumpy old misogynist who can’t keep his mouth shut at first, but as the series went on, I liked seeing him becoming more and more of a father figure to Ginny – especially after realizing that he himself is a girl dad.

Cara the waitress (Lyndsy Fonseca). I was skeptical that she was going to take advantage of Ginny’s fame and the videos from the house party. But she ended up taking care of Ginny, making sure she got back home safely, and was genuinely concerned for her mental health. She was only in one episode, but I wouldn’t have minded her character coming back had the show continued. She was at heart a good person and I liked the idea of Ginny having one good friend outside of baseball.

What I didn’t like:

The series was short lived and was way too good to have only lasted one season. Given that the final episode ended with several cliffhangers, I was so sad that I will never find out what happens next. Are Blip and Evelyn really in marital trouble? Will Ginny ask Amelia to come back? Was Mike just using Ginny as a distraction from his ex-wife? Will Ginny ever play again? I can’t help but wonder, had the show been in a better timeslot (and not opposite Thursday Night Football) if it could have lasted just a little bit longer.

Other thoughts:

Will (BJ Britt). How did this guy go from being the one person she could trust the most to being the person she could trust the least? I hated how he almost took advantage of not only Blip and Evelyn, but of his own sister.

Charlie (Kevin Connolly). He was so easy to hate – he reminded me of people in high positions that they aren’t qualified for and where they don’t belong.

Mike and Ginny. Ugh, I’m torn because I love their mentor-mentee relationship, and I think it’s probably best to leave it that way because it would be too cliche for them to end up together… but it’s hard to ignore how much chemistry that they have. The tension in episode 9 was too good.

The actors were a bunch of 90’s throwbacks for me. Jack Arnold from The Wonder Years, Eddie Winslow from Family Matters, Matteo Santos from All My Children, Frank Buffay from Friends, and not least of all, Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell.

Mike is very confused – and I guess so am I. Despite kind of wanting to root for him with Ginny, at the same time I definitely felt his pain with seeing his ex-wife move on. And while I get that Amelia was probably a rebound, I kind of really liked them together. I was kind of surprised he ended up breaking up with her just an episode later, then almost immediately went on to stalk his wife’s dinner party, then a few episodes later had a steamy near kiss with Ginny, and then just an episode later he ended up looking to hook up with his ex-wife again. Which is it, Mike?! Make up your mind!

#pitch #season 1 #fox #tubi #television #mark paul gosselaar #kylie bunbury #mo mcrae #meagan holder #ali larter #lyndsy fonseca #dan lauria #bj britt #kevin connolly #series review #animated gif #quarantine life

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thundergrace · 4 years

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Batwoman season 2 press release:

In season two of BATWOMAN, when Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) first discovers Kate Kane’s Batsuit, she has no idea how drastically her life is about to change. A sassy, smart lesbian with a difficult past, Ryan sees the suit as her chance to finally be powerful and no longer a victim as she survives in the tough streets of the city.

While Ryan goes rogue in the shadows, Gotham grapples with their missing hero, believing Batwoman has fled the city after a public stand-off with Commander Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott) and the Crows. But Kate Kane’s disappearance hits hardest at home where Jacob, Sophie (Meagan Tandy), Luke (Camrus Johnson), Mary (Nicole Kang) and even Alice (Rachel Skarsten) each struggle with the devastating news in their own way. Meanwhile, the False Face Society tightens its grip on Gotham, distributing a perilous new drug known as Snakebite, “Bruce Wayne” (Warren Christie) finds his way home to wreak havoc, Safiyah (Shivaani Ghai) surfaces with plans for revenge, and a new set of villains descends on the city.

It’s not long before Ryan realizes how much the symbol on the suit means to Gotham, launching her on a personal journey that takes her from fledgling substitute to confident caped crusader, from living in her van with her plant to chasing villains in the Batmobile. Ryan Wilder becomes a very different Batwoman than Kate Kane – her own Batwoman – but with the same understanding of what it means to be a hero.

#batwoman #ryan wilder #javicia leslie #I saw this this morning before i went to sleep #thought surely someone would post it #but looks like I'm a fandom of one #as usual when Black women

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some-days-we-get-sundays · 4 years

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I’m shipping...

Ryan and Sophie.

Sophie got a thing for women in suits.

I think I’m shipping them for a couple reasons. One, the enemies to lovers trope never gets old for me. I like that Sophie doesn’t know it’s Ryan but Ryan knows that it’s Sophie. I could see Sophie catching feelings for the new Batwoman and then the whole thing is that she hates Ryan but loves Batwoman. Oh my gosh somebody fic it. Another reason I ship them is because Javicia and Meagan have really great chemistry and I shamelessly want to see them kiss each other, be cute, and get more scenes together. I ship Sophie and Alice too but I feel like that relationship is a long shot. I also ship Alice and Ryan lmao. I have issues. Another one that feels like a long shot though.

Only thing with Sophie and Ryan is that Sophie is still hung up on Kate, so idk if she would fall into another woman’s arms so fast. My hope is that she gets the fuk over it and goes with Ryan. After the latest episode I couldn’t tell if they were foreshadowing or laying the foundation for some Ryan/Sophie loving to come. Or if it’s just them becoming friends. I feel like depending how they bring Kate back will be a determining factor in if Sophie’s eyes wander to another. I could see Sophie being thrilled that Kate is back but she’s “not the same” or “something is different” (and this is not sarcasm because it’s a different actress lol) but yall know the other trope is like - loved one comes back and the person doesn’t love them like they thought they did or they come back different.

I can see a jealous Ryan too. Because she’s already feeling threatened at the possibility of Kate coming back and then imagine when she actually does come back. I could see Ryan in her bat suit going to find Sophie and being like “guess you got everything you wanted now...” and then Sophie looks down and smiles but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes and she says “yeah, guess I did.” Then Soph says to Ryan, “so I guess I won’t be seeing you anymore?” And then Ryan gets mad like, “I knew it. I knew as soon as we got everybody’s precious Kate Kane back that I would once again go back to being a nobody, chopped liver.” And she jumps on the ledge getting ready to fly off but then Sophie stops her. “Wait.” Soph grabs Ryan’s arm and says, “I- I didn’t mean it like that. I meant to say, I meant to ask if you were going to stay. I - I want you to stay.”

Anyway Sophie and Ryan. I ship it.

#javicia leslie #ryan wilder #batwoman #sophie moore #meagan tandy

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zerobotic · 4 years

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Well, you asked for it and you can’t say I didn’t warn you :3

First off, the usual disclaimer that I did enjoy DH2. I thought it had some very interesting level design ideas with the clockwork mansion and crack in the slab, the new powers were very cool and fun to use, and it polished some of the rough edges from the first game’s mechanics. It’s just the story and such that disappointed me after how much I loved the first game.

So to start off here’s some of the things I found disappointing or frustrating (and keep in mind these are all just my personal feelings on the games):

“Spoiled rich person learns a lesson from poverty tourism” is a plot that gets on my nerves in general and that’s more or less what happened here with Emily’s story

Like, not to disagree with an anti-rich-people story but the first one did a much more poignant job of highlighting greed and corruption and letting you be the one actually fighting it, rather than putting you in the position of perpetuating it. It felt like the first game showed it, while the second game just preached about it.

Boy this sure did feel out of character for both Corvo and Emily. Emily watched her mother be murdered at ten years old for the sake of political power, and then was held hostage for six months while being told her father was executed for her mother’s death. She got a firsthand view of how much the people of the empire were suffering during this time, and then when she finally got rescued she was immediately kidnapped and used as a pawn again by yet more schemers after her mother’s throne. You cannot tell me that’s a person who would grow up to be spoiled and carefree and complacent with their position, or someone who wouldn’t give a shit about their people. Yes, I know that she was a headstrong, rebellious kid with an adventurous streak, and I’m not trying to claim she wouldn’t probably still prefer, on some level or another, to escape to the rooftops with a sword rather than being stuck in court. I’m just saying that kids grow up and change and whoever wrote the second game seems to be stuck on taking ten-year-old Emily at face value for her adult self’s personality too, instead of considering how the first game’s events might have actually influenced her. She’s got more than enough firsthand experience to know to be wary of scheming nobles. (Also I definitely got the feeling, playing the first game, that at least a bit of how Emily behaved at the Hound Pits was her trying to cope with what was happening.) You also can’t tell me that Corvo, father and royal protector of the current empress, man with the most reason and justification to be paranoid out of everyone in the whole damn empire after everything he’s been through, would be so negligent in paying attention to a coup that the first mission claims pretty much everyone in Dunwall knew was happening.

Building off of that, in general it felt like the first game wasn’t allowed to have much of an impact. It pays lipservice to Jessamine’s death, and acknowledges Corvo having been a badass back then, but that’s....about it? Like I said in the other post, the first game felt so saturated in grief, both for Jessamine and for everything else going on in Dunwall, that it really influenced the overall tone of the game. The second one kinda feels like the first one never happened, or at least didn’t have any lasting influence on the characters or world, and it’s kind of jarring going from one to the other.

So with all that said, here’s my idea for a different DH2. Still using Karnaca as the setting and Delilah as the primary antagonist, just...different.

"Delilah wants to use a reality-altering painting to change the world into her vision of it” is still a plot point. Except, instead of the end of the game, it’s the beginning. It’s a logical extension of her actions and powers during the Daud DLC - the plan to use Emily’s painting to take over almost worked til it was stopped, so there’s clearly potential there. She’ll just think bigger, more direct this time.

The game starts on a ship. Emily and Corvo are en route to Karnaca for some sort of diplomatic mission. We get to know them a little bit during this opening trip: Emily isn’t an absent, complacent ruler, she's a young woman who inherited a difficult throne as a child, after a series of traumatic events, and now she's trying hard to live up to her mother's legacy and prove herself worthy to an empire that still seems to only see her as the child she was during the interregnum. She’s doing her best, but she’s insecure about all of that, and spends a lot of time frustrated with the back and forth scheming of the nobles, trying to please everyone instead of putting her foot down and getting things done. Corvo is trying to keep her safe where he failed Jessamine, but court still isn’t his preferred arena either.

The night before they’re due to arrive in Karnaca, we start getting hints that something is...off. Strange dreams, maybe?

They land in Karnaca and things are different than expected. But they don’t get time to look around, because there's guards there to arrest them, claiming they’re wanted criminals. They’ve got music boxes or something that can strip Corvo of his powers, and only one of them gets away while the other is taken. The one that gets away is stuck alone, disoriented, and hunted in an unfamiliar city - even if you play as Corvo, things are different than he remembers. More different than can be explained by just time.

They meet Meagan Foster. She takes them to meet a group of ex-whalers (the player character doesn’t know who they are). They’re a group that got back in touch with each other in Karnaca after Daud left and the whalers split, and they still do shady shit, but these days it’s generally more smuggling type stuff and they’ve put down the assassin blades. They’re the equivalent of the loyalist home base in this game. Meagan is still the Samuel stand-in, taking the player places and narrating things as necessary.

Information is shared and the player finds out that somehow, the world is changed from what they remember. Delilah is the empress, here, come by it what seemed like legitimately at some point in the 15 years between Jessamine’s death and now, and Emily and Corvo are wanted criminals. No one seems aware of the change except for the player and the whalers (who only remember it because of their experience with magic, though the player character doesn’t learn that til much later).

Clearly it’s Delilah who did something, because she has magic, and she’s the one on the throne now.

The Outsider shows up in their dreams that first night in the new world, but something is clearly wrong in the void, too, and it seems like he’s barely capable of reaching out and communicating with them. He offers the mark, but disappears before really getting a chance to explain anything.

The player goes through the game now with the goal of finding out what happened, how it happened, and how it can be fixed. DH2 and DOTO explained a lot more than I felt they should’ve, at times, and I preferred how the first game balanced worldbuilding with mystery. So, let things be explored and figured out along the way.

Things are real bad in this universe. From Emily's perspective as she goes through the game, we get commentary questioning whether or not she was doing a good job, and comparing it to how things are in Delilah's world. There’s lots of corruption and poverty and people suffering, and the question "is this just Delilah's world? How much of this going on in mine too? In trying to navigate court instead of putting my foot down, was I failing my people in the end after all? Would it have been better if my mother was still the empress?" The difference between this and what DH2 did is that she was trying, there was just a lot hindering her, including her own doubts. In this one, those questions aren’t preaching, they’re a sign that she does care and is pained by the idea of her people suffering like this again, by the mere possibility that it might not be just Delilah’s world.

Corvo and Emily have distinct perspectives, not just the same lines very slightly altered.

The bloodfly infestations are either 1) a natural thing that wasnt supposed to turn ugly like this and has been affected by Delilah’s magic, or 2) wholly the product of unnatural magic. None of this "we need them and they’re always like this, just not this bad" stuff. if you're gonna repeat the plague motif, make it actually horrifying, like the rat plague was. In fact, there’s obvious magic influence here and there in general - maybe not quite as thorough as at Brigmore Manor, but it’s present enough to give you the creeping feeling that things aren’t right, here, visual confirmation of Delilah’s influence, that things have been changed and twisted from their normal state of things. Hell, maybe this is where the hollows from DOTO come in, the original world and Delilah’s altered version of it trying to bleed through each other in some spaces. Maybe that’s a different explanation for the crack in the slab mission, even.

Actually, if you’re gonna repeat the plague motif, lean into the similarities between the rat plague era and now. Have them be reminded here and there by things they see, recount what happened and how terrible it was, compare it to now. Give NPCs lines about the comparison and how some of them left Dunwall only to be stuck living through something like this a second time. Let the first game have happened and had an impact, folks, cmon.

On a similar note, if you’re gonna keep Delilah's backstory the same when we finally learn it, let Emily and Corvo get mad about it. They lived through the first game - what right does Delilah have to talk like she's got a monopoly on suffering and that's why she should have the throne?

Delilah's mistake was assuming Emily was a sheltered child who wouldn’t come for her, rather than someone who's already been through a lot and come out on top. That was almost a satisfying thing about the second game but they messed up the execution of the whole concept and I want it to actually pay off.

I’m not sure if the targets in this one should be the same or how much should change there. Honestly, except for Breanna, the targets in DH2 felt a lot less relevant to what was going on than the DH1 targets did, like...why are half these people even at this ritual? But for simplicity’s sake let’s keep it as close as we can, while also adjusting for the fact that this reality has been tailor-made for Delilah and her buddies. Perhaps the Duke is only the Duke here because things were rewritten to put one of Delilah’s allies in charge, and it was supposed to still be his father. Hypatia isn’t the crown killer (what even was that plot point honestly), she’s the doctor they found to help Delilah recover after her time in the void, and now they’ve rewritten things to imprison her in the institute to keep her quiet and out of the way, and you get wind of it and go to see what she knows. Etc. Is Sokolov involved in this version of things? I dunno! But speaking of Sokolov I want some sort of explanation for where the other surviving loyalists are, damnit.

Delilah did something in and to the void, just like in canon, but it actually has a visible impact here (beyond just a total aesthetic redesign of the void between games that never gets commented on). The void is struggling under her influence when you find shrines, and you never know what you're gonna find at one of them, or what the Outsider is gonna be like, if he even shows up. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the way DH2 gave him a human backstory, because I liked the mystery there behind what he was and what the void was, but this is open to go either way, either with Delilah finding his death site like in canon, or some other way she found to influence it. I’m not sure how the progression would go of how the void changes over the course of the game, but it would be cool to get to help/save the Outsider in some kinda way.

Finding Corvo's childhood home should have more impact. Let it be like when you find the saferoom in Dunwall tower, in the first game. A temporary refuge in a dangerous place, full of obvious memory and grief - not so much for the time spent here since that's so long in the past, but for all that's been lost, everything they've been through and are in the middle of going through. Especially if you're playing Emily - this is the home of the father she just lost.

Let the heart be vague and ominous again, and let our interactions with it be sad, especially as Emily! I’m still messed up about the first time I heard "the doom of Pandyssia has come to the city" in DH1, and the lines about the floodwaters and the plague victims, give me stuff like that! Especially in a world that isn’t meant to exist the way it currently is, where things have been twisted almost beyond recognition. And give me lines that remind Emily of the mother she lost and how this is the first time she's heard her voice since she was a child!

Give us more on citizens and how they're suffering in this world, the way the first game showed us plague victims who died in each other's arms, journals from the desperate and dying, living people sent to the flooded district. Let it be a reminder to Emily why it's worth it, why she has to change the world back and what she wants to be fighting for when she gets her throne back. Another reason to question - has she been doing all she can? (Alternatively, a source of righteous fury for high chaos Emily.)

This is a journey of self discovery for Emily, either low or high chaos. It's about realizing she hasn’t been doing all she could, despite her intentions, because she's been trying to please everyone and in the end it still wasn’t good enough. She needs to stop living under her mother's shadow and come into her own (and the heart plays a role in this epiphany, probably. This might actually come to a head when she has to let her mother's spirit go, if we're gonna keep that plot point.)

High chaos Emily is similar but in a more "alright no more nice empress" kinda way whereas low chaos is more about conviction to put her foot down to do what's right.

You meet people during the game who in a good ending become part of her new council. Common people, who are more in touch with what needs to be done. It pisses nobles off but she's determined to do better, after everything. It helps both her and Corvo come to terms with the whole safety thing, because you can't ever make sure you're totally safe but you can try to make sure the empire can keep going should something happen to its ruler.

In fact, part of Corvo's perspective on this game probably would involve him still wanting to keep Emily out of things for safety's sake, and wondering if sheltering her from knowledge of magic and such contributed to this situation.

When it's revealed who the whalers are, it's late in the game after we've already come to like them a lot. They don't betray you like the loyalists did, but it should still feel like a punch to the gut for Emily and Corvo.

They don’t know where Daud is, haven’t seen him since the whalers disbanded .

Billie talks about that whole thing, and it's complicated. She decides maybe she should try to find him, after all. Cue DLC, which is about finding Daud, and helping/saving him, and the two reconciling and Billie finding some kind of...if not redemption, then absolution. A parallel to the first game’s DLC, Billie getting an arc like that in Emily’s game the way Daud got that arc in Corvo’s game. Y’know, instead of DOTO going and undoing all of Daud’s character growth.

I know I’m kind of handwaving the actual mechanics of who the targets are and how you actually go about uncovering what happened and how you can fix it and take down Delilah in the end, but this is all just. Concepts. If I were to try to write this as a fic or something I’d have to actually sit down and work out all those details, but for now this is something that’s just been living in my head since like an hour after I finished DH2 for the first time a couple years ago.

(I did warn you it was gonna be long lmao)

#turnabout rambles #mvtk42

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