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I'll Be There For You | Reading Reddit Stories

75m 55s

I'll Be There For You | Reading Reddit Stories

The transcript blends financial advice with personal friendship stories, emphasizing authenticity and emotional health in relationships. Wise is promoted as a reliable financial tool that provides transparent global currency transfers, avoiding hidden fees and offering exchange rates similar to those on Google. The core theme centers on the complexities of friendship, highlighting how misunderstandings—like a friend’s silent look or a mistaken kiss—can lead to profound emotional pain. One story shows a friend who tests loyalty by expecting gratitude for small acts, revealing manipulative control that harms trust. Another involves a friend misreading a close, platonic gesture as romantic, causing deep hurt when the friend doesn’t reciprocate. These narratives underscore that friendships thrive on mutual respect, clear boundaries, and emotional honesty. The message is clear: it’s not about being the "asshole" for leaving a situation, but about recognizing when a friendship is draining or toxic. True friendship is built on trust, not games. The stories collectively advocate for self-awareness, setting healthy boundaries, and prioritizing genuine connections over performative loyalty or emotional control. Ultimately, the takeaway is that while friendships can be rewarding, they must be nurtured with honesty and care to prevent pain and resentment.

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Support comes from wise, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global. Your money should be too. Some providers promise no fees on overseas transfers. Don't be fooled. Extra costs often hide and blow to exchange rates. Choose wise. You can send, spend, and receive money in over 40 currencies. Count on the exchange rate that you'd usually see on Google. That's how millions save billions on hidden fees. Be smart. Get wise. Visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. Of the show that I guess it's not very different. Maybe the acoustics are a little different for you. I don't know. Well, does Shane sound more confident because he's in a king chair right now? I am in a king chair. I'm in a much bigger chair. He's like more back support. And then like arm. He has arm rest. I have arm rest. It's awesome. I have a little pillow. He has a cute little pillow. Yep. And look, you know, Anson, I. Sorry. Anson, I have a lot of it. Sorry, I sat on this one. That's his name is Am I. The asshole. No, it's Am I the ass and this is the hole. We have a pillow named the. Anyway, before we continue about the set, I should intro that this show is about friendship. The theme. The theme today is about friendship and Smosh is all about friendship. And I am joined by two people who I can't stand. Wow. Well, we hate you too. And that's why friendship is calm. And that's why friendship is so weird. You just make it work, huh? I'm joined by Angela and Amanda. Thank you all for being here. Get your two cans out. It's friendship always. Come on, Saturday morning. Call your bestie. Well, we would not do well at Burlesque because we did this. Yeah. You imagine the show's like, yes, sexy, sexy, we're going. Anyone from Seattle? It's all like the Utah. In your life, what has had more drama? Friendships or your romance? Sisterhood. Friends. Okay. Sisters with the most drama. Sisters, friends. Okay, sisters, let's do this. Yeah. Sisters, friends are pretty close. Because if you have a friend that goes, oh my god, you're like a sister to me, it can get real tricky past. Wait, there's an old clip that I get tagged in constantly. And you and I barely know each other and we're doing a challenge pit. And we're talking about friendship breakups or we're doing like a agreed degree. We're talking about friendship breakups versus romantic breakups. And I'm like, I'm the one that goes on the friendship breakups side being like, it's like, it's harder. Oh my god. And then you go, yeah. And then I go, because when you enter a friendship, there's never like the understanding that we'll might break up. Yeah. But with relationships, you're always like, this could not work out. This could happen, right? So when friendship breakups happen, it's so brutal. And then we have like a really short hair. Yeah, remember this clip. Because I mean like, yeah, like you said, you don't get into a friendship expecting it to end necessarily. Or like, expecting it not to work. And friendships don't necessarily have to end like a relationship kind of, if it's not working, it like it has to end, right? Yeah. If you have this agreement, you're so involved with each other's lives, but a friendship can be like, oh, we just don't see each other as awesome or whatever. There's no rules. There's not the same rules. And you're not like going into it like with a promise. Because also, I think relationships are always labeled just like, oh, it's hard work. Hard work. And friendship, it should be just like, oh, you're my friend. You're my friend. It's fun. But then sometimes you experience something together and you bond so deeply. And then you go, and then they show aside to them that you're like, oh, oh, yeah. Also a friendship breakup, a romantic breakup can be like, I don't think we work together as a unit for whatever reason. But a friendship break breakup is typically, I don't want to see you. Yes. I don't like you. Yeah. Like that's so much more brutal than what a romantic break, a romantic breakup can be amicable. To me. Yeah. Sorry. No, I'm, no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You guys. We're friends. Are you? No, no, we're not breaking up. We're not breaking up. Okay. No, we're not breaking up. We have, we have, we have a steady ground. We're here. This morning when they're like, and Amanda and Angela will be in the friendship one of it. Is that right? Wait, hold on. I'm sorry. And everyone's like, we got so freaked out. No, we didn't do it. So funny. Anyways, friendships are hard. Friendships are hard. Yeah. But they can be so rewarding. Oh, the best parts of life. Well, let's hop into some messy friendships, shall we? Oh, the best because you know, that's what we're gonna, we're gonna read. Our first story comes from Am I the asshole? Am I the asshole for leaving my best friend's birthday party early because I was a B-list guest. A B-list guest at a birthday. I'm interested. There's tears. Oh, they didn't send it to the VIP table. So this was posted only a few days ago. Throw away for privacy, though this is a pretty specific incident and anyone who knows the situation will probably be able to identify me anyway. I, a 29 year old woman, have been good friends with Sally, a 30 year old woman, since we were eight years old. We were inseparable throughout school, but we went to different colleges. I visited her a few times each year. She'd visit me, and we'd always meet up at Christmas, in summer breaks. After we graduated, I moved about a three hour drive from where she moved to. We still cut up often. As normally happens, we established our new professional and social lives, drifted apart, but whenever we caught up, it was like no time had passed. We were there for each other whenever we needed it. When she got married at 25, I was a bride's maid. I declined maid of honor because I was concerned with the long commute and I couldn't do all the maid of honor duties required/expected. She drove to my place to support me when my father had a stroke. I stayed with her when she found out her ex-husband cheated, and she filed for divorce. I always figured that even though life is taking us in different directions, we're always there for each other. Now to her birthday. She turned 30 last week and had a huge party this past weekend. Since it was a milestone birthday, she had it at a banquet hall, all catered, DJ, etc. It was at night, so I booked a hotel, drove up, and would drive back home the next day. When I arrived, I was ushered into a small room with four tables and about 10 other people. There was a portable TV on a trolley with a stream of the party in the bigger room. One of the guests told me Sally invited more people than the main hall could accommodate, and she hoped after a few people RSVP'd know we'd all fit in. But only one or two people RSVP'd know, so the venue opened a second room for the excess guests. I saw in the stream new people arriving after I did, so I knew I was clearly relegated to the B-lister room and wasn't brought there because the main room was already filled up. So I left after 15 minutes and took my gift with me. The next day, as I was preparing to check out the hotel, Sally called and asked why I didn't show. Apparently, she came to the leftovers room to mingle about 30 minutes after I left and noticed I wasn't there. I told her I did attend, but I didn't realize I'd be watching a stream of her party instead of attending it, which I could have done at home. She asked if I wanted to catch up for lunch and I could give her my gift then. But I told her I needed to get back home because I had plans for the afternoon. Cue the Instagram story about how people who claim to love her don't show up, and she can't help that so many people wanted to celebrate her. During my drive home, her mother left a voicemail that she was very disappointed in me. But I'm here like, I'm supposed to be one of your best friends and I got the leftover experience. Did I over-react? Am I the asshole here? I'm gagged! I'm literally gagged, girl! (laughing) - God! - I am gagged! - I am gagged! - I am on the floor! - I am gagged! - I am gagging. I am over the toilet. I am barfing. I am gagging. - I am gagging. - I am gagging at the same time. - I have scarlet fever. I'm gagging. - The plague has hit me. - Girl! (laughing) - I am playful! - Nobody come close to me. I am very contagious. - I am contagious, gag! - Wow, we could go in forever. - Okay. - Can I tell you growing up? - If you didn't go to church on time and the main room got too big, you'd go to the other room and watch a video of the pastor in the other room. - That is quiet. - So what, here's the thing. That makes sense 'cause it's about lateness. It's about, if you're late. - Yeah, how dare you. - And there's something to watch. A livestream video of a party. - And she didn't get chosen to be in the A-list. She found out the type of, you know, deer that she was in as this woman's friend. - But what is crazy about this to me is that this isn't inherently something you're watching. You don't need to get it if it's like a musical and you're like late and you have to like watch the stream. But you're watching people tell-- - How dare this birthday girl think that she's that cool? Who would be happy with that? Who? - You have to sit in a room with 10 people that you don't know. - And go. - So you're not at the party to be clear. - But you're watching people. - You're in the building. You're in the building. - But you're not at the party. - So you're not at the party. - Right out there, there she is hugging another friend. - And then she came in 30 minutes in for them to kiss the ring. - She was like, oh my God, you guys are here. I hope that they're feeding you guys in this room. - Did you see everybody else is in there? - Yeah. - Having a great time. - This person is not the asshole but the asshole. - Not the asshole. - I actually love that they stood up for themselves and was like, I'm leaving and I'm taking my gift with me. - Yeah. - 'Cause also okay. So maybe, maybe I can get my head around a bank or two. being so strict that you can't go over the limit maybe and then having a separate room sure what where she enters as whole territory is when she didn't make it about who comes in and it make it random she made a separate list a second tier friend list of people that she wouldn't miss if they're in the main guest queen that's when we entered the whole terrible and then she did a passive aggressive rude ass Instagram story that's calling people out and then got her mom involved I'm sorry but you have crossed a line when you get I mean they've been friends since there were eight so this is like a childhood friend mom you got the mom involved to be like I'm disappointed in you excuse them wall can you tell we've been on camera for eight hours today he is at war I am French so first of all and second of all and second of all I have got yeah so sick throw up I have honey pretty urgent care get me a doctor's notice anything else Shane I was I was going to say I think the friend is the asshole for putting anybody in that room I like I understand that okay you overbooked it but like can sit consider that shit and if I walked into that room and saw like wait you guys all have to sit in this room and not be part of the party like oh my god you guys can leave I'm so sorry like I'd be I'd walk in that room being so apologetic of like you don't get to attend the party so it means that she chose this but she chose them to be like hey you're in the not party the second she made a list and she named names is when it's like this also isn't like a wedding where it's like oh people like family of people who want like need to be at this wedding you're sitting at the back he's a birthday it's like hey sorry like just don't invite those people or just go to a bar like don't invite those people but if they're be list but then you're gonna be so mad if they don't show up or leave right here's what I'm doing here's what I'm doing do it banquet tells me I can't have certain amount of people in and my list is big okay I go you have a lot of friends I go yeah of course and if you play cards right you'll be an angel okay I can't wait I we call one room the magic room oh fun okay so then everyone's so in during the party every once in a while you hand someone a star oh and they get to go to the magic room oh fun and the magic room is for intense personal conversation right and then everyone's gonna go magic hour and you just switch it up yeah of course I love and then you're hoping who am I gonna go to the magic room with yeah so maybe somebody I don't know yeah and then it's it's kind of rotating oh I love that so like you're not stuck in a room you're actually rotating because a random person is gonna give you a star star and say you're the hot one and you get to go to the well you come to the magic room with me I like this I like this that's how I'm getting people in that room and I'm switching it up okay I would be okay with that I'd be like cool I get to go to the magic room and I get I get to be picked by Angela it's so fun where I get like a tarot card reader and I'd be like do you want to go into the like mindfulness room and get like a fucking reading you in a guy right and he's like so you're the be list it's pretty magic yeah it's the mindfulness room we're not supposed to talk or like make it like I don't know the dessert room so you're doing a good job I'm trying to pitch it you're doing well I think this woman didn't even think about that no she don't think about shit which is it's one thing too that she's like oh I wasn't considering this there's all these people in this leftover's room which she put them there but then to be mad if they leave and to be like hey you can meet up with me for lunch so you can give me your gift like like I'm just like and then to post a story about it being like wow people really let me down it's like bro if you're gonna put these people in the be list shitty room you can't be upset if they don't show up it's someone shows you who they are believe that bag ball lava back boy this episode of red stories is the show okay verdict not the majority not the asshole there's not an official verdict yet comments not the asshole you don't over book a party you book a venue that can accommodate everyone what the fuck six point seven thousand upvotes Jesus anyways OP says yeah that's a weird and risky approach to take if the venue didn't have the extra room do you just turn friends and family away someone said I'm sorry y'all are 30 and the mom is calling to shame you beyond nope well he said her mom is like a second mom to me I think it was more like her wanting a heart to heart with me someone said not the asshole here she had the nerve to ask you to go to lunch you could give her your gift seriously as she always treated you like this or is this the first time you truly noticed then for her mother to get involved op sometimes people grow sometimes they don't as we grow we see that some relationships are not worth our time here on earth you just realize this best response block them treasure the people who do invite you and don't usher you into a side room of the main event appreciate people that want you as a part of their lives I love the red it therapist I love he's back he's like I've been working really hard today how much is he getting paid because he always I always think it's a lot of karma a mother who wants to write a book but she won't get around to it so she writes these big opus said honestly this is the first time she's acted like this it's so far out of her normal behavior does she have new friends she might have new friends I was going to say this sometimes I wonder if you guys think this way some of times some of times some of time some of time some of time some of times good times friends some of times some of times some of times all right go ahead some of times I think that my new friend you feel so safe with the friends you grew up with and you go no matter what they're not leaving no matter what they're always going to be around and your brain just goes no matter what they're here every year I get older and older so then the newer friends you're like I have to check on them yeah because those are new friends so then old friends sometimes you're like yeah my birthday tomorrow you shouldn't know that you come every year is this about you what's going on if you was about me I have a magic room yeah that's so true and so true also a banquet hall accommodates a lot of people so yeah how many friends are we so you're walking into a room full of ten people and watching a stream of a room with a hundred all easy or just butts it's just the cameras really low to the ground it's just a bunch of heels I think I would get if I'm in a room which I probably would be I'd go I kept I think I would keep going up to the camera when I'm like who's watching this I've been feeling I'd be a beroom probably and just it's me and some other guy it's funny is I am someone out of party I can get overwhelmed by just the crowd in the noise that I'd probably see beroom and I'd be like what's that one oh one where you connect your conversation let's let's make the camera beat the beroom okay okay okay you mean the a room oh yeah but you're you're POV your B room yeah yeah yeah you mean a room sorry what are you trying to say this is a room you know your problem is from their perspective is three people in the empty room right now and it would be like this it go oh my god how are you dude this is the best night ever I bet this is going to cut together perfectly yeah yeah why are you okay because you would look at the camera and it would be like this yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah it's been really hey Mike happy birthday to you okay that really helped my foot is on the hey pillow for the people who are watching they understand how awful this is no what was the gift she was going to give her I don't know find out keep it okay moving on that was cool you're gonna be able to watch you'd be like I'm OP I'm OP now I'm OP now I'm OP now our next story comes from relationships this was posted about a year ago April of 2025 and this is a 22 year old woman okay my boyfriend who's 22 keeps letting his friend a 24 year old man come on our dates excuse me that's what's written sounds like a threesome no okay so sorry her boyfriend lets his friend join them on their dates oh yeah okay at table for three yeah yikes I do this with you in court it's fine yeah yeah oh you just crash their dates I don't always make a joke about it but your table over yeah what did you say but your table over you're a table over you're the beat you're the beat I the beat I get for dinner I go what a day huh okay how we got into this predicament in the first place is that my boyfriend just really likes his friend we'll call him Liam he's like a brother to him he saved his life once etc but he's on all our dates I even brought one of my single friends on a date so we could do a double date and Liam and her don't date so that failed I've honestly asked my boyfriend why Liam is on our dates and he says that Liam is lonely has nobody else and he has no siblings or girlfriend but then my boyfriend kind of guilt me because I know this sounds awful Liam is the fucking package for guilt his mom died when he was young, then his dad and him don't talk anymore. Liam just doesn't have anyone else to talk to. I honestly think my boyfriend is guilt-tripping me, and I don't think I can do this relationship anymore. If nothing changes, I'm leaving. This has gone on for three months. Like sure, I feel bad for Liam, but I don't really know him, and it's not my problem. It's also not just dates or movie nights that he's here. Going to the mall, he's there. Where is he not? Also, I know the sounds made up. I still can't believe it, but it very much is real. And I basically just need validation that it's okay to break up with my boyfriend over this, this whole post, edit. I called my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend to meet up, and I'm gonna break up with him. I'm gonna tell him the exact reason, honestly. I swear if Liam is there, though, like I'm not considering the possibility of not breaking up with him. It's not even just because of Liam. It's that he manipulates me into letting Liam come. Okay. - Okay. So she's already made up her mind. - Yeah, this is like when a friend needs advice, but just wants to talk it out. - Yeah. - When Liam and the boyfriend just friends, I was gonna ask that. We have no context on that. I don't know. I've never heard of anything quite like this. - I will say, I have definitely had a partner where they have had a friend where they're like, they're going through a lot, they're kind of lonely. Like, can they join us? And I have had that, and sometimes it happens a little much where you're like, okay, blah, blah, blah. But it definitely is like, it's a weird relationship between them and their friend. It's very tricky territory. It could be that her boyfriend feels responsibility for Liam. - 'Cause he saved his life. - 'Cause Liam saved his life. But also just like, when you have a friend who's going through horrible shit. - The boyfriend, Liam saved the boyfriend's life. He was stuck out on the ice. - You fucking loser. - No, I'm just, you're still looking at the-- - And early on it says, he saved his life once. - I just made it the ice park. 'Cause that's how I think he's like a boyfriend. - So Liam was stuck in the ice. - No, so the boyfriend was stuck in the ice. - The boyfriend was stuck in the middle of the ice. It was cracking, he was falling down. And Liam pulled off, he grabbed-- - And Liam was a Roombie. - Yeah, he grabbed his rope, and then he slid out, and then he did this and pulled the boyfriend out. - And no, it's just, it's any story where someone says-- - Of course not, Bailey. - This is just how-- - This is probably five different books that Amanda said. - It's just my brain words. - Mine, mine. - I want to be saved. - And for our viewers and listeners, mind you, we're on story two right now. But uh-- - Sorry. (laughing) - Sorry, are you? - Okay. - So, he fell. - Stop. (laughing) - Okay, sorry Shane, you have the floor. - Let's go to some comments. It's okay to break up. You didn't sign up to be the third wheel in your own relationship. He can spend as much time with Liam as he wants as a single dude. - Re-tweet. - Someone said, "Is your boyfriend afraid to spend time with you one-on-one?" I think he's too young for a romantic relationship. It's more than just about his buddy. He's insecure and likes having his buddy for comfort. - Whoa. - Whoa, that might be it. - That might be interesting. - It might be interesting. - Because his friend's trauma doesn't feel like recent enough to be like, "He needs somebody now." - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's what bugged me. But you're right, I couldn't, you know. - Someone said, "Before ending it, you are fully validated on doing so based on your post. Have you put your foot down? Why don't you plan dates and tell him his friend is not invited period?" Oh, he said, "I have." But as I said in the past, he always, like, guilt trips me into letting him come. Saying this out loud kind of just made me realize he's manipulative. - Oh, okay, so it's more than that. - Yeah, it feels like no matter what, if you're asking something of your partner and no matter what, they find a way to not honor that, that's, besides, in the end. - I'm so interested. It sounds to me like, yeah, he needs Liam as like a safety blanket, but there definitely feels like there's a disconnect between their connection. - Oh, 100%. - Oh, 100%. - 100%. - Like, what are they doing when they're hanging and watching a movie, like, at their home, or a partner? Liam, why do you want to be there, though? - I know. - I think when you fall in ice, so hard. - Yeah, no. - It's all right. - Someone who gets you up. - Right. - Yeah. Of course, and Liam maybe thinks that he has to save the boyfriend's life again. - Maybe. Update. - Okay. - Okay, here we go. - Oh, my God. - This was posted the same day. 'Cause she was on her way to break up. - Yup, yup, yup. - I broke up with my ex. I'm gonna call him Xavier. I went to where we agreed to meet up and guess who he brought with it. - Shut the fuck up. - You guessed it, Liam. - Was it near an ice rink? - I was very annoyed at this point. I told him I wanted to speak with him privately and he brings fucking Liam. It's very uncomfortable to break up with someone in front of their best friend, but I was too pissed. I told him, I said I wanted to speak privately and he said, say it in front of Liam. - What? - Okay, so, okay. - Okay, so Xavier's got stuff on Xavier. - Yeah, get out of here. Eventually, I just get annoyed and say that's it. I don't want Liam always here in our private life on dates everywhere. He basically said, remember what I told you about Liam's circumstance, blah, blah, blah. I said something like, I'm sorry, but I don't give a fuck about what Liam's going through right now. This is about me breaking up with you. Meanwhile, Liam is just standing there looking confused. I'll get back to this later. So we basically get into a fight in this park and it gets to the point where I tell him that he manipulates me into not kicking Liam out of our dates. And about everything he told me Liam went through, like a brother to Xavier, save Xavier's life, dead mom, dad absent, no siblings, friends or girlfriends. And then Xavier looks like he got caught or something. And Liam gets angry saying, what did you tell her? This is all really funny and really awful at the same time. It turns out none of what Xavier told me was true. Liam has a fiance, has a real brother and sister, and his mom isn't dead. - No! Ow! - I was here with you! - She yelled at my ear, that's not good friendship. - Angela! - Keep going. - Gays. - Is that? - No, no, no. - No, no, no. - Coscoz, you used to it. - He's coming out mute. - So anyway, definitely broke up with Xavier. Like 40 minutes later, Liam DMs me basically saying that Xavier told Liam that I wasn't comfortable being alone with Xavier and that he thought I wanted him to be on the dates. Sir, what? He said the reason why he agreed is because his fiance is living in Europe to finish up her study abroad program, and he had nothing better to do. So Xavier just flattered as a liar. Glad I broke up with him, mad I got lied to, but oh well. This was honestly not a turn of events I was expecting, and I have to get it out somewhere. - Wait, what? This is-- - So Xavier, Xavier, whatever was saved on the ice, so he was uncomfortable with his girlfriend. - He didn't want to be alone with his girlfriend, so he lied to both of them. - Why didn't he want to be alone with his girlfriend? - There's a lot to unpack with Xavier. I think Xavier's in interesting-- - I don't think Xavier's ready to date. - I don't think Xavier, I don't know what Xavier's ready to do. - Because I'm, I don't know what he's ready for. - He lied about everything that Liam went through. I wonder if Liam's still friends with him. - Dude, if I found out someone was telling lies like that, I'd be like, "Hey man, maybe I'm gonna take a break too." People are making lies up about me being like, "Sorry, she has to come. Her dad's dead." And I'm like, "He's alive." - Yeah, I would be so uncomfortable. - This is really intense and weird. - I hope you guys have this, but like, it's my team of like, in middle school, I have one that I was so scared to run into all of it. - Wait, you had a boyfriend that you were scared to run into? - Yeah, okay. - Yeah, I was in middle school, so I'm-- - I can relate the first-- - Oh, yes. - I can relate to that. In middle school, the first girl I ever asked out, I was terrified. I was like, "I don't know fucking clue what I'm doing." - I do get that. - That is so relatable. There's actually a story in elementary school, a guy liked me, and I literally would cry if I was near him. - Yeah. - But this person is 22, right? - 'Cause you're not used to the pressure. - Yeah, but he's 22. - Okay. - But to be clear, he's 22. - He's 22. - It's got stop. (laughing) - You're not used to the pressure. - Well, when you're little and you're just like, they're like me. - I understand, I understand what you're saying. - Maybe there's something wrong with me 'cause I would seek them out. - I'd be like, where are they? (laughing) They're down the hallway. There they are. - Amanda. - Hey, babe. - Amanda, Amanda, who is 5'10" in second grade. (laughing) - Where are they? - Straight up. - Where are you going? - They were like, "Hey, do you guys hear that noise?" It was like, boom, boom, boom. - Where's my boyfriend? (laughing) - Where's little Mario? - I smell him. (laughing) - I smell him. - I smell him. - I see his backpack. - Where is he? (laughing) - I see his. - Stop, I wasn't like that, that's crazy. - You guys are sick. - Not me. - Jason, recess isn't over yet, I know. - I know, can I just hide out here for like 40 hours? (laughing) - What do you mean he's with the school nurse? - Yeah. - Jason! (laughing) - Can you send me to the principal's office? - Hey, Jason. - Hey, Jason. - Can I just stand here for like 10 more minutes? - Oh, mommy wants a kissy. For some reason I said I had a crush on her 'cause I thought her hair was beautiful, but I didn't know her vibes were like this. - Listen, I was really cool. And very chill, you know what you need to do. - Yeah, I need to talk to him. - I believe it. - I'm gonna talk to him. - No, it does remind me though, the first girl I ever asked out, it was in seventh grade. And I had such a crush on this girl, and I had a crush on her for so long, like months. And then I was just, I finally like had the courage, I was like, oh, do you wanna be my girlfriend? And she's like, oh yeah. And then I was like, I have no clue what to do now. - It's so true. - What do I do now? - What happens now? - You feel crazy. - No idea. And it was just a weird week. And then it was like, I think one of her friends is like, yeah, I don't think she wants to be here. And I was like, I was ever being relieved. I was like, me too. I don't know what we're doing. - We didn't kiss, we barely like hugged. I was just like, we just kind of had a title for a bit. - Oh God. - In church, we would only do group hangs. So if you were hanging out or like kind of dating someone, He was in a group, he was never one on one. And then one on one, you're like, "Uh." You guys are crazy. I'm like, one on one, let's kiss for a long time. OK, we have a little bit of an update in a comment. OK, OK. Did he, Xavier, ever explain why he didn't? Are you still in touch with Liam? What does Liam's take on what happened? This was a little bit later, right? This was like a few, like, a couple of weeks later. Yeah. Oh, he responded, "He never explained to Liam or me why he did it." But the vibe I'm getting from what Liam has told me and my own feelings on the matter are that he was trying to frame Liam into looking like Liam was on the dates with me so Xavier can show Liam's girlfriend photos or something to break up with Liam and his girlfriend. That's the second runner-up. I personally think that Xavier just did it for a sick game or something. As perfect as it would have been for Xavier to be gay for Liam, sadly, I don't think that's the case. But who knows, honestly. me and Liam have talked every once in a while the past few days, but I'm definitely not friends with him. I'm not really sure if I can trust him because I don't know enough about Liam to know he is not a pot stirrer himself. Liam was definitely kept in the dark about a lot of things, so it's not his fault or anything. But I just don't know the friendship I walked into. Based on what Liam said, he feels baffled. When this topic first came up, he said he wouldn't know why Xavier would do something like this, but a tiny bit of him is not really surprised. I don't know what he did before that to be not surprised because Liam never really gave me a straight answer. What I can take out of it is that he is really curious about Xavier's intentions. Hopefully this can answer any questions you might have, and if anything else needs more clearing up, you can ask. We have nothing more. - I'd love to ask, but I really, okay. So Xavier possibly wanted Liam to get caught in a photo with his girlfriend to make Liam's girlfriend fiance mat. Okay. - Yeah, okay. There's not really a good version of it. - You could be scared, bro. - Yeah, I just say you're scared. This feels-- - It's the problem with lying is that I'm just like, well, what are your intentions? But I can't trust your answer. - It's a weird one. - Yeah, super weird. Anyways. - Anyways. - Moving on. Am I the asshole for leaving my friend at a restaurant after she tested me? We got a friendship test. Here we go. - Love it. - Throw away because a lot of my friends are on here. So I, a 23 year old woman, have a close friend, a 24 year old woman, who will call Stella, who has this really annoying habit of doing little things to test our friendship. - Oh. - She'll say stuff like, I just wanted to see if you'd notice I was upset. - Oh. - I wanted to see if you would drop what you were doing to help me. This really pisses me off and I've told her before that I would really love it if she stopped doing that and just talked to me openly if something was bothering her. Last weekend, we went out to dinner with two friends. At the end, we asked for separate checks. When it came to me, I noticed they had charged me for one of Stella's drinks. She had already paid, so I decided not to say anything then because I didn't want to complicate everything for the staff. I figured I would just bring it up later. After dinner, while we were saying bye, I quickly mentioned to Stella that one of her drinks had been charged to my bill and that I thought she had overlooked it. I said it really nicely and pretty offhandedly. However, after I told her that, Stella suddenly got really cold and just said, "Oh, I'm a really awkward person and don't know how to handle people when they're being rude or standoffish, so I kind of let it slide." Later that night, she texted me saying she felt I had been acting selfishly and that she didn't feel appreciated in our friendship despite her doing so much for me. She said she had noticed the drink wasn't charged to her and waited to see whether I would offer to cover it since she had helped me move into my new apartment two months ago. - Oh! - I understand wanting to be appreciated, but I was honestly really annoyed. I don't think it's healthy to help your friends and expect something to return. That feels really transactional. I told her that if she wanted me to buy her a drink as a thank you for helping me move, it would have been better to say so two months ago. Instead, this turned something small into some arbitrary test of friendship. She replied that it shouldn't have to fall on her to keep reminding me to show basic appreciation. We decided to meet for brunch the next day to talk it out in person. I got there first in order to coffee. However, before I could even really say anything, she immediately started telling me how she hoped I had thought more about my actions. At that point, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was so frustrated that any attempt at having a productive conversation turned into me somehow being the villain. I just stood up, paid for my coffee and left. I texted her afterwards saying that I was done participating in her little tests and that I can't be friends with someone who isn't willing to communicate like an adult. I just don't know how I can make her understand that she needs to stop testing people quite literally. Am I the asshole? There's an edit. I'm actually someone who hesitates to ask people for help because I hate inconveniencing others. So I didn't ask her to help me move. She volunteered to do it herself. And even then, it wasn't anything too crazy like big furniture. Just boxes I needed to transport over from my storage unit, which I was originally planning on doing myself anyway. And yes, I, of course, bought takeout for us after because I still would have felt really shitty taking advantage of someone even if they offered to help. Now I'm thinking maybe to her, it felt like something I would have done anyway on a random hangout. And didn't necessarily feel like an explicit thanks, which I verbally said, of course, I don't know. But overall, I feel like the whole situation was literally nothing significant to begin with. So I have no idea how we got here. Thank you to everyone who shared their own experiences. You've all definitely helped me get some clarity on the whole situation. I think I just started questioning whether I had been too emotional at the time and should have given her some grace. But it's definitely taxing being her friend in the long run and I genuinely can't do it anymore. - Say. - Whoa. - Oh my God. - I am exhausted. Okay. - That was exhausting. That wasn't funny. That wasn't interesting. That sucks. That's just a bummer. - Dude, it sounds like this girl literally does things for other people just to be like, remember when I did that thing for you? - Oh my God. - Those are red flag friends. - It's manipulative. - You can't have them. - It's, yeah, people who keep track of shit and hold it over you, it's so exhausting. And I think there's the degree I'm sure within a lot of us where we're like, you keep track of things in the M.I being taken. Like is this person taking advantage of me? - Yeah. - Like I get that and that is the case sometimes. But there are so many people out there who it's like, oh, like when you volunteer to do something and then use that as a chip against them. - And she got her take out. Like, bro. - Girl, what word do you have on it? - That's what it cancels out, yeah. - I also am, if we're gonna get into that nature and I am not this type, but if you are gonna get into there, it's like, oh, like if you help someone move, the only expectation that I think I would justify is if later on they're moving and it's like of an equal caliber. - Yeah. - I'm just like, hey, but it's not a transaction. It should just be like, hey, we're friends and we have each other's back or we need each other. Not, I did this there for moving in to do this. - She not only tests her, but she's keeping score. - Yes. - And that's really scary. - And I remember I had a friend in college that would do really nice things, and I never saw it that straightforward, but then it took me a while to be like, oh, when she does this stuff that I don't ask for, it kinda makes me like forgive her for stuff that she doesn't do. - And that is, I think that is actually a tactic. - No, 100 percent. - No, 100 percent. - She's like, oh, if I drench her, it's a little bit of like love bombing, but like kindness bombing. - Yes, yes. - Be like, I'm gonna help you with your move. And now you owe me one. And it's like, I didn't get any really lavish birthday gifts that you're like, whoa, this is like so nice. And then their birthday comes around and you're like, oh God, what do I have to do? - Right, they put you in a bind, it's control. It's a very specific type of control. - I'm a gift giver. And sometimes I overdo it 'cause I love gift giving. But then I'm thinking about doing something without, like making some, you could tell the heart behind a gift being like, I want you to have it 'cause I love you. - I feel anxiety when you give me gifts. When you give me gifts, I'm like, oh my God, this is so great. - No, but what I'm saying is like, there's a different energy when someone gives you a gift 'cause they want something in return. - I agree. - But I know that you really, really like this thing. So I got it for you. - I just thought of you. - It's an instinctive thing. - And then they tally something and they go like, God, that makes you feel a little bit higher than me. And it was just boxes. - Yes, absolutely. Yeah, no, Angela, I feel like we all know. 'Cause I feel like you'll give a great gift. But then you'll be like, oh yeah, but it's whatever. It's fine, it's fine. - Yeah, exactly. And then I give a gift to you. - It's literally nothing and I don't even talk to you. - I'm like, I don't want you to make you feel hungry. - No, no, no, no, no. - I'm actually leading and I don't ever talk to you. - No, I'm actually like, moving. - Don't see me. - I'm actually moving to another country so I don't ever talk to me. - So I tripped in fell on this gift for you. I'm just gonna hit it. - Something that really is tough for me is I'm not someone, I don't keep score. And therefore, I honestly don't like, but people who keep score will be like, I did all this and what did you do for me. And I'm just like, I'm not thinking about that. - Yeah. - When people are like, oh, I did that for you last year. It's like, no, you're thinking about that. - You're doing anything that's a giving mentality, like even buying a drink for someone doing any of that with an ulterior motive is always gonna bring a little different to me. - I really wonder if this person's family life had that included if her mom went on trips and it's just like, how dare you do this thing? Because we just went on a trip, or like, that is so real. - It might be like parenting or sibling. - It could have been a learned behavior. - No, for sure. - I grew up around a lot of that, too. - I grew up around a lot of times. - Look how good you have it. - I think it's very common. I do think it's a very common thing, but it's something like, you gotta check in yourself for a little bit. - And also, it makes me feel bad for the person who's testing because you can't just stand up for yourself. Like I know it's more vulnerable to be like I don't feel loved by you so I have to trap you into doing it and then go put the lights on Ashley, good you're coming right. You don't love me and it's like you can you're just saying you don't feel that way is enough to the right people. Which is what I think OP was asking for OP was like listen that hurt my feelings let's get coffee and then and then Stella just completely you know derailed it so she was like okay if we can't communicate like like adults saying like hey I moved you and I actually felt like I really needed a little bit more than it was like okay clear I'm not able to give that to you. But instead she traps them and then tests them and forces that it's scary. It's so much better when friends care about you in response and you don't have to trap them into doing it. Yeah exactly. Verdict is not the asshole comments not the asshole tell her that the brunch was a test to see if she could communicate like you don't without playing mind games and girl tripping and she failed 16000 up votes. Someone said she sounds exhausting drop people that are energy vampires from your life. Someone said okay first off I 36-year-old woman have been there before and I'll cut to the chase quickly let go of that friend no matter how much it hurts friend break up suck or how much other friends will say you're being unreasonable let it go. It isn't worth being friends with someone who expects you to guess their moods and act accordingly. It also isn't worth constantly feeling like a bad friend so you end up overcompensating later trust me it isn't worth it. I also want to stress that this isn't about communication it's 100% about control. Yes. There may be a hole this friend is trying to fill that you just can't no matter how hard you try and the more you try the worse it will get. You are not the asshole. 100% I like her she's a good therapist they're right at therapist. Yeah I too have a certain agree because I've heard of people being in situations where you have a friend who constantly is gilting you constantly making you feel like you're not like not doing enough for them and stuff and at certain point it's just like hey man I guess I'm not a good friend for you like I guess we should yeah wish that you could say that to yourself back in the day and go hey um drop this friend but no you go through this they they get you to a point where you feel so totally crazy and you actually I don't know if you've ever had a friend to be like oh well you're not going to be good without me or like I ever make it without me and you you've you've you've had so much time with them that you're broken down to a place where you really believe it it's like you look back on those friendships and you're like whoa unfortunately what sucks about it is growing up is you do like your brain is so much smaller when you have only a couple friends you're like oh I can only feel this way with this person yeah and the more older you get them where you're like oh oh and then when friendships feel easier it just takes them feeling harder for you to recognize oh that was so easy to talk to you and you're like hey you know what I mean like you immediately have healthy boundaries boundaries with a friend is just like unreal and and it's possible that's the other thing is like yeah when you're yeah when you only have a few friends you're just like oh my god to have a friend that already has boundaries how nice is that yeah or like just like growing up it's like who's in your class at school that those are your friends right right and you don't really have the like and then as an adult you go whoa I can kind of curve my time I can decide who I want to be with and who I don't isn't that crazy when you give yourself that permission I know but growing up you're like well well well good on OP for just yeah indeed our next story comes from today I fucked up okay yay Yay Post of the March of this year 2026 today I fucked up by kissing my friend because I was 100% sure he was about to kiss me first oh this is fun your friend oh your friends and kissed this happened three days ago and I want to move to a different country oh there's this guy in my friend group we've been friends for like a year and a half nothing weird except lately it felt like something shifted or I thought it did he was texting more finding reasons to sit next to me did this thing where he'd fix my hood when it was half stuck in my jacket collar which is like who does that platonically who that's so last Friday we're at a pregame at our mutual friends place it gets late people leave and it's just me and him on the couch close talking about nothing and he gets this look on his face kind of soft kind of serious leaning slightly and going quiet mid sentence I have never been more sure of anything in my life I kissed him he did not kiss me back not like he pushed me away he just froze and then pulled back a little and did this sharp exhale and said oh one syllable oh oh I wanted to dissolve into the couch cushions and become part of the furniture forever turns out he was about to tell me that he likes my friend oh no crushing uh-oh that is crushing gag dead skirt fever rub around bubonic plague bubonic bubonic plague is hit the town he wanted my advice and was working up the nerve that was the look that was the quiet he was nervous about talking about her I had to sit there for another 40 minutes because I couldn't leave without making it weirder we both pretended to watch something on his phone I don't know what it was I was not processing visual information at that point he texted me the next day like hey are you okay and I said yeah lol and have not opened anything since I have to see him Friday same friend group they will be there I am not okay it's really sweet that he texted are you okay I know I think that's sweet but I also would hate him for it why yeah because you're like don't be nice to me I don't know it's like you fall on your face he goes you good oh you fell real hard huh I don't know it's like it's a very thing but it's sweet it's sweet it's a nice guy this is uh I don't know I'm actually he's your brother it's nice okay well I don't know brother this is like the start of a pilot I feel like this is like the start of a protagonist story some like man that type of like twisting of the heart of just like oh this person you you like so much and they're like oh like you you get so vulnerable and they're like no I actually like your friend which is there's nobody's doing anything wrong there they have nobody's wronged her but that is so devastating but in like every romcom or whatever that actually works out and so when it doesn't it's like oh no and then that smash cut to title this is her story no the friends the the friends to lovers thing we've watched it a little too much yeah it's like you're like well you know like hey whoa hey hey whoa whoa whoa in the games video we just did Amanda and chance got really close to kiss it really yeah and she are you feeling okay about it yeah you're right um yeah it was like crazy um we like really almost French um what about this that's a nightmare to me is like how sometimes um having a crush gets your brain being like they're sitting next to me they love me oh yeah like yeah like you're so right and it's kind of so horrifying sorry it's okay the pillow just like shed on you oh he wants to kiss you yeah the pillow wants but um but it's like that's what's so scary it's like cuz I was like oh did this guy do something wrong by hanging out with her one-on-one late at night after a drinking and just like kind of talking to her but I'm like no he didn't do anything wrong but she interpreted it yeah like he liked her back okay but has it ever happened to you where like roll reversal where you've been the person like going out with a friend and you're like and they're about to drop you off and you're like okay yeah like that was so much fun and then they leaned in for a kiss is that ever happening no is that really oh my god I have had it with men where they like think like I was I was hanging out with someone and they thought it was a date and I was like oh I thought we were getting coffee yeah I didn't think it was like so I think it can get confusing because I think it's very easy if you like the person it's very easy to see what exactly what you said these moments of like I hate when I do this whatever these moments where they say yes to something or they like are dropping you off or they're like getting a little bit close and you're like oh my god it's happening but the other person is just like yeah this is a good spot there's like comfy there's something about it it's it's so scary and I don't know how you know how you never oh yeah what what what is she gonna do I have no idea well wait wait a second do we know anything so he said he likes the friend I wonder is she really good friends with the friend or that friend's just like part of the friend group I don't know oh like how close of a friend yeah cuz then does she have to explain it's got to be like a close friend it's got to be like they're all hanging out against the most devastating comments talk to him don't brush it off and act cool really talk to him there's a 99% chance that he also has no idea how to navigate this and he's just as embarrassed or confused as you are tell him it was a spur of the moment thought that you acted on because you think he's cute or whatever yeah and you misread the situation yep let him react from there don't self sabotage and be like it was nothing I don't actually like you right put the ball on his side of the court and see what he does 8,000 up votes someone said the best is if you explain to him the misunderstanding if he really is your friend he will understand yeah try to joke it off or eventually apologize I also recommend learning the difference machine care and love no big deal no worries it happens to the best of us I'm still learning to for example Fixing the hood is actually showing care to one another, not necessarily platonic, but for now, try to talk to him about it. - No. - Okay. - If someone went like this, hey, you're hood. - Well, I don't know if he's doing that. - Also, well, well, well. - It says dad's right out here. The difference is in care and love. - Yeah, come on. - You're just fucking trying to get caught. - And someone fixes your tag. You're like, what's your name? - You're like, oh my god, kindness. I'm an American, what? (laughing) Like my goodness, we can't, you can't sometimes people do things. - I kindness and love, like, guys, it's a blurred line. - That's like someone getting missed on them and going, that's not water. - Whoa, what an interesting-- (laughing) - Whoa, okay. - Someone's getting missed on you. - Don't repeat it. - That's not water. - Hey, don't do what OP's gonna do. You gotta face it, girl. - I don't wanna do this. - Gotta get missed it. - You're gonna get missed on you. - Missed a test. - Missed a test. - You want to see what's going on. - No! - I'm gonna see you guys listening to me. - Don't test us, Stella! - Stella! - How does I think you guys are zone me out? And I wanted to see you guys. - I definitely don't zone you out. I literally heard you say miss, and I went, what? (laughing) - We both turned to you and asked what you just said. - I'm glad, I'm glad. - Okay. - OP said the hood thing was not nothing. I stand by that. My friend I told said, yeah, that's flirty behavior. So I was not completely delusional. I was maybe 30% delusional, LOL. I keep her playing the O and I think about it and my stomach just drops every time. One syllable. He could not even finish a word. I don't know how to walk into Friday and look normal. I don't know what my face is going to do. - Can I also say something? Beware of friends sometimes in this scenario because sometimes you'll be like, oh my God, he did this thing and they're like, oh my God, he loves you. - Right. - They want to be supportive. So they do actually support you in like, not the right direction. But that's why you gotta be like, well, what do you mean? - What do you mean? - When I guess some of my face. (laughing) - This is what? - If they've been friends for a long time too, the line is very confusing and weird. And I do think like she went straight for going in for a kiss when maybe it's like you could put out feelers in a different way of being like. - Yeah. - Like, we're friends, right? - We're friends, right? - What's finding another simpler route? 'Cause once you do the kiss, it's like, you're in. - Yeah, maybe be like, miss you. - Miss you. - Miss you. - Miss you. (laughing) - And then go like this. - Oh. (laughing) - I think I would be like, toxic, like middle school Angela would be like, do you have any crushes right now? (laughing) - If there's someone that you're really into right now. - Yeah. (laughing) - Or you just go like this? - No, I'm not making a physical motion. I'm being like, oh! - I'm going, what does your heart feel? (laughing) - Oh, so that's, I'm not feeling like, or like arms? - No. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Get on electric scooter and go really slow and be like, oh no, if you're standing right in front of me, I might accidentally kiss you. (laughing) Better get out of the way. - Get out of the way! If there was someone that you could kiss in this room right now, who would it be? - That's a pitch that I've had, I've pitched this to Smosh. It's called Kiss Jousting. And two people get on electric scooters. They are blindfolded and they drive. - You're good. I'm not gonna knock your teeth out. - You drive very slowly, you can try. - From the producers of Who Slaped Me, it's Kiss Jousting. - Yeah, and then Shane is also blindfolded. He goes, okay, I'm guessing who's jousting right now. - Who's kissing? - Okay, that felt like an Angela kiss. - It feels like if Amanda was on a scooter with sound, like she was moving really fast. (laughing) - Yeah, what if someone goes fast? That's gonna hurt us. - What the fuck? - What are you talking about? - So you're, so you're blindfolded. - You watch a nice tale. - I think we're trying to kiss. - Okay, but going very slowly. - Like this? - Just, just. - We can't even light a candle in here without getting safe to kiss. - Oh, you're right, you're right, we can't. - Because we're gonna have two motor operated scooters. - If you wanna have a birthday, you gotta go to the B room. (laughing) - Okay, let's switch that. - Last comment, someone said, people send mixed signals all the time. Sometimes completely by accident, unintentional. People misread signals all the time. People act on those mixed signals and misinterpretations all the time. You are human, humans are going to be human. You will be okay. - Human. - Thanks. - Let's come into. - It's so true. I mean, this is such like real shit, but it's painful. - No, yeah. - It's painful, but this person will absolutely be okay. We've all kind of been there in a way. - And now you got one, you did that. That's your big crazy story. - Yeah, sure. - And you'll survive. Hey, I also think like you always have that story. Like, it's like, oh, you fucked up, whatever, blah, blah. Whenever I hear about someone shooting their shot, I'm just like, yeah, man. Good job. - Shoot your shot. - Better to do that than to not. - Not all shots miss. - I've heard that. - We love him. - Man, not all shots miss. - Not all shots missed. - We should take you to a basketball courts and see how many shots. And it's just like challenge, man. - I think Angela has missed 500 shots. - And in the background, you guys are on scooters. - I think good. - I said, bro. - This is a message. - Back to the show. - This is crazy. - What is happening? - I don't know. - It's a Monday, by the way. - Whoa, it is? - Yeah. Our next story comes from "True Off My Chest." I cut off my entire friend group because they believe I'm demonically possessed. I kept my side of the story in silence for over a year. It finally feels good to get it out, even if that means reddit. Okay. - What? - It's been hard to share this. It took some time to get over the initial shock of everything. I, a 30-year-old woman, was part of a close knit friend group for several years. We did everything together, and although many of them are non-denominational or fundamentalist Christians, we always got along just fine. I was raised Catholic, but no longer practiced actively. Despite our religious differences, there was a mutual respect. Or so I thought. One day, one of my closest friends in the group, let's call her Sarah, sat me down for what she called a heart-to-heart. She was clearly distressed and kept telling me she was worried about my well-being. Then she dropped the bomb. She believed a demonic entity was attached to me and that she had been sensing this for over a year. - Oh my gosh. - She claimed the moment it started was a night we all took mushrooms together. According to her, I, a fundamentalist Christian taking mushrooms. Damn, that's a combo. - What is happening? - According to her, I somehow brought the devil into her home. She told me she saw the face of the devil in a photo taken that night, laughing and mocking us. She had even brought it up to her husband who apparently saw it in me too. It turns out she'd also been discussing this with the rest of the friend group behind my back for months and with her own husband for over a year. When she finally brought it to me, some of our mutual friends, including people I thought were level-headed, jumped on the bandwagon. She suggested I see a priest, get an exorcism or go back to church for spiritual intervention. Even some of our extended friends who aren't even Christians seemed convinced something was wrong with me. As someone who still holds many core Catholic values, even though I no longer attend church, I was deeply offended. The entire experience left me feeling ganged up on and judged, not supported. Afterward, the group dynamic shifted. I felt ostracized. I noticed people giving me side eyes, making plans without me, and treating me like I was tainted or dangerous. They even criticized me for using sage or crystals for intention setting, calling it devil's work and saying they were genuinely worried for my soul. Just to clarify, they never said the exact words, the devil's work. I was over generalizing in this statement. What she really expressed was more along the lines of deep concern that I was into that kind of stuff, and that she seriously worried about me messing with sage, crystals, et cetera, because that's the devil's temptation to stray you away from the Lord. These are her real religious beliefs. Eventually, I told Sarah I needed to take a step back. Her response was, "Whenever you're ready to come back, we'll be here with open arms." She clearly believed she was coming from a place of love, and I don't doubt her sincerity, but I couldn't get past how hurt, judged, and betrayed I felt. So I made a decision, I cut ties with all of them, I unfollowed and blocked them on social media, left the group chat and blocked numbers. I haven't spoken to any of them in over a year, no explanation, no big confrontation, just silence. A few of the more distant friends who were involved but less intense have tried to reconnect, sending friend requests or messages, and honestly, I feel bad for some of them. I think they were just caught up in the group think, but part of me still feels like they had opportunities to speak up or think for themselves, and they didn't. Sarah and I had been friends for seven years. We were extremely close. Her intervention broke my trust, even as she truly thought she was helping. I haven't responded to her attempts to reach out since. I just can't. So, Reddit, sometimes I feel guilty for cutting them all off without a word and choosing not to revisit those friendships. Damn, so it's just a straight up confession about that they lost a whole friend group. - Wow, this is really kind of heartbreaking, honestly, for this person. For your entire friend group to be like, oh, you're working with the devil? We all, first of all, you see a lot of shit when you're on mushrooms, like, come on. - The being on drugs thing and going, we decided, all collectively, that you're a bad boy. - Yeah, all the drugs, shut off the picture. Where is the picture of the devil? I can't stop thinking about, like, insidious. That's all I think about as a guy's like, - I just love the fucking loops that some religious people jump through of, like, what they consider the devil's work and what they don't, 'cause I'm like, wait, hold on. Crystals are the devil's work, but you guys did a shroom trip and that doesn't count. I'm like, what the fuck? And you saw visions and that wasn't the devil's work. Like, what if-- - Yeah, so the Catholic girl gave you the visions of the devil, not the drugs? - Yeah, exactly. - What? - No, this is really sad. I also feel like, well, welcome you with open eyes. arms. To me, growing up in the Catholic Church, I'm just like, this feels very familiar to me. It's very much like, oh, if you do what we don't like, you're out of here, like you're evil, but like when you're ready to accept that you're evil and change, then you can come back with open arms. It's so wild. The only demonic thing is ostracizing people. Yeah. You know what I mean? That to me is like the worst part of this. Yeah. Especially if we're talking, if the other friends are Christians, it's like, oh, if someone feels like they're like, I don't know, you go towards them, I think, is like the idea rather than like back off. Yeah. But like, yeah. But I respect people protecting their peace, like sure. Sure. But this just feels like they just ganged up on her because she's different. Totally. Totally. It's just controlling behavior. And they also crystals, that's the devil's work, since when? It changes, it changes all the time. I feel like what they label as devil's work. Sometimes the things you don't understand and the things that scare you don't, I feel like a lot of religions just label that like, go away. And when you've changed, when you've gone back to like where we are, come back. It feels very clicky. It's. And I'm very glad that this person actually cut these people out. Oh, they had to. Goodbye. Well, and it's like, it's actually, I'm like, you didn't necessarily cut them out. They were intolerant of you. Like they're, they're such an intolerant group and you kind of had no choice. Like you weren't safe. But what the funny thing is about this is she did nothing. It just happened because they were on drugs and they all collectively had a weird vibe from her. They just, what, I really want to see this picture. If weird vibes were demonic, I'd have no friends. I'm not, but yeah. Hey, I like demonic people and you're one of them. I'm not fully buying the mushroom trip. I think this was just something like they were building up to. I agree. I agree. Maybe if someone's a bad vibe because they're mean and they're treating people awfully. Well, they're hiding behind a really bad excuse. But she did nothing. Like I literally did nothing. She did nothing. But this is just controlling. I mean, this, I mean, come on. In America, we see this literally every fucking day. Like it's just like going out of their way to try to control people who are doing literally nothing to them. And it's really heartbreaking because I think if you don't have a good support group, you can really feel like you are bad, that you are negative, that what you're doing isn't right, but it's like to me, this person is actually doing things that makes her feel good. To me, it's like religion, spirituality, whatever it is that's going to make you feel more connected to your inner self. That's the work that you should be doing and we shouldn't be shunning people for that. Well, it's also like, they would say it all the time in the Bible, too. Where's like all the disciples. All the disciples would be like, shunning people that were weird or sinful. And Jesus would love them and go towards them. And everyone would be like, what? Yeah. So it's like that is the basic thing and it's core. Yeah. So maybe we got that. But no, I think we keep that. I mean, it's true, though. Like we keep that. That's the jet. It's so true. And then it's the same pattern that was that a billion years ago was happening. That's still happening today where people are like, I, if I don't understand you, I can't understand you. I can't look exactly. Comments, why is she even judging you and stuff for not being fully Christian when she voluntarily took mushrooms with you? Didn't she even think it was the paranoia from the shrooms? Oh, he said, it seems like she used the shroom trip to validate her own original suspicions. But yes, considering the paranoia from the shrooms is a very logical way to think. Someone said, the thing I'm stuck on is the assertion that using crystals or sage is not of God, but doing shrooms is okay. Like Jesus is against rocks and harmless plants. But A.O.K. with technically poisonous psychedelic fungi. Lastly, someone said, and good rinse to all of them. Sarah was never your friend. That was a setup and she used your faith to gang up on you. I can't. Yeah, exactly. It's honestly what bad trips you're scared of when you're like doing drugs. You're scared. Everyone's talking about you and thinking to like not talk to you. And you do see hallucinations. Sometimes you see people's face like totally. You're on drugs! Yeah, 100%. You're on drugs! Yeah. Sounds like the beginning of a song. A church song. I don't think this person, this friend group has ever in a moment in their life gone, maybe I'm wrong. No, never. Yeah. And I bet they're like, well, shrooms are of the earth. So we could do them. Yeah. That's what that's the Christians have here. But rocks are not a crystal map. You made that. Yeah, exactly. But this is the earth. Yeah. They're minerals, by the way. Crystals. Just get out of town. We are not friends anymore. You watch Breaking Bad. You know Hank Schrader. Oh my god. Of course. Of course. Oh god. We're on like the third bringing bad reference of the day. You haven't seen it. You haven't seen it. It's already 26. If you have seen it, you would be on it too. Crystal. Math. Our final story comes from true off my chest. Supposedly a few days ago. I saw a friend in the market, and I can't stop thinking about how she greeted me. Okay. What market? What year is it? Sapo. So stupid. That is slut. Not that slut. It's like thanks. That little girl is slut. That's what you got. I'm into the beroom. The demons are in there. So the demons are. The other day my husband and I, this is a 57 year old woman, walked into the supermarket, and there in the produce section, I saw a friend who I hadn't run into for years. We know each other in a professional capacity, more than a personal one, but we get on very well, even though we never socialized outside of work. So I see her standing there, and I'm so happy. I exclaim, is that Dina Piscchiotti? Not a real name. She made up Dina Piscchiotti. Is that my slut with that slut? Is it offensive? If I say Angela, do you know how to pronounce this P-I-S-C-I-O-T-T-I? But I didn't listen. Is this your friend? P-I-S-C-I-O-T-T-I. Piscchiotti? Piscchiotti? Piscchiotti? Piscchiotti? Piscchiotti? Is that Dina Piscchiotti? With a huge smile. Is this what O.P. exclaim? Wait, but that's not her name. No, that's a not a real name in parenthesis. I really enjoy the way Shane said that though. I really like. With a huge smile. She turns around and it takes just a minute for her to register my face and then she comes in. I thought we were going to do a friendly hug and a little squeal of delight, but no. She grabs my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. Fully pulls me in and hugs me with a huge smile and a huge embrace and then pulls away laughing and smiling and then pulls me in a second time. I don't think I've ever been hugged like this in my life. I've never been surrounded by such genuine joy and happiness to be seen. It was completely sincere and filled with joy. We stood there for a minute catching up, introducing her to my husband, excited small talk and left with plans to meet for lunch, which we have scheduled for next week. I cannot stop thinking about that hug. Again, no one has ever done this for me. Not my parents, siblings, husbands, other friends, no one. It felt like pure acceptance and happiness to be seen in like a long lost family member. It was wonderful. Okay. Is that Dean of the audience? I love you, bitch. Thank God I ran into you near the avocados. God, I've never had someone do that for me. I've never had someone. Man, he'll be calling me. She's like, God, it's so good to see you. Yeah, it's me. Okay, so what's really what you mean is I misheard this. And I thought, I thought, oh, he was talking about someone looking at her, calling her a full-wrong name, going, is that Dean of Pissiati? Is that Dean of Pissiati? Why is the story so funny? And then, Dean of Pissiati grabs her and you know that part in the figure skating where they like spin them around the tour, so she grabs her hugs her flips her around. I'm just like, whoa, what was this? Was this woman? Maybe she was like, so she won a lot of money in that moment or something beforehand. Yeah, or maybe it was just like, she was like, that is me. I am Dean of Pissiati. That is your god damn right, I am. You're right, you slut. Get it here. Because I think we keep saying this sentence, like, is that like really fun? But imagine an OP's 56 or something, it's just like, is that Dean of Pissiati? Do it. Yeah, you're damn right, I am. But she's like, I've never felt that way in my entire life. Yeah, whoa, what did the husband think? He's just like, he's like, I've never seen anything like that before in my entire life. I'm obsessed with Dean of Pissiati. He's like, who's Dean of Pissiati? Who is that? And she's like, Dean of Pissiati. She's like, Dean of Pissiati, I met her once at the market. She goes, years ago. Her night, we used to have fun. Yeah, her night, we went down each other for a long time one night. You think? You have Dean of Pissiati? Is that? We went to France and, oh boy. And we French. Or what if OP was like a normal woman and she goes, she's like, yeah, honey, oh, I love, let's get a couple of these. No, it goes. Holy shit! Oh my god, is that Susan? Brand caught. Get over here. And then the dad's like, what? What? There's a cart in between them, they smoosh it. It's because, yeah, all the groceries splatter. Oh my god, is that, isn't that myself? Dean of Pissiati, that I am mistaken. I didn't realize that. - That was in the cake aisle. - Are we doing serpents right now? - That I am mistaken, the Lord has risen. - In the name of the demons in the B-Root, the self-deem of Miss Seattle. - God damn it, it was her first dance. - She can do whatever she wants in a banquet hall. (laughing) - Hey, so okay, sorry. - By the way, OP couldn't walk after the hug, she could. (laughing) - She gets that, she goes. - Whoa! (laughing) - Dana and she goes, yes, ma'am. - Oh yes, check your wallet. - Check your wallet, there's a hundred dollars in there. - Oh my God, that is Dana! - Pissie! - Ah! - I love this door. - I love this story. - But also though it makes me sad that OP doesn't feel like seeing her love her hug. - Even by her husband. Does her husband not grip her at any time? How are you, how you well? - Let's talk about the ramifications of this situation. - Like, God. - This is a funny story to read because when I'm at the grocery store, I don't want anyone to talk to me. - Oh, oh, I've had like a couple of these happen to me. - It's tough. - It's tough, sure. - Where it's like, "Oh, Amanda! You're fucking kidding, you're joking!" - Won't feel as bitch! (laughing) - You? - No, okay. - That happens me all the time. - The problem is like, especially if you have perishables in your cart, you don't have much time. - Oh my God, is that what you're thinking about? - You're such a hunter-gatherer. - What? - I'm chicken breasted in my cart. - So I have chicken breasted in my cart. - I cannot take a hug. - I'm so sorry, Dina. - Sorry. - I can't say hi. I'd love to see you and squeeze that sweet ass. (laughing) - I have pierciness in my cart. - I love to squeeze that sweet ass in my palm. - Well, least that. - Tina Pizziotti, I'm so sorry. I got eggs in here that are dined by the second. I'll see you later. I'll see you later. God, this workout is fun. - If I don't get them out of here, I'll have to head to bed. - Anyways, goodbye. - Pizziotti. - All right. Comments. - Update. - Fuck no. A genuine heartfelt hug has been shown to prolong life. I know hippies get a bad rap, but some of the best hugs I've ever had were at Burning Man and lasted longer than 30 seconds. - Okay, there's not just hippies there. - Everyone needs to be hugged once in a while. What the fuck is happening now? - There's not just hippies at Burning Man. Come on, they're architects. - Yeah, they're all love. - They're filters. - Yeah, they're all from Silicon Valley. - Yeah. - So it's that there are a few people I've hugged in life who give mom dad hugs, like I completely melt in their arms and feel safe, seen and cared for. I did tell one lady this and she pulled me back in for another and told me I could have a mom hug whenever I needed one. Thanks for giving the best hugs, Jen. Someone said, I love this. I must admit, I'm so jaded by my Reddit negativity that I assumed the OP was going to complain about overstepping boundaries or whatever. I had my pitchfork ready. It was such a lovely and wholesome surprise to read this. Lastly, someone said there's not a lot of joyful wholesome posts. I feel so negative for waiting for that. Thanks for sharing. We can all choose to be a light for others and ourselves. - Oh, Dina Pissiati is a light. - Dina Pissiati is a character we gotta do now. - Dina Pissiati. - Whoa, she's changed. - Well, that she was like. - Because we're doing the presses of OP. 'Cause OP is who said, is that Dina Pissiati? - Oh, you're right, you're right. - Dina Pissiati turn around and goes, "Yeah, God, you're right." - Yeah, he's right. - And she took a hug. - Get the fuck away. - Is that my best friend? Is that the only friend? - Is that the only one? - And then she hugs you, she puts her cigarette out on the back. (laughing) - And I felt this heat on my back, and it was like, - And I felt alive. - I'm attending, do you think? - Is that my mother fucking sister? (laughing) - Hey, sister, can you hear me, can you hear me? And then the shopping carts, the mess. - Go on, just a minute. - Take a lemon on me. (laughing) - She's like, "Dina Pissiatiati, do you think that's a bomb like that?" - Dina, it's been so long. - I know. - Dina, wait, oh. - Oh, I remember friends. - Nope, Dina. - Oh my god, Dina, that was crazy. We, we, what was happening in France, honey? - Oh, is this Jasmine? You're gonna want to step back, hello? (laughing) - So I've never given her a hug like you've given her a hug. You know what I'm saying, Dina? - Whoa. - I can tell, I can tell. - Whoa. - Before Dina was like that, we used to fuck a lot. (laughing) - Like what? (laughing) - Yeah, I figured it. - Yeah, yeah, I figured it. - Dina, something has happened to Dina. (laughing) - I've ascended, I did truth. - Yeah, we know. - I've been in this grocery store for two weeks. (laughing) - Dina. - They won't let me out. (laughing) - Oh. - God. - Dina Pissiati, she wins reddit. - Yeah. - Yeah, we need her. - Can I be honest for a second in that delirious laughter, I thought we were at the old studio. - Whoa. - Whoa. - Shane. - We, oh. - Remember where to? - Whoa. - Whoa. - And you know what I thought? - I thought this was a haystack. - No. (laughing) (laughing) - I love this so much, Dina. (laughing) (laughing) - This is how you have a haystack. - I can stop thinking about it, that this is a haystack. You know those that are rolled up in the barn? - We have to get her home. - I have to go home. - I don't think God is the last thing you do. - Is that a haystack or Dina pizziotti? - I recognize that haystack anywhere. - Is that Dina Pizziotti? - I only know one person built like a haystack and it's Dina Pizziotti. (laughing) - I recognize that one. Anywhere, Dina? - Oh God, we gotta cut this off, y'all. - Everyone's gonna be like. - All right. - This was not a good idea. - Do you know what I wanna meet Liam? 'Cause he can save my life one day. - True. - True. - All right. (laughing) - Angela, Amanda. This went about how I expected it to go. (laughing) - That's what friends are for. - Let's litter. - That's right. Thank you for joining me and thank you for watching. Boy, hey, hug your friend. Bye. (laughing) - Okay, bye. - Hug your friend. - Hug your friend. - Let's go back to the B room. - All right, we're going to the B room. - Okay, this was the A room. - Yes, that's what you're not gonna be. - Yes, yes, yes, this is A room. - Yeah, so. - I was over here. - Oh, hey, staff. - Oh, the birthday girl. - Oh, look at that. There's a bunch of charcuterie over there. - Is that Dean of Piscy, honey? (laughing)

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Wise offers transparent, low-cost global money transfers with exchange rates matching those on Google to avoid hidden fees.
  2. True friendship involves mutual trust, emotional support, and clear communication, not control or manipulation.
  3. Friendships can be deeply bonding, but breakups—especially due to unmet expectations or misunderstandings—can be more painful than romantic ones.
  4. A friend who tests loyalty, keeps score, or uses kindness as a tool for control is emotionally toxic and damaging.
  5. Misinterpretations in friendships, like a one-sided kiss or a friend’s quiet look, can lead to heartbreak when innocent gestures are seen as romantic overtures.
  6. Healthy friendships require boundaries, honesty, and mutual respect—avoiding games like "friendship tests" or emotional manipulation.
  7. People often grow to value deep, authentic connections more than transactional or performative friendships.
  8. It’s valid to walk away from friendships that drain emotional energy or foster insecurity, even if it’s painful.

Summary:

The transcript blends financial advice with personal friendship stories, emphasizing authenticity and emotional health in relationships. Wise is promoted as a reliable financial tool that provides transparent global currency transfers, avoiding hidden fees and offering exchange rates similar to those on Google. The core theme centers on the complexities of friendship, highlighting how misunderstandings—like a friend’s silent look or a mistaken kiss—can lead to profound emotional pain.

One story shows a friend who tests loyalty by expecting gratitude for small acts, revealing manipulative control that harms trust. Another involves a friend misreading a close, platonic gesture as romantic, causing deep hurt when the friend doesn’t reciprocate. These narratives underscore that friendships thrive on mutual respect, clear boundaries, and emotional honesty.

The message is clear: it’s not about being the "asshole" for leaving a situation, but about recognizing when a friendship is draining or toxic. True friendship is built on trust, not games. The stories collectively advocate for self-awareness, setting healthy boundaries, and prioritizing genuine connections over performative loyalty or emotional control.

Ultimately, the takeaway is that while friendships can be rewarding, they must be nurtured with honesty and care to prevent pain and resentment.

FAQs

Wise offers transparent exchange rates similar to those on Google, helps users save on hidden fees, and supports sending, spending, and receiving money in over 40 currencies.

Extra costs often hide in the form of fees or unfavorable exchange rates, so it's important to verify the actual fees and rates before choosing a provider.

Friendship breakups can feel more brutal because there's no expectation of a relationship ending, while romantic breakups often involve mutual agreement and more amicable communication.

Leaving early can be seen as disrespectful, especially if the friend felt overlooked. However, taking your gift and leaving may reflect a boundary, not a lack of care.

No, such behavior is manipulative and draining. True friendship should be based on mutual trust, not on tests or expectations of reciprocity.

It's important to address the issue directly, verify facts, and consider whether the friend's behavior is genuine or based on manipulation or control.

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