I guess I should’ve seen this coming from the awful text I got from my mother the other day, I don’t want to post it bc it’s very long and just hurtful… but my dad blocked me on everything last night. 😢 I mean they don’t really talk to me that much, and only really interacted with my instagram. But man it still stings..
I texted them this morning in a group chat and played dumb, I just said “love yall hope you guys have a good day!! ♥️♥️”
Got a response with “I have always and will always love you & (husbands name) too!”…
Fake af. 🥲

For the past couple years, I've lived with two friends (siblings of each other), and one of them (38 trans) is becoming particularly obnoxious.
So, I'm a non confrontational introvert. I avoid any and all conflict when ever possible, and while this has made me seem like a push over to many people; I'm not one to easily roll over and let folks just walk over me. Dave (not real name) however, is another story. So Dave has, over the past eight or nine months, started to get particularly annoying toward me. They're well aware of my introvertive nature, and yet they behave as though they simply don't care.
I mean seriously, don't care.
For example, a common problem centers around my bedroom door. Without going into a great bit of detail, I have this obsession with privacy. I like to keep my bedroom door closed at all times. Regardless of if I'm in the room or not, my door is closed. Furthermore, I prefer people to knock prior to entering. I've had issues with privacy in the past that prompted this, but basically I feel 'safe' when the door is closed.
Dave however, doesn't seem to agree with this. They will routinely just shove my door open, pushing it hard enough to make it swing fully open, then they'll walk in and regardless of what I may be doing, whether watching a show, working on something, reading, or just trying to decompress with a good rain sound video, plant their ass in one of my chairs and start playing around on their phone. They don't directly interact with me, just shove open my door (no knocking), and sit down.
Dave also has this tendency to take any and all conversations, whether they be with my family members, my own friends (not part of Dave and their sibling's friend group), or even total strangers, and attempt to steer that conversation in such a way that Dave becomes the center of attention. For example, a conversation with a friend of mine regarding college football and coaching choices, caused Dave to seem to decide that this was a perfect time to start on some long winded rant about religion, politics, and their struggles. This kind of thing happens on such a regular basis, that my own friends go out of their way to avoid any interaction with Dave; while my significant other has simply stopped spending time over at my place.
I really don't know how to handle this. I mean they're a close friend, but their behavior is starting to anger or alienate a large number of people, and I'm at a loss as how to handle things without it turning into yet another bout of Dave screaming at the top of their lungs about how I'm wrong for... well whatever. I've even been screamed at for things that weren't even within my purview to control, like when Dave's phone got cut off because they forgot to pay their bill. Even though I had nothing to do with that, it was automatically my fault.
Yeah, I'm reasonably certain Dave is abusive, I don't need to figure that out. My question is, what is your advice for dealing with this relationship, short of packing everything I own and running for the hills?

So I’m graduating from high school next year here in Australia and we get varsity jackets, the cohort votes for our favourite one and the one with the most votes gets bought. I’m not sure which one is my favourite but I’m leaning to the first one but I’ve also heard some pretty strong things about the first one. Help me out reddit.
here are the designs
View Poll

Motion to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004

To move– that the House of Commons recognises
(1) That any individual who is over the age of 18 is able to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate to change their official biological sex under the law to reflect their preferred one;
(2) That there are concerns that the current way in which a GRC is obtained are too expensive, too intrusive and decisions too often are not reached in a timely fashion within the courts;
(3) That it is necessary to act on ammendng the GRA to avoid the risk of unnecessary contravention of our obligations to the protected characteristic of Gender Reassignment in the Equality Act of 2010;
(4) That it is also necessary to consider ensuring the correct balance between a system of only Self-ID and the convoluted documented evidence currently required to be reviewed by a panel of Judges.
Therefore–the House of Commons calls upon the Government to
(1) Change the cost of obtaining a GRC from £140 to £5;
(2) Replace the current criteria for obtaining a GRC to a legally binding statutory declaration signed by the applicant and the following witnesses:
A solicitor of the Crown; A judge of the Crown; A statement of agreement from an independent psychologist selected by the courts; All or over 50% of the members of the applicant’s Integrated Healthcare Professionals Team, which may include but not be exclusively limited to the following:- Licensed mental health therapist Endocrinologist Plastic Surgeon General Practitioner A close family member of the applicant; Alternatively or in addition to a romantic partner of 12 months or longer or spouse of the applicant.
(3) The statutory declaration as named above should confirm that the applicant is confident in their choice of preferred biological sex;
(4) The applicant’s intention can thus be interpreted as wanting to live as their preferred biological sex for the remainder of their life, with the understanding that it is permanent.

This motion was written by the Rt. Hon. Gimmecatspls, Conservative and Unionist MP for Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset South

Deputy Speaker,
I rise to present this motion on behalf of my constituents and my party to highlight an issue close to my heart - the Gender Recognition Act of 2004 and its role in equity of the law for binary transgendered individuals (also known by the outdated term transsexuals). Whilst I understand some will be wondering why I am not also including into the discussion nonbinary individuals, it is simply because the GRA as it stands caters only for those who identify within the binary gender scale, and my expertise does not extend to how the provisions may be replicated for that demographic. Nevertheless, I believe the proposed changes in the bill as it stands to be necessary, and would be willing to support consideration of extending the scope to those outside the gender binary.
There is another reason that I feel so proud of being the one to introduce this motion and it is because I believe this ammendment finally covers ground that prior to this had proved too hard to solve. That is the conflict between those who have genuine reasons to seek out a Gender Recognition Certificate and those for whom it may not be in their best interests to do so. The latter group is composed of those who are either non-binary or those who are still questioning their gender; and the former is a much smaller and very rare group of opportunists who seek to exploit the system by claiming to be transgender when they are not.
In relation to the former group, one of the proposed solutions that had been put forward in the past to resolve the issues with the GRA overall was one of only using Self-ID, which removes the medical aspects of what is otherwise a medical condition altogether in favour of self identification. The main reason I don’t support this, and is also the source of concern for some of those who oppose reform altogether, is because opportunists can then exploit the system with no checks and balances. In summative terms and in terms of my solution to this issue, I believe that we need medical confirmation of an individuals’ transgender identity to provide the necessary checks and balances not just to weed out the fakers, but also to make sure it can work as intended for those who do need it.
In terms of the latter group, the provisions of this motion serve to make even clearer the fact that as the law stands, the GRA is not appropriate for those who are still deciding which gender they identify as, or if they are nonbinary. By making certainty of congruence of an individual’s gender identity one of the eligibility criteria needed to get a GRA, I believe we will safeguard from hasty decisions being made that will be hard to reverse, and thus have solved the issue that so many were concerned by.
In conclusion, I hope those who have found the current system intrusive or found obtaining a GRC too expensive know that someone in Parliament has their back. I hope colleagues on both sides of the house will join me in showing that we have listened to their concerns and acted on them, and I commend this motion to the house.
This debate shall end on Friday 24th at 10PM BST

I (24F) am having issues with my friend group over the man (31M) that I picked. I’ll have to provide the long background story for context.
My friend group consists of several individuals. The specific few I will talk about I will refer to as “J” “M” and “A.” They are all (24F). J and M are a couple. These girls seem to have the strongest opinion about the ordeal. I met my friends in middle/high school. We didn’t become close until our college years. I love these people and we’ve gone on many trips and shared many experiences together.
In early 2023, I was asked out by a guy who frequented my place of work. He had apparently noticed me for some time. It is quite rare for me to “date,” but something about him gave me the sense I could trust him. He gave off good vibes overall. We went on a date a few days later and discovered we have everything in common. EVERYTHING. From our morals, values, hobbies, childhood upbringing, family dilemmas, favorite foods, love for traveling, etc. we are the same person in two separate bodies. The date was such a success and I knew then in my gut that he was going to be someone special.
Unfortunately, our beginning took a turn. We initiated dates back and forth that fell through due to valid reasons dealing with weather, conflicting schedules, etc. During this break between dates, he took the time to think if he was ready to start a new relationship. Although he liked me a lot, he was a little unsure unbeknownst to me. He’d been in several relationships before and they ended with him getting hurt whether they ended on good or bad terms. He was getting cold feet and didn’t know how to communicate that to me. He didn’t want to officially end it and he also didn’t want to lead me on so he said nothing for awhile. Although it wasn’t necessarily thought out, he was buying himself time until he knew how he felt (I learned all this later on). Then came about a month with no contact. During this time, he was dealing with family drama and I was becoming anemic. I eventually did need a blood transfusion. I mention this because that month apart went by fast and we didn’t have much time to linger over the thought of each other. I did notice he hadn’t reached out though. I’m certain now that he wouldn’t have ignored my messages had I sent any, but I was honestly waiting for him to reach out first. I was a little hurt to think that he had changed his mind and didn’t have the guts to tell me.
Sometime in that next month, when I returned to work after my hospital stay, I saw him at my job. I thought he saw me. He left and said nothing. I was actually devastated. He had been so kind and I didn’t know why he had a change of heart. At least he should’ve told me about it anyway. I decided that I was going to text him that night. I mentioned I had seen him at work, thanked him for the initial first date, apologized for not reaching out on my end, and I sort of wished him farewell under the assumption he wasn’t interested. It was very professional and I let him know that there were no hard feelings had he changed his mind. I was expecting some lame, typical excuse response if I even got one. He sent back this long text message apologizing, explaining himself, and asking me questions. He explained his fears and asked if we could start a “friendship” of sorts to keep a slow pace. There was chemistry of course, but he was afraid of me and now I was afraid of him. There was enough there to where we wanted to spend time together, but I needed to be sure I could trust him with my feelings and he also needed to be sure he could trust me with his heart. To this, I agreed to see him again.
We spent time going on casual dates and talking a lot. He became my friend. We talked a lot about what happened with the break over the following months. I told him how hurt I was and how communication is important to me. He understands the impact of going no contact abruptly. It has been entirely resolved and I also take responsibility in my part of not reaching out to him either. Ever since the break, he became consistent. We’ve talked every single day since. He was patient with me and I was patient with him. We earned each other’s trust and are now madly in love. It happened slowly and quietly. I have never met such a soft, kind, understanding, sensitive man. I am more myself with him than I ever have been before. If soulmates are real, then he is mine.
Now to the tea. Of course, my friends knew (most) all of this. I told them about the big events as they were happening. They were excited for me on my first date, they sympathized with me when he no longer reached out, etc. They were surely surprised when I decided to spend time with him again. I asked them to trust me. I didn’t think he was a bad guy. What happened was a mistake. As my man and I spent more time, my friend J would reach out asking me questions about him. I told only her about my concerns in the beginning. Back then, I was guarded and nervous to proceed, but it was something I knew I had to do. I had to find out for sure what kind of person he was.
Now, J, she’s a fireball. I love that girl, but I’ll admit she’s one to hold a grudge, keep score, and quietly judge. She’d never admit it. I made a mistake in choosing her as my confidant in those early days. I was looking for advice when speaking to her because I do value her opinion. She then went and told the other friends in my group, M and A included, about my man—what a bad person he seems to be, using her words, which frankly, are very different from mine. What makes me mad is she got to tell them about him, not me. Not even any of the positives either. This was all before they had even met him and they already didn’t like him. They had no problem scolding me for being with him.
Months down the road, I arranged a meeting for everyone. My friends thought a bar would be a great place. Still not sure about that. It was awkward. Nobody talked more than a few words. My man was shy and my friends didn’t really do anything to make him feel welcome. I was the only one babbling all night it seems like. You’d think that as time goes on, it’d be different. More meetings will help everyone be comfortable. Nope. Every time after was awkward. They haven’t spoken more than a few words to him at a time. It’s very “surface level” talk even now—a year later.
My last birthday had come around and J, M, and A took me out for drinks. It turned into a lecture session about how I seriously need to break up with him. They scolded me on “allowing a man to waste my time.” They criticized his career choice, our age difference, his “character,” etc. Mind you, this is based off of this one experience and a few other things that I mentioned to J in private that were no longer an issue. I cried myself to sleep that night thinking I was going to have to break up with him to please them.
Of course, I couldn’t. They still invite him to events and friend functions out of politeness, but it’s always the same. They don’t acknowledge him. It makes me especially sad when my man makes comments like, “I’ve never seen so many shy people in one room” (He thinks my friends are just shy when they’re really just ignoring him). He’s printed out their pictures for our scrapbook and labeled them as “new friends.” I haven’t told him the truth and I probably never will.
A few months ago, J, M, me, and my man had plans to go to this local indie concert. Tickets are free. The concert was on a Friday. The next day, Saturday, was scheduled for my man’s nephew’s 2nd Birthday Party. His brother’s family would be traveling from out of town to celebrate their son. Well, things didn’t go according to plan. The brother decided to come a day early, the day of the concert. I should have cancelled the concert date then when I learned this news, but I told J and M we were still coming because my man still wanted to go. We figured we’d be able to sneak away since the brother had come by himself and wanted to come over and take a nap since he works odd hours. Well, my man’s dad dropped by and the brother didn’t take his nap as he’d planned. Now, having company over with expectations, I made the difficult decision to cancel with my friends last minute. I realize it is rude, but something came up. I didn’t see how we could go anymore.
My friends let me have it. J and M were so angry. They told me how rude we were and how disrespectful it was to their time to opt out of the concert which was free and in town by the way. There was also the two of them and they could have easily gone on a date. I think it would’ve been equally rude to leave our company or rush them out the door. I picked my battle. I should have gave them more notice, but I didn’t know we weren’t going until the last minute. It couldn’t have happened any other way. We fought over text for awhile. She accused me of being so different now, saying and doing things out of the ordinary for me. The truth is, I’m just growing up. J ended the conversation saying, “Well, we’re just going to stay mad.” She claimed to understand my circumstance, but she didn’t. We didn’t talk for weeks after.
I eventually got invited to a breakfast date to which I declined. I have been avoiding all of them for awhile. I keep getting “I miss yous” from J. She keeps asking when we’re gonna hang out next. It’s also true that J and M are now moving 4 hours away at the end of the month. My problem may solve itself. That does sound awful though. I feel like an asshole. I have not been a good or present friend lately. I’m so busy, tired, and I have no room for petty drama. I’m not giving up my friends yet, but I will gladly choose this boy over them. He’s given me more peace in one year than they have in five years.
My boy and I are now engaged. I told my friends the news. They said some nice things I guess. J texted to let me know “If I’m really happy, she’ll support me.” This would be nicer if it was coming from a concerned friend. To me, this whole situation feels controlling. It’s more than concern. There’s venom behind it. They don’t care about the wedding either. They don’t ask me fun questions or get excited when it comes up. When I eventually explained how he proposed, they seemed disinterested. I could tell they were judging the experience. When I finally showed J the engagement ring in person all she said was, “Take it off” in a snippy tone so she could try it on.
I’m so disappointed in my friends. I always wanted a big friend group and especially to share this big milestone with. I haven’t even gotten excited about wedding planning because I’m dreading going over the bridesmaids list. Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for listening. I definitely need to get this off my chest and outta my life. I can’t believe I’m losing my friends over a boy.

The smell of money... Tea, incense, and sweet foods... All of this to be found in FuMuCha. A tea shop in San Francisco Chinatown, FuMuCha was a safe place where immigrants and their descendants could coexist in peace. The Lees, a Korean immigrant family, moved in many years ago with their toddler son. Their son, Vincent Lee, was easily impressionable and very outgoing. He easily made friends because he was taught to help and be helped to survive. "Money isn't everything, but take the opportunity to live", his parents told him. His parents were smart, they befriended and learned Chinese culture to make life easier to start. Time passes, preschool, ESOL, elementary, then... Middle school.
A loud thud. Blood on the ground. The silence of fear... And trembling...
"Go back to your country!" "You're not welcome here!" "Look at this loser trying to be normal."
Vincent is on the ground, bloodied nose, bruised face, cracked ribs... "I'm... Sorry...". He regretted living. He had no purpose. Living day to day just like the other kids... Until they were taught world history. No matter what he did, the kids bullied him for being the same ethnicity of those who did terrible things or were under the foot of another. Nanking, The railroad, comfort women, the boxer's rebellion, the cultural revolution... He was blamed for all of that just for being born. Isolation, growing his hair out because he refused to go out. This torment lasted until 8th grade.
Vincent walked home from school... The last day of 7th grade, he heard something... "Hiya! Ha!". He turned to look. A man on the television, a weird hairstyle, funny clothes, but... Amazing fighting skills. Vincent immediately wanted to fight like him. He found someone... Someone who could save him from his hell. He used the last of his savings to buy all of the kung fu dvds he could. He spent all summer on his own watching, learning, training... To be like the men... No, the heroes, that saved his life. He found purpose. Being someone else was so... Different. But he needed to be. When he confronted those bullied him, they couldn't win... Vincent was like a bat out of hell. Sloppy techniques, but fast, dedicated... Eventually, with each opponent he defeated, he got a bit better each time... Less bruises, less bloody noses, but... More heart. Too much. His parents decided that America may not be safest... After all, Vincent attracted the attention of the underworld Chinese Mafia. They were going to induct him once he got into highschool because of his knack for violence... So they moved.
"Korea? Why? Why're we moving? I'm getting better, Ma! I'm strong now!" Vincent didn't understand... Not until his mom held him close and said, "that's right, you're very strong. You're my strong baby boy... But ma and pa are not like you... Make sure you protect us too, okay? Protect your family in Korea."
Vincent understood that his new hope wasn't meant for just him... Fighting? Is that all there is to power? No... There's gotta something out there that will teach him what it is to be strong... Something like four schools...

I grew up with no friends, the rare times I actually got friends, they abandoned me. I’ll never find my person, I’ll never enjoy youth with a group of friends, I’ll never have a boyfriend. All of this because I’m not attractive enough to be seen as a human. I feel invisible to people, less than human. I feel terribly lonely and just wish someone could stand beside me. When I come home from school my jaw hurts because i haven’t spoken a word the whole day. I wish I could experience having company again, even if it’s bound to end.

I know this isn't exactly about having lost a friend, but I thought it might be a good place to get some advice on whether I should distance myself from someone.
My good friend of 6 years Jessica (F43) is a big hearted loyal friend. She also has a penchant for causing drama, or being involved with people who cause drama. Her trusting nature means she gives benefit of the doubt to people who are considered by many to be "problematic", for example:

• She seriously dated and lived with a man (M38) who has been known to stalk other women. He was the one who broke up with her, and she still feels he's misunderstood because he's a bit "on the spectrum."
• She's good friends with a man (M55) who has dozens of harassment complaints against him from other women. She is currently adamantly defending him against the most recent allegations, which got him kicked out of a job.
• She introduced me to her good friend Jacob (M42) on a job, and he proceeded to sexually harass me 2X. She said she's sorry it happened, but she thinks he is just an "old school flirter" and needs kind people to help educate him. They are still good friends, despite him getting kicked out of the job he harassed me on for harassing someone else who reported him.
• She is good friends with "A" (F50), who is constantly having upheavals with various people/work situations and is generally known for being "difficult". Jessica and "A" will sometimes have issues, and Jessica has repeatedly complained to me in confidence about some of these things. They remain good friends even though "A" is a handful and I can tell Jessica gets frustrated with her a lot.

The situation that's made me question my friendship with Jessica involves "A". "A" and I are also mutual colleagues but otherwise not good friends. Recently Jessica made me aware of a beef "A" has with me, which you can read about here. She shared all sorts of personal things "A" said to her about me, and when I initially suggested I might say something to "A" Jessica said "No! I don't want her to know I said anything," which made it clear she'd shared things "A" told her in confidence, putting us both in a difficult spot (and also making me wonder if she'd spilled the beans on me at other times). Later on, she proceeded to lecture me and take "A"s side after I told her I didn't want to discuss the situation with her anymore. When I saw her most recently, she didn't speak to me at all and left my last message to her on read.
I know no one is perfect and I don't wish to have unrealistic expectations of my friends. I would never want to get dropped over the first sign of conflict with someone, so I don't wish to be that person. OTOH, it seems like Jessica is an unnecessary drama magnet and I'm starting to grow exhausted of spending a lot of time and energy on people like this. She has been a loyal friend to me over the years, but for some reason this situation is making me question how close I want to be with her. It probably doesn't help that I'm going through one of the most stressful periods of my adult life right now (buying my first place, two siblings getting married, chronic health issue flares, and a big work event I'm in charge of all happening at once) so that may be clouding my judgement.
I know a lot of nuance is being left out here, but I'm curious in general how you decide when you should be the one to end a friendship. Does this situation sound worthy of ending things over, or am I just being too sensitive/unreasonable in my expectations?

Hey everyone! I've never made a post on reddit before so bear with me friends. This is also gonna be long because I physically cannot restrain myself from overexplaining.
Ok, SO me (24F) and my guy best friend (25M) have known each other since about sophomore year of college. Let's call him Tony alright. I met him through my college roommate and best friend, we'll call her Tina (Tony is Tina's cousin's husband's best friend). He went to a different college in a city about 2 1/2 hours away, but he came and hung out with his friend a lot and he lived with them during COVID. I'm a pretty socially awkward and shy person so it takes me a while to get comfortable around someone and be myself so I didn't really engage with him at first. It should also be mentioned, I've never been in a relationship or in love befoe; I've been on dates and done a thing or two here and there with some people, but I've always been shy so I'm kind of a late bloomer in the relationship aspect. He is not and he's been in relationships before and has experience doing the horizontal tango; an activity I do not have experience in!
Fast forward, tail end of junior year or beginning of senior year of college we start actually interacting and I open up a bit more. I then develop a small "schoolgirl" kinda type crush because he was a new friend and funny and nice, and I never really had any guy friends growing up so it was new to me and you know the daddy issues of it all. Ok so BOOM spring break senior year right (March 2022), we go on a vacation to NOLA with our friend group. My crush is in full swing at this point and during said trip, my bff Tina and I share a hotel room with Tony and his best friend Ted (sharing bc we are poor). So we get a lot of quality time and get a lot closer as friends. Skip to May 2022, we graduate college and my BFF Tina moves to the bigger city in the state we live in (where he lives) in June (we went to college in a small town). So, naturally I go to the city a lot to visit her and so in turn we start hanging with him more frequently since he's closer now. At this point, I'm over my crush and he's just my really good friend (I promise). Fast forward to December 2022, I move to the city as well and my bff Tina and I move in together so we see him even more, and he's spending nights at our place (on the couch). We get a lot closer and the main thing we do in our friendship is talk. He's a level 100 yapper, and I didn't used to be at all until we became friends honestly, but he just brings out the yap in me. We talk about anything and everything; we even argue about a variety of topics, but it's not with malice or rudeness at all; we're just talking. He's just genuinely the easiest person to talk to I've ever met; strangers just talk to him all the time.
So now we're gonna jump to December of 2023 (sorry for the jumping around, I'm an ADHD warrior). I've had mental health issues off and on since high school, but they got worse around this time. Around this same time, he started getting depressed as well as a few months prior he had been fired from a job and his car got towed amongst other things. My BFF is also going through it.We are all just going through some trials and tribulations lemme tell ya. So, we've all been leaning on each other emotionally pretty heavily lately. Recently, he spends multiple days in a row at our house. So, I've been working through the prior mentioned mental health issues these past months and I'm think I'm finally coming out the other side. I've actually been the happiest I've been in a very long time, but I'm also still struggling a bit because I feel as though my personality has changed drastically since this ordeal or maybe I'm finally feeling secure enough in myself to show my true personality idk, but in a nutshell I'm feeling open and brave which are qualities I don't have experience in whatsoever. As I'm finding myself, I think I'm also becoming more in touch with my feelings which is how I realized I had feelings for him, but anyways back to the nitty gritty. So I'm feeling all these new feelings and all, and my crush on Tony comes back with a terrible new twist: 100% real uncut feelings 😔. But, I am terrible at reading social cues and understanding other people's feelings so I genuinely can't tell if he feels the same or not. But, ever since I've realized my feelings, I've been noticing things more. Me, Tina, and Tony have always been very open with each other in the sense that we talk about anything and everything. We talk about sex, relationships, our bodies, etc. But, lately, I feel like him and I talk even more about sex and relationships and he makes more jokes or funny remarks about sexual or romantic things between us. To be fair, I have too (😝), so it may just be in response, but come on, it's to the point like, we jokin anymore?? So, the other day, I was joking about how I was gonna be a virgin at 40, and he said, "Nah, we'll figure something out before then." like what you mean by that?? And another time, we were riding in the backseat together, and the whole car was talking about eating a girl's kitty cat and I had made a joke about not knowing the feeling and he said, "What?? That's so sad bro" and then under his breath said, "we'll have to do something about it" like huh???? And I also have this crop top with butterflies on it that may be a lil revealing (🙈) that he complimented when he first saw me wear it. And now, whenever I wear it, he'll say something about it like, "Ohhh, return of the shirt" or something along those lines. Also a while back, I had told him about how my late grandpa would always sneak me Ho-Hos as a kid and how I missed him a lot, and in the next few days, he brought some over when he came to hang out like brooo 😩. He didn't say that was the reason or anything, but that would be a crazy coincidence I feel. He's also always showing me something on his phone like a video he thought was funny, a movie he liked, pop culture we talk about, music he likes, etc. He'll just appear in front of me with his phone 2.3 cm from my face saying, "look 👁👄👁". Also, we've both been talking a lot lately about how lonely we are and how we miss sleeping and cuddling with another person in the bed. I feel like I've been dropping hints, but I'm also scared to tip him off so the hints I think I'm dropping could be more like office friendly chit-chat in reality!
It should also be noted that after I got over my initial crush, I didn't find him attractive. I really didn't find him attractive when I had a crush tbh. He's definitely not my usual type at all; I'm a fat bi girl who usually goes for masc women or feminine men and he's a short skinny lil fella with a permed mullet 😭. I'm definitely not his usual type either which is another reason I have doubts about his interest in me. He usually dates skinnier girls. I'm finally okay with my body, but if you're a fat person, you know how absolutely anxiety-inducing it is thinking about shooting your shot and someone rejecting you because of your body. I don't think he would do that, but there's still that fear there. He's also mentioned recently how he doesn't care about looks and body and I'm like 🤨 you hinting at something?? Cause I've talked to him before about struggling with loving my body so he knows im self-conscious about it at times. I'm also hesitant because besides Tina, he's my best friend in the world. I would never want to do anything to jeopardize that friendship. I've been trying to get over it and/or ignore it. But, God, idk what to do anymore. It's driving me insane, and I hate that I'm looking for things and reading into things. And I feel like I'm acting weird or changing my behavior which sucks cause it's hard to control cause I'm nervous. But, I really don't think it's all in my head. I don't even know if I want to pursue anything and change our relationship forever, but I feel like I'm going crazy. If anyone has any insight or advice, it would be much appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
TL;DR: I (24F) think I'm in love with my guy best friend (25). We met when I was 20, and I think he may be flirting and secretly feel the same, but I truly can't tell. We hang out almost everyday, but I don't want to be seeing things that aren't really happening. I also don't want to ruin our friendship. I would really just like some insight on the situation or advice on how to tell if he's also interested. TIA! 🫶

Apple TV+ is one of the strangest streamers out there, with almost no licensed TV or film content and a small number of originals. That makes the best movies on Apple TV+ easy to find. There simply aren’t that many! Apple is clearly taking a “quality over quantity” approach, with its money spread across genres and targeted at making its subscribers (many roped in with a deal that came with one of the company’s tech products) treat it like a real contender. It also helps that it’s only $4.99 a month, or free for a year if you’ve just purchased a new (and eligible) device.
With films from up-and-comers like Minhal Baig, arthouse favorites like Sofia Coppola and Werner Herzog, some A-list music docs, one of the best animated movies of the 2020s and Martin Scorsese’s latest, Apple TV+ is actually making the case that it belongs in the conversation alongside the more established services. As long as it keeps adding good movies to its roster, that is. It recently snagged a few critical darlings like Killers of the Flower Moon and Wolfwalkers.

10. The Pigeon Tunnel

For a documentary about one of the most celebrated writers of spy fiction, The Pigeon Tunnel can seem—at first glance—deceptively placid. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, the film features an extended conversation between David Cornwell, AKA John le Carre, and Oscar-winning docmaker Errol Morris. It’s just that. Two people talking, with Morris off-screen, their parrying question-and-answers broken up with archival images and re-enactments of Cornwell’s past, as well as snippets from the classic movies or TV adaptations based on his spy universe: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and A Perfect Spy.

9. Hala

Writedirector Minhal Baig’s Hala is an intimate coming-of-age drama held up by its personal writerly touches and a star-making turn from Geraldine Viswanathan as the title character. Hala’s struggling with the same kinds of things we normally see high school characters struggle with: What to do after graduation, how to manage a relationship with her parents that’s not quite adult and not quite childish, and (of course) boys. Viswanathan’s understated quiet and the warmth in which the situations are shot (almost always centered on her face)—be they at a family dinner or a walk in a Chicago park or a reading of a high school English assignment—make the dramatic ricochet of Hala’s minor rebellion rattle us all the harder.

8. Boys State

The tendency to read too much into Boys State as a representative of American politics—contemporary, functional, broken and otherwise—doesn’t quite line up with the event itself, in which every year the American Legion sponsors a sort of mock government sleepaway camp in Texas for high school boys (girls get a similar program of their own), where attendees join parties, run for office, craft platforms, run campaigns, hold debates, then ultimately exercise their right to vote.

7. On the Rocks

Sofia Coppola’s new movie On the Rocks starts out as a story of possessive fatherhood, with Felix (Bill Murray) narrating to his teenage daughter, Laura: “And remember, don’t give your heart to any boys. You are mine until you get married. Then you’re still mine.” The girl laughs off the declaration as a jape, which turns out to be a catastrophic tactical mistake. In her womanhood, Laura (Rashida Jones), does indeed get married to a man, Dean (Marlon Wayans), and they have two beautiful daughters of their own, eldest Maya (Liyanna Muscat) and youngest Theo (Alexandra Mary Reimer).

6. Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You

The black-and-white behind-the-scenes documentary accompaniment to Bruce Springsteen’s album of the same name, Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You is a beautiful and companionable tour through the music and its making from an American master. Director Thom Zimny buys into the album’s concept, which focuses on just how long Springsteen’s been at this thing. Poignant juxtaposition with archival footage and pictures emphasizes just how long the E Streeters have been at this—and reminds us of who and what was lost along the way.
Also Read: The Last Duel

5. Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds

Werner Herzog will show you multiple clips from Mimi Leader’s Deep Impact for no other reason than because he likes them, he finds them well-done and evocative—he says as much in that even-keeled, oddly accented voice over—then soon after chastise “film school doctrine” when complimenting a field video shot by a South Korean meteor specialist in Antarctica. Like Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, his documentary from earlier in the year, Fireball (co-directed with Clive Oppenheimer, with whom he made 2016’s Into the Inferno) is less about what it’s about (meteorites, shooting stars, cosmic debris—and the people who love them) than it is about Werner Herzog’s life, which is his filmography, which is a heavily manipulated search for ultimate truth.

4. CODA

Sometimes a movie so successfully plunges you into its world that it completely engulfs you in a lived-in experience. From the gorgeous, scenic opening moments of CODA, you can almost smell the Atlantic salt air and pungent scent of the daily catch. The movie transports you to Gloucester, Massachusetts and lovingly drops you into the life of one family. Seventeen-year-old Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is what the title of the movie refers to—a child of deaf adults.

3. A Charlie Brown Christmas

We could get into plenty of arguments over which Charlie Brown animated special is best, but A Charlie Brown Christmas is my favorite pull of the bunch. Charlie Brown’s confrontation with the Christmas season’s commercialism (back in 1965 no less) and a sad little fir tree make this a cartoon classic, as the ultimate funny-pages shlimazel suffers endless social indignities (no Christmas cards) and the holiday blues.

2. Wolfwalkers

Wolfwalkers is filmmaker and animator Tomm Moore’s latest project out of Cartoon Saloon, the animation studio he co-founded in 1999 with Paul Young, and the capper to his loosely bound Irish folklore trilogy (begun with 2009’s The Secret of Kells and continued with 2014’s Song of the Sea). At first blush, the film appears burdened with too much in mind—chiefly thoughts on everything from English colonialism to earnest portraiture of Irish myths, the keystones of Moore’s storytelling for the last decade.

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

Martin Scorsese has made a career telling stories that tackle issues of justice, retribution and betrayal. From his overt and poetic crime films, through to his dark comedies, religious parables and character pieces, he has long been drawn to stories where the ambiguities of life collide with the complexities of survival, and where day-to-day choices result in consequences sometimes obvious, and sometimes far more subtle and insidious.

Back in Grade 3 I found this book in my school library and picked it up to read, now unfortunately the school year ended before I could finish the book and I never found it again.
But when I found it online again I just had to pick it up and I don’t regret it.
Taking place in the near future hover cars have taken over the world utilising magnetic technology to sit roughly a foot of the ground. Now hover car racing is the premier sport of the world and that’s when our protagonist, 14 year old Jason Chaser enters the fray with his 12 year old borderline autistic Brother, The Bug (his actual name and he is described as borderline autistic).
The two are a power duo with Jason being the daredevil who can expertly fly the car and the Bug being a mathematical whizz making him perfect as the navigator.
As a racing nerd I was able to give it some leeway but also some criticisms.
For one, all safety regulations are thrown out the window with the only safety coming from the racing circuits end being ‘dead zones’ which catch the cars if they go too far of track. But aren’t present everywhere. The hover cars are fitted with reinforced cockpits and assumably a roll cage with an ejection seat on the side. However the tracks seems to make the sport more dangerous by adding things like ‘demag strips’ which remove power from the mag drives (the things that make the cars float and move, essentially the tyres of the new era) which make the cars crash out most of the time past the speed of sound. Then there are occasionally extra hazards such as a ‘meat grinder’ which is a tunnel that closes in on the driver until only the cockpit can fit. Now as a racing nerd, the governing body of most Motorsports, the FIA would NEVER allow this at 300 KM/H, let alone 800!
What I did love about the book was the use of racing terms, being Motorsport is underrepresented in fictional media I loved seeing terms like hairpin and apex being thrown into the fray and it was great! Another thing I loved was the characters, the good guys were well thought out and had some great character development. Now the bad guys are comically evil, and this isn’t a bad thing given the demographic, spoiler >!i.e a race fixing bookkeeper or a Frenchman named Fabian who uses dirty tactics Now being the book was made for younger kids it was way below my reading level and I saw all the twists coming, this isn’t a complaint per-se because I was reading the book to tie up a loose end more than anything but it was still an enjoyable read and I do recommend it to you if you want to turn off most of your brain and enjoy the vroom vroom of hover cars! It’s also a great book for younger kids if you ignore the swearing (shit being the worst word) as it gives some good life lessons!

This community is based on those who will smile to your face while they plot behind your back. Those little bitches that will screw your boyfriend or girlfriend but ask you to be their maid of honor or best man at their wedding.
You know the type, or you ARE the type.
Post examples, memes, storytimes, tik toks, or relevant content.
Similar to revenge but a bit different because they will LIVE the evil smile...
Also on a different note, the name of the music group out of the Central Valley in California.

This happened years ago but still weighs on me.
My school had a garden where students could rent plots for the year. Many had never gardened before but I have gardened my whole life and started a gardening business in my neighborhood at age 10 that I did until college.
I saw that many people had vegetables and herbs that were bolting (stress flowering). If the flowers bloom it would make it so the plant won’t produce as much. So when I was trimming the bolts off my plants I went ahead and trimmed off everyone else’s bolts trying to be helpful.
I had a group of schoolmates threaten to beat me (i was about a foot shorter than them) and shamed me for trespassing and told me I should be embarrassed for thinking I was being helpful. They contacted the head of the garden and unsuccessfully attempted to get me kicked out. I apologized profusely and explained what I was trying to do, but it only made things worse.
AITAH?

I’m sorry if this is confusing, I’m not really sure how to word this. I just realised I misspelled the title sorry btw.
I F15 (2009) and my friend F14 (2010) have been friends for a couple months, we normally interact during school hours. We’re both in year 9 even though she’s a year younger, age is important to the story btw.
For the sake of simplicity I will call me friend Zoe, Zoe has a crush on this boy M17 let’s call him Jake. Jake and Zoe had been talking and of course the school had caught wind of it since they were walking around together during break, I personally thought it was a bit weird given there 3 year age gap. Normally 3 years isn’t bad but because of Zoe’s maturity level it made everyone agree it just wasn’t right.
Didn’t matter and they kept talking but eventually after a while u asked Zoe how things were going because she hardly talked about him. And she told me he liked her but things were complicated, I felt sorry for her and I didn’t want Jake to play with her feelings. So I went and talked to Jake who explained to me that he wasn’t comfortable with the ‘relationship’ because of the age gap and wasn’t sure how to tell her, I told him to just out right and say it. The next day he told me he did during a phone call, I was kinda relieved until a few days later he told me and my friends that she was still contacting him, he found it annoying and asked us to talk to her. I didn’t talk to her because i didn’t know how to approach the conversation, next week he complains again (she sent him a tik tok about how she liked him but couldn’t have him) and one of my friends tell him to block her on everything, since he already set his boundaries. We asked him why he hadn’t done it before and he expressed he was worried she’d kill herself (which is wild but okay).
Because of this whole thing me and Jake started talking more often and I got to know him, we text now and again when I’m not too busy. When Jake followed me on instagram he noticed my following count was 666, called me out lol. I thought it was funny and posted it on my story. Zoe has seen it and she texted me asking if I was talking to him and I explained we we’re talking about someone else (which we were) and she asked to know what exactly he was saying. I told her since it wasn’t a big deal but I still thought it was strange. I thought it was a bit odd but I just brushed it off, I did end up telling Jake to tease him. Couple weeks later Zoe messages me again asking if I would date Jake because she overheard my friend calling Jake my man (my friend was very unhinged and I was trying to tell her to shut it omg) so I obviously said no because at the time I wasn’t interested in him.
Now fast forward a couple weeks i regularly talk to Jake, I wouldn’t say I’m In love with him but idk he’s funny and today I was in class and I tried talking to her but she kinda ignored me, idk maybe I’m overreacting but I still feel weird about it.
ANYWAY I need advice and I need to know if I’m in the wrong and breaking girl code.

Hello all!
I am a first year teacher in TEFL working with a class of 6-7 year old first graders in a cram school. Although cram schools are known as a glorified daycare, this cram school is definitely a school with a huge focus on students learning and thinking critically.
I’m looking for advice on classroom management.
The problem: I have one student named R that is the main catalyst of the chaos. He does the opposite of what I ask. He makes any sort of noise he can whether it’s tapping, humming, talking, etc. When I tell him to be quiet, he will until I turn my head back to the board. I will tell him multiple times and he will just smile at me and then continue.
The next student is A. A wants to be a great student but somehow always ends up physically fighting with other students. Even the most quiet kid who has never caused any problems, V, ends up in a kicking match with him. A’s arch nemesis is R.
They’re kids. Of course they think it’s funny to say BBQ instead of the correct answer and of course they like to goof off. However, this is a place to learn. The constant noise leads to the other students not being able to focus and then making noise themselves.
I can usually isolate the problem so it’s just R being disruptive but today I couldn’t. The chaos spread until the whole class was just restless and unable to focus.
My question is: After the class has devolved into chaos, how do you salvage the class? Do you raise your voice? Do you try your best among the chaos?
Of course you can always say don’t let it get to this point but I am a new teacher learning.
What I do now:

1. I’ve added a point system so students get points when they are ready with their book open, answer questions, etc. Student at the end of the day gets a sticker.
   
2. I have assigned seating based on experience of seeing students behave.
   
3. I have a communication book (agenda) where students get graded points /500 and I leave comments on how they did. I pull these students aside one by one for privacy and plain to them what changes can lead to a 500.
   
4. We have the cues like “1-2-3 look at me”
   
5. I allow them to exert some extra energy by asking them to physically move and act out some of the things we’re learning. (Grinding bread, kneading dough, fluffy bread, flat bread)
   

I apologize for the long post
Thank you in advance from a fresh teacher

Hey y'all! We reopened our fb rehome group for new members if you'd like to join (:
We are trying to make this group extremely safe and secure so there will be some requirements for anyone to join. We are currently accepting a new members! We're trying to incorporate giveaways, contests, trivia, rehomes and try to make it fun-based (:
Facebook profile MUST have a personal picture so we know you're real.
Facebook profile MUST be older than 1 years old.
Fb Rehome Group Link (click)
MUST ANSWER ALL MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS in referral please put 'reddit' thank you!
IT IS A VERY HEAVILY MODERATED GROUP TO ENSURE SAFETY!!
This is a link to all my feedbacks so you know this is NOT A SCAMMER GROUP and is a genuine group trying to make a safe and comfortable environment for bag lovers <3
https://www.reddit.com/useNesneskillecomments/1c8ph7b/feedback_on_my_rehomes/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I’m 34 F. I’ve been training at a small fitness studio for years. A year ago a student 22 M took over our group trainings (there are 6 of us in the group). Recently I remembered that he had some strange comments: once he commented on my nail polish, the other time he noticed I matched my hoodie and socks, I also caught him looking at me several times during Xmas party in the fitness studio. Oh yeah, he also jockingly slapped me twice on the stomach during one exercise and said my stomach was hard as a rock (it’s not, he was just being funny). He never ever made similar comments toward other women in my group, that’s why I find it a bit strange. He knows I have a husband and a child, he has a girlfriend. What do you think all this means, is it just an innocent flirtation, or I’m totally imagining it?

Hey guys I’m struggling to find a name that I should call us. I’ve currently got it as ‘the rando’s’ but I was wondering if anyone has an idea?