As much as we love tv and movie love, we have to admit, some stories are a but much when you break it down.
When we're in the moment with bated breath, we can't help but be mesmerized.
But are we considering logistics?
And safety?
Is this relationship more toxic than healthy?
RedditorSmeggfaffawanted to know:
"What situation is always made out to be really sexy or romantic on TV, but is actually horrible and traumatizing in real life?"
TV romance is the stuff of legend. Can we be wrong?
Let's Talk...
Season 3 Episode 21 GIF by FriendsGiphy"They always make awkward situations look like a good way to start a convo, but in reality it just makes you wanna die."
Aromatic-Car-824
Knock Knock
"When the guy knocks on the girl’s bedroom window in the middle of the night."
snazzylittlequetzal
"An ex did this to me after we had broken up (he cheated). I was going through a phase of blasting music in my headphones and staying up til like 5am, and for hours I kept hearing this lil knock now and again, until I was like okay wtf is that and turned off my music and realised it was pebbles being thrown at my window. My ex was there... throwing pebbles at my window... for several hours... it wasn't romantic."
GrossWordVomit
Fireworks
"When you've broken up but then get back together. In movies it seems like fireworks fly, but in reality there are a lot of trust/commitment issues to work through."
theoptionexplicit
"I met up with an ex years ago (about 3 years after we'd broken up) and within 2 hours their voice was like nails on a blackboard and I thought 'now I remember!'"
kij101
Speak Now
"Stopping a wedding to profess how they love/never stopped loving him or her. Then they both run off together."
227743
"I absolutely agree except for in one case... The Graduate. That shot of them on the bus where reality of their actions sink in is brilliant. Their laughter going to smiles and then the smiles fading as they stare straight ahead and don’t face one another."
UniDublin
"I quite like how they handled this on Frasier. Daphne and Niles finally confess their feelings for each other right when she's about to marry someone else, decide to run off together, get into a car, and that's how the season ends. But in the first episode of the next season they're shown to only have made it to the end of the driveway where they decide to turn around and go deal with the situation like adults. Which of course doesn't do much to soften the fallout - Daphne's fiancé even sues her for emotional damages."
48pieces
Following You
wo glenn close GIFGiphy"-Stalking a person until they agree to go on a date with you."
"-Lock two people in a room to confess their feelings, (they did it to me, I ended up escaping through a window)."
Environmental_Hall42
Stalking can be sexy. Right?
Kissed
"Being forcibly kissed to make you shut up."
bobobonon135
"I went to a party with a male friend who I knew liked me. I always made it clear I didn't feel the same about him. Before the party he told me that he thought I would like one of his friends that was going to be there and he was right."
"The friend and I hit it off and I ended up staying the night with him (he lived there). In the morning, the guy went outside, I was standing in a doorway, and my friend was across the room. He walked over to me, grabbed my face and kissed me before I knew what was happening. He asked me if I felt anything and I said no. I was shocked, like dude I just hooked up with your friend, you can't kiss me like we're in a movie or some crap.
J09Lynn
“run away”
"A person dropping their entire life to 'run away' with someone they just met. My sister literally just did this. Took off on a boat for 2 weeks with a man she met 3 weeks before. They found out they are NOTHING alike and it was all just lust not love. Too late now they are stuck together on boat. They quickly realized they CANNOT handle living together and were miserable. It’s not all just roses and rainbows when you run off with 'the love of your life.'"
momogirl200
Bye...
"When a guy shows way too much interest in you after you've made it crystal clear you are not interested."
bootsandmittens11
"The only time I found it flattering when a guy kept asking me was in high school. I only turned him down because his parents were the owners of the grocery store I worked at and I thought it’d be awkward if it ended badly. And I did like him, he was a great guy, but I always said no. When I quit, I finally agreed to go out with him."
Ok-IrrelevantIdol
Bad Idea
couple making out GIFGiphy"Sex in the shower. The amount of times I’ve had patients come into the ER after slipping and falling after having shower sex? Numerous."
signaturefox2013
In Red
"My mind automatically goes to kissing while covered in other peoples blood."
HenmandingoYT
"28 Days Later comes to mind. Dude just killed a man with his bare hands after saving his woman from assault, and they passionately kiss with another man's blood all over them."
ZealousFeet
YIKES
"Most romantic storylines. High drama romances are usually terrible to live through. Imagine being will-they-won't-they for several months or years in real life? Yikes."
"Storytelling, especially in written media, is a great place to experiment with dubious consent. It's interesting, dramatic, plays into some classic tropes. Real life... ehhhh not so great, unless you've got your safety words and are actually consenting."
ladyalot
Too Freaky...
"I see this happen in a lot of shows and movies, but I'm currently watching Outlander. No matter what happens, these people are freaking. Just been in battle? Let's get freaky. Oops, I had to kill my favorite uncle and I'm devastated. Wanna f**k? We just time traveled to a place and time we know nothing about... let's get naked in someone's shed and do the 17th century no-pantaloom shuffle! People f**king through trauma and imminent danger is not a thing."
OfficeChairHero
Learn
Wow Excited GIF by Steve Harvey TVGiphy"Making stalking romantic, I'm a man and it feels weird and wrong pursuing a girl after she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with the guy."
funnywax
No
"Sex scenes where they kiss for like 5 seconds and then the man suddenly shoves his dick inside without any foreplay and they start f**king. That does NOT feel good at all in reality, but in movies the woman is always so into it. Yeah… just… no."
CaptainFriendlies
Pictures
"Bit of an aside, but at least one of the movie couple always has a photo on their work desk of them and their partner doing things like pushing one another on a tire swing, but the angle of the shot is as if the photographer was in the bushes spying. Who is taking all these pictures?? This ended up having nothing to do with OP’s question and will probably get deleted."
theWildBore
Wet
"Shower sex is just annoying. Water only his one of you so the other gets really cold. There isn't really enough room unless you have a big a** shower. Just overall a bad time."
Goobula
"Get the detachable shower heads (the kind with 2 heads) then you can easily position it so everyone is warm and wet!"
flantastic_sam
hands off...
Episode 9 Joey GIF by FriendsGiphy"Sharing a plate of spaghetti."
Halloweenspice
"It’s not romantic it’s a war. I’ll fight tooth and nail for that noodle."
ChopperStrawhat
THAT Movie
"I forget exactly what it was called but it’s a movie w Adam Sandler, like 500 first dates or something. She can’t make memories so every day she’s freaked out that this dude is in her bed, and yeah it’s half comedy half romance but it never say right w me lol."
Dumba**Asian
"If it helps, he makes her update movies so she understands what’s going on ever morning. They end up living on a boat and having kids."
Legitimate_Length263
TV and movies have ruined us all. I'm on a break!!
Redditor Mysterious_Boat_1701 was curious to hear people's most unsettling experiences with the Mandela Effect, leading them to ask:
"Which Mandela effect freaks you out the most and why?"
A mysterious gym
"Just had one personally."
"Went to a mall where there was supposedly a gym, asked around and nobody that worked at the mall knew what I was talking about."
"Looked around and couldn't find it."
"Come back a few months later and it’s right there in front of my face, you'd have to be strung out to not notice it."
"idk how or when it just appeared but it freaked me out."- prex320278
A "fruit"ful logo.
"That the fruit of the loom logo never had a cornucopia."
"What’s crazy about that one is that someone emailed the creator of the logo about it and he said even he remembers it having one."- mrcock2·
Less well intentioned than they thought.
"I Mandela effected my whole family once."
"Years ago there was a football player on a rival team that always did a dumb celebration after he got a sack and my family and I always hated it."
"One night after he did it my family started trashing the celebration and I said as a joke 'we are all going to feel terrible when we find out he is doing that celebration as a request from a make-a-wish kid'."
"Fast forward to years later and our team is playing that team again."
"The player got a sack and did the celebration."
"I rolled my eyes and said 'I hate that celebration so much' my mom instantly turned and said 'don't say that, he is doing it for a sick kid'."
"'I actually like it."
"So I was like 'what?'"
"'No there is no sick kid', my whole family then proceeded to argue with me'."
"They all vividly remembered reading articles about it, seeing special report segments before games about it, and other information."
"Some of them even thought they knew the disease the kid had and even extra details about why the kid chose that specific celebration."
"They all had these shared memories that they were sure were true."
"I was floored by all this and insisted none of that was true."
"So we looked it up.'
"Not true."
'No kid like that ever existed.'
"They still have trouble wrapping their heads around this one."
"Turned out human memory is not near as reliable as we think"
"It was American Football and the player was Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings and his cattle roping sack celebration."
"This was maybe 10 years ago."- AUSpartan37
College Football Win GIF by Michigan State FootballGiphyHis eyesight was better than we thought.
"Mr. Monopoly's monocle."- Additional_Day9903
It's not easy being green.
"I have a personal one that to this day a decade later still destroys my mind."
"I had an old(ish) 2001 dodge neon."
"With BLACK SEATS.'
"I drove this car for years and years, like 80,000 miles.'
'All through college."
"I took work breaks in my car, commuted hours every day total, to college and then the opposite direction to work and back."
"I even lived out of this thing on several occasions.'
'The day I go and trade it in, I'm pulling misc things out of the car at the dealer."
'And the seats are GREEN."
"Not even a little."
'Like very unmistakably GREEN."
"In my black Neon, with black interior, that ALWAYS HAD BLACK SEATS."
"My girlfriend then, wife now, goes oh they've always been green."
"EXCEPT THEY F*CKING WEREN'T DON'T LIE TO ME."
"This is still upsetting to this day..... life is a lie and nothing is real."- ZakuLegion
Winona Ryder Omg GIFGiphyAn urban legend was born.
"Not a global one, just a family thing."
"Back in 2002 my grandma had her 60th birthday, my father took us home at 10.00pm, ready for bed."
"We, me and brother, were 12 and 14 at this time."
'All went well."
"Over the years, a story was made up that we went missing after visiting the local playground after dinner at said grandma's birthday party."
"Some neighbors help to search us, the whole train of 'missing children in a smal village'-thing."
"Fun fact: we never went missing."
"Dad brought us home, put on 'Toy Story' on tv and left."
"My brother and I heard first about this in 2015.'
"From different people on different occasions."
"'Ah your one of the missing boys'."
"I first thought they were mocking me for a different event.'
"I got lost, but it was 2013, alcohol inflicted, different story."
"But then they ALL tell us the same story about us going missing."
'And the stories are damn close to 'true' in every story my mum is driving around the same neighbors to different locations to search, old wine yard, old mill etc."
"Sometimes I think I got lost on the most brutal way."
"I was lost and changed this plane of existence with another one."
"It sometimes made me think about my whole life."- tjorben123
missing kenny mccormick GIF by South Park GiphyMemories are a fascinating thing.
They can be changed or altered with even the tiniest suggestion.
And making the truth seem less believable than lies.
Redditor No-Caterpillar4212 wanted to know what our menu choices would be if we faced the end. They asked:
"You're on a death row, you have one hour left, they ask for your final meal - what is it?"
I'd want 2 hours in a Golden Coral with a bar. Covers it all.
sailor moon cooking GIFYears
"I want a nice filet mignon, medium rare, a baked potato with everything on it, and a nice Cabernet from a good year - I'm thinking 2135."
cleon42
"'Sorry, we couldn't get the Cabernet from 2135. So instead of what could have been a great wine request from a more plausible period of time, you get this crappy stuff we sourced from Wal-Mart. Enjoy your meal, I hope that maintaining your sense of humor was worth it."'
Until_Morning
Take Me
"Something badly cooked so I will be sick and want to die sooner and have diarrhea so bad it will be a last revenge!"
ratchet0101
"Taco bell it is!"
No-Caterpillar4212
"If Taco Bell makes you poop a lot, it's a sign that you probably need more fiber in your diet."
RDAwesome
The Yuck Factor
"A huge bowl of baked beans, a bowl of shredded wheat, a six egg omelette, and a gallon of apple cider. I'm gonna make it awful for everyone."
"Save yourself the hassle of eating all that, just ask for one pack of sugar free Haribo gummy bears. Should make for an interesting time for the folks watching you die."
MamaSweeney24
"You void your bowels when you die too so that should be lovely."
IDontControlTheFood
Perfect
Fried Chicken Scandal GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy"Fried chicken with some Fanta."
Aggravating-Year-776
Fried chicken is on the top of everyone's list!
Details
Interested GIF by Nick CannonGiphy"150mg of MDMA. I’m dying happy."
W0nderfu1W0nder
"This should absolutely be allowed. If our leaders insist on the practice of capital punishment then the condemned should be able to ingest any substance they damn please."
forewontoi
Broken
"McFlurry. Those machine are always broken. I just bought myself some time."
Curiousuk_South9566
"Is this like an American thing? I worked at a McDonald's in Denmark once and our machine was never once broken when i was there."
oliv111
"I saw a video about this once. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I think it has something to do with the contract that was signed in America. Only one company is allowed to do maintenance on the machines and they basically lock out if it's cleaned incorrectly. It's a crap system."
grilled-pbj
Sorry
"Cabbage!! Add some cabbage. I don’t know if an hour if enough to take effect but there was an old coworker on a cabbage diet. Omg she smelled, like it was coming out of her pores. She knew she smelled and kept apologizing and reminding us of the diet."
ImStillaPrick
The OG Always
"Olive Garden. Unlimited soup and breadsticks."
thegodfaubel
"I saw a sketch once, can't remember who it 2qs from. But a an inmate ordered the all you can eat buffet and had been eating for like 8 years. He's constantly on the toilet and takes micro-naps between bites."
KingOfTheGoobers
"Unlimited for 1 hour. Cool."
anticlockclock
How Golden
Golden Girls Dorothy GIF by HULUGiphy"If my grandma is still alive her potato soup and cheesecake. Hopefully I'd be able to cook said meal with her one last time."
ATLAS_IS_LOST
Let's hope none of us has to make this decision.
Redditor One-Refrigerator69 was curious to hear stories of people who realized their friends were not exactly the nicest people to be around, leading them to ask:
"When was the moment you realized that your friends are assholes?"
Compared to others...
"When I started hanging out with better people."- Darklink326
All it took was getting my life together
"When I quit drinking ‘cos it was killing me."
"There were people I literally saw every single day who just disappeared as if by magic."
"12 years ago this week, as it happens."
"I’m not anti-drink, far from it."
"Some people, me included, just can’t enjoy it without it becoming a problem."
"Everyone is different."- bigdaftgeordie
A little perspective goes a long way.
"After I realized that other people don't sh*t on each other on every possible occasion in their circle."
"And that it isn't right when a 'friend' uses every known insecurity as an argument against you when you do not behave the way he/she would want you to."- ViscousPlateman
The Simpsons GIF by MOODMANGiphyLack of respect for other people's things
"I let my friend borrow my ps2 when I went to boot camp."
"When I came back, he said he sold it and gave me $50 I think?"
"This was in 2006."- madmike-86
Lack of mutual respect
"When he does sh*t to me and acts like it’s no big deal, then I do the same back and he gets offended."- Primary-Maybe-2749·
Constantly being taken advantage of.
"They only bothered with me when it suited them."
"I'd rather have nobody than have to deal with that."- zombi33mj
happy eric cartman GIF by South Park GiphyWhen they literally revealed themselves to be criminals
"When they robbed me at gunpoint."- Ok_Student8032
When they stopped liking them after a change of situation
"Fourth grade, when my parents economical situation went downhill and suddenly no one invited me to their birthday party."
"Until Seven years later no one had never invited me to their birthday, or to anything at all actually."- Justalittletoserious
Not being able to get a word in...
"When they tell me to shut up when I say anything."- the_golden_cheese
la respuesta GIF by Becky GGiphyViolently playing with emotions
"She got a boyfriend and would let him listen to our phone calls and not tell me, even if I was crying about personal stuff that I would only ever tell her."
"Then they both started lying to me about my crush liking me back, forcing both him and me into awkward positions, telling everyone we liked each other so they'd play along, swapping places constantly to make us sit next to each other, pressuring him into giving me a lap dance, making him kiss the prettiest girl in the room, etc, and encouraged me to shoot my shot more and more."
"All the while they knew he didn't like me, he had told them both directly."
"One night I was crying on the phone cause I was so confused why my advances weren't working, and they just kept explaining it away, blaming some other bullsh*t reason and telling me to try again."
"The next day they told me they were laughing throughout the whole call, because I didn't get it and I was so upset."
"I should add I had no dating experience at all and nobody had ever liked me at this point."- Juliemj
It's always sad when our friends disappoint us.
But when our friends proved to be completely different people than we thought they were, it can be devastating.
As the saying goes, one never truly knows who their friends are.
A recent Redditor was curious to hear what tourists and locals alike should avoid doing in the USA, leading them to ask:
"In the United States, what should you never do?"
Stay out of the skies!
"Don't fly a drone in Washington, DC."
"The whole D.C. Area is a no fly zone."
"It's a federal offense."
"Just don't do it."- PeytonCarrK
Cops can't be bribed.
"Don't try to bribe cops when you get pulled over."
"I had some Argentinian friends immediately pull out their wallets and start pooling their cash when they got pulled over once.'
"Fortunately someone in the car noticed and told them to put it away immediately."- PeytonCarrK
"Don't pay off the police."
"My dad has friends from several third-world nations where it is common practice to give the police some cash when you are pulled over."
"However, if you try to bribe a police officer here, you'll get into a lot of trouble."- JohnASmiley
Know your rights.
"Everyone, including foreigners, has the right to be silent and have a lawyer when being questioned."
"Don’t say anything."
"Also, even if you speak English fairly well, ask for an interpreter."- WickedLilThing
Enjoy all that nature has to offer... carefully!
"Don't wander off in the national parks."
"It's very real wilderness and you can get lost and die out there."
"This includes going over railings you aren't supposed to, or off trails."
"People have died accidentally falling into a steam geyser that looked like normal water, mauled by animals or left to the elements."- AlphaOhmega
national parks GIF by Visit The USAGiphyAllow plenty of time!
"Expect consistency at TSA in airports."- WickedLilThing
Some terminology doesn't translate...
"If you’re from England, they’re called cigarettes here."- Yung_Onions
Make sure your license is up to date.
"If you come from a walkable country don’t come here expecting the same."
"There are some areas with good public transportation and bicycle/pedestrian friendly streets but for the most part, especially outside of cities, the areas are designed to accommodate cars more than anything else."
"The reason a lot of Americans drive everywhere is because, depending on where you live, we have no choice."- The_Cars93
Dog Driving GIFGiphyWait for instructions.
"Get out of your car and approach the cop when being stopped by a cop unless told to."- hildrash
Whether your'e waling down a street in a foreign country, or the street you've lived on for your entire life, it's always wise to be on guard and aware of your surroundings.
Not to mention, obey the law.