Redditor dwightanddilbert wanted to discuss and dig into the truth about how we've been duped on matters of the heart and lust, so they asked:
"What’s the biggest lie pop culture taught us about sex and romance?"
I learned long ago to give up on the movie love dream. But they're still fun to watch.
Being Real
bad romance....Giphy"That love is easy and relationships will have romance just fall into your lap if it's meant to be. Real life is not a movie and it gives people a very wrong image of what a healthy relationship looks like."
trevmc1
Happily Now...
"That there is a point you reach where you get your Happily Ever After. Then you just get to coast. That's not how relationships work - it's not the moment he tells you at the NYE party how he loves that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out or when you get married in a big ballgown."
"It's all the little moments, the everyday caring, the small affections and the avoidances of trust pitfalls. They add up to a Happily Now. But there's not a point you can hang your hat up and say, 'Okay. I got this marriage thing sorted out. Now I get to do whatever I want.'"
Carl__Gordon_Jenkins
“What about sleep?!?!”
"That we’re supposed to have long sex sessions. Honestly a good 15-20 mins is pretty good for me."
ItsMeThereHair
"When I was 20ish I was in a car with a few coworkers. A couple of them got to talking about longest active session. The girl was 18 hours and the guy said 24 hours."
"All I could think was 'what about sleep?!?!' ( I’ve always loved sleeping). At the time I was with my now hubby and back then we were more the under 5 minute get the job done types. Now we appreciate longer sessions but I’m ready to tap out at 20 minutes. If we get to 45, he’s out of luck."
Environmental-Car481
Know the Difference
"Persistence usually isn't romantic. It's usually creepy."
Pissed_Off_Pacifist
"Yep, thanks for mentioning it. I wasted many, many years pursuing that one guy I thought was the one. His friends liked me. He made compliments on my looks and on my skills. Everything seemed promising, so why didn't it turn out the way I wanted?"
"Well, surprisingly, some people just aren't romantically interested in you, no matter how much work you put into it. So easy to understand, but so hard to accept. Neither my stubbornness nor a miracle could turn the friendship we had into a relationship. Plus, I must've seemed desperate, which is unattractive as hell."
"It's okay to take your time, but it's also necessary to know when move on. Really just better for everyone."
OneGhastlyGhoul
Shut Up!
Disney Wedding GIFGiphy"For the love of God, DO NOT interrupt a wedding. It will not go how you think it will."
dcbluestar
"As a joke at our friend's wedding some girl stood up and said wait. Literally every head turned around so fast and although it was known to the bride and groom as a joke I think everyone was thinking wtf and she was about as red as a tomato."
Kyell
The drama queen in me knows it would be wrong, but who wouldn't love to witness a wedding interruption?!?!
Magic
Anne Hathaway Actors On Actors GIF by PBS SoCalGiphy"If you just take off your glasses and put your hair down, you'll be Anne Hathaway."
Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Gross Truth
"That there's no such thing as clean up afterwards. Everyone just has a slight, post-coital, glisten and that's about as far as it goes. No awkward wet waddle. No wet spot on the mattress that gets cold way too quickly so you both bend your bodies around it so you can still snuggle without touching it."
"No sex towel that probably should've been washed about two weeks ago and is getting to the point where it might make a worthy substitute for a crowbar with how stiff it is."
"Oh, and if you do it in a horror movie, you're 100% gonna die."
ACalcifiedHeart
Calm Down
"That sex always has to be very serious and profound. And I don't mean serious as in commitment, but as in how we behave. Some of the best sex I have ever had has involved cracking jokes."
Needydadthrowaway
"Or sleepy sex where the nights too late but you both just want to crank it out and sleep."
hogtiedcantalope
It can work...
"Opposites attract."
chingudo
"This is actually really untrue. While it is possible, and also, in my opinion, really rare for opposites to attract, they definitely do not a majority of the time. We tend to fall for people who are like-minded to us. People who have similar values, morals, thoughts, etc... to us."
AwesomeKitty6842
"So I married an opposite. Has not been easy but I think has been really good for both of us overall. That being said if it ever fell apart I would 100% look for someone more like me. Everything, and I mean everything, is a lot of work and requires so much communication between us."
notgreatnotbadsoso
Get a Chance
Brendon Urie Flirt GIF by Panic! At The DiscoGiphy"Two extremes:"
"1- If you're a stalker, they'll eventually give you a chance."
"2- If you're the nice guy/the best friend, they'll eventually give you a chance."
"#2 messed me up for a very long time."
plasma_dan
Lesson learned. Never trust the love stories in pop culture.
And fairytales lie!!
"What is the most annoying fan base?"
Crime Enthusiasts
"This will probably get buried, but back in 2012-2015 I was in the Creepypasta Fandom."
"The people in that Fandom were psychotic, it was crazy."- ElenoaL
"Serial killer fans."- xcxaxsxpxexr
Bring On The Clap-Backs...
"The fanbase of Rupauls Drag Race is pretty notorious for sending death threats to the hard working talented people they’re supposed to be a fan of."- rubenblom
Rupauls Drag Race Reaction GIFGiphyAll Of Them. Literally, ALL OF THEM!
"Any fan base if you go deep enough."
"Just go to one of those subs for a small Netflix show you’ve binged in a day."- qwerty12qwerty
"Evil Is Out There"... It's The Fans!
"Coming from a genuine fan of the show, I think that the Supernatural fanbase needs to pipe the f*ck down."- AaryanKearns
My Favorite Group Is Better Than Yours!!!
"Kpop fans who take things a bit too far."
"I had friends who'd have fights over who is 'worthy' to be called the wife of one of the kpop idols, no they weren't joking."- Caprisal
K Pop Reaction GIFGiphyHence The State Of American Politics...
"Politicians' fan base."- NikinhoRobo
You Know They've Gone Too Far When They Name Themselves...
"I'm put off by any fanbase that has a collective name."
"'The B-Hive' and so forth."
"In almost every case it feels really forced."
"Football (soccer) Twitter is full of d*ckheads too.'
'The further away from the team's home ground they live, the worse they get.'
Euro 2016 England GIF by SporzaGiphyTechno Wars
"Playstation VS Xbox ."
'iPhone vs Android."
"Those people."- L33HDX
There's nothing wrong being a fan of someone or something, no matter how fanatical you get.
Though it would be in everyone's best interest to learn how to temper those feelings around others, as not everyone will share your passionate feelings.
Just ask any Yankees fan who's dared to wear their team's cap in Boston...
Whether that applies or doesn't apply in our own lives, we listen to the songs conveying these experiences to take us back so we may relive these affirmative moments from the past.
Curious to hear what's on the moody playlist of strangers online, Redditor udontknowmegurl asked:
"What is the saddest song you've ever heard?"
These iconic artists really touched the hearts of many people through their music.
Dolly's Love Anthem
"I will Always Love You by Dolly Parton, you can really tell she f'king lived that song."
– scruntyboon
When Mom Went To Heaven
"The night my mama died, my dad sang Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love to her in the back seat of the car on the way to the ER. She died of fully metastitized pancreatic cancer 18 days after diagnosis."
– AmazonEllie
It Gets Deeper With Age
“'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac I find that the older I get, the more meaning this song has."
– Rare_Matter
We've All Been There
"Bonnie Raitt I Can't Make You Love Me."
– pederaka
Leave it to Disney to have us reaching for the tissue box.
Touching Score
"That song from UP makes me cry every time and it doesn’t even have lyrics."
– TheDaughterOfFlynn
When She Loved Me
"That one Jesse sings in Toy Story 2"
– TheWholeEffinJoe
And let's not forget these emotional tunes that resonated with many Redditors.
Irish Folk Song
"‘Danny boy’ at a friends funeral 10 years ago. He, his sister and his gf all passed away in a house fire all in their early 20s. It was an Irish wake and the mix of grief and whiskey joy was something else."
– Flamingoez88
When Love Moves On
"Into Dust by Mazzy Star gets me."
– d*ckem52
When You Want To "Disappear"
"How to disappear completely by Radiohead. Haunting instrumental, depression dripping through everyline of lyrics 'im not here, this isnt happening.'"
– Bradyceneme
Ray Of Light In The Darkness
"You Are My Sunshine"
"Everything but the chorus is heartbreaking. Few people know anything but the chorus though."
– lolly_lolly_lolly
From A Powerful Album
"Sylvia - The Antlers"
"Actually that whole album, Hospice, breaks me but this song in particular just leaves me in a mess every time."
– recoverelapse
When Love Fades
"The Night We Met by Lord Huron."
"No matter where I am, if I’m happy, who I’m with, etc. I’ll bawl my eyes out if that song plays. It’s so painful and true because one day they’re there and they’re your everything and then they start slipping until they’re gone and you wished you could go back to before you met them so you wouldn’t have to go through the pain of losing them. Just the lyrics 'I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you' hit this. People falling out of love in relationships, growing apart with friends, family members passing, etc. is what this hits for me and it hits hard."
– beepbeepboopbop2
Tragedy
"Limousine by Brand New"
"It is about a flower girl at a wedding who was killed by a drunk driver IIRC. It has been a while since I heard it because it legit makes me too sad."
"The lyrics are incredibly dense and metaphorical, and the music mirrors the falling and rising emotion of the story. Such a strange, beautiful, and heartbreaking song."
– UltraMegaFauna
The Songwriter
"I have no recording of it, but I met a homeless man at the lake and became friends with him years ago, a week later there came in a giant storm and I went back and picked him up and took him home. We were roommates for almost 2 years after that. We both played guitar and he played a song for me that he had written. I can't remember what he called it anymore but basically he described how he wrote it like this."
'I was engaged once. She was everything I ever wanted but she was Mormon and it was very important to her to marry someone who shared her faith, so I molded myself in her faith while we were dating. After we had been engaged for a while it all weighed down on me that I was a fraud. I didn't really believe it all I just played the part and we were too different people to really make it work, so I called her and ended it and then I sat down and wrote this.'
'I found out yesterday, I've been wrong in so many ways
So much so that I needed to find someone to tell me if I'd ever been right
But I'd have given the last thing I owned if you could have been the one.
I've asked for the answers that only come at night,
And I've looked through the eyes of a man whose long since lost his sight
And I'll wait for you there at the edge of the promised land
If you care to join me there then come and take my hand.'
"There was much much more but that's all I can remember sadly. It brought me to tears every single time. The raw emotion in his voice and the rasp of too many cigarettes, cheap beer, and living on the streets just made it hauntingly beautiful."
"I hope to see him again someday and hear him play it again."
– Calitexian
One of the saddest songs I've heard is not connected to a personal experience, but the story being told is heartbreaking.
It's called "The Queen and the Soldier" by Suzanne Vega. The song is basically about a lonely, repressed virgin queen who keeps her heart closely guarded.
When a soldier enters her domain and challenges her internalized emotions, it's too much for her and has the soldier executed.
The song has continued haunting me ever since I first heard it.
I just put in headphones when people are going at it.
"don't stop, I need this!"
Stephen Colbert Hello GIF by The Late Show With Stephen ColbertGiphy"Had this happen to a buddy while in college. Not a hotel but thin apartment walls. They kept having loud, obnoxious sex until he yelled, 'don't stop, I need this!' They quit after that."
varnecr
My bowels...
"A few years ago I did it by getting food poisoning. The walls were thin so when I had to vomit I did it really really loudly. Stopped them immediately."
Ok_Whatever_Buddy
"Yooo me too. Except mine was the opposite situation -- I may have saved a friend's relationship. He and his girlfriend were having some really serious discussion in his room, like may have been on the verge of breaking up, and my crazy loud food-poisoning shits echoed through the apartment, followed by muffled laughter from my friend's room."
sfzen
BOOM!
"Blast circus music. No one can be in the bone zone to that kinda soundtrack."
KatatoniK94
"My college roommate had a sex CD with a bunch of hard techno on it. We had vicious prank wars in our house so one day, I took his sex CD, copied tracks 1-3 with reduced gain and dropped in circus music with really high gain as track 4… queue hilarious sexual exploit."
surfinwhileworkin
Yo Rick!
"This happened while on a road trip with some friends in college. It ended with a dramatic 'OH RICK YES!' We let the silence sit for moment before cheering and yelling 'that a boy Rick!'"
weagle01
"My freshman year of college a dude on our floor had a very vocal girlfriend, one day they were going at it and we rounded up everyone on the floor. Then we sat around the hall outside his door and cheery and clapped when they finished. They didn't meet in his dorm room anymore."
jedadkins
Tell me more...
Listen GIF by The Maury ShowGiphy"Talk into the wall about their sex, and ask questions about their positions."
gerbalinmy*utthole
People have some interesting ideas when trying to impede other's "lovemaking."
Loop It
moaning crying GIF by Little MixGiphy"Repeat every moan and sound they make, but louder."
ShadyMyLady
"Repeat every moan and sound but in very load robot deadpan."
Sylentskye
"Death's door"
"College, we had not-your-average-dorms, it was an old building that used to house workers for a nearby big-name fancy hotel. Anyway, lots of odd doors everywhere and paper thin walls. There was a very super goth girl on our floor (and this was an art school, so very super goth even for there is saying something). She actively and literally would turn her nose up at anyone trying to say hi, including other women."
"Her door had a sign on it 'Death's door.' So she was quickly nicknamed Death. She has an older boyfriend who comes over, and they have marathon bouts of super loud sex, where she is the one making all the noise and progressively gets louder and deeper as she goes. And thus we coined the term death-sex."
"One day, it's particularly bad. It starts very early in the morning. By the mid afternoon (yes, seriously) it had gotten so loud people from other floors came down to figure out what the hell was going on. My roommate, clearly drained and pissed at the day he's had, comes home, sees a handful of folks from the other floors, sees me, asks 'tell me they'd stopped and have just restarted' and when I tell him amazingly no, they have been going all day."
"He goes up to the door rests his forehead on it, and yells 'YOUR SEX IS JUST.... TOO LOUD FOR ME' They shut up immediately and that was the last time any of us heard death sex. Sometimes you just gotta let em know they're being too loud!"
clamroll
Full Volume
"Play the song 'baby shark' on full volume. My freaking roommates used to do this in college, it was a terrible inside joke."
Nuked0ut
"We used to put the Mortal Kombat theme tune on full volume. One time we even managed to get it playing from the guys own computer after he brought a girl back. He just powered through."
HuntedWolf
"They'll be hearing that on repeat in 9 months time if they're not careful and if they don't like it they can stop what they're doing. Nice."
cutdownthere
Comedy
"Just start laughing hysterically. I was in the shower when I could hear a couple having sex. When I finished, I started to laugh hysterically. The walls were very thin. They heard me and couldn't understand why I was laughing. They did tone it down. The next morning I saw this couple as they were leaving the next morning. We all avoided eye contact. It was all I could do not to burst into laughter. They probably thought I was a strange person."
baronesslucy
What have we learned? Know your surroundings when it's sexy time.
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Wisdom is everywhere. I have found hope in the witty advertisement of a vodka bottle. You?
Truth
The One Where Estelle Dies Episode 15 GIF by FriendsGiphy"There is no problem so bad that you can’t make it worse."
Emilyx33x
I Love You
"Grief is just love that has nowhere to go."
i_am_scared_ok
Andrew Garfield’s quote on this subject really touched me. When talking about his mother who passed away he said, 'I hope this grief stays with me. It’s all the unexpressed love I didn’t get to tell her.'”
kyhansen1509
So Empty
“'What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance.'”
"-Epictetus"
Crypto_Bro12
"'Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. -Rabbi Tarfon'"
"It helps when I'm feeling anxious about geopolitical events I have no control over."
HonestSummer
The Burn
"'Doing what you love as a job is a great way to make it something you used to love.'"
"Former boss that got burnt hard. That's funny but honestly idk what his past was. He was a very bitter person when I knew him. He said that when I was talking about wanting to be a full time artist when I was younger. The idea gave me pause."
Crying_Reaper
frodo GIFI'm feeling slightly inspired so far. You?
GIF by moodmanWinning
"There's this awesome webcomic called Multiplex that I used to read ( it finished its run a few years ago). It's mostly goofy jokes and snarky digs at Hollywood, but one of the characters said, 'You should get out of the mindset that for you to win, someone else has to lose. It's unhealthy.' Don't know why it stuck with me, but I've been trying to get out of that way of thinking ever since (I don't always succeed, but I'm trying man, I'm trying real hard)."
Raptorthrust
“it is what it is”
"Might be lame but my mom gave me a mug with 'it is what it is' written on it and it truly changed my philosophy about how I handle my anxiety. I was going through a lot but drinking coffee everyday with that mug really gave me a weird sense of peace."
corpcoincorporated
No!
"'Don't tell yourself no. Let someone else tell you no.' -- a co-worker who stopped me from canceling an interview 16 years ago. He's embarrassed that I bring it up because to him, it was just an off-the-cuff comment. But it literally put me where I am now."
farrenkm
'It's always those off-the-cuff remarks that do it. I will say, this one might be THE one from this thread that sticks with me... Most often it seems that the only person who ever gets in my way is myself."
CautiousCactus505
No Room
Black And White Halloween GIF by Fleischer StudiosGiphy"The graveyard is full of people who had the right of way."
SANTAAAA__I_know_him
Words have power. Do you have similar quotes to share? Let us know in the comments below.