Well and like, romantic relationships are more definitive usually—people can ghost but usually there’s some sort of breakup, friendly or not. Whereas friendships aren’t normally that clear cut.

Exactly.

Agreed. The few times I've lost an established friendship, it has hurt as much (or almost, anyway) as the end of a romantic relationship.

Why does my mother lie to me so much? Because I got feedback(as I frequently do, I should note) that something I sent out didn't have enough arc for my protagonist. But, okay, what do I know about decisions with consequences?(Or even seeing a fork in a road and taking it?) Not a lot. I picked electives and bought a shitload of paperbacks. That's more or less it. But mom is so determined to act like I'm not different that she says "What? You make decisions all the time!" But it doesn't *matter* that I pick the chicken over the burger, right? Even the BA that I really did fight my way through, besides being tightly scripted, excited people for about seven seconds before people were like "But can you type?"(One day, I swear, I'll be over my graduation non-event, but it set the tone for my life in the absolute opposite way than I expected when I did my Advanced Placement tests, etc.) I mean, maybe that made sense when I was still ten and could still believe that I Could Adapt Anything, but it's way too late for all of that! Maybe I'll put it on my birthday list: Mom Admits That Being Disabled Is Different. And what do I do about my writing since I've never been at a crossroads that was, you know, my crossroads.

FWIW, my mother used to lie when it made a better story.

Well, there's that, which I guess I have done. But I think she is still trying to shape me in ways that are beside the point now.(Or maybe she just believes I do a lot more than I do white sitting here typing. Maybe I wish.)

There was also the fact that for just about all of my life, my mother made sure people saw me HER way.

maybe every mom does that, a little. (my grandma had a Problem in this department...not trying to say it's quite the same.) if my grandma had been kinder, or lighter or something, maybe it could've have been appealing or Using Her Life As Art the way that she was, like, "Begone, unpleasant reality, You have no shelter here," but people counted on her, sometimes. Also, when your grandma's life's a fairy tale, who wants to be troll? Right? (I edited. Sorry.)

Some guy online is arguing that his academic research proves women don't like oral sex. (A few of my friends have told me it's not a fave...literally, different...let's say strokes.) But I suppose I rubbed it in(and I don't mean porn) by saying that just because I've read a lot of whodunits it doesn't mean I could kill him and get away with it.

his academic research proves women don't like oral sex.

Maybe he's just really really bad at it and unwilling to accept some instruction.