Friendshipping!

The first asker is caught between two friends going through a sudden divorce, oh no!

The second asker isn't freaking out about COVID, and can't understand why everyone else seems to feel differently. Hm!!

Most importantly, we want to know: Why do all men go through a phase of hitting each other in the testicles? Aaaa!!!

CWs:

- Discussion of testicles and kicking them, first ten minutes of the show.

- Discussion of divorce, death throughout show.

- Big death mention at 27m20s, big climate change mention at 37m00s.

- Poop mention, eating poop mention 27m20s

Sometimes, you just need a little more. We’re here to help you figure out how to effectively ask for it. How can I get my friends to talk freely about their guilty pleasures? What can I do to encourage my buds to initiate more conversations and online hangouts? In personal news, Jenn has started Animal Crossing, and Trin waxes poetic about her Wonder Woman emotions.

Content Warnings:

- Food mentions around 7m00s, 7m50s, and 18m18s.

- COVID-heavy second question.

- Occasional joking references to porn starting at 14m08s.

- Death mention 19m43s.

First up: “I was out on leave and I’m worried my coworkers are resentful that I’ve been gone. What can I do to feel less terrible about this?” Then, “I feel closer to my coworkers through this pandemic trauma. Is this why hazing works?” Around Friendshipping Headquarters, Jenn just started playing Animal Crossing, and Trin can’t stop screaming. Big week all around for everyone.

Production note: Trin is wrong; Spanish Flu was not our most recent pandemic. But she is correct that we did not have The Internet back then.

CWs: Discussions of COVID and hazing

Today on this here podcast, it’s all about being polite on our favorite utopia simulator, Animal Crossing. What’s the tea on Blood? Do you leave a tip for big gains on the Stonk Market? Why is my friend sitting motionless on a log?

Whew! Now that we got that out of our collective system, we’ll be back on Thursday with your regular friendship programming.

“My friend mailed me $50. She’s the worst, right?” This week, Jenn wonders if there’s a gas leak, Trin deeply mispronounces “Oregon,” and neither of us can quite wrap our brains around an asker who feels grievously wronged by a sorta disappointing wedding gift, I guess. Thank goodness, the second question is about Animal Crossing (but is applicable to the other social tech that we now rely on for human interaction).

CWs: Queerphobia, and money are discussed at length. COVID mentions.

Is it okay to like having time off from work? Jenn and Trin tell you the hard truth about enjoying your life. We also get down with house envy, the box full of personal shame that lives in everyone’s home, and empathizing with your bored house cat on a level you never thought possible.

CWs: Discussion ADD/ADHD spectrum. Brief, sudden masturbation mention when we read the first question.

Mary Tyler Moore, the real one*, wants to know how to deal with the guilt of her shelter-in-place privilege in relation to her friend Ethel, who has it much harder as the single caretaker of four kids and one adult nurse. This week we once again validate an asker and everything they are doing. Plus: How to gracefully exit a group video call when everyone knows you don’t have anything better to do, and Tom Nook is an oligarch who must be deposed, his monopolies disbanded, and his assets redistributed to the people.

*real in the existential sense

CWs: Humorous, metaphorical mentions of blood. Discussion of COVID. Poop mentions, Casual death mentions. Trin goes on an anti-capitalist rant again.

How can we fight off the terrible dark feelings of pessimism? And what can I do when my friends set up wayyy too many group video calls? I don’t have anything else to do, and they know it, so I feel like I have to go to all of them. Help!

This episode once again starts with a Pop Culture Corner, with some mentions of cinematic violence. Are you all into that segment? Should we keep doing it? Let us know!

CW: COVID discussion throughout, discussion of the fall of civilization/human extinction

Send your questions to [email protected].

How should I check on my friends while we're social distancing? Is asking "how are you?" a silly question right now? We're all in this alone together! Content warnings for discussion of COVID-19.