I Told My Girlfriend To Get Rid Of A Creepy Dummy That She Loves r/Relationships

[00:00:02] Audible präsentiert dein nächstes Fantasy-Highlight. Er brach mir Ländereien für meinen künftigen Ehemann zu und warf mir den Titel der Prinzessin von Britannien über wie einen verfluchten Mantel. Macht, Identität und der Kampf gegen Unterdrückung. Ihr solltet jetzt niederknien, Morgana. Ich tat nichts dergleichen. Die Geschichte einer unangepassten Frau, die sich in einer patriarchalen Gesellschaft behaupten muss. Höre jetzt das Audible Original Hörbuch. Morgen ist mein Name. Jetzt nur bei Audible.

[00:00:32] Hey Waffle Gang, I do hope you are well. My name is Mark and today we're checking out some more reddit stories. And if you do love a reddit story why not consider hitting the like, subscribe, maybe hit the notification bell too. And let's crack on with today's first story. Much love guys. Now today's first story comes from MediocreSorbet4553 from the AmITheArsehole subreddit. And it says,

[00:01:02] AmITheArsehole for telling my girlfriend to get rid of a creepy dummy? My 22 male, girlfriend, 21 female, loves horror. She told me about 3 months ago that she read Goosebumps in elementary school and it sparked a lifelong interest in horror. And that when she was a kid, all she ever wanted for birthdays and Christmas was a replica of Slappy. A creepy ventriloquist dummy. I'm kind of a wimp about that stuff and I think the dummy thing is frankly insane.

[00:01:31] But I like her enough to ignore it. Until last week, her birthday. When her mother brought her a Slappy replica. She's afraid of dummies, hence why she never got it for her as a kid. My girlfriend was thrilled. You would have thought her mum had handed her keys to a Tesla with the way she was acting. She was literally crying with happiness. But when she saw the expensive necklace I got her, she just said thank you. She's totally obsessed with the dummy.

[00:02:01] Her roommate thinks it's hilarious and she carries it around her apartment like a teddy bear and even sleeps with it in her bed. I kind of snapped last night when I went over and she was holding the dummy when I answered the door. I told her it was creepy and she was being weird about it and she needed to get rid of it. I'll admit I raised my voice a little bit. My girlfriend started crying and her roommate told me to leave.

[00:02:26] Roommate and friends have been texting me saying I'm not supporting her and the dummy is harmless. Girlfriend herself hasn't reached out to me. So am I the asshole. So in the comments, the girlfriend's roommate turns up and it's the errorist404 says, lol, Matt, did you seriously not think either of us would see this post?

[00:02:49] You only learned about this subreddit because V showed you some of the posts here in an attempt to get you to engage in any of her interests. Makes sense that you only care about it when it could benefit you. I don't know whether this is some passive aggressive power move to get V to text you back or if you're just that desperate for someone to agree with you. But either way, I don't think it's working out like you hoped. It certainly works well for me since now I don't have to worry about biting my tongue for her sake.

[00:03:16] Until last week, her birthday, when her mother bought her a slappy replica. She's afraid of dummies, hence why she never got it for her as a kid. My girlfriend was thrilled. She'd have thought her mum handed her the keys to a Tesla with the way she was acting. She was literally crying with happiness. When she saw the expensive necklace I got her, she just said thank you. And then says of course she was excited. It's something that she wanted for years. And the fact that it came from her mum also made it special since she hates the thing.

[00:03:45] And you can act all wounded about her not being as thrilled about the necklace. But we both know that you're intentionally leaving out the fact that V fucking told you previously that she doesn't like wearing jewelry. She doesn't like how a lot of it looks and she has sensory problems with it. And no one asks you to spend a thousand dollars on a necklace. That looks like the Amazon logo for a girl you've been with for seven months, dude. To be honest, it's just kind of weird.

[00:04:10] In quotes, I kind of snapped last night when I went over and she was holding the dummy when I answered the door. I told her it was creepy and she was being weird about it and she needed to get rid of it. I'll admit I raised my voice a bit. The roommate then continues. Kind of. A little bit. You blew up. The people across the way came to check in on us after you left because of you yelling. Rather than talking to your girlfriend and expressing your reservations like a normal person, you bottled it up and then let it out on her with no warning.

[00:04:40] I know for sure that V is done with you. But honestly, for the sake of your future relationships, I hope that you grow the fuck up and learn to communicate without alerting anyone in the building of your issues. Also, get better taste. Goosebumps is awesome. You're the arsehole. Edit. We're having fun watching Goosebumps with Slappy. And then shares an image. It just felt like she was really excited by the gift she got.

[00:05:07] Something that she loved since she was a child and never had until now. And the fact that you raised your voice to the point a neighbor had to come and check on them afterwards. Yeah, no. Come on now. And I would totally understand if you, you know, you're freaked out by the dummy or something like that. You didn't want to embed with you, etc. But, you know, you communicate that properly like an adult. It's really that simple.

[00:05:33] One thing about the picture of the dummy though is like, why were the eyes hidden of the dummy? But Hogwarts says, wait. Is it really a necklace of the Amazon logo? Or am I just misunderstanding what the necklace is? If it really is an Amazon logo, why the fuck did he spend so much money on it? Is it made of diamonds? I would anyone want to wear the logo for Amazon. Matchgirl says, my guess that it's a Tiffany smile necklace that would look like an Amazon logo. To me at least.

[00:06:01] And would cost a heck of a lot more than the materials are worth because of the name. The roommate replies that saying, yeah, that's the one. Sorry, I realized I probably should have included the necklace for reference. I've been calling it the Amazon necklace because of the weird smile and the whole lack of thought behind it. I know the design is probably charming to some and that doesn't make a great gift for the right person. But it's just not at all something that V has shown an interest in.

[00:06:26] And I can't really see how the design is worth blowing nearly a thousand dollars on for someone who doesn't care about the brand. Remy Wright says, I just looked it up and man, the thing looks like the McDonald's Happy Meal smile. I'm not big on jewelry but will wear certain things. That's a hard no. Roommate says, damn, that's a better comparison. I should have started calling it the muck necklace or something instead. And a couple more comments with the roommate replying saying, I think I have the same sheets. Are those the ones from Target?

[00:06:56] They are the perfect blend of soft and crisp. Roommate says they are and we've been really liking the feel of them. I've been thinking of finding the link to send to Matt so he can buy himself a nice set. It seems his spot on the bed has been taken over by a certain creepy dummy. And the last commenter says, buy roommate and slappy matching pajamas. But now I'm going to turn this one to you guys. What do you guys make of this situation? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below.

[00:07:24] And let's move on to another story. Now this next story comes from ValuableBit9799 from the Off My Chest subreddit. It says, my sister-in-law pranked me by giving me alcohol knowing I don't drink. I feel like I'm spiraling about it. I, 29 female, don't drink alcohol. The short answer to the reason for this is I grew up with two highly abusive alcoholic parents.

[00:07:50] It took me a lot of self-work and therapy to even be able to be in the same room as people that are drinking. When I meet new people, I just politely turn down drinks by saying something along the lines of, I don't drink. There has obviously been some instances where people ask me why, but I never go into the traumatic details. I've never had anyone push it on to me or anything. That's what makes what happened last weekend so bizarre.

[00:08:14] On the second Saturday of every month, my husband, 30 male, and his sister, 32 female, throw a cookout or something along the lines for all of their childhood friends. I've always thought it was really cool that they stayed close with so many people since I myself moved away from home and only stay in contact with one friend from school. I've been attending these hangouts ever since my husband and I started dating. There's never been any issues. I get along well with his friends and his sister.

[00:08:43] Last Saturday, my husband took my 11-year-old little brother out of town for a dad slash Sunday. We're his legal guardians. I've had custody of him since I was 20. So I went to the cookout alone this time. I've done this a couple of times before and it's always been fine. So my sister-in-law handed out the usual mimosas. I asked for just an orange juice like always. When I took a sip of the drink she handed me, I immediately spit it out because I could taste champagne.

[00:09:12] I turned around to my sister-in-law and said, Oh, you must have given me your drink by mistake. When I turned, I noticed her and two of her friends laughing. I was so confused. I asked what was going on and my sister-in-law said through her giggles, We thought it'd be funny to see how you react to alcohol since we've never seen you drink it before. You should have seen your face. I was honestly just so shocked that my only response was, What the hell? As they continued laughing.

[00:09:40] I just told them I was leaving. I honestly don't even remember that drive home because I was trying to keep myself from having a panic attack. When I finally got home, I just broke down crying. My husband and brother got home shortly after that and I couldn't hide how I was feeling even if I wanted to. My husband immediately asked me what was wrong and I just broke down again. I hate that my brother had to see me cry. I tried to keep our house as happy and safe as possible.

[00:10:09] After I put on a movie for my brother, I explained what happened to my husband. He was so mad. I've never seen him like that before. He told me to go relax with my brother and he was going to sort everything out. I could hear him yelling at his sister on the phone and after almost an hour, he came and sat with us and told me he wouldn't be seeing her again. The next day, we told my mother and father-in-law. I've always been really close with them so I wanted to confide in them.

[00:10:36] But I was obviously scared because that's their daughter and I didn't want to talk bad about her to them. To my surprise, they were absolutely mortified and so apologetic on behalf of their daughter. I'm so glad because my little brother adores them. It would have been devastating if our relationship with him suffered because of this. So yeah, this past week has been so weird. I feel weirdly betrayed. I hate that my sister-in-law and her friends used me as some sort of entertainment for the day.

[00:11:04] I know that they don't know the trauma this triggered inside of me. I'm just so confused on why they thought that was an okay thing to do. I also feel guilty because I don't want my husband to stop going to the cookouts and lose his time with his friends. And I don't want him and his sister to never see each other again because of me. My husband is amazing and has assured me it wouldn't be my fault if they never speak again. It's just hard not to feel that way. Don't worry though. I had a lot of emergency therapy sessions this week and I know I'll be okay.

[00:11:34] It was just such a bizarre thing to experience. It seems like such a small inconsequential thing to have happened to me that has been a crash cause on trauma, triggers, PTSD, etc. Typing it all out has been so helpful. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. That's such a mad thing to do. You know, slipping anyone alcohol against their will is never okay.

[00:11:59] I'm just thinking what the hell is going through their minds to even think that's acceptable. And then laughing about it afterwards. It just shows that they took like your boundaries of not drinking as a joke rather than something to respect. I know it's mad saying this because, you know, it should be the case anyway. But sort of major props to the husband and the in-laws for immediately taking this seriously

[00:12:21] and showing OP that, you know, her safety and her boundaries matter because we see it too often in these stories about family. Pressuring people to just get over it to keep the family harmony. Okay Routine says, Some people like your sister-in-law have no sense but have been blessed with the privilege of never had a trauma touch them. They are frivolous and unserious people. They are malicious children. Let them go be frivolous and unserious people together.

[00:12:50] Grateful you have a strong support system in the form of your mother-in-law, father-in-law and husband. But the commenter says, In my experience, some people tend to get really weird and insistent when you say you don't drink. Like I get how so many cultures have ingrained social drinking into their framework and all that. But it's incredibly off-putting how many people I've encountered who genuinely get offended that you don't. Hell, you'd think people like this would be appreciated more so they don't do something moronic

[00:13:18] like attempt to drive after a night of heavy drinking. I'll never understand that. Another commenter says, It actually makes me angry and knowing the fact that you were going to be there alone this time. And that's when she decided to prank you. Almost as if she was waiting for this opportunity. I'm happy you have a solid support system and they're on your side. Reiterating what others have commented. She doesn't need to know the reason. None of them do. I don't drink often anymore.

[00:13:46] Mostly during social occasions which are very few. I used to love drinking. But I knew I needed slash wanted to stop because I didn't like the feeling anymore. I felt very out of control and realized I needed it to be happier. Also, addiction runs in my family. Never feel bad about this. You're taking care of yourself and it will never be your fault if no one speaks to your sister-in-law again. That's on her. She made a very poor decision and now she needs to have consequences.

[00:14:15] You did nothing wrong. Be extra gentle with yourself for a while and give yourself grace for your responses to this trigger. I hope you're doing better. So OP came in with her update and says, Thank you to everyone that left me kind comments and messages on my previous post. I'll just get right into the update. A lot of you guessed it right. This isn't the first time my sister-in-law has done something like this. She is definitely what some would consider a mean girl.

[00:14:42] My husband and his parents have had multiple falling outs with her over the years. But they've been on good terms recently until she pranked me. So yeah, I could see how my husband's immediate reaction to go no contact seemed like an overreaction. But he's dealt with a lot from her in the past. I don't want to give any specific examples because they're personal to my husband and his family. Hope you all understand. So here's what happened after my last post.

[00:15:09] After talking with my therapist and my husband, I decided I wanted to message my sister-in-law. I asked her if she wanted to get lunch and talk about what happened. I wanted to explain some of my past to her. My PTSD diagnosis and why what she did affected me so much. I just wanted this to be over and for us to come to an understanding. But she never responded. A couple of my husband's friends that were at the cookout when the prank happened called us to check in on me.

[00:15:36] They said they had no idea my sister-in-law planned that and they never would have let it happen. That's probably why she didn't clue them in on the prank. They told me that after I left, they told her it wasn't cool. After a couple of days, I just gave up hope of her messaging me back and decided to start moving on. Yesterday, my sister-in-law blew up my husband's phone. She said some pretty awful things. To summarize, it was along the lines of It's not my fault your wife is a pussy that's scared of champagne.

[00:16:05] She called me a bunch of names from everything to bitch, see you next Tuesday, etc. She said she never liked me and she wished my husband stayed with his high school girlfriend. They broke up when they were 18, by the way. My husband is 30, lol. The worst thing she said was, my husband was just doing charity by taking in a couple of orphans. If you don't remember, I have custody of my 11-year-old brother and we don't have any contact with our parents because they're abusive.

[00:16:33] So yeah, some pretty awful stuff. I was honestly just shocked. I thought we got along fine. We were never best friends or anything but I have no idea she held this much animosity towards me. Maybe she's just embarrassed and lashing out because her parents and some of her friends berated her for it. I don't know. My husband sent just one message back to her saying he never wants to see or talk to her again and then blocked her and her husband's numbers.

[00:17:00] He told his parents what happened and they were furious too. I don't know what they said to her but they're about as done as my husband. Since I've been in therapy and have support around me, her words didn't bother me much. I know she obviously had some problems to deal with and I'm just her latest target. The worst thing she did was bring my brother up. I'll never forgive her for that. He's not an orphan. He has two parents that love him and I'm not either. I have in-laws that love and support me.

[00:17:30] They always have my back even when it comes to their own daughter. If I never see my sister-in-law again, I'd be fine with that. I truly hope one day she'll come to her senses and understand the way she treats people isn't right. We've decided to turn every second Saturday of the month into a family day in place of the cookouts. I'm gonna be just fine. I'm already feeling miles better than I did writing my previous post. For everyone calling me dramatic,

[00:17:57] I'm genuinely glad you don't have experience with PTSD or triggers. I don't think it's funny to give someone alcohol without their consent, even if you know the person drinks. Anyway, again, thank you for all the kind words. Hope there'll be no more updates. But if anything crazy happens, I'll let you know. OP in this sounds like such a wonderful person. The fact that they reached out after that to try and, you know, build some kind of bridges

[00:18:26] was gonna explain her past to sister-in-law to try and give her some understanding of why that was not okay. Which, you know, OP didn't have to do. But then to have sister-in-law turn it around and say all that shitty stuff is just like, yeah, you know, it's just unforgivable. And one day she's gonna regret those decisions. But like some of the comments were saying, I'm so, so glad that OP has that support around them from mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband. Sounds like a wonderful little group there.

[00:18:54] But one more comment from, which was a top comment in the update from Decadent Life, who says, sorry for all the conflict, but it does sound like it's working out okay. The idea of changing the cookout get-together days into family days is a great idea. If you and your husband is missing out on socializing with some of those friends, you guys can schedule your own times to get together with everyone. I understand why you wanted to explain more to your sister-in-law, so she would understand why this was so traumatic for you.

[00:19:23] But I think it's for the best that the conversation never happened. She sounds quite cruel. I don't think she would have a sudden attack of empathy. If anything, she may have taken the info you shared with her and used it to hurt you. Sometimes we think that if someone understands better, it has solved the problem. But when you're dealing with someone like your sister-in-law, it rarely goes that way. It's just giving them ammunition. This is something that I've had to learn myself. I think it's more common in those of us who have been victimized,

[00:19:53] perhaps especially while growing up, we want to believe that if the person just knew something or understood something better, that they would stop their bad behavior. But that's not necessarily true. And we shouldn't be kissing their arse, which is how it can sometimes come across. It's important not to give our power away. Which is a very good comment in itself as well. But now I'm going to turn this one to you guys. What do you guys make of this situation?

[00:20:21] Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below. Now, just a huge thank you for being here today, getting involved in the stories, your love, your support, your time. It always means the absolute world to me. So thank you so, so much. Truly, it means the absolute world to me. And I will see you in the next one. Take care and much love.