Family Matters | Reading Reddit Stories

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Hello and welcome to Smosh Read Threaded Stories.

I'm Shane, and today's theme is family.

That was my Vin Diesel impression.

Not

that good.

Pretty good.

I'm working on it.

It's about family, which is notoriously zero problems.

Like families thrive.

Most people I know, their families are great.

There's never an issue.

Just smooth sailing all the time.

I'm joined by two people who are part of the Smosh family.

Tommy and Arasha.

Wow.

Look at all that up there.

I know.

Look at all that.

For those listening, there's a bunch of Smosh family portraits all over the place of all of us.

Oh yeah, there's very lovely.

Old me with my dark hair.

Wow.

Yeah.

Honestly that could be your brother.

The trio you always wanted.

Anyway.

I love that.

And then there's just Shane.

Yeah and then there's me by myself.

We're all alone over there.

Which is cool.

Our son.

So today we're covering everything.

Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, moms, and dads, all kinds of family stories today.

And we all have families.

That's right.

Here.

I'm an only child, but...

It's still...

I have...

Everybody has their own unique family experience.

Okay, the producers did not know that.

Okay.

But you've got lovely parents.

But I've got lovely parents.

Yes.

And when they're gone, it's just me.

Yeah.

No.

No darkness.

You can't spell family without Illy.

That's why I have sisters.

Sisters.

Sisters.

Sisters.

Our first story, I love this title already, comes from Am I the Asshole.

Am I the Asshole for calling my boyfriend daddy in front of his mom?

I bet the dad was so confused.

This has to happen all the time nowadays.

That's me.

I really hope that it happens all the time.

That'd be great.

I'm incredibly excited.

Okay, we'll see.

Hello, Redditors.

I, a 24-year-old woman, and my boyfriend, a 28-year-old man, have been together just shy of one year.

Like any ordinary couple, we both have our list of nicknames for each other.

His range from baby girl, cinnamon bun, cutie pie, and so on.

Mine range from baby, booby, handsome, and my personal favorite, daddy.

Just for reference, before I get into the story, let me mention one thing.

My boyfriend's mom, who we live with, calls her husband, my boyfriend's stepdad, Poppy in front of us.

The other day, around 5-ish, my boyfriend and I are cooking in the kitchen.

When we cook, we like to make it fun so it doesn't feel like a chore.

So our cooking sessions often involve some light music, dancing, bad singing, and pecking lips here and there.

That said, there is a small open section of wall between the kitchen and living room.

While we were cooking, his mom was standing right by that open wall and overheard me call her son Daddy.

She looked offended and said, what the hell did you call him?

At first, I thought she was just joking as she is quite a sarcastic lady, but after a few seconds, I realized she was dead serious.

I looked at her surprised because I had no clue she was there the whole time and responded with, Daddy.

She was in disbelief and told me to never call him that again.

I had the audacity, as some might say, to respond by saying, how is this any different from you calling your husband Poppy around us?

My boyfriend's jaw dropped.

I think his dogs did too.

She couldn't even look at me at that point.

It's been two weeks now, and my boyfriend has been begging me to apologize to his mom, but I genuinely don't understand how I'm in the wrong.

Redditors, what would you do if you were me?

So, from what is being explained to me, Poppy is a little bit more of a term of endearment.

It has a wide, wider range of just like where it's used.

Yeah.

Whereas daddy, it's like anyone who's around knows what that is inferring.

Right.

Like, that is very much, it's like, yeah, we get it.

Except for my dad.

My dad doesn't know that that's like, you know.

Well, if you have someone,

no, really.

Like, he's like, you know, like, you know, whenever we're talking, he's like, you know, just ask me if you need something.

Like, she'd be like, daddy, I need something.

And I'll be like, I can't say that.

Okay, well,

that's different.

This is a very recent.

I can't dad.

This is a very like, and this is a very recent terminology that is.

But I guess it can be sweet, like in the way that he described that it's his like favorite name.

Yeah.

I was like, the way that the boyfriend's reacting has me wondering how it was said.

Like, how was it said between the two of them, whatever.

Now, do I also think it's fair that the mom's like, you can't call him that?

It's like, hey, they didn't know you were around.

In their privacy, they're allowed to speak to each other however they want.

Yes.

But I think the thing is now she's, how is it any different from you calling your husband Poppy around us?

is what she's upset is probably the core of what's going on right here.

Is that what made her an asshole or not?

Yeah, I'm sure it basically is from the point of view of like don't be like sexual in my house if you if you can or like keep that over there for you guys.

Yeah, maybe from like a more you know conservative standpoint or something, but then to come back and be like well, you do it too

Yeah, that that's I think what the upsetting part is for me.

You're right.

Like these are two consenting adults who are allowed to, you know, be playful with each other.

They're cooking.

It's getting spicy.

They're like, daddy, pass me the cinnamon, you know?

And the mom was like, alarms.

Oh my God, that is my little baby boy.

He's not daddy.

He's not that.

And if she is calling her

partner poppy, maybe she understands the implications of that and is like, oh my gosh, now I'm associating these things and she's uncomfortable.

And then when she sort of addressed that, it was met with this retaliation of like, well, you do this.

And it just became this like much bigger thing.

Yeah.

I think.

It's also like, is it a situation?

You know, I'm never a fan of lying, but is this a situation where you just go like, oh yeah, for sure.

Sorry about that.

Yeah.

We won't.

We won't.

And then she's like, okay, like make sure mom doesn't hear us say that.

That's usually what people like to keep the peace because it's like, well, she lives, we live in the same house.

So the boyfriends, they're mortified, like, oh, now my mom and my girlfriend are beefing.

Yeah.

And we're all in the same house.

And you just don't want that confrontation.

You don't want the energy in the house either.

They've been together just shy of a year.

We don't know whose house it is.

Like if it's the mom's house they're living there or if the mom is living with the

son or whatever.

The verdict was asshole.

Okay.

And the comments we have, we all know that that word has a sexual connotation.

You're the asshole.

Based on the comments, I know people are going to downvote and disagree with me, but like nobody wants to hear that.

If you're in your own house, sure, go ahead.

But if you're in his mother's house, then that is not okay.

I don't know about your boyfriend's mom, but poppy is used in Hispanic culture a lot as a term of endearment.

It can be sexual, but not always.

I've heard moms call their sons that as a term of endearment.

I've heard people call their dogs that too.

Someone said daddy does not necessarily equal poppy.

Poppy is more universal and can be used between people platonically.

Calling a boyfriend who is not the father of your child daddy has a predominantly sexual connotation across orientations, whether you intend it or not, which is probably what she was reacting to.

Since you live with her, it's worth it to suck it up and apologize.

There's no reason you have to call him that around her in her home.

Lastly, someone said, you're the asshole.

I find the whole daddy thing weird in general, so I might be a little biased already, but in front of his mom, ew.

I think where I'm like...

Where it's weird for me is that they didn't know the mom was there.

Like they weren't, if she was on purpose saying it in front of the mom.

it's like, whoa,

that's very sexual.

Like, that would make a mom uncomfortable.

Yeah.

She didn't know that.

But they are in a kitchen, which is a public space.

I think her reaction would have kept this from being an asshole verdict.

Yeah, exactly.

But it's that she went, well, you call your husband pop.

That's like that was the

decision.

All you had to do is go, you're so right.

Sorry about that.

Totally.

Sorry about that, mommy.

What you, you know.

Yeah.

Sorry, mommy.

Sorry, mommy.

Yeah.

I think, no, and truthfully, too, I think what I'm also finally understanding as well with those comments is maybe something that you are okay embracing in terms of things of sexual nature.

It's okay for you and for your partner, but there might be another person unknowingly in the circle and they are expressing that they are uncomfortable with it.

So instead of being like, deal with it, it should be sort of treated more like, okay, understood it's your house.

This is your son.

Like

you you didn't necessarily deserve to hear that so let's just separate instead of get used to it you know maybe that kind of energy is my daddy get used to it right right for sure because yeah that gets into territory of like you're you're in a shared space so like anything sexual it's like hey like everybody who lives here and uses this shared space probably needs to be comfortable with it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's interesting.

I love that he loves it though.

I think we're misremembering that she says her personal favorite to call him his daddy.

So he has not, we have no information that he

is a fan of that and is pushing for that.

We just know that when this happened with his mom, he was very uncomfortable.

Yeah.

And he was asking for an apology.

So maybe there's like, my mom was against it.

Maybe I can make her stop.

He's like, mommy, hide behind the wall.

Mommy, mommy, hide behind the wall, mommy, please.

Mommy, she's calling me daddy.

Please make her stop.

Okay, I hate it now.

I'm so curious.

I feel like I wish I had so much more info on that one.

But

it's interesting.

I feel like that is not the only incident of that happening in the world.

I think that's got to be happening all the time.

Yeah, well, there's that, there's like a comedy behind it now, right?

Like the whole family being at the dinner table and somebody being like, Daddy, pass the salt.

And the father and the boyfriend both reach for it, and it's like,

and they touch hands and then they go, oh, daddy.

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Back to the show.

All right.

Our next story.

Yeah.

Am I the asshole for not following my husband's family tradition?

My, this is a 28-year-old woman.

My husband, who's 29, comes from a very traditional family.

While we disagree with his family on many things, it has never really been an issue until now.

I am currently eight months pregnant, and my husband and I couldn't be happier as we've been trying for a while.

Since I first found out I was pregnant, we've been discussing names for our child.

In my husband's family, the tradition wants the child to be named after his grandfather.

Basically, firstborn men in his family only have one of two names, James or Henry.

My husband's grandfather was James, so his name is James 2.

My husband's father is called Henry, so our child should be too, and so on and so forth.

But my husband and I didn't really feel like calling our child Henry.

And although it's a beautiful way to honor family members, we really wanted our child to have a name that would be personal, that would truly be his.

So we chose another name and decided to wait until after the birth to reveal it to everyone.

This week, my mother-in-law came to visit us and help us set up for the baby.

She brought us some presents, amongst which was a bunch of clothes on which she hand-embroidered the name Henry.

I said that it was nice and thanked her for it, but told her that we wouldn't be naming our child Henry as we had already told her in the past.

She started insisting and saying that it was a tradition, so it had to be that way.

I explained to her that we'd rather give our child a name that we chose and that Henry could be his middle name.

She immediately went to my husband and started saying things like, you're not going to let her do that to our family and making it very dramatic, saying that I was breaking a tradition that went back hundreds of years, honestly not sure about that.

My husband tried to explain that we both agreed on the name and that all the reasons why we made that choice, but she wouldn't listen.

She suggested that we name him Henry on paper as his legal name and then call him something else, but I thought that would be confusing for him and told her that he would be named what we chose.

She kept begging my husband and saying that I was ruining the family tradition, and at one point I lost it, which is partially to blame on hormones, I think, and told her that it was our child, so we did what we wanted and we didn't have to follow a stupid tradition.

She stormed out and my husband has since received texts from his father and sister.

accusing me of making his mother feel really bad and some other stuff that I don't really remember.

I get the importance of tradition and it can be really beautiful, but also I feel like that shouldn't be an obligation and it's okay to change things.

We won't change our baby's name because we're really set on that, but maybe we were wrong for not following the tradition.

I'm not entirely sure and am mentally exhausted by all this drama.

Edit: I've seen many comments mentioning they saw similar stories in the past.

I'd like to clarify: those weren't mine.

All of those events happened two days ago, but it's crazy to see how many families have similar traditions.

I really thought that was a super rare thing.

I mean, we've read a million tradition stories that are sort of like this, just like,

you know,

like, well, we've done this for generations, so we have to keep doing this.

And I'm so passionate about breaking tradition.

I mean, if I, like, my next tattoo is truly going to be break tradition.

Yeah.

I think it's quite, I understand the historical relevance of a ritual.

And a lot of the times it can be tied to religion and faith and spirituality, absolutely.

But at least question tradition.

Yeah.

Why is it around for so long?

What's the importance of it?

Is there a way of a compromise?

The middle name sounded perfect.

I feel like that's what so many people do.

That sounded like such a great option and a way to include people rather than bulldozing their ideas and perspectives and forcing them to join this tradition.

I have a question on one of the details.

His name is James II.

Not Junior II?

No, his name is just James.

Oh, T-O-O.

Got it.

I thought his name was James II.

And I'm like,

this tradition is crazy.

No.

Henry Fond?

It's actually kind of a funny tradition to me because, yeah, none of them are Juniors or the third or something.

It's like, no, you're James, and your dad's Henry, and his dad's James, and his dad's Henry.

And his dad's James.

And regardless of the name, you're still genetically the family.

It feels like this tradition is almost rooted in this comfort from the family, like it's important to them that this child is named that.

It doesn't seem like they're doing a lot of

around the table consideration of what other people find important about this kid, and certainly not the child himself.

Yeah, this feels like more of a thing of control.

And like, I like traditions too, but I think I like traditions that are more like, oh, we do this get-together every year.

Or like, we like there's something that happens.

We go to Applebee's in February.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like, hell yeah.

You know?

But just like, no, your name is this just feels

longer lasting.

It's

like that's not heavier.

That's not legacy to me.

Like that's not family to me.

Yeah.

There's also, I think, a beauty in.

voluntary participation in traditions, right?

Like something like Applebee's in February feels like something everyone can be like, yes.

let's do it.

Yeah.

Rather than like, we got to do this or, you know, we made a reservation 15 years ago and we have to do it.

That's really funny.

I think that's something that I have a hard time getting behind when I know like people are like, oh, you're going to name your son James.

They're like, well, we don't want to.

And it's like, well, you should, though.

But I'm like, wait, if you know they don't want to, isn't that going to make you uncomfortable forever that you made them do something they don't want to do?

And it's going to kind of like be boiling under the surface.

And they have to be around their kid longer than you do.

And what if like their ex-husband's name is James?

And what if, and did you consider that?

Did you think about that?

Could be really harmful to name your kid the name of your ex.

Just thinking about it like that.

There's also the underlying patriarchal shit of this of like they don't give a shit what her family traditions are.

Right.

So it's like, well, this is ours, so it trumps yours.

And what if there's a girl?

What if it's a baby girl?

Henry the girl?

By the time of the family, they'd be like, oh, well, then we don't care.

Well, then we put it back.

We return to sender.

Oh, exactly.

It's interesting that

it's the mom like pushing this so hard.

Right.

I mean, probably the rest of the family feels the same way.

I think we get that from this.

But like, clearly the mom went along with the tradition.

And so now she's not.

And it's got to be the.

I had to do it.

Yeah.

You do it.

It's kind of that.

I feel like everybody's heard that of like, well, we did this.

So that's normal.

But I think it's like a reckoning that I'm sure we'll face too as you get older of like, oh, this bullshit we went through and tolerated.

And then younger people are like, we're not going to tolerate this.

And it's like, well, you should because I did.

It's like, oh, wait, you not tolerating it means

somewhere in my head, I have to face the fact that maybe I didn't have to.

Right.

But it's like, no, like the world changes.

Yeah.

And it's a different world than it was then, which is also like traditions change because the world changes.

Like, we're not in the 1800s anymore.

I feel like because our world is changing so much so frequently, at least me and my peers, us here, I feel like we're going to get to that stage and we'll be open to be like, you know, oh, it's different for you guys.

Great.

I'm glad it's different.

Not like, oh, well, we did it this way.

So you got to do it.

That, you know, it's like, I paid off my student loans.

Yes.

Yes.

But I don't expect, but I want the rest rest of the student loans to be forgiven.

I'm like, just because I paid mine off, you gotta, no, yeah, yeah, no, absolutely,

be free.

I agree.

Because, yeah, it's like, oh, when I went to college, the world was different.

Right.

You know, 10 years ago.

Like, the world is different now.

And humans adapt, right?

Like,

so it's going to be this weird thing of like, I'm sure when I'm 80, I'm going to look around at young people and be like, what the fuck?

What the fuck is this?

Are you doing?

But I'm like, oh, right, because the world's different, and you all adapt so well.

Right.

That you've adapted to this new world and you're built for it.

yeah and in a twisted way though too it's like this level of adaptation and flexibility is also new if that makes sense right so like just sort of to give grace as well to to that to the woman the mom of that family like there is i think it we need to acknowledge that like it's almost it can be like this these deep-rooted Yeah issues, right?

Like they say trauma is passed down from generation to generation until somebody is brave enough to feel it.

Yep.

And

right.

Wow.

And it's not that the people before aren't brave necessarily, it's just that they don't have the tools yet.

So they're doing their best and they're operating with what they need to operate with in order to survive.

But now

hopefully there can be somebody or something that can help navigate it to be like, hey, like let's unpack it.

Let's actually understand it.

Let's break it down in a way that refilters some of that agency

for the women that came before her.

Yeah, because for one, OP has a husband who is backing her and also agrees on this change.

Yeah.

But also, yeah, there's the aspect of like it's also 2025 as opposed to the mom trying to be like, oh, let's break tradition.

It's the 90s.

It's like, it's a different and completely different vibes.

Yes.

And a completely different husband.

So we don't know.

Different support system, different norms, different references to point to historically.

Like it's it's a whole nother thing and it's unfair to just expect like you should also be open and flexible.

You know, it's it's both edge.

But also acknowledging how deep this goes with the whole family and the mom,

it almost like furthers the point of, yeah, you've got to do your own thing.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

Because this, this, you can't unravel this.

So go your go your own path.

And they're going to be upset because they have not reckoned with everything that's going on.

Right.

But hopefully this can initiate the beginning of that.

Hopefully.

I mean, families,

we don't always have those moments where it's like, you know what?

You're right.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

What if, okay, in the future, baby Carl, we're going to call him Carl.

Baby Carl has a family and he's like, I'm going to name my kid James five.

He's like, we're bringing it back.

We're bringing it back, baby.

You're not naming your kid Henry?

What are you naming him?

Benry.

Benry 8.

Benry 8.

Oh, God.

Naming your child like something junior, but they're not a junior.

Junior is awesome.

That's funny.

That's awesome.

That's awesome.

Tell your in-laws that the thousand-year-long tradition in your family is that the mother and father of the baby choose the name and you'll be following your family's tradition, not the asshole.

10,000 up votes.

Someone said, Your husband needs to snap back and say, This is my decision, instead of allowing them to blame you.

OP says he's been trying to, but his family won't listen and they're convinced that I manipulated him or something.

But at least he's standing up to them, so there's at least that.

Someone responded to that saying, oh man, this was me.

Anything my partner did that they didn't like equaled my fault.

Any disagreement about anything was because of my brainwashing.

I was like, I can't even get them to hang up their towel after a shower, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.

Someone said, not the asshole.

My family has the same tradition.

I remember being unhappy when my brother and his wife didn't follow it.

Shame on me.

I was too steeped in traditions to consider an alternative.

Good on my sister-in-law for being independent.

I learned from her, you are giving your child freedom.

Good for you.

Well, a family member who learned something.

There you go.

Someone said, not the asshole tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.

Whoa.

I agree with that.

I think some traditions, though, are great

as long as everybody's down for it and having a good time.

But plenty are just weird.

Plenty are just existing because it's what we've always done.

Yeah.

And that's a bad mindset to have.

Totally.

Yeah.

I definitely agree in questioning it constantly.

Constant.

Just, and again, it doesn't, it it might be that you evaluate it and you're like, yeah, this is good.

You're going to keep it.

Right.

For sure.

But you got to at least be able to question it.

Absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely.

Assess.

Do you guys have any like fun family traditions?

You mentioned Applebee's.

In February.

That was a bit.

I believe it.

That's a tradition.

I don't think the Bow family has ever stepped foot into an Applebee's together.

That's a tradition.

That's a tradition.

We'll never go.

I'm actually sad.

My grandma,

my my mom cares a lot about traditions, but the traditions are all like family get-togethers.

It's more about just like,

let's keep the family together and like hang out and talk and stuff.

And I'm like, that's the tradition I can get behind, because it's so easy for that to drift apart.

And then you're not talking, then you're not getting together.

My grandma, for the longest time, we had this tradition of just

like St.

Patrick's Day was just a big party.

at her house.

It was just like, yeah, like, you know, we're American, but like, we still are like, oh, but we're Irish heritage.

So it's just this insane party where we just have like green everywhere and stuff.

But it was really just an excuse to get together and stuff.

That's my family's too.

Christmas Eve, it was always grandma, grandpa's house, but and she would cook and she'd make cookies.

It was always like, it's kind of like her doing all the tradition and we just get to come and enjoy it.

But they got old and it was like, she doesn't want to do all this.

And then like one day we ordered Italian food and we had like Italian takeout and we were like, well, this isn't quite the same.

And then we were just like, you know, let's just have, let's, let's scale it back and just have like a, we come, we open gifts, we talk, we go.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

We have some dumb ones like

in my family for Christmas.

We have a snowball fight, but it's just at my brother's house.

And we just have these like caught, like, they're like little snowball, like, I don't know what they're made of, but they're just like these squishy, like...

Like, like bean bags, like hacking.

Bean bags.

They're very soft, but we truly just like all split up in this big room.

And then it's all the adults versus all the kids.

And so it's kind of an excuse for us to really help

kids with these things.

It's really fun.

But now the kids are getting older and they're now winning and hurting.

Their endurance is just endless, of course.

So we get tired and then we end up just laying on the ground while they're just like hitting us with snowballs.

They're like my knees.

I'm like my back.

That's awesome.

Yeah, like that kind of stuff is.

Yeah.

I relate to you guys too that, you know, I think for me, my family also, our tradition is also just sort of gathering in the holidays, taking those as an opportunity of we have off work, so let's just spend that time together.

I think for me, too, the difficulty with traditions is that it feels like it comes with expectations.

Sure, it feels like okay, we have to do everything that we did before, otherwise, it's not fulfilling.

At least that's the way that I interpret it.

So, I feel like I have to be very delicate with my rituals, and that's why I use the word like this voluntary participation.

I feel the need to be very excited about the tradition, otherwise,

it could snowball into something that's like, oh, it's not perfect.

It's not what we had last year.

And now I'm not having any fun.

Yeah.

I think being a little lax on it is nice.

Totally.

Like my brothers and I do a camping trip every year.

And this year we just, it didn't work.

Like we were traveling too much.

It was like, all right, yeah, we'll do it next year.

Like, it's just like, it's not a big deal.

We can get back on it.

Yeah.

Like, it's okay.

Yeah.

It's just like, it's just hanging out with a little bit of structure.

Yeah.

Like if you think about it like that, then it's fine.

Yeah.

And it's just, it's just like, oh, let's give ourselves an excuse to hang out more.

Yes.

That's cute.

Yeah.

All right.

Our next story.

So today I fucked up.

Today I fucked up by forgetting I was on an Amazon family plan for years.

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Uh-oh.

So I just got an email notification stating that I was removed from my Amazon family plan.

I completely forgot that years ago, my sister and brother-in-law added me to their account as a teen so I could mooch free prime from them.

Upon seeing this, I started getting a panic attack because I have made many

spicy purchases on there.

Things I know they don't want to know about their little sister.

I quickly googled to see if there's any chance they've been privy to these purchases and there, plain as day, it reads, yes, if you are a teen on an Amazon household account, your parents will be notified about your purchases because they need to approve them.

My brethren in Christ, my sister has been approving every single purchase I've made for years.

The mundane ones, the questionable ones, the impulse ones, the downright horny ones, ones, everything.

And she's never said one word about it this whole time.

My last purchase made was two days before being notified via this email.

And yes, it was a horny purchase.

I'm afraid that she finally got fed up with knowing this many intimate details about my life and finally decided to end it.

But maybe, just maybe it's a coincidence?

I'm too afraid to ask.

Honestly, I'm not sure that I want to know.

FML.

Okay.

Well, I need to know what these purchases are.

Absolutely.

I mean, I guess

there's a win that it's a sister, not necessarily mother-father.

Right.

True.

True.

I think that objectively is a little bit better.

Yeah.

I would agree.

It's nothing too crazy.

It still just is like, oh, shit.

I did not know anyone was seeing this.

Yeah.

If anything, it's just lightly embarrassing, and now you have to spend money to get Prime again.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

My...

Instinct would say that it's probably Amazon kicking her off because I feel like...

That's what I imagine is they outgrew it.

These type of things are just always finding ways to like

screw people over.

Like it's more expensive every month, and then it's like, no, you can't have more people on your account.

Yeah.

And if she was uncomfortable with it, she probably would have either said something or before not approved those purchases.

Right.

I mean, you can say, once you say yes to Dildo's three times, what's the fucking fourth?

Yes.

Yeah, go.

You got it.

Take it.

Get it.

There should be like a.

I didn't search that on Amazon.

So I'm so curious.

Okay.

Okay.

So it's not, I don't know why I'm thinking of just

like watching movies and stuff.

Okay, so she's buying just items.

Yes.

Well, I don't know why my head was just like buying like movies and stuff, renting it.

I think I was thinking like, oh, you're Amazon Prime, like watching stuff.

She's taking action.

She's buying

things.

She's getting things that vibrate.

She's getting things.

Wow.

Some slick things.

Yeah.

Suctions.

Whoa.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Rubs.

Damn.

I went somewhere.

Love the sister.

Just going like, yeah, sure, get it.

Take it.

That's what makes me think they got kicked off.

And that it wasn't like.

Yeah.

Because it's like.

What did she order that was too horny?

It sounds like she's already been to the moon and unless it was like the weirdest.

Yeah.

It's like, look, buy this book if you're racist.

And she bought it.

And she's like, bought.

And then the sister's like, what?

No.

Now it's too much.

No, it's too much.

I'm fine with every dildo on earth, but not the this is how to be racist.

Not racism.

That's where we draw the line.

Comments, your sister's a real one.

16,000 up votes.

Someone says, it makes you feel any better.

I gave my boyfriend my public and curated Amazon wish list, which he shared to his mom and grandma.

They purchased things I completely forgot about adding to my wish list a long time ago because Amazon showed them my private shopping list with all sorts of lingerie and spicy appliances.

It was our first Christmas and I was mortified when I found out.

Spicy appliances.

Yes, spicy appliances.

Don't put a KitchenAid down there.

For due.

Or do.

Grandma's like, I got a great toaster.

The brave little toaster, one might say.

God.

Someone said, perhaps it's your brother-in-law who's been approving your purchases and has protected you and your sister from knowing too much.

Either way, someone deserves a thank you.

OP said, somehow, I think that's even worse.

Yeah, I think that's worse.

I think both of them have to know.

I think so.

Yeah.

Maybe.

Yeah, maybe it's easier said than done.

But I just feel like if that happens, I feel like you have to have a conversation.

And just, you gotta, you gotta just be honest and be like, listen, I didn't know.

And I'm really sorry.

And I appreciate you proving that.

I'm like, did you guys happen to kick me off?

Was that just Amazon?

Like, you got to address it.

And as you know, I have a surplus.

So if you want to borrow anything, I have a choppa tree.

Yeah, exactly.

She climbs it through her sister's window because she tied all the dildos together.

Oh my God.

Holy shit, dude.

Spicy appliances.

Spicy appliances.

You can't shake that.

Can't shake that.

Yeah.

Oh, be careful with my fridge.

You can fuck it.

Yeah.

Make sure.

Share my Amazon.

I've been making horny purchases.

Wow.

Wow.

All right.

This comes from Am I the Asshole.

Am I the asshole for refusing to let my mom wear white to my my wedding, even though she claims it's her last chance to feel beautiful?

Oh, fuck!

Please!

Please!

Oh,

God!

I felt like I just got punched 50 times.

Somehow, all of us just got to win.

Because I'm like, no, of course you shouldn't.

Oh, no, that's so sad.

I've never heard a reason where I was like, oh, maybe you let her dude.

That is the only reason you can do it.

You have to let her.

Oh, maybe maybe you let her.

If you're like at a wedding, you see a mom wearing white, and you go up and you're like, ma'am, you need to leave.

She's like, this was my last chance to feel beautiful.

And you're like, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I'm like, you are beautiful.

You just turned the dust and like drew.

Well, it's time to find out if she's a beautiful woman.

Let's do it.

I just turned 23 and I'm getting married in October.

My mom and I have always had what I would refer to as a rocky relationship, especially since I got engaged.

She's been oddly competitive, commenting on my body, comparing our rings like we are in a competition, saying things like, this day is as much about me as it is about you.

I honestly thought she was joking until she showed me the dress she bought, a white floor-length gown that looks exactly like a bridal dress.

And I told her, flat out, she cannot wear that because, in my opinion, it doesn't match the occasion.

She got quiet, then burst into tears, saying it's her.

And this was an opportunity to feel beautiful before getting old.

And that I'm selfish for not letting her have this one thing.

I felt really bad about this, so I also offered to go shopping with her to find something elegant and more appropriate.

And all of a sudden, her countenance changed, and then she told me I was controlling and ungrateful.

What gave me peace was that my fiancé backed me up, as did my maid of honor.

Now my mom is threatening not to come to the wedding and my aunt says I should just let her have this to avoid drama.

I don't think I'm wrong for drawing a line here, but now part of me wonders if I'm the asshole.

All right, well, it's not as pathetic as we thought initially.

It turns out the mom's just being a pick-me.

A pick-me.

The mom is awful.

A huge pick-me.

What do you mean this day is just about, as, as just about me as it is?

You, what?

Before I get old, you can be pretty, beautiful, and old.

Yeah.

What are you talking about?

Yeah.

Dude, Helen Mirren.

Helen Mirren.

Come on, man.

Dude, you love Helen Mirren.

Okay, Helen Mirren is objectively ridiculously hot.

Dude, we're talking about moms right now.

Yeah.

Oh, gosh.

I think she is one.

I think she is one.

I made it worse.

Exactly.

Yeah, the mom needs to not be wearing the dress.

I don't,

I've never been wed, nor have I planned a wedding,

but I'm aware that it's very stressful.

I don't know what I would do in this situation where it's like, oh, then she won't come if she's going to wear, you know, like I'll have my mom not come to my wedding.

But then it's also like, don't wear white to my wedding.

And she doesn't want to change the dress.

She offered to go shopping.

So it's like, what do you do?

Right.

No, that's actually just such an impossible situation.

I think like from us not knowing these people, it's so easy to be like, oh my God, this mom.

But if we were that, if we were the bride and that is your mom expressing those very deep and sad, painful things to you, it's going to be so hard.

It's going to be tough.

I can respect OP for being like in a conflicted place.

But I also think these are those situations where the mom's like, well, I'm not going to go to the wedding if it can't be about me.

Then it's like, well, then you're not coming to the wedding because it's not about you.

Factually.

This is like, I think this is a clear indication that her mom is not even thinking about her.

Her mom is like stealing from her, like reaching the life from her.

That is situations where I'm like, oh, if you wanted to cut your mom out of your life, I get it.

Cause she...

is being a parasite to you.

She's not being there for you.

She's, in fact, the opposite.

I mean, I think if there's hope for a more permanent change for the mom, it's definitely not going to be through escaping through this wedding.

You know, this is like the answer.

No.

The answer is not in giving her everything she wants.

No, no, because then it's maybe like, oh, I'm having a baby.

And now the mom is like, it's mine.

Right.

You know?

There's also been stories, I don't know here, but perhaps, where like

a mom will not approve of like a gay wedding or something like that, which is a little bit way different than this.

And so the, the, you know, the kids and their partner go like, well, then then you're not, then, you know, if you don't approve, great, we're going to have the wedding anyway.

Yeah.

And then they go and, and when it gets close to the wedding, the parents go, man, shit, I want to be there.

And I want to, and they change.

So maybe what needs to happen is it's like, great.

You don't want to, you don't want to change your outfit.

You're not coming to the wedding.

And then as it approaches, the mom's like, but then I won't be there at all.

And then I can't make the day about me if I'm not there.

Then, oh, then I will change my dress and I'll make a deal out of it and I will show up.

She might have a realization.

Yeah.

I think what concerns me too is the aunt, you said, right?

Her

aunt was on the

mom's side.

Yeah.

I mean, that's what worries me, that it is just something like that this woman is just going through and her sister is just trying to make her feel better.

But she has to let her have it.

Yeah, but she says

OP says that her and her mom have always had a rocky relationship.

Oh, since she got engaged.

She's been oddly competitive.

But still, it's like the aunt is indicating that the mom has kind of always been a little bit this way where it's like well just let her do her thing yeah she just deals with her sister by being like that's and like when you do that it just never changes right it's guaranteed to never change if you do that you just do that yeah so you have to put a hard stop to it and hope it changes but it may not

but it indicates that her behavior is acceptable yeah it's

absolutely not

um the verdict is not the asshole comments now my mom is threatening not to come to the wedding your mother is extremely manipulative take her up on that offer not the asshole.

Someone said to that, 100% this OP, not the asshole.

She'll only find another way to make the day about her.

She should be making the day about you.

If she can't let you shine, you don't need her drama.

Someone said, not the asshole.

This is not her last chance to be beautiful.

This is your wedding, not her funeral.

She can't be that old if her daughter is getting married at 23.

And she should want to look beautiful, not like she's pretending to be the bride.

People will think and say unflattering things about her.

They'll joke at her expense that she's desperate for attention or hoping to steal the groom, that she's turned into Miss Havisham.

This is a character from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

She is a wealthy spinster who lives in a decrepit mansion and wears her wedding dress every day because

she was jilted at the altar.

Now that's a fun way to manipulate the manipulator is be like, oh, well, people are going to make fun of you if you're dressed in white like me.

Don't you want to be beautiful and the star of the show?

Maybe you dress like a normal lady and be normal at the wedding.

Wear green.

They continue on.

She can buy a beautiful formal dress and wow the guests looking like she's ready to pick up her Oscar in any color but white.

O.P.

said, I don't understand why a mother would want to steal her daughter's day.

It doesn't seem to me like it's about beauty and vanity as much as it feels like it's specifically about being a bride again.

Yeah.

Pairing the rings, needing to wear a white dress as opposed to, yeah, the...

alternate of just wearing another beautiful dress that isn't white.

She wants to be white.

She wants to be married.

She wants to be a bride in some way.

Like, it seems like, again, psychologically, that's what it feels like.

It sticks out to me that that is what she's harping on.

Yeah.

Not necessarily feeling beautiful.

Maybe she's just like filling in other words for it and it's getting misplaced.

So,

not to say that that is what she's going through, but my point is, I think that she just needs to deal with that separately.

Right.

Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

Right.

Yep.

With therapy.

Absolutely.

What?

A parent going to therapy?

I know.

Unbelievable.

Moving on to our next story.

This is also a Today I Fucked Up.

Today I fucked up by bringing my dad to my first open mic.

Wow.

No.

This was posted a day ago, as of filming this.

This was yesterday?

We are reading this less than 24 hours after it's been posted.

So the open mic was like last night.

Yeah.

So if anyone doesn't know what an open mic is in stand-up comedy, it's when you're like, oh, I can do stand-up comedy.

I'm going to go to this open mic and try jokes that I wrote and have never said in front of of anyone ever before.

And so, and usually it's a lottery system.

So, you're going to go and wait maybe like two and a half hours before you get called up, and you have your three-minute window to do your jokes to a bunch of comedians who are either in their head waiting to go up or pissed off at how their set went or outside smoking a cigarette.

And you're, it's just, it's just a hellscape.

If I may add, too, these days you also have to pay for your performance time.

Yes.

So, you have to put down $5 to go have five minutes.

And it is truly just a dark hellhole.

And to bring someone, now listen, and that's still an opportunity to like network.

And it is the best place to try your stuff out.

Unless you get booked on shows often, you can sneak in one or two every once in a while because you don't want to do fresh stuff at a show.

But to bring someone who is not trying to get into stand-up to an open mic.

You're juggling a lot.

Full-time job, side hustle, maybe a family, and now you're thinking about grad school?

That's not crazy.

That's ambitious.

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APU, built for the hustle.

It's like you might as well have them in the passenger seat and drive off a cliff into the ocean.

Truly, this is a punishment on everybody's front.

Yes.

Wow.

Okay, that just needed to be said for a while.

We don't have very many feelings about open mics.

Yeah, no, I don't have.

I'm very neutral, though, to open mics and stand-up payroll.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

I have only heard this over and over again about stand-up, like open mics and stuff.

It is like a nightmare

career to pursue.

Yeah.

I've never heard anyone say a good thing about open mics.

No, no.

I did stand-up for a year and then I said, I hate this.

That makes sense.

And that's our story.

All right.

All right.

Tell us yours.

I'm visiting my dad's home across the country for the first time and I hear about an open mic coming up in a couple days.

I've come up with a handful of stand-up bits over the years and I always wanted to give it a try.

I'm not seriously pursuing a career in comedy, but I love it and I have fun making people laugh.

I spent the last few days writing a five-minute set and tonight my dad took me to the venue for the moment of truth.

We got there early and sat at the bar, which was the first mistake because the bartender talked my dad into buying one of those high-alcohol hipster beers.

He tried to sell me on one too, but I told him he asked me 12 years too late and got a seltzer with lime instead.

I asked my dad to take video of my set so I could show my girlfriend later.

So we got settled at a table close to the stage and he started fiddling with his phone to get the best shot.

He's a decent photographer, so it's not unusual for him to be picky about this process.

I was first on the signup list.

Incredible.

So it seemed rational to get the phone ready to record, but the host did five minutes herself.

Then one of her friends took a turn and mentioned the awkwardness of my dad recording.

He assured the comedian that he wasn't recording.

The phone was shooting blanks.

Shooting blanks.

This led to a few more awkward jokes until another opening act took the stage.

At this point, a large man dramatically sat down at the one table in front of us and blocked my dad's phone.

I knew right away this guy did it on purpose to stop us from recording.

By then, my dad had actually started recording because he thought it would be a cool idea to get the act before me and give my act some prologue.

But my dad didn't get the hint.

He just thought the guy in front of us was inconsiderate.

He complained about him, and I said, Dad, he's doing it on purpose, and made a motion with my hand for him to calm down.

The guy turned around and started arguing with my dad, who got loud back at him, talking about how he has every right to record.

Now the comedian starts yelling at my dad, too.

Someone in the crowd yells out, put the phone away and only record your son bombing.

Got his ass.

Oh, God.

Got his ass, actually.

We're really setting the son up for success here.

At this point, I got up and told my dad we might as well leave.

There's no way anyone is going to laugh at my jokes now.

Get out.

I've been wanting to try stand-up for over a decade now, and I was pissed it all fell apart.

I had the set memorized, and I knew I was going to nail it.

Okay, buddy,

I've never done stand-up, like a real stand-up.

There's no such thing as nailing your first.

You're going to bomb.

Right.

You're going to bomb.

You're going to bomb.

You're going to bomb, and that's okay.

That's okay, because you got to.

That's what's going to happen.

You got to be okay.

You're not going to go to a five-minute set for the first time ever and nail it.

And certainly not in an open mic night.

And also, no matter what city you're in, there's an open mic night.

Yep.

Go tomorrow.

Day after, there's going to be one.

Applebee's in February, open mic night.

Right.

Bring a tripod.

Let dad sit and act.

Oh my God.

The confidence on this guy to be like, I'm going to try it for the first time and it's going to be so good that my dad's going to record it and I'm going to show my girlfriend and everybody's going to love it.

I'm like,

man.

All right.

Okay.

You are.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This reminds me of like when they're like...

the random times in history where the NFL is like, oh, we need to have open tryouts for teams.

And people are like, yeah, I'm going to go and I'm going to make the team.

I'm like, you're going to die.

You'll be

killed.

But you know what?

I love the confidence.

You need to

have the confidence.

You have to be delusional.

You have to.

You have to be like, this is funny stuff.

Right.

So you can, you know, deliver it right.

He was smart to realize there's no point in going up.

But also, I know he just wanted to do this as a one-time.

He wanted to do this as a passion project.

Yes.

But it's like, yeah, nobody was probably going to laugh at your stuff anyways.

So that's it?

That's the story.

That's that's that's where it ends.

Oh, thank god.

He should definitely listen.

He likes comedy.

He wrote his, he spent time.

He should go and perform at the moment.

It's tonight.

Yes.

Go tomorrow.

And have someone in the, just don't bring your parent if you don't want to.

Just, people are there recording anyway.

Just ask someone to record.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Or set the phone up yourself.

Yeah.

Just press the record button.

Absolutely.

And just record your set.

Yeah.

Just record your set.

You should not be recording other people's sets.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I, I, that, that, that definitely was also weird of the dad to be like, it's a prologue.

Like,

we don't need to.

We know we're in the setting of stand-up comedy.

We don't need a wide

stand-up scene.

I wish I had a prologue.

I'm not afraid of a scene with an opener.

I don't want to watch my son.

Oh my God.

Gosh.

Stand-up is so brutal, dude.

Yeah.

But sweet, supportive dad who,

you know, was just really trying to be there for his kids.

It's really hard because I've been around stand-up comedians and I've been in comedy for so long that...

People think like, oh, well, I'm funny and I make my friends laugh.

I'll nail this.

I'm like, it's a complete, it's its own thing.

It's its own art.

You're up there a lot.

It's weird how much it's its own thing because we've done light like try not to laugh where we're like oh we just stand up and i'm like oh man it's a whole like language that you have to learn and it's it's it's an act in a way that's like you have to present yourself in a specific way with your specific writing you can't just be like i got these jokes let me just say it right right i mean unless it you unless it comes so naturally to you unless you've been doing it for like i've heard people be like you have to perform weekly for 10 years to for it to start clicking yes i've heard that like a few times well because i for me too, the best stand-ups I think are the ones that are just, because you know what I've heard too, I also did stand up for a very short amount of time.

And

it's all about the crowd.

Not necessarily crowd work, but every single time you get up there, it cannot be.

And now I start and this is my act.

It's got to be like, okay, this is the audience that's going to receive this specific performance.

I need to be listening to them.

If somebody says something or something funny happens in the crowd, I need to be able to adapt.

I need to be able to like shift shift my set and have funny things just like in my Rolodex of who I am rather than like this is how the joke is supposed to go and this is how I'm supposed to say it.

Right.

Like it's it's such a difficult, difficult world to be in.

And God forbid the person before you bombs and then you have to come up and the audience is like upset and you're like, okay, I have to get you to like me and trust me.

In five minutes, I guess I'll take the first minute to get you there.

Exactly.

And usually that means calling, like referencing the person who came before you too.

And like just, it's such a, such a touch.

Coming in with all that energy being like, hey, guys,

let's have some fun, you know?

Right.

Yeah.

Anyway,

we could talk about it forever.

Yeah.

I think my biggest, my only real, I mean, the dad is ridiculous, kind of hilarious.

But is him being like, oh, we need to leave.

There's no way anyone's going to laugh at my jokes now.

I'm like, you're not doing it because people are going to laugh.

You're doing it because you

want to do this and you love this.

And I think like you shouldn't have to be good at something to go and do it.

No, no, no.

You should just want to do it and enjoy it.

That's why he should do it.

We just have a couple comments because this post is so new.

Someone said, at least you have the video to show your girlfriend.

And someone else said, it's going to get way worse.

That's part of it.

Keep going.

Yep.

Someone said, bummer dude, try it again without your dad and probably somewhere else.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Yeah.

There's a million spots.

Emphasis on the keep going, emphasis on the somewhere else.

Like, this isn't like a failure.

This isn't a stop.

This isn't, ha ha, you're going to bomb, you know.

This is something that if he actually got into it, and in a few years, if he actually like

this is a story he's like, that's you actually kind of need those situations to be a stand-up.

Absolutely, because every stand-up is just telling embarrassing stories from them, their lives.

What I really liked, too, was that he said he's not necessarily trying to pursue a career in it.

It's just like a hobby.

It's just for fun, which is even better.

You're not placing that much pressure on it.

It gets to be something that over time you'll loosen up with.

Yeah, I hope he's not too discouraged.

Yeah, I hope he goes and does it.

Yeah.

All right, our next story comes from Am I the Asshole.

Am I the asshole for telling my sister she wasn't always the chosen one?

Chosen.

Interesting.

Interesting.

Wait a minute.

You were never the chosen one.

I was.

Before my brothers and I were born, my mom had a child with an old boyfriend, Penny.

Her boyfriend/slash Penny's bio-dad didn't stick around.

My mom then met my dad when Penny was three and they got married.

My dad adopted Penny.

My mom then went on to have me and my brothers with our dad.

Growing up, Penny was always the apple of my dad's eye.

He gave us all attention, but he always went out of his way to make it equal.

Around the time she entered her teens, Penny would make the joke, dad was stuck with you guys, but he chose me, or refer to herself as the chosen one.

My brothers and parents always thought it was hilarious.

I thought it was obnoxious.

If our brothers and I were ever discussing what traits we got/slash didn't get from dad, Penny would break in with, I didn't get anything from him except his last name because I'm the chosen one.

Now we're all adults, and Penny still trots that out from time to time.

Recently, it came up when my siblings and I were out with our partners for drinks.

One of my brothers has a newish girlfriend, so she wasn't aware of Penny's story.

Penny was telling it, shoving in that she's the chosen one.

I admit I was a little drunk, and I said, Chosen by our dad, but you weren't chosen by your first dad.

God, Oh my God.

Saying that out loud, that's crazy.

So intense.

Oh.

Oh God.

God.

He was done with Penny.

Oh, that's like...

Finished with Penny.

That was that one.

That's like the peak moment in an Oscar-winning movie where it's like, oh, the worst thing you can say to someone.

He was holding on to that.

Oh, yeah.

Oof.

Wow.

Penny got a hurt look on her face.

My brothers told me that was uncalled for.

Even the new girlfriend was looking at me like like I was a douche.

I said this story is just getting old.

We've all heard it and it's a little ridiculous.

My boyfriend ended up calling us an uber and getting me out of there.

Well, of course, words gotten back to our parents and they're pissed at me saying I was rude.

I said Penny was just being obnoxious.

Am I the asshole?

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think you are.

Look, do I also think like,

It's one of those things where it's like some behavior is obnoxious, but you sit and you think like, where is it coming from?

Insecurity.

This one, I'm like, I read this story and I'm like, I know exactly where this is coming from.

I'm like, yeah.

I'm sure if you sat down and had some drinks with Penny and you asked her, like, why do you say that all the time?

And you really dug in, it's because it's like, well, yeah, because I don't know what the fuck my identity is.

Because I've got this thing in the back of my head telling me I'm not worthy.

I'm not part of this family.

Anyone could probably piece that together after talking to her for a second.

Five minutes, max.

Because that's got to be so hard to have that lingering of like, yeah, your other dad Bounced on you and he's gone.

I don't know like you can't just move past that and like I totally get where her

OP's dad is coming from of like oh like I know that we're gonna have our own like we're gonna have biological kids of our own and I don't want Penny to think she's not part of the family.

So they like go above and beyond clearly

to make her feel part of the family and it's created this like weird thing but OP has clearly grown up with it and not registered because it's just been part of her life her whole life right so and she i don't know like that's also such a rough thing to like hear from your sibling yeah it's like that also kind of insinuates that you're that op doesn't feel like oh you're my full sister right and it didn't just shut down Penny's like dialogue.

It actually just shut Penny down entirely.

Oh, yeah.

It's like it's like, oh, actually, you're not, you're not my sibling.

Yeah.

Actually.

All those fears you have, they're real.

They're real.

Yeah.

Yep.

I definitely do understand, like, you know, there is naturally also going to be a reaction from these siblings that, you know, they do have both their biological parents in the picture.

And hearing this, like, I just want to acknowledge, like, hearing over and over that she is the chosen one, that there is so much effort being put into making sure that she feels included.

Maybe on the other end of that sort of seesaw, it's now made these siblings sort of feel like, well,

there also is like some specialness to us, right?

Like we're also children and we're, you know.

I can see where the frustration comes.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

I'm also like, I think the parents fucked up in letting that go on for so long.

Absolutely.

It's like, no, because that, it also, though, still isolates her.

It's like, no, the basis should have been like, no, you're all.

You're all the kids.

Like, let's.

You're the kids.

You're not different.

from them.

Yeah.

You're all the kids.

But this makes it this weird separation still.

Even if it's a positive separation, it's still a separation.

And the separation is more the problem than whether you're lesser or more.

They're overcompensating.

And the reaction of that now, the collateral damage, is these siblings not knowing how to coexist on the same plane.

And yeah, I mean, in an ideal world, they would sit penny down and be like, let's break this down and let's talk about it so that we can all be on the same page.

We're all siblings, but it's clear that right now there's just like Penny dealing with her own things, internalizing it, and letting it out sort of in this comedic way, maybe.

And then these siblings being frustrated at the way that she's letting it out.

And so they're turning their back on her.

And it's just this clash right now.

And it seems like it just boiled into this one moment of alcohol getting involved and just saying something that clearly they did not actually mean.

It was just from this place of, I've been so frustrated at how you're making me feel.

So now I'm going to make you feel like you're going down a peg yeah yeah absolutely yeah um

because these things come out every like they are bound to come out and she was bothered by it for so long started off small and then like just let it build to this point it's like well if you drink it's gonna probably right let loose um but man that phrase was brutal chosen by our dad but you weren't chosen by your first dad huh it's like

yeah that's un you don't have to do that

come Come on.

Like, like all you had to do is be like, dude, I'm sick and tired of you saying you're the chosen.

Stop.

Stop.

Stop doing that.

Please.

Like, we're all siblings.

Like, say that.

Say how it makes you feel.

Right.

Don't throw like that.

You have new partners there, too, just sitting there like.

Yeah, you're bringing your family, BS, into...

the setting with these new partners.

It also feels like I think the most tragic part of it too is, you know, if Penny had this sort of like secret, I guess, or this was like a trauma that wasn't something that they were aware of, that they had, you know, triggered or had tapped into, that would be one thing.

But this is something that they know.

They already know that this very, very hard thing happened to her.

And they sort of, and this person used it to hurt her in that moment.

Yeah.

That's, that's really heartbreaking.

It's something she can't help, you know?

Exactly.

The verdict is asshole, but there's a lot of comments saying everyone sucks here and not the asshole.

So it's a bit bit all over.

Comments, Jesus fucking Christ, yeah, obviously you're the asshole.

Penny's joke might be annoying, but it's obvious she's overcompensating because being abandoned would cause such a big insecurity.

If you had a legitimate issue, you could have discussed it privately, not drop a nuke in the middle of a family dinner.

19,000 up votes, yeah.

Someone said everyone sucks here.

What Penny has been throwing around for years is annoying and childish, and it likely stems from insecurity.

Someone should have addressed this with her long ago, namely your parents.

What you said was rude and a low blow.

Penny can't help that her bio dad didn't stick around, and that isn't her fault.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, we can argue about what what makes someone, what's a worse thing and what's like what counts as obnoxious and what counts as rude and whatever.

It's like the end of the day, they have shit they got to talk about.

Not in front of their partners.

Yeah, not at Applebee's.

Lastly, someone said, not the asshole.

Sometimes siblings need to be blunt.

Honestly, as someone with three younger siblings, if I ever said this, I'd expect them to get mad at me and say something.

But for it to be constant, yeah, it had to be said.

I don't know.

What was said can range.

Like, you could have said so many other things.

Absolutely.

But those words together,

no.

I agree.

Something can be said.

in a better place, in a better time.

Yes.

And the phrasing can be so much better.

Totally, totally.

That kind of mature conversation.

Also, I understand that siblings can have like talks that maybe parent to sibling or parent to child maybe doesn't have the space for, but it has to be, again, incredibly intimate and delicate when you're dealing with these very real traumas.

Yeah.

You need to almost be trained.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, that's therapy that's needed there.

It also makes me think there's...

I am someone who very personally disagrees with this desire for people to like dunk on other people.

It's like, oh, well, I hate you.

You're annoying, all this stuff.

So

what's the thing I can say that just a fucking like slam?

And it's like, yeah, you're humiliating them.

You got it.

You won.

Congrats.

Did it help anything?

No.

Do you think it's going to help them?

Do you think it's going to help you?

Or is it just going to make everything worse?

Because

I see it so much online of just like, yeah, you fucking got them.

And it's like, and now somehow things are worse.

Like the rift is bigger.

Like, congrats.

You feel cool.

That's all it is.

Yeah, we've talked about this pattern too, right?

In lots of Reddit stories.

It's like initially, that's why we get everyone sucks is initially somebody is doing the annoying, frustrating, bad thing, but then somebody else tops it somehow.

Or they think because they've been annoying or frustrating or bad, they have now a pass.

to be bad, to be better.

Yeah, and I just personally disagree with that.

I'm like, you know, yes, you're annoyed by something.

You're allowed to address that, but go about it in a way that's going to like

heal things.

Exactly.

Try and leave the situation better than you saw.

Totally.

Totally.

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All right,

our final story.

Today I fucked up by introducing my widower dad to my husband's single mom.

Ooh, we're and it's Christmas time.

Oh, and we live in this sweet little town.

And we're going to to be a princess.

And he's a prince.

And unfortunately, it sounds like he's daddy.

Oh.

Oh, we need some photos.

Okay.

Obligatory didn't happen today.

My husband and I have been married for five and a half years now.

My husband was raised by a single mom, and my mom passed when I was 16, so each of us only had one parent at the wedding.

Our parents met during the wedding planning and quickly discovered how much they had in common and how well they got along.

After a few too many glasses of wine, they danced together at the wedding reception.

We noticed a little bit of flirtation between them, but didn't think much of it until they started seeing each other regularly after the wedding, going out together for drinks, going on walks together, going fishing together.

Even though it was a little weird for us that our parents were ambiguously and later officially dating each other, we truly didn't care because they just seemed so happy.

Yesterday, my husband walked his mom down the aisle to meet my dad at the altar.

My husband's mom and my dad said their vows and became husband and wife.

And my husband and I became step siblings.

You're kidding.

You're kidding.

That's.

But also, it's

over.

Yeah,

it's so funny because,

like, talk about tradition, it's like, oh, this just all the legal parameters of this is that it's like weird.

It's also.

It's just odd.

But it's also sweet, but it's also odd.

It's just odd.

It's just odd thing.

We got to sit here and deal with this.

Holy shit.

I'm so glad OP is cool with you.

Yeah, they're like LOL.

Yeah, they want their parents to be happy.

They're glad they're LOLing through this.

Exactly.

Oh, my God.

That's, wow.

That's a reality show.

The priest is like,

I don't know what God thinks of this, but hey.

Hey.

That's crazy.

That's wild.

Would you call

your wife's dad?

Daddy?

No.

No, you, no, no.

No.

Would you call him dad?

I don't think you have to

change anything.

I think they get to make their own new thing.

Oh, God.

Yeah, because this is.

Hey, guys, this is a brand new thing.

This is a brand new thing.

You can do whatever you want with it.

The world is changing.

This is a whole new thing.

Wow.

You know, there's no like

blood in the mix.

There's no blood in the mix.

It's just, it's just

what it is.

And love is love.

Love is love.

And love is love.

It all just is what it is.

I mean,

that's the only response.

Only take on this.

I would have loved to go to that wedding.

So we got some comments.

On the bright side, it definitely simplifies whose family they see for the holidays.

Nice.

Someone said, that's some glass half.

Got it.

Got it.

Someone said, you think this is awkward?

Just wait until they announce they're expecting your little brother slash sister.

Okay.

Right.

I knew it.

I knew it.

I knew it.

Okay.

So OP said, my husband has been jokingly calling me stepsis since the wedding.

Now that.

Which is my favorite nickname.

Someone said, family tree becomes an oval.

Right.

That's what I was, that's what I, yeah.

That's wild.

Is there an update?

There's no updates.

No updates this entire episode?

I'm sorry, I'm yelling at you.

Like, you didn't

choose.

Don't choose them.

Damn.

Wow.

These ones were

good.

This was quite a fun battle.

These were good.

We're all still in shock at that.

Like, huh.

Huh.

These are, we read, like, being full disclosure, we read a lot of stories today where I'm like, man, I'm like thinking about it.

And I'm like, I don't know if I'll agree with.

everything I feel about it when I re-watch this episode.

You know, because I'm just like, oh, like, there's so so much to think about.

I was just thinking that with the last story, actually, like, I feel like it was almost an easy response from all of us because everybody was happy.

It didn't feel like we necessarily needed to resolve anything.

Yeah.

It was just like, this is what's happening and we've all been supportive.

And so we are kind of naturally like, good if everybody's happy.

But what if it was presented more as like, what do we do?

Do we let this wedding happen?

Like, what inevitably happens with every episode of this show is I will see a comment that like points out just a sentence that I kind of didn't pay attention to or they'll just be like well think about this aspect and I'm like oh that changes my entire view of the whole thing.

So like I don't really these are my initial thoughts but we're responding in the moment with cameras we're trying our best to say what we think and feel and

so many times I wish I could have retaken a take.

Not that I would

just how I say

say it.

Yeah.

It's kind of like how that person told Penny.

Yeah.

It's like you could say it better or differently.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But I don't have the time to do that.

Lovely.

Our instincts I think are a little bit better than Penny's sibling.

Yeah.

I think we're doing that.

Yeah.

Well, thank you both for being here.

This was so much fun.

We're family.

Yeah, we're family.

Bambly.

Baby.

Baby.

Thank you for watching.

Let us know your thoughts on all of these stories down below.

And let us know what other themes and suburbs you want us to cover on this show.

And we'll see you next Saturday.

Goodbye.

Bye, Sam.

Baby.

Bye, Sam.

Bye, Daddy.

Baby.

Whoa.

Did you like that?

Did you like that?

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