Family Matters | Reading Reddit Stories

25:17And 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, it didn't work. like we were traveling too much they're just like alright yeah we'll do it next year like it's just like it's not a big deal totally 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 like oh let's give ourselves an excuse to hang out more yes that's cute yeah alright our next story so today I fucked up today I fucked up by forgetting I was on an Amazon family plan for years 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.

26:46My 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, 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.

27:22I 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. I think that objectively is a little bit better. Yeah, I would agree. I would agree. It's not too crazy. It's still just like, oh shit. I did not know anyone was seeing this. Yeah. Which is tough. 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.

28:00Absolutely. 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, once you say yes to dildos three times, what's the fucking fourth? Yes. Yeah, go, you got it. Take it, get it. I feel like it wouldn't. I've searched that on Amazon, so I'm so curious. I'm sure they're there. 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. I don't know why my head was just like buying like movies and stuff, renting money.

28:35I 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. Suctions. Whoa. Yeah. Rubs. Damn. What else you got? 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 back. Unless it was like the weirdest. Yeah. It's like, look. Buy this book if you're racist.

29:16And she bought it. And she's like, bought. And then the sister's like, what? No. Now it's changed. Now it's too much. I'm fine with every dildo on earth, but not the this is how to be racist book. Not racism. That's where we draw the line. Comments. Your sister's a real one. 16 ,000 upvotes. 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.

29:52It was our first Christmas, and I was mortified when I found out. Spicy appliances? Spicy appliances. Like a kitchen, don't put a KitchenAid down there. Or do. Or do. Grandma's like, I got a great toaster. No. 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. Opie 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. These are rolling through. They're sharing the, yeah.

30:32She's buying so much stuff. 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 just be honest and be like, listen, I didn't know, and I'm really sorry, and I appreciate you approving that. I'm like, did you guys happen to kick me off? Is that just Amazon? Like, you gotta address it. And as you know, I have a surplus, so if you wanna borrow any. I have a chopper for you. Get in the chopper. Yeah, exactly. She climbs it through her sister's window because she tied all the dildos together. Oh, my God. Holy shit, dude.

31:07Spicy appliances. Spicy appliances. Can't shake that. Can't shake that. Oh, be careful of 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 wedding, even though she claims it's her last chance to feel beautiful. Please! Please! Please! Oh, God. I felt like I just got punched 50 times. Somehow all of us just got a swing. 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 need to.

31:52Yeah, that is the only reason you can do it. I think you have to let her. Oh, maybe you let her. If you're 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. And you are beautiful. You just turned to dust and like... 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.

32:36I 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.

33:10What 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. A pick-me. The mom is awful. A huge pick-me. What do you mean this day is 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.

33:46Helen 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, God. I think she is one. Shit. 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. Right. Right. But then it's also like, don't wear white to my wedding.

34:24And 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 to say no. It's going to be tough. I can respect OP for being like in a conflicted place. Yeah. 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.

34:57Then 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. because 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?

35:32It's not going to be by giving her. 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 way different than this. And so the, you know, the kids and their partner go like, well, 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 when it gets close to the wedding, the parents go, man, shit, I want to be there.

36:05And 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 sister. The aunt was on the mom's side. Yes. 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.

36:41I don't have it. but she says 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 her and I'm like when you do that it just never changes it's guaranteed to never change if you do that you just do that 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, which it's absolutely not.

37:17The 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 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.

37:48People 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. Well, that's a fun way to manipulate the manipulators. 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'd dress like a normal lady and be normal at the wedding.

38:20Wear green. They continue on. She can buy a beautiful formal dress and wow the guest looking like she's ready to pick up her Oscar in any color but white. OP 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. Preparing 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 married. 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.

39:04Yeah. Not necessarily feeling beautiful. Maybe she's just, like, filling in other words for it and it's getting misplaced. So not to, you know, 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. Right. 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.

39:44So 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 anyone ever before. 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 it's just a hellscape.

40:18If I may add to, these days you also have to pay for your performance time. Yes. So you have to put down$5 to go have five minutes. Right. 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. You have to. 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, it's like you might as well have them in the passenger seat and drive off a cliff into the ocean.

40:57Truly, this is a punishment on everybody's front. Yes. Wow. Okay, that just needed to be said before we hopped into this. Yeah, but 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 in general, 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. It sucks. Career to pursue. Yeah. I've never heard anyone say a good thing about open mic. No, no. I did stand-up for a year and then I said I hate this. Mm-hmm. That makes sense. And that's our story. All right.

41:28All 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.

42:15He's a decent photographer, so it's not unusual for him to be picky about this process. I was first on the sign-up 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.

42:52I 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.

43:24Someone in the crowd yells out, put the phone away and only record your son bombing. God is ass. Oh, God. God is ass, actually. We're really setting the sun 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.

44:01You're going to bomb. and that's okay. That's okay because you gotta. That's what's gonna happen. You gotta be okay with bombing. You're not gonna 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 gonna be one. Applebee's in February, open mic night. Right. Bring a tripod. Let dad sit in the back. Oh my God. The confidence on this guy to be like, I'm going to try it for the first time and it's gonna 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.

44:36I'm like, man. All right. Okay, you are. Yeah. This reminds me of 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're going to be killed. Yeah. But you know what? I love the confidence. You need to have it. I love the confidence. You do have to be delusional. You have to. You have to feel like this is funny stuff. Right. so you can, you know, deliver it. 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.

45:12Yes. 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 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 some point. Go tomorrow. And have someone in the, just don't bring your parent if you don't want to. People are there recording anyway. Just ask someone to record. Yeah. Or set the phone up yourself and 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.

45:43Yeah. That definitely was also weird of the dad to be like, it's a prologue. I don't know if that's what it is. We know we're in the setting of stand-up comedy. We don't need a wide where we see an establishing shot. I'm going to set the scene with an opener. I don't want to watch my son. Oh, my God. Gosh. Oh, man. 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, like, I've been around stand-up comedians and, like, I've been in comedy for so long that people think, like, oh, well, I'm funny and I make my friends laugh.

46:21I'll nail this. I'm like, it's a complete, it's its own thing. It's its own art form. You're up there alone. 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 do stand-up. And I'm like, oh, man, it's a whole, like, language that you have to learn. Yes. And 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 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 for it to start clicking.

46:53Yes, yes. I've heard that, like, a few times. Well, because 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 shift my set and have funny things just in my Rolodex of who I am rather than this is how the joke is supposed to go and this is how I'm supposed to say it.

47:36It'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 upset and you're like, okay, I have to get you to like me and trust me. 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 tough language. Or just 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. I think my biggest, my only real, I mean the dad is ridiculous, kind of hilarious.

48:11But it's 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, not at all. You just want to do 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.

48:45Yeah. 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, you know. This is something that if he actually got into it and in a few years, if he actually like. He could actually. This is a story he can tell. Absolutely. Like that's, you actually kind of need those situations to be a standup. Absolutely. Because every standup is just telling embarrassing stories from their lives. What I really liked too was that he said he's not necessarily trying to pursue a career in it.

49:16It's just like a hobby. It's just for fun. Having fun, man. Which is even better. Yeah, man. 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 somewhere. He should do 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.

50:20My 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, huh?

50:55God. Oh, my God. God. Saying that out loud, that's crazy. That's so intense. Oh. Oh, God. Oh, God. He was done with Penny. Oh, that's like. Finished with Penny on 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 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.

51:35Well, of course, word's 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. 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.

52:08it'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. Like, 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 going to have biological kids of our own, and I don't want Penny to think she's not part of the family.

52:46So they go above and beyond, clearly, to make her feel part of the family, and it's created this 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. And she, I don't know, that's also such a rough thing to hear from your siblings. Yeah. That also kind of insinuates 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, oh, actually, you're not my sibling. Yeah. Actually. All those fears you have, they're real.

53:25They're real. Yeah. Yeah. 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...

53:59I can see where the frustration comes from. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, 100%. I'm also like, I think the parents fucked up in letting that go on for so long. Absolutely. It's like, no, because it also, though, still isolates her. It's like, no, the basis should have been like, no, you're all the kids. You're the kids, that's it. You're not different from them. 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.

54:43And 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.

55:18it 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. Oh boy. 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 going to probably let loose. but man that phrase was brutal chosen by our dad but you weren't chosen by your first dad huh it's like yeah you don't have to do that man like come on like all you had to do is be like dude I'm sick and tired of you saying you're the chosen stop stop it please like we're all siblings like say that say how it makes you feel right don't throw like that grenade in her you have new partners there too just sitting there like yeah you're bringing your family BS into the setting with these new partners.

56:18Yeah. It also feels like, I think the most tragic part of it too is if Penny had this sort of secret, I guess, or this was a trauma that wasn't something that they were aware of that they had 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 this person used it to hurt her in that moment. Yeah. 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 all over.

56:57Comments, 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. For real. 19 ,000 upvotes, 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.

57:27Penny 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 makes someone, what's a worse thing, and what counts as obnoxious, and what counts as rude, and whatever, it's like, the end of the day, they have shit they gotta talk about. Right. It's like... 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.

58:02I 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. 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. You need to almost be trained. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's therapy that's needed there.

58:48It 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 I'm what's the thing I can say that just a fucking like slam right 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 gonna help them do you think it's gonna help you or is it just gonna make everything worse because like yeah 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 but 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.

59:42Or they think because they've been annoying or frustrating or bad, they have now a pass to be bad, to be badder. 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 gonna like heal things. Yeah. Try and leave the situation better than you. Totally. Totally. You love watching Smosh. I love being in Smosh, which is why Smosh partnered with Samsung TV+. Hi, you know me. I'm Tommy, a cast member here at Smosh, and I've got good news. Samsung TV +, has live TV channels and on-demand movies and shows, and now we're a part of it.

1:00:21Curious on how to watch Smosh? Well, if you've got a Samsung device, then you already have it. Just open the Samsung TV Plus app and start watching. We've got your favorite episodes from Culinary Crimes, Reddit Stories, Bit City, Smosh Mouth, and more. And now you can hang out with us all hours of the day. Check out Smosh for free on Samsung TV Plus. 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. and we live in this sweet little town and we're going to Applebee's. And unfortunately it sounds like he's daddy.

1:01:01Oh. 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.

1:01:39Even 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. What? And my husband and I became step-siblings. What?

1:02:06You're kidding. You're kidding. But also, it's so funny. Because talk about tradition, it's like, oh, all the legal parameters of this is that it's weird. It's also sweet, but it's also odd. It's just odd. It's just a thing. We got to sit here and deal with it. Holy shit. I'm so glad OP is cool with it. Yeah, they're like LOL. Yeah, they want their parents to be happy. I'm 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?

1:03:03No. No, you, no, no. Would you call him dad? I don't think you have to. You don't have to change anything. I think they get to make their own new thing. Oh, yeah. Yeah, because this is. Hey, guys, this is a brand new thing. This is a brand new thing. You can do whatever you want now. 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 spiked. It is. It just is what it is. And love is love. Love is love. Hey, love is love. It all just is what it is. I mean. That's the only response I have. The only take on this.

1:03:46I would have loved to go to that wedding. 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 full. Got it. Got it. Someone said, you think this is awkward? Just wait until they announce they're expecting your little brother slash sister. Right. Okay. Right. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. Okay. So OP said, my husband has been jokingly calling me step sis since the wedding. Now that. Which is my favorite nickname.

1:04:16Someone 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 update on that. No updates this entire episode? I'm sorry, I'm yelling at you like you didn't choose. I don't choose them. Damn. Wow. These ones were good. This was quite a fun batch. These were good. We're all still in shock at that, like, huh. Huh. Hmm. And 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 rewatch this episode.

1:04:54You know? Because I'm just like, oh, like, there's 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. 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 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...

1:05:39We're responding in the moment with cameras. We're trying our best to say what we think and feel. So many times I wish I could have retaken a take. Just how I say it. Kind of like how that person told Penny. It's like, you could say it better or differently. But I don't have the time to do that. Luckily, our instincts, I think, are a little bit better than Penny's sibling. Yeah, I think we're doing good. Well, thank you both for being here. This was so much fun. We're family. Yeah, we're family. Family. Family. Family. Family. Thank you for watching. Let us know your thoughts on all of these stories down below.

1:06:19And let us know what other themes and subreddits you want us to cover on this show. And we'll see you next Saturday. Goodbye. Bye, fam. Family. Bye, fam. Bye, daddy. Family. Whoa. Did you like that? Did you like that?