Video games are quite complicated these days, and with so many different game mechanics and strategies, it can be difficult to explain them to someone who isn’t familiar with them.
So how would you react if you were explaining a game to your partner in familiar terms, but your partner’s parents overheard you and thought you were treating them like an idiot?
And what if that parent refused to let you into their home until you apologized? Would you give in or stand your ground?
In the following story, someone finds himself in exactly this situation. Let’s see how it turned out.
Me (20, female) and my girlfriend (19, female) had dinner with her family last week. She has 5 siblings and her grandparents were there, so we were 11 people in total.
My girlfriend and I are both neurodivergent (I have ADHD and she has autism), so sometimes when we try to explain things to each other, we have to say them multiple times because something got lost in translation.
We sat at the table at her house and several conversations took place around the table.
One of her brothers (15 M) and I play the same video game (Valorant) and talked about our experiences.
Some video games are difficult to understand unless you play them.
My friend was listening to us and asked me to explain a situation I told her brother about.
I tried to explain it, but I realized it didn’t click.
The only video game she plays is Stardew Valley, which I’ve never played, so I couldn’t think of a meaningful comparison.
My girlfriend loves putting on makeup and is super good at it.
I watch her do it all the time and thought I could draw a comparison to makeup.
I told her the equivalent would be if you had to get a really straight and clean line when applying eyeliner and instead decided to take some lipstick and just scribble it all over your face.
The mother didn’t like what she heard.
Her mother overheard our conversation and asked what we were talking about. I told her we were talking about a video game and that my friend wouldn’t understand, so I explained it to her in the language of makeup.
Her mother and one of her sisters got really angry and started yelling at me and my girlfriend’s brother, saying we were being disrespectful and treating my girlfriend like she was too stupid to understand what we were talking about.
Looking back, I realize that explaining things in “makeup terms” may not have been the best way to put it, but I’m honestly not sure how else I could phrase it.
My girlfriend assured me that she is not mad and that this was actually a perfect way to explain it and that she understood what I meant, but her mother and some of her siblings are still very mad at me.
Here lies the problem.
We usually have dinner with them on Sundays because they have a family dinner, but I was uninvited until I apologized to their mom, which feels weird and stupid to me. It had nothing to do with her, and I have no idea what nerve I hit with her.
My girlfriend refuses to go to dinner without me because her family stresses her out. This is one of the reasons we are moving in together so early in our relationship (we have been together for almost a year).
I don’t want my girlfriend to miss out on family time because of me, even if she didn’t want to go in the first place, but I really don’t think I need to apologize to her mom for explaining something to my girlfriend.
Is this possible?
Oops. When eavesdropping, it’s easy to misunderstand the intentions.
Let’s see what Reddit readers had to say about it.
According to this person, the girlfriend’s opinion is the only one that counts.
Here is an excellent point.
The mother took it completely out of context.
This person turns the tables and turns to the mother.
Interesting. There might be more to it than that. The mother got angry far too quickly.
If you liked this post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a construction contractor who tried to disappear without a trace.
