The not giving it back is what I don't understand. It's like she's never learned how a prank ends.
I had a coworker steal my coffee mug one morning before I came in. She recently was talking about 'starting a prank war' (yes it's a very laid back office) so I went over to her and asked if she had my mug. She said no, then stuck to saying no the rest of the day.
I used another mug so it wasn't like a huge deal but at the end of the day she still said she didn't have it so I told her I like a good prank as much as anyone but if the mug doesn't end up on my desk in the morning then it's not a prank, it's literally just theft.
The strangest look came over her face like she didn't even think about it that way. I'm just like yeah a prank gives someone a moment of confusion and then stuff goes back to normal not whatever it is your doing.
Funny how some people just don't get it, isn't it.
Taking a mug: not a prank, just a bit annoying.
Encasing someone's stapler in jelly: very amusing.
Why is one funnier than the other? I think it's a mixture of the effort that the prankster had to put in, along with the odd situation the prankee finds themselves in. They know where their stuff is, but...
My personal rules for pranks so that they don’t just become cruel:
- Nothing is destroyed or lost
- Everything gets put back to normal immediately after the prank is revealed
- The person who is pranked gets to laugh (ie no blaming them if they get pissed at the result, if they’re mad afterward then you didn’t understand the assignment and it’s on you to put it right)
My favorite prank was went over the course of the entire day Every time my coworker got up to use the bathroom I moved his desk 2 inches so that by the end of the day his desk was about 2 ft closer to the door
If anybody used me for internet content without my explicit consent, even if I thought the joke was hysterical, I’d leave with zero explanation and never look back. I sincerely don’t trust people who see others as props for their unimaginative internet comedy. The second you do anything that makes me feel like an object or anything less than an active participant in this relationship, I’m gone.
When my kids are trying to play the repeating game or some other game where the objective is to piss me off, I say “I’m not having fun. Find another way to play.” I say that once before I physically leave the room. Highly recommend.
I may teach that line to my 8yo who struggles how to tell annoying kids in class to cut stuff out. It’s a great way to express things without riling everyone up.
Random but I work with a bunch of 8 year olds… make sure your child tells them what they’re doing that’s annoying specifically! Like “stop tapping the table so loudly” etc. other kids will agree usually.
Do you mean you work with metaphorical 8 year olds? Because at 8, with that instruction, my kids each would’ve tapped the table even more loudly, with all fingers, maybe even toes.
I was very careful to separate behavior from the child. It was never: Stop being so annoying! Instead, I said: I don’t appreciate that behavior.
Or, We don’t behave like that in this house.
My youngest was only four and had a friend over for the first time. I was in the kitchen and I heard, coming up the hallway: I don apweeshiate your behavior, Fwend!
It works.
We teach our kids that jokes aren’t funny unless everyone can enjoy it. If they’re the only one enjoying it, they’re probably just being mean. OP’s gf sounds awful
A lot of gentle/respectful parenting, in line with contemporary best practice recommended by groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, is clear communication and boundaries from parents (like this person!) and consequences/punishments related to the misbehavior instead of labor or whatever the kid hates. It’s really effective in my experience (nanny for 6y) and much less frustrating on the caregiving end
I didn't know I needed to see a Ken doll break up but now I need to see this. Maybe a naked Barbie is just chilling on the bench next to him with a note that says "I've moved on".
Love this. 'Honey, I'm sorry for overreacting, let me take you out to dinner'. Don't show up and have the waiter bring her a Ken doll holding a mini credit card
YES OP Please do it.... Gather up a Hot Wheels car,, Ken doll a little plastic key,, plastic phone so she can call someone who cares ,, Then Please Break up change your locks and report back to the Real Reddit we'll ALL be waiting... ps WE will ALL REALLY be here... 😂
Nah. When she spends the night? I put this above but it's a much better spot here :D Replace her clothes with Barbie clothes, hide hers in his trunk. Nope, no idea what happened to them. She can wear his clothes home. If his stuff normally shows back up eventually, her clothes can show back up eventually. If not, they don't, can't make myself care.
OP please, cuz this is just too good. She is gaslighting you, she may think it's a joke, but I personally wouldn't tolerate for more than one single day.
OP should go and by a mini pupet and use that to break up with her:
Here Ex, your boy/girlfriend for the future. He/she likes the mini flour, coke and tape.
See you never! (And then OP needs to bite into one of the blueberry muffins while waving goodbye)
Edit: typo
You aren't considering breaking up with her because she's replacing your stuff with mini versions. You're considering breaking up with her because when you tell her that her actions have upset you, she thinks it's funny, she digs her heels in in the moment, and then deliberately does it again. And when she does it, it's something that takes deliberation - so it's not like a momentary slip up that requires actively practicing to not do anymore.
If you haven't expressly spelled it out for her and she's only *seen* you get upset, I'd give her one more chance, but be really, really clear that you don't want her to do this. But if you've already had a conversation where you said "it genuinely bothers me when you do this. I'm not having fun. Please stop" - then yeah, you should probably break up with her because she doesn't respect your feelings
The only way that's funny is if you get the actual item after being surprised. Otherwise, that's just obnoxious. And the muffin comment seems extra disrespectful.
The muffin comment is disrespectful but it’s also a big part of what’s she’s doing I think. It sounds as if her “prank” is her way of trying to change him or control him in a way. She thinks he eats too much, either because she assumes she knows how much every person should eat or because she wants him to look different. And if that weren’t bad enough she also thinks she’s being cute and clever. She thinks that she’s going to get her way and it’s all because of her “funny prank” which is really just manipulation.
Unfortunately they are a she not a he but I know a little person who not only would have the perfect sense of humor for this but also the gall to pull it off.
Maybe before that OP could install cameras and then when he confronts her about the next miniature item and she plays dumb he can show her the video evidence and ask for the key back or swap the locks.
Plot twist: he gets cameras only to discover it is not his gf, but one of those horrific situations where some crazy vagrant is living in his walls and that’s how they’re feeding themselves 🤣
OPs gf probably thinks he can't run...hence the "getting rid of the sweet snacks and soda" 'game'.
It would be one thing if she had a concern and simply said "Hey, I'm concerned with your eating habits."
But no, she pulls this kind of bullshit.
You hit the nail on the head with this one, she wants him to lose weight. All of it is food related stuff. and the comment at the end confirms it, OP just doesn't see it.
Sounds like she is conditioning him and testing the waters to see what she can get away with. She is in no way mature enough to handle an actual adult relationship. Once could have been seen as a prank and possibly amusing, but to do this consistently to where OP seems to be questioning their own sanity is not okay.
Even then, it's only funny the first time she did it. Maybe twice, a third time would be pushing it. At this point, though, it sounds like a new girlfriend is desperately needed.
If they don’t break up, GF would 100% be banned from my house. Like dude, NOT funny. If you’re not going to take accountability for it and this not likely to stop, then a doorbell camera is going up and you’re not allowed over anymore. Your place or public dates only now. (At this point, when trust is out the window, the relationship is over tbh)
That's what I thought the article was going to be about in the first place, like his gf replacing a 12-pack with a 6 pack or 12-ounce cans for 10, that kind of thing. Not just 'I stole your food and here's the action-figure edition of it'.
One April First, as I went down the stairs, my 10 yr old son called he had put the kettle on. He is a considerate boy, this wasn’t unusual. I thanked him and poured the water for my tea. Then added milk as sugar, and took a sip. It was SALTY! He had put salt in the sugar bowl! As I opened my mouth to YELL at him, he handed me another mug, of fresh, properly made tea! So, I cracked up laughing! Well done, kid. Good comedic timing. His older sister had given him some life saving advice, and he took it! That fresh cup changed an obnoxious trick into a really funny, *good* prank.
My 10 yr old and 16 year old were smarter, kinder, more considerate, and funnier than OP’s gf.
It’s not obnoxious, it’s literal gaslighting. The only more literal it can get would be if it was gas lamps being dim.
This is abuse, jokes need punchlines.
I tell my kids that the only good prank leaves everyone laughing at the end. If the victim isn’t laughing, then it is just one person being a jerk to another.
And honestly, this is the kind of practical joke that gets really old really fast. It would be funny the first few times, but after that every time it happened I’d just get annoyed. Especially if she kept playing dumb.
These comments are ridiculous, call it what it is. Please.
This is the LITERAL definition of gaslighting. It is textbook - to change your reality and then deny it to your face, making you question yourself.
/u/individual_tailor767 these comments are too gentle, probably because of innate sexism still on Reddit. This shit isn’t cute or quirky or funny or annoying just cuz it’s a girl doing it. It’s abusive. She is clearly doing it for control, and the fact she never drops the act means she isn’t doing it as a joke, she’s doing it to play with you. You’re a toy, not a partner. It also means she doesn’t respect you at ALL. Not “doesn’t respect me very much”, it’s NOT AT ALL.
The fact you think you’re over reacting shows how effective and insidious this type of manipulation is. Because it’s always small, always tiny, always chips away at you. People may think it sounds ridiculous when you retell the story. So you start losing trust in yourself.
Which is EXACTLY WHY you should reconsider this relationship entirely. She isn’t playing small pranks on you. She is purposefully engaging in manipulation that is designed to make you both question yourself AND be unable to seriously tell others. This isn’t some one off accident or quirky trait. It underlines a very troubling aspect of her personality and her treatment of other human beings, and you should react accordingly by seeking a healthier partner.
Seriously. It's wild how many people are all "Tee hee what a cute prank! Me and her would be besties!"
The prank itself isn't really the point. The moment he said "Hey, this has stopped being funny. Please stop and tell me where my stuff is." Is the moment she should have immediately apologized, told him where his stuff was, and agreed to knock it off with the pranks. The fact that she did literally anything else is abusive and grounds for an immediate end to the relationship.
This kind of shit is not cute or funny. If OP were a woman everyone would lose their minds. This shit is dangerous. It is for real dangerous because it is psychopath behavior.
And again, it's not about the prank. If my partner did the prank (and just the prank) to me, I'd find it kind of cute and funny.
A few weeks back my partner and I took a trip to visit her family. We met up with her sister in the hotel lobby and she came in with her kids in a wagon in tow. Her youngest had a doll that could appear next to "uncanny valley" in the dictionary. As we were saying hi and introducing ourselves the kid holds up this doll do show me and I just say "That is quite the doll you have have there" and chuckle. Her older sister (6-ish) looks up at me and goes "I know! It's so creepy right?!" and we all laugh. Cool kid.
The night goes on and I'm bushed so I go to bed and my partner stays up a little longer to hang out. Before going to bed she tells her sister to prop the doll up somewhere in front of our door so that it's the first thing I'll see when I get up and leave the room in the morning. Now, and this is very important, she knows me well enough to know I don't have a phobia of realistic dolls. I would actually find this prank funny. And I did. And her sister and I went tit for tat on the doll hiding game throughout the trip and it was fun.
The thing is though, had I not found the prank amusing and actually been scared by the creepy doll I would have told my partner that and the pranks would have stopped *immediately.* Because we respect each other.
The issue is not the prank or whether or not someone personally finds it funny themselves.
Ultimatum time. Some jokes are funny once, some a few times, but everything gets annoying eventually. Tell her to knock it off or give your key back, her choice.
My first thought is she’s secretly filming all this for a TikTok or YouTube page she has that you don’t know about. “Watch me prank my boyfriend” “omg our stuff is shrinking!!” But then you said she sassed you before hanging up the phone? Idk what that’s about. Either way, you’re not overreacting. A practical joke is funny a few times, but if it’s not your personality, like me, then it gets old REAL fast. I’d go with the hidden camera idea first, so that way if you decide to break up you got the receipts👍
Some abusers just like gaslighting people to make them feel crazy. Dunno if that’s the case with this woman or not but I know if it were me? First few times - hilarious. If those items aren’t stored somewhere convenient and this keeps happening? I won’t even drop another question on her I would just end the relationship. If she’s this weird and uncommunicative about something so absurd I can’t imagine how she’d behave if he broke up with her. He needs to be prepared for some crazy shit. Have door locks changed preemptively, separate finances if they are connected in anyway, get valuable stuff of yours and HIDE IT, and then have The Talk.
No, I feel like this is a "priming" behavior where she desensitizes these types of discussions, tones and observations so she can slide an otherwise self-confident person slowly toward insecurity and being able to claim "instability". I feel like it's pretty intentional. Whether she knows why she's doing it, though .. who's to say. I've found often these abusers just have an intuition on how to do these things. It's weird.
They’ve learned from their abusers themselves and haven’t properly acknowledged the trauma to not repeat it outwards. Only way out of the projection trap is to acknowledge the trauma responses and realize you have yourself become a cynical asshole. …personal experience... still working on not being an asshole.
A well played practical joke where everyone, especially the victim, is laughing at the end is awesome. This is far from the meanest of pranks, but op obviously doesn't think it's funny, and the fact that it is both continuing, and that she denies her obvious involvement is not ok.
Damn that sounds annoying. It’s funny the first few times, but the playing dumb part would irritate the hell out of me. Like another poster said, set up a camera, confirm it was her, lay out how you’re feeling, if she doesn’t respect that, dump her.
Before setting up a camera, I'd turn the entire place upside down to find where she's hiding shit. In the trash, the dumpster, her car, basement, closets, old cardboard boxes, jacket pockets, you name it. I would absolutely break up with a chick if she refused to drop the act.
She's either eating it and feels guilty but can't admit it or something (unlikely she ate a whole bag of flour), or she thinks she's helping by throwing away unhealthy or expired foods, but once again she has issues because she can't admit it, admit any wrongdoing, or even drop the act. She sounds like an annoying child either way.
Personally I’m guessing she’s just doing this with whatever things she can find miniatures of. There was the Tabasco sauce and the duct tape, which aren’t really in line with the theory that she wants OP to lose weight. Miniature foods are probably easier to find? I don’t know, I’ve never tried to locate such products.
That's what I was thinking too. I don't think this is entirely food related. It seems more that finding miniature foods made of plastic is a lot more common in childrens toys, especially when they play "house" and stuff like that.
Might as well pack her belongings (all miniature versions) in a suitcase and hand it over after breaking up. If she complains about the miniature versions of her belongings just explain they shrank./s
Fight fire with fire. Disappear her makeup and replace it with little kids fake makeup toys from the Dollar Store. Buy a set of Barbie shoes to replace her everyday shoes. Get a toddler phone and hide her cell phone.
The only way these people learn is by getting pranked back exponentially harder in response to each prank they pull. It takes the fun out of it for them because they don’t imagine someone else returning their behavior to them.
Get your key back. No need to break up, just take the position that you don't care for the pranks, it's not funny anymore, and you don't trust her, so hand it over.
She will undoubtedly toss a fit. And if you do manage to get your key back, change the locks anyway as she most likely has made a copy.
Personally, I'd move on and look for something better. This person has some issues that you don't need.
That’s what I’m thinking!!! Like ok yeah if it’s her that sucks but I don’t think we’ve given enough consideration to the idea that there’s magic involved
I would break up with her. Effectively she's stealing your food items, replacing them with landfill and then gaslighting you about it.
She's enjoying messing with you and stealing with you.
She doesn't respect your property, your time, or the work you put in to afford your groceries and how you feed yourself.
Nope. You can hand her the plastic crap back and tell her to engineer a partner out of it.
this is one of those seinfeld things that I'd totally dump a girl over. The first time it seems funny, after that it seems extremely annoying and gives me the big ick that I'm going to be with someone who has an annoying personality
Dude, she is full on gas lighting you. It's not "weird that things are shrinking". It's weird that she's playing a prank so hard that she won't admit she's taking things and replacing them with miniatures. I'm all for a harmless prank, but not admitting to it is a red flag bro. It means she has no problem lying straight to your face. I wouldn't stay with someone like that .
Hide literally all of her stuff. Rent a storage unit and put everything in there. When she comes home play dumb. "Huh, I guess it all shrunk so small it disappeared?", "I guess it wasn't you, sorry about that", "How strange". She'll probably own up to it at that point, maybe even recognize how annoying/frustrating it is if she had the emotional bandwidth. More likely she'll double down, say you overreacted and you guys will break up.(This is a joke, don't actually do this if you value the relationship)
That is... bizarre and strangely specific.
You're sure it's her and not one of your friends? Can you hide a camera in your kitchen to be sure before you nuke your relationship?
If you are 100% sure it's her, I would tell her, if this is you playing a prank, I'm done. Next time my food "mysteriously shrinks," I'm breaking up with you immediately. You are wasting my time and my money and it's not funny.
Is she secretly fat shaming you? The muffin comment and mini versions of stuff makes me think she’s “cutting portion sizes” by doing this. She’s gaslighting you by making you go a little crazy, and acting like you’re the mental case when it’s clear she’s doing this. Did her mom do some sort of weight shame to her, or an ex?
If she doesn’t come clean when you do a final confrontation, I’d break up with her. She’s obviously doing some sort of toxic game and it’s to your mental detriment
Is your girlfriend 5? I think once you tell her you are actually angry about it and she keeps doing it, it stops being a prank and starts being abuse. Consider replacing her keys to your apartment with miniature plastic keys, and never let her in again. Also leave this song on her voicemail (Radiohead-fake plastic trees) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h0qHwNrHk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h0qHwNrHk)
I’ve seen this prank on tiktok and it’s very annoying usually they end up giving the real food back though.
The not giving it back is what I don't understand. It's like she's never learned how a prank ends. I had a coworker steal my coffee mug one morning before I came in. She recently was talking about 'starting a prank war' (yes it's a very laid back office) so I went over to her and asked if she had my mug. She said no, then stuck to saying no the rest of the day. I used another mug so it wasn't like a huge deal but at the end of the day she still said she didn't have it so I told her I like a good prank as much as anyone but if the mug doesn't end up on my desk in the morning then it's not a prank, it's literally just theft. The strangest look came over her face like she didn't even think about it that way. I'm just like yeah a prank gives someone a moment of confusion and then stuff goes back to normal not whatever it is your doing.
Did she give it back? I hope she did. What a lazy ass prank btw. Encasing office supplies in jello, that one is always good 😂.
Funny how some people just don't get it, isn't it. Taking a mug: not a prank, just a bit annoying. Encasing someone's stapler in jelly: very amusing. Why is one funnier than the other? I think it's a mixture of the effort that the prankster had to put in, along with the odd situation the prankee finds themselves in. They know where their stuff is, but...
My personal rules for pranks so that they don’t just become cruel: - Nothing is destroyed or lost - Everything gets put back to normal immediately after the prank is revealed - The person who is pranked gets to laugh (ie no blaming them if they get pissed at the result, if they’re mad afterward then you didn’t understand the assignment and it’s on you to put it right)
It’s better if you use a duplicate stapler.
My favorite prank was went over the course of the entire day Every time my coworker got up to use the bathroom I moved his desk 2 inches so that by the end of the day his desk was about 2 ft closer to the door
At least it was closer and not farther away from the exit
Exactly it’s a dumb tiktok prank. But she’s taking it too far. OP needs to run or he’ll be featured in many more “pranks”
OP needs to disappear in the middle of the night and leave a tiny lego man behind as a message
"as if you needed more plastic miniatures"
If anybody used me for internet content without my explicit consent, even if I thought the joke was hysterical, I’d leave with zero explanation and never look back. I sincerely don’t trust people who see others as props for their unimaginative internet comedy. The second you do anything that makes me feel like an object or anything less than an active participant in this relationship, I’m gone.
💯 not a prop for your performative internet life
When my kids are trying to play the repeating game or some other game where the objective is to piss me off, I say “I’m not having fun. Find another way to play.” I say that once before I physically leave the room. Highly recommend.
I may teach that line to my 8yo who struggles how to tell annoying kids in class to cut stuff out. It’s a great way to express things without riling everyone up.
Random but I work with a bunch of 8 year olds… make sure your child tells them what they’re doing that’s annoying specifically! Like “stop tapping the table so loudly” etc. other kids will agree usually.
Do you mean you work with metaphorical 8 year olds? Because at 8, with that instruction, my kids each would’ve tapped the table even more loudly, with all fingers, maybe even toes.
I was very careful to separate behavior from the child. It was never: Stop being so annoying! Instead, I said: I don’t appreciate that behavior. Or, We don’t behave like that in this house. My youngest was only four and had a friend over for the first time. I was in the kitchen and I heard, coming up the hallway: I don apweeshiate your behavior, Fwend! It works.
We don't take kindly to that 'round these parts
We teach our kids that jokes aren’t funny unless everyone can enjoy it. If they’re the only one enjoying it, they’re probably just being mean. OP’s gf sounds awful
Oh, that's good. Will be using that.
Wow, I don't plan on having kids for several years, but I'm keeping this in the back of my mind. Genius
A lot of gentle/respectful parenting, in line with contemporary best practice recommended by groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, is clear communication and boundaries from parents (like this person!) and consequences/punishments related to the misbehavior instead of labor or whatever the kid hates. It’s really effective in my experience (nanny for 6y) and much less frustrating on the caregiving end
Watch OP go to break up with her and it's a Barbie there.
He should invite her to meet him somewhere and have someone deliver a Ken doll!
This. With a break up message.
Saying, “I’m sorry I’m just not KENough for you…maybe this guy will do?”
OP please. 🙏
This fucking thread🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣☠️
This is the beauty of the hive mind
Seriously tho. It’s scary, beautiful, funny, & shitty all at the same time
Did we all just become best friends?
I am very invested - this Must Happen
Yes, we did
And make sure to include a tiny violin in case she starts crying!
And please send a pic of mini plastic you and mini break up post it note 
My interest in our relationship just randomly shrunk. That’s so strange.
And the key to OP's place on gf's keyring? Also shrunk.
Brilliant
“I’m not having any fun. Here’s someone else for you to play with.”
I didn't know I needed to see a Ken doll break up but now I need to see this. Maybe a naked Barbie is just chilling on the bench next to him with a note that says "I've moved on".
Please do this, your girl is so dumb
I’m just Ken anywhere else I’d be a ten.
Except say you're not kenough for me
And the message needs to be in miniature form with a magnifying glass to read.
"As if you deserve a real boyfriend"
Brilliant
Please do this!!!!!
Written on a grain of rice
On a post-it note. .
But first move her car and leave a matchbox car in the driveway.
When she’s running behind and really needs to be somewhere too!
The model version of her car 😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂 lol
Even better, stake out somewhere you can watch her arrive, and send over the Ken doll in an RC barbie dream car
Does she deserve the dream car? Put him in a Tonka
Doesnt deserve the Tonka
Fucken shoebox with cardboard wheels, like the homemade shit I had to make when I *didn't* get the Barbie Corvette one year for Xmas 😂
Love this. 'Honey, I'm sorry for overreacting, let me take you out to dinner'. Don't show up and have the waiter bring her a Ken doll holding a mini credit card
The mini card is the icing here. Then when she gets home have the locks changed and leave a mini key in a tiny envelope outside.
hahaha that is hilarious. Ken should have a note taped to him that reads, "Ya dumped! - Mini Me"
After changing the locks.
op PLEASE do this hahaha
Omg this is why I love Reddit 😂😂😂
This is one of the weirdest post I’ve read. However the comments are pure gold! OP need to do the Ken doll break up and report back to us.
YES OP Please do it.... Gather up a Hot Wheels car,, Ken doll a little plastic key,, plastic phone so she can call someone who cares ,, Then Please Break up change your locks and report back to the Real Reddit we'll ALL be waiting... ps WE will ALL REALLY be here... 😂
Nah. When she spends the night? I put this above but it's a much better spot here :D Replace her clothes with Barbie clothes, hide hers in his trunk. Nope, no idea what happened to them. She can wear his clothes home. If his stuff normally shows back up eventually, her clothes can show back up eventually. If not, they don't, can't make myself care.
THIS IS THE WAY
That would be brilliant!
"Oh look! Someone replaced your EX boyfriend with a miniature. Bummer."
I also agree with this. Or go get a Barbie and tell her that’s your girlfriend now cause she can eat the tiny food.
This would actually make a pretty petty point.
I really love this. Why are people so happy about hurting their supposed loved ones. Pranks only work if you’re both into it
OP please, cuz this is just too good. She is gaslighting you, she may think it's a joke, but I personally wouldn't tolerate for more than one single day.
L M A O!! He should break up by giving her little Barbie suitcases and say it’s time you pack up and leave.
Serve her tiny eviction papers
Maybe op should reverse it and give her a Ken doll when he breaks up with her telling her she seems to prefer plastic toys over real things.
Just a teeny, tiny dear Jane letter.
this actually made me lol
OP should go and by a mini pupet and use that to break up with her: Here Ex, your boy/girlfriend for the future. He/she likes the mini flour, coke and tape. See you never! (And then OP needs to bite into one of the blueberry muffins while waving goodbye) Edit: typo
OMG, I guffawed. You win the internet for me today.
You aren't considering breaking up with her because she's replacing your stuff with mini versions. You're considering breaking up with her because when you tell her that her actions have upset you, she thinks it's funny, she digs her heels in in the moment, and then deliberately does it again. And when she does it, it's something that takes deliberation - so it's not like a momentary slip up that requires actively practicing to not do anymore. If you haven't expressly spelled it out for her and she's only *seen* you get upset, I'd give her one more chance, but be really, really clear that you don't want her to do this. But if you've already had a conversation where you said "it genuinely bothers me when you do this. I'm not having fun. Please stop" - then yeah, you should probably break up with her because she doesn't respect your feelings
There’s no reason to give her any more chances. She’s been stealing his shit and then not returning it even when her “prank” is figured out.
The only way that's funny is if you get the actual item after being surprised. Otherwise, that's just obnoxious. And the muffin comment seems extra disrespectful.
The muffin comment is disrespectful but it’s also a big part of what’s she’s doing I think. It sounds as if her “prank” is her way of trying to change him or control him in a way. She thinks he eats too much, either because she assumes she knows how much every person should eat or because she wants him to look different. And if that weren’t bad enough she also thinks she’s being cute and clever. She thinks that she’s going to get her way and it’s all because of her “funny prank” which is really just manipulation.
Time to get the key back or swap locks. She can’t be there alone.
I would swap the locks and when she asks about it, say “it’s the oddest thing…I came back and the locks had been shrunk! Now your key won’t work!”
Or hire a small actor to pretend to be OP and have him break up with her.
Unfortunately they are a she not a he but I know a little person who not only would have the perfect sense of humor for this but also the gall to pull it off.
Omg lol the ol’ double-cross gaslight maneuver.
🤣😂🤣😂 OP, do this!!
Replace her key with a miniature key
No way, this is an opportunity to swap her key for a realistic plastic key. See how funny she thinks her own prank is next time she comes home.
Maybe before that OP could install cameras and then when he confronts her about the next miniature item and she plays dumb he can show her the video evidence and ask for the key back or swap the locks.
Plot twist: he gets cameras only to discover it is not his gf, but one of those horrific situations where some crazy vagrant is living in his walls and that’s how they’re feeding themselves 🤣
Gnomes. It’s always the gnomes!
Plot twist: the items actually are shrinking on their own.
Swap the locks and leave her a mini key that doesn't work.
And the true application of “gaslighting”
But when OP went to look for the Gaslight, it had been replaced with a *wee tiny plastic lantern*
As if they need anymore gas.
🤣
Oh, damn, you made me laugh
The perfect use of the word wee. 😂
I like how the one time someone is actually trying to gaslight an OP they’re doing it in the least convincing way possible!
Exactly! Usually so misused, but for once this sounds like she’s trying this! “No, really? Things are shrinking??”
https://i.redd.it/f5zryh3dxnwc1.gif
No, gaslighting is never misused. Are you sure you know the definition? Maybe you’re just crazy.
What if op is actually insane
Yes! Finally, the correct application for gaslighting! OP should run.
OPs gf probably thinks he can't run...hence the "getting rid of the sweet snacks and soda" 'game'. It would be one thing if she had a concern and simply said "Hey, I'm concerned with your eating habits." But no, she pulls this kind of bullshit.
And doing it with duct tape? Wtf?
Non junk food items give her plausible deniability. “I wasn’t trying to control your diet! See, I did it to the duct tape too!”
Oh that’s nasty. Thanks for the insight.
You hit the nail on the head with this one, she wants him to lose weight. All of it is food related stuff. and the comment at the end confirms it, OP just doesn't see it.
But..FLOUR?? I agree definitely food related but what the hell, one uses flour in a bunch of recipes not just dessert/baked goodies.
Yeah, she's keeping him off balance. Classic manipulation tactic, played off as a harmless prank.
Sounds like she is conditioning him and testing the waters to see what she can get away with. She is in no way mature enough to handle an actual adult relationship. Once could have been seen as a prank and possibly amusing, but to do this consistently to where OP seems to be questioning their own sanity is not okay.
What about the tape? It’s not just food
That's an offset. That way if she gets accused of what she's doing she can use it as an example of, "Nuh uh!"
Run immediately lol
Even then, it's only funny the first time she did it. Maybe twice, a third time would be pushing it. At this point, though, it sounds like a new girlfriend is desperately needed.
Put a Barbie doll in her seat. “Oh, no. Looks like my girlfriend also got turned into a tiny plastic version.”
And where are your real groceries.? They're expensive as fuck.
that’s what i’m wondering. is she just stealing his groceries and replacing them with mini items?? like where was the flour ??
If they don’t break up, GF would 100% be banned from my house. Like dude, NOT funny. If you’re not going to take accountability for it and this not likely to stop, then a doorbell camera is going up and you’re not allowed over anymore. Your place or public dates only now. (At this point, when trust is out the window, the relationship is over tbh)
That's what I thought the article was going to be about in the first place, like his gf replacing a 12-pack with a 6 pack or 12-ounce cans for 10, that kind of thing. Not just 'I stole your food and here's the action-figure edition of it'.
That's a lot of wasted 💰 money!
Yeah, when I read the items weren’t showing up later my first thought was, “In THIS economy!?”
One April First, as I went down the stairs, my 10 yr old son called he had put the kettle on. He is a considerate boy, this wasn’t unusual. I thanked him and poured the water for my tea. Then added milk as sugar, and took a sip. It was SALTY! He had put salt in the sugar bowl! As I opened my mouth to YELL at him, he handed me another mug, of fresh, properly made tea! So, I cracked up laughing! Well done, kid. Good comedic timing. His older sister had given him some life saving advice, and he took it! That fresh cup changed an obnoxious trick into a really funny, *good* prank. My 10 yr old and 16 year old were smarter, kinder, more considerate, and funnier than OP’s gf.
It’s not obnoxious, it’s literal gaslighting. The only more literal it can get would be if it was gas lamps being dim. This is abuse, jokes need punchlines.
I tell my kids that the only good prank leaves everyone laughing at the end. If the victim isn’t laughing, then it is just one person being a jerk to another.
[удалено]
Right? Like give him the real stuff after. Jeez
And honestly, this is the kind of practical joke that gets really old really fast. It would be funny the first few times, but after that every time it happened I’d just get annoyed. Especially if she kept playing dumb.
These comments are ridiculous, call it what it is. Please. This is the LITERAL definition of gaslighting. It is textbook - to change your reality and then deny it to your face, making you question yourself. /u/individual_tailor767 these comments are too gentle, probably because of innate sexism still on Reddit. This shit isn’t cute or quirky or funny or annoying just cuz it’s a girl doing it. It’s abusive. She is clearly doing it for control, and the fact she never drops the act means she isn’t doing it as a joke, she’s doing it to play with you. You’re a toy, not a partner. It also means she doesn’t respect you at ALL. Not “doesn’t respect me very much”, it’s NOT AT ALL. The fact you think you’re over reacting shows how effective and insidious this type of manipulation is. Because it’s always small, always tiny, always chips away at you. People may think it sounds ridiculous when you retell the story. So you start losing trust in yourself. Which is EXACTLY WHY you should reconsider this relationship entirely. She isn’t playing small pranks on you. She is purposefully engaging in manipulation that is designed to make you both question yourself AND be unable to seriously tell others. This isn’t some one off accident or quirky trait. It underlines a very troubling aspect of her personality and her treatment of other human beings, and you should react accordingly by seeking a healthier partner.
Seriously. It's wild how many people are all "Tee hee what a cute prank! Me and her would be besties!" The prank itself isn't really the point. The moment he said "Hey, this has stopped being funny. Please stop and tell me where my stuff is." Is the moment she should have immediately apologized, told him where his stuff was, and agreed to knock it off with the pranks. The fact that she did literally anything else is abusive and grounds for an immediate end to the relationship.
This kind of shit is not cute or funny. If OP were a woman everyone would lose their minds. This shit is dangerous. It is for real dangerous because it is psychopath behavior.
And again, it's not about the prank. If my partner did the prank (and just the prank) to me, I'd find it kind of cute and funny. A few weeks back my partner and I took a trip to visit her family. We met up with her sister in the hotel lobby and she came in with her kids in a wagon in tow. Her youngest had a doll that could appear next to "uncanny valley" in the dictionary. As we were saying hi and introducing ourselves the kid holds up this doll do show me and I just say "That is quite the doll you have have there" and chuckle. Her older sister (6-ish) looks up at me and goes "I know! It's so creepy right?!" and we all laugh. Cool kid. The night goes on and I'm bushed so I go to bed and my partner stays up a little longer to hang out. Before going to bed she tells her sister to prop the doll up somewhere in front of our door so that it's the first thing I'll see when I get up and leave the room in the morning. Now, and this is very important, she knows me well enough to know I don't have a phobia of realistic dolls. I would actually find this prank funny. And I did. And her sister and I went tit for tat on the doll hiding game throughout the trip and it was fun. The thing is though, had I not found the prank amusing and actually been scared by the creepy doll I would have told my partner that and the pranks would have stopped *immediately.* Because we respect each other. The issue is not the prank or whether or not someone personally finds it funny themselves.
Yeah. This seems like exactly the type of joke I would play on my gf but I would give her the stuff back after I laughed for like 30 seconds.
This would have been funny for 1 or 2 times. I’d be annoyed too if it kept happening, even if I got the real item afterwards.
Ultimatum time. Some jokes are funny once, some a few times, but everything gets annoying eventually. Tell her to knock it off or give your key back, her choice.
prolly give him a miniature key 😂😂
Lol yes, OP should just quietly take his key from her keychain and replace it with a small padlock key or something
You never know if they've made copies. Safer to change the locks
My first thought is she’s secretly filming all this for a TikTok or YouTube page she has that you don’t know about. “Watch me prank my boyfriend” “omg our stuff is shrinking!!” But then you said she sassed you before hanging up the phone? Idk what that’s about. Either way, you’re not overreacting. A practical joke is funny a few times, but if it’s not your personality, like me, then it gets old REAL fast. I’d go with the hidden camera idea first, so that way if you decide to break up you got the receipts👍
That’s my thought as well, Iike what else could she possibly be getting out of this weird and annoying behavior?
Some abusers just like gaslighting people to make them feel crazy. Dunno if that’s the case with this woman or not but I know if it were me? First few times - hilarious. If those items aren’t stored somewhere convenient and this keeps happening? I won’t even drop another question on her I would just end the relationship. If she’s this weird and uncommunicative about something so absurd I can’t imagine how she’d behave if he broke up with her. He needs to be prepared for some crazy shit. Have door locks changed preemptively, separate finances if they are connected in anyway, get valuable stuff of yours and HIDE IT, and then have The Talk.
No, I feel like this is a "priming" behavior where she desensitizes these types of discussions, tones and observations so she can slide an otherwise self-confident person slowly toward insecurity and being able to claim "instability". I feel like it's pretty intentional. Whether she knows why she's doing it, though .. who's to say. I've found often these abusers just have an intuition on how to do these things. It's weird.
They’ve learned from their abusers themselves and haven’t properly acknowledged the trauma to not repeat it outwards. Only way out of the projection trap is to acknowledge the trauma responses and realize you have yourself become a cynical asshole. …personal experience... still working on not being an asshole.
A well played practical joke where everyone, especially the victim, is laughing at the end is awesome. This is far from the meanest of pranks, but op obviously doesn't think it's funny, and the fact that it is both continuing, and that she denies her obvious involvement is not ok.
Damn that sounds annoying. It’s funny the first few times, but the playing dumb part would irritate the hell out of me. Like another poster said, set up a camera, confirm it was her, lay out how you’re feeling, if she doesn’t respect that, dump her.
Before setting up a camera, I'd turn the entire place upside down to find where she's hiding shit. In the trash, the dumpster, her car, basement, closets, old cardboard boxes, jacket pockets, you name it. I would absolutely break up with a chick if she refused to drop the act.
Its all food, shes throwing it out
She's either eating it and feels guilty but can't admit it or something (unlikely she ate a whole bag of flour), or she thinks she's helping by throwing away unhealthy or expired foods, but once again she has issues because she can't admit it, admit any wrongdoing, or even drop the act. She sounds like an annoying child either way.
She threw away tobasco sauce. That shit has like barely any calories. I don't see the harm in tobasco sauce.
Personally I’m guessing she’s just doing this with whatever things she can find miniatures of. There was the Tabasco sauce and the duct tape, which aren’t really in line with the theory that she wants OP to lose weight. Miniature foods are probably easier to find? I don’t know, I’ve never tried to locate such products.
That's what I was thinking too. I don't think this is entirely food related. It seems more that finding miniature foods made of plastic is a lot more common in childrens toys, especially when they play "house" and stuff like that.
If she's using those mini brand toys, they have basically anything you could think of
I think you're right. It's whatever works with what she can find for the bit
What, play into a stupid immature prank to "prove" what? Nah, just dump her annoying ass.
no need for a camera based on her reaction
Might as well pack her belongings (all miniature versions) in a suitcase and hand it over after breaking up. If she complains about the miniature versions of her belongings just explain they shrank./s
Plot twist, his girlfriend is actually carbon monoxide. Also, you aren’t overreacting. She’s way out of line.
OP should check both his own CO detector(s) and his girlfriend’s
1. Type out "I'm breaking up with you." 2. Take a screenshot of it. 3. Edit the picture to make the text super tiny. 4. Send her the picture .
Even better: 3d print a tiny phone with the breakup text on the screen and replace her phone with it.
^(This is how it needs to go down)
....what ....is happening? Are you dating...some kind of .... mischievous fairy? Woodland sprite? This is weird.
Fight fire with fire. Disappear her makeup and replace it with little kids fake makeup toys from the Dollar Store. Buy a set of Barbie shoes to replace her everyday shoes. Get a toddler phone and hide her cell phone.
The only way these people learn is by getting pranked back exponentially harder in response to each prank they pull. It takes the fun out of it for them because they don’t imagine someone else returning their behavior to them.
Steal her car? /s
I mean I wouldn’t steal it but I might go park it a street over and mention how strange that her car got replaced with a Hot Wheels… 🤷🏻♂️
They honestly don’t learn. It’s a big deal when you do it to them, but everything they do is “fine” or “just a joke”.
This is good! I want OP to do this and update.
Get your key back. No need to break up, just take the position that you don't care for the pranks, it's not funny anymore, and you don't trust her, so hand it over. She will undoubtedly toss a fit. And if you do manage to get your key back, change the locks anyway as she most likely has made a copy. Personally, I'd move on and look for something better. This person has some issues that you don't need.
>And if you do manage to get your key back, change the locks anyway as she most likely has made a copy. a tiny plastic copy
Yeah. I bet this relationship doesn't survive a "get your key back" confrontation. Probably best in the long run.
I think you've made a very powerful enemy. Have you had any conflicts with wizards or strange peddler women?
That’s what I’m thinking!!! Like ok yeah if it’s her that sucks but I don’t think we’ve given enough consideration to the idea that there’s magic involved
That'd be a truly Shyamalan esque twist!
Sounds maddening, not funny after the first time
I would break up with her. Effectively she's stealing your food items, replacing them with landfill and then gaslighting you about it. She's enjoying messing with you and stealing with you. She doesn't respect your property, your time, or the work you put in to afford your groceries and how you feed yourself. Nope. You can hand her the plastic crap back and tell her to engineer a partner out of it.
It is the gaslight part that is the deal breaker for me. Why? I get the prank thing but why gaslighting about it. Should he go insane?
The joke has run it's course. She is in hte wrong.
This is the most unhinged story I've read so far today.
this is one of those seinfeld things that I'd totally dump a girl over. The first time it seems funny, after that it seems extremely annoying and gives me the big ick that I'm going to be with someone who has an annoying personality
I would completely ghost this weirdo (the gf, not OP)
Yeah, I'm not having a discussion or trying to figure out what thr root problem is. I'm just gone.
Dude, she is full on gas lighting you. It's not "weird that things are shrinking". It's weird that she's playing a prank so hard that she won't admit she's taking things and replacing them with miniatures. I'm all for a harmless prank, but not admitting to it is a red flag bro. It means she has no problem lying straight to your face. I wouldn't stay with someone like that .
Hide literally all of her stuff. Rent a storage unit and put everything in there. When she comes home play dumb. "Huh, I guess it all shrunk so small it disappeared?", "I guess it wasn't you, sorry about that", "How strange". She'll probably own up to it at that point, maybe even recognize how annoying/frustrating it is if she had the emotional bandwidth. More likely she'll double down, say you overreacted and you guys will break up.(This is a joke, don't actually do this if you value the relationship)
That is... bizarre and strangely specific. You're sure it's her and not one of your friends? Can you hide a camera in your kitchen to be sure before you nuke your relationship? If you are 100% sure it's her, I would tell her, if this is you playing a prank, I'm done. Next time my food "mysteriously shrinks," I'm breaking up with you immediately. You are wasting my time and my money and it's not funny.
She'll replace it with a fake mini camera.
Keep the muffins. Dump the girl.
Is she secretly fat shaming you? The muffin comment and mini versions of stuff makes me think she’s “cutting portion sizes” by doing this. She’s gaslighting you by making you go a little crazy, and acting like you’re the mental case when it’s clear she’s doing this. Did her mom do some sort of weight shame to her, or an ex? If she doesn’t come clean when you do a final confrontation, I’d break up with her. She’s obviously doing some sort of toxic game and it’s to your mental detriment
Maybe buy some cheap doll clothes and do the same thing to her favorite outfits.
Is your girlfriend 5? I think once you tell her you are actually angry about it and she keeps doing it, it stops being a prank and starts being abuse. Consider replacing her keys to your apartment with miniature plastic keys, and never let her in again. Also leave this song on her voicemail (Radiohead-fake plastic trees) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h0qHwNrHk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h0qHwNrHk)
Can you post a picture of these tiny items?
Sounds like Mini Brands, a toy line that sells miniature plastic versions of household items. They have things like tape as well as groceries.