aita?

[insertusername]

am i the asshole?

Life isn’t always black and white. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s really at fault, and no one wants to believe they’re the bad guy. Sometimes you need an outside opinion. Or several.

Tell your side of the story and crowdsource an honest answer to the age old question; Am I The Asshole?

Top Level

with your character explaining a situation where they might have been the asshole.

Comment

with your hot takes. Anon or IC.

Comments

[littlesapphire]

No, yeah, that's pretty much exactly it! Kidnapped by pirates! Life outside the law! It was really sad, actually. He thought it was too dangerous to come back to her.

The evil wizards are totally relevant! Because we're trying to get away from them, and they keep chasing us, so actually, it turns out, having a super-secret criminal lair is maybe the safest place she could go! So it's not technically a trap, it really is a good safe place for her to hide. But also, as a - a side effect, it's a really good excuse to get them talking.

[unshakencowboah]

So all this time he's been in this secret place instead of makin' contact with her?

Did he even know about you? Maybe he weren't too keen on bein' a parent. Know someone who was like that. Though no pirates or evil wizards involved.

[littlesapphire]

[Jester is starting to get a mulish, grumpy look on her face.] No, he didn't! And he felt, like, super bad as soon as he found out!

[Jester spent a long time trying to deny the worry that maybe her father just had cold feet, just didn't want a baby, just decided to abandon them - but she did have that worry. Anyone would. Learning that she was right all along, that something terrible had kept him away, was a tremendous relief, and she's not too pleased to have someone trying to poke holes in it.]

And you don't know my Mama, nobody would want to leave her if they had a choice.

[unshakencowboah]

[A small if sad chuckle]

You'd be surprised at who or what someone will prioritize in their life. How pretty a woman is or whatever charms your mother has don't matter a damn. Sometimes someone just thinks what they're doing is better. That those they're in contact would be better off.

I know that all too well.

Is your dad now runnin' a respectable business? Or did he become an outlaw not unlike the pirates he was kidnapped by?

[littlesapphire]

I mean... he's very respected by other people in his line of work? ...but yeah, no, he's definitely a crime boss, for sure.

He was worried that his enemies meant it wouldn't be safe for him to contact her, but... [And here Jester's face twists with a kind of bitter unhappiness that looks out of place among the expressions she's used for the rest of this conversation.] It, um, it turns out that my enemies are actually... much more of a risk.

[unshakencowboah]

Sorry to hear that. Personal enemies can be even more of a problem than just the law. They know getting to those you care about will twist the knife into yea more deeply.

Hope things work out for yea Miss...?