Everyone can agree that lately, pranks have kind of gotten out of hand. They used to just be about making people laugh or feel good after a minor scare, but now folks seem to be raising the stakes. When violence and terror become a part of the prank, maybe that’s when it’s time to call it quits.

Unfortunately, this woman became the victim of a horrific revenge “prank,” and things very soon went from bad to worse. She couldn’t believe that her brother’s girlfriend would pull such a stunt all because of a funny childhood memory.

More info: Reddit

Younger sister is traumatized and regretful after punching her brother’s girlfriend and “ruining” his relationship all due to a practical joke the girlfriend tried to pull

Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

The 23-year-old woman explained that her brother’s girlfriend moved in with her family when she was 17 and that despite living together for so many years, they never got along

Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

Even before the poster’s birthday, when her brother recalled how she wiped cake on his nose as an 8-year-old, her sister-in-law didn’t find the memory amusing

Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

Things came to a head on her birthday when the girlfriend grabbed her by the hair and neck and forcefully tried shoving her face into the cake, to the extent of drawing blood

Image credits: Polina Tankilevitch (not the actual photo)

The sister-in-law did not apologize for her actions and tried explaining that she was only getting payback for her boyfriend

Image credits: Specialist-Pop-8019

The poster’s brother broke off his 11-year-long relationship due to the incident, but it made his sister feel guilty and worry that she had ruined his life

The woman explained that she had a good relationship with her brother and that they would occasionally get into typical sibling fights. Her sister-in-law, who had been living with their family since she was 17, did not seem to see it that way. She used to act snarky towards the sister and side with her boyfriend if any argument arose.

It seemed like this tendency of hers had carried into adulthood as well because she had quite an odd reaction to a memory that her boyfriend shared. He was reminiscing about how he had pranked his sister on her 8th birthday and blown out her candles. She, in turn, had wiped cake on his nose, and everyone had found it funny. Everyone except his girlfriend, of course.

Now, practical jokes between friends or family are often considered a way of ‘play fighting.’ Psychologists say that these pranks imply a sense of closeness between the members of the group and should be light-hearted enough to help them bond. That’s exactly how the poster and her brother viewed the old memory. Neither of them saw anything malicious in it.

But there are folks who get angry when pranked. It’s because such jokes might lead to embarrassment or evoke a sense of fear. To learn more about pranks, Bored Panda contacted Jonathan Wynn, a professor and department chair of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His most recent book is ‘The City and the Hospital: The Paradox of Medically Overserved Communities.’

We asked him to share some signs to identify when a prank has gone too far. He said that pranksters may take laughter as encouragement, but it is definitely not an indication. In the moment, things might seem ambiguous, but it’s only in the prelude and postscript that the person who was pranked might start to reflect on the intent behind the prank.

That ‘gotcha’ moment might give the illusion of a successful prank, but the intent and context behind it matter a lot. He explained that there are different types of pranks, such as good-natured pranks, good pranks gone bad, and hazing. You can understand which one’s happening based on whether the one pulling the prank is doing so to elevate the other person or to bring them down and bully them.

Image credits: Ami Suhzu (not the actual photo)

During the birthday party, the brother’s girlfriend decided to play a scary “prank” on the OP. She roughly grabbed the young woman’s hair and tried to shove her face into the cake. She then dug her nails into her skin, drew blood, and even shoved her boyfriend’s mother when she tried to stop her. The situation ended when the poster turned around and punched her sister-in-law, and the woman ran off crying.

Everyone was shocked by the woman’s behavior. The 23-year-old’s dad was horrified because he had designed the cake and knew that there were skewers in it that could have really injured his daughter. When someone pulls extreme pranks that result in assault, harassment, or violence, they can be criminally liable. But what’s ironic is that even though the sister-in-law was the one in the wrong, she wanted to sue the OP for punching her.

We asked Jonathan what folks could do if a prankster started doing extreme or violent things. He said that in professional settings, there are real sanctions that can be placed like filing a complaint or reaching out to a boss. It becomes difficult to deal with such behavior in family or personal settings.

He said that people need to talk about the line between pranking and hazing so that we, as a society, learn where the boundary lies. In families, the elder members should make an effort to call out such behavior because, with the hierarchy of power, they are the ones who could make a difference.  

Overall, Jonathan mentioned that “pranks are tricky.” He said that what the woman’s sister-in-law did not constitute a prank because it led to physical harm. Ultimately, pranks should be good-natured, and everyone involved should be on equal footing. As soon as there’s potential for mental or physical harm, it stops being just a prank.

Fortunately, the entire traumatizing situation showed the family the woman’s true colors. It was heartbreaking for the brother, and he broke off his relationship with his longtime girlfriend. Even though his sister had been put through so much pain, she felt worse because of the way the situation had affected her sibling.

In no universe does a 15-year-old prank justify the sister-in-law’s violent actions. Even commenters were appalled by her behavior and urged the OP not to beat herself up over the situation. They felt that it was much better for the brother to see his girlfriend for who she truly was before they actually got married.

Pretty much everyone agreed that the sister-in-law was probably a psycho and that she should be the one getting sued

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