Some people look forward to Halloween more than any other day of the year.
A chance to dress up, eat candy, and perhaps above all else, be scared and scare others.
Of course, not everyone likes being scared, and not everyone reacts kindly to people who push their boundaries.
Redditor adam00xix was looking forward to a Halloween party he attended annually.
Particularly as he was preparing a special, spooky treat for party goers to enjoy.
Unfortunately, not everyone was taken by the original poster (OP)'s homemade treats, with the OP's boyfriend even suggesting he should apologize to the partygoers for going too far.
Something the OP didn't think was necessary.
Concerned he might be being obstinate, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**Hole" (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA for bringing heart-shaped cakes to the party?"
The OP explained why he found himself somewhat ostracized following his special Halloween desserts:
"I (25 M[ale]) love baking and love Halloween."
"Each year I attend my boyfriend’s friend’s Halloween party, and I am the one in charge of desserts."
"I started with cookies with fake blood (fruit juice with a bit of food coloring and cornstarch), but last year I made cookies shaped as eyeballs, and they were pretty gory and realistic."
"Everyone loved them."
"This year I decided to take it even further: inspired by Anya Taylor-Joy’s wedding cakes, I decided to make chocolate cakes covered in fondant and my fake blood, shaped like a human heart."
"For weeks I researched and drew sketches, planning to make the cakes as realistic as possible."
"I asked my friends whether they would be okay with this, and they all agreed, saying they loved how gross-looking the ' eyeballs' were last year."
"The cakes turned out perfectly, and I brought them to the party."
"It was the usual crowd plus some of my friend’s friends who just moved into town - a guy and a girl I had met before and their roommate."
"When I showed my art piece, my friends were all excited, and they loved my 'hearts'."
"With fake blood over them, they looked really good and kind of real."
"The issue was the two new girls who were not familiar with my Halloween baking."
"They both found the cakes gross, and one of them even had to leave the room."
"The other one then cussed me out for distressing her friend and ruining the party for them."
"I said I was sorry, but this was my thing each year, and the host and the others had said that they were fine with this."
"Then the host turned on me too, saying that while she had agreed with me bringing these cakes, she did not ask me to make them so gore."
"Another friend took her side as well until one guy suggested we move on and carry on with the evening."
"However, most of the people kept giving me the look from then on, and I ended up excusing myself and going home."
"The next day my boyfriend said that the attendees had a talk after I left and said that I should let go of this tradition of mine, as the new girls really did not appreciate it."
"He also said I should apologize again, but this time it should be a real apology, not blaming it on our friends."
"I refused because I do not feel like I’ve done something bad and now he and the rest of our friend group are giving me the cold shoulder."
"So AITA?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- INFO - More Information Needed
The Reddit community resoundingly agreed the OP was not the a**Hole for refusing to apologize for his cookies.
Everyone agreed that since the OP checked with the hosts of the party beforehand, he owed no one an apology; if anything, he was owed one by the party's hosts for going back on their words:
"NTA and anybody who cusses a stranger out over cake is trashy af."
"They didn’t have to eat them or even look at them and like… it’s f*cking cake."
"It’s not like you rolled up to the party with a bucket of pig hearts for everyone to eat."
"They’re total wusses and rude."- SinceWayLastMay
"NTA."
"Those girls were."
"How entitled."
"Do not apologize."
"Let your bf go to their parties alone."
"If they are going to shun you, don't go."
"Your bf did not defend you, and unless he does, I would look for a new bf."- Spare_Ad5009
"NTA but I'd definitely stop baking for them."
"No toning it down either, they just get nothing from you if they don't appreciate the effort you went to."
"It's Halloween, you're adults, I'd think scary and/or gory would be expected based on how things have been previously."- famousanonamos
"NTA."
"I bet those two women are happy that they were the center of attention at the party."
"Also, the host is a sh*tty host."
"I wouldn’t apologize, either."
"But it sounds like your tradition is over, at least among this friend group."- usefully_useless
"NTA, it's a Halloween party, wtf were they expecting I would not be apologizing either."- GrumpierTurtleNTA.
"Please!"
"Please post a pic of these cakes!"
"I want to... need to see these!"
"Sounds so cool!"
"Also, it is a Halloween party so what is the matter with these chicks."
"Geez."- Efficient-Scene5901
"Your boyfriend is giving you the cold shoulder?"
"Shouldn't he have your back? He seems to care more about the opinions of his coworkers, including new people, than his partner."
"Clearly, you shouldn't attend their party anymore, but your boyfriend needs to decide who he cares about."
"NTA."- Key_Two77
"NTA."
"They could have been adults about it but they decided to make their dscomfort everyone's problem and for some reason your 'friends' sided with them."
"I understand wanting to make people feel comfortable but it's just a Halloween baked good."
"Don't gotta eat it or look at it."
"Maybe if they had some underlying trauma and explained that, I would agree with them, but you showed up after explaining your plan, everyone said yes, then two people who weren't involved are mad?"
"Yeesh."- Maddkipz
"NTA."
"Hello, it's Halloween, not tea with the Queen."
"Find better friends, and make sure to tell the host not to bother inviting you any more."
"FWIW, I would have stood guard over those cakes and eaten them all and not let anyone else have any, they sound amazing!"-warriorwoman534
"So... they loved them until someone else didn't love them, and then all of a sudden they didn't love them?"
"And they want you to apologise for bringing something that they encouraged you to bring and said they loved just because the new girls don't like them? "
"This is called 'jumping on the bandwagon' or 'hypocritical bull' if you want to be blunt about it."
"Your 'friends' need to grow up and be better friends."
"Your boyfriend? Red flag waving."
"NTA."- Shadow_wolf82
"Obviously NTA."
"It's Halloween, they should expect some gore."
"The host is also not your friend; she wasted no time throwing you under the bus."
"Those women are going to have a hard time with life if they keep being such snowflakes."- No_Mongoose5419
"Throw them all to the dumpster, your spineless boyfriend, your fake 'friends' and the pedantic 'new friends'."
"It's gross how they all were ok to throw you under the bus because two clowns couldn't handle these cakes that they agreed with you to bring!"
" At a HALLOWEEN party and your spineless ass boyfriend instead of backing you up he's telling you to apologize?!!"
"NTA, the rest are tho."- NonChromatica
"NTA"
"And I’d actually stop going to their yearly party based on how crappy the host treated you and people giving you the side eye."
"And your bf should’ve had your back."
"They all suck."
"But your baking sounds AMAZING!"
"People would totally buy your treats for their own Halloween parties!"- Stray1_cat
"NTA."
"I would love your cakes. People are idiots."
"Find people who love things a bit gory."
"If you go next year, buy a white sheet cake with white frosting."
"That should be dull enough for them."
"Also, cake tax?"- Edcrfvh
"NTA!"
"What a stupid thing to make such a scene over."
"It’s a HALLOWEEN party; what did they expect?"
"They made themselves look like AHs, not you."
"I would love your cakes; I bet they looked awesome."- HorrorAvatar
Those two unlucky female guests clearly weren't prepared for what the OP could make.
However, everyone else was, both from years past and thanks to a forewarning from the OP.
Making it a bit hard to understand why he should feel obligated to apologize for bringing something he'd run by nearly everyone.
Indeed, perhaps the ones who invited these women should have given them a little warning about what they had in store for themselves.
