This Teen Was Told To Hide Her Favorite Posters To Avoid "Triggering” Her "Recovering Incel” Stepbrother

A 16-year-old girl thought her dad’s engagement would be nothing but good news — until a simple home tour turned into an unexpected showdown over superhero posters. Her dad’s fiancée, Suzy, seemed lovely at first, but her request about the teen’s bedroom décor raised more than a few red flags.

The teen lives with her dad full-time, and her parents divorced seven years ago. After two years of dating, her dad and Suzy recently got engaged, and she was genuinely happy for them — until things got weird.

When Suzy and her son, a 17-year-old, came over to see the house they’d be moving into, everything went smoothly… until they reached the teen’s room. The proud nerd’s space is filled with collectibles — from Funko Pops to posters, figurines, and signed autographs of her favorite movie characters.

Two of her biggest obsessions? Captain Marvel and Rey from Star Wars. Unfortunately, that’s exactly where things went off the rails.

Suzy told her that her son is a “recovering incel” — yes, you read that right — and apparently, Brie Larson and Daisy Ridley are “big triggers” for him. Because of that, Suzy asked the teen to remove everything related to those actresses and their characters from her room and put it in storage.

The teen was stunned by the request but managed to stay polite, telling Suzy she’d “think about it.” Both her dad and Suzy seemed disappointed she didn’t immediately agree, which made her start to doubt herself.

She explained that her room isn’t just about those two characters — there’s plenty of other stuff, too. So technically, she could take the items down without leaving her room bare or losing much of her collection. Still, something about the whole thing didn’t sit right.

She wanted to be compassionate — after all, if someone is trying to recover and she could help, that seemed like the kind thing to do. But deep down, she didn’t want to take down things that make her happy just to cater to someone else’s unresolved issues.

Feeling torn, she took her dilemma to Reddit and asked, “Does that make me the asshole?” And the internet responded with a resounding no.

After thousands of supportive comments, she updated her post, saying she was blown away by everyone’s kindness and advice. “Thank you all for helping me find my spine,” she wrote, promising to talk to her dad and reach out to her mom for backup.

But things quickly took a darker turn when she actually confronted her dad about it. During his lunch break (he works from home), she brought up the conversation and even mentioned her Reddit post. That’s when everything exploded.

Her dad got angry — really angry. He yelled that she didn’t trust him, accused her mom of “poisoning” her against him, and ranted about her prioritizing “shitty characters over family.” The teen tried to stay calm, but it was clear that things had gone too far.

Feeling scared and overwhelmed, she made the decision to delete her Reddit account so her dad wouldn’t find it and get even angrier. Before signing off for good, she thanked everyone for their support and said she’d already emailed her mom and planned to call her later that day.

The post ended on a bittersweet note — a teen just trying to stand her ground, protect her safe space, and figure out where to draw the line between empathy and self-respect.

Because at the end of the day, no one should have to erase pieces of themselves just to make someone else more comfortable.

She didn’t want to take down things that make her happy just to cater to someone else’s unresolved issues.

AI-generated image

Here's the original post by the since deleted Reddit user.

So, I(16F) live with my dad. My parents divorced seven years back, but my dad started dating this very nice woman we'll call Suzy two years ago. Suzy's nice honestly, so when they got engaged earlier this month I was happy for them.Yesterday, Dad was giving her a tour of the house, since she and her son(17M) will be moving in once they're married. Everything went well until they got to my room. I'm a big nerd, and there's a lot of character stuff in my room. I've got posters, Funko Pops, some statues, and even a couple of autographs I saved up for. And Suzy had a little issue with it.See, two of the characters I have the most things for are Captain Marvel and Rey. And apparently Suzy's son is a 'recovering incel'. And she said that while he's doing really well, Brie Larson and Daisy Ridley (and their most famous characters) are still very big triggers for him. So she asked me to take all the stuff related to them down, and put it in storage. I told her I'd think about it, and both she and my dad were rather disappointed with me for not just saying yes.Here's where I think I might be the asshole. It's not like my room is a shrine to just those two. I have plenty of stuff. So I could take it down, and it wouldn't mean my room would look empty or blank. I'd just have weird spaces on my walls and shelves now. And if he's trying to get better I don't want to do things that'd upset him. So I could take them down, and I wouldn't lose much and I could potentially help my future step-brother....but I don't want to. Does that make me the asshole?EDIT: I got distracted by homework and video games, then slept for a while, then woke up to all of this! Wow, thank you all for your comments, your concerns, and your suggestions! I really do appreciate it!After frequent advice from everyone, I will try and talk to my dad later today, and call my mom after that (or regardless, if he doesn't want to hear it, I don't know). Thank you all for helping me find my spine, lolUPDATE: So uhm...talked to my dad about the situation, and mentioned this post during his lunch break (he's work from home). He's...not happy with me right now. Yelled that I don't trust him, accused Mom of poisoning me to think that he'd put his se*ual gratification over my safety, got really upset I aired family business on Reddit. Wanted to know why I'd put my shitty characters over family.I have to delete this account now, cause I don't want him to find it and get angrier. But I thank you all for your advice and compassion, and rest assured an email's going out to my mom now, followed by a call whenever she gets off work. Thank you so much!

Here's how the Reddit community reacted.

Reddit u/deleted

"You should have a problem with that."

Reddit u/gedvondur

"Your room, your choice of decorations."

Reddit u/RollingKatamari

"If it's such a 'trigger,' he can live with his father."

Reddit u/TireBiter89

"I'm worried for your safety."

Reddit u/RadioSupply

"Take every precaution with this guy."

Reddit u/Sorry-Sand-4869

NTA.

Reddit u/ComfortableZebra2412

"Your dad and Suzie are wrong."

Reddit u/devlin94

"Call your mother!"

Reddit u/TreeCityKitty

"Make sure your social media is locked down tight."

Reddit u/crumpet_22

"Don't take them down."

Reddit u/could-you-maybe-not

"You have way bigger issues than posters."

Reddit u/cassowary32

"Is he sleeping in your room?"

Reddit u/greenbean5050

"Suzy needs firm boundaries."

Reddit u/deleted

"Your safety has to come first."

Reddit u/WanderingAI08

When compassion turns into compromise, it’s easy to lose sight of your own boundaries. This teen learned that standing up for yourself — even when it’s messy — can be the bravest thing of all.