'Worldbuilder' keeps clearly-labeled fictional binder in his room, friend snoops through it and asks roommates to get one of the foods described, only to later be told it's not real, blames friend for embarrassment: 'Roommate laughed in her face'

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Sep 12, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

POV: You have a passion for jotting down elements of a fictional world, only to be accused of 'knowing' your friend would snoop through it, AND believe some of it was actually real. All for her to add a very specific type of "Fool's Bell" pepper to her and her roommate's grocery list, thinking it was real…all for her roommate to absolutely break down in laughter when she discovers how gullible she is! The binder literally read, Worldbuilding! Meaning that everything in it was clearly make-believe. 

Her vulnerability and claim of 'looking dumb' made her place all the blame on her friend, claiming that he knew she would read it and go on to make a fool of herself. If he wasn't wearing a T-shirt with giant, bold text that read PLEASE SNOOP THROUGH MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS WHILE I'M DOWNSTAIRS, then we're not exactly sure what gave her that impression…  

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  • We're starting to think the friends we read about in novels may be better than this friend, because hopefully they're not snooping through our stuff and then proceeding to blame us for what they find. It's like seeing a drawing of a unicorn-merged-cat and thinking, “Hey, roomie, we should totally get one for the apartment.” As great an idea as that may sound, it might not be possible in this lifetime or on this planet specifically…yet. Sorry to disappoint. 

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    Woman reading while sitting on a chair
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    I (19M) love worldbuilding. I would consider it to be my main hobby. I somehow find a way to connect most things
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    I find IRL to my fictional setting, and will jot down a note on a napkin or something before transferring it to one
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    of my worldbuilding binders when I'm alone. I don't talk about my fictional world with pretty much anybody, I think it's a little embarrassing.
    via OceanOracl3
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    I have multiple binders for the same setting, for different aspects of the world. Think one for food, geography, religion, etc.
    via OceanOracl3
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    It's a little overkill but it helps me organize my thoughts. I invited over my friend (22F), let's call her A, for a movie night with me,
    via OceanOracl3
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    my sister (18F), and my parents. She's very much not into the D&D/fantasy stuff, and doesn't know anything about it. We ended up going up to
    via OceanOracl3
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    Man drawing
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    my room to play video games, and at some point, I went downstairs to go to the bathroom or something. When I came back upstairs,
    via OceanOracl3
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    she was on her phone, so I assumed she'd been doing that the whole time. She goes home, I think nothing of it. The next day
    via OceanOracl3
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    at around noon, she starts blowing up my phone calling me an a hole for making her look stupid. I, understandably confused, ask what she means,
    via OceanOracl3
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    and she admits she read one of my binders and asked her roommate to pick up one of the peppers she'd read about, because it sounded good.
    via OceanOracl3
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    She said she wanted to make fool's bell poppers, because she and her roommate both love spicy food. (Fool's bell is a fictional type of pepper I created
    via OceanOracl3
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    that looks like an overripe bell pepper, but is actually a little more spicy than a serrano pepper, so around 25k Scoville.) Her roommate had laughed in her face
    via OceanOracl3
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    after looking up the type of pepper, and said she "got her good." A says I'm an AH because, to her, I 'knew she would snoop through my stuff,'
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    so I put something fake to make her look dumb to her roommate. I need to emphasize; this binder cannot be more clearly labelled as fiction.
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    Frustrated man shouting at his phone
    via sydaproductions

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    There are no IRL things in this binder, not standing alone at least, and the front literally says "Worldbuilding: (type)." On top of this, she's one of my only
    via OceanOracl3
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    IRL friends, and I love her a lot. I have no idea why she would assume I would do this maliciously. AITA?
    via OceanOracl3
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    Riposte12 NTA - She read your personal things without permission and then tried to blame you for it? Let me ask you something. Is she really one of your friends?
    via Riposte12
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    iforgotthequestion NTA but really I'm just tickled by how fitting the name of this pepper is for your friend who believed in its existence.
    via iforgotthequestion
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    Stoney_Wan_KaBlowme NTA but may want to really think about if this person is really your friend. A real friend would not go through your private stuff and then chew you out over it.
    via Stoney_Wan_KaBlowme
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    Accomplished_Form830 NTA. You had them clearly labeled, in your room. They weren't out on the coffee table in the living room. She chose to snoop, and then in turn Karma made her the fool. This is not your fault. If anything she should apologize for invading your privacy. You are young, people don't do this just as a normal thing. She is 1000000% in the wrong here
    via Accomplished_Form830
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    IHaveBoxer Dogs If this is real, your friend sounds dangerously paranoid. To think you had this elaborate plan to fool her? And just to make you look dumb? That is not a normal reaction I wouldn't that type of person in my life. NTA
    via IHaveBoxer
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    Wabbit-127 So I played DnD when the first board game came out and then for many years after. It's fun. Someone who is respectful would not snoop. That would end things for me. You are way too young to know what your future is going to look like but you need to understand snoops are not cool. She is not your forever person. You are NTA. She totally is. Time to move on.
    via Wabbit-127
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    motty36 NTA. Not like you tried to convince her it was a real delicious food.
    via motty36
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    GeomEunTulip NTA She went through your personal effects and then had the audacity to try to say you tricked her? She's a snoop who got embarrassed because she's a fool. What kind of person goes through people's stuff in secret? Real friends just ask "hey can I see that?" She waited until you were out of the room.
    via GeomEunTulip

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Tags

snooping fantasy si-fi geek universe geeky friends fanfiction dishonest made-up-world fiction world friendship make believe universe foolish pepper
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