How One Redditor Served Up Petty Revenge—With a Side of Grandma’s Phone Number
Picture this: You’re out for a night on the town, the music’s bumping, your spirits are high (and so is your blood alcohol content), and suddenly, your evening takes a hard left turn into Creepsville. A guy who thinks buying you a drink earns him tickets to the “depravity circus” starts hitting you with requests that would make even HBO blush. What do you do?
If you’re u/Positive-Reading-227 from Reddit’s r/PettyRevenge, you serve up a slice of justice so cold it’ll give you frostbite—and you use your emotionally abusive grandmother’s phone number to do it. Welcome to a story where trauma meets troll, and revenge is a dish best texted.
The Setup: Drinks, Depravity, and a Dash of Memory
Our hero sets the scene: a night out, a few drinks courtesy of a would-be Casanova, and then a barrage of “truly depraved” requests from said suitor. You know the type. For most of us, this is where the eye-rolling starts, and the polite-but-firm “no thanks” comes out.
But here’s where it gets spicy: u/Positive-Reading-227, estranged from a toxic family and with her grandmother’s number still seared into her brain, hatches a plan. She hands over Grandma’s digits to the creep—encouraging him to text “all the disgusting, depraved things” he wants her to do to him, with an explicit request for detail. The beauty? She’s blocked all her family on everything, so even if there’s fallout, she’ll never see it. The satisfaction? Imagining her grandmother’s horror if the texts land. As she puts it: “I have no idea if he did text that number at all, but I like to imagine he did. It brings me joy.”
The Internet Reacts: Applause, Inspiration, and Grandma Jokes
The r/PettyRevenge community wasted no time turning this into a masterclass in creative vengeance. The post quickly shot to over 2,000 upvotes, with comments ranging from applause to inspired imitators.
“You may have just given me a use for my stepmonster’s phone number that will never leave my head…” wrote u/Eana34, tapping into a deep well of people with memorized-but-unused numbers of estranged relatives. u/caarmygirl chimed in: “FACTS!”—and the floodgates opened. Suddenly, Reddit had a new revenge playbook: hand out the numbers of toxic ex-friends, narcissists, or even that one boss whose contact info is branded into your memory.
But of course, it’s Reddit—so the jokes took off, too. “Plot twist: G-ma was down,” deadpanned u/CoderJoe1, and u/BodaciousVermin ran with it: “Hi. So, what are you into? Depends…” The thread devolved (or perhaps evolved?) into a glorious cavalcade of GILF jokes, references to public bathroom graffiti, and wild speculation that the guy and Grandma might just become an item (“Plot twist: he’s now your step grandfather,” quipped u/ZapperHarley).
The dark humor didn’t stop there. When one user questioned whether this was “abuse of the elderly,” others were quick to point out that, per the original poster, Grandma’s own emotional abuse justified a little poetic justice. As u/Pristine_Egg3831 observed, “Sounds like this elderly person was pretty abusive themselves. I’m sure a little offensive text message is nothing compared to what grandma actually did to deserve being cut out.” The OP even added, “I just wish I could abuse her more 😩”—a cathartic, tongue-in-cheek admission that sometimes, revenge isn’t just sweet; it’s necessary.
Petty or Perfect? The Power of By-Proxy Revenge
This story isn’t just about petty revenge—it’s about reclaiming power, even in the smallest, silliest ways. As u/AprilB916 put it, “By proxy revenge! Love it, too funny ;)” There’s something universally satisfying about flipping the script on people who’ve wronged you, even if the payback is as simple as a phone number and a little imagination.
And let’s be real: almost everyone has that one number they wish they could delete from their brain—the ex who ghosted, the “stepmonster,” the toxic friend. As the comments showed, this petty prank is practically a public service announcement for anyone who’s ever walked away from a bad relationship (of any kind) and wanted one final mic drop.
The Takeaway: When Life Gives You Lemons, Give Out Someone Else’s Number
So, what’s the moral of this story, besides “don’t be a creep at the bar”? It’s that sometimes, the best revenge is just a little bit petty, a lot creative, and totally harmless (unless you count the emotional whiplash your grandma gets from a barrage of explicit texts).
As the Reddit hive mind proved, you’re never alone in your desire for a little karmic retribution. Sometimes, all it takes is a well-remembered phone number and the courage to laugh at bad situations. Next time someone crosses your boundaries, just remember—there’s a whole internet out there, ready to cheer you on.
Have you ever dished out your own petty revenge? Got a number in your head you’d love to put to “good” use? Share your stories in the comments—because as r/PettyRevenge shows, sometimes the best support group is a crowd of strangers, laughing along with you.
Original Reddit Post: Texting Grandma