Players characters evading direct questions

[Unoriginal]

So, are we decided that the reason this happens is because the players have forgotten the relevant details and then lie about it to save face?

If so, it still seems to me that the players are the ones "at fault" here as they are the ones being actively dishonest where the GM is just confused.

If you absolutely want to assign an "at fault" verdict here, then both you and your players are "at fault".

You should have asked why they weren't answering the question when the scene was happening, rather than wait for after it was said and done.

Your players shouldn't have reacted like that to the situation.

I am absolutely aware that I do not communicate clearly. As you may be aware, I have NVLD, a sensory processing condition that, among other things, means that I can't read non-verbal communication clues and also parse language differently than most people.

My problem is not that I think I am being clearer than I am, its that people assume that I am lying or trying to trying to trick them rather than asking clarifying questions. So, in this case, rather than just asking me "Did you mean that it cannot be destroyed at all, or did you mean that there is some secret non violent means of destroying it?" the player decided to just ignore the plan that the party had come up with and ended up sabotaging her teammates.

That's more your players' problem, I have to say. They probably have their own demons to handle, one way or another.

That being said, I think the thing to learn from this thread is: as a GM, if you get confused by what the players do or want, address it OOC immediately by asking them about it, without assuming anything, and explain things if it's something the PCs should be aware of but the players have forgotten, misunderstood when it was explained the first time, or simply ignored due to not paying attention.