Hello, I'm brainstorming a deck around cranial ram and cranial plating. The idea is to break through with unblockables like [Kappa Cannoneer] and [Etched Champion]. Alternatively i like the card [Invisible Stalker] but its not an artifact so I didn't include it.
Deck: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/tpqEc4UNOk6T4pYE1roLPg
Not expecting this to be tier one, but any suggestions would be welcome!

17 minutes of Armenia coverage by Transcaucasian Telegraph. Follow for regular updates.

Defense Minister Papikyan continues the Europe trip

• Attended a working dinner of Defense Ministers from the EU and partner countries at the invitation of Joseph Borrell.
• Discussed European security during the Schuman Security and Defense Forum.
• Held meetings with his counterparts from Sweden, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, and Georgia
• Met General Robert Brieger, the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, to discuss AM-EU defense cooperation.
• Discussed the reforms that are being introduced in the Armenian army.
source, source, source,

ranking Russian officials attended the event celebrating Azerbaijan Day on May 28: video

LDPR leader Slutsky praised Ilham Aliyev for solving the Karabakh issue and said now it's time to rebuild the areas under Azerbaijani control.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Ministers Galuzin, Rudenko, and Pankin were also present, and so was ranking Senator Grigory Karasin, who described Azerbaijan as "brothers for centuries" with strategic cooperation with Russia.
source,

Armenia's public television channel aired a report about the government's decision to suspend the broadcast of the most popular Russian TV channel in Armenia

As you know, yesterday the High-Tech Minister said that Russia's Channel One hasn't paid its dues for 2.5 months and had to be suspended until the payment is made. The suspension applies to their broadcast in public aimultiplex only. The ministry won't disclose the exact amount owed but "it's not a big sum".
FREE SPEECH NGO (Melikyan): I think there is a political context and the [Armenian government] used the debt as a pretext to once again tell the Russian channel and Russia's information tsars that we are not going to put up with their mud-throwing. Criticism from Russia is okay, but non-journalistic propaganda should be blocked.
REPORTER: In the past, the issues with Russian channels were regarding the content in specific shows. Two months ago the shows run by Vladimir Solovyov were banned in Armenia's public multiplex [and private companies decided to voluntarily join the ban at the time].
ORDUKHANYAN (politolog): Similar violations exist in Channel One and other Russian channels today.
REPORTER: PM Pashinyan said on May 7 that Russian channels would be blocked if they did not follow the law and respect the Armenian state and citizens.
source,

parts from Pashinyan's presentation in Parliament during the discussions around the 2023 budget, economy, and politics:

It's expensive to have a state, which is why taxation is necessary. How should we spend these taxes? Implement the programs of a small group of isolated political elites who seek "historical justice", or should it be spent on the prosperity of citizens? Our citizens want to live, not survive. They want to be free, prosperous, and happy.
"Security" is no longer enough because peace is needed. What we called "security" for decades was security in name only; it was quite a dangerous security. Peace is what ensures real security. This is part of the conceptual differences between Real Armenia and Historical Armenia.
After the independence, the most prominent trend in Armenia was the emigration. People finally created an independent state but had to emigrate to be able to live. Does that mean Armenia was not a livable place for them? How did that happen? Because Armenia was managed by a group of elites with clerical-feudal ideology that hadn't progressed for centuries. This ideology was injected into our citizens, all of us, through the educational system. That's why we have that gap, when you create an independent state then find it necessary to leave in search of another place to live.
A man wearing shorts is enjoying coffee on his balcony in the morning. The onlookers criticize him for "insulting" their "perceptions". How dare you enjoy a coffee in shorts while ignoring the Higher Ideology we are currently fighting for? The man wears colorful clothing and they shame him. "How could you wear colorful clothes? Who is going to mourn if we all start wearing colorful clothes? You scum traitor."
One, two, three such encounters and the person wants to emigrate and live in a place where he can enjoy the coffee on the balcony without being shamed.
Our political party's mistake was continuing these clerical-feudal traditions after 2018. This is what's happening to us today. We are breaking free of it today despite the revolt by the authors of the clerical-feudal system. We are "traitors" for breaking it.
The state must be a tool to provide justice, vivacity, and prosperity to its citizens. To accomplish this, at a political level, we need to have an effective state. An effective state is one that is capable of adapting to the changing world and the new challenges. This is the key to ensuring the long-term existence of the state. This is the path we have chosen. You read a textbook in school and received a "5" [max score], but if we attempt to deal with today's reality by implementing our school knowledge, we will lose our state.
In 2022-2023 I said that if we can succeed in preserving our statehood over the next 2 years, its long-term existence will be ensured. The 2023 budget [today's topic] was used for overcoming that challenge, to ensure Armenia's existence. If in 2021-2022 we saw a VERY direct and immediate threat to the existence of the Republic of Armenia, then today I can announce that we have overcome, controlled, and neutralized that threat by using the aforementioned formulas [by being flexible in a changing world]. We have given a short and medium-term solution to it, but it's necessary to have a long-term strategy as well. In a changing world, we must have flexible a Government and Parliament.
We must work if we want prosperity. "Employment" must be the state ideology and those who choose not to work should not be respected. We must first have a quality education that doesn't encourage people to berate others for drinking coffee in shorts. The education system must teach that in order to live well, you must choose professionalism and diligence, and develop your own skills.
We must break free of the clerical-feudal educational system that taught people that suffering was the only way. They created a box and didn't want you to think outside of it. The school must give you the skills to have a good life, part of which is the development of identity and values. This is why in 2019 for the first time we attempted to formulate what our national values are. This was needed because it was all too common to witness how everything was presented as a "national value". So in 2019, I found it important to list the national values because they are part of our identity, and each person must have an identity to be happy. These are the national values, perhaps partial:
• Armenian statehood and Republic.
• Independence, sovereignty, citizenship, democracy, army.
• Armenia's history, Armenian people's folklore, the epic and legends, and beliefs.
• Armenian language and literature, scripts, knowledge, and science.
• Panarmenian potential and diaspora. Even if you left us, you are still part of our identity.
• Homeland, family, and individual. The individual is a national value and must be valued and should not be mistreated because of the color of their clothes. The society cannot decide what color of clothes the individual must wear on the streets. You must be able to wear whatever color represents your identity.
• The Church and Christianity. Today they claim we mistreat the Church but that is not true. If there are specific individuals within the Church who discredit the Church with their actions and give the Government the right to respond, that is not the Government's fault.
• Armenian folk and modern music and dance, theater, and architecture.
• Nature with its diversity.
• continue here, զահլես գնաց
What is the connection between these national values and the performance of the 2023 budget? There is a direct link. The budget is meant to serve those values.
Now some budget numbers from 2023:
• The 8.7% economic growth was above the 7% annual average growth that we set during the 2021 electoral campaign.
• Armenia's economy has grown by around 30% since 2018.
• GDP per capita compared to 2017 grew in real terms by 37% in drams and doubled in dollars.
• Over 206,000 new jobs were recorded in Dec 2023 vs Dec 2017.
• The unemployment is down by 5% but there was a change in methodology so it's not very accurate to compare with the distant past, but under the new methodology in 2023 also the unemployment decreased, to 12%.
• Tax collection was up by ֏298B or +14.5% YoY, and up by ֏1.063T or +92% compared to 2017.
• Citizens received ֏68B in income tax refunds, up by ֏63B from 2018.
• 37,000 applicants have received mortgage loans since 2017 as part of the special program. The increase is 1648%. Under this program, part of the income tax you pay is returned to you to buy a house, while the other part is used for building roads and infrastructure for your building. The construction quality is not necessarily great including because of historically low construction volumes; our companies didn't have enough experience. That leads us to...
• Capital expenditures were ֏494B which is 3.3x greater than the 2018 volumes. Part of this were defense projects, but defense was included in the past as well. It's time to raise the construction standards in Armenia. When a school roof collapses on a student's head, he develops a negative attitude towards the State.
• The "added value" refunds to businesses amounted to ֏88B, up 3.2 times since 2018.
• Average nominal monthly salary grew 14.6% YoY, while real wages with the inflation taken into account grew by 12.4%.
• Real wages have increased by over 30% since 2018.
• Seniors received over ֏5B in cashback for shopping with bank cards instead of cash. The non-cash turnover by seniors grew to ֏60B. It's suspicious that "seniors" used their cards to purchase very large quantities of cigarettes last year, so we might have to restrict the types of goods that qualify under this program so that our seniors and their grandchildren can live a healthy lifestyle.
source, source,

Finance Minister about the economy in 2023

HOVHANNISYAN: We have finally overcome the chronic underperformance of the capital expenditure budget. 2021: 92.5%, 2022: 94.9%, 2023: 95.8%.
Not only the performance rate has improved, but the size of expenditures has also increased by ֏105B ($271M). That additional sum was spent on defense, road networks, urban development, water networks, ...
The debt grew by 14.5%, driven by a 31% increase in internal debt. The debt-to-GDP ratio was 48%. To control the risks, we increased the share of dram and internal debt, while diversifying the debt in foreign currency by decreasing dollars and increasing euros.
source, source, source,

Why was the Catholicos Garegin B briefly prevented from approaching the Sardarapat Monument yesterday?

Context: Ex-regime protesters attempted to derail Pashinyan's ceremony yesterday morning so Pashinyan had to postpone his visit to the afternoon. The Catholicos, who is the protest co-organizer Archbishop Galstanyan's boss, also arrived in the afternoon.
PASHINYAN: He approached the area of the state ceremony without an invitation and we weren't informed that he expected an invitation. The police wanted to clarify whether the Catholicos came to continue the provocation started by his Archbishop. After the police received the assurances that the visit was only ceremonial, his entry was authorized to the area where the state ceremony was taking place. Catholicos is the leader of the movement [co-led by Archbishop Galstanyan] that earlier took steps to obstruct the ceremony, so the police had to clarify his intent.

Is there a chance Armenia and Azerbaijan could sign a peace agreement this year, perhaps during COP29?

PASHINYAN: Every day is a great day to sign a peace agreement as long as there is an agreement around the text of the peace agreement. To be more precise, an agreement around the principles has already been reached during the meetings in Prague, Sochi, and Brussels. The only thing left is to reflect these agreements in the peace agreement. I believe we have an opportunity to conclude this work soon.

Why is Azerbaijan avoiding mentioning the 1991 Almaty Declaration in the peace agreement if we have already begun using it for delimitation?

PASHINYAN: There are nuances here and I'd like to share some details with you. In reality, the work around the peace agreement's text is multi-layered, and sometimes the sentences and comments made regarding the agreement are not always perceived accurately by those who do not possess the full details of the text and dynamics. FM Mirzoyan and NatSec Grigoryan have spoken about that, but the perception and reality might not match. In reality, Armenia and Azerbaijan have already agreed to refer to Almaty in one of the sections of the peace agreement that has been accepted by both parties. So [what Mirzoyan and Grigoryan were saying about Azerbaijan's refusal to include Almaty] is about something else, something I cannot comment on because there is diplomatic work around it.
QUESTION: In other words, Azerbaijan is not refusing to solidify the Almaty by including it in the peace agreement?
PASHINYAN: Let's recall the public statements made by Baku recently. The President of Azerbaijan announced that they are committed to the Prague agreement and the Almaty Declaration. During the process of reproducing that in the peace agreement, there are work issues that can be resolved. There are sensitive diplomatic nuances preventing me from discussing this in-depth publicly.

Are we close to a peace agreement?

PASHINYAN: There is a very significant change in the atmosphere but we haven't reached the end yet.

Any update on lifting the blockade on Armenia?

PASHINYAN: The Crossroads of Peace reflects our understanding of unblocking every communication link in the region. We are ready to implement it at any moment, including with Azerbaijan. The CoP is larger than Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Why did your wife organize a "party" while northern Armenia was struck by a disaster? [was she wearing shorts by any chance]

PASHINYAN: The primary beneficiaries of that event, which was planned 6 months ago, were the mothers who lost their sons in the 2020 war. They need support to overcome the grief.

Will you meet Archbishop Galstanyan?

PASHINYAN: I regularly meet people. There is a procedure to schedule a meeting with me. Everyone can contact us to be added to the list. //
ARCHBISHOP GALSTANYAN: It is the government that should want to meet us, not the other way around. Their actions display convulsions. Pashinyan will leave, he is smart. //
People began to take notice of the repeated nature of statements by opposition leaders that Pashinyan would be removed or leave "soon" under the pressure of the Holy Struggle. Famous actor Hovhannes Azoyan (curly Hovo) made fun of the "1-hour" ultimatum Bagrat gave to Pashinyan on May 9:
AZOYAN: Հրապարակը զբաղեցրած սառցազանին մի հատ ժամացույց նվիրեք ու ասեք, որ 1 ժամը 1 ամիս ա արդեն անցել ա, համ էլ շոգերը, որ եկավ … հալելու է
source, source, source,

from an interview with ex-PM Aram Sargsyan about Armenia's industry and factories, and protests

SARGSYAN: The Church [leadership, not just Bagrat] has entered politics by making statements unprecedented since the 1990s, which opens the door for politicians to enter the Church and treat it as a political opponent. There is a clash of two ideologies right now, between those who prefer Russia and CSTO, like the ARF, and those who prefer the West. At least Robert Kocharyan had the courage to be open about who he is, the possibility of joining a Russian Union, and what he supports, unlike those who deny their affiliation. This group's global interests align with that of Russia and they don't have a functional peace plan.
REPORTER: Do you believe Archbishop Galstanyan and the forces surrounding him in Republic Square want to move Armenia closer to Russia?
SARGSYAN: Of course. That's what they presented in their plan. They formed a wing of diplomats consisting of former officials from the foreign ministry, led by Vartan Oskanian. They read the document, according to which it's unacceptable to change Armenia's foreign vector today and that it's necessary to strengthen cooperation with Russia. We did strengthen ties with Russia, and what did that give us in Nagorno-Karabakh?
REPORTER: Your opponents say the infrastructure-for-debt was done under your administration while you were a Prime Minister, and that you supported it.
SARGSYAN: A total lie. First, the infrastructure-for-debt happened in 2003 under PM Andranik Margaryan [with Robert Kocharyan as President], who signed the documents. Under my tenure, even the ՀԷՑ (power network) that they planned to sell...
REPORTER: I was referring to the preparatory work...
SARGSYAN: ... the ՀԷՑ was supposed to be sold not to Russia but to a Western firm with a presence in Georgia. One of the main advocates of that deal was the current President of Armenia. But I saw a massive corruption risk and I took steps to exclude ՀԷՑ from privatization. Not a single state company of this kind was privatized under my tenure.
Under my tenure, we resumed the operations of the Nairit Chemical Plant. Robert Kocharyan is alive so you can verify this with him: When I offered to relaunch Nairit, Kocharyan told me that it was a "black hole" and that any investment would be lost. As a man from the industry, I disagreed and said there was an opportunity to resume its operations. Kocharyan told me to prepare a written statement that I assume full responsibility for Nairit and any losses. Nairit had a total of 8 ացեկ(?) and it functioned with 6 ացեկ during USSR. The other 2 were routinely stopped for repairs. It was profitable. We launched it with just 2 ացեկ with the other 6 suspended, yet it was still profitable. We didn't reinvent the wheel there. Do you know how we managed to do it? I issued an order that Nairit's output could only be sold by its director and with his signature. Prior to that, anyone could just sell the product and pocket the cash; it was a massive network of corruption. So Nairit worked under my tenure.
We also relaunched the Agarak copper combine under my tenure. At the time the mine was entirely flooded with water. Kajaran's director Maxim helped me fix it; he had the pumps to remove the water. In return, I helped Maxium with his problems. He told me that his molybdenum was being processed without giving him money so his factory was on the brink of bankruptcy. Since I knew how smelters(?) worked, I stayed in Ghapan for a week to help him install two of those. So they failed to push Kajaran to bankruptcy to buy it out. Who wanted to buy it? You know who, because they were able to execute their plan after my departure. Kocharyan wanted it to go bankrupt.
I didn't want to brag about this, but any time if I had any involvement with industrial factories, it was in order to make them function. I know the industry. I think Pashinyan is a terribly bad economist with zero record of resuming abandoned factories.
Bagrat Galstanyan took a swipe at me saying if you were a man why didn't you build the factory in Yeraskh [Context: Azeris shot at the Indian workers so the factory had to be moved]. First, I'm not the one building that factory, it's a US company with my brother's son-in-law owning a share. Good for him. Okay, let's suggest I'm the one building it. This is the only factory that's being built in Armenia today with real money. If you drive nearby you'll see the modern...
REPORTER: ... what stage of construction has it reached?
SARGSYAN: They invested $6M but Azerbaijanis shot at it so they moved the location further away, when you turn left from the so-called Zod bridge. It's a beautiful factory. It's different from every factory built in the USSR.
REPORTER: When will they finish the construction?
SARGSYAN: A metal smelter, especially for copper, usually takes 4-5 years but they want it in 2-3 years.
REPORTER: What will they melt?
SARGSYAN: At first they will work with scrap. Armenia doesn't have enough scrap so they'll import it.
When they built the two factories in Hrazdan, they were for the ferrum mines in Hrazdan. There were legal processes there as well, surrounding ex-Nature Minister Vardan Ayvazyan, the Chinese, $30 million, etc. The fate of these mines is unclear today but it was all calculated during the USSR. The factories in Hrazdan were almost ready and they could function if there was a good government.
The same about perlite. Armenia has massive reserves of those; it's the largest amount of mining material Armenia has today. It's going unused.
A British company offered a water resource program. They wanted to invest about 6.4 billion. I brought the plan and showed it to Pashinyan, and we took it to ANIF. Do you know why it didn't work? Because Armenia lacks the legal framework and the legal mechanisms. You have to import many substances and equipment and store them the right way. All of this requires the right legislative framework for the investor to understand what to do. This is why investors build hotels instead of complex factories in Armenia.
REPORTER: Do you expect Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace agreement this year?
SARGSYAN: Last year I spoke with various US political circles and they were full of hope that the agreement would be signed in 2023. But Azerbaijan carried out the removal of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and the peace process stopped. Americans understood that Azerbaijan lied to them and that it wasn't an honest partner. I believe this will one day be used to punish Azerbaijan, especially since there is a World Court order. There was almost no talk about the peace agreement afterward.
It resumed on April 3 with Anthony Blinken's phone call to Aliyev. Prior to this, Azerbaijan wanted Armenia to withdraw from 4 villages without officially delimiting borders. After the April 3 conversation, Aliyev wrote on his official website that he is committed to Prague and Almaty. This was followed by the April 19 AM-AZ border delimitation document with "Delimitation" in the title and the 1976 maps [and Almaty as principle].
source,

opposition and ruling MPs traded jabs during a parliamentary hearing

The opposition has so far been allowed to hold their Republic Square gatherings and marches across the city without clashes with the police. The police forcefully remove activists from the streets when they shut down traffic outside of those events. The opposition complained about excessive force during the unblocking of roads.
On Wednesday a pro-Russian opposition MP asked a ministry official if they pay the police officers in Azerbaijani manats to use excessive force. The room exploded with insults. A ruling party MP, in turn, accused the opposition MPs of being paid in Russian rubles.
RULING MP: How many millions of rubles did Korotchenko send you and what percentage of that did you embezzle? When people send you rubles, at least have the decency and don't steal the rubles because they keep complaining about it while referring to you as [unintelligible].
video, video,

drone video of the Akhtala bridge damaged during Saturday night floods

video,

government members provide updates on disaster zone efforts:

• River water levels continue to sharply drop, allowing more restoration activities to be carried out.
• Significant work was done on the M6 road and other roads, allowing utility services to reach new areas for restoration activities.
• Utility services have been partially restored in several communities.
• In two days the main sections of M6 road will become accessible but certain areas will be one-way for now.
• A meeting was held with railway experts to discuss the use of undamaged parts of the railway network. The railway will function until Ayrum station, where the cargo will be unloaded and distributed to other parts of Armenia with trucks. The crews are currently strengthening the bridge near Ayrum to allow trucks to use it.
• Railway tracks were damaged in Georgia as well but it's minor and they'll repair it in 3 days.
• Discussions were held with bridge experts to modify some bridges to make them usable.
• The number of volunteers has increased to 200. They help with cleanup.
• Backyards and buildings are being cleaned up in Alaverdi, and the trapped vehicles are being removed. The main work will conclude tomorrow in certain neighborhoods.
• Groups are dispatched every day to the villages [partially] isolated from other communities to assess the needs and evaluate the property damage. Various methods are being discussed for restoring a primary road connection.
• The water pipe feeding Akhtala was destroyed. It could be fixed within "days". A 4-ton water truck arrived there to serve the residents.
• Drones were used for delivery in some areas.
• Ախթալա, Շամլուղ, Մեծ Այրում, Փոքր Այրում, Ճոճկան, Բենդիկ currently have electricity, gas (except in Akhtala's station district), water (except in all of Akhtala), communication, and necessities.
video, source, video, center-left in the last photo... noice,

anti-corruption: former head of Yerevan's Arabkir district is charged with felony abuse of power

Authorities say the 2005-2007 head of the Arabkir district used his relative to illegally sell part of a park and legalize an illegal building on it.
full,source,

anti-corruption: two customs agents are charged with accepting large bribes from businesses in return for ignoring violations

source,

anti-corruption: authorities raided the Armavir Medical Center and detained the deputy director and head of the ambulance department

source,

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Armenia's Interior Ministry signed a cooperation agreement to combat narco-trafficking

source,

Saudi Arabia's newly appointed Ambassador Salman Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sheikh submits a copy of his credentials to Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Kostanyan

The two discussed the expansion of cooperation, mutual visits, the unblocking of regional roads, and the formation of a legal framework between the AM-SA relations. Armenia and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations in 2023.
source,

European Film Festival launches in Yerevan with 23 films

It will open with a film from Belgium, the country currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The festival will be closed on 7 June 2024 with the Armenian film ‘Aurora’s Sunrise.’ The festival is open to the public free of charge.
source,

Armenia will host yet another international sports competition

2026 European Shooting Championships
source,

Today I got this email after several weeks trying to unblock my account.
Thank you for reaching back to us. We understand that you are asking how you can transfer your funds to another account. We're sorry for the confusion regarding this matter. We truly appreciate your time and effort regarding this matter. Allow us to provide clarity on this one and help you sort this out.
We understand that you had a previous account with Coinbase that is now closed, and your account’s funds have been reported and delivered to the State of Wyoming as unclaimed property.
The reason your account was sent to the State of Wyoming is because you established your account with Coinbase Kenya Ascending Markets, Ltd., which shut down. Coinbase made multiple attempts to contact you at your verified email address to inform you of the closure, requesting that you transfer your account to an external wallet. Unfortunately, we did not receive a response from you, and as a result, your account was transferred to our affiliate, Crypto Services, Inc. The crypto assets in your account were liquidated, and the resulting funds, in US Dollars, were reported and delivered to the State of Wyoming.
To reclaim your property, you will need to contact Wyoming's Unclaimed Property Division directly by following the steps outlined in our Help Center: https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/managing-my-account/otheescheatment-and-unclaimed-funds
For any inquiries or concerns, it's recommended you contact the Wyoming Unclaimed Property Division directly, as Coinbase cannot provide further support regarding the funds.
We regret to lose you as a customer, and we understand that this situation may be disappointing. At the moment, we may not be able to offer any services related to your closed account, however, we’re constantly working towards expanding our offerings and improving our services. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding regarding this process.
I've had my account since 2017 and I have nothing to do with Kenya or the State of Wyoming. I'm really concerned about what could have gone wrong.
Please help!

My deck has been established and fully blinged out for a while and the sheer amount of must play colorless cards in MH3 is exciting and sort of dreadful. I could seriously swap out 30+ cards to accommodate the new cards and new synergies with existing cards. I'll be reviewing all the new colorless cards in MH3 and the commander cards. For context, I'm tossing in reviews of the Commander Masters cards, which had some fun options for colorless, but comparatively irrelevant compared to the impact of MH3.
Note on playstyle: The reality of bringing Kozilek, Butcher of Truth to a table is it can become a game of archenemy. While too weak for cEDH, less competitive tables dread annihilator. Often it's a solitaire-style ramp, ramp, ramp until you win strategy, with minimal interaction. To build this deck for maximum efficiency, you often have to ask this question of each card. "Is this better than a mana rock?" You often cut titans and other big flashy spells to get in a 2 mana rock or an ur-golem's eye, just to make sure your ramp to Kozilek strategy keeps on track. So pre MH3, I ran Eldritch Moon Emrakul as the only other Eldrazi above 6 mana in my deck. (Probably taking that Emrakul out to try out new cards)
Pre-MH3 Decklist: (and Pre Outlaws, need to add Fomori Vault, Cactus Preserve, etc)
https://www.archidekt.com/decks/6404251/unlimited_budget_kozilek_butcher_of_truth
Tiers:
God - So incredibly powerful, it's difficult to imagine a day this isn't in my Kozilek decklist
Auto - Clearly makes the cut, but perhaps with steady power creep, will fall out of favor someday
Solid - Worth trying out, perhaps makes it long term, but it's easy to imagine swapping out.
Maybe - Might be fun to try, but doubtful to last long term unless some synergy makes it passable.
Doubtful - Starting to get really suspect to consider including this; probably messing with your deck's consistency/power.
Unplayable - Can't imagine justifying this card, unless some new synergy package makes it functional.
*Table below includes reviews of leaked MH3 commander cards; it's possible other colorless commander cards are still to be leaked/spoiled.\*

Card	Set	Tier	Function
Zhulodok, Void Gorger	Commander Masters	Maybe	Cascade, cascade is tempting value, but seems very win more. This has to stick around until you actually cast another big spell before this card has any impact on the game. Mana rocks seem better for our game plan
Rise of the Eldrazi	Commander Masters	Solid	It's hard to argue with the pure power of this spell and that you're a deck that could reasonably expect to cast it. Even then, you might wonder if you're better served playing a ramp card instead and increasing consistency casting Kozilek quickly. But it's certainly very tempting.
Darksteel Monolith	Commander Masters	Maybe	Can't be used to cast Kozilek, which is usually the payoff your ramp is leading up to. Still, it could be a very potent mana rock in a sense. Gets more powerful combined with Skittering Cicada/Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter for casting value on every turn.
Flayer of Loyalties	Commander Masters	Doubtful	If you're trying to lock an opponent out with annihilator, just run a haste enabler and cast your commander instead. If you're trying to outright kill with damage, it certainly has some potential for that, but colorless tends not to be a decks that trades blows back and forth and plays a fair game of magic. It's usually more ramp, ramp, ramp, you're dead.
Skittering Cicada	Commander Masters	Solid	Flash is really changes how the deck can play and this is one beefy creature all for 3 mana. But is it better than a mana rock and getting Kozilek out fastemore consistently? Possibly.
Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate	Commander Masters	Unplayable	Weird and not what Kozilek decks are trying to do.
Desecrate Reality	Commander Masters	Solid	Colorless can use some interaction, hitting each opponent is nice, and potential to revive is cool, though I've noticed there's not a lot of cards I'm excited/expect to consistently be able to revive with this. (Dreamstone Hedron, Hedron Archive, etc. are artifacts you could plan to send to your graveyard, but they don't have odd CMC.)
Calamity of the Titans	Commander Masters	Doubtful	I generally dislike cards that do nothing if you don't have the right cards in hand. And fairly likely to do nothing when my deck leans more into Kozilek for being the finisher
Abstruse Archaic	Commander Masters	Doubtful	Decent body, decent ability. I might be underestimating, but seems kinda awkward. Would I rather have Sisay's Ring/Ur-Golem's?
Ugin's Mastery	Commander Masters	Unplayable	Again with manifest, not what Kozilek decks are trying to do.
Emrakul, the World Anew	Modern Horizons 3	Solid	Kozilek tends to not have much of a creature board state, so you risk less than other decks in casting this. And casting this for 6 mana is actually doable with this deck. Absolutely absurd. Though discard outlets are more restricted in colorless, Fomori Vault is a great new one, and Geier Reach Sanitarium is another decent land to accomplish this. Collector's Vault could be passable. Still runs into "is a mana rock better?" issue, but this is so much bang for your buck, seems worth it.
Kozilek, the Broken Reality	Modern Horizons 3	Solid	Seems wonky, but 9 mana seems like a nice surprise when opponents think you're one mana short to cast your titan and forcing your opponents to manifest and drawing 4 cards is nice. Draws you into more ramp. Still, is it better than a mana rock?
Ulamog, the Defiler	Modern Horizons 3	Solid	Exile half the library is certainly demoralizing and could shut down an opponent relying on tutoring up combo pieces. And if you can give him haste, the annihilator is much more brutal than even Kozilek. Seems unlikely to get the sequence, but if you can follow up with casting an Oblivion Sower, it's certainly cute. Is Ulamog better than a mana rock? Possibly.
Ugin's Labyrinth	Modern Horizons 3	God	I'm not over the moon about this card in this deck, because having a 7+ drop in hand is not a given, but the potential upside of immediately tapping for 2 is so powerful compared to the opportunity cost of running some other land.
Echoes of Eternity	Modern Horizons 3	God	It's so easy to ramp this out fast in colorless and double mana rocks, cast draw triggers, annihilator triggers… Annoyingly pushed card that's a no brainer.
Kozilek's Command	Modern Horizons 3	God	Colorless desperately needs interaction and this is an absolutely perfect card for colorless because it also easily passes the "would a mana rock be better?" test because it can also ramp if you need it to. It's a kindred instant, so benefits from Eldrazi Temple/Eye of Ugin. it can creates eldrazi spawn, it can replace itself with a card draw (and if you scry 10 or whatever, perhaps you're drawing a game winning combo piece), it can exile a creature token or something with higher CMC, it can mess with your opponents grave. Couldn't ask for more.
Glaring Fleshraker	Modern Horizons 3	God	In isolation, it's solid. it's sort of like reducing the cost of spells by 1/creating a treasure token per cast. That would be a fine card, but this goes insane with the right synergies. Goes infinite, burning opponents to death when combined with Mystic Forge/Sensei's Diving Top, cards that are great in isolation. If you cast Echoes of Eternity first, you get two copies of this, 4 spawn and 16 damage per subsequent spell cast. Not infinite, but game ending all the same.
Devourer of Destiny	Modern Horizons 3	Solid	Having this in opening hand should smooth out the cost of this being potential dead weight in your hand. (Not a mana rock) Something you can pitch to Ugin's Labyrinth. Not terrible, but not excellent as a top deck later in game.
Eldrazi Ravager	Modern Horizons 3	Solid	Cycling when needed, a super early annihilator threat. Some recursion possibility with eldrazi token generation… Could partially function as a sac outlet to sac Kozilek and recast for another draw 4.
Breaker of Creation	Modern Horizons 3	Maybe	Big life gain potential since it counts lands, hexproof, annihilator… Let's say you have lightning greaves out. I like the idea of an early threat to surprise an opponent who thinks you don't have enough to cast your annihilator commander only to get hit with this one. Still, might rather have a mana rock. Bane of Bala Ged is different, but might be better at that role anyway.
Null Elemental Blast	Modern Horizons 3	Auto	Only reason I didn't put this in God tier is because of the "Is it better than a mana rock" test. In some cases, you'd have been better advancing your plan (cast Kozilek) than messing with your opponents. But this is so incredibly efficient and can keep an opponent off his plan to buy you enough time to achieve your goals
It That Heralds The End	Modern Horizons 3	Maybe	As a cost reducer, it will probably only reduce the cost of at most one spell you cast each turn, unlike other reducers that will help you chain multiple spells each turn, like Ugin, the Ineffable, Cloud Key, Jhoira's Familiar… So it'll effectively produce up to 1 mana each turn. A 2 mana rock that taps for 1 might be better. The +1/+1 to the team is cool, but the deck usually doesn't go wide. Maybe alongside newest Kozilek, Glaring Fleshraker, Forsaken Monument?
Disruptor Flute	Modern Horizons 3	Maybe	Not the type of a card I like to include, but you could use it to keep an opponent off casting their commander.
Winter Moon	Modern Horizons 3	Doubtful	Always run Winter Orb above this, if you're going that route. (Since you're likely running all or mostly nonbasics, though you have the advantage of more mana rocks than opponents.) If your opponents play mostly non-basics, you could consider this too. So awkwardly, the more casual your play environment, the worse this card is.
Vexing Bauble	Modern Horizons 3	Maybe	Can disrupt certain strategies and be cycled away when needed, can be tutored with Urza's Saga… but you might just want to play another card? Seems meta dependent.
Idol of False Gods	Modern Horizons 3	Maybe	Benefits from Eldrazi Temple/Eye of Ugin, being a kindred artifact. Seems a little slow, if you're aiming for the second ability. But mana ramp, chump blockers… Not bad.
Urza's Cave	Modern Horizons 3	God	Tutoring lands is incredibly powerful in colorless. As a cave, can be tutored by Scampering Surveyor. Echoing Deeps can become a copy of this, which is notable.
Snow-Covered Wastes	Modern Horizons 3	Solid	Not really any snow payoffs in colorless to speak of yet. Scrying Sheets? There's basic land ramp that's decent, though I'm playing around with running no basics. Tough call. Wastes and Snow-Covered Wastes are two different land names for Monument to Perfection, for what that's worth.
Solar Transformer	Modern Horizons 3	Maybe	As a 2 mana rock that taps for 1, might be fine. Though since this enters tapped, you'd have to have an energy payoff for this to actually be worth it over running other 2 mana rocks.
Conversion Apparatus	MH3 Commander	Maybe	A 3 mana rock that taps for 1, that can store up energy to tap for 3 later? Seems a little clunky, comparing to Kyren Toy or Skyclave Relic. But if you had other energy synergy, maybe.
Stone Idol Generator	MH3 Commander	Unplayable	Not what this deck is trying to do, you're generally not going wide.
Horizon of Progress	MH3 Commander	God	Unbelievably good, I've contemplated running cards like Zoetic Cavern just for the possibility of land ramp, but this is repeatable. And can even cycle itself away. Can produce colorless. Urborg or Yavimaya can allow it to tap for mana without costing life.
Lazotep Quarry	MH3 Commander	Auto	Better than High Market, a card I already love? When needed, can sacrifice Kozilek to dodge problematic removal or sacrifice just to draw 4 more cards. Has desert synergy. Can even do graveyard recursion, perhaps bringing back a combo piece like Glaring Fleshraker.
Inversion Behemoth	MH3 Commander	Doubtful	Kills walls and illusions, I guess? Really fun design/stat line, but doesn't seem to advance the game plan the deck is aiming for.
Talon Gates of Madara	MH3 Commander	God	You can instant speed play this land (ramp) AND save a creature from removal/get rid of a blockeget rid of an attacker. That's insane. It's also a gate you can tutor with Maze's End/Navigation Orb. (also at instant speed for the bonus phase out effect)
Trenchpost	MH3 Commander	Maybe	Between Cloudpost, Glimmerpost, Planar Nexus, Vesuva, Thespian's Stage, Monument to Perfection and Expedition Map, does this get there? Seems a bit dubious, but not a huge opportunity cost for the potential for lands to produce more than one mana.
Planar Nexus	MH3 Commander	God	Tutorable with Maze's End, Navigation Orb, Scampering Surveyor, Monument to Perfection… Turns on urza tron, feeds Urza's workshop, cloudpost, Baldur's Gate (longshot), counts as a gate for heap gate, desert for a variety of effects…This card is the cornerstone of a new colorless land package, if you want to build around it.
Eldrazi Confluence	MH3 Commander	Auto	Surprise! I flash in enough mana to cast Kozilek. Or surprise! You didn't block Kozilek? My 21/3 kills you in one shot. It's flexible mana ramp/chump blockers/removal/other niche utility. Absolutely the kind of interaction this deck craves.
Selective Obliteration	MH3 Commander	Solid	Interesting, you'll never lose anything and at minimum destroys every multicolor card, so probably commanders. Though likely a lot of things will survive for each player. Seems solid, though awkward. Not a board wipe like all is dust, nor targeted removal.
Eldritch Immunity	MH3 Commander	Maybe	Great effect, though not exactly needed for this deck; Kozilek dying is usually fine and making my creatures unblockable is usually unnecessary to achieve a win. Still, could win you the game, especially if going wide.
Spawnbed Protector	MH3 Commander	Solid	7 CMC for Ugin's Labyrinth. The eldrazi to hand seems powerful, though getting Eldrazi in grave is not always possible. (Eldrazi Ravager with cycling works nicely) 2 Eldrazi Scion each end step is nice, so it is a mana rock of sorts. With Echoes of Eternity, you'd get two of these and 8 scions each end step.
Twins of Discord	MH3 Commander	Solid	7 CMC for Ugin's Labyrinth. If void winnower taught us anything, it's that shutting off blockers is better than you expect. And this lets you choose odd or even each combat phase, so you can adjust to whatever is on board. Though the eternal question; would I rather have a mana rock?
Ulamog's Dreadsire	MH3 Commander	Doubtful	Cute, but at 10 mana, I'd sooner go for a titan with immediate impact.

I just found out a funny little method for using any blocked apps easily (even after they try to reblock it, IT STAYS :O) so first try to find a app that allows you see every system app/ghost apps. After finding one that works (I use Apk Extractor for doing this but also for extracting games to mod on my pc) then search for parental controls and open the app information redirect which will show you options for permissions but the real thing is the force stop button, press force stop and then go a site called Apkmirror stall the app of any app you need (you need to uninstall the original app you want to unblock first) then find the app on apkmirror and download and install it's APK file. And even if the parent blocks it again it stays. I don't know how long it will last before patched so use it as long as possible(this exploit also allows you to enable developer options too)
(The site Apkmirror isn't really the best option so you can might use Apkpure as a better site if you don't trust apkmirror)
edit: I am on a Google pixel 7a and I'm not sure if it works on other Android Devices. You also need to have your parents have "Apps from unknown sources" enabled if installing the APK files.
Another edit: if you download a app from the Playstore then your parent blocks the app, it's still going to stay on your phone! (Just found it out)

I posted a virtual concert of headyversion.com #1 ranked songs recently, and then posted 3 more "volumes" and it was all going great - you folks and others were listening to the songs and the first volume got to over 1,000 views! Awesome!
But then I noticed that Volumes 2-4 have been blocked worldwide due to copyright, but Volume 1 remains unblocked and visible to all.
What's weird about that is Volume 1 probably has the highest number of well-known Dead performances on it - a bunch of Cornell songs. Yet it still didn't get blocked...and I'm wondering what might be triggering the blockage. Maybe it's just a matter of time.
There are only two differences between the Volume 1 video and the others:

1. Volume 1 has over 1,000 views and the others in the dozens
2. Volume 1 was listed under the "Comedy" category while the others were listed as "Entertainment" (I don't know why).

Does anyone have experience with posting Dead music on YouTube? I see tons of folks posting videos of Dead shows/songs, so I'm wondering what I could be doing to get blocked.
Thanks in advance for any knowledge about this!
UPDATE: I submitted some disputes and at least for now, it seems the videos are up again. Not sure if that will endure...but...I will get by, I will survive!

Hey, Just need a bit of help wrangling my ublock origin. I'm in advanced mode which has per-site and domain blocking.
I'm getting sick of tons of random websites going 'please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com' and its a hastle step to manually unblock the page, and today was the last straw.
What exactly do I need to put in the 'my rules' tab to just never be inconvenienced again and have that subdomain just work on whatever site visit since everone uses cloudflare? Something like this? * challenges.cloudflare.com * noop
Thanks.

Hi,
I'm trying to unblock a spesific site in the "custom filtering rules" section because this site doesn't work when the AdGuard is active. But this filter doesn't work too. See this screenshot of the filter I make.
I'm running AdGuard Home as an add-on on my Home Assistant server (HAOS).

I am NOT the Original Poster. That is u/friendlylocalnpc. They posted in AmItheAsshole and abusiveparents
Trigger Warning: emotional abuse
Mood Spoiler: happy ending
Background Post: October 10, 2022
My (nb24) family is notorious for making plans at the last second and then getting mad when I can’t join. The most recent example was them knowing well in advance that a family member would be in town, not telling me about it, and then asking me to dinner with all of them ten minutes before they ate. I was busy with friends and didn’t see the text until hours later. The family member left town the next morning, which they also didn’t tell me, so I missed out on seeing them. Does anyone else deal with stuff like this or am I overreacting?
Relevant Comment:
Commenter: If you want to see that family member, reach out to them, apologize for missing them, and plan a trip to their city to go visit. Pay your own way.

OOP: That’s my plan for this weekend. It’s less about missing my favorite family member while they were in town and more about the fact that everyone knew they were coming and I asked multiple times when it was, but they didn’t tell me until they knew I was busy and expected me to change plans I’d had for months

Original Post: January 19, 2023 (3 months later)
My fiancé and I recently got engaged, and when looking at dates we realized our anniversary falls on a Saturday this year. Perfect right? We immediately start planning because it’s approximately 9 months out and we have to move quick to pull a wedding together. We told everyone the potential date this weekend and all seemed well.
Monday I get a phone call from my father. He insists that I move the date because my mother has a yoga retreat that weekend. I tell him that this date means a lot to me and I would prefer to keep it if there is any way to move the retreat. There is, but it’s expensive. I offer to pay for this change out of my wedding budget, essentially halving the amount that I can spend on the most important event of my life.
Yesterday I was told that they would not be taking my offer to pay to move the retreat and that we’re expected to move the wedding instead. I haven’t put money on my venue yet, so they think I should be fine with giving up the chance to marry on a date that means a lot to me. It became a massive fight, and now my parents and I aren’t speaking. My father accused me of caring about a date more than I care about my mother. I told him that it felt as though they were choosing yoga over their own daughter.
TLDR: wedding falls on the same day as moms yoga retreat. I haven’t put money down on the date yet and she has, but it means more to me than to her. Offers to pay to move the retreat were turned down. WIBTA if I keep my date and say that it’s me or the retreat?
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: NTA. Your parents are being absurdly self-centered. The polite thing for them to do would be to reschedule or cancel the retreat without ever telling you so as not to impinge on your wedding planning excitement.
Just to make sure, because this is honestly so over-the-top it’s baffling to me - is your mom attending the retreat, or is she leading it?

OOP: Attending. They have this retreat yearly, and there are also makeup dates for the classes she would miss

Commenter: INFO: is yoga retreat another word for rehab?

OOP: Nope, actual literal yoga. She has no addictions except control over everyone around her

Commenter: Info- Is your venue even available so close to the date? What about your photographer and flowers and everything? I remember some of our stuff had to be done over a year in advance. Our main reason for the date was venue availability.

OOP: We’re on such a tight budget that we’ve been coordinating with free venues that nobody else considers, photographers who are looking to expand their portfolios, and other discounted services that don’t fill quickly

Commenter: Was there a legit reason given why they wouldn't change their yoga plans if you covered the cost, effectively making it a wash?

OOP: When the offer was turned down, it was through a text stating “I appreciate the offer, but it simply will not work. That date is off the table”

Commenter (downvoted): NTA but you also know she does this yearly so it’s not a huge surprise that she’s doing it this year. You don’t have to change the date if you don’t want to but you have be prepared for them to not show up. I know I wouldn’t cancel my yearly trip for a wedding regardless. I am very thankful atm that my older two are ace and not romantically attracted to anyone because I swear nothing ruins relationships like marriage and babies.

OOP: She’s only gotten into yoga recently. This would be the first retreat she’s gone on, and I had no idea she had anything like this planned

Commenter: Info: What does your fiancé say about this? NTA. Don’t change your date. It’s important to you and the family you’re building with your fiancé.

OOP (responding next day): My fiancé loves our original date and is proud of me for standing my ground (my family has a pattern of walking over me and I have a habit of taking it). We’re considering delaying the date of the wedding but eloping on our original date without telling anyone until the reception

OOP is voted NTA
Picture of OOP's dress (April 21, 2023- 3 months later)
Update Post: May 18, 2024 (1 year, 4 months from AITA post)
Hey everyone! It's been a while (I forgot my password), but a few people asked for updates on how my last post turned out. Unfortunately, a lot of you may not like the answer.
Almost all of you said not to change the date, and to enjoy my time without them there. I followed half of that advice. I eventually did relent to my family and change the date of the wedding. My fiancé (now husband!) said that the date wasn't as important as my happiness, and the fighting with my parents was destroying that. Now after six months, we both wish we hadn't because it was useless.
They still didn't show up. Not only that, but they convinced 90% of my family not to show up either. I ended up with only four relatives there in a crowd of about 100 guests.
My mother claimed that I had been "excluding her from planning" (by scheduling venue tours on days that my fiance and I were both free but I didn't realize she was working, and by finding my dress by surprise on a "just here to look" trip without her being there). They hadn't shown any interest in planning, so I mainly didn't want to bother them. To them, this was "clearly a sign that you don't want us there". So they went out of town on the new date.
In the end, narcissist mother still got her yoga, I still moved my date, and I still walked myself down the aisle.
But my petty self did, in fact, strike back. I had an amazing time, and I made sure that I left obvious empty seats marked for them and told everyone the truth with a smile when they asked. The few family members that did show are now no longer speaking to them either, as are all of the friends who came. The only exception is my brother (who I'm pretty sure they asked to relay the details of the party to them), and even he has almost entirely cut them out due to how they've acted.
I haven't spoken to my mother since about a month before the wedding, when she told me to get all of my old things out of her house. I speak to my father very rarely, and only over things like deaths in the family. My in-laws have basically taken me in as their own, and I'm far happier than I ever was in the nightmare of a family I grew up with. Life is good.
TLDR: moved the date of the wedding so mom could go to yoga, parents still didn't show, had a better day without them than I would have with them there, finally cut contact with those narcissists
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: Good for you! I’m sad you moved your date for them just so they could make another excuse on why they couldn’t come. And the rest of your family sucks too.
But now you know all the people you need to block and go NC with. Make sure you block them on social media too. They don’t deserve to know anything about your life.

OOP: I changed my phone number right after the honeymoon, and they don't have the new one. My husband and I are also buying a house, so they won't be getting the new address. As for social media, I kept them unblocked just so they can see updates about me being happy without them

Commenter: Did your relatives say no ahead of time?

OOP: Nope, just didn't show up. Never got an RSVP from any of them, except the verbal one from my father a week beforehand when he told me "well, looks like you're not willing to patch things up before the wedding. We won't be there. That's unfortunate" 🤣

Commenter (downvoted): Did the opposite of our advice and it went poorly - yup, checks out, better luck next time

OOP: Honestly that's fair. I figured it wouldn't work out for me, but I really wanted to prove to myself that even if I bent over backwards for them it still wouldn't be good enough. I proved that, and now I have no doubt about cutting them off completely. As much as I wanted the old date, I'm still glad I moved it so that I didn't live my life with a "what if"

If OOP has kids:
We're planning on kids down the road, and I'm planning on telling the kids that "mommy's mommy and daddy were not nice people, and we don't want you to have to be around not nice people. We wish they had been nicer so that you could have two sets of grandparents who get to know and love you, but your daddy's mommy and daddy love you enough for both sets"
More on what 'mom' said:
Apparently I had "left them out too much" (found my dress unexpectedly when my mother wasn't there, booked venue tours when my husband could go with me without asking if my mother could go) so it was "clearly a sign that you don't want us there". They kept trying to tell me that if I involved them more they would show up, but my mother shows zero interest when I asked her about color schemes or if she'd come to my dress fittings, so eventually I realized they just didn't care and wanted something to complain about

TLDR: I've manifested my SP back and then he ghosted me and leaves me on delievered.
I made this post few days ago and it's getting worse.
https://www.reddit.com/Manifestation/s/dXdqWFnE6q
This is what the post says:
"I am sick and tired and don't know what to do anymore
I've manifested my SP for almost 11 months now, he unblocked me few months ago and he finally texted me 2 weeks ago and we met. Things were great between us when we saw each other and shortly after that. But now he's ghosting me and leaving me on delievered. I am sick and tired of this and I'm so mad I'm going crazy. Don't know what I am doing wrong. I worked on self concept for months, I detached, I did everything right and now he is ghosting me after coming back. Where am I going wrong?"
I texted him few times since then and he leaves me on delievered not even opening my messages. I started losing hope and it affected my mental health. I fell into depression and I can't even leave my bed, because trust me if I know something in my life is that I want my SP and don't want life without him. I succeed to manifest him back, but what is happening now? I don't know and I'm getting so much desperate, I'm checking my phone for a message every 5 minutes literally and wait for him to invite me again all the time. I think I should regain my energy back then start all over, but I don't know how to do it. Please be kind and every advice is appreciated since I'm lost and don't know what to do next, but I don't want to give up and I want him back in my life.

I am really disappointed on how proton support handled my case.
I am SiklabX, a crypto investor and a web3(NFT) games enthusiast. I have been using protonmail as my main email service provider for about 3 years or so. I've been inloved with it ever since. I have 3 protonmail accounts that I have been actively using and connected to different web3 projects.
Last April 2024, my email address (7******n@proton.me) was permanently suspended without a warning. I emailed proton support immediately to regain access because that email address is linked to my Immutable Passport which then have my Guild of Guardians NFT that I invested $6,000 from the time of suspension. The only way to access it is through email address and the code sent to it by immutable. My first proton support agent (Shaw) gave me a 24 hour temporary access so I can move my digital assets. I logged in to my account as soon as I got the message from Shaw. I was very happy that time. I can now transfer my assets but I was wrong because even though I have a temporary access, my email address can't receive codes from Immutable (hello@immutable.com). I checked everything from spam to trash but still can't see the email from immutable. I contacted Immutable support team first thinking it could be a problem from Immutable side and after a lot of troubleshooting, we concluded that the problem is within protonmail. My disabled email can receive mails from other protonmail addresses and also Gmail addresses but not from immutable (hello@immutable.com) which is the code sender. Immutable support team told me to ask proton if they blocked hello@immutable.com. I emailed the proton support team again, told them about it and ask if they can unblock the code sender. Shaw the proton agent just told me that once reenabled I can receive mails and just gave me another 48 hour access to fix everything. I told them that isn't the problem and the problem is that my email can't receive the codes and they should unblock hello@immutable.com to fix it. 48 hours have passed and I didn't hear anything from them. My temporary access came to an end and I was really pissed because they didn't even try to understand what I'm telling them. Now my money is trapped and I can't move it because of this mess.
I emailed them again and created another ticket because Shaw stopped replying to me. Proton support agents Branimir, Michael and others, after receiving a follow-up to my issue just told me that they already helped me and they can't do anything. They never listened to me when I told them my issue isn't resolved yet and I really need help asap. I have tried everything I can to reach them but I always get rejected. I tried emailing postmaster abuse team and they only redirect me to support Zendesk team and therefore same results.
Just today, I emailed them again using my other protonmail account (s*****x@proton.me) because I want a fresh start with my unresolved issue and I thought they will just dump my message when they receive it using the 1st email address that I used in emailing them. Hours later my 2nd email address got permanently suspended too. That email is also linked to my immutable passport with approx 3 Eth worth of NFT assets and they blocked me from accessing it. Luckily my immutable passport is still logged in and I was able to transfer all my assets to a Gmail account. What protonmail did to me was unacceptable.
I created a reddit post to let them know that my issue isn't resolved yet and the support handling are all unprofessional and they must be punished. I can't move my assets and in crypto/web3 every single second matters. It's almost a month now since they blocked me from accessing my assets.
I am still hoping that there is still at least one person from the team who can help me with my case. I will again ask for help from the higher ups to get this issue resolved before it gets bigger and might cause doubt from future users and distrust from current users.
Sorry for the long post but I believe this is my only chance to reach proton team devs and higher ranking officials of Proton AG. Thank you and God bless

I love Tomb Raider and how well Lara Croft's play style fits her archaeologist/treasure hunter theme, so my goal with this deck is to build an extremely on-theme Voltron deck revolving around Lara Croft "hunting" for artifacts, treasure, and legendary lands.
Deck: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/s8yVhGCBD0Sp-7HpFmg7Pw
I'd love some feedback on the deck before I settle on my final build.
For instance, are there any holes I'm missing (ie: bettemore consistent options for making Lara unblockable than [[Key to the City]] and [[Trailblazer's Boots]])? Any equipment slots that would be better served going to a specific Sword of X? Am I running too much green mana? Etc.
I have a good deal of experience playing magic, but am relatively new to EDH so this is the first EDH homebrew I've really gone all in on. I'm not sure exactly where it falls power level-wise, but my goal is to optimize it as much as possible while staying on-theme. Ideally, I'd like it fall within the upper level of "casual" play, as I'm not particularly interested in CEDH. Outside of this deck, I only plan to run pre-cons, so if the power level is too high for some tables I'm always happy to break out those.
The deck list and my broad "considering" list (basically any card I thought could work in a Lara Croft deck) are both fully tagged.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance.

I've noticed I have a habit of doing this recently and I'm realizing it might not be a good idea, so curious to see if anyone else does it
For example, in my lifegain deck I run [[Roots of Life]] and [[Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth]] and while they're not really dead draws alone, they're only good if I have them together (my deck doesn't have black so Urborg is really just a colorless land)
I also have an unblockables deck that runs basically all the combat damage draw cards, such as [[Gix Yawgmoth Praetor]]. Now Gix has a second ability that is fun to activate by discarding like 50 cards. I threw in [[Feldon's Cane]] so I'd be able to do it again (or at least prevent decking myself), but I keep drawing it early game and it feels pretty bad (edit: it'll probably be swapped out for Grima, Saruman's Footman)
Then finally I have a sacrifice/self-mill deck that uses [[Syr Konrad]] and [[Dreadhound]] as potential wincons and they work well. Until recently I was also running [[Mindcrank]] as a potential "combo" with either of them, but I just kept drawing it alone every game so I cut it and I don't miss it
Does anyone else run any cards like these, where they work really well if you draw the right card, but they're more-or-less useless if you don't?
I suppose cEDH is full of this, but they also run so many tutors it doesn't matter as much
Edit: here's my decks if there's any interest
https://www.archidekt.com/folders/359477

I'm having similar symptoms as described in this post - Seeing rainbow Halo around white bulb after waking up in morning. : Glaucoma (reddit.com). Except it's not the bulb I test with, its around the point source of light like sometimes I check it with my flashlight from my smartphone, and I see this fuzziness around it with slight rainbow halo around the edge. It goes away after a few minutes of waking up.
However my situation is different than OP of that post.
I have narrow angles as discovered by an angle closure attack on my left eye 4 years ago. Since then I have had Iridotomy done on both eyes. I recently also did the Anterior Segment OCT which indicates I have plateau iris so the doctor wants to do the iridoplasty to try and unblock the drainage channels which he says could become more blocked in the future.
In any case I mentioned to both my ophthalmologist and the glaucoma specialist about this symptom. I was told I don't have glaucoma (my eye pressure every time I go see the doctor is normal usually around 13) My OCT scans which I have done yearly are also normal.
The glaucoma specialist told me dry eyes can cause this symptom. But I worry about the plateau iris.
My worry is this - that in darkness during sleep, the iris is relaxing and opening even more than normal, blocking most if not all the drainage channels around the eye. I'm not sure but I feel like it is worse when I drink certain relaxing teas like chamomile before bed which to me is a warning sign of possible anticholinergic activity causing excessive relaxation and opening of the iris.
In such a case, does the presence of Iridotomy alleviate any increase in pressure, or is it useless at that point and pressure will still increase?

I am STILL NOT the Original Poster. That is still u/Throwaway-BabyName. She posted in AmItheAsshole and entitledparents.
You can read the previous BORU's here and here. New Update marked with ****\* Thanks to u/Choice_Evidence1983 and u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for letting me know!
Trigger Warning: brief mention of murder
Mood Spoiler: happy ending
Original Post: April 16, 2023
Throwaway because I have in-laws on Reddit.
Myself (25F) and my fiancé (27M) have a 2 month old son. We are overjoyed at being parents, but most of my in-laws are refusing to even see our baby because of a decision we made concerning his name.
My in-laws have a tradition of giving the first-born son of every generation the same name. Let's say it's "Peter". This has been going on for about seven generations already, and they're very serious about it. My fiancé's eldest cousin was the latest person to get named Peter. Every one of his cousins has only had daughters so far, so our baby is the first son of his generation, and consequently should get the name.
I have no problem with the name Peter, and would've been okay with naming my son that. Unfortunately, that was also the name of my uncle, who died before I was born. I won't get into details, but it was tragic and traumatizing for my family. My father never got over losing his younger brother.
My grandmother asked the family not to name any of our future children Peter during her lifetime. My MIL and FIL knew about this promise, and at first seemed to not only be okay with us avoiding the name Peter, but also supportive of the one we chose.
However, my grandmother sadly passed away when I was 7 months pregnant. We traveled for her funeral. On our last days there, my in-laws called to offer me their condolences. Then my MIL asked me if I was willing to "think about the name Peter now."
Suddenly, they were insistent that the name we chose was awful and we had to honor their tradition. According to them, they had only agreed to make an exception for us for my grandmother's sake, and had no obligation to keep it now that she had passed.
My family agrees that while it's true we don't have to avoid the name anymore, it still doesn't feel right to use it. My fiancé agrees with me as well, but his parents spent the last weeks of my pregnancy trying to convince us to change our minds about the name.
When our baby was born and we named him what we wanted, my in-laws were furious that we had broken a 7-generation-old family tradition. Some of them hadn't previously wanted to name their sons Peter, but did it anyway for the family's sake. They said our decision was selfish, and that my family "should have moved on by now."
This has truly nothing to do with whether my family has moved on or not, it just felt like a betrayal to my grandmother and uncle's memories to even consider using the name.
My FIL offered us $1000 to change our son's name to Peter after he was born. That was two months ago, and neither of my fiancé's parents have met the baby or seen us since I was pregnant. Most of my in-laws are on their side, and this is causing a huge rift between my fiancé and his family. He assures me he's fine, but I'm starting to feel really guilty about this.
AITA?
EDIT: The tradition started, as far as I know, when OG Peter died and his son, also named Peter, named his firstborn after his father. Peter III ended up having the first son of the following generation, and did the same thing. That one died before having children, so his sister gave the name to her son, and so on. The name “Peter” is very common in my country, so none of them ever got bullied over it, and the fact that it was also my uncle’s name isn’t as unlikely as one might think.
Also, middle names aren’t used in my country. Most people get the maternal surname before the paternal one instead.
EDIT 2: It wasn't 1000 dollars. Different country, different currency. It's still a lot of money, but would probably translate to about 200 USD.
Relevant Comments:
Can you use Peter as a middle name?"
Our country/culture doesn't generally use middle names. If we did, I'd be willing to think about that, even though my son's name doesn't match "Peter"."
How many Peters are alive right now in your family???"
There are 3 living "Peters" in the family right now. Only the eldest (my fiancé's great uncle) actually goes by Peter. The other two have nicknames ("Pete", "Petey", etc)."
OOP is voted NTA
Update Post: May 24, 2023 (a bit over 1 month later)
(OOP's post was removed from AITA, and reposted on her profile. I'm using the date of the AITA post. Comments are also from AITA)
I posted this on AITA, but it got removed about an hour ago because I mentioned a violent encounter on an edit. I tried editing it out and getting it back up, but it didn't work. I'm posting here in case anyone still wants to read it.
Original
Thank you so much to everyone who commented and offered support. A lot has happened since I posted, so I thought I'd give you an update.
About a week after my post, my fiancé's parents contacted us. They apologized for their behavior, and begged to meet my son. They said they were ready to leave the naming debacle behind and truly wanted to be involved in their grandson's life.
We were skeptical, but invited them over to meet the baby. The visit went well. They began coming over almost every day during the next three weeks. I noticed neither of them ever called my son by his name, but I didn't point it out. For the first time in months, things seemed good between my fiancé and his parents.
One day, my fiancé was helping my FIL with something at our place, so my MIL and I went to the park with my baby. Some time later, I had to go to the bathroom, so I left him in the stroller with her.
When I got back, she was sitting on a park bench, chatting with a woman who was cooing over my son. I went over there and introduced myself as "(son's name)'s mom", and she said, "I thought his name was Peter."
I didn't say a word, and neither did my MIL. She followed me to the car and we went back to my apartment. On the way there, I texted my fiancé about what had happened. The moment we got there, he kicked both his parents out of our place.
He'd read my texts and confronted his father. Thankfully, my FIL is a terrible liar, and confessed immediately. Apparently, both my in-laws ONLY call my son Peter. That includes whenever they're talking about him, every time they introduce him to someone else, and even baby-talking to him on the few occasions they were left alone with him. Neither of them are embarrassed by this, and they both think they're in the right.
We're heartbroken. Especially my fiancé. Not only because his parents can't let go of their pride, but also because the name we chose for our son means a lot to us both.
I blame myself for encouraging my fiancé to allow them near our son. I was raised in a different city than all my grandparents, and always wished they could have been more involved in my life. Losing my grandmother didn't help. Pretty much every doubt I had only existed because I thought it would be important for my son to grow up with all of his grandparents around.
But now, all my guilt is gone. If they can't respect my son enough to call him by his name, they don't deserve to be in his life.
I hope they enjoyed the three weeks they had with their grandson. Because that's all they're getting until they get their heads out of their asses.
EDIT: I thought I'd clarify some things. First of all, I'm not comfortable sharing my son's name here, but I promise it's not a "yooneek" name or anything like that. It's perfectly normal and popular-ish in our country.
Secondly, I mentioned this in the comments, but while my family didn't try to dictate me on my son's name, they would never be comfortable with it. My uncle Peter passed almost three decades ago, but it forever changed everyone who knew him. My grandmother's wish might seem a bit irrational, but it was motivated entirely by grief and it didn't seem right to disrespect that just because she's not around anymore.
And to whoever PM'd me that my fiancé's only on my side to keep the peace, he didn't want to use the name either. Months before I got pregnant, he told me he hoped one of his cousins would have a son before we did, because he always hated the tradition and sympathized with my family. He's just as angry at his parents as I am, if not more. Also, most of his cousins and some other relatives have come around and apologized.
Relevant Comments:
Are they this unhinged in other areas of your life too?"
According to my fiancé, they've always been a little entitled, but I never really saw them enough to be able to say that. I will say that, though they were polite, they very clearly didn't care about me until we moved in together. My MIL pretended not to remember my name every time she saw me, and my FIL would lose interest in any conversations that weren't about him. Once it was clear me and my fiancé were in for long term, they started acting a lot more friendly towards me, but it never seemed sincere."
Have other family members come around yet?"
Most of my fiancé's cousins have come around, and his brother was always on our side. His grandmother and some of his aunts and uncles are with us too. His grandfather (divorced from his grandmother), two out of three living Peters (the two oldest) and pretty much everyone else are either still mad at us or haven't reached out to talk about it yet.
My entire family is on my side. They promised not to interfere in the naming process, but are relieved we didn't name him Peter."
One more note on the $1000 offered in the first post:
"And that's $1000 in MY country's currency. It roughly translates to $200USD." (note- OOP clarifies in a comment that she is Brazilian)
OOP drops this horrible bombshell about her uncle, the one who died before she was born:
"My uncle was murdered. My grandmother's request was motivated by trauma."
"Again; my family would be mostly fine with naming my son Peter. My dad and my aunt might have been uncomfortable, and my grandmother asked us all not to do so, but I wouldn't have been disowned if I had. It simply felt disrespectful, especially since my grandmother passed shortly before my son was born.
My uncle's death was traumatic for my family, but the name Peter is hugely common in my country."
Update Post 2: July 28, 2023 (3 months from first post)
My son is now 5 months old (almost six!). We're still NC with my fiancé's parents, who haven't seen us since May. We've both blocked them everywhere. His relatives who were on our side still are, and most of the ones who weren't haven't come around. If anything, they're even more pissed now.
I remember someone suggesting that my fiancé's family might stop using the name after we decided not to. Well, you were right. Last week, one of my fiancé's cousins announced she was pregnant with a boy. She included her baby's name in the announcement, and it's not Peter.
What followed was a string of aggressive Instagram DMs from both MIL and FIL. They both created accounts for the sole purpose of contacting me. I didn't see them until two days later. They sent me almost an hour worth of voice messages about how I'd "ruined their family".
They wish their son had never met me, that he'd see me for "who I truly am", and that I'd never gotten pregnant. Many of the messages ended with "I hope you're happy now", as if they thought they were getting the last word, only to think of something else they wanted to say. There was name calling, an accusation of me cheating, and the persistent refusal to refer to my son as their grandchild.
My fiancé and I listened to the messages together. He hadn't gotten any. As much as I tried to distance myself, I was in tears by the time it was all done. I still don't regret anything, specially after the stunt they pulled back in May, but I'm not completely free of the guilt yet. Not to mention their complete disregard for their grandson. I was already having an overwhelming week, and this just seemed like the final straw.
I must have spent close to an hour sobbing in my fiancé's arms. Once I was calmer, he unblocked his parents just to scream at them for a while. I only heard his side of the conversation, but it was more than enough. He finished the call by saying he didn't want to hear from them again.
We had a long talk afterwards. My fiancé opened up about the emotional blackmail by his family before and after my pregnancy. My in-laws were close to threatening him with anything they could if we didn't name our son Peter. I told him about my guilt, and how awful I feel for putting him through this. We reassured each other, cried a bit more, and had a mostly pleasant evening with our baby.
We contacted his cousin. The family is giving her shit for breaking the tradition again. They're being way less aggressive though, and I think many of my in-laws are finally learning to let go. We're not expecting any apologies anytime soon, but we'll be glad if they come.
Our wedding will be in September 2024, and whoever doesn't give us a sincere apology until then is uninvited. My fiancé's parents are banned either way. We came to that decision together.
Also, I'd like to address some comments on my previous update about how I was "letting my family's trauma win", or how the name wouldn't be hurtful now that my grandmother has passed.
I can't stress enough the damage my uncle's death caused. He was only 30 years old. He had a fiancée, a great career and his whole life ahead of him. I don't know many details about what happened, because I didn't want to upset my family by asking. My grandmother wasn't the only person hurt by this, my entire paternal family was. And if I remember correctly, the person responsible isn't even in jail anymore. It was more than 20 years ago, but the wound never truly closed.
So yeah, I think it's safe to say the tradition is over. The next Not-Peter will be here in January, right before my son's first birthday. It was never my intention for this to turn into such a shitstorm, but I'm so incredibly proud of my little family.
Thank you so much to everyone who shared their stories and offered advice during these last few months. I'll be forever grateful for all the support I got from y'all.
*****New Update Post: May 13, 2024 (13 months from OG post, about 10 from last post)****\*
Hey everyone, it's been a while. I hope you guys had a great Mother's Day!
I remember that last year, I promised myself I'd write a final update as soon as I felt calmer or felt the situation was closer to being solved. That actually happened months ago, but I've been busy lately.
Following my previous update, my fiancé's side of the family remained upset about the tradition being over for a few more months. They were way less intense about it, specially with the pregnant cousin I mentioned, but it was still evident.
That cousin's Not-Peter (almost a year later, I still can't think of a better term) was born in January. Our son turned one the next month. I think the fact that these two things happened so close together helped many of my in-laws let go of the tradition.
We got a few apologies we weren't expecting. Some of them were sincere enough that we slowly started reestablishing contact.
My fiancé's parents were not among those who apologized. We haven't spoken to either of them since last July. From what I've heard from some of his other relatives, however, MIL seems regretful. She has told some of them that she wishes she could be part of her grandson's life, and wonders if making his name a hill to die on was a bad decision. FIL, from what I gather, barely acknowledges my baby exists.
My fiancé knows about how his mother feels, but he says he doesn't care. And even if we did get an apology, I don't think either of us can forgive his parents. As much as we're mostly okay now, it sometimes feels like their treatment of our family ruined the first few months of our baby's life. I know that's not actually true, but I don't want them around my child.
Besides all that, things have been great. My son is 15 months old now, which I don't think I'll ever really get used to. He recently started drawing and has been expanding his vocabulary. He said "mamãe" first, by the way.
My fiancé and I are still getting married in September. We're thinking about moving abroad in a couple years (for work reasons), but we're not sure yet. We also recently got a dog (sadly, we didn't name him Peter).
This will be my final update. Whatever guilt I had about this situation a year ago is completely gone, and my life has been peaceful enough that it feels safe to say the shitshow is over.
Hugo, if you ever find this, you are the most fantastic thing that has ever happened to us. Thank you for letting me be your mom.
Thank you, Reddit, for all the love, advice and support you've given me this past year.
Relevant Comment:
Commenter: Whilst this may be your final update on the naming sage, you said you are getting married in September 2024 and MiL&FiL aren't going to be invited.
Prepare for more craziness from them at that time and good luck :)

OOP: I really do think this is over. My fiancé's parents don't know when or where we're getting married, so I'm not worried about them showing up. They haven't reached out to us in months, and we have no interest in contacting them.

Commenter: Should have named the dog Peter, and giggled every time you called it.

OOP: If it wasn't also my late uncle's name, I'd definitely consider it hahaha

​

DO NOT COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS. I am NOT OP. Original post by u/OddDot5178 in AITAH
trigger warnings: possible transphobia, possible mental health issues, manipulation
​
NOTE: Because everyone will wonder, I am addressing this right now. While OOP's child identifies as non-binary, she uses "she/her" pronouns and presents as a female. This is why OOP refers to her as her daughter.

AITAH For Not Wanting To Raise My NB Daughter's Baby? - Feb 7, 2024
My daughter came to me at 16 and said she was non-binary, but only sometimes. Like, some days she would feel more male than female and some days she would feel like neither. She wanted me to ask her every day what day it was and then refer to her as that pronoun of the day.
I told her that wasn’t going to fly. Growing up, I spent a lot of time on LJ (Livejournal) during the ol’ ‘bun-self’ and ‘zen-self’ ‘zir-self’ days. People who think this is new to this generation are fooling themselves. I told her that I would call her the pronoun she wanted, and do my best to remember it day to day, but she was going to have to tell me what she wanted for that day. I wasn’t going to play a daily guessing game.
This went on for about a week or two until she finally seemed to grow tired or bored and just said I could call her ‘her’. Though she still identifies as non-binary. Fine. (At least when it was going on she wanted ‘she, he, or they’ — I’m sorry but I couldn’t have done fox-self/fox-them with a straight face).
So that’s the pronoun story and looking back where I think things started to go off the handle. Here’s my real question.
My daughter is now 18, pregnant, and seems to have lost her god damned mind. Or I’m an asshole. You choose.
This year has been a struggle. She wanted to take a break year before she goes to community college, but can’t keep a job. Apparently, retail situations are too phobic against her non-binary state. (My child looks/acts/dresses exactly as a young adult female btw. When I ask how people are being phobic against her, she gets as prickly as a cactus so I really don’t know the details.). She’s been through 4 or 5 jobs this year, quit all of them. She won’t consider call centers that aren’t face to face because she doesn’t like to talk on phones, and is apparently looking for a remote job without any luck.
She’s been unemployed since Thanksgiving (she quit her last job on Black Friday, in fact) and I was on the verge of laying down the law, telling her she either needs to go to school this upcoming semester full time or get a full time job or move out with her friends.
But now she’s come to me and she’s 5 months pregnant. She’s very angry at me, says it’s my fault because:

• I didn’t put her on puberty-blocking hormones when she came to me 2 years ago.
• She believes I am in fact trying to ‘feminize her’ by getting her birth control. (The pill.). She’s been throwing her prescription away.

This is where I might be the asshole. I called her a little idiot. We don’t use that sort of language in my house, and I never call people names — especially my own child — but at that moment I could just see red.
The hormone thing is a non-issue IMO because this is the first time I ever heard of her wanting hormones. What was I supposed to do? Go back in time?
As for the birth control! It’s also the first time I’m hearing anything about this! There are non-pill options that don’t have estrogen. If that was her want, all she had to do was ask and I would have driven her to the doctor myself! Or she could have taken the car she has and done it. She has her own medical card, even! Though to be fair, I don’t know how she would have managed the co-pay without a job. I know for a fact her old high school gave out free condoms like candy because her friends were always giggling over flavored sample packs and even blew a few of them up like balloons and left them around the house one time. She had all the birth control she could ever want and used none of it.
It gets worse.
We’re way past the date of abortion (again, I would have helped her if this had been her wish! We live in an abortion protected state and can afford it!). She’s known she was pregnant since about 2 months and has come to think of her baby like a sibling. She expects me to raise it like it was mine. That this is my duty, in fact, because she says it is my refusal to accept her non-binary state that led to her being pregnant. So she was going to get a brother or sister and I was going to have another child.
You can say my language grew … sterner to versions of ‘Get your head out of your ass’ and ‘Congratulations, mommy, you have some hard decisions to make’, and I said I would absolutely not raise her baby for her.
She also refused to say who the father was. Now that I’ve cooled down, I’m really hoping she has a secret boyfriend. She does have some friends who were born male, but now also don’t identify that way. We didn’t even get there as I lost my mind when she said she thinks of her own baby as a sibling and wants me to raise it like my own child.
She’s locked herself in her room loudly wailing, I feel like crap warmed over. She’s been in there for 12 hours, and as she has an attached bathroom, probably won’t be coming out until she gets hungry. Considering it’s been half a day I think she has snacks stored.
I also don’t know where to go from here. Being pregnant sucks and messes with your head, so I’d like to blame that and the fear she must be feeling, but … I have the bad feeling I either raised a spoiled brat or someone with an emerging personality disorder.
So I need to know from people who aren’t emotionally involved, and maybe some people who are more in tune with this whole nonbinary thing than I am.
What do I do to help while also making her responsible for her own child? How can I help my daughter accept she must do basically the most feminine thing you can do (give birth and possibly breast-feed) while being sensitive that she’s non-binary? Am I just a big asshole here?
Typing all this out it feels like my daughter is lost in crazy town. I'm still not raising her baby but at what point do I drag a legal adult to the hospital?
Edit: You might disagree with my choices or wording, but I'm reporting people who call this bait. It's not.
Edit2: It's the middle of the night and she has decided to pack some of her clothes and stay with one of her friends. (One who I suspect is the baby daddy). Before she left she told me that she already called the police and let them know that she was 'leaving of her own free will and was not in danger'. Like I was going to report an 18 year old adult as a runaway or something? It was insulting.
I told her she needs to work out details if she wants to adopt with the father, and she was welcome back home when she had a plan in place.
It was short because I heard her on the way out. I think she just meant to leave without saying anything.
Thank you for your kind comments and advice, Reddit. I'm going to sleep.
Commenters agreed that OOP's child wasn't thinking straight:
Comment 1:
NTA.
I hate to say this, but; I sincerely hope OP's daughter chooses to give up this baby for adoption, because she's a confused hot ass mess. I don't blame OP for not wanting to step on the crazy train and raise this baby.
Comment 2:
Let’s be honest: If OP says yes to raising this child as her own, it will be the first of several. Daughter won’t take BC, so she will continue to have unprotected sex and get pregnant. She decided a couple years ago that she’s NB, expected her mother to understand that and know everything about it, and is now rewriting history to blame her mom for her now being pregnant. My head is swimming, and she’s not my daughter! There will be more babies.
Comment 3:
NB here OP.
You are SO NTA. I feel sympathy for your kid because they sound like they are so confused, maybe have body dysphoria and are now facing a life altering situation with no way out. They must feel so trapped. So they turn on you. It's easier for them to yell at and blame you instead of accepting responsibility. They are looking for a way out. We all keep changing and growing and your kid is SO young they seem to not know who they are yet and now they have to face looking after a baby when they know deep down they can't even really take care of themselves.
But my GOD the thing they did that was really stupid was chucking BC away. That is actually wild. Your kid needs to learn the difference between gender enforced stereotypes and actual biology. With biology it unfortunately doesn't matter what gender you are, the biology doesn't care, it still works the same. They NEED to learn that and differentiate.
Like I said, NTA OP. What a shit situation. I hope it gets better. I really do.
Comment 4:
NTA, your child is in fact a little idiot, with behavior that would be an absolute nightmare had you not been their parent. Also birth control isn’t a form of feminization, it’s a form of responsibility when you’re born in a body with a uterus and want to have sex that can result in pregnancy.
OOP's response:
Ugh, I wish I had those words when she hit me with that one. I sort of sputtered for a few minutes.
Comment 5:
Oh man, this is a can of worms within itself.
I wish I had better advice but just...I feel for you and the position you are stuck in.
The ONLY thing I can think of is, referring to breast feeding as "chest feeding" might make your NB daughter accept it more.
But like...there's a whole other level of things you need to get through first.
First and foremost, therapy, ASAP for your kid. Because she needs to get her head sorted out. Assuming you will just take this kid and raise it for her is...problematic to say the least. And she's got a deadline coming obviously, so therapy ASAP.
Also appointment for pregnancy checkups asap!! Has she had any? An unmonitored pregnancy can lead to complications
You might also be able to get her a social worker to go through pregnancy checkups, birthing extra.
Your kid needs a big sit down conversation about accountability for your own actions. And about how she might feel like part of YOUR actions lead to this, there was also many many choices she could have made to prevent this, that she chose not too. And at the end of the day, it was HER choices that led to this, not you.
OOP's response:
Thanks for this tip. I've written it down. The reason I mentioned she was NB because using 'breast' instead of 'chest' is the exact type of thing to send her into a pissy-fit when she's in the wrong mood. I know this may sound like a little thing, but she's always been... well, dramatic.
Because it's the internet and things are anonymous I'll admit that I am absolutely dreading pregnancy and afterbirth mood swings. Especially since it will all involve very womanly things in every intimate way. On top of the sheer stress of a newborn? Yes, I'm not looking forward to it at all and am already preparing to endure the storms.
Our conversation wasn't productive (it was an argument and she's still not out of her room) but I don't think she has had any prenatal care. That will change if I have anything to do with it.
Thanks again.
OOP commented with some of her concerns:
Yes. My worry and regret have so many places to go and a big part of it is for the baby.
This has been a bad day. :(
Responding to a comment regarding her child's entitled attitude:
Oh believe you me I have been kicking myself up and down on top of everything else. I don't know how she got to this point, but she's there now.
I wish I did have that time travel machine she clearly expects me to have.
She also clarified her overall views on the matter:
I'm on the fence. If she acted at all like she didn't have a gender (I believe that's what NB is) then I could take it more seriously. But she dresses as a woman. She puts on makeup, wears dresses during the summer, enjoys feminine things? We watch horse videos on youtube and squeal over the new foal videos. She's never been a tom boy, even.
But I was like, okay this isn't hurting her. I'll let her have this and express herself. Maybe it'll turn into something, maybe it won't. And after the first few weeks, she even dropped changing pronouns every day.
Her mentioning being NB faded and then started up hard again when high school ended and she started working retail.
I try to be understanding. Retail is hell and I'd personally only work it again if I was at my last resort. But recently it does seem to be an excuse not to work. And now she has a baby on the way.
This may not be the place for it, but I'm just worried she's regressing to a more child-like state. I don't know if she's struggling with being NB or if she's using NB as an excuse to shield herself from the world. Ugh. I guess the internet won't know, but I'm just flat out worried.
​
AITAH has no consensus bot but the comments were largely NTA.
​
Update: My NB Daughter Wants Me To Raise Her Baby - Feb 17, 2024
Hi,
This is an update to this post (Long story short my 18 year old NB daughter wanted me to raise her baby, and she told me she thinks the baby as her sibling. We had a blow-out, she locked herself in her room for most of a day, and then took off with her friends/her lover)
So this happened a few days ago but I didn’t update because I needed to get my head around it. It still doesn’t make sense.
Daughter finally unblocked me. She and the person who got her pregnant wanted to talk to me at a public place. We chose iHop.
Although I suspected I knew who her lover was, I was disappointed to find out because they have been a part of my daughter’s friend group since high school and was the only one I ever had a problem with and kicked out of my house.
They are trans now but two years ago the friend group was watching a movie in the living room, and every time I’d pass by, he (he was a he then) would lock eyes with me and make really obnoxious, loud, orgasm sounds like that scene in Harry Met Sally. I told him to knock it off and grew sterner when he did it again.
Then when I was in the kitchen, he somehow snuck up behind me and was miming jack-off movements with his hand. I turned around and caught him at it. He was still fully clothed, but it was startling and freaky. I kicked him out.
So now I’ll just call them Sperm-donor because that’s what they are.
I’m still calling my daughter ‘my daughter’ and ‘she’ because I still haven’t been told not to by her otherwise. So get off my case on that.
Anyway, the iHop meeting was a shit-show. Sperm-donor sat with my daughter and went on the attack. Sperm-donor’s points were:

• I was poisoning my daughter by “making” her take birth control. (I only helped her get the prescription and would have done everything I could if I knew she didn’t want to take the pill. There are other methods!)
• It will take years to “fix” my daughter after all I did. (Not giving her hormones even though I had no idea that was what she wanted. She dropped even wanting to change her pronouns after a few weeks.)
• Abortion is a sin and I am a monster for suggesting it. (It’s past the date anyway.)
• I am further abusing her by not taking care of the baby while she fixes herself. (I guess they meant it as a temp situation which was also new to me.)

So apparently even though I’m an abusive monster, a bad mother, and so on, I’m even worse for not taking in their baby. At least no one suggested that I raise it like my daughter’s sister anymore. That might have been my daughter’s thought on it.
Sperm-donor did most of the talking while my daughter just sat and glared at me, nodding along.
It was kind of a whirlwind, Sperm-donor pounded the table a few times, and even the waiter knew not to bother us after drinks, lol. I’m surprised we weren’t asked to leave.
There was a lot said, mostly by the sperm-donor who really seemed to be steering the ship. I asked why sperm-donor couldn’t take care of the baby and sperm-donor said their parents were even worse than me. I guess my daughter and sperm-donor taking care of the child they created is out of the question.
I told them that I would not be raising their baby for them and that adoption is the best bet. They said that if I don’t agree to raise it, they’ll make sure I’ll never see the baby ever.
I won’t raise their child for them. So that’s that, I guess.
I feel so many flavors of worried and angry and then worried all over again. I’ve been around the block and it’s never a great sign when the person you’re with makes an enemy of your family. That’s what sperm-donor has done by painting me as an abuser and failed mother who also won’t take in their baby. Sounds like sperm-donor has cut themselves off from their own family too. So I’m worried my daughter is in a very controlling relationship with someone who convinced her to stop birth control because they think hormones are too feminizing somehow and that she needs to be “fixed”. But they still want me to raise their baby.
I’m angry that my daughter can just hear this crap and nod along like, yeah, that makes total sense. She is not stupid. I think she’s love blinded.
I’m sad and worried for the baby. A couple commenters suggested I wanted nothing to do with the baby because I wouldn’t agree to raise it as my own. No, in a perfect world, I would want a normal grandmotherly relationship. Or at least know that the child is safe and has been adopted into a loving family.
I don’t care what my daughter does with her gender, or her body as long as she doesn’t hurt herself. I want her to be in a happy relationship with someone who values her for who she is. Sperm-donor kept using the word ‘fix’ which I see as another terrible sign.
It’s bad all around. My house is empty. It feels like my adult daughter has run off to join up with some weird church/cult thing who tells her that up is down. That not using birth control and not getting an abortion and then expecting others to take care of the child is all a-okay. Oh and that she’s a problem and needs to be “fixed”.
I texted her and said I would be there for her, but sperm-donor was still not welcome in the house. I think I’m blocked again.
She’s a legal adult. I’m not sure what else I can do at this point? In my low points, part of me thinks maybe I should agree to take the baby and then immediately make sure it’s adopted into a loving home. But I get the feeling that sperm-donor won’t make that easy, and right now my daughter does what he says. Also I’m not sure if that plan is even possible. It sounds Hollywood.
I have an appointment to speak with a councilor, but the soonest I could get is April. Some of my friends think I should take the baby in either to get them away from the parents or because they think it’s my duty, or both.
The only silver lining in this was that they both seemed sober. I don’t think there’s drugs involved.
Am I reading this wrong? Am I the asshole here?
Commenters agreed that sperm donor's comments made no sense, and that OOP's child was probably stuck in an abusive relationship:
Comment 1:
For your safety, I would change the locks and put up camera, Sperm-donor seems unhinged. I’m a firm believer in better safe than sorry.
Comment 2:
This baby will be used as a pawn in his never ending psycho drama. If they do not and cannot raise their baby, the best solution is adoption. Otherwise, the father will make your life a living hell.
NTA
OOP's response:
I couldn't figure out a polite way of saying this, but yes. That is my suspicion if I take in their baby. Sperm-donor implied it would be temporary while earlier my daughter said it would be permanent. I think sperm-donor will refuse to sign over paperwork when the time comes or try to leverage it in some way.
Comment 3:
NTA also it sounds like your daughter is in an abusive relationship with this person. Sorry your daughter has been brain washed by this crazy person. I would definitely contact this sperm donors family and if they seem sane warn them about how crazy both of spoke to you.
OOP's response:
That is my fear, and not a bad idea to contact sperm-donor's parents. This has all happened so far, I feel like I'm in shock and I'm very worried.
Comment 4:
Pretty wild that a trans person is saying abortion is a sin. None of this is anything like what you're going to hear from any healthy LGBT community, who are quite careful to make sure not to support people in delusional or antisocial behavior. Definitely get therapy, sounds like your kid has some serious mental health problems if they're being influenced by whatever wackos put these ideas into their head. You're going to need support in coping with this madness. NTA by a country mile. You are in no way "abusing" your kid by refusing to take responsibility for their bad choices.
OOP's response:
Thank you and yes, I don't want to minimize my daughter's role in it but the hard anti-abortion thing surprised me too. A lot of what they said contradicted itself. It felt like I was sitting across from two people who were in their own wacko bubble.
I know it's not a LGBT thing. I wish someone from their community would knock some sense into them, if its even possible at this point.
​
OOP hasn't posted since the last update.
Reminder - I am not the original poster. DO NOT COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS.

I am still NOT the Original Poster. That is u/ThrowRA-scarecrow. She posted in relationship_advice. Thank you to u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for the original recommendation and to u/ivy5kin for letting me know about the update
Previous BORU here. New Updates (starting with one from a few months ago and ending with one 7 days old) marked with ****\*

Read trigger warnings

Trigger Warnings: infant abuse; spousal abuse; drug use; stalking; kidnapping attempt
Mood Spoiler: utterly terrifying and disturbing
Original Post: March 16, 2024
My husband (42m) and I (35f) tried for so long to have our boys and girl. Due to a health issue my husband suffered he developed fertility issues and we had to get medical assistance to be able to have our children because if we didn’t he’d probably never have kids. So we went through fertility treatment. He desperately wanted his own biological children and we spent a fortune just to bring them into the world and now he’s jealous and distant with them?
He’s constantly in competition with his own infant children. If I hold the children he gets frustrated. Any time they take my attention away he gets completely pissy. He’s always in a foul mood, irritable and just down right nasty. I don’t understand it. Why is he like this? Our children are barely 6 months and they won’t stop crying every time he’s near. I feel like they can sense his negativity. I tried talking to him. Ive suggested he take interest in the kids and spend more time with us as a family. I know it can sometimes take a little longer for parents to bond with their children but this is down right scary to experience. He’s full of jealousy and envy. He sees our children as competition to my time and affections.
A few times now he has made comments about feeling frustrated that I still breast feed our children. The thing is we mix feed so he has had ample opportunity to feed them and he just doesn’t. He also said that this (meaning our life&our marriage after children) wasn’t what he thought it would be like. I mean what did he expect? A singular baby cries and three of them cry a lot.
We’ve been together for 8 years and married for 7 years. He wanted these children. He pushed for them and now this. I never thought this would ever be me. I am scared. I am scared for my children. I have tried talking to him but he just brushes me off. I’ve suggested counseling. He refuses. He tells me it’s all in my head. I want to save this marriage but I am scared I won’t be able to and maybe it’s not worth saving.
He comes home later everyday. He avoids us on the weekends and any time he has off. I’m not ashamed to say that I went through his phone and there are a lot flirtatious text between him and a “Jessica”. I don’t think anything has happened between them but it sure looks like they are building up to it. I haven’t said anything because I’m afraid. Where do I go with three children, with no money and no family that can help me? I haven’t worked in two years and I’ve spent all my savings on having these children. My mind is in a complete meltdown. I can’t sleep I can’t think and I’m always exhausted.
What the hell happened? Is this him now forever?
Edit: Some of you are some real evil bastards ! Stop blaming me for him mistreating me! I do not deserve to be treated this way and neither do my kids! Stop messaging me evil things!
Relevant Comments:
Examples of 'competition':
If I’m with the kids and say I’m feeding them he gets upset I’m focusing on them and not him, or as he likes to say I’m fussing over them. He expects they sleep through the night and gets upset when I’m with them instead of in bed with him. He has even made weird comments about me loving them more than him.
Did he really want kids or did YOU want kids?
Due to my husband’s fertility issues he was the one pushing for us to have kids. He knew early on that he had a health condition and wanted us to have children way earlier but I asked if we could wait but then his condition worsened so we agreed to get treatment before he couldn’t have any kids. He desperately wanted to be a father and they are biologically ours. His desire to be a father was one of the qualities I liked about him when we started dating.
I’ve always worked and the plan was for me to stay home for the first 2/3 years and perhaps work part time until the kids were school aged. But that’s out the window now because I don’t want to ever be this vulnerable! I’ve been brushing off my cv and scouring the internet for a job. I will never allow myself to be this vulnerable again.
Does he help at ALL? Do you have a support system you could go to?
He doesn’t help me at all. I take care of our kids on my own. My parents are long gone and my sister is abroad. She stayed with us for the birth and a month after the children were born. She lives in France but she’s due to return home this summer. So I know I’ll have her help when she’s back. But I’m trying not to bother her as she’s going through a divorce.
I’ve suggested couples counseling and he refuses. He says everything is in my head.
I’m actually even crying writing this but I do have a small to go bag in the trunk of my car. Just incase. I feel like I’m not being rational because he doesn’t hurt me or the kids but I feel like I’m constantly walking on eggshells. Like what happened to my happy go lucky husband? Who’s this person I’m afraid of?
Are they his biologically? Did you guys go to a support group for infertility treatment?
We didn’t use any sperm or egg donations. The kids are his and mine biologically.
We also went to a support group, two support groups actually. One of them was for couples and the other for men experiencing infertility. He also went to individual therapy to deal with his emotional issues around infertility.
Update Post: March 19, 2024 (3 days later)
Title: He’s (42m) been pinching my (35f) babies?
Thank you to the person who said I should watch his interactions with my babies more closely and frequently. Not even hours after I posted here asking for advice I caught him pinching my son!
While I was scrolling on here and replying to people I decided to check my baby monitor and I watched my husband enter our children’s room and insult them in a hushed and whispery tone. I couldn’t make out much of what he was saying but he was without a doubt telling them that he hated them and wished them dead. Then he pinched my son and my baby boy didn’t even cry which made me think he’s done this many times before.
It all happened so fast and by the time I could make sense of what was happening on the monitor he was already walking down the hallway and down the stairs. At the same time I had lept off the sofa and pretty much tackled him as he came off the stairs. We got into a physical and verbal altercation, we fought, argued and shouted for hours. I guess the police were called by the neighbors because the next thing I know the police are banging on my door. I explained the situation to the police and the officers said that they could not prove that my baby was harmed since he didn’t have a bruise and my baby monitor was only on live feed and not simultaneously recording. Eventually they got my husband to agree to pack a bag and leave. He left reluctantly.
He has since been blowing up my phone begging for forgiveness, talking about how he’s been depressed and stressed by the babies, and that his anxiety and jealousy got the best of him. I just responded once telling him to go fuck himself. I’ve also been in contact with a lawyer and she’s advised me to leave him unblocked incase he further incriminates himself. I don’t even recognize who this man is! Where did this all come from?
How did this happen? Has any other parent experienced this? How did you handle this?
Before y’all start jumping down my throat I am absolutely getting a divorce and I will do everything in my power to get full custody. I did take my children to our family doctor and they are in good health and there are no other signs of abuse. I’ve filled a report with the police and my lawyer is dealing with it. I’m also about to start the process of divorce.
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: He just wants more and better access to his victims. This is someone who gets off on hurting children. Actual human beings who are stressed and depressed do not sneak around abusing children for their dopamine hits.

OOP: Exactly! I’m tired, stressed, depressed and I’m physically still not fully healed from the pregnancy and the cesarean birth but not once have I thought of hurting anyone let alone a baby! I don’t buy his bullshit excuses. He clearly knew what he was doing was wrong otherwise he wouldn’t have been sneaking around and being all hush hush. I do not believe him for one second. He’s a goddamn beastly man.

Update the monitor to one that records:
I’ve set the monitor up to record now! I’ve also ordered a home security system and will be installing it real soon!
On what OOP is doing to protect them:
I’m doing everything I can to protect them! This all happened a few days ago but I am in the process of getting a temporary restraining order. My lawyer is handling it and I understand it takes some time to actually get one and in the meantime I’ve been advised that I can just deny him visitation until he gets a judgement from the courts that forces me to grant him access to my babies but that takes time. So in the meantime he can’t force me or my babies to see him.
I’ve recorded every call and saved ever text. Literally documenting everything. Thankfully he’s saying and texting a goldmine of incriminating things that I hope would be sufficient information for a judge to give me and my babies a restraining/protective order and for family court to grant me primary and sole custody.
Did you tell him you saw the pinch?
Yes. He at first told me I was imagining things. Then switched to saying he was just frustrated our son wouldn’t go to sleep. Then he started saying that he was angry that our son was interrupting our “personal time” and that he was doing it on purpose because the other babies were asleep so why wasn’t he?
Honestly nothing he says makes sense to me. Like my baby boy was just laying there sleepy and he would’ve fallen back to sleep by himself that bastard actually woke him up with his pinching and insults.
He says he went in their room to check up on them and I call bullshit on that he went in there to torment my children. Who in their right mind whispers death to two sleeping babies and a another half asleep baby?!
Did he tell you that over phone or text?
This was on a call which I’ve recorded!
*****Update Post 2: April 10, 2024 (3 weeks after OG post)****\*
Title: How did it go so wrong? For my (36f) birthday he (42m) broke into the house?
Every conversation with him (42m) feels like I’m (36f) losing my mind. The only thing that has kept me semi-sane and able to track what he has been doing is my audio journal and my posts on here.
Last week it was my thirty sixth birthday. Actually I had forgotten it was my birthday and was reminded by my sister that it was in fact my birthday. I decided I couldn’t mope around the house and I got my kids dressed to go shopping and get groceries. We got back and I put away half of the groceries but my babies were fussy and so to tire them out and ready them for bed we went for a walk. When I got back home he was in the kitchen cooking and putting away some of the groceries I had left out. He greeted me and acted normal. I didn’t react because his entire demeanour was freaking me out so I played along. I went upstairs and got the kids down. I did think of walking out the front door but he was kind of anticipating it and so he was following me around and I thought in the moment that the best thing I could do was to get my kids upstairs and away from him. He said he wanted to talk and clear the air because this has “gone on too long”.
We had a long conversation and it started out reasonable but eventually spiralled out of control. We got into physical confrontation because I refused to let him stay. He tried to physically intimidate me and he, well hurt me. While he was hurting me I was still able to contact the police. It took them a excruciatingly long 20/25 minutes to get there.
So here I am sitting with two completely black and blue eyes, a busted lip, swollen face,massive knots on my head and bruises all over. I don’t know what happened to my life or how I got here but here I am. I can’t even look my neighbors in the eyes. I can’t go outside without seeing the shocked faces of people.
I have never felt so ashamed, so humiliated, so hurt and so utterly stupid. I thought I made all the right choices in life. What did I do wrong? When did it all get so fucked? I mean I think I did everything right? Like I created a stable life for myself then picked a man that at time was a very loving partner, I married that man and waited five years before even going through the process of having children with him and now once I’ve had his children he’s just beating on me and our babies?
Edit: My sister is now aware of what’s been happening and she is supporting me as best as she can. I have plans to move out but since I’m not working right now I need some time to save up.
His family is also aware. His family refused to believe that I saw him hurt our child but they can’t deny this attack now that they’ve seen my bruises. Also yes he was arrested and he was bailed out by his brother. He’s currently staying with his brother.
Relevant Comments:
I’m in contact with a dv organization that my lawyer has put me in contact with. I did have a locksmith come out and I have new locks. I also have a couple of safety locks for my windows, and security cameras around the house and I changed our security code but honestly he doesn’t give a shit.
He despite it all broke in and beat the living shit out of me.
Making the audio journal:
I really didn’t make my audio journal to use as evidence. I literally made it because he makes me feel like I’m insane! I never know which version of him I’ll get at any given time. I also keep my journal to keep track of what he says. Every conversation with him makes me lose grip of my fleeting sanity.
Leaving the house:
The biggest reason I haven’t left my home is because he would without a doubt say I abducted the children! I’m already withholding my children from him since I caught him hurting my six month old son.
On advice of my lawyer I have stayed put. It’s my best option for now and it shows that I’ve been reasonably measured in my actions.
Restraining order?
I am in the process of getting one.
Update Post 3: April 25, 2024 (15 days later, almost 6 weeks from OG post)
Title: It was all for the love of another woman? Who barely knew of his existence? He (42m) hurt my (36f) children to further his own selfish desires
I say all of this without exaggeration. I am certain he was getting ready to kill us. After nearly 8 months of turmoil I’m finally close to understanding.
My soon to be ex husband is in love with a woman he came across on social media and he has been obsessing over her for at least a year. She also happens to be a sex worker and he was paying her for her time and attention. In his mind he believed they could have a future together if only he could get rid of my children and me. Even though this woman gave him no inkling that she even wanted to be with him. He has spent so much of our money on this woman. I am at a loss for words that could accurately describe the situation. I can barely believe half of the things he’s been up to.
I’ve spent the past few weeks playing detective and I finally decided to contact “Jessica”. This is obviously not her name but I need to call her something. I contacted Jessica and at first she was very reluctant to speak to me but I literally begged her to and she was kind enough to get on the phone with me.
She told me that she had been seeing him for awhile but she stopped seeing him because he started to scare her. He was sending her unhinged messages and voicemails. He had been stalking her and trying to convince her to be with him. Jessica eventually stopped seeing him and had him blocked and I guess this is when he started to escalate from emotional abuse to physically abusing my children and myself. He was looking for a way out and in his crazy mind, killing us would free him because the only reason Jessica wouldn’t be with him was because me and my children were in the way.
During our long call I also explained to Jessica what had been happening to me and she was genuinely kind and helpful. She also agreed to speak to my lawyer and to send them the thousands of unhinged texts, voicemails and voice notes he sent her. For a little while after our conversation a part of me genuinely hated Jessica and wanted to blame her for everything but the rational part of me pushed out those unreasonable and dangerous thoughts especially after I read his disturbing texts and heard his voicemail/notes to Jessica. She has also been victimized by him.
Honestly there is nothing like listening to your husband and father of your children talk about how you and your children mean nothing to him and how he wishes you were dead. He could’ve just asked for a divorce or just got up and left. I sent him a few texts asking him why? (this was a one time thing and since then I’ve stopped all contact) Why do all of this? Why torment my babies? Why not just walk away? He responded with a message saying any conversation between us should be through our lawyers. His parents have him lawyered up. They know what he’s been up to and they’ve chosen to protect him. His father came to see me and in a not so direct way suggested he could pay me if I stopped talking about what his son has done and was planning on doing. Ever since he broke into the house and pretty much tried to kill me I’ve told anyone who’d listen what he has done. At this point even his colleagues know.
Relevant Comments:
I have emergency custody of my kids and a protective order. I’m in the process of getting two trained guard dogs haven’t gotten very far though and I have a security system.
I’m also seriously considering a gun. More than seriously actually I’ve applied for a permit. Of course I do plan on taking lessons in gun safety and training.
Be careful with the dogs, he may just kill them:
He probably would but the few seconds to minutes he needs in order to do that is perhaps the chance I need to save my children and myself.
This may seem horrible to you but I rather have them as a buffer then my children getting harmed. I of course don’t want this to happen but I’m in a situation now where I need to do everything I can to protect my children.
His parents:
Oh they really are bastards and refuse to believe their precious son could ever do the things he’s done despite the fact that I installed security cameras after I caught him abusing my babies and despite the fact that my neighbors have signed witness statements attesting to the fact that they saw him break into my house and attack me. They’ve seen the police report. They’ve seen the pictures of my battered face and bruised body. They are feigning ignorance but they know, and I know they know.
You don't want to give him ammunition in the divorce- maybe stop telling people?
Actually me telling people has been the best thing I’ve done so far. It’s what has kept me safe. My neighbors now look out for his car and call the police if they see he’s anywhere near the house.
What was he like before all of this? Were there any signs?
We’ve been married for nearly 8 years. Will actually be 8 years in 2 months. We never had any issues. Sure we had minor squabbles but that was few and far in between. Never did I have any issues that would lead me to think that he’d try to hurt us let alone kill us.
It was during my pregnancy and birth that he became verbally and emotionally abusive, this is also the time period he met Jessica and started fantasizing about running away with her. He was angry and jealous that my attention was more on the pregnancy and the babies and this built resentment towards me and my children. It also pushed him more into his obsession with Jessica and when he was also rejected by her, he spiraled into this insane mindset. At the same time he escalated into verbally and physically abusing our infant children and when I found out he hurt my children, I attacked him. I caught him hurting my son and we physically fought and my neighbors called the police and he was escorted out of the house. Then he came back and broke into the house, he attacked me and beat me into a bloody mess. He was arrested for this. I’ve since attained a lawyer and I’ve been granted emergency custody and a protective order.
Again- why isn't he in jail?
He’s out on bail.
Update Post 3: May 11, 2024 (2+ weeks later)
Editor's note: This post was deleted by reddit. I have transcribed it from this youtube video and this tiktok video
Title: My (36f) husband (42m) has been arrested for stalking and attempting to abduct his former “mistress”.
Last week Thursday at approximately 2:00 AM in the morning, my (36F) husband (42m) of nearly 8 years was arrested outside of Jessica's house, (the sex worker he met online and used to pay to spend time with him until he started to creep her out by his stalking and obsession.)
When he was arrested, they found in his truck small baggies with drug residue and they also found tools of abduction. I honestly do not know what these are exactly.
My soon to be ex FIL called me at around 4:45/4:50 AM to tell me that his son was arrested. My FIL was the one who used the term tools of abduction. When I asked him what the hell that means, he said he didn't have time for my interrogation tactics. He then asked if I could help them find a lawyer for him and to stand by his son throughout all of this. When I said to him "how the hell am I supposed to find a lawyer this early in the morning," he lost his shit and then was just screaming.
My soon to be ex MIL took over the phone, telling me that I'm a goddamn b****, and that all this is my fault. I hung up before she could say anymore.
I never knew this man to take drugs. Sure, he drank occasionally, but hard drugs? I honestly don't know what's happening anymore or how I got here. I mean it does make sense he was on cocaine the past 7/8 months now that I look back at things.
I mean, I don't even know anything about drugs to be able to recognize the behavior pattern, but once I researched it, it seemed clear. The moodiness, the disappearances, the lies, the anger, the sudden outburst and the violence- it all points to drug usage, as well as him being an abusive piece of shit.
His parents and the rest of his family had called and texted me so much abusive shit and they occasionally switched to begging me to go see him or pick up his calls, but I've mainly ignored them. I don't have the time, the energy or the love that is needed to be there for this man and his parents. I've given him eight years of my love and affection, and he spat it back into my face during the hardest and most vulnerable time of my life
Also, why would they think I'd help him after everything he's done? Especially since I think he deserves to be in jail for not only hurting my children, but also for hurting myself and Jessica.
I hope and pray he's jailed for the rest of his natural life. I mean I've tried being a good wife, but he has attacked my children. He has attacked me. He has lied and tormented us, and I'm supposed to help him?
I don't even know how I got here. How did we get here?
I've packed everything up and I'm leaving. I'm disappearing with my kids, and anything else between me and these people can be handled through my lawyer. The only person who knows where I'm moving to is my lawyer and my sister. I mean what else can I do to protect my children? His entire family blames me. And how do I keep my head high when I'm now being treated like I'm an evil and disgusting person by pretty much everyone I once called a family? These people are trying to destroy me inside and out, and I don't know how to survive them. How am I supposed to rebuild my life when they won't stop tormenting me?
In less than a year of their birth, I've managed to fail my children...
TLDR: My soon to be ex-husband was arrested while stalking his former mistress/sex worker and during his arrest they found drug residue and tools for abduction
Relevant Comments:
Change your surname/the kids' surnames:
My kids and I have double-barreled surnames (my surname and their dads) but when I can we will drop his and we’ll all go by just mine.
People blaming OOP:
The sad fucking thing it’s not only his parents. It seems like everyone is blaming me.
OOP's response to a crappy (now deleted) comment:
“ You need to discover the reasons why you failed to notice or do anything about everything that was going on with him. You have to build skills so you can take full ownership over your own life.”
This genuinely has me fucking raging right now! I feel like everyone keeps blaming me!
And I don’t know why everyone keeps blaming me for his shit! We didn’t have any problems in the previous 7 years of our marriage. He started doing drugs during my pregnancy and this is when he started to behave abnormally. I tried to get him help because I thought it was depression or the stress of being a new parent.
When I noticed his irritablity, combativeness and generally shitty behavior was more than just depression or jealousy of me spending more time with my new born children, I kicked him out, I got a lawyer and involved the police because there no way in hell I’d stay with someone who hurt my children or let him get away with it and I also made sure to get emergency custody of my children. This is also around the same time when he spiralled into using more drugs. I don’t know what else I could’ve done but I know I took all the right steps when I noticed his escalation!
I’m so sick of everyone acting like I was making him do drugs and like I’m suppose to know that he’d ruin my life after having had a good marriage before he started taking drugs and going out of his mind.
What has your lawyer said about disappearing?
I currently have emergency custody. My lawyer is the one who suggested to disappear (meaning moving to new house and not letting anyone know) because she says this is a time of great danger and I heartily agree. Since my ex-husband first went to look for me at the house but me and my children went to stay somewhere else for a few days because I was scared he’d come back after he broke into the house previously and attacked me.

Update: marking this as solved. I don't know what caused the lock out - I'm 100% certain I only entered my password once. "Resolution" if it counts: I'm thankful I had the DSfinder app installed on my ipad through which I was able to see "IP Blocking" settings and managed to unblock the IP address of my PC. Had forgotten I had installed it on that device. Don't think it contributed to the issue as again, device is WiFI only and never open the Synology app. Just massively relieved!
Hi All,
Would appreciate some help here. I'm really confused what's going on.
Background
I last logged into my DSM 2 days ago on my PC. Just tried to log in right now and something odd happened, I'm used to signing in by entering my password followed by 2FA code even though it's my personal device. This time on attempting to sign on to my admin account, after entering my username I received a message to validate my log in using the Synology Secure SignIn app instead of entering a password. I do not have the app. I tried another non-admin account, still the same message. Upon attempting to log in with a password, instead I receive a message saying too many failed attempts have been made to log in and the IP address has been blocked. To be clear, I had not made any prior attempts from my personal device (it was sleeping until about 5 minutes before I attempted to log in). Although I couldn't access my DSM account, I was still able to access my mapped network drives. I tried to restart my PC and tried to log in again, but same result, and this time no luck with accessing mapped network drives either.
Edit to add: I never log into my NAS through any other devices besides this PC in my home network.
Existing Security
My NAS is exposed to the internet only via Plex. It is port forwarded so not the standard 32400 and behind a double nat. Plex has a secure password and also has 2FA.
I have firewall rules set up so only can be accessed in my country of origin UK, and after 3 or 5 wrong attempts I believe it blocks the IP. Prior to this I've never had any attempts made on my NAS.
I have my original admin account disabled, and the new one is super obscure. My password is beyond what is reflected here: https://caltechsites-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/imss/images/2023_Password_Table_Square.original.jpg
In addition, I haven't logged into my authenticator app on this device.
Oddities
One of the drives I have is dedicated to media. I'm still able to access this through Plex. I run Plex through docker and I am still able to access this through my NAS IP address.
Edit to add: I have DLNA enabled on my NAS, I'm able to access media through this as well (including through my PC).
I have another laptop that was also sleeping. I've just switched it on, it is still connected to my mapped network drives and I can access the majority of them (different limited access credentials), but none of the content is blocked by any means. I never attempt to log into DSM through this laptop. Only the initial mapping of the drives.
I've not received any emails notifying that I've been hacked/my content has been locked until I pay
Synology assistant isn't having luck finding the Synology NAS on the network at all either.
Maybe related
I've requested a speed upgrade from my internet provider. They've sent me a new router and asked me to plug it in within 5 days. I've not done this yet and was actually logging into my DSM account to double check all my settings prior to switching out.
If you're still reading, thanks so much!
At this point I'm clueless if it's something malicious or not. I'm going to run Malwarebytes overnight on my PC. Is there a chance that a change at my ISP side could result in the above?
I'm thinking worst case scenario I've been hacked, but let's say I have a keylogger on my machine, is it possible for them to break into my NAS based on my passwords alone? My 2FA is always from my personal phone and I don't log into that on my PC. Really not sure how else they could have gotten access, and again, no emails or anything, nothing has been zipped.
Would appreciate your help / suggestions on what I can do here please!
Thanks!

Hi, it's Stads again covering OU usage trends in April 2024. This is some form of a follow-up to my post last month here (https://www.reddit.com/stunfisk/comments/1bw1732/ou_usage_trends_march_2024/), where I discussed the 5 pokemon with the greatest usage differential between the general population elo bracket and the 1825+ elo bracket in the March 2024 stats. For this month, the stats are sourced from https://www.smogon.com/stats/2024-04/ . This time, I'll cover both the top 5 increases in usage and the top 5 decreases in usage between the two brackets. Let's start off with the increases!

1. Zamazenta (9.79% vs 23.87%, +14.09%)

Zama just keeps taking off in usage, climbing to 2nd overall in usage in the 1825+ bracket and dethroning the elephant last month. Like last month, I suspect Zama is simply an extremely solid pokemon that both checks and fits well into offensive structures. Month-over-month, I see that a novel spread of Impish 16/0/216/0/40/236 has taken over the 1825+ elo bracket this month, albeit only a small plurality at 12.142%. This spread makes it quite a bit more physically bulky while speed creeping Roaring Moon, a key opposing mon for Zama to check. However, this is at the cost of no longer outspeeding key threats like Weavile, Darkrai, and +1 Dragonite. There's been some shifting in which moves Zama is running as well, with Crunch becoming slightly less mandatory, Roar and Heavy Slam becoming more popular, and Substitute falling off quite a bit. I suspect the very standard Sub IronPress Zama simply has been adequately adapted to, and these shifts reflect Zama adjusting to deal with opposing setup sweepers and fairies a bit better.

2. Kingambit (24.50% vs 36.72%, +12.22%)

Another repeat performer, Kingambit continues to be a popular pokemon in all elo brackets but especially the 1825+ region. While most of SV OU continues to adapt and proliferate new strategies, Kingambit seems to be a more locked-in constant, with no new sets, spreads, or moves especially rising in popularity. Leftovers, Black Glasses, and Air Balloon continue to be the main trifecta of used items, and while most sets seem to be Adamant and investing in bulk, running Jolly and max speed retains a solid niche. It remains to be seen if anything can really knock Kingambit from its perch in the coming months, or if we've reached a stable equilibrium.

3. Glimmora (12.23% vs 20.26%, +8.03%)

Finally, a new face! The favoured lead for many Hyper Offensive teams in SV OU since the beginning, Glimmora had a great month in April, coming in at 6th in usage in the 1825+ bracket. Month-over-month, Glimmora has remained markedly stable in how it's used, but the 1825+ bracket loves Red Card quite a bit more, at 41.295% compared to to 15.172% in the general population. I suspect this is because Red Card can be tricky to use, requiring some prediction to be best used in displacing an opposing setup sweeper while switching into an attack that won't OHKO Glimmora. I wonder if much of this usage was pre-Volcarona ban, with how reliably Glimmora could take a fire-type attack from the moth and get rid of all its terrifying boosts. I'm a little surprised that Glimmora has thrived with the emergence of Fast Taunt Landorus-Therian with Earth Power, but perhaps Hyper Offensive teams have simply adapted and are now finding other leads that can adequately threaten Lando.

4. Roaring Moon (13.17% vs 21.04%, +7.87%)

Salamence's prehistoric cousin has been terrifying since it was unbanned with the advent of DLC2, but it continues to really come into its own. A ludicrously strong Knock Off can not only be leveraged to sweep teams but also break open cores for teammates to later abuse, and its typing and natural bulk gives Roaring Moon the ability to often find openings against mons like Gholdengo and Gliscor. Everyone agrees that Roaring Moon runs Booster Energy, Dragon Dance, Knock Off, and Acrobatics (with tera flying), but while the general population seems to enjoy Earthquake and then Taunt for that last moveslot, the 1825+ bracket has a mild preference for Taunt, with Brick Break narrowly edging Earthquake as the runner-up. I'm not positive whether this is more of a niche tool against screens or just the best option available against the ubiquitous Kingambit, but it's an interesting development that's only really taken off this month. As an aside, I'm quite surprised that Tera Flying + Acrobatics has persisted as not only the premier tera option for Roaring Moon, but realistically, the only option. Flying is an extremely good offensive type with few fat electrics around, but I'm a bit surprised that no specialized counter-teras have developed for Moon to beat some of its established checks such as Weavile and Dondozo.

5. Clefable (5.63% vs 13.32%, +7.69%)

This one did surprise me. While the happy pink blob (no, the other one) continues to fly largely under the radar amongst the general population, it's experiencing a breakout in the 1825+ bracket. I suspect this is because post-Volcarona ban, the metagame has gotten slightly fatter despite the presence of Waterpon and Kyurem, and Clefable fits excellently into many fat structures. Magic Guard is an amazing ability always, but especially in a hazard meta, and also makes Clefable one of SV OU's two premier knock absorbers alongside Gliscor. The support movepool is just as good as ever with Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, Knock Off, Wish healer, and Calm Mind wincons all quite viable. Magic Guard and the prevalence of booster energy also makes Clefable an excellent user of Sticky Barb, which can attach itself to mons post-booster like Great Tusk and Roaring Moon, easily dooming their sweeps. The general population acknowledges this set with 13.93% Sticky Barb usage, but the 1825+ bracket expects it, with Sticky Barb as the #1 used item at 43.833%. The general population also seems to enjoy specially defensive Clefable sets quite a bit more - perhaps to better deal with Kyurem, albeit in a very risky way - while the 1825+ bracket leans into the Sticky Barb with physically defensive sets being ubiqutious. While Clefable has exploded in popularity, it does seem to be only on balance and fatter team comps, with its most common teammates being Gliscor (completing the knock absorption perimeter), Corviknight, Dragapult, Great Tusk, and Dondozo. If Clefable gets more usage on offensive teams, it'll truly be a sign that the SV OU meta has at long last started to slow down.
I'll also go over the 5 pokemon with the greatest usage drop between the general population and 1825+ bracket. If you see your favourites here, don't necessarily worry - they may still have realistic niches to fill on OU teams! But it is still good to analyze why certain pokemon will be favoured or disfavoured in certain environments.

1. Serperior (6.58% vs 1.44%, -5.14)

This is hardly a surprise anymore. While Serperior will have a certain floor of usage due to it's status as a starter pokemon and the allure of the Contrary + Leaf Storm combo, it's simply too pidgeonholed to exist much in the 1825+ bracket. Tera Blast is used around 60% in both environments, though I'm very curious if they tend to use the same tera type or if there's some difference. The slight boon of having a great matchup into Webs has also faded a bit as that playstyle has fallen off slightly, and with Rillaboom, Waterpon, and Grasspon providing plenty of grass-type attacking prowess, it seems unlikely Serperior will find a niche even with the exit of Volcarona. The real discussion is how Serperior will fare in UU come the June tier shifts, with many great answers such as Hydrapple and Tornadus-Therian seemingly poised to handle it.

2. Corviknight (10.69% vs 6.00%, -4.69%)

I'm not 100% sure why Corviknight remains popular amongst the general population while sliding in the 1825+ tier. It might be due to Lando-T taking its spot as a pivot, it might be because it simply doesn't wall things as hard as it wants to. Mirror Armor has a sizeable fanbase among the general population at 32.949%, but the 1825+ bracket practically ignores it at just 3.263% usage. In both environments, Corv is very predominantly physically defensive to better deal with threats such as Kingambit, SD Gliscor, and Roaring Moon. One absurd data point - Roost only has 90.999% usage in the general population. Is this a typo? Are there really 9% of people who don't use Roost on Corvinkight? I imagine even cheesy sets like Bulk Up + Power Trip would be running Roost. I have absolutely no idea what's going on here, and I suspect that looking too far into it will only induce madness.

3. Torkoal (6.91% vs 2.50%, -4.41%)

Torkoal is generally used to provide sunlight for Sun teams, but is rarely also run on trick room teams with Choice Specs to nuke everything with Eruption. Sun, among other 'gimmicky' Hyper Offense styles such as Webs, Trick Room, and other weathers, tend to be a bit less reliable up in the 1825+ bracket where teams are more sturdily built and nuking everything with force generally won't go quite as far. So it checks out that everyone's favourite sun turtle would get a bit more usage amongst the general population.

4. Cinderace (9.82% vs 6.13%, -3.70%)

Cinderace getting less usage in the 1825+ bracket represents the continuation of a philosophical shift to the hazard subgame. Hazards have been very difficult to remove conventionally this entire generation due to Gholdengo blocking most forms of removal. This means that previously, Cinderace having unblockable psuedo-removal in Court Change was an excellent workaround. Now however, offensive teams generally prefer to have their own hazards up and simply try to limit how many hazards get set up on their side of the field with tools like Fast Taunt Lando as well as the popularity of Glimmora and its Mortal Spin. I expect the general population will gradually catch up to this trend over time, though with Cinderace being a starter - and one banned in previous generations at that - it likely has a bit higher floor of usage than it would in a vacuum. I also note that the 1825+ bracket seems to try Blaze Cinderace a bit more, 26.526% vs 16.816%, with Blaze taking Pyro Ball from a very good attack to one that can really dent even bulkier mons.

5. Garchomp (4.18% vs 0.81%, -3.38%)

Another Pokemon whose general popularity is probably carrying it to decent usage among the general population, while the 1825+ bracket has moved on. It's slightly strange to me that SD + Scale Shot Garchomp sets have been completely absent from the meta, but perhaps that niche is simply not compelling enough with Roaring Moon, Gouging Fire, Kyurem, and even Haxorus as physically-attacking Dragon-type alternatives. What usage Chomp does get in 1825+ seems to be confined entirely to defensive hazard sets, with Rocky Helmet, Dragon Tail, and at least 1 hazard. But even in this use case, it's hard to find a real niche when Ting-Lu, Deoxys-Speed, Glimmora, and other great offensive hazard setters exist. I won't go so far as to say it's completely Garchover, but it may take a large meta shift on the back of a ban or two for Garchomp to find true OU usage again.
I hope this was an enjoyable follow-up to the previous post. Feedback is appreciated, let me know if I've missed anything this time!

Hello there! I'm building a round of mono-colored commanders. I don't really have a budget in mind for each of them, but for mono-blue I went for [[Octavia, Living Thesis]] and found it's a pretty cheap deck by design!
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/7pOSlLfJKEqLlpF0NjantQ
This is the current brew I ended up with. I got to test it at my LGS last weekend and I had a blast, but I could see some of its shortcomings. I already made some changes, but I would love to hear your opinions on it. Here are some reasons for my choices:

• I intentionally avoided any Infect creature like [[Blighted Agent]]. The deck is not a dedicated infect deck and most of the times would require two hits for a poison KO. In my personal and local experience, sprinkled Infect like this tends to draw lots of crackback hate even when the only Infect source is removed for good, so I just avoided it completely;
• I don't really like the idea of 1-mana unblockable creatures without any other upside as they are mostly dead cards till I can get Octavia out; instead I'm trying to focus the deck less on her and more on the cantrips, treating her as a great boost to the deck in politics and towards the win;
• I tried removing all non-modal counters, as in initial playtesting I noticed those were a great tempo loss when drawn at the wrong time; instead I'd rather play a counter that I can still cast to draw some cards, for instance (but this can change if you can persuade me otherwise!);
• Despite preferring instants because of [[Ojer Pakpatiq]] and because, well, instant speed, I tried to balance them with some good sorceries that are also useful for some good double-dipping with [[Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy]];
• I tried and excluded both [[Nadir Kraken]] and [[The Watcher in the Waters]]. The latter I like in theory, but the relatively high mana cost and entering tapped with nine stun counters, despite the other abilities, felt a bit slow; the former I'm still on the fence about it, as it can grow to be a good beateblocker by itself and creates tokens whenever I draw, but it requires to pay mana I could instead spend on cantrips;
• I'm still trying to find space for [[Rise from the Tides]] as a card that holds up by itself with needing to necessarily chain it with other spells;
• I kinda like [[Alandra]] here; in theory she could get me in average 2-3 Drakes per rotation but be a good pump effect for them with a good chain of spells, but I'm not sure she'd be really that consistent;
• I excluded [[Niblis of Frost]]; love that card, but I never found a good time to play it. [[Gadwick, the Wizened]] is not equally strong, but at the same cost at least he replaces himself, with the potential of drawing even more cards;
• I tried and took out [[Case of the Ransacked Lab]]: the discount is nice, but getting it online to draw cards (which is the main reason it was in the deck) isn't easy as it seems. I can cast four instants or sorceries in my turn, but that often takes away the chance of passing with untapped lands and some instants to cast.