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Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has sustained a left hamstring strain and will miss time, sources tell ESPN. Pacers doctors and Haliburton are now gathering a clear timeline.

Source: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/48c944341555f

On AI clones: “Rather than relying on a single mechanic that someone can easily copy, you need to keep growing your game by adding features, personality, and creativity that stem from your own perspective,” he advised.

On visibility and flood of AI games: Giardino stated that the use of AI in game development was a decision to be made by each developer, adding (as transcribed by Inven): “We don’t want to be gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn’t use.”

My homemade sourdough pretzels and cinnamon sugar pretzel bites from the other night because I have zero appetite today.

I feel awful for feeling this way but the last 4 years have been a nightmare tbh.

Possible trigger warning: I was poisoned 😬

For context, my fiancé and I aren't married yet but have been together for 7 years, but his boys have referred to me as their stepmom (of their own accord) since about a year into us living together. I've been in his youngest son's life since he was 8, he's now 15.

His ex-wife more or less abandoned two of his boys shortly after we started dating and would see them maybe once a year. Understandably, this was extremely hard on them, and I stepped in to help as much as I could while trying not to make them feel like I was replacing their mom. I've loved them, taken care of them, and welcomed them into my family with open arms.

Things were pretty good for the first 3 years. Then, about 4 years ago, their mom made a sudden reappearance in their lives and everything started going downhill.

The older boy chose to live with her and his behavior deteriorated to the point that no one wants to be around him. We tried to help to no avail, and now we've spent the better part of the last two years helping his ex-girlfriend and baby get away from him because of his abuse. It's heartbreaking and has been triggering given my own history with abuse.

The youngest stayed with us, but his mom decided she didn't like me for whatever reason. She's berated me, called me every name in the book, made wild accusations, and we've even had to call the police to get her out of our house. I genuinely harbor no ill will toward her, but after everything that's happened, I want nothing to do with her.

She moved across the country this year, which has been a huge relief, though she still sends my fiancé walls of text and calls him to say nasty things about me on occasion.

I've always tried to be kind and respectful, so I honestly don't know why she hates me so much.

Unfortunately, once she came back into their lives and made it clear she hated me, the youngest's behavior toward me changed, too. The lying got so bad we questioned everything he said, and he started targeting me specifically. It started off as small things but escalated over the years to an insane degree.

For example-

Books I cherished were destroyed, my towels were stolen or cut up, various things belonging to me went missing, hundreds of dollars' worth of my bathroom products were destroyed, smashed, or hacked up. Money stolen from my room. Even my undergarments would disappear and sometimes turn up in the strangest places. It was always my things, never anyone else's. He's even been caught on camera doing some of these things but still denies everything.

His dad tried handling consequences himself, then we tried handling things together, but nothing worked. We've also tried multiple times to get him into therapy, but after a few visits the therapists told us they couldn't help because he refused to talk or cooperate.

My fiancé and I have a good relationship, but this has put an immense strain on it.

Things continued escalating. My stepson was caught with weed and alcohol, was loosely involved in an incident involving a friend and a gun, and was even suspected by police of being involved in a string of car break-ins. Nothing definitive came of that, but his behavior was becoming increasingly concerning. What stood out to me most wasn't just the lying or lack of accountability, but the complete lack of remorse.

Things came to a head at the beginning of this summer.

He was supposed to fly out to stay with his mom, but after getting in trouble again the week before, his dad grounded him until his flight.

Long story short, he poisoned my toothbrush.

I don't know if he intended to seriously hurt me, but I became incredibly ill and ended up in the hospital. We didn't realize what he'd done until after he left and we uncovered everything.

Regardless of his intentions, I could have died.

When his dad confronted him over the phone, my stepson insisted everything we accused him of was a lie and that I'd been framing him all along; a narrative that his mother jumped in on and has been feeding into. Despite us having actual evidence, they both continue to deny the truth and blame me. My fiancé brought me onto the call, and the vitriol my stepson spewed was absolutely awful. He talked about how much he hated me, admitted to trying to "get rid of me," and threatened to burn down the house with me in it, twice.

When asked why he felt this way, he couldn't give an answer. He eventually repeated some of his mom's favorite lines, calling me "evil" and an "npc" and insisting I've been the problem all along.

He's a troubled kid with a troubled mom feeding into it, and there's clearly some mental health stuff going on. I understand that, I really do, but this has crossed the line by a lot.

My fiancé told him there would be therapy, new rules, consequences, and safeguards when he came home. My stepson made it clear he wouldn't cooperate. He said we couldn't control him, he wouldn't go to therapy, he'd do whatever he wanted, and no matter what, he wanted me gone.

This broke me, but it also left me feeling something new. Angry.

I've been working through these feelings in therapy. I care about my stepson, I really do, but I've come to realize that I don't want to be around him, maybe ever again.

I believe he's dangerous, and I refuse to put my safety, or the safety of those I love, at risk. I'm also deeply hurt that he's treating me this way after I've done nothing but love and care for him.

My fiancé decided that until things calmed down with his son, and we could figure out how to get him help, my stepson would stay with his mom for the time being. His mom thinks he should stay with her indefinitely. Logically, I know that's not necessarily what's best for him, but a big part of me is perfectly fine with that if it means not having to deal with all of this anymore.

My fiancé and I agreed to revisit the situation later, potentially after our wedding next year, and to talk things through before making any decisions. At the very least, we agreed that my stepson needs a psychological evaluation, therapy, and new rules and consequences.

This has understandably been hard on my fiancé. I mean, that's his son. He loves him and misses him, which I completely understand.

But I just don't know how this is supposed to get better.

Since my stepson has been gone, my fiancé and I have honestly flourished. We're both so much less stressed, we don't really fight anymore, and my fiancé has even said he feels like he can finally breathe again.

He still talks to his son regularly, which is good. My stepson seems to be doing well at his mom's, and though she's not without issue, I think it's good for him to have the relationship with her that he's been desperate for. It wasn't fair to him that she abandoned him in the first place.

But nothing has changed regarding how my stepson feels about me or the danger I believe he poses. He still hates me, I imagine he always will. I've been reluctant to admit it, but to loosely quote my therapist, the best indicator of the future is past actions.

I was okay with leaving the subject alone for a while because I thought my fiancé and I would talk before anything was decided.

Then, the other night, my fiancé casually mentioned that my stepson was coming home at summer break next year. This was news to me.

I didn't ask clarifying questions in the moment because it was late and I needed time to process it. I know I need to talk to my fiancé, and I will, but the thought of that conversation fills me with anxiety.

Rehashing everything feels nauseating. The thought of my stepson coming back makes me physically sick. I keep thinking about everything he did, how ill I became after he poisoned me, and all the drama his mom caused. My heart rate goes crazy, and my body has such a strong physical response to the thought of going through it all again. I hate this.

I feel guilty because I love my fiancé and still care about my stepson, but I genuinely don't feel like I can be around him after everything that's happened. I want there to be a solution, and maybe there is one we can brainstorm together idk, but I feel completely lost.

My fiancé can't realistically go stay there, and with his work schedule, if my stepson comes home, he'll be alone in the house with me a lot. I don't feel safe doing that.

I could stay with my mom, but how could I trust that my stepson wouldn't tamper with my things or food while I was gone? I also can't bring my dog to my parents' house, and I don't trust leaving him alone with my stepson.

Outside of a psychological evaluation, therapy, and my fiancé taking time off work to supervise him constantly, I genuinely don't see how I could feel remotely close to being comfortable with him coming back.

It makes me feel like a horrible person. I feel ashamed and guilty, but I also know my feelings are valid given what's happened.

I just don't know how to talk to my fiancé about this. That's his kid. I don't want to hurt him, but I also can't forget what happened.

I don't even know how to have this conversation without feeling so distressed.

It's not fair to assume the worst without talking to him first, especially since my fiance has been really supportive in all of this, but I just don't understand why he didn't talk to me about next summer and why he seemed so casual when he mentioned it the other night.

He's made one other comment recently, out of nowhere, about how he "sent his son away".

This was his choice, I never tried to push him to it or even wanted him to have to make a choice like that. But now I'm scared he might be harboring some misplaced resentment.

My future suddenly feels so uncertain and that breaks my heart.

*****Edit to clarify some things that keep coming up in the comments.

• I did file a police report but there was not enough evidence to file charges. I saw him on the hallway camera going into our bedroom, but we do not have cameras in the bedroom or bathroom. We discovered after he left that it was his acne cream. Fiance and I both found that it matched in both smell and appearance to what was on my toothbrush. My doctor, along with poison control, said that it could and likely did cause the symptoms that sent me to the hospital but there was no definitive way to test that it was in my system since we didn't realize what it was until after I got home from the hospital and followed up with my doctor days later.

• Some of you have gone through my post history and pointed out I have a kid. I do and she is always my priority. Up until recently, the ways in which he has targeted me have not been violent, and they have been spread out over the years. My kiddo is not aware of what's happened, I split custody 50/50 and the incidents have always seemed to happen when she isn't home. Not sure if that is by chance or planned, but I have assumed it's because he doesn't want to chance there being a witness. Ultimately, a big deciding factor for my fiance having him stay with his mother was my and my daughters safety. ****To reiterate what keeps coming up in comments There wasn't violence until recently, and he hasn't been back since then. I would never put my child at risk. Up until now we've been trying to do what any parent would regarding a troubled kid acting out, which is appropriate consequences and professional help. Granted therapy hasn't gone anywhere but that's not necessarily uncommon for kids.

• Has my fiance handled this perfectly? No, he and I both can admit that. I haven't either tbh. It's an impossible situation that we're trying to navigate together. It's his child and he loves him, obviously, but he also knows he needs serious help and he is doing what he can while still trying to prioritize me and my kiddo.

• On living separately. This is something we talked about initially, back when this first happened. I didn't want him to feel like he had to choose between us. The issue is, I am in a legal battle for disability because I am disabled now (unrelated to the poisoning) and unable to work currently. This means I can no longer afford my own place and my budget has been very tight. My only real option would be to temporarily move in with my parents, but they do not live here. That would also present issues with my ex and our custody agreement so it's not ideal. I am prepared to leave if I need to, however. Fiance was understanding, though admittedly distraught at the idea. This is partly why he made the decision to have his son stay with his mother, he worried about the strain that could have on our relationship.

• I am planning to talk to my fiance about this tomorrow on his day off. I'm neurodivergent and sometimes things can get lost in translation, so I'm hoping the mention of summer is somehow a misunderstanding or miscommunication. We've been on the same page this whole time, which is why I was so rocked when he mentioned it. I'm only struggling with broaching the subject because rehashing everything that happened is really difficult and triggering. It's so much easier when I can have time to sit with it and reply thoughtfully, but I realize I need to put on my big girl pants and just dive into this with him again.

I very much appreciate all your input, even some of the harsher comments 😅 though maybe a little less so lol

I can imagine, given such little context, I would be responding the same way if I were reading this post. I really appreciate this community and it providing the space for me to get this off my chest. I fully recognize I have been downplaying some of this and doubting myself, not intentionally, but it's been monumentally hard to separate the love I've had for his kids and the relationship we once had, from the extreme shift in their treatment towards me.