I’ve grown more comfortable just using the word no now fortunately haha. Excellent point that it’s a complete sentence. I need to figure out how to deal with people who continue to pursue after no’s without rocking boats or being a drama case and many perspectives here are helping me out. Including this one, which I didn’t consider at all, though I have to wonder how common it can be and what drives someone to seek a sense of comfort and stability in repeat pursuits and rejections. Strict never satisfied parents and approval seeking I could see. Probably didn’t realize how creepy and uncomfortable those pursuits were. Could’ve been coping with an underlying sexuality conflict. Interesting in a way of analysis.

I pursued some straight dudes in middle school and jr high despite their total lack of interest in me because I wanted a sense of normalcy in those pursuits and I felt like pursuing them out in the open would convince people around me. I didn’t realize that was totally off putting to them too, but we were teens and now I deal with adults who are sometime twice my age