#bc I don't have the energy to explain it and/or defend myself

[ninepentz]

Some narcissists-

Are too easily offended by people either challenging their opinions, giving them back the same energy, any type of criticism whether it's good or bad.

For example I know a narcissist in my life who basically tries to be so intimidating all the time, argue, control everything and I noticed that whenever she's having a bad day she would take it out on me. I used to let it affect me deeply and take everything personal to where I started becoming just as bad as them. Arguing back and forth, physical/loud fights, calling each other names, being petty etc. Till I realized that is what's feeding their ego even more to see me basically taking their bait and engaging with them for some odd reason. Some narcissists get a kick out of you paying attention to them and proving them right. Bc what they do is twist your words and use your reactions to make themselves look better.

Overtime I learned that aggressively defending myself, constantly explaining my boundaries, even trying to talk things out, didn't help AT ALL. But what did work was not speaking with them, ignoring their negativity, being cordial/keeping my distance, which has done so much for my mental health. Now I let them do whatever the hell they do, it's none of my business anymore. The quieter I became, the more peaceful things got.

The thing about some narcissists is that if you offend them or mirror their behaviors back to them they get even more aggressive and defensive which brings out all their worst behaviors even more. And one thing you can never do is change the narcissist, they don't respect others unless they admire you, need something from you, and things like that. Nothing you do will make them change.

What helped me tho is just stop to responding and acknowledging them, simply agreeing to keep the peace and protecting my own energy. Idc what they say or do anymore bc I know it's just their own internal BS that they project onto everyone else.

Ever since then I haven't had not one issue regarding them that I used to deal with before, all I deal with now is my own personal issues and whatever goes on in my personal life. I'd rather have that than arguing in circles with a narcissist lol so I hope this helps anyone who's dealing with anything similar.

Stop engaging, be cordial, and don't take things personally. That's how you stay in your own lane and avoid getting poisoned by someone else's demons.

Thank you for reading 😊

✨️Nine of Pentacles✨️

[miabbh]

hi mia! do you think baekhyun is really a manipulator? i read somebody writing an “essay” abt his real personality, and idk whether i should agree or not >.< i mean ,have you ever felt manipulated by him? (im asking you bc you’re closer to him in some ways)

anonie, hello!!!

i don't know exactly what you're talking about, nor even found that "essey" and maybe you're asking as a joke and i'm overthinking cus my sense of irony is broken and i wanna cry

that manipulator part—is it towards everyone as part of his personality; or is it towards his audience (us); or is it... i don't know... how's his real personality? very different from what we see, from the idea we have of him from all the content and replies and all?

this way, it's quite hard for me to give you a good opinion as i can't quite comment on what you read and made you this undecided.

although, imma make my own "essay"!!!!

first thing first: no, i do not think he is a manipulator. and honestly, i can't quite see from what from part of his real personality it is possible to get that conclusion.

i was in the kpop world for soooooo long before actually start enjoying EXO and baekhyun. i don't quite remember the time, really, nor the circumstances around it, but i do remember thinking for the first time i saw him "i wish i get to my twenties so confident of myself as him".

baekhyun knows what he wants—he's successful because he has goals and works hard to achive them and because he believes he can achive them. and also, he always said—out loud, all the words, very slowly for everyone to understand—what he wants.

being a manipulator understands that the person, through the weaknesses of the one being manipulated, uses those same weaknesses to harm in any way in order to achive what that person wants. this goes for all the manipulation types—somehow mess with empathy.

i personally never noticed a time when baekhyun tried to mess with our empathy in a serious way, besides those jokes in which he exaggerates some pain just to "see us worried about him because it's cute". all i've seen until now is a man that owns his words and actions, if he makes mistakes he takes responsability and apologizes without excuses to make him look nice for the picture.

i don't know how long ago that essay you talk about, anonie, was written, but if it also mentions anything from last year situation in macau or something similar that happened before, i kinda get the point. and why? lemme explain:

baekhyun is (almost) everyone's sweetheart cus he's funny and silly and has that chaotic and lively energy that just melts everyone's hearts. he's like a puppy, for real (and i'm a cat person 101%). besides that, he's such a great professional! he owns the stage, he owns the screen, the own the audience everytime he needs too. that gives him a kind of a...... too naive image, at first. like he doesn't know what he's doing but it works so he keeps going cus people like him that way (?)

that's why i think he can >be seen< as persuasive (manipulator is actually too strong a term to apply to someone like him) "oh no, he made a mistake😱😱!!! oh and now he's silent and quiet, there is no rain of messages on Bubble like before 🥹🥹 oh man come back we miss you! we still love you come back!!" as if it was a way of making people forget about the situation and move on out of affection.

spare me of that.

i do trust his silence as much as his words.

no one can see in a sandstorm. we need to wait for it to calm down to see—or to hear, in this case. it doesn't mean that the storm was forgotten—surely there's sand everywhere—but now everyone can see clearly and you can choose what path to go on your own.

last year, during all the vaping situation, baekhyun only showed up after weeks!! away for the fansigns. what he did: he apologized, publicly and in front of all eris in the room, for his actions—never defending himself, but apolagizing!

he's a manly man—honest, serious when he has to be, responsible, mature, confident, hardworking, kind, sensible.

sad and the real thing here is that nowadays it's not seem as the bare minimum. and then, when people do the right thing, it looks like they're being just so honest and vulnerable and !!!!!!it messes up with empathy!!!!!!! making people possibly see it as a manipulation.

i don't even see baekhyun as persuasive, really. it is only natural for human beings to follow someone we admire, and it is not necessary for that person to even say it, or try to buy us through emotions and acts to follow their lead. you just do because that same person makes you feel safe and confident and you just do—some more aware than others (reads: more in ✨delulu✨ than others, but it's everyone's own business).

from the beginning, baekhyun wins over everyone with his charisma, talent, hard work and strong mindset. nothing changed.

and i really really really really don't see him as a manipulator

now that part of "have you ever felt manipulated by him?(i'm asking because you're closer to him in some ways)" really got me anonie cus how much do you know 🧐🧐??? or was it all a joke and i really still wrote this all anyway cus i just love speaking my opinion on things??? what do you mean??????? pls come back to my inbox and explain to meeeeeeeeeeee

anyway

anonie, i never did. my admiration for baekhyun is for all the person he is—and still i point his faults, i don't try all the ways to consider him innocent for his mistakes, and honestly i even get kinda mad at him from long time to looooong time cus i need to process things too

something silly but that i've been thinking quite a lot, but never found a good moment to say it

⚠️cw: religion | you can skip to final notes in blue

i attend to a roman catholic christian mass every week. it's not my faith anymore, i don't pray nor participate actively on it; i just watch, listen, disassociate and take some notes to take to life. given the time in the religious calendar, lately there is a lot of talk about jesus christ and how everyone that followed him was just... happy. this is the speech "christians are happy because they welcome the son of god, because they welcomed jesus into their heart"

at first it didn't make any sense to me—with all due respect, i admire jesus as a great person who walked this earth, but i couldn't understand how it was possible for him to be a source of such joy. as a good overthinker, i looked for a metaphorical meaning and almost cried cus i really wanted to understand how people could say that so frankly and so deep in emotion

and then, it clicked. i feel something like what they're all talking about—that happiness and love without even ever see each other, touch, hear, smeel, feel, sense at all meanings. for baekhyun.

talking of him sometimes makes me want to cry. i mean, how the shi am i, a 20yo girl that had a miserable grade on an exam that defined her life for a year, gave up on college and is still trying to not freak out in this mad world, cry over a man that is on the other side of the world?? like- hello?!!

and still i cry everytime without any shame cus the way bbh made me feel loved and appreciated and made me act up for my dreams is so revolutionary in my life that i am so grateful to that friday january 19th 2024 for bringing him back into my life through the random and stupid tiktok video of "YA! BAEKHYUN!"

it was gradual, thought. to the point only one year after i realized this. i lost the vision i had of him when i was 13~14 years old, to see that same him with more mature gaze, realizing that it's okay not to agree with everything, that i can leave the live if i feel like it and that's okay because we still love each other.

growing up also helped me realize his honesty that he's not afraid to show, especially now. and guys, we even know the silly shit the says when he needs to excuse to use the toilet!

final notes

please anonie send me the post if you can, i want to read it too!! sorry for the long post 😅 got a bit to excited....

so, from my side the answer is no. though, i really think this is a personal thing you could think about and try to understand why you're so in doubt, like what's making you itch. feel free the talk to me too, i love discussing things!

he knows when to be silly, and he knows when to be serious; when to be on the spot light and when to step back; he takes responsability for his mistakes and makes of us almost personally be a part of his life. i never met someone like him, let alone an idol.

[triquery]

I never actually elaborated on this because it became clear to me that Destiny's "misunderstanding" was, in fact, probably a willful* misconstruction to push his own viewpoint. The misunderstanding being whether being a status quo democrat was a more extreme & anti-status quo position than being an extremist. [Might Not be the exact wording, it's #BeenAMinute since I subjected myself to AE.]

In this case, Destiny argues that because of the rise of extremism, the things Jreg argues for are more popular (& thus "status quo") then what Destiny argues for, and thus if Jreg wanted to really be extreme, he'd agree with Destiny. This idea isn't helped by Jreg suggesting they watch 'Kill All Normies', a short animated film in which an anti-status quo protagonist finds himself in a world of people who all agree with him & decides to become a normie solely to spite them.

But Jreg isn't an anti-centrist bc he's disagreeable & trying to go against the grain, he's an anti-centrist bc he's an AGREEABLE person trying to go against the grain. He explicitly References how he feels he & JJ both have constructed their identities & beliefs in such a way*** that it endears them to others.

Anti-centrism obviously isn't that hard to understand**, it's literally just going as far away from the centre as possible in any direction, but the REASON it's ANY² direction is bc Jreg is trying to appeal to/agree with as many people as possible. When Destiny says it's easier for Jreg to advocate for anti-centrism then it is for him to advocate for centrism, he's right, and that's the Entire Fucking Point.

-Notes-

*Source: him being mildly annoyed by Kyla explaining what she thought jre might've meant by something during Bridges

**Possibly a geologist moment². Obviously the average person knows at least 3 types of igneous rocks.

***interestingly, they both have the same sort of Shrug³ energy when people point out the issues with their beliefs. Like if¹ JJ was being Pro-America & someone brought up slavery he'd just be like "yeah that was really fucked up of them :T " as opposed to how other people might try to defend that to avoid painting America in a bad light.

-Notes²-

¹this is a half remembered anecdote certainly incorrectly remembered thing I remember jreg saying

²if you still don't get it, if you did physics it's sorta like distance vs displacement. Jreg doesn't care about the Direction, just how far people go.

Bridges literally provided such clear insights[1] into Jreg's political feelings[2] that it's insane[3] to me that Destiny then would go on to misunderstand it, despite being present for that conversation.

This Post Will Continue After A Brief Intermission....

-Notes-

[1] other then the disagreement I'm gonna rb to talk abt, most interesting of these to me is that he can't bear to align with anything that would alienate him from community*. So because he's in community with queer people and other people of colour, there's a fundamental limit to how far-right** he can go, because the far-right's hatred of minorities would put him in opposition to his community.

[2] Beliefs would be too solid of a word.

[3] It's not actually very crazy, because throughout the podcast(s) Destiny engages with what Jreg says on a very technical, logical, & definite level whereas Jreg communicates more on an emotional spiritual abstract*** level.

-Notes²-

*I'm getting this from the not being able to actually take the edginess very far & the "safe edgy" discussion.

**Here, right-wing should be understood vaguely as the presence & implementation of hierarchy.

***This dichotomy could also be described by the autism-schizophrenia scale, which is one of Jreg's favourite little frameworks

[kitkasimba]

!!!

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi! There are probably no answers for this that aren't simple or obvious like,exercise more! or volunteer but still. Sorry in advance for the long whiny ask.

INFP and autistic (so,like,INFP squared? or is being typed infp a common co-morbidity to autism lol bc I have seen this combination A LOT. anyway not a great mix,would not recommend 0/10) person here. I'm currently not able to work or study. I can't fix that. My country is pretty awful and there is not much hope. I can't fix that either. The internet used to be a window into a different,better,kind of reality,and it's where I could find people who felt and thought the same as me. That was pretty good,actually.

As of summer 2020,that has started changing. It's a bit funny how everyone dumping their issues and loneliness online has made the whole landscape uninhabitable instead of bringing comfort,but,well. Anyway,I keep trying to make accounts to just talk about my interests or to simply feel that I belong somewhere and that I am understood. But then I abandon them because none of my opinions and core values fit in any specific internet persona mold now. There are tribes everywhere and I hate all of them. I can't lie,I don't have the energy to defend so many supposedly contradictory sides of me that aren't even relevant to anyone,and I hate being judged unfairly and being attributed intentions I don't have. Instead of finding my niche,I discover that out of 10 online people I might have connected with,I strongly disagree with all 10 of them on issues I won't budge. I just hate everyone now. And I lost the additional bit of hope I had lol.

I had so many ideas and plans about the content I wanted to make,online. Instead,now when I try to imagine the types of people who have liked or might like my stuff,and the ones who disliked me,they all look the same in my head. I just feel like closing shop and running away. I've lost the desire to share any part of me with others. So the inspiration is gone too and can't even work on anything. There is no imaginary audience I can trust or can confide in.

Irl expressing myself was rarely possible. I don't know what's the most common type here,but most people in my environment were very judgemental idealists acting like 'rational' self-sufficient cynics for some reason(unhealthy FJs I guess?). They hate 'cringe' display of emotions and 'unprofessionalism' in women(men get away with everything)more than they hate actual criminals. I was not able to connect and share ideas even with the people I had a lot of values in common with and who did the type of activism I was interested in. Not gonna lie,that was a huge blow. They were so close but so far,and I could not bridge the distance.

Also there are no good mental health services,mostly because of poverty and corruption. The fucked-up "pull yourself by your bootstraps and stop whining" and "look at you,entitled snowflake wanting special treatment,just endure it like the rest of us!" culture surely doesn't help. This isn't just conservative old men saying this but people from my generation. I wanted an escape from that.

But I just don't know where I can go from here. IRL was bad but I had such hope for existing online,at least. Until a couple months ago,I was still able to imagine people I might be able to resonate with,some day. I actually encountered them a couple of times,and it was everything I needed. But now,inside my head,everyone is disappointing and unreasonable and hateful and not worth it. I can't live like that but I can't live without people either...

Making something I'm proud of and showing it to someone who is not my mom lol is a basic need I can't fulfill now and it's driving me mad. And the problem with autism is that I literally can't do anything if there is not an image of how it might go in my head already. I don't know how to explain,even if my future best friend would be sitting next to me,if I did not have a slot in my head already prepared for that,I would be unable to recognize them. I'm so sorry this got so long.

--------------------------

I understand your disappointment and dejection. Feeling out of place isn't a nice feeling for anyone. You can't control other people. You can only improve yourself and your social skills. I see some problems that might impede your ability to socialize well:

1) Hungry for Validation: Do you only engage with people to get validation? Do you only create to get applause? Whether or not you succeed in doing something begins with the intention you set. Start off with the wrong intention and the results will be unexpected. If your intention is really just about using people as objects to feel good about yourself, is it really a surprise when they refuse to be used by you? Would you like to be used and disposed of when you are deemed useless? That's no way to treat people, is it?

2) Hypocrisy: You are pleading for like-minded friends out of one side of your mouth and then bashing "tribe" mentality out of the other side of your mouth. Methinks you are not so dissimilar from the people you condemn, since you are merely seeking your own tribe, just like everyone else?

Having contradictory beliefs means that there's something wrong with your belief system. Being unwilling to examine your own faulty beliefs means that you will never truly understand yourself, let alone others. How, then, are you meant to make real friendships? It seems that your social skills won't improve unless you take a good look at all the ways in which you sabotage relationships all on your own, aside from what other people do. This blog is for self-reflection, not for ranting.

3) Pessimism: Your perspective is too negative. If you are only able to view the world through the lens of your past disappointments, you will not see any hope, because you will only be looking for the "evidence" that confirms and affirms your disappointment. This is how pessimism, helplessness, powerlessness, and resignation get entrenched in the mind.

All people have a mixture of positive and negative qualities. All places have a mixture of pleasant and unpleasant people. When you are pessimistic, it means you only see the negative in everything. Pessimism is one common way that people destroy their own hope and motivation. It is a common sign of Si loop.

4) Judgmental: You decry people being judgmental while being quite judgmental yourself. Your opinions about everyone, including yourself, are quite negative, full of ego and righteousness, and too black-and-white. This will certainly prevent you from making friends. How can you get people to like you when you don't even like yourself? How can you like people when all you ever see is how they don't measure up to your lofty expectations?

What you don't understand is that beliefs =/= identity. People adopt a lot of their beliefs and values without much thought, because it happens unconsciously when they are children. If they are not given the encouragement and opportunity to examine and change their faulty beliefs, why would they? Much of the time, people hold the wrong beliefs out of ignorance rather than malice, yet you treat them as malicious, hate them, and dismiss them as not worth your time. If you don't want people to misjudge you, criticize your "contradictory" beliefs, or judge you for the worst version of you, are you willing to be the first to start choosing a different way?

When you are too judgmental of people, you operate under the assumption that they are irredeemable. Warning: Damn the world, and you will damn yourself too, because you are a part of the world, no matter how much you try to deny it. Empathy is required to see yourself and others as human, redeemable, and worthy of encouragement. You are sorely lacking in empathy and that's something that can be improved upon, if you cared enough to do so. Lack of empathy is a common sign of Te grip.

5) Poor Social Skills: Since you are negative and judgmental, have you considered how that affects the way you interact with people? Nobody deserves to be bullied or trolled. However, there are ways in which you might inadvertently invite people to bully or troll you. For example, if you're unwilling to examine your own faulty beliefs, you unconsciously attract people to criticize them, because deep down, you know that they need correcting. If you're going to dish out moral judgment all the time, then you invite others to give it to you in return. Perhaps you need to think more about how you present yourself to people and what effect it has on how they approach you.

I've written before about how social media isn't a great place to socialize and make friends. In many corners, it is indeed toxic because of the lack of accountability. Social media invites people to be their worst self in order to boost website engagement, and it sounds like you are a victim of that as well. Healthy relationships require responsibility and accountability from both parties. Are you responsible in your dealings with people? Are you accountable for any negative behavior of yours that is harmful to relationships? You say that you were with like-minded people and still couldn't succeed. That should make you suspect that the problem lies with your lack of social skills.

ASD is a legitimate concern. But beware of using it as an excuse. I've known plenty of people on the spectrum who are high functioning, willing and able to learn better social skills. If you are serious about building a better social support network, you'll have to put more effort into improving your social skills. This doesn't guarantee that every relationship will be successful. Having good social skills means that you know how to take full advantage of every opportunity for improving your relations with people. See the relevant tags and book recs on the topic.

[imaaa]

You should talk. Something, anything. Don't you feel like pouring it all out? Don't you feel things that subconsciously keep on sprinkling sadness? Aren't there instances when there's an overwhelming force of sorrow that engulfs you?

I don't know why do you send me your audios. I cherish them. I do. But I wonder why do people share the things that are dear to them? Maybe because there's pleasure in getting acknowledged about the fact that you're into something.

Somewhere I feel like you're trying to mend the past hurt I felt bc of you. I don't know, I can be wrong.

We both are being silent, maybe intentionally. Because more the words, more the consequences. But we forget silence has consequences too.

You know, I wished to stop talking to you. To not reply to your texts. But my mind isn't accustomed to leaving people like that. I wanted to burst out at you, to throw those words at you that were full of rage. But I didn't. I didn't stop talking. And I didn't snap at you either. We don't do things we plan on doing for maybe we're more guided by our emotions. WE DEFEND THE PEOPLE WHO MEAN SOMETHING TO US. I think about this a lot. To PROTECT OURSELVES from the hurt caused by their actions, we feed ourselves false reasons to defend our dear ones. And that's what I did. I defended you in my head. Also, who knew you'd start maintaining distance again just because I COMMUNICATED my hurt. We tell people that they have caused us hurt, so that they can make ammendments. And not maintain distance because that's their defence.

Closure is something we never get. And if we get, it's not satisfying. And not getting closure eats me up sometimes.

All this while, we keep on thinking about the ways someone would notice those little things about us. We hope for someone to know what our favourite things are, not because we told them, but because they noticed. But then nobody does that. And then I think about this quote "you don't love me the way I want to be loved" and this quote "all of the love in this world is worthless if there's lack of understanding". We need to understand the way someone desires to be loved. You can't make someone happy by gifting them tulips when they're actually fond of sunflowers.

There are days when you're utterly sad. And you long for someone to understand that sadness without you explaining it to them. And then again, you want only "certain someone" to be able to read you. You don't go around and expect everybody to notice you. Rather you want to be noticed by certain people only.

Life infuriates me. It exasperates me.

I wish you spoke more often because I'm not a mind reader. Because I won't know about you until you'll speak out something. You're stubborn, extremely stubborn. And sometimes I wonder how would you deal your future relationships with this lack of communication. Or maybe it's me with whom you're not into verbalising with words.

I'm very easy to please. I know I can get manipulated so easily. And I dislike myself for that.

I vented it all because I'm at my vulnerable point and I long to cry. Cry so much. And when I'm vulnerable, I'm impulsive. Of course, I don't expect a reply from you. I wouldn't even want you to reply much either. I vented because keeping it all in was taking all of my energy away. And unlike you, I believe in communicating.

[kyber-crystal]

An Accidental Confession

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: ~3.1k

Summary: In which you decided to a record a message explaining your feelings for Steve in case you didn't make it out of your mission alive. You don’t have any intention of it actually being heard by him, but you have no other choice to face your fear when it’s accidentally broadcasted across the entire compound.

Warnings: none, this is pure fluff haha with hints of a cocky steve hehe.

A/N: Some dialogue credits go to Descendants of the Sun! (yes, this is a oneshot of a scene from it, bc I love that drama with my whole heart) 

Tags: Dedicating this to @sylvie-writes​ because she’s an absolute SWEETHEART. I LOVE YOU BB. go follow her!

"Hey, Y/N, check this out!"

You glanced up from where you were furiously typing away at the computer to see Peter with a wide grin on his face. "Hm?"

"Look what I found! Mr. Stark's old speaker set!" The teenager went around to behind the table and rolled out the speaker in front of you. "It was a bit souped up, but all it really needed was some TLC and here it is, good as new!"

"Found this old thing while he was cleaning up," Tony explained, "you wanna hook your phone up and give it a go?"

"Uh...sure, why not," you shrugged, standing up and pushing your seat in, making your way over to the two of them. You took your phone out of your pocket and plugged it in.

"Check, one, two," Peter spoke into the small microphone. "Check one, two, three. Hey! It's working!"

You couldn't help but grin at his enthusiasm. "How old is this thing, anyway?"

"Older than me, that's for sure. Now play something!"

"Alright, alright. Let's see..." you scrolled through your playlists until you found the one you wanted, pressing 'play' and putting it on shuffle. "There."

"Fly Me To The Moon! May played it for me all the time when I was little," Peter exclaimed. "She always insisted I educate myself on older music. Now I'm glad she did."

Bucky and Sam stopped screaming at each other as they battled it out in Mario Kart, quieting down and humming to the beat as they held their controllers tightly. Wanda smiled to herself as she stirred the pot of soup on the stove, Bruce on the verge of falling asleep as he sipped his coffee at the kitchen island and read a news article on his phone. The energy within the compound seemed to lighten significantly as Frank Sinatra's soothing voice echoed off the walls.

You went out to the patio to relax, crossing your arms and closing your eyes as the sounds of chirping crickets and music mixed together in one soothing melody, the moonlight reflecting over the water. For a brief moment in time, you were at peace - and you relished in the temporary feeling of serenity. The 'city that never slept' was sleepy, for once. It wasn't all that late, but you were already beginning to succumb to fatigue's temptations.

But then, the song came to an end and switched off to something else.

"Hey, Steve. I hope this message never finds you because if it does...it means I'm most likely dead-" your all-too familiar voice came over the phone, thick with tears as you struggled to contain your sobs. "God, what am I even doing here? I have a gunshot wound that most likely pierced a vital organ so I'm just gonna bleed out here alone- why am I even doing this? I don't even know how much longer it'll be before you arrive with the evac team...so I just want to apologize in advance for not coming back to you like I promised. If I'd known I'd die in a foreign country, I would've lived a more carefree life instead of constantly worrying, like you always told me to just relax sometimes, I'm so, so sorry-"

Your eyes widened in realization and you rushed across the facility as fast as you could possibly go to the labs.

"Leaving words like this before dying is so uncultured- please, Steve...are you on your way? Please tell me you're on your way. If I'm really dying here I don't wanna die alone. Please hurry...I don't think I can last until you get here. Even so, you'll be the first to find me if I die, that is, if my corpse isn't dragged away or some shit like that - God, this hurts- I almost forgot how much it hurt to get shot...damn...I really underestimated the power of a bullet, huh?

Steve's bandaged fists fell to his sides, the punching bag swinging back and forth so wildly that it would've knocked him over if it weren't for his muscular figure. His brow furrowed in concern and he felt a small ache his chest upon hearing your voice crack - you never cried, and even if you did, which was extremely rare, you were good at hiding it from others.

But then a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips - you did ramble sometimes, and he found it rather adorable. It was, in fact, one of the main reasons why he admired you so much.

"FRIDAY? Where's the source of this audio?"

"It's playing from Mr. Stark's speaker in the lab, Captain," the AI responded.

"Thank you."

He unwrapped the tape from around his hands and exited the training facility, going into a light jog as he headed up to the lounge.

"If I knew that I'd die like this, then I would've told you my true feelings. That I'm in love with you and I really wished you'd kissed me when we were watching that movie together- it was Die Hard, wasn't it? I really wished you'd done something. We were sitting so close, and...I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was tempted to just run my hands through your hair and kiss you. And I almost did. I'm so in love with you, hopelessly in love with you...and if there's anything that scares me more than dying alone, it's probably thinking of a way to tell you, and the fear of being rejected by my best friend, my partner in crime-"

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. You were in love with him? He felt his heartbeat pick up speed at the thought. He always held that small bit of hope in his heart that you'd feel the same way.

Just as Steve arrived at the labs, you came bursting through the doors with a look of sheer panic in your eyes, your face drained of all color. You quickly unplugged your phone from the speaker as he watched on in amusement.

"Want some, Mr. Stark?" Peter offered through a mouthful of popcorn, holding the bag out to his mentor. "Seems like we're in for a treat here."

"Where'd you get these, kid?" Tony questioned as he reached over and popped several kernels into his mouth. "Mm. Caramel, a classic."

"I always keep some with me. Never know when drama will break out."

Steve laughed and shook his head as you quickly turned around on your heel and sprinted out of the room. It was so unlike you to act like this - normally you were rather guarded and stoic. To see you as anything but was not only amusing, but adorable in his eyes - it was one of the many things he loved about you, in fact.

"Music...really changes a lot of things," Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

The super-soldier cracked a smile. "I seem to be in the center of that change."

He said a few quick goodbyes went to find you, as Peter and Tony continued enjoying their popcorn together.

"Oh my god, I'm so stupid, oh my god, why did I even record that damn message," you muttered, finding yourself going back outside again. You needed to clear your head and get away from Steve. The secondhand embarrassment you just knew was waiting for you was almost too much to even think about - what would he think of you now? What would everyone else think of you?

Steve had beaten you to it and was already out there, leaning against the glass railing  with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing an amused expression on his face.

"Oh my god! You scared me!" your voice heightened to a shriek. "What the hell, Rogers? How are you here? Why are you here?"

"I know you like the back of my hand, sweetheart," he chuckled lightly. "You always come out here whenever you're restless or stressed out. Figured you'd try to flee as soon as you heard," he gestured back inside, "all that."

"That was none of your business!" you squeaked. "It was a private message, not meant for you to actually hear! It wasn't for you!"

"Well, you did announce it, publicly," he defended himself, pushing himself away from the railing and raising his hands in surrender. "And it sounded like it was for me. You said my name."

"It wasn't for you!"

"Then why'd you say Steve?"

"It's a different Steve?"

"A different Steve with a stealth suit, Quinjet, and evac team?"

"Y-yeah! B-but it's really funny. Why are you listening to other people's recordings?'

"Like I said, doll," your face flushed at the nickname, "it was broadcasted publicly. I didn't listen, I heard."

"Because you heard it, you carelessly hear it all the way through?"

He smirked. "You know, you're really cute when you're upset." He smirked, taking several steps towards you. You instinctively stepped back. "But why are you running away? When you were about to die you wanted to confess." With each step he took, you took another backwards. "But since you lived, you changed your mind?"

"Confess? That wasn't a confession. That wasn't me."

"This cell phone is yours," he held up your hand that tightly gripped your phone.

"This isn't a phone- Y/N, what the hell are you saying? Stop talking," you cursed yourself under your breath.

"It's an honor knowing I'm in your will," he said kindly.

"If you know then that's enough," you exhaled, stepping around him to leave. Steve stopped you by placing a hand out in front, before moving it to grip your wrist. You felt your skin heat up rapidly under his touch.

You gasped. "Look! Thor set the toaster on fire!"

"I'm not fooled, sweetheart."

You moved to try and leave again, but he only tightened his grip. "Whether or not it was a confession, I'm going to listen to it, so let's not run away, shall we?"

You were silent for several moments before responding, swallowing hard. "Okay. I got it. I'll answer you so let go of me and let's talk. Really."

"Really, right?"

He obeyed, releasing his hand from your wrist. You quickly moved around him and ran back inside. Steve just laughed to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

"She finally did it," Sam nodded in approval as he and Bucky finished their Rainbow Road deathmatch. "Good game, man."

"Yeah, good game," they shook hands, "but if I'm being honest...I didn't expect things to go down like that. If anything, Steve seems like he'd be the first to confess. The way they're dancing around each other like oblivious monkeys...damn."

"Couldn't have described it better."

...

You flopped onto your bed, panting heavily as you stared up at the ceiling. Your heart was beating so fast that you felt like passing out. Maybe I'll just die like this and I won't ever have to confess for real, you thought. That sounds much better than death by blood loss from a gunshot wound.

"Hey, darling."

You sat up and let out a short scream as you saw Steve leaning against your doorframe, that damn smirk still on his face. "What the hell? You can't just ambush me like that! How long have you been standing there for?"

"Long enough," he chuckled, sliding his hands in his pockets and stepping inside. This time, you were too lazy to push him away, and just allowed him to sit down next to you at the edge of your bed. Steve propped his hand on his chin as he gazed at you, smiling.

You sighed and let your head fall into your hands. "This is all your fault."

"My fault?" Steve tilted his head in confusion. "How is this my fault?"

"Becau- never mind. I'm busy. I gotta go check up on the new lab I'm working on with Bruce."

You stood up abruptly, but he reached out and grabbed your wrist again. "I'm going to go to the labs, too. He asked me to help with a few things. I think you just found yourself an escort."

"I can go by myself, Rogers. I'm an adult," you gave him a pointed look.

"Ouch. That stung," he pretended to look hurt. "Last name calling? I thought we agreed on sappy pet names. And besides, you know what happened last time you went somewhere alone. You got shot."

"Whatever."

"Hold on," he tugged you back so that you had to sit down again. "Why do you keep running away from me? You confess your feelings in your will and then you run."

"It wasn't my will."

"You said you were scared to die alone."

"It wasn't me. Where is your bout of confidence even coming from?"

"I'm not asking how you feel about me at the moment. Don't feel bad that I found out how you feel about me. Because I'm in love with you too, and nothing can change the fact that I like you even more now."

You swallowed hard.

He smiled again. "And you look beautiful today, doll."

"Stop with the pet names," you mumbled. You couldn't stop the tremor in your tone as you spoke

"Hey hey hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Steve brought a hand up to your face, lightly skimming the tip of his thumb across your cheekbone to wipe away the tears that had fallen. "Hey. Tell me what's wrong, darling."

As soon as that last word left his lips, you lost it. A broken sob escaped from your mouth before you broke down, and he felt guilt settle in the pit of his stomach. Sure, he was lightly teasing you - but he didn't intend for his jabs to hurt you in any way. That was the last thing he wanted to do - to see you cry. He hated seeing you cry.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," he whispered, carefully wrapping his arms around you and pulling you to him, rubbing circles onto your back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken the teasing so far. I'm so sorry, Y/N-"

It took nearly twenty minutes for your sniffles to die down and another ten for your crying to stop completely, but he patiently held you until you did. And when it finally stopped, it still took you several moments before you could bring yourself to meet his eyes.

"I look like a mess," you muttered, quickly ducking your head down to wipe at your nose. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this-"

"You look lovely, regardless," Steve murmured, kissing your forehead. "You'll always look beautiful in my eyes."

"You're such a sap," you mumbled, closing your eyes. "I hate you."

"You know you love me, Y/N."

"No I don't."

"That message told me otherwise. You sounded like you were pretty in love, judging by the desperate tone in your voice-"

"Shut up!"

"Make me," he challenged, a smirk appearing on his face.

You huffed and stood up, crossing your arms. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that, Rogers?"

"Watch your language-"

"Make me."

"Using my own words against me, are you?" Steve raised a brow as he stood up as well, walking towards you. You kept walking backwards until you felt your back hit the wall and internally panicked when you realized there was nowhere else to go.

"Shit," you whispered. "I'm not escaping this one, am I?"

"Not a chance," he chuckled wistfully. You felt your heart do somersaults and your stomach twist itself into knots as he met your eyes, a softened look to them that you'd never seen before - what was it? Just a few minutes earlier you'd find yourself squirming beneath his intense gaze but for some reason, you stayed put.

When his lips pressed against yours, you felt a crackle of electricity across your skin and the world fell away. It seemed as if time stopped and held its breath as it watched the two of you, his arm curving around your waist as his free hand rested at the back of your neck, pulling you flush against him. Though you were taken aback by the sudden gesture and terrified you wasted no time in reacting, sinking deeper into the kiss. You could feel him smile against your lips and fireworks exploded inside your chest - if there was a way to describe pure magic, this would definitely be it. And he felt it too - and he swore to himself that he'd never felt a bigger rush of adrenaline before until now.

You looked absolutely stunning to him in that moment as you pulled apart - with your half-closed eyes, reddened cheeks, and swollen lips - his doing, no doubt. Your gaze slipped down to his equally swollen lips and you felt your face flush at the sight. Steve was quick to catch what you were doing and pulled you back in for more.

This time, it wasn't as innocent and quick. It was more needy, passionate - months, no, years of pent-up frustration he didn't even know he had seeping into it. Years of not being able to tell you finally being poured out into one grand gesture - years of finally getting closure because he now knew the girl he'd loved for as long as he could remember felt the same way.

"Oh my fucking shit."

The two of you were practically gasping for air as you broke apart a second time to see a smug-looking Sam.

"You just- I didn't interrupted something between y'all, did I?" Sam cocked a brow. "Looked like you were this close to-"

"No," you exhaled, "we weren't."

"I'm a GENIUS for fixing that speaker! If I hadn't done so you guys never would've gotten together!" Peter squealed as he appeared by the Falcon's side. "I believe a thank you is in order!"

"I hope my timing isn't bad, but I have to ask," Steve cleared his throat and looked you straight in the eye. "that was a confession, right? And you didn't do it just because you felt compelled to. Be honest with me."

You let out a sigh of defeat. "Yeah...it was."

He broke into a gorgeous, million-dollar grin that made you weak at the knees. He leaned down, lips ghosting over yours as if he was going to kiss you again - but pulled back, much to your disappointment.

"I guess I'm the victor of this battle, huh," he whispered before releasing his hold on you and walking out, leaving you to stand there utterly shell-shocked and speechless as Peter and Sam began teasing you.

[gender-dropout]

I am very deeply considering about coming out to everyone in my life soon and finally being known as a Nonbinary person publicly! (a rare personal update)

It's all been sorta spurred by my recent hair change. Tonight I dyed my hair red for the second time -- the first time was the first summer after me, my siblings, and my mom were finally able to get away from my dad. I originally was thinking of just making a post on my private personal account reserved for friends, lightheartedly comparing how different I look now to when I dyed my hair for the first time. However, it made me think about how that first time was probably also the biggest step I took in reclaiming my autonomy & my control over my appearance, and eventually that line of thought evolved into my journey as a queer person. How that was such a big leap in confidence for me and it made me realize how detrimental it is that I live truthfully whenever I can.

BASICALLY I want to use this as an excuse to finally say, loudly and proudly, that I am Nonbinary! To EVERYONE! The last time I had red hair it was a milestone of healing, and of progress in my advocacy for myself. After nearly 6 years, its red again. And I feel like this is such a prime opportunity to open myself up and really DELIVER for my 15 year old self. It's like she took that first step back then, and now it's my turn to make good on the investment and take the big step, which would be to stop pushing this to the side and finally own my identity. On my own terms this time, since I never got to come out as Bi. Its a mildly complicated story, but basically I was outed in a very dangerous way to my father bc of the internet. I had dreamed every day of the time when I would get to share that side of me with my family, only to have it weaponized before I even knew what was going on. After being heartbroken and crying for years about that moment being stolen from me, I'm so overjoyed at the thought of getting a second chance.

I am a tad worried though. I'm worried about the mental and emotional energy that may come with having to explain (what little I feel like explaining) and answer questions that may or may not be asked with a genuine desire to listen to my answer. I'm worried abt the possiblity of coming out and losing the love or comfort I have with some of my favorite people. Im worried about having to stand up to them & cut ties if it comes to it. I don't know. I know that the people who react with disrespect don't deserve me or my energy anyways, but I also know it's going to hurt regardless if it comes to it. Being bi (which I have been public about for years) is different than being trans/enby. It's just not as widely accepted yet, bc it's not as easy to ignore. There's still so much unchecked transphobia out there, and I just hope that none of the people who claimed to support me decide that being trans is where they draw the line.

That all being said, I am setting rules for myself. I am absolutely not going to defend my identity for anyone. I am not going to try to convince people or do an overhaul on their belief system. If anyone dms me with questions or their two cents, and they challenge me or try to debate, I'm putting a full stop to it & they can decide for themselves whether they're gonna continue to make an ass of themselves and get ignored/blocked, or whether they're going to be more respectful in their misunderstanding & do their own work to listen, understand, and learn. I really have no interest in trying to prove that I'm worthy of decent treatment, nor do I have any interest in staying in contact with someone who wants to police me like that. The last person in my life to do that was my dad, and I haven't seen or spoken to him since... God. Probably since I was 16. So yeah. Basically, I'm not new to being scrutinized & I'm obviously not willing to put up with it.

TL;DR: a recent hair change has made me incredibly nostalgic and reignited my motivation to advocate for my truest self. I'm planning on making a public Instagram post for my family, family friends, and old friends where I'll come out as Nonbinary, and despite being very anxious about it for a lot of reasons, I've decided that anyone who fucks around will, in fact, find out (via cutting ties).

Anyways. If you read all of that, thank you. If you have any advice, coming out stories, or kind words, I'd appreciate them. I'll definitely update when/If I work up the courage to do this, and as a parting note, I'd like to say that I've discovered that red is definitely my color ❤️