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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   2543 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 19, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I finally told her I love her. I probably could have said it weeks ago, but I’ve spent the last few years developing a very healthy respect for the kind of wreckage that happens when you deploy those words at the wrong time. When you’ve spent enough time losing, you start to treat your internal state like a high-stakes game where you’re terrified of overplaying your hand.

She actually beat me to the punch. We had been existing in a state of high-density clinginess for a while, just being generally ridiculous to each other, and she decided to try a stealth maneuver. She ended a conversation with "goodnight love," clearly hoping I’d just let it slide past without making a scene. But I’m tall; very little goes over my head (physical or metaphorical) without me noticing.

It feels good. It feels considerably better than I’m usually willing to admit things can feel.

I still had to give her a hard time about the timing, though. 1:30 in the morning after a grueling day is not exactly the cinematic peak I had envisioned. I had a whole plan involving chocolates and flowers and the kind of deliberate romantic effort that makes for a better story. Instead, I got a sneak attack at my most exhausted.

In the meantime, we’ve started "soft-launching" the relationship to our respective families. This feels like a significant escalation of the stakes. I’m really hoping this works out; my heart has taken enough hits lately that it probably deserves a vacation, or at least a very gentle training montage. Maybe this is just what it looks like when you finally put the muscle to work.

the sequence of two major events happening back-to-back appears like some sort of things falling into their respective places. maybe they are connected, maybe they aren't.

when you’ve spent enough time losing...

but it is really a good thing that instead of feeling completely cynical or apathy, you still are able to feel things intensely. keeps you human! with warts and all.

significant escalation of the stakes. I’m really hoping this works out...

possibly your saturnian saadhe-saati has finished. or maybe it is in middle. you can only what is in your hands, and cannot always direct the outcomes completely. and it is fun too (at least in retrospect).

girte hai shehsavaar maidan-e-jung me, wo tifl kya girega jo ghutno ke bal chale (only the great soldier on horse can fall, not the toddler who crawls on his knees). even if the soldier falls, then he can get up. again. and again. the forks in life are definitely exciting when you don't know which way you would flow into.

taken enough hits lately

those sound like more elaborate stories. with the kind of writing you do, definitely would be very very interesting. and you do have the next exam planned.

the sequence of two major events happening back-to-back appears like some sort of things falling into their respective places. maybe they are connected, maybe they aren't.

If you mean the story about the model, that was maybe a week before I reconnected with the new lady, one who can easily be described as a better model. No objectification intended, I treat my objects like women anyway.

I suppose the two are more related than I'm comfortable with. I was at maximum cynicism after encountering the former, but convinced myself that some of the women I had dated in the past weren't remotely as bad. Tentatively, some of them were good people! This turned to out to be more correct than I'd wagered for.

but it is really a good thing that instead of feeling completely cynical or apathy, you still are able to feel things intensely. keeps you human! with warts and all.

Burning out can feel pleasant, sometimes. The fire can't hurt you, if there are no pain receptors left to scream. But I'm not that far gone, it turns out my heart was only shriveled because it was waiting for rain. I hope the good times last.

those sound like more elaborate stories. with the kind of writing you do, definitely would be very very interesting. and you do have the next exam planned.

Thank you. But as I've said before, the Motte isn't treated to an indiscriminate catalog of my romantic trusts. Most of it doesn't strike me as particularly worth writing about! Guy meets girl, they think the other is nice, but can't quite make it work. You live and you learn, and look forward to something that is worth writing about, preferably the pleasant kind.

Sorry. No. The two i was referring to were

(1) Passing the Exam and,
(2) reaching the stage of saying "i love you" to a woman.

But I'm not that far gone, it turns out my heart was only shriveled because it was waiting for rain.

Change is the only constant.

Oh. I mean, passing the exam was definitely a sorely needed boost to my self-confidence. I needed that. It's always good to have objective markers of competence, so I know it's not all in my head. Perhaps it did give me the courage, to say fuck it and pursue someone a continent away, hoping I can put a ring on her.

hoping I can put a ring on her.

i feel that is a deeply tender phrase. to me, all the previous exchanges and phrases suggest to me that:

  • you have gone through some tough times (whatever be the stories).
  • many of those revolved around a less-than-fully-confident yourself (whether that was professional or emotional or i would even venture into immediate family)
  • it feels that you are still very tentative. Man, you have passed a tough exam, so give yourself a break about that part of yourself. that should be a good enough external validation about yourself, although i am not very enthusiastic about external validations but they do have a role, particularly when one is feeling down. career wise, you are on a definitely decent path from all parameters.
  • whatever you said, she did say it first to you (in a round-about manner). that should show you that she has taken an almost equal (but just that minor tiny bit more) risk as you. that should also tell you that you have a good amount of worth too.

so, look at things from a holistic point - you are on a strong footing and you should forge your path ahead as you feel right with eyes and ears and heart open.

let the shriveled heart drink rain; but never forget that your roots are green.

Thank you, again. I try my best to deserve her ❤️

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