#will add alt text later! as of now i am tired!

[of-the-eclipse]

HAPPY PRIDE!! From your neighborhood ... couple? Friend duo? Who really knows...

Both of them are holding the bi flag, Wally is trans flag colors, Barnaby is polyamorous flag colors :D

[kirby-the-gorb]

reply roundup!

thank you to @cherrycreamsicle for adding an [image description] to a recent kirb! I did see the note in your about asking that people add the descriptions to their posts, I have added it as alt text. I am aware of the fact that this does not meet all needs, and do have plans to address this on a blog-wide scale. once I'm actually able. (conflict of needs, unfortunately.)

and thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and stuff while we were waiting for the news/when the news turned out to be bad/while my wife was in the hospital/etc <3 I saw them when they were relevant and I appreciated them. (and I still appreciate them now it just feels silly to try to respond to them directly now) (and I love how the responses to [little kirbo] are pretty split between "oh no :(" and "Give Him Grease lol")

on [the last roundup] @macro-microcosm said: i don't remember when I made that reblog but I think things might be better! i had a nice birthday weekend at least <3

good! at least it's something.

on [the last roundup] @ceylonsilvergirl said: Hope the roundup means you’re feeling a little better

it basically never does but I appreciate your optimism! (although I am actually doing better right now this time but that is unrelated to whether or not I would do a reply roundup, it just means it's not as difficult.)

on [abacus] @ceylonsilvergirl said: NINETEEN HUNDRED!? HOLY CRAP! Well done

there are so many Little Guys in my computer, someday I will figure out what to do with them

on [-_-] @ceylonsilvergirl said: just a moment. just a moment to breathe. all you need to do right now is breathe. it’s difficult, but you are going to be difficulter. I’m going to cry and take a nap and get mad, then I’ll get back up and try again. it’s ok to give up, I give up all the time! but then I go back and try again later. sometimes you just need a break to let your mind and body rest, and you can try a new angle. running head first into this wall isn’t working, maybe there’s a way to go over the wall. our bullets aren’t working! keep shooting!

yeah, yeah, that's definitely true. sometimes you can't necessarily find an opening to rest, but whenever you can it's almost always gonna be a constructive thing to do. and giving up isn't inherently a bad thing! people call it "giving up" when they stop a bad habit, too. (there was a really interesting article I read a while ago about how giving up is kind of an important part of being disabled, not just because you have to cope with missing out on things but also because seeking treatment is hard and painful! sometimes it's not actually constructive to keep trying! and you need a break or a breakthrough and it's better to just. not. for a while. I've definitely had times like that too.)

on [box] @chaosinanutshell said: that should be me in that box 😐 hope you've been well >:)))

I have not but thank you! sitting in a box can be a comforting passtime but don't hurt your knees!

@vincentus asked: do you know what platform squeak squad or amazing mirror was released for?? i cant be bothered to look it up :")

you almost definitely got tired of waiting by now lol but squeak squad was DS and amazing mirror was GBA! (I played both of them when they were new, the battery in our first copy of amazing mirror tragically died after a little while and we had to get a second one so we could actually save the game)

[starriest-orion]

day two and feeling. EUGH. I'm healimg quicklt because this shit is itchy already. HELP ME SOMEONE PLEASE AUSHDBSJ

It doesn't hurt right now brcause I have an awesome painkiller, but the story of what happened is under the cut;

(Gore tw, mentions of throwing up tw, general medical stuff tw, (legal and medically authorized) drug use tw, needle tw)

So, basically we had to go to my grandmother's birthday party. There were alotta people and stuff, so the next day only the direct family went to eat at some restaurant. I, being the eldest, was babysitting my cousins (Who had watched the first few minutes of the first Bad Batch episode and were insisting on pretending to beat up droids; youngest adored Wrecker and the middle thought Crosshair was cool. So proud of my boys HAHA) and the only place there was that wasnt just grass and thorns was this freshly built playground. I'm not sure if it's the same in other countries, but here where I am (South Africa<3) there are little tire ladders (as shown here):

(Stuff like this. And I'm not aure how to add the alt text/how to phrase it so if you are able and want to please do so!)

And when I got to the top, I failed to see a screw/bolt they didn't cut. (GORE TW FOR THIS PART)

So, as I pushed myself up, an edge of the screw caught the skin on my leg and tore/cut it open. It was deep as hell, like. Down to the layer of fat under the skin. It didn't hurt HAHA- I just. Told the middle cousin to keep and eye on the youngest, and then waddled over to my mum 🧍‍♂️She IMMEDIATELY got angry at anyone and everyone, as the other adults scrambled to get a first aid kit. I was vibing to dancing queen by ABBA and I didn't understand how serious it was. The owner saw and was apologizing profusely as I sat and joked around, made sure others were okay (and got teased for that), and bantered. She said she'll put my name up on a plaque to show I was the first incident report.

Then, after I was bandaged up nicely, we drove an hour and a half to the hospital. As dumb as it is, I have a horrid phobia of neeldes (NOT because of pain. I don't like the idea of something in/under my skin)

The first hospital we got at was a 3-4 and a half hour wait, so we left to go to another. We got in fairly quickly, the nurse checked me out and did tests. My blood pressure was 150/90 (I'M 14. I WAS SO WORKED UP THAT I HAD A DANGEROUSLY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE) Then she pulled out a blood sugar testing thing. I knew what it was like instantly because my not brother brother, who lived with us for a few months has diabetes, and then I refused to test my blood sugar in absolute panic (I didn't know we'd have to do that, sorry gang) so the nurse, in annoyance, said to leave it. (important ish for later)

We went into the surgery room, and the nurses were so nice to me ☹️

I was crying alot in pain and I was scared, my mum was right next to me the whole time comforting me and letting me cry. The doctor was also super cool, and we joked around alot. He understood how scared I was of needles, because apparently he was also petrified of needles. So, he decided that he'd give me a drip, and some Ketamine (yes the horse tranquilizer) so that I'd only have to be conscious for one needle. It was. Unpleasant HAJWKWK

I felt when the Ketamine kicked in, and boy did it kick in. I was high as a kite, but that apparently wasn't enough to keep me under. I kept waking up in the middle of the procedure, and I actually felt every injection. He decided to numb the cut after he realized I was awake-ish/could feel it, and I'm glad he did because I had to get ten stitches. Him and my mum were talking throughout it, and I was sort of talking here and there the best I could. Ketamine, which is supposed to make you oblivious, didn't quite work on me. I knew where I was, what was happening, who was there, I could even hear what my mum was saying. At some point though I must've gone under again because I was in armor and in space so that was fun!:D Then I woke up, and since my brain was 100% awake but my body wasn't, the anxiety in my brain made me check my motor skills (I moved my hands and feet) then my coherence (which presented itsself as me passing around scientific facts about Orcas) Then they put me in a wheelchair since I couldnt walk, and we immediately had to go to the bathroom, because I apparently had a really low blood sugar and threw up. It was. Actually not that bad, I felt much better. And the aftertaste was just doritos LMAO AHAHDJSJSJ

We went home, I tried to eat, failed, took a bath, then ate toast with butter and bovril on it (all you need to know is its salty) and I felt MILLIONS of times better. I needed SALT

Then I went to bed, woke up out of fear of popping my stitches, talked to my mum and her gf for an hour, then slept again :3

So that's my story HAHA

I got a NASTY ass cut on my leg and had so many panic attacks about the NEEDLES ans STITCHES that I had to be drugged to fall asleep 😭 the injury in all it's violently gorey glory isnt even that sore, but now woth the whole ass 10 stitches in my leg I'm choosing to walk woth crutches because it hurts to bend my knee 💥💥

(I have photos if anyone wants to see ofc)

[the-ghost-king]

Will Solace Headcanon's because I think too much:

Nobody asked for these, but you can have them anyhow, because Will is soft and I want to talk about him

This boy was absolutely obsessed with the Barbie movies as a kid, like obsessed. His favorite was probably Princess and the Pauper, or one of the mermaid ones.

He also definitely had a Monster High phase, I don't take criticism (his favorite was probably Vipierina or Sirena- I probably spelt those wrong)

(Maybe an Ever After High phase too... But that was probably towards the end of his doll phase)

He was totally into Victorious, Big Time Rush, and all the other "classics"

He had a pair of bright pink cowboy boots that he wore all the time (Texas, am I right?)

Something like this (I don't take criticism it's canon now):

The second pair of shoes might look funny because I edited a picture of my boots, but that's something similar to what I mean by "rainbow boots".... Maybe a little bolder though, leather colors instead of just stitching.

He wore those shoes everywhere until he was like 7/8 and he basically refused to wear any other shoes- Naomi bought some duplicate pairs in bigger sizes

When he finally did outgrow them/start wearing other shoes, Naomi bought him a pair of rainbow ones as a replacement (because rainbow boots are cool damn it)

He didn't (and still doesn't) hardly eat any sugar, he likes sweet things but he always feels really tired after so he just doesn't eat them all that often (Strawberry Ice cream will always get him though)

He got his ears pierced for his kindergarten graduation, just little pink studs (because I hc him as being born in October)

His mom tried to talk him out of getting both his ears pierced, but Will wanted it done that way so she relented- it looks really nice though so she didn't regret giving in

Will doesn't like dangling earrings because he doesn't like how they feel when he moves his head, so he mostly just wears studs/posts, and small hoops

You will get him to wear dangling earrings if they're something odd

Will has a whole collection of really nice earrings and another collection of crazy ones, like hamburgers and fries or tiny ranch bottles

Will has some weird affiliations with shoes

To start off he absolutely hates shoes (like Dante Quintana level of hatred for most shoes)

But when Will does find a pair of shoes he likes and will actually wear they're usually obnoxious in some manner

For example, his bright cowboy boots

He also enjoys shoes like Crocs, slides, Birkenstocks, Vans (because he's bi/pan/omni), and the bulky white Fila shoes

Will is basically a VSCO girl, full stop 🐢

(He buys those Shelly Cove shirts, Ella Elephant, and the Whale ones too- idk the names)

He has friendship bracelets on his wrists all the time, he doesn't really wear expensive jewelry (except for his earrings and later his wedding ring) but he values the braided thread bracelets just as much

He takes them off when he's in the infirmary because they're a hygiene/safety concern and he doesn't want them ruined

He'd wear oversized shirts but he's a little tall so he struggles to find anything that fits him big

(I personally hc him to be like 6"2-8 but to each their own; if you don't understand my Americaness then 182-207cm)

He wears those sweater crop tops that all the tik tok gays have? They wear them with sweatpants and bulky white tennis shoes...

These:

(I struggled to find an "appropriate" picture, but similar to this)

He overheats a lot (he's basically a human furnace) and he likes them because they keep him cool~

(He's definitely cut off old T-shirts from camp/bands/vacations into crop tops too once they start getting a bit older- he probably cuts off old hoodies too)

Flower Crowns ✨

He is really good at making them, he did it a lot as a kid (him and all his friends would make necklaces/bracelets with wildflowers/weeds on the playground) so he does it at camp too

Will is "best friends" with everyone, even the Nymphs who don't usually like most of the campers welcome him excitedly

Will doesn't understand why people at camp like him so much, but who wouldn't want an extremely nice southern medic to take care of them?

Also Will is like, genuinely soft

He's a Patroclus type character- just genuinely good at heart in all ways

That's a quality hard to find in a lot of demigods, especially those that are battle tested, but Will is just so unapologetically kind

(The fact that he's attractive definitely adds to his likeability )

He's not model level attractive but he's still a 10, he's "girl next door" kind of pretty (like a male version of Penny from Big Bang Theory or similar)

He probably gets a 7w6 on the enneagram test (he definitely has 8 wing access though, he just leans 6)

(Nico is totally a 6w7, fight me)

Will usually ends up the leader in a lot of different situations, he's mature, intelligent and respected so people usually just naturally follow his lead

He doesn't usually trust other people to be in control of a situation because he doesn't think they're considerate enough to the situation, and because of this he finds them unfair

If Nico or Clarisse is around he usually steps down and let's them handle the situation 100% because he trusts them full heartedly

If Will gives leadership to you in any way that's how you know he trusts you- most people he gives trust to situationally, like the 7 and Reyna

(Part 1/?) I definitely have more to say/add to this but I'll stop here for now because it's lengthy!

(All the pictures do have a alt text added)

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issue 9

back at it again, and its time for the shadowplay arc, HELL yeah

oh I'm so excited i love this arc lets DO this

oooh its nightbeat and quark!! way before they become relevant, which is so cool

‘one of those recepticon fanatics’ lmao imagine if they were...the recepticons. just doesn't have the same ring to it 

god i fucking love all the politics of mtmte. i love how they’re talking about the senate here before we really get to See how bad they were (we heard a bit about it from whirl a few issues ago, and now here)

love how nightbeat is pretty much agreeing with the decepticon ideology here, even if its clear that he isn't Actually a decepticon - it just drives home the fact that, in this story, The Decepticons Were Right About A Lot Of That Stuff (or at least, they had a reason other than ‘destruction’ for rebelling). 

AND THEN THERES RUNG!!!!!!! WITH HIS MODEL OF THE LOST LIGHT....god i fuckgin LOVE the continuity in this story bc the first time reading this ur like oh ok rung is old yea makes sense...but then later all the time travel stuff happens and then its like OHHHHH 

damn poor rung nightbeat can rlly tell he's lonely just by looking at him vbhjdkdfhbjsjkdf geez. also nightbeat that's ur mystery stick bf from the future js!!

quarks extreme POV on all of the stuff is so interesting, and makes so much sense bc of Course he would think that as a non-combatant scientist who, due to his functional value in current society, wouldn't really benefit much from a revolution - in fact, he’d probably lose a lot. and that’s the sort of thing where you’re like, ok well think about everyone else dude, have some perspective - but at the same time, quark did suffer a pretty terrible fate, so his fears weren't entirely unfounded...augh, its so fascinating...im sorry I'm not gonna shut up about space robot politics this Entire time

HOW did nobody notice that dead body before now

ratchet spray-painting the hands he stole from pharma to match his own paintjob is like...kinda gruesome if you think about it hvbhsjkdfbkjdf

i love rewind sooo much oh my god 

he rlly stashed rung’s comatose body in a wheelchair behind the bar hbkjdhfbshjkdf rewind 

rewind and chromedome’s tag-team explanation....ough hhhhh THEM 

wait a sec, rewind, you have medical records in your database? that is, at least according to regular medical laws, very illegal lmao. my favorite long-running theme in mtmte: the fact that hipaa and osha laws on cybertron are either basically nonexistent, or just universally disregarded 

what the actual fuck is up w/cybertronian time units. that shit is wack as hell 

ooh i love how chromedome looks different in the flashback - no shoulder tires! - that's a cool detail

how come prowl just said ‘minute,’ rewind was busting it up w/all the wack ass fantasy time units just a second ago. geez

also goddd i love the scenery of pre-war cybertron, its SUCH a cool setting like, visually and aesthetically and politically

like, i adore details like the sign in the bg that says ‘everyone’s shape serves a purpose.’ really adds to the ‘society on the precipice of civil war currently controlled by an increasingly-desperate faction who are doling out propaganda like crazy in an attempt to maintain their image and control over the populace’ vibe

good ole murder mystery setup. love it!

pre-war prowl is such an interesting character. actually prowl in general is such an interesting character...I kinda wrote him off during my first read of mtmte (and even a little during my second readthru) as just this dude who’s an asshole (espec bc my prev tf experience involved watching tfa as a kid, and this prowl is very different from tfa prowl lol)...but prowl is SUCH a multi-faceted and interesting character, even in the relatively little we see of him in mtmte 

plus it was interesting to learn later that prowl was one of the characters that jro wanted for mtmte and didn't get, and MAN i wish he got prowl bc I would've loved to see what jro would've done w/prowl on the lost light, that would've been amazing. like, just imagine the arc he would have...I have no idea what that arc would BE, but I know it would be awesome. plus I’d be really interested to see how prowl would factor in, relationships-wise, amongst the crew of the lost light. so much potential!

anyways. I'm in a very talky mood tonight it seems. its currently 4 am so that kinda explains it. ok, moving on!

chromedome and prowl bantering....in their own morbid forensic-cop way...

skids bvhjdbsfjasf. speaking what we’re all thinking: is prowl gonna keep showing up in mtmte despite not technically being part of the cast??

swerves drawing of prowl lmaoooo

AND THEN REWIND IN SOME OF MY FAVORITE MTMTE PANELS....fuckgin cracks me up every time god. rewind was rlly about to flip their entire ass table just to demonstrate that prowl is a serial table-flipper...and then he cant even make the table budge and he just stares at his hands like ‘how could you betray me like this’ hvbajkhhsfdhksdf PEAK hilarity

drift hvbshfdjbasdfj his forcibly cheery expression even tho he’s being harassed by rodimus, who is a big whiny toddler w/drift lmao 

rodimus is the type of guy who, upon drift not replying to one of his texts, would post a whole twitter thread being all like ‘these days u cant trust any1 to hav ur back...u think u kno someone and then they just ghost you...(1/14)’

again, rewind, HOW and WHY do you just Have medical reports, oh my god, somebody please call a hipaa agent I’m scared, 

ratchet interrupting the story to give a quick medical PSA....that's Such an on-brand thing for Me to do that I feel like jro is assigning me ratchet kin as I read this

also, hey, its sonic and boom, those two decepticons from delphi! nice little continuity there

AND HERES ORION PAX SUPER COP

can’t believe idw made my dad optimus prime into a cop. smh. shouldn't be that shocked tho, I feel like half the idw characters are cops

orion rlly hit them w/the omae wa mo shinderu arrest strat

orion: I cant believe you're beating this guy up. anyways, now I'm gonna beat YOU up,

when ratchet puts his hand over drifts mouth and then gets spray paint on drifts face bhjdfsvsdjhfgbjdskf

pre-war ratchet and drift ;_; ratchet’s little inspirational speech...the fact that he tells drift that he’s special...the fact that drift remembered all of this even after 4 million+ yrs...it gets me bro it GETS me

ALSO the layers in the fact that drift then goes on to become a well-known murderous decepticon...so this little scene of him and ratchet in the past gives a lot of context to ratchet’s general attitude towards drift - ratchet clearly feels at least somewhat responsible for all the blood on drift’s hands, since he saved drift’s life way back in the day

the whole relinquishment clinic thing is such cool worldbuilding, bc of course that's the kind of thing that would develop in a society of robot aliens who are only allowed to work within the rigid confines of their alt mode 

I love the whole matrix thing bc its kinda like being the pope or st but also you have a ton of political sway, so its a super important position, so of Course the corrupt senate would want full control over that power, and would assassinate the current prime to try to get their own guy in 

god vhbhjsdkbgshjdf rodimus is such a dick lmao poor drift

HHHHH I love that the cybertronian version of an autopsy is taking the dudes body apart into the smallest components and laying them all out. that's so fucking cool

hmmmm chromedome maybe you should Not be interested in mnemology, how about that,

oh god. time to start being sad about op and senator shockwave. oh god

senator shockwave more like senator sexy 

also the first time I read this I thought I had just missed his name and like halfway thru the story I went back and scoured the pages looking for it hbvhsjdfbshgfdsbj then I was like oh ok so we’re maybe supposed to just know who this guy is from another comic? but NOPE it was very deliberate and I only realized very close to the end that they were setting up some sort of reveal

its funny bc normally I'm not a huge fan of stories where politics play a huge role but I fuckgin love it here, the politics and worldbuilding is all so interesting and also balanced out with a healthy dose of cool sci-fi hijinks, so

lmao there's chromedome being obsessed w/people making the ‘pfft’ sound 

also wow yet more hindsight, maybe you Shouldn’t be so interested in the Institute, chromedome, 

OHHHH shit I forgot abt the red alert stuff happening at the same time as this :( :( :( 

AUGHHH what a fucked up situation. god 

oooof i gotta continue now!! what a solid issue, I love the shadowplay arc

[datingadviceonreddit]

Okay, so this is going to be long and complex, but I believe it is all necessary to get a complete picture. This post is part advice seeking and part I would just like someone to listen. I’ll try to get in as much as possible, but I’m sure I’ll inevitably miss something. I am using an alt account since several people know my main and I’m a little embarrassed of some things.Date #1: Ok, so to start, I am M/24, she is F/18. We met on Tinder, I asked her on a date immediately and she accepted. This happened about mid December, right before Christmas break (we are both college students at the same school... well technically, more on that in a minute). So, we go on this date and it’s great, similar interests, taste in food, travel, and humor. She is intelligent and beautiful. What more can you ask for? I’m immediately struck. I am a bit of a hopeless romantic/fall hard and fast type (INFP, lol), but this is something I have come to recognize and I try my best to keep it in check.The first date ends, as we are leaving, it came up in conversation that I am about to catch the bus (my vehicle was broken at the time and I live off campus), no big deal, I’m used to it. She offers to ride me home. Now, normally I wouldn’t accept this offer (I’ve declined similar ones before this) as, while I wasn’t ashamed of taking the bus or too masculine to be driven by a female, those thoughts, unfortunately, still persist (“would I be seen as a loser for relying on a girl for a ride?” etc.). However, with her, I didn’t care... I rather have the extra 10 mins with her even if it meant looking like a loser.So, we ride to my apt, as we pull up I ask if she wants to do another date... she is interested. I ask for the following day (it is the last day before Christmas break and we both had plans to go home for break), she says she can’t do that. Obviously, that stung a bit (I know it was truly that she just didn’t have time, but still, you know?). However, on the bright side she does give me her number. We begin texting, but something becomes immediately evident. She is very slow to respond. Again, my hyper-emotional self begins to worry (“is she not interested?” “did she not mean it when she said she had a good time?” “Is she going to ghost me?” etc.).Now, this is the part where I’ll enter that I have suffered from depression for a lot of my life (never been clinically diagnosed, but, I mean... let’s be real, I think I know my own personality enough... and I think about loneliness, death and depression a bit too much to not have some form of depression). Anyways, I recognize some of the thoughts have in these situations can be irrational and again, I’m working on that (which is why I have yet to have a gross overreaction in this situation and there were/are actually more dates and more to this story).We continue texting, very slow on her end, but it is there. I begin to realize, she isn’t looking to ghost me, she is just truly bad/slow at responding. A month passes, we get back from break. I start to build up the nerve to ask her out again (it takes some time, and it should also be noted I am SUPER busy with school myself, a lot of extracurriculars). But I finally work up to it and try to set something up, however when I do I went roughly a week without a response (I didn’t want to message again too soon to seem too desperate... which is related to one of my main questions which I’ll get to in a minute... oh, also, I should note there was no kiss on the first date, that’ll be important later too).Date #2: She finally responds and apologizes, which, of course, I tell her no problem and am just happy to hear from her. We finally get a date set up for roughly a month after getting back from break (better late than never!). Dinner and a movie (or rather, movie then dinner). We go out, I have a great time, she appears/says she did too. She picked me up (vehicle wasn’t fixed quite yet... it is fixed now though, Woohoo!), drove us and dropped me off again (I did pay for everything, as I have with all our dates, not bragging or asserting that means anything, just thought I’d add it in case it helps with any advice). We get to my apartment and I immediately tell her it can’t be so long between our next date and she happily agrees. I’m so ecstatic with the thought of another date, I cheerfully tell her goodnight and get out... not thinking to read the situation if I could have made a kiss happen. That’s okay though, I figure, third date, this is going to be it. I’m going to make it happen.Our plans? One week later. Rock climbing (indoor) and dinner. The week passes (I’m gleefully counting down the days), it gets to the day before, she tells me she is at home (like, parents home, about 1-2 hours away), for a “stupid” reason, but she will be back for our date and she will explain then (bonus points if you know where this is heading... I had an idea at the time, but I tried to remain positive). Anyways, next day comes, date day, and I am all ready for the date, about to leave and meet her, when she texts me and asks if we can skip the rock climbing and just do dinner. She says she was really tired and didn’t get much sleep. I, obviously, told her yes. I added that she didn’t have to feel obligated to do dinner, that if she needed sleep I’d understand. After a bit of texting, I convinced her I was truly okay with it, so we rescheduled for 2 days later.Date #3: Ok, so the real date #3 comes. I meet her at rock climbing and it goes great as usual, I love talking with her, and we got a bit competitive (in a good way) with the rock climbing (she kicked my butt for those keeping score). After that we headed to dinner, on the way there, we were discussing our competitiveness and how we admired it in each other. I also knew she has played a decent amount of board games, so naturally, I get a great idea for the next date, game night! I mention it to her, and again she is immediately on board... except... yep, you remember that pesky little issue from earlier. For reasons (I know some of it, not all of it, but obviously don’t want to share any of it out of respect for her and her privacy), she is returning home for the rest of the semester and won’t be back until Fall (for those who called it, well played). Clearly, this is a bit of a bummer. She said she was leaving in a week, but that we could still do the game night before she left. I obviously agreed (remember, any time with her is better than none). We continued with our date and on our way to dinner... on the way, I basically brought up the fact that I really, really liked her, (she expressed the same, thank God), and that, if she wanted, I had my vehicle back and she didn’t live THAT far... that we could still try to make it work, if she was even interested. She said she had a similar thought, but wasn’t sure if I would be interested (can you say, “uh, duh?”).We continued and finished the date, it was great. However, as I knew she was/is going through a lot... I didn’t go for a kiss. We already had plans for a 4th date (game night) before she went back though. But, right after the date ended, I texted her and asked if she had heard of/seen/wanted to see the movie Game Night, because it would make a great lead up for our own game night. She did/didn’t/did. So it was another date, back to back, 4 and 5. Originally it was for this past Th/F, however, she had to move them up a day though, because she had to leave a day earlier than she thought. This was a bit difficult as it meant I had to shift some things on my schedule around, but I made it work (again, if it is to spend time with her, the “duh?” still applies). The only problem, none of my friends who originally planned to attend game night could make it (which is fair, because it was a last minute change). I was worried she wouldn’t want to do it just me and her, but she still agreed.Date 4#: We go see the movie, again, good time (we laugh at all the same parts, make some witty banter during the movie... but not too much as to be annoying/disturbing, all around great). Movie ends, I ask if she is hungry and offer to buy her dinner (wasn’t originally on the agenda). She says she is but unfortunately she has to pack still and needs to get back to her dorm. I completely understand and wish her a goodnight. Again, no kiss (I read the situation and I could clearly tell she was a bit preoccupied, which is totally fair given her current situation, so rather than try and make it awkward or make her uncomfortable or more stressed, I simply wished her a goodnight and told her I was excited for tomorrow/game night).Date #5: Game Night! I had a meeting (on campus) right before our date and so I said we could ride together after the meeting (in case you aren’t notice the theme, any extra time together is a bonus, even a 10 minutes drive). I said I could drive or she could, she offered (she has driven every time we have been together, and if her driving makes her more comfortable, then that is a-okay with me). We get back to my place and we get right into the games... however, in order to make up for the lack of people, and in order to give her a really good time before she left, you know I had a few surprises in store. Firstly, while bragging rights were on the line... I also got some other little prizes for the winner, to make it more fun. The next surprise will come at the end. Oh, and also dinner (pizza, because... pizza). We begin playing the games, she beats me at some and I win some (never let her win, because she has made it very clear she does not like that)... I obviously try to find a way to slip her most of the prizes though, because, come on, we know the prizes were mostly for her. Another amazing date... we played and talked for hours. We finish our last game, before she leaves though, I ask her to wait a second. I run and get a little “going away” gift bag I made for her (it included several things she likes/things from our dates... she likes books and she also mentioned she hadn’t read Ready Player One yet, so I got her a copy of that; she also likes coffee so I got her a Starbucks card, plus a few other small things related to our dates; and, of course, a short note wishing her safe travels). I go downstairs and give it to her, but tell her she can’t open it til she leaves.So, moment of truth. I know what you are all thinking (the two of you that are still reading at this point), did I kiss her?! The short answer: no. As we moved towards the door, preparing for our goodbyes, I mentioned that we had now had 5 dates and that I had an amazing time on all of them (she says she did too) and asked if it was fair to say we were dating and if she still wanted to continue to, which she said she did (this is when I gave her the gift). However, she said something along the lines of “well, I’ll see you again sometime,” (don’t remember word for word, but along those lines) and she seemed a bit distant, she didn’t really come in for a kiss, much less even a hug goodbye (I know the onus is “typically” on the man, but usually there is that 80/20 or even 90/10 rule, there wasn’t even a 1% here). On top of this, it was really late, we were both super tired; I did recognize she was likely still somewhat occupied by the move; I also was kind of afraid of a kiss in a sense, because what if it was amazing but then we never did end up seeing each other again? (Silly I know, but this is the brain I am working with). All these things combined, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I opened the door for her and said my goodbyes (all and all, still a great night... but do I regret not trying the kiss? Of course).This week/weekend I’m at a conference, so no chance of meeting up, plus I also recognize she probably wants time to get home/get settled before trying to work anything out between us, which, again, 100% understandable. So I plan/planned to give it at least until next weekend before I try to plan anything. However, I still continued to text her. And for the first few days it went really well (nothing crazy, but I actually got like 3-4 text from her each day). Then, it comes yesterday, where I didn’t hear from her once. And all that leads me to right here. Haven’t heard from her in over 24 hours (which isn’t unusual for her, but again, just trying to contextualize the situation). Also, to make it clear, my last message to her was a direct (not intrusive or anything like that) question, so it’s not like I was just like “hey.”All of that brings me to my two main questions. 1. Did I screw up by not kissing her? Has it been too long now? Or was it the right call given the circumstances? (Would love to hear from some female perspectives, especially). 2. What is the appropriate amount to text/message her? I don’t want to be (and am not, so appear to be) needy/clingy by any means. But I also want to keep the relationship/communication alive. I don’t want to let the flame die, so to speak. I know this is a tough line to tow, as too much messaging is needy (or worse, psychotic), but too little can lead to a weakening of that connection we have built and possibly yet another fizzled out relationship. So, any thoughts on how much to text? (And also appropriate things to say, other than just the constant “how are you today,” which I know is nice/sweet, but is it too repetitive/plain)? Also, any other general tips would be most appreciated! What’s in my head? What’s not? Am I worrying too much? Or just the right amount? Thank you so much for reading this far and for any potential advice! (Achievement Unlocked Ramblin’ Man: Listened to the problems of a hopeless romantic). via /r/dating_advice