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[zoomingupthathill]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, MADMAX. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 005.08.019.85 *** MADMAX has joined 005.08.019.85 <MADMAX> do your thing or whatever <MADMAX> don't be dumb

Main: MADMAX
Anon: houndsof

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[zoomingupthathill]

[ Max, who is dealing with her own ridiculous personal issues— ]

yeah sure alright ive got a few hours until class

[familyproblem]

How much do you know about dating as a general topic

[zoomingupthathill]

[ what the fuck what the fuck- ]

why

[familyproblem]

[immediate reply:]

I am not dating anyone.

[another immediate reply:]

One moment.

[less immediate:]

I don't know how obvious this is but I'm not used to spending time around a lot of people our age.

On a casual basis.

Especially people who do.

[zoomingupthathill]

people who spend time with people or
people who date


why am i the person youre asking about this

[ what do you know ]

[familyproblem]

["Because the other best option is Akira but he doesn't know how to be embarrassed and also his boyfriend is fucking unhinged so I'm not sure I trust his advice."

He can't say that.]

Because


I should just skip ahead to the part where I ask the question, and if it's a stupid question you can just tell me to buzz off.

Is there a way to tell people that you're not interested in dating without them having to ask?

People in general.

[zoomingupthathill]

[



Oh.

Wait, oh. Okay this has nothing to do with her it's just really bad timing. Haha. Alright. Kinda acted like a fool there, huh, Max.

Anyway. ]

i mean
if you loudly declare:

i am not interested in dating

or if they bring it up in general and you jump in there

why
did someone ask?

[familyproblem]

[scream]

Yes. I'm protecting their privacy though.

That seems cumbersome. No chance of any kind of widely recognizable symbol or fashion?

[having extremely belatedly realized that dressing weird and emo is not actually deterrent.

it's just subculture and he was raised snooty.

genius at work]

[zoomingupthathill]

why the fuck would there be something like that

[ max knows nothing about this- ]

theres no shorthand just like theres no shorthand to find out if someone actually is interested in dating
you just have to ask

[familyproblem]

I wouldn't know. It was worth asking.

[like he KNOWS there are ways people detect people being interested or not, ok. those are comments he hears! but no clue how they detect that or how to register himself as Not Available!! ("eligible". fucking hell.)]

I have a second question.

Though it might be several questions in one.

Is there supposed to be a lot of overlap between how you can act with a close friend and how you can act with someone you're [scream] interested in?

I would assume the answer is still yes but I have to start questioning more of my assumptions at this point.

[zoomingupthathill]

[ —ok no fuck this he has to know-

no. No, calm down, Max, fucking chill. ]

yes
there is an overlap
in my experience there is definitely an overlap
i hung out and did things with my boyfriend that id also do with my friends back home

[familyproblem]

[okay. okay. cool.]

So how do



I don't mean to put this entirely on you. It's not like you're the Dating Guru or anything, I'm just worrying too much. This whole thing happened with someone I don't know very well, so now I'm wondering if I've missed something about how I act. And close friends would have to be more of a concern. Presumably.

This is stupid.

[zoomingupthathill]

[ It seems now, at last, Max can determine a few things about this interaction, getting out of her own head enough to piece it together. ]

did you get someone thinking you were flirting with her
or him or them or whoever

[ She shouldn't presume, she could easily see like...Will, for example, thinking Gladion's a snack. ]

[familyproblem]

[LONG. FUCKING. PAUSE.]

I don't know for certain. All the person said was that they were interested in me.

I've tried to be

less harsh to people who don't deserve it. Including this person.

[...More to the point, the entire concept that he might be dateable is making him freak out a little bit over whether hugging Rindo constitutes feelings fraud, but haha let's not talk about that!!]

[zoomingupthathill]

[ Another person may ask what the hell that means, "less harsh" but Max gets it immediately. So instead, she asks: ]

have you been less harsh with me
if thats what youre thinking did it then theres got to be something else because ive never thought you were flirting

[familyproblem]

[lol]

No, you haven't needed it. I mean people I would have dismissed as stupid or naive.

[......oh god if he continues that thought he risks dropping hints about who it might have been. SLAM THE BRAKES RIGHT THERE.]

[zoomingupthathill]

[ steeples those clawed fingers ]

thank you i am neither of those things

[ ........usually, but she's not about to admit her own relationship problems— ]

so this person who may or may not be stupid or naive has taken things youve done to try and be nicer than normal as potential romantic interest
thats what youre telling me youve got of the situation right

[familyproblem]

[i mean when you put it like that]

I might be overreacting.

[zoomingupthathill]

im not accusing you of anything i just want to make sure i have the facts

[familyproblem]

I don't even have the facts.

[Ugh. Wait. Okay.]

To recap, all that actually happened is that someone who I've been trying to treat more fairly called me out to a private conversation and told me that they "liked" me.

It is what it is. What I'm worried about now is dealing with the possibility of it happening again.

[zoomingupthathill]

from the same person?
if you told them no then unless theyre a creep it wont

[familyproblem]

No. In general.

[The longer this goes on the more stupid he feels. I MEAN, WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT...

In fact, about ten seconds later:]

Never mind. I'm being ridiculous.

[zoomingupthathill]

i never said that dummy dont get ahead of yourself

yes its a little out there to assume everyones going to start asking you out but it sure as hell sounds like you havent done anything like this before

[familyproblem]

I know you didn't. I said it.

[what is he DOING

Besides revving up to insist that that's not what he's assuming actually. And then getting something resembling a grip.]

Correct. I don't spend much of my day hanging around people our age and never have. My impression was that this kind of thing happens pretty frequently when you do.

[zoomingupthathill]

[ ......Ah. Well, ]

youre not exactly wrong i guess?
yeah last summer everyone was kind of obsessed with dating and romance and shit like that [ herself included but no not like that don't perceive her ]
but with my friends in california we never talked about it
its entirely reasonable to not be used to the complicated battleground of teenage dating