Well, I did rant on about this a bit in the server chat once and I've debated with myself for a long time about making a similar topic, asking what people want or like in a person. But here it is.
I don't want a girl. I want a woman. Some of you may think it's a subtle difference, but it very much is not. Chase has an idea of what I mean.
I don't want one of those broken anime harem tropes either.
I want a woman who is strong and intelligent on her own. I'm not here to fix her. At the moments when she is weak (as we all have those times), I will be there. Not to give her worth, but to merely remind her of the worth she already has. I want a partner, not someone to babysit.
I'm with her because she wants me, not because I'm taking psychological advantage of her flaws.
I am not here to rule or control her. I would complement her, not be her everything.
She has to contribute, not just be some pretty wallflower. Might as well be alone if she has no thoughts or desires of her own and it's all just me. Some guys want the trophy wife. I'm not one of those guys.
I'm not anyone's meal ticket either. She has to have her own job and be able to earn for her own self her own living. None of this stay at home all the time stuff. I've been out in the field, in the dirt and literal holes in the ground, sweating every minute of it, in the exact same set of clothes (thank you army). It gives a lot of perspective on what cleanliness is and what a body can take. A live-in maid/mooch is not a thing I need or want.
Obviously, she has to share some of my interests or else 'we' wouldn't be a thing in the first place.
I'm shallow enough to say that yeah, she has to be kinda pretty. Certainly not perfect. I ain't perfect anymore, if even the best version of me could be even have been considered close. I recognize this flaw in my expectations but I can't change it.
Did I mention I'm not in a relationship to fix a person? She has to have her own self-worth, someone I can be proud to show to my family.
I have high standards, and I expect her to have high expectations of me as well. And so, I'm working to get myself back to the former glory and accomplishment I have achieved before. Lead by example and ask nothing of anyone that I wouldn't be able or willing to do myself. Fair is only fair.