Thanks for this reply. Being GenX isn’t the bed of roses some folks believe it is. I find myself reading more physical books these days than I ever before. Kind of just to take it all in at less than a blur. It’s all whipping by at breakneck speed.
this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2025
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This is a place to share greentexts and witness the confounding life of Anon. If you're new to the Greentext community, think of it as a sort of zoo with Anon as the main attraction.
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"I think you are the only man I can trust, should we try it out?"
Things that were never said for $2000, Alex
There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to date someone years after you had feelings for them. However the body count reference gives me the incel ick.
Alternately it's a Jenny and Forest situation.
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I don’t think I can blame Anon. “Should we try it out?” isn’t exactly stirring my passions, either.
Under the circumstances, it sounds like “you’re my least terrible option left, so maybe I can settle for you. On a trial basis, of course.” Uh, no thanks.
Bold of you to think anons story is real and straight
It’s more fun to play along, and unless I’m missing something, I kept it gender neutral.
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That happened. And then everybody clapped.
Actually this kind of thing happens often enough. The exact words vary, but if people live in low population locations, wait a decade and you'll be surprised at who gets together.
I mean it's greentext. That part is always implied.
You had me until you brought up how many guys she fucked. Grow up anon
I mean... he took his shot with her 5 years ago, was rejected and then stayed friends while she went through all those other guys to then come back around and try to settle for him. I can see how he'd struggle with that. I'd probably feel like a last resort in that situation too. Also I think this story is rage bait so don't get to invested.
it's definitely incel ragebait.
It’s pretty clear to me that anon carefully crafted this story, no matter how much of it is actually real, to cast himself in the best possible light and show this woman as evil. It’s telling that in doing so he didn’t even realize that it reflected poorly on him to shame her for having sex with someone who wasn’t him.
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IMO anon’s statement about body count was badly phrased, but it makes sense for me under limited circumstances.
For the last few decades, my opinion has held firm on a simple philosophy:
If I never ask out a woman I’m interested in, and they date guy after guy, then I have nothing to complain about. They never knew about my interest, and so they were never given the chance to accept or reject my interest. There is no way in hell that I could hold their body count against them, and I have only myself to blame for not stepping up and asking them out when I had the chance.
But if I do ask a woman out, and they clearly and immediately reject me in favour of someone else, then I am obviously not an interest for them. They have clearly and unambiguously rejected me, so what standing do I have to not believe that? You can’t get a more sure sign. If they then rack up other relationships, each and every one of those is another nail in the coffin of any potential relationship. They have made an explicit statement that I am of far less desirability than other options, and that door closes permanently, and gets barred and locked for good measure.
Because if she comes sniffing around again, then it is screamingly obvious that I am not her second-best, third-best, or even n^th best option… I am her backup-backup-backup plan that she is “settling for” because all of her better options ran out.
And at that point… thanks but no thanks. That’s a path down which I have absolutely no desire to trod, because down that path lies doubt and second-guessing that can only poison me, my mental health, and my happiness. If she had no interest in me when I asked, then I will absolutely trust her for having told me the complete truth, and I will hold that truth as unchanging, unimpeachable gospel.
It's understandable why you would feel that way.
People change all the time though.
Perhaps after some of those relationships, they found personality/stability to be more important than looks.
Or maybe they've spent years regretting the decision, and the short relationships along the way failed because nobody could compare to you.
Or maybe they genuinely are as shallow as you think, and you're the last resort in the dating pool.
You can never really know for sure.
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Except that people do a lot of growing in their late 20s and early 30s. Both parties likely changed in personalities, priorities, and experience. The man she rejected years ago is likely not the same man she is attracted to now, nor is she the same person as her priorities have likely changed during that time too.
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I am replying to your reply to this post so that I don’t earn the ire of absolutely everyone. And perhaps I will not even earn yours. Perhaps… you will find some sense in what follows.
There was an unspoken rule for Gen-X — it was in many ways as you have described here. If you got rejected by a girl… that door was closed. And there wasn’t really room for friendship. If you got burned by a girl, you moved on and didn’t even pretend to like them. Done.
You could have friends that were girls if they had boyfriends you liked. If they had boyfriends you didn’t like, you could be friends with a girl you were attracted to, but only so that she might discover you.
Where I believe I run afoul of Millenials and Gen-Z is where I remind folks we just didn’t have a lot of girls who were just friends… we considered this a fantasy or just waiting.
There was an unspoken rule for Gen-X — it was in many ways as you have described here. If you got rejected by a girl… that door was closed. And there wasn’t really room for friendship. If you got burned by a girl, you moved on and didn’t even pretend to like them. Done
I am Gen-X as well. That 'rule' might have been true in certain social circles, but it wasn't a rule among my friends at all. I had lots of female friends. (I didn't call them females though, I called them women or girls). Some of whom I had turned down in a romantic capacity, some of whom had turned me down, and some of whom were already in relationships or we just weren't each others type.
It think the difference is all in mindset. I didn't continue to be friends with the girls who turned me down in the hopes that one day they might change their mind. I stayed friends with them because they were cool people who I liked as people. And I hope at least the same was true for the women I had turned down.
And in the time there were even instances where I did get involved with women I had previously turned down, and with women who had turned me down. None of those relationships worked out in the long run, but we all remained friends afterwards.
I think it's a problem to have the mindset that being friends with a girl means you are 'just waiting' your turn or whatever. Some women are amazing people and worth knowing as friends, it's not all about sex. In fact it's probably the fact that I treated my lady friends as human beings that we would end up getting together in a lot of cases. I wasn't expecting it, or waiting on it, or 'simping' or whatever. I was just their friend
Did you find “the one”? Like are you married presently?
No, but I don't really believe in marriage anyway.
The way I see it if you are only with someone because of a promise, that is less special than being with someone because you currently want to be with them. I've had several meaningful relationships over the years and have no regrets. I wouldn't trade any of that for being stuck in an unsatisfying relationship or giving the government control over my personal life like being legally married requires you to be.
I'm a pretty unconventional person though and most of the women I am attracted to felt the same way, with one exception. That relationship ended way too early because I didn't believe in marriage. The crazy thing is I probably would have eventually married her because it was important to her, but she gave me an ultimatum and I hate being manipulated like that, so I broke it off. The speed at which she got back with her ex bf who supposedly treated her badly tells me that I made the right choice.
Well… depending on how long ago you separated from that partner who tried to pressure you into marriage, you could discover how her decision to return to someone who mistreated her turned out.
And I am glad you did not marry anyone that you think might have led to an unsatisfying partnership.
Marriage is a wild ride. I was an LA punk rocker in my teens and have felt unconventional my whole life… despite that in many ways, my path doesn’t look much like the road less travelled. For me, showing up to parent teacher conferences was richly unconventional. I’ll be honest… I ended up being much more generous of myself than I would have ever pictured me. Marriage does not come without its sacrifices.
Well… depending on how long ago you separated from that partner who tried to pressure you into marriage, you could discover how her decision to return to someone who mistreated her turned out.
Unfortunately, a few weeks after we split up she told me that she couldn't handle being just friends with me and so I left her alone. A couple years later I ran into one of her friends, who told me she moved back home to Kentucky and she had another child with him (he was already her baby daddy when I was with her). Hopefully they are having a wonderful life. As far as him mistreating her goes all she really said about him was that he was mean to her and he had a small penis- so hopefully that's as bad as it got. I have tried to look her up and despite her having an unusual first name- Facebook wasn't any help and I'd have no idea how to find her other than that. I have no idea what her married last name would be. It was almost 25 years ago when we dated.
I’ll be honest… I ended up being much more generous of myself than I would have ever pictured me. Marriage does not come without its sacrifices.
I can see that, and no shade to people who did get married. I used to find the idea of marriage kind of beautiful, until my 'first love' and former fiance kind of stabbed me in the back. I suppose in some ways I'm cynical towards the concept. And to be perfectly honest I have struggled with mental illness most of my life and it's not getting any better- so that effects my prospects romantically. I always said that I'd rather be alone and unhappy than with someone and miserable- so it may have been a self fulfilling prophecy in some ways.
Anyway it's really cool that you were able to reach inside and find the fortitude to make those sacrifices and make things work out for you guys. That shows a lot of character. A lot of people never find that which is partially why the divorce rate is so high I think.
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Except that circumstances change. So you might feel that now, or for most people, but you don't need to make it a vow, because who knows what the future will bring.
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"She fucked so many guys"
Uh...okay?
I think they’re trying to say that he doesn’t even feel like her backup, he’s her backup x times removed. Which kinda undercuts his point a bit, but does set the stage for a complete removal of attraction and the very particular manic ending they wrote for their story
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Anon got over their crush and got on with their life, nothing wrong with that at all.
Besides, it sounds like they're about option J here, and it's perfectly okay to not be happy about that.
Who upvotes these phony MRA tales? Give me an effing break.
How is this related to MRA?
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@Early_To_Risa This situation makes me think of the Meatloaf song "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad". There's an interpretation of the song that the first part of it is about a man who tried to love a woman, yet he was turned down. Later in the song, the man is talking about how the woman has come back to him years later, but he has moved on.
I always thought that song had to do with a first attmept at anal fisting.
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Anon is valid to feel this way. Without condoning or condemning, I understand.
He got over his crush and got on with his life. There's nothing evil about that.
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Good on anon for not being a spineless simp.
Turns out, being rejected by someone you're in love with actually sucks, and that goes double if you were friends with them. Sure you can try and stay friends with them after, but whether that works depends a lot on your state of mind/mental health, the rest of your social circle and the state of your life in general (and on how the rejecter/friend acts, of course). Your average 4chan poster is spectacularly ill-equipped to make it actually work well, even if they somehow aren't somewhat misogynistic.
At the same time, just keeping it to yourself is probably not a good option either, if you're not the type who can actually move on after a while (e.g. by crushing on someone else).
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