reasons I liked M:
He actually listened to me. not the "I am going to be quiet while you are talking bc I know I should be to be a Good Listener which is part of being one of the Good Men" but.... actively listening to what I was saying and trying to understand... and not in a sort of sappy way either.This was the other thing- I felt like he UNDERSTOOD me. other guys have been sympathetic and kind but they did not "get it".
He was interested in me as a person. as a full, individual human being not as a "girl who is nice and sleeps with me".  I felt that he liked me as a person and would still have wanted to be around me even if he wasn't attracted to me. he was interested in my opinion and never got angry when we discussed things.
We didn't discuss it directly (like the pathetic moron I am, I didn't want to "ruin" anything) but I am guessing that he is not a heavy porn user, simply from what sex was like. Ok so I don't really have enough data points but I have talked about this with most men I have been with and it is pretty clear- if they aren't porn users sex is 10000 times better. like omg, we are doing something TOGETHER not him doing something TO me.
He thought I was funny, and never reacted poorly to weird/uncomfortable things I would say (I feel a lot of guys here are a bit gullible/don't read my humor well/take me too seriously/are only laughing to be nice (or are actually laughing at me))
He remembered everything I told him, like things I had mentioned wanting to try, stories I told, places I said I'd been or were my favorites.
He was comfortable with me being "better" than him in some ways, would readily point out my accomplishments and actually give real, specific, non-patronising advice or insight. We had similar levels of ambition- he cared about his career and was self motivated but not over the top which can be unattractive (srry but a super stereotypically "ambitious" guy usually makes me think psychopath.) I admired him and he admired me. Maybe admire is too strong a word. but I like it when I can appreciate someone's accomplishments and life choices/personality and they reciprocate this appreciation. I like people who are humble and pragmatic. not over the top, it's just not attractive if someone is really going around thinking that they are way better in some way.
I could trust him to show up if I really needed him and not feel like I 'owed' him anything.
Also, maybe a small thing, but he was a VERY neat person and he liked to cook and cook well. Both of these things are attractive bc if I lived with a man it would kill me to have to clean up after him/have to be the one asking him to clean or contribute. It's very appealing to be with someone who can take care of their own shit and do stuff without being asked. and not like "omg it's so messy we need to clean!" but consistently keeping a high standard without fussing about it.
Of course he has flaws. He is a flaky, insecure, conflict-avoidant (swedish), man, etc... (I feel it's a bit weird to call insecurity a flaw so long as you are... aware of it/taking responsibility for your own feelings? that was another thing I liked- he was aware of his flaws without being self-flagellating) But being around him, or just chatting with him was FUN. and it was so... comfortable. I felt I could actually be meeee and that we were on equal footing.  like this was a completely new thing to me to miss a guy's presence/enjoy his company.


so basically like. a good friend. it's just that men are almost never good friends. They are blatant misogynists, or they are boring, or they don't understand me at all, etc.  I have never been proper friends with the guy I was dating before. NEVER.

I am 24 and I have never had a real relationship. and previously, I didn't care much. I didn't care much about the guys I dated, so I didn't care much about relationships as it just seemed unimportant to me. but now that I have experienced this sort of connection and understanding with someone I actually WANT a relationship. and it crushes me that I can't be with this person. Not that I think M was suuuuper special and unique, but it is just wildly unrealistic that I will ever meet another man that I connect with in this way. so, I'm very sad.