The Men In My Life As Tropes: The Manic Pixie Dream Boy

There's been a lot of movies and literature with brooding male protagonists and their effervescent dream girls.  But what about us attracted to men? Don't we get the chance to brood and be moody and have a man sweep us off our feet and change our worldview and give us some joie de vivre? Unfortunately, this doesn't happen quite often. And when it does it comes in fantastical Doctor Who-like fashion, and a mad man with crazy hair and his quirky habits makes his landing in your world and takes you on crazy adventures and takes you out of your ordinary life and makes you realize you are extraordinary (The Doctor is my favorite example of a Manic Pixie Dream Boy). But again, unfortunately, there are no 945 year old Time Lords from Gallifrey with a wonky knack for finding danger and saving things to be found. However, those energetic, quirky fellows seemingly lost in themselves and everything around them are out there. I would know...I've been with one.

Now, I use the term "been with" really loosely...it was really a momentary dalliance with a cute guy that I had a yearlong crush on and had the opportunity to have physical contact with. Like I said in my introductory blog post, no manic pixie dream girl is made exactly alike, so in the same respect, no manic pixie dream boy is going to fall exactly into the Doctor scheme of things (and let's face it...what man can live up to the Doctor?). He was sunshine and smiles, but was lost in a cloud of his own thoughts...he lit up my summer when I first met him a year ago. And then with the end of summer came the end of our interaction, and I was left to sift through my manic love life of what I've described as a "cyclical hodgepodge of men"...but then in the midst of it, he contacted me. Not only did he contact me, we talked a lot, waxing philosophical, catching up...I was smiling and laughing and was absolutely delighted with the distraction from the stress of school and other things going on at the time. And he continued to do that...just pop in via the Internet and make me smile. And then the opportunity came...

The opportunity came when I could actually see him, his frame lean but stocked, and face handsome but exaggeratedly so with a smile too big for it. It was my last week in town, and I was really adamant about seeing him...based on conversation, there seemed to be something there...and I had to see. The excitement I had driving to his house definitely died down hours later when I left. Sure, it was fun. Sure, I got some action. But I was left with the realization that it wouldn't work out like I wanted to...he's a great guy...he's cute...he makes me laugh...he waxes philosophically and on abstract things...he's artistic...yet physically active...but he's just lost in himself...and I feel like he wouldn't be very dependable...and he seemed so distant from me...even in the throes of passion (lol, throes...right)...and I felt as though I would be left in a situation where I wanted someone more than they wanted me...again. So when the time came for me to leave, I just kissed him goodbye and strutted out...and drove away. Sure, I left disappointed, but it's not a bad thing...for all I know, he could pop up again all bright and shiny, and I'll fall for his goofy smile all over again. As I said before, my love life is a "cyclical" thing. We'll just have to see.