I just want to establish something; I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm undiagnosed on the spectrum, so a lot of social norms and behaviors fly WAY over my head.
With that said, how do I attract people if I really can't "play the game?" Last week I met someone in person, and the evening was very cordial. Once we had parted ways, I was really feeling good about it. The next day, however, when I asked her how she felt, she explained that I wasn't exactly the image of me that she had imagined. I asked her if she could elaborate, and more or less she said that I left "no mystery" and that a lot of my humor comes across as awkward.
That was a little devastating to hear from another person. I know that I'm not particularly humerous. I don't really like to laugh at situations and events as much as I like to analyze and think about them. Not to down myself completely, but I'm just one of those people that just gets a bunch of blank stares when I try to make a joke.
The other problem is that I don't have "game." Well, maybe "don't have" is the wrong term. A large part of me rejects the requirement that you gotta garner an aire of mystique as a man. That's just not something i feel like I can personally do. I've been told on MANY occasions that I'm like an enthusiastic teddy bear, which at surface level is a cute compliment, but I have to wonder if that's one of those "I'm trying to be nice but I'm really not interested" things.
Regardless, I've been getting really in my head about this lately and could use some advice. I just dont think my "I'm not hiding anything, I'm genuinely interested in you" dating approach is compatible with the dating landscape today.
Thank you for reading and blessings to all of you.