Haha I like this thread. Actually, when I was younger I had figured that anyone I liked would not like me in return and anyone who liked me, I would not like.
I didn't really give anyone a chance and whoever came close to me I questioned their motives and wondered if it was genuine.
That was enough to not imagine an ideal partner because I thought there was no point to trying to imagine one if it was outside the realm of possibilities.
It was only after I met a certain SEE who chased after me that I had opened myself to that idea. But I do remember that before then, I did have an idea
of a type of person that I imagined I would like being around. I thought I would enjoy being around someone who was a purported intellectual,
someone I can have deep™ conversations with. Actually, in my experience such people were often very grating to me and I really did not need someone
who was similar to me. It eventually leads to trying to one-up each other and it is very tiring overall. What is better is to just have a different domain for each person,
so that we are not challenging each other and being made to feel bad about not living up to someone's expectations.
In short, I thought I needed someone with brains but it turns out I just really wanted someone with a pretty face who would chase after me.