Online dating used to be so good for weirdos like us! I wouldn't dare making an account these days, it's pointless with everything being centered about looks and a conversation starter that stands out from hundreds of others.

You can get really lucky on path 2 and find your weirdo quickly, especially if you're already social in circles that cater to your brand of weirdo. It's a roll of the dice, though.

1 is for all relationships, romantic and not. Being a better (or even just more well-rounded) person supports all areas, since you can make more connections, and better maintain them in all situations. 2 can be a way to build a really strong connection, but one or two shared interests, and a good personality match does not a relationship make - especially as people and situations change.

Either works for either, really. I've masked my weirdness enough to have moderate luck in the short term on path 1, I've had luck scouring for real weirdos on path 2. Both take effort.

For a long term spouse, I still think the middle path is best. I wouldn't have been happy long term with the normies on path 1, and the certified freaks on path 2 wouldn't have been healthy long term either. You wanna hit that sweet spot where you roughly have your shit together, but you're not dulling your shine much.

1: the game is trivialized by 15 minutes of grinding magic reserves at the start