I chose to go NC because the amount of insincerity in the relationship (from both she and I) was so overwhelming that it sickens me (at least at the moment) to even downgrade and partake in something of a friendship, let alone help her through the breakup by responding to breadcrumbs. I think each person ought to do what they must to carry on. Maybe you can handle going back to the scene of the crime , maybe you need to pack up and move to another country (so to speak), but you need to figure out what suits you. NC is not some unbreakable law, but if it's what you have to do to get to the other side, then that prerogative far outweighs whether or not you'll seem butthurt to her or anyone else. If you're cool with responding, and even understand that maintaining contact can and probably will serve as a crutch for her to get over the break up and move on more easily, but you're truly indifferent to that outcome or any other, then roll with that. If you have a girl(s) lined up and couldn't care less about responding, then go ahead, respond, and even if you don't have someone else to fall back on, are fine being single and don't see a problem with responding, then do that. The question ought to always come back to "will this set me back?"
NC serves as and represents several things to me personally
-it's my way of regaining my dignity by removing myself from a toxic and disingenuous relationship completely.
-it's my way to align myself with an improved version of myself in the future that would certainly find a girl like her attractive, but would never come anywhere close to entertaining the idea of a relationship with such a broken girl. I perceive any form of communication with her as prolonging that long journey that lies before me.
-and of course, as has been prescribed, it's for me to get over her on move on with my life as quickly as possible.
The title of the thread is "no contact makes you look butt hurt?" If you're choosing to go NC, I think you have to weigh out how much that matters to you personally and whether or not that will set you back from moving on. Look, all of us here on this forum will be dead in less than a hundred years for certain (barring some incredible advance in the realm of transhumanism or something of that sort) - I highly doubt it will read somewhere on your tombstone "here lies so and so, the butthurt one, who chose to go NC in 2014 over a stupid breakup - what a pvssy", or people talking in 2073 about how you chose not to respond to any of her texts, so none of that really matters in the grand scheme of things. If you know this is it, you're never getting with this girl again, it's truly completely over, all that matters is what route you think will help you best to get on with your life, not whether you'll seem butthurt or not - that does not matter, moving on does.