Elephant Town Chapter 10 (pages 6-9)

I forgot to smear some grime near the bottom of the couch! But I mean, yeah, you can probably just assume that into existence. ;)

Danielle Corsetto

Of his traits, it's a good one to choose!

Danielle Corsetto

Thank you for saying this. :) These folks are human, and I can't say I understand many of them, but there are some flickers of hope here and there in the forum, and people tend to leave after a year or two... As for fun, it's about as fun as reading the news? Is there a word for fascinating *AND* heartbreaking?

Danielle Corsetto

DAAAANGG

Danielle Corsetto

I can't say I ever dated any incels, but I know the genre!

Danielle Corsetto

Really looking forward to Paul getting himself together!

Theadora

Now I get it! ;) I misread the click as coming from the phone. Now I just need to get my audiobooks to play on my TV too. (The only behavior of Paul's I want to emulate!)

Oh!! I forgot to make the "CLICK" under his back white so it'd show up better. I hope that answers your question. :)

Danielle Corsetto

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperhidrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20367152

Chris Kalin

Is no one else thinking about how greasy and nasty that sofa must be? Wonderful segue between the phone app and the TV turning itself on like *magic*. Listen, Paul. It's your fairy godfather speaking. Also, take out the trash already.

Ruth Merriam

I had no idea there was a cure/treatment for sweating. I have no trouble speaking to women or men (I'm gay. Are there gay Incels? No, wait, don't answer that.) but anytime the temperature is above 65F I'm sweating buckets. Guess I should look into beta blockers!

A bit confused by all this. Does Paul trigger the audiobook from his phone or does he sit on the remote and turn on the TV? I don't have a cellphone so I have no idea what's possible with one.

If a manic pixie type shows up to magically solve his problems I imagine it will be someone along the lines of Carol Kane in Scrooged.

ALSO: I STRONGLY suspect Paul's arc does NOT involve having a "manic pixie dream girlfriend" magically solve all his problems, so I can't wait to see how his storyline progresses. Dare I hope that Paul does the work himself to create a happier life for himself instead of relying on a woman to fix it for him?

Entropy345

I feel like spending the time to examine Paul's and by proxy the reality of those immersed in the incel community is of value. There is precious little actual examination of what leads these dudes to these communities and subsequent marginalization. I feel like it has got to be someone's job to do this work, because the current status quo of hissing and bursting into flame isn't doing anything to fix what is a societal problem. Hats off to you Danielle, because I can't imagine the research required to present such a nuanced treatment of such a character is fun to do at all.

I feel weird hitting like on these Paul pages because there's absolutely nothing likable about him, but it's a fascinating and, as Entropy above said, nuanced portrait.

William Cole

I wish I could say that your portrayal of Paul there is grounded in a bunch of myths, but I work in IT stuff as you know and I know very, very well that it isn't. Your willingness to dive down this creep-hole is impressive, but simultaneously terrifying in itself.

Gary Walker

I really love how nuanced you're making Paul. He's definitely got issues, but I'm really rooting for him to figure them out and become a healthier individual. I get the sense that he knows he's not connecting and he's trying to figure out why, but going to all the wrong sources.

Entropy345

Didn't Bruce Lee have this sweat gland removal done for real?

Tudza

Huge TV, bed sheets on the windows, you know your stuff.

Cab