For all that she’s divergent, Aella is laughably-typical as an attractive women. Her dates are like interrogations.

I want to understand him fast. I am paying close attention, looking for novel words to toss at him. It feels playful for me, like wrestling, or leaning into tension. I want to see the green under his bark, the places where he’s unpracticed. I slip in fast, arrowhead questions, ones that carry intensity or exploration. “Are you smarter than your coworkers” or “When your ex broke up with you, did you deserve it?” or “So when your mom died, did you feel bad about it?”

I’m faster than just about anyone alive and I don’t get embarrassed or feel awkward. And yet even I hate these type of torture interrogation dates. I’d probably get up and leave.

And because men absolutely despise these bound-for-the-gulag-if-you-answer-wrong type experiences, they tend to avoid doing the same to women.

As with most attractive women, she’s looking for a fantasy person who doesn’t exist or who got married a decade ago. Her list of candidates is basically zero. She’s so close to having self-insight but does not quite make it there, even with as smart as she is.

Again, she’s like 99.99% of other attractive women. Aella at least in this realm is only unusual in how typical she is.