The Hottest Mouse
Fear is the Boss Challenge for Delta and Gamma Males
What really separates the mice from the men, so to speak, or the low-status from the high-status men, is fear. Specifically, fear of rejection by women and the consequent social embarrassment that occasionally follows. It’s both tiresome and frustrating to higher-status men to listen to the myriad of excuses that the average Delta can produce for not taking his shot at a woman he admires.
While there is certainly a great deal to be said for knowing your lane and sticking to it, if a high-status man or an informed woman encourages a man to take his shot, it’s usually because he thinks the man has a chance. Not a guarantee, mind you, but a reasonable chance. That should be all the encouragement that any man requires, but I’ve seen guys who were definitely in a woman’s league make conversation with her and flirt with her for months without ever once asking her out.
They always say they’re “waiting for the right moment.” But the right moment is now. In one case, the woman acquired a boyfriend, dropped the boyfriend, then acquired another boyfriend before my acquaintance - who had been stopping by her retail stand every single workday for months - finally summoned the courage to ask her out, only to find that she now had a boyfriend.
When he complained that she’d told him she was single, I pointed out that she told him that NINE MONTHS AGO and she could hardly be held responsible for not constantly updating a guy who refused to express direct interest in her. By waiting for “the right moment” he managed to miss his window of opportunity.
Speaking of the hottest mouse, new ALT-HERO illustrator Narcelio Sousa is already hard at work on his variant HYPERGAMOUSE cover, which will feature both Mari and Jami. I suspect Mari is a little embarrassed, even in her nice conservative one-piece swimsuit, but Jami is glorying in her moment to shine. No doubt he’ll do wonders with Rebel and Dynamique…
Don’t forget that there are not one, but TWO variant covers available now as part of the campaign.
Delta men, please stop scripting entire interactions in your head. The girl doesn't know her lines and the conversation is never going to play out the way you imagine it. You stammer and stumble and say stupid stuff because the scene isn't playing out in reality the way it did in your imagination. Just say "Hi" and let the conversation flow from there.
"fear of rejection by women and the consequent social embarrassment that occasionally follows."
Putting women on pedestals is the cause of the fear, in my opinion. When rejection comes, they feel 'intrinsically unworthy' as Richard puts it, rather than seeing the event as a singular occurrence, with a fresh chance the next time. When you try on a pair of pants, and they don't fit, does that mean you're unworthy to wear pants?? No. Try on another pair until one fits.