Paul Frackson

*This article is about Paul, the character from The Smoke Room. You may be looking for Polly, a minor antagonist from Glory Hounds whose real name is Paul.*

## Physical Description

### Sprite Artist

Robin

**Paul Frackson** is a side character in The Smoke Room. He is miner under CSCG and a frequent patron of The Stag who often appears alongside his coworkers Dimitri and Felipe.

## Appearance

Paul is a stout, well-built wolverine with rusty brown fur. He has cream-colored eyebrows and chest fur, as well as brown eyes and prominent claws. Paul wears denim overalls over a crimson button-up shirt.

## Personality

Paul has an affable temperament and around his friends and coworkers he is generally very jovial, albeit blunt and a bit crass. That being said, he is infamous for having an extreme temper and can become both physically and verbally combative when angered. He shows an intense dislike for managers who exploit the mine's workers, and for any miners who appear too eager to step over their coworkers to rise up the ranks.

## Story

### Before The Smoke Room

Paul was previously employed by a sawmill 'up north,' and hails from the Echo universe's equivalent of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. At some point prior to the events of The Smoke Room he relocated to Echo, and was hired on as a miner by CSCG and placed under the command of foreman Beckett Moore. He became acquainted with Felipe and Dimitri during their work and the three became good friends. He joined the miner's union alongside his friends and fellow miners, as well as Nik, Yao, and Chang.

### Nik's Route

Paul first appears at The Stag alongside the other members of the miner's union, listening to Dimitri recount Ben's recent disregard for safety protocol. Paul is scornful toward this behavior, and remarks that Ben will be a danger to others if he is ever put in charge of a work crew. When Sam and Nik join them, Paul welcomes Sam into the union with the others. Later Ben himself arrives and gloats to Dimitri about all the silver he was able to get with his recklessness, and so Paul punches him, causing a brawl to begin between Ben and Paul's friends.

Paul's next appearance is in the mines the next day, where he works alongside Sam, Felipe, and Dimitri to expand the mine shaft, teasing Sam and exchanging some jabs with Felipe in the process. The next day, Paul continues to work alongside his friends, and mentions that he is surprised to see Sam return to the mine given the difficult work. Ben approaches them contritely and Dimitri accepts his apology, but Paul is unimpressed and remains wary of him. Paul agrees with Sam that Ben is not to be trusted and wholeheartedly believes Sam's story about Ben's attempt to hurt him the previous day. After Dimitri is injured by a faulty stick of dynamite that came from a bag Ben borrowed and then returned to him, Paul immediately turns his suspicion toward Ben. He furiously accuses him of causing the accident, even threatening violence against him in retribution. Once Beckett defuses the situation and promises an inquiry, Paul and Sam then solemnly depart the mine together.

Later that night, Paul meets with Yao, Nik, and Sam at Chang's tent to discuss the union's next course of action in the wake of Dimitri's injury. He briefly expresses irritation at Sam's presence, calling him "the new guy," before turning his attention to how to best respond to the mine bosses' apparent disregard for their workers' safety. He brings up a mine in the east that called in the National Guard to massacre union members when they tried collective action. Unsatisfied with a simple strike, Paul firmly advocates for Chang's suggestion to burn down Briggs' ranch as a threat of what will happen if the union's demands are not met. Nik urges that they must avoid escalation, however, and Paul storms off.

Paul reappears during the miners' strike the next day, picketing with Felipe, and chides Nik for arriving hours late. Nik reveals clandestine photographs of several miners, which he found stored in James Hendricks' house, and Paul is incredulous and upset. Beckett arrives and Paul angrily reiterates his conviction that Ben hurt Dimitri, then additionally brings up the case of at least ten missing miners that management has made no progress in solving. Sam then departs with Beckett for a private conversation. Paul treats him with hostile suspicion when he returns, but relents when Sam insists that he will only reveal what happened during the meeting if Dimitri can hear it as well. Paul and Felipe then lead Sam and Nik to the clinic where Dimitri is recuperating.

On the way, Sam remarks that he hasn't seen Will at the demonstration, and Paul asserts that the sheriff is likely close by because the law always supports the mine's bosses. Nik is dismissive of this concern and says that Will is wrapped up in a case, but Paul seems unconvinced. At the clinic, Sam reveals that Beckett accused him of rigging the dynamite, and the miners realize that if the foreman is truly unsure who is responsible, then Ben either acted alone or on the orders of some other authority. Dimitri insists on going to The Stag with everyone, and after trying and failing to get him to stay put and prioritize his recovery, Paul and Felipe accept.

Later, when Nik and Sam get into a weightlifting contest in the workout area behind The Stag, Paul rushes to spectate, and approvingly remarks that Sam has some fight in him after all. Afterward, Paul is with the other mines when Nik and Sam bring a disoriented and disheveled Murdoch back to The Stag to recover from a strange encounter in the mines. Despite the tense atmosphere, Paul cracks several jokes that land flatly, but also helps Murdoch reconstruct the last thing he encountered before he seemingly lost his memory.

It gradually becomes clear that Murdoch had a supernatural experience, and so the miners take turns sharing accounts of their own brushes with inexplicable things down in the mines. Paul goes first, and recounts stumbling upon a pile of half-decomposed deer carcasses in a cavern, all gelatinized together, that writhed as if something were inside and eating its way out. He adds that the longer he looked the more they looked like people instead of animals, and that when he came back later only bones were left.

Paul later volunteers Chang to speak about a paranormal experience he has evidently shared before, but Chang quickly cuts him off with a bitter refusal. He then turns his attention to Nik, whose evasiveness causes Paul to become increasingly curious until Yao changes the subject. Paul later takes part in the festivities during Murdoch's musical number, and at one point is shown dancing with Nik.

### Will's Route

Paul may potentially appear on Will's route depending on the order in which the sheriff chooses to conduct his investigation. If Will goes to The Stag at night, he can talk to Paul alongside Dimitri and Felipe. Of his friends Paul is initially the most outwardly distrustful of the sheriff, but he quickly agrees to help upon hearing about Nik's involvement in the case.

In the ensuing conversation, Paul mentions that he is dissatisfied with his wages and recommends that Will investigate The Hip because James is a frequent patron of the establishment.

## Relationships

### Felipe

Felipe is likely Paul's closest friend. The two seem to enjoy bickering with one another, to the point that their interactions can be mistaken for genuine arguing. At times, the barbs that Paul and Felipe exchange appear to border on flirting.

### Dimitri

Dimitri is another close friend of Paul's, and the two trust each other greatly. Dimitri's more optimistic outlook and trusting nature clashes with Paul's prickliness, especially on the matter of Ben. Like with Felipe, Paul seems to enjoy bantering with Dimitri, and the two get along well in spite of their differences. Paul is also shown to be quite protective of Dimitri; he appears partly to be motivated to take a swing at Ben at The Stag because of his impertinent behavior towards Dimitri, and when Dimitri is injured Paul is devastated and immediately swears revenge on his behalf.

### Ben

Paul has an extreme dislike toward Ben, to the point that he becomes physically violent towards him on multiple occasions. Paul feels that Ben is a 'kiss-ass' who goes to dangerous, callous lengths in order to get promoted, and he enjoys seeing him put in his place. Paul's low opinion of Ben causes him to harbor a heavy distrust toward him. When Dimitri is injured during the events of Nik's route, Paul immediately turns his aggression toward Ben and threatens to kill him should he ever come near him again.

## Trivia

* If Sam chooses to name Paul as one of his companions in the mine, Porter is confused by his choice.
* Paul's name and background in the logging industry are partly inspired by Paul Bunyan, an American and Canadian lumberjack folk hero.
* Paul is "some degree of bisexual," although this has not yet been made explicit in the story.

## References

1. ↑ GeorgeSquares' CuriousCat
2. ↑ GeorgeSquares' CuriousCat