#any other time; any other person and the protagonist would've laughed but this isn't just anyone

[animentality]

Never assume that female authors can't be misogynistic.

JK Rowling literally wrote the most appallingly embarrassing and vapid female characters known to humankind, and she's a woman and supposed "feminist." Every female character she had fell under 4 categories:

1) Dutiful and devoted mother

2) vapid girly girl who's a bitch because she's girly and she's hot and pretty but empty headed and hates books

4) a fat villain, whose main physical attribute is that she's fat, and also she's evil.

3) cool girl who's not like other girls because she's nerdy and/or a jock.

Then you have Stephanie Meyer. Who has insisted she isn't misogynistic because she would've written Bella as a flat and boring character even if she was male...and then when she wrote a gender bent twilight, she immediately gave male Bella an actual personality.

Like.

It's sad but.

But you know.

Women can be bad writers, lol.

Women can see other women as not people too. Women can be so vicious about other women, in fiction and in real life, maybe even more judgmental and harsh and callous than they'd ever be towards a man.

I kind of laugh at it because think of it like this...

Why did JK Rowling write from the perspective of a boy?

Because she probably grew up with the idea that she wasn't like other girls.

She had a working brain and didn't chase after boys all the time, like those other dumb lipstick wearing ninnies that were popular and cool and made fun of her in school.

So she wrote from the pov of a boy because she secretly thought I'm like the boys!!! I have thoughts!!! I wish to live vicariously through a protagonist who's a boy, and has his opinions and feelings heard.

Which is also hilarious in hindsight, because of how anti trans she now is. Like JK, my girl, my dude, what are you doing? You can't be a boy, silly.

And Stephanie Meyer is a Mormon, but let's say the reason she can't write female characters, or more specifically, a protagonist, is because she also frames the male as being the interesting one.

Neither of those authors could shake off the feeling that all women are bland and vapid and uninteresting, and men are the main focus.

And this was with vaginas, you know?

Shockingly...having a vagina does not immediately guarantee that you'll have any sympathy for other vagina havers.

Anyway.

This wasn't about anything, I was just thinking the other day of how female authors can be so violently misogynistic and it's really sad.

I admit I was also thinking about lizzo.

Being a woman...doesn't mean you support other women.

And when you are a woman, and you don't support other women...you're just awful.

[flower-boi16]

I Watched The Hello Neighbor Cartoon (It's bad)

So just today while I was scrolling through my recommendations on youtube I saw a review of the Hello Neighbor cartoon that I never knew existed up until now. Just by looking at the show I didn't have very high expectations but I randomly decided to watch it cuz why not? I mean, it has an 8.6/10 on IMDB so surely it must be good right?....ya no. Anyways...the show sucks, here's why.

1. The Animation & Vissuals

The animation is...bad. It just looks very stiff and cheap looking, and the characters aren't that expressive either, they all look bland and soulless (which also describes their personalities incredibly well too). So much of it feels choppy as hell, like I'm watching a show made with two dollars on flash. I would say that this looks like a cheap Canadian cartoon (and I say this as somebody from Canada) but...even then there are Canadian shows that look more appealing than this.

The art style also looks bland, again, the characters barely have ANY real expression to them, and it really looks like a low-effort kids show more than anything else, which makes the show's attempts at being "scary" fall flat. Don't have much else to say here, the animation just looks that bad.

2. Comedy

There are a few times when the show tries to be funny...and it fails. None of the jokes here really made me laugh....at all. Though there were times when the show did get a laugh out of me...and they were when I wasn't supposed to laugh. Like that scene in episode 2 with where our main girl sees a bunch of neighbor heads I just couldn't help but find it VERY amusing, plus the credits which is just the neighbor goofily staring through the window where "dRaMAtiC" music plays in the background and it just looks VERY goofy. Aside from that, when the show is trying to be funny...it's not. It's just not.

3. Characters

A majority of the characters are honestly not worth talking about aside from Trinity and Nicky ig, they are all just...so boring. None of the kids' personalities are remotely endearing in the slightest and they are all just extremely one-dimensional.

Trinity is our main character and...I'm sorry but she just isn't interesting in the slightest. She has literally no personality or depth as a character and makes her a very boring protagonist for the story. She's also pretty inconsistent in episode 2 where she's all like "no we can't follow around the neighbor" when last episode she was perfectly on board with that and Nicky's plan? Then there's Nicky who also kinda sucks. Like the other characters he isn't that interesting or endearing at all, and they also don't even give a reason for why he thinks the neighbor is a murderer. Like, what made him assume the neighbor murdered his own kids??? It honestly would've been really cool if they merged aspects of Dipper from Gravity Falls and Webby from Ducktales 2017 together for his character because I could really see the potential here, but what we have now...ya.

The other kids are, again, not worth talking about because of how boring they are. They aren't funny or entertaining to watch at all, they all feel so bland and soulless. The other kids simply just exist and not much else. I really don't have that much else to say about the characters.

4. The "Horror"

So the show tries to be scary...but it isn't. Honestly, It's hard to pinpoint what parts the show wants me to be scared of because it's really hard to find a show with this art style scary in the slightest. Nothing about it is that "creepy" at all, though I don't even know this is supposed to be a horror show despite it being based on a horror game since I never felt scared watching it all.

I guess the show's overarching mystery is kinda intriguing...? But when the characters are so bland it's hard to even get invested in it. Don't have much else to say here.

5. Plot Holes

Ah yes, no bad show would be complete without plot holes, now would it? I'll just list some of the plot holes in each episode here:

Trinity SEES THE NEIGHBOR KILL SOMEONE IN THE STORE and for SOME REASON decides to run away instead of, oh I dunno...TAKING A PICTURE WITH THE EVIDENCE OR CALLING 911 IMMEDIATELY!!!!

Speaking of that murder, wouldn't have that got onto the news or something? Like, did nobody report it??? And if we assume someone DID report it, since the neighbor was the last one there who COMMITTED THE MURDER, wouldn't the officers put two and two together and realize it was the neighbor?

Also why did the neighbor commit the murder in the first place??? What was even the point of that???? Did he not have any money to pay for it???? Why????

The fact that there is just. A tunnel under the school. For some reason, which NEVER gets explained by the way.

When Nicky gets captured by the neighbor, where tf are his parents???? Did they not recognize their child is missing??? Why didn't they file a missing child report or ANYTHING???

There are more plot holes than these but these are the most egregious ones to me. Also the ones I already mentioned in the characters section. Besides, this post is getting long enough already so I'll just end it here....

6. Conclusion

So ya, the show sucks, 3/10, see ya.

[pikahlua]

Reading some of your comments, I've been thinking about why I dropped MHA a while a go as a Bakguou fan. I'm not sure if you want to hear it but you were asking anon to tell you the reasons why they think Bakugou's character arc isn't working for them so I'll say what I think. I think it's Deku. I personally always liked Bakugou and despised Deku from start. I liked Bakugou when he was bad and didn't even want development. If Horikoshi could separate them instead I would've loved MHA a lot more.

First of all, let me point out what an immaculate ask this is. I love it. This is exactly what I was asking for. You have perfectly expressed your feelings without saying anything to provoke or upset me. I have every respect for your opinion despite not sharing the same opinion, and I would have this ask stand as a monument and example of perfection to the world. Kudos, friend.

Now, since you offered your opinion, I will respond to it with my thoughts. I hope to do so just as respectfully as you have.

So I feel for you. I did not “despise Izuku from the start” as you have, but I have come to a point in the story where I’m feeling that frustration with how slowly his character is developing, so I understand where a lot of the negative feelings aimed at Izuku particularly lately have been coming from. Even though I like him, I don’t like him nearly as much as I love Katsuki (I think that’s obvious), and while my frustrations haven’t made me STOP liking Izuku, they are still frustrations that can annoy me at times. Additionally, my perspective on the story has changed since I first started watching/reading MHA, and these perspective changes put early story arcs in a new light that highlight Izuku’s character flaws when before I may have missed them. That said, I do love me some character flaws, so I wouldn’t say that made me dislike Izuku either.

And this is such a weird thing to say, but I kinda like that you despise Izuku. XD I don’t know what it is exactly about Izuku that you dislike, but if it’s anything other than “he’s just too whiny” like I’ve had to deal with in every fandom for decades, I have even more respect for you. Aside from character flaws, Izuku does have a few traits that can be gratingly annoying on occasion, and while they’re not bad enough to make me feel the need to air my grievances, I won’t deny that they exist. I think some of that is just by virtue of him being a shounen protagonist--some tropes are unavoidable.

Now, here’s the part where I have to speculate, because I don’t fully know what you mean by how you “liked Bakugou when he was bad and didn’t even want development.” To me, Bakugou “was bad” in two ways during the early parts of the story. One of those ways was how he plainly rejected norms and acted confrontational with everyone regardless of the situation (season 1 and season 2, basically), and I can absolutely understand why you would want more of that. But then there’s the plainly unhero-like behavior from, say, episode 1, which is a moment I treasure for what it means in his story but is not behavior I would want to see continued from that point because that would leave Katsuki stagnant and unable to demonstrate his actual heroism.

Now, that said, you claim to not want any “development” from Katsuki, which...I also don’t know exactly what you mean. Do you want his character PERSONALITY not to change? Or do you want his story character to remain static. I’m not sure. I can understand (but don’t necessarily agree with) the former feeling, but I definitely don’t agree with the latter. Katsuki’s character development, especially as begun in his Starting Line episode, was exactly the initial draw to Katsuki for me. I have already alluded to how sick I’ve become of lancer rival characters regressing after learning a lesson in other posts.

I can’t help but laugh (respectfully) at what I perceive to be the potential result of your desire to have Izuku and Katsuki separated. What you’re expressing sounds to me like you would actually prefer a story in which Katsuki is the main character. That’s the major effect of splitting these two characters up like you’re suggesting. And I can totally understand THAT desire, because Katsuki is the main character of my heart (looool). But I also have enough experience with narratives to know that one of the reasons I love Katsuki as much as I do, the reason Katsuki is allowed to be the character he is in so many ways, is precisely because he’s NOT the main character. Remember what I said earlier about some of Izuku’s annoying traits stemming from the fact that he’s the protagonist? Yeah, I don’t want any of that crap getting on my precious Katsuki Bakugou. Izuku is a shield protecting Katsuki’s character from getting bogged down in that protagonist bullshit, because Katsuki IS the formulaic main character of a shounen anime who doesn’t have to do any of that shounen anime protagonist bullshit because someone else is doing it for him. That’s a little too detailed of a discussion for me to go into right now, but that’s the summation of my feelings for that.

You say some things about wanting to watch Katsuki struggle and win as the underdog and fight and earn respect, and I think you’re justified in wanting those things for him. In my opinion, that’s exactly what we get from MHA. He hasn’t been given any help in those regards--everything he’s achieved he did so on his own. The ways in which Izuku has been involved have been as Katsuki’s inspiration in some situations. But that seems to be your sticking point, which I certainly can’t help you with or would even want to try to talk you out of. You don’t like Izuku, so your feelings make sense. For me, it’s more like the Izuku that inspires Katsuki is a symbol more than Izuku the person. Katsuki is seeing the things he needs to see in Izuku (not the full picture of Izuku) in order to push him in the areas he needs to improve. And when it comes to Katsuki’s fights and whatnot, I’ve said before I don’t think people should ONLY want him to have cool fights, but I do understand the desire to want to see one on occasion. It’s just that that feeling in me gets squashed every time I think about what Katsuki is in this story. He’s already a top fighter. No fight he wins will ever look like an underdog overcoming the odds because he’s been a combat savant from the beginning. The underdog aspect comes into play when he’s rescuing someone. It would be a far more amazing underdog moment for Katsuki to save someone like Tenko Shimura when it feels like that’s something Izuku, the rescue savant, wants to do, especially when the story seems to imply Izuku is destined to do so. So I guess in this way I’m getting those things fulfilled for me that you feel aren’t being fulfilled for you. And it’s gonna make sense then why I’m still into the story where you’re not. I hope you do get those feelings fulfilled in some other part of the story or in another story altogether then.

I do think Katsuki interacts with other characters, but I can understand why many people feel like it’s not enough. (That said, I think ALL the characters could stand to interact a bit more than they do, but at least we don’t feel like it’s TOO MUCH instead I guess.) It does seem like that’s an unfortunate consequence of the story coming to an end when Horikoshi seems to be running out of steam. I hope he gets to have all the scenes and moments he wanted in his story at least. And we will always have fanfic for those moments we didn’t get in the story proper.

Your not wanting Izuku to gain from Katsuki’s victories is...a very individualistic perspective (no, I do NOT mean you are being selfish). Like, there are individualistic- vs communal-focused societies, and many western countries tend to skew more individualistic whereas many eastern countries skew communal. Japan for sure is one of those communal-focused societies, and many of their stories will reflect this, such as in themes where “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Shounen loves its themes of friendship, comradery, and teamwork, so MHA was always destined to have a fair bit of that in it. I’d warn you a lot of Japanese stories will be like that, but I do wonder if you’ve had an anime you felt did give you want you want before. I personally don’t see Izuku’s wins as Katsuki’s losses--Katsuki has always in some fashion desired Izuku, which may have manifested as jealousy or yearning for friendship or comradery (or whatever, depending on who all you readers are). If you didn’t like that about him from the outset, I’m afraid you were long doomed for latter parts of the story. I’m not gonna say anything that will make you feel better about the likely ending to MHA in that regard. I happen to like where things are going (at least the things I can TELL about it, since I’m guessing as much as anyone else about it).

(And I mean, calling what Katsuki did to Izuku “mellow for an anime character” is its own can of worms. We don’t even really know enough about their childhood and middle school years prior to 9th grade to be able to comment definitively on any of that, I would think. I will say though it’s not anyone’s job to attack or defend Katsuki for any of that in a conversation with anyone else. You can take what you need to from that situation.)

Again, thank you for your thoughts! I really appreciate them, especially because they actually provided me a constructive point of discussion and some meaningful insight into opinions like yours. You’re always welcome to send more asks! A+ Anon Award!

[redfolder]

As someone who saw Lord of the Rings for the very first time as an adult: I thought it kinda sucked. I'm mostly complaining in this so do feel free to move along if you don't want to see that kind of negativity and keep enjoying your day ;)

My biggest complaint is definitely the (in my opinion) atrocious camera work. It felt like something between video game cut scene, a docuseries and a goddamn soap opera and I thought there were a ton of emotional beats that didn't even get a chance to land because whatever they were aiming for with the camera just really didn't serve their narration. It was truly immersion breaking for me which is a relatively new experience for me because I don't tend to notice camera work - but this one was (again, in my opinion) so terrible that I kept laughing because something was weirdly absurd.

Another point, that I think MAY tie in with the first one is that at times it felt like I saw actors doing their lines on screen rather than seeing characters in their environment. That was kinda ass.

The pacing felt really really off. I just watched the third movie and a really egregious segment was, to me, reforging that old sword. I don't remember the name but the one Aragorn's ancestor used to chop the eye guy's (sauron? Saruman? I think it's sauron) hand & ring off. I wanna say... Elrond? reforged it which seemed like it should be this crazy thing cause I guess it's been a minute? Sean Bean's family was keeping Aragorn's family's throne warm for a while, no? And now they just kinda bang it back together with barely any buildup and the scene itself lasts like 13.8 seconds. Idk it felt off. There's more examples but as I said, that one seemed particularly egregious.

Something I really struggled with was emotional investment. The only people I had ANY emotional stake in by the end were Sam and Gimli. Gimli won me over pretty much immediately and Sam really grew on me over the course of the third movie but I didn't end up really giving a shit about anyone else. I thought Frodo was an incredibly unlikeable protagonist (something I'll touch on again later, wait a sec!), Gollum was like. Kinda cute I guess at times? and all the others were so incredibly boring that I didn't really care all that much. If Frodo had died at Mt doom... I mean, yeah, I would've been sad, but for Sam. Not for Frodo. Idk

I do have two opinions I've been told will be incredibly unpopular and I can't even really back them up with anything but: 1) the second movie seemed... Kinda unnecessary? And 2) I personally dislike the music. Don't get me wrong, I think it serves the function it's supposed to serve but I just. Didn't like it. I think both of these points are largely due to cultural osmosis: the second movie was apparently a lot of context for the uruk-hai (btw I have some questions about how orcs reproduce because wtf was that) and defeating the guy in the other tower (if eye guy is sauron I believe it's saruman?) but I can barely recall what even happened. I know the living trees were a thing but I thought they were gonna join for some epic battle at the end or something and it just kinda led nowhere in my opinion. So I guess I already knew enough context that the movie was trying to add? The music, I've been told is so amazing so many times and I just thought it was really underwhelming. Idk if that's fair to the movie. But... Eh. It was okay I guess. Not my taste for sure.

Which brings me to my conclusion: I think if someone wants to like Lord of the Rings, one might have to read the books. I assume in the original story, Frodo isn't just a useless sack of potatoes who has apparently zero stamina or likeable traits but rather genuinely suffers from the negative effects of immediate proximity to the ring. I also assume he acts a little more like he might like Sam. I also assume they, despite the insane length of the movies, left out a TON of stuff that would've provided context, added likeability and maybe improved the pacing. Also I can't get annoyed at the camera work if there's no camera. Anyway. My main point here is the one I'm trying to make with Frodo: it seems like the prolonged proximity to the ring should really fuck him up and I assume the books explore that and I ALSO assume that something similar is true for all the other complaints I have about the actual content (of which there are several but I'm trying to give my opinion specifically on the movies). And I'm kinda disappointed by them - I don't need a movie to be GOOD - I want to be entertained and I did not feel very entertained. It felt more like homework. I believe that the story itself is good but I truly do not understand how the movies ended up being seen as this iconic and this beloved in the cultural context. There were charming moments, sure (honourable mention to viggo mortensen's toe and sam telling frodo "I can't carry it for you but I can carry you") but overall I really don't think I ever need to watch them again. Which sucks. I wanted to like them

@yourlocalegotisticalqueerishere

[iamtheprotagoneil]

ok so im here crying over your tag essay and to crank up the angst even more, imagine neil jokingly saying to david when he was reading to him, "if i had known it takes a bullet for you to come by and sit with me like this, i would've happily gotten shot sooner 😊" and david just goes absolutely white with shock and crumbles down in fresh tears. (1)

and neil would be like, oh god no no, i'm sorry i'm just joking my stupid mouth runs away from me again 😭 david just sits there realizing how much he had hurt neil and broken his heart in the first place, and neil is panicking inside trying to comfort him and tell him it's okay, it's okay, i'm just glad you're here with me now ♥️ (2) - alicia

damn, alicia. y’all really be going off with all this angst huh 😭😭😭 

[slashbitch2]

Extra Complications PT3

Previous Chapter

"Don't bother coming back into work tomorrow."

Her words had been replaying in your mind since the final encounter, bouncing round like a taunting echo. It'd only been a week since you'd stopped working at Alchemex, yet had felt like a lifetime of boredom and fatigue. With no job or persistent villain to chase after, if you could even call Liv a villain anymore, there was no reason to get out of bed in the morning, nothing to stop you from moping around your apartment. The days blended into what felt like one long sick day, disregarding the occasional break to rescue a cat stuck in a tree.

Although, your only sickness was of the mind. Whenever you attempted to get some rest, your thoughts would inevitably drift to Liv; the cold, distanced tone to her voice, the look of betrayal in her eyes, how empty the week had felt without her. By the third night plagued with insomnia, you were starting to accept that your feelings towards her may be more than a simple crush. On the eighth night, you decided you ought to do something about it and began to formulate a plan.

Entering the building like you were still an employee would be almost impossible since anyone who left their job was rarely welcomed back with open arms. It'd also be better to avoid the security and CCTV cameras, which you'd learnt used face recognition technology. And finally, locating a security card would pose a potential problem, as walking round the facility until you happened to stumble across a janitor to steal from was unfortunately no longer a possibility. So, what was the solution to all your problems? Vents.

Which is how you found yourself scouring over blueprints like a cliched protagonist from a bygone age movie, but at least the irony hadn't escaped you, and thankfully laboratories generally required a great deal of ventilation, so you had multiple routes memorised by the time the bus had arrived at Alchemex. You'd spent the entire journey on edge, fearful that any fellow passenger might accost you for looking so suspicious. But apparently an agitated figure buried beneath a pile of blueprints wearing a spider-suit underneath a jumper was normal enough to be ignored.

Nonetheless, stepping onto the concrete ground of the car park was a relief which inspired a tad more optimism. Moreover, leaving the burdening stacks of blueprints behind further alleviated some of your anxiety. It felt like a final confirmation that this was your one and only chance, and you weren't about to mess it up. Even as the building loomed over you casting a shadow of uncertainty, nothing could discourage your determination.

There was the remarkable sense that you didn't belong here, though it was a familiar sensation. One that persuaded you to tug the mask over your head before darting toward the edge of the car park. It was your belief that as long as you stuck to the outskirts of the facility, few would pay you any attention while you were out in the open. Therefore allowing you to manoeuvre into position and take the quickest passage straight to Liv's office. Which is exactly what you did.

The first stretch of the vent system was a straight drop, a narrow plunge that went on for longer than anticipated. Like a slide with no angle of inclination and a lot less fun. You hit the metal base with an ungraceful clang, certain that your legs would've buckled upon impact had it not been for the lack of space to do so. Overall an uncomfortable start. The remainder of the journey was a lot of crawling and muscle cramps, your only incentive being the occasional grate to peer down which reassured you that your destination was drawing nearer. Everything was going to plan.

Until you heard her.

Olivia's voice rung clear as if from a dream. It stood out from the general ruckus, initially leading you to believe you were hallucinating, that it was some kind of audible mirage. Yet you refocused your senses and it didn't go away. She was almost directly below you, separated simply by a thin layer of metal. With renewed ambition, you crawled toward the nearest grate as quickly and quietly as possible, frantically lowering your head to find the perfect angle, all just to catch a glimpse of her.

"What do you mean the program hasn't worked?" Liv pinched the bridge of her nose, her words laced with an an uncharacteristic anger. You'd never known her to be an irritable person, she loved her job and every challenge that came with it. Was she uptight? Sure. Passionate? Undeniably. But never angry.

"I've tried rerunning and rewriting parts of the code. And it just doesn't work!" Some poor employee (Mark, if you remembered correctly) was fighting for his dignity below. You could see he was flushing, wildly flailing his hands around as he tried to justify his mistake.

"You've rewritten part of it?!" She repeated, volume rising in frustration.

"I- I thought I knew how to fix it."

"I told you not to mess with my work." She growled, stepping closer.

"With all due respect," He didn't back down, clearly caught off guard and unsure how to deal with an irritated Liv. "it's actually Y/N's work."

Upon hearing your name, you ducked out of view as if you'd been seen. Although, it was evident that this was not the case, so slowly you edged forward to peer down at them once more.

Liv's face had dropped at the mention of your name. But by the time you'd settled back in place, anger was already seeping into her expression, then was suddenly smoothed into disturbingly sweet smile. "Well, Y/N isn't here anymore. So I suggest you keep your incompetent hands off of things you don't understand."

Judging by her vague wording, you guessed she hadn't told anyone the real reason you'd been fired. A fond appreciation flooded your mind. Despite everything that had happened, she still respected your secret enough to keep it. You begun to consider that maybe Liv cared about you as much as you did her. Why else would she lie on your behalf?

Mark muttered an ashamed. "Ok." Then left to try and atone for his mistake.

Liv stayed where she was for another minute before taking a deep breath, shaking off her annoyance, and setting a determined path. You assumed she was heading for her office and were about to follow, but then paused. Was this really the best time for a reunion? She obviously wasn't in the best mood, and if you had to guess, it was likely due to your betrayal. Was it too soon to reappear in her life? You'd arrived here with the intention to apologise and make amends, however, you had no idea how Liv would react or what would happen after. If there would even be an after. She could attack you on first sight for all you knew.

No. You'd come too far to turn around now. You continued along the vent before you could overthink the decision. It would be foolish to turn around now: the end was in sight, and rapidly growing closer.

Reaching the final grate, you were greeted with the familiar yet new aerial view of Liv's office. It'd remained mainly the same since your departure. She hadn't even bothered to remove your lab coat, which was still carelessly thrown over the chair you'd frequented everyday. And Liv herself hadn't changed much either, disregarding the seemingly permanent anger lines upon her face. She was sitting at her desk, head in hand, mindlessly flipping through a folder. It occurred to you at that moment that she didn't look irritated, rather sad. Another unexpected emotion for her to display.

After a minute, she sighed, tossing the papers to one side and bringing her other hand up to crash forward into. She looked defeated, seeing her this way felt wrong. You honestly preferred the anger because it showed she'd maintained at least some of her usual intensity.

You sighed. It was time to fix this. With unsteady hands you delicately unscrewed the bolts holding the grate in place, careful to make as little noise as possible. It was as you were removing the final screw that you realised something: you had no idea what to say to her. No planned speech or prepared apology, you'd resigned to hoping for a spontaneous burst of thoughtfulness in the moment. You sat there for a minute, fidgeting with one of the screws while attempting to come up with what you would say. Should you start by apologising for breaking in, or for lying to her, or for applying to the job in the first place? You had a lot of things to apologise for.

And unfortunately, the chance to think it through any further was taken from you as the screw slipped out of your hand. You gasped watching it fall, hitting the ground with an faint thud. Although quiet enough for most people to ignore, you knew Liv was too thorough to not investigate. And as expected, following your sharp intake of breath was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, then footsteps gradually approaching.

Liv appeared below you, bending down to inspect the screw before glancing up. Her eyes locked with yours through the mask and widened in shock.

"Hey." The casual tone to your voice sounded forced and you grimaced. But rather than dwelling on it, you dropped from the exposed hiding place and pulled off your mask. You smiled awkwardly, eyes scanning and overanalysing her reaction.

Liv stepped back to lean on the desk for support. Her mouth was agape, but otherwise her face was worryingly blank.

"If this is a bad time I can come back later."

Still no response. The room was drowning in a tense silence.

"Well, actually I probably can't come back." With no social cues to interact with, you began to ramble aimlessly. "I'm guessing you'll find a way to patch that particular security breach." You gestured up to the gap in the ceiling and laughed lightly. "Sorry about that. I didn't know how else to-"

You're cut off as Liv moves impossibly fast, grabbing your shoulders and shoving you backwards against the wall. A thousand different thoughts run through your mind at once, all wondering what she's about to do. The majority are focused on the possibility that she's going to hurt you in some way, although, even if she did have the intention to cause harm, you wouldn't fight back. You were tired of conflict, especially when it involved Liv.

She was standing close, breathing heavily and saying nothing. You couldn't help but let your eyes flicker down to her lips, the temptation to kiss her becoming increasingly vehement. So instead you forced your attention up to her eyes, which held an air of confusion.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was deep, full of unvoiced emotions.

You licked your lips, glancing at her mouth one last time. "I came here to apologise. I didn't mean for any of this to go so far."

"You're lying." She backed away slightly and you immediately missed the proximity.

"I'm not! I just-" You stuttered, then admitted in a quieter voice. "I never meant to hurt you."

She inhaled shakily and swallowed, your eyes tracing the movement of her throat. "And?"

"And because I care about you too much to let you think I did any of this on purpose." You lowered your head, her invasive glare becoming overwhelming.

Soft fingers firmly gripped your chin, compelling you to look up. Her eyes displayed distrust, confusion which you suddenly feel the need to wipe away. You wanted to make your affection for her clear, but found yourself annoyingly speechless. All the recurring thoughts and confined confessions that had been plaguing you for a week suddenly gone from your mind. You were infuriatingly at a loss for words. Although, the warmth of her fingers against your skin reminded you that actions speak louder than words.

You leant in slowly, giving her sufficient time to stop you. She didn't move so you kissed her lightly at first, searingly next. Your arm shifted to wrap around her back tentatively and she moaned faintly in response. Although, it wasn't until you allowed her to take control that any remaining anger dissipated. At that point the kiss became bruising, her hold on you tightening as a wave of shared desperation rolled over the both of you. Before the desperation could reach its peak, however, you separated from her.

Liv was almost panting, her cheeks tinged pink and hair a mess. She promptly attempted to kiss you again, though you dodged the advance and she whined. Her mouth latched onto your neck, sucking at the skin there.

Your head fell back against the wall, dizzy from lust. "Does this mean I can have my job back?" You quipped, running a hand through your hair.

"Depends." She murmured in between kisses. "Do you have anymore secrets?"

"None that I can think of." You smiled, the prospect of returning to what you'd come to consider as normality was an appealing one. Of course there were things you would need to work through with Liv, and many, many extra complications alongside having a relationship with your boss. But nothing easy was ever worthwhile, and Liv was living proof of that.

"Alright. You're hired."