Masked Feelings by Levia Ortega, Susanne M. Swolinski (Translator)

Masked Feelings
by Levia Ortega, Susanne M. Swolinski (Translator)
Pages: 34
Date: August 7 2016 (first published October 25 2014)
Publisher: Self
Series: None

Review
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.0
Read: August 21 2016

A feeling of accomplishment bursts through me as I realize that, in just under a minute, I've already completed 26% of this story. Okay, I joke poorly. Yes, this is a short story.

Opens with a woman named Manuela Wagner screaming at a poor cringing airline agent after Manuela has been informed that her flight has been overbooked and she will not be leaving that night. Manuela, more or less instantly, realizes that she's being bitchy and weakly stops screaming.

Immediately my dislike for this woman develops and grows. Story opening with thoughts of how horrible her week was - being forced to spend it with her asshle boss. Taking it out on a poor working stiff (the airline agent). Then my level of dislike increases as I see her thoughts, about how her best friend moved to a different city, and how she selfishly wished the friend hadn't moved so that she could be there for Manuela to unload onto about her shitty job. The friend she misses and hasn't seen in months. And the friend she wasn't going to see even though she was in the same city but for the fact the plane would be leaving without her.

There's a disconnect here - really missing the friend, in the same city, haven't seen each other in a long time . . . and wasn't going to this trip either but for fate. Confusing.

I'm reading too much into this issue. I shall now shake myself and restart with calmer thoughts. Well, not restart, continue.

*reads . . . reads* As would be expected from the description given - a halloween party occurs and Manuela is talked into going to it. Dressed as a 'sexy pirate'.

Heh. And now we get a bit of possible sexual harassment. I kind of suspected we were going this direction (well not the sexul harassment vibe).


How exactly does a mask cause you to not recognize someone? It's like the joke with superheros. Clark Kent removes his glasses and . . . where'd he go! When did Superman appear! I mean . . . really. The person that you have spent a large amount of time in close quarters and you do not recognize them? It was a nice touch, though, the part where the masked stranger never used their voice. And Manuela is deeply fatigued and tired (though if you are going to use that argument then you are moving even closer into troubling waters of - incabable of giving consent, kinda) -

Manuela had no time to say anything; Cassandra pulled her closer and pushed her tongue into her mouth. Manuela pulled back and looked skeptically at her boss. (Kindle Locations 292-293).

The hated boss tricked her underling and got her back to her employees room. Then lunged at her after saying that she wanted Manu 'even if it's just for tonight' and doesn't wait for a response. The same woman who has been super bitchy for a really long time. The same woman who has made the other's life a living hell. And by not givng her time, I mean she put her tongue into Manu's mouth before Manu could respond.

But of course, it is all made 'right' because Manuela also needed release. pfft.

Manuela grinned wickedly when she raised her head. “Is that an official work order?"

(Kindle Location 309) - and I'm pulled from the story again. Sure. Joke about sexual harassment. bah.

hehehe - yeah, let's not add an extra layer of icky vibes; though to be fair it's the normal kind of banter I see in stories like this. It's just the part where one is the boss and the other is the underling that adds to the icky vibes - when Manuela pleaded with Cassandra (the boss) not to do something, the boss just grinned and did it anyway and . . I giggled because of how the ickiness just continues. I might be overly sensitive.

On the other hand I have read and liked stories that involved bosses and underlyings in sexual situations. This one kind of stacked the deck, though, to add waves of creepy feelings. Bitchy boss - for months (though it is explained away for why bitchy). Forcing themselves onto their underling (with the side note that that underling had just dragged them back to their room for sex; counter that with they didn't realize they were dragging their boss back; then boss lunged and plunged their tongue down the others throat without giving the other a chance to breath; then jokes about sexual harassment, then pleading that is ignored . . . etc.).

And then we learn . . . why the boss was bitchy. But that still doesn't . . bah. Just adds more to the unrealness of the story. Which I'll just pretend isn't there because this is all set in a different culture from my own that I don't know.

And now I feel cheated. We go from 'how will we ever be able to be together considering the circumstances' to 'one year later' And the badness is gone. Pushed aside. With no explanation. Um, what?

I do not know how to rate this story.

August 21 2016