Beneath Their Masks Chapter 15 Is Up!

Beneath Their Masks Chapter 15 is Up!

Writing cuddling is hard. Also, writing all these chapters so close to the day they're supposed to be releasing has me like this:

Makoto, for once, woke up before Ann. She was used to waking up to see Ann playing on her phone, rubbing circles into Makoto's back, or whispering gentle words while she thought Makoto was still asleep. She found that stalwart affection charming, but waking up to see Ann still fast asleep left her almost feeling disappointed.

"Hey, you." Makoto whispered, not really expecting a reply.

Ann didn't even stir. It was still somewhat early, and they didn't really have anything pressing to do today aside from having a lazy day with Sae and Mitsuru, maybe seeing if the rest of their friends had any plans, and if not, wondering if they would be open to spending time together.

But for now, Makoto wanted to savor Ann's presence. Makoto shifted to her side to lazily rest her arm over Ann on the outside of the bed. Ann must've felt that, because she hummed quietly and awkwardly moved her arm behind her to do the same to Makoto, although given their positioning, she only really successfully managed to lazily drape her hand over Makoto's rear. Makoto rolled her eyes and moved Ann's hand up to her thigh, not really blaming her because well, she was still asleep. Makoto could tell by her steady breathing, so she wasn't intentionally being lewd, just…inadvertently.

"Hey, now. Don't get too excited. You're still asleep." Makoto whispered.

"M'not…" Ann mumbled.

"Yes you are."

"Mm'koto…you’re soft…"

Beneath Their Masks Chapter 10 is Up!

It feels a little weird to put up a chapter taking place on Christmas in October but...here we are, I guess? This is kind of where things diverge from just being about Makoto and Ann, kind of like I said before. I hope it's not too distracting or out of character, but I do want to mix things up a bit. Let me know what you think!

Ann carefully freed herself from Makoto’s grasp as she slid out from beneath the covers, not so gracefully ending up on the floor in the process. Grabbing her phone, she picked herself up and quietly exited Makoto’s bedroom, silently closing the door behind her. When she turned, she didn’t expect to see anyone else up in the Niijima household. Messy red hair filled her view as she almost bumped into her, herself leaving the other Niijima sister’s bedroom.

“Um…”

The woman before her tensed, and she slowly turned around, but relaxed when she saw Ann.

“Oh, I thought you were Makoto for a second. Good morning.” The woman said quietly.

“You’re…Sae’s friend, right?” Ann asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Why don’t we go out into the kitchen? Wouldn’t want to wake the Niijimas, right?” Sae’s friend(?) said.

Ann nodded and followed her out to the kitchen.

Beneath Their Masks Chapter 12 is Up!

This one is very laid back. Also hey, you might learn something from this one. Also please pray for Yusuke. I don't know how he lives, but it can't be well.

"What do you mean, ‘you don't cook?’"

Ann shrank a little in her seat. She couldn't help feeling she was in trouble, although she figured Makoto wouldn't be that upset at the revelation that Ann wasn't much of a cook.

"I'm just not all that good in the kitchen. My parents were so busy that they never showed me." Ann replied, attempting to defend herself. "Besides, we ordered takeout all the time. There just wasn't a need to learn."

Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Do you know how to cook anything, Ann?" Makoto said while letting out a long sigh.

"Um…I can cook eggs…instant ramen…uh…" Ann trailed off. Was that really it? "And some other stuff!" Ann lied. "What's the big deal?"

"Knowing how to cook is really important! It's one of the basic human survival skills." Makoto said. "Besides, it's much cheaper to cook at home than ordering food for delivery."

"Yeah, I guess so." Ann shrugged.

"There's nothing else to be done. I'll have to teach you. As your…" Makoto trailed off, looking around the apartment. Sae would still be at work for a couple hours, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful. "...girlfriend…I think this would be a good opportunity for you to learn."

"Alright, so, what are we going to make?" Ann said, amused by hearing Makoto say that magic word. It made her heart sing every time, but Makoto probably wouldn't appreciate the distraction by pointing it out, so Ann stayed quiet. Maybe she would tease her about it later…

(It doesn't really matter, but if I weren't me and I read this, I would want to at least see a little bit of closure. You're so nosy! Er, I'm so nosy.)

Things are fine. I was worrying (not necessarily unwarranted), but things ended up being fine. That's all. What a pal.

Oh I've also been kicking myself today because I realized that I forgot to mention my beta reader when I post about new chapters being uploaded. I really appreciate all their hard work, and you should go give them a follow. @makomaki5

As for when the writing in mention will be uploaded...who knows? It's all signed off on and approved by my beta reader, but I think I want to sit on it for a little while in case I think of some other things I would like to add. As much as I can go back and add things to it, or even add chapters. I think if I get into the mindset of always being able to go back and add on to works I've posted, I would never get anything new done. It's a concept I considered approaching for more characters, but I want to keep things strictly in character as much as possible, with some slight deviation by reading deeper into the way they act and present themselves to the outside world.

Also, I feel like you would want to strike some kind of balance of hurt and comfort as to not be a total bummer. The thing is, I'm basing (not directly trying to use characters as an analog for myself, consider basing like...how some movies are "based" on a true story or some such) a lot of what I wrote on my real thoughts and experiences. As sad as it is to say...sometimes you don't get the comfort part. Sometimes you just have to push forward, and that sucks. I want to provide some hope if I can, and well, using the tools to my disposal just makes certain moments feel right to include. You'll know what I mean when I post it, I think...

Anyway, enough of being a bummer. I kinda wanna use this page as an outlet for headcanon and other writing ideas, after seeing some other people do that. It just brings me such joy to see the way people think and perceive things about characters.

@hobie-doh made a post about hc-ing (headcanoning?) Akira as being one to sing or hum a lot. I encourage you to read it, because it is fascinating to think about, and I don't think I could do it justice in a brief summary. It's short, it'll take you like two minutes to read. Come ooooon, do it for me?

I want to be able to speak freely like this about things I think about. Sure, part of me is paranoid about giving away moments in things I will eventually write, but I feel like that's okay. Seeing ideas form and eventually turn into larger concepts and stories with outside input is a great way for ideas to turn into stories, naturally. It's like two-way brainstorming.

Anyway, that's a ramble and a half. Thanks for reading, if you did. I like how Tumblr allows for longform writing, and since I barely have anyone following me, I feel more comfortable about speaking my mind.

Also I had a chill birthday. It was nice. Gonna pre order some games for myself when I get paid next week. The best presents are the ones you gift yourself.

BRB letting the intrusive thoughts win (also happy birthday to me i guess????)

Fear not, I'll properly tag anything that could be too extreme. Don't worry.

It's uh, all a bit extreme. Sorry! I'll try not to make this a habit...

Beneath Their Masks is continuing on schedule (somewhat), but don't be surprised if I do some other stuff in the meantime. Just haven't been in a really fluff-y mood this week. Sorry.

ya'll need to chill

My dad really liked sparkling water (until he drank so much he got kidney stones) so I grew to enjoy it from a young age. I enjoy the TV static water with someone shouting "lime" from the other room.

I think it's a mouth feel thing, idk. The carbonation makes it feel more refreshing and it's not as heavy on sweeteners as soda.

Guy about to invent sparkling water: water is so good but I wish that it tasted terrible and hated me