#Writing and Editing Tool

[newspatron]

15 Amazing iOS 18.1 Features You Won't Believe!

What's your favorite new iOS 18.1 feature? Share your thoughts and join the discussion on our Newspatron forums!

Apple’s iOS 18.1 is here, and it’s packed with goodies! Think Magic Erasers, Siri makeovers, and email summaries that’ll make you wonder how you ever lived without them. We’re diving deep into 15 game-changing iOS 18.1 Features that’ll have you hitting that update button faster than you can say “Siri, what’s new?” Oh, and don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel for some awesome drone…

[rheas-chaos-anthology]

Questions to ask beta readers

General:

Were you confused at any point of the story?

What genre would you say this book is?

When did you put the story down?

Is the ending satisfying?

If you had to cut 3 scenes what would they be?

When did you feel like the story really began?

What was the last book you read before this story?

Characters:

Do you get any of the characters names confused?

Which character is your favorite?

If you had to remove a character who would you and why? (you don't have to remove the character, just make sure their role is meaningful)

Which character do you relate to the most?

Which character do you relate to the least?

Do the characters feel real?

Are character relationships believable?

Are the goals clear and influence the plot?

Are the characters distinct (voice, motivations, etc)

Setting:

Which setting was clearest to you?

Which setting was the most memorable?

Am including enough/too much detail?

Plot and conflict:

Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for the main characters?

Are the internal conflicts and the external conflicts organic and believable?

Are there enough stakes?

Are the plot twists believable but still unexpected?

[a-queer-writer]

Writing Tip

Don't overly edit before you finish a first draft.

Get that draft down, then edit.

You'll never finish if you keep editing and don't just continue.

You got this.

[physalian]

Beta Reader Checklist! (Suggestions)

Beta reading is highly, highly subjective, so take this whole post with a massive grain of salt. IMO, in short, more feedback is always safer than less feedback, unless the author states otherwise.

Like, if they ask you to do a final read through for any lingering issues, you can speed-read your way through the manuscript for general vibes and enjoyability. If this is the first round of edits and beta reads, the more you can give them, even if you think you're over-reaching, the better.

Thank you to all my betas thus far, absolutely no shade meant with this post. Everybody's got different expectations. This is meant to help anyone who's unsure about the task before them.

So I'm going to use some snippets from my seasoned beta reader's feedback from my upcoming novella for the variety of commentary you can give.

Positive vibes/reader reaction

Even if the manuscript is a hot mess, sending back a beta read with 0 good things to say is going to demoralize the author. Even if all you can say is "this is a cool concept that can benefit from a better execution," letting the author know that they've written something salvagable helps, especially if you can do it in the first few paragraphs.

Grammar and Syntax

You are not a line editor and should not be expected to line edit someone's first draft (and this beta got the ~7th draft). However, if you do see something while reading, there's no reason that you can't leave a suggestion.

Fun commentary

We authors like to know that the reader is connecting with the story. These comments tells me absolutely nothing helpful about bettering the manuscript, but they're human responses from a human reader and it's just nice to see. Beta readers are casual, you should be allowed to stay stuff like this.

Developmental edits

Beta readers generally come before the big expensive editor (if you ever hire one at all) which means the goal is more big picture, developmental commentary over splitting hairs about punctuation. This comment got me to add about half a paragraph's worth of extra narrative to expand upon, because I liked the suggestion.

Continuity and reader comprehension

This novella happens to be about a niche subject that not every layman reader will understand, so I have to find the line between overexplaining to those who know, and underexplaining to those who don't, without reading like a textbook. The top line I ended up leaving as I didn't think the risk of confusion was worth the added technical detail. The bottom line was a continuity error that I did have to fix.

Repetition and style

I'm an author who will always look for ways to lower my word count. Sometimes cutting a random line is better for the narrative than doubling down and trying to justify it with extra details. In this case, I over-used a motif, and happily saved myself 7 words.

Potential for extra detail

If you struggle with lengthening your word count, you can ask your betas to focus on where the narrative is thin and can benefit for more immersion and backstory. This beta leaves me comments everywhere suggesting places for extra sensory details, as I write very lean narratives with little fluff, and my consistency with sensory details varies widely.

All told, over 21k words of story, this beta left me exactly 100 comments, and a couple quick line edits within the text itself. It shows me, at the very least, that she was engaged with the story. The only time she doesn't leave me comments is when a scene is so intense that she forgets to make one.

The Reader Report

The reader report is a separate document from the manuscript copy that compiles and condenses the beta's thoughts into a much shorter format so the author doesn't have to scroll up and down constantly for a big picture takeaway. It also expands upon any commentary the beta had, but didn't want to put in a single tag within the narrative and is typically written after most of the manuscript has been read for overall thoughts.

This beta in particular knows what I like, which is breaking down the report by chapter (or parts in this case). The only thing missing from her delivery is a final conclusion that will answer the three big questions:

Did she like it?

Would she buy it?

Would she recommend it?

But it was also done in a rush and in her email she said I made her cry so I count that as a yes for all 3.

—

I did not implement every suggestion from her, but I did acknowledge where other readers might feel the same and weighed the pros of trying to satisfy everything vs maintaining my clear vision.

The benefit of the beta process, if you work with multiple betas, is having more than one reader's opinion, and why I don't think anyone should pay ridiculous fees for a developmental editor. My betas all had different opinions on this manuscript, and I can treat their feedback like a scatterplot, deciding on revisions with an average throughline.

At the end of the day, you write for yourself, not to please any one beta reader. They're suggestions, not rules, and even if your beta tells you they hate it, you at least learn who your target audience isn't, and what naysayers wouldn't like.

[yyprompts]

#18 🌙❤️🤍

seductive? minors dni

"A-ha...why do your eyes keep trailing down to my body?" / "You're not dumb, take a guess."

"The weather is just right, the timing is just right...I think I'd be an idiot to refuse your offer."

"It's hard not to get tense around you, stop acting like you didn't already notice."

"I wanna trace every vein on your body tonight..."

"Now's a time as good as ever, right, baby?"

"What a shame, looks like you're going to have to stay the night at my place."

"If you tease me one more time, I will tackle you." / "But teasing you is the fun part."

"It's happening again. You're making me hot out of nowhere, and not even trying to."

"You might be a playboy, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun messing you up too."

"You're too good to me, let me repay the favor once, will you?"

[enbyofdionysos]

When the little golden hobbit at Bag End told him he wanted to rut and nothing more, Dwalin had thought nothing of it.

He liked to fuck. Fucking was easy.

Except the problem with hobbits, it seemed, was that it was very difficult to put your dick inside one without falling head over heels. And Dwalin, son of Fundin, had put his dick inside Samwise Gamgee many, many, many times.

the courting of samwise gamgee (or four times dwalin tried to court sam, and the one time he succeeded) — officially completed! 🌼

[sieglinde-freud]

Hello , I would be interested to know how you view Olivia , especially as Chrom's wife if you don't mind sharing it :)

hiii!!! thanks for the ask :3 i think to get into how i view olivia specifically in her relationship to chrom and also as the. what do they call it in ylisse. is chrom’s spouse a queen? i’ll say that. so, i think how i view her as queen of ylisse versus normal olivia (ie olivia who did not marry chrom!) is a little different mostly because of one very simple fact: ylisse is. a little racist! CW LONG

i think standard olivia is just. what u see in olivia in the game. but when u add on the fact that she’s suddenly the queen she’s suddenly a way bigger player (which is true of anyone who becomes chrom’s spouse) in a nation she’s not from! something that is also present with robin if they marry chrom but that one is a little different if only because robin doesn’t remember anything about plegia or their past (not saying that means robin wouldn’t face discrimination but it would be. different. also racism against plegia and racism against regna ferox are wildly different but not what the post is about today) which i think would honestly be a really fun angle to analyze chr*bin from but. theres like a million people way more brainrotted on that ship than i am so yk. someone else’s job. all this to say that olivia’s role as queen is unique to her in the sense that her experience would be completely different than everybody else’s (especially from chrom’s other three spouses who are all ylissean and maybe noble. is sumia a noble. i dont remember but the other two are!)

obviously, when you’re playing through awakening, ylisse is made to be the “good guy” nation who values peace and love on planet earth! what do you mean chrom’s father was an imperialistic war mongerer? whaaaat??? shove that one under the rug and never bring it up again! lol! no, seriously, why is no one bringing this up. but, it doesnt matter, he’s dead, and now chrom and emmeryn are heading ylisse and it’s fine they’re so good and peace and love and all that. but then, if ylisse so good, why constantly making racially stereotypical remarks about every other country????

plegia, regna ferox, chon’sin, the wholeeeeee continent of valm, the shepherds are lowkey. not. nice 😭 to any of them. sure, some of them become your allies, but the language chrom and co. use to describe them sometimes is very…???? i’d say that regna ferox and ESPECIALLY plegia get the worst of it, but we’re only with the shepherds during war time. who knows how the rest of ylisse views these people?

all that to say that i think if chrom were to choose a queen from regna ferox, it would be. interesting. and not only is his queen a foreigner from a country perceived entirely as meathead warriors who only know violence and nothing of diplomacy (insane coming from the country who’s past exalt did the. the. well you know), she’s also 1) a commoner, 2) a dancer, and 3) she has known chrom for probably not very long! how do you think this comes off to the general public who do not get to unlock the support conversations upon beating the game? not well, i’ll tell you that! it doesnt matter that chrom was just in love with her really fast, it doesnt matter that they are peak awakening romance (to me… 🥹), it doesnt matter that olivia is acting purely with good intentions, nobody can see that. and maybe chrom will come off okay, or at least recover quickly if his reputation drops, but olivia has had like. no time to garner good will with anyone outside the shepherds (even IN the shepherds honestly. sounds like a lot of people just kind of went home during the two year break) and its not like i’d call ylisse a super feminist/anti-misogyny nation so what do you think she looks like to everybody else?

olivia is a performer first and foremost, so even if all of this bothers her on some level, she can probably hide it decently well. i know that olivia can come off as kind of like… “airheaded” in some support conversations (not how i view her, ive just seen different opinions of her) but she’s not an idiot and she’s honestly a lot more self-aware than people give her credit for. so, i think she survives. but for someone like her that already has such a low opinion of herself, i’d imagine she’s not always in the best place mentally! and you know, she has a good support system—chrom is obviously there, and i’m sure people like lissa and maribelle would be willing to support her. but then, the problem: they’re all ylissean. as much as she might love them, they don’t get what olivia is going through and how fast of a transition it is to go from regna ferox servant (? what is her role to basilio. servant feels wrong but she works under him, no?) to ylissean queen because they’ve been there their whole lives! and after all that’s said and done, it’s just lonely.

i do NOT think that that means that olivia is doomed to life of sadness and depression if she becomes the queen of ylisse, though. most of that concerns the two year timeskip and the bad timeline. i think that post-awakening story, after she meets lucina and inigo and is able to get closer with the rest of the shepherds, especially characters like panne and lon’qu and henry who are also eternal outsiders, i think she’s able to cement her place in ylisse and become more confident in who she is and expand her circle of friends and confidants. one thing that i enjoyed about the very few queen olivia scenes that we see is that when chrom says he’s off to valm, olivia asks to come with, saying she could dance for their hosts, which essentially tells me that despite everything, that passion is thankfully still there. olivia is not beyond hope and she just needs time!! in that same vein, i think inigo specifically coming back to her is SO good because him existing the way that he is—half feroxi/half ylisse, going through ylissean politics (similar to how she did—and i like to think that lucina is visually more ylissean while he is visually more feroxi—another post for another day), and still dancing because she inspired him so much is just really so important to her. obviously olivia and inigo’s relationship is important to olivia regardless of whether or not they’re royalty and it really is one of the most beautiful mother/child relationships in the game (IN MY OPINION. i understand im biased…) but i just think if there’s anyone that can understand her completely in a situation like this? it’s him.

so i think, once awakening is over, queen olivia is in a really good spot! and as relationships with other countries and ESPECIALLY regna ferox improve, she’ll be fine. but i also like to expand this train of thought to bad timeline olivia who never got to have any of that. in fact, chrom fucking died. i dont know how the ylissean line of succession works exactly??? i think it’d go to lucina, but because lucina was so young, i’d imagine olivia did a lot of the heavy lifting for her. but don’t you think it’s a lot for one person to go through losing her husband, mothering two young children, and ruling a country full of people who still have not had a chance to warm up to you and have been openly hostile towards you before? well! yes! and then she dies. rip queen olivia, we hardly knew you

[parasitoidism]

Nothing ever changes in scrap world

[rheas-chaos-anthology]

Create your characters voice

Write one to ten pages (I usually do 5 for major character, 1 or 2 for side characters) as your character. Anything they would say, opinions, diary entries, complaining, etc.

Ooooh I have collected some helpful things to maybe include:

adopting slang from people they are close too/love interest

do they have a raspy voice? High pitched? Overly sweet? Commanding? Figure that out.

to make characters have their own voice vary rhythm, word choice, use of profanity, how much they talk about themselves or others, their politics.

Take some dialogue and ask if readers would be able to tell who is speaking with no context.

Write an AITA post from their point of view.

Identify what role your character has, a leader? a follower? a disrupter? a rebel? an antagonist? a peacemaker? How does that change the way they speak?

The character traits will tell you what your characters will say or how they will say it.

[lilfriezatyrant]

◊ I̷m̷p̷a̷l̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷H̷o̷r̷r̷o̷r̷ ◊

“Oh, that was just a little greeting on my part.” Freeza's voice now sounded deeper, but had lost none of its dark charm. His tone had only adapted to his new appearance: menacing, powerful and even more exalted than in his 'preserved' form.

Like a true devil, he stands with his arms folded in front of his chest on the small patch of earth left by his display of power and focuses on the three hovering fighters (or rather four, if he counts this little Namekian) a few meters away from him. And even though they are so far away, the transformed emperor can judge every single facial expression perfectly, and it's even better than he could have imagined! Pure despair, fear, hopelessness are in the atmosphere. Even Vegeta, an experienced elite warrior, recoils from his presence, and the dread sovereign hasn't even started yet.

“Very well... which of you shall be the first to experience my revenge and die?” He has four to choose from, but only one will be the first to meet his death, the only question is who?

He closes his scarlet eyes thoughtfully, pensively but with a smirk on his lips. An even more oppressive mood spreads. All the rebellious spectators know that they cannot escape his clutches. Perhaps they would have an advantage if they split up, but sooner or later Freeza would get each and every one of them. Trapped here on this planet, with no means of escape and the emperor's deadly sentence breathing down their necks, which he personally administers...

More seconds of stifling silence pass before the diabolical prominence opens its eyes again.

“My choice is YOU!” With a powerful, immense leap and yet elegant spin, he executes a fatal attack. He uses his horns, which are pointed upwards in his second form, as deadly weapons.

The earthling, who was still holding on to the little Namekian, heroically pushes him away but is unable to dodge in time.

“KRILLIN!” Gohan's voice screams in panic to his friend and Vegeta is frozen.

One of the obsidian lances had easily pierced through the armor and protruded over the bald fighter's back.

A lower life form impaled by the most powerful creature in the universe. A death that no one could have foreseen, except Freeza.

“I warned you that I could not control my power in this form, ohoho!” He watches out of the corner of his eye as the red lifeblood trickles down the length of his horn. With sadistic relish, he licks the corner of his mouth with his purple tongue to catch the drops of blood.

The perforated earthling tries to defend himself and attempts an attack with his knee, which is easily blocked.

“Should you not try to beg for mercy instead, little worm?” The gigantic devil reacts mockingly and amusedly to this insignificant resistance and even when his friend tries to rush to his rescue and launches a direct attack with his body, Freeza fends it off with a lashing swipe of his massive tail.

“Oh, you will get your turn soon enough, have some patience.” More amused words mark his sadistic character, before he rears his head more and the horn bores even more into the existing wound and this little act he performed is rewarded with an agonized cry.

But Freeza is still not done with his current prey. No, he wants his revenge, which will be underwritten by pure terror.

How dare they stop him from his desire for immortality! Inferior vermins who tricked him?! On top of that, this simian of an elite warrior has denounced himself as a traitor. Admittedly Freeza had never trusted Vegeta, it was only a matter of time before he would rebel but...here on Namek it was the most inopportune time of all! All the more reason why he would show no mercy to anyone present, even if they would beg.

“I am surprised you have not passed out yet from the blood loss...maybe we can hasten that a bit.” And although Freeza is seething with rage on the inside, on the outside he remains very calm and even anticipatory, as he is about to inflict sheer terror. It doesn't redeem his thwarted wish, but at least it gives him some gratification for the moment.

The horned behemoth begins to rock his head to and fro, causing the sanguine fluid to disperse throughout the atmosphere. A scarlet bloody picture of abomination and atrocity, what the ruler of the universe performs there is no understatement.

Krillin's blood even splatters into the face of his little friend, who can only stand and watch, paralyzed. Vegeta is not spared either and witnesses this absolute savagery.

He would never have thought that Freeza was capable of such a thing.

And the spectacle lasts several minutes and he can watch closely as the light of life in the eyes of the almost pitiful Earthling warrior fades more and more.

Finally, when he has fainted and Freeza is sure that he will succumb to this injury, he simply tosses him into the water.

“Well? Shall we carry on? The fun cannot be over so soon, Ohohoho!”

@reptile--queen giving you that supreme cruelity 💜

[physalian]

“How do I know if my story needs work or if I’m just being hard on myself?”

As I sit here accepting the fact that at 70k words into Eternal Night’s sequel while waiting for my editor for Eternal Night itself, that I have made an error in my plot.

Disclaimer: This is not universal and the writing experience is incredibly diverse. Figuring this out also takes some time and building up your self-confidence as an author so you can learn to separate “this is awful (when it’s not)” and “this is ok (but it can be better)” and “this isn’t working (but it is salvageable).”

—

When I wrote my first novel (unpublished, sadly), years ago, I would receive feedback all over the chapters and physically have to open other windows to block off parts of the screen on my laptop to slow-drip the feedback because I couldn’t handle constructive criticism all at once. I had my betas color-code their commentary so I could see before I read any of it that it wasn’t all negative. It took me thrice as long as it does today to get through a beta’s feedback because I got so nervous and anxious about what they would say.

The main thing I learned was this: They’re usually right, when it’s not just being mean (and even then, it’s rarely flat out mean), and that whatever criticisms they have of my characters and plot choices is not criticism of myself.

It did take time.

But now I can get feedback from betas and even when I hear “I’d DNF this shit right now unless you delete this,” I take a step back, examine if this one little detail is really that important, and fix it. No emotional turmoil and panic attack needed. I can also hear “I didn’t like it” without heartbreak. Can’t please everyone.

The only time I freak out is when I'm told "this won't need massive edits" followed up by, in the manuscript, "I'd DNF this shit right now". Which happened. And did not, in fact, require a massive rewrite to fix.

So.

What might be some issues with your story and why it “isn’t working”.

1. Your protagonist is not active enough in the story

You’ve picked your protagonist, but it’s every other character that has more to do, more to say, more choices to make, and they’re just along for the ride, yet you are now anchored to this character’s story because they’re the protagonist. You can either swap focus characters, or rework your story to give them more agency. Figure out why this character, above any other, is your hero.

2. Your pacing is too slow

Even if you have a “lazy river” style story where the vibes and marinating in the world is more important than a breakneck plot, slow pacing isn’t just “how fast the story moves” it’s “how clearly is the story told,” meaning if you divert the story to a side quest, or spend too long on something that sure is fluffy or romantic or funny, but it adds nothing to the characters because it’s redundant, doesn’t advance the plot, doesn’t give us more about the world that actually matters to the themes, then you may have lost focus of the story and should consider deleting it, or editing important elements into the scenes so they can pull double-duty and serve a more active purpose.

3. You’ve lost the main argument of your narrative

Sometimes even the best of outlines and the clearest plans derail. Characters don’t cooperate and while we see where it goes, we end up getting hung up on how this one really cool scene or argument or one-liner just has to be in the story, without realizing that doing so sacrifices what you set out to accomplish. Personally I think sticking to your outline with biblical determination doesn’t allow for new ideas during the writing process, but if you find yourself down the line of “how did we get here, this isn’t what I wanted” you can always save the scenes in another document to reuse later, in this WIP or another in the future.

4. You’re spending too long on one element

Even if the thing started out really cool, whether it’s a rich fantasy pit stop for your characters or a conversation two characters must have, sometimes scenes and ideas extend long past their prime. You might have characters stuck in one location for 2 or 3 chapters longer than necessary trying to make it perfect or stuff in all these details or make it overcomplicated, when the rest of the story sits impatiently on the sidelines for them to move on. Figure out the most important reasons for this element to exist, take a step back, and whittle away until the fat is cut.

5. You’ve given a side character too much screentime

New characters are fun and exciting! But they can take over the story when they’re not meant to, robbing agency from your core characters to leave them sitting with nothing to do while the new guy handles everything. You might end up having to drag your core characters along behind them, tossing them lines of dialogue and side tasks to do because you ran out of plot to delegate with one character hogging it all (which is the issue I ran into with the above mentioned WIP). Not talking about a new villain or a new love interest, I mean a supporting character who is supposed to support the main characters.

—

As for figuring out the difference between “this is awful and I’m a bad writer” and “this element isn’t working” try pretending the book was written by somebody else and you’re giving them constructive criticism.

If you can come up with a reason for why it’s not working that doesn’t insult the writer, it’s probably the latter. As in, “This element isn’t working… because it’s gone on too long and the conversation has become cyclical and tiring.” Not “this element isn’t working because it’s bad.”

Why is it bad?

“This conversation is awkward because…. There’s not enough movement between characters and the dialogue is really stiff.”

“This fight scene is bad because….I don’t have enough dynamic action, enough juicy verbs, or full use of the stage I’ve set.”

“This romantic scene is bad because…. It’s taking place at the wrong time in the story. I want to keep it, but this character isn’t ready for it yet, and the vibe is all wrong now because they’re out-of-character.”

“This argument is bad because…. It didn’t have proper build-up and the sudden shouting match is not reflective of their characters. They’re too angry, and it got out of hand quickly. Or I’m not conveying the root of their aggression.”

—

There aren’t very many bad ideas, just bad execution. “Only rational people can think they’re crazy. Crazy people think they’re sane,” applies to writing, too.

I just read a fanfic recently where, for every fight scene, I could tell action was not the writer’s strong suit. They leaned really heavily on a crutch of specific injuries for their characters, the same unusual spot getting hit over and over again, and fights that dragged on for too long being unintentionally stagnant. The rest of the fic was great, though, and while the fights weren’t the best, I understood that the author was trying, and I kept reading for the good stuff. One day they will be better.

In my experience beta reading, it’s the cocky authors who send me an unedited manuscript and tell me to be kind (because they can’t take criticism), that they know it’s perfect they just want an outside opinion (they don’t want the truth, they want what will make them feel good), that they know it’s going to make them a lot of money and everyone will love it (they haven’t dedicated proper time and effort into researching marketing, target audiences, or current trends)—these are the truly bad authors. Not just bad at writing, but bad at taking feedback, are bullies when you point out flaws in their story, and cheap, too.

The best story I have received to date was where the author didn’t preempt with a self-deprecating deluge of “it’s probably terrible you know but here it is anyway” or “this is perfect and I’m super confident you’re going to love it”.

It was something like, “This is my first book and I know it has flaws and I’m nervous but I had a lot of fun doing it”.

And yeah, it needed work, but the bones of something great were there. So give yourself some credit, yeah?

[a-gay-bloodmage]

One of my favorite hobbies to engage in is ignoring the canon course of video game romances

[uhohmichio]

WARNING: MILD SPOILERS from YAKUZA SERIES [mainly Y6 and gaiden]

Poem: I've Never Wanted Kids —Ethan Jewell Games: Yakuza 3, Yakuza 6, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

[lenievi]

What Are Little Girls Made Of? coda

Spock/Chapel

When Spock found himself in front of the sick bay, he was not entirely surprised. He still had a chance to turn back and retire to his quarters, and no one would be any the wiser. It was—he was sure of it—the more logical choice, but his logic was always disturbed when it came to Christine. His efforts to suppress it for years notwithstanding.

Spock exhaled and entered the sick bay. It was empty. He followed the sound of glass clinking into the lab area. As he expected, Christine had buried herself in work, reorganizing the entire content of the storage cabinets, moving fast and efficiently, quite unaware of her surroundings.

“Nurse,” Spock said, as she put down a beaker.

Christine stiffened. “Mister Spock.” She didn’t turn around. “Doctor McCoy isn’t here.”

“I’m looking for you.”

Christine let out a shaky breath, so quiet that if Spock were a human, he wouldn’t hear it. He walked closer, past the table, and stopped a few steps away from her. Neither said anything. The hair around the nape of her back was messy, in need of combing. Was it still as soft as it used to be? Spock clasped his hands behind his back. Thoughts were just thoughts, but they could be dangerous.

“Is there a problem?” Christine asked, finally facing him, her eyes red but dry.

“I thought”—Spock shifted, uncomfortable and uncertain, wanting to help, unsure of his welcome—”you could use… a friend.”

Christine smiled sadly. “That’s… that’s kind of you, Mister Spock.”

“I am sorry your search for Roger Korby didn’t have a more desired outcome.”

Christine folded her arms over her chest, and Spock knew it was a bad thing to say. “Can we… can we not talk about it?” Christine looked at the ground, her fingers digging into her upper arm.

Spock nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. Perhaps, he should have never come. He was never able to offer her the comfort she wanted. He never knew how. “Do you… want help?” The thought of leaving her alone left Spock with an unpleasant feeling. 

Christine startled. Spock took a beaker and gave her a questioning look. Her eyes softened and maybe, maybe Spock made the right choice.

“You can take care of the left cabinet,” Christine said. “It’s been already labeled.”

They worked in silence, the only sound was the clinking of beakers and flasks, so when the glass shattered, it was loud. Christine stood still, tears running down her face. Quiet, so quiet. Spock felt his body moving. How long had she been crying? He embraced her, his fingers burying in her hair—still so soft and beautiful.

Christine dug her fingers into Spock’s back, pressing closer, as if she wanted to crawl inside him, as if he could protect her from reality.

“Christine,” Spock murmured, and she buried her face into his chest, sobbing, her shoulders shaking. Spock ran a soothing hand over her back and kept quiet, hoping that his presence and touch would be enough. Could ever be enough.

Later, she’d apologize. He’d tell her that crying was a human prerogative. She’d smile and they’d part not quite awkwardly, knowing that nothing had changed.

And later still, late into his meditation, he’d regret not telling her he was glad she decided to stay with the ship, and would lock the feeling deep down.

[foresthuntermajrach]

coven mom doodle