Hand Kissing Is Sacred, High Romance And I Think We Need To Revive It.

Updated!

[ABOUT]

I’m Carter (she/him) and I’m a 20 year old Black lesbian. Writing has been my passion and favorite hobby for as long as I can remember, but when I’m not writing I’m out following my second passion in college (environmental science). My activity wanes in and out, but as of May 2025 I’m still here! My main blog is @phantomfemmes​, which is where I like and follow from as well as post about whatever my heart desires.

I am going through an obsession with horror, so if you write that, feel free to tell me about your wips. I’m also a big lover of poetry, “flowery” prose, and anything featuring wlwoc as main characters. 

[WIPS]

I have two main wips that I work on from time to time:

The Taste of Hallowed Earth (formerly All That Remains)

Twelve years ago, Sadie Copeland’s older sister, Leila, vanished from their hometown in Salvation, Mississippi and her family was never the same again. Sadie’s mother packed their things, driving until Salvation disappeared in the rearview mirror and the whole thing was nothing but a nightmare. But no matter how far they drove or how much time passed, Sadie had never been able to shake the feeling that there’s more to the story than what her mother let on. 

Following the death of her mother, nineteen year old Sadie finds herself back in Salvation, the place where it all began. Upon arriving there, it is clear that something sinister is going on—something that no one wants to talk about and that everyone hides from when the sun goes down. And while Sadie has never believed in ghost stories (at least, not in the spectral sense), she can’t help but fear what may be lurking in the darkness that surrounds Salvation.

Themes:  gothic horror, southern gothic, unreliable narrator, small towns, unreality, paranoia, death, grief, estranged familial relationships, mother/daughter relationships, paranormal, religion, trauma, ghosts, queerness, psychological horror, religious horror

In the Heart of the Ocean

In the Heart of the Ocean follows Carolina “Caro” Bell as she recounts the disappearance of her best friend Moira from their quiet coastal town as teenagers, and Moira’s subsequent reappearance three years later after emerging from the depths of the ocean with no memory of where she’d been—only to disappear forever the following year. When Caro’s niece, who she has temporary custody of, nearly drowns in that same sea twenty years later, Caro decides to finally explore the secrets contained in its dark and murky depths. But in order to do so, she must first confront the past and the truth surrounding Moira’s disappearance. 

Themes: literary fiction, queerness, magical realism, female rage

Intro Post

About Me

My name is Eric. I'm 39. I don't have much to say about me. I am working on an unnamed WIP right now.

Stories

My AO3 account for anyone curious.

An Unnamed Western WIP

Set in the late 1880s where the Union lost the American Civil War, where the Confederacy crumbled within five years and now North America is covered with a bunch of feuding warring states. A 24-year-old woman, unusual in many ways, works as a bounty hunter until a chance encounter with a slightly older woman and with the notorious James Rogers Gang.

For now, I will only share one chapter as I want to try and trad-publish or self-publish it once it is done. :3

Chapter One - Five Dead In Two Minutes

Cara and the Will-o'-the-Wisp - Kind of on Hiatus

A girl the age of 12 moves with her family to Mount Desert Island, Maine from Oregon. Where she meets an odd but friendly girl named Rowan, who declares there's old magic in the woods, and what's with the door underneath the stairs?

Chapter One - A New, Weird Home

Chapter Two - Once Upon A Cat

Chapter Three - A Bully This Way Comes

Chapter Four - An Unfamiliar, Familiar Place

Chapter Five - What's In The Woods?

Short Stories

The Act

Reblog to give the person you reblogged from the ability to finish their WIPs

REBLOG IF IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO BOTHER YOU IF YOU'RE MY MUTUAL

I bought it, and can't wait to delve into it later!

COPPER HOME RELEASED

itch.io

Copper Home by Summer Kid

Illustrated, Metaphorical And Interpretative, Short Story.

Itch.io Exclusive. Minimum Price: $1.00 | Suggested: $2.00 *All sales will be reinvested both in my University Tax and into my Self-Publishing Fund. Huge thanks in advance for viewing or buying and downloading the Copper Home PDF file!

IF YOU RUN INTO ANY ISSUES, PLEASE NOTIFY ME, PLEASE.

And here's a Funfact on this project:

substack.com

'COPPER HOME' Release

Illustrated, Metaphorical And Interpretative, Short Story.

Only Text Version At My KO-FI Shop, Priced: $0.22

Ko-fi

Copper Home [Text Only] - S.K Elena's Ko-fi Shop

"Something else moved: a bird. A dove with pale orange highlights landed on the fountain's head. Her head twitched from left to right, inspe

Also! If the price page gives you trouble changing the suggested price to the minimum: delete until it shows $0.00, write $0.001000 and backspace, then enter to move on to the next page /or/:

tagging a bunch of folks (no pressure to interact): @moremysteriesthantragedies , @pluttskutt , @druidx , @cheerfulmelancholies , @talesofsorrowandofruin , @ettawritesnstudies , @faelanvance , @dustylovelyrun ,

@deerwright , @aalinaaaaaa , @chauceryfairytales , @surroundedbypearls , @soupy8lowfish , @misswriteress

Heads up to everyone in the states! KOSA has been reintroduced along with some absolutely fucked buddies called the SCREEN act and the "interstate obscenity act". these are censorship bans that want to strip the internet of EVERYTHING that is offensive to the most insufferable person you have the misfortune to know. we NEED to be calling our reps so much that the staffers know us and get annoyed when they pick up the phone if we don't want to see the most sanitized version of the internet

Dragons can absolutely count! And honestly, I can relate to your love for them. There's just so much you can do with dragons, from elemental designs, to just playing around with the wing and tail design, etc. They're just so cool and versitile!

And by ponies I assume you mean things like unicorns and pegasus?

I'm late, but happy worldbuilding wednesday! Any favorite animals who've created or modified for your story?

Thanks for the ask! Also late, haha.

I've created creatures inspired from various animals. Now... favorites? Hmm... Do dragons count? I only have: a anime typical half-jaguar oc; a raccoon skull in the design of a giant; dragons, dragon people, dragonborn, dragon inspired designs, original fantasy dragons, etc.

*None of the real life examples above appear in a WIP I'm currently working on.

My favorite animals are black jaguars, dogs, corvids, raccoons, cats and blue whales.

My top favorite fantastical creatures are: dragons (the broad, ineffable definition) and ponies.

Speaking of which, hey, I have a song recommendation blog for those who are interested.

Songs For Your OCs

Hi hi! This is a blog run by @moremysteries to help you find songs for your original blorbos and original works. Please review the information below, and happy requesting.

Ask Rules

I am not comfortable with minors interacting, so begone minors!

Always assume I am not familiar with your OCs and give the relevant information for whatever you are requesting. If you plan to send me a character bio, awesome! But please point me in the right direction so I know which parts are most relevant for whatever you are requesting. (EX: Can you read the section on their teen years and give me song recs that fit?)

Yes, you can request songs for NSFW scenes. Just please do not request songs for assault scenes, as I find that too triggering. Outside of that, please let me know the vibes of the scene or the character dynamics so I know what kind of songs you're looking for.

I will rec songs for abusive relationships, but please don't send in requests asking me to do so through a romanticized lens. I am also not comfortable giving song requests for CSA or incest, sorry.

I am fine with people sending multiple requests, but please limit yourself to six requests max. I will take my time on requests, so don't pressure me.

I reserve the right to not complete any request that makes me feel uncomfortable for any reason.

What you can request

Recs for songs that fit your OCs or a certain aspect of your OC.

Recs for songs that fit a certain scene.

Recs for songs your OC might listen to based on their tastes.

Recs for songs that fit a relationship between your OCs.

Recs for songs that fit the vibes or a certain aspect of your WIP.

Recs for songs based on a playlist you already have, a song you strongly associate with the OC, wip, scene, and so on, a moodboard, etc.

Just always remember the more relevant details you give me, the more accurate the recommendations will be. For instance, "my OC is named Bill and loves dogs". That's sweet, but will their love of dogs help me find songs that suit them? I personally doubt it. A sentence like, "my OC is named Bill, and he's a sweetheart that works at the local dog shelter because he loves animals," is much more informative. This is just an example of a helpful sentence, but please give me more than just that sentence. 😅

Daily affirmations

I am a freak and that is ok

Anyone who hates on me for my writing has never picked up a pencil in their life

I should be more self indulgent

My characters should suffer more

Why "No One Talks Like That" Is Unhelpful

I've been thinking about some unhelpful critiques I have been given in the past and what made them so unhelpful, which lead me to sort of wanting to deconstruct why "no one talks like that" is such a bad critique.

So, things to consider before you give the critique "no one talks like that", which will likely reveal what you're actually trying to say:

Conversational conventions are often different in fictional worlds.

Just because something is normally "uncouth" or "strange" to say in reality, that does not mean the same can be said about fictional worlds. I personally got the "no one talks like that" critique because one of my characters was, supposedly, too blunt about their marriage proposal. This was in a fantasy world where marriage was treated in an extremely practical fashion, the same way someone would treat buying a new house. I got treated as the "person who constantly interrupts people giving critiques because they can't handle it" for simply trying to give my teacher some much needed context. This type of critique is not helpful to anyone, because it completely fails to understand or even attempt to understand author intent. "No one in real life talks like this", yes, and that is the point. To actually give helpful critiques to fantasy dialogue, you need to first understand how that fantasy culture differs from the ones you are accustomed to, and judge the dialogue based on it.

2. When you say "no one talks like that", who are you really referring to? The general population, or the people specifically within your social circle, area, or culture? Because you will likely find it is the latter.

I don't think it's necessarily bad for people to draw from their experiences when giving critiques, but I do think it's important to analyze one's biases in doing so. Before you say, "no one talks like that", always sit down to analyze why exactly you think that, and consider having a proper discussion with the writer about what experiences they are drawing from. As one examples, a straight person who is unfamiliar with queer culture may feel inclined to say "no one talks like that" about queer characters using terms or addressing topics like gender, sexuality, etc. in ways they are not accustomed to. It's not because no one truly talks like that, it's because they are completely unfamiliar with it.

3. Always, always, always consider context.

This ties into the fictional world idea, but goes beyond that. "No one talks like that" can feel extremely tone deaf as a critique if the person isn't properly engaging with the context of a scene or a character. "No one talks like that," okay, but this particular character is stressed and running on adrenaline, they're not exactly meant to be talking normally. "No one talks like that," this is a literal demon from Hell, why should they talk like we do? "No one talks like that," this character is neurodivergent, and it makes complete sense for them to talk like that. Also, keep in mind the genre and the style of the story. Not all stories are trying to have realistic dialogue. You wouldn't criticize a story set in wonderland for having unrealistic dialogue, as this is very much the point. Now, unrealistic does not mean meaningless, which is why considering the context of a story helps you give more specific and helpful critiques when it comes to dialogue.

4. Does nobody talk like that, or is it just socially unacceptable to talk like that? There is a difference.

I mentioned neurodivergent characters, so let me expand on that issue here. There's this attitude I think really needs to be squashed that characters must talk in a neurotypical fashion or else they are badly written, because neurotypical individuals find this easier to understand and see it as more "proper". And it expands to this general attitude I've seen that, if characters are not following certain social rules or etiquette, then the dialogue is badly written. This puts so many constraints on character dialogue that doesn't actually help with character writing.

Sure, not everyone is going to go out to a parking lot and scream profanities to see the shock and horror of those passing by, but this shit stain character I created absolutely would. "But characters need a good reason to break this etiquette", not everyone cares about social etiquette, and characters are absolutely the same way. So long as their character has been established as such, this is fine. Also, reactionary responses like, "no one would talk to their parents that way!", in response to a character severly breaking a social rule or greatly going against a certain social value, are not actually helpful critiques. It is an emotional reaction that reflects what you view as proper, not if the action is accurate to the character or not.

5. Is it true that nobody talks like that, or do you just not understand the dialogue?

If dialogue is confusing, you need to delve deeper into why that is, and consider whether this is intentional or not. Just because the dialogue does not personally resignate with you, that does not mean it is poorly written. Same goes for dialogue that is meant to be confusing at first, and is given further context later. Have a conversation with the writer to see if this dialogue is meant to be confusing, or if there's been a miscommunication. It's also important you reflect on whether a project is for you when critiquing. If you hate dialogue full of rhymes, then you probably shouldn't critique a story where everyone talks in rhymes.

6. Is the issue the way they are talking, or the way they are talking about something in the specific context of the story?

When analyzing why dialogue doesn't sit well with you, is it because the characters' reactions feel off or out of character? For instance, is the character that is well established to hate sweets now ranting and raving about how good milk chocolate is? The issue then isn't that "no one talks like that", the issue is, "it feels out of character for them to address (topic) like that". Yes, it could be argued no one hates sweets one second and then praises milk chocolate the next, but phrasing it as "no one talks like that" doesn't actually get to the meat of the issue. As a more serious example, is the character who hates all magic being oddly casual when actually confronted with a mage? Of course, some inconsistencies are done on purpose, and, as I said above, context matters.

Conclusion

Going through this, I think a lot of people will find "no on talks like that" is not actually what they want to say. Rather, they likely want more context, think a conversation needs better build up, believe the dialogue feels inconsistent with the characters/world, or may outright just be a bad fit for that particular project. So before you say, "no one talks like that," consider why you feel that way and find a way to word this critique that is more productive.