Reading, Writing and Ranting

@mudtomagic / mudtomagic.tumblr.com

Writing to give a home to the Shifters, Mages, Fae and other Mystical Creatures that live in my head. || About Me || My WIP
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KRYSTAL CARMICHAEL

“They pay outsiders to stay outsiders. No one will ever know what they did to us, or what they’re still doing to everyone we left behind.”

about.

age. 19
pronouns. she/her/hers
sexuality. lesbian
nationality. english
height. 5’6
personality. 1w2 | intelligent and perfectionistic
zodiac sign. aquarius

synopsis.

Krystal was a child prodigy. Science became her crutch when her mother left, and it pushed her into the spotlight when Vitality Industries was scoping out fresh minds for an important project; defying the laws of nature. Although she worked with the best and brightest money could buy, she was never truly on their side.
She readily uses her induced healing ability, but tries her hardest to suppress her molecular decay ability. Problem solving and helping others is her nature, and the idea of destruction whether literally or figuratively conflicts with her morals; but if she wants to stop her work from being used for the wrong reasons, she has to go against herself and fight back.
For the most part, Krystal is the brains of the group. Going rouge while being one of the key factors in creating the enhanced serum makes her the one source of legitimate intel and the only person who ever knows what’s going on. Though with her head constantly in the science, she can be oblivious when it comes to where—or who—her heart goes to.

taglist.

(please ask to be added or removed)

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Since I actually finished writing Invincible, I have no reason left to not work on The Five Senses anymore. Some may know that this WIP has given me much trouble for the past year (which is pretty much exactly how long it’s been since I started the first draft). However, I had an epiphany the past days and especially today. There will be some changes, big ones! And small ones.

  • Overall, the magic system and characters stays the same.
  • I will rework some inconsistencies in the magic system though but I don’t think anyone will actually notice.
  • I finally decided on a setting as the previous setting gave me an immense (nearly one year long) writer’s block. I am very happy to announce that The Five Senses will now play out in a steam punk-ish setting, namely on a submarine. Yes. You read that right. Why, you wonder? Well, because why not?
  • Honestly I want to have cool water and cool fish and somehow this feels so right and obvious now that I have come to this conclusion.
  • I’m actually finally really excited to write this!
  • I also want to cut out the horrible romantic subplot between Ilona and Jonas. They are friends now and all that will make their relationship hurt even more while making it less insufferable
  • I will do my absolute best to not have everyone be captured and imprisoned all the time in the new draft. I’ll try.
  • It’s not all on one submarine but also on land and even more submarines.
  • I will have to do dreadful research on submarines. I don’t know anything about submarines.

If anyone now reads this and thinks ‘I liked the old Five Senses better’, and doesn’t want to be on the taglist anymore, please let me know! I totally understand! If you want to be added, let me know as well :) The WIP intro is linked above.

Also, there are some tags that don’t work anymore, so if you changed your url and spot your old one here, let me know if you want to be readded. (otherwise I won’t type the broken tag again of course)

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an introduction to the first we feel, then we fall cast | 02 / ?

— ASSASSIN

‣ julian veles, he/him, twenty two - gemini, june 09th

‣  if an assassin’s blade were made into a man, it would take the form of julian veles. ambrosio’s right hand. valecnici general. assassin. philosophy and history hobbyist. an enigma. beautiful and damned. a fallen angel. or possibly, the angel of death. a cold facade with countless contradictions swirling beneath.

‣  a murderer who strikes by surprise.

“It’s happened more than once,” Veles said shortly. “My training was—rigorous.”
She nodded. It still seemed hard to believe he was the same school bully she had known.
Coldness and harshness were built up around him like the walls of a castle. All that scarcely subdued rage.
The boy who got boxes of sweets and loved pulling pranks on younger students, who whined over a scratched arm, was gone. Everything soft and indolent and pampered about him was carved away by the war. He hadn’t bought his way through Ambrosio’s ranks with money. He’d paid in blood.
Everything was so hard and exacting. His smirking and leering, and the vagaries of his courtesy all felt like an act. Like a mask he was wearing to disguise just how cold he was.
If she wanted to succeed, she needed to get past his mask and coldness and rage. He might be intending to use her just as a form of vindictive or amusing stress relief, but she was still determined to become more.
She needed to draw out his confidence until she could understand his motivation—until she found a vulnerability she could slip through.
No one was pure ice. Not even Julian Veles.
There was something about him. In his eyes. Something that looked like fire hidden deep within. She needed to find a way to reach it and then fuel it into something she could utilise.
He expected her to hate him and try to manipulate him with false kindness and sympathy. She had to be clever about it. More clever than him.
“Was that during the summer after our fifth year in school?”
He looked at her somewhat sharply.
Yes,” he said it in a clipped tone.
“Your uncle trained you?”
“Hmm,” he hummed in confirmation.
They were both staring at each other intently.
“Not the only thing you learned that summer,” she said.
“Are you needing a confession for something, Kowalski? Should I tell you everything I’ve done?” He drew closer so that he towered above her, and sneered down in her face. 
She forced herself not to shrink or cower back. She stared up into his eyes.
“Do you want to?” she asked.
There was the faintest flash of surprise in his expression. He seemed caught off guard by the question.
He was lonely. She’d suspected as much, but now she felt certain. Dead mother, insane father. He was high up in Ambrosio’s ranks and they were notoriously filled with backstabbing. If he ever had any regrets, he’d never told anyone.

taglist (ask to be +/-)

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an introduction to the first we feel, then we fall cast | 01 / ?

— ASSET

‣ naeva kowalski, she/her, twenty two - virgo, september 11th

‣  hell-bent on protecting memories she doesn’t remember. previously bound to a war and a contract her moral conscience wouldn’t let her run away from. formerly a healer and a curse specialist. she had left behind and eventually given up all her friends to become those things; to become an asset in the war effort.

‣ something or someone useful in an effort to foil or defeat an enemy.

“I didn’t do anything I’ve done because I expected to be seen as heroic.” She scoffed. “I don’t require laurels. When this war is over—,” she looked away as she caught new sections of hair and laced them into her braids, “—if the Ferox wins…” She swallowed. “If we win, there’s a good chance that Miron, Lachlan and I could all eventually be convicted of war crimes.”
She met Julian’s eyes in the reflection of the mirror. “I will never be a hero. I knew that when I chose to train as a healer. That’s never been the reason for any of my choices.”
She finished one braid and started on the other.
“Palkowitz is worth that much to you?”
The corner of her mouth quirked. “It’s more than that. Oliver is my best friend, but the war is bigger than Oliver or anyone else.”
Her hands stilled, and she stood silent for a moment.
“I want—,” she started and then paused and drew a short breath. “I want the next mundane-born witch with stars in her eyes to come into a world that welcomes her. A world where she doesn’t have to constantly re-earn her right to be there and isn’t treated like wanting to exist is stealing something from someone else. Where she’ll get to grow up and graduate. Get any job she wants, get married and have children, and grow old with someone. I didn’t—,” her voice broke off briefly. “I—won’t get to have any of those things. I want to make the world I wanted to live in.”
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First Line Tag

I had was tagged by @aelenko, @medeaes and @sleepyowlwrites for the First Line Tag.

Here is the first line from It Stares Back:

“The crew of the Sea Angel moved like a well-oiled machine, trained and perfected through years of practice under the waves.”

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Snippet 2

"You don't have to hide in the shadows, you know." Mira said without opening her eyes, hands and leg still in a unmoving yoga position.

I almost jumped at her voice. Wasn't Acacia supposed to be the only one to be able to feel other people's presence?

"You all seem to be way too eager to welcome me," I grunted in response when she turned her head to me. "Emotional fools."

"There is power in being in synch with your emotions, Kyler. The harmony between what you think, feel and do is precious." She lifted one eyebrow. "I don't have to tell you that anymore, do I?"

She must have known my seal broke.

"Acacia can't keep secrets I see."

"She doesn't want to. She is open about her emotions." Her voice was so soft it sickened me.

"I have a feeling that you won't change in how you show yours though, even if you do admit to them."

I glared at her, crossing my hands over my chest and took a deep breath.

Taking the lack of protest for what it was, she smiled.

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mudtomagic

I haven’t been able to log in for a while, and finally today I am working on getting caught up with what i have missed.... And I didn't realize how very much I missed Kyler and Acacia until I saw this sitting in my inbox and I couldn't click it open fast enough.  

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First Sight

An excerpt from “Fire”

...The first time Rafe sees Swae as they are breaking out of the cells of the CRC research facility.

Rafe peered into the darkness of the cell in front of him, “Mage?” He called quietly.
At first there was nothing, no movement, only shadow, then from the dark a figure came forward. The other three men had come to stand next to Rafe. Declan started to raise the flashlight to shine in the cell, but Rafe stopped him when the light was at waist level so the mage wouldn’t be subjected to the same blinding as he had been. With the slight enhancement from the light they were able to see the woman standing on the other side of the bars.
Unlike Rafe, she was naked and hardly more than a skeleton covered in ghostly white skin. She lacked all womanly curves. Her hips and shoulders protruded as sharp points. There were deep hollows around her prominent collar bone and every single rib was showing.  The beam of light was pointed down at her feet revealing how almost all of her toes were missing. Her face was still in shadow, but two startling eyes stared at them from the darkness, glowing orange and flickering like hot coals. 

See more of My WIP Here

Ask if you would like to be added to the Tag List!

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Anonymous asked:

When you get this, you have to name your favorite characters from your fellow writerblrs' wips. Have a nice day

Okay okay anon, here we go^^

Jack, Cole and Meredith by @thewalkingnerdx. All her characters are awesome, the way she can characterize them is something okay.

Anjelika, Matylda, Karolina and Lilly by @kosmosian-quills. Girls for the win there😂the MOH is awesome as a whole by these three grew on me the most. Don't have to explain Lilly do I 😂

Alicia and Benedict by @cirianne. Badass, cool and complex, what else can you ask for?

Kai and Lyssa by @musicofglassandwords. I love these two okay, they are perfect. The whole little family with the kids is awesome, but these two💘.

Rafe and Swae by @mudtomagic. Their story and dynamic sound awesome and I if you look at the moodboards and character intros you will fall in love too.

I support a lot of writers, but I'm unfortunately a very picky fan😂but when I do love a character, it's with passion. 💕💕💕

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mudtomagic

Aww Thank you! I’m honored to be mentioned! What a great Q&A post! I now have some WIPs to check out that I might not have found otherwise!

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Character Introduction: James

James Marken - Working title “Fire”

Age: 27 years old

Species: Human

Physical Description: 5’11”; Slim and lanky; Shaggy blond hair, blue eyes and ever present smile.

Family: James was raised as an only child in an upper-middle-class family. His mother and step-father were both professors at the University of Connecticut.

Personality: Meyers-Briggs Type ENFP; James is a creative and energetic free spirit with infectious enthusiasm. He is full to the brim with “big ideas” and enjoys pushing the limit of the impossible. With his constant smile and friendly demeanor he connects easily with people and enjoys social situations. He is personable, quick witted, and funny, though slightly immature and has difficulty focusing on one task at time when the next revelation could be just around the corner. He works well with others, especially when they balance his big ideas with the realism and determination to make them happen. A striking fact about James is his intelligence. The man absorbs information like a sponge and has a nearly photographic memory. 

Other Descriptors: Courageous; Intuitive; Sensitive; Curious; Imaginative; Observant; Supportive

Background: Despite his amiable disposition, James had a difficult time fitting in. His natural intelligence, enhanced by his parents tutoring had him graduating high school at the age of 15. Three years later, he graduated with a double major in computer science and anthropology from Yale. James published his anthropology thesis on the “Reality of Magic” where he demonstrated that supernatural entities could exist without ever being directly acknowledged by humans. He cited how every culture known to man has some sort of magical representation and explained the very real basis of such representation. This factual report of such a far fetched proposition caught the eye of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which offered him a job upon his graduation.

His time as a CIA analyst was brief. His position entailed investigating and interpreting inexplicable phenomena and encounters with bizarre creatures from around the world. He also was privy to the details of the resulting “neutralization” of these encounters. A few names captured his interest from the reports: Raffarty Dregson, Declan Sullivan and Reese Cooper. These men all had direct exposure to the supernatural world which organizations around the globe seemed so determined to eradicate. James had a different idea.

He quit his job after only eleven months, and tracked down Reese, then Declan and finally Rafe.  He spouted the idea that together they could act as a buffer between worlds, minimizing harm to both sides. With some charismatic coercion by James,  each man eventually got on board and the four of them created Trigon Protective Agency, LLC. Within a year the company had clients practically knocking the door down. The interest generated both good and bad publicity and also made public some rumors about Rafe’s true nature. When Rafe was taken captive by the Cryptozoology Research Corp, James couldn’t help but feel responsible.

This is where the story begins….

Hopes/Goals: James believes in a world where the supernatural, paranormal and non-magical can coexist in harmony. 

Fears/Obstacles: James worries that his wish for coexistence may actually cause more harm than good. He fears that he may have bitten off more than he can chew and that those who he has gotten involved will only ever know pain, fear and misery.

See more of My WIP Here

Ask if you would like to be added to the Tag List!

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Snippet

"What are you worried about now?"

Kyler gave me an offended look. I almost rolled my eyes at him.

"You don't know how to give up on people. It's your greatest pitfall." He was really getting on my nerves. With my heart racing I pulled out my strongest card.

"I didn't give up on you either. And I was right."

His face remained controlled, but his eyes widened a little. A beat of silence stretched between us.

"That's not the same thing."

"Good point." Wes in comparison wasn't doing this out of his free will. "You were worse."

---

Wip tag list:

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mudtomagic

This is quite the hook! Acacia is a remarkable woman and this interaction shows that. She cares for others and doesn’t back down in her convictions!

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Spectrum — Excerpt 6

chapter. 8
tw. graphic violence

Sam’s Ability Scene

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” she asked herself, out of breath. With the heat crawling back into her hands, she shouldered her way in.

Sam gasped. “Bethany?” She was backed into the corner of the room, the guard halfway through unbuttoning his shirt.

He whipped around, his hand immediately going for his baton. Bethany sprung forward, her hand clamping over his. He reeled back, backhanding her across the cheek. She fell, the entire right side of her face burning. He planted his foot on her shoulder, pushed her onto her side, and kicked her in the ribcage.

Bethany curled into the fetal position, groaning. She looked at the man towering above her, the heat completely gone; and so was Sam.

It was only her and the guard now.

“I know what you did the last time you were here,” he said, rolling up his sleeves, “and I’m gonna enjoy making you scream.” He pulled his fist back, only for his punch to halt mid-swing. His brows furrowed, his arm frozen in place. “What the...”

His head flew back, blood spurting from his nose. He roared, swinging wildly at the air. Eyes bulging, he doubled over as his hands flew in between his legs. He collapsed, hunched over on his knees before falling entirely on his stomach, just to writhe in agony.

Bethany watched with wide eyes as Sam slowly materialized before her, kicking and punching the guard while he was down. Her eyes shimmered violet.

“How do you like it? Piece of shit!” she shrieked, kicking him square in the nose.

Bethany clambered to her feet, dragging Sam away from him by the wrists.

“I’m not done with him!”

“Calm down! You got him!” Bethany exclaimed, stepping between the two. The guard laid unconscious, his face bloodied. Bethany crushed her in a hug. “How did you do that?”

Sam limply hugged back. “Do what? I think I blacked out,” she panted.

Bethany pulled away. That answered her questions; she definitely killed those guards, and Sam couldn’t do what she did. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or more wary of these unpredictable abilities.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“He wouldn’t have had the chance to hurt me anyways once that serum stuff kicked in, but it looks like it was just in time.”

“Wait, what?”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Sorry, sorry, sorry—”

“Was this a goddamn experiment? Are you insane?” Bethany exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

“I just needed to find out if it was true!”

Bethany paced across the room, smoothing down her reddened face. “And you thought the best way to do that was by putting yourself in danger? I almost killed a guard coming to rescue you!”

Sam grinned, putting her hands on her hips. “Aww, Bethany!”

“Now is not the time!”

“Right, right, sorry, this is serious.”

“What if it didn’t work? What if you couldn’t have stopped him?”

She paused. “Then this would be a very different conversation.”

taglist.

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mudtomagic

Girl Power with a side of magical butt kicking!!!! Fabulous! I’d love to know about Sam’s experiments and that “serum stuff.”

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ellatholmes
“Each word you write is a step towards your goal.”

Every word you write is another step on the path to achieving your goals. Do you want to complete a novel? Do you want to share stories online? Want to be published? Want to see your work somewhere? Every word counts, every word is another chip of the novel-carving block. Even if it’s a dreaded adverb! 

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Thinking Too Loudly!

An except from “Fire”

from Chapter One (509 words)

Rafe thought back to when he was a child, probably eleven, no, twelve years old. His family went on a road trip accross the country to the west coast. There they had visited Alcatraz Island and the prison. He didn’t remember much of the scenery really, what he remembered was the prickling sensation he kept feeling brush accross his skin, and the far away voices he kept hearing. He had experienced things like this before, but it wasn’t until that day that he made the connection he was sensing ghosts. Some of them he could even smell. He remembered detecting a putrid odor as they were walking past the cells in a puff of air like someones bad breath.
“Wolf!” a woman’s voice barked at him from the other side of the concrete wall pulling him back to the present. “You’re doing it again!”
“Doing what?” he called back, trying to sound innocent, though he knew full well what she meant. They had this conversation on a regular basis.
“You’re thinking so loudly I could almost smell that ghosts breath!” She made a sound of repulsion. “Now cut it out. The last thing we need is to start thinking about what else might be stuck in here with us.”
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ebookporn

Local Bookstores Have A New Weapon In The Fight With Amazon

In the book industry, Amazon is Goliath, the giant who overshadows everyone else. But there’s a new David on the scene, Bookshop.org.

It doesn’t expect to topple the giant, but it has launched a weapon that could make Amazon’s shadow a little smaller, and help local bookstores fight back.

Bookshop.org, a website that went live at the end of January and is still in beta mode, is designed to be an alternative to Amazon, and to generate income for independent bookstores. And, perhaps more importantly, it seeks to give book reviewers, bloggers and publications who rely on affiliate income from “Buy now” links to Amazon a different option.

Profit from books sold through Bookshop will be split three ways, with 10% of the sale price going into a pool that will be divided among participating bookstores, 10% going to the publication that triggered the sale by linking to Bookshop.org, and 10% going to Bookshop.org to support its operations.

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batmansymbol

y’all, Bookshop is amazing. i got an email about them from my local indie store, and they’re so excited about it. please oh please use this place instead of Amazon!!

with every purchase, they tell you how much you’re putting toward independent booksellers, which is fun and cute:

it’s also amazing for authors! i’ve been asked a couple times about the best way to support my books. this site is now the answer. it reports sales figures to the NYT and Bookscan, a type of tracking that helps authors hit bestseller lists. and even better, authors can set up affiliate pages, and if you buy through those pages, we get an additional 10 percent of each sale on top of royalties. this is a massive deal!!!

for reference, many royalty rates are in the 6-8 percent range. so if you buy through Bookshop author affiliate pages, authors get more than twice as much from sales of their books, with no additional cost to you.

the site is still in beta, but it also has a fun interface where you can make book lists for favorites or recommendations, sort of like goodreads (except better, because goodreads is owned by amazon).

this is my Bookshop page. if you ever buy one of my books, i pray u will do it from this site! (or from your local indie :D)

Independent bookseller here. We fucking love Bookshop right now. They’ve increased the percentage we get from sales through affiliate links during the COVID-19 crisis, which is a really big deal for the stores that can’t or don’t run their own online shops – which, with most stores shut down, is a lot. Even those of us trying to operate remotely could really use the extra boost.

Plus you can get both eBooks and DRM-free audiobooks through Bookshop, too! They’re powered by Hummingbird (the American Bookseller Association’s new e-reader program) and Libro-dot-FM (for legal, ethical, DRM-free aubiobooks.)

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BLACKFYRE: Witch Hunters - A Reintroduction

Hello everyone, Saxon here! I thought now would be a good time to reintroduce Blackfyre, since I have now completed it. It’s been a long 3 years since I first started, and I’m glad to finally have it finished and ready to share with the world.

Title//BLACKFYRE: Witch Hunters Genres//Fantasy-adventure Themes//Found family, Religion, War, Adventure Word Count//60,731

“It’s too late for prayers now, for even the saints have taken up their arms in this war of immortals and mortals.” Tales of witches have been told for centuries, their stories little more than legends in the eyes of the people of Farmire - yet something in the darkness stirs, someone willing to resurrect his mortal handmaidens to do his bidding once more. With this new threat, Nix Azrael vows to raise a Legion fit not only to hunt witches, but to slay a saint… His selected soldiers comes from all walks of life, each one bestowed with great skill in fighting to take down their foe, forming the groundwork of the soon to be feared team Blackfyre, the Witch Hunters of Farmire.

Please ask to be added to the Blackfyre taglist!

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mudtomagic

@alternativeforensicscientist reblogged your post, and I couldn’t just scroll past it in my dashboard. Your Aesthetic caught my eye and drew me in and your writing and summary have captivated me! Please add me to your tag list! and Congratulations on completing Blackfyre! 

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WIP Intro: Tales of the Mages of Meadowbury

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The city of Meadowbury, filled with mages and people of all kinds, has thousands of citizens with their own special story to tell. Here are the tales of five.

Adaptation: A lowly playwright and her dream come true.

Accused: A man scrambling to prove his innocence after his nemesis accused him of murder.

Cloaked: An ex-assassin who saved a man he would’ve once been tasked to kill.

Blind: A soldier who volunteered for a quick and easy rescue mission, which turned out to be anything but quick and easy.

Infuriating: A dancer in love tasked with creating a routine for the mayor and the king’s visit, in a style that requires her to kiss her love.

These are their tales, more closely intertwined than they imagine.

lmk if you want to be added to the taglist! i love this one dearly and it’s 27k strong. i hope this summer i can finish it because i’d really love to see it done and polished. just another of my unfinished babies that i want you guys to meet :)

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mudtomagic

Tell Me More!!!!

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