#manufacturing wizard

[electropneumatic]

KUKA HAAS, MANUFACTURING WIZARD

Commissioned from Ziruka (@rukafais) during her Wizard Sale - it ends on December 31st, so if you want one for yourself, move fast! They did a great job, I'm really happy with the art.

This is the MANUFACTURING WIZARD, otherwise known as Kuka Haas! It formed one day in an industrial plant, and has been exploring ever since. Spells include SUMMON STOCK ALUMINUM and SENTIENT FORKLIFT.

[electropneumatic]

for the various people and persons who like doing these

[teasetsotw]

--- Designer/Manufacturer: Doc Holiday Molds (DHM) [X] Region: Wichita, Kansas, United States Time period: 2001

[wild-magic-oops]

It's so cute that Gale pays a sorcerer Tav/Durge a compliment about their magic:

For reference - this is the line a cleric gets:

[thatweirdoziangirl]

Over the past few days, I watched all 4 Oz silent films. The Larry Semon one was pretty wild. Definitely a departure from the original source material (although it was based on the play Baum wrote, that recon artist.) My personal favorite is The Magical Cloak of Oz. I'm always so amazed at the ingenuity silent filmmakers had when creating and execution special effects at the time. It's true movie magic.

[electropneumatic]

Hello again,

Thank you for explaining nature and ecosystems for me. It is fascinating how every organism makes an impact on the world around it. While factories and assembly lines can be very complicated, it looks like nature is infinitely more so.

As a token of my appreciation, please accept this plastic model of you. When thrown behind you, it will expand in size and act as a decoy to any in pursuit; in normal situations, it's just a decoration.

While I'm beginning to explore the world outside of factories, I don't think I'll stumble across you for quite a while, as it looks like the moist environments that you enjoy would be detrimental to me. However, maybe someday I will figure out a way to avoid these limitations, and we will be able to meet.

Thank you again,

KUKA HAAS

MANUFACTURING WIZARD

Hello Moss,

I am Kuka Haas, the manufacturing wizard. I formed last year in a factory, but I'm beginning to grow curious about the outside world. Could you please tell me a little bit about "animals" and "plants"? If you are interested, I could teach you a little bit about industrial machinery in return.

Thank you,

KUKA HAAS

MANUFACTURING WIZARD

Hello, Kuka Haas!

Hmm. Well, nature is both simple and complicated! It might help you to think of everything as a cog in a machine.

Everything affects everything else, from the smallest Flora to the largest Fauna. Ecosystems are fragile, but everything works in harmony most of the time!

Life and nature go though cycles of destruction and rebirth

In Australia, eucalyptus trees are a good example! The bark and natural oils inside the tree are very flammable, and the trees themselves have adapted specific traits to deal with their constant catching-on-fire in the Aussie heat.

When a eucalyptus catches fire, they've adapted to drop all their seeds on the ground. After the wildfire passes, the seeds have a rich ashbed to re-sprout from! Thus, the natural cycle continues.

[iruludavare]

{ ooc. @ finnish phds how does it feel to get AN ENTIRE SWORD when you graduate 🎤 }

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

It's been a bit over a year since the core four (me, my beloved, his bestie gun wizard esquire, and my bestie, doctor horse girl) went on a very successful very effective bonding group cohesion road trip, which is long enough to observe a pattern in recollection and presentation. keep in mind that literally no one in the core four is White and 3/4ths of us are from (recent) immigrant families.

the way my beloved and doctor horse girl describe this trip: we went on a roadtrip with friends! it was fun!

audience reaction: how nice!

vs

me and gun wizard, esquire describing this trip: WE DROVE TO WEST VIRGINIA IT WAS SO COOL. what? yeah, of course on purpose.

audience reaction: ...west virginia????

so anyway. maybe I'm not the normal person here.

[cryptotheism]

lowkey what is the point in delving so deep into old religions. do u do it for fun because i struggle to see how a like idk 400 year old monastic sect relates to modern understanding of religions. this isn't an attack btw i get delving into stuff that interests u but like. is there any more behind it? also you are cool and smart

Little more than 400 years ago, in the 1500s, in what is now Germany there was a guy named Phillipis Aurelius Theophrastus Bombastus Von Honenhiem. But he was a big asshole, so his classmates at university called him "Cacaophrastus" which literally means shit-talker.

He hated how medicine worked. See, even up until 1600, medicine hasn't changed much since the ancient world. The most up-to-date medical textbook, the core of physicians teachings in the 1600s, was a book by Galen. Galen was from ancient greece. People had invented guns, but they hadn't really improved on how Galen thought medicine worked.

Theophrastus, who called himself Paracelsus, was a bit of a rebel. He saw alchemists doing all this fantastic stuff with manufacturing new types of dyes and cosmetics and metal alloys, and he thought, why not use all that stuff for medicine? So he got to using cutting edge knowledge for the purpose of healing the sick. Which he did.

Do you know what the pre-paracelcian prescription for a musket wound was? A poultice made of cow shit and feathers. Paracelsus said to keep the wound clean, and let the body do it's thing. This saved uncounted lives.

He performed experiments, giving the same substance, in the same dose, to different people, and even testing on animals with different phyiologies, and observing how the same amount of the same substance can affect bodies didferently. He wrote "The dose makes the poison" thus inventing the occidental science to toxicology. Every time you go to the doctor, and don't get poisoned, you have this 1500s wizard to thank.

And he was a wizard. Medical knowledge at that time involved the construction of astrological talismans, made of magically imbued metals which counteracted the astral forces thought to cause illnesses. Along with inventing the foundations of modern medicine, he also engaged in the construction of magical amulets and potions, the theories of which all informed his work. Work which formed the foundations of modern medicine.

It's important to know that ideas don't just manifest out of thin air. Everything you do and think is built on vast ziggurats of human ingenuity and failure, and shaped by the history entombed within. I've just decided to learn about my favorite few bricks.

[homunculus-argument]

I'm pretty sure that lab-grown precious gems could and should be used for some sort of witchcraft fuckery purposes. This is one of those "I have no way to even begin to rationalise this, but I feel like it should be logical" sort of things. Like there's some inherent elemental safety buffers in natural gems and crystals that manufactured ones wouldn't have, so you could do some absolutely nuclear wizard shit with them. Like how being born through c-section or having a trans man father would technically exclude you from "no man of woman born" in a prophesy.

[prokopetz]

On the one hand, it's true that the way Dungeons & Dragons defines terms like "sorcerer" and "warlock" and "wizard" is really only relevant to Dungeons & Dragons and its associated media – indeed, how these terms are used isn't even consistent between editions of D&D! – and trying to apply them in other contexts is rarely productive.

On the other hand, it's not true that these sorts of fine-grained taxonomies of types of magic are strictly a D&D-ism and never occur elsewhere. That folks make this argument is typically a symptom of being unfamiliar with Dungeons & Dragons' source material. D&D's main inspirations are American literary sword and sorcery fantasy spanning roughly the 1930s through the early 1980s, and fine-grained taxonomies of magic users absolutely do appear in these sources; they just aren't anything like as consistent as the folks who try to cram everything into the sorcerer/warlock/wizard model would prefer.

For example, in Lyndon Hardy's "Five Magics" series, the five types of magical practitioners are:

Alchemists: Drawing forth the hidden virtues of common materials to craft magic potions; limited by the fact that the outcomes of their formulas are partially random.

Magicians: Crafting enchanted items through complex manufacturing procedures; limited by the fact that each step in the procedure must be performed perfectly with no margin for error.

Sorcerers: Speaking verbal formulas to basically hack other people's minds, permitting illusion-craft and mind control; limited by the fact that the exercise of their art eventually kills them.

Thaumaturges: Shaping matter by manipulating miniature models; limited by the need to draw on outside sources like fires or flywheels to make up the resulting kinetic energy deficit.

Wizards: Summoning and binding demons from other dimensions; limited by the fact that the binding ritual exposes them to mental domination by the summoned demon if their will is weak.

"Warlock", meanwhile, isn't a type of practitioner, but does appear as pejorative term for a wizard who's lost a contest of wills with one of their own summoned demons.

Conversely, Lawrence Watt-Evans' "Legends of Ethshar" series includes such types of magic-users as:

Sorcerers: Channelling power through metal talismans to produce fixed effects; in the time of the novels, talisman-craft is largely a lost art, and most sorcerers use found or inherited talismans.

Theurges: Summoning gods; the setting's gods have no interest in human worship, but are bound not to interfere in the mortal world unless summoned, and are thus amenable to cutting deals.

Warlocks: Wielding X-Men style psychokinesis by virtue of their attunement to the telepathic whispers emanating from the wreckage of a crashed alien starship. (They're the edgy ones!)

Witches: Producing improvisational effects mostly related to healing, telepathy, precognition, and minor telekinesis by drawing on their own internal energy.

Wizards: Drawing down the infinite power of Chaos and shaping it with complex rituals. Basically D&D wizards, albeit with a much greater propensity for exploding.

You'll note that both taxonomies include something called a "sorcerer", something called a "warlock", and something called a "wizard", but what those terms mean in their respective contexts agrees neither with the Dungeons & Dragons definitions, nor with each other.

(Admittedly, these examples are from the 1980s, and are thus not free of D&D's influence; I picked them because they both happened to use all three of the terms in question in ways that are at odds with how D&D uses them. You can find similar taxonomies of magic use in earlier works, but I would have had to use many more examples to offer multiple competing definitions of each of "sorcerer", "warlock" and "wizard", and this post is already long enough!)

So basically what I'm saying is giving people a hard time about using these terms "wrong" – particularly if your objection is that they're not using them in a way that's congruent with however D&D's flavour of the week uses them – makes you a dick, but simply having this sort of taxonomy has a rich history within the genre. Wizard phylogeny is a time-honoured tradition!

[electropneumatic]

The Manufacturing Wizard inspects a CNC milling machine. His belt is similar to a chain-type automatic tool changer, and he uses it to hold a couple cutting tools.

[jouste]

The Iron Wizard! The Iron Wizard has manufactured the heaviest wand to ever to be Abracadabra'd, casting much weightier and improved spells! A simple Magic Missile becomes intercontinental while Detect Magic has such a range that it is always a resounding "Yes".

[disco-archetypes]

YOU - "How do you feel about manufacturing large quantities of drugs?"

SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "I feel that's illegal."

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - She's a radiocomputer wizard. Radiocomputer wizards don't care. She probably thinks it's illegal -- *and* fun.

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Featuring Eiselcross and Aeor: A Fanfiction Rec List

This week, we have Eiselcross/Aeor! Check under the cut for 7 fics that are set in the strange and icy land of Eiselcross, and don't forget to comment and kudos if you like them!

Like a Steel Trap by kaeda (12519, Explicit)

Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek figures out just how much Caleb knows (and just how much that turns him on).

Reccer says: Elaborates on the Kryn culture and capitalizes on the feats that make Caleb just that much extra. Just two wizards seducing each other with their brains.

In the Dark with No Stars to Guide by Somestreptomyces (46532, Teen)

Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek hopes to learn more about Caleb as they travel through Aeor together.

Reccer says: It's a great fic that pays a lot of attention to the worldbuilding and journeying, with a lot of introspection combined in with it. It's a really wonderful, cozy and longer read!

Like the love that discovered the sin by bloodredribbon (4960, Explicit)

Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

"When the wizards meet up in Aeor, Essek is woefully underdressed for the weather. Out of concern for his Kryn-friend's extremities, Caleb offers to help, with unforeseen (horny) consequences."

Reccer says: I liked it!

Hold Me Close, Cut Me Deep by CatgirlTheCrazy (14192, Mature)

Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Whilst investigating in Aeor, Essek gets Charmed by an Incubus wearing Caleb's face. The real Caleb goes to desperate lengths to save him

Reccer says: The best kind of whump, with a really sweet ending. It hurts so good!

Through The Frightening Door by Prolix (228,371 (but ongoing; currently at 34/40 ch), Explicit)

Reccer's Content Notes: canon typical violence, i’d say — so if that’s graphic, then graphic, but i wouldn’t say it’s more so than anything else

Post-C2 longfic. Ongoing. Essek POV. The classic Aeor exploration slow burn relationship study genre of fic, but the highest degree of Aeor exploration & slow burn & relationship study conceivable.

Reccer says: look. i’ve read a lot of shadowgast, and i’m picky about my shadowgast to boot. this is honestly the best characterization of their dynamic, the most interesting depiction of aeor, and the most well-written work i can remember reading — and there are some good fics out there, too! but prolix might solo em all for me, and the fic is not even done yet! if you’re someone who looks for legitimately good writing (like actually legitimately very good!!!), realistic, thoughtful characterization of both our boys (and the cameos we get of the other nein) and how they develop post campaign, an in-depth relationship study that lets things grow naturally and doesn’t manufacture drama/angst when unnecessary in order to rush OR delay developments unbelievably, as well as a frankly disconcertingly fleshed out version of aeor w/ insanely detailed, unique, innovative, meaningful, and thorough world-building, go read this fic. go now. it’s still updating! get in on the ground floor!

Snowed In in Aeor by bardlock (1133, Mature)

Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

While trekking through Aeor, Essek and Eadwulf get separated from Caleb and have to spend the night together when they’re out of spell slots to Teleport. It gives Essek plenty of time to think about the situation… and Eadwulf is no stranger to having to cuddle up with others for warmth.

Reccer says: The fic is a WIP, but I’m loving the previews that have been posted in AifL! The first chapter alone has me really excited for this fic, and I’m really intrigued by this exploration of Bren/Eadwulf vs. Caleb/Essek through Essek’s viewpoint of it.

The following fic received two recs!

Gravity, and all that's born within by SkyScribbles (163598, Teen)

Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Wizards returning to Aeor and realising not everything is as they left it while coming to terms with everything that has happened between them.

Reccer 1 says: I really enjoy the way the relationship develops, and the fantastic original characters.

Reccer 2 says: Quite literally my favourite fic I’ve ever read. The characters are perfectly voiced and the antagonists are complex and deep. The writing is so incredibly smart, it stands with the source material in terms of depth and development. I reread it every couple of months!

This is one of our weekly communally-generated shadowgast rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation.

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be featuring fics from Caleb's POV!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

[malicious-gay]

so maybe you’re a wizard

and maybe you’re easily one of the best wizards of your generation (and maybe some before)

and maybe that’s all you are

maybe every ounce of self-confidence you have is manufactured. maybe it’s an illusion and maybe you’re convinced that if people never squint and look beyond it then they’ll never have the see the rest of you.

(because maybe they won’t like what they see. maybe you’re too selfish. maybe you’re too arrogant. maybe you’re nothing like what they expect and you have to be what they expect because they don’t want anything else.)

and maybe the idea that someone could love you for who you are instead of the skills you honed and the services you provide is strange and foreign. maybe it’s uncomfortable because of course not, no way, don’t be absurd. look at the illusion, astral project, take the fantasy version of myself I created in my hands just for you. it’s better than the real thing.

maybe the real thing is awful and messy and broken.

maybe all you’ve ever been is the sum of someone else’s aspirations.

maybe all your loved ones ever touted were your skills and abilities and how smart you were and how clever you were and how brilliant and sharp and talented you were. and maybe that was all they cared about.

maybe you were led to believe you were never more than your abilities by the same person who later helped take them away. (the same person who convinced you you’d be nothing without them, and never good enough for more. the same person who showed you the endless possibilities that were for someone better than you. someone more than you. no, no, the candy is sweet but it’s not for you.)

and maybe now you think being smarter than everyone is the only thing you’ll ever have so you have to be the smartest person in the room because that’s all you have.

that’s all you have.

and if you don’t have that then you’ll have nothing. you’ll be nothing.

without it you are nothing.

and maybe you’re a wizard and the woman you loved who constantly showed you a world outside your reach comes to you at your lowest. when you’re stripped of everything you felt made you whole.

and she tells you the one thing you can do to fix it. the one thing you can do, the one power left in your hands.

the one thing you’re good for without your brilliance, without your intelligent, without the skill she helped take away from you.

you can die

(you weren’t anything to anyone anymore anyway)