The Pub Discussion Board

To elaborate on FR's point:

David's body is capable of doing those things it is necessary for David's body to do.  These issues are handled magically.  Sexual activity is a necessary human activity for psychological well-being.  Thus, he is magically capable of doing the things necessary for sexual activity.

Enjoying food is, likewise, necessary for psychological well-being, which is why his body can process food at all, despite not having a use for it.

His body produces sweat.  Why?  Because a machine in motion (and the body is a machine) produces heat, and sweat is the mechanism by which the human machine gets rid of excess heat.  HOW does he produce sweat?  Magically.  Without blood flow, he obviously should not be able to do so, but he does.

Blushing isn't really psychologically necessary.  It's a symptom, rather than an activity.  Being non-essential, his body doesn't magically make his face redden.  Likewise, he has no real NEED to be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, so his body temperature is not magically regulated (unless he casts a charm, that is...)

(btw, think eating isn't a psychologically necessary activity?  Consider spending the next ten years surrounded by food and people eating food, but you being unable to partake of any of it.  You'd smell it, see it, remember what it tastes like... but not be able to eat it.  See how quickly it drives you around the bend.  Now imagine doing that for a billion years, instead of ten.  Similarly with sex, especially since David ended his "life" as a teenager, and would continue to look like one forever.  Anyone he ran into would expect that he was sexually active.  Girls who found him attractive would hit on him.  Again, he would be assaulted by the reminders of this activity, and remember how enjoyable it was... but be unable to actually have sex?  It wouldn't be a good thing.)

Eric Storm

Cruelty being locked as a child... as opposed to the cruelty of being locked as a teen, adult, or senior for billions of years?

Demighosts cannot change form.  Period.  It is conceivable that a Baby Huey situation could, in fact, occur, though, given what we know of how demighosts seem to most often come about, it seems highly unlikely.

Given the existence in Dugerra of dwarves and gnomes, magic certainly wouldn't consider being short to be all that cruel.  I would have to give serious consideration, though, to whether such a person would be able to have an erection, ever.  (Why?  Never having gone through puberty, they wouldn't have yet developed the sense of sexuality, thus sex would not, in fact, be a psychological imperative for them.)

Needless to say, I'm probably not going to be writing about 7yo demighosts getting laid, anyway. 

Eric Storm

While it might cause some distress, I don't think that distress would be much more than that caused by the lack of death.  Not having experienced something, it is very hard to miss it, even if you know you're supposed to have it.

As an example, I am legally blind.  My vision is 20/200 in both eyes, with corrective lenses.  I know, intellectually, that I am missing something: good sight.  However, I was born legally blind.  I cannot even properly imagine what "perfect vision" looks like.  It is, therefore, very hard for me to miss it.  Oh, yes, there are some things where I get frustrated because I know that "sighted" people can do them much more easily than I can, but that isn't the same thing.

I imagine that the absence of a sexually mature body would be much the same.

Eric Storm

No, you're not correct. Nor are you incorrect, as such.  The expression as written is a very common construction in American English.  The way you are suggesting is valid, grammatically, but actually carries a lesser degree of emphasis.  In other words, saying it the way you recommend actually suggests she enjoyed it somewhat less than the way it's currently written does.

Eric Storm

To paraphrase Eric:  Riun, if he wanted you to know that stuff yet, it would already be in the story.

;P

And, for future reference:  Whenever it is abundantly obvious that I have intentionally not told the reader something, the chances I'm going to tell you in this forum are somewhere between a snowball's chance in hell, and a sub sandwich's chance of surviving an encounter with me.

(ie, virtually none.)

Eric Storm

As I thought, it had to be magically controlled bodily functions. It makes lots of sense for the "physiological need" as you explained it, Eric.  Thanks!

(posted from the Item Information Page)

Eric posts on the first of the month.  Usually pretty early in the morning, though there is no guarantee of that.

Hey!  I haven't posted later than 5am ET in a couple years!

Occasionally I forget it's the last day of the month, and so I have to do my final proofread before posting, and that can take an hour or two.

But yes, the posting schedule for Woodward is the first of every month.  It also transits from PRM to public on the first.  Other stories that get put on a posting schedule (if there should ever be any) will be posted in the middle of the month, to spread out the literary goodness.


Eric Storm

I own and run this site.  I read every post.  I visit the site several times a day to check on things.  Reading comments from my readers is one of the better parts of my day, so...

Glad you're enjoying the stories.

Thanks for the feedback.
Eric Storm

Okay, now Google the word "forgot".  It matters not in the slightest which calendar you're using if you don't remember the date.  I don't work for a living, and one day is very much like the last.  The only time the date is even mildly important to me is if I have an appointment.

Hell, I've been known to forget which day of the week it is.

Regards,
Eric Storm

I have returned to ask a pointless question. Just to satisfy my curiosity.
As I was getting my haircut the other day I was wondering what would happen if David attempted to have his appearance altered through physical means? We know magical attempts to do this cause him to be ghosted, but would regular scissors be able to do the job?
Would they fail to cut the hair, would the hair be cut but immediately regrow, would he be ghosted?
We know physical knives can cut a demighost's skin, as demonstrated at David's Potion ceremony with Edward. But is that different from an appearance change?
And if he can get a haircut in this way how far could you go with that knowledge? Could he get plastic surgery to completely change his looks (not that David seems like the type to desire that sort of change)?