Comment by Kiri

Sev has a pretty loose definition of 'friends' probably.

Reply by Kiri

Also, hm, Sev still has his horns? Weren't those also a supposed miscast? :O

Reply by Khend

I feel like it's only targeting active spells. How long has he had those horns? Shapeshifting miscasts might just become part of your default form over time. Your body and magic just adapts over time and treats it as normal.

Or I could be completely wrong and there are plot shenanigans afoot. Only time or author confirmation can tell!

Reply by Kiri

This makes sense, though Aember has also been in that box for a suuuuuper long time. I guess the box can't really integrate into her body the way Sev's horns can though, so maybe they're different? I also wonder about Necropony's permanence -- I suppose that'd also be different, since being animated can't have permanence outside of magic because he's a corpse? Are shapeshifty things the only things that can achieve permanence outside of active magic?

Reply by Khend

The main reason I think it would stick for shapeshifting is it's a live, integrated state. Limbs have growth, healing, and blood circulation. Proper nerve connections.

It might just be a matter of 'well, the spell technically wore off/ended, but all the cells that died/grew since it was cast are not actually part of the spell itself so they stayed?'

Reply by Shazzbaa

( It might be helpful to consider the difference between "box currently made of magic" and "horns originally created by magic!" )

Reply by Khend

Now that's an interesting comparison of shapeshifting we never really see: created forms versus sustained forms.
Do they temporarily warp what they are or do they actually create something new and sufficiently permanent that doesn't require outside sustainment.

(yes, I will sit here for hours quietly speculating magic systems and how they work in people's comment threads. I'm sorry)

Reply by Shar

Ahhhh okay ignore my other comment further down. Fascinating! I figured you'd have a reason.

Reply by Kiri

This just brings up... like, are the horns different here because they are an addition to Sev, rather than a contortion like his hands to tentacles? Sev didn't change a part of his body to become horns -- he grew them? If he had GROWN tentacles in addition to his arms, would they not be affected here? How long does magic need to sustain a thing before it becomes able to sustain itself? If Sev's tenatcles are "currently made of magic," like Aember's box, will they at any point NOT be made of magic??