Hey, welcome to my next topic: Demonic Regeneration. In most fics, people overdo the whole 'demon regenerates in a few seconds'. And in fics with Sesshy Kagome pairings, authors find it necessary to give back Sesshy a certain appendage. Here are my thoughts on why Demonic Regeneration should not be overdone:

Disclaimer: The characters used in this are Rumiko Takahashi, the thoughts, though are not in any specific genre, are my own. (once again, if this type of fic isn't allowed, tell me)

Email me for further insights. Reviews also very much welcome, but please do not post 'I disagree'. I am entitled to my own opinion and I would very much like to know your opinions, but perhaps email is a better option…

The Impracticalities of Demonic Regeneration

Though a lot of biological and physical laws are being broken every day by authors with a very wild imagination, one has to respect the limits these broken laws come with. We all know that the possibility of there actually being a sword that can transform and create such a force of wind that would kill a hundred demons is a zillion to one. And we all know that demons should not scientifically exist, we all also ignore these facts. These are facts that are to be ignored in most manga/anime, and even stories. Magic goes against every principal in the book, but without it, there wouldn't be an interesting storyline.

But there are still absurdities that I just can't read without having to correct them, myself. And yes, this might seem like another boring biology lesson (for anyone that has already had one) or something way too complicated to pay much attention to (for everyone who hasn't had one), it is still important to pay attention to facts as well as the fiction that comes out of the lack of these facts.

I will try to make this as quick and painless as I can, turning this into one of my shorter entries. First of all, it is necessary to know that chromosomal numbers do not count, seeing as a crab has over two hundred, yet we, as humans, are more complex with only twenty three pairs. What is important, however (and obviously enough) is the amount of information found on each one. This is the basic idea: the amount of information on a chromosome dictates how complex a species is.

When it comes to regeneration, the complexity of the creature is very important. In the following list, going from least complex to most complex, I will list a number of species and their 'healing' capabilities:

Starfish: with a small piece of its center core, a starfish is able to regenerate its entire body.

Worm: cut a worm in half and the two halves form two worms

Lizard: cut off its tail and the lizard will grow a new one

Crab: a crab is able to redevelop a lost pincer

Stag: bits of antlers are regrown

Human: can regrow lost hair, bits of nail and pieces of skin

As shown through this short list, the more complex an organism becomes the fewer amounts of its body it can regenerate. This is clear when you compare yourself to a worm. While you, as a human, can only heal yourself from little cuts and scratches, a worm is able to create a new body. And while all this seems elementary, the big question is: how complex is a demon?

When one imagines a demon, one thing is clear: in order to amass such energy in a body, the body has to be stronger and the creature more complex than an average human. Right? But how complex can a demon be if it is able to regrow a lost toe in a matter of weeks?

Of course, one can argue that the demons used in Takahashi's manga are all based on animals, so the demon created from them should have similar regeneration properties? Right? Well, it all seems reasonable until you come to the fact that no normal centipede can crush a horse or a whole village, for that matter. So, no, though the demons used resemble things we see in our lives, they are not the same and therefore do not have the same regeneration properties.

Once this is established, one comes to the fact that, though the wounds heal after a few days, Sesshoumaru's arm did not regenerate throughout the series. Perhaps this shows that Takahashi never meant him to regenerate it? But no one can leave lil' ol' adorable Sesshy armless, now can they? Not when he deserves two…

So what do our sensitive authors do? They let Kagome speed up the process a little, a lo and behold, an arm! But does anyone realize the amount of energy she would have to use up to do that? It's impossible to calculate because the number is unreasonable. In order to speed up a process which could not happen, Kagome would use up all her energy and end up healing only half- if any. Of course this is all speculation, due to the fact that such a feat would never happen.

This demonic regeneration goes for all other demons used in fanfics. If anyone wants Kagome to heal Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru or any other demon (or if someone wants to portray a demon healing himself), they have to understand how long this would have to take. The Solution? When writing a fic, I suggest not saying that healing anything could take a minute or two. Use time frames appropriate for the matter at hand. If you want to heal Sesshoumaru's arm, do it in a year or a couple of weeks at least, not in under a minute. Healing minor wounds, on the other hand, need only one minute.

I hope from this pretty short explanation, you would stop healing everything so quickly. Not healing something is too much to ask, no one can refrain from healing a badly needed appendage. I only ask you be reasonable.

Thanks for reading another topic of my mind. Whether or not you agreed with it is up to you. Anything I left out or any questions? Email me. XD

I'll be happy to answer

Spoken

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