On Humanoid Mimicry of Animals and Plants
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OnHumanMimicry |
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Infobox data from game version 2.0.207.72
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Crisp pages of goatskin vellum are bound into a codex.
On Humanoid Mimicry of Animals and Plants is a book.
Contents
Why do some creatures seem to prefer when we assume their likenesses while others hate it? As a zoologist, this question has interested me for some time. To address it, I must first draw a distinction between 'natural mimicry', where certain humanoids have developed animal and plant likenesses on a biological level, and 'unnatural mimicry', enacted in the forms of clothing and other decorative adornments. As for the former, it appears all creatures exhibit kinship toward humanoids who look like them in the biological sense. The latter scenario is the interesting one.
It's tempting to draw the divide between mammals and non-mammals, but the truth is more complicated than this. It's true that the only creatures who seem to take outright offense at mimicry are mammals, but there are documented cases of mammals accepting the mimic. For example, fork-horned helms endear their wearers to both antelopes and goatfolk.
On the contrary, ape fur clothing and puma chitin vests inflame apes and cats, respectively. The important detail here is the context in which the clothing is made. Poachers hunt apes and pumas specifically for their prized fur and chitinous shells, and being reasonably social creatures, both species take offense at the flaunting of these trophies. Birds, on the other hand, seem to know that feather harvesting can be (although isn't always) done without proving fatal for the bird in question, though another hypothesis points to birds' specific appreciation of plumage regardless of context.
Unshelled reptiles seem to have few qualms with mimicry, perhaps believing the mimics to be truly reptile in part. Mollusks, trees, and insects all tend to identify with shell-bearers, leaf-donners, and firefly-symbiotes, respectively.
Without exception, however, all creatures seem to detest the practice of wearing the severed faces of their kin. Curious.