[Text]

[hagrides]

Hello, fellow Moonblessed. If you'll oblige me with some of your time, I have a few questions about humans. That species is nonexistent where I hail from, so please forgive my curiosity, and I apologize in advance if any of these are rude.

1. Humans have no shells or carapace, and their clothing seems more decorative than protective. Am I correct in assuming that they use magic to defend themselves?

2. Do humans go through metamorphosis? I don't believe I have seen a human larva or grub here, though I admit I do not know how I would distinguish human young from an adult other than size.

3. Most humans that I have seen have hair primarily on their heads, rather than their whole body like, for example, a spider. Does that not make regulating their temperature more complicated?

That will be all for now. Once again, I thank you for your assistance.

[...Grimm is doing his best.]

Comments

[hagrides]

Thank you for your detailed answer! To begin with, I have a 'selfie'.

[Attached: that sure is a bug.]

1. Camoflage I'm familiar with, though nothing that can make someone completely invisible. I imagine armor fell out of favor with changes in weaponry?

2. A series of smaller physical changes over time is something I'm also familiar with. You see that sort of thing in dragonflies or cicadas, for example.

3. Fascinating! It seems there's much about your own evolutionary history that you aren't aware of yourselves. That does make my questions a bit more frustrating to answer, I imagine.

You are somewhat easier to tell apart than some species I know, even if I may not yet have words for all the differences.

[codecmoment]

You're very striking! Do you have a name for your race?

1. Yes. As gunpowder came into use, arrows, swords and spears fell out. People could do more damage with less effort with cannons and firearms.

We're a strange and complex species. I imagine it's weird to you. I'll try to answer anything else, but I am just a man, and mechanical engineering is my field - nothing to do with people, biology, psychology, or anything like that.

[hagrides]

I am a moth, though I am told that I am much larger than the moths humans are most familiar with.

A remarkable field. I was acquainted with an enginer once who would have had just as much difficulty explaining bugs.

[That comes from a significant dose of 'divine lack of understanding of mortals', though.]

[codecmoment]

Yeah, moths where I come from are... small. Like, no bigger than my hand.

[hagrides]

They sound adorable. So tiny!

[codecmoment]

They can be. Sometimes they come in lots of different colors, too. The ones I normally see are brown or white, and usually smaller than the palm of my human hand.

[hagrides]

I've also been told they don't speak. Does that hold true where you hail from as well?

[codecmoment]

Yes. Moths are not sentient nor highly intelligent. So it looks like you're from a place where insects and arachnids and other "bugs" are the evolved, dominant species.

[hagrides]

You're correct. Insects and arachnids. We also have the occasional jellyfish, but those were never sentient.

[They also explode.]

[codecmoment]

Jellyfish? Huh. Are they aquatic and poisonous?

[hagrides]

Some carry an electrical charge. Some explode on contact. None of them seem particularly fond of the standing acid of their habitat.

We do not have much in the way of non-acidic water for creatures to reside in.