Monster Essays: Crossbreeding

Been a while since one of these. You may notice the class in the essay’s description has changed; Dylan has graduated from his basic class and is pursuing his masters after getting his bachelors in Interspecies Studies, conducting some more individual projects and reporting directly to his old professor. Plan is for him to go to historical locations, interview major people in the world, visit unique areas and homelands and things like that.

I’d been asked about and thought about interspecies offspring and never had a clear answer. Most of them CAN mix, as long as they don’t lay eggs or the like, but a lot of them don’t actually have names of their own. I like to treat it like someone saying they’re half-Irish and half-German, or Asian-American. There’s some key words like holstaurs and demigorgons, but for the most part you just have to have that awkward conversation and explain “My dad was an elf, my mom was a goblin” or whatever about why you’re greenish-brown but tall and skinny. Not that they’re a raging majority anyway.

Dylan Eywind

Interspecies Relations Masters Study

Human Hybrids. A History of Crossbreeding.

A-. Diverse coverage, while some could have used more information. If you’d like some more information on interbreeding, feel free to visit my office anytime.

Shortly after the introduction of any intelligent species, humanity ponders the question “Can I sleep with it?” While the answer is a general yes, the follow up question tends to be “Can they get pregnant?”

This proves to be a more complex question. It comes down to a case by case basis based on the species involved. The fact that this interbreeding has only occurred in the last century or so has left it extremely experimental, and while such reproduction is normally safe it can have wildly unpredictable results.

To start, a few of the species are impossible to interbreed with humans. Demons have such heavily magical anatomy that they are incapable of spawning a child by conventional means. The magic-heavy process between a mating couple leaves their genitalia simply means of conducting the exchange of energies, which other races can situationally replicate with proper magic training.

Mermaids and lizards have incompatible reproduction with most mammals; both spawn with a complex process involving their eggs, so while sex is possible it does not produce any young.

Vampires and werewolves are themselves a sub-species or a condition, so do not reproduce in the same sense as most creatures. Vampirism can spread by a ritualistic exchange of blood, but they are genetically infertile once they make their transformation. Werewolves can breed conventionally like their born species, but with a high chance of passing lycanthropy onto their child. The condition itself is passed on via bodily fluids.

Many of the more humanoid races interbreed with relatively minor alterations, creating foreseeable results. Humans, gnomes, elves, ogres, halflings and dwarves can create crossbreeds, if with slightly lower odds of reproduction. In a genuine attempt, it is roughly estimated at a 1 in 10 chance with intercourse succeeding in creating a child. The results vary, but these are normally predictable offspring; short and stocky half-dwarves, taller and tougher quarterlings, mildly magical half-elves, etc. Classification of these subspecies is still undergoing study and are better recognized by nicknames or simply adding the prefix “half” to their race. In modern conventions, one may introduce themselves as “half orc, half elf” or simply “a half-elf.”

Goblins have proven a popular example. Humans initially found it difficult or unlikely to reproduce with goblins, helping lead to their reputation as casual sex partners. The use of modern medicines reduced the chance to almost absolute zero, while other medications were developed that could greatly increase their fertility rate (as some female goblins demanded). While most goblins give birth to litters, a halfbreed is much more likely to be born as an only child. For all the variety they can possess, the offspring almost universally keep a goblin’s resistance to toxins and sickness.

Demigoblins vary wildly in their traits as humans have no natural green pigment beyond the very ill. This commonly manifests in a coppery skin tone, or sometimes heavier leanings towards green or blue. They tend to be short and thin with increased curves and sharper teeth, but the exact details are difficult to predict. Some have been born nearly identical to a goblin while others are born with blotchy patches of greener skin on conventional human skin tones.

Minotaurs are another famous case of interbreeding. Holstaurs are identified as half-minotaurs, crossed with one of the humanoid races. The compatibility has yet to be fully explored and explained, but there is some stability found in the offspring. Holstaurs tend to bear the bovine ears, horns and hooves of a minotaur while otherwise resembling large and muscular humans. While they possess great strength and endurance, the mix of human bodies with hooves tend to leave them with unsteady equilibriums that can make them clumsy with the proper sense of caution and care.

Gorgons have had a closer response to goblins in their hybridization. Fertility rates are low, with the added element of the smaller population of gorgons compared to humans or goblins. Their offspring tend to be consistent; they carry the natural good looks and cursed vision of a gorgon but tend to lose their snake-like hair and much of their scales. The hair-like appendages lose their heads and teeth as well as most of their mobility, leading to simply thick, tentacle-like hair. While many find this more appealing, the difficulty is in restoring a stoned victim. The cure is from the bite of a gorgon, and the demigorgon’s lack of snakes can make the bite more difficult and awkward.

Fairies are capable of interspecies reproduction, but it is very difficult. Their small but durable bodies make it difficult to penetrate (or be penetrated) deep enough to result in a pregnancy, though this can be replicated with more delicate devices such as an eyedropper. The resulting young vary, but they typically produce shorter and more magically capable crossbreeds. Curiously, almost none of these offspring have wings in the same way a fairy does. Their reliance on magic and the lightweight body of a fairy seem to make them flightless on the rare occasions when they do.

Despite some rumors, harpy reproductive organs are very similar to a human. Harpies can become pregnant from another race, but for whatever reason and difference between them, they will lay eggs that will invariably hatch into harpies. They may possess minor traits of their father but they will ultimately be avian creatures. Similarly, males can impregnate other races but they will emerge as the mother’s race. This may have to do with the majority of fertility and care for a child relying on the mother harpy, leaving relatively little influence by the male’s semen.

Orcs, somewhat surprisingly, have proven to be very fertile creatures. Their practical evolution and nomadic life left little time to comfort sex, making their males potent and females fertile when they are so inclined. Research shows that a proper sense of comfort and familiarity between the partners does affect this, as an orc’s biology may be more wary about sharing its offspring with a rival tribe. For example, this leads to less chances of impregnation with a partner picked up at the club while a long-dating couple will find their odds ridiculously higher. Capable of interbreeding with most races, half-orcs tend to be muscular and sturdy while their natural compulsion to move and fight are drastically reduced (or even absent).

Witches fall somewhere among the more mundane races, capable of mating and reproducing comfortably. Their traits tend to be less notable, but an interesting factor is in the skin. Half-witches show no green skin until they begin to interact with magic, at which point increased use shows off their witchly traits the more they use it.

Dragons present an interesting case. As shapeshifters, they are capable of breeding with nearly anything as any gender. The underlying factor is internal, as genuinely dragon semen is incredibly potent to a point of intense discomfort in most partners. Dragons can alter their anatomy to produce genetic fluids of any species they wish, such as posing as a halfling and creating a quartlerling despite their true draconic nature. The child will show traits matching whichever sort of seed the dragon planted.

In terms of females, it is a similar but less complicated case. Draconic wombs are complex and extremely durable, built to protect its unborn child as fiercely as its treasures. The pregnant female can still shapeshift, but the womb will remain intact regardless of their new size. Regardless of how they are created, half-dragons are very rare but tend to be incredibly durable. Half-dragon Michael Long is commonly considered the most capable martial artist on the planet, accredited to his immense physical strength and durability as much as his skill.

Centaurs have a similar problem to dragons; they are technically capable of interbreeding, but their anatomy makes this difficult. The equine phalluses can be challenging to insert in a smaller race while males of other species will likely fall short of reaching their ovaries. Artificial methods have proven the most effective, leading to the creation of fawns or satyrs. The terms are effectively interchangeable, with the general leanings towards the shaggier breeds of centaur’s young being called satyrs and the smoother coats being fawns. They appear to be a compromise of human and centaur lower bodies, bearing two strong, furry, hooved legs. They tend to be hardy and healthy creatures, though hormones and instincts tend to be strong in them. Centaur genetics and processes can be overwhelming when used in a creature half the size they were meant for.

Cyclops and yeti have proven to be absolute wildcards in this regard. They possess a similarly low odds of interbreeding, but entirely possible. Similar to goblins, they will reproduce normally but with random traits passed on to their kin, even within the case of twins or triplets. A demi-clops may possess one or two eyes, be orange or have conventional skin-tones, or be as bulky as their father, short and pudgy like their mother, or absolutely mundane height of their other parent. The radical levels of their development make them unpredictable and often closely monitored by doctors about whether their mother can carry them to full term without magical or medical intervention. Yeti tend to have less extreme results, but similar variability; heavier body hair is common, whether patches of white in their hair or fully shaggy coats on their limbs. Large hands or feet may occur, or even the powerful lung capacity of a yeti. These hybrids are called sasquatches in the traditional yeti tongue, which roughly translates to “another inside.”

The fact remains that interspecies reproduction is a wild frontier of genetics and medical science that is still being explored. Just as some creatures of folklore proved to be real in the last century, others are being discovered as the offspring of those discoveries. There seems to be no sign of this exploration coming to a stop, given the deep and rapid intermingling of the species and our cultures. Evangeline Laroche, head of medicinal magic at Undyne University, was quoted saying the following in a recent interview:

“The intermingling of our species is as impressive as it is fascinating. It is a thing to be celebrated, and something to be passed on to our children. Exactly what those children will look like is, currently, a mystery to me. Whatever they are, I can only hope that they will all be loved.”