Conception Lore

[LineageRazor]

The difficulty with Lalafel, as I stated above, is that they don't seem to have breasts with mammary glands, and so might be too evolutionarily different from the other races for offspring to be viable.

I'd say that the fact Lalafel women don't have breasts is a very poor indicator of whether they lactate or not. Many (in fact, almost all) mammals lactate from nipples that are pretty much flush with their torsos. The way that human breasts protrude from the torso the way that they do is actually a very unusual evolutionary development, and there's been a fair amount of scientific study on the topic of why they developed that way. (My favorite theory is that humans developed to be a semi-aquatic species, which helps to explain our lack of body hair, as well; ancient humans would spend a lot of time in rivers and shallow lakes to avoid predators, and the fatty breasts located high on the torso helped mothers to nurse their young while mostly submerged. But I digress.) Lack of visible breasts is not a good measure for whether a species has mammary glands, and I think it's fairly certain that Lalafel are as mammalian as any of the other races.

Other biological factors, size especially, could make Lalafel cross-breeds unlikely, though, this is certainly true!

As for Mi'qote and Au Ra, I take the fact that they are counted among the "spoken" races (e.g., not Beastmen) to indicate that there's a deeper commonality among them than simple outward appearance. I think that they are all the same species, and simply show a great deal of genetic diversity, similar to how chihuahuas and timber wolves are both Canis Lupis, and cabbage and broccoli are both Brassica Oleracea. Basically, they may have tails and horns/ears, but they're still humans with bits that resemble parts from other animals, rather than non-humans that happen to look predominantly human. I'd say that all aspects of Mi'qote and Au Ra should be considered "human unless directly stated otherwise" - so unless the game specifically says that Au Ra lay eggs, I think it's pretty unlikely to be true! (Not to mention the can of worms you open by referring to Au Ra as reptiles in the first place, when there seems to be a raging debate as to whether they are dragons or demons - do demons lay eggs???)

Also, I imagine Miqo'te courtesans and dancers are more common because, well, they are sexy cat people.

This is more of a meta explanation - choosing a "less human" race because it's less controversial to objectify a clearly-fantastical race (and, on the other end of the spectrum, also because they appeal to a significantly large demographic due to being more exotic than ordinary human women) explains why the producers of the game did it, but does not really contribute to in-game lore: What Eorzean reasons do Mi'qote have for gravitating to that profession?

And, to be fair, it may not even be the case that this is true. Aside from the all-Mi'qote dancers on the Ruby Road Exchange in Ul'dah, there seems to be a pretty even mixture of races. All kinds of women are in the employ of Gegeruju - even a Lalafel is among the dancers on the docks near Hidden Falls. In the Gold Saucer, while the scantily-clad hosteses may not, strictly speaking, be courtesans, they're certainly there to be eye candy - and also include a mix of all races.

[Kyran-Varlsen]

As for Mi'qote and Au Ra, I take the fact that they are counted among the "spoken" races (e.g., not Beastmen) to indicate that there's a deeper commonality among them than simple outward appearance. I think that they are all the same species, and simply show a great deal of genetic diversity, similar to how chihuahuas and timber wolves are both Canis Lupis, and cabbage and broccoli are both Brassica Oleracea. Basically, they may have tails and horns/ears, but they're still humans with bits thatresemble parts from other animals, rather than non-humans that happen to look predominantly human. I'd say that all aspects of Mi'qote and Au Ra should be considered "human unless directly stated otherwise" - so unless the game specifically says that Au Ra lay eggs, I think it's pretty unlikely to be true! (Not to mention the can of worms you open by referring to Au Ra as reptiles in the first place, when there seems to be a raging debate as to whether they are dragons or demons - do demons lay eggs???)

I agree with your assessment that Au Ra are clearly mammals and likely don't lay eggs (all platypus analogies aside). That said, a common evolutionary point for all the Spoken races would certainly solve the quandary of why interbreeding is possible among some of them. Though the possible creation by gods or magical experimentation may be just as likely in a fantastical setting.

And, to be fair, it may not even be the case that this is true. Aside from the all-Mi'qote dancers on the Ruby Road Exchange in Ul'dah, there seems to be a pretty even mixture of races. All kinds of women are in the employ of Gegeruju - even a Lalafel is among the dancers on the docks near Hidden Falls. In the Gold Saucer, while the scantily-clad hosteses may not, strictly speaking, be courtesans, they're certainly there to be eye candy - and also include a mix of all races.

The Gold Saucer came much later in the game's development so I would factor that the developers had more time to pay attention to such details as opposed to just copy-pasting the same Miqo'te. As for the employ of Master Gegeruju I did not notice any Lalafel dancers among his employees so I may have to check back later. And sorry for the meta-explanation, I'll try to stick to lore based speculation hence-forth.

[LineageRazor]

As for the employ of Master Gegeruju I did not notice any Lalafel dancers among his employees so I may have to check back later. And sorry for the meta-explanation, I'll try to stick to lore based speculation hence-forth.

Honestly, given that Gegeruju is a Lalafell himself, I'm a bit surprised that there aren't MORE Lalafel gals in his employ. I guess he's got a fetish for other races? But, yeah, there's definitely a Lala dancer among the NPCs on the Hidden Falls docks. I became well acquainted with all of them, during the time I spent trying to catch that damn Bombardfish! XD

And no need to apologize. Even if it doesn't precisely qualify as "lore", the meta stuff is still interesting and worth talking about!

[Kyran-Varlsen]

Honestly, given that Gegeruju is a Lalafell himself, I'm a bit surprised that there aren't MORE Lalafel gals in his employ. I guess he's got a fetish for other races? But, yeah, there's definitely a Lala dancer among the NPCs on the Hidden Falls docks. I became well acquainted with all of them, during the time I spent trying to catch that damn Bombardfish! XD

And no need to apologize. Even if it doesn't precisely qualify as "lore", the meta stuff is still interesting and worth talking about!

Alright thanks. Still, sexual fetish considerations aside, I don't think we have much more to go on in speculating possible cross-species compatibility when it comes to conception. I would not rule out that the developers may introduce a new race in the next expansion if it is thought that this will bring in new players. With said race introduced maybe new backstory on possible conception combinations will be considered. They could bring back the Viera (the bunny people) which originated in Final Fantasy 13 as a female only race. They were originally on the table for Heavensward where male Viera would have been included but the Au Ra won out in the end. Though I think the Guado from Final Fantasy X would be better as the Viera are too similar to the Miqo'te and Au Ra. Lest we forget, the Guado bore many similarities to the Elezan and did also produce a hybrid in the form of the character Seymour. Or we could just make do with a revamped version of the Aegyl, bird people from Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, though they would need to have their wings clipped to fit in normal armor and perhaps add feathers across more portions of their bodies to make them distinct from Hyur.

With the Guado we can get a humanoid that is distinct enough from the Hyur, who are already almost copied by the Miqo'te and Au Ra, while only slightly infringing on Elezan features. They certainly don't need to be as tall as the Elezan, those Ishgardian knights we fight alongside are hulking warriors indeed compared to a small hyur like my own character.

[LineageRazor]

Unearthing this ancient thread, as the recent Moonfaire event has confirmed something I suspected long ago:

Honestly, given that Gegeruju is a Lalafell himself, I'm a bit surprised that there aren't MORE Lalafel gals in his employ. I guess he's got a fetish for other races?

Yeeup, it's been confirmed that Gegeruju has a thing for women of other races, and explicitly names Miqo'te as tickling his fancy. This likely comes as a surprise to no one.

Still, it's yet another in-game example of in-game characters having absolutely no inhibitions when it comes to the subject of interracial hanky-panky, something that's theoretically supposed to be taboo. Even his beleaguered, yet normally level-headed assistant is perfectly open about how much she loves her some Hyur and Roe manflesh. (Dear, you're drooling - might want to clean that up.)

Then again, this IS Costa Del Sol. If taboos are to be tossed aside, this would be the place...