Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Suma?"

Xisuma looks up from his makeshift work area made from the projected screens around his helmet on his desk, over at his younger brother who is standing hesitantly in the doorway to his bedroom.

"Yes, Nelly?" He smiles gently at them.

It's still a relief to see Ex safe and happy, though X's sad that they have so many scars - both physical and mental - from the abuse that Jeff the Minion put him through. He is still haggard and frail from the months he’s spent banned in the Farlands. He’s way too thin for X's liking, but it's nothing some food and rest can't cure. 

He honestly expects to be chastised by them for still being awake just after sunset when everyone else is already sleeping.

They surprise him by biting their lip before quietly saying. "The Ice- The Ice Queen said that a Mantis is on the server."

"What? Now?" X frowns, turning away to check the whitelist. 

This season there should be 29 names visible on the whitelist including his sibling and the two Helspawn. Only 26 names stare back at him, however, what with Iskall and Stress being away working on Vault Hunters, and Etho taking a break from Hermitcraft to spend time on his private server. "But, no new Players have joined the server…"

"She was very insistent that there is one." Ex says stubbornly, coming over to frown at the list himself. "She said that they're just a nymph, so maybe they don't register as a Player to the whitelist yet? Being a kid?"

"Perhaps?" X doubtfully says, looking up at Ex. "She can be a bit of a trickster though. Her and her brother both, so I wouldn't put it pass her to just be messing-"

ding!

Both brothers pause and look at one of the projected screens above X's helmet, the one with the server-wide chat. There is a death message there that takes up practically the whole screen.

< Zedaph was eaten alive by VintageBeef >

"What in the world?" X whispers. 

Beef… ate Zed? How can that be? Yes X is aware that something was physically happening to Beef, but what could have happened to result in this message?

Unless Beef is-

Ex dryly says, jerking a thumb at the message. "I think we found the missing nymph, Suma."

X nods slowly, a little dumbfounded. "I believe we have…" He stands up, shaking his head. "Oh my days, this is a mess! Poor Beef! He's probably so confused!"

X picks up his helmet, disconnecting it from the holo display he had it on, and looks at Ex. He can tell his sibling is on edge, frost and red lightning crawling across their right arm as he bites his lip hard.

"Nelly." He calmly says. "I need you to pack some things for us. Mostly food. I'm going to go wait outside for him to arrive."

Ex twitches - the frost and lightning on his skin fading as if X had just imagined them - and looks at him confused. "What? Why?"

"If Beef is a Moon Mantis, that means he's going to go for the nearest End Players on the server to protect them. You and I are the only such beings on the server." X reminds them.

Ex gets a look of immediate understanding and nods. They turn and he can hear them rushing off to pack a few shulkers with food.

He puts his helmet on and goes outside to wait for Beef. He takes a steadying breath, listening to the filters working to add more void and remove excess oxygen from the Overworld air that he was intaking.

Oh dear, this really is a mess. 

And on a night when everyone sleeps through so Bdubs won't go Feral, no less!

He'll message everyone about this once he's sure that Beef is alright…

He turns towards a distant humming that gets louder and louder. He smiles seeing a large dark teal Mantis with purple wings rapidly approaching his base. If X didn't believe that this was Beef, he has the proof dangling below the Mantis: Beef's bloodstained apron hanging around his neck and flapping in the wind like a flag.

His smile fades seeing how unsteady the Mantis looks in the air as he comes towards him.

He waves at him and Beef lands - a bit shakily to X's slight worry - at the base of the hill that the tower he and Ex live in stands on before slowly climbing up the rocks towards him.

"Hullo there! Are you doing okay, Beef?" He calls out when he gets to the top.

Blue faceted eyes focus on him as his head tilts and he reaches out a trembling foreleg towards him…

~0.0~

He is burning up inside.

Consuming the heart of threat-electricity-leech hurt him.

He threw up most of it but enough remains inside him to hurt.

It burns and it cuts deep inside him and he just wants it to stop.

He flees the den that threat-electricity-leech had made in a daze.

He hurts so much but he has to Protect his Charges.

The sound of a warm voice welcoming him to Hermitcraft, amplified by a helmet.

The smell of ozone as someone stands in a defensive stance before him.

The glitter of sunlight off of iron armor, diamond tools, and golden scales.

The feeling of tacky slime touching him as he shakes hands with someone to seal a deal.

He doesn't have the energy to gather them all up right now though.

He nods to himself and clumsily opens his wings, taking to the air.

Pink-void-ocean and red-void-ozone are his priorities at this moment.

Something inside him screams ProtectEndBeingProtectVoidwalkerProtectAdminMineProtectAdminSiblingProtectProtect Protect when he thinks of them for too long.

He can take them to his nest and protect them there.

Before he knows it, he's deep in the heart of pink-void-ocean's territory, wobbling slightly as he lands at the base of the hill where his base is.

He climbs up slowly and when he gets to the top, he pauses.

Pink-void-ocean is standing there waiting for him.

He asks something of him but he can't focus on that.

He reaches a trembling foreleg out and carefully pulls him in close.

Pink-void-ozone says something else to him but he can't focus right now.

It hurts too much and they're not someplace safe.

He still purrs when pink-void-ocean scratches his head gently though.

His presence and gestures are comforting.

His Charge says something more and removes some cloth from around his throat - his apron, his inventory, he'll need that eventually - and pats his foreleg gently.

He weakly chirps, leaning down to bunt his head against pink-void-ocean's helmet.

He perks up when red-void-ozone shows up, looking at the cloth that pink-void-ocean took from him.

Red-void-ozone looks up at him, before looking at pink-void-ocean and says something that he can't focus on.

Pink-void-ocean says something in response to his sibling before looking up at him.

Red-void-ozone makes a hissing noise as they tense up.

Can't have that.

Needs to be relaxed.

He tugs red-void-ozone close as well and bunts his head against their head gently as well.

He warbles in relief.

Both are safe for the moment.

He just needs to take them back to his nest.

~0.0~

"Beef? Are you okay?" X repeats as Beef tugs him close.

He just gets a confused sounding chirp in response. 

X gently scratches his jaw and sighs. "Oh dear, you're obviously out of it."

Beef purrs, leaning into the scratching like any Mantis back home would.

"Well, let me take charge of your apron for you." X says as he carefully removes the garment from around his neck. "Don't want it getting shredded beyond use and for you to lose your inventory because of it."

He pats Beef's foreleg and gets a weak chirp and a gentle headbutt in response. This close to him, X's helmet starts automatically analyzing Beef's new biology and for the most part he seems okay. Typical Void and Cryptid levels for a Moon Mantis if a bit low because they're not in The End or The Expanse to renew his Void levels.

The only worrying thing is the level of radiation that Beef's giving off. 

If he was still a human, it would've been enough to make him violently ill to say the least. 

That in combination with the redstone paste stuck on his face that X carefully brushes away from his mandibles starts to slide some puzzle pieces into place.

Guess that answers the question of what happened Beef ate Zed…

"So were we right?" Ex speaks up from behind X, their voice altered to be deeper and more menacing by their rebreather.

He looks back at his brother, whose crimson eyes look from the apron folded over his arm, up at Beef, and then down to X expectantly.

"Yeah, it's Beef." X softly says. "There's… a high level of radiation coming from him. I think he ate Zed's redstone core. Hence the death message."

Ex hisses sympathetically, his rebreather amplifying the noise.

Beef reaches out with his other foreleg and pulls Ex in close as well. He bunts gently against Ex's head with a warble before looking from them off towards where X knows he settled down for the season.

"Nelly? Did you pack up some food and supplies for us?" X asks, gently petting Beef's head to try and keep him calm. He smiles as Beef starts purring, leaning into his hands.

Ex nods and says. "I got 4 shulkers. Two of food, and two of miscellaneous stuff we're probably gonna need like potions and shit."

"Diamond for the swear jar." X says absently as he looks up at Beef.

He ignores his brother flipping him off and whistles to catch Beef's attention again.

"Are you going to take us to your nest now?" X asks.

Beef's posture changes when he says the words "your nest now" to him.

He sits up straight, suddenly alert, and looks from X towards where his base is and back. He trills nudging at X and then Ex with his head, pushing them towards where his base is.

"Yes, we will go with you to your nest." X chuckles, patting his head.

Ex huffs, folding their arms, but nods in agreement.

Beef chirps happily and starts to grab both of them when he pauses. He looks at them and then down at himself. He withdraws his forelegs, whining as he shakes his head.

"Is something wrong?" X asks him concerned.

~0.0~

He relaxes as pink-void-ocean and red-void-ozone talk to each other, their voices blending together into a mess of white noise.

He leans into pink-void-ocean's touch as he is pet gently and purrs softly.

Pink-void-ocean's gloves have just enough drag to make being pet by him feel like he's being groomed.

Pink-void-ocean whistles to catch his attention and says something to him.

Most of it is meaningless to him until the end.

"-your nest now?"

His nest?

He perks up, a burst of energy filling him.

His nest!

He looks from his Charges off towards where his nest is.

Yes!

They need to go to his nest!

He can Protect them from threats there!

He trills excitedly, nudging first pink-void-ocean and then red-void-ozone with his head.

They need to come with him to his nest!

Pink-void-ocean laughs and pats his head gently.

"Yes, we will go with you to your nest."

Red-void-ozone folds their arms and nods in agreement.

He trills happily and starts to wrap his forelegs around each of them before pausing.

He isn't at full strength.

Even now, he can feel that he's trembling, barely able to stand up straight.

The only reason he is even awake and aware right now is that his Charges have asked to go to his nest, which is fueling him to keep Protecting them.

He can't carry them both safely.

He reluctantly pulls back, whining as he shakes his head.

"Is something wrong?"

Pink-void-ocean sounds concerned as if he is the one that needs Protecting rather than his Charges.

He gestures from himself to them and shakes his head again.

He shows them how his forelegs are shaking.

He is very scared of dropping them.

He can't drop them, that would hurt them and he can't hurt them, he is supposed to Protect Protect Protect -

"Oh. Oh, I get it."

Red-void-ozone nods knowingly.

"The Mantis can't carry us like he wants to. Look at how he's trembling?"

He lifts one of his own gloved hands which also shakes slightly.

"Eating that Wormman wanna-be's core really fucked him up like how J- how he messed me up."

"Swear jar." 

Pink-void-ocean says absently, as he looks up at him - red-void-ozone called him The Mantis which is what he is now so it's a good Title to have - before asking.

"Is that what's wrong? You're too hurt so you can't carry us back?"

The Mantis nods sadly at him.

He wants to.

He really does.

But he doesn't trust himself to be able to keep a hold of both of them in midair.

"Hmmm… that could be an issue…" 

Pink-void-ocean looks at his sibling before nodding.

He looks up at The Mantis.

"Do you think you can carry just one of us?"

He thinks about it before nodding.

Yes.

Yes, he can carry one of them.

He'll have to fly lower and slower than he knows he can since he still doesn't trust himself, but he can carry one of them.

"Okay. You carry Nelly then."

"Huh?! Why me!?"

Red-void-ozone looks very perturbed by his statement.

"You're still recovering from being trapped in the Farlands for several years, Nelly. I don't want you to stress yourself out too much."

Pink-void-ocean's voice is kind and gentle.

What can be seen of red-void-ozone's face over his rebreather flushes as they look away, embarrassed.

"Y-yeah well…"

They look up at him shyly.

"You won't… You won't drop me… right?"

The Mantis presses a foreleg to his chest and croons, bowing his head.

He promises not to drop his Charge on purpose or by accident.

"... Okay then."

He purrs as he scoops red-void-ozone up. 

One of his forelegs curls underneath them, supporting their rear and back as he picks them up.

His other foreleg comes up to support their back as he holds them close to his shoulder.

"Whoawhoawhoa wait a second-!" 

Red-void-ozone struggles slightly as he picks him up.

The Mantis waits for him to settle - grumbling softly in Enderian as he does so - before gently grooming their long messy white hair.

One of his Mates has white hair too though his Mate wears his long white hair up in a bun unlike his Charge.

He will need to get beloved-ice-redstone to his nest too eventually.

But his Charges come first.

Once he's done grooming them, he looks at pink-void-ocean and chirps questioningly.

Is pink-void-ocean ready to head to his nest too?

He can see pink-void-ocean's eyes crinkle with his smile.

"Is Nelly secure in your arms?"

He nods, squeezing red-void-ozone gently.

Red-void-ozone makes a soft noise, wrapping their arms around his neck in response.

"Then let's go back to your nest."

Pink-void-ocean pulls out some fireworks and motions for him to go first.

He chirps an affirmative and spreads his wings, crouching before he carefully takes off.

Red-void-ozone gasps and their arms tighten around his neck as they press closer to him.

There's the pop of a firework being fired behind him as pink-void-ocean flies to glide beside him.

He purrs happily and flies off towards his base.

When they reach his base, The Mantis carefully puts red-void-ozone down so he can open the entrance to his nest.

He gently ushers his Charges in before sealing the door behind them.

"Oh my goodness!" 

Pink-void-ocean looks around at the quartz and deepslate walls around the three of them.

He croons softly, worried.

Do his Charges like his nest?

He made it to Protect them but also to look pretty.

He watches red-void-ozone take off their rebreather and take a cautious breath.

"Huh. There's Void in the air. It's diluted here but there's probably a room in this place where it's concentrated."

They tell pink-void-ocean.

"Really?"

Pink-void-ocean looks at The Mantis.

"Is that true?"

The Mantis nods, giving another nervous chitter.

"That's very kind and clever of you to do! Thank you!"

Pink-void-ocean praises him.

One he hears the praise, all his energy drains out of him.

His Charges are safe and they love his nest.

He lets himself relax and he staggers away to his den within the base.

"Huh? Where's he going?"

Footsteps echo through the halls behind him, following him to his den.

"Oh! He's probably really exhausted! I honestly don't blame him for wanting to go to sleep."

He looks back at his Charges and gestures from them to the entrance to his den.

They're welcome to join him if they would like.

"Oh? You want us to sleep with you?"

Pink-void-ocean asks.

He nods and ducks into his den, leaving the door open behind him in invitation.

He climbs into the pile of his and his Mates' clothes, spinning around a bit before settling down.

There's a moment's pause and then his Charges climb in as well, settling with their backs against his side.

He purrs happily, nuzzling each of them before laying his head down on red-void-ozone's lap, pinning pink-void-ocean to his side as well.

The Mantis sighs happily as he lets sleep take him.

Two of his Charges are safe in his nest and soon the rest of them will be safe along with his Kin and their Allies.

He just needs to go find them…

Chapter Text

Helscape

• The dimension that the Helspawn [see Helspawn for clarification] come from
  • sometimes called Hels for short but since this can be confusing for Helspawn who have "Hels" in their names so they usually resort to alternative titles 
  • Alternative Titles include
    • The Wasteland
    • The Narrow Ways
    • The Endless Waste
    • The Oven/Furnace
    • The Freezer (if the Helspawn comes from/lives close to bedrock where ice exists)
  • It is separated from both the Overworld and the End/Expanse, but sometimes connections with the Nether happen
    • The Helscape was initially meant to be the Nether's equivalent of the Expanse: The Infinite
      • Notch is why we can't have nice things 
    • Stolen and corrupted somewhere between the 1.2 (when the Nether was first introduced) and 1.3 (when Enderchests were introduced) updates
  • It is much like the Nether on initial impressions though it is actually a lot more complex in terms of biome diversity than the Nether, the same way the Expanse is like the End but more
    • There is water in the Helscape! It's just usually found either boiling in hot springs or frozen in sheets down closer to bedrock as well as in plants
    • The average landscape is either empty and filled with rocks/lava pools or is filled with forests of lots of woody plants (trees, bushes, sugarcane, etc.) as well as plants adapted for hotter temperatures (cacti, bamboo, crimson/warped shrooms, etc.) because anything else would dehydrate and die in the heat
    • Lots of fire resistant/immune creatures from the Nether as well as the Overworld can be naturally found in the Helscape
      • Magma Cubes, Blazes, Wither Skeletons, Endermen, Ghasts, Piglins, Hoglins, Zombie Piglin, Husks, Phoenixes, Red/Orange Slimes, etc.
    • They also have Mobs that were never implemented which includes the failed Mob vote creatures and ones that had been implemented but cannot be accessed except through cheats like Giant Zombies
  • Ancient debris is as plentiful there as iron is in the Overworld though since a lot of iron is also found a lot in the Helscape, they have figured out how to bond the debris to iron to make their own type of Netherite
    • Iron Netherite (Steel) is not as sturdy as Diamond Netherite but it's lighter (can be moved around in easier) and more flexible (more easily shaped into tools/armor/weapons)
  • They also have a lot of ores that were scrapped concepts like rubies and silver
  • Diamonds can still be found in the Helscape (coal + heat + pressure = diamonds after all) but most diamonds found in the Helscape are not fit to be made into weapons/tools/armor
    • Just fine for Vex and other creature consumption and currency though
  • The least common ore that can be found in the Nether is lapis, limiting the ability to have enchantments from an enchanting table
    • Enchanted weapons/tools/armor mostly come from magic using Helspawn such as Cardinal (Cub's Helsmit) or Oscar (Scar's Helsmit) enchanting items for other Helspawn
  • Emeralds cannot be found in the Helscape at all since Villager trading was not feasible when the Helscape was initially made
    • There are no villagers either, but Piglins take the place of Villagers in the Helscape
  • Due to the lack of access to the End/Expanse, things like shulkers and elytra are unknown to Helspawn
    • This is why Wels using his elytra to escape the hole startled Hels so much, the hole was too small for Wels to spread his dragon wings normally so he used the elytra like a balloon to get out of there so he could spread his wings properly
  • However since Endermen can spawn in the Helscape, items like Ender Eyes and items that can be crafted from them (including Enderchests & End Crystals) are available in the Helscape
  • The Helspawn don't call items from the End by their actual names though since, again they have no idea that the End/Expanse exists
    • Ender Eyes are Dragon Eye Gems
    • End Crystals are Ender Bombs
    • End Chests are Link(ed) Chests
    • Ender Pearls are Transport Pearls

Helspawn

• the name for the beings that come from the Helscape
• They are spawned from the shed data of Players
  • usually data that is shed during times of concentrated negative events/emotions
    • XPDevon (Jevin's Helsmit) spawned when Jevin was kidnapped by hybrid hunters and separated from his family
    • Think of all the data scraps you get when you defrag a drive or program. All those scraps that you trashed? Those fragments are what gets combined to make a Helspawn with very few exceptions
  • Anytime their Other [see Other(s) for clarification on term] has a negative experience and/or represses negative aspects about themselves, it changes the Helspawn
    • HP (Mumbo's Helsmit) for example is an absolute mess of a being. You know how anxious and self-doubting Mumbo is of himself normally? HP is that but like 100x worse. Poor guy is paranoid and jumpy to the point that he tends to put down and blow up an End Crystal first and ask questions later
  • There is an unofficial, unspoken rule in the Helscape that you don't fuck with newly spawned Helspawn
    • If you do break this rule, then you're the absolute scummiest scum to ever exist
    • Most newly spawned Helspawn have the appearance of young teens/adults though some will (rarely) be spawned as older adults or (rarer) as very young kids
      • Usually will be given basic stone tools and golden armor to protect them from piglins before being sent off in a direction where they can gather some resources without being threatened or killed for said resources
  • Helspawn usually look mostly identical to their Others aside from a few physical differences in their clothes, hair color, and/or skin color, though changes in species, and/or other personal effects is not unheard of either
    • Professor (Doc's Helsmit) is still an Anthro Creeper hybrid that is missing his left eye and right arm but Prof also has a cybernetic left leg and spine/tail as well from his own work
  • However, some Helspawn can look completely different from their Other
    • Caffeinatd (Hypno's Helsmit) is not a Fish Siren, but instead is a Bird Siren so he looks more like an aquatic Harpy than a Mer like Hypno does
  • Most Helspawn have red eyes if they have visible eyes at all unless their Other also has red eyes or they are something that doesn't have red eyes normally
    • For example since Tango has red eyes, his Helsmit Foxtrot has yellow eyes and Pathos (Etho's Helsmit) has a yellow left eye instead of a red one
    • Osliar (Keralis' Helsmit) has intense blue eyes and no one can figure out why when Keralis has brown eyes

How To Get Into The Helscape

• There is no set, surefire way to get into the Helscape unless you are
  • a Helspawn
    • • Cannot leave the Helscape except occasionally being able to reach the Nether
    • are invited into the Helscape by a Helspawn 
      • Mumbo Is Friend Shaped™
    • have somehow independently glitched into the Helscape from the Nether/Overworld 
      • Ex and Eret have both done this route on separate occasions

Ways For Helspawn To Leave The Nether

• There is no way out of the Helscape for a Helspawn unless their Other meets one or more of the following conditions
  • lowers their guard enough to be possessed by them 
    • • Ex. NHO in the Jungle or the Boogeymen in Last Life 
    • somehow their Other clones themself, resulting in an empty shell for the Helspawn to possess
      • Oscar (possessing a magical Fetch of Scar) & Hels (possessing a clone body of Wels)
    • They are summoned to the Overworld and given a physical body to possess there
      • Theoretically can be done with Repulse (Impulse's Helsmit)

What are Helsmitcraft/Helsdomcraft/Helscrack/SciHels/Nightmare SMP, etc.?

• various Hels versions of Overworld servers
  • Take the form of independent cities that changes as the server they are connected to changes
    • When you visit one, you abide by their rules until you leave that place
  • Form as the Others of the Helspawn are drawn together to make servers and the Helspawn there come and part ways when their Others do
    • Dynamics between Helspawn tends to echo their Others and they will accept other Helspawn to replace any missing members of a dynamic that their Others have
      • Instead of Idea being the result of X, Keralis, and Bdubs, the Hels version of that friendship is Osliar, Boogey, and Hels
  • Because of the mutable nature of this, there are loose agreements that Helspawn that are drawn to more than one server at a time such as Opal (Pearl's Helsmit) and Eva (Gem's Helsmit) with Helsmitcraft and Helspires are to be considered neutral parties and tend to be merchants/diplomats between the server cities

Other(s)

• Helspawn term for Players and anyone that is not from the Helscape in general
• Not all Others have Helspawn such as those from the End or the Expanse (The Deep End as it is colloquially known by Overworld Players)
  • The Gods and Undead Players also have no Helspawn
  • There can be Helspawn versions of Watchers only if the Watcher in question was once a Player and the Helspawn from Watchers are not also Watchers
    • Gaelach is Grian's Helspawn but he doesn't have access to Grian's Watcher powers
    • Kris, Karl's Helspawn, is the same 

Miscellaneous Helscape facts

• There are ice highways that connect Spawn to various cities and various cities to each other
• Very big and useful but also a target for people looking to get rich quick so unless you have a bunch of people together and they're all armed to the teeth, traveling by foot in the Helscape is actually safer
• The Helscape world spawn, hot springs, bedrock ice caves, and Warped Forests are considered neutral territory by all Helspawn
• Spawn is where new Helspawn first appear
• Ice caves and hot springs are like the two main sources of ice and water for the Helscape outside of water stored in plants
• Warped forests have the least mobs spawning in there aside from Endermen so they are neutral places of rest
• Unlike the Nether, sleeping in a bed in the Helscape will not blow you up
• When Oscar & Hels first tried sleeping in the Nether in the Overworld they were shocked Pikachu faced over the fact that they blew up
• The Helscape may be a fairly lawless place but they do have standards
• If you are discovered doing any sort of sexual crime, child abuse, or Helscape World Spawn camping, you are immediately blacklisted which for the Helspawn means you cannot join up with any city and you're exiled to the outskirts of society forever
• Unless someone takes revenge for your actions and permakills you that is :)
• Because of the fact that they are mostly comprised of negative data, many Helspawn do not take sarcasm and jokes about them lightly
• While it is not grounds for permadeath, the Helspawn that has been insulted can still fuck the insulter up in return

Chapter Text

Hybrid Types

There are three official types of hybrids and one unofficial type of hybrid that can be found in my works, not just IAC.

The three official types are:

1. Passing Types
2. Anthro Types
3. Centaur Types

The most common type of hybrids are Passing hybrids and they are, as the name implies, hybrids that can pass as human if they hide one or more of their mob features. Unlike Anthro or Centaur hybrids, Passing hybrids are born looking human and usually develop their features with the onset of puberty. Emergence of some features or adult features can be delayed by various factors including; diet, mental state (stress/self-esteem/perceived safety), and environmental factors (pollution/incompatible climates or biomes).

This happens in three stages: 

1. Their behavior changes as they start changing mentally and begin expressing the instincts of their respective mob (an Avian will start nesting, a Phantom will get restless when people don't sleep around them, Dragons will start hoarding items, etc.)
2. The Passing hybrid's internal organs and body systems will change to support their mob's internal features/diets (hybrids that can fly will have their bones change to be lighter, they will gain additional musculature/mass to support the eventual growth of wings/additional limbs, carnivorous/herbivorous/frugivorous/insectivorous/etc. hybrids have their digestive systems change so that they can safely/efficiently consume things that their mob side consumes, human teeth fall out and are replaced with mob specialized teeth, etc.)
3. External changes occur (grow tails/wings/additional limbs, aquatic hybrids grow gills/webbing between their fingers, hybrids with digitigrade legs/feet develop those types of legs, etc.)

The levels/types of features vary from hybrid to hybrid. For example while Wels, Bdubs, and Grian are all Passing hybrids, both Wels and Bdubs have human feet while Grian has parrot claws for feet.

They are the smallest and fastest of the hybrid types, though they are physically the weakest of the three types.

Of the Hermits, there are three Passing hybrids active on the server: Grian (Scarlet Macaw), Bdubs (Phantom), and Wels (Gold Dragon). 

Other notable Passing hybrids from other servers include: Charlie Slimesicle (Green [Cave/Swamp] Slime), Joel Smallishbeans (Chocolate Lab), Lindsay Jones (Phoenix), Gavin Free (Creeper), and the Sparklez family (Jordan, Schlatt, and Tubbo are all Ram Hybrids)

The next most common type of hybrid are Anthro hybrids and they are essentially humanoid, bipedal versions of mobs. Unlike Passing hybrids, they are born with their features and are born like regular babies, if a bit bigger in size than an average human baby. If they are a hybrid for a mob that is already bipedal/humanoid (for example Techno is an Anthro Piglin Brute), they will be a bit smaller than the actual mob is. Anthro hybrids can and will run along on all fours if push comes to shove as long as their Hybrid type allows it. Yes, this does mean that some types of Anthro hybrids have beans on their hands but it is not a feature that all Anthro hybrids share. For example Doc doesn’t have beans on his hands because Creepers are very lizard-like so no beans for him but Fundy is a Fox hybrid and since foxes have beans, his hands have beans too!

They are the middlest of all three types across the board in terms of size, speed, and strength

Of the Hermits, there are three Anthro hybrids on the server: Doc (Creeper), Jevin (Blue [Aquatic] Slime), and Tango * (Magma Cube). 

Notable Anthro hybrids from other servers: Antfrost (Firepoint Siamese Cat), Ranboo (Enderman), PeteZahHut & Alsmiffy (Green [Cave/Swamp] Slimes), and Fundy (Red Fox)

*Tango doesn't look like an Anthro Hybrid because his Contract with Impulse makes him look like a Passing Hybrid instead.

The rarest type of hybrid to find are Centaur hybrids and they have humanoid torsos that are attached to a (usually) quadruped body. Their torsos can be completely human and distinctly separate from their mob half or they can have varying levels of hybridization to their human torso from looking distinctly human up to the point of their torso being Anthro. Their lower halves are also not restricted to just having four legs if their mob type allows it. For example a Centaur Spider hybrid can have anywhere from 4 to 8 legs maximum depending on the level of hybridization of their torso while a Centaur Snake hybrid will have no legs at all and be very Naga-like in appearance.

They are born with their features just like Anthro hybrids are, but they grow a lot faster in size than the other two types. They tend to be the biggest and strongest of the hybrid types, reaching an average height of 7 feet tall, though they tend to be the slowest in speed as a result of all that size.

While there are no Centaur Hybrids currently on the Hermitcraft server, some well known Centaur Hybrids from other servers include: Bdubs' little brother Pungence (Phantom), Skizzleman (Enderman), AweSamDude (Creeper), Callahan (Reindeer), and Trevor Collins (Brown Rat).

The fourth, unofficial, type of hybrid are Spontaneous Hybrids. These are Players who are born looking human with the Hybrid gene, but the gene remains latent until triggered by an external force into emerging rather than the trait emerging during puberty like with a Passing hybrid. The resulting transformation can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple weeks rather than the literal months of change that a Passing hybrid undergoes. The process results in the Spontaneous hybrid becoming a hybrid that looks identical, physically speaking, to an Anthro hybrid. 

A large number of Spontaneous Hybrids are Hostile or Neutral Mobs as the most common stressors to trigger the change usually put their body into the FIGHT part of the potential reactions of FIGHT-FLIGHT-FREEZE-FAWN.

The situations for said transformations vary according to the mob type that the Spontaneous hybrid is changing into but always come from a perceived permadeath situation. The fact that the triggers are very specific to each hybrid is also why a person can go their whole life without knowing that they potentially could become a hybrid until the transformation occurs.

Examples of transformation triggers include:

• being hit by lightning (Creeper hybrid trigger, ends up supercharged upon transformation completion)
• drowning (Aquatic hybrid trigger)
• falling into a dungeon with a skeleton spawner (Canine hybrid trigger)
• a swarm of creepers attacking (Feline hybrid trigger) 
• falling from a great height (Slime [usually ends up divided afterwards], Feline, and Winged hybrid trigger)

List of Hybrids in IAC Universe

Hermitcraft

• Grian
• Scarlet Macaw
• Passing
• Being a Watcher he can shapeshift so he is not confined to his Passing Parrot form but he prefers to appear Passing since that’s what he was born as/used to
• Doc
• Creeper
• Anthro
• Jevin
• Aquatic Slime
• Anthro
• Wels
• Gold Dragon
• Passing
• Bdubs
• Phantom
• Passing
• Tango
• Magma Cube
• Anthro 
• Appears Passing due to his Contract with Impulse

DSMP

• Sapnap
• Blaze
• Passing
• Antfrost
• Siamese Cat
• Anthro
• AweSamDude
• Creeper
• Centaur
• His humanoid torso is also covered in scales/mossy fur just like his lower torso but otherwise looks completely human
• Callahan
• Reindeer
• Centaur
• Has a completely humanoid torso aside from his head which is distinctly deer-like
• Puffy
• Shetland Sheep (horned)
• Anthro
• Ranboo
• Enderman
• White splotches are birthmarks
• Anthro
• Tubbo
• Rambouillet Sheep (horned)
• Passing
• Tommy
• Phoenix
• Passing
• Philza
• Crow
• Passing
• Techno
• Piglin (Brute)
• Because he’s an Anthro Hybrid he’s smaller than an actual Piglin Brute and actually closer in size to Wilbur
• Anthro
• Wilbur
• Piglin
• Passing
• Quackity
• Mexican Duck
• Passing
• Fundy
• Red Fox
• Anthro
• Schlatt
• Rambouillet Sheep (horned)
• Passing
• Charlie
• Cave/Swamp Slime
• Passing
• Boomer
• Desert Rain Frog
• Centaur
• Aside from his eyes and mouth, his torso is completely human in appearance

*Hbomb is an honorary hybrid because he is a human that was found as an orphan by a colony of cat hybrids who adopted him and raised him as if he was a hybrid too

Empires

• Joey Graceffa
• Carolina Parakeet
• Anthro
• Oli
• Panda
• Passing
• Joel
• Chocolate Lab
• Passing

Achievement Hunter

• Gavin
• Creeper
• Passing
• Lindsay
• Phoenix
• Passing
• Trevor
• Gray Rat
• Centaur
• Aside from his ears, and the fine layer of gray fur that he has covering his torso, he looks completely human

Miscellaneous People

• Captain Sparkles
• Rambouillet Sheep (horned)
• Passing
• Skizz
• Enderman
• Centaur
• His arms up to the elbows are covered in scales/fur, and he has a mouth that opens up wider for Enderman shrieks are the only obvious hybridization traits his torso has
• Pungence
• Phantom
• Centaur
• Completely humanoid torso attached to a quadruped Phantom body
• Alsmiffy (Yogscast)
• Cave/Swamp Slime
• Anthro
• PeteZaHutt
• Cave/Swamp Slime
• Anthro
• Mogswamp
• Spider
• Passing
• Loony_MC
• Spider
• Passing
• Legundo
• Piglin
• Spontaneous
• Hoglin attack