Fantasy Hour: Half-humans are pretty cool - writing prompts
You know, in a lot of fantasy settings, "half-anything" are always prejudiced against, but if you actually look at them, they're actually better than their parent races.
Half-orcs are more intelligent and nimble than orcs, but also stronger and sturdier than humans.
Half-elves are stronger than their elven parents and get the curiosity, inventive drive and charisma from their human parent. Their good sense of magic, love and understanding of nature and their longevity comes from the elves.
Depending on the setting, you can have a myriad of half-humans, who all seem to gain the best parts of their parent races.
Really, it seems like having a human parent gives any fantasy race an advantage.
I bet somebody notices. And maybe they'd like their family to be better than anybody else. So they set out to woo themselves a human.
Imagine the "brutal, barbaric Orc" peacefully picking flowers to gift to the local tavern maid. They're mildly poisonous, but very pretty. She is flattered; this endeavour is much cuter than what most men do (which is randomly grab her "assets" and yell about more beer).
General gender confusion and mishaps with the visiting elves. Yes, that's a male elf. I know he has the long hair and pretty face and beautiful eyes and... yeah, it's still a man. Oh, you don't care, you'll still accept the courting? Congratulations, though the whole children thing is going to be a bit harder now.
The dwarves trying to court a human with sturdy and pretty metalwork, excellent beer and slightly-too-loud songs about their humans attractiveness. It's kind of endearing, but a bit embarrassing when they choose the middle of the marketplace on market sunday to sing about your great amount of hair, like the firelight glinting off a mountain of gold.
The demon knows people are more likely to run away screaming than talk to him. It's sad, but he accepted it. Many of his brethren have done horrible things to humans. He just wants somebody to like him for himself, but that'll probably never happen. Still, that basketweaver woman is really pretty, and so nice! He leaves her little gifts. Small, pale flowers from the great asphodel fields of the Underworld. Pretty stones and minerals from the depths of Hell, ash still clinging to them. A little drawing, carefully clawed into a bit of wood from the tree-lined Path of Trials.
Maybe one day, she'll talk to him. He is patient (and so very hopeful, though he'd never tell).
The Mermaid has no idea how all of this is supposed to work. There is no known magic that will let her walk on land. But that ship captain is so very handsome, and kind to his men. She thinks he would be kind to her, too. And he liked the pretty seashells she left him. Maybe tomorrow she will reveal herself. There is no known magic under the seas that would let them be together... but maybe there could be, on land?