It took a minute, but I’m finally done with my impostor reproduction headcanons! I'm still not sure about my speculative biology here compared to my crewmate headcanons, but I hope that it’s still interesting :]
(WARNING: 18+ content below the cut! Minors please DNI!)
The first thing to note about impostors is that they’re capable of reproducing asexually. Over time as adults, their body naturally produces the earliest stages of eggs, typically in large clutches.
The timeline of a typical impostor egg can be broken down into three major stages:
Stage 1: Initial production. An impostor’s body produces these semi-regularly without the person’s input (similar to ovulation). This takes very little energy to produce and can be laid right after a couple of days, but not without any risks. This is when the egg is most fragile and easiest for potential predators to consume.
If an impostor wants to lay the eggs this early, they’re doing it to either get rid of them since they don’t want to deal with the taxing experiences of stage 2, or they’ve found a great swampy/flooded area with plenty of nutrients for the eggs to safely reside.
Stage 2: Reinforcement. As the eggs slowly go from stage 1 to 2, many of the eggs are forced to fuse together from the pressure of the impostor’s body, resulting in fewer (but much stronger) eggs in the process. A clutch that started off as a few dozen eggs might get paired down to just 6 or so, for example.
Still, the extra growth can take a LOT out of the host’s energy, hence why most impostors choose to get rid of eggs early. They need to eat and rest far more, but their ability to disguise themselves becomes much harder to keep up, making hunting more difficult. An impostor normally only goes through with this stage if they either have an abundance of easily obtainable food or at least one mate to help them with the process.
At the very end of this stage is when it’s most optimal to lay them for the sake of the child’s survival.
Stage 3: The ore. Congrats! Your little impostor baby is now a safe and normal egg! Here, the baby will lay dormant until the shell is cracked open and they’re able to take on a new host.
Some of the more sentimental impostors out there might try to hatch the eggs themselves and try to raise the babies similarly to how a crewmate might raise their own young. This is harder, more dangerous for the baby, and extremely rare, but it is still doable.
As mentioned before, a way to help make stage 2 far easier is to have a mate around! This is easiest with a fellow impostor mate.
During stage 1, they’ll periodically trade their eggs back and forth with each other with their ovipositors, essentially taking turns on who would be the carrier. This makes the egg fusion process in stage 2 happen with both of their eggs, combining their genetics.
Traits from special kinds of impostors (such as phantoms, vipers, and shapeshifters) are less likely to show up in the resulting children, but it’s still more worth them to pursue for the higher survival rate.
Once it reaches to the heights of stage 2, they eggs can’t really be safely moved around anymore. Depending on the parents’ agreement, they’ll either split up the eggs between them to ease the strain or have one carry all of them and the other act as their caretaker until the eggs are laid.
The less likely but far better option for a mate though would be a crewmate! The insides of a crewmate is the best environment for an impostor egg to continue forming in - warm, wet, and tight!
While the issues surrounding energy and strain are still there, the methods of easing that are readily available nearly all the time for the average crewmate. Not to mention, if an impostor wants to raise their children by themselves as their own individuals, a crewmate is the best option for a fellow parent.
Due to the bizarre biology surround impostors and their gene-copying abilities, some of the eggs might mimic the genetics of their crewmate parent as well. If hatched and raised without a separate host, their bodies will show these copied traits (such as mixing the body colors of each parent).
Note: It’s possible for multiple impostors to have a shared crewmate carrier! Similarly to two impostors pairing up, it’ll help the eggs be stronger, more numerous, and mix together genetics. Not to mention it’ll be easier to keep their carrier satisfied!
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