Ep.2 Mooshroom Islands and Zombie Spores

 

Last week I, The Dark Lord dropped a bomb on everyone. I put my theory out there that Mooshroom Island is responsible for the zombie outbreak that led to the extinction of the "Ancient Builders".

I know that many of you who have listened to the podcast probably have their disagreements with such an outstanding assumption. I do not blame you for thinking in this fashion. However, I still believe that this biome is responsible for such a catastrophe on the Overworld. 

I want to start this blog off with a poll that I conducted on Reddit. It was a simple yes or no question.

I posed "Are Mooshrooms Controlled by the Red Mushrooms that Inhabit this Island?" Out of a sum total of 23 votes, the majority said No with 13 votes and the Yes had 10. The people have spoken and believe that these mooshrooms are not controlled by the fly agaric mushrooms that are directly on their head. 

I found this to be very interesting survey. To me, it is apparent that they are being controlled by the fungus that has clearly taken over the host from hide to internal functions. They also have a blank gaze. In fact the eyes become black just like the eyes of the zombies that roam the Overworld. Now, I do not believe that the fly agaric is responsible for the zombie outbreak amongst the ancient builders. No, these appear to only affect the cow species in the game. I believe that there are two fungi on the island. 

Yes, I state two fungi. The apparent fly agaric mushroom that is on the Mooshroom, and then the mottled green fungus. If you examine the picture above of the mycelium block carefully; you will notice that it is not just purple. There are little bits of a putrid, green color, sparse amongst the mycelium. This to me is a hyphae network of another type. One that is deadly to the Ancient Builder species. I have read an article that describes how two different species of fungi can intermix their dna together and form a unique, new species to the environment. Check out this awesome source I found on mychorrizal networks, and more on fungi- https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/fungi-hidden-dimension. 

I believe that a group of ancient builder explorers were traveling across the vast,open ocean and stumbled upon this Mooshroom Island. 

(As I described in the podcast here: Mooshroom Island, and they stopped here out of curiosity. I break down the entire Island and tell about how destructive this mycelium block can be.)

They got off their boats and set foot on an alien landscape. I imagine the texture from the mycelium that compose the entire island to be that of a yoga mat. Somewhat squishy, yet dense. It must have been a sight for the sailors. The huge mega-flora mushrooms jutting out of the mycelium turf. What a sight to see. I imagine that the mooshrooms were almost a nightmarish sight to witness. Their hide the color of red with white polka dots all over and the shroom heads sprouting from their backs and noggins. Blank stare as the sailors approached. The foreigners would have been pleased to find that these creatures could provide both milk and mooshroom stew. Along with leather and mushrooms. What a special animal that provided so much. I am sure they left with excitement and loaded back up into the boats to return home with the news. Little did they realize, they were already doomed. The instant they stepped foot upon the island the green mottled fungus had already introduced fragments of itself into the sailors internally via spore. The incubation process was probably a few days, but I theorize that the sailors arrived back home not feeling well and then succumbed to the fungus. The green fungus being a different specie from the prevalent purple on the mycelium block; also had a different way to breed. It did not form mushrooms but broke off into shards to reproduce like fungi can do on earth. It had an internal reproductive process. I believe the mycelium is wrapped around the sheaths of the zombie's muscles. Controlling it like a cordycep. The green skin of the zombie is the same color as the green that you an find in the mycelium block. If you look hard enough. If you want a bigger picture into this theory, then I suggest that you listen to it on my podcast.

Here is the link again. I hope you all enjoy!

Realm News

By, The Dark Lord

You can also find me at @RealmNews247