#minecraft headcanon

Drowned Headcanons

• Drowned actually come in two very different (but almost identical looking in most cases) types. The ACTUAL drowned human phenomena and the other being just zombies who were submerged in water for too long. The difference being one is just a zombie infected with the virus that fell into water for a long period, and the other has no connection to the virus and is the wandering soul of humans who died at sea. Scientists have labelled them ‘artificial drowned’ (aka zombies who stay in water too long) and ‘natural drowned’ (aka wandering souls who died at sea).

• Both look strikingly similar, though natural drowned tend to attack with tridents while artificial drowned go the typical zombie route and attack with bites and clawing. Natural drowned are more dangerous since escaping them in a boat only has a 50/50 chance of working since their tridents can capsize small vessels. They are also more likely to stay in parts of the ocean that have treasure chests or sunken ships.

• Artificial drowned are just very moist zombies, and if you removed them from the water they would eventually dry off enough to revert back to normal and not seek out water intentionally. Whereas natural drowned do not, and stay wet no matter their location, though if left in an area with both dry land and water they will willingly return to the water. They almost seem to leak mucky sea water, all from their eyes and mouths. 

Husk Headcanons

• Husks are the result of zombies wandering into incredibly dry dusty climates, such as deserts. Most people confuse husks as being a separate species from zombies since they don’t burn in the sun like all other zombie variants. But what most people also don’t know is that husks ARE just normal zombies. The only real thing separating them is the dust and sand that cover them. 

• Anyone who has spent time in a desert knows how dusty and windy it is. With no trees to curb the wind speed or keep the dirt packed together at the roots deserts have a lot of sand storms. And when regular zombies get caught in these storms they get covered in dust/sand. That thick coating covers them and gives them a brownish yellow tint, and also gives the illusion of added height. Husks aren’t actually taller, they’ve just got a buildup of sand dust all on their heads and in their hair.

• That buildup of dust shields them from the sun and keeps them from burning. If you read my notes on zombies you’ll know they lack the survival instinct to stay out of the sun, so husks just happily wander around in the daylight, ever unaware that they’re one rainstorm (or even just a puddle) away from losing their dusty shield.

• Though some have claimed to see husks actively avoiding water, which brings up the question; are husks self aware enough to realize that the dust covering them is what keeps them from burning? We’re not sure but it’s an interesting theory all the same.

General Zombie Headcanons

• Zombies are a complex part of history. As far back as every historian is aware they have been there. Always a monster lurking in the dark, ready and all too eager to turn you into a snack, always a stumbling groaning cautionary tale to all those who see them. 

• But despite them being a common nightmare to deal with… nobody was quite sure WHY they exist. Nor how they even came to be. Who was the first person to become zombified? Where did the zombie virus even originate from? Nobody truly knows for sure. All we have are tall tales and folklore.

• But one thing we do know is that zombies crave ‘human’ flesh. Meaning they only see Villagers or Players as possible food sources, despite not technically needing food since they’re not alive. They have no desire to eat any kind of other meat source. Some scientists speculate that there’s something in them that can only be sated by the flesh of human-esque entities. Though the validity of this is still up for debate.

• Another thing we know is that the thing that actually turns human-esque beings into zombies is a type of virus. Specifically an airborne one that thankfully doesn’t effect any creatures in either the Overworld or the End. Though it is immediately fatal to Nether creatures upon internal contact (aka by breathing it in). 

• Scientists conclude that generations of genetic immune system strengthening is to thank for the fact that Overworlders/End Beings being immune. Currently the only way for a Villager or a Player to contract the Zombie Virus is through the skin directly, aka with a bite or zombie blood transfer through any kind of scrape or cut.

• Zombies also seem to have a much lower brain function than your average bipedal aggressive mob. The only thing that seems to drive them is the desire for player/villager meat. They don’t seem to have any kind of survival instinct in place to keep them ‘alive’. It’s common knowledge that luring a zombie into the sun is the easiest thing to do. While other hostile mobs avoid the things that hurt them, zombies do not. 

• Instead they will stand there and burn until they perish if a human they caught sight of is out in the sun. However skeletons (who also burn in sunlight) have been seen seeking shade or bodies of water when the sun is out, to avoid death, regardless on if they were attacking a human previously. Proving they have a sense of survival.

• And while it’s been scientifically proven that there’s some part of the individual’s soul left in each zombie, whatever is left is so fractured and incomplete that they cannot recognize or function in any way how they did when alive. That is why it is common practice to quickly take out any turned loved ones, lest you fall to their attacks. The less time you give yourself to feel pain over their tragic death the smaller the chance you’ll succumb to your grief. You have to kill them, no matter who they were to you.

• It is the kindest thing we can offer these poor wretched creatures now.