(SEEKING GREENLIGHT) SCP Idea: Para-Cordyceps

Summary:

Deadly prehistoric Animalia predatory fungus.

(SEEKING GREENLIGHT) SCP Idea: Para-Cordyceps

Dr Voigt 17 Feb 2021 22:33

Seeking Greenlights: Yes

Page Type: SCP Article

Elevator Pitch: Deadly prehistoric Animalia predatory fungus with alien origins, first discovered at the Chicxulub crater as fossils. SCP-5377 specimens are continent wide, as they travelled into Earth through the Chicxulub impactor and into the Gulf of Mexico. Both parasitic and saprophytic.

Central Narrative: The SCP Foundation finds fossilised specimens of SCP-5377 spores in Site 43, a recently built and naïve site in the Chicxulub Crater, Mexico. Upon human experimentation, SCP-5377 spreads due to a design flaw in the ventilation system and grows through Site 43, leading to 7% of the site to be quarantined and later restored after a swift recontainment from MTF-Chi-7. SCP-5377 is a marine fungus with unstable, virus-like DNA which can't be traced to any other type of microorganism on the planet, using any type of animal in its waters/using its waters with a cerebellum as hosts, such as ancient Caiman. SCP-5377 is also a Saprophytic fungi, as when it is not in a host, it can feed on algae, phytoplankton and animal shells. Has been seized by Chaos Insurgency during a site breach, which has mutated it genetically via CRISPR-Cas9, and has used it in various incidents to attack the foundation. SCP-5377 also has the capability to spread and manifest in humans and can take control of humans using the cerebellum and brain stem which it uses to paralyze the body and then release fungal spores, classified as SCP-5377-1. If more than two specimens are within a 4 meter distance, SCP-5377-1 develop a symbiotic mycorrhizal-like fungal network with themselves. In this event, SCP-5377-1 are able to control spores to use against hosts. Chaos Insurgency's mutated variant has transformed this SCP into a biological weapon, causing various containment breaches and a site destruction. Chaos Insurgency's variant of the fungus has a different variant of SCP-5377-1, Classified as SCP-5377-2. SCP-5377-2 is reanimated and has basic motor function, in which it uses to grab hosts and release fungal spores, producing more SCP-5377-2.

Hook/Attention-Grabber: This is an alien fungi that can take full control of a human, with specimens continent wide, and the Chaos Insurgency has seized a specimen, mutated it and transformed it into an incredibly effective biological weapon.

Additional Notes: This is my first time writing an SCP.

Last edited on 21 Feb 2021 00:22 by Dr Voigt Show more

Re: (SEEKING GREENLIGHT) SCP Idea: Para-Cordyceps

Impperatrix 18 Feb 2021 00:55

I'm Flight Officer Impperatrix…

+ And here is my crit!

anomalous ability of being both parasitic and saprophytic.

Well, that's not very anomalous. The common Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps do the same thing. To be honest, it's just a Last of Us rip-off right now, having no difference between the fungi from the game except the world where they exist. Even the anomaly doesn't feel like an anomaly too as it can be explained by modern science as the ant's version is.

Upon human experimentation, SCP-5377 completely overtakes due to inefficient containment measures and grows rapidly through Site 43.

Purposefully infecting people and don't maintain them into an efficient quarantine seems a silly attitude. When the first zombie guy started releasing spores to create more hosts, I'm certain that no one would try to touch this thing anymore.

SCP-5377 is a marine fungus with unstable, virus-like DNA that can be traced to the Triassic era, using Coelophysis as hosts.

I'm no biologist, but a fungus that uses dinosaurs as hosts simply start using humans as substitutes don't feel scientifically accurate. I know we are talking about anomalies in a fiction collaborative site, but as the skip is very biology-based, this just feels wrong.

There is a potential narrative here, but you're not focusing on it. CI using the SCP as a biological weapon is very interesting and you should focus your story on CI attacks and the Foundation trying to cure people of the skip before is too late. Another problem is that, right now, the skip feels like just a Last of Us rip-off, it doesn't have any visible difference or notorious anomaly.

Summarizing it, try to put more story and creating something new with the base idea.

Good luck and good writing!

Re: (SEEKING GREENLIGHT) SCP Idea: Para-Cordyceps

Dr Voigt 18 Feb 2021 01:36

i completely forgot about the last of us lol

Re: (SEEKING GREENLIGHT) SCP Idea: Para-Cordyceps

Impperatrix 20 Feb 2021 04:32

I'm here again!

+ With a reply!

[REDACTED]

Don't use Redacteds, black blocks, or anything like this in idea threads. Try to show your crits everything about your SCP! Also, Elevator Pitch, Central Narrative, Hook, and Additional Notes can't pass 400 words together, your post is above this number.

Upon human experimentation, SCP-5377 completely overtakes due to inefficient containment measures and grows rapidly through Site 43

I already commented on it before and I'll talk about this again: this makes the Foundation seems dumb. They contain major threads that can end the reality in a blink, why did they let these fungi escape? Did the fungi use a power unknown by the Foundation to do this?

Central Narrative

You're showing more of your narrative in the Elevator Pitch than in the Narrative block. What does the MTF do inside the infected Site? Where the CI mutated fungi fit in this narrative? You need to have a plot here, not just a good SCP.

MTF Epsilon 11

Well, I'm not an MTF expert, but Epsilon-11 is a "last resource" MTF. Is not like the Foundation would send them to any event. If you want to use it, I suggest that you read every article where this MTF appears and, after that, answer these two questions:

1. Would MTF Epsilon-11 be sent to this SCP?
2. I know enough about the MTF Epsilon-11 to use it in a proper way?

If any of these questions have a "No" as an answer, you should search for another MTF or create a new one. I suggest this page to you!

The SCP is "too much". It's an opinion. It has too much power: it survives low temperatures, it can infect any animal, it can control the animal its infecting as a zombie-like creature, it can adapt to survive without a host, it is sentient, it can communicate with other entities of its species, it is sentient, it has a mutant version of itself that is more powerful, it can create a K-Class scenario… Maybe you should cut what is not important about it and focus on the important this. My point of view is that infecting humans, zombifying humans, communication with other individuals of its species, and sentience are somethings that you should focus on.

Besides, focus on creating a good narrative for this. The new Series is very focused on narratives, so having a good skip with a bad story would be boring for the readers and you would be downvoted due to it.

As always, good luck and good writing!

Re: (SEEKING GREENLIGHT) SCP Idea: Para-Cordyceps

Dr Voigt 20 Feb 2021 06:36

I fixed most of what you said, but it was never sentient, nor could it communicate with other members of its species. it could form a symbiotic relationship with them where it could control their spore release, which ill get into later when im not as busy.