#let's gather together like c. lumaflies and make something explode mutuals

[basilbellona]

HK Headcanon: Monomon was a decade or two away from cracking electricity.

I've seen it suggested (I genuinely cannot remember if it was by more than one person and I apologize, but I know it was at least suggested here) that Monomon is responding for creating charged lumaflies. This is likely due to 1: a tank of them being near her resting place, which indicates they might have been a more private research project. 2: They're also found in many areas througout Fog Canyon. And 3: it lines up with her science-lady perception and some chemical reactions have been observed to create electricity. (I'm not a chemist, do not use me as a reference.)

But I also favor the notion of them being a natural phenomenon that absolutely n o b o d y has any idea about.

And Monomon making it her personal mission to figure out what, why, and how these creatures are.

Part 1: Lumaflies v.s. Charged Lumaflies

According to the Hunter, "[t]hey usually drift about peacefully, but sometimes they cluster together and spit out a sharp, crackling flash that will stun and burn even large beasts like myself." It is unclear if by this he means regular lumaflies cluster together and combine their innate electrical charges or if charged lumaflies are a subspecies of lumaflies. Their differing behavior suggests the latter, but there's not many groups of lumaflies in peaceful, natural to compare them to. (The infected state of the lumaflies in the Watcher Knight's room certainly can't be considered normal circumstances.) It's a small, inconsequential mystery for the player in Hallownest’s ruins.

Part 2: Canon Use of (Charged?) Lumaflies and Associated Precautions

Assuming that lumaflies and charged lumaflies are of the same species, it makes sense that they're kept in separate glass lamps. The large chandeliers in the Watcher Knights' room have separate lamps to seemingly hold one or a few lumas as light sources, and likely to prevent a harmful shock. (The lower parts of these chandeliers seem slightly more opaque. Might be made of quartz, designed to produce a dispersed, aesthetic glow. But these parts appear to hold at least 1-3 lumaflies— unless they're flat sections of glass/quartz? Anyways,) I imagine the first crafters of luma-lamps and lumafly carers learned the hard way not to put a bunch of (agitated) ouch-flies in a jar. It might be brighter but, definitely not worth the potential danger. Thus, the separate lamps are put into practice. Can it be called inefficient if it's safe? Perhaps not, but that probably wouldn't stop the Teacher from trying to find a way to make it better.

Part 3: Integration of Electricity and Charged Lumafly Husbandry

That makes me wonder, if she d i d crack the mystery to their charge, how would that electricity be integrated into Hallownest? Slowly. It'd probably start out as a lightly tested energy system only accessible for the elite, until it becomes a safer and a widespread commodity. The bugs of Hallownest display a masterful knack for engineering. (The worst of it being in use at the Crystal Peaks and White Palace.) Pretty much all their machines (save for those in the White Palace and the Soul Sanctum key door) seem to be mechanically activated and involve switches, pulleys, and gears. The only sources of activation we see are either pressure/inertia or soul. Both require bugs to consciously put systems in place to keep it activated. Not too much though, it seems, since it’s not that hard to flip a switch or, if you're the King, to produce soul. But electricity is much more versatile. It'd replace those bulky machines and labyrinths full of gears. Plus, it's a much more powerful, versatile source of energy. (SAD for lumafly lovers like me, though.)

Though, what would this mean for the charged lumaflies? How would they be treated? Would they simply need to be kept in groups to produce charges, or must they feel threatened and stressed to do so? Do they expire faster if they don't stop shocking? Are the natural pauses between shocks their safety cooldowns? Wouldn't the stress still negatively affect them? Would groups of charged lumaflies need to be conditioned to shock in alternating patterns so they electricity keeps flowing? Would people breed stronger c. lumaflies for more charge? Would the mutant-lumaflies escape their feeble handlers, resulting in a hoarde of lightning beasts that raze Hallownest to the ground???

Hopefully, all of the above are factors the Teacher would consider.

Side Note: Volt Twisters?

And as a side note— maybe I'm underestimating the arrogance of the Soul Sanctum residents, but I cannot see a rational scholar looking at this artifical ouch-fly and going, "Mm. Yes, I should eat that to gain their power." However, there are people in real life who do that with synthesized substances so I'm likely just thinking wishfully. Just because I can't stand artificial tastes and smells doesn't mean others cannot. And bugs definitely have alcohol. They definitely have revelry. There's probably some other artifical stuff in the mix, too. And there's the whole soul-sucking business in the Sanctum, and the King himself tampered with the Void Beneanth the World. But regsrdless of whether they're natural or artificial, this makes me wonder... Is the reason why the volt twisters only show up at the Colosseum because they were kicked out for charged lumafly "drugs"? "Oh no, don't put that lethal, sense-exploding substance inside you that's not supposed to be inside you, noooo." Kinda hypocritical, given the aforementioned soul-sucking. But feasibly in character for the upper-crust madman running the place.

Maybe these guys were ahead of the game, though. If only Monomon hadn't become a Dreamer— we might have gotten a Hallownest glowing with electricity; a much more dangerous but adaptable place.

But on that note, how the heck are the music players powered? By soul? That seems to be what powers the trams, if their glowing buttons are anything to go off of. Maybe the Pale King would approve of inegrating electricity as both a sign of his kingdom’s advancement and him not having to expend himself for his cool projects anymore. (Probably his alone because only he might be able to power them, as far as we know.) It could even let them become widespread household/town items.

So, yeah. Monomon was/is smart and I think she deserves to solve a natural mystery