#uumuu

Before the rise of the Pale King, Monomon was incapable of higher thought. However, she was clearly more intelligent than the primal beasts that roamed the depths. She had a very strong sense of curiosity, which the King learned when he’d found a hidden stash of tomes and journals in her possession. Inspired by her desire to learn, he granted her higher thoughts along with the other bugs of Hallownest.

With her mind expanded, Monomon began to learn as much as she could about the world around her, including the nature of her jellies. She knew that they would respond to her mental state, but she didn’t know the specifics. There was clearly a pattern they would follow depending on her emotional state:

When she was happy or excited, they would gravitate to her and cling to anything around her. Her theory was that they wished to partake in whatever was causing her joy.

When she was upset, they would grab anything around them and bring it to her. She believed they are trying to cheer her up by presenting her with gifts.

When she is scared/angry, they turn hostile and attack anything that draws near. This seems to be a primal instinct to protect the queen when she senses danger.

It wasn’t until she took on her apprentice, Quirrel, that she was able to learn more about their behaviors. Since they behaved in response to her, there was no way for her to see how they reacted without her presence. But with Quirrel able to study them away from Monomon, he learned that the strength of the reactions that the jellies had was entirely dependent on their distance from Monomon. The further they were from her, the weaker their reaction. This has led Monomon to believe that she is unknowingly emitting pheromones out into the environment that they are sensing and responding to.

With this knowledge in hand, Monomon began an experiment to see if she could teach any of the jellies to ignore her pull or think somewhat independently of her. This would eventually lead to the creation of Uumuu—a being that was created solely for security purposes. It would be able to ignore her pulls so that it could remain vigilant, and had been taught to identify threats without Monomon having to identify them as such beforehand.

When Monomon became a Dreamer and was sealed away, it turned the Oomas/Uomas completely docile. Without their queen to guide them, they merely drift aimlessly, awaiting the call of their queen once more. The only exception: Uumuu, who still spends their days guarding the sleeping Monomon from any intruders who dare try to wake her. But with the infection slowly overcoming it, and without Monomon’s guiding tentacle, Uumuu has lost the capability to differentiate friend and foe. Even in the presence of a familiar face, it can only follow what it was trained to do: