Bioluminescence Flavor

[Ankari]

So I am done with my religion creating step of my world building project. I have already begun building two races and as soon as they are fully detailed and rendered into a drawing I will move onto the next two races. I am giving some thought to the next two already and I would appreciate your opinions on this decision I must make.

The next two races will hail from the Realm of Night, just as the first two I am working on come from the Realm of Light. As the names suggest each Realm only experiences night or light respectively. One of the races from the Realm of Night will be using some form of bioluminescence. I have narrowed down my choices to two options:

1) A bioluminescence that is a subcutaneous vein-like network in which the character can turn off or on as desired.

2) A bioluminescence that is stored in a gland in the species. The character can expel the fluid onto any surface, with the interaction of the the fluid and air causing a glow.

Which do you favor? Thanks in advance.

 

[Queshire]

Logically speaking... Why would they have bioluminescence in the first place? Often species that live in a completely dark enviroment evolve away their eyes, or don't evolve eyes in the first place.

That said, I like option 2 personally. I can just imagine them "painting with light."

 

[Ankari]

I took the example of deep sea fish. Some do use bioluminescence and I liked the idea.

 

[Steerpike]

Actually, I read somewhere that something like 90% of the ocean animal species that exist where there is very little or no sunlight are bioluminescent.

 

[Caged Maiden]

What if they were more like the creatures of the deep in that their bodies themselves were covered with tiny little glowing dots? It'd be less messy and probably be only visible in the dark.

 

[gerald.parson]

I took the example of deep sea fish. Some do use bioluminescence and I liked the idea.

Well then I'd work the problem backwards. Not so much how they glow but why. If its for self defense then maybe its more of a flash that confuses the predator, if its for hunting then maybe its more subtle to lure them in. Kinda like the lantern fish.

 

[Jon_Chong]

I like option 1. It could be tied to their emotional states - the brighter the more heightened your emotions etc. As for why, it could be a failed product of a magical experiment eons ago that resulted in them having this bioluminesence.

 

[Ankari]

I like option 1. It could be tied to their emotional states - the brighter the more heightened your emotions etc. As for why, it could be a failed product of a magical experiment eons ago that resulted in them having this bioluminesence.

The "why" is due to their origins. They hail from a realm that never sees the sun. Their are other forms of light, but it is not everywhere. They just adapted, creating their own light.