2022-01-14 9:32:24 ¶ ●

returned to the roots of my url the other day and discussed at length with @mmmmalo some of the myths and potential significance of the lime bloods…

while I’m still not convinced by the conventional arguments for lime karkat theory, the worldbuilding part of my brain in particular has always been caught by this idea that the lime bloods sit in a sort of middle ground between lowbloods and higher bloods that makes them the most “like humans”. andrew’s commentary on the lifespans of the castes in particular seems to point at the sweet spot between gold and olive having the lifespan closest to that of a human:

> Red through yellow probably having such a range [similar to a human’s], and then climbing through the greens is where it begins escalating beyond the century mark. […] The lowest caste or two may have a lifespan shorter than a human’s.

with rust bloods expected to survive “a dozen or two sweeps”, this puts a hypothetical caste between gold and olive firmly in the 26-52-to-100 year range. so if we were to say that Karkat’s biology did align with a troll in that blood colour range, it wouldn’t be too out there to suggest that in addition to being one of the more “human-like” trolls, his biology would also be the most similar to that of a human’s.

this is all old speculation, though… what I started to consider while we pondered the significance of Calliope’s exposition was that if the lime bloods as a caste might be intended as a stand-in for humanity as a race? the history of b2 Earth seems to map closely to that of Alternia to the point where each of them can be used to enlighten the reader on aspects of the other; ICP’s rise to power for example sheds light on the Condesce’s habit of delegating responsibility to subordinates first touched upon in Scratch’s exposition. so when Calliope mentions the lime caste being hunted to extinction just around a hundred pages after Dirk tells us that Meenah drove the human race into the ground, it seems reasonable to assume the things she says about the plight of the lime bloods should also be taken as indicative of events on Earth - it’s her own home planet after all.

Calliope’s speculation that “their extermination had to do with the extremely powerfUl abilities they tended to have, and the threat to aUthority they represented” seems easy enough to apply to humanity; humans after all are immune to troll mind control, and Dirk and Roxy had the sort of powers that would threaten and ultimately overthrow their alien tyrant. but knowing that Roxy was actually essential to the Condesce’s plan to resurrect her race, it seems that the Condesce never actually intended to fully extinguish humanity. so if we apply this backwards, perhaps it suggests that the Condesce might have left some lime bloods alive for her own purposes?

schools of thought obviously diverge here… if we take it at face value that the lime blood mystery is something for Hiveswap to explain then that’s where the trail ends. if we were to presume, though, that Karkat fit into this lime category, I suppose it would indicate that Karkat’s survival was thanks to deliberate support from the system behind the scenes… the Signless and Dirk and Roxy’s ancestors certainly share similar roles as revolutionaries who tried to set the scene for their descendants to take after them, and I’ve drawn the symbolic bow between the two groups before. and if Meenah foresaw Kanaya’s arrival and participation in the grand plan, it’s not too far-fetched to think Karkat’s involvement was anticipated too? it would also add a layer to be read into the working relationship between Karkat and the pre-scratch Meenah… and also bring us back to the curiosity malo brought to my attention that started the conversation:

> KARKAT: HOW MUCH BULLSHIT IS IT THAT WE’RE PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY TWO ASSHOLES LEFT WHO CAN’T FLY?!
> KANAYA: It Really Is Such Bullshit

Kanaya’s jade caste are never meant to leave the planet, ostensibly to live out their lives taking care of the mother grub, but plausibly also because the Condesce had particular plan in mind for Kanaya… by this same token, when Karkat spills the beans that only extraneous circumstances would ever allow him to ascend to the ranks of threshecutioner:

> […] IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO MAKE THE CUT, BECAUSE OF MY BLOOD. SO I USED TO THINK OF ALL THESE ELABORATE SCENARIOS TO HIDE MY BLOOD COLOR. OR IN THE MORE RIDICULOUS FANTASIES, MAYBE I COULD EVEN PROVE MY WORTH AS A SOLDIER? LIKE JUST BE SO AWESOME WITH A SICKLE, THEY WOULD JUST HAVE TO MAKE AN EXCEPTION. MAYBE EVEN BE LIKE A FOLK HERO AND RISE THROUGH THE RANKS TO BECOME THE LEADER. HAHA.

> […]

> AS THE NEW EMPRESS, YOU HAVE TO APPOINT ME AS GRAND THRESHECUTIONER OF YOUR ARMY. DO WE HAVE A DEAL?
> oh yes yes you got it yessss

it could be read as implying these are not only the only circumstances by which Karkat could ever ascend to an adult Alternian warrior, but also those intended for him to take?