Sweet Matcha

come to me with both hands, and dig deep if you want

heaven, forbidden, twenty, four seven

Here are some crazy grasshopper mouse facts for those who are not familiar with the most badass mouse species on the planet

- They are primarily carnivorous, and their diet is made up of not only bugs but also snakes, lizards and other mice.

- They hunt like true predators, slowly stalking and creeping up on their prey before ambushing them. They will sometimes let out a screech as they attack.

- Like wolves, they howl to establish territory and have a specially developed throat to produce louder vocalizations. They will stand up on their hind legs and throw their head back to howl- a sound that can be heard from 100 meters away!

- Grasshopper mouse behavior is linked to lunar cycles and they are more active during a full moon.

so my boyf and i were discussing the nature of limebloods (what they are, why they were wiped out, etc.) and we came to a conclusion:

limebloods were peacemakers.

now, hear me out. the first thing we find out about limebloods is them being wiped out:

for having “extremely powerfUl abilities.”

so then, what would these abilities be? well, they’re the opposite of the indigos; instead of inducing rage, like we see gamzee do:

in response to being sent into a faith crisis.

gamzee uses his abilities to incite mental instability, and limebloods do the opposite: create an internal soundness.

but how do we know this?

well, there are a few ways. there are three canonical lime bloods we know of, only one of them being a complete lime blood.

the first two are karkat and kankri, aka the sufferer and the leader. technically, both fall into the lime blood caste, and therefore qualify to be considered our limeblood examples.

let’s start with karkat. we all know he’s weak as hell and can’t fight for shit, and yet his blood caste is considered one of the “most powerful” by calliope’s description. so what is it karkat can do??

he can make peace. or, more accurately, he can nullify unrest.

despite being crude and loud and generally unpleasant to most people he interacts with, karkat has an unparalleled knack for getting people to work together and to calm down to an emotionally stable state. the most obvious and intense case of this is when he stops gamzee mid murder spree by “shoosh papping” him, aka gently telling him to fuck off:

(side note: notice how the colors of the words are candy red and lime?? sus 👀)

now, normally, patting a killer on the face is not an effective way to get them to not stab you. but he goes to everyone in this intense circle and calms them down instantly, even moreso than the natural genetic moirailegance tendencies in the troll species (at least, the ones we get to see).

so he may not be very strong or good with people, but when it comes to it, he’s able to immediately calm himself and others down like magic. after all, he is the knight of blood, aka, the protector of emotional bonds.

then there’s kankri.

as we see him in the beforus version, he’s also very bad with people in the exact opposite direction. his lime-ness shows in his personality, as he tries to be accommodating and respectful of everyone to the point where he ends up offending everyone instead from how much he obsesses over it (as seen in the way he treats mituna).

so, clearly, he’s not very good at making people feel better. but, we must remember, there’s another version of him: the Sufferer, aka the Signless, aka the troll who led a rebellion of low bloods through the preaching of peace and kindness.

the only time he was canonically a negative character was when he dropped an F bomb so loud it literally infected karkat in the middle of his death sentence:

but before this, he was known as a sort of jesus figure, spreading kindness and a peaceful but powerful message of equality. his effect on those around him caused many to follow him, even at the risk of their own lives. his ability to rally so many trolls under his cause was not only supernatural, but a threat to the oppression in the hierarchy (more on this later).

finally, we have calliope. i honestly don’t think i need to explain this one, considering her entire character type is basically kankri but significantly less of an asshole. same argument, basically, but without the whole jesus figure part kankri’s got going on.

considering part of calliope’s character is modeling herself after the traits of people she admires (such as going so far as to cosplay her trollsona), it makes sense for her limeblood-ness to show more in her personality than inherently in her power. the peaceful personality of lime-blooded cherubs is definitely a shaping factor in the way they use their powers, though.

so, we’ve established the lime bloods’ powers. then why did they go extinct?

well, let’s start with beforus.

nature needs balance. balance is a natural part of existence, and will be created in order to keep a stable relationship between life and minimize the damage of having too much of something. if high bloods are naturally violent, especially indigos, there must be a counteractive force to ensure balance in the species. this job falls into the hands of the low bloods, especially the limes.

but with this balance, the troll species is merely a regular species of balanced attributes, like the hunting lionesses and the protective lions balancing territory and gathering.

they’re not the blood thirsty monsters desiring absolute domination if they’re kept in check by their species’ natural babysitters, the limes.

and without this conditioned set of murderous tendencies, the condesce would never be able to reach the full potential lord english needs her to be in order for his plans to properly unfold, and the twelve beta trolls we know and love wouldn’t have grown up in harsh enough conditions to be prepared to play the game exactly the way they needed to.

so, the limebloods are obstructing his ability to create the murderous race he needs to further his goals. so who does he send to fix this?

✨THIS ASSHOLE✨

yes, doc scratch brought upon the chaos of the limes’ extinction in order to reach his goals.

by removing the limebloods to spark a surge of primal violence in the trolls far back in the hierarchy, likely also influencing them being viewed as a threat (and only cementing this with kankri as he sparks just enough memories to invoke a rebellion), doc scratch sets the plans for the twelve beta trolls and the condesce in motion.

so what have we learned, folks? a review:

-lime bloods can use emotion-calming powers

-alternia was made to be violent from the removal of lime bloods

-their extinction served as a disruption of balance, turning the trolls into a murderous race of conquerors

-doc scratch implemented this indirectly by likely convincing high bloods the lime bloods were dangerous and a threat to power

-his ability to do this is indicated by him spurring on the signless’ forgotten memories and creating a caricature of rebellion among the limes in the eyes of the high bloods