AN: This is just a little, angsty one shot about Karkat. This is set pre-Sgrub. Have fun reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck. Hussie does.
Karkat: Reflect.
Your name is KARKAT VANTAS, and you hate the color red.
You hate it because it defines you, and you don't want anyone to know that much about you. You know that if you let anyone in, it'll lead to problems. If they see you blush, or cry, they'll know your blood color. They'll turn you in, and you'll get culled- most likely on the spot.
(Or, you could go the way your Ancestor did, but you don't know about him yet.)
You think it's ironic that red is your matesprit's favorite color. She loves cherries and apples and she also loves to lick her screen when talking to you (she told you that once), giving you a dreadful, terrifying feeling that she knows something about you that no one else does.
(Current carcinoGenticist and Future carcinoGeneticist would think that Strider would get a kick out of that irony.)
You wonder why she hasn't asked you about your blood color yet, like everyone else has.
You have nothing in your hive with that color on it. Everything you wear is either black, white, or in shades of grey. Your shirts have grey Cancer signs on them. Your pants are grey. Your sweaters are black.
You know Kanaya has an affinity for that blasted color, and she keeps trying to get you to buy some clothes in the brightest shade there is.
All you do then is log off Trollian.
You think that if you're ever near that color, some troll would make the leap from "hidden blood color" to "candy-blooded mutant." You are terrified that it'll be one of your friends. You are terrified to go out of your hive, even though you're old enough to. What if you get a paper cut, or get stabbed by a thorn? All it would take to expose your greatest secret was a little prick by something sharp. And you know that all trolls have weapons with them at all times, for impromptu strifes.
You remember the day you found out what color your blood was. You had been watching a rom-com with your lusus (dubbed Crabdad), when you'd gotten up to get some popcorn. On the way back, you'd stubbed your toe hard enough to draw blood. Blood that wasn't normal.
You'd been told all about the hemospectrum before that day, and you'd realized that candy red wasn't there. Afraid, heart pounding, you'd asked your lusus about your blood. Why was it colored like that? What did it mean? Was that why you were kept in your hive all the time?
Crabdad had given you a hug and told you that it'd be okay.
You knew that was a lie.
And now, at a young five-and-a-half sweeps, you realize that you hate the hemospectrum and all it stands for. The high bloods have all the power, and the low bloods are servants and workers.
But what about mutant bloods?
They don't have a place, you realize. They're a waste of space. They don't deserve to live. They don't deserve to have dreams.
You also realize just how wrong that is.
You know you're not like other trolls. In addition to having different blood, you were raised differently. You know several trolls on Trollian that adore the blood-caste. They'd grown up listening to their lusii and other trolls say that high bloods rule, low bloods serve, mutants die. Crabdad raised you to have respect for all trolls, be it high blood, low blood, AND mutants.
You realize that you want to overthrow the hemospectrum someday, and you feel scared.
That would be a huge task, and you weren't even six sweeps yet! You'd have to go against the Condesce herself, and many other high and mid bloods. You'd probably have at least some support from the low bloods, and any other mutants out there (which were not many, most likely).
You sigh and rub your eyes. You can't think that far ahead yet. You were still just a kid, after all. A kid couldn't cause too much damage to anything.
(Current and Future carcinoGeneticist would laugh to hear you say that, but you haven't talked to them yet.)
You lie back in your desk chair, sagging into it. Idly, you click on your Trollian handle and set the color to a bright, cherry red.
Just looking at it hurt your eyes. You set it back to grey, and log off.
Your done dealing with the madness that is Alternia for today.
AN: Well, that's it. Hope you liked it! Feel free to review, and constructive criticism is appreciated, but flames will be sent to the appropriate alchemist. Thanks for reading!
-Teki