Bleeding orange and green...or what?

[Nerys Ghemor]

OK...I have a question, and this seemed like the most likely section of the forum to get an answer. I'm trying to get the details right for my fanfic, but I'm not sure if this detail has ever actually been established.

The question is this: what color is Cardassian blood? Have we ever seen one bleed?

If not, what color do you think their blood is, and why?

(And DON'T say they bleed orange and green. )

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Oooh, that's hard. I can't actually remember if it was ever established. My guess would be red, though. As Cardassians can apparently breed without complex medical assistance with Bajorans, humans and Kazon, I imagine it's iron based.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

In that case, would you speculate that their skin is more opaque than, say, that of a human of North/West European descent? Do you think they're covered in tiny scales, perhaps?

 

[Deranged Nasat]

In that case, would you speculate that their skin is more opaque than, say, that of a human of North/West European descent? Do you think they're covered in tiny scales, perhaps?

Well, I apologize if this isn't what you were getting at, but if we're talking about blushing capability, I assume they have no blushing capabiliy.

I think their skin is mostly thick and leathery, tougher than ours, and indeed more opaque than that of Caucasian humans.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

That's kinda what I was getting at: to see if you thought there was a way that they could have red blood yet it not be visible through their skin.

 

[Thor Damar]

Well, here is a rather bloody Garak:

The blood seems to be dark red but then it could be dried Klingon blood(Dukat was a bit handy with the Bat'leth).

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

For those of you who have seen that episode recently--any way to tell if that was spatter from the Klingon, or Garak's blood?

 

[JustKate]

Don't Cardassian bruises look kind of purplish?

And maybe we're supposed to ignore this since it's a makeup problem, not an in-universe thing, but Cardassians have pink gums and so on, right?

 

[Thor Damar]

^ not really, the scene opens with Dukat and Garak quipping whilst fighting off the Klingons. Dukat has grabbed a Bat'leth and is using it to cut several Kingons down...actually this has me thinking that it is Klingon blood on Garak (or it could be human blood from the two Starfleet officers). I've got this episode on VHS so I should check this out.

And JustKate is right about Cardassian bruising:

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Don't Cardassian bruises look kind of purplish?

Not sure. But that raises the question, what WOULD bruises from red blood look like under grey skin? Is that the color we'd expect, or should we see something else instead?

And maybe we're supposed to ignore this since it's a makeup problem, not an in-universe thing, but Cardassians have pink gums and so on, right?

They do--even the skin that's the VERY closest to their eyes. But, I dunno whether that would be a makeup issue or canon fact. It could be either, I think.

 

[JustKate]

Hmmm...what about bloodshot eyes? Could that be considered canon, assuming we can find a shot or two, or would that be another one of those "not sure whether it's canon or makeup" situations?

Edit: The thing is that unless the shot is under fairly bright light conditions, I don't know if even bright red blood on Cardassian skin would show up as bright red. Colors are tricky. Not even human blood always looks bright red.

 

[Thor Damar]

Hmmm...what about bloodshot eyes? Could that be considered canon, assuming we can find a shot or two, or would that be another one of those "not sure whether it's canon or makeup" situations?

Edit: The thing is that unless the shot is under fairly bright light conditions, I don't know if even bright red blood pn Cardassian skin would show up as right red. Colors are tricky. Not even human blood always looks bright red.

Hmmm, if we're taking about bloodshot eyes the only time we get to see them is when Damar is in his alcoholic phase but the lighting is always too dark to see.

I hate to say it but we might be stumped on this one...

 

[JustKate]

^ I wasn't really thinking about heavily bloodshot eyes - just the ordinary kind that might show in a close-up.

But you could be right. For one thing, that nicely atmospheric, dark lighting on the space station might be defeating us here - that could be part of the problem.

 

[apenpaap]

Well, here is a rather bloody Garak:

The blood seems to be dark red but then it could be dried Klingon blood(Dukat was a bit handy with the Bat'leth).

It definatly looks more like cuts then spatters, so I'd say it's his own blood. In this pic, his blood is red too.

 

[PSGarak]

I'm going to weigh in on the red blood, thicker skin side. I agree with what was said about heme based blood being necessary for successful crossing with other races of heme based blood (setting aside virtually every other scientific detail about hybrids, but we are trying to accept things as established in Trek). Cardassian tongues are also pink, and I seem to recall the times Garak got beaten up, he had red blood. It looked dark because of the lighting, but it still looked red.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

OK...I'd say that pic of Garak getting punched in the mouth settles it conclusively, that Cardassian blood must be red.

Thanks, guys!

 

[PSGarak]

OK...I'd say that pic of Garak getting punched in the mouth settles it conclusively, that Cardassian blood must be red.

Thanks, guys!

Not that I can understand why anyone would ever want to punch Garak in the mouth. He is the epitome of courtesy and decorum.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Oh, I can understand it QUITE well.

(Note the avatar. I bet you Tekeny--in healthier days, mind you--could've slugged Garak a PAINFUL one given the proper opportunity...and, of course, certainty of being out of reach of the Obsidian Order afterwards.)

 

[PSGarak]

You're just biased.

 

[Timo]

FWIW, Cardassian women seem to prefer red lipstick...

..But blue-green makeup on their foreheads and neck scales.

Now, obviously makeup may be chosen on a purely artistic whim, but oftentimes it's based on exaggerated biological colors, typically those indicative of arousal or youth. So we might start speculating that Cardassians do blush, yet they blush blue-green. It may not be a capillary reaction at all, yet it is probably the functional equivalent to blushing in the ethological sense: it indicates arousal or excitement or exhaustion.

It may be a gender-specific thing, too. But the way the forehead "spoon" on Natima Lang was accentuated might suggest that the "spoon" is a special location where blushing is often prominent, even if not quite as prominent as the makeup. So in this theory, excited males as well as females may demonstrate mild greening there, but the shadows mask this from the camera. Only in the idealized imagery of Cardassian beauty queens and kings, athletes or porn stars would the area flare bright blue-green.

Timo Saloniemi