Androids Blushing - Red vs Blue
Blushing in humans occurs when the blood vessels in the skin dilate, caused by a release of adrenaline.
It can be argued the androids in DBH have blood vessels, as they have blood. But they don’t have blood vessels in the skin. They don’t have skin. They have a shell. So whether or not their blood vessels have the ability to expand when they’re emotionally flustered, chances are this would not be perceivable through their android shell.
Still, the idea of them being able to blush is adorable and I love it. And I’ve seen fans draw them some blushing androids with both the red tint we are accustomed to and a blue tint to reflect their blue blood. So which makes more sense? If the androids can blush, is it blue or red?
The blue is a sound theory. Their blood is blue. If their blood vessels expand and it’s something that can be seen through their android shell, the blush should also then be blue.
BUT, above the android shell is the synthetic skin. The skin is designed to one, completely cover the shell, and two, make the android look as human as possible. So, if an android were to blush, and that blush could be seen though the shell, the synthetic skin would cover it.
So the next question is: Can the synthetic skin be programmed to reflect the physical blush going on beneath? I don’t see why not. But the skin is designed to make the android look human. So the blush could be red by default to reflect an authentic human appearance. But it is a program. It could be programmed to blush blue. Perhaps the android can even choose the color and change it at will like hair color. They can possibly even program the blush to turn off completely. Which is unfortunate and way more cute if they have no control over it.
In conclusion: Without their synthetic skin, androids blush blue. With synthetic skin: blue or red as the writer/artist decides.
