As long as we’re on the topic of eye color, mind if I vent on the tangentially related subject of Alexandria’s Genesis—-a trope invented for an old Daria fanfic—-which long ago escaped containment, and which people are still taking seriously a quarter-century later?
Okay. Suppose there’s this highly visible mutation that bestows increased longevity, imparts immunity to disease, manifests itself in superhuman beauty(1)(2), and eliminates menstruation without in any way reducing fertility; indeed, seems to have no evolutionary disadvantages beyond superstitious abhorrence of the Other.
How does this remain as rare and special as the narrative wants it to be? Blue eyes proved exotically attractive enough, and adult lactose tolerance useful enough, to establish themselves as a plurality in some human populations. Between sexual attraction and overwhelming survival value, how long is it going to take before Uniqueness Decay sets in, and the question becomes whether your eyes are lavender, mauve, or amethyst? (In that world, the Mary Sues might well have brown eyes as a sign of the Mysterious Magical Ancestral Stock.)
(1)Very much as defined by Eurocentric 1990’s standards; subjects are fair-skinned regardless of racial background and never grow fat.
no subject
Okay. Suppose there’s this highly visible mutation that bestows increased longevity, imparts immunity to disease, manifests itself in superhuman beauty(1)(2), and eliminates menstruation without in any way reducing fertility; indeed, seems to have no evolutionary disadvantages beyond superstitious abhorrence of the Other.
How does this remain as rare and special as the narrative wants it to be? Blue eyes proved exotically attractive enough, and adult lactose tolerance useful enough, to establish themselves as a plurality in some human populations. Between sexual attraction and overwhelming survival value, how long is it going to take before Uniqueness Decay sets in, and the question becomes whether your eyes are lavender, mauve, or amethyst? (In that world, the Mary Sues might well have brown eyes as a sign of the Mysterious Magical Ancestral Stock.)
(1)Very much as defined by Eurocentric 1990’s standards; subjects are fair-skinned regardless of racial background and never grow fat.
(2)For the record, Elizabeth Taylor—sometimes cited as an example—experienced weight fluctuations and suffered lifelong fragile health until dying at the mundane age of 79. She did exhibit a highly visible and real ocular mutation, though: https://web.archive.org/web/20190412204638/https://slate.com/technology/2012/07/blogging-the-human-genome-elizabeth-taylors-double-eyelashes.html