Bad blood. Blood brothers. Blood oath. Cold blood. Why do we give so many different meanings to blood? In this essay publication, I question the various meanings behind the phrase ‘bad blood’, while also asking what meanings I give blood. Inspired by the aesthetics of Victorian medical textbooks, the essay attempts to strip blood of its meanings. As such, the entire publication is a literal colour gradient, mirroring the way that blood separates when placed in a centrifuge machine, from the red we know to the yellow of plasma.