I want to achieve 2.10 posturize with color-erase blending mode effect in python

[Error]

Hello, I am attempting to make a script of mine more efficient. I am trying to replicate the output of using posterize with the color-erase blending option in python without leaning heavily on gimp. Below is showing how posterize can influence an image's appearance.  

As you can see, this is what it looks like when I take the original photo, remove the alpha channel, and posterize. Below is one of the more interesting outcomes for the color-erase blending option when applied with the posterize tool.

The step, by step instructions to get this effect:
1. Open image
2. Remove alpha channel of image by right clicking in layer menu
3. Select posterize from the color dropdown menu in the main window
4. In the posterize menu, select the color-erase blending mode and put the slider anywhere between 3 and 254.
Here's how to programmatically achieve the effect with Python-fu for 2.10:

Code:

groupLayer = pdb.gimp_layer_group_new(image)
srcLayer =  pdb.gimp_layer_copy(image.layers[0], False)
eraseLayer = pdb.gimp_layer_copy(image.layers[0], False)

#Insert layer group with two layers inside
pdb.gimp_image_insert_layer(image,groupLayer, None, -1)
pdb.gimp_image_insert_layer(image, srcLayer, image.layers[0], -1)
pdb.gimp_image_insert_layer(image, eraseLayer, image.layers[0], -1)

#Posterize erase layer, then set paint mode to Color Erase
pdb.gimp_layer_set_mode(eraseLayer, 57)
pdb.gimp_drawable_posterize(eraseLayer, amount)

#transfer grouplayer alpha to new mask, then fill alpha with white
mask = pdb.gimp_layer_create_mask(groupLayer, 3)
pdb.gimp_layer_add_mask(groupLayer, mask)
pdb.gimp_drawable_edit_fill(mask, 2)

# Apply mask and merge group
pdb.gimp_image_merge_layer_group(image, image.layers[0])
pdb.gimp_layer_remove_mask(image.layers[0], 0)

I'm interested in anything from theorizing, to gimp source-code that can explain how I could replicate this effect. I am curious how it works. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading my post!

[Ofnuts]

The Color erase mode computes the most transparent pixel under which you can stack the erased color to rebuild the initial color. For instance, yif you Color-erase a purple pixel with red, you are left with a partially transparent blue, and if you put this pixel over the erase red, you get the purple back.

   

In your case the result of the posterization is used as a temporary/virtual color-erase layer. If you had an infinite level of posterization, the posterized image would be identical to the source image, and all pixels would be color-erased by a copy of themselves and would turn fully transparent. With normal posterization levels, you color-erase pixels with whatever color the posterization would color them into, which is fairly random because that depends on the rest f the image and the posterization levels.... The only not-too-random part of the result is that since the pixel is replaced by the closest color in the posterization set it will be likely quite transparent. But since you throw away the alpha channel all you see is the residual color, which v very transparent pixels is not that accurate so you have a bit of randomness here too, especially in 8bpc mode.

IMHO you would get very similar results, by 1) color-indexing the image, and 2) assigning random values in the color map.

Source of color-erase mode is here (starts at line 1180 in the current master version).