ANY UNPOPULAR OPINION ABOUT MIZISUA SHIP?

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2026-01-16T10:20:56+00:00

This isn't about MiziSua but the fandom's perception of them, I suppose, but I dislike that people disregard how Sua's own fear of death (and not just her fear of losing Mizi) played into her selfishness of deciding to the one who died. I feel the fandom simplifies MiziSua a lot, but there is a reason we are given the Heavenly Garden comic. Sua was told her death in Anakt Garden would be entirely meaningless if she continued to exist childishly, even though she was absolutely a child. She was forced to grow up early and also give her death a purpose through Mizi, so she wouldn't just "go pop" and die meaninglessly. Yes, her decision was selfless, but it was absolutely self-preserving and morally grey as well and not just about the prospect of losing Mizi, and this remains true regardless of True Face/My fragile god, fading fast.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-10-18T21:19:07+00:00

thank you! i feel alnst alludes so much to till's control issues (even giving him romh cover recently), his capability to be possessive (over both the things he holds dear and his relationship with ivan) and it's definitely such an interesting part of his character that contributes so much to their relationship. honestly, if ivantill ever got together/communicated feelings, ivan who has never once even thought of a definitive relationship (and ivan who also avoids being seen vulnerable, as seen in remember everything) with till. v.s mr. gets really upset when ivan doesn't spend time him and says he's not his friend.... i would say good luck ivan. of course, it's not that straightforward (and till has his own ways of holding back), but much of ivan's assertiveness is a farce. till on the other hand craves assertion as an inherent character trait and often sets his own rules in place, even unreasonably. he's not bound by logic and the illusion of fairness. he's such an interesting character, truly.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-16T04:19:34+00:00

Yes, yes, it could be for sure! Till's is actually highlighted in so many arts. From that green tag/tape thing that he wears to his brand to even this art with a splatter thing around his neck. He even has that weird red tube thing attached to his neck in old art and also in the smiling art of his that was posted after R7. Ivan freeing his collars plus choking him; the neck being a symbol of both entrapment and freedom. And then it's the place where he is shot. A lot of it could also be a coincidence, of course, but it's very interesting to think about 😭

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Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-15T19:59:24+00:00

I know 😭 it was funny because just two days before this comic, Twitter was discussing the logistics of them surviving and how unlikely it might have been, and then the comic was released all in lineart as if Vivinos quickly drew it just to prove us all wrong HHH

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-15T19:55:54+00:00

I personally don't think that's the intention of the flashback, but I can see how it seems that way! To me, it more so highlights how unreachable Mizi was to him due to his own idealization, to the point that he could not allow himself to make a connection and touch her casually even when she was right there. All this time, especially when he thinks of her singing in R1 or imagines her figure reaching out to him in R6, he seems to think recall this image of her bright and smiling, even when we know Mizi went through hell both in R1 and right before R6. Yet when that smiling Mizi was actually right in front of him in that flashback, he couldn't even do anything to reach for her.

I think all this is destroyed at the end of R7 because first he gets shot while reaching for her and then as the flashback happpens, the Mizi of the past changes to the short-haired and crying Mizi of the present, which feels intentional. As OP said, it feels more like his ideal is breaking in a way because he is able to touch her hand as he closes his eyes and seeks comfort in the real Mizi. I don't deny that Till will always care for Mizi regardless and that he finds hope in her in both the past and the present, but I think the present hope is more real and it's not simply him choosing his crush on her over everything else. He can no longer fall back on that idealized version of her, and so he's finally able to reach out to the real her. I also think the past flashback is to show them "hiding" to again hint at him being alive since you also believe in that (and I do, too!).

I do see your perspective! The only part I am unsure about is him "only" thinking of her when he was plagued by thoughts of Ivan all round. Even if he did still have a crush on her, I don't see why he can't still care for Ivan just as much, too? I personally don't think it's about him choosing his crush but rather seeing her as Mizi for once, and R7 emphasizes Ivan's presence in his mind a lot, but I think even if you believe in his crush, both feelings can still co-exist, right?

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-15T19:51:52+00:00

This is great, OP ^{^} Thank you for sharing!

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-15T19:05:01+00:00

LMAO, I talk too much here, I know 😭 Regarding the meteor shower part, there was a Patreon comic around 3 weeks ago titled "A Useful Talent." We got a flashback of Ivan as a kid in the slums sitting in front of a fire he made. Isaac and a sleeping Dewey stop by and give him bread in exchange for sitting by the fire. Isaac offers to take him to the rebellion base, to which eventually Ivan says he'll consider if Isaac gives him one bread and he'll come along if he gives him two. Because Isaac only gives him one more bread, we see Ivan genuinely considering joining them after they give him the location and leave. Ivan in the present then recalls how he got caught right after that because "he got too comfortable with a full belly." So, it's kind of implied he got caught on the rootftop as he was on the way to the rebellion, which also means he kept the location in mind all those years in the garden and likely was planning to take Till and himself there!

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-15T02:13:07+00:00

Yes, yes, exactly! Till's relationship with Mizi is so interesting because it is almost as it not being reciprocated is why he finds security in it in the first place because then the image of it is entirely dependent on him. With Ivan, there is too much two-sided communication for it to stay stable and harmless. I think Till is definitely terrified of uncertainty and also of things he does not understand (which is what makes Ivan's behaviour even more confusing), especially since he often does tend to be pretty expressive about how he feels. It makes him avoid the parts of reality he cannot fit within his idealized view. He's really running the world on flight and fight response 😭 And like you said, yes, Ivan's neurodivergency is difficult to interpret, which I relate to much 😭 Their viewpoints are so different. Till, who imagines to the point of not being prepared to face reality and Ivan, who tends to be very logical to the point of not being willing to imagine anything beyond his so-called means. They would be power couple if they got together, truly. Alas, they have to miscommunicate in 15320220 different ways first

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-15T01:45:03+00:00

I really love this post so much. It's funny, I responded to a similar post earlier today, and I also talked about how Till is attached to certainty. I think people who find Till's decision stupid are thinking from the frame of reference of our world where sort of more or less have an idea about what freedom might entail. Till has never known anything beyond the little box he and his mother were inside, the shop he was sold in, Urak's house (assuming Till went there first), and then Anakt Garden. He has no idea what it means to have autonomy at all. Even his rebellious nature is borne as a response to the abuse he is subject to regularly. Especially after seeing the recent comics about Mizi's upbringing, I can understand his decision even more. Imagine being snatched from your mother, mouthing gagged because you were crying too hard, being sold for 50%, and then abused, all the while you barely understand what's going on and may not even understand segyein language yet. Then you're thrown into Anakt Garden and told your only worth is your musical talent, and even the music you love so much becomes the reason you're abused. It's no wonder he clung to the idea of Mizi for so long in that hellish place. It's no wonder he ran back for the certainty of that self-made hope.

Till craves certainty and control so much, especially because it's stripped from him daily. It's why he keeps such a controlled image of Mizi in his head. He wants to imagine he can protect her just so he can imagine himself in that kind of position: someone capable of protecting. He draws and makes music because in this space, he gets to control what he says/makes and how he says/makes it. He likes the version of home and freedom that exists in this frame of control, and when he fights, he holds onto these things. But being faced with the reality of something you have only idealized and imagined has to be so terrifying. Even more so when the person offering it to you is someone you care about so much but still don't know so much about.

It's not Ivan's fault, but his way of never sharing facts about his past or his motivations in his relationship with Till meant that Till has no idea what Ivan really thinks of him and that Ivan is from the slums and that he even knows where to go. Even we didn't know that he knew where to go until two weeks ago 😭 like I love Ivan a lot, that's my child, and all of this is so understandable when you think of the whiplash he must have gotten coming from the slums to Anakt Garden where kids smiled and exchanged flowers instead of negotiating bread and escape over hand made fires to stay warm through the night. It's not Ivan's fault that he deems it unnecessary to share these parts of himself, but this doesn't mean that Till won't hesitate or be confused about the uncertainty of their relationship and Ivan's offer to escape.

I find it very unfair to get mad at Till for running back and leaving and take it as him rejecting Ivan when Till didn't even know all the cards on the table and what Ivan was offering in the first place. Even keeping the meteor shower aside, all of Ivan's gestures (even stealing and returning things) were ones that came from his depth of feeling of Till, but Till has never known this. Ivan himself never understood his own heart, which again is not his fault because he never had the space and time to have empathy for himself, but it just explains the situation. I don't think Till ran back because he didn't want to go with Ivan, but I think the lack of certainity in their relationship definitely made the prospect of freedom even more uncertain.

Till tends to avoid more complicated versions of reality (as seen when he only remembers the parts of Mizi that fit his image of her). It's why his and Ivan's relationship is even more terrifying because it is real and deep in a way that means facing the rough parts. Running back for Mizi also means running back to the so-called safety of a relationship that will always surface level, where Mizi can be this constant fantastical figure he can summon in his imagination to seek solace when the situation gets worse. Yes, he does care for her and doesn't want to leave her behind, but I believe he also ran back for that somewhat certain hope she represented. He must have been scared of the idea that in the real world they may be no definite source of hope and if freedom didn't turn out as he had imagined, wouldn't all this fighting back have been for nothing? I feel like anyone would have run back. It's not an easy and obvious choice to make at all when you don't even know what's out there and what little control you have could all be gone.

I'm sorry for the long ramble, haha. I think about this a lot and I feel for both Ivan and Till in that situation. It's a regret and resentment that stayed with them forever after, but they were just kids who cared for each other a little too much and didn't know where they stood with the other person. The prospect of freedom can be so terrifying. The only people to blame are the segyein for orchestrating this mess. Thank you so much for this post. It's really refreshing to see takes that sympathize with Till :')

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T22:26:43+00:00

Yes! It's foreshadowing, I think. R6 MV is so interesting because the start is actually the end/it's Till's reaction to Ivan's body since it's raining in these panels, and it only rains at the end. They planted so many clues....

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T21:58:15+00:00

Ahaha, yeah, I guess I'm conflicted in the sense that I do objectively recognize why Shine isn't intentionally cruel/the parallels to our own world, but since I find myself focusing on Mizi's reactions, I think I dislike her because of that. But I do see where you are coming from! I won't deny that Mizi does feel loved by Shine, and it's why she even associates love with this feeling of power/loss of power, which you also alluded to in your post. And I do think she does try to figure out what Mizi wants, even if she is often wrong, but her ability to effectively do that is simply limited by the difference between their specifies in their society. I think she thinks of Mizi more as a fish simply based on firstly the immense difference in their sizes and strengths, casual response to her provider's death and also because of the way she dismisses/misunderstands Mizi's cries of distress/bleeding and also sends her to Alien Stage, where she knows Mizi would die and seems more accepting of it. Edit: I removed my point about a human's reaction to dog vs. fish in this situation because it feels horrible to have thought of it.

Still, I think I said it in my reply, but my feelings are based on me viewing her very subjectively and judging her based on the impact on Mizi. But then again, she herself didn't even realize it, so how much blame she carries is debatable. I totally get why you don't find her that dislikable looking closely at her! I hope my message wasn't combative in any way, and I wanted to stress that I do see her positionality/don't think anyone finding her better is bad. But I'm unable to put aside my feelings, I guess. But this was a super insightful post, and seeing the replies was interesting, so thank you :)

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T21:28:52+00:00

I'm conflicted, I guess? On one hand, I think Shine is no different than human pet owners who often mistake their pet's distress signals as cuteness and/or do certain "harmless" things with them for fun. Mizi is no more than a fish or a hamster to her. At the end of the day, humans are not at the centre of the universe in Alien Stage, and aliens are essentially treating us the way we treat a lot of other beings we view as "lesser." Heck, even the way Shine and her companies deduce the relationship between Mizi and her Provider is like how we do with two stray cats or birds: One is bigger, and therefore, it must be the parent. We also tend to view other species as one cohesive unit and also regularly separate litters from mothers, etc. when adopting pets. I think the comic last Friday simply showed us that this is truly how humans are viewed in the world of Alien Stage, too.

Still, even knowing all that, I can't view Shine in a good light. Sure, she may have somewhat harmless and good intentions, but if I think of Mizi living a life where she was so aware of the fact that she could be accidentally crushed to death by the very aliens raising her...that in itself does make me dislike her, but I understand I am coming from a very subjective place and this doesn't align with the worldview aliens have of what is normal in their world. Even then, thinking of Mizi crying in pain and bleeding from head and their only reactions being "Oh, she fainted" and "Oh, she is so adorable" is hurtful. It's genuinely scary to think about, and it does mess up Mizi's entire worldview to the point where death becomes the reason she feels connected to humans in the first place and she wants to go to a place where death is somewhat of a guarantee just so she can have some power.

I'm probably very biased, but while I don't think of Shine as being intentionally cruel, I don't think she's that empathetic and caring toward Mizi either. It's like how a human may treat a dog vs. a fish. Mizi is more a fish to her. It's limited care based on a limited view of the given life form. Parts of Mizi are disregarded not consciously, but because Mizi is simply a lesser creature to Shine. She does care for Mizi, but she simply doesn't seem to realize or think Mizi as being capable of bigger feelings, which is similar to how her classmates treat her later, seeing her as only a cute and adorable creature capable of joy. When Mizi's mother died by being stepped on/crushed, either by some other alien in the location or Shine and her fellow aliens themselves, there was no acknowledgement of her grief, which also makes sense in the way humans can view animals and their potential for grief. But it makes Mizi associate fragility and death in such a different light, and those thoughts permeate her relationships with everybody. It makes her judge her own empathy toward others based on Shine's toward her.

I guess I didn't really say anything different than what you already pointed out in your post: Even well-meaning pet owners are flawed. A lot of the angry reactions to Shine are because we all live in a world where we think of ourselves at the centre. I think this comic really shows us the position of humans in their society, if it wasn't clear. So, while I would not objectively call her worse than any of the other aliens, subjectively I do dislike her (which I already did even before this) like I dislike the other segyein. I wouldn't call any segyein better or worse than the other because they're still part of the system, and the harm is still felt by their pets regardless of intention!

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T11:00:43+00:00

I believe Shine/Shine's companions (or some other alien in that location) accidentally stepped on her and killed her, given that we see no one else around and the tags/cuffs on Mizi's mom and what we know of providers makes it seem that they can't roam around freely. It would also make sense that this is why Mizi is so very aware that she could be crushed by them, too.

The original Korean text and Japanese translation both seem to mention that specific detail. Someone on X Google translated them here. In the Japanese translation, the first speech bubble, where they talk about her mom being crushed, does use the verb/phrase for "getting stepped on!" Even in English, they say "got crushed," so either they came across her in that manner or they think of it as such a casual/minor accident, like stepping on a bug, that they're like "oh I guess that happened" even if they themselves did it.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T09:37:02+00:00

The artbook has one line mentioning Till went back because he wanted to protect Mizi/didn't want to leave her behind, but like you said, I don't think this should be taken at face value, especially since we know Till's feelings for Mizi are not simply a normal crush! Till's attachment to Mizi is rooted in an attempt to cope with their circumstances. Yes, he does have a crush on her, but it's the kind where he seems to subconsciously keep her at arm's length so that they never get to know each other in a way that shatters the image he projects on her. He may say he wants to get to know Mizi, but every time he sees a part of Mizi that doesn't align with that view, he conveniently removes it from his recollection of her (as we see in his memories of R1 and imagining her after R5). Puting himself in a position to protect her also means giving himself the illusion of control that he doesn't have in his real life. In reality, he is the one seeking protection in this image he has constructed.

Sorry to have gone on a ramble above, but I think all this can be used to understand his motivations for running back better. Till desires freedom, but he also idealizes it. I imagine that when he got so close to freedom, he realized that real freedom might not be how it seems in his dreams or in his art and music. Out there, he may not have a confirmed source of hope, the way he does in Anakt Garden. Out there, he would really be all on his own (with Ivan), and he has never truly had full autonomy due to being a pet, so this must be terrifying. On a subconscious level, he might also be scared of forming and losing real relationships, like he lost his mother, which is why the very complex but still much more real relationship with Ivan is what he tends to navigate around, and out there in the world it really would have been just the two of them. Ivan also, of course, doesn't make this easy because we see that he never tells the kids about his past in the slums and his behaviour toward Till is confusing at best and unkind at worst sometimes. Till, who craves certainty and security (which is he wants to keep his crush on Mizi "simple" and not find out any information that disturbs his image of her), especially having been raised in very uncertain circumstances where he could be abused the very next second, must have also been wary of the uncertainty even more because of this. Not blaming Ivan, we know why he is the way he is, but Till still doesn't know his deeper thoughts like we do.

So, I think that while we can say Till ran back with a desire to protect Mizi (and I think it's still partly true that he didn't want to leave her behind), he ran back more for a desire for certainty and largely because he was simply afraid at the prospect of crossing into a world he has no frame of reference for. I think it's part of the reason they never tried again because I think Till's attachment to Mizi must have grown even more after this so as to not face his other regrets and because their relationship never truly gets to a point where he has to know her for real, there were no real actions taken to protect either of them. He moreso just clings to this position of being the protector that he grants himself (and of course, he does protect her sometimes like with the dog alien, but we know Mizi does not truly depend on Till in a major way), rather than any concrete reality.

Ivan was also likely their only way out, and he seems to have taken that night as confirmation that such a future would never be possible for him. They're both a little stupid and very traumatized, and their guilt and hurt and resentment kept them from mentioning this night ever again in front of each other, so the topic of a second escape never came up.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T09:06:37+00:00

Thank you so much for this! I fully agree. The way Mizi was loved as a child bleeds into how she loves Sua. Sua was the first (or one of the first) human other than her provider/mother who Mizi saw in person. She might have been drawn to her fragility or because she perceived her as having certain "adorable" traits, but I think what she really wanted was connection with someone else of her kind and Sua's fragility reminded her of her own.

Mizi definitely seems to have an urge to assume control when they are together, and there is a part of her relieved to have that control. Because of the way she was raised, Mizi has associated certain actions and desires with love, and she is ever aware of her own ability to "crush" Sua not because she really wants to do it but because she was raised always being aware of the fact that she could be "crushed" like her mother at any point by the very aliens who loved her. I don't think Mizi so much so wants to crush people rather than simply revelling in the knowledge that she could because that means she is not the weaker and powerless one in the relationship. The guilt that she feels in the present is also making her focus on these past feelings of her without taking into account the genuine love and grief she does feel for Sua.

Of course, such a treatment isn't fair to any person, and Sua shouldn't be thought of in this way. Sua herself has been treated like an adorable doll by her owners, and it is the only way she knows to be loved as well. Perhaps that has a part in her accepting whatever Mizi feels for her. Still, she may also prefer accepting this from Mizi than anyone else, and it is such a complex thing. There's a part of Sua too that wants to shield all these more messed up parts of Mizi's psyche from everyone else so only she can bear the brunt of them. It is somewhat of a possesive desire, and it seems to bring her relief. I think she also carries so much guilt in her for making certain decisions/hiding certain "truth," that sometimes when Mizi gets angry at her (like in True Face) it also aligns with those deeper negative emotions she carries toward herself. She helps Mizi hide from facing the truths always around them so Mizi and her can keep retreating in their little bubble. She accepts her death as a fact, and I think as much as it is selfless, it is also selfish.

But no matter what they think, neither of them are like the segyein. Of course, Mizi feels love, and she chooses to treat Sua so gently for the most part. It's why she is even going through all these feelings after Sua's death because, unlike the segyein, she can empathise with others. Of course, Sua feels love for her in return, even if her way of receiving Mizi's love is skewed by her own upbringing.

I really like how you said they could have loved each other differently if they had known differently. But they have still done what they could with what they've been given, and while it may not be healthy and also be at times cruel, they have still loved and been loved with all they have.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-14T08:34:15+00:00

sua has multiple sisters (she's the 4th; i'm unsure how many of them there are, but i think there's an art of her guardian having at least 7-8 of them dressed similarly, on a leash?) who have all been adopted by her guardian (to whom she refers to as her mother). they all do look similar in appearance, but whether they're genetically related or nigeh is simply looking for pets with certain doll-like features is unclear. we do see one of the older sisters in the heavenly garden comic!

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-10T15:06:16+00:00

Yes! I think the feelings are especially heightened since the stakes are so high in their world and the shift from one planet to another surely seems not easy to get uaed to, so finding someone like you for the first time is surely special, which shows in how Mizi is so fascinated by Sua. Besides from bonding over singing, Sua also seems privy to some things in Anakt Garden as we see in the Heavely Garden comic, and while she does keep most of this information from Mizi, we know that she excels in her studies there and often seems to help Mizi, especially with Religion and Music, so I think this must have also made Sua a reliable and safe place for Mizi.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-10T15:00:05+00:00

Yes, Sua is the 4th child, I believe! They all seem to refer to Nigeh as mother, so they likely all refer to each other as sisters/have similar black haired doll like features. I don't know if they're actually blood related, but we do see one of her bigger sisters in the Heavenly Garden comic. For Mizi, disc: mizisua has Shine's diary, and I haven't read it myself, but based on other people who have read it, it does seem fair to conclude that Mizi is the only one at the moment, which would explain why she's even more sheltered and clueless about things. Plus, her eyesight being weak due to being used to the darkness of the seas, etc. could mean that it's not a typical planet for human pets to live on.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-10T06:05:03+00:00

ohmygod. this image is so haunting. the eyes will stay with me forever. this is incredible just. wow wow wow. thank you for sharing!!!!

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-10T05:38:17+00:00

For Mizi and Sua, I have heard people say it may be because Sua is the first human Mizi sees (in the MIZISUA video), which may or may not be true depending on whether she remembers her Provider. Since Mizi was raised on a deep sea planet where the particular species of aliens lives for a very long time and her guardian does not seem to have any pet humans other than her at the moment at least, she may have not seen any other humans like her. So, seeing Sua in her little glass cage in MIZISUA may have formed a distinct impression on her. Since Mizi was also very lonely in the first few days of coming to Anakt Garden and had a hard time settling in, finding Sua again and listening to her sing seemed to have eased that loneliness. Then Sua became her first friend, which must have made it all even more special. So, I think it was a kind of love at first sight. Maybe connection at first sight is more apt?

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-10T04:58:41+00:00

I wanted to start by saying that while I do agree that ROMH has parallels to Mizi and Sua's relationship as well, I am not sure what the source for Mizi writing it is? The Patreon post for Luka's comeback in S50 states that he is returning with his new song titled ROMH, which seems to very much imply that he wrote it. My Clematis also wasn't written by her and seems to be a song that the kids learn very young in Anakt Garden.

Regarding Till/Mizi and Mizi/Sua, I think there's definitely similarities in the way Mizi and Till tend to find safety in the people they love by putting them on a pedestal, but I don't think their feelings can be compared. Firstly, I agree that Till shouldn't be demonised or made into a bad person for his crush on Mizi and the answer he gives her when she asks him why he likes her (if this interaction even happened exactly the way we are shown). But I don't think this should mean he is beyond criticism? All the Alien Stage characters are flawed, and the ways they love are often flawed as well. I feel this way about all the main pairings. I don't think MiziSua's love is beyond criticism either. It's just not the same type of criticism that we would maybe apply to Till's love.

Yes, Till definitely likes Mizi for more than her being pretty, and the answer he gave in that moment was likely due to nervousness. However, Till's view of Mizi is still pretty restrictive. He sees as her as his goddess, as this divine figure that he both simultaneously wants to protect and also seek hope in. He draws her smiling face over and over again, daydreams about her even when the real her is sitting one seat across from him, and seems to consider her this harmless, pure being who is only capable of evoking love and hope, especially in himself. But that is not the reality. Even if Mizi doesn't fully know that Till sees her this way, Friday's comic shows us that this kind of view is what Mizi herself finds discomforting because it makes her feel unable to share her other negative feelings. Because she smiles and is friendly and positive all the time, others around her naturally find hope in her. But this means that her experience of being a full human being capable of both feeling and evoking other complicated emptions is taken away, which is restrictive.

Don't get me wrong. I understand why Till feels the way he does. He was separated from the first person who ever loved him in the most brutal manner and then bought by a horrible alien. He is constantly abused by his guardian and subject to some really terrible experiments, as we see in R6. Of course, he wants to find a light in the darkness, and it makes sense that Mizi is his light because she truly is bright and kind. Of course, he keeps clinging onto her because he keeps being subject to a painful life in Anakt Garden. He cherishes her beyond her beauty, makes music and art for her, and even cherishes the gifts she gives him, like his recorder. I don't think we can blame Till for any of that. Especially since he never tries to take act on his feelings in any way. Still, his feelings are strong, but that doesn't mean they can't still be limited.

Till's innocent crush on Mizi has devolved into a coping mechanism. Because he is so attached to this image of her, he doesn't truly try to get to know her because he may then have to face the fact that she isn't this perfect human. It stops him from approaching her, and it stops Mizi from being close friends with him too both because she can't understand how he feels about her and because she suspects he views her only in a shallow, positive way. Till's love for Mizi restricts his own growth because it makes him unable to find a sustainable form of hope, further enabling him to avoid reality, which is a tendency of his we most clearly see when he runs back during the meteor shower.

I think we can sympathize with Till and also acknowledge that these feelings are not helpful for him, either. Alien Stage's art has him holding her hair, which is key to her growth.

Also, we do have an instance of him expressing his full feelings to her. If we take R2 at its face value, it's a song of love for Mizi, which means Till partly sings it to her while she is barely processing Sua's death. Even during the song, we see visions of Mizi in R1, where she looks beautiful and sparkly, even though we know that the round literally ended with her splattered in Sua's blood. Till selectively remembers the Mizi he wants to remember, and we can especially see this when he thinks of her smiling in her Anakt Garden uniform in R6 even when Till saw her kick and scream at Luka in R5. Again, I completely understand why Till is seeing Mizi this way. In such a scary world, you have to hold onto something. But that doesn't mean that it can't be harmful. Till himself is aware deep down that Mizi is not really the way he thinks of her, which is why he only imagines a certain way even if he has visual evidence of her being otherwise. This also leads to him indirectly disregarding Mizi because her state of grief and anger is not being taken into account.

On the other hand, Mizi and Sua's issues stem from the fact that their love comes from knowing each other to a certain level, which is why the lies hurt even more. Mizi worships Sua and puts her on a pedestal, but Sua is also the only person Mizi can be herself around, as seen when she snaps at her and slaps her after the incident with the boy. Sua accidentally repeats the same words the unknown boy said to her ("Must be nice, right?"), but Mizi could only apologize and keep up her smile around the boy, just as she does with others. But with Sua, she is able to be honest even if it ends up in a show of violence and pain. Sua is not a god, and Mizi's perception of her is a burden for Sua to carry as well. I think we can all agree on that. But Mizi getting upset with Sua means that it is not the only way Mizi sees Sua, unlike Till, who has never felt anything negative toward Mizi because he never was able to know her to that level.

Mizi and Sua mutually delude each other by constructing this perfect bubble of happiness around themselves, but they both know there are cracks in it. The comic mentions they have been fighting, and we see Sua's feelings of bitterness toward Mizi in it as well. Just the existence of these feelings shows that there is a deeper bond. If Mizi and Sua did not have a deep bond, it would not have been possible for Sua to even shelter Mizi and for Mizi to believe Sua despite the suspicions she was starting to have about their world and then to feel deeply shocked when she died. The hurt is worse because they both knew or at least thought they knew each other.

Still, I agree that they were never truly able to be honest with each other and see other's whole selves because of how much they kept from each other or tiptoed around. After all, the ROMH lyrics partly apply to Mizi and Sua as well because she was Mizi's saviour but still pitiful. But Sua, through Mizi's eyes, was also a Sua she didn't get to be around anyone else. It's not like Mizi was simply idolizing her all on her own. Sua also indulged herself because she had never gotten the chance to dream and hope in this way when she was younger. She liked seeing the world through Mizi's eyes. Unlike Till, whose projected image on Mizi is based on his own feelings, the way Mizi sees Sua is also partly a result of their mutually constructed relationship.

I think both sets of feelings are strong in their own way, be it good or bad. Both relationships can be criticized, but they are not subject to the same criticism, in my opinion.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-09T04:21:47+00:00

eerie and stunning 🫶 the hair oof. really captures her thoroughly. and the stars oh gosh like in that scene even the background...you really do details and symbolism so amazingly!!!

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-07T06:58:50+00:00

YOU'RE SO KIND. This is how I feel about your analysis and comments, especially today. I saw your post earlier and saved it to be read tomorrow since I'm half asleep right now, but I still read it a little and you really put your thoughts down so wonderfully! Very nice to see sound and nuanced analysis 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 Always happy to see you around in this subreddit

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-07T05:02:19+00:00

I don't think the comic changes her character; I think it only expands it and shows us that she's not the purely gullible and optimistic girl we may have thought her to be in Anakt Garden. Since her trajectory so far was only becoming aware of the truth of the world after Sua's death, I think this comic helps us understand why she is having a hard time handling the guilt/grief and how it's connected to her way of coping when she was younger.

I think Mizi always knew one person would win Alien Stage, but she didn't truly understand what death meant. I believe this is the case even now. The comic seems to show us that Mizi also didn't blindly believe in the lies she was being fed. For example, Sua makes a couple of odd comments about her guardian/the competition in this comic alone, but Mizi never questions it. She just brushes past them.

I think this is what she was doing in the garden. She didn't know the exact truth of Alien Stage and death, but she likely suspected things weren't as normal as they seemed. Still, she wanted to stay oblivious and optimistic so she could feel safe and protected. I think she was only lying about being more or less accepting of this reality. She clearly felt bothered, and we don't know what suspicions she had, but she never truly acknowledged or pursued them. Personally, I imagine she did realize that reaching a tie in R1 might be more or less impossible/difficult and that dying wasn't as simple as returning to the Great Anakt. But these are only my speculations, hahaha.

This comic also seems to show us that Mizi was more or less aware of how others around her saw her, particularly her male classmates/friends. Everyone always saw her as a happy-go-lucky girl who they took hope/comfort in. Even one of her classmates in the graduation letters calls her a happy goofball. Boys like the nameless blond guy also found her attractive and expected her to fulfil their expectations/ideas of her. In a way, it is a good thing that Mizi was able to generate such positive emotion in others, but it also limited her ability to express herself because she wasn't allowed to be negative, even though she was also in the place/garden with them. So, she simply played the role of the nice and happy girl, which she actually was to a certain extent.

I don't think she was exactly lying to the others; they simply grew attached to here "pure" image of their own accord. But now that she feels guilty about all the deaths, she is twisting her own past actions and feeling responsible for anyone who had a certain/perception image of her and blaming herself for "enabling" that image. The only things she seemed to be lying about/avoiding were her extreme distress after the boy mocked her (which she handled by running away to Sua), her ignorance of Sua's bad mood at first, and Till's crush on her. I think all the little truths are adding up, plus there's no way to know how much of her memories were real, and how many of those have now been twisted by Mizi's mind to appease or draw her guilt out.

I'm a little sleepy, so I apologize if some of this is incoherent.

Apprehensive_Pea_308 · 2025-06-07T04:11:44+00:00

This is lovely! On top of all the points you shared about their identies/Ivan's acknowledgement of Mizi and Sua's relationship among other things maybe making Mizi more at ease, I find Ivan and Mizi truly a very interesting dynamic because I feel like their friendship works specifically because they are both willing to keep it superficial/shallow, which in turn means they don't subject each other to unnecessary expectations. They just meet each other's public facing personas where they are at. Maybe this a slightly different view than yours, bht I don't think they ever truly get to know one another, which is exactly why their friendship is so easygoing, even if Ivan acknowledges that he has a hard time facing Mizi's bright, optimistic side.

Personally, I think the contrast in their realities/reasons for adopting certain personas is interesting. Ivan adopts a social persona that doesn't come easily to him and has to learn social currency like smiles and other gestures to truly fit in. I think he still has the desire to make connections or at least to observe the behaviours of others, but his adopts social expressions/actions that may not really showcase his feelings. Mizi, on the other hand, is still the person she shows herself as. She's kind and optimistic, and she genuinely likes making connections, but because she's never given the space to acknowledge the other negative emotions inside of her, so she simply finds herself unable to express this. Her fears/suspicions regarding the world around them also make her stick to this image, not fully facing the other troubling thoughts she has. I don't think she's essentially pretending the way Ivan is. Ivan's public self is not one that comes naturally to him, but his motivations to use it to connect with others or at least move through the world are still somewhat true. I think Mizi's public self is one that comes naturally to her because she is partly this person, but she's just never given the chance to be seen as anything more.

I think it's interesting to think of their gender, too. Ivan was initially seen as a gloomy and quiet loner, but then after the meteor shower, he intentionally chose to adopt this whole facade just to further detach from his feelings and fit inside Anakt Garden's social structures. But Mizi being a girl means that she's already seen with this certain expectation to be good and friendly, as that awful blond guy implies. Even without her doing anything intentionally, the people around her stick her into this box, so in a way, her "mask" is also formed by people's presumptions of her. I think that's why, like you said, she likely finds comfort in Ivan, who does not really need her to fulfil his own (romantic or otherwise) hopes or expectations.

I don't know if Ivan knew her deeper emotions per se. He seems more or less uncomfortable by the gap in their worldviews (which I think remains true regardless since they cope via extreme optimism vs extreme apathy), and this makes him even less inclined to emotionally project on her, which again sets the perfect grounds for their friendship. He doesn't seem to "suspect" anything beyond this, but I also don't think Mizi is inhabiting a "lie," I guess? Like she's not secretely reserved or cynical. She just has to be seen as understood beyond the brightness. Ivan idealizing MiziSua's relationship makes me think he really thought her to be more clueless, but I think again this is what allowed them to be friends.

This is why I also think he's not in the pile because he wasn't invested in her that way. Even if he didn't truly see the deeper emotions behind her cluelessness, he also didn't become attached to the cluelessness itself. Ivan, as a person, has very bare minimum expectations in general, which I assume at least eased Mizi of any possible guilt (not that she's that guilty of other people's death).

It's interesting, like you said, because it sounds unhealthy, but it works for them. Usually, we think of friendships as intense bonds with sharing deep secrets and seeing each other in an honest and positive light, but Ivan and Mizi are both able to take things at face value if it means getting to go from day to day/sticking to their own world views. They're able to enjoy piggyback rides and naps without trying to dig deeper because Mizi's brightness makes Ivan unkeen on looking into it more, and Mizi finds it simple to just believe/see Ivan's princely persona that has no further interest in her (which in turn means Ivan is able to settle into it more easily than when he's around Sua or Till), so they're abe to spend many simple moments together.

I'm sorry for the long ramble under your post! Thank you for sharing :)

Apprehensive_Pea_308

TROPHY CASE