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Q: When do Till and Ivan cry? A: Till cries often. He cries when he eats good food or watches a good movie. Ivan cries when he feels loved.

Q: What was in Till's head during the scene where the meteorites fell? A: It was a surprise for Till, but at that moment Till really felt happy.

Q: Has Till the rebel become taller? A: Because he has always been stooped, so he hasn't become taller.

Q: Will Till's next song be about Ivan? A: You'll find out in a couple of days.

Source

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This is how I see Ivantill developing

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Translation credits

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More Q&A some people shared from another recent fansign event with Vivinos & Qmeng

op's tweet

more context on the ominous xylophone soon huh.. really nowww and I sure do wonder who he got it from (now... FYI take the translation for "videos" with a very small grain of salt...the context could've changed across language barriers and Vivinos could've meant comics ) but I do crave an (ivantill) video mm..

op's tweet

Till really is a young gorgeous single divorced mom now I used to pray for times like this

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Sitting

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A special place for cherry boy king

Sorry, virginity jokes just keep coming out of me when I look at these cherries

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Silly puppies

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After the whole witch thing (and cutting off the long pink hair), I remembered this video

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I love all these little ones so so so so much ಥ‸ಥ Adorable loved babies in my heart

Couldn't stop crying during the premiere yesterday. ✨I am so happy and proud of Till!✨ I think he makes a wonderful symbol of love, hope and freedom. I still mourn Ivan's death, but looking at this puppy I realize that Till's life is Ivan alive.

Line of Mizi and Mizisua was revealed to me in the best possible way, it was so good ╥﹏╥ poor girls

I could say so many words… but I won't lol. In fact, it would take too much text to describe all the facets of my feelings.

I'm looking forward to more updates, especially Till's POV both in the past and after the events of Karma.

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Until MiziIvan child's name is unknown, I will call him/her Mivina lol

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All evidence Till survives (4/4)

Narrative Criticisms:

1. Feels empty or that there's something missing

It could be said a series is defined by the emotions it invokes in its audience. Here are some ways fans described Round 7 and Till's death:

disappointing

dissatisfying

premature

incomplete

lacking

stale

repetitive

flat

stagnant

anticlimactic

wasteful

senseless

pointless

pessimistic

unjustified

a bad choice

all for nothing

Hardcore fans will later jump to defend the creators and story by looking for justifications, but the initial feelings and impression still matter. Casual fans will not look that deep.

2. Does not make sense narratively

@tillsfan explained Ivan has served as the narrator in the story of both himself and Till. Sua and Ivan's goals were fulfilled and impacted the other characters and story. Till's character didn't develop after Mizi's disappearance nor Ivan's death. He didn't have the opportunity to impact the story nor to be impacted. His character is wasted. He is deprived of his potential.

@cloverandstuff recognized that it dehumanizes him and removes his autonomy even within his own narrative.

Till dying in Round 7 ends his character arc mid-way, right after learning of Ivan's feelings. Only his abuse and his infatuation with Mizi were told from his perspective. We never learned how he felt about Ivan before Alien Stage and how he felt after Round 6 and Round 7. He didn't have time to process Ivan's death and neither did we as the viewers.

It's nonsensical to tell his story after he no longer has a role in the story. We can only learn about his past, because he has no future. Yet his character is shrouded in mystery with unanswered questions. @tillsfan described it: "the dots aren't connecting the same way as they have for previous deaths."

Round 7 itself served little purpose. @fandom-drake pointed out we learned nothing new about the characters nor their relationship. It was predictable and redundant. "First we replace a traumatized Mizi with Till. Now a traumatized Till with Mizi."

@yumetill noted Wiege brushed over his death and went straight to Hyuna and Luka's story.

3. Negates Ivan's character and Round 6

What did Ivan die for if Till doesn't have the chance to process it after his death? Was Till not meant to realize Ivan's feelings and reflect on his presence in his life? All Till ever did is suffer and turn a blind eye to his reality until it broke him completely. @rockwgooglyeyes expressed it as "[Ivan's] merely used as a bludgeon to whack over Till's head and put him into the grave."

@rockwgooglyeyes also noted that it validates Ivan's perception of himself as an unlovable monster. We only see their relationship through Ivan's perspective. His actions are used to hurt Till and that leads to Till's death. There is no other result.

@atrophiedemotion summarized Till and Ivan's stories are reduced to nothing but trauma for the viewer and for Mizi's character development. The motivation that defined Ivan's character amounts to nothing.

4. Nihilistic thematically

Alien Stage is said to be about hope and love. The only theme Till's death brings is hopelessness.

Here's some interpretations of the meaning of Till's death:

your efforts may be in vain by @geospiral

your life can be futile by @k9punkout

the insignificance of humanity by @theogony

cruelty of the world by @one-selective-bitch

not everyone gets to tell their own narrative by @cepheusgalaxy

not everyone gets to finish their own story by @cepheusgalaxy

your emotions will be invalidated by @rockwgooglyeyes

seeking happiness is pointless by @rockwgooglyeyes

hope can be crushed by @rockwgooglyeyes

life is unjust by @rockwgooglyeyes

you cannot always overcome the system by @rockwgooglyeyes

time will run out by @crustyfloor

it can be too late to be saved by @crustyfloor

there is always more to lose by @rockwgooglyeyes

Till and Ivan's characters amount to: there is nothing they can do against their oppressors. They are fated to die no matter who or how they love. This isn't what Alien Stage is about.

This is what the creators say the series is about...

In the very first work log:

What's the message that you want to get across to the viewers? <In the Alien Stage>, boys and girls on Earth will perform a survival performance in space. They love each other and fight, and that comes with sacrifice. It would be nice if the viewers could think about the form of "love" by watching the stories of each character.

In Behind The Scenes of Final Round:

I can imagine [Luka] smirking as he looks down on the new participants, who get swept away by their emotions. In truth, they are strong individuals who, in a space that seems inhumane, seek to connect by loving others.

In Behind the Scenes of ALNST 2nd Anniversary Pop-Up Store:

And at the Animate Alien Stage fan event:

While it's true it's a survival show, with dark themes and tragic sacrifices, at it's heart, ALNST is about humanity finding love in each other even in the darkest of places. And each character represents this in their own way.

I think it is necessary for Till to "die" in Round 7 to show just exactly how much of an effect Ivan's death had on Till - while also furthering Mizi's character development. But that he'll survive because without doing so his story (and his story with Ivan) is incomplete and thus the story of Alien Stage is incomplete.

Official Commentary

Till is a deuteragonist

This is written in the very first work log for Alien Stage available on the Patreon. This is almost certainly referring to Till, since his character sheet is posted at the top alongside Mizi and Sua. It was published during the production of episodes 1 and 2.

It makes sense. Till has been a main character in more episodes than most, second only behind Mizi. Accordingly, the amount of screentime he has is significantly greater than each of the other four characters'.

Dead characters impact on alive characters

There are three pairings each within one character witnessed the death of the other: Sua for Mizi, Ivan for Till, and Hyuna for Luka. @crustyfloor expressed that their deaths are painful and unforgettable, and yet those who witnessed it must live on. For Till to die here, @starrykorail stated, he (and Ivan) are then excluded from the purpose of the story. @verdantlights summarized Ivan's death is meant to haunt the narrative, and specifically, it's meant to haunt Till.

@starrykorail explained Till's death furthers Mizi's character development, but her narrative is already haunted by Sua. Mizi and Till were friends but they were not that close. @crustyfloor elaborated that the relationship between Mizi and Till lacks the intimate emotional connection that Ivan and Till had with each other. Ivan and Till are two halves of a whole. @crustyfloor concluded: Till is the only one who can complete their story.

Gatekeeping Till's POV

The creators have been tight-lipped and secretive about Till's character and his thoughts after Round 6 and Round 7. More than once fans have asked about it and did not receive an answer. That means the creators are waiting to reach a certain point in the story before revealing any more information about Till's perspective. He remains crucial to the story.

The entire team adores Till

Vivinos drew herself (blue) and QMENG (green) alongside Luka and Ivan.

In 2nd Episode Production Review that Finished Drawing in 4 Days To Go To Kirby Pop-Up Store, the team cheered that Till's storyboard captured his characteristics. They predicted "ALNST would be popular" because of episode 2. The team is always enthusiastic and proud when it comes to Till's character - consistently having moments of "it works!" or "this is it!"

They also always talk about Till endearingly. In the Behind the Scenes of FINAL ROUND, one of the favorite scenes is "the final moment that captures Till's shy expressions." It's explained that "a lot of thought went into conveying Till's boyish infatuation and emotions." He's described as having a "pure nature" and that "he's just a boy experiencing the innocence of first love." And in ABOUT <ALIEN STAGE : Drowning Bloom>, this is what is written about him:

Honestly that they love Till so much is probably why they're hiding so much about him (and also why they put him through so much). It gives the sense they have something special planned for him.

Foreshadowing | Observations | Official Art & Symbolism

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Mi Vida Loca

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I am so excited about Mizi's POV reveal that with each new detail revealed I am only more excited and terrified of what we might see when Till's POV is revealed

My boy looks like the final boss in this saga of human raw emotions and love

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I still love 'The True Face' so much because I think the theme it brings up, which is the devaluation of Mizi, has been a recurring theme in story and fandom.

I mean, I think most of us have at least occasionally thought about how Mizi had it way too good compared to the other Anakt kids. A Guardian who loved her like a parent. Ignorance of the situation they were all in. While everyone was suffering in one way or another, Mizi is mostly portrayed as a naive, carefree girl, too silly to see the obvious.

And that's exactly what the new comic touches on. It talks about how no matter how carefree Mizi may seem, she's still a human being and it's wrong to assume that she hasn't had her own struggles and hardships just because she seems happy.

I think that's really important and it really saddens me that so many people have turned it upside down. The story that was created to make people understand Mizi and feel sorry for her became the reason why many now hate her. Although this poor girl did not wish harm on anyone.

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I quit playing Zenless Zone Zero almost a year ago (I lasted about a month and a half I think?) but I'm going to wait them because they remind me of IvanTill lol lol

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If you think logically, new information about Mizi practically doesn't change what we knew about her before. Like…. she was obviously like she was shown, a spontaneous girl who positively and without ulterior motives invades other people's personal space, and then when they started to grow up and develop, she encountered reality without even realizing what she did wrong.

I sincerely don't understand why so many people poured so much negativity on the poor girl. She didn't wish harm on anyone and first of all she hates herself, which is again well shown in the new comic. Yes, Mizi is not perfect. And who is perfect? ​​They're all traumatized in one way or another. Mizi did nothing wrong, if you think about it. Hitting Sua in face is not an act of universal evil. Mizisua were never perfect and everyone who followed the project closely should have obviously noticed this.

This isn't a story about a sterile, non-toxic world, this is a story about how raw and multifaceted feelings can be. If you're not ready for this kind of content, then why are you still here when it was clear from the very first piece of content?

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It is really interesting that Ivan never talks about love when it comes to Till. Because Ivan never understood what he felt for Till. For Ivan, who is unable to understand his feelings and feelings of others people, love is how other children, whom he observed and copied, show it. What Mizisua has. What he failed in, confused by the contradictory feelings for Till and their relationship, not hiding behind an ideal facade.

This is directly reflected in his songs. Till is his Black Sorrow, his Paradise. Ivan literally invents a new word to name those incomprehensible to him bonds that exist between them. He connects Till as "Paradise", something perfect and himself as "Parasite", something vile, not like a human.

Segyein education could not explain even the most basic concepts to these children. They gave them only a superficial idea, which everyone understood and interpreted in their own way. It is really interesting and sad to watch. I really love how the relationships are expressed in ALNST.