#at the same time ivan is not without his own power

[ivanttakethis]

I could definitely see Till getting angry at Ivan for what happened during Round 6 and choking him as some sort of payback.

Only for Till to be horrified by the realization that Ivan would just let him do it…

[gunsandspaceships]

Tony Stark’s achievements

Childhood:

“Brilliant and unique mind”

At age 4 built his first circuit board

At age 6 built his first engine

Cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare

Went to college at 14

Built cool smart robots (Dum-E and U) when he was a teen

At 17 graduated summa cum laude from MIT

Polyglot

Before Afghanistan:

“Da Vinci of our time”

Became an owner and CEO of Stark Industries at 21

Successfully ran the company for decades

Advanced the world of technology, not only in weaponry and robotics but also:

created advanced AI J.A.R.V.I.S.

created holographic interface technology

created repulsor technology

Participated in charity

In and after Afghanistan:

“I’m sorry, I’m not Tony Stark”

Survived an open-heart surgery in a cave, without general anesthesia

Lived with, in fact, a debilitating wound, shrapnel, and a huge and dangerous technological device in his body for years and was willing and capable of doing not only his usual work but also being a superhero and doing all these next things...

Did not give up under torture and fought with his captors

Invented and built a miniaturized Arc Reactor, in a cave, with a box of scraps

Invented and built Iron Man armor, in the same cave, with the same box of scraps

Escaped from captivity by himself (with help from Yinsen, but without any armed assistance)

Became an expert in piloting and driving

Saved people in Gulmira

Saved a USAF pilot

Probably the best hacker in the world, was able to easily hack networks of the Pentagon, US government, AIM, and SHIELD

Fought with Iron Monger after nearly died. Defeated him and saved many lives. Was ready to die for that

Built many more different Iron Man armors

Fought terrorists between IM and IM2 (IM2 tie-in comics)

Saved a submarine crew (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

Saved a woman from a fire (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

“Stabilized East-West relations” (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home), so the world was “enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years”

Organized Stark Expo

Was able to keep Iron Man armor in his safe hands despite the government’s and HYDRA’s attempts to take it for themselves

Defeated Ivan Vanko in Monaco

(Re)Discovered a new element

 Synthesized it, by building a particle accelerator, at home

Revolutionized energy industry and science. Gave clean energy to the world

Defeated Vanko in New York with Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper and saved many lives again

Saved Peter Parker (IM2)

Made it so that the Abomination would not leave prison and join the Avengers

Built Stark/Avengers Tower powered by Arc Reactor technology

Saved Steve Rogers and many civilians in Germany from Loki

Was able to fight with Thor on equal terms

Biggest brain on Earth, arguably - in the Universe:

best scientist on the team, in SHIELD, on Earth, in the Universe

expert in nuclear, particle, and quantum physics

was able to learn very quickly – became an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics in one night

Successfully tracked Tesseract by its gamma radiation with Bruce

Saved Helicarrier with the Avengers and SHIELD agents on board, almost died

Saved Rogers from a merc right after that

Fought with Chitauri, killed many of them, saved a lot of people

Was able to blow up a Leviathan by himself

Saved New York City by redirecting a nuke to the wormhole

Saved the world by destroying Thanos’ Chitauri army, almost died again

Founded The United States Department of Damage Control to clean up after battles

Rebuilt Stark Tower into Avengers Tower and gave each team member their own quarters

One of the best biologists and biomedical engineers on Earth, even if it’s not his main area of expertise:

helped Maya with Extremis back in 1999, because knew more in her own field, and even didn’t remember that

was head hunted by Aldrich Killian to work on Extremis with/instead of Maya, who was the leading expert in tissue regeneration

improved and stabilized Extremis, so it became safe regenerative technology, and with it…

cured Pepper

healed extensive injuries in his chest

invented and implanted devices for remote control of his suits (into his forearm in IM3, and most probably into his brain for Mark L armor in Infinity War)

invented build-in diagnostic system in his suits

Invented many devices for protection purposes (ex. bomb disposal)

A capable detective. Figured out the cause of explosions in IM3 on his own

Saved Pepper instead of himself by putting Mark 42 on her during the attack on his Malibu mansion

Survived the attack with a barely working prototype suit. Shot down a helicopter with a piano

Was able to fight with enhanced fire-breathing regenerating terrorists without armor and weapons in Rose Hill. In handcuffs

Knowledgeable and skilled in medicine:

saved a kid with his arc reactor in a deleted scene from IM3, selflessly pulling it out of his chest and performing defibrillation under electric shocks

knew how to recognize hyperglycemia when Harley was eating 3rd bawl of candies

closed his wound in Infinity War with nanoparticles

performed first-aid on Bruce after his snap

Built a lot of stuff from random things he bought in a store for the assault on the Mandarin's mansion. In a motel

Successfully stormed the Mandarin's mansion full of armed and huge security guys with dogs. Alone. Without his armor

Successfully escaped captivity in the Mandarin's mansion with just a few pieces of armor on

Saved all the people who fell from the Air Force One

Stormed Roxxon Norco ship with Rhodey, without a suit. With one handgun

Saved the US president

Defeated Killian and his Extremis-enhanced terrorists, saved many lives

Built quinjets

Created Iron Legion

Became the benefactor of the Avengers, provided them with everything, was a combatant, and also the team’s pilot, hacker, engineer, medic, and scientist

As an Avenger saved many lives on missions, including destroying the rest of HYDRA in AoU

With Bruce’s help created Veronica and Hulkbuster suit

Defeated a rogue Iron Legionnaire with a fork

In contrast to other team members was able to function after Wanda played with his mind

Defeated mad Hulk. Saved a lot of lives in Johannesburg

Easily hacked nuclear codes in Nexus and found J.A.R.V.I.S. “in the world’s biggest haystack”

Created advanced AI F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Many advanced AIs

Created Vision

With the Avengers defeated Ultron and his army

Evacuated people who were left in Sokovia

Saved a falling evacuation shuttle with people on it

Together with Thor saved Earth by destroying the falling Sokovia

Rebuilt Stark Compound into Avengers Compound for the team in Upstate New York

Invented several medical devices, including leg braces, blood toxicity detector

Sponsored the development of technology for psychotherapy (B.A.R.F.). Prevented it from being used for harm

Funded all the students’ projects at MIT

Did everything possible to legally, politically, and physically protect the team before, during, and after the Civil War

Was able to disarm Winter Soldier without a suit, with only one armored glove

Figured out Spider-Man’s identity

Created Spider-Man’s suits

Mentored, sponsored, and looked after Peter Parker

Saved Peter Parker (SMH). Twice

Saved the ferry from sinking

Invented nanoparticles

 “Earth’s best defender”

Went to space to save Peter, Strange and bring back Time Stone

Saved Peter Parker (IW)

Saved Strange on the Donut spaceship. Killed Ebony Maw

Cloak of Levitation chose him as his second favorite (deleted scene with Tony wearing Levi and Strange in Mark L)

Was respected by Thanos himself

Withstood when Thanos hit him with a moon

Fought Thanos, made him bleed, kept fighting even without armor

Survived a severe injury thanks to his own invention

Was able to function, tried to fix Benatar, and return home while injured and ill with an infected wound

Built a lab for Bruce and helped him to become one with Hulk (combine the best of both worlds)

Became an amazing dad

Became an expert in time travel physics

Discovered/invented (controlled) Time travel

Built a time machine

Went on Time Heist and stole Tesseract from a guarded military base

Created his own Infinity Gauntlet

Thus brought half of the universe back to existence (Bruce snapped and partially sacrificed his health, but nothing would be possible without Tony)

Saved Bruce’s arm by providing emergency medical care

Fought with Thanos again and…

Saved the whole Universe

[nanacriedpower]

My favorite perspective in alien stage is the religious one

I think ALNST, above everything, is a story about human nature; about how human beings will always, even if the world we know disappears and the human race has to start again, create their own god. One of the main aspects that differentiate humans from other beings is the need for something to believe in; the inherent search for a purpose. The desire to fill a role and to find roles to your fellows.

Therefore, in a context where the otherworldly brought nothing but destruction; where else would the humans find divinity but in each other?

With this in mind, I got myself wondering which religious aspect each character represents and after thinking (and rethinking) my own answers, I was able to fit each character into an archetype from abrahamic religions (specifically Catholicism, since I was raised a Catholic so it’s what I know about best). Well, there it goes:

Till: hope/light

Till represents a hope for something different, in his rebellion, he brings the message that there might be more than this, than the situation they’re currently living in. His personal resistance brings the sense of hope and enlightenment; of an awakening in some kind. Hence, for Ivan, he’s like a shooting star, bringing light in the night as he burns.

Ivan: sacrificial lamb/devotion

Once I thought Ivan might represent martyrdom, but then I realized his sacrifice was not for a cause, or to give a message. It was done out of love, yes. But it was made to save a specific person, just like the “people of god” would kill the lambs and paint the doors with its blood to save their first born. In his case, he gave himself away as a proof of love, he was, simultaneously, Abraham and his son. An offer made purely because of and out of love and devotion.

Hyuna: Martyrdom

Different from Ivan, Hyuna didn’t sacrifice herself as a proof of her love, but as a massage OF love. She lived as the promise of a “paradise” (the rebellion) and died so Luka could learn how to love. She risked her life daily to spread a message and to try and save as many as possible. Therefore she died for and because of Luka’s sins, hoping her death would be his salvation from the numbness and indifference he treated human lives with. The “Luka” we see in the show, the hints of humanity he portrays, were Hyuna’s creation; the shadow forever haunting her mind was also her creation, for her friendship with Luka resulted, indirectly, in Hyunwoo’s death; and the Luka we’ll get to see after her sacrifice is also her creation. Her suffering is for loving the “perfect performer” too much: ironically, her so flawed and imperfect design. Her death was meant to absolve him for his sins. “Forgive yourself, for my death is going to clean you. From now on, live with love”

Luka: shame/guilt

Ironically enough, Luka represents the two emotions he doesn’t seem able to feel. Luka is able to bring these two out of the deepest drawers inside anyone that comes across him. These being the most powerful tools in religion, Luka is able to control the others by reminding them of what they lost and the self blaming and loathing that come together with grief. His power is inside foreigners’ minds, for he doesn’t seem to have much of an identity when he’s alone. In his relationship with Hyuna, it becomes worse, because not only she is reminded of what she lost but because she yearns to be cradled by the same hands that ended his brother’s life, and that sends her into a spiral of guilt, shame, hatred, but also the purest form of love.

Sua: divinity

Sua’s ethereal appearance isn’t the only thing that makes her godlike. She knows and withholds the truth about the macabre game they’re inserted in(omniscience), and yet, she appears composed and flawless most of the time. She is able to earn people’s trust even when not revealing part of what she knows, she is able to shield and protect them in a way. She makes decisions that involve others, without consulting them previously because they don’t need to know all her motives. Even with the illusion of her divinity being defied by mortality, her being the first to perish in the 50th edition eternized her in a way, for she started having a certain omnipresence in the narrative.

Mizi: innocence

Mizi’s obliviousness to the reality around her made her the chosen one by her god (Sua). The purity that comes from her innocence makes her able to live and love fully, being completely honest in every single aspect. Mizi hadn’t been corrupted by the fruit of awareness, therefore, temporarily she’s still living in paradise being the ANAKT her own Eden. That illusion ended in My Clematis, when she first had a philosophical realization: god is dead. ————-

I’d also like to point out, although each character has their own development and individuality, it is impossible to treat them as “their own person” in alien stage. Narratively, this is a story about human relationships and the characters existences are inherent to each other. For this reason, you might have noticed every single analysis has characters mentioned other than the main subject. Alien Stage’s dynamic of storytelling is in duos, “a la comedia del arte”. I’m adding this as a late disclaimer because I’ve seen a lot of misused “therapy speak” on this fandom and I can already hear the “they don’t depend on each other 👺👺👺” comments. They do. Humans are inherently social and we all depend on each other, which is maximalized in a universe where each other is pretty much (literally and existentially) all they have.

If I get any “they’re all toxic” comment people are getting blocked, not because they’re objectively wrong but this is the dumbest and more superficial way of analyzing the characters’ dynamics (in my humble opinion) and no one is about to piss me off on my own phone

thank you for coming to my ted talk🫃🏼

[suppernerd]

“Sock opera”

In my au the concept for this episode stays relatively the same except for tad’s motivations. He finds a small loophole in his deal with ford and manages to make one with Pacifica the same way as canon and plans to destroy the journal in a desperate attempt to stop or slow the portal’s construction. He knows ford cannot finish it without that page and even if he did it would take years more.

To replace all of Mabel’s ‘love plot’ episodes I had the idea that in this au it would be Gideon trying to either a) Impress Mabel or b) be seen as beloved - [momomga style LMAO] Gideon’s pining over Mabel also kind of replaces the dipper- Wendy-she-doesn’t-like-you-dude sub plot the original show had going on yk. So in my au Pacifica still finds the 3rd journal the same way as canon- she just doesn’t know WHO it belongs to. She has an ongoing hunch it’s ford but no real evidence to back it up other then the symbol on the front.

Side note: the journals are slightly different to canon, they generally hold the same material but there’s a lot of mentions of fords “associates” S (Stan) and I (Ivan). The pages about tad talk about his power more then anything- most pages relating to their deal are ripped out. With tads reluctancy to help AND ford loosing the 3rd journal somewhere in the middle of construction of it, the portal takes like 25 years to make , beginning 5 years after ford gets the gravity falls and finishing just before wierdmageddon [ I will touch on what wierdmageddon would be in this au another time do not fret].

Also also dipper and Mabel are on an avid hunt to find the journal, a secret that gets released back in last parts of s1 ( smth i will also probably touch on at a later date)

Original⬇️

Here’s a really old bonus I didn’t like enough to give it its own post

Yes tads pupils are side ways

[k9punkout]

it's that time again

here's my analysis on the Anakt Garden artificial flowers and what they represent to the characters and story overall

the anakt flowers are consistently featured on screen throughout alnst, whether it's in the videos, official art, or the comics. they can't be shown that often if not to mean something, especially in a show as detail oriented and heavy in symbolism as alnst.

okay so there's been this theory running around that these flowers had hidden cameras in them used to monitor the children.

in the artbook, that theory was proven to be true.

so we know now that the anakt flowers are secretly cameras. seemingly innocent and beautiful decorations are used to spy on the children, a testament to the fact that they had no right to privacy, that their lives were not their own.

the fact that mizi ADORED those flowers but had no idea of their true purpose is reflective of her dream to sing in alnst. something idealized and gorgeous, but with darkness residing just beneath its exterior. she sees the world through rose colored lenses and is unaware of the evil that lurks just beneath her favorite things/dreams.

her reality is way more disturbing than she realizes, the aliens are way more cruel and invasive than what she expects, and her love for the spy devices disguised as flowers shows just that.

im not too sure if sua KNEW about the cameras, but she knew about the Snow Thing, so im gonna assume she knew abt the cameras too.

her letting mizi play with the flowers without telling her a thing and even allowing her to craft flower crowns out of them is an example of her deliberate avoidance of the truth behind alnst. through mizi's joy, she forgets about the harsh reality they live in, and escapes through that.

whenever mizi's holding them, the flowers almost look real.

the fact that she lets mizi give her flower crowns and put them on her head, and does the same in turn... she's willingly giving in to the system to keep mizi's blind-sighted joy alive. dooming them both because she can't bring herself to break the bliss.

as for till. he initially began to like the flowers because mizi likes them. till has always liked pretty things.

his talent being floral art, even if the flowers are spy devices... sort of reminds me of one of his coping mechanisms--making art that's representative of his pain.

he takes something terrible or twisted and reforms it into something pretty. something that can be appreciated rather than avoided.

(page 59 of the artbook has a quote referring to till that reads: “When I couldn't sleep because of insomnia, I could only fall asleep by squeezing out my physical strength with creation. I like to doodle, so I doodle anywhere, and I often write poetry (mainly about mizi) to support my emotions.”)

in comparison to many of the other ways till uses his hands (fighting, breaking things, playing loud and powerful melodies, etc), the way he handles the flowers is methodical. gentle. precise and careful.

we're shown his kinder side for the first time THROUGH a flower, too.

he knows his illusion is particularly fragile, so he does all he can to not mar it before getting lost in it. he uses it as a distraction.

till tends to trail behind mizi and sua with flower crowns/chains of his own because he wants to play with them as well, but he rarely makes the move to approach them.

at the end of the day, the false reality, the illusion of purity, is not till's to keep. no matter how peaceful the garden may seem, there will come a period of time when till has to go back. when he must be reminded that his body doesn't belong to him.

ivan never had much interest in the flowers. in fact, he was more often shown breaking them or stomping on them rather than playing with them. (whether that's because he KNEW about the cameras or simply because he wanted to piss till off (or both) im still iffy on but there's that)

ivan has always been the most connected to reality out of the group. he sought no form of escapism, in fact, he frowned upon it (he says mizi's optimism is too much for him at times, and criticized sua for living in a wonderland despite knowing how it will inevitably end. for nurturing mizi's innocence for so long and then shattering it in the cruelest way.)

he fell in love with till, who had no choice but to face reality head on and he relates to sua, who's also had her fate sealed by the society she lives in. he's very honest to himself about these facts.

he doesn't run from suffering, having been exposed to it since infancy. no point in avoiding the truth if it's being perpetually shoved in your face all the time. he keeps it real.

no interest in the flowers, no interest in a plastic paradise. (i could find a way to tie this to that one acrylic stand of ivan eating a flower but i think that's just a silly doodle. nothing SUPER DUPER deep about it.)

(look at him. what is his PROBLEM <3)

as for the overarching meaning, flowers in general tend to symbolize innocence, purity and beauty. by that logic, FAKE flowers would symbolize a fabrication of purity.

a flower that is not only fake, but used as a spying/restriction device, a tool of oppression, symbolizes a prison painted as a paradise--such is the world of Anakt Garden.

[good-vs-evo]

okay i understand the reason why ppl put ivantill and shiguang in the same box (doomed black and white yaoi) but oh my godddd the parallels between shiguang and mizisua make me so genuinely insane and i don't see. anyone talking about it in fact. if you have i'm sorry but i need to do this for my sanity

LOTS OF SPOILERS FOR BOTH LINK CLICK AND ALNST UTC! <3

starting with the fact that i don't think their personalities align perfectly or anything but just the way their relationships operate are Pretty Damn Similar

your ignorance is my bliss

let's start with mizisua for this one!

it's abundantly clear from the fact that mizi was actively looking forward to singing with sua on the stage that she had no idea what had to happen. she was a sheltered kid from the start and she had this innocence and naivety about her that, in my opinion, is part of the reason why sua was attracted to her. mizi essentially represented all of the happiness that everyone else could have if they weren't burdened by the knowledge and the fear of their looming deaths. and sua wanted her to stay that way, she wanted mizi to take a simple kind of joy in just being able to sing with the person she loved the most. because she thought that was right.

the thing that's the worst about this is that she made this decision on her own. she never let mizi decide if she wanted this knowledge, and just as ivan said, it ended up being a burden to mizi.

and now, for shiguang :>

when lu guang decides that he's going to dive back in time to save cheng xiaoshi, he also makes the decision to never let cxs know. his mantra is to never change the timeline, and he sticks to these morals throughout it all, never giving cxs so much as an inkling of what he'd done. to him, none of it mattered without cxs. he refused lose the one he cared most about without a fight, so he fought and fought and hid it all from cxs. second only to saving cxs himself, lg's most important mission was to make sure that cxs never ever found out the true nature of what he did. because the knowledge would kill him, knowing that cxs's life was the direct cause of someone else's life would kill cxs, and lg wanted to protect him from that.

insert quote about how lu guang liked cheng xiaoshi's naive nature. head in hands. goodnight.

2. my god, my universe

i guess this one is more of a minor thing on the part of shiguang, so let's start with them lol

technically speaking, there's no confirmation of what lg's true true thoughts about what cxs meant to him, but there is that one line from the live action opening that's "i don't wanna lose my world". combine that with, you know. All Of Lu Guang's Actions. and you can take a stab at the fact that cxs meant the world to him.

and of course the famous mizisua line(s).

i mean idk what to tell you. repeatedly throughout canon, they refer to each other as soulmates, each others' universes, their gods, saviors, etc etc the list stretches for the eternity that they could've spent together but they were robbed from. thanks. i don't need to say more AHDSHFJSF

3. the meaning of death

this one's obvious i supposed but let's talk about it anyways! first, mizisua

sua's death drives mizi forward. it changes all of her actions in the future, from her lashing out at luka to her full-on rebellion against the aliens, it's all because of sua. she doesn't have the power to bring sua back, so she does everything she can possibly do to make sure nobody ever loses anyone the way she lost sua. in her memory, in a way, for her.

and now shiguang

i mean the entire premise of the end of link click was that cxs's death drives lg's every action. he, unlike mizi, has the power to go back and fix the things that went wrong, so that's exactly what he does! and when he manages to save cxs, he intends to do everything in his power to keep him

i thought i had a lot more to say about this but i guess that's it? most of my thoughts were related to that first part. and the fact that they Liked Each Other HSUHFHSDF (i love ivantill i pinkie promise)

aaaanyways this was so dumb but i'm going to post it because i'm not a quitter and it'll be more embarrassing if i spent this much time writing this out only for it to rot in my drafts so BAM hope you enjoyed this!

[apeninastory]

ivan as a tragic-love character (pt.4e?) | Cure edition

Here we go! Last step - for now, because I'm definitely looking forward to Ivan's solo part 2, they own it to us!!

But first, part 4 HERE + a little recap!

Vivimeng gifted us three beautiful tracks with glimpses of Ivan's mind and feelings - and for that, I'll be forever grateful. I can't even begin to say how fascinated I am with this character, it feels like an eternal mistery the more we are shown about him.

Song-wise, we have Nowhere, Black Sorrow and Cure - listed in order of composition/performance and in a somewhat chronological order of the hints about the growing maturity of Ivan's character. Taking into account that the last two were probably not written by Ivan (but are still meant to partly speak about him and his relation to Till), the first his definitely the best portrait we have. Nevertheless, each of them gives us a piece of Ivan as seen from his own eyes/the eyes of Vivimeng, each with something more and something less.

Where Nowhere recounts his life, from his childhood to his years at Anakt up to his graduation (how he tries to fit in, how he imitates to compensate, how the dissonance between the Ivan he is and the Ivan-character he builds forms the mask everyone sees, how he learns to control his emotions, even those he doesn't comprehend and make him bitter, numb, resigned), the delivery of Black Sorrow is its direct outcome.

Nowhere has a flat rhythm, but it's full of complex, vibrating emotions, memories, considerations and images. Black Sorrow has a much more monolitic scenary (black everywhere), but has such richness in the way Ivan sings it and portrays its content - how the power in his voice builds with past flashes of Till, coming out hoarse and breathtaking. I love the play of opposites here, it feels like we are discovering two sides of the same character - the inner, numb voice of a Ivan who offers us a window to his soul and the charming, smiley boy on stage who tells us the story of a sorrowful unrequited love (where in reality, much deeper, it is not only about that, but also about how this world is taking the chance of keep loving Till from the shadows away from him).

Ivan doesn't pretend love from Till - that's not the kind of violence Ivan or his love are made of. It is more a type of intensity, of desperation born from lack of understanding and small, sudden epiphanies - from a need that is also quiet, wary and respectful.

Ivan's love is not pretty, soft and rosy. It blooms in secret, it is obsessive and requires petty attention. How could it not be? Imagine a boy who has never had anything for himself making his first friend. Imagine him being charmed by him and thinking about him and finding his eyes on him all the time - imagine him provocking him, hurting him, feeling guilty and fascinated and confused, because he doesn't really know how people show affection to each other, has never received love and care during his childhood, when it is most important and educational. Imagine him projecting all his hopes and positive feelings onto that person - would his mind accept that person slipping away from him? Till represents so much to Ivan - and contrary to many opinions, it is not Mizi who keeps Till away from Ivan (Mizi is part of what makes Till special in Ivan's eyes). On one hand, it is Ivan himself; on the other it is, of course, their lack of proper communication that makes Till iperaware and wary of Ivan.

Ivan's love is the result of normalized abuse and the lack of stability of an entire life, of the newfound happiness, quiteness, intimate dependability he formed with Till slowly slipping away from him because the alien society decided that they were meant to participate in a game where only one of them (or none) would come out alive. No matter how obedient Ivan is, the stage awaits both him and Till, and he will either die or have to live without Till.

This is the background on which Cure is performed.

12] Cure, or Ivantill at their best (and our worst)

Cure holds a special place in my heart, and I think we all know how impactful Round 6 was on all of us. While a big part of my previous posts were closely related to Ivan as a character experiencing the world, here I can finally delve into my babies' round however I like!

I don't really know how to talk about Till's verse, but I've been looking forward to it. I'd love to analyse him as a character, and I may do that in the near future, but I feel like I wouldn't do him justice - even though both me and Till are INFP and are quite similar. So forgive me if I lose his characterization along the way.

Allow me, to the tips of your fingers Allow me, to the ends of your feet Dissolve me in your gaze I don't want to let you go Please, leave me scars Please, hurt me so that Not a single drop of me remains Let me drown in you

If Till wrote these verses and I was on the receiving end of them, I'd swoon so bad I wouldn't know what to do with myself. But I can't help but think how well they match the second part of the song, when Ivan comes in, so I'm guessing the lyrics were written by the same person (alnst directors or whatever, but neither Till nor Ivan) with a precise theme in mind? Like, impossible love, a love that can never be?

That being said, we know he is thinking about Mizi. (But.)

There is none of the usual bite in Till's voice, but it is still full of emotions. The verses he sings seem like a prayer. A request to touch someone, manifesting his wish of not wanting to let go of that person. It's like he is saying through Cure's lines, "if I am really forced to let you go, if there is nothing I can do, please leave scars on me and make me forget about everything by drowning and losing myself in you/your memory - make me numb to everything so that I don't have to face this alone".

It feels to me that, since Till knows he is about to lose either himself or the one he considers a dear friend (death, either way, will be the outcome of this round), he reaches out to what has always been a source of solace and relief, his safe heaven - the memory and image of Mizi -, to get strength from her. So, while it is true that he is thinking about her, I also think he is reaching for her hand in his mind as a mean to brace himself for the inevitable. There is none of the usual heat in Till's tone, it's like he already perceives the defeat looming over him - he dies or Ivan dies, and either way, it is a loss for him.

There is another interpretation that I want to add, though (one we can make in retrospective, one we all probably matured after Till's death). Let's think about R7 Till - a Till that has already lost Ivan. I feel these words would take a deeper, more desolate nuance, one where Till is asking Ivan to either stay or scar him in a rhetorical way, because Ivan is already gone and he has already hurt Till beyond belief with his sacrifice and the feelings he never revealed. During Blink Gone, Till can't help but drown in his last memory of Ivan.

So maybe, while singing these verses, he is not directly asking Mizi to scar him, nor is he asking Ivan - maybe he is asking god, any god. Maybe there is no one behind those words as Till sings them - after all, I can think Till writing/saying this to Mizi, nor would he say it to Ivan (not pre-Round 7, at least). Those lines are for us, for the ivantill we see and could have been.

Until these falling stars Are buried in the blur of time On your icy lips Read my soul Yes, my soul, oh, oh

I love how perfectly these lines fit ivantill from an outer perspective.

Stars are an important element for both of them, and here, it feels like Till is buring that particular memory deep into his mind - to forget? To hold it dear one last time, since he starts to feel he doesn't have the strength to go on? Without Mizi, Till's chant is teary, a prayer with no god in sight, something sang as a last resort.

On your icy lips - another plea to the singing partner, almost like a prediction of who'll die and have their lips turn cold. If this song is meant to follow the theme of impossible love (not unrequited, just impossible, since one of the two has to die), how profound it is? Something like, "On your lips linger the words with which you will read my soul", as if the first singer is asking the second to dig into his soul and tell what he found there. "Read my love/affection for you in my soul, you know it's there, even if this is the end for us."

Maybe it's time I drown.

Oh, the irony! If only Ivan would do that! Read the affection Till has for him, find it engraved in Till's soul and heart - not romantic in nature, perhaps, but affection nonetheless. Till is unconsciously making a request that Ivan doesn't really hear and has no time to fulfill. Who is contributing in making this love impossible? Huh?!

Even if your cold words Carve scars beneath my eyes May they linger on your tongue You can break me apart Noticе my pain And mend me right now To quiet my fеars I'll drown in you

Ivan's verse are meant to be for Till. No discussion about that. Whoever wrote/chose the song knew - their relationship is made of harsh words and scars, but it holds especially true in Ivan's case. I'll go slow here.

Even if your cold words carve scars beneath my eyes, may they linger on your tongue - It starts with "even", so we already know that whatever comes after, no matter how bad it is, they are not considered totally negative on the singer's part. This song - this moment - makes Ivan realize that despite the harsh threatment he and Till reserved to each other, despite how he himself was far from gentle with the younger boy, he accepts it all. Till's "cold words" can "linger on [his] tongue", can be directed at Ivan, Ivan is fine with it and is giving him his permission: you can break me apart.

Why? Because maybe, like that, with Ivan bleeding from the harsh threatment, Till may notice [his] pain and decide to mend [him], make him whole again. Ivan's words are also a prayer - an hopeful, honest one, contrary to the resignation we find in Till: "do to me whatever you want, I'll accept all of you. Can you please heal me right after destroying me?"

One last request. One last hope, as if hoping to finally have Till look at him.

To quiet my fеars, I'll drown in you - This is probably the part that breaks me the most. Because I don't believe that Ivan wasn't afraid in that moment. For him, these are his last moments, the last minutes he gets to live and to see the person he loves. No matter how indifferent he is/fakes to be of everything, I can see him being afraid and reluctant in those instants - not to die for Till, but to die and say goodbye to him.

I think this is the moment Ivan knew for sure - or at least, since I am bad and am angst-addicted, I like to think it. This is the moment Ivan knew, despite all his own quirks, that he loved Till, and that he should have threated him differently. That's why his comic has so much of what he felt during Round 6 - regret, gratitude for Till being a victim to his shallow emotions and relief, I fear, for being able to do something that can be universally recognized as a symbol of true love (sacrificing himself).

Sick of these nights to come To be engulfed in silence In your gaze, where I'm seen Consume me, yes, me, oh, oh

I said before that something Ivan probably liked about Till was that he didn't have to pretend with him all the time. He could be annoying and a bit violent and unsufferable, and Till would yell at him but still let him stay near. Fake smiles didn't work with Till because Till is sensitive to emotions and their autenticity.

These linese are another fitting set of words for Ivan. I imagine him envoloped by the silence of the night, day after day, as he waits for the inevitable round, imagining him and Till singing together one last time. And of course, the one thing he has always (consciously and unconsciously) wanted - to be seen by Till. He pleas to be consumed, "consume me before death comes to me, before I take the last step and close my eyes and won't be able to see you ever again. Consume me with your eyes, for there is no other way I'd want to die".

To this everlasting melody Face to face, we dance With our story Lost in forever's embrace

Only the first two lines are delivered before the foreseeable tragedy strikes.

To this everlasting melody - I love the use of "everlasting". In a way, this moment will remain eternal, to us and to both of them, as it is the last instance of Ivan and Till together.

Face to face, we dance - These words hold Ivan's desire, but will never come true. Or in a way, perhaps, they do. Ivan's hands are on Till and he leads the younger boy to the end of the song.

These lines offer us the image of something that never will, a truth that is explicitated by the following words: With our story lost in forever's embrace. This song is meant to create a fixed moment of something that the two singers will never be able to replicate.

But we don't even get there, because Ivan notices Till giving up, can't even fulfil the entirety of the song and directly stalks toward him, reaching for Till and granting himself one last selfish wish - something Ivan had asked of Till at Anakt, but was denied.

And the rest is history.

SPECIAL] Of Ivan, Till and love.

Cure represents ivantill not because the words that compose this song are written by them and have to fit them (since they weren't, I think), but because these words describe what they are, what they are not and what they could have been. They mirror their known and unclear dynamics, the feelings they awarely hold for the other and those they can't perceive but that we can see.

This song is meant to be a melancholic love story of inevitable loss between the two singers, but the roles appear to be unclear, like the two of them don't fit perfectly - like they are being forced in those roles. Despite that, they are the perfect pick for the song. Why, then, can we still perceive this as an ivantill song? It's because we know that Ivan loves Till and that Till cares about Ivan, and no matter what we see, Till does feel anguish at the idea of losing him. It is not a conventional performance of an impossible love - it's the ivantill version of it, where what makes it impossible is not only the system they live in, but their miscommunication, antics and reciprocally hiding their true feelings for each other, be it love or something else.

That's why the round and the interpretation of the song are so complex. Mizi was Till's inspiring force and now, in Roung 6, she becomes the source of his remaining strength. It's either he lives or Ivan does, and since he doesn't have the will and energy to go on, Till gives up. He taps on his memory of her and closes his eyes to everything around him, lets himself go and accepts his own death. Maybe that's the moment the idea of Ivan's departure stops weighting on him, because it's when Till stops fighting and singing and knows that if he'll die, Ivan will live, so he stands there and waits. Little does he know...

Till's reaction to the kiss (surprise, resistance, resigned acceptance), the point where the song is interrupted - it is all emblematic of the armonization they should have reached at that point of the performance but never achieved, not on stage, nor in their relationship. The first time I saw the kiss (as an outsider to the fandom, since the kiss was the first thing Alnst related I ever saw - yeah spoilerr I know, twt's algorithm is cruel but knows me best), I had the impression that the gray-haired guy's rejection of the kiss wasn't out of disgust or anger, but of shock and apprehension - like he didn't expect it and was worried they'd get caught. I didn't know they were on a stage (and I though Ivan was police lol), so I was sad when the black-haired guy was shot, but I remember thinking "omg did he do that stunt the protect the other one? Does he love him?" and was immediately sold.

I stand there even now. Ivan does not hesitate - and the moment he reaches for Till, Till's pupils dilatate at Ivan's touch. My brain literally exploded at this detail. Till doesn't start resisting until after Ivan initiates the kiss, and he is just half-heartedly trying to get away - he probably has no energy and is confused as hell. Ivan's closeness doesn't seem to bother him, it's only the kiss that he has no explanation for. He doesn't even struggle when Ivan strangles him.

We know why Ivan did all of that - we know Till was in his mind until the very end, that he probably attacked his opponent to e disqualified and killed. Ivan's sacrifice reflects his last thoughts - I should have been kinder. His last little peck on Till's lips looks like an apology, for the previous forced kiss and everything else.

Heart-breaking highlight of this section: affection was something Till taught Ivan without even realizing. Better, it is something Ivan learned by watching Till nuzzling flowers, raging against injustices, blushing for love, getting offended and sad over something hurtful. That's why Ivan's love was unclear to him but so painfully obvious to us.

Let's remind ourselves a couple of things. Till wasn't aware of Ivan's feelings for him. I feel like he is the type of character that has great empathy and perception, that can easily resonate with the emotions other show and project on him or their surroundings. That's what makes him so vivid, so enraged. Till can't un-feel - it's what makes him so dear to my heart, and what probably made Ivan so intrigued with him. So he probably feels guilty and confused and angry. Those emotions fuel him during the last round, and even if we know (and he probable knows, too) that is isn't enough, he fights.

On the other hand, the Ivan we know loves surprisingly quietly. In secret, in the privacy of his mind and in the background of his own song. The Ivan we know shows affection loudly, hungry for attention, but from behind a wall. Then he brushes it off as if he is mocking his own crush, teasing and childish about admitting his interest. Letting Till know that his affection is real is useless, and nothing will come out of it. Each action has an effect, a consequence, and he probably thinks that a love declaration is done in the hope of receiving affection from someone special. Ivan believes love is unrelated to him, so what's the use? Till would reject him and grow awkward with him and Ivan wouldn't be able to stay by his side anymore, so he only has something to lose. He can't pursue it, can't be greedy for more, because he would be undeserving of it all the same - of Till's good heart, of whatever hunch of affection Till would confirm of having for him.

Ivan wants, but doesn't know how to deal with it. And despite it all, he still reaches for Till - because how can you suppress love in those little moments where your body moves before your mind?

I am not sure if I covered eveything I wanted to say, but writing about them is such a beautiful experience, I probably won't refrain from adding stuff on tumblr if I feel like it. In the end, we go back to the original question I had in mind when starting all this - the idea of Ivan being a tragic-love character, and what it entails.

For someone thinking to be unlovable and with his "unrequited" feelings for Till, Ivan's character has as much to do with love as all the other characters, if not more. Alien Stage itself is a question, reflection and celebration of love. I think that ultimately, it is open to interpretation, as we all have different degrees of sensitivity and can read things in different ways, just like Ivan's askewed perception of himself and how, in his constant, quiet search to fit in and imitate others, he never truly understood that he was indeed loved.

Each character has their own definition of love, and Ivan felt like he did not belong to any of them - while in fact it is not a quest of fitting definitions, but love itself that adapts to the people we have and want in our lives.

So, does Ivan want to be a tragic-love character? Does he willingly become it? I don't think he wants, but in the end, his character intertwines with this vision because even if he can't accept the idea of being loved, he is loved - and his unawareness enhances the tragic nuance of it. Does he actively reject love? Yes and no. I think he'd be happy if Mizi or Sua or Till were to manifest affection toward him, but he'd probably accept it on surface level, or believe they fell for his facade/are doing it out of pity or without truly knowing him.

Consciously, he simply believes that just like people breath and exist, he can't be loved. He didn't have the time, the means and the chances to actively overturn this belief. The tragedy of his character hides in his nature, upbringing and dissonance: it is partly an obvious, inevitable outcome and partly something he didn't stop from happening (because for him it was equally unavoidable). For us, he is a character doomed to a tragic love story. For Ivan himself, love has never been in the picture - his affection was a quiet, brimming thing, and he could only... bury it with himself.

[soupandflowers]

ok im an aroace china truther but i do have thoughts on rochu.

of course with the old fandom, theres the characterization of ivan being more dominant, now ive noticed with the new fandom, it's reversed. with yao being so flirty and confident, with ivan being super shy.

the way i see rochu, there is actually a bit of a power dynamic but the thing is that it fluctuates and is constantly balancing out.

for example, ivan's unsettling nature makes yao concerned, but yao can come back by establishing his own boundaries. and ivan suggesting more out of pocket ideas that pushes yao to think outside his traditional mindset.

to think about rochu as a scale constantly trying to balance out, helps sell the idea that they are more equal and stand on the same ground than most people realize.

also personally not a fan of like super lovey dovey rochu ngl LOL. i def see their relationship as more slow burn and taking time to grow more comfortable with each other. and even then, the way they would show each other affection would be more simple and subtle.

like ivan leaning against yao's arm outside a bar or yao fixing ivan's scarf or a forehead kiss when the other is sick.

like a more casual kind of love that develops naturally without words or affirmation. i cant see them being super all over each other, but the way i would describe it is that its like a friendship with def a bit "more" to it

[roseydoom]

Hetalia as Valorant Agents

【ALLIES EDITION】

Note: As someone who has played Valorant since its official release in 2020, i can (probably) put hetalia headcanons on what their roles could probably be and maybe because of the valo agents' nationalities. So here the Allies as Valorant agents ✨️

I'll make more soon I swear.

•••••••••••

Warning/s: This is purely based on my opinions and my time in Valorant and in Hetalia so I can't say these are entirely accurate as it may or may not come off a bit OCC.

•••••••••••

Alfred is definitely a duelist because the hero complex is too real to be ignored. I see him similar to Phoenix and Raze, all star power and adrenaline because this man ain't going anywhere without showing off. BUT I lowkey see him with some initiator traits because he would be smart enough to get information before pushing site. Probably like Tony's UFO as a drone or a scanner with his glasses. Definitely would have the Raze fun too 💃 because he is tech savy and will create little roombas of doom with a smiley face on it 😀 Or maybe a nade that can reveal your location. He would have something, at least one skill that would give him information. It's either the little roomba or the nade. Why not probably both. He strongly gives entry duelist vibes and is probably one of those entry duelists who doesn't even wait for the smoke because they have info. Of course he's the leader of the protocol, mans has Brimstone as an agent since beta. This boy is no radiant, but he can make radiant technology work.

•••••••••••

Through and through, I think Francis is literally just Chamber. Like, besides the flirts and charisma, France would be a banger of a sentinel. He would rock Chamber's style by bringing his own equipment in general to look good and would make him feel a lot more secure. Whenever I hear something about the French, they always bring their own shit like make their own cigarettes and stuff 🤧 It would make sense that he would rely on himself more than his own team. But I think his skillset would appeal to more of an anti-flank with trips rather than slows. Kind of like Vyse's thorns, but lowkey rooting them into the same spot. But he would have Vyse's flash in the form of a rose as well. To be honest, Francis would make a cunty ass agent with an ultimate like Deadlock's. Capturing Arthur with a ribbon for marriage in the Hetamyu would compensate for that explanation 🤭 Francis is definitely a radiant because good lord is he bad with new tech so he sticks to what he understands with his own radiant powers.

•••••••••••

I think Arthur is either an initiator or a controller, but I think he leans more on initiator than smokes. Sure, I can see him placing smokes in the right areas, but this bitch will start the fight for sure. I'm laughing my ass off because I was thinking about him doing the same shit as Gekko, but with his magical creatures 🫡 Like imagine Flying Mint Bunny being Gekko's Dizzy and blinding you with whatever it throws at you. He would have the magical creatures in his arsenal fuck you over, but also having on of his fairies heal you like Skye (heal up squad). But if we talk about Arthur as a controller, I'm pretty sure he got them from stolen artifacts OR can do smokes because of his own magical powers. Maybe like an Omen smoke partnered with the paranoia for a skillset. Arthur is a radiant through and through, but if he was a controller he would be a radiant tech user.

•••••••••••

Ivan is a controller for sure. I literally dreamt about this last night. General Winter? That man is his ultimate to nearsight everyone's vision with matching decay 👁👄👁 When Ivan drops smokes, it's a little snow storm inside that (this would be op in game ngl) can slow you for 3 seconds if you stay in it too long. He would fit the ideal mechanics for Clove before they got released. Clove was supposed to have a smoke that would distort your hearing kind of similar to how Fade's prowler would bite you, but it's in the smoke. I would give him a molly, but a wall in his arsenal would work too. Kind of like Viper's wall where there would be a decay in them, but I also see a slow wall like Harbor's. Either ways, it's a wall of snow that can slow or decay you with the cold. If it were a molly, it's either a slow or a whirlpool of snow that sucks you back into place similar to Astra's stars. I stand by this because I dreamt of this last night 💃🕺 He is definitely a radiant because where the fuck do you think General Winter comes from 🤧

•••••••••••

Yao is definitely not Sage. Naur, not a chance. But he can be a sentinel, just not the Sage type. Probably closer to Deadlock if he was a sentinel, but this man ain't a sentinel. Yao is a motherfucking duelist and you know it 💅✨️ I do think he would dig the Iso skillset, but instead of the 3D capsule that is rendered like an collision hit box he would have his dead ass wok as a shield. And the sound effects of that would be cool because I think it should riccochet the bullet back to the enemy player. He's one of those contact duelist, which makes it a good comp for a follow up if an entry duelist is involved. I think he would also have a similar skillset in terms of temporary cover, like a Jett smoke. I had this vision of him throwing like sticky nades as a part of his skill set, but I think what would be fitting for him is a blind like Yoru's where it bounces off the surface. I do imagine him having a buff where he can move faster as long as he has hit someome with any of his utilities or has shot someone. For sure a radiant tech user, but I am open to him being a radiant.

•••••••••••

Matthew is definitely duelist like Alfred, but in a way that's more on the offense. If Alfred falls more on the initiator side, Matthew falls purely on the duelist side where he can entry with ease. There's this crazy idea in my head where he has a hocky puck that bounces up to three times, something similar to Neon's stun, but instead of a stun it leaves places that can slow the enemy when they try to back up. It would be a unfortunate for the enemy if they're standing in hiding spots and they can't escape when he starts to push in after that fast ass hockey puck 🫡 His arsenal would consists of something that's beneficial to him and beneficial for the team, making him an ideal duelist if you only want one duelist to push in for your team if your doing a double initiator comp. He's a radiant tech user for sure, with all that shit. I think having him and Alfred on a team comp would make them menacing, but Matthew alone as the duelist is already menacing.

[kissorkill16]

The Notebook: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Trinity learns something very interesting about Mr. Murtaugh and Finch.

I couldn't find Finch anywhere.

Where was she? Did she turn invisible again or something?

I know she said she'd be late to training, but what was so important that she had to be so late to training and make herself so unfindable?

As I was thinking, I walked past Mr. Murtaugh's classroom, and I was shocked to see a floating folder in there.

Yep, that meant Finch was in there.

"Finch, what're you doing?", I asked.

The notebook dropped, and the body of a slim cheerleader appeared. Green and white tank top and gray short shorts.

Finch.

"Trinity, what're you doing here?", she asked. I stepped into the room, "I asked you first, girl. I was looking for you because it's nearly 5:00 and you've missed training. What's going on?"

"Nothing!"

Before I could pick up the folder she dropped, she snatched it up before me and held it close to her chest.

"What the hell, girl?", I said. She shushed me, "Shut up! Keep up the noise and he'll find out we're here!"

"What are you talking about? Give me that folder!"

"No! Get away!"

"Finch, just tell me what's going on!"

"Get away from me, bitch!"

"Ms. Bales? Ms. Yi?"

We stopped fighting and turned around to see Mr. Murtaugh, arms behind his back as he looked sternly at us, but he still held that creepy smile.

Finch looked at me, "You want to know what's going on so badly?", she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she pointed at Murtaugh and shouted "There's not just one person in this school who's part of the cult!"

I gasped.

Mr. Murtaugh didn't say anything, he just continued to look at us, but his expression was blank now.

"I've been onto you ever since I joined the Inventor's Club. You play pretend as a creepy science teacher, when in reality, you're a psycho crow bitch!", said Finch. "I heard Ivan thought the same thing about you, but now I know it! Soon, everyone will know it!"

I was in such a state of shock, I wasn't moving or saying anything.

I knew Murtaugh was a creep, everyone knew he was a creep, but I didn't take him for a psycho murder. I didn't even think he knew anything about Crowface.

So hearing this now made me nearly faint.

Finally, Mr. Murtaugh walked into the room. He slowly began to smile, and then he started clapping.

"Well done, Ms. Yi. You've figured it out. I'm impressed, and I thought you didn't have as much brain as the rest of the cheer squad.", he said. "And while we're on the topic of sharing secrets, I think it's time you share some of your own."

Now I was confused?

What secrets could Finch have to hide from anyone?

She gasped and put a hand on her chest, looking offended. "I don't know what you're talking about!", she said.

"Oh but I think you do.", said the science teacher.

Without warning, he snatched something else from Finch's arms, something I didn't even notice she was holding.

A blue notebook.

She almost pounced on him, ready to attack him. "No! Give that back!", she screamed.

"Ms. Bales, did you ever think that it wasn't just Crowface that was spying on your little friend?", he asked.

He opened the notebook and flipped through the pages.

"Because from what I've found out, it seems as though Ms. Yi has been spying on Nicky ever since he got his powers. She's been taking notes on all of our private therapy sessions, because she thought he was the villain in this story.", he said. "Not only that, but before she even got her powers, she knew absolutely nothing about Crowface and lied to him just to get closer to him and prove that he's a monster. Meanwhile, I've been trying to convince the poor boy that he's not a monster. Because all anyone in this school has done is made him feel like a monster, an outcast, a disease. That's all you, Ms. Yi, and your little friends have proved to me."

Now I was back to being shocked.

Finch was spying on Nicky, because she thought he was doing something bad.

She lied about knowing anything about the cult just to get closer to him.

And she had the audacity to call Mr. Murtaugh out on his wrongdoings.

For some reason, I felt less angry and more...relieved.

I had it out for Finch ever since she joined the gang, I thought she was nothing but a bully and a bitch. But it turns out, I wasn't the only one who wanted to protect Nicky.

And I'm not talking about Mr. Murtaugh.

"You claim to care about him, and yet you're the very thing he's fighting against.", said Finch.

"I'm trying to stop him from fighting against it at all!", the science teacher shouted.

Suddenly, he transformed into a crow person. Black eyes, talons for hands, and large black wings.

"Nicholas is my student, my patient, and he's under my protection. I will protect him, I will protect all of my students. Including you two stubborn little girls, and if you were smart enough to realize that, then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.", he said.

"You gave us these stupid stones all for the purpose of being part of your cult!", said Finch.

"But I'm the one who made them malfunction!"

He took a deep breath before he continued.

"I made the stones malfunction. I was tired of this happening to people, sometimes innocent people who didn't ask to be these monsters.", he said, gesturing to his body. "I thought nothing would happen when you kids got those stones, but it made you what you are right now. Just stubborn superhumans."

He sighed and pointed to the door.

"Leave. Now.", he said.

Neither me nor Finch argued any further, we just left the room. We walked down the hallway, and as Finch was about to explain what she did, we suddenly heard a shout come from inside the classroom.

...And it wasn't Mr. Murtaugh.

"WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?!"

We ran back to the room and peaked behind the door, and we were shocked to see Crowface standing in the room with Mr. Murtaugh, and the science teacher quivered in fear.

"Master! How much of that did you hear?", he shakingly asked.

"Every last word you said to those little girls.", Crowface growled. "Had I known you were growing soft for those little brats who've done nothing but make this town more of a hellish nightmare than it already is, I would've never agreed to you being Nicholas' private counselor or keep that little mind reader in one of our cages!"

Mr. Murtaugh got down on his knees and begged his master. "Master, please understand, I'm trying to steer them away from you!", he said.

"And yet you're failing while also wasting my time! You told me that that brat had some sort of information against us. I've been housing him for too long, and I've lost all of my patience!"

He grabbed Mr. Murtaugh by the collar and pulled him closer. Even though he spoke in a deep, gravely voice, I could hear every word he said.

"If you won't compete your task, I will."

With that, he flew out of the windows of the classroom, breaking a hole through the wall and shattering the glass on the windows.

"No!"

He flew after his master, and me and Finch ran into the classroom and watched him fly away.

I didn't summon any violet chains, I didn't use my magic to pull him back. I just watched him fly away.

Mr. Murtaugh...

Me and Finch weren't the only ones who wanted to protect Nicky.

[nickyrothfan]

What if everyone got super powers?(part 2)

Nicky didn’t know how he got himself involved in this.

First, Trinity persuaded him to help her with the investigation, then Delroy beats him up, and they just leave him behind (seriously, who does that? He expected better… from her.). Next, they gather with the club, and it turns out everyone, except him, has some stones with possibly unlimited power, and they… absorbed them? Even Delroy had one!

Nicky quickly left the club room, his thoughts focused on something else. He didn’t want to get involved in this mess; he tried to… but it seemed like nobody needed him, otherwise they wouldn’t have just thrown him away like that.

It was time to become ordinary.

At the same time:

“Alright… then we’ll meet there in the evening,” Trinity said to the others, and everyone nodded.

“Great. Then, I’ll head home for a bit to drop my things off.”

“This was amazing!”

Now, Enzo and Maritza’s feelings:

Today was great! First, Maritza’s leg healed quickly, so she was already walking without a cast.

Enzo finally started saying more than two words around Bales.

And they got stones that gave them energy.

Maritza felt like she could run for an hour without stopping. She also noticed her strength had increased, the ball that broke the window was proof of that.

Enzo also felt different, more confident. He felt a bit bad that Nicky didn’t get the same, but his thoughts on his own joy quickly replaced that.

Their mood soured quickly… Squirrels attacked their parents!

And that damn Officer Cornwell fined them for feeding them.

Also, Maritza found a golden coin from her father, the same as Trinity’s, only bent.

They didn’t know why this was happening, but they were going to tell Trinity about it tonight.

Ivan Torre:

Ivan was quite excited, his thoughts were full of positivity.

Why not? He, the nerd, now had power! Power that he could use to help his friends and stop Crowface.

He immediately went back to his invention, though he slightly miscalculated the power, and literally flattened it to the ground…

“Well, there are the downsides of big power…” he scratched his head.

Other than that… nothing special happened today, except the strange behavior of Principal Abanante around him. It was as if she was expecting something.

Maybe he should tell someone about it?

Delroy:

Yeah, it’s been a weird month, actually, a few of them.

First, I learned about tunnels under the school.

Then our favorite school oddball – Nicky Roth – disappears for a month! Seriously, even Finch, of all people, started to worry about him, though she only told me about it… Did she get interested in him?

Then he came back… changed. New eyes, new attitude, his old arrogance replaced by gloom and aggression, he became… more sensitive, much easier to piss off.

I just woke up yesterday and saw this white stone, I thought my aunt bought it for me, so I picked it up… and then the flash was all that happened.

I remembered that I needed to help the “girl” of that sick guy last night, so I had to go. I wonder, if Finch really is interested in him, will there be a fight? Although Trinity quickly dropped him after beating him up and ran after Crowface.

I found new strength in myself… something amazing, I only lightly pushed Roth, but he flew back like I’d never been able to do before.

And then I found out that everyone in the inventor’s club, except Nicky, had these stones. Are we like… chosen?

After school and the gathering, I got a call from my aunt, my dog “Dog” ran away, I went to look for her, but I only found… her corpse.

I know for sure that taxidermist guy is shady. His face and smile literally scream “I am pure evil incarnate.”

If anyone is Crowface, it’s him.

Finch:

I woke up yesterday pretty calm. My life was good. Popular in school, everyone loves me, I’m the principal’s favorite, and she lets me get away with a lot.

But… still… why did I care so much about Nicky’s absence for a month?

Of course, he was my golden ticket, but…

When he came back, well, how can I put it… if he had said it, it would have sounded like: “Aliens sucked the youth out of me.” What a weirdo.

But at the same time… I don’t know, I don’t feel like making fun of him anymore, maybe a simple conversation will sort this out.

Though who am I kidding, he’s still a goldmine.

In the evening, at the amusement park:

Enzo nervously paced back and forth, where was Trinity?

“Man, can we meet at the mall or something?” Delroy was losing his patience, why did it have to be the amusement park?

“Too many strangers,” came a voice from the bushes, Ivan got scared and hid behind Delroy, making him angry, and Delroy faked a punch, so Ivan stepped back, raising his hands.

“At least here, there will be only one… Crowface,” she emerged from the bushes.

“Are you alright? We were worried that—” Enzo was interrupted.

“You were worried, Romeo,” Maritza teased her brother.

“Did you guys bring Nicky?” Trinity didn’t notice him there.

“Oh, thanks for not worrying about us. We were attacked all day, thanks for not asking,” Maritza snapped.

“What happened?”

After a while of story-telling (no, seriously, nothing changed, except Ivan mentioned that Abanante was acting weird).

“So… who’s Crowface?” Enzo asked.

“Maybe it’s Abanante, she was acting weird,” Ivan suggested.

“And she hasn’t left me alone since I got here,” Trinity backed him up.

“It’s probably Officer Cornwell, he took Peterson’s bag of coins,” Enzo remembered that cop.

“No, dude, it’s definitely that Commander guy who loves stuffing dog corpses,” Delroy shook his whole body, trying to spook them.

“So… Crowface could be anyone in the town? Great job, team,” Maritza said sarcastically, not getting any closer.

“This is just a problem. We just need to investigate more,” Ivan wasn’t ready to give up that easily.

“Wait. There’s someone who’s familiar with these coins. Knows the club well, and is familiar with Peterson’s obsession,” the leader’s words made everyone glance at each other, realizing who she meant.

Now, at the Roths’ house:

“Are you serious?” Nicky’s voice was strange, tired, but there was anger in it.

“Nobody is accusing you of anything… I’m just saying…”

“I mean… you’re acting very suspicious now/ You were like Sherlock Holmes in Raven Brooks,” Ivan’s words made everyone look at him.

“You’ve been acting… completely different… from before. We’re worried,” Trinity continued her rant.

“Come on Nicky, you’re hiding something from us?” Enzo wanted answers.

“Yeah, like why nothing happened to you when this happened to all of us?” Maritza interrupted her brother.

“Nothing happened to me?” The guy sighed, his fingers gripped the wooden window frame. His breath was uneven, his voice full of anger. Nothing happened? He went through hell!

“She didn’t mean it like that,” Trinity quickly waved her hands to calm the tension.

“Crowface is hunting us, and somehow these coins are a part of it. The coins from the amusement park. Did you hear anything when you were… well, you know, Peterson’s guest?” she took out a coin and showed it to him.

“Guest? I need to go…” he turned around and was about to leave, not wanting to see them anymore.

“If you can’t help, we’ll have to go to the source!”

“Source?” Delroy didn’t understand.

“After what he did to me?!” Nicky slammed his hands on the window sill.

“Are you nuts?! He’s a monster!” Nicky’s shouting drew attention from the neighbors.

"If you have any better ideas, I’m all here. But Mr. Peterson’s coins? Mr. Peterson’s map? Maybe he was looking for Crowface too?!"-the girl screamed back.

“YOU WILL ALL DIE! If you don’t stop now, Peterson or Crowface, or whatever this damn town was built on, will come for you!” the lights in the houses started turning on, silhouettes of people watching everything that was happening.

“Your families! Everything you care about!” He raised his hands and slammed the window down, breaking the glass, and scaring everyone.

"You are gonna die! All of you! There’s no hiding, none of you are safe! No one is safe, no one!"-he grabbed chair and throw it on the street, even breaking more grass.

Finch, seeing this scene, took a photo of the guy and left, smirking.

At that moment, Nicky’s parents came and took him away.

…

Well, from here, everything proceeds like in the episode.

Yes, I know the chapter seems… weak, because the events practically didn’t change, except that Merto dropped out of the suspect list.

However, even with the powers, this episode is literally about nothing, even in the future, none of the super abilities that the characters will gain will be able to stop what they don’t know, so the Bales household is going to blow up anyway.

And about Finch, I’m not sure what to do with her yet.

And now about the stones…

I think everyone understands they’re like the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic, right?

Well… there will definitely be more than just them (time stones, Chaos Rings, World Rings, Master Emerald, Phantom Ruby, Sol Emeralds, and more in the story, possibly even more).

And truth be told… the cult will also have powers, because otherwise, the kids would wipe the floor with them.

And as for Nicky… I think everyone is wondering what will happen to him… Anyway, Dark…(maybe).

Hope this helps! Let me know if you’d like to adjust anything.

[council-of-beetroot]

I had a dream I published this without making it anonymous lmao

I like ameliet only if it's done well. In my own family, people like my great great grandmother came to America at the age of 16 alone so I have that connection to the eastern European immigrant experience that Tolys has.

Seeing my last post this is hypocritical but it's not like I care that much because I read anything and will still enjoy it.

Common things I see in ameliet that I dislike

Alfred being interested in Tolys' culture

Especially during this era, assimilation was expected of any immigrants at the time. I don't see Alfred learning Lithuanian or learning Lithuanian cooking or whatever because all that was seen as something you left at the docks the moment you stepped foot in America as an immigrant during those times

The 1920s itself

I know it's canon but I personally in my fics have the outsourcing somewhere between 1890-1915. This is because in 1921 the us restricted immigration based on race and ethnicity so that the only people that could really move to America were Canadians or Western Europe such as the UK or Sweden. But I won't complain since it is canon.

Alfred as Tolys' saviour

I think this is just one annoys me because America has very little to do with say things like Lithuanian independence and the like. Also the way I see it depicted often renders Lithuania completely powerless and unable to lift himself up.

Now onto the other thoughts

I want to see more in outsourcing fics someone calling Tolys polish or Russian as at the time you could be labelled on papers as Russian despite not being ethnically Russian because your country was a part of Russia. For example my Great Great Grandfather's records are listed in the Russians to America files.

if it's the 1920s even better because you can have someone calling Tolys a Pollack and he gets pissed off, but not because it was meant as an insult but because how dare they mistake him for ugh a pole. 1920s is like the worst points for Tolys and Lithuania.

More red scare stuff too please

Tolys confronting the difference between his own experiences living with Alfred and his countrymen who are living in America working backbreaking jobs in poverty with little support. Yeah my great great grandfather ignacy for example was a miner upon immigrating to America. The work was literally back breaking in his case and he fractured his dorsal vertibrae which is incredibly painful but he managed to live with it for nearly 18 years until he got septicemia and died at 52. American dream amiright? There were instances where immigrants who tried to unionize were met with violence. I just think it would be interesting to see tolys grapple with this as he knows what it is like to work in a hostile environment.

Cold war era for example, I think Tolys would also have to grapple with the fact that he has romanticized America like literally as such a great place and Alfred is so much better than Ivan. So then when say Alfred does equally dumb stuff Liet finds it hard to take in.

1992 Barcelona Olympics these two and basketball. Read my basketball fic okay

Tolys thinking that certain things are normal American things as he doesn't realize it's literally something only Alfred does

The Feliks and The Baltics thinking Liet is an Expert about america but his knowledge no longer useful as it's been how many years. Same with slang

Tolys sabotaging his own relationship with Alfred because he thinks Alfred will manipulate him or end up hurting him like past relationships.

Tolys realizing Alfred's naïvete like omfg this is so good. Also Alfred turning to Tolys as almost a mentor or source of advice because Alfred on a nation scale is quite young

Also Alfred not grasping the reality of his actions because he has never been in a place where he has lost that power or been at the mercy of others while powerless. But Tolys is like wait a minute

Tolys having known both Alfred and Ivan and seeing what makes them different and quite similar

The awkwardness of moving in with someone you don't know well

Here is my fic that has ameliet as the backdrop of the fic

[ja9-animations]

Gonna spoil the end of R.E.M. cause I wanna talk about everything that happens after aka the epilogue.

So basically Finley one and for all kills Death, but Cole straight up dies and will Finley's newfound death powers, he brings Cole back to life but loses his own life in return. He basically sacrifices himself to save this kid he's never met before. Finley fully becomes the new God of Death and has all these new cool powers, but only people who have experienced death before can see him (except Xavier but there's a reason for that I'll explain later.)

Lady Irene also dies, and her soul became the age she was when she first died (which is when she is a teenager.) Finley guides her to the place where she will move on, and she asks him if all of this was worth it. Finley asks what she is talking about and she tells him that everyone will move on without him and would it be worth it then? Finley shrugs this off and believes that one day they will all be reunited with each other, and that he just had to wait until everyone else died. Lady Irene moves on, and time goes by.

Cole grows up and when he is an adult meets Finley again and he begins to worship him as a God since he's heard the tale of him bringing him back to life. Cole also still has the purple smoke powers but they work differently then before. With Finleys help, he can bring things back to life and he kind of starts a cult? It's not really like a bad cult that sacrifices or manipulates people, but a lot of people consider it a cult because they worship the God of Death aka Finley.

Finley finds the whole concept of people worshiping him pretty weird since he doesn't consider himself a God at first. Ivan and Henrietta help Cole with his religion/cult/whatever you wanna call it, but they don't really partake in worshipping Finley since they knew him when he was human. 

Finley spends a lot of time watching Xavier who cannot see him. He can't see him because he died before Finley became Death. Because Finley sacrificed his own soul at the same Cole was brought back to life, he saw Finley as he was becoming Death so he could see him. Xavier mourns the death of his friend, but he does occasionally he sees a large gray buck and knows that it's him. 

Now for the sad part. Time moves on, and Xavier gets married and has children and grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren. When Xavier died, he reunites with Finley who has been waiting for him. Finley is overjoyed to see him, and Xavier greets his old friend. They stay with each other for a few years, but Xavier begins to miss his wife and family. One day he tells Finley that it was wonderful catching up but that he is ready to pass on. Finley takes it very hard because he thought after Xavier has died that they would be together just like the used to forever. He has been patiently waiting to see him again, and never moved on. Throughout the years Xavier has mourned and moved on, and Finley was hurt by this. He agreed to let Xavier move on and that was it. The entire reason why he became Death in the first place was gone and he was alone.

More times goes by and he meets Ivan and Henrietta again after they die. They stay with Finley for a little while and move on too. When Cole dies, he stays with Finley the longest. Finley confides in Cole about his purpose and Cole asks him if he still wants to be Death. He says no, and Cole offers to become the new Death so he could be free, but Finley declines because he doesn't want Cole to suffer like he does. Eventually Cole moves on and Finley is alone again.

There is one more person he has yet to see, and hundreds of years later he meets her again. Phina, worshipper of the God of Creation takes her emblem off before she dies to see Finley one last time. Their encounter is brief in which Finley apologizes for making her go against her God, but Phina says it was her choice. She wanted to see him one last time before finding her own way to move on. 

Once she leaves, Finley is finally alone. Everyone he has ever cared about is gone, but he remains an invisible and feared being to the rest of the world. He has no attachment to the lost souls he helps because he knows they will move on without him one day. People still worship Finley and he begins to enjoy the attention, but still is emotionally unattached from everyone and everything.

Hundreds and hundreds of years go by and Finley begins to think if it had even been worth it. He forgets Xavier's voice, and then his face, and then his name. He desperately wants to pass on his powers to someone else, but he can't be reckless with it, and he wouldn't wish this fate on someone he cares about. Even if he did pass his powers on, Finley wouldn't pass on, he would just cease to exist anywhere, and he was afraid of that.

Thousands of years go by and nobody knows who Finley was or what he did, they just know him as Death.

Creation and Harvest noticed Death's drastic change and when they realized he was a different person entirely, they mostly left him alone. Creation barley ever spoke to Death, but Harvest would occasionally chat with Death and the two became familiar to each other, although sometimes it would be decades until they spoke to each other again.

[myupostsheadcanons]

Chilling Reflections (Villains' Code, Book 3)

I was able to finish reading the book while heading across state to the KS Renaissance Fair. (harhar, that the plot of the last 5min Sherlock book was also about a RenFair) I had planned on reading it all the same week it came out, but had meat-space stuff get in the way - sorry.

Yes, you should read "Villains' Vignettes" before reading this book. Events that happened in that Volume are talked about in this book. While it does do some explaining, the over all experience is a lot better if you already read what happened. The Halloween story and a young Ivan ending up an accidental hero in another dimension have elements that are important to characters growth in this one.

Spoilers Under Cut:

VRX77... yeah, i guessed she was an alternate universe Tori by the second time she showed up in the book. I first thought, by the title of the book that Vicki was going to be a cold-based version of Tori tho. But turned out the "Chilling" part of the book was because of Jokull the Frost Giant and his role within the C-plot of Faithful and Bert's schemes.

I do find it a rather interesting development with Ivan and Fornax, that whenever Ivan loses control and Fornax takes over, that once Ivan gets behind the driver's seat again, he is unable to maintain the same amount of dominance between his will and Fornax's will. That Ivan can't not access as much of Fornax's powers with out risking Foranx slipping into the driver's seat. It is a clean way to nerf Ivan, make it to where he can't just show up and fix everything, and Drew then doesn't have to keep throwing Hammers at the Earth (Or having Ivan go to another world for a while).

But what about Lodestar swooping in to save the day? She has only been back to work the last couple years, she did spend the past several years as a full time mom and not using her powers. There is only one of her, and she isn't as ruthless as people like Professor Quantum or the members of the Villains Guild. She has been taken out of fights before, or has been distracted by a larger threat while something else happens under her nose. This has happened at the end of both Bones of the Past and Chilling Reflections already.

Jokull counted on Lodestar to show up when he took Ivan. He knew that if Lodestar wouldn't kill him, eventually he would push Ivan far enough to become Fornax and get the same result. The latter happened, unfortunately.

Though not unfortunately, it did FINALLY clear the air between Ivan and Helen and they aren't pussy footing around their feelings for one another anymore... (hits Nexus with a rolled up news paper for being a peeping tom)

I would like to see more of the extended cast in the next book or in the VVV2. It does stream line the story focusing most of the POVs to a handful of groups. I do miss having more of Glyph and Pest Control, or even some of the other Villains... doing Villain stuff. It has been even commented in this book that Tori and Bev don't act very villainous, they just don't pull their punches like a Hero would, they are more Vigilante than Villain.

Cloe getting a taste of Edict's powers, and realizing why people who've ran into her counter parts put Edict on the same level as Nexus and Captain Bullshit. She was able to change Faithful's powers without him even realizing what happened, he probably doesn't even know yet, and i hope this comes back to bite him in the ass.

I've came across a few old science fiction stories that are based around Faithful's powers before. It is the belief that He is the only real person and that nothing else around him is real. He is a God in his own mind and he believes in himself thoroughly.

With Mr. AV coming back into the picture at the end of the book, it is likely that Donald/Cyber Geek is going to get that training that other Cyber Geeks were able to get. It was funny as fuck when Cyber Geek randomly found a guy named Full Bars with the power to amplify all cell and wi-fi signals just when he needed the help accessing the internet the most. I read that part out loud in the car to my brother and he thought it was funny too.

I have this sneaking suspicion that Rick and Ren/Medley are going to have a lot of common ground (on body image and shape shifting). And, just maybe, they can learn something from one another. something that Ivan can not teach. Perhaps Helen brings it up to Ivan as a possibility.

Kyle finally putting the pieces together that Tori just may be Hephaestus... that would be an awesome 'popcorn worthy' show down when it finally gets out into the open. All because Bev wanted a nice pair of caprices.

So... are we like seeing Professor Quantum become the true Villain? The first meta, paranoid as fuck, afraid of losing control, has back up plans for back up plans, treats people as tools, works against other heroes, has no problems with killing people that get in his way.... That was a dick move putting that mind-control chip in Ellie and making her see her "dead" friend.

Speaking of.... Ike and Settler are alive.... somewhere....

Ranking: 7 out of 10.

Too much going on sometimes. There are at least four different antagonist plots going on at the same time, on top of the monster invasion from extra space. Drew perhaps needs to step back a bit on the gas and put in some more Personal Life Drama stuff like he had in Super Powereds.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Musing on Akuma nature & Queens Second Chance cos Gabriel must be very frustrated compared to canon.

The Kwami won't reveal Fu's position so he's fine & Gabriel has no idea how many Kwami there or are or if they are on the move.

Chloe, a potentially powerful Akuma is abjectly refusing to become an Akuma. There's a third hero running around now making everything harder. Heroes Day, his magnum opus seemed to almost be... predicted?

At the very least, key Akuma he had reason to count on were absent and there seemed to be an ambush waiting for Dark Cupid. If he hadn't grown so paranoid he might not have been able to slip away even with Nathalie's help!

But now he knows, or at least suspects, that his foes have some degree of insight as to his machinations. A stance only reinforced by Lila's perfect performance being undercut before Chameleon could even make much headway!

So, he clearly needs to become more... Chaotic.

Basically, without Miaculous Users to obsess over & no Guardian to pursue Gabriel is left with two main areas of focus.

Further developing his Akuma, & seeing if he can maybe mix Akuma & Sentimonsters together into something effective.

Both viable plans and both with potential but very much long term potential, but hey, he's in it for the long haul now.

Anyway

I think as far as AKuma experiments go he'd focus on some ideas he had later in the show and some of that "Corruption" stuff I theorizes about.

IE, he see if he can latch an Akuma onto an object or person without transforming them, to instead fester & feed on negative emotions, slowly growing until it overtakes them.

Item infectors would make a regular Akuma that probably runs out of charge after a while without his help but can still get started on its own.

Akuma/energies that infest a person would require more careful effort to cultivate but the result could eventually be a permanent monster.

He might also see about having a Sentimonster created to serve a similar role to Nathalie/Catalyst. IE, empower him. Risk of course and akin to wishing for more wishes so I have to imagine that being Scarlet Moth has its own risks of overload. But still, he may go from having one Akuma at a time to two or three to better match the heroes.

If Kagami's identity still gets revealed to him, he would 100% angle in on her like he did Chloe, to potentially devastating effect, though without a Miraculous he may only get a powerful Akuma and if nothing else Chloe would likely know what to look out for.

I imagine that short term, he just increases the number or power of his Akuma via the Sentimonsters to better match the heroes day to day.

Long term he tries to cultivate the Item Akuma for a second Heroes Day event but one that he needn't over or empower. The battles that would spring up across the city bringing chaos and turning the goal would be to make it a contest of stamina and chaos.

Where-in he and his elite Akuma would then be able to ambush the heroes. Said elite AKuma being those like Lila who don't need to be empowered by him at all because they are no longer human but something else.

Though how much control he has over them would be up for debate.

NOTES:

I imagine item Akuma can force transformation if they store up enough negative energy over time & the person lacks a strong will. They are basically working on the same principle as Witch eggs from Madoka Magic, or Ivan's Akuma when it multiplied on its own. Just tailored more to individuals.

Absollutely terrifying actually!

[m1zisu4]

i wanted to do an analysis on ivansua using this interview with andromeda media about their selection as outstanding students. we'll start with ivan, and do a separate post for sua (things got long!)

our first instinct is to identify ivan as a certified yapper. he talks way more than sua. one small example of this is the following exchange

throughout the interview, it's clear that ivan has more to say than sua. but why?

ivan's behavior is informed by an impoverished childhood, wherein survival was dependent on the ability to learn quickly. basic needs—food, shelter, warmth—were achieved by accurately perceiving one's circumstances and adapting accordingly. ivan demonstrates such adaptability in this comic. when till explains what a loser is, ivan verifies his understanding by providing an example: till himself ("that's you, then"). he appears shocked when till punches him, and repeats till's phrase "cheer up" (alternatively translated as "have strength") in order to self-soothe OR to extend belated apology for his insensitivity. through his swift comprehension of the term loser and his understanding of the purpose, application, and utility of the phrase "cheer up," we see that ivan's (sometimes strange) behavior reflects core tenets of his personality: observance and adaptability. it's also noteworthy that one of ivan's dislikes is ignorance, and that he's the least close with mizi. her innocence and denial of reality overwhelms him, and he views sua's indulgence of her dreaminess as irresponsible and dangerous. cruel, even. being dishonest, ignorant, or delusional impedes one's chances of survival. these are traits antithetical to ivan's values.

ivan's adaptability and observational skills prepare him for success in anakt garden. when the interviewer asks what requirements there are for becoming an outstanding student, ivan produces an answer based on his observations of anakt's system. he places the onus on the student to succeed: they must be obedient, work hard, have correct conduct, and always strive to be good. ivan is not only answering for himself. he is modeling behavior for the entire class. in doing so, he characterizes the system as fair and equitable. it possesses transformative power, and can help anyone succeed if they work hard enough. he positions himself as a textbook success. he uses the favor he accrues with the aliens to build his own authority (notable evidence of this are when he roams off-collar and when he frees till). ivan negotiates his power by internalizing the standards and ideals of anakt garden and sanctioning them on a public forum, building legitimacy both for himself and for the system. without demonstrating an understanding of these ideals and advocating for the necessity of their implementation, he would not have achieved the same power and authority.

of course, this is detrimental to his self-concept. his origins as the parasite, the outsider, the stranger from nowhere, are concealed behind the curated mask of congeniality and excellence. in a comment to ivan, minsu notes that he is unapproachable due to his perfection. him being without flaws also makes mizi self-conscious for the same reasons. ivan does not present himself honestly; instead, he appears as a glittering veneer concealing the coarse edges of his innermost self. he is an ideal, an abstraction. as the epitome of success, he earns power for himself which he exercises to his benefit and that of others.

however, the harder he works, the more estranged he becomes from his true self. the rewards he gets for acting as his persona validate his cynical ideas about the world: his true self is loathesome, unlovable. it is as worthless as dust, as offensive and out-of-place as his snaggletooth. he would never be worthy of consideration, respect, or love if he presented himself honestly. all he's earned through his time with unsha and at anakt—his perfect marks, his ambassador position with a luxury brand, his abundant work opportunities, hell, even his guardian's respect—has been through his participation in and manipulation of the system. class saturates ivan's character down to his marrow.

i'll provide one more example from the interview that highlights how class pervades ivan's story

firstly, i want to say that thanking your parents, your learning community, your instructors , and your peers is just the polite thing to do. he's honoring those who made his success possible, which builds one's idea of him as respectful and well-mannered.

however, this serves another function. by being polite, organized, and grateful, ivan maintains the aliens' confidence. he proves a worthy investment because he is deferential (to unsha, for example), conscious of his social positioning (as a junior, student, and peer), and appreciative (rather than critical) of anakt's institutions. he has created the perfect vehicle for the aliens to confer their desires upon. his answers reflect a desire to preserve this vehicle (at the cost of his true self, as always)