Ivan Alien Stage - Tumblr Posts
THIS.
You know, even as we make fun of Ivan for his hypocrisy, I think he himself is already aware of it. In his conversation with Sua he doesn't just say "oh how could you do such an awful thing?" he actually says that he's glad someone is as twisted as him. I think the difference between Ivan and Sua is actually that Sua doesn't want to acknowledge the trauma that a self sacrifice will cause, Ivan is fully aware and that's the point
OMG THEYRE SO PRETTY???
@shakingparadigm LOOK AT THIS
More alien stage genderbends :>>
I just try to draw one of the most popular scenes so it's recognizable atleast, also I am SCREAMING over Ivan genderbend the long hair looks so goooooddddddd
(Ignore literally half of the awkward things in this drawing I was too impatient)
I'm going a little insane over the symbolism in ROUND 3 of Alien Stage, so here's a (not-so) little visual analysis.
When I first watched this video, I was ecstatic, and not just because Ivan is my favorite. But I was also ecstatic to see once again the flowers that have been showing up very subtly throughout the series.
First, in the series theme, we see Till holding small red flowers behind his back. Then in ROUND 2, we see Till clutch them again, and then Till watch as Sua places a crown of red flowers upon Mizi's head. And then in ROUND 3, we see the flower crown itself, up close.
From what I can tell, these are either some kind of poppy, or maybe specifically poppy anemones/Anemone coronaria. I can't find any academic analysis for a common meaning, although the ever-unreliable flower meaning blogosphere associates them largely with forsaken love. But it doesn't really matter what the cultural meaning is, so much as the textual meaning.
Ivan's eyes are very clearly shown to be a visual inverse of these flowers. His eyes are black, deep black, and when his face is neutral we see no other color but black. But when he's experiencing intense emotion, we see that his irises are actually red!
This happens first in the introduction, when he gazes at the stars (another heavily repeated piece of symbolism).
As he falls backwards, and the shadow of his former owner passes over him, his eyes become black once again, and remain black until he witnesses Till standing up against the creature with Mizi.
His iris swells red. Shooting stars flash across the sky, and in his eyes. As we cut back to his song in the present, his irises are still red. Stars shoot behind him now as he sings.
A flashback again, to Till. This time, the sky is warm, aflame; the glittering stars replaced by falling fire. Till's irises are also red now. But once Till turns back (presumably to go look for Mizi), his eyes return to their green color, and Ivan's become pure black once more.
Except in this last shot. This last shot, where, if you look closely, even beneath the shadows, you can see that his irises are once again inflamed with red.
The previous two songs mention flowers by name; clematis in ROUND 1, and edelweiss in ROUND 2. So I thought it strange that no flower appears within the lyrics of Ivan's song. Then I realized; a flower does appear in the lyrics, just not in the way you would expect!
At the end of this story There is only a cold spot stained with blood, and Such black, black sorrow
The flowers are red; stained with blood. They have a white ring in the middle; a cold spot. And their center is black; black sorrow. The same is true of Ivan's eyes; they reflect the coldness of space, except for the very center, a spot stained with blood, surrounded by black sorrow.
I wonder if we'll continue to see the flowers throughout the series, as they interconnect the relationships of Sua and Mizi, and Till and Ivan. Sua gives Mizi a flower crown as representative of her love. Till chases down and catches the flower crown as representative of his love for Mizi. And Ivan watches from afar, desire growing, as flowers bloom within his own eyes.
I've noticed also the repetition of red "eyes" throughout the series so far. First on the collars, which go from a bright green to red when locked. Then in the series theme, we see the red eyes of the soldiers. In ROUND 2, we see red lights around the stage, as well as in the security cameras in Till's room. Finally, in ROUND 3, we see red "eyes" several more times. Beyond Ivan, which I have already discussed, we see that his former master has red eyes. And, most importantly, we see them repeated throughout Ivan's flashback in which he fell in love with Till, and tried to escape with him.
For Ivan, red represents his desire, and his love. But within Alien Stage, red is also representative of control and authority. Ivan loves Till, yes. But he also wants to control him, and to monopolize his affections. Which is why I am so, so thoroughly excited to see what a Till vs. Ivan round will look like in the future.
IM GOING TO BE SICK AUUUGHSHCIJSJ.
Dissolve me in your gaze
Alien stage is giving me brain rot
The actual aftermath of Round 6, btw..
