GoodFoolofIllyria @goodfoolofillyria - Tumblr Blog

Decided to make this blog so I can chat fic w ppl!! I’m GoodFoolofIllyria on ao3 hehe

I’m an adult and sometimes write fics that I’ll be sharing on here that aren’t appropriate for general audiences, so minors kindly dnf please and dni on posts that aren’t appropriate for general audiences (I will be tagging them so that they can be avoided and shouldn’t pop up in the tags)

Right now I mainly write Alien Stage fic, but I’ve written for other fandoms in the past and likely will in the future yayyy

I love reading and writing character centric stuff and love interesting worldbuilding from a sci fi perspective

Alien Stage is a beautiful set of short music videos that dares to ask the question what if we were in Plato’s Cave but it was also the Garden of Eden but also we were in the wire mother cloth mother experiment but also some of us are in the pit of despair depression pit experiment but also we r idols

#alien stage #alnst

goodfoolofillyria

I think there’s something super interesting in the ideas of personhood in Segyein society in Alien Stage. From what we can see, Segyein seem to be a multispecies multiplanet society. Among them, there seems to be a broad range of life spans and intellects. Whereas the term Segyein seems to connote a “person” alien in their society, the term “Wagyein” seems to connote a “non-person” alien. In the case of the creatures shown in Round 3 that like, live in the walls, it seems at first like Wagyein is just functionally “animal.”

These creatures are shown to basically be guard dogs, and Ivan interacts with them in a manner that suggests this as well. However, Till’s guitar, Freddie, is also referred to as a Wagyein, and while he is like. Literally a guitar. He is also referred to as a father (I can’t remember where that was, but if anyone finds it please send it my way!) So Freddie is like. Fully a sentient being who could be considered a person. Except, that in Segyein society, the term used for him is the exact same one as the one used for these more animal like creatures.

In terms of humans in series then, I think it’s really interesting considering that they are “non-people” in the perspective of the Segyein. We know that there aren’t a ton of Segyein who speak human languages, but some, like Luka, can. There’s also in universe interviews conducted in which both the Segyein interviewer and the human interviewee understand each other, so there is some sort of shared language abilities. Humans also seem to read Segyein writing (which is literally just the English alphabet lol). The human cast function both as idols and as pets in the series, and this line is very blurry both with their guardians but also with fans. The idea that Ivan may have a “type” is something his Segyein fans are interested in, which is either implying they have an interest in his love life as viewers, or that the idea of Segyein fans having “crushes” on their favorite idols is something normal.

Regardless, I think it’s kind of interesting in that whatever is required for acceptance into personhood in Segyein society, it has nothing to do with sentience or the ability to intelligently communicate. I suspect it may have at least something to do with lifespan, since the short lifespans of humans in comparison gets brought up a lot, and there seems to be a hierarchy among Segyein based on which species live longer, but regardless, the humans in series cannot negotiate their own personhood on the basis of things we might expect them to be able to. Segyein society fully accepts and acknowledges underclasses made up of sentient, intelligent beings that can communicate with them, regardless of if they are a human or a Wegyein, and these lives are allowed to be taken with ease. Human death is a complete non-issue it seems, but even Wagyein death (Freddie) gets brushed off pretty easily.

goodfoolofillyria

Ok majorly important caveats!! One, thanks to the person who pointed out that I was incorrect about Freddie being referred to as a Wagyein. I don’t know where I thought I saw that, but I double checked and wasn’t able to find any reference to it. Two, the word Wagyein or 외계인 is literally just the Korean word for Alien. This is differentiated (but occasionally used in an overlapping manner, as in one of the patreon posts) with 세계인, which refers to the personified aliens.

#alien stage #alnst

I’m really intrigued by the use of religious imagery in Alien Stage. There’s Anakt Garden, which draws pretty heavily from the Garden of Eden with it’s ideas of obedience and innocence, and then the whole Lord and Father stuff in Sweet Dream and the My Clematis monologue, and then Isaac and his brother Jacob having directly biblical names (I’m not super familiar with the Bible so idk the metaphorical reasoning for it), and of course the Great Anakt, which was going to play a larger role in Karma I believe based on some drafts on the Patreon. If we end up getting more episodes that aren’t just au stuff I do hope we eventually go back to the Great Anakt because I’m really fascinated by the idea that there’s this like ancient alien that the children view almost as a deity. Like woah what’s up with that.

#alien stage #alnst #yeah most of the stuff feeds the idea that the children in Anakt are in a state of ignorance and innocence #I personally have thought of Luka’s killing of Hyunwoo as a very Cain and Abel situation #since the character pairings have that whole thing about viewing the other as a god #the idea of brothers and jealousy based on attention and the first killing etc etc etc #just find it interesting the way it borrows religious imagery. I suppose Mizi is someone who ‘fell’ in that case #but me personally I was hoping there’d be some sort of takedown of the Great Anakt by the end of the series or at least some sort of bizarre #psychological encounter with it. maybe well still get that who knows #Isaac and Jacob though I’ve taken as either being named that for some sort of metaphorical reason #or for a literal reason meant to indicate that they had parents who were religious and representing the way they did actually have #knowledge carried down a family tree in opposition to the human pets who are like new births of human beings over and over again #and because of their alienation they aren’t capable of passing down any information whether religious cultural or practical

The lore drop that the guards are also human is so haunting to me. It’s so I Who Have Never Known Men to me. And like what gets a human put in this position. Is it through failure or success or just specific humans chosen for that purpose? Do the human guards see themselves as separate from the human pets or do they see themselves as fortunate since they are in a slightly better position when it comes to survival?

#alien stage #alnst

I’ve always jokingly considered Till’s crush on Mizi a blend between genuine young attraction, viewing her as the Madonna, and the way people stan idols, so his crush in the school au being framed very much as the third did make me laugh. Ok buddy get her autograph or whatever. Loser. Stan Mizi.

#alien stage #alnst #he’s such a lameass lollll #him crushing on Mizi while she and Mizi are like hardcore flirting in front of him was so #please grow a pair of eyeballs son LOLLL #but yeah his crush is framed so much as distancing idealization #I think there’s something really interesting too in that he fantasizes about saving Mizi but in his moments of highest stress #he fantasizes about Mizi saving him #it’s like his conscious thoughts are about maintaining the control he lacks under Urak’s control while his subconscious thoughts reflect #his only experience of love being maternal and how he desires someone to care for him #which of course wraps back around to his relationship with Ivan #who he wanted to acknowledge his pain ie be cared for. but of course it means Till is totally blind to the genuine vulnerability of others #and mutual care #edit WHILE SHE AND SUA I typed it wrong lol

muffinapologist

Right so my Mizi thoughts!!! The front of the Album Volume 1 booklet says this.

This is already hinted at in the Intro/Sweet Dream

Kids who don’t score well enough are “disposed of”. In Karma there’s a shot of Mizi and Sua laying among the graves of other children

Now!! This is important because look at Mizi’s stats

[From the album booklet]

[From the artbook] Mizi’s scores are consistently just barely scraping by and there is a constant emphasis on her “charming personality” being her redeeming factor

[from 'My Fragile God, Fading Fast']

Mizi has had the belief that she has to be adorable and loveable to survive engrained in her since she was young and the important thing to remember is that she is absolutely right humans are pets in this world. they need to be loved to continue to exist. Till's at the other end of this spectrum where his talent is immense enough to make up for his disobedience (Urak says as much in an interview at some point "he should know his talent has saved him" but I don't remember exactly where)

also: re the diet thing/the notes on it. I've already theorized for a While that Mizi likely has some sort of eating disorder because of this comic panel. This isn't surprising because Alien Stage is in large part social commentary, in part on being Queer in Korea and in part on the idol industry as a whole

[From the Alien Stage Official Twitter (fan translation by whatafruit)]

but knowing that her having a "big appetite" was one of her "negatives" on her evaluation puts a whole new layer on it. because what the fuck do you mean she's desperately starving herself to reduce her negatives and improve her value. when I catch you vivinos. vivinos when I catch you and then you have this kid. and ok he is a Child so I don't want to dwell on him as an individual for too long. but it really says so much that this is the memory Mizi jumps to when Till is shot. This is the beginning of her internalizing that she is responsible for the very thing she needs to do to survive

[From 'The True Face']

[From the Alien Stage Official twitter]

sorry i'm just really fucked up about all of this i'm just trying to put this into words. because as much as Mizi does hate the Segyein she ultimately hates herself more

she is the villain to her story. because despite knowing full well she would have been killed if she hadn't acted a certain way, she still feels guilty for it. despite not wanting the attention she got from guys and being uncomfortable with it, she feels guilty for it. despite not wanting Sua to die she feels guilty for it

[also from the album booklet, Mizi's notes for 'My Clematis']

this is not part of her 'act'. this is private. this is Mizi, knowing the reality, but still holding out hope until the last possible moment which aligns with what we see in Karma with her confronting Sua right before Round 1. Mizi paints herself as not caring enough, being willing to let Sua die for her. as using Sua and 'throwing her away'

[From 'The True Face' the speech bubble is Mizi's hallucination of Sua speaking]

[From the lyrics to MirroR]

[From the lyrics to Witch]

Mizi still hasn't forgiven herself for any of it

[From the lyrics to Witch]

I think as humans we have the instinct to survive but also the instinct to form communities, which is why the kids all form strong bonds despite knowing what will happen (or at least having some vague notion of what failure means)

they all want to survive, and only one of them can do that, but they also care about each other. and this contradiction is the source of a lot of pain for All of the characters but especially Mizi because on top of everything else she's putting on this act so that she's well liked

and I do think that her personality isn't entirely faked, the collars are a strong indicator of how characters are feeling, and via her actions we can see how much she cares about not only Sua but Ivan and Till as well. I think she acts happier and more cheerful than she is. I think she avoids lashing out and tries to be as pleasant as possible. and of course she acts like she doesn't know the truth (although i do think some element of this is that she wants to deny reality). but that doesn't mean she's this cold calculating person she sees herself as

(which honestly, arguably, even that would be understandable given the. Everything)

but she's not. Till got shot in front of her while she went to save him. She risked her life and freedom

she tried to stop Sua, too, multiple times on screen. she tried to convince Hyuna to save Ivan and Till. still, even now, she thinks of and misses them

[From the Alien Stage Official Twitter]

and yet she believes, and tells us, the audience. that she didn't. and that their deaths are her fault.

i'm so unwell about Mizi Alien Stage thank you for listening to my constant ranting about her

#alien stage #other person’s meta #very interesting read #yeah the way the characters have internalized the almost constant threat of being thrown away is super interesting #for ivan he’s very consciously aware of it Mizi internalizes her self blame till is constantly getting lucky because he’s a ‘music genius’#Sua externalizing her desire to protect Mizi #it’s like constant and all encompassing

appaumey

hell is ours to face

I think there’s something super interesting in the ideas of personhood in Segyein society in Alien Stage. From what we can see, Segyein seem to be a multispecies multiplanet society. Among them, there seems to be a broad range of life spans and intellects. Whereas the term Segyein seems to connote a “person” alien in their society, the term “Wagyein” seems to connote a “non-person” alien. In the case of the creatures shown in Round 3 that like, live in the walls, it seems at first like Wagyein is just functionally “animal.”

These creatures are shown to basically be guard dogs, and Ivan interacts with them in a manner that suggests this as well. However, Till’s guitar, Freddie, is also referred to as a Wagyein, and while he is like. Literally a guitar. He is also referred to as a father (I can’t remember where that was, but if anyone finds it please send it my way!) So Freddie is like. Fully a sentient being who could be considered a person. Except, that in Segyein society, the term used for him is the exact same one as the one used for these more animal like creatures.

In terms of humans in series then, I think it’s really interesting considering that they are “non-people” in the perspective of the Segyein. We know that there aren’t a ton of Segyein who speak human languages, but some, like Luka, can. There’s also in universe interviews conducted in which both the Segyein interviewer and the human interviewee understand each other, so there is some sort of shared language abilities. Humans also seem to read Segyein writing (which is literally just the English alphabet lol). The human cast function both as idols and as pets in the series, and this line is very blurry both with their guardians but also with fans. The idea that Ivan may have a “type” is something his Segyein fans are interested in, which is either implying they have an interest in his love life as viewers, or that the idea of Segyein fans having “crushes” on their favorite idols is something normal.

Regardless, I think it’s kind of interesting in that whatever is required for acceptance into personhood in Segyein society, it has nothing to do with sentience or the ability to intelligently communicate. I suspect it may have at least something to do with lifespan, since the short lifespans of humans in comparison gets brought up a lot, and there seems to be a hierarchy among Segyein based on which species live longer, but regardless, the humans in series cannot negotiate their own personhood on the basis of things we might expect them to be able to. Segyein society fully accepts and acknowledges underclasses made up of sentient, intelligent beings that can communicate with them, regardless of if they are a human or a Wegyein, and these lives are allowed to be taken with ease. Human death is a complete non-issue it seems, but even Wagyein death (Freddie) gets brushed off pretty easily.

#alien stage #alnst #meta #just something I find very interesting #like especially considering the rebellion #I remembered when I saw ppl arguing about what the rebellion could do I was like yeah they’re really in a pickle #Segyein aren’t a single society they seem to be a multi society overarching community #and humans are also scattered across this system so attempts to free humans are difficult because they’re not all centered in one place #and there’s very little hope of being able to negotiate personhood since proving sentience is completely irrelevant

Thank you to the holy trinity of Omegaverse founding fathers (Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Theodore Sturgeon)

#omegaverse #octavia butler #ursula k. le guin #theodore sturgeon #The Evening and the Morning and the Night by Octavia Butler “Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guin and #and Amok Time by Sturgeon walk into a bar #I heard Sam Reid brought up the Ursula K Le Guin connection #and obv the Amok Time connection has been known #but while reading The Evening and the Morning and the Night I was like oh my god #Octavia Butler would’ve loved omegaverse in the hormone hierarchy exploration way #ao3

lesly-oh

💔

#alien stage #alnst

I think it’s like pretty interesting how Mizi having naturally pink hair and Till having like natural grey hair from birth and Sua having purple eyes are like, obviously on one hand main cartoon character design things. But also are totally traits that the Segyein have developed within them, and are acknowledged in universe. Like, in All-In we see the other members of the rebellion have pretty realistic hair colors, which of course, narratively is because they’re not important characters/background characters, but I think also implies something about the level of genetic manipulation going on among the human pets. I’m of the personal opinion that the landscape in All-In is depicting Earth, just based on how human the city in the background and the roadways are shown to be, and the level of abandonment. We don’t know if, at the time of the Segyein invasion of Earth, all humans were killed or taken, or whether there were any survivors who weren’t taken. We do know that some members of the rebellion, like Dewey, did escape being human pets, and others, like Isaac, are almost certainly at least second generations out from being human pets (his older brother and him seem to be biological brothers, and are named in a way that suggests continuity of child rearing, as they both share names from a similar background. Hyuna and Hyunwoo do the same, but I’ve always assumed they’re twins to be honest, with Hyuna as the older twin). The rate at which humans are able to escape the Segyein is also not entirely clear, but based on Isaac in that one comic describing pink as a common hair color, it’s often enough for a trait that was engineered by the Segyein to be common enough outside of humans under Segyein control. Just something I found interesting

#alien stage #alnst #meta #I guess??

sunnywakame

just a lighthearted comic

#alien stage #alnst #this is so adorable…. omg….. so so cute #the babies….

With the ten aus, I would initially think that each au will be a movie that one of the main cast as chosen, but numerically that wouldn’t quite work out would it? Hmm I’m curious to see how it’ll be incorporated. School au seems to count for one, and then if each member of the main cast has a movie choice that’s a total of 7, so there’d still be 3 left over aus.

#alien stage #alnst #also if this movie was Sua’s pick then r we following like an order related to the rounds or deaths or smthing

Wait is the teacher in that one panel the new comic the first human above middle age we’ve seen in alien stage. This isn’t like important or anything I’m just like wait lol

#alnst #alien stage #I’m like trying to think but I think we haven’t seen anyone older than like Luka #certainly not in the main continuity #obv this is an au so it makes sense but I’m just thinking of it bc I always got an ominous feeling about how we never see ppl who are very #old in the main series. in terms of what it means for human pets when they’re not ‘cute’ anymore and start having health problems #i dont think we’ve really gotten npcs in the other aus yet tho

Sua being a niche kind of campy old black and white horror movie fan is kind of the most adorable thing ever… the gap moe is crazy omg…

#alsnt #alien stage #I’m assuming that it was her pick based on what’s going on #and how embarrassed she is about Mizi doing a dramatic reading of the synopsis lolll

#alnst #alien stage #tbf this goes for Mizi too ok constructing intricate rituals that allow u to touch the skin of other women

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