Unreliable Narration and MiziSua's Dynamic
With the release of ZOMST showing us a new facet to MiziSua, there has been a lot of discussion about their relationship. One thing I see consistently brought up is the way Mizi talks about Sua during ALNST, and I wanted to throw my two cents in about a differing opinion I have about it compared to some others.
All of Vivimeng’s works, especially ALNST, are very open to interpretation. I do not think my take is the only valid one :]
Something I see consistently brought up in discussions about MiziSua right now is Mizi’s line about Sua during KARMA: “Maybe I just wasn’t as desperate for her.” Along with the fact that Mizi lets Sua die during round 1, people are taking these two things at face value as examples for the imbalance within MiziSua, in that Mizi loves Sua less than Sua loves her. I would like to argue that Mizi, during ALNST, is an incrediblely unreliable narrator who contradicts herself many times, and that MiziSua IS toxic, but not for a lack of devotion from Mizi.
First, ALNST Mizi absolutely loves Sua as much as Sua loves her. Let’s look at the heart scene from KARMA, where we get an honest visual depiction of each relationship’s issues. For IvanTill, Ivan is forcing his love onto Till, who doesn’t know how to react. For HyunLuka, Luka has come to the realization that his love for Hyuna has killed her and her brother. For MiziSua, though, their love is depicted as something codependent, toxic, but mutual. They both love each other so much that they willingly drown in each other; they are both swallowing their hearts, they are both kissing each other.
Another piece of evidence for Mizi being just as devoted to Sua is that, well, literally the entirety of ALNST is set into motion by Mizi being unable to cope with Sua’s death. Mizi was so distraught by Sua’s death that she beat the fuck out of Luka in round 3, almost let herself be killed, and ultimately was too guilty and sad to move on with her life like Till did by the end. I don’t think these are the actions of someone who didn’t love Sua with all her heart.
So, why does Mizi say that line? I believe it’s survivor’s guilt, which Mizi is depicted with throughout the entirety of ALNST and its supplemental materials. Mizi felt so guilty for letting Sua die, but also for surviving when Ivan and Hyuna didn’t, that she created a narrative where she was the most evil person of all; a “witch,” if you will. The problem with this narrative, though, is that Mizi’s actions directly contradict it:
Mizi letting Sua die: My interpretation largely relies on the idea that Mizi didn’t truly understand the concept of death before Sua died. I honestly refuse to believe that everyone in Anakt Garden would have been so happy to participate in Alien Stage if they were all well aware what death meant. We saw in KARMA that Mizi was aware Sua was going to sacrifice herself, but we also saw that Mizi tried to talk Sua out of it. Mizi comforted Sua the moment she realized what she was going to do, and they even argued about it before going on stage. They loved each other equally, but expressed it in different ways: Sua’s ultimate act of desperate, toxic love was sacrificing herself, and Mizi’s was letting Sua do it. Because she knew that Sua couldn’t live without her, but Mizi quickly realized she felt the same way about Sua.
Mizi saving Till: Part of the reason that Mizi crashed the rocket into Alien Stage was because she blamed herself and the system for literally all her friends dying, so she decided to kill herself and everyone involved. However, the second she realized Till was still alive, she made the choice to save him. In KARMA, Mizi said that humans are “creatures who can’t seem to love without exploiting,” but saving Till was an act of love, not exploitation. Despite already resigning to the idea of being a cruel monster and blaming herself for everyone else’s deaths, Mizi refused to let Till die.
With all of that in mind, I refuse to believe that MiziSua is anything other than mutually toxic and codependent. They love each other differently, Mizi repeatedly hurting Sua without knowing better, and Sua letting her if it means being together. They’re fucked up for sure, but it’s mutual. Don’t let Mizi convince you otherwise!
However, that’s all ALNST. In ZOMST, they have entirely different circumstances that changed the way their relationship played out. That being said, I still think my argument for MiziSua’s dynamic stands.
One thing depicted in ZOMST that’s very consistent with ALNST MiziSua is Mizi hitting Sua. She does this in one comic, and it’s further contextualized by another comic; Mizi wants to “crush” Sua because her idea of love is fucked up. She was abused by Shine in ALNST, and abused by her mother in ZOMST. When Mizi is upset, she physically lashes out because that’s what the people who “love” her did to her. That’s why she killed a rat as a child, and why she slapped Sua. However, she instantly felt remorse and confusion after both of these instances, as well as during ALNST.
Both ALNST and ZOMST Sua let Mizi do this. Sua really doesn’t seem to understand that this behavior is unhealthy and will let Mizi do whatever she wants to her as long as they can be together. It’s why Sua stopped Mizi from smoking, but didn’t leave Mizi when she slapped her; she cares about Mizi’s well being, but not her own.
The biggest change in ZOMST is that Mizi was the one to “die,” or get infected, first, allowing us to see Sua’s reaction. In ALNST, Mizi let Sua die first, and felt so guilty that she condemned herself to exile and unhappiness. In ZOMST, Sua proved that she cannot and will not live without Mizi. Despite them having grown apart due to Mizi’s abuse by the industry, despite Mizi slapping her, despite having the opportunity to end Mizi’s suffering, Sua chose to be “together forever.” She would rather suffer with Mizi than live without her. I doubt the idea of killing Mizi even crossed Sua’s mind, and even if it did, I do not think Sua would be capable of that. As seen in ALNST, Sua would rather kill herself than directly be responsible for Mizi’s death.
MiziSua is toxic and doomed yuri. But it’s also mutually toxic, with Mizi and Sua both expressing their love in different unhealthy and destructive ways. They destroy their own lives and hurt each other because of the ways they love each other. At least there’s always the actor AU…
Again, I don’t think my interpretation is the only valid one, but I kept seeing lines and scenes from KARMA being taken at face value, which I wanted to push back on
