pureureun

alnst sideblog

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made a sideblog to contain my insanity over alnst. feel free to send me asks abt the story/characters i'll take any opportunity to yap about them

i follow from my main @sho-minamimoto

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After that hia zomst lore drop think I’m actually more excited to see how Io fits into the zomst universe than I am for round 2

[scientistkisser]

Translation

[murder-kill]

the new zomst hia information gives us a look inside the politics of their household in which they assimilate mizi into. hia first asserts that everyone must know their place in the world: this is how she understands the tangles of power that makes up their family.

zomst gives us a separate reason from alnst for hia's innate insecurity that drives her to be so controlling of sua. in alnst, hia was once most favoured, but her position passed to sua after being scarred and aging out of the role. in zomst, she is adopted while sua is the blood daughter. hia's scar stays as a reminder of the immutable reality that she lacks worth compared to sua within their family. this insecurity clouds her vision and limits her within the system of values that subjugates her. unable to escape, she continues to perpetrate it onto sua by guilt tripping her, then mizi by correcting her appearance.

in her interactions with mizi, she alludes to three hierarchies: the family, class, and the patriarchal standards of women. first, she introduces herself inaccurately as sua's mother. through this, she emphasises her maturity and control over sua - the way she demands things of sua and takes care of her is more reminiscent of a mother than a sister. there is a generational gap of power between them, or so she tries to assert. (this is important because mizi essentially becomes an adoptee, the same position as hia - hia needs to exaggerate the gap to claim power). second, she says mizi stinks as if her family works selling fish. this is to remind mizi of her place class-wise. hia is the benefactor to mizi's masculine, dirty & poor self. finally, hia assimilates her into the standard of girlhood by fixing her appearance: cleaning her and dressing her in feminine clothes. all these things have to be confronted for mizi to be accepted into their house.

these are all judgements on appearance (as characteristic of internalised misogyny): hia appears to be older and more mature than sua, mizi appears boyish and nonconforming. their image is their respective place in the hierarchy, and it is something hia endlessly refines. she has to cover up her scar when she is working as stewardess, her makeup at her wedding immaculately performs the role of bride, and casually she dresses to appear more like the eldest daughter of a well-off family. this she learns from her own family: they dote on her materially to appear as if they do not favour sua for being blood related.

femininity and wealth are performances, family simply a role; the only way hia can make up the gap between her and sua is to play the part to perfection.

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I’m so glad we got more hia info easily my fave side character in alnst

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hmmmmm

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FEELING VINDICATED TODAY

[belovedgamers]

The BEST trope is when a character tells another “let’s run away together, we can leave all of this behind and start a new life somewhere” and gets rejected. And then the rest of the tragedy unfolds

[hallucivti]

This lamb

[sho-minamimoto]

It is my frustrating burden that many of my favourite characters are the ones whose interiority is tauntingly hinted at but pointedly denied to the audience at every turn

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Vivimeng saying Ivan will be the focus of zomst round 2 no way we’re STILL gatekeeping till’s pov even in a brand new au oh my god

[mugmegan]

"Aquarium"

[qin-mo]

"beggar taking advantage of you" vs "pet you keep around the house"

the two times in the comic mizi reject's sua's bid to help her:

first, mizi asks to stay in sua's home and offers to pay sua back for everything by getting a part time job. sua replies that mizi doesn't have to pay her anything, because just knowing mizi is relying on sua and that sua is helping mizi is enough for sua. in reaction, we get the first screenshot.

second, in response to mizi calling herself a beggar, sua says that mizi does not know herself ("why would you say that? you really don't know yourself at all"), insists that mizi is a kind person who hates herself but still tries to be understanding of others, and then says that mizi is being too hard on herself. in reaction, we get the second screenshot.

initial observations: it's interesting that, in mizi's first rejection of sua's offered unconditional help (first screenshot), mizi's vitriol is directed mostly inwards: she calls sua a pushover, but the main focus of her disgust seems to be aimed at herself, as she calls herself a "beggar tak[ing] advantage of [sua]." but in the second screenshot, mizi seems more unhappy with sua as she denies being a "pet" for sua to keep "around the house" (thereby implying that this is how sua is viewing her).

in the first screenshot, mizi's disgust is directed mainly at herself because she is repulsed simultaneously by her own weakness and her exploitation of others; she is a "beggar" with no money for rent and she's "taking advantage" of sua the pushover. if sua had agreed to let mizi pay her back, then mizi would feel more in control of the situation, as delayed payment for housing is an ordinary phenomenon - however, by saying that mizi doesn't have to pay anything, sua takes this sense of control away, and instead makes it so that the sole factor allowing mizi housing is sua "really lik[ing]" mizi. as mizi is someone who copes with being powerless by trying to feel in control and (in alnst) develops a guilt complex about being someone who manipulates others into dying for her, being in this sort of position - simultaneously weak + powerless + reliant on someone's love for her, and taking advantage of someone else's love without giving anything back - would naturally be disgusting for mizi, and would result in her describing herself this way.

then, in the second screenshot, mizi directs irritation at sua on top of the previous disgust at herself. hearing sua reject mizi's self-hating view of herself leads mizi to feel that sua letting mizi stay at her house for free would be the equivalent of sua having "some pet [she] keeps around the house." "pet" is an interesting metaphor to choose (given all of alnst) because it implies at once love as the source of survival (the owner takes care of the pet because the owner loves the pet and finds the pet cute/endearing) and a deeply unequal power dynamic. "pet" is a fitting metaphor because, in alnst, mizi is taken in by and provided for by shine on the sole grounds that shine finds her endearing and so loves her - a similarity, perhaps, to sua saying that she's willing to shelter mizi for free because she loves mizi.

sua said she loved mizi, and then described an idealized image of mizi. thus, since mizi's "i'm not a pet" comment was specifically in reaction to sua giving this idealized image, this implies that (just as in alnst) mizi feels stifled and crushed by sua's rosy vision of her. perhaps mizi uses the pet metaphor because, just as a pet must remain endearing and lovable to ensure its continued survival in its owner's home, sua's words ("you don't know yourself + you're actually kind and warm + you hate yourself") and the situation lead mizi to also feel that, if she were to accept sua's offer of free shelter, mizi would have to keep performing and living up to the rosy, idealized image sua has of her forever - kept around and given shelter purely because sua loves this image of her.

the line "fine. then you can just hit me" then adds to this, because it implies that mizi has made a connection between [sua's offer of free shelter + sua's words] and [the domestic abuse mizi is facing]. if mizi grew up facing domestic abuse, then she probably views being hit as a price she pays for the shelter and food her mother gives her. so, by saying "then you can just hit me," mizi is (from her pov) laying bare the transactional nature of this offer, offering a different exchange more familiar to her (violence for shelter, as opposed to the performance of a rosy image for shelter discussed above that she felt sua wanted), and making obvious the uneven power dynamic that would result from mizi accepting sua's offer.

(now, i think it would be reasonable to conclude that mizi's reading of the situation is heavily informed by trauma and self-hatred, especially the "then you can just hit me" comment. i do also think it's reasonable to conclude that sua's description of mizi - a kind, warm person who hates herself but still seeks to understand others, who is being too harsh on herself - is largely correct, and mizi's rejection of this description is also fueled by trauma and self-hatred. however, certain sua comments (eg. "just knowing that you're relying on me is enough" + "you really don't know yourself at all") do imply that the uneven power dynamic exists from sua's point of view as well.)

[shovelwareyaoi]

[eternal-transience]

i'm so fucking happy that zomst is still talking about the nuclear family + child abuse. i daresay that, similarly to how zomst has been handling themes of abuse in the idol industry, that they're being far more explicit with it here.

this page is probably the most obvious example of it in the comic.

in alnst, mizi's permission to breathe underwater with the segyein— her permission to live entirely — was granted through shine's power. though shine was often considered to be the most 'benevolent' guardian, her relationship with mizi was dependent and underlaid entirely with a structure of power and control over mizi's livelihood and the denial of her autonomy by virtue of what she is, which is what inspired mizi's ideals around beng 'crushed' and 'crushing' others who are weaker.

and we see this reflected here in turn (though to a different level, as we can assume that the relationship between mizi and her parent here is different due to the inclusion of implicit direct physical abuse), as her permission to live in modern society in zomst is controlled by the power of 'guardian': financially, societally, etc. in any way that is used to diminish a child's autonomy within the nuclear family. in any way which puts the life of a child's in thorough control of their parent.

mizi's attempts are thoroughly around the idea of independence — despite being the one to suggest the idea, she promises to find a job to contribute to sua back for the double of amount she'd owe; she establishes that her objective here is independence and autonomy for herself, and by making that goal clear she is giving herself a level of power that she has learnt determines her control over her life.

sua, however, is quick to strip this away and instead try to provide mizi a similar structure to the one she is trying to escape. a familial one, where the 'child' or 'pet' is utterly dependent on the feelings of the one in control, and where the repayment is not physical but mental instead. the repayment in of itself is the reliance — the willingness to sacrifice your autonomy in exchange for basic necessities, which the traditional family structure as a whole is deeply dependent on.

mizi rejects this idea entirely and even calls sua out on her ideal version and projection of mizi. through her suggestion of physical violence instead of mental subjugation, mizi's ideals of what power means is still understood through physical violence — she was hit by her parent as a display of the power they held over mizi, as the nuclear family gives those in control the leeway to do so, and now suggests that sua should do so if she truly wishes to establish power over mizi.

while mizi understands power through the lense of physical violence, sua understands it through the lense of dependency and the death of personal boundaries. by assuming a submissive role that accepts violence at mizi's hands, and suggesting that mizi be the one to hit her instead, sua becomes the ultimately dominant one in their relationship underlaid by the fact that she is still the one granted mizi's reliance upon her.

[murder-kill]

sua understands power as restraint, dependency, and the dissolution of personal boundaries; that is to say, she undergoes then enacts enmeshment as counterpart to mizi's physical violence.

first, she takes away mizi's independence by inviting her into her home. (to her, relation is enough of a reason - there is no need to repay her if she is considered family).

second, she takes away mizi's identity by projecting the image of innocence onto her. mizi correctly catches on that this reduces her to a pet: a plaything of sua's, lacking agency and dependent on her. again, mizi understands power as physical violence - she offers to just be abused physically rather than mentally as repayment. however, sua want to be hit instead. this way she numbs her own pain, and blurs the boundaries between them physically. this way they become dependent on each other.

lastly, she takes away mizi's sight. finally seeing eye to eye, the boundaries between them are gone: if they understand each other completely, if two become one, then their will is the same. mizi doesn't have to prove she understands, nor needs to physically express any consent - there is no reason to say no.

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Ok we’ve had 3 weeks in a row of zomst stuff on Friday we’re back on a consistent release schedule so it’s time for me to put my insane cap back on and turn on the alarm I had to wake up at 5 am every Friday to see what dropped first thing in the morning

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ache is like zomst’s true face except from sua’s pov omg