Part two of my Alien Stage PJO au, Ivan! (more info and closeups under the cut)
Ivan would be the son of Hades. While this decision may not seem to fit him, I chose it for a few reasons.
First, Hades is also the god of riches and wealth, something that doesn't get used or referenced very often (Unless we talk about Hazel in pjo, she's a diva), and for this reason, I think it works quite well with Ivan. While yes, he is also one of the competitors who dies (thus connecting him to the death themes with Hades) the wealth plays into it because of how Ivan is valued in the Alien Stage universe. To them, he is their perfect model, and a successful use of their time and money. Ivan also often puts on a more elegant and composed persona, which I feel fits within these themes. (Not to mention he was literally bought by Unsha as a gift for his wife)
Second, in the myth of Hades and Persephone, their love is quite... complex in the beginning. Hades kidnaps Persephone because he believes that is his only way to have her and bring her down to his kingdom (im paraphrasing here, so forgive me, fellow greek nerds 🙏). This story somewhat parallels Ivan's relationship with Till. An obsessive love where the other turns to drastic measures in attempts to show or prove their love (cough Ivan dying for Till in round 6) BUT this obsession isn't formed in evil, it's formed out of a pure and true love for the other.
Third, Hades and his kids in general often have a theme of dreams and curses surrounding them. This not only plays into the aspects of Ivan haunting Till after his death, but also in how Ivan often views himself as an "unworthy curse" upon people. A curse not worthy of love or anything good in this world. Despite this, it is his dream to run away with Till, to be selfish in that aspect, and to have that good thing. Additionally, Ivan is often in a very dreamlike state. Meaning to say that his actions are not done by someone who isn't truly "living"
Fourth, a much smaller reason but I've seen others pull connections to the Ivan art with the doglike alien to being linked to Hades and more keyly, Cerberus. To me it's very telling in this instance that the doglike alien some people can see symbolizing Cerberus, Ivan is quite comfortable being around.
Those are most of my reasons, but if anyone else has any other insights or connections, feel free to comment on them! Anyways, moving right along to my ideas as far as Ivan's life within the Percy Jackson universe.
I want to include the owners in Alnst, so I figured there was no better way to include Unsha and his wife than to make them a rich family that adopted Ivan. My idea was that he was in foster care for quite a while after his mother's untimely death, and his father was never in the picture, so at a young age, he was put into the system. You may also notice that I said that Sua is his stepsister and thus connected to this rich family, but that's not the case. Sua is connected to Ivan through his godly parantage... but I'll talk about that more when I draw Sua 🤭
The other thing I thought of and wanted to explain was Ivan's weapon. It is based on a Mycenaean Rapier and made of Stygian Iron, similar to Nicos' sword in PJO. I picked the rapier because not only is its fighting style considered graceful and elegant (again, connecting into Ivans persona he puts on), but the weapon itself in its time was also quite fragile due to its thin blade. This goes to show that Ivan's persona, while well practiced, can be easily broken by the true emotions that he buried deep within.
Aaand that's all! Again, if y'all have any ideas, opinions, or connections, feel free to mention them! :]
so I’ve started watching Alien stage and apparently Ivan was bought as a birthday/valentines day gift. So if he’s a gift, why was he sent to Aknat and was in alien stage 😭😭😭
Maybe I don't understand aliens but signing up your wives pet/gift for something they could die in doesn't seem like something you'd do.
Did she get bored of Ivan? Was it her idea? Did she die and he didn't know what else to do with Ivan? Did they divorce? Did they like both agree it? I NEED ANSWERSSS
