Welcome to my little tribute to one of my favorite characters. I actually got into Alien Stage in 2023 because I learned that I shared a birthday with Till, but Ivan overtook him as my favorite character almost instantly. I already have a soft spot for characters with black hair but there's just something so charming about his presentation. Someone who was never raised in proper human ways trying to express one of the most profound human emotions: love. It's just such a good concept! He's such a charming and suave guy naturally, but I think it hides something rather complicated and touching.

Ivan obviously loves Till, that much is simple. But beyond that? What's his idea of love? What's his end goal? He's probably known since he was young that he would have to fight against Till someday, and yet he still went after him. When Ivan was younger, he was a blank slate just doing as he was told, but when Till showed him that fighting back was possible, maybe he learned he also wanted to. The first time he felt desire was because of Till, so of course he loves him. But what does someone raised by cold, nonhuman aliens know about love? He's shown tormenting and teasing Till during their youth, going as far as to tell Till to his face he thinks he's a friendless loser. Maybe the only way he knows how to get his object of affection's attention is through negative means, since he was never taught how to properly express himself.

Till, on the other hand, is a scrappy and flighty individual. He's short to anger and very defensive due to being seen as undesirable his entire life. I recall the wiki saying that Till was actually the most sensitive character in the cast, so I suspect a lot of his personality is a facade. Deep down, I think Till is a person who is lost. He's only had one constant in his life: his adoration for Mizi. Or rather, the concept of Mizi. To Till, I think Mizi represents being wanted, being loved, and being safe. Mizi does as she's told by her aliens and is rewarded for it, her aliens actually cared for her in their own capacity. To Till, Mizi is everything he thinks he isn't: good, sweet, pure and loved. I think Till is stuck on the concept of Mizi rather than her as a person and is in for a rude awakening sometime soon.

So then, we have these two characters who are fundamentally damaged and lacking in their understanding of the world trying and failing to understand each other. Ivan trying in the ways he's learned to earn Till's affection and attention and Till being perpetually and forever hurt by Ivan's advances due to them attacking something he feels he doesn't have, which is self worth. It's like an ouroboros of pain and I kind of love it. No matter how much I cheer and think about them eventually understanding each other, the world of Alien Stage would never be that kind. Of course they're never going to understand each other under their circumstances. They don't even get time to be human. This all goes to say: I really like Ivan lol

Click to view my hoard of Ivan images!