Have You Seen The Standees Set With All The Pairs, Each With One Of Them Dead And It's Called "Love-Hate"?

Have you seen the standees set with all the pairs, each with one of them dead and it's called "Love-Hate"? I can get how it applies to Ivantill and Hyunaluka, but how does it apply to Mizisua?

Wild timing haha, you somehow managed to send this in right after I finished reading a great breakdown of it by @/crustyfloor this morning. Definitely check it out if you haven't already, I'm going to try not to reiterate what's already covered there.

In the Sua's Protection post I elaborated on the inherent selfishness of self-sacrifice:

Self-sacrifice doesn't need the other party's consent.

It doesn't ask for their opinion.

It doesn't give them the right to choose, because the choice is already made for them.

Conversations are about communicating, but even moreso, conversations in a relationship are about respecting each other's thoughts and opinions. It's a way for two (or more) people to touch base, know where each other are at, and find solutions together for the sake of each other and making the relationship work.

Conversations are an outreached hand, and when another person grasps that hand, communication is established.

Self-sacrifice means turning your back on the conversation and making the choice without regard for your partner, thereby placing your own feelings and decisions, your own will above someone else's.

Relationships aren't about any one singular person.

Sua's actions are for Mizi's sake yes, but by doing what she did, Sua essentially chose "Mizi" over "Mizi&Sua" and... while we can empathize with Sua's actions, I think it's also understandable for Mizi to be deeply hurt and resentful about that. In the end it was Sua who ripped "Mizi&Sua" away from her.

Someone might pose the question: "But can "Mizi&Sua" really exist in a world where one of them needs to die in a death match?"

Honestly I think yes, because "Mizi&Sua" will exist for as long as both of them are still invested in this relationship and its future — as long as both of them are putting in the effort of keeping this relationship alive regardless of whatever frightful things to come.

But what happened in Round 1 is that Sua gave the lie, the illusion of "Mizi&Sua" (in on this together) when in actuality she has long since chosen "Mizi" (and deleted herself from the equation of this relationship without Mizi ever knowing).

The moment Sua chose death, she gave up on "Mizi&Sua."

Now that we've established some of the logistics of MiziSua love-hate, let's take a closer look at the art itself, which seems to reflect a very nuanced manifestation of love-hate in Mizi.

Hate is often seen as a harsh, violent emotion. It's an aggressive feeling that you need to put energy into to fuel.

Yet this scene is almost... tranquil.

Mizi is very docile here, curled into herself like a small animal.

Her expression is numb. The type of numb you only reach after breaking down and crying for hours upon hours until you can't cry anymore.

We see none of the raw rage she showed in Round 5. There's no lashing out, no screaming and no ferocity in this scene.

This artwork shows that Mizi's hate is tender. It is subdued. It is a hurt that festers in her chest.

Mizi's hate is a quiet, vulnerable, "Why?"

In their post, @/crustyfloor describes Sua here as "simply hovering over her and watching in an eerie, enigmatic way" which imo captures it perfectly.

Sua is an eerie ghost now to Mizi, an enigma in death.

Round 1 shattered Mizi's perception of the world and as a result, of Sua and the bond they shared as well. But she has nowhere to go, reeling in all of her newfound questions, because Sua is now no longer with her.

Here, Mizi looks up at the one she loved, the one she still loves, in askance.

And her hate is one of questions that will never receive answers.