#alnst lore

Very long, lore heavy post

[Spoilers obviously]

Okay so not sure if this has been done before but, this is basically a compilation of everything that we know on how pet-humans are produced/sold plus my own analysis.

We know for a fact that there are three main ways humans are sourced in the ALNST universe:

Human modification centers/Human editing shops 

Foster homes/Family sales 

Auction houses 

+ Illegal factories 

(*not sure what the exact terminologies are exactly cause they seem vary according to translators but eh)

1. Human modification centers/Human editing shops

Examples: Till, Mizi, Sua

So first we have human modification centers, which do seem to be where the segyein typically adopt (read: buy) their pet-humans. The aliens who source their pets from these facilities also seem to come from all classes (e.g. Urak - businessman, Nigeh - influencer, Shine - ???) so I’m guessing modification centers are your typical commercial pet shop. 

We see baby Till being sold at a 50% discount so we do know they are sold pretty young, and that prices are probably based on whatever characteristics that the aliens deem favorable. But what I find interesting is the fact that these centers are called human modification centers (or editing shops in some translations), which hints that these kids do go under some form of modification before being sold. It’s most likely behavioral, kind of like a puppy training center, but I’m wondering if it could possibly include visual and genetic modifications too. 

I mean Mizi’s hair is pink even as a child ffs. You can’t tell me that’s normal.

We also know that Till was being cared for by his mom for a little while before he was separated due to the potential he demonstrated as a singer, which makes me think that most the kids that end up in modification centers are basically either A) produced in an in-house factory for that specific center or B) produced in an off site factory on a contract basis before being shipped off modification centers once they’re old enough.

Considering Io has a notch in her ear, which just gives me a heck ton of livestock vibes, and this specific image we got from Till’s comic I’m leaning more towards Option B. Baby Till also looks like he’s being shipped off in a giant crate which I’m guessing is a shipment to the modification center where he eventually meets Ivan. 

The providers look like they’re kept in tiny cages, and the whole vibe of the factories is giving puppy mill/commercial mass production. The fact that there are human mothers at all suggests that most factories that supply the products to the modification centers probably produce their products the old fashion way, with not much cloning/growing-artificially-in-alien-pods involved (probably to keep production costs low).

2. Foster homes/Family sales 

Examples: Hyuna & Hyunwoo 

Okay so there is almost no info on foster homes at all, but we do know that their main selling point seems to be the fact that they produce actual biological siblings that can be bought together in sets, which seems to be a novelty amongst the aliens (e.g. Sua and her ‘sisters’). They remind me a ton of amature dog/cat breeders – the sort that produce specific, fancy breeds and sell litters straight out of their backyards rather than go through pet stores. 

We know extremely little about the conditions in foster homes, but I’m guessing products are also produced the traditional route, but this is wholly speculation and being artificially grown in tubes seems just as likely (assuming the aliens running these things have access to such technology anyway). Either way, the conditions are probably slightly better than factories. Considering Phan (who is canonically some kind of alien aristocrat) ended up buying Hyuna and Hyunwoo, I’m guessing products produced in foster homes are most likely sold directly to middle and upper-class segyein, or possibly produced on a by-order basis. 

3. Auction houses 

Examples: Luka, Ivan (technically)

Right, so we’ve established that Luka is basically a human version of an inbred pug, having a bunch of traits that the aliens have deemed desirable at the cost of his health. The official art also lists his birthplace as an auction house, which suggests that these facilities have to be capable of producing humans at some capacity rather than just being a place where all the high quality pets with favorable genetics are sold. 

I’m guessing they’re sort of an extremely exclusive, overpriced version of foster homes that cater to the upper classes. The products they produced are probably the highest quality money can buy (think competition grade racehorses with ridiculously long pedigrees), and are sold to the highest bidder.

We don’t really know where this particular scene in Wiege takes place, but chances are that it’s either in some facility owned by Heperu or the actual auction house where Luka was born/created. We also don’t technically know for sure yet if Luka is actually a clone, or if he just happens to be the progenitor of the clones he accidentally murdered, but either way I’m guessing that products produced at auction houses would most likely be produced and grown artificially to ensure optimum genetics. Considering they cater to the upper class I wouldn’t put it pass them to offer exclusive services like cloning to their clients. 

Auction houses do seem to also function as a place where illegal products are sold. We still don’t really know how Ivan ended up being auctioned off, considering we saw him with Till in the modification center when he was younger (I’m suspecting Unsha might not actually be his first or even second owner, and that he was first illegally sold to the modification center, bought and then resold at an auction), but this particular shot of him is definitely giving underground, black market auction.

My theory is that the auction houses are either split between legal auction houses (like the ones that made Luka) and illegal caution houses (the one Ivan ended up in) or more likely that they have both legal and illegal sessions exclusive to the wealthy.

4. Illegal factories 

Examples: Ivan 

So Ivan’s birthplace is listed as the slums, and we do know that he was produced illegally. How is pretty vague, but the implication is that they are illegal human factories up and running in the shadier parts of town. Ivan doesn’t seem to know his birthday either, which probably means his documentation is shady af. We don’t know exactly if pet-humans have to be registered, but seeing that illegal humans are a thing, they probably have to be and Ivan was not. 

Considering we got this from his album cover, I think it’s safe to say that conditions are the worst out of all the places to possibly be born in the ALNST universe (rip Ivan, you deserved so much better). I’m assuming it’s supposed to reflect illegal puppy mills, where costs are kept as low as possible and the only goal is profit (I don’t even wanna picture the horror Ivan’s provider probably went through). Though it ended up being a trademark of his, I’m also thinking his snaggletooth might have originally been some sort of production defect that the aliens just never bothered fixing, considering he was technically supposed to be a low-quality product. 

Building on that, I’m guessing the main clients of these illegal factors are modification centers (similarly to how some pet shops would unethically source their animals), but considering some translations list Urak and Unsha as shady businessman I’m thinking illegal human trade is probably pretty rampant too, and some of their products are sold directly to lower-class segyein for cheaper prices. 

5. Bonus: Strays 

Not the actual term for the rebels but that’s what the rebels/humans without owners essentially are in this universe – strays. We see a bunch of kids in the rebel base in Wiege, which makes me wonder if they are kids that the rebels freed from captivity/picked up randomly during missions (case in point Dewey), or if they happen to be the children of the stray humans. 

Personality

In a now deleted tweet by VIVINOS, it was mentioned that Till was the most sensitive and timid among all the participants. This corroborates his depiction in Round 2, where he is shown to be incredibly docile, especially in the presence of Mizi. Despite this, it should be noted that he also has a vicious streak, which was particularly evident in the aforementioned second round where he sang over his opponent in order to win.

Apart from this, Till is also noted to be an exceptional artist. He tends to get lost in the matter and frequently sketches.

Appearance

Till is a small and thinly-built man with fair skin, teal eyes, and shaggy grey hair. On the side of his neck is his name is marked in silverish-grey, usually covered in a green patch for most of the series. It isn't until the events of Round 6, where his branding is officially shown. (besides illustrations made by the staff)

He is frequently portrayed wearing various items of tech gear, such as a collar that fastens around his mouth & and an earpiece that sits in the base of his left ear.

He sports an oversized white tee with black spray-painted letters in various styles and ankle-length red trousers. Till has not been depicted wearing any footwear in Round 2.

In the performance of Round 6, Till dons a loose black tee tucked into straight black pants. The black tee is adorned with thin decorative chains attached close to the neckline on the front and back, hanging from the shoulders loosely. He wears a darker black long sleeved tee shirt inside, and wears a pair of dark red fingerless gloves. Till also wears silver colored shoes, which are made of metal, showing Urak’s lack of care of Till’s well being.

Till's name is shown marked on the side of his neck, partially covered by the silver choker around his neck. Till noticeably looks more tired, as he is depicted with dark patches under his eyes, a downcast look in the eyes, and less angular shapes in his design. (In Round 2, eyes and hair were made up of many angular lines).

In a flashback shown during Round 6, Till is shown wearing a more formal attire, consisting of black suit pants and jacket, and an extremely dark red inner shirt, along with a supposedly white tie, loosely tied around the collar of his shirt. His hair is slicked back with a parting more towards the left side of his face.

At the end of Karma, he is shown to have his ear clipped like Io.

Background

Past

Unlike most of the pet humans in ANAKT GARDEN, Till suffers lots of abuse from his guardian. It is implied that his rebellious nature made him a target for especially harsh punishment, as evidenced by the numerous bruises across his face in his introductory video. Till fell for Mizi because of her looks and beautiful smile, and developed deeper feelings the more he got to know her.[1] It is because of this adoration that Till dedicated himself to protecting her.[2] Although he usually never approaches her directly, he is seen observing her from afar. Till's love for Mizi served as his motivation and coping mechanism for the abuse and hardship he endured, as he can be seen clutching the red flowers Mizi adores when receiving punishments. Round 3 shows some of Till's backstory through the lens of Ivan. Till had chased after a flower crown made of Anakt artificial flowers, similar to ones that Mizi has made for Sua, and it drifted into a dark passageway, a restricted area that appeared to be an alien's residence. It's unknown what happened prior to Ivan's appearance, but Till is crumpled on the ground next to a stunned Mizi as the two are in the presence of ANAKT GARDEN's wagyein guard. However, instead of backing down in the face of danger, Till steadily stood back on his feet. This created a core memory for Ivan as it became the moment he became enamored with Till. During a time where Till is locked up in solitary confinement, likely because of his rebelling that caused the punishment, Ivan takes him out of his restraints and leads him outside to escape ANAKT GARDEN. As meteors fall, Till is amazed by the sight he had never seen before. But before they could go any further, Till's hand slips from Ivan's. He makes the decision to return back to ANAKT GARDEN realizing he could not leave Mizi behind.

Alien Stage Events

For example, it has come to my attention that all of the main characters are either already clones of previous humans who were “failed” experiments, were the original humans and had been cloned, or potentially both, sitting somewhere in the middle of that. It has ALSO come to my attention that when Hyuna dies, the gun is aimed for Luka by one of Hyuna’s team members, and she turns so the bullet hits her and not Luka, and I’m not crying you’re crying like wtf do you mean—

I also realized that Ivan didn’t actually sacrifice himself, he actually did lose, Till won the round (89 to 70), which honestly might be worse I’m still genuinely upset especially after learning the complicated relationship dynamic that Vivinos confirmed apparently and I’m just. I’m just gonna sit here. Cry. Curl up into a ball. Disappear into a cave in the middle of the woods, where I’ll go feral over these fictional men and women, and you’ll never see me again.

Personality

Hyuna is an overall bright person with quite a bit of confidence. She's rather touchy and playful with people she's familiar with, often pulling them into hugs and cracking plenty of jokes. Even when dealing with dangerous missions and confronted with hostile robots, she smiles while pointing a gun at them. Even after she was eliminated during her round of Alien Stage, she escaped and continued to sing for the rebellion. Hyuna's position as the leader of the rebellion shows her drive to protect and vast love for humanity, perhaps stemming from her inability to protect her brother Hyunwoo.

Despite all this, Hyuna has a more vulnerable side that appears when dealing with her past, particularly when thinking of Luka. She states Luka to be "her one weakness", because Hyuna values moving forward so much, but her conflicting emotions towards Luka and the things he's done to hurt her still chain her to her past, even if she appears to be someone quite undisturbed by her history. Her guilt got so bad she began to rely on drinking and smoking to numb the pain.

She's quite selfless, as her first action upon escaping from captivity was to try and crawl back to Anakt Garden with only one leg in order to save the other kids held in there. This selfless nature of hers would lead to her demise, as she sacrificed herself for Luka in the end, even when the one with the gun was a member of her own rebellion, and even though she resented him.

Appearance

Hyuna is a tall, athletic woman with long brown hair, tan skin, and striking gray eyes. Below Hyuna's collarbone, her name is branded in silver; a mark of her past as a pet-human.

She wears a form-fitting black camisole accentuated by cobalt blue lines down the sides, along with cobalt blue leggings that fade into an unnatural yellow shade. Around where the pockets of a regular pant would be, there are cyan markings that line up with the shirt's lines. A prosthetic replaces her lower left leg.

In "All-in" she wears her signature outfit during her on-stage performance. Hyuna mostly wears a black tank top and brown cargo pants, rolling up the left pant sleeve. She also dons sunglasses and a glove on her right hand.

Background

Past

Hyuna, Luka, and her brother Hyun Woo all knew each other during their time in Anakt Garden. It's implied that she was very close to both of them. However, Luka is seen to have had deeper feelings for Hyuna as he attempted to kiss her. The (attempted) kiss seemed to have distressed Hyuna. While It's unknown what transpired between Hyun Woo and Luka, it's implied the two had a fight which resulted in Hyun Woo's death. Later on, Hyuna loses her round during the 49th season of Alien Stage but escapes her death, losing her leg due to rubble that fell on her. Luckily, she's rescued by the human rebellion where she befriends Isaac, Dewey, and Jacob, the former leader. However, after she joins, Jacob is kidnapped and tortured by the aliens and later passes away from his injuries following his rescue.

Present

Personality

While he appears princely and charismatic on stage, Luka is determined when it comes to the pursuit of his goals, and is revealed to be ruthless, manipulative, and cunning, going so far as to exploit Mizi's grief over Sua's death in order to undermine her performance during Round 5, and repeating the same technique with Till's conflicted emotions on Ivan's death during the final round.

While Luka mostly keeps to himself and rarely displays any form of genuine emotion offstage, he is shown to brighten up and become overwhelmed with emotion whenever Hyuna is present as he displays feelings for her and was close with her in the past.

From Hyuna's perspective, her inner monologue reveals a bit more of Luka's personality past the facade he puts on stage, showing a more vulnerable side that loves and values those close to him more than himself, despite struggling with showing such feelings in a healthy way.

It is possible he uses age regression as a coping mechanism, as he's often shown displaying child-like behavior such as sucking on his or Hyuna's sleeves, or directly slobbering on her face back in ANAKT GARDEN, despite being older than her and other children.

Appearance

Luka has unkempt blond hair and yellow eyes of the same color. His fingers, from the midsection onwards, are a vibrant purple hue due to his heart condition.

He can frequently be spotted in a white blouse with an uneven hemline, which is cinched at the waist with a belt. Pearl chains cascade down from the top of his shoulder blades, while a sizable and lengthy bow is positioned at the back of his collar. He dons a pair of black, ankle-length slacks and plain white shoes.

During Round 7, Luka changes his blouse to an open-back suit jacket, a cut being made to show his left side, and pairs with matching white pants and shoes. Like his Round 5 attire, his top is also secured with a belt at his waist. His hair is slightly longer, and styled in a half-updo. In addition, he has rings fitted on both thumbs and his left index finger and right middle finger, as well as an arm band of the same shape as the rings on his left upper arm.

His branding is located on his left hip, and a surgical scar can be seen in close proximity to it. The scar is mirrored on the right side of his body and another faint scar sits on his sternum.

Background

Past

Little explicit information is available regarding Luka's background. However, it is mentioned that he previously won the 49th season of this competition[5], earning him the title of "the greatest performer on ALNST." Due to his immense popularity among the Segyeins, he popularised the pet-human industry and started the trend of "Luka Syndrome."

Upbringing

Luka was artificially created, along with several clones of himself. Luka's guardian, Heperu, aimed to create a perfect specimen of a human that is specifically engineered for winning Alien Stage. Hence, several qualities of Luka were deliberately genetically modified before his birth, including his angelic appearance, dancing talent, stage presence and singing talent. There is a possibility that he could have spawned already being some years old, making him mentally and emotionally younger than his actual age. Luka had a very difficult and abusive childhood, which contributed to his lack of empathy and manipulative personality on stage. He undergoes "harsh trainings", which includes controlling and monitoring his heart rate. This made Luka obsessed with heart rates as he was trained to keep his heart rate at a constant 70bpm-90bpm, highlighting the need always to keep a composed, calm and apathetic self under any circumstances. Furthermore, Heperu also induces a fear of death into Luka[citation needed] to push him further to win Alien Stage, through the methods of purposefully stopping his heart momentarily, putting Luka through an extremely excruciating experience. This can be the reason why he is so determined to win the rounds no matter what, due to his traumatic fear of death since he was young. There are many more possible "harsh trainings" that go behind the scenes that contributed to Luka's complicated personality and psychology. His trauma and abuse made him unable to go through a normal childhood compared to most of the kids in ANAKT GARDEN. In the deleted scenes of "Wiege", there were scenes of Luka bleeding against the floor after "harsh trainings". It also implied that he might have self-harmed since he was young, as there were deleted scenes of him slapping himself after waving to his ANAKT classmates with no response back. It was also explained that Luka counting his fingers in "Wiege" is a coping mechanism to stay grounded, as a way of feeling in control and knowing he is still alive after all the abuse he went through. In the beginning of "Wiege", the aftermath of child Luka's slaughter of his clones is shown. Although his expression appears scared and traumatized, the reason behind this act is not yet clear. It is confirmed in the Anakt Garden Book that Luka has asthma, chronic migraines, and congenital heart disease[11], which explains his purple fingertips. This symptom is called "peripheral cyanosis"[11], where low blood flow and oxygen is reaching the extremities, tips of fingers and toes. His fragile health might be due to Heperu's artificial creation of Luka, as beings of artificial breeding tend to have more fragile health problems. Due to this, the segyeins often have to monitor his health and conduct multiple experiments and surgeries on his body to keep his state functioning. This latter information can be deduced from his flashbacks throughout "Wiege". At some point during his time attending ANAKT GARDEN, he was close with Hyuna and her brother, Hyun Woo. The conflict between Hyun Woo and Luka seen in "Wiege" began with Hyun Woo's small, child-like feelings of jealousy and disappointment, most likely from the fact that Hyuna gives more attention and love to Luka than to Hyun Woo. This angered Hyun Woo, and he began a fight with him. Luka, who lacked the resilience to accept it like an ordinary child, ended up displaying impulsive violence, ultimately leading to Hyun Woo's death. This event is confirmed to the reason behind Hyuna's negative sentiments about Luka.

Alien Stage Events

Personality

In a now-deleted tweet, VIVINOS mentioned that Mizi was the most outgoing participant and always carried a positive attitude. However, it has been noted that she finds it difficult to hide her true emotions and struggles with being dishonest. This is apparent in the final scene of "MY CLEMATIS", where she visibly expresses her distress after witnessing Sua's death.

Additionally, it is implied that Mizi was raised in a favorable environment, which may have contributed to her initial obliviousness towards the darker aspects of the world around her.

In a new comic released on June 6th, 2025, “The True Face”, it is revealed that Mizi’s naive and bright personality was actually a persona, and it is shown that she has toxic positivity. It is implied, however, that she still is happier than most in ANAKT GARDEN.

She is very bright and caring, and most people, notably men, in ANAKT GARDEN seem to admire her, which she is painfully aware of.

Appearance

Mizi is a young adult with fair skin and long pink hair that gradually transitions into a more cornflower blue hue. Her eyes are golden-hazel or chartreuse in color, and she wears glasses when she is outside of the competition. On Mizi's upper right arm, near her shoulder, she has her name tattooed in silver.

In the first round, Mizi wore a short black dress with an halter bust, blue gem, and a belt accentuating her waist. The look was paired with thigh high boots in a similar shade and mismatched gloves, one of which was shorter than the other.

Mizi then went on to wear attire reminiscent of Luka's selection for Round 5. She donned a white and light violet floor-length gown with a high neck and long sleeves that reached her wrists. Her hair was pinned back with a white bow and and a violet piece of jewelry adorned her forehead.

During "All-in", her hair is cut short during a fight while trying to save Hyuna. She's also seen wearing a black turtleneck paired with a green, sleeveless puffer jacket and blue jeans.

Background

Childhood

In a flashback in My fragile god, fading fast, it was revealed that Mizi witnessed what appears to be her mother's death. She appears incredibly distressed when her provider is crushed to death, cradling their body in her small arms, before she is taken in by Shine. Under Shine's care, she appears to have been kept like a fish in an aquarium, along with other water creatures such as jellyfish. In one scene, Shine pulls off an anglerfish who is biting Mizi, which hurt Mizi enough for her to faint. Upon suggestion, Shine buys her a TV, where Mizi appears to watch other competitors of Alien Stage. Since Mizi insisted on going, Shine sent her to Anakt Garden.

Anakt Garden

Mizi attended ANAKT GARDEN like the other children, but felt lonely, struggling to make friends. During one recital, as she zoned out, Mizi overheard Sua singing the chorus of what would become "MY CLEMATIS". The melody brought her peace though she was too nervous to speak to Sua.[citation needed] For a whole month, Mizi listened quietly from afar. Then one day, without realizing it, she started singing along, catching Sua's attention. From that moment on, the two became close, spending time practicing songs together.