#tpnl

i think i loekwy accidentally deleted that poll right after i posted it so i'm impressed you caught that /amused. but yeah my answer is alien stage!!! by a pretty big margin.

granted, it's been like? six? years since i read tpnl but i felt like from a speciesism lens of analysis it started off well and then it kind of like got progressively more ... ????? it just got more and more thematically convoluted and iffily executed to me. part of that goes along with the overall ????? way that tpnl developed though lol.

on one hand, tpnl is extremely explicit in how it explores speciesism - not only that, it explores the cruelest and most severe form of speciesism: industrialized agriculture. it presents the act of being farmed, regardless of how "well" the person is treated as an ill-act in itself - see: the main cast being from a "free range" farm, while also being somewhat realistically dispositioned toward the horrors within those "nice, happy" farms themselves. see: even in these farms, the animal (the main cast) are slaughtered as soon as they've reached slaughtering age, which is never adulthood either in tpnl or in the real world that it's paralleling. tpnl also implicitly explores the institutionalized sexual abuse inherent in any profitably efficient breeding system, especially animal agricultural animal breeding. at the same time, tpnl doesn't only explore free range farming, it touches on factory farming, hunting, and other forms of animal use for consumption, all with a brush of horror.

fundamentally, tpnl appears to respect the innate wants and desires of the animalized subject, particularly the want to live.

where it starts to get ?????? for me is mostly after they leave the original farm. like. okay then we meet some vegetarian/vegan demons which is super cool but then later in the story i'm pretty sure something weird and inconsistent happens with them??? and then we get the whole plot thread about how the monsters actually Have to Eat Humans which okay I actually totally get that plot element as a fellow writer - narratively speaking, making it a biological reality rather than a societal choice is actually very efficient in terms of creating a goal for narrative resolution and juxtapositig it with the real world - they don't have a choice, but we do, and even here, the end goal is to find an alternative way. look at how choice can fix this. but then that got weirdly mixed in with like ??? class warfare or something and some weird side convoluted plots??? and then there was the whole thing about THE HUMAN REALM?? AND HOW THE HUMAN REALM HAD PARTNERED WITH THE DEMON REALM??? AND KIND OF SOLD OUT THEIR OWN KIND ???? and it just got SO ???????? like i was reading it there like ????? what are you on about ???? both from just a normal reader perspective (it was kind of hard to follow) and the way in that the underlaying thematic bedrock started getting more and more twisted, convoluted, contradictory, and watered down.

that's not even to mention the way when you factor intersectionality of speciesism - because while, obviously, the main target of speciesism is other species, speciesism functions to create a group that is okay to mistreat and denigrate - ie. the "animalized" party. then these speciesism ideas of "animality" get applied to humans, PARTICUARLY in racial contexts and historically ESPECIALLY with antiblackness. and alnst is like pretty good with its intersection of not denegrating marginalized humans meanwhile there's certainly worse than tpnl but there is the like Whole Everything to do with sister krone who gets hit pretty bad with antiblack racial caricature. (from what i remember, there are other black and brown characters, and they don't get hit by all That, but none of them have nearly as much significance or screen time..?)

moving on to talking about alien stage though. obviously it explores a very different facet of speciesism from an industry perspective - it explores animals in entertainment rather than animals in food. but i would argue that it explores speciesism themes at a much more..fundamental level? and with WAY more consistency.

it comes across as less EXPLICIT than tpnl but i would argue that's in large part because the subject matter it explores is more tame in a material sense, and because its hooking premise isn't as directly paralleled to a specific real world practice - ie. we don't have singing competitions with our pets where the loser gets shot on stage. alnst explores the way fundamentally, even if the subject is attempted to be well treated, speciesism and speciesit institutions acts as a subjugating force where is materially and psychologically damaging to the subject. it explores the fundamental alienation these institutions create and enforce, the way speciesism often acts as a colonizing force which decultures its subject from their history, culture, pre existing social structures, relationships with one another, etc. it shows how the mismatch in material interests and experiences between the subjugating party (segyein) and the animalized subject creates a dissonance wellbeing.... god its actually literally so good. also mizi DOES get the most explicit alnst ever gets in karma where she directly reflects on human history and the video explicitely depicts real world current and historical examples of speciesist violence (the lamb, the rabbit, i forget a few more images)... alnst really centers the autonomy and lived experiences of the subjects. it also explores just how well, ALIEN being kept by another species with norms and techonology and knowledge that you do not understand is. goddd. its so good. so. good....

Name: Emma

Series: The Promised Neverland

Gender: Female

Status: Alive

Family: Grace Field House Kids (Chosen Family)

Flower Motif: Purple Rockrose (Cistus purpureus)

Flower Meaning: Resilience

Weapon of Choice: Sling and Ammo

Associated With: Interdimensional Hero Club

Hero Form Appearance: A combination of a survivor’s gear and YuYuYu’s Hero Form outfits. The undersuit is a solid white, which contrasts perfectly with the rich pinkish-purple on the main outfit. Accent colors include black, cream, gray, beige, maroon, yellow, dark purple, gold, and silver. The boots, wristbands, and the belt all have patterns of Rockrose flowers on them, and the only other accessory is a Rockrose hairclip in Emma’s hair. The flower’s petal shape can be seen in the tailcoat and collar.

Full Bloom Gauge Location: Heart

Guardian: Jackster (Based on a Jackalope)

Favorite Food: Chocolate Cake

Parallel To: None

Disclaimer: I’ve only seen the anime, BUT I have the books on the way and I’m so HYPE to read them 

The Promised Neverland has been consuming me-- I love these kiddos so much ,,, and Mujika and Sonju, and Isabella, AND EVERYONE-- I don’t think there was a single character I didn’t like! 

Insta- @/fictional_scribbler