jeeves476

[jeeves476]

With the war against Russia in Europe and China in the Pacific as well as operations within the Demon World, the people of the United States have become disillusioned with the war effort after the US economy has hit an all time low, with unemployment almost reaching 30 percent. As collaborators with the Demon royalty and the Ratri Clan, Russia's economy surpasses the United States as an economic powerhouse, crashing the dollar and ramping up the ruble.

As NATO and the United States fight a losing war against Russia in both the human world and the demon world, right-wing isolationist group America First and Foremost releases this music video in protest of the request for aid and reinforcement from Taiwan and other remaining NATO countries not yet annexed by Russia.

[jeeves476]

"You think there's a script for fighting a war without pissing somebody off? Follow the rules and nobody gets hurt? Yes, innocent people probably died and innocent people always die! But I did not exceed my orders!"

-Colonel Childers played by Samuel L. Jackson in the movie Rules of Engagement (2000)

This quote hits hard, especially in this rendition of TPN. Innocence and truth are two of the first casualties in war. Whether it be a cattle child fighting for their survival, the Russian soldier fighting for his country and family back home, the NATO soldier fighting to save the cattle children and the freedom of their nation, friends, and family, or the civilians in the human world as well as the demon world that have been caught in the crossfire, war is an indiscriminate killer, but it is an integral part of humanity. As General William Tecumseh Sherman once said, "War is Hell."

[jeeves476]

Whenever Russian military commanders stationed in the Demon World almost capture Norman, Zazie, Barbara, Cislo, Vincent, Jin, and Hayato. (They would avoid capture after annihilating entire platoons of Russian infantry and destroying their BMPs as well as T-72s then vanish)

[jeeves476]

Yeah c'mon, I was like,

"WHERE'S THE BATTLEFIELD?? THE TANKS?? THE WARZONES?? ALL I SEE ARE A BUNCH OF WHINY TEENAGERS"

It’s been over a year, and like many people I’m still disappointed with how S2 turned out for a multitude of reasons, but the one I’d like to highlight today is this transition toward the end of the second episode:

This was something I missed the first time through, but this little detail just? hits me hard.

Butterflies in the series symbolize the cattle children’s souls, so it could be a more general representation of that idea, but given how we transition from Emma, who was just name-dropping Norman, to Ray, the third member of their trio, I tend to default to it being a representation of Norman and how he’s still guiding them forward, even if he isn’t physically there to help support them on this first leg of their journey outside Grace Field.

Everything about Emma and Sonju’s hunting sequence was beautiful. CloverWorks adapted everything from this portion of Ch049 and then some, adding a parallel to the S1e01 sequence of Norman looking upon Conny’s corpse as the water drop hits the puddle (pointed out long before me by @stray-tori​ here)

and Emma becoming physically ill upon making the connection of what she was doing to what befell her family and countless other cattle children before them.

They’re small details, but it’s these sort of nuances that made S1 so engaging, rewarding, and enjoyable to watch, at least for me. (A different but equally enjoyable experience to reading the escape arc in the manga). It’s just… it was handled so well. You can tell care was put into boarding the scene and bringing it to the screen.

This is one of the things that bums me out the most about S2. That enough of the creative staff cared to do this, but somewhere along the way the TPN committee told them to drastically alter the original plans for this season, so we don’t have nearly as many poignant, reflective shots like this. It wasn’t a vindictive plot against the fans, it was just how things unfolded behind the scenes, and the staff left with the directions given to them by the higher-ups had to make do and cobble together something as best they could.

[jeeves476]

Letter by a Russian soldier to his mother in Sochi, Russia from the Demon World.

17 Мая, 2048 (5-17-2048)

Сержант Александр Харьков (Sergeant Aleksandr Harkov)

45-я ВДВ (45th Airborne Division)

Матушка (Mother),

I hope this letter reaches you. If I am alive, then you should be expecting another letter within two weeks. Unfortunately, due to the location of the mission as well as the nature of said mission, I cannot receive any letters from Sochi or anywhere for that matter. How's Yuri? Is he still working at the munitions factory on the outskirts of town? Well, his efforts along with all the workers in Russia are doing wonders for the war effort. Though I cannot say where I am currently at, I can tell you we're not in Europe nor in Korea and our adversary is more fierce than any NATO infantry division. I will say, they are less organized and disciplined. My commander has called them terrorists, insurgents, but they seem to be children. They don't look much older than Yuri, but they still can fight. Remember when I wrote to you about my new friend, Oleg? Well, I can say that he died fighting for our motherland. I hope an end will soon be visible to this war, but as with our ancestors during the fight against the fascist Reich in the Great Patriotic War, I will serve Russia, her people, and you, mother as well as my brother Yuri. I still miss Papa. Used to take me fishing and hunting, taught me how to be more effective with a rifle as well as surviving in the wilderness alone. NATO forces didn't give us this much of a headache, but at least we were fighting other soldiers. The local population doesn't seem to be very welcoming, but in their eyes, we are the invaders, but I think they're beginning to warm up to us. I remember when we first stepped into Poland and liberated Warsaw from the fascist NATO dogs, the civilians met us with resistance but now, they have been welcomed to join Russia. We've been raided and hit hard by these insurgent children, but we will prevail. Right, it's time for me to sign off. Tell Yuri to keep working hard for our country and victory will be ours. I cannot wait to return home to you intact and to be in your arms once again. I love you, mom.

Love from your son,

Александр

За Победу! За Родину! За Россию!

ZOV

[jeeves476]

The FSB (ФСБ) plays an important role within the Demon World as the strong arm of the Ratri Farms and the Russian Federation. Their key missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, VIP protection, sabotage, espionage, and bunker busting.

In 2033, James Ratri, alongside his colleagues within the resistance as well as his CIA handler were captured by the FSB, led by Andrew, who were promptly executed after being arrested for treason against the Ratri Clan and the Demon Royalty.

In 2047, an FSB element would be tasked with destroying bunker B06-32, led by Andrew and the unit's leader, Lieutenant Nikita Rashkov. Yuugo and Lucas would put up a valiant fight, covering the retreat of their siblings, but were ultimately powerless to stop the Russian operatives on their own, so they sacrificed their lives by detonating the explosives within the bunker, killing all FSB agents including Lieutenant Rashkov.

[jeeves476]

Concept art I had commissioned from an artist I unfortunately forgot the name of. I will credit them as soon as I get the artist responsible! Had this made a few years ago as I was writing my AU, which depicts certain nations working for the Ratri/Demon royalty by providing the farms with genetic templates and military aid in exchange for financial support for their economies.