Uhh Thinking About Them And I Am Unwell

uhh thinking about them and i am unwell

War. War Never Changes.

alt cesar because i can

reference used:

This was fun lmao I like to imagine that despite how high contrast some images are light work pretty normal for alternates, but when less assimilated they have pitch-black permanent shadows in places. Just looks cool

tried a brush I haven't used much for this too. That was fun, I usually use things with a lot of size variation but the set pencil width kept me from getting too detail-obsessed, which probably helped the overall piece tbh.

Anyways this took a bit under an hour and a half which means I'm getting faster at drawing, that's always good. Generally just kinda happy with this one. :)

how i see every nagito

Hii I love danganronpa :D

okay but is it just me who gets HUGE twin peaks vibes from the mandela catalogue??

i have no idea if there is any legit inspiration from twin peaks but: (!!!!!!!spoilers for both)

- doppelgängers and tulpas

- heavy artistic use of nostalgia, postmodern americana, christian/buddhist lore and the uncanny valley. also both have this gritty, almost film noir-ish vibe. and both have colour schemes and visuals as narratively important

- entities as manifestation of the concept of evil, led by a supreme evil being: in tmc the alternates are depicted through biblical lens, tied to the image of satan (who in this story is gabriel, aka a false angel); in twin peaks, a lot of the creatures, doppelgängers and whatnot are tied to the entity of BOB, which is described as being the personification of “the evil that men do”. also the black lodge, where the entities in twin peaks come from, is described as being the domain of evil and dark power

- entities having otherworldly origin: the alternates from tmc are implied to come from another dimension, which really makes me think of the black lodge again

- use of psychological warfare by entities to lead victims to their demise, which leads me to my next point: i’m reaaaally drawing parallels between mark heathcliff & laura palmer - good christian teenagers (well, at least initially), being driven insane by their tormentors and the process of it all being documented by diaries and film footage; in tmc the way to surviving an alternate attack is to be willing to hear whatever horrific things it’s saying to you, which mark wasn’t so he died. this makes me think of laura’s secret diary that details her emotional abuse at the hands of BOB: one of the things that made her become more and more vulnerable and unstable until him killing her is the fact he was constantly bombarding her with awful images and thoughts and she was pushing them away, convinced it would make them stop or chase him away (but it backlashed). what is more, both mark and laura attempt to use religion as a shield against these attacks, to no avail (“and the angels wouldn’t help you”/“who have i been praying to all this time?”)

- taking place in 80s/90s, with a continuity in the early-ish 21st century. also, in tmc the divide between the 90s and the 2000s eras of the narrative are defined by the shift from analog to digital media, which reminds me how twin peaks:the return(2017, shot digitally), is deliberately given a cleaner, more modern look than the original run(it was between the years of like 89-90, I think? and filmed on film strip, aka analog). and like, the “older” era of both these shows is steeped in retro nostalgia

- alienation between people as a result of tragedy, paranoia (either between characters or on the watchers' part): in tmc, this is likely something the characters experience, given that anyone they love could turn out to just be an alternate doppelgänger or have M.A.D. . in twin peaks, the fact anyone could turn out to be laura’s killer + anyone could turn out to not be themselves but possessed by BOB (like leland palmer was);

- both shows are set in rural small towns that have a facade of homeliness and peace but underneath it, awful things are happening (both supernatural and otherwise)

- ominous, cryptic lines (strange and unique enough to be quotable by fans) ("i feel like i know her but sometimes my arms bend back"/"i am the one true savior. i must reverse the delusion. joseph is next.", that kind of thing...)

- the entities of twin peaks look, move and speak in…pretty uncanny ways lol, which again makes me think of the alternates in tmc. especially with the nonstop cryptic ominous riddles

- the us government getting involved, classified files, secret operations etc

- tragic dynamics with parents/parent figures

- tmc has some cop show elements like twin peaks, and one of the main characters being an investigator

- a lot of teen characters, also both shows having an entity that often targets kids (BOB & 6)

- mirror fuckeries

tbh i have no idea if alex kister has even watched twin peaks (though he likely has or at least heard of it because i know he’s a fan of the shining, which is a cult classic vintage horror movie, much akin to twin peaks) but even if he hasn’t, i feel like it has still indirectly affected his work, as twin peaks has a massive cultural legacy and has been pivotal in establishing the small town mystery genre and modern horror as a whole, and i think whether intentional or not, analog horror as a whole owes a great deal to david lynch (not even just twin peaks but also inland empire, lost highway, eraserhead…)

(please yap with me about this in comments and tags, i am so hyperfixated lately)