[BIG] Update: Reshaded and colored to compensate for uneven hues from the scan.

Go to my Deviantart to get the full impact of this message:
http://spetsnazkaz.deviantart.com/art/Der-Alphas-449704492
Das Alphas - You could figure out what this phrase means automatically, without knowing German, in fact, this is the actual German translation, just go to Google translate

Checkpoint Alpha - Grenzübergang Helmstedt-Marienborn

The Helmstedt-Marienborn checkpoint was one of three checkpoints used by the Western Allies. Its western side (in the former British zone) was labeled Checkpoint Alpha after the first letter of the NATO spelling alphabet. The Allied side of the checkpoint for entry into West Berlin was named Checkpoint Bravo, while Checkpoint Charlie was the Allied checkpoint for entry into (and exit from) East Berlin.

The nomenclature of "checkpoint", as opposed to the East German "Grenzübergangsstelle" (which literally means "border-crossing-place") was a result of the Western Allies not recognising the legitimacy of East Germany as a state. This only changed during 1973 when the GDR was admitted to the United Nations, however the term remained in use.

Source: Wikimapia

(About the picture)
[I'll try to keep it short and sweet, as I really don't have a heck of a lot to say about this]
Here is a content David and Regina sitting atop a Trabant in the Helmstedt-Marienborn border (Checkpoint Alpha) entering East Germany (as the exit sign is facing the viewer).

Inb4 The sign reads "Caution! You are now leaving the German Democratic Republic," in Russian and German.

Although the two are elite members of the Stasi, they do take the priviledge of leaving the country on a state-approved visa and entering Allied-occupied West Germany. Duties of the Stasi include routine spying, on anyone they seem detrimental to the state. They usually encounter dangerous situations along the way, hoping to avoid conflict, but remain in the overt cover of average Westerners. Coming back, it's a sigh of relief. They face culture shock each time they cross that toll.

This picture is symbolic of the constant surveillance that Westerners (and Easterners) face when passing between the two Germanys.

(The drawing process)
This is based off of a sketch I made back in high school. I have quite the history with this one. It was [probably] one of my earliest drawings I did of David and Regina. It predates [a good chunk] of my drawings; this is a living fossil. For some strange reason, I decided to trace it, finish it, and add color to it (probably because I was in the theme of David and Regina) until now. This picture is unique, as it is primarily a pencil sketch, but with color! In fact, here's the reference photo I might have used then depicting Checkpoint Alpha. It's not very colorful, but that's probably what inspired me to give it the soul of a pencil sketch. I'll put this in folder Sketches (because I can't put it in more than one folder on Weasyl). What the hell, I need more crap in the Sketches folder.

While I have a large-ass shitpile of unfinished drawings sitting on my desk at the moment, I feel as if I can only get one done at a time. I have a lot of other shit to do, unfortunately. But I digress.

Also, it pains me when these little kiddies of today don't learn, nor know jack shit about the Berlin Wall, the DDR, and more importantly, the global impact of the Cold War. An average history lesson in America in a nutshell: The Revoutionary War, the Civil War, World War II, the end. God bless America.

Unfortunately, I was a victim of this monotonous cycle, as I chose to break free from it, and actually use my brain to take an interest in the Cold War. In fact I have proof: I have worn a DDR hat in public, and about 98% of fully grown adults who observe my hat, say:

• They have no idea what the emblem is
• Doesn't notice it/thinks it's a button
• Believe it's fictional, from a TV show or movie, mainly, the Rebel emblem from Star Wars.

I weep for America.

David and Regina © SpetsnazKaz