#dicenete rambling

[dicegoblinstreasures]

I actually don't mind that Twisted Wonderland isn't as dark as it could be.

I love the wholesome vibes it has, it deals with dark topics, yes, but in the end it is a story about hope and redemption.

It is about how those dark negative feelings you have are not you. They are a part of you, but not "whole" you. And you can be better with people who give you a second chance. People who understand that life isn't black and white. Life is a journey. Everyone makes mistakes, let's their negative feelings get the best of them. But what matters is what you do after it all. And what helps a lot is to have people around you who give you that second chance, help you grow to be a better person and look after you. So you can do the same for them in the future.

Twisted Wonderland gives me Kingdom Hearts meets Persona 4 feels. And I love it wholeheartedly. Those characters have become my friends, like the characters from my favorite games (FF games, Persona 3 especially) and I can't wait to experience more stories with them.

I love dark stories. Dark topics and how stories navigate them. But I'm a biggest sucker for stories that give hope. That when you finish that story, you have been left with this warm and fuzzy feeling and eagerness to keep on living after all the darkness and rain.

[dicenete]

Helloooooo0, some more Idia Shroud fanart, now inspired by screenshots from Disney's Hercules. Because I HAVE A THEORY! = I'm rambling again. :) Note that at the time when I'm writing this I have just finished Book 6 and I haven't started Book 7 yet. So this will contain some spoilers for Book 6. And everything under the cut as always :)

Also Disney's Hercules took a lot of creative liberties with the Greek mythology. Like Hera being the one trying to kill Hercules, rather than Hades because Zeus was being a horny bastard. And Hades being pretty straight up guy compared to his contemporaries. But I will be using the Disney movie as the basis since that is where the game takes its inspirations.

THESIS:

Idia Shroud from Twisted Wonderland is more like a twisted version of Hercules rather than Hades from the Disney movie.

Here me out:

Sure, his visual design is pretty much inspired by Hades and I love it. And the fact that he has a job that was bestowed upon him by his bloodline rather than by his own choice. (Zeus forcing Hades to take care of the Underworld full of dead souls and so on. ) And how Idia is pretty sarcastic like Hades when he is avoiding serious talking or pointing out absurd things. Let's just say, I take this as the surface personality of Idia.

But underneath it all, what do we have? We have a person who wants to be normal. What did Hercules want to be in the start of the movie? A normal person. Someone who was accepted and someone who could fit in among his peers. That is ultimately what Idia wants. Idia wants to be liked. That's why I think he was inspired to be a hero when he was young, something Hercules also wants to be to gain acceptance. (Hercules does it to be with his biological family again and so on.)

They are both awkward in social situations, other kinda in this himbo way and other in this nerdy awkwardness kinda way.

They both go into Underworld to find the person who was the most important to them. Hercules - Megara / Idia - Ortho

BUT ALSO! At the end of the movie, Hercules wants to stay as a mortal because he found acceptance with Meg. Idia could have stayed with S.T.Y.X. If he really wanted. I'm pretty sure with that. But he chose to go back to NRC because he, with encouragement with Ortho, wanted to experience life before he has to go and be the Watchman of the Underworld. He has a long way to go, he really harbors so much self-hatred and uncounciously self-sabotages himself. It is good thing that he has Ortho calling him out on it.

I really hope to see him grow and like himself more in the future :)

(I just loved all the Greek mythology names and references in the Book 6, it is such *chef's kiss * Like how Star Rogue is pretty much the tale of Zeus fighting against his father Chronos who has eaten all his other siblings and so on.)

[dicegoblinstreasures]

I think I know why IkeVil hasn't really clicked for me. And it is mostly because of its name lol. I was hoping for actual Villains, people with questionable morals. But really so far they seem like people who really aren't bad people and because of that they can't really own it. Right now only one who actually seems like a "bad person" is Jude and I hope his route will be released soon in EN version.

If they had named the game Ikemen Curses or something like that, I wouldn't mind it that much. I know this is very nitpicky but I can't help it. Everything in this game screams that I should like it. The aesthetic and the UI design, the setting and the sound scape. But alas... Right now I feel a bit meh. I hope it gets better. I like the characters a lot tho, whenever they act like a weird family. : D

(I have only tried William's and Liam's routes. I changed to Liam's route from William's at chapter 15 or so because I just wasn't feeling it.) EDIT: I'm just being nitpicky about semantics. A villain and an anti-hero are two different things. I just like it when media that I consume commits to the "bit". Were it morally gray or even black or the most wholesome heartfelt thing. And also the fact that I have not dwelled into IkeVil's JP release and have not spoiled myself at all about things. These opinions might change in due time. The game might surprise me in the future. Just like IkePri did.

[dicenete]

This chaotic gremlin has happily skipped with light steps over the line that lets me to start dissecting his visual design and how it works for his story so far. These are pretty obvious ones and some are speculations as I have not finished his route yet. But I'm having fun. :) Overthinking starts here: - His color scheme. His signature color is purple, which is the complimentary color, or should I say the opposite color of yellow/gold in the color wheel. Chev's color is gold. Ahh the conflict. But also being complimentary colors, the fact that Clavis is helping Chev around works too, as he let's his older brother work more efficiently. - He is wearing a white/gold jacket over his shoulders but not fully wearing it. He is in Chev's factions and is his "servant". It also hides his own "main color" which can be seen as him hiding his true nature and motives. - His outfit underneath the jacket is more "servant like" than what other princes wear. He is prim and proper. You could just give a napkin to rest on his arm in his default pose and he would look like a servant. - I'm not sure, but the pin on his cravat seems to be a rose? Now I'm getting fully speculative, but I think the fact that it is stated that Clavis hates roses (or more specific, scent of rain soaked roses) can be foreshadowing for his distain for Rhodolite (as it is mentioned to be the kingdom of roses) but the rain part makes me think that it is more about him hating the idea of normal people of Rhodolite hurting. Rain usually symbolizes sadness and hurt. I feel like Clavis really wants good things for the kingdom, and understands that in some things, absolute monarchy is just an inferior option for the common people. I believe that he really wants to help everyone in Rhodolite, not just the kingdom as a construct. All this is just cloaked beneath the hatred of Chev as Chev symbolizes monarchy and the old ways. Don't get me wrong, I feel like they hate each other as the siblings usually do, but I feel like they still care about each other in some level. And in their own bizarre way. But I could be wrong. Because I'm still at the chapter 11 or so? Somewhere around there.

[dicenete]

I repainted his face more times than probably necessary but something always caught my eye and still does, but it is done. is done. It's fine. xD IkePri Tagteam:

@scummy-writes @goustmilk @solacedeer @m-mmiy @mxrmaid-poet

@pawnkyyy @ludivineikewolf @violettduchess @floydsteeth @wistfulwanderingone

@sh0jun @lorei-writes

A little bit of rambling of him below the break, spoilers (Keith's route, and little bit of Nokto's route) and such :0 so you have been warned.

TL;DR: I enjoyed the route despite its questionable elements. MC is too forgiving at times, but other than that, romanctic route was cute. Licht, the third wheel, was funny but sad.

Okay first about Keith's visual design: I really love how his design is the most asymmetrical from the suitors. Like the jacket and the vest he has. The jacket is very interestingly layered, almost like you aren't sure which part is the main thing and what is the accent. The green or the gold? The host or the alter? : D Same with his vest. His duality is battling in his clothing too hahaha

Keith's route was interesting. I had heard lots of differing opinions about it and I had my own reservations.

One mainly about the portrayal of DID and how the route does it. First things first: I'm not an expert at all. I won't even humor the idea that I had any say in anything regarding it. But overall, it could have been worse? Of course it might be very extreme in the way Alter Keith is hostile towards Host Keith. And of course you shouldn't take this as the only way the alter systems work. But as I said: I'm not an expert.

I had heard that the dramatic route follows Alter Keith and romantic route host Keith. I picked the romantic one. I had my personal reasons for that tho. But aside from that, it was nice to be with Keith that who struggled with self-worth. It was nice to see him grow as a character and find that strength to stand up for himself. (The fact that the host Keith seems to think that he is inferior to Alter Keith and that people would prefer the alter over him. The amount of stress that will bring. )

Keith's uncle was your very generic villain/antagonist without any real depth. He was a spoiled noble and so on. But since this was more about Keith inner journey I thought it was fine that it was like that.

The drugging scene… Well. That's a… a topic. Hmm… Host Keith himself felt very guilty about it and was full of remorse. Not that it was his choice to do it. Alter Keith well… He might justify it because he was gathering information about a rumor that might endanger his home country and people if it were true. I kinda can see where he is coming from, but also...IT CERTAINLY WAS DESTROYING OF TRUST. Like that time when Nokto "accidently" gets MC drunk. but hey ho. Since there is limited time frame for the chapters, I do understand they can't really jam all the things there, but I wanted Belle be more angry with him with Alter Keith for longer.

Maybe that's what bugs me sometimes. That Belle/Emma/MC is sometimes too forgiving and too much of a doormat. It works in routes like Yves and Licht (from the routes I have played, Leon seems like the most respectable gentleman too), because they are not being insulting towards her. I would even think that she works with Clavis, tho I would love to see him with someone who shares his chaotic gremlin energy. But with characters like Chev, Silvio or Alter Keith the their "power" doesn't feel balanced. MC seems to be completely on their mercy even if they stand up to them in some way. (Gilbert is another can of nasty things.)(With Chev's route, well, that is also a rambling for another time. But I haven't finished his route yet. so I will keep my ramblings to myself for now.)

Is Keith's route more about acceptance then? Accepting the good and the bad of a person? Possibly. I would think that is a good way to put it. Both Keiths have good and bad sides. And it seems that they are working on them.

[dicenete]

Hey, I'm rambling about IkePri again

Okay, I just need to get these thoughts I have about Gilbert von Obsidian out because I enjoy predicting stuff and overthinking design and narrative choices even tho they might not be right. :P But there really isn't that much predicting other than me overthinking about narrative and design choices. This time there will be most likely spoilers of Gilbert's route so far, and route of Clavis and some thoughts I have just gathered while playing the game in general. I try to put these thoughts in cohesive order, but well... I don't know if I can really, because I just need to get these out of my head. These are my thoughts, ramblings and opinions. Feel free to form your own and certainly disagree with me! I apologize about the lack of art in this post. I'm busy with work currently so no fanart for a while. I'm also not native English speaker, so there might be grammatical errors and such. Sorry about that. Everything under the cut.

To start with Ikemen Prince is a romance visual novel first and foremost. That doesn't mean it can't be deep (and it certainly has been deeper than I initially expect, which left me positively surprised). I suppose there is somesort of thematic vibe that there is no prince whose ideals are the main thesis of the game itself. But that also kinda leaves that fact there is no huge catharsis regarding the world and it's state. Everything so far has been left quite open. And the more I have learned about lore of the world, I really feel like anti-monarchist here xd Clavis really sold me the idea for real. Or atleast throw away the absolute monarchy. That's where I think things should go, but that's my own belief. (really, the last king of Rhodolite... He umm... I have some opinions.) Chevalier and Gilbert First things first: I don't hate or dislike Chevalier as a character. There are just some things that give me Deus Ex Machina feels. But I know it is what they are going for with him. This genius that so far ahead of everyone that it is so alien concept to rest of the people. And well that is a very hard concept to pull off without being a genius yourself as a writer. Or that is what I feel like. But what I do love is what the writers are doing with him and Gilbert in thematic sense! (Hence why Chev x Gilbert sounds so juicy to me)

I really took steps to the deep end as I started to think about why I have enjoyed Gilbert's route or was interested in his story to begin with, but have little interest in trying Chev's one. Because they are so similar but they really aren't.

How I would describe it is that where as Clavis is the complementary to Chev, the purple to his yellow, the emotionality vs rationality, the heart vs the brain, Gilbert is more like right brain to Chev's left brain. If it makes sense like that xd Their color schemes are harmonious. Not opposite. Almost like how Nokto and Licht's color schemes are harmonious with each others.

(Nokto (Blue + white + gold) vs Licht (Blue + black + gold)) Not to mention that their names clearly are meant to mean light and dark. (Licht: variant for light, Nokto: comes form latin nox or noctis, meaning night = dark) But that is a rambling for another time.) Both their crests are tigers. White and black tiger. Chev's color scheme is White + gold and black. Whereas Gilbert's is Black + gold and white. But then the overall color that game devs use to signal about the characters baffles me a bit. Gold/Yellow vs Black/dark red. They don't seem to have too much connection or that of which comes to my mind quickly and without digging deeper. (because I believe that if you dig deep enough, you have digged yourself into a trap of overthinking about things. (Justifying things because you want to justify them, which I'm not big fan of. And sometimes things don't need meaning and we have to live with that. As much as it pains my overthinker brain.)) But here is my impressions about Gilbert so far. I'm at the point where MC has left the Clavis's party (I loved it btw). Gilbert really does give me toxic INFJ villain feels, but let's not get too hang up on terms such as that. But he is someone who is driven forth by his own ideals and desire to change the world better. He, like Clavis, seems to cloak himself in this idea that he is the villain and is okay, even happy, to take that role. He is the one who, like Chevalier, has thrown away emotional attachment out of the window (or so they say) unlike Clavis who makes his choices based more on emotion rather than rational thinking. Maybe that's why I like Clavis and Gilbert, they push MC out of their black and white thinking. That things are not so easy peezy as "choose a right king and everyone will be happy". There will always be someone who is mad about it. That's why I really loved the scene with Gilbert with the orphaned kids and the Clavis's party. He seems to enjoy the company of children (who are not morally corrupted or tainted) and he really empathically listens to those who are angry. He believes in the idea that "no one remembers what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel". (A quote with debatable origin, people say that it was coined by Maya Angelou. But I really love this quote, because I think it is the truth.) Gilbert isn't trying to rationalize against someone's choices with pure intellect. He uses empathy to guide him to the most rational outcome in that emotional scope. But he also uses this to manipulate people with fear. He uses fear extensively and he does it actively. Where as I feel like Chev just has that aura about him automatically. Hence my next thought: Action vs Stasis!

Gilbert and Clavis are action oriented. They shake the gameboard, they make the first moves. Gilbert probably more than Clavis. They both want change. Is it change for the better, we will see, I still haven't finished Gilbert's route but he really gives me this "I'm willing to become the greatest threat so that people unite to defeat me." or "I will conquer all so there will no longer be wars.". Chev, on the other hand, symbolizes stasis. His goal is to keep the kingdom of Rhodolite going. That's his duty and he is willing to take it. (even tho we can debate if that is something he really really believes in or even thinks about that much. I feel like it is out of obligation rather than of personal ideal. But alas, I have not played Chev's route yet.) Chev is reactive rather than proactive. He waits for the opponent to make the first move and reacts accordingly. (I'm not saying he is not reactive once game is on. More like "if there was not threat to deal with, he wouldn't create one".)

Chev doesn't care what you think about him. Gilbert does. He might seem like he doesn't but he is really there to prove a point. (I will pick up his dislike for lying later >.>) Chev is not. Chev knows that his way is the right way for him and that is enough for him. Chev also actively makes a "gettaway plan" for himself in Clavis. He knows that Clavis is the final thread that keeps him from going overboard because he understand that he has to be blind for "individual people" aspect to be a good ruler. Gilbert probably understands this about himself too, but he is trying to prove a point. So he needs to go overboard. Because masses of people need absolutes to react to. If it is something banal, it won't do. His evil actions need to shake the very foundation of ideas. The people have to face those things head on and see it for themselves. They cannot be sheltered. Gilbert gives me the vibes that he is willing to sacrifice himself not for the kingdom, but for the betterment of all mankind. He is happy to become the villain #1 if that means that other people will rise and take down the corrupted Obsidian or the corrupted idea. I would say that he is Lawful Good going on about things like Lawful Evil.

Gilbert asking questions means that he wants you to think, he wants to challenge your opinions and how you look at the world. Same as Clavis. They yearn for change. They want to change the world. Where as Chev wants to maintain things as they are. Chev "If it is not broken, we don't need to fix it" Michel. Where as Clavis and Gilbert want to improve the system. They are idealistic. Gilbert and lying

This is something very interesting. At first I thought that he was all "I dislike when people lie to me." but he really is "I dislike lying in all its forms." And he does say that he doesn't lie. And I'm starting to believe that is really the case. All the things he says are true. But because how other people see him, they are suspicious anyway. Like MC is. Like we all probably are when we start the route and think "So what is your trauma, baby girl?" When he is unsure or knows that he shouldn't say the thing he really thinks or that is true, he will deflect or give a very vague response. Which makes me quite happy to replay his route at somepoint with this in mind. In conclusion: Welcome to my TED talk, with no head or tail, just me overthinking about things about a otome gacha game. If you read this far, thank you for your time. Remember, if I ramble about it, it just means that I'm invested. Have a good day~

[dicegoblinstreasures]

Dicenete rambles again about Twisted

In Twisted Wonderland, I'm in Book 7, chapter 67. I have a theory and.... It makes me feel sad, but satisfied if it turns out to be something like that. Everything under the cut.

This might not be even correct or something, this is just me theorizing. Take everything with a grain of salt. Twisted Wonderland, our time there... It is a dream. It is the dream of the Prefect. And it will (most likely) end in Book 7. Okay so we are dream hopping feat Silver. In a dreams that are meant to make it so we never want to wake up. We want a dream where we can always be happy. That we don't have to face harsh realities of life. Many of the dialogue choices we have had are A. "I will miss you guys/ Kinda don't want to leave." and B. "I miss my family/I need to get back home." It kinda got me surprised at first. Because last three or so books we have hardly thought about going back home. Now that there was a possibility to find a way to do it... Me as a player, didn't want it to happen. I wanted the prefect to stay there and continue their journey. Like what will happen in next semester? What will happen to the 3rd year students on their internships? I want to know! Would we get more characters? Then in the chapter 67 we get Sebek almost succumbing to the dream. Deciding to stay there because he wants Malleus to be happy.

Logically we all know that this is a bad choice. It is not life. Life is a harsh place. You can't get the good without the bad. You will grow numb. So we beat the darkness up and get some sense into Sebek. I have really loved this game. For real. More than I thought I would. I really don't want the Book 7 be the final one. But all the signs kinda... point that it will be? Or that it should be? But I also know... that all good stories come to an end at somepoint. They should. Because if they are stretched without a goal in mind, that will eventually ruin the main story. The themes of Book 7 are good byes and change. And that we have to say good bye at somepoint. To everyone. Even to our loved ones. Only certain thing in life is change. All things come to an end. And that's what Lilia is trying to teach Malleus and others there. Like Malleus, I don't want this story to end. Which is that I hope that the story will continue past Book 7 somehow, but I really understand that it must end at somepoint. And it makes me sad of course. I can't be angry at Twisted if they decide to end the main story on Book 7. Because right now it feel like the right thing to do. But I also hope that we will get something more after it. That they will explain something how we can continue our adventures with NCR.

I look forward to see what they will do.

[dicenete]

Okay extempore rambling time about Clavis because I started to think about this and I don't know if these things are proven and canon or just my speculation:

Spoilers about Clavis's route under the cut

Okay so... What if the competitive nature Clavis has towards Chev isn't because of Chev himself but because of Chev's mother?

Clavis loved his mother dearly, and was loved by his mother. His mother said she loved him a lot, that he was her light and so on. And then she offs herself after Lady Michel dies. When you are what 5 or 6 years old, like Clavis was, you would make an assumption that everything she said was a lie and that she didn't love him enough to keep on living. That she loved Lady Michel more. He felt like the second best, he lost to her mother's best friend. That must have really broke him and his self worth. Hence his very very low self-esteem.

So that got me thinking about this. Chev is the closest thing to Lady Michel. He is a substitute. He has always been compared to him so it is easy to throw more package there.

Okay back to work

[dicenete]

TL;DR: OCs are cool actually (and I have been thinking about a possible OC for Licht from IkePri and this is one of the early sketches I have made. I have been obsessing about this hairstyle a lot lately.) I just woke up and now I'm reminiscing about OCs and how I have created OCs since my early days. I remember my first OCs for a canon universe vaguely (Final Fantasy games that I liked) , but I created those when I was what 8-10yo? I have always enjoyed them. :P Maybe that's why I love TTRPG a lot? I love creating characters. Also one thing: Visual Novel games, games with romance elements which let you create your own character are a very good boost for these! Heck, Baldur's Gate 3 is a Build an OC and go forth! World is your Oyster! : D

These kind of games are probably extra popular now because they provide another kind of escapism. Escapism where you can mold the world more to your image? That's cool.

[dicenete]

Welcome~

I'm Dicenete, an illustrator and currently studying programming and coding to have a second job on the side and maybe combine my art somehow with it. An animation enthusiast, a serial hyperfixator and a friendly neighborhood renessaince goblin. I have no time to follow trends or hypes.

🔞 Alt Blog: 🔞 @dicegoblinstreasures 🔞 Mostly me just reblogging stuff I love, rambling without coherent theme, shitposting etc. 🔞 OC Blog: @diceramblesaboutocs 🔞 Blog for rambling about my OCs, DnD characters and such.

Digital Art Tutorial Blog: @diceytipseng (ENG) @diceytipsfin (FIN) Okay, so the idea here was to create a blog with info about digital art for Finnish audience since finding digital art tutorials in Finnish is very hard. So I wanted to assemble a small library and why not do the same in English.

You can find me on: Ko-Fi || first place for posting art and updates for commissions. Also exclusive sketches, studies, timelapses, resources monthly supporters. I try to be as consistent as I can be. Twitter || I try to post here too, but I'm not that active here. Deviant Art || Mostly finished pieces of art. Artfol || I try to post more art and free sketches here! Youtube || Painting Timelapses Picarto.TV || Sometimes I stream xd When the moon, the stars and planets align. Pixiv || For fun. To see how it goes 🔞Pillowfort || 🔞Place where I post NSFW art whenever I draw it.🔞

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About Commissions! (under the cut) (Detailed info on Commissions)

Fully fledged Commissions If you are interested on commission by me, then you can fill out this inquiry form! (base prices are visible in the form) There might be a queue but I will inform you when the next available slot is! (You can check my Ko-Fi to see when the next available slot is, in the Tip Jar panel) Currently I take 1 commission per month because I'm studying on the side. (If you dm me about commissions, I will still redirect you to the commission inquiry form. Because I don't want to get scammed and those dms happened to much on IG that I got tired. :P) Ko-Fi Commissions I sometimes open commission slots through my Ko-Fi! These commissions are smaller in scale and don't take too much of my time. These do not include variations and I do not send you WIP pics. Basically give me the description and references of what you want and I will cook up just that ^^ I will post whenever I open up more Ko-Fi Commission slots!

[dicenete]

Did a video of me rambling while a timelapse is running around in the background. I will try to make more of these and post them on my Ko-Fi (you know, video is hosted on youtube, but you can access it through link). Something little bit for my Ko-Fi audience :3