#never posted much here but…

[rosencrantznewblue]

Just finished watching the 1933 Invisible Man yesterday, and on a certain level I find it utterly hilarious just how quickly Griffin’s “reign of terror” went kaput. Pretty sure the guy didn’t even last more than a month after turning invisible (died at the hands of an angry mob, not unheard of for a Universal Monster), and for all that the surrounding characters were kind of clownish at times, they sure put things together quickly.

Although maybe that was partly the point? I know the major theme is that man should not advance science without reasonable boundaries, a moral compass, and the good of others in mind, but I feel like “community vs isolation/misanthropy” could be a part of the message too. The townspeople only defeat Griffin because they work together, after all. Despite the advantages of being invisible, Griffin’s biggest weaknesses come from being invisible too. He can break rules and get away with whatever crimes he wants, but he’s cut off from other people.

The first few scenes of the movie establish that other people find Griffin off-putting. Not just because he’s a stranger dressed in bandages and odd clothing, but because of how he treats everyone. He’s rude, ungrateful, angry, secretive, and generally just a cruel person. And this comes back to bite Griffin! He doesn’t get away with being an A-hole. He’s called out for his behavior and barely escapes being arrested, forced to strip naked during winter so he can escape. And sure, Griffin cackles about this and acts like it’s his way of punishing those around him for not leaving him alone, but he basically shoots himself in the foot. From here until the end of the movie, he’s essentially on one long downward spiral, running around naked, pissing people off, and not actually managing to reverse his invisibility like he said he wanted. Although he also says things that would imply he’d like to stay invisible for the power? Maybe he means the power to change back and forth at will? Either way, Griffin has a lot of grandiosity for someone who spends the whole movie just barely getting away with stuff in the least magnificent or competent way possible.

Granted, it’s stated a few times that the invisibility chemical has probably altered Griffin’s mind, but it’s also implied that he’s always been this way to some degree. Kemp doesn’t seem to think very highly of Griffin at the start of the movie (even less so later on). He shows the audience that Griffin was paranoid and dabbling in strange, selfish research even before the invisibility, and even makes a case for why Griffin is simply not worth the care that others, namely Flora and her father, give him.

At the same time, I find it interesting that Griffin made two notable attempts to reach out to other people despite this, but in each case the relationship was doomed from the start. The first attempt may hardly count as a relationship at all: Griffin shows up at Kemp’s house uninvited, threatens him, demands hospitality, offhandedly mentions all the violence and trouble he’s been up to, and then decides that all of this of course means he and Kemp are buddies. He seems to genuinely believe that (a) he’s capable of ruling the world thanks to invisibility, and that (b) Kemp is totally fine with this idea and would love to join him. Obviously Griffin himself admits that he sought Kemp out because he needs a visible person to do all the things he simply can’t do unnoticed anymore, but it’s more than that. Griffin is paranoid as a matter of course, but actually seems surprised when he finds out Kemp called the police on him. He thought they were going to rule the world!

The second relationship Griffin seems rather attached to is with Flora. She’s the only person who really “soothes” him, the only one who continues to extend compassion and care even after finding out about his crimes. Even so, Griffin insists that they can’t be together until he turns himself visible again. He refuses the help of her father or anyone else, claiming his own brilliance is the key, if only he would be left alone.

In both cases, Griffin ruins any chance of a relationship through his own selfish, narcissistic personality. He’s not a nice or safe person to be around! And even for those who stick by him, Griffin refuses the help or even company of others. His invisibility, once revealed, is always a horror or an abomination to other people. He’s frightening, and yet also simply a man whom they detest. The only exception to this is Flora, who doesn’t shy away from Griffin because he’s invisible, even if she still believes it’s something they must all work together to cure. In a way, she still “sees” Griffin as the man he’s always been, even if folks like Kemp would say he was never worth the care to begin with.

Which, again, kind of ties into this secondary theme I’m getting at here. I don’t know how well this movie translated the book, but I’m always intrigued by stories that say something about the value of healthy relationships or depending on other people. Griffin thinks he’s stronger on his own, stronger by being able go unseen, but the isolation of invisibility proves to be a double edged sword. In the end, he’s just as vulnerable as anyone else. Maybe more so, because the invisibility is what leads to his death.

[brainrotcharacters]

the easy grip on the knife. the leg over the seat. the hand over the other seat. the sassy "come get it" move. you know the bitch is smiling behind that mask even as he said the line.

[cashmere-caveman]

they need to invent an emoji of a guy in a hole that resembles the grave but isnt

[starwarjotta]

looking for someone on Tatooine

[chatlote]

Just because you don't love yourself it doesn't mean I will stop loving you.

[lotus-pear]

mourning black and the death of ideals

[kurokmask]

hi billford nation. can you believe this is happening?!?!?!?!?

[matchabot]

here comes trouble

[peachieflame]

(old) Tattoo artist Katara (something I know shed never do in a modern au but it'd be cool)

[juniemunie]

[Abandoned by the Lightners, his heart became cracked with hatred.]

Hitting a lil' too close to home?

[daily-beau]

Day 13: A blinding sun

[cornmagnate]

I've been rotating this scene in my head for a very long time and I think very few people talked about it not just in terms of “look Copia’s so cute here” but in the context of character analysis. Because right up to this point, Copia behaves like an arrogant bitch and demands attention and validation from Sister, while considering himself as her equal.

But AS SOON as she hints that Copia is not doing what he should be doing (isn’t thinking about the show), he turns into a closed child who is afraid of being scolded by his mother. He immediately closes in on himself (eyes down, nervously fixing his hair to look like a professional, voice much less imposing, he os almost whispering) and shamefully tries to justify himself and I think this says a lot about how traumatized he is and how afraid he actually is of his possibly imminent demise

[14dayswithyou]

💖 Day 3.5 is now available! 💖

For the last couple of months, only Server Boosters had access to the 3.5 update... Buuuuut now it's available for everyone to play in the 14DWY Discord — and soon itch.io once I'm happy with the QA and state of the game — so please don't feel pressured to join unless you want to!!

The full devlog + even more screenshots are under the cut ^^

What's been added to the 3.5 version?

📺 Streamer Mode!

I've been told that it's difficult to stream and monetise age-restricted videos on YouTube and Twitch, so I added an option to remove the sexual content and strong language used in the demo.

Now y'all can invite Ren into your bed for cuddles without putting your streamer career on the line /silly /lh

This won't affect the 18+ rating or dark themes/elements of the game, however! Although Streamer Mode will prevent you from seeing any "gruesome" CGs in the future, most of the core elements of the game will still be tied to the choices and decisions you make. So you won't miss out on the overall experience by using streamer mode!!

⚙️ Custom Pronouns!

It only took me one entire year to get around to it, but you can finally choose your own preferred pronouns (or use a set of pronouns instead)... At the cost of being able to change them mid-game ^^;

Since the original pronoun screen wouldn't update until a new scene was displayed, I temporarily disabled the feature. But once I find a workaround, I'll bring it back!

💗 Choose how others perceive you!

You can now choose how the cast and narration perceive you! Originally, the narration was kept strictly gender-neutral (outside of pronouns and genitalia picked by the player), but this will soon change in future updates.

For more clarity: you don't get to choose the words specifically, but you can choose between masculine, feminine, and androgynous terms!

📋 Separate top and bottom genitalia!

You can now choose your tatas and pps separately! >:3

Alongside that, you can also choose your preferred body type!

I removed the "both" genitalia option because a few players still assumed it was an obscure version of "intersex". That wasn't my intention and I don't want to mislead anyone, so I took it out for now ^^;

I also didn't want to include a screenshot of the new genitalia choices in action (because it's NSFW), so y'all get the same character menu screen for the nth time instead lmao

📱 Relationship Screen Overhaul!

You can now change your own status for more immersion, and long-term Server Boosters will eventually be able to submit and use their own icon within the game as well!

Stalking finding your friends has now become easier by using "Buddy Maps"; a new app that allows you to see the location of all the cast members!

I want to offer players more incentive to check the relationship screen since they tend to miss the status updates, so hopefully this might help ;v;

It also says it "updates every few hours" so folks don't go overboard and check every 5 seconds to see where Ren is gdsghf (also keep in mind that he's a hacker lol)

🖤 Additional Scenes Update!

Day 2 received a brand new CG!!!!! Originally, I planned on only adding a few CGs sporadically throughout the game, but it didn't feel right to leave Day 2 so... empty... so I added a brand new CG to (hopefully) make things feel more balanced and natural!

If you decline Teo's offer on Day 3, Leon will now call and try to convince you to reconsider. However, players are still allowed to decline, and if they do, they'll reach a dead end.

After listening to feedback on itch, I changed some of the dialogue during Days 1-3 to make it seem more consistent! They're only small changes though, so it's honestly not worth looking for sdgjssga

🎶 Updated BGM and SFX!

I wanted to try out a different style of music to see if it fits the vibe of 14DWY more! The BGM features more acoustics to suit the "beachy" theme of Corland Bay, though I made a conscious effort to include piano elements as well to stay true to the original!!

I figured it'd be better to give players a live example before I make a poll (to see if they prefer the change or not) and publish it to Itch.

Some new SFX have also been added, though it's very minimal and honestly not that noticeable.

How to download and play the update?

(warning: clicking on the following links will open Discord!!) To download the Day 3.5 update, simply join the 14DWY Discord server, verify your age, and visit the "14dwy-updates" channel!

Alternatively, you can also wait until the update is publicly released on Itch to play it as well!! (It normally gets released shortly after a round of QA testing/getting feedback from the server, though I may release it earlier if I feel like it hehe ^^)

Enjoy!!

[cozylittleartblog]

worst way to start my new year, thanks. i have a lot of things to say about these companies but i'm tired and just keeping it focused to the pin side of things for this one. do not ever buy pins from these companies, literally ALL of them are stolen from small artists like me. if you want to buy enamel pins, check out etsy, and artist's personal websites and shops! (though even Etsy has some bootleg pins that ship straight from china, so tread carefully…)

Every pin I've designed is, thus far, EXCLUSIVE to my etsy. if you find it anywhere else, it's been ripped off! and once these stupid bootlegs pop up, it's basically a never ending game of whack-a-mole trying to get them all taken down...

[slavhew]

charmed, i'm sure

[endermagpieart]

What do you mean I’m a bit late for Janus’ big day? Of course not, how could you say such a thing! I definitely didn’t forget all about it in my absence and only get reminded in the incorrect quotes video live chat; that’s not like me at all ;]

Anyways I decided to dress our sassy snake in some different outfits I think he’d like. He seems like the type to get all dolled up on his birthday and it goes with Thomas posting pics in outfits inspired by the sides on their appreciation days!

@thatsthat24