#I could ramble on about this show for ages

[aethesfaelibrarae]

Mouthwashing has given me a lot of brain worms and we've got thoughts—time to share them with the hungry void that is Tumblr. One of the last places I'm 90% certain my words won't show up stolen or regurgitated by machine.

Warning for spoilers about the game and rambling!

I believe that Mouthwashing is a modern-day Lolita. The storytelling is similar, in that, almost against their own better judgement and will, the audience finds themselves thinking like our unreliable narrator(s).

Most people.. Sorry, some people have cottoned on to the fact that Anya's personality is not that of a scared, timid and ultimately, useless nurse and she's been in fight or flight response for months now with no other choice but to fawn. As someone who has been in a similar situation for only one day a week for months, the fear only got worse, the longer I went without support. And the things that she does in the background.. No doubt similar to the way that Daisuke kept track of their food supply was brushed over and unsung.. So is the fact that Anya has been keeping a severe burn victim—with 4th degree burns so severe, any treatment we currently have is experimental and expensive.. If the pain does not kill you first—she's been keeping Curly alive for months with no help and incredibly minimal supplies. (I personally think that Anya probably was on the side of giving him an easier death or maybe even suggested a gentler way of giving him medicine—but (sterile) syringes in space? Limited water? An especially dismissive Swansea and go with the flow Daisuke?.. Easier to try and give Jimmy what he wants.)

But. I believe that people overlook the ways in which Catastrophe Jim's perspective on Curly twists our own. Pre-Crash Curly exists upon a pedestal—a good man, better than Jimmy could ever hope to be; a good, well-liked captain. Well-off, better looking (I say this because of the similarities in how Jimmy mentally views himself in similar shape and age as Curly) and still reaching for more. For better. People catch the underlying jealous and resentment for the life that Jimmy wants at all cost but.. They miss the pedestal. The miss the fact that if Jimmy says that Curly's better than he is, a good and better Captain.. That means that Curly is doing the bare fucking minimum: keeping them all alive year after year. Curly is a nice captain with the capacity to soothe over minor issues and keep a cool head and keep the crew on schedule.. But he is not a good one. He's not even a good person. Not really. Jimmy thinks of him as a good person, puts him on this pedestal that he's foaming at the mouth with excitement to pull him off of. Dirty the golden boy and spit on his silver-threaded bootstraps once and for all.

Except.. What evidence do we have that Curly is especially liked or respected? Where is this cheering crew? Where is Curly good?

Curly is a human, at the end of the day.

And.. Which comes to my more complicated and no doubt contriversal take... Curly is also a victim of Jimmy stuck in fawn response. This doesn't absolve him of the ways in which he failed the crew but Anya especially by letting Jimmy run amok and failing to take any action while he still had the chance. He stood by when Anya begins to hint at something beneath the shiny veneer of a happy tight-knit crew and most damningly, he stood by as Jimothy entered the cockpit immediately after suggesting a plan to kill everyone aboard.

I genuinely.. Genuinely.. Don't know what he thought would happen.

But he does take action.. And his last action is what makes he and Anya swap places. Except.. Not truly.

Yes, they are in similar situations—vulnerable to the whims of a psychotic madman with an inferiority complex and their plight largely ignored by the crew; a necessary sacrifice to keep the peace.. Just until safe harbor—but where Anya begins to gain autonomy and some relief from Jimmy no longer having a need for her.. Curly finds himself the center of Jimmy's world.

And that is not a great place to be in.

Curly is systemically isolated (bad-mouthed to the crew over and over again, berated publicly, blamed for an awful accident that Jimmy caused) and his torture and abuse mirrors the continuous, silent medical, emotional and physical abuse that many disabled people face. And almost in a worse way, his voice is stolen from him and used in such insidious inspiration porn.. A lot of people think that he actually said those things.

But we won't know. And if he did say these things.. Why does Jimmy only seem to (mis)understand them in the final acts? Recalling them in Curly's voice but not as the Captain but as a savior, his last charitable act to wipe the ledger of blood clean.

Jimmy doesn't want to see Curly better. He likes feeling useful. He enjoys having Curly watch him and in the same breath, he loathes it. He wants Curly's judgement. He wants Curly's praise. He wants.. Everything that makes Curly Curly.

Curly as a silent observer isn't remarked on often.. Nor is the fact that more than likely, the others heard Curly's sobs of pain from the medbay. But Curly is very conscious, very aware and very alone in his thoughts.

There's a point in which the perspective changes during Swansea's mercy killing—a gift that no one offers Curly—and once again, Curly is stuck watching all of his mistakes play out, one after the other. Unable to do anything but laugh.

But is it a laugh or a sob? Jimmy doesn't care and neither does the player—what's important is the objective: the gun. 739. Click. He steps over Anya's body like it's not even there and runs away.

We don't find out what set Swansea off—maybe Jimmy couldn't help himself and said something about Daisuke or Anya that blamed them. Maybe it was something else. Curly watches on. Helplessly.

There's something to be said about the black screens and the static that occurs when Jimmy hurts Curly or kills Swansea—like he's cutting the memory off before the guilt can get to him. And it's the same thing I'd like to bring up about Curly's voice. Yes, it takes a lot to speak without lips.. Or from what it looks like a tongue.. But there are more noises Curly can make. Noises that can refute Jimmy.

And in the same way that he's at the precipice of something so terrifying he keeps returning to the same spot that's slowly killing him, he's learned that fighting is useless.

It's 2 months after the crash when see Jimmy's perspective again, after all. And while Anya's requests for help seem to be new.. Who's to say that the beatings are?

The worse type of abuse is the type that leaves no bruises. After all, Curly cries all the time in pain.. What's the difference here?

To cycle back to my original point in this.. I don't see a lot of people consider Post-Crash Curly's living hell as another facet of Jimmy's abuse going unchecked by the people around him as anything other than comeuppance. As Karma. And it's the coldest take I've seen from the fandom so far. Allow me to reheat it up for you: disability so severe that you must rely on others is not divine punishment. It's not just desserts. Just as disabled people are your infantilazed, idealized, inspirational iron woobie that can take pain and push through it.. They are also not being punished by the divine. They are humans and sometimes shit just happens and it sucks.

The way that Jimmy views Post-Crash Curly as a saving prop.. Proof that he can indeed fix it.. is so normalized that as the audience, it can be something that you aim to achieve–one of the earliest and easiest achievements you can get is opening and closing Curly's mouth like a mannequin.

There's a relief that we share when Curly shuts up. There's a shutdown in empathy when Jimmy brutalizes him. Up until we can no longer look away.

Because Jimmy can no longer look away. And that is the chilling part of all this. Jimmy gets away with it—all of it—because of the crew's inability to overcome their own apathetic acceptance of the monster in their midst.

Just like most people accept the main character from Lolita as a gentleman, the crew accepts Jimmy as a guy. A little rough and short-tempered but what do you expect from blue collar work? Hold your nose, it'll be over in a year. In 8 months. In 10. Soon. It'll be over soon.

I can't help but worry if Jimmy weren't so bad at being likable and if he were even a smidgen of the charismatic mastermind, he so clearly wants to be..

We'd have another Valentino on our hands.

Mouthwashing is a horror that I can't help but devour. FEAST, indeed.

[cardinalcyn]

modern kirby has some weird moral standards

magolor. wanted to take over the universe, but got mind-controlled and possessed by the master crown. redeemed. karma's a bitch huh. i have no problems with this tbh, he did everything he could to make amends and destroyed the crown himself

sectonia. used to be a nice queen, but stared into the dimension mirror for so long that it drove her completely mad. started to feed on other creatures and copy parts of their appearances for thousands of years to fill the gnawing void of self-hatred and body dysmorphia the mirror brought out in her. this gave her an existential crisis so bad that she LITERALLY BEGS FOR DEATH when she realizes how far gone she is. irredeemable. dead

haltmann. used to be a self-made inventor and family man, but tragically lost his daughter to another dimension and got his mind and memories eaten by an eldritch supercomputer. regretted everything in his final moments. irredeemable. dead

hyness. used to be a dark matter worshipping wizard before he got banished. proceeded to throw an aeons-long hissy fit about it, growing more unhinged and vengeful until he concluded that he needed to summon a destroyer god to kill everyone in the universe. had countless opportunities to stop what he was doing. threw up his hands and went "nah". abused his followers MULTIPLE times, ON SCREEN no less, to the point where in the japanese version it's implied that they only came to another dimension to get revenge on him for their terrible treatment. performed a fucking SACRIFICIAL RITUAL on said followers against their own will. didn't show one ounce of remorse. just doubled down. is an obvious threat to all existence. aww he's not evil! let's be best friends forever!

elfilis. assimilated planets for the thrill of conquest. bit off more than they could chew. got captured. got experimented on for thirty years until a lab accident basically turned their frontal lobe into a separate person (elfilin), causing them to revert back to the physical and mental age of a young child. turned into a tourist attraction. has been isolated for so long that they hear the announcer's voice in their nightmares. irredeemable. dead

people say that elfilis is the worst kirby villain and tbh so did i for a while, but upon further reflection idk if fecto forgo can even help the way they are. solitary confinement fucks people up in ways we can't even start to comprehend

hyness doesn't have that excuse no matter what he says in his ramblings. he's a cult leader surrounded by legions of loyal followers, and they all live in a space station the size of a fucking solar system. the man has no excuse he's just a hater

(edit: before someone tries to say that he got corrupted by void. his rant mentions in the japanese text that void is "swayed by the one who awakens him", and the lore shows that depending on what emotions and energies void gets exposed to before incarnating, he can be good or evil. in other words, void termina and his vessel, the jamba heart, are so dangerous and toxic to other beings BECAUSE OF HYNESS)

[mikuyuuss]

Sorry to bother! I hope you don’t mind me adding on the topic of Giyuu and Mitsuri because. I made that comic about Giyuu and Mitsuri friendship before, and It got pretty popular. I also fear that it may have caused some misunderstandings. I made that comic because both of them are my favs and I want them to interact even if it was an unpopular pairing at that time. 

I hope you don’t mind me rambling (in case there was a misunderstanding) that the idea wasn’t to make it seem like Mitsuri is Giyuu's older sister figure or that he only sees Tsutako in her. It just so happens that my comic focuses on how he was reminded a bit of Tsutako through her. Sometimes people do feel endeared by others when bits of them remind you of a loved one, but it doesn’t mean you actually see them as that person. Also, about Mitsuri being younger than Giyuu. Tsutako’s age wasn’t clear and it’s possible Giyuu has already outgrown her. 

Besides that, I can imagine them bonding over other things too. How Mitsuri, like Giyuu is also a lonely person, even if it isn't obvious at first glance. They are also both awkward too. I also didn’t want to make it seem like it was only Mitsuri who was “helping” Giyuu (I should have shown Mitsuris pov more, but comic paneling is hard orz) The idea is that Giyuu was also looking out for her! She messed up her hair so Giyuu is helping her fix it. Mitsuri is very insecure about her hair, so she probably worries that Giyuu finds it gross, Instead, he not only fixed her hair, but even give her a cute hairstyle. She was touched by it! I tried to subtly show the difference between Mitsuri and Tsutako here too. (Mitsuri wearing a pink bow instead of red, her hair being on the front rather than the back, her expression being more energetic etc)

I just like it because Mitsuri, while younger, does have the temperment of an older sister, while the inverse is true for Giyuu, and It reminds me a bit of Tanjiro and Giyuu. It isnt about trying to assign them in big sister/little brother roles, but more on me basing it from my own IRL relationships (I am also friends with people who are a bit younger than me but had an older sibling temperment, and I find them to be comforting to be around) I feel that Giyuu could also find Mitsuri comforting if he got to know her a bit more.

It's possible that Giyuu and Mitsuri being besties still doesnt make sense to some, and that’s fine. These are all just my personal hc that I want to share. I sooooo agree that Mitsuri deserves to be seen as her own person. Just because she doesn’t have a super tragic backstory, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t deserve to be comforted and validated too. In general, I definitely agree that female characters shouldn't be treated as only being a source of comfort for troubled male characters, especially bc Giyuu is a grown man himself.

I’m not super into KnY these days but I follow you and seeing yours and EVERYONE’S thoughts about the woobifying of Giyuu and how using Shinobu and Mitsuri as mother/big sis figures to him is a mischaracterization of him and his relationships was positively refreshing.

I don’t have much to add other than the fact that turning Shinobu into a mother figure when her trauma involves her forcing herself to grow up insanely fast feels disrespectful to me. Yes she is a medic and caretaker but she is that as her JOB, not her core personality (which is more vengeful and angry/frustrated, imo).

So thanks to you and all your followers for putting that stuff on my dash!

ahhh it was really fun to see the pov of someone who isnt as invested in demon slayer! makes me feel less nitpicky and insane haha

i really appreciate your addition to the convo! i completely agree that these interpretations feel like a huge disrespect to shinobu’s character and mischaracterization of giyuu!

with this i think ill stop talking about it, at least for now. everyone has provided really wonderful feedback and im super glad im not the only one bothered by it!

[avalon-knightly]

I think the fact that all of my Twisted Wonderland OCs are based on Sofia the First characters says a lot about me.

[bunchofdoodlesinspace]

Fuck it, Mystery Twins Hcs:

[specifically post-show hcs]

It takes them a bit to readjust to being at home again. Everything is so aggressively average and normal it's almost mind-boggling.

There is unfortunately an argument about keeping the pig. But Mabel is stubborn and Dipper defends her. And Waddles is also just extremely adorable and hard to say no to. They keep the pig.

What they went through doesn't really start to Sink In until probably a week or so after getting back home. As soon as they're settled fully and back into a routine, it sort of slowly dawns on them that,,,yeah, that really did happen, huh. Some of it results in laughter at the absurdity, some of it fond reminiscing, and some of it...quiet, tense recognition.

Of course, they both get nightmares. Mabel starts getting such vivid ones about being trapped in Mabeland that she actually develops some level of claustrophobia. Dipper, on the other hand, gets horrid sleep paralysis, in which he'll be stuck, unable to move, while his own body stares down at him, wide-eyed and grinning manically.

They do their best to comfort each other. Deep down they know at some point they probably should bite the bullet and try to seek out something more professional, but there's no way to explain any of what they've experienced in a way that makes sense. So they rely on each other, at least for now.

They're still in contact with both Stan and Ford ofc! At first, they started out just having a walkie-talkie type situation, but eventually the kids convince their grunkles to get a tablet of some sort, so they can video call and actually see some of the stuff they uncover.

Trigonometry inexplicably becomes the funniest subject to both of them and no one understands why (it's humour to cope with the horrors)

Another way to cope with the horrors: making a game out of crossing out the "eye" in as many potential Bill peepholes as possible and turning the act into a competition (Mabel is currently winning)

Their parents are absolutely shocked when they both practically beg to go back to Oregon for the summer the following year, after being so reluctant the first year. It becomes the highlight of every year after that.

Mabel goes through like 5 different style phases over the next several years. Every summer post-show she looks different, up until she's like, 18-20. She never stops making her own clothes and stuff though.

They're the first ones to find the statue. Neither of them dares to go near it until they talk to Ford and Stan. And even after they can confirm it's most likely Just A Statue, they all try to avoid that section of the woods. Just in case.

The first summer following the events of the show, Stan and Ford notice the two of them carrying a book around with them. It's a thick notebook, clearly a fairly cheap one bought at some stationary store chain. On the front is a makeshift cover obviously put together by Mabel, with two symbols drawn on paper and taped to the front: a star and a pine tree. Between them sits the number 1, written in sharpie. Upon further questioning the twins explain that it sort of served as a way to handle all the weirdness in the world they were suddenly aware of. Sure, Piedmont is pretty normal. But every place has its mysteries.

Ford is mildly surprised to see Mabel so invested in the journal, given that seemed like Dipper's thing. And in a way, it is. Dipper writes most of the entries and Mabel mostly just adds doodles and pictures and whatever stickers she decides are appropriate. But the journal is just a log of their adventures, and those they always do together. Their first summer made it pretty clear to them: they each have their strengths, but when it comes down to it, they work best as a team. :)

[yourlocalguardian]

Yknow I know lot of people think the young therians mainly on tiktok who make masks and do a lot of quadrobics and wear their gear in public are cringe but like. As a bit older kinnie I remember how strong my instincts were when I was that age, how often and how strongly I had mental shifts, and the mental torture I went through my whole young life before I found out that there were other people like me because I felt like I was some sort of freak and didnt understand why I couldn’t just stop feeling the ways I did

Even if you think it’s cringe I know if I had had that community and that ability to engage with my creature-self at that age I would have felt so much better in myself, I wouldn’t have had the deep set self hatred I did for many years, and I think that’s extremely important. It’s extremely important that we don’t let the young members of our community experience that same pain that I and I’m sure others like me have felt

Also friendly reminder too that cringe culture is fucking stupid, if you’re not hurting yourself or anyone else you shouldn’t be shunned for doing what makes you happy. And that means you, person reading this, shouldn’t be the one to make them feel like they should be ashamed. If you feel like it’s cringe keep that to yourself and maybe do some self reflection on why you would think people doing a harmless activity that makes them happy would somehow be wrong. Cringing is a reflex, but that doesn’t mean you have to act upon it.

Additionally if you’re one of those people that’s against them because “they’re making us look bad”/“people won’t take us seriously because of them”. If people won’t accept us in the full extent of who we are then they would never be accepting of us in the first place. Acception when only in a watered down form is not true acception at all. 

[malachitezmeyka]

Our family gatherings always end the same damn way...

[technicalknockout]

ok ko lore out of context is insane actually. oh yea the main characters are all canonically furries in human suits, their god is this big corn guy in the sky who we know nothing about, everyone got murdered at one point, and dont even get me started on the sandwich

[fixationrambles37]

No matter how many times I rewatch Lone Star, I will always be crying at the Tarlos Wedding.

[dbphantom]

Hate having adhd went to go work on my fallout modpack, got distracted while going to disable the steam overlay, ended up in the points shop, went to go edit my profile, decided to change my pfp, found a buried folder I forgot existed, found some old Veneer art I forgot existed, spent 45 minutes looking at all the old photos, STILL HAVE NOT TOGGLED ONE SIMPLE OPTION THAT SHOULD'VE TAKEN 30 SECONDS AT MOST

[melandrops]

i hope none of you are expecting normalcy when arcane s2 drops

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

why does everything have to be a hecking issue with my sister

[maplemaplemaplemaplemaple]

new simpsons season premiere had me yelling ‘DID THEY WATCH THEREALJIMS???’ every five seconds . good episode i think . david byrne was in it also so instant classic

[thegrantwater]

got stoned and rewatched mother [ouat 4x21] again and holy shit that scene when regina drinks the potion to become barren is fucking painful. i don't even have words to describe this right now other than i love regina mills so much and she deserves the fucking world. this poor woman went through so much and i think that particular trauma isn't talked about nearly enough. it also, at least to me, adds even more depth to her relationship with henry than we had before this, because we always knew regina never wanted to be like cora with henry and actively fought against that but then we see even before she had a child of her own regina wanted to protect anyone she'd love from cora at all costs - even if it meant her own chance at happiness. god i wish adam and eddy treated their characters with care and emotion and depth like they deserved instead of making major character points that explain so much of their actions and motivations into throwaway b-plots for one episode a season.

[ragnar0c]

Absolutely criminal. Lesbian visibility week and I haven’t posted nearly enough Alope. She’s a lesbian. LOOK AT HER (thumbnails) more rendered part 2 later lol

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Sighhh every time i play Impostors Enemies Among Us i think it's about how everyone is susceptible to possession and every time i forget it's about blood magic again