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dykedvonte · 1 month ago

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You ever just see a Mouthwashing take that makes you want to bang your head into a wall? I literally just saw someone claim Curly couldn't have been emotionally abused by Jimmy before the crash because he was in a higher position of power than Jimmy.

-Shrimp Anon

The mouthwashing fandom has shown me that people genuinely do believe that certain types of abuse are not as detrimental as other types especially when they deem those immune/resistant, ergo, believing one is objectively worse no matter how it affects the person nor the intersections of power, history and dynamics at play.

Get ready cause this is a yap session:

Cause like it's heavily implied that Curly and Jimmy's friendship was toxic and abusive, pointedly in the direction of how Jimmy uses Curly's belief/comfort in him. Curly wasn't forced to enable Jimmy but he was emotional and mentally on edge around him in almost every scene in some way. Mental and emotional abuse are not contingent on what positions you have at work. Yeah, he's Jimmy's boss but he was Jimmy's friend first and it's like getting into Psych discussion to talk about how social power tends to overshadow any perceived organizational power in the human mind. People are concerned about their jobs ofc but they tend to hang onto and put more value/investment into their personal relationships, hence why there tends to be laws and restrictions around mixing the two.

I always see the sentiments that "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" as criticisms of Curly and while I do agree that on the surface level all of these to be true and viable ways Curly could've taken more control of the situation, I often look at the parallels of Anya and Curly as victims of Jimmy pre/post crash.

The way Jimmy talks to Anya post crash is how he talked to Curly in the pre-crash segments. It's hard to pin-point mainly because we know he hates and wants nothing to do with Anya compared to his contrary but similarly handled obsessions with Curly. It's a weird sort of "honey-moon" effect of abuse Jimmy does in terms of emotional and mental victimization. He is always horrid to Anya, always talking down or questioning her abilities and thoughts in a situation, this of course includes the harassment and assault. However, he has a moment of attempted gentleness/conditioning when he question her about the mouthwash when she's contemplating drinking it at the table. The key difference is he has no personal investment in Jimmy outside wanting nothing to do with him, meaning there is no sort of romanticized version of him that he can condition her off of. He knows this, hence, why he always reverts to trying to make her to scared to oppose him.

This sort of give and take of "kindness" doesn't work on her because she knows he is just doing it to take more from her than whatever he could possibly give but it reflects even the "softer" scenes between him and Curly where he always rewords or rephrases Curly's sentiments and concerns to sound more shallow. He is feigning a deeper understanding by reworking Curly's emotions into something bad and needing to be hidden. Everything is laced with envy and resentment, an outburst just around the corner, I mean he even slams the table in the birthday party scene, a tactic in emotional manipulation to set the victim on edge and cloud their ability to respond. Even if Curly knows Jimmy won't get physical in that moment, the physical actions is intended to make him back down in the confrontation in case it does. This is something that is just not person specific. It ingrains itself into how you interact with the world and life and it shows in major and minor ways with Curly.

Post-crash, the abusive nature is more in tandem to the physical victimization Anya went through and the stripping of voice and autonomy we see take place. Like the parasite in HFIM, Jimmy speaks for Curly most of the time and puts words in his mouth, similarly to how he takes Anya's plans as his own. He very commonly, with the both of them mind you, supplements the worst aspects of himself into them; pettiness, selfishness, lack of understanding... And tries to cover himself with their best qualities; kindness, planning, initiative, etc...

These parallel are just to say that positional power has little to do with if a person can be abused and how it can even be flipped to further the abuse. There is no doubt that Curly could've picked up on Jimmy's envy of his position hence another reason he never confronted him as a Captain but as a friend as doing so would immediately put Jimmy in a space to be confrontational/combative.

I think the disdain some people have when they talk about the heavily implied if not implicitly stated emotional/mental abuse Curly experienced being Jimmy's friend is when treating it as an excuse to why he didn't do more. I can understand that completely because it is not an excuse to why he didn't do more but is a very real reason people in his position in these scenarios can experience whether in the context of a work or social environment. However, I also think the way people talk about it really does demonstrate a bigger problem when talking about abuse when somehow who is/was abused is either part of the issue or enabled it.

Harkening back to the sentiments about Curly's inaction regarding Jimmy, I think the exact phrases I used/have seen show how there is an inherent belief that it is easier to overpower the effects of emotional/mental abuse that go in tandem with the perception of Curly as someone who should be able to. There is not an age you suddenly stop being susceptible to abuse nor a set point or low where you realize how it has affected you. You don't suddenly know to stand up or put a face on to face your abuser nor admit that you inadvertently enabled them to subjugate someone else to the same treatment. Maybe it's my psych brain but their is this growing belief that direct action is somehow easy or always the best method with the game shows you instances where it is not always the case. In real life that rings true too. He should have done more, but it's not impossible to see why he struggled to find a way or didn't even if it makes us mad.

It's not easy to suddenly gain a "back-bone". You don't immediately want to resort to aggression, especially if it mirrors the type you were a victim to. You don't want to believe you allowed yourself to be treated this bad, let it get that bad or allowed something bad to happen to someone else. It is easy to be in denial, to retreat to your thoughts or make excuses to avoid the painful truth. It's frustrating but in a way we know is relatable. It why we both hate and love Curly for it. We know we'd be better, we think we'd be better, we like to think we wouldn't falter in the same ways but it's always easier to say that from the outside looking in. It's easy to see what he was doing wrong because we are seeing it, not him, but the game really does make you picture what you would do if this was your raw reality and it's why this debate about Curly seems so never ending/contradictory. We can all say what we'd do but bottom line is that's much different when you're in the moment with all the emotions and human feelings attached.

I personally think Mouthwashing tackles the themes of rape culture, enabling, toxic masculinity, types of abuse and patriarchy in ways that are meant to deconstruct the typical straightforward views we mostly have of these concepts and how little subtilities of them are just as, if not more, detrimental than the overt/obvious parts. The game deals with the idea of little details and bigger picture in a way to show that sometimes the bigger picture is not the issue but the little details that make it up. It's why I have a personal dislike of depictions of Jimmy as the typical horrible person who would of course do something like this because the game is about noticing the little warning signs, the foreshadowing and foresight.

It's why I dislike the typical discussion of "bro code" and "boys will be boys" for the game because the game makes a point to avoid the standard depictions of such. It is about the type of men who still enable despite not condoning, agreeing or even perpetuating harmful beliefs because they can't see the little details or the ways it seeps into their everyday. The severity is not obvious to them as it was not obvious to Curly, Swansea or even Daisuke the way it was to a woman like Anya. There are little details about Jimmy that should ring alarms but if you are too naive like Daisuke, too distant like Swansea or too conditioned like Curly, they are just off markers.

There is 100% more constructive/concise ways to say "Curly was a victim of Jimmy's abuse on an emotional and mental aspect that clouded his judgements and perceptions in the scenario" while also critiquing on the side of "Curly still had a responsibility to protect Anya as a crew mate and Captain that he failed to do due to biases and stigma's he failed to surpass" without the weird condemnation people give him about should've knowing better than to let himself be manipulated by a person he considered a close, if not family/best-friend and had his own reasons to trust initially. Also stop being weird about victims of abuse in general with this fandom, like sorry not everyone has a like social epiphany the moment someone's nasty to them. People are treating it like you immediately know when you are in a toxic relationship immediately or comprehend when a person is actively dangerous and either it's your fault for not knowing how to leave/cut them off or you deserve it. Like the hypocrisy of people believing how certain fans treat the story reflect their irl views but not their own is crazy.

End statement is: I honestly don't even know man, I've been writing this too long and just like no man on that ship was perfect or really helped Anya when it mattered and I feel like pitting them against each other in discussion on who did the least or most or how it was justified sucks cause in the end Anya always did the most and best thing for herself.

#i also think it is because mouthwashing is first and foremost a game about rape culture and the patriarchy especially in work spaces #regarding women and centering conversation around Curly a man rubs people wrong because it does overshadow that commentary #but it still mixes other topics into its initial theming and message on how abuse conditions you to accept certain things that are harmful #and how getting used to a culture/enviornment does not mean you are happy healthy or most importantly safe in it. I personally like to #explore those aspects where it mixes all the themes so we can discuss the ways you have to watch out for things because there is a differen #in the idea Curly enabled Jimmy just because they were bros and because he was an example of another man afraid to step out from what #is a still oppressive system that does try to punish those who act against it even if they fall in the category of those who would benefit #from it as Jimmy and PE 100% represent that sort of misogynistic system where men that would be “good” are altered until they follow line #in a way both on the personal and professional level as PE is the corporate lock out and Jimmy represents the social and its just the issue #that the discussion of it sounds like “in defense of men” when I am more so trying to discuss how it is much deeper than men being scared t #upset other men but complacency is rewarded by not becoming another person subjugated hence as all the moments Curly does try to do #something we can tie it back to how Jimmy reacts and a possible penality from PE where we now need to address the ways to combat those #two concepts so we dont get cases like Curly or Daisuke or Swansea where male avoidance of the issue is considered neutral or even good.#i think most of this boils down the perfect victim mentality to where if someone who underwent or is being abused is not a perfect example #or accpetible type than their abuse can not be considered a valid or substantial reason for effects on their behavior compounded with the #fact that Anya's abuse at the hands of Jimmy is a systematic issue that Curly is a part of even if unwillingly and was more physically #violating and topical cause sometimes i have to remind myself that all media is still critiqued through the lens of the culture it came out #in cause i do think about what if this game came out inlike 2014 like the conversations would be sooooooo different could you imagine it?#but back the before statement Curly isn't perfect but I feel like boiling it down if hes a good person or man is not the point of the game #but more so good people can still be part of the problem and the idea of condemning a person for one act creates a false sense of #rightouesness and justice that does not aid the victim and in fact aids the abusers in escaping blame for their mulitple behaviors as we se #how the men on the ship tend to blame Jimmy for just one act against them including himself while there is a plethora of things Anya is #concerned about with Jimmy #and its not that Curly just made one mistake with Jimmy but more so we consider his actions more damning because he didn't stop Jimmy #instead of focusing on the fact Jimmy did what he did regardless of Curly and the consequence because we already know he's bad n maladjuste #which is problem in the conversation where the individuals are blamed but the system and perputrator are overlooked in a sense of acceptiab #complacency as we know how they are and the lack of tangibility to personally affect them on a larger scale like I should just make a post #on like cutting out the face when it comes it confronting systems of oppression rather than tag talking but just ask me to clarify if #you want that like im jus trying to say we avoid talking about Jimmy and PE so much cause it is obvious what they do wrong that we make #the initial and inherent problem out to be one aspect someone in this case Curly does and the the constraints they use to force actions

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tatsumi-rin · 1 month ago

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Anyone else thought about this?

With the popularity of Mouthwashing as a game, I've seen people who talk about it talk about the mouthwash itself as a metaphor for Jimmy (and they're definitely correct in their read imo), but dear god NO ONE is talking about it as a potential metaphor for Pony Express itself as a company.

This is an item considered to be an essential. It is a dental hygiene product dentists would generally recommend you have. 99.9% of bacteria gone - but this one is loaded with sugar. Using this is going to be detrimental to its own cause and probably worse than using no mouthwash at all.

Pony Express? No matter your start, it seems like a good, stable job and a promising future. People will always need goods transported to other planets. It even has a cute mascot representing pride in their work that they sell toys of to kids!

Butttttt, the caveats. Oh boy, the caveats. All of those cute images are done to soften the blow of little red pieces of text about how doing things to the point of basically existing means your credits are going to get docked - something that's just as much Aperture Science-esque dark humor as horrible foreshadowing. Late delivery? Docked. Resting in any manner for more than five hours? Docked. Using medical support in any manner? Docked. REPORTING ISSUES TO HR??? MOTHER. FUCKING. DOCKED.

And trying to avoid any of those dockings; those detriments? Pretty much impossible, and that would spell doom for anyone: including members of a certain ship. With every one of those rules, if they survived that payout would be hilariously low. The usual rules; made by out of touch people in fancy suits.

The members of the Tulpar all (mostly) had reasons to be there, even at radically different life stages. Reasons why they needed the work, and reasons why it should fulfill those reasons and enrich their lives.

It was meant to be Jimmy's ticket away from struggling on earth. It was meant to be Daisuke gaining direction in life. It was meant to be Anya finally getting into medical school. It was meant to be Swansea gaining a stable and fulfilling life as he made it into sobriety, and it was meant to be Curly making it further up into his career path with glowing words of praise.

As per capitalism's usual spiel that we were even shown in the game itself via public domain cartoon, taking this job was meant to be joyous opportunity and innovation for their lives; but with so many flaws in the system around them around them - including the words on those posters - just trying to find benefit in the system they needed in order to survive was nothing more than fatal poison. The dead pixel, the sugar, and the 0.1% all working together.

#husbandothings #basically one clear major read of this game is corpos are just...not fun and a lot of bad things can happen in them #i feel like most people only look at the character angle of things and uh...no meta reference intended but not the bigger picture #it's about human failings and cruelty in a system intended as impossibly robotic by people we dont see we CANNOT have one without the other #jimmy mouthwashing #both together are what make this story really cool imo.#swansea mouthwashing #daisuke mouthwashing #curly mouthwashing #mouthwashing #mouthwashing game #anya mouthwashing #mouthwashing analysis

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gghostiis-shenanigans · 6 months ago

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trying to do some thing. wrangling i s difficult i get why this stuff take sforever on ao3 /silly

anyways yeah this is my attempt at mapping the joel polycule, feel free to send me ideas but i am trying to keep this at least a little canon. so unless its something super obvious that i missed i would like some proof of interaction

edit: its finished

#im scared im gonna feel insane by the time this is done #anywho tag time #gghost posts #joel smallishbeans #lizzie ldshadowlady #ethoslab #bdoubleo100 #jimmy solidarity #iskall85 #mythicalsausage #shoutout to Sg0rby's esmp2 chart. inam not recreating it. no sausage offshoots theyre all covered by that chart. lmao #i dont expect this to get very far so hopefully its not too bad #i think ive covered most of it already anyways lmao

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krembearry · 2 months ago

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on the topic of in mouthwashing, how much people are blaming curly... what would YOU have done? genuinely. how would you have handled it? what could you have done differently in the two days before jimmy acted out and crashed the ship?

my understanding of the relationship between those two is that they were friends. curly didn't know about what jimmy did. and then he finds out, and what do you do? you are the captain and you are in the most control that there can be about the situation. loyalty to your friend says cover for him, but he did something really terrible. loyalty to your crew says detain him, but how? what are you supposed to do with him? worst case scenario, do you kill him as soon as you find out? it was only two days before the crash. how fast could you process all of that information and act on it?

i get its a game, but i think its supposed to be this big thinkpiece on this scenario. i don't think the point is to shift the blame from jimmy to curly. i don't care that curly didn't do every single thing he possibly could've done in two days. i know i couldn't have. i would have felt trapped, and stuck, and overwhelmed. i would've had dinner that night with the crew and just been unable to wrap my head around the fact something terrible happened and i didn't know before this. i would've wanted to message my superiors for some sort of protocol, but the company is being dissolved. you are the final authority over four other living beings. genuinely, what the fuck do you even do?

the whole point is it's jimmy's fault. jimmy did it. jimmy is the one who should take some fucking responsibility. maybe curly didn't do the right things, but jimmy sure as FUCK did not.

#mouthwashing #hey g its me #im just really in my thoughts rn. im gonna look through the game again and take notes bc ive been feeling crazy #needs to do media analysis #the takes and hoops ive seen people going through to make curly just as bad as jimmy have been bizarre #i'm wondering if my first view was bad or not? so i'm going to look through it again #i need to make notes or smth #also haha. scuse me. i know i dont post a lot of opinions on stuff but ive been. really fuckin. Thinkin about this.

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horrorknife · 13 days ago

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it’s so funny that anya and daisuke are always drawn together n ppl act like they’re close cuz thru the course of the game almost every time there’s any Group Discourse jimmy is the one who sides with anya against swansea and daisuke. anya and daisuke’s relationship is mostly nonexistent but we do see her and jimmy being mostly very cordial with each other. idk. i’ve been thinking abt it a lot cuz i’ve just been replaying and rewatching and trying to pin things down for myself. it’s a little disheartening tbh that all of these characters are constantly mischaracterized by the loudest people in the fandom cuz it’s creating this whole society of people who played a different mouthwashing than the one i did. and whats REALLY so fuckin funny abt all this is that more ppl are shipping jimcurly and apparently THAT’S where all of the “media literacy” problems are coming from. like, no, i understood all the beats of the game just fine and i love all of it. i just also wanna see two guys who suck for each other fuck about it

#mouthwashing #like no i dont have a media literacy issue. you however might bc you missed that everyone on the tulpar is a victim #the game reaffirms time and time again that CAPITALISM is thr big bad and not jimmy. jimmy is a victim as much as he’s an awful person #shipping has. so little to do with understanding thr themes and symbolism and motifs in the game LOLLLLL #this game is NOT just about jimmy being a rapist and anya being his victim #jimmys misogyny is also extremely overblown by the fandom #his thoughts abt anya are wholly misinterpreted as Simple Hate rather than the complicated bundle of shit it is #anya is also more than a rape victim and boiling her down to her assault is fucking insane #but yeah man. the people minding their own business shipping xyz are wrong #and you with your fandom addled brain are completely correct actually. youre better than me (Sarcasm.)#like guys. curly used the same manipulation tactic on jimmy that was used on him to get him onboard #these characters r so much more than a rape drama soap opera n its so fucked that its been boiled down ot that #YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO FEEL HUMAN PATHOS FOR JIMMY.#jonah.txt

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plastic-teflon · 2 months ago

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Mouthwashing ruined me

#anya mouthwashing #jimmy mouthwashing #dont even wanna say his name #im gonna murder him #daisuke mouthwashing #curly mouthwashing #i feel so bad for everyone involved geez #i remember hearing about how intense anya gets over SOME game i just forgot what game it was #alternate universe where anya beats the everloving SHIT out of jimmy and everyone cheers and holds a party #i have so much to say about the game.... maybe when I post a few more drawings #somebody KILL JIMY (brutally))

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ianthesmells · 1 month ago

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the fandomization of mouthwashing really watering it down tbh LOL seeing a game that focuses on like, rape culture and how women are dismissed, and then seeing people drawing chibi jimmy, anya/curly uwu fluff, or like random crossovers with characters in the mouthwashing scenario just to put a guy in bandages and forget that the story is about a rape… and then the added psychic damage of the constant rape discussions because of the US election being followed by Hot Anime Boy Curly on my feed… its rough out here yall

#i dont even think this game was THAT good #but bc its popular rn i keep seeing stuff of it that irritates me LOL #can not stand curly/anya as a ship like #yall want a ship from this game SO bad #and they dont even make it like. problematic or anything #its just like curly comforting anya as if he helped her at all the whole game #as if it wasnt a major theme that he did Nothing #i understand drawing shitposts for serious medas cause i do it but like #something about it with mouthwashing feels particularly shallow and . ironically . dismissive #i dont like to participate in discoursw rly or publicly post abt fandom things #cause i like to let people enjoy stuff even if i think its stupid…#HOWEVER. its my blog n if i wanna complain then i will <3 #mouthwashing #number 1 curly hater #mostly bc people universally think jimmy is the bad guy #but many overlook curly’s part in this story and are just like #yaaaay hot blonde man (:#sheesh!

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residencyisstrange · 2 months ago

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mouthwashing is one of those important pieces of media to me because it opens my eyes to different topics and perspectives

#this is me saying this opened my eyes to how abusers think and that seeing it laod out so clearly helps me understand how to spot it in #people in my life (such as my dad) and how to avoid falling into situations like that if its possible #idk if that makes sense #but its so importatn to me when we see this representation in media esp when its popularized and younger people see it and can grasp the #concepts early on and understand abuse and how its not always something obvious and can easily be misunderstood as something hidden #< and i mean that in rhe sense of like many didnt know jimmy was a monster til nearing the end of the game and thought he was just trying to #do his best uo until its physically harmful. which is really common with abuse actually and many dont notice it both on an outsider and #victim level. you often dont realize youre being hurt or abused emotionally or mentally until its physical #and by that point you can often feel helpless and like you cant do much for yourself or who to talk to about it. even trying to convince #yourself its not that bad and turning down help because you dont know what to do without that abuse in ur life #maybe im just projecting though idk just something to chew on #mouthwashing #this was honestly going to be about how this game helped me realize jimmy and my dad have the exact same mindset and personality but this is #probably better than a vent post like that lol

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blushingdread · 23 days ago

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Hey, boss.

It's me.

Or what should I call you? Old man?

Seems a little above your pay grade.

Given all of this.

"... Pony Express is dead.

And so are you."

I know what you think of this predicament of yours.

Poor you.

Caged and misunderstood.

[Polle says: "Sorry!"]

"Shut up.

Curly tried his best. I did too, but he's the better man.

I see that now. We can both still make it.

I'll take care of him. I'm taking responsibility.

Curly...

Captain.

I'm so sorry."

You really mean that, huh?

"Yes.

Yes, yes, yes. I do.

I fucked up.

But I can still make this right.

Our worst moments don't make us—"

Wait a minute!

Hold on!

If all this is true...

Why are you still so concerned with him?

#this is my favorite molment. jimmy genuinely apologies...to the wrong person using anyas words to talk his way out of being a monster #polle not only calls out jims victim complex but also calls him out for only caring about Curly. when he hurt eveyone but esp Anya #Anya is ALWAYS absent from Jim's guilt nighmare sequences. her id even being covered. except here. where the only part of this he genuinely #feels bad about. the consequence of hurting anya calls him out in her blue text for how much he dismisses her #not many media really commits to how abusers will apologize. just not for that. or they apologize and dont mean it but mouthwashing does #bc its based #obviously #mouthwashing #mouthwashing jimmy #mouthwashing polle #mouthwashing anya #mw jimmy #mw polle #mw anya

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euclydya · 1 month ago

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#WORST ROSTER YET AND UET.#what if we (oh stan doesn't like what i wanted to say here).#EMBARRASSING!!!!!!!!!! EMBARRASSING #like what every other fictive of ours is allowed a happy ending in a new life except US? what the fuck???#I feel bad for existing now thanks. but when DON'T i specifically #and now 🩹's in on it with me too ha HA 'what if those anons were right what if we should shut the fuck up Forever'#we are feedback looping off each other REALLY bad right now.#idk I just. fuck #on one hand we did not miss the themes of the Story. etc etc etc. on the other IT'S NOT OUR FAULT WE EXIST RIGHT?#WE DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE HERE!!!#we didn't CHOOSE TO LIVE HAPPIER LIVES HERE #we didn't. choose this!#and. fuck. I don't know. maybe we should pull the plug early. fuck. maybe we're existing wrong #give all the fronting rights back to the gf group. i dont know. I DONT KNOW #... cloudy just called me an idiot. okay #pk;m jimmy🐑

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tubbytarchia · 3 days ago

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So I think my perception of Grian's reasoning for enabling the horrible Jimmy ecosystem and also my perception of his character as a whole has been turned on its head completely and I feel really bad for him after watching Kingdom of Valor and it's like bad roleplay but it's. it's done things to me and I've never ever felt this much for Grian not even in my sadboy Grian Desert Duo phase. I don't know what to do about this

SA word under cut

Episodes 6 and 10 (like the entirety of it) for context. :( . :(. But like major warning if you watch those episodes, especially 10, because um they didn't use any disclaimers

#what the fuckkkkkkkkkk man what the fuckkkk hello #dont talk to me #Grian will never be the same to me again. Like everything makes too much sense now esp with Jimmy but at what cost #dont want Grian to kill himself anymore but at what cost...#like obviously its a completely seperate and abandoned thing but it makes so much fucking sense #from the perspective that Grian prioritizing his wellbeing over anyone else's is why he enforces the ecosystem #just so no one else including potentially him can take his place. Not so much putting Jimmy down as it is him protecting himself #he is still very awful but. I feel bad for him he might be a little bit of a son now I fear #Grian repeatedly saying he'd kill himself and shit. what the fuck #cw sa #cw suicide #tw suicide #tw sa mention #tw rape mention #and they made the conscious decision to put a new skin on him of him being bloodied and his clothes ripped and in um specific ways #and I could so easily see Jimmy in that same situation like that is just alternate universe Jimmy right there #and the two guys with him. his FRIENDS. who he cares about. are just joking about it nonstop and hitting him. help him. Help him #and they have this whole diary about a previous victim who's named Jimmi like hello. what a wild fucking coincidence #most unintentional abhorrent foreshadowing ever just to torture me specifically even though I've seen kingdom of valor only now #kingdom of valor #ok bye dont talk to me #tubby art

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dykedvonte · 1 month ago

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One of my mutuals opinions is the "bro code" thing, that Curly is one of those guys who wouldn't care about the victim because the perpetrator is his friend and I'm really banging my head on the wall like that other anon. I've only played through the game once but Curly's behaviour/reactions etc read completely different from the "bro code" thing and I have to wonder if my mutual and I even played the same game.. like the constant digs at him from Jimmy, his body language in his face reveal and so on like you mentioned in your post. While this game is a little different obviously, it kind of reminded of a point in Alice Madness Returns that makes it very clear that Alice's pain blinded her to the abuse of the other children and her failure to act earlier because of it. Curly is guilty of a similar inaction but it doesn't change the fact he was a victim of Jimmy too. I don't think I can look at it any other way because both of these games have really stuck with me.

I genuinely think it really is the idea that people want a simple easy to blame problem and the idea that the only relatable victims of abuse are those that "surpass" it or do a lot to help others. When it comes to victims, especially those that don't fit the typical demographics, who either accidently perpetuate it, enable it or aren't ideal in some way shape or form, people jump to ignore what they went through as it's easier than dealing with those conflicting sentiments.

The bro-code conversation in Mouthwashing stems from a concept I generally dislike that there had to be something about Curly that made him meet or keep being friends with someone like Jimmy. I think people genuinely underestimate how many like decent and good people just know an asshole or are friends with someone who is really bad outside of their view/established dynamics. The game makes it clear none of the inaction against Jimmy is because of a lack of care, it is a lack of understanding from the privaleged postions they have as men to not have to worry about what Anya does/went through and the type of extremes men like Jimmy will go through to cover it up. They are all too preoccupied in their own strifes.

Another thing I see being oversaturated the idea that you have to be a freak, misanthrope or have a disorder to do the thing Jimmy does. The game is an escalation, it's a spiral that I don't see people comment on that Jimmy was not likely having the mood swings and episodes of rage/frustration we were seeing in the game. This is after they all start experiencing the worst moments in their lives that he got THAT openly bad. Of course, this is just my interpretation but much like in real life, people that go to extremes like that usually live mundane lives. It's a pressure cooker affect to where the stress made them pop. It's self inflicted but still the case.

I really think people need to be more willing to acknowledge that not everything needs to be an extreme or in black and white or easy to understand. It doesn't need to be happy or have an answer or solution, especially in the cases where the abused sadly helps perpetuate what they experience. It's not he should've known better from experience or shouldn't he have known what could've happened because victims tend to not like to think in matters of the worst. Not to mention, especially in cases of abuse where it feels so personally directed that you don't expect to happen to someone else.

#i also hear the bro code thing in tandem with his comments on saying he knows Jimmy but that is also in a much different context than #if he said it when Anya was actively telling him about the dead pixel or the pregnancy or even when she told jimmy that was about himself #and getting between Anya and Jimmy as in he knows Jimmy and knows he wont try anything when hes around not that he doesnt think hes #doing anything or doesn't believe Anya and Im a bit annoyed people shorthand or try to recontextualize the statements he makes about it #cause even the let me talk to him line is more in concern of what Jimmy could be doing and less wanting to make sure hes okay and #being more worried about his friend than Anya in that moment like removing the context makes the sentiments sound more uncaring #and typically but the context is how they are deconstructed to give the story and themes a deeper nuance because Anya is happy that Curly #says that becuase he leads it under the idea of protecting her as he knows and she has likely seen/experienced it enough that Jimmy #back down/off around Curly typically as we see he does relatively subdue Jimmy's attitude before the eval and it only gets bad once the #scene at the birthday party happens when Jimmy is likely in a mode where hes not going to listen to Curly about anything after cause he fee #personally betrayed in a selfish egotistical way like the game is a deconstruction nothing is supposed to a typical one to one on the #concepts it handles. this also ties to me like getting more and more annoyed everytime is see a post making Curly the most milktoast #no opinions ever sort of guy when he does have a personality outside of enabling Jimmy and has opinions on things like the QnA's #talking about him being snow Tony Hawk flesh him out more realistically than think pieces saying he has no opinions on anything #and would never take stances like this is a immediate dire circumstance with multiple facets I dont think hed hesitate to help if he active #saw like someone getting attacked on the street or that hes a centrist that doesnt care about womans issues like this is the equivalent #of when a character gets dumbed down to their like favorite food and one defining aspect of themselves and even then I feel like everyone #else but the mouthwashing fandom has a better grasp of that aspect before they make it unrecognizable.#mouthwashing #mouthwashing game #curly mouthwashing #captain curly #ask #anon

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