#jimmy's perspective is one of an abuser

[thinkingofausername]

honestly the whole debate on who should've helped anya (saved the damsel in distress) is pmo. the only au i'd accept is the one where she shoots jimmy in the head. arguing over which of the three men (curly, daisuke, swansea) would've or should've helped the woman is dancing on the line of misogyny and plays into jimmy's depiction of anya as a miserable, helpless, weak, useless problem of a person. and if it's not jimmy's perspective but in fact she really couldn't have done anything for herself except kill herself... well... that's another thing

[poobit]

i have many thoughts on how Mouthwashing handles the themes of abuse and the symbolism around it especially as a survivor ... im not gnna hold back so -

first of all i think since its clear the point Jimmy is dismissive of Anya´s personhood and his perception is warped towards what he does as a Captain rather than what he does as a man, it makes sense she doesnt get her own labyrinth or such , i cant argue around that because its realistic he´s so male focused he cant even bother to truly think about what he did to her, i would love it if Wrong Organ decides to do a side story vignette of her own perspective and view in the future if the game proves its successful enough for side content like that.

Assault is something usually not handled with subtlety in games, i think what struck me the most was how real the dialogue of her coping and suicidal ideations and how Curly responded to it felt , the dancing around the subject, the deflection, the "whats next" of the ever impending consequence of pregnancy, how Anya pleads for help from the person she trusts but nonetheless a man unequipped and too emotionally attached to the abuser to be able to confront him, its so real, Curly´s lack of initiative is something Jimmy fully takes advantage of the moment things dont go his way, he turns everyone against him even as a helpless body on a bed because he needed to be in control of the situation, thats what abusers do.

A more sensationalistic game would have easily played Anya´s helplessness and assault for shock for sure, because it would be easy, she is the archetypical victim trope, shes modeled in Wendy Torrance likeness from The Shining, shes meek and unsure of herself and Jimmy shoots her down from the very beginning to make her feel unqualified and cornered, but the furthest the games goes is making Jimmy terror towards the pregnancy and the baby as a boogeyman that crawls and tramples over him. No sights of bleeding legs or her crying or screaming and much less present objectification of her body (which is something that i always think the horror genre has such a struggle not grabbing onto, sexuality is mostly always played up in assault stories especially if the victim is an adult woman), she remains a fully clothed figure and maintains the agency to her own demise, away from Jimmy and beside Curly, which is tragic and obviously still a symptom of horror´s proclivity to back female characters into corners of self inflicted punishment, but the alternative would have been that sooner or later, Jimmy would have killed her.

Its clear to me that the game used Curly´s state as a way to put a barrier between Jimmy and Anya, we dont objectify Anya, but we objectify Curly, Anya doesnt just feel pained and unable to handle Curly´s medication because shes in a sensitive state, her comments about his noises and such draws a line between her trauma and her perception of things as Her fault, she cant handle hearing his struggles and cries trying to swallow a pill because it reminds her of her own helplessness, so she leaves the task to Jimmy, someone who has no qualms in forcing someone down, the emphasis of every treatment as a repetitive process and the sound design is all very poignant and for me, a great way to handle assault as a metaphor, Curly did not consent to being in this position, it is very much still Jimmy´s fault and the fact that Jimmy is basically keeping him alive against his will even to the last moment of the game says everything, Jimmy doesnt love Curly the same way he doesnt love Anya.

The horses are not lost on me, i think horses as animals are often seen as "viril" symbols, strong and often volatile, they can be often hard to mount but when one does the rider and animal are seen as this one all powerful entity, like centaurs, which also carry symbolism of assaulters mind you, so while maybe not intentional on the dev´s part i think it still points to the Horse as a symbol still important in the game, the only spoken audio lines of dialog come from the Pony Express mascot Polle itself, and they are the first to actually confront Jimmy´s self centered line of thought and over-focusing on Curly, if the Tulpar is akin to a beast of a burden then Jimmy beat the dead horse way long ago.

All in this to say that Mouthwashing was a really good experience and i really hope the dev team is interested on expanding a bit more on it because i trust their vision.

[canine-economy]

Daisuke’s Death and the Invisible Abuse of “Privileged” Children

tw: extensive discussions of child emotional abuse

Another mouthwashing text analysis before I post any polished art? Shocker. But I really really appreciate the reception on my Swansea post, especially as a new account! This Daisuke-centric analysis is gonna be a quick one (< this was a lie. long read ahead!) but he is a character who resonates deeply personally with me as a victim of childhood abuse that resembled some of his experiences. I do plan on doing a larger analysis of his character, but the abridged version necessary for this piece goes as follows:

Daisuke’s treatment in the narrative—both his implied home life and Jimmy’s taking advantage of him to go into the vent—is another one of this game’s excellent portrayals of normalized (and thus invisibilized) abuse. Children are often cited as one of the most vulnerable classes of people, if not the most vulnerable (I acknowledge that Daisuke is not a child, but Mouthwashing implies that this narrative of his inadequacy has persisted throughout his upbringing and, to this day, he is dictated tasks and lacks independence, treated like a dependent. His youth is also an undisputed feature of his character and, most importantly, the cast treats him like a kid). Children’s dependency on adults and our willingness as a society to accept that the adults in their lives provide the most objective perspective on these young people renders them particularly prone to abuse easily swept under the rug or “justified” by wardens who possess the power to dictate the narrative. Jimmy’s engagement with Daisuke is an extension of the latter’s vulnerability. The co-pilot’s assertion that “he’ll be fine (…) mommy and daddy have him covered” at the birthday party represents a deference to Daisuke’s parents as adequate caretakers who will ensure his longevity and comfort on the basis of their wealth. And we know that Daisuke’s parents think the same—the Q&As reveal that they believe they are doing the best to secure their son a good future. However, the same Q&As indicate that they don’t actually engage with or understand Daisuke’s interests and that their approach to parenting him is entirely understood through their personal beliefs, not those of their son. And Daisuke clearly carries that quite close to his heart. He seems to struggle with identity and acceptance, seeking validation in the form of praise. Daisuke is defined through what he can do for others and not what he independently brings to the table, because that has never mattered where he grew up. The consequences of his parents’ failure to meet his emotional needs ultimately conditioned Daisuke to be perfectly available to be taken advantage of in a corporate setting defined by capitalist attitudes and hierarchies.

While it’s not concrete to say that Daisuke grew up in an emotionally abusive household, it is most important that we cannot dismiss the possibility and that his behavior as the outcome of some obvious degree of neglect is well-aligned with this theory. Moreover, the young man who comes out of that household is easily targeted by Jimmy’s abusive tendencies as a direct result of what he internalizes growing up. Daisuke is apparently financially well-off (contextually we can’t be sure if Daisuke’s family is upper class, middle class, or somewhere in between), and with that comes privilege. Even the way he packs—multiple personalized outfits, entertainment devices, etc—reveal that he’s used to certain comforts and hasn’t yet acclimated to the harsh expectations of companies like the Pony Express. But, especially where young people are concerned, it is all too easy to allow this privilege to act as a curtain between abuse and the outside world. We can acknowledge the privilege that he undoubtedly enjoys and also recognize that it benefits his parents much more than it benefits him as a young person.

Emotional abuse is complex and extremely damaging and Daisuke *does* show symptoms of at least being constantly verbally accosted and emotionally neglected by his parents to the point of permanently warping his sense of self. It also generated his overreliance on authority figures to tell him how to keep himself safe in their world. His mother apparently insulted him to his face (“such a slacker, she said”, and being reprimanded for being too talkative [from the Daisuke teaser]), and a lot of his negative self talk (“total screw-up”, “fuck up”, etc) is reminiscent of how people define themselves by parroting what they are called after internalizing consistent externally-imposed definitions of their identity. While these are not surefire indicators of abuse and I am not willing to diagnose a situation as abusive purely predicated on these factors, the behaviors Daisuke exhibits as a result share many commonalities with those of victims of childhood abuse. In fact, just about every time Daisuke speaks about himself in Mouthwashing, he mentions his failures and his work. It’s not lost on me that the teaser for the whole character is him pondering his mother and how she might not recognize him if he isn’t noisy and obnoxious. He personally puts a lot of stock in their assessment of him as lazy and annoying, but nevertheless tries to accomplish learning through the internship. Furthermore, Daisuke takes on a lot of his mother’s pain, hoping she doesn’t blame herself for the negative things that happen to him (even though in the same scene he reveals that she’s the reason he’s on the stranded Tulpar at all), indicating that he has taken responsibility for the feelings of people in his life even when those people are not his to care for and even bear responsibility for his pain.

Now in young adulthood, Daisuke rarely seems to have any sense of self beyond his parents and his work aside from one-off quips about baseball and babes. It suggests that he has always had to prioritize his parents’ desires growing up to avoid being treated unfairly and even cruelly, stunting his self-discovery. In abusive situations, your understanding of safety and your pursuit thereof are radically impacted and we see this manifest in Daisuke’s continuing willingness to accept those in command as the pinnacle of safety over what one might consider logical, personal acts of self-preservation. He equates safety with obedience, and I contend that that equivalence suggests a lot about how his parents reprimanded deviance from their plans. And not to be that guy, but it is kind of outright cruel to dump your utterly inexperienced teenager-to-early-20-something on a 1 year, no contact, unsafe space voyage in a failing industry knowing that he doesn’t have the necessary skillset yet. That’s what his parents do when they aren’t satisfied with his progress, and it’s intense and disproportionate and alarming! Especially for the dependent! They toss him into the deep end of the corporate machine and insist he learns to swim in such an oppressive, stifling atmosphere. It’s no surprise that he drowns, especially when he himself can’t recognize this as an unrealistic expectation and tackles it with everything he’s got because his parents are theoretically always right about what he needs. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that normalized emotional abuse from the home and how it maps onto a victim’s adult life is a topic Mouthwashing would endeavor to touch on, because visibilizing invisible abuses of power in heteropatriarchal capitalist schemes is arguably the central undertaking of the game.

I don’t think Daisuke has evil parents or anything, rather that what we accept as “good parenting” and “good mentorship” is often negligent with regard to emotional needs and can easily become a source of heavy trauma for the children and mentees if that emotional aspect is stretched too thin in the pursuit of success. Not all abuse is intentional, and the dev Q&As imply that Daisuke’s parents thought they were sincerely investing in his future. They cared, just not in the best way for his wellbeing. Because capitalism emphasizes the individualistic pursuit of success above all else, it’s no wonder that a parent would think that the best thing they can give their kid is an avenue to prosper financially. But in doing so, Daisuke’s parents deny him the opportunity to define himself, to experience agency, and to build up confidence. Effectively, they create a young man so vulnerable to abuse by higher-ups (a manifestation of abuse that is often intentional at the systemic level) that he decides to climb into that vent at Jimmy’s discretion under the pretense that he will make somebody proud. Because that’s how Daisuke has been raised to understand himself and his place—the presumed screw-up boy as a default, making you proud by doing the right thing, who has learned to pursue that achievement to avoid the condescension and disproportionate backlash (e.g. the internship itself) that comes with failure. Everything circles back to his parents’ expectations that he makes for a good worker. When the cocktail knocks Swansea out, Daisuke makes an offhand comment about getting a bad reference—even in the most dire of circumstances, he can’t stop thinking about their capitalistic expectations for his “good” future.

I find that Daisuke really is such a good subtle portrayal of how parents with resources can get away with emotionally stunting their children because we perceive their ability to put a roof over their heads, food on their plate, etc as adequate parenting and even a privilege for the child when it should be the bare minimum. Jimmy certainly buys into it, and even some of the fandom parrots that, really and truly believing Daisuke is some good-for-nothing kid who doesn’t try hard when all we see is him working, including climbing into the vents to try and help despite not being assigned the work (foam scene, not his death). I find this reception shows how inclined we are to accept those narratives of the privileged child’s inadequacy before we address the parent for not fulfilling a child’s emotional needs, which are just as important if not more than the material.

To wrap this up with a quick discussion of the symbolism of his death in the context of the emotional abuse of children (which is the reason I made this whole post but I can’t talk about this guy without going off): Daisuke getting so badly injured trying to do what’s right is a very physical manifestation of the suffering he was already going through. It is the pain of constantly people-pleasing and of holding it all in when he’s lashed out at. He gets injured at all in the pursuit of appeasing Jimmy and (theoretically) Swansea, both of whom he blindly trusts despite how they treat him because he has always been expected to just adhere to the adults with authority in his life. Being talked down to by them is not new and has never been a reason to question their judgement. Daisuke sees this as a product of his own inadequacy as implied by other people, and not of external cruelty. He was raised not to question the system for fear of repercussions.

Jimmy is perfectly situated to coerce him into a dangerous situation because Daisuke has never been taught to say no. The safest option for a scared child is to trust their mentors, and an adult Daisuke does just that. Even Swansea’s teachings of safety are dismantled by Jimmy’s tactical use of captainhood to break the camel’s back. Authority. Daisuke must always listen to authority. Jimmy knows the vent isn’t safe. Swansea tells him directly and he observes the foam incident (if from a distance). For as much as he acts like he cares about taking responsibility for Daisuke’s safety, his individualistic pursuit of “fixing” things manifests in Jimmy again taking advantage of a vulnerable person on the ship. Jimmy doesn’t reconcile Daisuke’s eagerness to help with lessons on safety like Swansea does, but rather uses it only when it benefits him. Daisuke is taught by his upbringing to accept this kind of treatment—for safety, defer to the leader in the room even if it hurts and you don’t want to do it (just like he didn’t want to be on the Tulpar in the first place).

Then, once the intern is out of the vent and mortally wounded, Jimmy applies the mouthwash (a product to be sold, hauled in the interest of the corporation) to “help” sanitize the wounds. But the sugar content negates medical utility and only worsens the pain. We can interpret this as the application of material privilege, “sweetness”, that wasn’t actually any help at all to solve the deep wounds left by emotional pains. Mouthwash rids you of the bad taste but doesn’t kill all the underlying germs. One could argue further that in this scene, the mouthwash is specifically representative of the Pony Express internship: a rare stepping stone in the corporate hustle gained through privilege and presented as a boon. Like the mouthwash, the internship is imposed on Daisuke to try and “help” him succeed and be better, but it only elevates the pain by irritating the wounds and ends in his agonizing demise. However, this fine-tuned comparison isn’t necessary to my point. I find the broad implications of the mouthwash as an antiseptic immensely representative of parents and caretakers who don’t seem abusive to the outside world but who are actually subversively hurting their children and ultimately conditioning them to be victimized by capitalist attitudes. Our deference to material comforts and corporate opportunities as indicators of wellness renders us blind to where caretakers fail to address the emotional needs of young people. At the end of the day, Daisuke is still killed by the values his parents have instilled in him. It’s always the “captain’s” (literal or figurative) orders that seal the deal and cut off any of his autonomous doubt or dictation (for example, his desire to listen to Swansea and not go in the vent). His parents’ symbolic and saccharine gestures mean very little in the scheme of creating a person who can survive the pressures of the “real world” when malicious actors (JIMMY.) and the capitalist enterprise as a whole bear down on the cracks of an emotionally taxing youth.

A/N: Maybe I’m thinking about all of this too hard, but the beauty of Mouthwashing is that I’m never quite sure that’s the case as this game feels so deliberate. Anyway, as somebody who has clinically diagnosed PTSD stemming from childhood, this has always been a really important analysis to posit and I finally found the time to put it into words. I feel like Daisuke as a symbol is often overlooked by the fandom. He’s enjoyed, yes, but not really broken down like the others are. That diminishing of his importance and his feelings about the situation also feels like a symptom of his age. But that’s neither here nor there—like I said, I believe I could do a much more in-depth analysis of Daisuke as a victim of subtle abuse but this will have to do for now. A lot of my major points have been made, anyway! Perhaps video format would be best for something longer-form. 🌺

[transhitman]

Ok I posted about this in anger a while back but I'm gonna say it more intelligently and actually tag it because I think it's something people need to hear. Something that bugs me about how people talk about the morality of the men in this game is that a lot of analysis totally glosses over Anya's motives and what she actually asks of people, and in doing so once again strips her of agency. Like. The reason Curly sucks isn't because he failed to properly punish Jimmy, it's because he ignored Anya in favor of her abuser. He didn't listen to her regarding how to move forward, he didn't give her a way to protect herself. No matter what he would have done to Jimmy, Anya is still traumatized and in danger, and that's the most important point of failure.

I think a lot of people are projecting a revenge fantasy on Anya, and while I'm not gonna argue about the validity of revenge here, for Anya specifically I think that's a major mischaracterization. She's the one who says that our worst moments don't make us monsters. And while yes, this could just be her trying to appease her abusers, she still doesn't strike me as a particularly vindictive person. She's a nurse, symbolically in a role associated with care and healing. Before the crash, she seems like a very soft-spoken and restrained person. Hell, she can't stand giving Curly his meds because she feels so bad for him. There isn't really a point in the game where she calls for violence at all. And even if punishing Jimmy or Curly is morally correct (subjective), saying that it's what anyone Should have done still glosses over Anya's wants and needs. It still centers the abuser, even in vitriol.

It's especially weird to see people judge Swansea on these grounds, because like... We don't know what his dynamic with Anya was like. We don't actually know what she said to him, if she even confided about her pregnancy or the SA at all! I honestly think Swansea's actions give more credence to the idea that Anya herself wanted a peaceful resolution. The whole "Oh, I'm holding it together" thing, him becoming more hostile after speaking with Anya... He waits until Daisuke AND ANYA are dead before trying to kill Jimmy. I think the obvious reading is that he wants Jimmy dead, but Anya asked him not to do anything crazy. Genuinely, I think Anya just wanted to be safe. She wanted out above everything. She didn't want more violence. The only violence she commits is against herself in the end, in order to escape this hell her coworkers made for her.

And like. Swansea is kind of the only one who actually did try to protect Anya in a meaningful way. I won't say that he couldn't have done more for her - all of the men on that ship failed her in some regard - but Swansea intentionally keeps the axe out of Jimmy's hands. He keeps the pod a secret, probably to give to Daisuke, but we can't say anything for sure. I joke that Swansea should have killed Jimmy from the start, but if we're being real that would have been an insane thing to do given what the characters know. But Swansea isn't the point of this post. Like. Idk I just think it's really bizarre that when people discuss Anya's assault, they still do it from the perspective of the men involved. It's weird and I don't like it. Like people have said before me: it's not enough to hate abusers, you have to love victims.

[phemiec]

Mouthwashing meta underneath the cut (tw)

What’s fucked up is that Mouthwashing’s main horror belongs to Anya. Anya is living the Shining and Alien and a thousand of anyone’s worst nightmares, in space, alone, with no one on her side, a ticking timebomb in her own body, and not any of the characters, or the narrative, or even the players, acknowledge that to the extent she deserves. Because she’s a woman she’s just treated differently.

Other people besides me have pointed out, that Anya not only told Curly, who failed her, she also told Swansea, who also failed her, and people like to paint him as better than Curly. They want to see the best in the men around her just like she does, but Swansea ALSO belittles her, calls her a “so-called nurse” and says that “even she can’t ruin [opening the storage unit] with her presence” when jimmy walks in on Anya talking to Swansea in the cockpit she’s crying, and placating and again, reacting in resigned acceptance, which implies that Swanseas response to her was something along the lines of “suck it up”. Swansea didn’t give her the axe, he did nothing to help or protect her, he kept the cryopod for Daisuke, he never considered her.

and it is very, VERY intentional on the part of the writing, that we never get to see Daisuke and Anya really interact. They could have had a friendly companionship, given their shared doodles and his concern on her being locked in the med bay, but we never actually see them talk to each other in any real capacity. and even if she had gone to him for help, there’s very little he could do as the youngest and least senior member of the Tulpar. And besides that, the only time Daisuke mentions women (who aren’t his mom), he’s talking about “hot bikini babes”. I’m not bashing him for that, taken on its own it’d feel like harmless bro low-level misogyny, but it’s part of how the writing is very intentionally alienating Anya constantly in so many little ways.

Anya is the ONLY woman on the ship, and all of the men on the ship either abuse, belittle, degrade, objectify and dismiss, if not her specifically, than at the very least her gender, and by and large we ignore that because Jimmy is so comparatively horrible. But there was no chance for Anya on that ship, she did everything she reasonably could have done, and the reason it’s so hard to conceptualize a believable fix-it for the plot, is that the men around Anya and the system they all exist in, would all have to change on a fundamental level for anything about Anya’s situation to change, and even if the ship didn’t crash, Anya, unlike the rest of the crew, would still be living a horror story.

She is the actual protagonist of the plot, she is the final girl who died first. We are denied her perspective just like she is denied agency, control, respect, etc.

[risetherivermoon]

am i the only one who thinks that Anya wouldn't actually be mad with Curly about what he did. Like I think some part of her deep down is angry about it, that he didn't help her like he said he would, but i also don't think she's actively blaming him for it.

I personally believe Curly was at fault for not taking responsibility and doing something about what Jimmy did to her. But i feel like characterization wise she wouldn't uphold him to such a standard, that she'd lose trust in him to an extent, but not enough that she'd hate him. I don't know if I'm explaining this right,

basically I just always feel strange whenever i see people depicting Anya as being resentful towards Curly after the crash, i believe she holds the blame on Jimmy alone, and once Curly has become bedridden and disabled, she focuses on helping him and doing her job. She and him were close friends, enough that she did trust him with the information that Jimmy assaulted her, she still cares.

something about the line: (which she says specifically about Curly) "I have to believe our worst moments don't make us monsters" flying over peoples heads when it comes to her characterization

i do think it's hard to figure out a way to characterize Anya in a light that is justifying, especially since in canon we aren't exactly given a good perspective on her. Curly is the closest we get to that, but he isn't that reliable of a source either when it comes to her (thats a whole other post tho)

but I don't think she'd be hateful, even to someone who has wronged her. I don't think she's weak or small, don't get me wrong, but with the way we are shown how much empathy she has for Curly (with her being unable to give him meds because it makes her nauseous with how it hurts him, and with the quote about Curly's worst moments)...i just dont see it

i can see the appeal of having victims resent and be able to stand up for themselves when it comes to their abusers (in Jimmy's case) and people who supported them, (as in Curly) but I just personally don't see that with Anya. And just because you aren't angry or outwardly standing up to the abuse you go through, doesn't mean that you are weak.

Anya isn't weak, but she's empathetic and in a situation that could only end badly for her. She's also a kind person, and a nurse. I don't think violence or anger are her go-tos

[cc4librre]

daisuke and anya aren't shown interacting much. I think that's for a reason.

with daisuke being practically the embodiment of hope and innocence and naivety on the ship, it makes sense for anya not to interact with daisuke - or atleast be shown interacting with daisuke, especially from the perspective of jimmy. the one time that i can remember anya speaking of daisuke, is when speaking to curly about daisuke's psych eval and how daisuke says that he's enjoying his time on the ship, with anya then going "should i be worried?". anya, especially after the ship crashes, is always a foot out - always standing on the edge, ready to jump. she keeps the other pain meds in that locker hidden for as long as she can so she can have a way out - a way to control her own fate. she's given up on hoping. at first glance, you may assume the most hopeless character is swansea, with him ending his sobriety and falling back into his addiction, verbally stating that there is no hope for the crew any more - but swansea holds onto daisuke despite it all. he hopes. he dreams. maybe not for himself, but for daisuke and anya. swansea has also been a dreamer, even when he was in the midst of his addiction - he WANTED. but anya is never really hoping. she's just kind of there. and who can blame her? she's stuck in close quarters with her abuser, in a ship that's falling apart, 5 months pregnant with a child she never wanted. who can blame her for not hoping for better. she used to. she did, she had hoped when she went to curly about what jimmy did, but that hope was crushed when curly did nothing. he failed her. so she doesn't hope. she can't stand to - not any more. but for a long time she can't stand to give in either. not until she's pushed into it and locks herself into a room with curly - in the very room curly had dictated as having a lock for 'safety' concerns. and while she does this, daisuke - hope - is trying to get in and help her. banging at the door, desperately trying to get in to anya, but then jimmy takes daisuke away, and hope leaves, and anya kills herself as her hope is gone, once again taken away by jimmy. there's also the fact that daisuke is practically the 'child' of the group. the innocent and naive. and children are commonly seen as the 'hope'. the 'change'. the 'proof of something better to come'. and then you think of anya's pregnancy and how that happened. and how when she looked at daisuke and saw how hopeful and bright and young he was, all she was reminded of was the child inside of her, and then reminded of jimmy. of course she wouldn't wanna be around daisuke as much. it was too close. he was too close.

[ooooo-mcyt]

Another thing is, like. Flower Husbands wasn't "canonically" abusive.

If you want to read into things, who am I to stop you? You're more than welcome to interpret and dramatize and read into whatever you want to make the series more fun for you, that's fine.

But I've seen more than one person genuinely say that in Thirdlife, the relationship between Scott and Jimmy was canonically abusive and that people who don't read them as abusive are in some way choosing to ignore or reinterpret the source material. Which I don't think is accurate.

At the end of the day, the traffic smp isn't heavily roleplay based. They play up drama for fun sometimes, but at the end of the day, most of what happens is just the content creators bantering and playing the game and having fun with it. When Thirdlife was airing, there was, unsurprisingly, no intent from Scott or Jimmy to portray an abusive relationship, and many things people take as proof they were abusive are just them bantering or playing the game.

This doesn't mean you're not allowed to make it more dramatic for your fanon content, of course. But at the end of the day, from a source material perspective, things were never intended to be or framed as being that serious.

People who don't see your interpretation of them being in an abusive relationship- or even people who are outright uncomfortable with that portrayal- aren't "cherrypicking" to ignore "canonical abuse", they're engaging with the source material with a different lens, one that's probably more in line with the intended interpretation, and I don't like the suggestion that people are in some way wrong for not wanting to read abuse from banter in a minecraft letsplay series.

[deadbydad]

Captain Curly (Mouthwashing) - When You Can't Fix Everything and Why He's a Victim of Jimmy

There are many discussions surrounding Captain Curly all around the internet on whether he is a good person or not.

Some say he isn't while some say he is, but the question simply has an easy answer.

Curly is a morally grey character.

Captain Curly, when we first play as him and see through his perspective, we come to learn a lot about him with the short amount of sections where we do play as him.

We know that he is very optimistic, he cares deeply for his crew and always tries to look on the bright side of things. He just wants everything to be fine, and will always try to fix it if it isn't because, well because he's the captain.

But him being so optimistic is what was his downfall, and I think that's what makes him such a well written and realistic, morally grey character.

Curly isn't innocent, but he is a victim of Jimmy just like everyone else on the ship is.

Let me explain.

Curly was the first person Anya told about when Jimmy assaulted her and how she was pregnant, and Curly told her he would talk to Jimmy.

He would fix it.

I hate when people say that he didn't care about Anya or didn't believe her. Curly never said he didn't believe her, and he never said he was defending Jimmy either.

This is one of the examples of his optimistic views doesn't work out for him.

We know that Curly invited Jimmy to work with him in Pony Express and we immediately assume that because they're friends, then Curly is defending Jimmy.

But if you replay and really pay attention to Curly and Jimmy's conversations, you come to realize that Jimmy is borderline controlling and abusive with the way he talks to Curly.

He isn't and doesn't see Curly as a friend, but Curly being too nice and tends to look past that type of stuff, that made it easy for Jimmy to manipulate Curly.

After Anya told him, Curly did talk to Jimmy about it, but he went about it in a calm way. I think what he did is pretty realistic for the situation they're in, but I'll talk more about that later.

Curly talking to Jimmy is what led Jimmy to crash the ship and get Curly injured and fuck everything else up. Not to mention that Jimmy wanting to get rid of Curly so he could be captain also played a huge part in it.

Jimmy never saw Curly as a friend, he only saw him as someone he could use to get what he wanted.

Curly trying to fix what happened by talking to Jimmy was his wake up call, his karma in a way.

Because of the crash, Curly understands Anya in a way when Jimmy starts to hurt and force him to take the pain meds. Curly being brutally hurt and injured can only lay and not do anything to stop it.

He finally understood what Anya had felt in a way, and he probably hates himself because he didn't do something to protect her.

And her killing herself in front of him and watching the rest of his crew die to the hands or consequences of Jimmy, even Jimmy himself, was what made Curly realize that he simply can't fix everything.

Curly is absolutely a victim of Jimmy like everyone else on the ship is.

He was manipulated, abused, and not to mention Jimmy literally ate some of his body. All of this was because Curly was too optimistic.

Curly is one of the most realistic characters, and I think people saying that he's as bad as Jimmy just aren't thinking about the fact that he was a victim of Jimmy himself.

Yes, he could have done more to protect Anya, most likely by switching her over to a room that has locks.

But I believe that he couldn't do anything besides that, especially when it comes to Jimmy.

He knows how crazy and angry Jimmy gets. He was probably thinking that he couldn't just go up to him and start a fight because, let's be real, Jimmy was going to kick Curlys ass and he was probably going to crash the ship no matter what.

Curly, in my opinion, while yes, he didn't do anything to protect Anya, he wasn't protecting or defending Jimmy.

Curly was trying to look at how he could fix it, but I think no matter what he did it wouldn't have mattered.

I see people saying that Curly could have shot Jimmy with the gun or locked him up in another room or contacted the higher-ups of Pony Express. I don't think any of this would have realistically worked.

One, he can't kill Jimmy because he is the co-pilot, and they needed a co-pilot for the ship, and locking him in a room wouldn't have worked either.

Curly couldn't have called the higher ups either because Pony Express wouldn't have done anything because they simply just don't care about their workers.

No matter what Curly did or what he could have done, none of it realistically would have worked or done anything to solve the problem.

I'm not defending Curly at all, I'm a victim of assault myself, so I understand Anyas feelings, I'm simply saying that we should look at the other possibilities and should start thinking about what Curly was actually thinking before saying he was as terrible as Jimmy.

Curly isn't innocent, but he was a victim of Jimmy.

His optimistic views on life and on people are what caused his downfall.

[globlingoober]

Jimmy is a very well written terrible abuser character. He really has no redemption and his thought process being “I’m the captain I’m the best I’m in charge” vs “I’m terrible and everyone knows it” is so interesting because that’s the thought process that creates many bad people with abusive behaviors.

All of the characters are well written I think because the game really relies on the key technique of show don’t tell which is the number one rule that takes place in good media. Especially a phycological horror. That’s from a general media fan’s standpoint anyway.

Stuck in space is such a good troupe I’m in awe that the game took that and made it terrifying like a proper phycological horror by having all the real threats human made while making the player feel insane and questioning what’s real. such as “are there real monsters on this ship?” And the answer is yes but the monster isn’t the visions of creatures it’s the abuser’s mind whom others let fester and evolve into thinking his actions were excusable therefore making them devolve into more bad extreme actions.

Playing from said abuser’s point of view gives the player connection to him and start the game with an almost defensive mindset up until they have to face the realization they are the problem and do everything they can to disconnect from Jimmy something they cannot escape from without turning off the whole game and just ignoring those actions. You have to face it. And as well as that mentality Jimmy has is portrayed we really only see his and some of curly’s perspective (two of the main causes of both the abuse and the crash) playing Curly makes seeing him dehumanized later on far more difficult as your forced to shove meds down his throat.

Anya, Swansea, and Daisuke are pov’s we never see and there could be several reasons for that and I find that so interesting. But we are not the victim in this game. As much as we hate to face it Jimmy is the main character and the main story is his and Curly’s experience. Because you play them you can’t ever completely be the victim. If “your worst moment” really “doesn’t make you a monster” then many repeating worst moments do. You can’t just say sorry you have to improve and change. Sorry is just another word.

You have to “take responsibility” for what you’ve done while still being limited to the actual actions Jimmy takes. Despite however you feel about it you still pushed the buttons. You still played out those actions. The game forces you to face it putting the player in the most humanly uncomfortable and uncommon position of all, the abuser. Many times in our lives will we be forced to tread the thin line of taking responsibility and wrongly placing blame (on ourselves or others) while of course our situations may never be as severe as the situations presented the game warns you of the consequences of- NOT your choices but the responses to those actions. It’s a big test of how the player responds to the characters actions that they contributed to.

I adore that the idea was to make the player face their own pain and hurt. That’s passionate. People relate to the crews cast plenty but the scariest part of this horror game is relating to the perpetrator!!!

“like you ARE the abuser. You have to realize that abusers are just people. People you thought were good before. They could be anyone they are some evil 3rd force. It could literally even be you” -My friend @willowwhirll

Feel bad. feel guilt. but manage that guilt. Don’t let guilt make you worse, use it to change your actions. As badly as I, the player, and the audience want to disconnect from Jimmy being able to find traits to connect to allows you to acknowledge you can and sometimes are a bad person. It’s a fluctuating thing.

Horror that teaches you a lesson. Fricken beautiful.

[ceratedfish24]

realised recently that all the amazing takes on scott are ALL from YOU‼️‼️‼️ /pos

as an avid scott fan and watcher it makes me really happy to see so many more things about scott that don't label him as abusive or completely remove/ignore him entirely

thank you for all the rarepair posts as well i am RABID over scott rarepairs

please please if you wish you can use this ask to go off about any scott rarepairs or mainstream (??) ships that you want!!!! i will sit and listen happily like a child listening to their favourite story being told to them because your takes are so right and cool

Aw I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much <3 It always brightens my day to hear that my posts can be a little light in a sea of hypocrisy and/or unnecessary negativity surrounding literally one of the nicest people in the life series.

I ADORE Scott rarepairs! He just has such great chemistry with everyone, and I love to dig a little deeper into why specifically they like about each other.

Majorwood – I’m honestly not entirely sure if this is a rarepair or a mainstream? I feel like a lot of people know of it but don’t see it unless they naturally watched Martyn or Scott’s Limited Life perspective, whereas a lot of people watched Jimmy and Scott’s 3rd Life FOR Flower Husbands or watched Martyn or Ren’s 3rd Life FOR Treebark. It’s in a sort of liminal space between mainstream and rarepair.

Anyways, I love these two so much if only because they were so at odds with each other for so long only to thrive once they put their differences aside and learned to appreciate what makes them individually such a force to be reckoned with. I think that their attraction towards each other was a very slow thing, something quiet and natural, and then Martyn having to bring Scott to yellow was the final puzzle piece that fell into place. Martyn’s possessiveness and protectiveness over Scott truly meant so much to me. He had so much respect and affection for Scott, that any betrayal or offense against Scott was an insult to Martyn, too.

In fact, I think Martyn may have had too much respect for Scott. I have always felt as though Martyn attacked Scott before he attacked Impulse because he knew that Scott’s reaction time was just so much better than Impulse’s and that Scott would have remained relatively calm, which would make him dangerous, whereas Impulse was caught off guard and panicked. However, I also think that, had Martyn killed just Impulse, Scott would have given himself over to Martyn willingly. I believe that that had always been Scott’s intentions, hence why he was so at peace with Martyn taking the last of his time. Sacrifice is not something that Martyn understands very well, especially not a sacrifice as significant as the last. I think Martyn respected how skilled Scott is to the point of fear, and it led him to underestimate the extent of Scott’s loyalty. Don’t get me wrong, I think Martyn made all of the right decisions. Eliminating Scott first ensured that there was no chance that Scott, who – no offense, Impulse – is definitely the more practiced PVPer between him and Impulse – we all saw him kill Impulse like 4 times back to back – wouldn’t fight back. I was screaming and cheering with delight and excitement when I saw that play. What a brilliant and fitting end to such a violent, starving series. Limited Life was definitely my favorite season until Wild Life.

Scottho – Speaking of Wild Life, OH MY GOSH WILD LIFE SCOTTHO MY BELOVED?? Something about how Etho was always so comfortable around Scott despite how little we’ve gotten to see them interact with one another always really spoke to me, but this season? The way Scott was so quick to embrace Etho into the Gs, even if it was a secret alliance, was so full of trust. There was no suspicion on Scott’s end that this was some kind of trick, that Etho had alternate motives for agreeing to join their team even though it had been Etho’s own idea.

There’s been quite a few accidental final kills in the Life Series, but Etho is known for picking whatever team will take him in the moment. The fact that Etho’s first reaction to accidentally killing Scott was “I was aiming for Joel!” was very unusual. Gem was right there, loudly excited that Etho had killed Scott. Gem and Joel were Etho’s strongest alliance, but he chose to make sure that everyone knew that he honored his promise to Scott above all, regardless of who it would put him at odds with.

Etho has affection for so many people in the Life Series, but affection is of little consequence in the Life Series. He’s said it himself. “Do you think I have a soft spot for anyone right now?” What Etho has for Scott is more than affection. It’s respect. He genuinely has so much respect for Scott’s playstyle, and you can tell that he was so surprised to hear that the Gs’ approach towards their teammates is not based on worth but on loyalty, especially what with how the Tuff Guys’ approach towards their teammates was so very strictly based on worth.

On top of that, Etho is very close to Cleo and Gem, who are both pretty similar to Scott in terms of humor. From there, he has absolutely zeroed in on Scott’s humor, just absolutely cross referenced the life out of how Scott’s brain works and hit the nail on the head. Absurd of him, in my opinion.

On a less evidence based note and a more delusion based note, Etho’s relationship with Scott is the kind that makes him want to kiss Scott’s knuckles and all the way up his arm until he reaches Scott’s jaw. Those two slow dance in their kitchen in the morning. Scott is the only person who can get Etho to get sappy. Scott is just so earnest and kind, and it makes Etho want to hold him in his arms and keep him safe and sound. Etho hates drinking coffee if it wasn’t made by Scott. It’s not the taste that bothers him; it’s just the principle of the thing. Scott loves Etho because Etho is a constant comfort who also knows when and how to make him laugh. Etho loves Scott because, though he may tease, Scott would never judge him for being vulnerable. They’re each other’s safe space. Etho would simply be the most gentlemanly partner to Scott, and it would totally work on Scott.

Unlike Joel and Bdubs, Scott is entirely neutral about horses. This frustrates Bdubs, who was hoping that Etho’s new boyfriend would at least be on his side in the horse conflict between Bdubs and Joel. Scott has been monitoring this horse war and reporting back to Etho about it as soon as Etho gets home. This is how Etho learns what “spilling the tea” means.

I may be writing about them celebrating the holidays pretty soon.

Scott/Doc – Hear me out hear me out hear me out. I know they’ve never talked even once, but hear me out. Big, strong, stoic engineer working in his lab all day + suave pretty boy who sits on Doc’s desk and is a general safety hazard the whole time. Doc getting frustrated with Scott, because how is he supposed to work when there’s a pretty boy flirting with him in his lab all day? Scott also has to make sure that Doc eats and sleeps and drinks water, and he uses all of these as excuses to flirt with Doc. He spoons food into Doc’s mouth while Doc’s working and asks Doc to make eye contact with him during it. He holds the glass up to Doc’s lips. He drags Doc to bed and complains that he’s so cold without Doc next to him. It works on Doc every single time, because it’s Scott. Doc isn’t about to say “no” to him. There’s few things Scott loves as a big, strong, competent man who only shows his soft side around certain people and is easily annoyed by literally 4 people. Additionally, the sum of the pettiness between the two of them? Oh heavens.

Doc really values loyalty, and there’s none as loyal as Scott. Grian would go to Scott to ask for secrets he can use to further annoy Doc, but Scott would not give anything up. We’ve seen before that Scott does not let up information about those he loves even if it’s just for a prank. The only person who Scott allows to prank Doc is Cleo, but only if Scott is also involved.

Thank you for the ask and for giving me an opening to yap about some of my favorite rarepairs!! I hope you enjoyed my opinions and headcanons!🩵🩵🩵

[sharkboywrites]

My perspective on Curly as a victim of abuse

Tw for abuse (physical and sexual)

Hey mouthwashing fandom, so this is kind of a hard topic for me to tackle, but recently with seeing people’s opinions in the fandom on Curly as a character, I want to put in my own two cents as a victim of abuse.

I want to clarify before I start that I am not a victim of sexual abuse specifically. The abuse I faced was physical that bordered on sexual, but I was never sexually assaulted. That’s why this analysis isn’t about the sexual assault aspects of Anya’s abuse, like her relationship with Jimmy, but rather on the aftermath of the abuse on how the people she trusted (specifically Curly) interact with Jimmy after they know.

For context so people can understand my situation: I was in a very physically abusive friendship that bordered on sexual abuse in my freshman year of high school. Now, through my sophomore to senior year, I was forced to be in the same school as this person. In the same classes, in the same clubs, in the same events, and the same friend group as my abuser.

This is why I relate to Anya so heavily. I understand being forced to stay in situations with the person who abused you and being around people who either don’t know or do know and haven’t done anything/hold them accountable.

Now onto the main topic of my rant: Curly. So far from what I’ve seen, Curly is a hot topic for debate on the morality of his character. Anya confided to Curly about the abuse, and Curly, as far as we can see, didn’t do much. This makes it really easy for people to point fingers at Curly and call him an awful person and say that he is just as bad as Jimmy.

This is where I disagree. I don’t think Curly is a bad person.

Again, I understand the pain of having people do nothing. I have watched people I confided in about the abuse I face completely ignore what I have said and continue to be friends with them. I have had people say that I was lying. I have had people defend them right to my face because “They look like they’re getting better” or “But they seem like such a good partner to their (current) girlfriend!”

I get how frustrating that is. I understand the level of hurt that brings and how unsafe that can make someone feel. But once again, this is something the fandom immediately jumps on Curly for without really looking any further into it.

The thing is, these are people I know at school. These are people who can actively control their situations. These people can stop talking to them, stop giving them rides, etc. to stop interacting with them.

This is not the case for Curly and Jimmy. The most obvious thing being: they’re literally on a ship in space. They are all in a confined space and forced to be together for months on end. On top of that, Jimmy is a very unstable person, and Curly probably knows that. A lot of people like to characterize Curly as the “Oh, but he’s my friend, he wouldn’t do that” guy, but that’s not what happened. He listened to Anya, and while he definitely been more empathetic and done a bit more, he still didn’t deny it.

I personally feel like Curly specifically not denying it means he knows that Jimmy did it, and that he knows Jimmy is a bad person.

All of these are faults of Curly’s. He let someone he knew onto was dangerous onto the ship, and when he did something bad, he didn’t do enough to help despite being the captain.

But one thing we do know is that Jimmy is a manipulator. He will manipulate or threaten anyone to get what he wants. First off, we don’t know if Jimmy manipulated Curly to give him the job in the first place, which could have very much happened. Second, he was seen manipulating Curly AGAIN in the psych evaluation scene, the birthday party scene, and near the end of the game when Curly confronts him after talking with Anya.

Every single thing Curly falls short on is a direct effect of Jimmy’s manipulation in the first place. Yes, he absolutely could have done more in both situations, but Jimmy manipulated into him into letting him off easy.

On top of being manipulated by Jimmy, there wasn’t much Curly could do. He can’t just throw Jimmy out into space and he couldn’t let Anya have the gun because he can’t have his crew killing each other obviously (even if Jimmy is a threat).

The only critique I have of Curly at this point is doing more to protect Anya. He could have made a better effort to keep Anya safe from Jimmy and really put his foot down when confronting him.

Although again with all of this, it just boils down to Jimmy. If manipulation doesn’t work with Jimmy, then he uses threats or brute force. Curly probably knows that Jimmy is unstable, and probably didn’t know what he would do if he had been firm with him or done literally anything that could be seen as against him, evidence being the birthday scene. Everything that happened and everything Curly fell flat on was becuase of Jimmy’s manipulation and unpredictability tendencies, so really, it’s not 100% his fault.

Tldr; While Curly could have done a little more and should be critiqued, all of the stuff he falls flat on is because of Jimmy just like everything else in the story, so people should stop treating him like he’s a bad person or could keep Jimmy in control because he was a victim too.

[adripakoffee]

Hold on and let me yap about my goat Swansea rq (not rq, this is almost 2k words lol)

CW: SUBSTANCE ABUSE, MOUTHWASHING SPOILERS

I'm gonna use "probably" and "most likely" a lot in this because so much of this game is from Jimmy's perspective and he dgaf about Swansea until close to the end.

Okay, so Swansea is first and foremost, a very tired, very ragged mechanic who's probably pushing 60. He doesn't want to be on that ship. He doesn't want anything. He wants, at least at first, to just be done with this job and get paid. He respects Curly but he's annoyed by and dismissive of everyone else on the ship, especially Daisuke.

So much of Swansea's character is reliant on and paralleled to his relationship with Daisuke. When he meets Daisuke, Daisuke is happy and optimistic. He looks forward to things and tries to impress Swansea when Swansea doesn't want help.

The main reason Swansea doesn't like Daisuke ties into his alcohol abuse. Daisuke is always, at almost every point we see him pre Anya locking herself in medical, happy and energetic. Swansea hates this about him because that's a state of being he hasn't achieved, in his own words, in 15 years. He can't imagine being that happy while sober and it pisses him off. He's half jealous because of that and half jealous because Daisuke is young and has a long life ahead of him. Swansea does not like the life he built for himself while sober, but that's for later. Especially after they get laid off, the only one who has anything ahead of them was Daisuke. Swansea would have trouble getting another job both because of his age and because a lot of things on Earth were being automated.

Of course, after the crash, that jealousy becomes something else. Because Daisuke is the only one who has anything ahead of them, he's the only one whose life matters. Swansea loves his family, but he doesn't really like them. He's most likely worked with Pony Express the longest, so he knows they most likely won't be saved. They have one chance left, one cryopod for one person. He's saving it for Daisuke because Daisuke is only one with a chance.

Now bringing up Anya. I think it was 2 months in when Anya told him about Jimmy. Here I'd like to correct some things I said in other posts. In my Anya rant I said "He has the one last working cryo pod set aside for her specifically and refuses to let anyone into the room where it is." He felt bad for her, no doubt, but he probably doesn't actually do that. He, more likely, tells her "Hey, there's actually a crypod left. I'm saving it for Daisuke. It's not like either of us have things waiting on the other side of this." Swansea isn't responsible for Anya in the way Curly was. He respects her well enough as coworkers but they're not at all close. He doesn't feel any real need to put her in priority, especially with the dire situation at hand. I don't think he doesn't care, it's just not something he sees in his jurisdiction. And I'm not saying there's nothing he could've done. Had literally anyone at any point in the game killed Jimmy, a lot of problems would be fixed. But, unlike Curly, Swansea doesn't have as many options.

When they open the cargo hold and he starts drinking again, he rediscovers happiness. I'd actually like to apologize for something quickly. I made a short comic in which Swansea comforts Anya after she tells him about Jimmy (which he doesn't actually do, smh bro) and in the caption I had said "I love you sm Swansea I wish you weren't an alcoholic 😔" (It's also my most popular fanart on here and I'm very thankful for that ^^)

I don't blame Swansea for his alcoholism. It's an addiction just as much as anything else and no one should have to go through that. I personally though have had bad experiences with alcoholics and I'm generally uncomfortable around them. I definitely worded that caption poorly and I apologize for that, but I had meant it in an "I wish you were sober" way. I know that the caption had rubbed people the wrong way, so I wanted to apologize.

So Swansea is drunk and happy for the first time in fifteen years. Despite his intoxicated state, he still has his one goal and that's to save the last cryopod for Daisuke. He knows that's what he wants and he sticks to it. It's just him and the ax against the world. Eventually, Jimmy takes the ax to get the extra painkillers and the ax kinda just disappears for a while. Like I have no idea where it went but Swansea has it again by the time he offs Daisuke.

Speaking of which, Swansea kills Daisuke. Framing-wise it's probably my favorite scene in the game, like the breathing and Swansea's speech. Chat, I love this scene. Anyways, Jimmy offers Swansea a drink as a "peace offering." Swansea is never sober at this point in the game but even he can appreciate a good cocktail, especially when he's been slogging mouthwash for months. Honestly, he doesn't trust Jimmy like AT ALL at this point, but Daisuke helped him with the cocktail.

Swansea is kinda putting his hopes in Daisuke. Like obviously, he's placing hope in Daisuke's survival, but I think he's also seeing this optimistic, bright-eyed kid who's struggling as himself at the start of his sobrity. Daisuke said that the reason he got this job was because he was directionless in life. He had nothing to look forward to and no goals. The difference between him and Swansea is Daisuke's parents got the job for him and Swansea had to do it himself. So in that way he started to appreciate how happy Daisuke was, which is more reason to hate that he's there.

Swansea passes out from the cocktail and when he wakes up Anya is dead and Daisuke is in critical condition. Anya's gone which means they're out of a medic so that makes Daisuke's situation a lot worse. But because Jimmy used the Isopropyl to knock out Swansea, they're out of disinfectant. They have to use mouthwash which is established early on to have too much sugar to be disinfectant. So they kinda made it worse because Swansea and Jimmy are idiots who didn't listen to Anya. After a few hours of Daisuke slowly bleeding out, Swansea mercy kills him. it. looks. so. cool. During this speech, Swansea says something along the lines of "Stick a kid with a bunch of sad-sack adults and see what he learns. Bootstraps and all that." He really hates that Daisuke is here, it's just that the reason has changed. Before the crash, Curly and Daisuke were the only two who weren't like clinically depressed. After the crash, only Daisuke can find it in himself to stay optimistic, but even his faith is dwindling (Jimmy is optimistic too, but that's because he's crazy).

Right after that, he chases Jimmy around with the ax until Jimmy ties him up and shoots him. This is when Swansea lore drops about himself. He explains that he literally has not been happy or enjoyed his life in 15 years. He's done everything he's supposed to when it comes to leading a good, healthy life, but it's not at all fulfilling. He hates his job, he doesn't look forward to seeing his family, he just killed the last speck of joy on this metal space coffin, and he has nothing to live for. He's already fallen back into addiction so even if he got back to Earth, he'd ruin his life all over again. He'd be happy, but his life would be ruined. And then Jimmy shoots him.

Now here's a little health fact! Swansea was dying the whole game. People suffering from alcohol abuse often end up drinking Listerine when other alcoholic drinks aren't available. Now I'm just speculating and projecting, but Swansea is definitely a beer guy, that's his go-to. His tolerance suggests he was a craft kinda guy (which has an ABV between 5 and 10% (idk this is from memory)) or someone who drank a lot really quickly, but the mouthwash was 14% ethanol. That, in and of itself isn't the main problem, though it is noteworthy that he was already drinking more than usual. The main problem is that drinking mouthwash will absolutely destroy your stomach and intestinal linings. Mouthwash isn't just alcohol and flavoring, there's other chemicals in it too. On a good day, you'll get a nasty stomach ache, but you'll live. One to many though, and you are dead or in a coma. Like no joke that will kill you, especially if you drink a lot of it in such a short amount of time. That's why they keep saying "that stuff will kill you before anything else will," because it's actively killing them. Swansea probably knew this but he's prone to self-destruction so he probably didn't care. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that little health fact, I love reading medical journals ask me anything.

While writing this, I paused and started scrolling on tiktok and I saw a video where someone was complaining about the sudden villainization of Swansea in the fandom. I've literally seen nothing like this, but in the video they said one of the critiques people had of Swansea was that he was just as bad as Curly for not doing anything about Jimmy. That's insane, that is a batshit crazy take and I rebuke it. For one, Swansea was never Jim's friend. He never set people up to be victimized by Jimmy, he never enabled Jimmy's behavior or tried to comfort him when he was the problem. This was just a crazy thing to say, please learn to comprehend thing beyond the main text.

Um.. uh... conclusion paragraph, I love Swansea and I love to pretend he was more proactive against Jimmy for Anya's sake, but he wasn't so it's whatever he's not real anyway. I feel like this ended up being really long, like longer than the other two but idk.

Here's the link to the Anya rant and the Curly rants I also did, that I should probably edit upon further reflection

[thisnameisverycreative]

One day I'll be intelligent enough to really thoughtfully, with citations and references, write out my thoughts on feminism in horror and how there are some works that so expertly depict what is a common experience for women and somehow intertwine the mundane horror of being a woman in modern society with the actual horrors of the work itself. But today is not that day, and I'm only thinking about Mouthwashing (major spoilers below, if you haven't, play/watch a Lets Play ASAP)

There's just something so POWERFUL about how the entirety of their situation, the horror of that game, is simply the fallout of another horror that we weren't privy to. The horror ALREADY happened, Anya has already been hurt. And everything that happens after is the result of turning a blind eye to that horror, of that never being punished. And then everyone, including Curly who unfortunately allowed this to persist, becomes subject to the same abuser, and echoes of that inciting violence are all over the ship. Anya no longer is the only target of the verbal abuse insinuating she's incapable and useless, Anya no longer is alone in having no privacy as she sleeps (not that she was alone in it before, but for the purposes of who was on the ship, her room being locked mattered most), and Anya isn't alone in receiving physical abuse (that particular scene with giving Curly his meds paints a VERY vivid picture, especially when paired with Jimmy's skill with the drink mixing). These are just the obvious, at the top of my head examples, but I felt a lot of Anya's presence, the presence of her pain, to the very end of the game.

Obviously there are PLENTY of other lenses to approach this game with, because it feels as if every theme to be pulled from this game has to do with the loss of ones own autonomy and how that is exploited (I've seen some really great analyses and thought pieces from disabled folks that made me stop and think more about the game). I simply choose the feminist lens because Anya's experience feels incredibly relatable, and to have a narrative that can be interpreted as a cautionary tale for turning a blind eyes to abusers delivered via a VIDEO GAME is outstanding. It sticks with people, makes them uncomfortable. And based on a lot of people's reactions, where a good chunk miss that Anya was assaulted by Jimmy (presuming it was a consensual relationship), it almost seems like the creators KNEW most people would be exactly like Curly, and there's something chilling about the final moments of the game putting you into Curly's perspective, leaving you to watch the abuser that he allowed to persist to have the final say and exonerate himself of all wrongdoings, while Curly is left all alone, in a state where he'll be unable to care for himself (arguably Jimmy's final act of abuse: neglect). It's as if the game says "this is what you let happen" and Curly will once again be left to take responsibility for his friend, for the actions of a worse man, due to Curly's own inaction when he did have power.

But this is just a game about oral hygiene so.

[dykedvonte]

omg hi if it wouldn't be a bother i'd love if you could expand on your perspective on curly's character representing how patriarchy, rape culture, etc, negatively effect men?

I think Curly is there to represent the idealic person for the scenerior but in a lot of wrong place wrong time and a sort of deconstruction.

Curly’s enabling is never just the “He wouldn’t do that, he’s my friend, I know him.” type. Yes, he is not nearly as concerned as he should be with Jimmy’s behavior but he’s not completely blind to how he can be and is aware that Jimmy is just a guy who had it rough. He clearly is very keen on keeping Jimmy calm for the trip, very accommodating to all of them in a way that he honestly should be but can be used to explain away favoritism. If everyone can get away with a little something than it can then be extended to Jimmy. A big problem of Curly’s is he extends to much curtesy to everyone which a lot of people ignore to just focus on Jimmy and his relationship.

In specifics of rape culture, he’s the sad truth of people don’t immediately cut off the abuser. There is a lot of this in irl cases that can range from the inability to open the selfish not wanting to but here it’s because his relationship with the abuser is also not healthy/abusive, falling into the former with how confined they are despite how it can be seen as bros protecting bros due to how underplayed emotionally unhealthy relationships between men can be. His relationship with Jimmy is not just one of wanting to protect him from himself but keeping him docile, safe to bring around others. There is a tension in almost all of their private scenes where Curly is trying hard to make sure his words are understood and don’t set him off. It’s subtle but real and an aspect of RC that gets overlooked when it’s comes to men coming forward themselves or on behalf of others. The way they can’t directly oppose each other because their safety may be the least of their concerns. They know men and in this case he knows this man won’t target him but the others, especially Anya, case point: not wanting her to tell Jimmy alone.

There is an inherent intimidation that can also happen in male spaces we see Jimmy use due to the specific social condemnation effect he has with Curly. Even if he is a bad friend to Curly, he is a dear friend and a lot of apprehension with men on the side of Curly in RC comes from that social anxiety, that fear and the very real idea you or the person you were trying to help will be further retaliated against/isolated just like we see happen to an extreme in canon. We don’t know how much Curly and Jimmy interacted between the party and the crash. We can assume they didn’t at all or perhaps went on as normal, but we know something changed after the conversation with Anya both at night and in the cockpit.

I think the card being in the locker shows he was gonna make the complaint, taking her ID to get her numbers for the report as it isn’t there before hand. With the recent reblog of how complaints have to be filed, he was likely storing it, possibly it was close to a time he could send something if it was even possible. Though everything was inevitably too late.

Curly is the ideal man on paper in terms of a patriarchal system. In shape, handsome, the top of the pecking order, competent or otherwise on top of his perineal duties. The issue is he is deeply unhappy just as someone like Jimmy who reflects all the negatives. This should be what he wants but he’s realized it’s unfulfilling, boring and he’s given up too much of himself to get up a ladder he doesn’t even remember why he climbed in the first place. He is not keen on keeping that status, I am a contrarian in thinking he honestly didn’t care if the report when on his record, more so he was in shock it happened at all. Didn’t want to believe his friend actually did it and he of all people would have to be the one to turn him in for it. It’s selfish and it’s a personal thought but it’s real. It’s denial because even if you know it’s for justices sake, you grieve the friendship you had and the perceptions that were shattered. It’s not supposed to sound good or noble or kind because it isn’t, it’s human.

All together I think Curly represents a big way these systems negatively affect the men that everyone assume benefits. He’s unhappy with the power he has because it ties him to responsibilities that bring him no fulfillment, he also gets retaliated against by Jimmy because he was never immune and in a way was aware of it. He’s unequipped and nervous to handle such a delicate situation because it isn’t protocol, there’s no protocol. He followed the rules of all the concepts mentioned, trying to do the right and normal thing and it either left him with nothing to show for it or damned him and others in the end.

This is a shorter post than I would write but I just feel like I’ve tackled these aspects so much individually or in lumped together posts that unless it’s something specific I will just create run on tangents.

[verdantwyrm]

Hi omg just wanted to stop by and dump my thoughts on Mouthwashing because I just watched a playthrough a little bit ago and agree with your post about Curly so so so much.

I am also starting this out by saying that I am also a victim of repeat sexual assault and at one point was trapped in a situation where I physically could not get away from my abuser like how Anya was trapped on the Tulper. So, to anyone reading this, please know that I'm not speaking out of my ass either. Thanks. 🙏

I really don't think Curly realized what Anya was getting at at first. We, as the audience, like you said, have the information given to us by the game to understand just what it is Anya is getting at, but Curly doesn't. All he knows is that Anya is pregnant, reasonably less than happy about it, and that Jimmy is the father, and he's not happy about it either.

When Anya says, 'I told you.' in response to Jimmy being the father, I don't think she meant that she literally told him? If that makes sense. I think she was referencing back to points like the conversation about the door locks, etc. Things that, if you don't have her perspective and knowledge of what happened, if you can't see the dead pixel that she always finds, all you're going to get from that is seemly.. I don't know? Fairly mundane bits of small talk in any conversation. Anya is often in the medbay and Curly is often in the cockpit, so I'm sure it seems like something that would come up as an odd sort of stray thought and not what it really was. That being Anya probably lamenting over the lack of locks for the rooms after what'd happened to her. :(((

I think it's in that moment where Curly starts to realize that he WAS missing things. Because I do think Anya also saying she told him is that she at some point at least alluded to Jimmy being a piece of shit to her in some form. There's really no way of telling to what extent, but it's likely that it wasn't very explicit. I could hardly even speak on what was happening to me when it was happening because I was constantly in forced proximity with my abuser every day. That's terrifying, and I really wouldn't blame her if she only managed to say that she didn't like the way he was treating her or didn't like working with him, etc. because I couldn't even get that out back then.

Obviously there's really no way of knowing, and I really really don't want this to come off as possibly victim blamey because that's not at all what I mean. Because I very much understand the fear and wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't able to say anything. After all she was going to be stuck with him everyday for the better part of year, and it's clear that he was at the very least capable of getting violent given that she'd hid the gun.

That gun I think is also another factor that causes Curly to miss things initially. His assumption is that Anya is going to hurt herself, that she's going to kill herself. There are points where Curly is purposefully shown to be more fatherly in some aspects, when he tells Anya that he would've done anything (to presumably make her feel better about whatever he assumes is making her suicidal), in the end where he is forced to watch the TV with the Mother Goose song playing (the song that mentions a meal or something of the sort for Mother Goose) while he is forced to eat part of his own leg, etc. He is portrayed as a protector, a caretaker. Both in his position of responsibility to protect his crew and his position of power that should logically make him capable of doing what needs to be done about Jimmy, which he ultimately fails at because he simply didn't realize soon enough.

Whether that be because he's clearly not all there even from the beginning. (He gives clearly practiced responses to Anya for his psych eval, but mentions to Jimmy that he's obviously not doing great.) Or because of his implicit bias, or any number of other things. Because of the position he's in to have to break the news that his crew that he clearly cares about is getting laid off. Because he's under the impression that Anya was going to kill herself because of it. Maybe because it was a matter of mere hours between Anya telling him and Jimmy crashing the ship. Who knows.

I think if I he had been given more time that he would've done something, but it is also not lost on me that he didn't get that time because the game is a commentary on not doing something soon enough, rape culture and all that entails. Curly very clearly cared about his crew, and again him being purposefully portrayed as the protector and caregiver will forever eat me up inside because he didn't realize or act soon enough and the guilt had to have been eating him up inside after the crash. Maybe he could've done something before, but now he's just as powerless to stop it and he can't do anything but watch.

ANYWAY, sorry that was so long!! I had a lot of thoughts and while I don't think he's innocent and is certainly flawed, I do think the comparison of him being equal to Jimmy just isn't correct. He was working with so little context, the knowledge that Anya was presumably suicidal, and upon realization if he even managed to get that far before the crash, the question of what to do next? How to keep Jimmy away from her, how to protect her and everyone else on the ship.

You have completely taken the words out of my mouth! Thank you so much Anon, and as one victim to another I really appreciate your feedback and i appreciate your lengthy response just all the same! I genuinely wish more people were willing to read between the lines and understand that how it went on the tulpar with Jimmy, Any and Curly, it was probably the best thing they could do at the time with the given tools at hand.

I made a point about how Curly probably had no idea that Jimmy was going to react like this, how could he have prepared for a literal murder-suicide thats just not something you prepare for even if you know the person to be destructive, I again mention how shocked Curly is that he even went through it! Its an insane thing to do!!

I don't want to absolutely claim that Curly is innocent, because he isn't, but a bystander cannot be the oppressor. And alot of people tend to forget that the main problem, the actual villain, the real antagonist of the story is Jimmy, and people are more concerned with catching strays of "who dunnit" than accepting and trying to work through Jimmy's actions and the consequences of them. I do not think Curly is completely innocent, but he was a god damn good captain in the short amount of time he was even made aware of the situation.

Curly is not a misogynist, he didn't "let" Jimmy rape or hurt her, or anyone for that matter and he definitely did not want any of this to happen. He loves Anya, he loves his crew, and he does care about them. But there was so little he could do in the time he was given, in the circumstances, he did the best he could