Swansea

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Do-gooder
Full Name	Swansea (surname unknown)
Alias(es)	Big Swan
Origin	Mouthwashing
Occupation	Mechanic of the Tulpar Freighter Mentor to Daisuke
Powers / Skills	Intelligence Engineering and mechanical expertise Brute strength Agility
Hobby	Drinking. Partying. Dancing. Cooking. Criticizing Daisuke. Doing his miserable job Hanging out with and treating his family. Repairing things. Collecting sneakers.
Goals	Continue sobriety. (failed) Fix the cryo-pod (succeeded) and save Daisuke with it (failed). Kill Jimmy (failed).
Family	Unnamed wife Unnamed children
Friends / Allies	Daisuke † (son-figure and victim) Curly Anya †
Enemies	Jimmy † (arch-nemesis)
Type of Hero	Protective Jerk

“	Swansea: I have something to say. So shut the fuck up and listen. I spent thirteen years half-cut up to my eyeballs. Drunk, to put it mildly. Then suddenly I saw it, a streetlight shining in my face. 500 Gigawatts of the power of God. A vision of my bloated body found in some ditch. Scared me straight. So I got a collar shirt, mortgage and a credit card. All the things that make a good man. I hoped I could raise my children to be better than their old man. I wanted to believe I was never one setback away from my worst self. But the truth is. Discipline. Drive. Routine. The endless fucking desperation to get shit done. A loving wife? Great kids? Sobriety? I'm telling you. You. Accomplishments I've been chasing my whole life. Never felt as good as I expected when I crossed the finish line... So now that we're at the end. Takin' inventory. Those nights spinning out of my head, sinking into the sofa. Broken glass in my palms. Bleeding dry the funniest thing ever. Old dogs laughing and snarling on a waterbed floor, mocking the moon for daring to show its face. All nausea and wreckage and vomit and ugly cruelty. The only problem in the world an empty bottle. Those were the best days of my life. Yeah... Those were the best days of my life. I got nothing to hide. Ready to face the music. I can see myself for what I am. But you, a cowardly, selfish motherfucker and you can't even see it... I should've been able to protect the kid. If I could have done one thing right, I wish it had been to give him one small chance off this goddamned rock. Jimmy: Swansea. I'm going to fix everything. We're going to make it. Swansea: Fuck you.	„
	~ Swansea's final conversation with Jimmy before the former is executed.

Swansea is the main antagonist of the 2024 Swedish psychological horror game Mouthwashing.

He was the mechanic aboard the Tulpar, an intergalactic cargo ship operated by Pony Express, yet finds himself marooned when the co-pilot, Jimmy, crashes the vessel into an asteroid. Stranded with only a system's worth of the titular mouthwash as their supply, Swansea begins to drink from the alcoholic contents of the seemingly endless mouthwash. Throughout the game, he attempts to salvage a cryo-pod to give the naive and innocent intern, Daisuke, a chance at survival.

However, following Daisuke's death, whom Swansea killed out of mercy, Swansea embarks on a rampage to confront and kill Jimmy. He ultimately braves an execution at Jimmy's hands while tied to a chair, but not before berating the latter over his selfish behavior while reflecting on his own flaws.

Appearance

Swansea is a tall middle-aged man with brown short hair and blue eyes and has a noticeable gut, probably due to age and unhealthy habits. He is depicted with a frown. He wears the yellow and red Pony Express polo shirt, a pair of jeans and white and blue sneakers.

Personality

Swansea was initially portrayed as a grumpy, hot-tempered old man who showed little regard for his intern, Daisuke, constantly belittling him for making mistakes and being a general nuisance.

After the Tulpar crashes, Swansea quickly abandons his 15 years of sobriety, spending the next few months drinking heavily. During this time, he guards the utility room, claiming it’s flooded with safety foam. In reality, Swansea is secretly working to repair the last functioning cryo-pod, implying (at least to Jimmy) that he intends to secure his own survival until rescue by outliving the rest of the crew.

When Daisuke’s wound becomes infected, leaving him in unbearable pain, Swansea reluctantly and tearfully kills him with an axe as an act of mercy. He then turns his focus to Jimmy, chasing him through the ship in a wrathful rampage, a culmination of all the resentment and disgust he had for Jimmy throughout the whole ordeal.

After Jimmy defeats him, Swansea confesses that, despite his frustration with Daisuke’s incompetence and his gruff exterior, he truly cared for him. He admits he admired Daisuke for being the most innocent member of the crew and reveals he was actually repairing the cryo-pod to give Daisuke a chance at survival. He also earnestly confides that he was always dissatisfied with his job, the idea of living as a "good man," and the person he ultimately became, even though he initially seemed arrogant and unable to acknowledge his faults. In his final moments, he bravely reprimands Jimmy for his selfish, cowardly, dishonest, and delusional behavior before Jimmy executes him.

Biography

Swansea worked as the main mechanic of the Tulpar. He had a history of alcoholism but managed to recover and stayed sober for fifteen years. He mentioned that he had settled down, gotten married, and had children, though he expressed dissatisfaction with this life, despite his efforts to become a “good man.” Whether he was still married or divorced was left ambiguous. Unfortunately, after the crash of the Tulpar and the discovery of mouthwash on board, Swansea relapsed and began drinking again. On the trip prior to the one featured in the game, the crew even threw Swansea a surprise party, showing they still cared for him despite his struggles.

At the start of the game’s events, Swansea gives Anya a note to pass to Curly. Later, when Curly arrives at the Utility room, he finds Daisuke trapped in foam, and Swansea grumbles about Daisuke’s presence, calling him “talented in all the wrong ways.” After Curly frees Daisuke, Swansea warns them that the vent is off-limits, claiming it has collapsed. Curly hands him an axe to clean up the remaining foam, which Swansea holds onto for most of the game. The following day, Swansea assists with setting up for Curly’s surprise party. When Curly shares the news that Pony Express will soon go under, Swansea, while upset, is more accepting than others, acknowledging it as inevitable due to the decline of manned crew freighter companies.

Following the crash, Swansea’s actions become more ambiguous and secretive. He appears to hide a functioning cryopod from Jimmy, likely to avoid a potential bloodbath if Jimmy discovered it. When the crew debates opening the cargo bay, Swansea hesitates, fearing a further pay cut. He stands guard at Utility while insisting that a foam wall blocks most of it off to maintain the air seal. Jimmy trusts this explanation and leaves. When the cargo hold is opened, revealing mouthwash instead of valuable cargo, Swansea takes a bottle, sees it has a high ethanol content, and decides to break his long sobriety streak. The game suggests that most of the empty bottles found throughout are from Swansea, though some likely belong to Daisuke.

About a month later, Swansea has a private discussion with Anya, potentially revealing the existence of the cryopod and discussing Jimmy’s assault on her and the resulting pregnancy. A month after that, Swansea is found drunk, dancing with the axe in front of a window screen. When Jimmy asks him for the axe, Swansea smashes it into the screen, allowing Jimmy to take the axe, albeit rudely. Another month later, Anya locks herself in medical to commit suicide, leading Daisuke and Jimmy to ask Swansea for access to the vent in Utility. Swansea, still intoxicated, refuses and mockingly names their crash site “Wake Rock.” In response, Jimmy drugs Swansea with a cocktail of mouthwash, isopropyl alcohol, and sweetener to access his keys.

Upon finding the hidden cryopod, Jimmy assumes Swansea intended to save himself and ditch the crew. In reality, Swansea likely reserved it for Daisuke. When Daisuke enters the vent and suffers life-threatening injuries, Swansea demands disinfectant to treat his wounds, only to find Jimmy used the isopropyl in the cocktail. Out of options, Jimmy resorts to mouthwash, worsening Daisuke’s pain. Two hours later, Swansea, distraught and regretful, decides to perform a mercy kill on Daisuke with the axe, lamenting that he could have learned much from Daisuke if he’d been more open.

After Daisuke’s death, tensions between Swansea and Jimmy escalate. Swansea appears to confront Jimmy in medical, and they struggle, leading to Jimmy overpowering him and eventually shooting him in the eye. It’s unclear whether this confrontation was real or a fabrication by Jimmy's mind to justify killing Swansea. Eventually, Swansea is tied up to a chair in Utility, where he delivers a final monologue. He recalls his earlier life as a drunk, a vision that frightened him into sobriety, and the unfulfilling “good” life he built afterward. He admits that his best days may have been in his drinking days and resentfully scorns Jimmy as a parasite, who is unable to own up to himself. Jimmy, in response, makes a hollow promise to return them home, which Swansea dismisses with a final curse before Jimmy shoots him in the head.

After Swansea’s death, Jimmy arranges his body, along with Anya and Daisuke’s, at a table and places party hats on them. Finally, with Curly on the table, Jimmy hallucinates the crew alive, celebrating his birthday, an illusion that marks the happiest moment we ever see of Swansea. Eventually, Jimmy decides to put Curly in the cryopod and kill himself, leaving Swansea’s body to decay aboard the ship.

Videos

Mouthwashing- Swansea's Final Monologue

Swansea's final speech to Jimmy.

Trivia

• From what can be seen on Swansea's ID card, fans have speculated that his last name could be either Harold or Hotard.
• Swansea is a bit of a sneakerhead. He buys himself a new expensive pair every year to celebrate his "soberversary."
• Swansea's favorite Pokémon is Herdier.
• One of the writers wanted Swansea to have his dog with him on board the ship, but the idea was voted out. Nonetheless, he still has a picture of his dog on display in Utility.
• According to Wrong Organ, coming up with slang terms and writing funny expressions for Swansea was the funniest part of the game to work on.
• Swansea has a swan keychain on his keys, which may be a reference to how his name literally has the word “swan” in his name.
• Swansea originally had another person working under him, but they scrapped this sixth member as they didn't have enough plot relevance.
  • There is a possibility that their ID card is in the game as an easteregg, seen in the card tunnel bizzaro chapter.
• Swansea's kids are all grown up, but there’s always something broken or needing repairs in their apartments. He uses this as an excuse to go make sure they're keeping their places clean, and will often treat them to a meal.
• Swansea is apparently a very good cook, and can make an excellent paella. However, his wife has grown sick of it, so he will often take her to fancy restaurants when they want a night out. They also call ahead to see if the dog is allowed to come.

External Links

• Swansea on the Mouthwashing Wiki