Wrong Organ, the developer of the popular indie game Mouthwashing came out to admonish some fans who had begun harassing fan artists.

Spoilers ahead for Mouthwashing

Most of the harassment is directed at artists who have depicted the character Anya in ways that the harassers consider “sexualized“. A prime example is the artist USA who drew Anya in their style while also giving her elf ears (because why not, they’re cute).

As a result of this incident, and others, Wrong Organ put out an announcement telling them that: “If you can’t be respectful and considerate, this fandom is not the place for you”.

Some MW fan creators have been receiving harassment over works that others have found distasteful. If you see fan works that you do not like, block/ignore it. ANY form of harassment is unacceptable. If you can’t be respectful and considerate, this fandom is not the place for you.

— Wrong Organ (@Wrong_Organ) November 24, 2024

 In recent years, “fan cops” have become a growing problem in fandom spaces, policing what sort of content they feel that others are allowed to draw, write, or otherwise create. Their stance is that some content or characters shouldn’t be depicted in certain ways despite being fictional. In this case, the character Anya is a victim of sexual assault.

Fortunately, creators like Wrong Organ and even Nier Automata creator Yoko Taro have called out this sort of behavior from fans.

Mouthwashing is available now on Windows PC (via Steam).