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cw for mentions of abuse, sexual harassment, and r*pe
Orion Curling, better known as Curly, is a character from Mouthwashing. While he is not directly responsible for the abuse on the Tulpar, he is still a permissive person. He is still responsible, as he was the captain and was meant to prevent what happened before the crash, such as Jimmy's sexual harassment and r*pe of Anya.
When informed of Jimmy's sexual harassment during his psychological evaluation, Curly laughs it off. He even later makes a joke about it to Jimmy. This demonstrates the second level of the pyramid of sexual violence. It is pertinent that we note that Curly in no ways steps in to stop this behavior; he completely dismisses it and even makes his own jokes about it.
When informed of the r*pe and subsequent pregnancy, Curly only says that we can "fix this." He never once reprimands Jimmy or punishes him, as a captain should. He never steps in when Anya raises concerns about the lack of locks on the sleeping quarters; he simply muses about safety, despite Anya's lack thereof. This clearly demonstrates the escalation shown in the pyramid of sexual violence.
Jimmy even makes the point that Curly is responsible because he is the captain. It was his job to prevent the abuse on the Tulpar, and it was his responsibility to step in when Anya raised concerns about Jimmy's inappropriate behavior.
Mind you, Jimmy is still responsible for his behavior. Not all of the blame falls onto Curly's shoulders. However, as a person in a place of authority, it was Curly's responsibility to step in. He was permissive, and it caused Jimmy's abusive behavior to escalate because he knew he could get away with it.
While I am not in Curly's head and I didn't write him, I'd like to argue that Curly is naive when it comes to Jimmy. He does not assume that Jimmy will escalate in his behavior. He assumes he knows Jimmy better than anyone else. It's not even that he doesn't believe Anya, he just doesn't care. He doesn't think it matters until there are actual real world consequences, like when Jimmy's assault results in a pregnancy. You can't ignore a pregnancy.
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neon.saturn
What are your thoughts on Curly post-crash? Jimmy of course now acts in the role of captain, but Curly is no longer in a position of authority or can even take action of any sort due to his injuries. I read something about how Jimmy took away both Anya's and Curly's autonomy in different ways. Anya has to carry a pregnancy that Jimmy forced onto her, and Curly lost all ability to make decisions for himself or take action due to his loss of limbs. Curly is completely permissive of Jimmy's actions, and it took entire loss of his own autonomy to see Jimmy for who he really is.
Also I have no clue how I didn't know Curly's name is actually Orion. That's such a cool detail! Great job on your analysis ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡ I'm really enjoying reading these, thank you for making them
OMG i definitely agree with your analysis! curly had to lose his autonomy to truly understand how awful jimmy is. i think that definitely shows, considering how he laughs at jimmy when he finally finds the gun.
post-crash curly is definitely an interesting topic. i have a lot of big feelings about pre-crash curly. i think he finally understands anya after the crash. if i were curly, i'd be doing a lot of self-reflection during my time. not only does he understand anya's loss of autonomy, but i'd argue he understands the violation (via jimmy forcefully giving him his painkillers). thank you for giving me that to think about!
i also think curly's real name is interesting, considering he's a spaceship pilot, with orion being a constellation and all.
by catboybenvolio; ; Report