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snail-toes9 · 8 months ago

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(let me start by saying this is a very long post, and there might be typos)

hello hello! im Matthew, and since i dont have any new fanart to post, i wanted to provide my in-depth analysis of Captain Curly from Mouthwashing! this was originally posted to my tiktok page, and some of the original text has been altered to make more sense; also keep in mind that this can all be taken as personal opinion! this is just my personal analysis of Curly’s character and his relationship with Jimmy.

i want to preface this analysis with this statement: this analysis is not a defense against Curly’s actions (or lack there of). everything i say is the CAUSE behind the lack of action he took against Jimmy, and the reason he handled the situation he did. reason and excuse are not synonyms: this is why he acted the way he did, but it does not excuse his lack of action, and it does not free him from fault, nor does it take away the damaged that he (indirectly) helped cause. now, let’s begin with my analysis of Curly’s character!!

People tend to forget that things aren't just black and white, good and evil - Curly is an example of this; his need to keep the peace and make everyone happy unfortunately extended to Jimmy, partially because Jimmy had known him for a long time and had a lot of time (possibly years) to manipulate him.

I’ve seen people say Curly might have some for of Stockholm Syndrome with Jimmy, this is plausible as we can see in many scenes (the birthday scene, for example) that Jimmy talks down on Curly, constantly demeaning him, and Curly lets it happen.

Curly's need to keep Jimmy happy is part of what led to the events that take place; not to mention he was most likely afraid of what would happen if he confronted him. This, however, does not excuse his lack of action taken against Jimmy.

Anya confided in him, she looked to him for protection and he failed her. He DID want to help, he DID want to protect Anya, but he wanted to protect Jimmy, too. Curly had known Jimmy for a long time, and his course of action after Anya told him what had happened is very realistic: most men, when faced with that situation, will want to protect their friend.

There wasnt MUCH Curly could have done differently, but there were definitely things he could've done:

1. Put Jimmy in a cryo-pod

2. Hide any and all weapons

3. Hide the auto pilot keys

That being said, this, again, was somebody Curly had known for a very long time, and he had very little time to actually process what was going on. We see in the game that the time between when Curly got the news about pony express shutting down, to when Anya told him she was pregnant, to when Jimmy crashed the ship, was not a long term event; it happened very quickly, over the course of less than a week (POSSIBLY 8 days, dont quote me on that).

By the time Curly had finally realized what he should've done, what a monster Jimmy was, it was too late. The ship had crash and he was rendered incapacitated.

The game is about taking responsibility, which Curly failed to do before things took a turn for the worst. By the time he realized what he had done, he couldn't take responsibility; he couldn’t move, couldn’t talk. There was no way for him to fix things (not that he could, but he couldn’t even try), there was no way for him to apologize to Anya, to the rest of the crew. By the time he realized what a huge mistake he had made, it was impossible for him to do anything about it.

Curly has some fault in the events that transpired, seeing as he didn't do everything he should've and could've done to immobilize Jimmy, to protect the crew, and to most

importantly, protect Anya.

However, that doesn't make him a bad person. Curly's fault doesn't lie in his intentions, but in his actions. He was acting with his heart, not his head. He was so caught up in making sure everyone was happy, that he lost sight of what was truly important: safety.

The events that took place would have never taken place if not for one key factor: Jimmy. If he had not been on that ship, none of the horrific incidents would’ve never occurred.

And the reason he was on that ship, was Curly. Curly helped Jimmy get that job. He saw what Jimmy could've been, instead of seeing him for what he really was: a manipulative, selfish, narcissistic, and honestly, evil man.

Curly knew that something about Jimmy wasn't right, he knew there was a reason he was at rock bottom. He knew, and looked past it because he wanted to believe that he could be better.

In his mind, Jimmy just needed help to turn his life around. Anya says in the game "I want to believe our worst moments dont make us monsters." I believe that Curly subconsciously had this same mindset towards Jimmy for YEARS.

Curly wanted to believe that his best friend was a good person, despite what he knew about him prior to the events we see in the game, despite all the manipulation he endured at Jimmy’s hands, he wanted to believe that he was good.

And ultimately, that was his downfall. He was too kind, too trusting, and too set on keeping everyone happy.

Curly lacks self respect, he let Jimmy walk all over him, all over Anya. He unintentionally enabled Jimmy not only out of fear of what he might do when confronted, but out of a lack of respect for himself.

If Curly had even an ounce of self respect, he would've stood up to Jimmy. But he lacked that respect for himself, Jimmy knew that and he used it to his advantage.

Jimmy is at fault for everything that took place. Jimmy SA’d Anya, Jimmy manipulated Curly, Jimmy crashed the ship. But Curly is not innocent. Despite his desire to help, to protect, he enabled Jimmy and by proxy has some fault in the events that transpired.

And these are the types of characters that you don't see often in media; morally grey characters, characters that aren't perfect but aren't evil either. Media is so flooded with pure evil and pure good, that people try to fit characters who are realistic and morally grey into that pure evil or pure good box, and it doesn't work, because they are not one or the other.

They are both and neither at the same time, and that is what makes them too human for a lot of people to properly understand and comprehend. (more on that in a separate post, later down the road).

and that concludes my in-depth analysis of Curly’s character!!!! to everyone that made it this far, thanks for reading!!! feel free to tweak anything you disagree with, and let me know if something is worded incorrectly!

i’ll post a more in-depth explanation about my “too human” end statement at some point, but i’m finishing school, and my birthday is tomorrow so i’m quite busy here lately!! more art, analysis’, and more ramblings coming soon^_^ bye bye!!

#mouthwashing #anya mouthwashing #jimmy mouthwashing #captain curly #curly mouthwashing

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