originally posted on tumblr, Oct 27th 2024
Anya never entering medical school on earth and yet capable of discerning the effectiveness of mouthwash as disinfectant, to keep incredibly calm and aware in an increasingly troubling crisis, to not slack on her studies and keep up with safety protocols no matter (despite Pony Express being notoriously negligent), not only stabilize Curly but treat his injuries enough to keep him stable AND alive.
Jimmy struggling back on Earth and yet landing a job in a meager position in a dying company that he idolizes and near fetishizes as his salvation, a job implied that he only gets because Curly not only vouched and referenced him to the company, but maybe even covered up for his mistakes. Mistakes which let me remind you, take significant effort since there are plenty of safety nets to avoid said mistakes.
One mistake and Curly is dead, yet he isn't. One mistake and Jimmy would be dandy, and yet he makes so many there is no amount of covering up or excuses to cover his ass.
"Competency" is a scam in Mouthwashing.
originally posted on tumblr, Oct 27th 2024
another angle of Curly's negligence folks seem to pass over is, not even towards Anya.
the Tulpar "passed inspection" yet it was missing a fucking cryopod. doesn't matter who would be left out, cus they are all equally expendable. Curly could have gotten that fixed yet he didn't. "should have made a bigger stink about that", YEAH YOU WOULD THINK SO!
he should have, as the captain looking after not just the crew but himself (captain goes down with the ship and all), and he didn't. he says he should have, makes an off-handed comment about it when talking to Jimmy, but words don't matter. someone's life is at stake here from the start, but all he can offer is a passing comment of regret.
i wonder if Curly was really that good of a captain, or if it was Jimmy hearing it from the higher ups cus Curly is a terminal enabler, and that INCLUDES enabling the company's disregard for safety and endangerment of the crew. because Curly says he cares and maybe deep down he does, but it doesn't matter as much cus he's not actually putting in the work. he will never put his money where his mouth is, because that's not even his money, but Pony Express's.
a good employee is one that doesn't threaten your bottom line, and Curly is a great captain.
(so great he will be fired just as easily as everyone else on the ship)
originally posted on tumblr, Oct 28th 2024
Some people aren't getting the full context of my point, so I'll explain. Curly was always doomed to fail as a captain, because he is captain at the Pony Express.
there comes a time in every manager's career (probably in a visibly shitty company but not always!) where you look around you and see all the bullshit happening and all the cutting corners and all the dangerous practices, and you realize you have two options. You either hold the fort, put your ethics and morals aside, and stay at the job because you're one of the good ones. You see all the bad shit happening but you think you can be the one to maybe ease it for your underlings without crossing the higher ups.
Or, you realize that if your sense of empathy is too big and you put your foot down. You get written up, maybe a frown and a warning to mind your place, and you do it until finally, you get fired. Maybe you quit in a seemingly hollow display.
Most likely you choose the first option, because you reason that, if they fire you, they will just find someone who Will do what they say. Hell, maybe even someone who is less competent and enjoys the power trip and uses it to their advantage (cough Jimmy cough). Eventually, the higher ups will find their yes-man, so you become their maybe-man.
But here is the thing. There are, in fact, more than two paths. There are many venues of malicious compliance or willful ignorance and even collective action to better your environment. You just can't see it because the system traps you into a dichotomy of employment or death. THAT'S the trap of capitalism.
And Curly fell right on it, just like everyone else on the Tulpar. Curly is a negligent enabling leader, just as Anya is too desperate for the job, just as Daisuke is pressured into a job he doesn't want out of guilt for not being employed and aimless, just as Swansea is too stuck in his ways and just making it a day at a time because he's not content with his lot. Everyone there is the perfect victim of the system and its monsters, in the perfect roles to create this tragedy.
That's the POINT.
originally posted on tumblr, Sep 10th 2026
the Tulpar crew is the perfect capitalist hellscape crew for the Pony Express, and thus a self-fulfilling prophecy
- Curly is a reckless enabler, showing a willingness to endanger his crew (lacking a cryopod?? really??) so he doesn’t cross the higher ups and thus is the perfect leader. he doesn’t rock the boat.
- Daisuke is a kid with probably no work experience and also nearly no skills on the job requirements, meaning he’s enough of a pushover to follow the cues of his fellow crewmembers. for better or worse.
- Anya is an aspiring doctor desperate for moneu, meaning she has at least some ethics and scruples, but not enough to not accept the job. She has only enough training as strictly necessary to fill the nurse role, and thus fulfill the bare minimum of any laws that go “every manned ship needs an able medical staff”.
- Swansea is the sort of old stubborn codger that doesn’t quit no matter what you throw on his plate. him and the company both know he won’t get another job once this is over; no matter his thoughts or feelings on the treatment of himself or the crew, he goes down with the company.
- Jimmy is the very kind of wretch that thrives in this environment. he knows he can throw some mean words around and get his way, and he’s the kind of man who would swim through the ranks cus he can not only get away with it, he’s the type to have created the system in the first place.
his sole flaw in all this was that he panicked and thought his career (and thus his life) was over. he would rather destroy everything and everyone than to conceive of a world where he can’t get away with his reckless incompetence and abusive tactics.
