#he shouldn't have bothered; he's one of the worst aspects of what is probably the worst episode of the series. ymmv but thumbs down for me

[mandysxmuses]

(mia, new acc) werewuff, problematic muse ask meme - 1, 5-6, 8-14

1. How often does your character admit to being wrong? Do they ever change their way of thinking?

OH MAN when it comes to Knirschen, he doesn't often admit to being wrong at all

Or even if he does somehow cave and admit he's wrong, he'll still go on somehow to insist that he's simultaneously right

He's really stubborn about things in general. He can change his mind about something he's stuck on, but it takes a lot of working through for him to do it. His way of thinking isn't really nuanced and he tends to be incredibly biased, so even after he changes his mind on something, if he sees even one thing which seems to contradict that he might slip right back to where he was before and just

Yeah

this is why one of his love interests is Verheiler before the Keeper shows up, only bunny man is capable of that much patience.

5. What's makes your muse respect someone? Are they capable of respecting others without reason?

While Knirschen may come across as a disrespectful character upon first meeting to most, at least at the beginning, it's strictly for defense. Their defense. He knows that transforming at night is inevitable and he's going to attack anyone and everyone he sees, and thus wants to push others away. The further they are from him, the less likely he'll run into them.

But he can come to respect someone rather quickly, especially when his rudeness goes too far and he notices he got an emotional reaction out of someone. He doesn't want to hurt people, and will usually apologize when he gets someone to break down and cry.

This is basically the only instance Knirschen will admit upfront he was wrong, because he knew from the get-go he was doing something wrong and doesn't want to push others away to begin with -- he just feels like it's the best choice overall to make for everyone.

6. Do they opmatically assume certain people are lesser than them?

Thankfully, no. He's used to people assuming that of him, but does not assume that of others. All of the people Knirschen emphatically hates are people who have already hurt him or someone he cares about, and he judges those people based on their actions.

8. Does your character feel like their in the wrong? If so does it bother them?

For a lot of his behavior, no. His being quick to anger and acting on that anger is not something he feels is wrong, mostly because the people he acts on that anger with are the ones who have wronged him. He sleeps really easily after hurting Jemand, and even knowing he's probably going to attack him at night.

9. What's a line your muse won't cross under any circumstance?

Knirschen will never, ever physically hurt someone he cares about -- with the exception of being transformed, but that is entirely out of his control and thus I think it shouldn't count. He would rather die than have to hurt someone he loves.

10. Is a healthy relationship (platonic or otherwise) possible with your muse?

Definitely! Despite the more physical aspects of his character (he loves play fighting), and his stubbornness about his behavior, Knirschen is incredibly good with respecting boundaries. This is especially because of Verheiler, though he'll show similar respect to others.

That being said, his stubborn nature about some of his own behavior still might be a problem for people, and that is the biggest obstacle to get through when in any relationship with him. There are some things he finds it incredibly difficult to budge on, especially how quick he is to anger -- and act on it.

11. Do you feel like your muse can fall/be corrupted further if pushed?

OH, most definitely

like, the way I see it, Knirschen isn't currently corrupt, or at least not nearly enough as to be considered a villain

but if someone were to take all the worst aspects of his character and encourage them, whether through repeated bullying like Jemand or encouragement to viciously attack people like Jemand, I do think Knirschen could get a lot worse. A lot worse

Like at the moment he's already shaking hands with Todd over choosing violence, it's just that Todd chooses violence nearly indiscriminately and Knirschen only has a select couple people he wants to be violent with.

12. Does your muse have a reason for their misdeeds or is it all for pleasure?

With Knirschen in particular his misdeeds really are just a matter of "You hurt me first, so it's okay for me to hurt you back". Though I can't deny the pleasure aspect of it -- he has a LOT of fun when he's able to get someone back

13. When it comes to your muses love ones, are the exception to their behavior or are they also treated poorly

Loved ones are definitely the exception to his behavior

Again, except when he's transformed, but that's still quite literally something that happens when he's unconscious. Knirschen is generally really sweet to his partners aside from some teasing (and rough-housing ONLY IF THEY'RE OKAY WITH IT)

14. Is your muses morality compliance or does it follow a strict set of rules?

Knirschen's main rule he follows is "Don't fuck with me, I won't fuck with you" -- though he can do a lot of things he wouldn't have thought of doing if someone makes it sound like a good idea.

[serpenteve]

So I ship Darklina, but I actually...don't hate Mal? Sure, he was a dick sometimes (so is the Darkling, in different ways), but he was also like 17 or 18 right? And, to me, he'd changed by Ruin and Rising. He went through a lot of character growth. He's not my favorite character by any means. He's probably one of my least favorite, simply because of how boring he is, and I think him and Alina would have been better off as friends or siblings for a platonic familial type thing. But he's also a teenager. That doesn't give him an excuse for being a dick but I feel like from what I've seen from Darklina stans (and what I myself have done in the past) is we hold him to such a high standard but we excuse everything the Darkling does. Yes, he's the villain, but he's also a love interest, which means he does need to be somewhat held accountable. I love the Darkling, he's my boy, and he makes Mal look like a piece of cardboard in comparison, but if we're able to love a centuries old villain and forgive his mistakes, shouldn't Mal at least get some grace? Heroes are allowed to mess up, especially teenage ones. Hell, when I was 17 I was a wreck. It just feels weird to write off everything a centuries old man does but tear apart everything a teenager does, you know?

But I also understand the Mal hate and I don't expect people to love him (I don't even love him lmao). I just wanted to see if some Darklinas are more open towards Mal because I understand most Darklinas hate his guts (understandably so).

Sorry for the long ask. What are your thoughts on Mal?

I don't think all Darklinas hate Mal but a lot of people who hated a number of things in the books happen to be Darklinas. If you hate the book romance, then you're more likely to criticize other aspects of the storytelling like the plot and writing choices.

I definitely think people's perception of Mal hinges on whether they feel like he redeemed himself in Ruin & Rising and/or whether or not they were exposed to the fandom discourse and reactions surrounding the characters. For example, if you read the Grisha trilogy after seeing people endlessly simp for the Darkling and talk about Mal like he's the Worst Character Ever™️, then probably you will think book!Mal really isn't that bad and people excuse the Darkling's actions despite him like.........destroying an entire town for funsies and terrorizing Alina across the country 😂

The whole Mal vs Darkling debate originally arose out of audience expectations. Mal was presented as a heroic love interest while the Darkling was basically a false romantic lead turned villain who Alina kinda still had the hots for but had to heroically resist lest she become seduced to the dark side. The Darkling wants to control and exploit Alina and will stop at nothing to do so. Therefore, we expect Mal to embody the opposite of this: support Alina in doing what she wants and not treat her like a trophy he's entitled to. Instead, Bardugo---perhaps unintentionally---set the opposite in motion.

I actually really don't mind Mal in Shadow & Bone. Yeah, he was kind of an ass to Alina at parts, but he apologized and helped her get the stag and most of his faults can be overlooked as dumb teenage boy things. The problem arose in Siege & Storm when Mal grew entitled, possessive and emasculated because Alina had this power he did not and Alina had this great destiny that didn't revolve around him. Regardless of what Bardugo intended with this lover's quarrel, many readers interpreted this as Mal wanting Alina to be weak and dependent on him. And now, when readers look back at his more annoying traits in Shadow & Bone that initially didn't bother us that much, it holds more sinister implications. It wasn't that Mal and Alina were drifting apart, it was that Mal doesn't care about Alina until someone else cares about her and then he realizes "oh shit! my biggest fangirl that i took for granted has been taken away and has a life of her own??? unacceptable!!11". This combined with the Grisha being coded as any marginalized group and Mal's bigotry towards Alina and then her ending where she lost her powers so the author could pair her with Mal also left some.................IMPLICATIONS 👀

And listen, it would be one thing if I was the *only* reader who was whining about how Mal's character drives me up the wall......but like literally 3/4 of the fandom hated his ass because Bardugo accidentally made him toxic in a very *familiar* way that the Darkling's toxicity is not---at least for that part of the fandom. And this clash between reader expectations and what was actually on the page is what gave rise to a lot of Mal hate. You mentioned that readers hold Mal to a higher standard than the Darkling and that's true. But it's also because Mal is supposed to be a hero, not a villain. The expectations we had for the Darkling were literally on the floor after he decided to randomly massacre Novokribrisk. Whereas Mal being toxic in exactly the same way a chauvinistic garbage IRL man would be toxic was way too much for some readers and we just ended up shipping Alina with the Darkling out of pure spite. Especially when said villain is saying things like "I've seen what you truly are and I've never turned away? Can he stay the same?" or "He’s otkazat’sya. He can never hope to understand your power, and if he did, he’d only come to fear you."

ALSO, I'm a big believer that the reason the Darklina shippers grew in number is directly because the Darkling and Alina are never in a romantic relationship. The failed and wasted potential was indeed a huge draw, but the fact that we never got to see what their canon relationship would be like allowed us to fantasize about an ideal situation in which the Darkling comes to the error of his ways and learns to treat Alina as an equal. The quotes I mentioned above are up for interpretation. He says he will never turn away and that he would be able to understand Alina's power...........but he also proved that he isn't above using her as a weapon without regard for what she wants. Because we never get to see the Darkling and Alina in a real romantic relationship, we can now choose to interpret that line seriously in fanworks, regardless of whatever the hell Bardugo intended with it.