Man, I think the best and worst part of Knivesās character is just how compelling he is*
I get it. You get it. We all understand exactly how and why he is the way he is. So many people have put this idea into better words than I could. He witnessed an unspeakable horror at an incredibly young age. He knew he was different, that he was other, and a worry set deeply into his bones that humanity would reject him for being born who he is.Ā
And he was right. It was so much worse than he could have ever realized. He was born to be an object for humanity to use as they see fit. All he wanted was love and peace for himself and his brother. And after seeing that? What they did so mercilessly to Tesla? Who can blame him for not believing in any future with humanity in it. Who can imagine a future without unbelievable strife and prejudice when youāre outnumbered and are seen as an item to dissect and toy with as you see fit
In his fear, in his need to control and correct, the cycle continues. The abused becomes the abuser. He assaults his brother multiple times. He takes away Vashās autonomy and manipulates his body without his consent. Hell he happily experiments with/tests and uses Vashās body while unconscious. He says he loves Vash while refusing to hear a word coming out of his mouth. Because, if he has a moment of doubt, any hint of weakness, all of that anger slips away and he becomes that boy againāafraid and weak and alone
In his fear, he takes plants. He strips them of their independence and will, denying them their souls. Again, he uses the bodies of his siblings against their will. He displays their corpses to keep him angry instead of putting them to rest. He kills and breaks apart the body of his sister so that he doesnāt have to die, so that he can be reborn. He willfully denies the thoughts, dreams, and pains of his sisters and instead absorbs them, impregnates them, tries to kill them in the ārightā way
In his fear, he drove humanity into hurting his kind more. He forced their hand into injuring and killing more plants than theyād ever dreamed of harming. Heās the one that put Vash into a constant position where heās gaining mountains of scars. (His brother who, on the opposite end of the spectrum, has let the cycle of abuse continue while using himself as a shield instead of breaking free from the pattern.) He uses and discards the humans near him no matter the kindness and devotion they shows him
The same behavior Knives shows everybody and everything else
Heās awful. Absolutely sick and perverted and so stuck in his own mind that all he does is hurt and hurt and hurt
I get it. Iāve been traumatized to the point where all I want to do is cause pain in return. To feel that justice can exist and will come to pass, no matter the cost. To be so afraid that anger is the only safe emotion you can cling to. Itās what makes him one of the most compelling antagonists Iāve ever seen. Kudos to Nightow for fucking me up about Knives and his pain more by the day, honestly
*Except for ā98 Knives lmao, that man is fabulously unhinged and overly dramatic about everything and I love him for it
