I'm curious how much the boys who are (overly) desperate for master's approval would be willing to twist their personalities and behaviors to be loved. Like would and could they be willing to take on a persona that's opposite to how they usually are (ie pathetic, stoic, violent, melodramatic, or weak)? Would they be hurt that their master doesn't like them as they are? For Marks, Kirsch, Charleville, and Chassepot please.
With this bunch, I think they're very willing to try to change, but have a lot of embedded/learned behaviors that don't budge so easily. Even when the spirit is willing... >.>
. . .
Marks
While he'll try to do anything he so much as thinks you want from him, that doesn't mean Marks is good at it. No matter how hard he might try to go against certain core aspects of his personality, he's still the same dense, clingy, excitable puppy at heart. He'll be immensely distressed if he feels like he can't live up to what you want from him, but that doesn't change that his one-track mind prevents him from, well, changing. His efforts remain somewhere between shallow and trying too hard, if not downright cringe-inducing, but that insatiable drive to please you never fades.
Kirsch
As much as Kirsch wants to please you, he's... kind of stuck on one setting. He has a VERY embedded idea of what "appealing" is, and changing it at this point would prove difficult, if not downright impossible. Kirsch is thoroughly convinced that "cute and sweet and sexually available" is the most attractive thing he can be to a Master, and if you want something totally different, well... tantrum time! He takes rejection personally, very personally, and is prone to lashing out in fits of jealousy against the guns who do fit your idea of "good". He's already so dirty and used; how could he ever erase that?
Charleville
On his own, he already tends to feel like he has to shape his personality around what will make his Master happyāĀ if you're outright asking for it, Charleville will willingly, easily comply. However, that doesn't necessarily mean he's good at it. If what you want is totally opposite to the ideas of sweetness and purity that have already been trained into his head, changing all of that is... tricky. Acting lewd, bold, or demanding feels wrong, and even if his Master is encouraging it, Charleville can't help but feel dirty and painfully self-conscious. Is this... really what a proper Musketeer acts like?
Chassepot
In the first place, Chassepot is less "trying to be whatever you want him to be" and more "trying to suppress all of the 'bad' parts of his personality and only let you see the idealized image of a perfect Musketeer that he wants you to see". Since he has that very specific image in mind, his efforts to shape his personality for the better all reflect that goal. Even if it seemed like his Master wanted to see him as more violent, rough, or disgraceful, Chassepot would find that behavior hard to stomach. It's deeply embedded in his head that dignity is the only way to truly be a worthy weapon to own.
