Hello and welcome to a brief essay about my burning hatred for this single putrid theory.
With the information gathered within the very few conversations between Malleus and Mc, people have formed a theory that Malleus is in love with Mc.
I think this is bullshit.
First of all, it has been stated time and time again, TWISTED WONDERLAND IS NOT A DATING SIM. While there is a possibility Malleus' possible feelings are one sided, why would it be necessary to the plot? There are hundreds of other options and ideas for the Diasomnia chapter, why would Yana choose the option where Malleus has feelings for the Mc? If the game is not a dating sim, what would be the point? Malleus' feelings would exist for no reason whatsoever. It would be pointless, not to mention you're cutting out the portion of the fandom who appreciates platonic relationships/those who are acesexual
Second of all, Malleus has never had a real friend. With this information, we can assume he can't communicate too well, at least, not in a formal manner. Perhaps he doesn't have romantic feelings, and he's just communicating wrong. Remember, he's royalty. He's surrounded by important figures on a daily basis, so he has to treat them kindly. This could affect his communication skills too. Especially considering he never had friends before, not even from people of lower status then him.
And then there's the problem with the stereotype that all female Mc's are love interests.
Now, Mc's gender has not been specified, so we can assume they're gender neutral. HOWEVER, since a majority of the fandom is female, most people label Mc as a girl.
GIRLS 👏 CAN 👏 HAVE 👏 PLATONIC 👏 RELATIONSHIPS 👏 WITH 👏 GUYS 👏
Assuming a girl and a guy are in love because they hang it together is incredibly stupid and makes you look like a six year old. Mc doesn't have a official gender (or much of a personality) so it can be easier for the player to insert themselves in their place. So if you make them out to be a girl, cool. BUT THAT DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOU THE MAIN LOVE INTEREST.
"Oh but it's just a theory!" I hear you cry. That doesn't matter. For one this is my OPINION, and two, this theory feeds into a lot of negative bs like cutting out the portion of the fandom that's either acesexual, or likes the platonic relationship, and also feeds into the stereotype that if the main lead is a woman, everyone has to be in love with her. And again, the theory is dumb because THE GAME ISN'T AN OTOME GAME. Why even bother saying "Oh Malleus toooootally is in love with MC!" WHEN THERE IS NO ROMANCE TO BEGIN WITH?
If you want a romantic relationship between the Mc and Malleus, I don't see why no one can just go read a fanfic. Thats why authors like me exist.
I could go on and on about why I think this theory is dumb and was just created so the fangirls could be satisfied, but it's late and I need sleep. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, I'm out