I really like how they moved forward with this whole love concept tbh. At the beginning we assume, similar to Penelope, that just like how the game works it's kinda an all or nothing situation. In the game 99% means death and 100% means u live through it, this idea is falsely translated into whether or not they love Penelope as well. 99%= don't love her, and 100%= do love her. But now we see that that's absolutely not the case and how these different types of love influence the degree of their feelings towards her.
Eclis is absolutely bonkers, he became obsessed with her, and that obsession is inherently selfish. He'll never go from 99→100 because he can't fully commit HIMSELF to her. The love and HATE is really there.
Reynold's love is innocent, he cant understand the depth of the feeling and nor would he be able to face all the struggles Penelope is going up against.
Derrick KNOWS he loves her but actively chooses to fight against that feeling. He doesn't WANT to love her and as seen with some of the recent chapters he therefore doesn't want to hear her out, doesn't want to understand, because he knows that if he gives himself the opportunity he WILL care for her, so he just makes her out to be the villain no matter what.
Vinter is interesting because of the purple rose, it could either be incomplete or eternal. However it's again his own character flaw that prevents it from being eternal, obv it actually was but just like how he can't decide whether to be a noble or a magician and is constantly hiding part of himself away, unable to commit to one side fully he ALSO can't commit to Penelope fully. He couldn't decide whether the rose would be incomplete or eternal. Not we know it could've been eternal but his own inaction is what made it truly incomplete.
Callisto is passionate, he learned about her, found the struggles she was facing in the past, and those in the present and now hopefully this new one on the horizon. He doesn't love her 100% perhaps yet, but his ability and will to understand her, and help her is what defines that passion and allows the possibility for a full complete love that he can commit to helping her.
All in all, those feelings they have are certainly present, again to some degree, to some percent. But it's the characters failing and individuality themselves that prevents them from being what Penelope needs.
Anyway that's just what I'm thinking
Gosh i love your brain
You summed everything up so perfectly!!
First off, yes. Fuck Derrik. But also, the way everyone’s love toward her is being revealed is so heart wrenching. The purple rose like physically hurt my heart, Eclis is batshit crazy, and Reynold really embodies the innocent love with how much he’s shown that he cares for penelope. And now Callisto is back :D i feel like how he said that love was a naive word for them was partly a way for him to protect himself and also say that he felt like what they had was more important than love (even though it was actually just a more intense love in the end) also, poor ivonne (the og) girl got lost at a festival and taken over