This specific instance of Penelope from Callisto’s pov is so dear to me
She is wearing the dress from right after the hunt when she visited Callisto in his convalescence, and to his insistence that she ask of him anything as a favor for saving his life. So Penelope had him promising to not kill her no matter what he heard (all the nonsense she spewed at the trial was sure to anger him), and he got offended by her implication
But even so, when she is essentially insulting him to his face, she was still the most beautiful to him in that moment
Callisto has always hated being reduced to just some ‘bloodthirsty killer,’ as well as all the nasty rumors circling around him, which was another load of bull most of the time machinated by his step mother to weaken his position and tear him down
That’s not what he is, Callisto doesn’t kill because he enjoys it but because he has to, for him it’s been ‘kill or be killed’ ever since he was a kid and his father shipped him off to war, it’s his fight or flight instinct at this point
That’s why he was so offended by Penelope’s words, her seeing him the same way everyone else does actually hurts. While he couldn’t care less about what society thinks of him, her opinion matters because she is dear to him
Penelope isn’t the one to change him, she never really put in effort in his route, she was her unapologetic true self and that’s what won him over in the end. Her honesty was a breath of fresh air for Callisto, given how used he is to fake platitudes and lies told with the intent to appease him and keep him good
But even when she does lie, Penelope is without fail disrespectful to him in a way that doesn’t betray who she is. She ends up doing what she wants anyway, which he finds amusing and oftentimes endearing, it’s part of her charm and why he fell for her
Penelope never really had to try and change him in that age old ‘I can fix him’ trope. Callisto is the one who willingly changes for her because he loves her and, in turn, wants to be loved by her wholly. She only gave him the criteria and he basically said ‘aight bet’
When I say that they understand each other like no one can, I mean it. Penelope’s understand of him comes slowly, (this is partly due to her being wary of him and her avoidance of his route). Piece by piece, small things here and there provided by Callisto himself that she holds on to and keeps tabs on—she remembers what he says and makes use of these little things to better understand him.
Whereas Callisto understands that Penelope’s tough act is just a facade from the beginning, because he did the very same thing growing up. To him, she is an open book if only one was interested enough to look past appearances and rumors. Her mean words and rebuttals matter too, he keeps track of what she hates so he won’t do it again
I find it so utterly romantic and almost intimate, because Callisto has played by his own rules from the very beginning. He is a proud man and he is royalty, but to win his place by Penelope’s side, he knows he has to be honest with her—a good example of this was his disastrous confession/proposal in the greenhouse
He was not being genuine about his true motives and circled around it, hiding behind the guise of a loveless marriage of convenience, Callisto was denying the both of them the honesty they deserved
From then on, he never missed a chance to voice his feelings aloud to reassure not only Penelope, but himself as well that what they have is real and that yes, they finally made it. They’re together and don’t have to pretend they don’t love each other anymore because they finally know they’re on the same page, the feelings are very much reciprocated, and can be themselves without any pretenses or lies standing in the middle
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