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Absolving responsibility and emotionally gaslighting your reader base
(‼️Spoilers for Book 2‼️)
So recently, I saw a Reddit user make a comment regarding Riftan's awful and frustrating characterization, and they happen to bring up a very good point that many readers seem to overlook. I myself noticed how the author has essentially written Riftan's character to be completely faultless and absolved of taking any and all accountability for his appalling and abusive behavior, either using his traumatic upbringing and abandonment issues or his obsessive "love" for Maxi as justification for his toxicity. I've seen several examples throughout the narrative (particularly, in the very first chapters, when Riftan commits martial rape on his and Maxi's wedding night), however, I'll be using another examples because I feel this scene doesn't receive enough scrutiny as it should.
This hadn't become apparent to me until I read through chapters 118-123 of Book 2, where Riftan confines Maxi to a room and essentially rapes her repeatedly over the course of a week. (I frankly don't care whether other readers interpret the scene as anything other than rape. By any reasonable definition, what Riftan does to Maxi falls under sexual assault) What stood out to me, however, was not just the assault itself but how the narrative responds to it.
Afterward, once Riftan finishes, Maxi's inner monologue expresses genuine frustration and bitterness toward Riftan. She reflects on the emotional neglect she endured throughout much of Book 2, his refusal to communicate with her, the way he consistently kept her at arm's length, and, in that exact moment, the fact that he had just forced himself on her. She feels that Riftan has treated her unfairly, and frankly, she's completely justified in feeling that way.
The problem is that the story almost immediately undercuts those feelings by shifting the focus to Riftan's suffering instead. Rather than allowing Maxi's anger and hurt to stand on their own, the narrative pivots to Riftan admitting to the miserable state he was in after she left for the Mage Tower. Suddenly, the emphasis is no longer on what he had done to Maxi, but on how deeply Maxi's departure affected him. As a result, Maxi ends up feeling guilty for allegedly not understanding Riftan's perspective, even though Book 2 repeatedly shows her trying to do exactly that. Time and time again, she reaches out to him, attempts to get him to talk, and tries to understand why he keeps avoiding her. The author has the audacity to frame Maxi's frustration as impatience, yet perceptive readers know that Riftan has never been one to willingly communicate openly to anyone, not even with his own wife. Maxi is effectively forced into confrontation because Riftan refuses to engage with her otherwise.
What frustrates me is that the scene ultimately feels less like an interrogation of Riftan's behavior and more like an explanation for it. His pain becomes the lens through which his actions are viewed, softening the impact of what he has done. Meanwhile, Maxi's own suffering is diminished. Not only is she expected to carry the guilt of Riftan's despair and resentment, but the story largely ignores the fact that she left Anatol in the first place because she genuinely believed she was protecting him, his reputation, and the territory itself from a potentially devastating conflict. Despite this, Riftan repeatedly interprets her actions as selfish abandonment. He accuses her of leaving him behind, and the narrative never meaningfully challenges his unfair assumption. At most, he sheepishly admits that he was wrong, but he never truly apologizes, nor does he fully acknowledge the emotional burden he placed on Maxi by making her feel responsible for his suffering.
That's ultimately one of my biggest points of contention with Riftan's character as well as the dynamic in their relationship. Every time Maxi has a legitimate reason to be angry with Riftan, the story finds a way to redirect the audience's sympathy back toward him. Instead of holding him accountable, it prioritizes explaining why he acted the way he did, often at the expense of Maxi's perspective. By the end, Riftan's pain is given center stage, while Maxi's is expected to quietly make room for it.
I swear, one day, I'm going to rewrite this entire story and introduce a female oc into the narrative who helps Maxi assert herself clearly towards her husband as well as other assholes in the story.
RikuNami Whisper of the Heart AU: Where Namine is an aspiring artist attending school at Destiny Islands (and Riku is oblivious to manners).
This idea has been nagging at my mind for months… mostly because these two share voice actors with their counterparts! How was I supposed to pass that up?
I think it's funny in the Under the Oak Tree fandom how even they can't stand Riftan. They put up with him and like EVERY other character because they actually get some personality to them besides being a token of masculine authority. Even the people who like him only do out of the dark romance porn aspect, which like, thats what the author SHOULD be appealing too!!! That's what the romance of Under the Oak Tree APPEALS to. Every other character is so well written, and Maxi is so appealing and sympathetic as a character that you just feel for her and want the best for her and then she gets this fucking guy. The worstttt match for her past just dating a copy of her father atp. It wouldn't even be that way if there was consistency in every character being shallow. You could replace Riftan with a dildo and it might actually improve things since the story would still have its only appeal, and Maxi wouldn't have to put up with a man that just has sex ANYYYYYY time she's trying to communicate or exist for herself
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