LoZ: TotK - Rhoam Mischaracterization
I have trouble reading fics where Rhoam is basically just the secondary villain of the story.
Especially when he's turned into someone who physically abuses Zelda!
Like... it is, quite possibly, the most incorrect characterization for him. Because everything about him says, albeit quietly, that he loves his daughter & that he's only pushing her so much because he feels that he has to.
Do I think he did it absolutely wrong? Yes. Do I think that he should've made it absolutely clear to her that he loved her & that if they weren't in such a dire situation that he would never behave in such a way? Abso-freaking-lutely!
But do I think that he'd beat her??? Hell the fuck NO!!
I think he'd sooner kill himself! And if he ever heard that someone else was hurting his daughter, I think they'd either be executed on the spot, no trial. Possibly by Rhoam's own hands. Or they'd be tortured in the most gruesome ways imaginable for an indeterminate amount of time before then being executed. Once again, by Rhoam's own hands.
Because he loves his daughter & he detested how he treated her.
Heck, keep in mind that those memories are from Link's perspective. Who, logically speaking, wouldn't be privy to how the 2 interact behind closed doors. He is, in many ways, an unreliable narrator of the Naif type. So, for all we know, Rhoam did tell Zelda he loved her quite often. Perhaps he did make it clear that he was pushing her because of the Calamity's swift approach & that, if not for that, he'd let her enjoy her life & her passions & her hobbies.
Which makes reading otherwise well-written fics where he's portrayed as some hateful, rotten abuser very difficult.
Definitely not the best dad, nor even a good dad by a long shot, but he's also not just a dad. He's also a king who is responsible for the lives of everyone in his kingdom.
Including his beloved daughter.
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