Riftan is not a green or yellow flag

damn

Yeah she's like crying and begging him to stop and he just ignores her (before anyone tries to say otherwise)

It was consensual. I literally just finished reading that scene it was not rape. In fact wasn’t she trying to provoke him because he won’t touch her? It was "rough" But in no way non consensual.

Provoking does not mean consent stays the same. That's like saying "they asked for it because of what they were wearing." She just wanted him to acknowledge her for once, and she clearly knew jealously was the only way to remind him that she's his wife. That doesn't mean she wanted him to have sex with her necessarily.

What someone else said sums it up:

"He confines her with him for an entire week.

During this time, he repeatedly has rough sex with her despite her physical discomfort, emotional distress, and explicit protests.At one point, Maxi is crying and begging him to stop, yet he ignores her pleas—pretending as if he can't hear her. The scene itself doesn't read as consensual reconciliation but instead—at least from my perspective—as coercion sustained over days. When he finally stops, he smugly asks her, “Isn’t this what you wanted?”—a statement that reframes her earlier attempt to provoke communication as justification for her suffering."

Please tell me he will realize he was a piece of shit and never heard her pleas, emotionaly and physicaly during almost all their time together, because i know he'll be mad at her for living for the tower later but how can he not see that the woman he is supposed to love, always suffer by his hand directly or not !....

Nope, you can argue here all you want but I have read it for myself and the sex was consensual. The begging for him to stop part happened when they were on 2nd (or 3rd lol) round and she said she'd had enough and IN that context he said isn't this what you wanted. Non consensual sex means not wanting to have sex, this scene was classic rough sex troupe. You can dislike it but it's fiction and literally every smut is written this way where girl is saying no while actually enjoying herself becau for some reason girls can't be openly h0rny in smut (weird thing but that's how they write it) At least in this scene maxi was into it, n you're pretending like he raped her or something.
Right after this scene she pushed Riftan to get a bj from her, is that how someone treats someone they have nonconsensual sex with? Is Maxi dumb enough to do that? Is she not capable enough to teject something she doesn't want? No, to me she is capable and she wanted this, that's why she spent so much energy to provoke her husband so that he'd touch her. It seems to me that YOU want to pretend that she thought it was forced bec YOU didn't like it personally.

I don't know what kind of snuff you're into, but her telling him to stop and him not stopping is literally rape. Even if she wanted it at first does not mean she can't revoke her consent. Again, her wanting his attention doesn't necessarily mean she wants sex. And doing it for a week? Sounds to me he's just taking out his anger on her without even considering he mental and physical wellbeing

Unfortunately, he never apologizes for his actions, nor does he do anything to make up for it. He just views her as an object he owns basically. The rape and immature silent treatment are never acknowledged properly, and it's a very unhealthy relationship. Riftan is quite immature and never learns his lesson, but most people defend him because they're blinded by his looks and the reoccurring toxicity theme in mangas. These types of relationships are so normalized and romanticized that no one cares to talk about how something isn't right

Lol, she literally even told him that getting fucked was NOT what she wanted from him. She wanted him to TALK TO HER. But because Riftan's always thinking with his dick, and since he was especially furious with her, he basically forced her into revenge sex, which yes, in this case is still considered rape because she did not ask for it, and repeatedly begged him to stop on multiple occasions. People will excuse this type of shit just because they like the smut, lol.

Your argument oversimplifies consent to the point of being meaningless. Consent isn’t just “she didn’t say no at the beginning” (which, btw, Maxi had initially refused Riftan until he overwhelmed her and forced himself onto her until she eventually gave into him). It’s ongoing, contextual, and can be withdrawn at any time. Saying “she asked him to stop later, but it was the second round” doesn’t make it better, it actually proves the point. If someone says they’ve had enough, that is a boundary. Ignoring or pushing past that and reframing it as “isn’t this what you wanted” is dismissive at best, an explicit violation at worst.

Also, framing this as a “classic trope” doesn’t justify it, it just explains why it’s common. Tropes can still reflect unhealthy dynamics. The whole “she says no but actually means yes” idea is exactly the kind of writing that blurs boundaries and makes it harder to take consent seriously, even in fiction. And bringing up what Maxi does afterward doesn’t prove everything did was "okay." People don’t always react to uncomfortable or overwhelming experiences in clean, logical ways, especially not someone with her abusive background. She’s been conditioned to prioritize his feelings, to seek approval, and to adapt to his intensity. That absolutely affects how she behaves before and after intimacy. If anything, all Maxi actions do is reinforce Riftan's appalling and abusive behavior. She essentially rewarded him after having been sexually assaulted by him, simply because she was gaslight into feeling guilty for provoking him. That's a very toxic and disgusting message to send to young impressionable women and even teens who pick up this series.

The issue isn’t “she was never into him.” It’s that the dynamic between her and Riftan is incredibly imbalanced. He has more power, more control, and consistently overrides her boundaries in other areas of their relationship. That context matters when evaluating scenes like this. You can read it as consensual if you want, but dismissing all criticism by saying “it’s just smut” ignores the actual pattern of behavior being discussed. People aren’t objecting because they’re prudish or whatever. They’re pointing out that the dynamic being portrayed raises very valid concerns about autonomy, respect, and consent.

Urgh thanks really, i definitely don't read it anymore ..not my cup of tea...sigh....anyway you saved me trouble, i also read the spoilers etc, on NU and was still wondering myself if i should try but nuh-uh, thanks !

Like I said you're portraying your point of view onto the characters, The sex was consensual, you can cry about it all you want, (I'm not even going to read all that you've wrote). Girls usually don't giv bjs to their "rapists" after being raped. If you're so soft you should probably stay away from smut Lmao

Completely disregarding everything I explained in my wall of text. Ironically, would you say that YOU TOO are projecting your viewpoint onto the characters? One could argue that their are multiple perspectives to look at Maxi and Riftan's relationship. By your "logic," both of our assessments could be correct.

That being said, FROM A MORAL STANDPOINT, Riftan and Maxi's relationship is incredibly toxic, unhealthy, and problematic. No woman in her right mind would continue to enjoy sexual intimacy after having her consent violated repeatedly, but because you refuse to tainted Riftan's image with believing he's an abusive individual, you sugarcoat and gloss over what he does by excusing it as "just smut." I even explained why your thought process is ultimately harmful, as it perpetuates and excuses toxic behaviors irl as well as in fiction. But, it's clear to me that you were never interested in a discussion, so this conversation is over. Goodbye.

What you said earlier was genuinely well explained, and I just want to back it up a bit more. The claim that no one would willingly give their rapist a BJ shows a lack of understanding of how abuse and coercion actually work, especially in domestic or marital contexts.

I took multiple classes on the sociology of rape in college, and people who study domestic violence and sexual coercion consistently point out that victim behavior doesn’t always look the way outsiders expect. Survivors can comply, initiate affection, or try to please their abuser, not because they “want” what’s happening, but because of fear, conditioning, emotional dependence, or an attempt to regain a sense of safety. That, in fact, does not make the situation consensual.

Because that user clearly doesnt understand consent: In situations like this, consent is not a one-time, permanent agreement, it can be withdrawn at any point. If someone says “stop” and is ignored, that crosses into non-consensual territory, regardless of what happened before. That’s a pretty fundamental concept.

Also, the MCs background matters. She’s been abused and mistreated for most of her life, which affects how she understands relationships, boundaries, and her own autonomy. It’s not unusual for someone with that history to struggle to recognize harmful behavior or to internalize blame.

God, just for that, I'm giving you a follow because it seems that you're one of the few level-headed ones in the comments. I sort of forgot that I initially spoke with this user (Honeymoon) under this thread, but I guess the discussion we had here was enough to push her to the point of needing to call me a bitch in the main comments, lol.

Anyway, I truly appreciate you backing me up. While I'm not an expert on the topic like you are, I do have first hand experience as a victim of abuse, so I understood and recognized several behavior patterns in Maxi's actions that paralleled my own as well as other abuse victims I know. Your explanation makes me feel vindicated in a sense because I now know I wasn't the only one who noticed these patterns in Maxi. I suppose this is why the story hits me so hard—because of my personal attachment to Maxi, as well as how Riftan's mannerisms vaguely remind me of my own abuser. I understand liking a character despite their problematic actions, but to attack me and tell me my analysis of said character is wrong just because you personally like the character is where I draw the line. To be called "soft," implied to be a prude of some sort, and have my explanation disregarded as "crying" makes my blood boil, I won't lie, because that, to me says they did not care to read Maxi and Riftan's relationship from the perspective of an abuse victim. They do not care about the moral implications of Riftan's actions, nor does it seem like they care for how said actions ultimately affect and warp Maxi's perceptions of what romantic relationships are supposed to be like.

I understand this is a fictional story, but it's a fictional story that tackles very real and very heavy subject matter like marital rape and abuse. That weak "it's just fiction" excuse quickly crumbles when you realize how much and how often fiction reflects reality. Do they really not understand how dangerous stories like these can be when they glorify harmful and abusive dynamics like the one Riftan and Maxi have? These fan girls claim that the story should not be taken seriously because it's only fictional, and yet they're typically the first ones to romanticize and fetishize toxic male leads like Riftan. They could never convince me, in all honesty, that Riftan is a good husband for Maxi. I've already vented so much about this asshole that I've run out of stuff to say, but my opinion on him is firm. He's an insufferable, immature, and inconsiderate prick. I'm not sorry, lol.

However, I *am* sorry for the rant, but again, I truly appreciate your input.

Hehe, I'm glad there's also some level-headed people in the comments, too ;) Having personal experience is just as powerful as having educational experience, and that person just kept proving in every single one of their replies that they have neither. It was rather embarrassing and disappointing to see how blindsided they are by this fictional characters actions.

Heavy on the fictional stories can have powerful outcomes!! I've seen so many people talk about 'its just a fictional story' or 'he's a fictional character, it's not that deep,' when it is, in fact, *that* deep. The romanticization and fetishization of domestic violence themes are so heavily common in many mangas, manhwas, etc. People normalizing such actions causes it to be normalized in real life, whether they deny it or not. Hence, many people, like us, try to speak up about it.

I always appreciate a deep rant, hehe. Thank you for being a decent, honest human being <3

Likewise to you!