Between this and "There's no way I could have a lover!" I increasingly get the sense that Teren Mikami has kind of a sketchy idea of what makes a good romance. I would still say I prefer this one to the other, since even if that one lacked the more explicit scenes, just the overall relationship dynamic there felt uncomfortably predatory and manipulative. Here, there's at least the understanding that Marika is interested in Aya, and deep in denial about her own sexuality, that makes the relationship work for me. I really liked the first half of the chapter!
But yeah, the rape scene, let's call it what it is, really challenged my interest in continuing with this. The only thing that sort of saves it for me is Marika offering to pleasure Aya in return, but the fact remains that Aya pushed and pushed in the first place even when she repeatedly said no. Just going by the general pattern established so far in both this and the author's other works, it feels like this isn't going to be treated as something Aya did wrong that she needs to learn from and act differently.
It sucks, because despite the name, the rest of the story thus far has been a really interesting, thoughtful look at someone discovering their sexuality and everything that comes with that, such as the bar chapters. But whenever it strays into sexual content it gets very uncomfortable, and while if addressed properly that could make Aya a very interesting flawed character, right now it feels like she's only a few steps removed from being the creepy dude from Fifty Shades Of Grey. If Aya hasn't shaped up by the end of this hundred days, I would hope Marika dumps her and finds a better girlfriend.
I don't know if I'll drop this yet, and hopefully this will be the worst it gets, but it's on real thin ice.
