...I don't know about you guys, but I think Misa's just resolving the inherent emotional conflict of the situation (both from Io from having been assaulted and from Misa's jealousy) by giving Io an actually good, consentual sexual experience.
Sure, it's messy. Sure, she didn't ask how Io was. But it fits both of these characters perfectly. I know it can hurt if you've been in a similar situation, but the point of fiction like this is to portray a particular fantasy with a particular set of rules/logic and expectations- and in this case, this chapter fits perfectly with the expectations that have been set.
It's toxic yuri after all.
My feelings exactly, put way more eloquently than I would have. I particularly like what you say at the start about Misa "resolving the situation" in a way that makes sense for her and what she's known their dynamic to be so far. I don't want to spoil what happens in the next one but I'll just say your line of reason is worth considering.
Would I have been surprised if Misa had shown more empathy? No. Am I surprised she didn't? No. From the get-go Misa wasn't exactly presented as a paragon of morality. Sure, she's been shown to have a kinder, more supportive side to her, be it to Io or girls at her club, but that doesn't automatically mean she's a good person (did we forget how her first encounter with Io went or?). At best, she's as imperfect and morally ambiguous as they come when it comes to a Flowerchild character.
If anything, this turn of event just goes to show that Misa and Io have so far set very little clear expectations for their relationship beyond "please, boss me around." As far as we know, Misa still refuses to think of herself as a proper S/Dom and only claims that she's "playing along" with Io's wishes. I expect her inner conflict will only become more prevalent from hereon. So yeah imo, it makes sense that she'd react in such an irrational and arguably cruel manner. At the very least, it doesn't feel out-of-character. In the same way, I wouldn't be surprised if Io goes on to respond like an "imperfect" kind of victim.
Overall, it still feels too early in the story to expect any kind of linear progression for them. And again, it's Flowerchild, so they might as well still be very much fucked up by the end of it lol. There was never any guarantee this would be a love story, as much as I would like to see it go that way.
Side note. Not a big fan of the suggestion made in this thread that any victim of SA coming across this manga should be expected to have one specific, "right" reaction, i.e. be offended by it. Way to take away from the victims' agency and individuality, as well as their ability to appreciate the difference between reality and fiction.
last edited at Oct 13, 2024 9:45PM
