The Assignment

***The Assignment*** is an anthology of the webcomic *Assigned Male*, written and illustrated by Sophie Labelle. It covers the beginning of Stephie and Frank's relationship and how they first met.

This anthology is no longer on sale in Labelle's Etsy store.

## Synopsis

> *First color comic book by comic artist Sophie Labelle. 32 pages in color with some exclusive content!*
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## Plot

For a school assignment, everyone in Stephie's class are put in teams of two to work together. Stephie is teamed off with a boy she hasn't met before, Frank, who immediately reacts with disdain: "I don't want to be with her, she has the genders!" In response, Stephie is immediately hostile.

As school finishes, it becomes clear that they will have to finish the assignment at home. Frank remarks that he doesn't want anyone to think he's gay because they see Stephie at his house. Later, he insists that this was a joke, but Stephie is hurt. As she struggles to explain the basics of gender, Frank asks if it would make him gay if he thought she was cute. Stephie is flustered.

While Stephie is in the washroom, Frank has a brief conversation with her father Martin. Frank is upset that Stephie doesn't like him; he now seems to want to be nice to her, but keeps "saying the wrong things" just from being misinformed. Martin sympathises, but advises Frank that his feelings of inadequacy are nothing compared to the difficulties of being trans. Frank begins to understand that it's "not about me, but about a bigger thing."

Once Frank leaves, Stephie calls Ciel to talk excitedly about Frank, who she now thinks is "actually decent," but she makes clear that she doesn't have a crush on him.

The next day in school, some of Frank's friends shout abuse at Stephie. Frank reacts angrily and stands up for Stephie, and a fight breaks out between them. Afterwards, Stephie asks Frank not to fight for her in future; she already feels like she should be grateful to the people who 'allow' her to exist, and she doesn't want to feel any more indebted to anyone. Frank insists that he "only did what felt right," leaving Stephie to remark with mock-frustration that he's "so cute and boyish~."

Stephie goes back to Frank's house, and they spend some time together. For a moment, they touch hands, but Stephie is scared she will be rejected just for being trans, so she pulls away. As she leaves, Frank compliments Stephie on her hair. Stephie, who was worrying that he would say that he doesn't care that she's trans "while putting my transness under the spotlight... he'll try to frame me as vulnerable so he can have power over me," is pleasantly surprised by the compliment.

The next day, Stephie is talking bashfully to Ciel about Frank. She seems unsure if she really likes him, but she likes "the idea of him being in love with me." She also worries that her fear of rejection made her act unkindly towards him.

There is a section where Ciel talks about their earlier childhood. At age 7, they co-organised a fashion show with their cousins. Their grandfather reacted poorly, causing an argument between him and Ciel's mother. Ciel blamed themself for the argument. As time went on, Ciel often felt their gender was causing conflict, so they tried to conform to male stereotypes. This only started issues with anxiety and depression, and they stopped playing with toys altogether.

Eventually, Ciel's mother committed suicide. Ciel blamed themself for her death. They were isolated in school; this isolation was partly self-imposed, as they thought they brought people bad luck. This was when they first met Stephie, as she defended them from schoolyard bullies.

Frank calls Stephie and asks her to come over and play Minecraft. Though they both feign cool disinterest, they are both very excited. When Stephie goes over, they play some video games and talk then watch a movie. Frank is disappointed to find that the movie is blatantly sexist and transphobic - "it seemed fine when I watched it the other day" - and worries that Stephie isn't enjoying herself at all. Stephie takes Frank's hand and reassures him that now he's shown how he's changed for the better, the date is "going pretty well right now!"

## Characters

* Stephie
* Ciel
* Frank
* Martin
* Virgil

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/269907035/the-assignment-assigned-male-by-sophie?ref=shop\_home\_active\_6