#but!!! that is irrelevant bc i worked hard on this even though its pretty rough! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mae-i-scribble · 5 months

Text

My post on How I Attended and All Guys Mixer picked up a few more notes than I was expecting recently and it reminded me that I've been wanting to talk about how appreciative I am about how the series handles sexuality. I'll only be talking about the manga here bc I haven't seen the live action drama nor do I plan to. But I just think it's really neat that with our 3 male protags we get to see 3 very unique reactions to 1) learning that crossdressing is a thing and 2) how they in turn feel attraction wise.

I'll start off with Asagi as I feel his is the most straightforward in that he just takes everything in stride. Literally nothing phases him. Thanks to that he's the most nonchalant of the group, just chatting up and trying to make friends per usual. He's confused somewhat, but doesn't pay it any mind and just tries to get to know everyone as he would any other new friend. Personally, I can really see an aro/ace argument for Asagi due to the way he's just, completely unaffected and uninterested in the romantic ongoings around him. He compliments the girls and such but even when the manga is going pretty hard pushing its other pairings Asagi and Fuji truly just seem like good friends. I'm not delusional, this is a romance manga that from the get-go clearly has these pairings in mind to all get together romantically, but until it happens I can gaslight myself into believing my aroace truth (is coping so bad).

Going from most chill about everything to 2nd most chill we have Tokiwa. Tokiwa is an interesting case in that he's polite to such a degree that he does his best to mask his initial confusion and shock (to the extent that yknow, a comedy manga will allow). Though it doesn't really work because he is very overwhelmed by the situation at hand. However, I don't think this is attributed to the girls' crossdressing alone in the same way that Hagi can't get over his initial shock of the concept. Tokiwa's chief concern isn't the "weirdness" of it all but the fact that he came here expecting a meet cute with a cute girl and instead is getting a meet cute with someone equally as charming but with none of the reserved attitude we see Suo have while she's fem-presenting. My boy is not worried about gender norms he is worried for his sanity due to the attractive person flirting with him.

Honestly, this panel here implies that he finds masc-presenting Suo even more attractive. The fact that he even tries to reassure himself that because Suo is a woman this situation is less flustering is very interesting. Not that it does anything. Pouring one out for Tokiwa for real. As the manga goes on, Tokiwa gives off the vibe of someone who is comfortable with his sexuality enough that the gender presentation of the person he likes is irrelevant, both are attractive to him in different ways. Again, while Suo's crossdressing is a point of interest in the sense that it's not something he understands or gets intuitively, he doesn't have nearly the same level of crisis as Hagi does. His attraction to Suo is never questioned- rather it seems to be a question of whether or not he thinks Suo is genuine in her flirting.

And our last boy is Hagi, poor beloved Hagi who is having the time of his life trying to figure out that hey, sometimes people don't dress or present stereotypically. It's a rough life for you Hagi. However, his inner conflict is very gripping. I find his reaction and subsequent coming to terms with the idea of crossdressing a very realistic take on the subject much more akin to your average person being introduced to everything for the first time. It never feels mean spirited even if Hagi can be offensive in this thoughts and comments at first- it's born from a place of genuine confusion, both towards himself and towards the girls. Hagi falling in love with Kohaku, while a little to rife with misunderstandings for my taste, I think is a wonderful narrative of how even being straight doesn't mean that there is one way to feel attraction. While Kohaku throws around the idea of him being bi due to him being attracted to Kohaku while she's masc-presenting, Suo best sums it up when she says that it's not about the words or the looks, its about who it's coming from. And given that we haven't seen Hagi struggle with this from anyone else, it's a safe bet to say he likes Kohaku as masc-presenting, not necessarily masc-presenting people or men in general. Attraction as a fluid concept is something most straight romance stories, let alone a comedy based one, seldom bother to explore along the gender spectrum. Hagi's struggle to understand himself and what his attraction to Kohaku means to him personally is such an interesting take that it elevates the entire storyline out of miscommunication hell almost (just almost).

Idk idk this feels like a very silly rant to have but I do in fact love this manga more than a reasonable amount and this is definitely one of the top reasons for it. I would love for it to get a bit more attention but I shall settle for rereading it for the 20th time I suppose

#how I attended and all guy's mixer #Goukon ni Ittara Onna ga Inakatta Hanashi #suo #tokiwa #asagi #fuji #hagi #kohaku #mae rambles

13 notes · View notes

groundcontrol21 · 2 years

Note

3 + 7 for anatoly?

3. what are two skills you admire in other writers? what’s a skill you find personally irrelevant?

In general, there's a hard-to-describe certain "vibe" that I absolutely adore. It has to do with poetic description (I am a slut for poetics), a sort of thrumming, understated emotion? God I cannot describe it, but I know it when I see it. Prettiness, kind of. I just like pretty things, writing included. The second one, though, is HUMOR. While I can sometimes churn out some description, any time I feel like I've put a nugget of humor in my writing feels like finding a diamond in the rough, so I really admire writers who can do so consistently.

There isn't much in general I find "irrelevant" in writing as a whole, since I think everything has its place if done well, even if it may not be my cup of tea at first. However, narrowing down to fetish writing, I do find snz spellings to be irrelevant (I still do agonize over my own bc I know a lot of people don't think so). I will never be drawn to a piece of writing for "good spellings" nor will I be put off for "bad spellings" alone. Tbh, I kind of gloss over them when I read anyway, and I get just as much enjoyment reading fics with no spellings.

7. do you have a favourite scene of theirs in canon, or in your own work? what scene have you always wanted to see or write for them?

I absolutely adore the part in House Calls where Anatoly's sneezes are scaring Mashka off a bit, and he's a little put-out at the lack of sympathy he's receiving from his feline housemate. This was the scene that spawned the entire ACU (Anatoly Cinematic Universe lmao I kid I kid), bc idk, I thought it would be cute, especially since I talk like that to my dog. Also bc poor guy, all he's got keeping him company through his cold is a cat who is very leery of him. Anything to jack up the misery :)

In terms of what I want to write for him: more interaction btw him and Dr. Rosenbaum, because I just had so much fun writing that man. Specifically, I'd like to do a bit of humorous-yet-undoubtedly-sympathetic caretaking from the senior doctor.

#thank you for asking!#answered asks

6 notes · View notes