rpanons | Make that anon suffer

Make that anon suffer

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For the record, there is an actual trans character in OPM (one of Atomic Samurai's disciples, Okamaitaichi). So if Saitama was actually dfab trans, ONE would make it pretty obvious for better or for worse and as he is, Saitama doesn't have any issues pertaining to his gender identity quite simply because it isn't an issue for him. Like. That isn't the point. He's a dude that doesn't get a thrill from fights because he's too powerful.

Listen, I'm seeing your points and I'm getting pretty tired so bare with me. The trans character in OPM carries a term within her name that is used in a derogatory manner in most contexts and is not the preferred language of the trans community within Japan, iirc. I can find sources for this at a later time if you require them. In light of this, if ONE was attempting to write Saitama as trans, it most likely wouldn't be a positive depiction either. This is true, and I have not said at any point that Saitama being trans (and ace spectrum) is canon. The only explicit statement we get from Saitama regarding his own identity is that he doesn't "swing that way" in response to misinterpreting the interest Dr. Genus has in his body. That's it.

However, I've decided to engage with a reading of the text that relies on a number of things but mostly has practical roots in queer literary analysis. This mode of analysis traditionally involves some measure of 'death of the author', looking at how the character reacts to those around them and pays special attention to how they react to those who are outside normative binaries or otherwise made other, and has been applied to texts both obvious and really not. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Dracula are two texts that I've seen read in such a way that may not seem like obvious go to's for this kind of analysis.

Applying this mode of analysis to OPM, Garou's story arc involves heavy social ostracization, social demonization, and ultimately a refusal of normative identity (both monster and hero). Though this is not The Trans Story (tm), it certainly has strong parallels to the normative narrative we see surrounding LGTBQ youth. It would be much, much easier to build up 'evidence' of Garou belonging to this group than Saitama in light of this. However the people I'm playing with, and the majority of people within the OPM fandom at this moment that I see active have no clue who Garou is. So, I decided to reach and see if I could make it somewhat work for a known character.

Garou acts as a highly effective foil to Saitama in a number of ways, but they are paralleled constantly. Saitama is likewise far outside the normative hero community, and I would not be surprised if his backstory turned out to contain further echos of Garou's own. Saitama himself doesn't seem to have any reaction to people being different, and does not consider it a priority concern. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember him making any derogatory comments about any of the other characters. Not even Pri-Pri-Prisoner, awful predatory gay stereotype that he is. I agree that Saitama doesn't have an issue with his gender, and because of both his personality and how he reacts to others I've concluded that regardless of his identification, it would always be secondary to the main point of him just being some really bored person wanting a good fight despite being way too powerful by any measure.

I could go on and add more detail, but you can get a basic idea of the process involved in trying to make this work. The reason I decided dfab is really quite silly - he isn't drawn with nipples, but the mosquito queen is. It's not uncommon for people to lose one or both of their nipples after top surgery, so I went with that (source: this happened to my boyfriend). It's a pretty absurd useless detail and was probably a stylistic choice, but hey if I'm playing a comedic character I might as well go with it. Trans life doesn't have to be hard and awful all the time, after all.

Once again, I will affirm right now that I do not think Saitama was written to be canonically trans in light of the other trans character in OPM. This reading/interpretation of him as such is both an exercise in applying close analysis based upon certain literary schools and is, if I am to be frank, for my own enjoyment. It was simply meant to inform my reading and playing of the character and is not meant to add unnecessary angst, complicate canon events (which have nothing to do with Saitama's gender), or otherwise override the main point of the series.

so you're making shit up because you fetishize trans characters, got it.

the hell is wrong with you. . .?

Saitama being trans has no canon basis and I think to take a non-trans character and rp them as trans is actually transphobic in itself, especially because you're not just rping legitimate trans characters.

You're also making a character from a series that has both transphobic and homophobic material in it, so trying to make the series more "accessible" to non-binary folk is kinda... idk, dumb? Because you can find other material out there that portrays such matters in a sensitive light, why do you have to take a source material and change it to make it fit your ideology? It's offensive to your own community to do so, because you're playing from a series that demeans them in the first place.

That's not "literary analysis", that's AU fanfic. At least own that shit.

Are you kidding me? Saitama has nipples:

http://i.imgur.com/IJJNdoF.jpg

Also stop using terms like "normative" and applying it to a fictional hero community in a stupid cartoon-y series that isn't supposed to be taken seriously to begin with. It's like you don't know what the word means to your own community.

Once again, I will affirm right now that I do not think Saitama was written to be canonically trans in light of the other trans character in OPM. This reading/interpretation of him as such is both an exercise in applying close analysis based upon certain literary schools and is, if I am to be frank, for my own enjoyment.

Then it's not canon.

I think what we're having here is a breakdown of understanding. When you app a character as an OU (Original Universe), you're playing them exactly as they are in canon. Headcanon is sometimes used to fill in the gaps, but it has to fit with what we already know. And with Saitama, we have seen him naked/mostly naked on a couple occasions, and he has been drawn with a male body. A trans headcanon would be in direct conflict with that.

If you wanted to play Saitama as trans, you would have to play him as an AU (Alternate Universe). If you allowed AUs at your game, and then apped Saitama as an AU and made him trans for it, then you could play trans!Saitama.

Not for nothing but a lot of characters are drawn without nipples, especially in anime.

That doesn't really mean they physically don't have nipples. It's a stylistic choice with the anime style.

I could go on and add more detail, but you can get a basic idea of the process involved in trying to make this work.

That right there sums it up pretty well for me. The process involved is you going in with what you want to see, then trying to find or manufacture evidence to support it.

You're doing it backward. That's it, that's the process.

first off, this isn't an english or literary analysis class. it's not an exercise or an essay.

it's dwrp.

we're not professors or journals looking for some new insight or way of interpreting a text. using death of the author usually gets you side-eyed. we're not looking for taking modern schools of thought and using them to hyper-analyze historical texts, modern texts, or blue's clues. we're literally just looking for people playing characters as they're presented in canon and then throwing them into weird situations.

that's it. games can turn into all sorts of character development, but at the start, the character coming in shouldn't have anything to their interpretation that would make a canonmate tilt their head and wonder what went wrong. you say saitama's not concerned with gender or anyone else's differences - to us, that's just a great reason to throw him in a jamjar, because he won't lift much of an eyebrow being thrown into the same city as angels and demons and historical figures and people who can shoot lasers out of their eyes and can skip all the "oh my god you're /what/" and get down to business.

we all have well-loved aus and headcanons for our characters and we all do engage in discussion and analysis, but when they get too off-track or they aren't supported outright in canon, we take them to memes or psls, not games where you're playing with strangers who have no idea why you're doing this. that's all we're trying to say, all we're trying to explain as to why there's such a backlash against what are essentially aus.

we have a history here of players who play trans aus or trans ocs throwing that fact into every tag or any time it might be tangentially relevant so that it's impossible to avoid. it comes off as shoving it down our throats, and there's a kneejerk reaction here to seeing it in an app.
if you say it's not meant to add unnecessary angst or complicate events, then why have it be a point in your app/explanation at all? if you aren't planning on having it come up in tags, then why bother?

also, OT, but why is he shorter than in canon?

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Make that anon suffer

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