Lilly's Blindness

[CindehQ]

So I was wondering, has Lily been blind from birth? Or did she become blind later in life? I wonder this because recently I've become interested in ocularists (people who make artificial eyes), and the idea that Lilly lost both her eyes do to cancer and wears an acrylic set. It would be a decent justification for the "foggy" look that her eyes have, although real prosthetic eyes are pretty darn realistic. Plus I think it'd be interesting for Harao to see Lily take her eyes out occasionally.

Just a thought.

[DRKO]

I believe it is stated somewhere in the manual/on the site that she has been blind since birth.

[Suriko]

Lilly's been blind since birth.

[G3n0c1de]

It would be a decent justification for the "foggy" look that her eyes have

I believe the blankness in Lilly's eyes are just the artist's visual cue that she is blind. I'm not sure, but this might be a common thing with blind characters.

[Minister of Gloom]

Foggy eyes could also mean that they are covered in cataracts.
On the other hand, I once met a woman who was blind in one eye from getting hit by a rock, and her eye looked pretty much just like Lilly's (gray without a pupil), so I guess it's another one of those subjects where I don't really know enough to provide real help.

[Guest Poster]

The foggy look in Lilly's eyes is relatively recent. The first version of Act 1 didn't have it and people found her blindness too, well, easy to miss. (compared to most other main characters) So the cloudy eyes were added in later version.

[Suriko]

The foggy look in Lilly's eyes is relatively recent. The first version of Act 1 didn't have it and people found her blindness too, well, easy to miss. (compared to most other main characters) So the cloudy eyes were added in later version.

Basically this. Cloudy eyes in real life would typically mean cataracts or glaucoma, the latter of which can be congenital (though it is very rare). If I wanted to be a smartass I'd just say Lilly canonically had glaucoma at birth, but really, it's just a matter of visually showing the player that Lilly can't see. It was a topic of discussion that came up every so often internally, and the reception to Act 1 essentially sealed the deal with going ahead and doing it.

[Sgt_Frog]

The foggy look in Lilly's eyes is relatively recent. The first version of Act 1 didn't have it and people found her blindness too, well, easy to miss. (compared to most other main characters) So the cloudy eyes were added in later version.

Basically this. Cloudy eyes in real life would typically mean cataracts or glaucoma, the latter of which can be congenital (though it is very rare). If I wanted to be a smartass I'd just say Lilly canonically had glaucoma at birth, but really, it's just a matter of visually showing the player that Lilly can't see. It was a topic of discussion that came up every so often internally, and the reception to Act 1 essentially sealed the deal with going ahead and doing it.

A book I read a few years ago was about this one girl who was born blind because her mother was bitten by a rattlesnake when she was pregnant with her. I'm not sure if this could really happen, but it's probably more likely...BTW, are there any rattlesnakes (or other poisonous animals) in Japan? If not, I suppose we could just go with the old explanation that it has to do with Lilly's "non-Japanese" side.

[Guest Poster]

Who cares? Personally, I don't think not having the exact cause of Lilly's blindness (be it a birth defect or anything else) detracts from the game or story in any way. "Blind since birth" is enough for me.

[scott1and]

I thought the blurry areas within her eyes were just a representation. I've seen some anime where the same effect is used for other blind people.

[Bara]

There are so many causes of blindness; from being born with no eyes (I had a classmate in highschool like that) to diseases that cause no externally visible damage to the eye. So many wide ranging causes it is tricky to pick one way to visually represent it to a diverse audience. I think the artistic decision to represent Lilly's blindness by drawing her with "cloudy" eyes is much better than other alternatives. I really don't want to have Lilly drawn with her eyes closed all the time or with a pair of dark glasses on her face and a white cane in her hand in every scene she is in.

[Napalm]

or with a pair of dark glasses on her face and a white cane in her hand in every scene she is in.

Throw in a feather hat and she would be pimpin'.

[Sajomir]

I thought the blurry areas within her eyes were just a representation. I've seen some anime where the same effect is used for other blind people.

Same. Whether they're blind, unconscious, in a trance, or whatever, if a character can't see or focus in on their surroundings, blurred or "empty" eyes seem to be the standard way anime does it.

[Bara]

or with a pair of dark glasses on her face and a white cane in her hand in every scene she is in.

Throw in a feather hat and she would be pimpin'.

Urgh! The only thing missing from that picture is the gold on the teeth.

[MrKnives]

Plus I think it'd be interesting for Harao to see Lily take her eyes out occasionally.

Dude, that's not interesting, that's creepy.