Regarding Emi

[Tempest]

Now, my familiarity with the subject is limited, so it's entirely possible I'm wrong here. That being said, I have been wondering for some time why Emi would need to be in a school like this. In most of the other cases, at least some adaptations have been needed, be it Shizune's translator or Lilly's cane. But with Emi, I see little hindrance beyond needing to attach her legs in the morning, given that her ability on her legs seems to be at least on part with organic ones.

Of course, her inclusion makes sense from a game perspective and from the source material. Still, It struck me as odd.

[JimBobRedneck]

I'd say the biggest reason for a double amputee like Emi to be at a school like Yamaku would be for acceptance. There, she doesn't have to deal with the bullying, mistreatment and cruelty that would likely be a result of her condition at a public school.

[scott1and]

I agree with the post above, children can be cruel, and it is highly likely that some form of bully would have arisen.

[Panty Supervisor]

Her disability doesn't hold her back now, but that might have been different in the past. Didn't she lose her legs in an accident? Amputation, hospital, rehabilitation, wheelchair, learning to walk with the prosthetics and crutches, learning to walk without crutches... I guess it was a long way for Emi to get to the point where she is now.

[Tempest]

Hmm. Either one of those sound viable, although the later would depend on how many grades the school covered, when she lost her legs, how quickly she learned to get to a full run, etc. On the other hand, considering I see little reason Rin couldn't attend public school either, barring jeers or a more understanding staff (wasn't she born with that? not sure), the prior could likely work as well.

Well, more would just be speculation at this point, I suppose. At any rate, thanks for the ideas; that had been bugging me for some time.

[Dax]

Not to mention that Yamaku would probably be better equipped to handle a situation. Whether if something happened, or if she wanted something, they're more reliable in resources for her needs. The accident probably scarred poor lil' Emi for life, so her parents most likely sent her to Yamaku for mental support. Needed some others who could relate to her pain, and help her through it.

[Tempest]

Hmm. Looking it up now, it does look like I might have been severely overestimating the amount of time it would take for a person to learn to walk again. And in such a scenerio, even if she didn't strictly need a school anymore, I can see her not wanting to transfer back out. Unless there are major school system differences here, it tends to be extremely annoying.

[purple haired Katawa Shoujo character]

what if she had more than one disability? Maybe, like, she's a double amputee and then something else too. It would be like, a double identity. She could be like the Scarface of disabilities.

[purple haired Katawa Shoujo character]

what if she had more than one disability? Maybe, like, she's a double amputee and then something else too. It would be like, a double identity. She could be like the Scarface of disabilities.

I mean twiceface

[scott1and]

what if she had more than one disability? Maybe, like, she's a double amputee and then something else too. It would be like, a double identity. She could be like the Scarface of disabilities.

I mean twiceface

Don't you mean Two face? Cause Hanako already has that covered....I feel bad for making that joke

[Mercutio]

I don't think it really matters if she could function normally in a regular high school, she'd probably want to go to Yamaku anyway 'cause it's better for her. like JimBobRedneck said, high school kids can be really cruel. back in my high school, there was a blind dude and a guy who was in a wheelchair because of a spine problem, and it looked like they had no friends. nobody wanted to hang out with them because they were disabled, which was really sad, 'cause I worked with the blind dude in one of my classes and he was hilarious, really smart too. at a regular school, Emi would be known as "the chick with no legs" and people would talk shit about her for it, no matter how good she was at track. at Yamaku, she's just like everybody else, 'cause everybody's got something going on with them.

I'm not saying people with disabilities should be separated, hell no. I'm just saying that Yamaku's probably better for her, like it would be for any of the girls.

[Tempest]

Preventative measures, hmm? Well, I do know that there are some people that will taunt anyone that stands out, no matter what.

I'm not disabled, but I hit my growth spurt rather early, and so in elementary through middle school, so I was... well, I was mistaken for a teacher once. It also quickly became known that, despite the fears of parents, I would not fight. Because of that, I was tormented for some time, up until I ended up having to move for my father's work. Still, in the end all that came of it was that I started to think of the taunters as not worth my attention and became rather thick-skinned for a time. I did become somewhat dulled to emotion though, to the point where I had to make a conscious effort to be aware of it for a while. Advantages and disadvantages to that, and I reserve judgement on if it was for good or ill. On the converse, I suppose we've all heard stories of people that were nigh-broken or developed severe self-esteem issues over that.

I will admit that I ignored the emotional end of the picture in my initial assessment, and I suppose it would be a personal choice if such an environ was available. But making any sort of policy decisions on that could get very slippery, very fast.

[Panty Supervisor]

what if she had more than one disability?

Not being poplar doesn't count as a disability. And neither does being a token loli.

[G3n0c1de]

Sure kids are cruel, but for a personality like Emi, I don't think her going to Yamaku as a result of bullying would be the case. Especially if she was never bullied before her accident.

Emi was not born with her disability, perhaps it happened while she was in school. So before the accident, I'd imagine Emi to be much like she is now, full of energy and positivity. Generally genki. Also like she is now, I think she'd be pretty social, having many friends. The loss of her legs is a shock, and a tragedy. For someone as liked as her, I'm pretty sure the response by her peers would be one of sympathy. Not bullying. Emi is devastated, but she copes by pushing herself to rehab and recover. It would be pretty dick of her friends to abandon her at a time like this. And for her peers to start bullying her. I'd like to think that they'd support her. Any cruelty would be kind of uncalled for. Contrast this with Hanako, where she probably didn't have too many friends to begin with, so after the fire, she drove them away herself.

The reason Emi would be sent to Yamaku is because it'd be a lot easier for her to rehab there, rather than her going to school and then spending long hours at a separate rehab facility. It's easier if they're in the same place. Her treatment probably took time, so Emi figured she might as well stay at the school. She also made a friend in Rin, so there's that too.

Of course, this all depends on Emi matching my view of her character before the accident. It's entirely possible that she as a slacker, lay about type of person. Or something socially withdrawn like Hanako. Or a bitch. And the accident served to give her a new lease on life and change for the better, or something. I know the loss of her legs had to affect her in some way, but I'm not a fan of her personality being re written. I see her as the type who's mastered her disability, to the point where it doesn't affect her too much anymore.

Getting back to the OP's original point, he's right. Emi could function just as well in any other school that isn't specialized to handle the disabled. Hell, when she has her normal legs on, she even looks completely normal. Functionally, there is no reason for her to be there. She also doesn't seem to have any social anxieties or insecurities like Hanako. So I say that she is choosing to stay of her own will. She has made friends here. And perhaps she wants to help others in the school who have it worse than her. Like how she helps Rin with dressing and eating, even though she is capable of both. Or how she wants to improve Hisao's health.

[Brogurt]

I was making a conscious effort to not bring up Hanako in this thread, but given that Genocide did so 3 times in one post, I don't feel so bad about it anymore.

Anyway, speaking of lives before and after accidents, I think that making Emi a different person before the accident might make her a more interesting character, which is probably more likely to help her notoriety than it is to hurt it, given her current state as the "unpoplar token loli". This might mean making her someone who flaunted her physical superiority before being taken down a notch so she can see what it's like not to be #1. This might mean making her a reckless girl who suddenly learned to appreciate health and life after looking Death in the eye. I think either way would help.

As for Hanako (oh boy here he goes again), I don't really see where the assumption comes from that she was such an introvert before the fire. The only piece of evidence that might point to that is the mention that she only played chess with one other person. But it's not like the amount of people that a young girl has played chess with is particularly evident of her social life. But if that happens to be the case, then the fire and her transferal to Yamaku might seem like "just what the doctor ordered" since it allowed Hisao to step into her life, which is a slightly sickening thought. Something about the phoenix rising from the ashes to return to it's former glory just seems more appealing to me.