If they were "normal"

[purple haired Katawa Shoujo character]

Emi - Nothing would change

Rin - Nothing would change

Shizune - Nothing would change

Lilly - Would probably be living in Scotland

Hanako - Everything would change

[sporkaganza]

"Rin - nothing would change"

Like hell it wouldn't!!

Oh wait, you meant "normal" as in "lacking a disability."

...Yeah, probably nothing would be different.

[Aust Kyzor]

Emi - Nothing would change

Except that the accident gave her epic levels of PTSD, caused her to not want to let ANYBODY grow close to her, and she damn near had an emotional meltdown on Hisao when he said he loved her. If Emi never lost her legs, she wouldn't be the kind of person presented in the game

Also, Shizune would have had a much better relationship with her family, and likely would never have met Misha

Rin herself wouldn't change, but her situation would. The art teacher would have all but ignored her artwork if she had arms, because that's boring, but an artist who uses her feet? That's a money-maker! The Art teacher is an evil, evil man.

[Razgriz1]

Emi - Nothing would change

Except that the accident gave her epic levels of PTSD, caused her to not want to let ANYBODY grow close to her, and she damn near had an emotional meltdown on Hisao when he said he loved her. If Emi never lost her legs, she wouldn't be the kind of person presented in the game

Also, Shizune would have had a much better relationship with her family, and likely would never have met Misha

Rin herself wouldn't change, but her situation would. The art teacher would have all but ignored her artwork if she had arms, because that's boring, but an artist who uses her feet? That's a money-maker! The Art teacher is an evil, evil man.

Agreed on Emi's explanation. PTSD can truly change a person completely Watching a loved one die in front of you can viciously alter how you view the world and the people in it

[Fronzel]

Emi - Nothing would change

Except that the accident gave her epic levels of PTSD, caused her to not want to let ANYBODY grow close to her, and she damn near had an emotional meltdown on Hisao when he said he loved her. If Emi never lost her legs, she wouldn't be the kind of person presented in the game

Also, Shizune would have had a much better relationship with her family, and likely would never have met Misha

Rin herself wouldn't change, but her situation would. The art teacher would have all but ignored her artwork if she had arms, because that's boring, but an artist who uses her feet? That's a money-maker! The Art teacher is an evil, evil man.

Nomiya isn't evil, he's a failure who's trying to live vicariously through a protegee and is being overzealous in encouraging avoidance of something he had problems with (lack of financial success).

He is an asshole, though.

[Darkish-One]

Ok first off the message is kinda wrong, they are normal, they just have disabilities. I see where ya going though and you didn't catch anyone right.

Emi-If her accident never happen she wouldn't suffer from phantom limb pains and nightmares, she would'nt feel the need to run either. She wouldn't fear growing close to anyone. She wouldn't be hiding any of this and would have had a normal relationship without erupting on Hisao over it. Not to mention she would still have her father./spoiler]

Rin- She might still be hard to understand and be odd with her habits but her disability wasn't only her arms but a bit in her mind. She needed to paint because that's the only way people can see the real her, and when she couldn't paint anything she was willing to destroy herself in order to paint the results. If she wasn't disabled she wouldn't need to do that.

Hanako- You're right. everything would change, sure other events can cause her to be socially withdrawn but if not who knows where Hanako would be, how she would act. She might turn out to be a completely different person good or bad.

Shizune- Well there would be some changes seeing how she would be both vocal and able to hear you. I bet she'll still have Misha around though cause of the Student Council.

Lily- Still elegant, and classy. Wonder if she would veiw the world the same way she did when she couldn't see.

Hisao- Well that snow covered day wouldn't have ended so bad now would it? Then again he would never got to meet any of the other girls.

Kenji- Well maybe he would be able to see that not everyone is a feminist, and maybe he wouldn't be the loony we love. Also he might still have a girlfriend.

[Evvinartopski]

Hisao would probably never had a chance with Emi if she was normal. Her PTSD ruined the relationship with her previous boyfriend, so they'd still be together

Hanako would not be so shy, that was due to her scars.

Rin has no trouble without her arms, her only disability is mental. So... No difference

Lilly would probably still be with her parents, as there's no need for special education.

Misha would be Misha. Obviously.

[Drake]

Everything would change, none of them would even be in that school except for Misha maybe. So...Misha route?

Also Rin was born without arms wasn't she? That's why it was never a big deal to her, and she choose to come to that school on her own. Doubt that option would be available to her if she had arms.
She doesn't really suffer any mental disabilities, she's just far too whimsical, head in the clouds, ect.

[Prussian Blue]

She doesn't really suffer any mental disabilities

Other than being practically batcrap insane and probably having some form of mild autism and/or psychopathy, judging from her inability to understand others and empathize with them. In fact, after playing her path (regardless of which end is obtained), it becomes pretty obvious that not having arms is the least of her problems.

[t0xic]

it becomes pretty obvious that not having arms is the least of her problems.

True. Sometimes I wonder if that whole none "minded" disability school is true either. Because they seem litlle bit crazy sometimes (Misha and Rin obviously).

But hey! Maybe they accept some weaker kinds of mental disabilities?

[Guest Poster]

Emi: She'd be a lot like she appeared in Act 1, except probably less fanatical with running. (for her dad, it was a hobby he introduced her to, but for her it's both a hobby and a coping mechanism) She'd also have a healthier relationship life. Her core personality wouldn't change much though.

Rin: Difficult to say, since Rin's true disability (the trait actively holding her back) isn't so much her lack of arms, but her autist-like mindset. Even with arms, she'd probably be about the same person and her arc would probably have played out about the same. If her mindset were to be "normalized", she'd be a completely different person and it's hard to make predictions about it.

About Nomiya, btw, he's not evil, merely dishonest about his motives (probably even to himself) and emphatically lacking with Rin. Nomiya aspired to be an artist himself in his youth and follow in his friend's (Sae's husband) footsteps, but when the latter committed suicide, he dropped his dream, frightened of the possible consequences. So now he sees Rin's budding art career as a comeback-by-proxy for himself, which is why he's so pushy at first and so angry when Rin bails on the exposition. It's a theme you often see in stories about (failed) sport coaches and the way they treat their star pupils.

Lilly: She'd be living in Scotland obviously, though what kind of life is hard to predict. Lilly's easy-going attitude is probably something she adopted out of necessity due to her blindness. I think she'd still be mostly the same person, just a tad more active and less reluctant to engage in physical activity that doesn't involve sex.

Shizune: I can never shake the feeling that Shizune's disability had a lot of influence on the way her personality developed. Due her family never learning sign language, I have a feeling Shizune lived a very isolated life where, if she wanted to interact with people, she had to drag them in. This probably contributed a lot to her forceful personality. I think Shizune would be more easy-going if she weren't deaf-mute, though she'd retain her playfulness and her competitive streak would probably resemble Hanako's more.

Come to think of it, Shizune and Lilly, as much as they'd hate to admit it, share several core personality traits. Both are strong-willed, greatly value independance, never shun responsibility, have a hidden playful side and aren't shy about doing a bit of manipulation if they feel the ends justify it. I wager that without their disabilities, they'd probably be a lot closer with each other, maybe even close friends.

Hanako: She'd probably be a bit like she person she was turning into near the end of Lilly's arc. I think Hanako's always been a fairly meek girl who was content with having a handful of people close to her, but never the need to drag crowds of people into her life. She'd just be a lot more confident in herself, but she'd never be as genki as Emi or as forward as Shizune.

[Drake]

She doesn't really suffer any mental disabilities

Other than being practically batcrap insane and probably having some form of mild autism and/or psychopathy, judging from her inability to understand others and empathize with them. In fact, after playing her path (regardless of which end is obtained), it becomes pretty obvious that not having arms is the least of her problems.

So every person who has trouble expressing themselves or understanding others has a mental disability? You'd qualify too then, since apparently you don't understand her.

Either way lets not start this argument, it's a slippery slope. I simply meant that Rin's personality may be a hindrance to her social life but I don't think it affects her ability to live life. Like Hanako, she's socially inept, but she can take care of herself and overcome her problems/depression on her own, she'd just be a social recluse.

[Prussian Blue]

So every person who has trouble expressing themselves or understanding others has a mental disability?

I never said that.

You'd qualify too then, since apparently you don't understand her.

Please ellaborate further. I feel slightly insulted by that and would like to know if that feeling is justified. Are you making assumptions based on nothing regarding my understanding of a fictional character, or just fusing me and Hisao in one entity (which is still making assumptions, as for that you'd need to assume I'm anything like Hisao)?

Either way lets not start this argument, it's a slippery slope. I simply meant that Rin's personality may be a hindrance to her social life but I don't think it affects her ability to live life. Like Hanako, she's socially inept, but she can take care of herself and overcome her problems/depression on her own, she'd just be a social recluse.

Which is why she needs Hisao in order to not become even more batcrap insane. Yeah, makes sense. Now, which route did you play? Clearly it wasn't Rin's.

[Drake]

It was Rin's route actually, I simply don't consider everyone who is different to have some form of disability, especially mental disabilities.

Please ellaborate further. I feel slightly insulted by that and would like to know if that feeling is justified. Are you making assumptions based on nothing regarding my understanding of a fictional character, or just fusing me and Hisao in one entity (which is still making assumptions, as for that you'd need to assume I'm anything like Hisao)?

You consider Rin to have mental issues because she can't understand people and express herself and you consider her batcrap insane. I was simply pointing out that by the same reasoning, those things can apply to you, or anyone else, who doesn't understand her.
I don't really have much problems understanding her, I certainly don't consider her insane. Why is your perspective of her what determines if she has a mental disability or not? In my eyes your lack of understanding of her (fictional character or otherwise) is a shortcoming on your part. Or maybe the writer's.
There's no template for a mentally stable mind, just what is expected of a person. That's why I said it was a slippery slope, expectations differ.

Or maybe I'm just totally misunderstanding you here.

Which is why she needs Hisao in order to not become even more batcrap insane. Yeah, makes sense. Now, which route did you play? Clearly it wasn't Rin's.

I have no idea what you're even trying to say here.

[Prussian Blue]

It was Rin's route actually, I simply don't consider everyone who is different to have some form of disability, especially mental disabilities.

Well, it looks to me that what happens is actually the opposite: you consider people with mental disabilities to be "different" (in place of having the disability, I mean).

You consider Rin to have mental issues because she can't understand people and express herself and you consider her batcrap insane.

She has mental issues and is practically batcrap insane (note that I said "practically" batcrap insane both times, which is different than regular batcrap insane). That is established pretty obviously in her route. She exhibits the traits of a person who suffers from mild autism (ever dealt with autists, Drake? I have) or some form of psychopathy, specially the lack of empathy and difficulty in feeling and expressing emotions. Those are a form of mental disability. I'm not saying Rin's retarded, in case that's what you thought I was saying. And I'm not saying that everyone that is socially inept or whatever has a mental disability, I'm saying that the specifics of Rin's case point to her having one.

I was simply pointing out that by the same reasoning, those things can apply to you, or anyone else, who doesn't understand her.

And I was asking for proof that I don't understand her. A moot point, since the problem here is that you don't understand what I'm saying.

I don't really have much problems understanding her, I certainly don't consider her insane.

Which should be enough proof that you don't understand her.

Why is your perspective of her what determines if she has a mental disability or not?

It isn't. What might have made you think that was the case, I wonder...

In my eyes your lack of understanding of her (fictional character or otherwise) is a shortcoming on your part. Or maybe the writer's.
There's no template for a mentally stable mind, just what is expected of a person. That's why I said it was a slippery slope, expectations differ.

Or maybe I'm just totally misunderstanding you here.

Yes, yes you are.

I have no idea what you're even trying to say here.

Exactly what I'm saying. What do you think would have happened to her on the mid to long term without Hisao (or anyone, but as far as KS is concerned, it's Hisao) there supporting her? I'm betting on a fate similar to that of Sae's husband. She's already succumbed to depression and a panic attack once after failing to be understood through her art, even with Hisao by her side, and it was pretty bad. Pursuing a career as an artist without someone supporting her and making the effort to understand her would simply end badly for her, judging by the precedents we see in her route.