Yamaku's Swimming Pool

[Jobriq]

While full body suits make more sense given the nature of the school, that immediately puts anyone missing limbs at a major disadvantage. At least with the typical swimsuit that can be worked around. Perhaps there's simply the option to have either or, I could see plenty of others besides Hanako wanting to go the full body route (Rika, for one).

For some reason i doubt many people with missing limbs will be swimming

I know a one legged man with his own swimming pool.

he has arms right? you don't really need your legs to swim. If you don't have any there's less weight lol! although it'd be harder to swim underwater without legs

[pandaphil]

As long as a person can float, aned has at least one limb to paddle with, Ithey won't be entering any swimming races, but they're fine. Hell, I imagine someone who can't walk or use their legs would enjoy the mobility.

[Xanatos]

It's not the easiest of sports/exercises to do if you lack a limb, or two, or three.

And painting isn't easiest without hands (or sight, in some cases), and running isn't easiest without legs...

Emi would disagree.

Emi doesn't have legs, she has metal blades in their stead. Throw those out, then make her run.

[ProfAllister]

You know, rather than speculation and assuming things can't be done without limbs (which is kinda hilarious that people are even making that assumption here), it wouldn't hurt to do a cursory bit of research.

Tisha Unarmed (who's been mentioned here before) has a video of swimming without arms.

Or, you can go all out and refer to someone like Nick Vujicic. No arms, no legs.

Vujicic gradually figured out how to live a full life without limbs, adapting many of the daily skills limbed people accomplish without thinking. He writes with two toes on his left foot and a special grip that slides onto his big toe. He knows how to use a computer and can type up to 43 words per minute using the "heel and toe" method. He has also learned to throw tennis balls, play drum pedals, get a glass of water, comb his hair, brush his teeth, answer the phone and shave, in addition to participating in golf, swimming, soccer, and sky-diving.

(And yes, I recognize that Wikipedia follows that up with "[Citation Needed]". There are youtube videos that I consider sufficient citation.)

As has already been pointed out, I've kind of explored the issue (to some extent) in the fanfic I'm currently writing. That's not so much definitive as it is one possible way things could be, of course.

All we know for certain (i.e., all that is canon) is that there is a pool, it's "for physical therapy" (in context, the "for physical therapy" may be an answer to "how is a pool official?"), and the nurse considers Hisao's heart care an acceptable use of the pool.

Considering the mission statement for Yamaku seems to be "as normal as possible," I would expect that there is more likely than not a swim team. By logical extension, there would be a uniform swimsuit. Whether or not it's the uniform swimsuit is another question entirely.

Considering each of the girls and their relation to water:

Emi likely used a pool for physical therapy.
Rin could go either way, but that's pretty much par for the course for her.
Lilly isn't as interested in swimming as Akira (this is canon), but I'd tie that more to the fact that Lilly just isn't athletic in general.
Shizune (and Misha) could go any which way - it's never really touched upon for those two.

Hanako... is the interesting one. I imagine it would be uncomfortable for her, but not due to chlorine or anything like that. If she hasn't been in the habit of swimming, the new motions would likely to pull on the scar tissue, since it isn't as elastic as regular skin. After a while of swimming, that discomfort would gradually disappear as the body adapts. On the more obvious question of her comfort with wearing a swimsuit, it really hinges on how she sees herself. Does she think of herself as ugly and tries to hide because of that? Or does she try to hide because she knows others are repulsed by her appearance, and will use it as an excuse to treat her horribly.
In other words, does she hide her body because she dislikes it, or because other people dislike it? If the former, there's no way she'd get over that complex in the few remaining months between Hisao's arrival and graduation; if the latter, it's conceivable she might wear a swimsuit around people she trusts in a private setting. To reemphasise, this would be people that Hanako trusts. At best, you could probably count those people on half a hand, and have fingers left over.

Miki, Natsume, Yuuko, Ritsu, Ikuno, Molly, Hitomi, and (presumably) Hachisame would probably have no issue other than personal hang-ups.
Naomi, Suzu, and Misaki might have concerns if the condition is severe enough, and precautions would likely be taken, but I expect they could swim without much trouble most of the time.

[Lianam]

Rin could go either way, but that's pretty much par for the course for her.

Again, this.

And again, before you say anything, you're welcome.

[Oddball]

To reemphasise, this would be people that Hanako trusts. At best, you could probably count those people on half a hand, and have fingers left over.

I think if you really wanted to stretch the point, you could come up with five people Hanako could trust.

She does mention Naomi and Natsume are nice, but never really goes into details about them. Still, the fact that she choses to work with them at all should say something.

[Lianam]

To reemphasise, this would be people that Hanako trusts. At best, you could probably count those people on half a hand, and have fingers left over.

I think if you really wanted to stretch the point, you could come up with five people Hanako could trust.

She does mention Naomi and Natsume are nice, but never really goes into details about them. Still, the fact that she choses to work with them at all should say something.

I think she trusts them, but I doubt it's to the point that she'd be comfortable being around them in a swim suit.

[Xanatos]

To reemphasise, this would be people that Hanako trusts. At best, you could probably count those people on half a hand, and have fingers left over.

I think if you really wanted to stretch the point, you could come up with five people Hanako could trust.

She does mention Naomi and Natsume are nice, but never really goes into details about them. Still, the fact that she choses to work with them at all should say something.

I could see her being that trusting of them later on, but not at the point we see...

[pandaphil]

You know, rather than speculation and assuming things can't be done without limbs (which is kinda hilarious that people are even making that assumption here), it wouldn't hurt to do a cursory bit of research.

I absolutely agree with ever point you made. My compliments.

You raise some good point about how Hanako views herself, or how others view her. My personal speculation is that she's more worried about others seeing her just from the bits and pieces we read. She talks about how much she hates being a bother to others. which to me implies she wants to spare them the sight of her scars. Also caring for her long hair must be a real chore for her. I don't think she'd spend the time needed to keep it neat and clean if she was disgusted by how she looked. And of course, the fact that she stayed relatively calm during the scene in Lilly's classroom when she knew none of the other students could see her clearly would indicate a concern about how others see her. Of course, maybe its a little of each. Years of negative reactions to her appearance have convinced her shes horrid looking, and at the same time, she doesn't want to inflict her appearance on others.

I think if you really wanted to stretch the point, you could come up with five people Hanako could trust.

She does mention Naomi and Natsume are nice, but never really goes into details about them. Still, the fact that she choses to work with them at all should say something.

I'm not sure whether N&N come into play outside of Lilly's arc, where she decides to make friends on her own (presumable to give her and Hisao more space). I can imagine once she'd gone on her summer trip with N (I forget which one of the girls she was going with), I can see her being comfortable with her.

So lets see, Offhand I can only think of her only being confortable around Hisao, Lilly, and Akira. Hideaki maybe? But we don't know how frequently she encounters him. But yes, the same way she was eventually able to show Hisao her body, I suspect in time, she'd be able to wear a swimsuit around her friends. But it would have to be somewhere private. Which means a private pool, or beach with only those people around her. And even then she'd be nervous at first.

Going back to Miki, I once read some speculation that she may have an issue with constantly coming in second to Emi. So I could see her trying a different sport like swimming that she could excel in? Of course thats all strictly fanfic speculation.

[Xanatos]

Hideaki...Honestly, he acts so subdued about everything, I'm curious about how he'd react to Hanako in the beginning...

[Xaredian]

And painting isn't easiest without hands (or sight, in some cases), and running isn't easiest without legs...

Emi would disagree.

Emi doesn't have legs, she has metal blades in their stead. Throw those out, then make her run.

She'd scold you for that.

wall of text.

Hi, wall of text. o.o
Though, I do like Nick Vujicic. Cool guy.

Going back to Miki, I once read some speculation that she may have an issue with constantly coming in second to Emi. So I could see her trying a different sport like swimming that she could excel in? Of course thats all strictly fanfic speculation.

I'd be all for it. Then again, I like Miki, and I like swimming.

[Oddball]

Hideaki...Honestly, he acts so subdued about everything, I'm curious about how he'd react to Hanako in the beginning...

He's also fairly blunt, which is pretty much the opposite of what you need to be around Hanako.

[Xanatos]

Hideaki...Honestly, he acts so subdued about everything, I'm curious about how he'd react to Hanako in the beginning...

He's also fairly blunt, which is pretty much the opposite of what you need to be around Hanako.

Mm, that too...I wish there'd been more of him. There was a lot of room for development there...But yeah, I see him being problematic around Hanako.

[pandaphil]

I'm trying to remember, did he come along when Hisao and Hanako went to meet Lilly and Akira at the airport?

Really though, having disabled family members, I think he'd have enough sense not to say anything rude to Hanako. From what little I've seem of him he mostly seems kinda clueless about the world. Or maybe he's just shy? I suspect if you put him and Hanako in a room together the silence would be deafening.

[Guest Poster]

Really though, having disabled family members, I think he'd have enough sense not to say anything rude to Hanako.

Except for the fact that both his sister and his cousin have had their disabilities since birth and are comfortable with them, so tact was never really that necessary around them to begin with. (in fact, trying to be too tactful around Lilly causes her to take offense)