Katawa Shoujo Forums

A few days ago, I re downloaded the demo and played each path again. I saved rin's path for last, not because I wanted to save it, but because I'd found it unpleasant the first play through and wasn't eager to go through it again. So with a heavy heart, I trudged through it, only to find my feelings didn't change.
When I say unpleasant, I don't mean I hated it. Maybe I could account it more to confusion than irritation, but to be honest, its a combination. Before you jump all over me for insulting your waifu or whatever, let me explain my thinking.
Each girl (save Rin), had a personality that fit their disability...No, maybe its more than that, the other girls had a definite personality, with clear causes for their behavior. Hanako's being the most obvious, but each of the girls had reasons for their mannerisms.
My question is simply what is Rin's? Is her personality unrelated to her disability? If so, wouldn't that be unrealistic? Or, Is her scatterbrained thinking and odd manner a result of isolation from her peers because of her lack of arms?

TLDR: Why is Rin the way she is? All feedback is appreciated, but the writer for Rin's path would be great. (Also, don't just comment saying something like "Well that's why I like her", because I didn't ask for your personal preferences)

Is this trolling?
No offense but I almost feel like it is.

Mostly because you imply that the girls' personalities have to somehow be directly related to their disabilities.

Sorry if that's how you interpret it, but its not. And of course personalities aren't BASED off of their disabilities but they do play a major role in their development.
Edit: Or at least they would in real life, which I hope is why they are how they are, and that the personalities weren't chosen arbitrarily.

Well, I guess for a better reply then...
I think a Japanese blogger put it best, saying she was a "My own pace" sort of character. For some reason I feel like a lot can be taken from that. She takes it easy. Rin speaks the first thing on her mind and does things in a way that she likes to. She isn't without inhibitions, but I'd say she's a character that doesn't put on any masks. At least, that's my far-reaching interpretation. I won't say I've met anyone exactly like that, but I feel like I can imagine meeting a person who is that way. Heck, even I know the feeling of getting funny looks when I say exactly what I'm thinking, unfiltered and presented in a strange sort of simile. I'm sure a lot of people can. Rin has the ability to get stressed too, like any regular person, since her takin' it easy attitude leads her to procrastinate. I think she's a lot more regular than people seem to believe.

As for WHY she's that way. I'm sure that if there's a reason, the devs are most definitely not going to share that information, but part of me thinks she's just a strange girl. Her unwillingness to fit cleanly into any multiple archetypes is what appeals people.

Pimmy wrote:I think she's a lot more regular than people seem to believe.... part of me thinks she's just a strange girl.

Exactly! She is, supposedly, a person like anybody else. Things around her influence her, probably not in the same amount as other people, but they do. Meaning that, if she used to have arms but lost them in an accident, she'd probably be somewhat bitter about it (or "super genki" as her friend is). What I want to say with this is that, as you said, her disability must have played a major role in her development, that is, in her infancy when she was trying to get used to interacting with objects like other people do (the remote, switching the lights, opening doors, etc.); but since she never got to experience having arms, she never really lost anything. That gives her a mentality much different than those that had to cope with the fact that they were "normal" before but now they "aren't" (maybe Emi wouldn't be so cheerful if she hadn't lost her legs). Since, to me, she never had a mentality of "I'm a victim here" that had to "evolve" away from it, she's much like a common, weird girl that you'd probably meet in "artsy" or "brainy" places along with people that smoke weed (yes, I know people exactly like that... and weed actually is present).

I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself....

Perhaps its just me, but I believe that her "artsy" or "easy going" attitude is grossly overdone if that is the case. Physically she would have compensated for her lack of arms (in the event of her being born without them), but I was referring to her mentality. Like how she would compensate for her lack of arms physically, its conceivable that she mentally compensated as well (in the event of her oddness being more of a show than anything else, even if she had a naturally easy going personality).
While your answers are probably what the general explanation is, I hoped for a more realistic reason why she acts so abnormally, even for the artsy types shes definitely on the extreme, so much so that it isn't plausible for it to be its own explanation.

People have their own tastes, I guess. I mean, a lot of people thought Lilly was too bland, but for me, well...

True,but I'm looking for an adequate explanation of her character, not the fact that some people like less predictable girls.

Dritz wrote:True,but I'm looking for an adequate explanation of her character, not the fact that some people like less predictable girls.

I think what I said answered your question: people have different tastes, so the writers came up with different personalities. But if you want a true explanation, all I have to say is: wait for the full game, and all will be revealed. I mean, you get good connections with Rin in the full game, and maybe she'll explain why she acts this way. Hell, she might even have a sadder backstory then Hanako!

Rin is like a senile grandfather. All the thoughts in her head just spew out of her mouth.

I believe you just want to pin her oddness, or at the very least part of it, to her disability. Stuff doesn't go that way all the time. I agree that she more than likely had a hard time adjusting because of her lack of upper appendages, but it probably isn't the reason why she's odd. Heck! Probably her mom liked the taste of valium a little too much while she was pregnant for all we know!

It's just 'normal' in my opinion. Emi is hyper, Hanako is withdrawn, Lily is shielded+cautious, Shizune is arrogant, Rin is weird.

List it out this way and all of them have problems dealing with their disabilities, if you ask me. All of them an extreme, usually unseen among regular people. To have no legs and be so hyper all the time running around as if she can never run again if she stopped, Emi's a mess. Hanako can't even speak to your face unless it's Lily and Hisao (If you go her path), she's the most obvious among all, extreme fear to the point of isolation. Lily cared deeply about her image and how she looked, like, A LOT, with all that wellbred speech and stuff because she can't really work much on her exterior like other girls. Shizune lets herself be bossy and arrogant and constantly successful, giving a hundred percent with die hard stubborness to win because she's scared that one day she will fail, that there would be something she can never ever accomplish. Rin acts as if she doesn't care, unaware of her surroundings and constantly idle, creating her own fantasy on her head walking around like a puppet on strings, if you ask me it's because everytime she draws she's reminded of her lack of hands, and she doesn't want to care about it. Not to think about it. To think something else.

I don't get why if someone has a disability, that suddenly means that the disability is the sole cause and explanation for their entire personality. You might as well try to explain personality in terms of hair color.

The only one I can see whose personality was greatly affected by their disability is Hanako.

While Rin isn't my favorite, I still respect her as an interesting and unique character. Her thought process and personality are a great counter to Emi's dose of normal. When the two clash it's amazing.

Pimmy manages to say everything on my mind in her posts, and for some reason that makes me happy.

I'll add this tho:

Dritz wrote:Sorry if that's how you interpret it, but its not. And of course personalities aren't BASED off of their disabilities but they do play a major role in their development.
Edit: Or at least they would in real life, which I hope is why they are how they are, and that the personalities weren't chosen arbitrarily.

Not all the time. There's a teacher I know of who has one arm missing, but she hides it so well that many people won't immediately notice it when they meet her. She plays it off with incredible nonchalance and never brings it up in conversation. Why would she? It really doesn't matter.

I find it weird that you find Rin weird for not having a "personality that fits her disability." If this game were that simple I probably wouldn't be as fond of it as I am.

Some people are affected more by tragedy, and others are affected less by it. Different people experience different tragedy too. When veterans of war return, some are just fine, and others may be extremely depressed. We all react differently to things, I don't think that's weird at all.