Read as much as I could in one go, finishing Ending C for Misty's route. The writers for this nailed, NAILED the discomfort that can come about when there's an issue on the table and neither one wants to point it out. And when something's off about the way someone is acting but you can't quite pick it out. It felt very real most of the time, and very sweet.
I'm genuinely excited to try for other routes! You should all be very proud of what you've made.
I finished the other three endings. Both "good" endings feel... unresolved. There's hope for the future in both but an underlying dread. The necklace he gives Stella, her living situation, and their lack of motivation they both have to change. The addiction Misty's battling, Anon resting on his laurels instead of teaching properly, and her lingering trauma over being abandoned again and again and again by men... It all leaves me with the feeling that it could have gone better for both of them. Though that's life, I suppose, we become the people we become and that creates friction no matter what.
I actually came back to say I didn't like that about this story, but as I sit here typing it out I realized that it fits E2 very, very well. You nailed what I love about this series. Meaningful, bittersweet relationships. Growth and its stunting through complacency. It's incredibly well done. Hell, you even used my favorite art for E2 as the pre-credits scene for D.
Edit: I may be dumb, but why did the fountain shot seem familiar to Anon in both routes? Just out of curiosity?
I take it by "had" that it didn't work out in the end. I'm sorry. It explains why it felt so viscerally real at its best, and why it felt like it stopped rather than ended. You did a great job conveying what it was about that relationship that was beautiful and painful; I'll miss your version of Misty Roberts because of it.
1. I was particularly interested in doing something different to SG in terms of endings. Anon is an adult and he has adult relationship problems. When you're young relationships have this dreamlike aspect to them but when you're older they're often lots of work and you run into a lot of the same problems over and over. I didn't like that both SG/Wani had a "Anon/Inco enters a perfect relationship" ending with E4 and I wanted to leave the player with "Maybe this wasn't the best result, but it's a good result." One of my illustrators recently had a child and he said this messaging resonated with him strongly.
It's also a contrast with the characters Willow/Rudy, who are both more naive/innocent and have more simple problems. Anon/Roberts/Stella have more "these problems might never get solved" issues. It's very evocative of E2's final line "people never change" and I really wanted to expand upon that thematically.
2. I wanted the player to actively engage with both endings and debate which one is better. I was particularly motivated because I felt the existence of E4 cheapened E3 in both SG/Wani. So I wanted to effectively have two E3s and have the player actively need to debate which one is the better outcome for Anon. Or which one does he deserve more.
3. The fountain shot is a motif repeated in both endings. I kind of wanted that imagery to stick out to the player and ask question things like "wait why do both women experience the same event in their lives?" I never want to spell things out to the player though. I want the player to have their own interpretation and come to their own conclusions.
I think you succeeded in what you set out to do, at least for me. It hasn't really left my head since finishing it, something that hasn't happened since reading Snoot and Wani for the first time. It has me reconsidering some things in my own life.
Thank you for the replies as well, it really added to the story without overwhelming the text itself.
