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.