Ringet. I hadn't really decided whether I was going after Rin or Lilly. I was spoiled about "I'm fine" (damn you, tvtropes), but I like to think I would have avoided it anyway. Reasoning below.
Some random observations:
- The period thing was... surprisingly unsurprising, after having previously spent so much time trying to get into Rin's head.
- The Lilly/Hanako ratio is kind of surprising for me, considering it's pretty much a straight-up choice in-game. There are at least two possible reasons for this I can think of:
1) People just plain liek Hanako better. The whole shyness thing didn't do it for me, though.
2) The path is more obvious for people who want Hanako than for people who want Lilly, since the necessary early-game interaction has more to do with Hanako. (Why would you look for a blind girl in the library? And then the other points are for treating Hanako delicately and thinking she's cute, while you don't get to express your feelings for Lilly until later). I imagine this is difficult for a lot of Lilly players since they're attracted to Lilly largely for her appearance and get into the personality later. (Personally, I liked her for her seeming appreciation of music and for how calm and blissed-out she looks in the tea room. The whole drama thing with Shizune annoyed me though. I wanted to tell Lilly to take it easy.)
- The game mechanic (? Not sure if that's an appropriate term when discussing a VN) for Kenji kinda sucks. I was disappointed to find out that it depends on not making wrong choices (and having at most 2 chances to make a wrong choice) in the late game. Makes much more sense to me to have it based on just not doing well with the girls overall.
Regarding those options, though:
- "I was having fun": Totally understandable to pick this, and actually a little unfair. If you got to this scene, there's a good chance you're genre-savvy enough to figure it's a Shizune-Emi tiebreak (or at least have a vague intuitive idea along those lines), and then figure that this is the way to prefer Emi. Also, Misha is annoying. On the other hand, if you're that genre-savvy, I suppose you'd only get here if you were hoping there was some kind of harem ending...
- "Kick them out": Understandable to pick, but it means you didn't really understand Shizune and Misha. The key point is that the whole thing is a game (which I just lost). You can't be so direct. OTOH, that contradicts the advice from the Risk scene about being assertive, so I don't know. Anyway I didn't mess this up when I tried for Shizune (although I did make a save just in case).
- "I just stuck with her": This one is pretty stupid. If you're at this point you're either trying for Rin or just totally non-commital. You're now being pretty much asked point-blank whether you'll take Rin. In the first case, of course you will, and in the second case, you ought to realize that you're nearing the end and should take what you're given. Personally, I figured I wanted Rin from what I'd heard ahead of time, but am also a little non-commital in general (and also paranoid about dying in video games; I honestly expected "Go for it" to be a one-way ticket to bad end). Actually, I guess that kinda makes sense personality-wise. Or maybe I'm more like Rin than I thought.
- "I'm fine": This is the interesting one.
If you're here because you fucked up trying to get Shizune (or, incomprehensibly, *tried to* get Emi and then *chickened out*), well, it's pretty much a toss-up how you want to interact with Lilly.
If you're here because you're non-commital or just don't know what you're doing, I'd think opening your heart (pun intended) and admitting a fault seems like the natural thing to do, especially if you've been reading all Hisao's inner monologue about coming to grips with the condition and relating to the girls and seeing past their disabilities. (This was part of my reasoning; the other part is that I would have been happy to get Lilly instead of Rin.)
If you're here because you're trying to get Rin, very specifically, on your first playthrough - well, you're a little strange
I guess trying not to end up with Lilly makes some sense at this point. Heck, you might even be a little annoyed at being scripted into going on this long trip with Lilly alone at night, and suddenly overtaken with WTF-y joy by Rin's sudden appearance.
But if you're here because you're trying to get Hanako or Lilly - especially Lilly - you are an idiot if you mess this up. These two are all about empathy and consideration for others, and you know full well by now that you can't hide anything non-visual from Lilly. Why on earth would you not open up, given the chance?
Quick PS: anyone else notice that Rin results are disproportionate in the comments compared to the poll results?