This is such a wonderful piece. Thank you for sharing it. Now that I think about it, so many of the romance stories in games are highly cliche. I think that's one reason I often don't like them.

It's not so much that I'm looking for a more "realistic" take per se, it's just that they often feel phoned in.

This is why I really adore the love story at the centre of The Last of Us Part II. Ellie and Dina have this really spellbinding magic at the core of their relationship. They're clearly passionately in love. But their love is not flawless, and it's always at risk of being torn apart - largely by Ellie's own desire for revenge. There's genuine beauty in that story which more closely maps onto the ups-and-downs real folks have in their lives. I daresay it's actually harder to write that kind of romance story, too.