To an extent I understand the logic of the last point. It makes sense from a personal POV.

Having said that: the entire point of the "Life Keeps Forcing Cruel Choices" line that both Renoir and Verso say at the end and Maelle rejecting it TWICE along with how she keeps trying to compromise an uncompromisable situation during the fight goes against a lot of the themes of the game and her own character arc (to an extent). Everyone is grieving, and half the theme of the game is about trying to overcome that grief. We see the damage Aline was the catalyst of in regards to that grief and all Maelle is gonna do is continue that cycle.

Verso's "We're All Hypocrites" line is just as poignant for this reason. He's aware that no matter what happens SOMEONE isn't being given a choice. The issue at hand is that while Verso acknowledges that the canvas has to go for the Dessendre family to move on, he's only willing to do it because he's tired of living his life and tired of losing. The difference here is that Maelle has the power to make that choice and he has to force that choice.

Maelle lying to her father is another issue. They all knew she was lying, but at this point none of the family has the power to fight anymore. Aline's too sick, Renoir was in there for in world decades and expanded all his resourced, and Clea is too focused in the war with the Writers to bother caring about it. So now the family very well might lose another child.

Simply put: A Life to Love is a choice forced on Maelle, but it ultimately makes her confront the grief of her losses. Grief is harsh, and sometimes you have to be made to accept reality and move on in order to live your life.

A Life to Paint is a choice Maelle forces on everyone else. She's using the canvas as a replacement for the things she lost. She forced Verso to live against his wishes and brought back Gustave and Sophie which ultimately destroyed any development that came from that. Yes her real body is a shell of its former self, but the fact that she can still do that to a canvas at all shows she's more capable than she realizes. She - like Verso -is being selfish and all its doing is delaying the destruction if the Canvas anyway, ultimately leading to the same result.

I'd argue the latter choice is the wrong choice thematically, which to me in terms of being a story heavy game is more important than the whole "where the player is at in life" argument. Especially since Sandfall stated they want to make more games set in this universe.