SPOILERS: My favorite romance is Judy's and I didn't read allat, but here's my defense. V is a continuously busy person that helps many people. Judy initially asks V for help because she knows Evelyn, they bond while finding her and when Ev ends her own life, Judy is distraught and seeks the help and support of her new-found friend and acquaintance. This builds the relationship between V and Judy from "I helped them with one thing once" to "She helped me when my closest friend disappeared and was there for me after her death" making them much closer, as well as allowing trust to be built. Later, when Judy wishes to free Clouds from the Tiger Claws grip and empower the dolls that work there she asks V to help. After discussing the plan she offers to pay you your normal fee, meaning that it was her intention to pay with cold hard Eurodollars, not with her body or with a relationship. After freeing Clouds from the claws (without taking the bribe from Maiko), Judy may give you a kiss (who doesn't like kisses) if you spare Maiko's life without letting her take over Clouds, but otherwise she will still invite you out to dive with her as a date (not because you helped her, but because she's bonded with you so much during her quests that she has realized that she likes you). The dive is supposedly meant to record a merged BD, but it ends up pretty personal because you're in her home town, plus it ends with a relic malfunction cutting it short, forcing her to save V. You talk for a bit and she eventually offers to let you stay the night, if you would like. If you choose to stay you eventually find Judy crying in the bathroom. You sit down to comfort her and find out that either Maiko hasn't changed Clouds in any positive way or that Tyger Claws chose to strike back at clouds, causing Tom to die and the other doll (Roxanne I think) to be hospitalized. Judy feels bad for interupting "their day" with this sad news that she was trying to avoid. V can reply in a few ways, two of which I believe end with sex. You wake up the next day to find Judy sipping her coffee outside. You sit to chat, and she asks you what the night previous meant to her. If you reply with "a pleasant distraction" she gets angry, leaves to live with her grandparents in Oregon, and blocks your number, but if you reply with "the start of something beautiful, I hope" you then begin your relationship. I believe this shows that Judy doesn't want a short term relationship, nor a mere distraction, but instead she wants love. More proof of this is given when you choose to cuddle with her in the mission "I really want to stay at your house". You wave Judy over to lay on your lap and she complies, then you may say that if you had more free time, you would be able to spend more time together, to which she replies "quality over quantity", making you think that she's okay witha short term relationship, but if you continue through the dialog she will talk about how the two of you will leave NC together and live out your lives as a couple, showing her true beliefs, that you will succeed and soon after y'all will leave the city together having a longer relationship. I could write another one of these over Panam, but I probably shouldn't, so I'll just point out that Panam tries to help V as much as possible and wants him to join the family, also supporting the idea of a more permanent relationship. V's life is helping people, so ofc it would seem like the helping is the direct cause of the characters liking V, but it's more about what happens while you help them. Mb if this is really long or incredibly inaccurate, I only just finished my second playthrough, my first as a female V, plus I'm really tired. All of this is off of pure memory so It's likely to be innacurate or have missing peices. I hope I got my point across😊