Love is love. Take Trevor, the Ornate Horned Toad and Charlie, the Pink Morph Red-eyed Tree Frog. The pair live in parallel universes – Trevor residing in the game Flutter Starlight, while Charlie lives in Flutter: Butterfly Sanctuary. But digital divides aren’t enough to stop love from striking, with the amorous amphibians meeting, falling in love and writing endless gushy letters that made our hearts leap!

It’s a story told over nearly a decade already, with a new chapter in the latest in-app event for Flutter Starlight. The App Store chatted to Runaway, the Aotearoa New Zealand–based development team behind the forest simulation games, about what’s in store for our leaping lovers and why being there for the rainbow community is so important to them.

Trevor and Charlie’s romance began back in 2017. Trevor, a fan-favourite in Flutter Starlight, finally plucked up the courage to ask local celebrity Charlie out, and they went on their first date. Over the years, they’ve had the odd disagreement – but always made up!

In the latest chapter in this saga, Charlie returns to the forest after an overseas trip. He and Trevor exchange daily letters that are incredibly sweet and relatable. For instance, an anxious Trevor bakes two apricot pies just to ensure one is perfect for Charlie. He needn’t have worried – Charlie loved it so much he took an extra slice home.

Originally, Runaway sought to simply add more depth to Trevor’s character – but this grew into an adorable cross-game collaboration that delighted the Runaway community. CEO of Runaway, Zoe Hobson, reveals, “Their relationship was influenced by our own experiences: the excitement, nerves and uncertainty. The goal was to avoid over-referencing their romantic orientation, and instead focus on universal relationship experiences.”

Aside from being a sweet and dedicated piece of storytelling, the Trevor and Charlie story arc has a deeper meaning for both the developer and their fans. With a quarter of the Runaway team identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community, championing diversity through these events comes from a deeply personal space.

“We’re so proud of these games,” says Runaway’s Community Manager Libby Guthrie. “As somebody from the rainbow community, I’ve been really proud to work in this company and say: ‘We have done this across so many games, and we do this publicly and happily’.”

Hobson is prolific in elevating women and other marginalised groups in the games industry. “I really believe all our values should be visibly present in what we do as a company,” she says.

This includes taking great care with diversity-themed events such as Trevor and Charlie’s story. “As a studio, we have a reflection process that involves checking for tropes, considering personal biases and asking whether we’re representing characters relatably, respectfully and authentically,” says Hobson.

That this love shines through is clear when looking at the love the developer and games get from their fan communities. Trevor and Charlie have collected quite the fan-base over the years, with countless players praising Runaway for normalising LGBTQ+ representation. Here’s a snapshot of what players have to say:

So, will Trevor and Charlie live hoppily-ever-after? Jump in to the Flutter forest from June 14 and tap the characters to find out more!