that’s fine! I actually only discovered it last month so you’re a veteran in my eyes lol
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please don’t use homosexuality to justify an incestuous relationship. they’re not the same and they shouldn’t be compared.
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I don’t know if it’s just me but I never got incest vibes from Long Qing because I knew he wasn’t my brother I find him actually to be one of the most interesting characters and find myself wondering what he thinks of me constantly but it could just be me.
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To be honest though, I haven’t been playing the updated demo though but when @ohmyvalar list the characters up in the first post. I automatically dismissed him as non-RO. (⌣_⌣”)
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To me it all depend (like most things) on context. Even with no relation by blood I feel uncomfortable with RO who are brothers/sisters, because to me being family is more than just blood, and so is brothehood/sisterhood. Is growing up together and loving each other since kids, knowing each others in a very deep way.
So for me even adopted brother/sister in love with MC is uncomfortable. If the title brother/sister is both with a non related by blood and with people who never experienced growing up together, than I can, if well written, consider it.
But it would not be my first choice.
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I’m sorry if I offended anyone with my post, it was genuinely not my intention. To prevent derailing this thread any further, I will leave it alone.
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After playing Fire Emblem Fates I’m TOTALLY ready to romance our “brother” xD
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If we’re talking Fire Emblem I’d have to go with our dear “sister”
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I prefer Shigure (I don’t even know what term to call what family he is) now I feel bad because he is related by blood to you unlike the characters mentioned above 
but Leon is cute too, especially his Japanese voice in the touch mode! Shigure’s jp voice when he sang too~ 
ok I’ll shut up about FE now lol sorry for going off topic a bit - but not by much since you were raised with Leon as siblings hahaha
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Is there any way to win the 3rd trial?
First of all I apologize if this plot point/characterization has made anyone uncomfortable or caused any inconveniences. Still I realize this is a discussion I’d rather have earlier than later, so here is a post about why I decided to make Crown Prince Long Qing an RO.
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I’m projecting (no, not about the incest thing.) In playing otome/games with a romance factor in them I’ve always found it difficult to relate/interact/reconcile MC’s relationship with a major character unless there is a romanceable aspect to them? I don’t know if anyone else has ever experienced this, but personally that’s what I feel. As Long Qing is arguably one of the most irreplaceable characters in the game, I found it easier to establish his character by contrasting the more abrasive elements of his personality with a softer romantic struggle. This leads on to my next point, which is…
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I wanted to add a sympathetic element to Long Qing’s character in a way that would likely be impossible without making him an RO within the confines of a very narrative-driven game. Perhaps a more skillful writer, working with a slower-paced narrative, might be able to establish this softer characterization without resorting to the cliche “easy way out” of romance, but I don’t think it’s possible for me at this point in time. This next part hinges on spoilery, but I also wanted to explore the rivalrous dynamic with Long Qing and MC. I think in various media we rarely see characters antithetical to an MC throughout the medium establish an emphathetic bond - which of course makes sense, bc to have a series arch nemesis villain you can’t really have them teaming up with MC all the time. But it’s always frustrated me to see characters on-screen flat out refusing to admit their similarities/connections w antagonists, especially in more morally grey situations where both sides are basically doing the same things for survival, which results in painful hypocrisy. In the context of this game players with a non-romantic high relationship with Long Qing may still be able to glimpse his sympathetic points…? But it will be pretty hard for a high ambition non-RO MC to maintain a high relationship with Long Qing.
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Lastly, as mentioned above I wish to explore, if not deconstruct, some common dynamics/tropes in otome(?) games. As you may have noticed, the current major ROs are respectively: Fang Yun - ice queen, Chen Kun - loyal childhood friend/servant, Jin - cuckoolander cutie matyr, Qin Lan - gentle big sister type… Of course these characters will all develop other dimensions and characteristics, but it is undeniable that this is where their characterizations originated from. And it’s similary undeniable that I’ve been influenced by other mediums. In my time of playing otome/character insert games on multiple platforms, it’s come to my attention that there exists an uh “forbidden love” appeal option? Usually this is a Romeo-Juliet kind of situation instead of anything incestous, but… tw for incest mentions in mediums incest is generally played for either a shocking game-breaker or as a, I think, strangely fetishized concept. There are numerous games on a particular Chinese visual novel-style game website that include an option to romance MC’s relations, which are usually their brother/sister. I know there’s at least one Voltage game on the App Store that has an option to date MC’s uncle… In the televised medium there’s anime such as Oreimo (which I didn’t watch but apparently in an epilogue the main characters, actual blood related full siblings, end up married with kids??) and Ero-manga Sensei (which I watched a couple of eps of). Of course in most cases, game or anime, the characters end up being not related in the end , which to be honest I find is a particularly weak excuse especially in mediums which are blatantly exploiting the uh appeal? of the concept to audiences. For western audiences I think this is rarer? But there is the YA The Mortal Instruments series in which the protagonists fall in love, then are told they’re siblings and consequently spend the next book(s?) trying to reconcile their feelings with their relationship, which yknow, I think is more realistic. Of course in the end they turn out not to be related after all, but it’s not treated as a last-minute plot-twist to morally justify the romance but as a rather natural progression of the plot. And there’s of course ASOIAF/GOT with Jaime/Cersei and Dany/Jon, the former with condemnation in-universe and a rather mixed reception in the real world audience, and the latter (from what I know) with almost overwhelming support (maybe bc they’re the ‘protagonist hype couple and the ‘they’re targaryens so it’s justified thought process’?’). But since ASOIAF is a huge world with many diverse characters it feels less like a cheap shock value play than a realistic portrayal of flawed human beings in a crapsack world. Even in games such as the aforementioned Fire Emblem (idk if others feel the same way?) which handle all romantic interactions well, the ‘not blood related’ twist with the Hoshido siblings in particular felt a bit… last minute and brief? For instance it is only revealed in the last S-support with Ryoma that MC is not related to him. But clearly MC already felt beyond-sibling feelings for him if she accepts his marriage proposal immediately after that?? I’m not justifying the existence of these mediums, but I cannot deny that I myself have been influenced by them. With all of these in mind I wanted to try writing a non-blood related ‘sibling’ RO route to reconcile this phenomenon, while exploring how such a romance would work healthily and non-exploitatively in a game. Long Qing’s spoilery reveal will take place late in the game, but I promise it is central to the entire political plot and there will be (probably too much) foreshadowing throughout the game.
Okay this is getting way too long, but I hope I managed to explain why I decided to make Long Qing an RO. Btw no, MC does not start the game with the knowledge that Long Qing is not their blood sibling, but they can guess it before the actual reveal during the game. I understand if players still feel uncomfortable with romancing him, but hey that’s why other RO options exist! If anyone has any thoughts, advice, id welcome them!
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I don’t mind Long Qing as a RO but the thing that seems to nagged me was him being a “brother” but hey, it didn’t stopped me in FE. 
It really depends on how you will execute it. I think the rivalry could be done without them being siblings though and I love having a rival turn RO since I’m not into bff /childhood friends turn into lovers much. ^^;
As far as ASOIAF is concern the Dany/Jon and Jamie/Cersei, it unfortunately irked me real bad since they are blood related but since it is a book/series, I don’t really minded much afterwards since I am no in their shoes and I’ll concentrate on the story.
Edit: In the end, I pray that you could execute them well since you have already hinted the no blood relation
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I don’t think you really needed to explain yourself. They are not related. You hinted at it but it wasn’t 100% and I was looking forward to the reveal of that fact in the story. BUT no! Haha somebody had to look at the code. Oh well…
And like you said. If someone is weirded out by the idea of romancing him, they have other options. I don’t think it’s a big deal at all.
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Will we be able to kill him eventually?
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first off you’re amazing for writing an asian based cog, as an asian person it’s nice to see something based around culture i’m familiar with + it’s the sweet sweet imperial hijinks which i love so i can’t wait to see how everything plays out!
that said i’m always a sucker for the forbidden love trope and the protagonist-antagonist or rival romance trope in fiction so i’m excited for the long qing romance so i also look forward to experiencing that if you do end up keeping it because like one of the people above me mentioned it’s an optional thing so while it is understandable there would be people uncomfortable with it, it’s avoidable, so if it fits into your story then you should keep it.
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@resuri08 @PhilosoTor @Infel thanks for sharing your thoughts! Other than the reasons I expressed above, Long Qing being someone outside of the main succession line (Emperor and Empress’ children, trueborn or otherwise) would I feel take some tension out of the inheritance struggle plot line (okay I don’t think this is a spoiler(?) since that’s basically what all political routes lead up to lol). But thanks for the suggestion! And as for the explanation, I just wanted to leave that up there for any future peeps stumbling onto the thread while the issue is still in the forefront of my mind.
@No_This_Is_Patrick yes, as your rivalry heats up (cough) and the situation escalates the stakes will be drastically raised. As with any other kill options for major characters (I promise I’m still working on the Chen Kun option so far Long Qing is the only confirmed killable one) it will only be possible near the end of the game, but yes. And possibly w creativity.
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Yay. I’ll romance him, get him to trust me, then give him a taste of the forbidden fruits 
…then kill him.
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On the Jon/Dany business I for one think its revolting. I don’t know why fans aren’t as disgusted with them as they were/are with Jaime and Cersei!
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Now I am imagining that perhaps Long Qing is a son of a previous emperor (that is not related to the current royal family) . 
Oohhh that would be awesome if it were true…
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Sounds like a romance with the potential for some good drama (for various reasons).
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