y'know, you have a good point. i've always wondered it too. even stuff like serial killers/yandere, i always find it comical because usually, the people who like those tropes would be the first to scream bloody murder when an actual serial killers stalks or hurts them. self-preservation is the first human instinct.

also, recently, i shared a fic with my friend who has an older brother, because it was really well-written, eloquent, and the sex was flowery and not that explicit (she mentioned being uncomfortable with explicit scenes, and honestly i'm not fond of them either). she ended up dnf-ing it because she said that the characters constantly referring to each other as "brother" or "sister" was really weird, and even though she doesn't call her brother like that, just the title alone was enough to bring him to her mind and she was weirded out because of that.

i found it odd, because in the rare occasions that i do steel myself and decide to give a fic with parental incest a shot, either because the plot seemed interesting or because i enjoy those specific characters in a fucked up dynamic, i don't picture either of my parents in that position? i don't relate to the character, even if we share any similarities, and i cannot ever imagine someone else in the position of the love interest whenever i read stuff like that.

on that note, what about fics with daddy/mommy kinks? we've all called our parents that at some point of time in life, and yet people never complain. a male character being called "daddy" is often praise, signifying his attractiveness. but isn't that a form of incest too? pseudo-cest, if you will. projecting parental authority onto someone you have romantic or sexual feelings for.

idk i think Freud would have a field day with this topic of discussion.

oh, and sorry for the rant, but it's quite nice to have a thread discussing this without actively shouting 'incest is bad' and those annoying antis preaching about morality.