Incest Subtext: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

Probably many of these originate from the author's intention of playing with the characters' relationship, even though [[Canon|nothing serious]] was supposed to come out of it. In some movies, sitcoms, cartoons and anime, this is usually [[Played for Laughs]] and it sometimes involves [[Lampshade Hanging]].

A [[Relative Error]] can come across this way (either intentionally or not) if the original "romantic" scene is a little too convincing. This fact is often played for laughs in a [[Digging Yourself Deeper]] speech: "It's [[Not What It Looks Like]]! She's my sister!" "...That's DISGUSTING!"

{{examples}}

* ''[[Final Fantasy Unlimited]]'' has brothers Shiroi Kumo and Akai Kiri, who are so obsessed with each other that anything one of them does has something to do with the other in some way, shape, or form. At the start of the series, it has been twelve years since they've last seen each other, {{spoiler|and hell, Kiri's been ''dead'' all that time, too}}. Their reunion features a lot of [[Say My Name]] and furiously clashing swords. Let's not even get into the soul dragons.

* ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'': Gil's younger brother, Vincent, is [[Yandere|extremely possessive]] of him.

* In ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'', there are rather questionable actions Gihren Zabi takes in the series concerning his sister Kycilia. Firstly there's the indifferent behavior Gihren has towards Garma and Dozle's deaths, and having no qualms with [[Self-Made Orphan|killing Degwin]], but yet specifically stating that he plans to rule the new Zeon with ''[[Terms of Endangerment|"dear sister"]]''. Then also going out of his way to make sure Kycilia was warned about the Solar Ray firing by a messenger so she wouldn't be killed, the same weapon that intentionally killed daddy. And of course there's the [[Green-Eyed Monster|dark tone of voice]] he used when Kycilia ''dared'' to mention having Char pilot the Zeong, saying "Char, once again. You're obsessed with him." Not coming to the logical conclusion that Kycilia might have chosen Char due to his newtype potential, but getting emotional over it instead. Completely one-sided, it's a mixture of [[Stalker with a Crush|Gihren]] imagining [[Unresolved Sexual Tension|sexual tension]] to feed [[Villainous Incest|his fantasy]] [[Birds of a Feather|because she shares some of his beliefs]] [[Cannot Spit It Out|but of course cannot say anything about it]]. Kycilia is of course [[I Didn't Mean to Turn You On|unaware to any of this conflict]] and rather cares more about their [[Self-Made Orphan|dead dad]]. Can lead to [[No Yay]] for obvious reasons.

* The ''artists'' for both the ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' manga and anime adaptations really played up the twincest in official art. It doesn't help that there actually is some subtext in the anime, even though both have male love interests.

** In the original [[Visual Novel]], Shion actually says to Mion that "If you were a guy, I would fall in love with you". Curiously, she did NOT add "and if we weren't related".

* Chiaki and Kana from ''[[Minami-ke]]'' seem to show rather unsisterly affections towards Haruka, regularly fawning over her and showering her with praise. Perhaps it might be because she's their [[Parental Substitute]], but the [[Beach Episode]] is very suspect, where they're incredibly eager to see her in a bikini.

* In [[Mai-HiME]], there is some between Mai and her younger brother Takumi. Yuuichi and Akira both suspect that Takumi has a sister complex. Takumi is initially Mai's most important person (needed to summon her Child, although {{spoiler|by the time he dies, Yuuichi has replaced him}}), and she becomes upset when he, seeking to become independent, appears to be drifting away from her.

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. There is some pretty heavy subtext between {{spoiler|Shinji and Rei}}, and it's later revealed that {{spoiler|Rei [[Cloning Blues|may]] or [[Half-Human Hybrid|may not]] be his half-sister. In the manga, Rei [[Defrosting Ice Queen|shows]] signs of attraction and later even [[Heroic Sacrifice|kills herself]] to save him; in ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion|Evangelion: 2.0]]'', a jealous Asuka outright states that Rei loves him but doesn't realize it yet. What about Shinji? In the aforementioned film, Rei [[Always Save the Girl|turns out]] to be his [[Berserk Button]].}}

* Pretty much the entire point of ''[[Onegai Twins]]'', although the two girls promise that whichever one is the sister can't be romantically involved with Maiku. Until they KNOW, though, both girls are very protective of another girl having a possible relationship with their possible brother. Of course, the series certainly implies that their promise wouldn't necessarily preclude the two girls being more than friendly with [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|each other]], especially given the amount of time they spend [[Fan Service|"skinshipping"]] together [[Furo Scene|in the bath]].

* ''[[Venus Versus Virus]]'' has two twin characters, Luca and Laura, who have a.. Very close bond. It's a driving force in both the manga and anime, and it helps that the manga is a subtle [[Girls Love]].

* The manga for [[.hack|.hack//tasogare no udewa densetsu]] . The anime however, removes the subtext, causing fans to dub the series as ''.hack//Twincest''.

* ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' has the Hitachin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. While they do share a very strong bond, they play up the incestuous subtext when performing their duties for the club.

* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]],'' between the Kaoru siblings. [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on whether it still qualifies as ''sub''text. {{spoiler|Touga ''thinks'' he and Nanami have this and is very much mistaken. The less said about Akio and Anthy, the better, for sanity's sake, but needless to say it goes ''well'' beyond subtext and into text.}}

* Yuka from ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' has a very noticeable crush on her [[Kissing Cousins|cousin]] Kouta.

* The second episode of ''Saishuu Shiken Kujira'' has a scene with Mutsumi being woken up by his younger sister knocking on his door. As she's just as tired as he is, she falls on top of him as he goes to open the door, and he then spends a few moments thinking of how nice she smells, until he snaps out of it.

* Episode 10 of [[Hidamari Sketch | Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb]] has a scene where Sae and, her younger sister, Chika are sleeping together. Sae offers to tangle legs with Chika.

* ''[[Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai]]'' runs on this trope, as Kirino's obsession with "little-sister" themed [[H-Games]] seems to contradict her adversarial relationship with her older brother Kyousuke, and there are eventually many incidents that indicate that it's more and more a front to hide her true feelings. And in at least one controversial official ending for the storyline, it stops being subtext at all.

== [[Fanfic]] ==

** The only difference is a more upbeat tempo. Lyrics are the same.

** Additionally, a joke is made at one point saying that if Sharpay could play both Romeo and Juliet, her brother would be out of a job. Which is a nice joke until you realize that means that the twins have no problem playing romantic roles with each other. What makes the whole scenario stranger is that Ryan was very clearly written to be the group's token gay member. It's only implied, but implied quite strongly.

*** The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSBoARL2N3g video] even includes a few moments from the movie put in shippy context.

* ''[[House of Wax]]'' is filled with the [[Twincest|twincesty]] subtext between Nick and Carly. Obvious from a mile away.

* Many ''[[Star Wars]]'' fans noticed Leia's later claim, that she had "always known" that Luke is her brother. Even when she was making out with him?

{{quote|Simon: "It's just not something brothers and sisters do. I mean, on some planets... but only pretty bad ones." }}

** Their relationship in general throughout the series is ... greatly textured, mixing sibling, parent, doctor, and lover roles with the necessary abandon. Simon and his mei-mei are all each other have in the world. And when River's upset or sick, it's her brother's bed she curls up in.

* The 1992 French movie ''L'Amant'' (''[[The Lover]]'', adapted from the eponymous novel by Marguerite Duras). The female protagonist has a sexual vibe with her younger brother -- the sight of the two of them dancing closely is enough to drive the titular character to a jealous fury.

* [[All That Jazz]] flaunts this trope so flagrantly. Joel Gideon is a ceaseless womaniser and his daughter is a blossomingly beautiful young lady. In more than one scene she deliberately makes him feel awkward by talking about sex. Better still is the scene where they dance together, specifically because it shows how comfortable they are with eachothers' bodies in a ''non-sexual'' capacity. The fact that the jailbait daughter is so unmistakably beautiful and sex is such a recurring theme in the film leaves you actively looking for the sexual subtext, but as they dance they talk exactly how you expect a father and daughter to talk. By placing the ideas of "family" "dancing" and "sexuality" in our minds the film highlights how un-confused the issues are in the minds of the characters. Dancing is not sex, dancing is dancing.

** [http://media.photobucket.com/image/narnia/MorbidZerah/The%20New%20Narnia/edlu.gif?o=27&sortby=sevendaysview That's what it seems like].

* in ''[[Snow White and the Huntsman]]'', [[God Save Us From the Queen|Queen Ravenna's]] relationship with her brother Finn flirts with incest several times. Especially when Ravenna bathes in front of him and, later, he gives her a not-so-brotherly kiss on the shoulder.

== Literature ==

* Lampshaded, [[Faux Yay|deliberately played up]], and generally mocked in ''[[The Dresden Files]]''. {{spoiler|Harry and Thomas}} live together for quite a while, and are often [[Mistaken for Gay]] by the (many) people who don't know they're half-brothers. This is made even worse by {{spoiler|Thomas}}'s sense of humor and the fact that {{spoiler|he's a [[Incubus|White Court vampire]], so [[Even the Guys Want Him|even straight guys are attracted to him]].}} The whole situation is the source of [[Crowning Moment of Funny|much lulz]]. Of course, much of the humor was basically [[Queer People Are Funny]], so it sometimes came across as rather homophobic.

* In [[The Outsiders]], the Curtis brothers have so much of this going on, it's incredible. Ponyboy describes Sodapop as 'looking like a movie star', and they also sleep in the same bed with much cuddling and even late night talks about love. Not to mention the way Ponyboy describes his brothers' relationship can be really reminiscent of a couple of teenage parents. And we should not forget that scene when Soda is giving Darry a back massage.

** Made all the more egregious at the realization that [[Moustache De Plume|S.E. Hinton]] was not only a [[Yaoi Fangirl|woman]], but a [[Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls|college freshman]] when the book was published.

** The idea that she'd "always known" throws this line into a new light.

{{quote|The Princess grew aware of how tightly she was clinging to him. Their proximity engendered a wash of confused emotion. It would be proper to disengage, to move away a little. Proper, [[But I Would Really Enjoy It|but not nearly so satisfying]].}}

* Pick a Eugene O'Neill play, any Eugene O'Neill play. Odds are you're going to encounter a seriously dysfunctional family vibe, owing to O'Neill's own deep-seated mommy issues, and the fact that he was heavily influenced by Greek theatre, home of the original Oedipus and Electra. The [[Incest Subtext]] is particularly heavy in ''[[Mourning Becomes Electra]]'', a theatrical trilogy which moves the plot of the classic Orestia to Civil War era New England. To try to sum up the tangle of dysfunction: Lavinia Mannon appears to be totally in love with her father, General Ezra Mannon, and hateful to her mother-in-law Christine. Christine murders Ezra, so she can be with the handsome young sailor Adam Brant, but also dotes on her son Orin in an entirely unmotherly way. Orin (suffering mental trauma from his time on the battlefield) returns the affection, but Lavinia manages to enlist him against his mother by informing him about Christine's affair, which sends him into a rage which clearly has more to do with jealousy than any kind of familial loyalty. After Christine is driven to suicide, Orin seems to waver between wanting to kill his sister, and wanting to sexually dominate her. Suffice it to say, Eugene O'Neill was not a happy man.

* While ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' has quite a lot of explicit and confirmed incest between certain characters, there are also certain points which fit this trope. One example is during one of Arianne Martell's POV chapters, she remembers that when she was younger (though we don't know exactly how young) she was travelling through the desert with her uncle Oberyn and her cousins, and she daydreamed about a desert bandit kidnapping her and having his way with her. Judging from the description of the bandit, she imagined him looking a lot like her uncle Oberyn. She feels very uncomfortable about remembering this, so she is clearly aware of what such a daydream implies.

** In one episode, she seductively leaves lipstick marked kisses on him. Together they create the Bundy Bounce and she has him drooling. A date (Corey Feldman) disses Kelly cause she won't put out, so Bud purposely gives him the measles. Kelly ''cruelly'' gets revenge for Bud on a girl who humiliated him.

*** Well, she ''is'' Christina Applegate...

** In the pilot episode Mary asks her brother Matt to help her practice kissing. Their father walks in on them before anything happens. Reportedly, the script actually called for them to kiss, but Jessica Biel and Barry Watson refused to do it.

** The seven siblings all had active, obsessive interests in the sex lives of their brothers and sisters.

* Whilst not to the level of [[Wizards of Waverly Place|Jalex]], the Sparly pairing in ''[[iCarly]]'' has some similar moments, especially in the first couple seasons.

* In the ''[[Victorious]]'' episode "Birthweek Song", Tori's present to her sister Trina is a hot song-and-dance number which includes her sitting on her sister's lap. Whilst wearing an extremely short sparkly cocktail dress.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Kabuto]]'' has a lot of [[Ship Tease]] between Tendou and Hiyori, although {{spoiler|Hiyori is a Worm so they're not blood-related, but she's mimicking the girl who would have been his sister}}. Even {{spoiler|Tendou's dark self's}} existance revolved around her while {{spoiler|again, they're technically not blood-related: Dark Tendou is also a Worm, but he is a mimic of ''Tendou''}}. On top of that, early on in the show before [[The Reveal]], some of the characters, like the owner of Bistro La Salle and Juka, refer them as boyfriend and girlfriend. Tendou, of course, doesn't deny this. Hilariously, Sean Wiig, the actor of Tendou's child self, [http://seancave.blogspot.com/2009/04/sean-as-seen-on-tv.html even believed that Tendou and Hiyori ''were'' dating].

** [[Ship Tease]] involving siblings (and, in one case, an uncle and niece) is very common in Heisei-era Kamen Rider series. Prominent examples are Taiga and Wataru in ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva|Kiva]]'', Ryotaro and {{spoiler|Hana}} in ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O|Den-O]]'', Maki and his sister ''and'' Hina and Ankh (who is possessing her brother's body) in ''[[Kamen Rider OOO|OOO]]'', and Philip and Wakana in ''[[Kamen Rider Double|Double]]''.

* Rampant in ''[[Electra]]''. Electra's relationship to her dead father is slightly [[Deceased Parents Are the Best|unhealthy]] and has some incestuous undertones. Her relationship to her brother is ''all'' [[Subtext|undertones]].

** In Freudian psychology, the female equivalent to the Oedipus complex is called the "Elektra complex". The more you know.

** Some productions imply a similar relationship between Ophelia and Laertes, possibly to emphasize his role as a [[Foil]] to Hamlet.

* Like [[Hamlet]], Gabe of [[Next to Normal]] is terribly possessive of his mother. They even slow dance together at one point. Given that Diana's in the grips of severe delusions and manic episodes, she probably doesn't care about the [[Unfortunate Implications]] of holding her son a bit too close.

* ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''; ignoring Brother's blatant squicky crush on his cousin Yuna, his sister Rikku has a few [[Les Yay]] moments with Yuna herself including a Hot Spring scene where she looks down at Yuna's boobs and says "I know who's got it going on".

* Ragna the Bloodedge and Jin Kisaragi from ''[[Blaz Blue]]'', though Jin's [[Depraved Homosexual|depravities]] take this close to being canon.

*** He's more of a [[Celibate Hero]], as he does allude to having an attraction to women in the story mode of Continuum Shift. Though the [[That Came Out Wrong|context which he uses]] almost implied [[Lolicon|something else about him,]] [[Funny Moments (Sugar Wiki)|so he just shuts up.]]

** Without [[Evil Weapon|Yukianesa]] warping his feelings, Jin is actually straight... Unfortunally for [[Butt Monkey|Ragna]], the game developers fickin' ''[[Hilarity Ensues|LOVE]]'' using Yukianesa to warp Jin's feelings.

* Dee Dee and Dexter from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' invoke this trope once in a while, especially since Dee Dee seems to prefer Dexter over every guy that may be a possible [[Love Interest]], due to the fact that every time guys (particularly Mandark) flirt with her, she sticks to Dexter. One obvious scene is the one in which Dexter and Mandark compete to save Dee Dee and, after she is saved by both, she is disgusted by Mandark, but kisses Dexter on the cheek. In another episode, Dexter becomes an adult to seduce a girl he likes, but guess who ends up attracted to him instead? ''Dee Dee''.

* There is some of this with Sally and Dr. Finklestein in ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' [[Alternative Character Interpretation|possibly]]. In the [[DVD Commentary]], [[Tim Burton]] refers to Sally as a daughter -- yet there's lines in-film like "You're mine, you know!" and "You can make ''other'' creations!" that really doesn't sound like a rebellious-daughter/overprotective-dad relationship, but like something else entirely. Consider that the creation Dr. Finklestein makes to replace Sally looks awfully like a wife -- [[Screw Yourself|that looks exactly like him]] -- and that an alternate ending had [[Big Bad|Oogie Boogie]] be [[The Man Behind the Curtain|Dr. Finklestein]], jealous that Sally chose Jack over him. In [http://nightmarebeforechristmas.net/nightmare/script/2 an earlier script], the father/daughter relationship was a lot more obvious with lines like "I'm grown up now. I'll have to leave sometime" . . . yet there are bits like ''The scientist smiles, feeling Sally under his sway again'' that sounds [[Parental Incest|rather creepy]].

* In one episode of [[Blinky Bill]], Shifty gets a little affectionate with his big sister Daisy, licking her like a puppy-dog in the Wedding Picnic episode.

* ''[[The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan]]'' has almost no fandom and was made long before the internet and Rule34, but Tom still manages to have a few [http://sarajaye.superbusnet.com/Pictures/inabarrell.PNG choice] [http://sarajaye.superbusnet.com/Pictures/look.PNG moments] with Alan ''and'' have a dynamic with [http://sarajaye.superbusnet.com/Pictures/flirtylookidk.PNG Anne] that sometimes screams "they'd be strongly hinted at as a couple if they weren't siblings".

* [[Mega Man (animation)|Ruby-Spears Megaman and Protoman]] had something going on beyond rivalry, even without taking into account that last fight scene in "Bro Bots" (or hell, the entire episode). They spend just as much time trying to convince the other to defect to their side as they do shooting at each other, and Proto won't let any other Wily-bot touch Mega ("Just remember--Megaman is ''mine!''"). Plus, he seems rather disinterested in getting his sister to join Wily.

* [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]] and [[She-Ra: Princess of Power|She-Ra]] are basically all over each other when they appear together. When riding on horseback He-Man hugs her very tightly from behind, looking a bit more comfortable than a normal sibling would. But then again, He-Man rides a horse this way with everyone, including males.

** Coincidentally, the first episode of ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' had this exchange between Tygra and Lion-O, who are now adoptive brothers:

{{quote|'''Lion-O''': I'm gonna ring that bell.