complicated feelings about the gut reaction a lot of people have when suggesting thistle and delgal were at the very least emotionally incestuous. a lot of it seems to be related to not wanting to demonize delgal or "taint" their relationship, which is interesting to me because i don't think an incestuous layer would render either of them unsympathetic or draw away from the significance of their bond— cocsa is difficult enough as it is, doubly so when we're talking about characters whose emotional development only matched for a relatively short amount of time; why is it so unreasonable to think that a trafficked child who was bought into a royal family as a glorified pet would grow codependent to the closest thing to an equal he's ever had, and that such level of enmeshment could lead to the blurring of boundaries he was never taught (or allowed) in the first place?
so much of his survival relied on being useful, entertaining, lovable, attentive, non-threatening; he's an unofficially recognized son, takes care of delgal the way a mother would, bonds with him as a brother— who's to say he didn't also play the role of a lover, especially considering his perceived androgyny and undying devotion?