Came to the conclusion that minakali is barely incest (<- talking about the fictional trope) on account of them being related in a very distant way (same great grandparents). Like sure, they are relatives but I think people who insist on the ship between them being incest don't understand what appeals to most incest shippers. It's the tension. The taboo. The secret. Distant cousins kissing doesn't have any of that.
Unless...
We insist on Minajael being like Kalim's older brother he never had because he's the cool older cousin. I mean, it still be pretty weak and not what I ship incest for (I'm here for the unhealthy codependency) but it'd be something. I guess. Not the most interesting though! Unless we combine that with everyone knowing they're related (and everyone probably already knows in the Scalding Sands) which would make it a little more scandalous hence more interesting. But I still think it's weak.
It's a bit like saying Jamil and Kalim were raised like brothers (though Jamil doesn't think that) so they can't be shipped. It misses what's interesting about shipping incest. It's not about saying you're like family, it's about knowing deep down that you can't do this, that you'll disappoint everyone but you can't fo against it! You're forsaking yourself! It's bad! And yet you can't fight your feelings. It's not something you get out of ships that perfectly know they aren't siblings (adopted or blood-related). People who don't ship incest don't get that I think.
Though I still think making jamikali into an incest ship by making it so Jamil was born out of an affair between Kalim's father and Jamil's mother is good. Half-brothers is perfectly acceptable incest and, more than that, it'll fuck up their relationship even more. Why does the first-born have to serve his younger brother? Just because he was born a servant? It could have been him. He could have been the rightful heir. His talents would have been recognized by everyone and not hidden. That scenario is very great but that's not what people talk about when they talk about jamikali being incest đ
