Morston isn't incest.
For a relationship to be incestual, people must be related by blood, affinity (e.g. marriage or step-siblings), adoption, clan, or lineage by definition. While Dutch and Hosea take both Arthur and John in, they are not adopted. They do not come under any of the aforementioned categories.
Found family is important and should be respected, but if two members of a found family were to fall for one another it would not be incest.
Either way, I believe that when they refer to themselves as brothers they mean brothers-in-arms. Not literal brothers. This is backed further by the fact that Javier and Micah both refer to gang members as brothers (which would make ships like Jovier incest too, if meant literally). Arthur also refers to Sean as an annoying little brother. All of this leads me to believe quite firmly that brothers means brothers-in-arms, or is simply a term used by the characters to describe a close friend in the same way that "bro" is used today.
Also, at no point does the game actually state that they were raised as brothers. That is your headcanon, and no one has to share it with you.
Besides, Abigail says that Hosea was like a father to her too. So do you guys think Abigail x John is incestuous too or...?
Morston isn't paedophilia or child grooming.
Neither of them are under 18, so it isn't paedophilia.
It isn't child grooming unless a content creator specifies that Arthur established a bond with underaged John with the intent to get into a sexual relationship. He would have to have been leading John towards a sexual/romantic relationship when John was a minor. That is the definition of child grooming. Knowing someone as a kid and falling for them later on when they're an adult is not child grooming.
If you don't like a 10 year age gap then that's absolutely okay! But you not liking something doesn't make it sick or perverted.
Important note: I don't believe in that whole "you can ship paedophilia and incest as long as it's fictional". I'm actively against that mindset. It's disgusting. I ship Morston because it is neither of these things and I love the way they interact and their bond.
More important points:
- Dutch is only eight years older than Arthur and refers to Arthur as his best friend on multiple occasions, and Arthur usually refers to Dutch as his mentor rather than father. Dutch also refers to Arthur as his brother at least once. They do not see their relationship as actually being father and son. Dutch does call Arthur "son", but here at 0:30 Arthur refers to Jamie as "son". Do y'all think that Arthur and Jamie consider each other father and son? Was it incest when Arthur and Mary were together?
- You can't have an issue with the Morston age gap if you don't mind Dutch and Hosea referring to themselves as "the curious couple" and being shipped. Dutch is 44 in 1899 and when Hosea dies the newspaper states that he's 55. The age gap there is bigger.
- However, when Hosea says "the curious couple and their unruly son" he's not saying it literally. He's talking about how strange a sight they would have made. At the time, Dutch had Annabelle and Hosea had Bessie. They most definitely did not see themselves as a couple, let alone the gay parents of two boys.
The bottom line is that if Morston was a real, modern day couple, no one would be arrested or seen as perverted. Not for paedophilia, not for child grooming, not for incestual relations. Because it is not any of those things.
I'm not trying to make anyone like Morston with this post - you're entitled to your opinion and I'll respect that. But please don't act as if the shippers are supporting paedophilia or incest, because on most occasions we are not and when folks are... that does not reflect the rest of us. That shit is disgusting.
If you want to respond to this post, please do so in a calm and respectful manner. Anything otherwise will be ignored. And for Christ sake, actually read the post first.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope you have a wonderful day. 💙
