https://www.tumblr.com/nononsense-antiship-anonymous/815687773197664256/i-cant-stop-seeing-proshippers-and-selfshippers?source=share
Youβre doing the thing where you see two groups say one similar sentence and then declare theyβre the same. Thatβs lazy.
Let me break it down slowly.
Selfshipper / yumeshipper:
Someone who has a fictional character as a comfort or romantic F/O (fictional other). They imagine a relationship with that characterβusually healthy, sweet, or angsty in a normal way. Most yumeshippers age themselves up or down to match, or keep it age-appropriate. Theyβre not sexualizing minors, not romanticizing abuse, not writing incest. They just like a fictional guy/gal/them.
Proshipper / dark shipper:
Someone who defends and creates content romanticizing pedophilia, incest, rape, abuse, etc., often explicitly sexual. They hide behind βfiction doesnβt affect realityβ and βdonβt like donβt readβ while drawing porn of minors or grooming dynamics.
Now, can a selfshipper also be a dark shipper?
Yes β if that selfshipper is, say, a 14-year-old βshippingβ themselves with an adult character aging down or themselves up (making said F/O a pedophile), or if theyβre writing/romanticizing CNC, age play, incest roleplay, etc. with their F/O. But then they arenβt a normal selfshipper anymore. Theyβve crossed into dark/proshit territory. Most selfshippers will call that out too. Itβs not the norm.
You say selfshippers say βhe doesnβt exist so I can be nasty with him.β Some do. Those people are weirdos. But most selfshippers arenβt saying that β theyβre saying βhe doesnβt exist so I can imagine a healthy relationship that makes me happy.β Youβre cherry-picking the worst examples and pretending thatβs the whole group.
As for your βmy blorbo does NOT want youβ β he doesnβt exist. He doesnβt want you either. Thatβs the point. No one is hurting a real person by drawing themselves holding hands with a fictional character. Youβre getting possessive over lines of code and ink. Thatβs the real ick.
The mischaracterization complaint? Fair. Some selfshippers write characters OOC to be their perfect boyfriend. Thatβs annoying. But thatβs a fandom-wide problem, not a selfship problem. Proshippers do it ten times worse by turning characters into pedophiles or rapists.
So no, selfshipping and proshipping are not the same. One is mostly harmless comfort. The other is romanticizing real-world harm. Learn the difference before you whine again.