here is a good source / page to read about for further explanation

(in these stances, pro is not short for 'problematic', but being used in the sense of being for something, in support of it.)

• PROSHIP. anti-harrassement; believes that nobody should be harrassed for their ship regardless of the dynamic. ship and let ship.
• ANTISHIP. against darkshippers & comshippers; believes that no illegal, taboo, or otherwise toxic/dark relationships should be enjoyed, romanticized, or glorified. usually for censorship in fictional matters.
• PROFIC. anti-censorship in fictional matters; believes that fiction, regardless of the content, should be allowed to exist & explored. usually believes fiction does not affect reality.
• COMSHIP. a term for any ship considered complex or complicated. includes: non-human x human, selfcest, cross-ships, immortal x mortal, murderer x murderer, murderer x non-murderer, teacher x college student, boss x employee, oppressor x oppressed
• DARKSHIP. a term for any ship that is considered illegal or taboo. includes: abuser x victim, abuser x abuser, family member x family member, minor x adult, yandere x crush, bully x victim <

not every proshipper is a darkshipper; you can dislike problematic ships while also believing nobody should be targeted/harrassed for them. similarly, not every darkshipper or comshipper enjoys every taboo dynamic. problematic ships aren't just incest or agegap, 'toxic yaoi/yuri' also falls under problematic ship criteria. so yes, you can be a darkshipper and dislike agegap ships, for example.

NOW... does fiction affect reality? it can, but not on a 1:1 basis. fiction can of course influence people's thoughts, emotions, interests, or behavior in some circumstances, but this does not mean that it always does. many people enjoy reading romance stories about, say, a mafia member but that does not mean that they want to date a mafia member in real life. similarly, someone enjoying a first-person shooter game does not mean that they want to go shoot someone in real life.

while yes, there have been crimes that were influenced by fiction in some way, influence ≠ direct causation & fictional interests ≠ real-world desire. an average mentally healthy adult is able to separate reality and fiction.

WHY would someone like darkships? simply put: because they enjoy the dynamic of the characters together in a romantic or sexual context. for a lot of these ships, the big appeal is also the taboo aspect (which is not limited to incestuous or age-gap relationships, but extends to more common tropes like enemies to lovers or star-crossed lovers), the sense of “we shouldn't be doing this.” because it's fiction, the reader or writer doesn't have to deal with the real-life consequences that would come with some of these dynamics either, such as a power imbalance or maturity gap.

popular examples of darkships & comships: hannigram, batjoker, stelena, delena, bakudeku, satosugu, adamil, tenmiko, shinnaga, drarry, dramione, caitvi, timebomb, rhaenicent, gallavich, inhun/457, lawlight, yagamane, shaunahat, loustat, stuilly, jdronica, any creepypasta ship, most hellaverse ships. all of these are comships at the very least