Just saw some pinecest hate so thought I'd say:
Hi! I'm Citrus! And I really really don't like Pinecest (hear me out, this isn't an anti post)!
I have a twin brother, if you didn't know, and we were both MASSIVE fans of the show. Naturally, we both projected a LOT onto Dipper and Mabel, and their platonic relationship really means a lot to me. When I was younger I'd always lament how so many good fanart was Pinecest- I had to wonder why, why would people have to taint for me what what I considered such an important part of my younger days, what was such an important bit of media for me and my brother, something that felt so personal?
Me and my twin projected onto Dipper and Mabel, and that's fine. That's understandable. I'm sure a lot of other siblings who watched the show did the same. I understand that instinctual knee-jerk reaction to seeing something like that, that feels like it should be common sense not to see the characters that way.
But the thing is, not everyone has to interpret or feel the same way about characters as I do.
Pinecest shippers don't know me personally. They don't know or care (for good reason! Why should they?) about my life experience, about my attachment to the show and it's two protagonists. A shipper might feel equally as attached to the two characters, just interpret and enjoy their relationship in a different way, and that's okay! Maybe they have siblings, maybe they don't. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter, because if I don't like it I can just... not interact with it.
I mean, hell, one of my favourite bloggers reblogged a Stancest fic. I was surprised- why would they like that kind of content. (Luckily I didn't have an account of any sort at the time so it's not like my negative opinions would have got to anyone anyway). But do you know what I did? I still clicked on it and read it (granted, I didn't get to the bit with any incest, but the fact that I was willing to open up my mind a little was good!)
I didn't have the same relationship with Dipper + Mabel's characters as I did the Stan twins (I couldn't relate as much to them at the time), so it was more bearable to me. And the same goes for all my problematic ships today! I ship Rickmorty (hear me out! Hear me out!) because I simply can't relate to the characters enough to feel that grossed out by the ship. I don't see myself and my grandpa in that position, and I'm not reminded of my own (platonic, before someone starts going off) familial relationships in the slightest. But someone else might be completely different- they might project a lot onto one of the characters, or both, in a completely platonic sense (much like myself with the Pines twins) or maybe incest, even fictional, is just a major squick or trigger for them! I don't know! All I can do is respect that, and accept that they don't like my ship.
I guess my point is that I'm a proshipper because I have ships I don't like! I have ships that I absolutely despise, that I wish never existed, that I completely loathe. And that's okay! I'm a proshipper because I respect the right for people to ship whatever fictional shit they want!
Because its Not About Me!
Why do I get the right to tell other people what to do with their time?
And the thing is, despite how clear I've made it that I Do Not Like Pinecest, I never once thought 'people shouldn't be allowed to make content for it'. Are people just not allowed to make things that make others uncomfortable? That's just being unfair. Your perfectly vanilla ship could be someone else's trigger. Or their squick. Maybe they just Don't Like It. Does that give THEM the right to tell YOU to stop shipping it? No!
I didn't obsessively go to as many Pinecest blogs and stew in how much I didn't like the ship. And you know what? I'm happier for it! I really am! Nowdays when I see pinecest art I either scroll past it with a scrunch of my nose and forget about it 2 seconds later, or I might even think, "hey, cool art style", or "nice composition" and give it a like. My liking (or lack thereof) towards the ship hasn't changed. I'm just a more mature, sympathetic person now.
What I'm trying to say is proshippers aren't encouraging people to ship "nasty" ships out of spite (ok, maybe a little-). We just want as many people to be as happy and comfortable online as possible. There's already way too much hate and intolerance on here, so why add to it, y'know?