gotta lotta different thoughts on this but i will preface this by saying that i agree with your initial/primary claim - that of, shipping ruined mcd for a lot of individual people. i know this to be true because i let shipping impact my own personal experience with some of the characters and the capacity of which i could actually enjoy the media, though that was more because of the fandom rather than shipping itself. your post, at least through implication, outlines that this "focus on ships" is a disservice to their consumption of minecraft diaries as a media. and that is its own argument, of which i'd love to dissect here. (also clarifying: i'm not saying this is the exact intended meaning of the post, just a possible interpretation that i find interesting and something i want to dive in to.)
first, as to why i mainly agree with what’s being said: minecraft diaries focuses on many different characters, themes, and stories - there's a lot more than a couple of "ships" to the series that gives it its depth and enjoyment. you don't have to like shipping to enjoy minecraft diaries, in fact you can frankly detest it and still get something out of mcd. while i can't say all of the potential imagery and more nuanced story takes were completely intended by jess, you can still find some really beautiful stuff in the story regardless. what makes mcd so fun and stupid is that it's an unconventional method of telling a deeper story, even if done so sloppily in a lot of aspects. sometimes, this can go under the radar in favour of particular dynamics, and can go on to undermine the main focus of certain parts of the story (i. e. that laurmau and garmau were not meant to be endgame within the narrative - the story was built with the intent for them to NOT become canon, stated by jessica herself). with shipping also comes a level of complaisant mischaracterization, or at least suspension of some canonical actions/feelings of characters - which can leave some fans disregarding canon content entirely in favour of dynamics. through art, fanfiction, headcanons, etc - it can even lead to fabrications or complete retellings in order to favour a particular ship. this disloyalty to the baseline media isn’t accepted by everyone, and can lead to disagreements with other fans.
however, i think this can be applied to almost any media, if there's an ability to ship its going to happen that's just fandom culture. but i think it's also important to analyze what shipping means to many people to fully understand this initial post and why i don't fully agree with it; as shipping isn't always "surface level" types of enjoyment. what shipping is, at least in my own theory, is an invitation to what is typically vulnerable. this dives even deeper into societal expectations and the general consensus of what "romance" is. i won't go too in depth here, but the allonormative perspective would be that romantic relationships are ways to express a deeper vulnerability with a person or persons that you wouldn't express with a connection such as a friendship. (NOTE: I am NOT saying this is how everyone experiences relationships, simply that it is the one accepted and expected of by society.) With this in mind, a lot of people who do experience (some level) of romantic attraction might want to express this vicariously through characters and dynamics. this idea that you cannot/won't open up with someone unless there is a romantic connection or interest, and that this is inherent to progress emotionally (this can also tie into physical vulnerability and inherently sex as well). I would argue that most people think this way, at least in regards to ships - though i would also argue that is a subconscious intention. it's just what's expected (romance i mean) in societies so of course, you'll naturally see romance throughout medias, even in medias that don't actually have any romance. this idea that a character needs to be romantically invested in another character in order for them to have a deeper connection is very prominent and is what i feel shapes a lot of storytelling. Of course, this also leads to shippers having that same intuition.
bringing this back to minecraft diaries, let's use garroth as an example (big surprise, i know). garroth is shown to be reclusive and keeps his thoughts and vulnerability quite secluded throughout season 1. Though, if you look at art or fanfictions, it is not at all difficult to find ship content surrounding garroth that takes place in season 1 where he might be more vulnerable, either romantically or sexually. And while there is a huge distinction between romance and sexuality in mcd (created by Jess herself), it is common for popular culture to intertwine these two aspects into one thing. We can see art of him and aphmau kissing, or of him and laurance, or hell all three of them (more power to you). Point is, shipping gives that excuse to allow characters to reach certain mindsets/points of character development without progressing in an overarching plot. Sometimes, people want to see vulnerability in a relationship, and a lot of people don't see that as possible without romantic influence. It's not even a matter of disregarding the plot either: it's just to see characters that you love interacting and connecting on a deep level because that is a dynamic that appeals to you.
(side tangent: I know that not all shipping looks like this either. but in the broadest, multi-fandom inclusion way of what shipping might look like. written or drawn scenarios highlighting the romance between two characters in some way. Also something I also saw in the previous tags is that a lot of shippers enjoy the romantic AND platonic dynamics of their respective ships and that’s already a great barrier to push past!! But this is tumblr so if any audience is going to understand more nuance with relationships its people on tumblr)
while some people stick around for ships alone and the dynamics of those characters, there are other fans who are aware of the deeper themes you could potentially pull from minecraft diaries, and expand on those through ships. To say that focusing on shipping means a fan isn't exploring all of the themes of minecraft diaries is actually more of a disservice to the capacity of fans; as, a focus on a dynamic does not mean they did not watch the rest of it. It's just like having a favorite character - you're more likely to consume, create, and focus on stuff relating to a favorite character, same with a ship. People are multi-faceted. even if they enjoy a ship and only produce content of a ship doesn't mean they're not aware of deeper themes. I've seen so many artists and creators build symbolism, imagery, allegory, foreshadowing - all of these things into their ship pieces. Not only are they curating their own experience with their preferences, they're still telling something about the larger story and the place that a specific ship might have in that media. Does it always align with the intended meaning of the original series? No. But I ask you this: does it have to in order for it to be meaningful to the story? And is that necessarily a disservice?
personally, i have a heavy focus on garroth and aphmau right now, as a dynamic. Do I ship the two of them? no, not in the slightest, but i think they have a really deep connection and its that connection that im really into. does my focus on and appreciation of garroth and aphmau mean that i may not be appreciating the entirety of the media? No, of course not - I'm simply appreciating their place in the story and how their relationship impacts it. This can be said with ships, too. by focusing on dynamics and characters, this actually shows a deeper appreciation for this media than someone just watching it and moving on. There is potential in ships, an ability to flesh out bigger ideas the media may be getting at. Garmau, Laurmau, and Aarmau all have distinct themes that you can choose to pursue and apply to the entirety of what is being said over the course of the story.
Now, if we look at this in a more fandom-heavy sense and it just boils down to ship wars again and it's "my ship is better than this one because of xyz" then yes, I completely agree with the original point. Fans are jumping hurdles to prove something that has no basis outside of their own personal interpretation, and that is a disservice to minecraft diaries because that is not what this is about. Enjoy yourself, but don't put down other people while you do it. If shipping discourse consumes your feed, then I encourage one to revisit the series itself and find what really brings you personal enjoyment. Why this ship stands out to you. its role in the overarching plot and what that can mean.
of course, most of a fandom is shown through ship content, and for an enjoyer of the world rather than specific dynamics, that can be frustrating. But there are still plenty of people out there who are writing about the world, its themes, different perspectives. and that's enjoyable! there are people who do both, write about shipping and the story, either together or as separate entities. Again, it’s about curating spaces. I think some of the biggest world appreciation I did of minecraft diaries is when I was in a ship roleplay that went on for 4 years (rest in peace) where I was able to focus on the politics, the history, imagery, geography, and the themes. This was a simultaneous appreciation of both of the world and the ship, which is very possible and very common. Even if you don't see an outward appreciation for something, doesn't mean it's not there. While i don't personally enjoy ship content, at least in the way i used to, it did serve a purpose in helping me understand the characters and their roles in the story in a much more deep way. (While any roleplay can do that, it still goes to show that a ship roleplay had the capacity to do so too).
I think really what i'm getting at is that consuming and creating based on ships, fans are not only enjoying themselves, but also appreciating the media it derives from. This is one of the biggest services a media can have, is fan creation, adaptation, and enjoyment. To imply that someone is missing the point says that you indeed have the point - and if you can tell me what "The Point" really is of minecraft diaries, then I encourage you to do so. but don't forget that no matter how much you might try, it's going to boil down to one thing: Personal interpretation. And that's what everyone's doing.
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