All About Darkshipping: Dynamics, Origins, & More

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Literary content and podcasting expert Frank DiLuzio explains the concept of darkshipping

Co-authored by Frank DiLuzio and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: June 25, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Darkship Meaning
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• Darkship Dynamics
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• Term Origins
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• Darkship Appeal
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• Other Types of Ships

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If you’ve ever read fanfiction or are active in a certain fandom, you may have come across the term “darkship.” This term refers to any fictional relationship that deals with dark, problematic themes or dynamics. For this article, we partnered with a literary content and podcasting expert to help us explain what darkships are, their dynamics, where the term comes from, and more. Warning: the following article mentions taboo and illegal relationships, so proceed with caution.

What is darkshipping?

Literary content and podcasting expert Frank DiLuzio says darkshipping is the act of shipping two fictional characters who have a toxic, taboo, or even illegal relationship. Darkships feature dark themes like abuse, manipulation, or immoral dynamics. Darkshippers do not condone these actions in real life.

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Section 1 of 5:

What does “darkship” mean?

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1. 
   A darkship is a morally problematic relationship between fictional characters. According to DiLuzio, “In fandom culture, a “darkship” is a romantic or sexual pairing (‘ship’) that involves themes many people consider disturbing, immoral, abusive, taboo, or psychologically dark. The term is usually used in fanfiction, fan art, and online fandom discussions.” For example, a darkshipper might ship two characters who are in an abusive relationship.

   • “Darkship” is almost exclusively used to refer to characters in a romantic or sexual relationship, though on rare occasions, fans may use it to describe a platonic ship.
   • Many darkshippers include the 🎱🎀 (eight ball and ribbon) emoji combo in their social media bios to let others know they’re a darkshipper.
   • Darkshippers are aware of the problematic nature of their ships, and that’s part of the appeal. However, this does not mean darkshippers condone these actions or behaviors in real life.
   • Some people use the terms “darkship” and “proship” interchangeably, but they’re actually two different things. We’ll explain the difference between them below.
   • An example of a popular darkship is Dramione. Not all Dramione fanfiction is inherently a darkship, but many popular fanfics, like Manacled, feature non-consent or dubious consent or emphasize the power imbalance between the characters, which are common themes in darkshipping.

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Frank DiLuzio is a literary content and podcasting expert based in Massachusetts. He hosts the podcast Thrillers and Tea and shares book reviews and recommendations on social media to over 18k followers.
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Section 2 of 5:

Darkship Dynamics

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1. 
   Darkships are typically toxic, abusive, or illegal. DiLuzio says darkships often include things like toxic or abusive relationships, violence, manipulation or coercion, obsession/stalking, and power imbalances. The dynamics of a darkship are morally questionable to say the least. The most common relationship dynamics or themes found in darkshipping are:

   • Manipulation or coercion
   • Violence
   • Power imbalance (ex: student x teacher, boss x employee)
   • Extreme dependence
   • Emotional, physical, or psychological abuse
   • Obsession
   • Non-consensual relationships
   • Pedophilia
   • Zoophilia
   • Necrophilia
   • Villain/hero dynamics
   • Taboo relationships
   • Horror-oriented romance themes
   • Incest

Section 3 of 5:

Darkship Origins

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1. The term likely originated in online fandom spaces in the 2010s. Like many fandom terms, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact origin for the term “darkship.” However, one of the first known uses occurred on LiveJournal in 2010, in which the prefer_my_life community shared a “darkship prompt meme.” Several LiveJournal users used the term around that time.

   • The term “darkship” has appeared on Tumblr since at least 2013.
   • Some X (Twitter) users have also been posting about darkshipping starting around 2020.
   • The TikTok tag “#darkshipper” currently has over 11k posts.
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Section 4 of 5:

Why do people like darkships?

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1. 
   Fans may use darkships to cope with trauma or safely explore dark dynamics. “People who enjoy darkships often separate fictional exploration from real-life morality,” DiLuzio explains. “For many fans, the appeal can come from psychological complexity, angst /drama, horror elements, exploring taboo ideas safely in fiction, or intense emotional dynamics.” Everyone is different, so there’s no single reason that people enjoy darkships.

   • For example, some may write about things that have happened to them as a way to cope with the trauma. Others may simply enjoy exploring taboos in a safe way.
   • Remember, just because someone enjoys darkships does not mean they condone the behavior in real life.

Section 5 of 5:

Darkship vs. Proship vs. Comship

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1. 
   1
   “Proship” refers to the belief that people can ship whatever they want. Proshippers support people creating fan works of any fictional relationship, even if it’s considered problematic, taboo, or toxic. They don’t believe that supporting a certain ship reflects a person’s morals.

   • Proship is a stance, not a specific type of ship, so proship and darkship aren’t the same thing. Proshippers support darkshippers, but they may not ship a darkship themselves.
2. 
   2
   “Comship” describes a complicated or controversial ship. The term is short for “complex” or “complicated” ship and refers to any fictional relationship that is controversial or complicated—it’s not inherently for or against these ships. The intent behind comships is to reflect on complicated relationships but not necessarily to romanticize them.

   • All darkships are comships, but not all comships are darkships.
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