i'm going to stop pretending that i didn't break your heart;

[ever_neutral]

And so it continues.

02 | the ship you love because it really never will was going to happen

'Cause he never looked at her twice. I mean, he liked her, but that was
it. And she wasted years pining after him, years of her life, 'cause
while he was around, she never looked at anyone else. And I told her, I
always said to her, time and time again, I said, "get out"
So this is me, getting out.

/random boring spam


Surprise, I ship it. (Tho, not a surprise to xx_pinkstar, bless.) This may earn me some stink eye considering the way this fandom is about 1) Doctor/Rose and 2) doctor/companion pairings in general. I'm pretty sure 80% of criticisms leveled at the show concern the almost-constant UST between the (revolving-door) leads BUT I BEG TO DIFFER. I will literally ship the Doctor with practically everyone except River and Clara. Humans, aliens, the Tardis; I DON'T CARE. And you can expect to see all the canon doc/companion ships here before this meme is out; deal with it or like go eat a tree I don't care what you do with your life.

Ahem. So, Martha/Ten. Unpopular ship. Firstly because everyone's obsessed with Rose/Ten, and secondly because Ten is a bag of dicks who never appreciated Martha like she deserved, which I understand turns a lot of people off. Not me! I live for terrible awkward unrequited shit like that, MAKE OF IT WHAT YOU WILL. One huge source of appeal of Martha/Ten for me, ironically, is actually because I don't care to see the Doctor being portrayed as some smoldering romantic hero. I don't care for him being romanticized or glorified. I LIKE that even though the Doctor can be a hero and saver of galaxies blah blah blah, he is also the world's worst friend/boyfriend and also generally a vain self-absorbed douche. At the same time, I do find it very believable (and almost inevitable in certain cases) that so many would fall head-over-heels for that showy time lord shit because, well. But the thing about Martha and Ten's NOT!romance is that while there is a textual ongoing romantic/sexual tension (and unlike the Doctor and Rose's relatively straightforward epic love) the relationship itself isn't romanticized. That is, it isn't presented as romantic.

And really, why should it be. Why should any doctor/companion relationship be. The Doctor is a hundreds-years-old genocidal alien. I'm not particularly interested in seeing romance involving him, but I am (always) interested in seeing romantic tropes being subverted. And while I can appreciate how the story was problematic (re: the narrative either implicitly or explicitly pitting Martha against Rose and/or propping up Doctor/Rose), it's also clear IMO that we're meant to sympathize with Martha in her rejection, often even over the Doctor -- her relationship with him is framed almost completely from her POV and, like Amy, it overturns and to some degree deconstructs the idealised perspective of the Doctor-as-romantic-figure established by Rose/Ten. One of the things that works for me about the tragedy of Martha and Ten is that it's so mundane: it's not sprawling and epic; the Doctor isn't a tortured Romeo -- he is really just another guy who took you for granted.

[ASIDE: And contrary to how this basic piece of shit fandom would have it, Martha Jones is not wholly and solely "defined" by the Doctor. She is in fact consistently portrayed as an exceptionally capable, intelligent, proactive, and moral person whose one major weakness is being hung up on an emotionally unavailable guy. I balk at the idea that the latter "ruined" her character because no, being a Strong Female Character (TM) let alone a "strong woman" does not preclude being in love with a dude who's bad for you -- plus also fuck Strong Female Characters (TM). This complaint particularly irks me wrt Martha since inside the story she consistently displays agency, has life goals that are unrelated to men, forms and maintains relationships with other women, helps people for the sake of helping people and, oh yeah, SAVES THE ENTIRE WORLD ALMOST SINGLEHANDEDLY, not to mention the Doctor's useless ass on more than one occasion. And at the end of it all she makes the decision for herself to stop traveling with the Doctor, not just because she recognizes that she deserves better but also in order to pursue her true life goal: helping people in need. The moral of this paragraph is basically that Martha Jones is a goddess and peasants will bow or get out of my journal.]

Possibly the most (mundanely) tragic part, though, is the effect of bad timing. The thing is that Martha is exactly the Doctor's type of person: smart, curious, headstrong, big heart, gorgeous, adapts easily in bizarre situations, etc. and their best moments are when he properly acknowledges these things (especially in Smith & Jones). The Doctor does love and care for Martha a lot, considers her his best friend for a long time. But, ultimately, his heart's not fully in it; he left it back in that parallel universe. You could have had it all but instead were hung up on what was already lost. Which, really, is obnoxiously human.

So, yeah, in summary: Martha/Ten. Wrong!ship it because it was absolutely futile. COME AT ME.

Comments

[vergoldung.livejournal.com]

Doing my best not to spoil myself (any more) by ignoring this post. BUT THE TITLE, ALEX, THE TITLE ASMLKSMDLJFMA WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY DISGUSTING FEELINGS ABOUT THIS SONG AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO READ YOUR POST SO BAD WHY WHY WHY

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

WHAT U SHOULD DO TBH IS GO FINISH S3 FIRST THEN COME BACK DO WE HAVE A DEAL

[next_to_normal]

LMAO. I don't really ship Ten/Martha (I don't really ship Ten with anyone except himself, b/c lbr, he does, too), but I fully support people who do because 1. Martha is awesomesauce, and 2. I am a contrarian and it pisses off Ten/Rose shippers, lol.

My Ten/Martha feels tend to be NOOOOO GURL YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER, but:

One huge source of appeal of Martha/Ten for me, ironically, is actually because I don't care to see the Doctor being portrayed as some smoldering romantic hero. I don't care for him being romanticized or glorified. I LIKE that even though the Doctor can be a hero and saver of galaxies blah blah blah, he is also the world's worst friend/boyfriend and also generally a vain self-absorbed douche. At the same time, I do find it very believable (and almost inevitable in certain cases) that so many would fall head-over-heels for that showy time lord shit because, well. But the thing about Martha and Ten's NOT!romance is that while there is a textual ongoing romantic/sexual tension (and unlike the Doctor and Rose's relatively straightforward epic love) the relationship itself isn't romanticized. That is, it isn't presented as romantic.

This. Sooooo much this.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I don't really ship Ten with anyone except himself, b/c lbr, he does, too
Fair. Anyone who says their brain didn't go there when his clone happened is lying.

2. You're terrible. Bless.

[sarahblack.livejournal.com]

Loved reading this! I've always been pretty meh about Martha (definitely didn't hate her, though) but you have convinced me that she is in fact pretty damn cool. :D

I do ship Ten/Rose and their epic love, though. ♥

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I've always been pretty meh about Martha (definitely didn't hate her, though) but you have convinced me that she is in fact pretty damn cool. :D
\o/ \o/ \o/ I will go to my grave accomplished.

lol, I ship Ten/Rose, too! I'll have more to say about them later on in the meme. XD

[wheatear.livejournal.com]

I can see it. And I was really happy for Martha when she left at the end of Series 3. She was the only one who really recognised and said out loud that being with the Doctor was a bad relationship for her, and she left to go be awesome without him, because that's who Martha is.

[elisi]

This vid: Shut Up And Drive

Summary: Martha > you.

That's all.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

ALWAYS RECOMMEND THAT VID.

[pocochina.livejournal.com]

ooooh, I like this analysis. I go back and forth on whether I emotionally *like* the doctor and the Doctor but I completely agree with this read on it.

I LIKE that even though the Doctor can be a hero and saver of galaxies blah blah blah, he is also the world's worst friend/boyfriend and also generally a vain self-absorbed douche.

Yes! I loved Ten because he was so clearly struggling to keep his head above water sometimes, *and* because the narrative was always very clear on what that did to the people around him. And Martha clearly got the short end of the stick on it, and she was able to handle it without turning those feelings into resentment.

I balk at the idea that the latter "ruined" her character because no, being a Strong Female Character (TM) let alone a "strong woman" does not preclude being in love with a dude who's bad for you -- plus also fuck Strong Female Characters (TM).

THAAAAAAAAANK YOU. I loathe this dichotomy, that for a woman to have power in her life overall, she has to either always have an easy time romantically, or not form emotional attachments at all.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

♥

I have my issues with the show's treatment of Ten overall, but I always thought his relationship with Martha was very clearly and rightfully presented as unhealthy and unfair on her. So, I love it.

I loathe this dichotomy, that for a woman to have power in her life overall, she has to either always have an easy time romantically, or not form emotional attachments at all.
Yep. In one.

[upupa-epops.livejournal.com]

I absolutely loved that Martha just walked away, and, by doing that, she punched all the expectations in the face. Because in a stereotypical story, she was supposed to stay with him until she fixes him, or until her tragic love kills her. You don't give up on a broken dude. You love him, and your love is a test in perseverance. Except not. Not with Martha Jones, who had it in her to say "I quit, because I see this is pointless. I have a life. I want my life." Just like that. And it's not that I admire that she was able to acknowledge that she got rejected and humbly accept her fate. No. I admire that she knew she wasn't obliged to keep loving him only because he supposedly needed her. Her own well-being was important to her. YAY Martha Jones!

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I can add nothing to this perfect comment. Well said.

[verdant_fire]

yessss Martha. She is a BAMF and underappreciated by fandom. Ten was such a dick to her, and she still saved the world and his behind and then left on her own steam, like a boss. I punched the air when she gave her parting speech to the Doctor.

[kwritten.livejournal.com]

Bless you.

Martha is my bb. I never got the vibe from Martha/10 that she was completely defined by him. In contrast, I love that she was the one person capable of calling him on his bullshit. Rose was a complacent lover in comparison. I loved the Martha/10 relationship because even if Martha's affections were unrequited (poor bb), she was still a bad ass. And she undermined him. She made him fess up to his dorkiness. I felt that she challenged him more than any of the other companions.

The moral of this paragraph is basically that Martha Jones is a goddess and peasants will bow or get out of my journal
BOWING FOREVER AND EVER AMEN.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

This post blesses you back.

I do think all the companions in turn have been pretty good about calling the Doctor out on his shit? It's always a mix of idealizing him and understanding how fucked up he is. But yeah, Martha's a particular fave because her exit was the only one -- so far -- that didn't undermine her character development at all.

♥

[xx-pinkstar.livejournal.com]

Tho, not a surprise to xx_pinkstar, bless.



DAS CUZ TEN/MARTHA IS MAH SHIT ESSE. There are not enough stuck-in-1969-fanfics in the world tbh.

it's also clear IMO that we're meant to sympathize with Martha in her rejection, often even over the Doctor -- her relationship with him is framed almost completely from her POV

I actually think this was a rare case of writers doing it right and the fandom doing it wrong because fandom REFUSED to sympathise with Martha, all we got (until pretty much after she left and people realised how awesome she was) was ERMAGHAD DIS MARFA BITCH TRYNA STEAL THE DOCTOR FROM ROSE, HOW DARE SHE I HOPE SHE DIESSSS. And I should know because I was one of them and was a bitter peasant until halfway through the series and realised that Martha was a bamf/hbic/every badass acronym available to describe her.

[ASIDE: And contrary to how this basic piece of shit fandom would have it, Martha Jones is not wholly and solely "defined" by the Doctor. She is in fact consistently portrayed as an exceptionally capable, intelligent, proactive, and moral person whose one major weakness is being hung up on an emotionally unavailable guy. I balk at the idea that the latter "ruined" her character because no, being a Strong Female Character (TM) let alone a "strong woman" does not preclude being in love with a dude who's bad for you -- plus also fuck Strong Female Characters (TM). This complaint particularly irks me wrt Martha since inside the story she consistently displays agency, has life goals that are unrelated to men, forms and maintains relationships with other women, helps people for the sake of helping people and, oh yeah, SAVES THE ENTIRE WORLD ALMOST SINGLEHANDEDLY, not to mention the Doctor's useless ass on more than one occasion. And at the end of it all she makes the decision for herself to stop traveling with the Doctor, not just because she recognizes that she deserves better but also in order to pursue her true life goal: helping people in need. The moral of this paragraph is basically that Martha Jones is a goddess and peasants will bow or get out of my journal.]


RIGHT CLICKING AND SAVING THIS PARAGRAPH, TO MAH HEARTTTTT. GONNA JUST DIRECT PEOPLE TO THIS PARAGRAPH AND MAKE THEM SEE THE LIGHT.

Martha was my fav companion, walked the earth goddess, Martha/Ten!doomedness is the OTP of my heart etc etc congrats on this post, it's good and you should feel good.

P.S - how forever bitter am I that she broke up with hottest ever DW male Tom Milligan and basically got fucking race!paired with Mickey. Like. No. NO. NO NO NO NO NO. SIT DOWN,

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Why do you always have the best fucking macros.

There are not enough stuck-in-1969-fanfics in the world tbh.
:O :O :O ARE THERE ANY AT ALL????

And I should know because I was one of them and was a bitter peasant until halfway through the series and realised that Martha was a bamf/hbic/every badass acronym available to describe her.
lol I SIMPLY DID NOT KNOW. Thank the Face of Boe you saw the light.

And yes, ITA about fandom Doing It Wrong but the show Doing It Right. Hence why Martha/Ten is only second to Amy/Eleven in perfectly realized anti-romantic Who narratives for me, tbqh.

GONNA JUST DIRECT PEOPLE TO THIS PARAGRAPH AND MAKE THEM SEE THE LIGHT.
:') :') :')

And TY TY, congrats on your impeccable taste also. /whomp whomp



P.S. OH TOM MILLIGAN / GARY FROM "MIRANDA". lol, I don't have a problem with Martha/Mickey, but there is an unfortunate stench of "pair the spares" indeed.

[catteo.livejournal.com]

So I don't watch DW, and I feel as though this is something that should make me sad. But then I realised that I could just sit here and look at your pretty pictures and read your pretty words and it would be like watching the show with a friend. So. Excellent.

I now wrong!ship these guys too. WAY TO GO DUDE.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

LOL, happy to entertain (THO YOU SHOULD WATCH THE SHOW TBH IF ONLY SO I CAN HAVE YOUR FEELS IN A PROPER SENSE).

I now wrong!ship these guys too.
\o/ \o/ \o/ :') :') :')

MARTHA JONES YOU SAVE THE WORLD

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

Ok I ship Ten/Martha not at all but this meta is beautiful and wonderful nonetheless because how much do I love Martha? THIS MUCH THAT IS HOW MUCH.

I agree with xx_pinkstar that this is mostly a case of fandom getting it wrong and not the show getting it wrong. This story isn't about who the Doctor chooses to validate with his ~love - Martha vs Rose - but about how Martha's sense of validation came from herself. HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT??

That moment, when Martha gets to put it all out on the line and then walk away with her dignity (THIS IS ME, GETTING OUT) is one of the most self-empowering things I've ever seen on TV. She pined, yes, but she refuses to do so for the rest of her life. She loves the Doctor but she won't go on to sacrifice herself for him and his happiness or whatever. Instead she strikes out on her own and has one of the most successful post-Doctor lives that we've seen yet.

I feel like... with Doctor/Rose, I ship it to an embarrassing unhealthy degree for all their co-dependent, epicness, but Martha Jones is the person I want to be.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

TY TY, sir. And your Martha love is pleasing to me, you may continue.

This story isn't about who the Doctor chooses to validate with his ~love - Martha vs Rose - but about how Martha's sense of validation came from herself.
PREACH.

And ugh, yes yes to everything you say. I truly wonder how everyone in fandom doesn't adore this stunning bitch.

I feel like... with Doctor/Rose, I ship it to an embarrassing unhealthy degree for all their co-dependent, epicness, but Martha Jones is the person I want to be.
I can feel this. I still have a soft spot for the Doctor and Rose's brand of tragedy, but Martha is just everything I wanted a companion's story to be.

[local-max.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm on board -- I mean, I didn't really think about them in that way while watching but everything you say makes sense to me. My favourite episode might actually be the Family of Blood two-parter? And this is partly/primarily because the episode is really, really explicit about how unimaginably dickish Ten is, and how completely he uses Martha/takes her for granted, but also establishes that he basically does that because of a) privilege but more importantly b) because, dude, Time Lords? not great at relationships. I mean, it has been so long. Anyway, I love the way Ten falls for Joan as a human and then immediately offers her "let's go see space," super-half-heartedly, as some kind of consolation prize -- I almost love the idea that Ten would have mostly forgotten about Martha/ditched her at that point, or brought them both along, or just never noticed that there might be some ~difficulties for the two -- like, it's not that Ten doesn't care, but I get the real sense of alien-ness in him at that point -- the way human concerns are both the thing that drive him and also so far "below" his mode of comprehension. And I actually think that the Ten-is-a-privileged-white-dude-whose-servant-is-Martha, which Ten chooses, lolol, is actually genuinely a good reflection of their dynamic, because that is...basically still way, way less than the power imbalance he has with almost every human ever, all the time, and he sort of does have that benign paternalism/affection combination which is, you know. Sooooo hilarious and fucked up. I mean, I am a sadist, I guess is what I'm saying. But my point is that the episode both maintains sympathy for Ten, shows Martha being generally BAMF-y and examines some of the root of the poison and does other stuff. Anyway, wrong!ship! (I might ship this too wrongly?)

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

And I actually think that the Ten-is-a-privileged-white-dude-whose-servant-is-Martha, which Ten chooses, lolol, is actually genuinely a good reflection of their dynamic
lol IT'S HILARIOUS BECAUSE IT'S HORRIBLE. (I actually hadn't considered that but I'm inclined to agree.)

And yeah, Ten inviting Joan along cracks my shit up every time. Ten, you are the worst. So entertaining.

Your thoughts about Ten's alien-ness are interesting to me though because that's typically how I see Eleven. I always thought Ten was the one who secretly yearned to be part of the ~human world~ (but ultimately couldn't, for obvious reasons) and his attitude towards Martha was really just specific to the context (i.e. mourning Rose).

Anyway, wrong!ship! (I might ship this too wrongly?)
YESSSSS JOIN ME. \o/ \o/ \o/

[rosaxx50.livejournal.com]

Haha, well I don't ship Doctor/Martha at all (not even in a wrong!ship way, woe) but A+ for your meta. Particularly:

+ Martha is the very best. She was the first RTD companion I saw onscreen which actually meant I was predisposed to dislike Rose, unlike the other part of fandom. (And then I met Rose AND IT WAS LOVE.)

She is in fact consistently portrayed as an exceptionally capable, intelligent, proactive, and moral person whose one major weakness is being hung up on an emotionally unavailable guy. I balk at the idea that the latter "ruined" her character because no, being a Strong Female Character (TM) let alone a "strong woman" does not preclude being in love with a dude who's bad for you -- plus also fuck Strong Female Characters (TM).

WORD to all this. I do not hold that a character being a love interest takes away from the character; it's only when the character is nothing but a love interest that it's problematic, AND THIS IS CLEARLY NOT THE CASE WITH MARTHA JONES, PEACEMAKER OF THE FAMILY, WHO WALKED THE EARTH FOR A YEAR.

+ And I do like Martha's arc the very best, because, as other people have said before me, Martha left of her own choice, and she (and now Amy) are the only ones who do so. She's trapped in an relationship where the emotional power clearly goes against her, and she realises she is worth more than that. YES.

Also:

And you can expect to see all the canon doc/companion ships here before this meme is out

:O

Yay

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed reading even though you don't wrong!ship it (woe).

She was the first RTD companion I saw onscreen which actually meant I was predisposed to dislike Rose, unlike the other part of fandom.
:O

(THERE IS ROOM ENOUGH IN MY HEART FOR ALL OF THE COMPANIONS. Fandom may take several steps back.)

Anyway, good 2 see you are in agreement about Martha's flawless character journey. You may stay.

lol I love how your "yay" simultaneously conveys both intrigue and terror.

[cross-rubicon.livejournal.com]

I don't think anyone realized exactly how amazing Martha's arc was---and no I could never blame her for loving the Doctor, because .....yes, and also his bad behavior was also welcomed because the whole thing was tryingly realistic but I ended up liking it. I even think the Doctor had a moment of realization and didn't expect her to walk away? Would that be an accurate thing to say since it's been awhile in my memory? I don't think he thought it would happen, and then it did, and it was a checkyourself moment. A true realization.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm, I actually got the impression the Doctor expected it (Martha leaving)? He didn't seem hugely surprised in that last scene, and he did sort of non-verbally acknowledge what Martha was talking about with needing to "get out". It definitely was a "check yourself" moment, but in a more low-key way.

[lutamira]

All the things you say are true. A++ post here. I kind of want to quote all of it back at you, nodding and jumping up and down, but I'll just leave this part, for fun.

I LIKE that even though the Doctor can be a hero and saver of galaxies blah blah blah, he is also the world's worst friend/boyfriend and also generally a vain self-absorbed douche. At the same time, I do find it very believable (and almost inevitable in certain cases) that so many would fall head-over-heels for that showy time lord shit because, well. But the thing about Martha and Ten's NOT!romance is that while there is a textual ongoing romantic/sexual tension (and unlike the Doctor and Rose's relatively straightforward epic love) the relationship itself isn't romanticized. That is, it isn't presented as romantic.

Can't wait for more of this meme from you. :)

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You are lovely. *__*

[cranmers.livejournal.com]

Like, I have this tendency to latch onto the world's most doomed ships that nobody cares about/acknowledges/bothers writing about, let alone writing so cogently about. AND THEN THIS.

/that is all.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I had no idea you shipped Martha/Ten! I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS COMMENT.

\o/ \o/ \o/

And THANK YOU! I am overwhelmed. XD

[cranmers.livejournal.com]

But one question. When did "strong female character" becomes like a dirty word? It was like, all over LJ as this great praise and now it's this terrible thing. I am very confused. Did I miss something?

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Eh, it's more when people use it as part of a discourse where impossibly high expectations are set for female characters? Women like Martha will be dismissed because they don't happen to fulfill all the criteria for "strength" (because she has an unrequited crush on a guy therefore she's not "strong" enough to be considered a Strong Female Character). Which is bullshit, obviously.

[theramble.livejournal.com]

I will literally ship the Doctor with practically everyone except River and Clara.

interesting. (the river part, because of how widespread the ship is. i haven't properly met clara yet.)

i love your thoughts.

The moral of this paragraph is basically that Martha Jones is a goddess and peasants will bow or get out of my journal.

*bows 2 u both*

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

lol... yeah. Doctor/River is the bane of my life. My active dislike is pretty perfectly summed up by this reviewer, if you're wildly curious.

♥ ♥ /whomp whomp

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

My favorite Doctor relationship was hands down Ten/Donna followed closely by Nine/Rose, partly because those relationships allow the companions to stand up to the Doctor without being framed romantically (S2 with Rose and Ten, as artfully constructed and as downright beautiful some of those episodes were, was fundamentally romantic). Martha though...while I adore Donna and she is forever my favorite, I identify with Martha. I think I am Martha, most days. And that whole mundane, he's just a terrible friend/guy is so real that for a long while I thought I would never be able to like Tennant's Doctor. I was that not into him. I loved Nine, I was easing into S2 Ten and then S3 comes along and he's a bag of dicks to Martha while also pulling her along on these great adventures so OF COURSE she's going to fall in love with him. It's a complex relationship I have with Ten in S3 but it's all on him. Martha is flawless. While the Master was keeping the Doctor in a cage, she was walking the earth and that the Doctor was emotionally unavailable was a) too bad for him and b) probably good for Martha in the long run.

Always ship the Doctor with the Tardis. Not shipping them is unacceptable.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Martha is a pretty damn good person to be, lbr. You are doing well with your life. ;P

Anyway, I'd actually maintain that all the companions have been good at standing up to the Doctor (hence why he keeps them around -- although Rose/Ten were the most romanticized). And I also "love" how mundane Ten's douchebaggery is? It's one of those situations where I'm so sympathetic to Martha's longing that I wind up shipping it (idk).

Always ship the Doctor with the Tardis. Not shipping them is unacceptable.
Quite.