Headachy now.
Regarding the latest Who-wank: one of the things that truly annoys me about this kind of thing (if you really want to know, go to fandom_wank for the details) is the protestations on both sides that the wankery all belongs to one side, and certainly not theirs. "Rose is the Doctor's One Twu Wuv 4EVA, and if you 'ship the Doctor with anyone else, you're interrogating the show from the wrong perspective" and "Martha's better than Rose in every conceivable way, and the Doctor was an ass for not falling for her when she clearly DESERVED his love more than Rose ever did, and everyone who still 'ships him with Rose is pathetic and needs to get with the times" are both wanky in the same degree.
My personal thoughts, as if you asked for them, are that first of all, though I believe Rose was the love of one lifetime--perhaps two, once we've seen the end of Ten--she was not the love of his whole life, all incarnations. Frankly, given the 26 years of Old Skool Who, you'd have to fanwank *less* to say there never was a romantic element to the Doctor and Rose's relationship. The Doctor has loved much, and lost just as much. But then, I don't really believe in One True Love anyway. The whole concept strikes me as problematic. For one, it's been used to justify infidelity far too much--"Yes, I'm married with a family, but this person is my One True Love, so therefore I'll toss my commitment to the dogs. God'll understand!" For another, it kind of screws over people who lose the one they loved. Either they'll never have true love again, or the one they lost is downgraded to "not my true love." Hell, half the point of "Seed Pearls" was that love, after being lost, can be found again--and I caught some flack on that point!
Which isn't, btw, to say that some people do have only one "true love" or one love for a lifetime. My parents and maternal grandparents, for instance--and it's beautiful. But I find the One True Love concept as it's commonly used, that there's only one person you can ever love with all your heart, to be less than romantic.
Secondly, one does not "deserve" another person's love. We'll even throw aside the question of who was "better" between Rose and Martha, as I frankly find it inane. That Rose was less educated, less experienced and less fashionable than Martha doesn't mean she was the lesser companion; that the Doctor didn't fall in love with Martha means about the same for her. Come on! But back on the point, there's a certain subset of Doctor/Martha 'shippers who have an entitlement mentality similar to that of some Buffy/Xander 'shippers of yore--"Look what (Martha/Xander) has done for (Doctor/Buffy). It's ungrateful of (Doctor/Buffy) to not love (Martha/Xander) romantically and proves (Doctor/Buffy) doesn't truly appreciate (Martha/Xander)!" (Hey, Martha/Xander would be a fairly cool pairing, no?) I find it unattractive, not to mention incomprehensible. The heart is an untamed thing; you don't fall for someone because it's the sensible thing to do.
So, in short, if you're going to regale me with your theories of why Rose or Martha was inherently superior, or why Doctor/Rose was just Wrong, or why Doctor/Martha is an abomination unto the Lord, or why the other side needs to Plz Shaddup Now because *you* certainly don't wank on about these things, please save your fingers and my head the pain. Thank you.
And damn it, now I've got a Xander/Martha plot poodle yapping at me!
ETA: Just so everyone knows, this is not directed at anyone in particular. It's a general rant sparked by the usual sweeping generalizations that crop up whenever DW ends up on FW. However, if any of the above makes you believe I'm a bad 'shipper and need to be taken off your Doctor/Rose filters, it's your call.
My personal thoughts, as if you asked for them, are that first of all, though I believe Rose was the love of one lifetime--perhaps two, once we've seen the end of Ten--she was not the love of his whole life, all incarnations. Frankly, given the 26 years of Old Skool Who, you'd have to fanwank *less* to say there never was a romantic element to the Doctor and Rose's relationship. The Doctor has loved much, and lost just as much. But then, I don't really believe in One True Love anyway. The whole concept strikes me as problematic. For one, it's been used to justify infidelity far too much--"Yes, I'm married with a family, but this person is my One True Love, so therefore I'll toss my commitment to the dogs. God'll understand!" For another, it kind of screws over people who lose the one they loved. Either they'll never have true love again, or the one they lost is downgraded to "not my true love." Hell, half the point of "Seed Pearls" was that love, after being lost, can be found again--and I caught some flack on that point!
Which isn't, btw, to say that some people do have only one "true love" or one love for a lifetime. My parents and maternal grandparents, for instance--and it's beautiful. But I find the One True Love concept as it's commonly used, that there's only one person you can ever love with all your heart, to be less than romantic.
Secondly, one does not "deserve" another person's love. We'll even throw aside the question of who was "better" between Rose and Martha, as I frankly find it inane. That Rose was less educated, less experienced and less fashionable than Martha doesn't mean she was the lesser companion; that the Doctor didn't fall in love with Martha means about the same for her. Come on! But back on the point, there's a certain subset of Doctor/Martha 'shippers who have an entitlement mentality similar to that of some Buffy/Xander 'shippers of yore--"Look what (Martha/Xander) has done for (Doctor/Buffy). It's ungrateful of (Doctor/Buffy) to not love (Martha/Xander) romantically and proves (Doctor/Buffy) doesn't truly appreciate (Martha/Xander)!" (Hey, Martha/Xander would be a fairly cool pairing, no?) I find it unattractive, not to mention incomprehensible. The heart is an untamed thing; you don't fall for someone because it's the sensible thing to do.
So, in short, if you're going to regale me with your theories of why Rose or Martha was inherently superior, or why Doctor/Rose was just Wrong, or why Doctor/Martha is an abomination unto the Lord, or why the other side needs to Plz Shaddup Now because *you* certainly don't wank on about these things, please save your fingers and my head the pain. Thank you.
And damn it, now I've got a Xander/Martha plot poodle yapping at me!
ETA: Just so everyone knows, this is not directed at anyone in particular. It's a general rant sparked by the usual sweeping generalizations that crop up whenever DW ends up on FW. However, if any of the above makes you believe I'm a bad 'shipper and need to be taken off your Doctor/Rose filters, it's your call.