Donna the Shipper

[meddow]

I was thinking about the Donna ships Ten/Rose that is making the rounds in Doctor Who fandom. Some people are prescribing to it and others deriding it. I do hate the idea of Donna's sole existence as being a plot device for Ten/Rose (or any other ship, but Ten/Rose tends to be the main culprit) with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Because I love Donna far too much to ever wish to see her as merely a plot device.

But in a way, the Donna ships Ten/Rose thing is kind of correct. Of course, canon evidence does clearly show that Donna is incredibly happy that Ten and Rose are back together. Why wouldn't she be? She's his friend. Whatever makes him happy would make her happy (within reason and I'll get to that). But then, it is also canon that if Donna had her way, it'd be her, the Doctor, Rose, Martha, Jenny and Jack travelling around time and space (and probably Sarah, Luke, Mickey et al if she was to meet them). She did, remember, invite Martha aboard twice, and Jenny once (not to mention, she was the driving force behind the Doctor and Jenny bonding), and the "And who's he?" speaks volumes about Jack's potential to get luckyinvited.

You also do have to account for the fact Donna has never seen Ten and Rose in action together, because that Tooth and Claw immature joviality in the face of a slaughter would not be tolerated. We saw what happens when Rose acts like a juvenile in Turn Left with the whole 'in flux' bit. Rose made light of Donna's situation, and Rose was quite rightly yelled at. Those two would have to grow up in her presence.

And do people expect Donna to stand aside and leave if Rose came back, giving the one true pairing alone time? Hell no she would not do that. Donna loves travelling with the Doctor. She's not getting out that TARDIS for nobody. Also, along those lines, the Doctor giving up the travelling life and settling down would not impress her either. Donna would want to hold onto her travelling lifestyle. So really, Donna does ship Ten/Rose, but only in theory and not in the way that many Ten/Rose fanfic writers do.

I would actually really love to see is well done fic, without a particular shipper agenda, about what a Ten/Rose/Donna TARDIS would be like. You've got Rose, who is rather possessive about her position as the Doctor's number one girl suddenly finding the Doctor's got a female friend he's more willing to confide in than her. It's the old girlfriend and the best friend scenario, the three of them would have to reassess their positions in relation to each other and in the right hands, it could be really interesting. Particularly if there are also monsters and an actual plot.

Comments

[artic-fox.livejournal.com]

I would actually really love to see is well done fic, without a particular shipper agenda, about what a Ten/Rose/Donna TARDIS would be like. You've got Rose, who is rather possessive about her position as the Doctor's number one girl suddenly finding the Doctor's got a female friend he's more willing to confide in than her. It's the old girlfriend and the best friend scenario, the three of them would have to reassess their positions in relation to each other and in the right hands, it could be really interesting.

I WANT THIS FIC TOO.

My stance on the Donna ships Ten/Rose thing is something I've said for the lolz, rather than any implication that bringing Ten and Rose togther is Donna's "role" in the season. I don't that is anything to do with her at all, or otherwise only in a minor way in the way that she wants to see Ten happy.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

I don't really mind it for the lolz. Some though seem to be taking it further than that and Donna-as-Yenta fic is far to prevalent for my liking. But she does genuinely want to see Ten happy, and I adore her for that.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

*raises hand* I'm guilty, but a certainly don't see Donna as a Ten/Rose plot device. I see as an extension of her being Ten's best friend. She say how broken up he was when he lost Rose and she understands how alone he feels, so she's incredibly happy for him that someone she knows means a lot to him is coming back.

Whatever plot purpose Donna has in the finale is I'm sure going to be epic and completely not related to Ten/Rose. We've had a whole season of foreshadowing telling us so.

But then, it is also canon that if Donna had her way, it'd be her, the Doctor, Rose, Martha, Jenny and Jack travelling around time and space (and probably Sarah, Luke, Mickey et al if she was to meet them)

And that's the cast for the specials, right? I too would love to see fic of the Doctor, Donna, Rose and whoever else they pick up along the way traveling in the TARDIS together. As you say, it'd be an adjustment for all, but I think they'd make a great team.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

I'm sure the finale's not going to have Donna only there for Ten/Rose. Although, I'm not entirely convinced RTD will not do something stupid and have Donna sacrifice herself for Rose. Rather my beef is when Donna as Yenta fics.

And that is the cast of the specials + Jenny. It'd be really fun to see the TARDIS become packed. I think TSE proved that Doctor Who actually can work as an ensemble drama.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

I do hate the idea of Donna's sole existence as being a plot device for Ten/Rose (or any other ship, but Ten/Rose tends to be the main culprit) with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Because I love Donna far too much to ever wish to see her as merely a plot device.

So do I. And honestly, it's not true. As you said, Donna wants to see the two of them together because she's the grownup friend of the Doctor's who knows he cares about a woman, saw the condition he was in post-Doomsday and wants him to be happy. However, her sole purpose is certainly NOT to just be the catalyst to bring them back together so they can marry and have tiem babiez while she slinks away into the shadows to give them their perfect eternity.

Give me a fucking break. (Not you, just the insane shippers)

I know this is going to be not-nice, but there is a certain segment of the Rose/10 fen who just seem to think EVERYTHING and anything revolves around Rose and only Rose. Rose is the Alpha and Omega, the moon, the sun and the stars. She is apparently the TARDIS, the mother of Jenny, River Song in the future, Donna's real mother (who gave up her child by the Doctor and brought her into the past in order to set things in motion), a Time Lady in disguise and the only woman the Doctor has ever loved, could love and will love. Oh, and the only companion of note (I honestly saw claims that Martha could not be the most faithful companion because "she never did anything for him and then buggered off as soon as she had the first opportunity"...).

/snark

I'm with you in that Donna would love to have one big happy family in the TARDIS if she could manage it. Rose, Martha, Jenny, Jack (especially if she could get some alone time with him!), Sarah Jane, Ianto and Gwen (if she ever gets to meet them), River Song (were she still alive) etc. For someone who was as prickly and angry as she was when we first met her, I think Donna really is a maternal people person once you get past her outer shell. I think she's been hurt a lot in the past which makes her both highly defensive as well as highly vulnerable (which is why she was so desperate to cling to Lance).

And no, she wouldn't have tolerated the second series idiocy either. She'd have smacked both of them down and told them to cut the shite immediately. It would've been great. "Oi, Spaceman! None of that now! We've got a job to do!" *smack*

I would like to see some well-written not-Goddess-Rose fic written about those three (or four -- I'd love to see Jack in the mix too). Just for fun.

So, in closing, no I don't think Donna ia starry eyed 10/Rose fangirl by any stretch of the imagination. She is just a caring person who wants to see her friend happy. Hell, for all we know, if they did stay to gether, that she'd be the best friend who might tell the Doctor "that girl is all wrong for you"! (Of course, down deep I can also believe that Donna might actually be in love with him and be a better match for him. Just not foolish enough to go mooning over him!)

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Actually, the thing that inspired this post was a thing I stumbled upon outlining how Rose was better than Martha. Donna ships Rose/Ten was listed as one of the reasons. Give me a break. Donna adores Martha.

I think your right on the mark about Donna and the maternalness behind the occasionally tough exterior.

And exactly with being the friend who tells him she's not right for him. Donna likes them in theory, she's never seen how they actually are together.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I was bewildered by both extremes of this particular segment of audience reaction - the "Donna ships Ten/Rose" on the one hand, and on the other "Donna is reduced to a Yenta by the show" on the other. She's shown as a good friend who is happy that her best mate found someone again he'd thought lost. That's not the same as regarding Rose as his soulmate or destiny etc. and so forth. She was glad to meet Martha and happy to see her and the Doctor together because she knew he felt guilty about Martha (and because she liked Martha). She didn't allow the Doctor to withdraw behind his issues re: Jenny and as you say would have been very happy to have Jenny on board. I think that's one of the great things about the DonnaDoctorfriendship - it's inclusive, not exclusive.

Incidentally - how come there are no icons saying "Rose ships Doctor/Donna" or "My OTC is Rose's OTC?" ? There is as much canon justification. Rose tells Donna in Turn Left the universe needs her (Donna, not Rose) and the Doctor to be together. She tells Donna "he thought you were brilliant". (And btw, this is why I suspect Rose is experiencing this season's events in reverse, or rather, that in Rose's personal time line, Stolen Earth happens first, then Journey's end, then Turn Left, then Partners in Crime where she first meets Donna.) And then of course we have "Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in all creation". So, bring on the icons, I say.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Although, I tend to naturally side with the Donna is reduced to Yenta argument, really both sides are misrepresenting what actually happened in canon to an extent. It's really just another example of fandom taking something and polarising to the extremes of interpretations. And the inclusiveness is another reason why I adore those two.

And I have no idea why Rose ships Doctor/Donna is not a bigger thing, because it is actually far more of Rose trying to reunited the Doctor and Donna than there is Donna trying to reunite Rose and the Doctor. One is a character's explicit motivation. The other is a series of reaction shots.

I think you're right about Rose and her time line. I'm expecting that at some point early in Journey's End Donna is going to start talking about the events of Turn Left and Rose is going to reveal she's never met Donna before and has no idea what she's talking about.

[airie-fairy.livejournal.com]

Donna ships Doctor/happiness. That is all.

[rimwalker.livejournal.com]

Best response ever.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Pretty much, yes. :)

[tebasile7.livejournal.com]

A whole lot of Yes!
This attitude of many Rose/Ten shippers has been bugging me like hell this week.
Of course Donna is glad for the Doctor to be reunited with the woman he`s been missing since she has met him. She is his friend!
But that in no way implies she is going to step aside silently.....
In fact I can`t imagine Donna doing that for anyone.

And no she wouldn`t tolerate such juvenile behaviour from both of them.

And yes, she`d want all of them to travel together (especially if that included Jack,. who really wouldn´t mind if Donna got him alone...or in public.....(-;).

For one because she would enjoy it but also because she knows it would be good for the Doctor to be a whole lot less lonely.