Exactly. Objectophilia was basically what I was alluding to in my question (but in a more roundabout way). And since that’s a very joked about paraphilia, I can never discern in regular conversation if someone genuinely ships Doctor/TARDIS in a romantic and/or physical way or if they’re just saying they “ship” it because the Doctor obviously has a strong attachment to her, but they don’t actually believe he’s into her in the “I love you” or “Let’s do hanky panky” way. They’re just saying it to be amusing.
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I’d assume it depends on the person, but I know some people who definitely ship it in all seriousness, and I explore it myself from time to time. It’s interesting.
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Agreed. It’s not something I think often about, but when I do it does sound very appealing.
I’m going to ponder this more now.
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I’ll admit, when I’m shipping characters, I’m mostly thinking of them doing romantic things together, not sex.
Having dinner together.
Holding hands.
Kissing.
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Internal thoughts: AHHHHHH! NOOO!!! I’ve gotten into a shipping debate on the internet. What a terrible nightmare. Wake up lwebb, wake up!
However, I will try to explain to you what I mean, and how my interpretation of the relationship might differ from @uss-genderprise’s.
Although my original post may look silly, it is derived from a literal interpretation of @JayPea’s original instructions to list one’s “number 1 ship for each doctor.” The fact that it is funny is only reflective of the fact that love may be the ultimate joke.
I do genuinely believe that the Doctor is in love with the TARDIS in a romantic sense, with the important caveat that since the Doctor is an alien, romantic attraction looks different (which seems to be something that many shippers do not consider). As previously mentioned, the TARDIS is sentient, and I think could be capable of some reciprocity. It is quite strongly implied that the TARDIS does have agency in the show, so I think that your former option may sell the relationship short.
If the Greeks were to summarize the love the Doctor has for his TARDIS, I think it would require many of their words. It’s a pragma (long term love), a storge (love between members of a family), and possibly also an eros (the romantic, mushy kind) and philautia (self love, as the TARDIS serves as an extension of himself/herself and his/her identity as a Time Lord). (not to mention how the Doctor and the TARDIS’ relationship ultimately serves as a mutual facilitation for some major agape) [1]
The Doctor’s Wife is the episode that explores this in terms that people can understand by giving the TARDIS humanoid form. Looking at the title, one can observe what the implications of the humanoid TARDIS are. However, there was a scene in Dark Water (I think), where the Doctor pounded on the console, and I remember finding this scene quite upsetting not because of the Doctor’s distress at not being able to find Gallifrey, but because it made the Doctor look like a wife-beater.
I will make no comment on if or how the Doctor and the TARDIS’ relationship is consummated.
A note about the author: I’m not really a shipper, and at this point in my life I don’t have any particular romantic experience to draw upon. This is just the way that I understand the Doctor and the TARDIS relating to each other. I hope you find this helpful, however, as I have somewhat of a compulsion to provide information when asked.
Also, does the phrase “which field they’re playing on” have anything to do with the phrase “bat for the other team”? I’m not really sure what you mean there.
[1]
For more details on the different types of love used, visit These Are the 7 Types of Love | Psychology Today
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I understand your stance now! That was a helpful way of describing it. The examples I gave in my question weren’t that specific (I lacked the means to appropriately describe what I was getting at), but this is basically the kind of answer I expected a Doctor/TARDIS shipper to provide. Thanks for that affirmation haha!
This made me laugh.
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I don’t really ship the Doctor with anyone, they’re an aroace icon to me and I don’t really understand the need for them to be shipped with the companions.
However, shipping the companions… I have a lot of those 
but as @The1_Foxy said:
Most of the things I ship I wouldn’t want to see canon at all, or I’m just writing to explore what can be done with a dynamic between two characters. It’s not even necessarily about the romance aspect for me, but just how two characters work when they’re forced into highly emotional situations.
Leela/Romana forever 
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Very platonic. Definitely no indication of romantic interest here.
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I hate this notion (that really seems to mostly only come up with Yaz and not so much with any other love interest) that someone has to be somehow objectively special for them to be worthy of the Doctor’s love. That’s not how love works. I think my wife is one of the greatest people I’ve ever known but in the grand scheme of the universe she’s not really special or important. Yaz is brave and loyal and kind, why should that not be enough?
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But that’s not the Tenth Doctor…
I’m not saying Yaz isn’t special enough, just that the wording used in that scene is that if there were anyone the Doctor would have a romantic relationship with, it would be Yaz. Now either she just means “if there were anyone I’m currently travelling with” which narrows it down too much to be a meaningful statement, or it means “if there were anyone I’ve ever met” which places Yaz on a pedestal higher than any other companion that I don’t think she deserves to be placed.
The Doctor even already has a wife for crying out loud!
I’m all for Thasmin, I just have an issue with how it was handled, I wish some recognition of past companions was made. I like Yaz but from what we see on screen there just isn’t the necessary chemistry between them to elevate her higher than Rose, Amy, or Clara - all of which had feelings for the Doctor too and none of which had such a big display of romance given to them!
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But surely we can count “clone of 10 with all his memories saying the thing that 10 was going to say to Rose and then making out with her” as a pretty clear indication of 10’s romantic interest in Rose.
Who she mentions in that conversation! One of several times that the show is very clearly trying to show us that the Doctor loving one person does not invalidate the love they have or had for other people.
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