oh tee what?

[unamaga]

Some Buffy stuff still left! Get it while it's...not gone.

Now. I want to talk about McShep for a few minutes here. Please feel free to go about your business if this isn't your bag, baby.

I'm relatively new to the SGA fandom - although I've read and written so much damn fic you couldn't tell. I've only been involved properly since August, having mainlined all the episodes some time in late July. So, taking all this into account, it's really, really weird that I feel so protective of my 'ship, isn't it? While I was in Supernatural and Harry Potter fandoms, I had a few 'ships I followed fic in, and usually they were pretty flexible. I didn't mind if Dean and Sam got it on with a girl in fic, or if Remus and Sirius wanted to include James Potter in their sandwich of manlove. More bodies, more interesting, I always said! As long as there was some form of gay and no one repulsive was involved, I was a pretty happy camper.

But with Rodney and John, I find myself making weird, distressed faces when someone else is involved. This is upsetting to me! I don't know why it makes my soul hurt when Teyla, who I love with all of my heart, joins in. Or why the thought of Jack Harkness making out with John Sheppard has me shrieking in protest. Someone please explain! Jack Harkness is a hotass of epic, epic proportions! I should be pleased by the aesthetics!

Is this what it's like to have a true OTP? D: D: D:

[Poll #1118472]

Comments

[valoryhope.livejournal.com]

John & Rodney are so good together--they're alike in so many ways, and they complement each other in the ways in which they're different; they've shared so much, and learned to depend on and trust each other so fully--that even though my preference is for a romantic/sexual relationship between them, I can also be happy with stories that are simply about their friendship, as long as the story recognizes the special, unbreakable bond between them that transcends ordinary friendships.

(And, yes, that includes the rest of their team; I'm sure they do care deeply about Ronan & Teyla, but it's simply not as deep or intimate as the bond between John & Rodney...an unspoken bond, of course, because they are guys, after all, and would certainly never TALK about their feelings.)

Having said that, I must admit that I'm insanely jealous on John's behalf when a story pairs Rodney with someone else, or vice versa. And while fan fiction writers usually warn you about the pairings in a story, the TV episodes do not, and I find myself watching tensely each week as the writers tease us with possible romantic involvements for the guys (like Larrin in "Travelers", and the near-miss with Katie Brown, which actually bothered me more in "Tabula Rasa" than in "Quarantine"). Or, even if there's no romantic "rival", the show sometimes ignores or even denies the relationship that's been growing between them for 4 years--but, SGA, thy name is not consistency, and, since we can't depend on the writers, thank god that Joe and David seem to consistently get it and that their performances reflect that.

I guess what I love about McShep is the idea of such closeness, trust, and deep, enduring love between two people--and it IS love, whether you see it as slashy or platonic. And I feel that splitting them up and showing them in other pairings somehow cheapens that ideal; likewise, expanding their sexual activities by adding Ronan, Teyla, Lorne, whoever, is diluting it.

Besides, such plotlines never ring true to me. Neither John nor Rodney is all that great with people; neither of them seems to have had a history of successful romances or even many close friendships. The only reason they're such buddies is that they've been thrown together in life-threatening situations, and, by chance, they found that they also had a lot in common (cheesy sci-fi movies, video games, chess, snarking at each other, and exploring dangerous ruins, to name a few). Their connection is a miracle of serendipity, or simply destiny, whichever you prefer. But the notion that they could easily find a similar connection with other people seems unlikely. And it seems to me to trivialize my OTP ideal.

And now I must apologize for running on at such length. If anyone out there is still with me, thank you for your patience.