McKay/Sheppard
Pairing | |
---|---|
Pairing: | McKay/Sheppard |
Alternative name(s): | John/Rodney, Sheppard/McKay, McShep |
Gender category: | m/m |
Fandom: | Stargate: Atlantis |
Canonical?: | No |
Prevalence: | Most common slash pairing in the fandom |
Archives: | Wraithbait, Area 52, works tagged McKay/Sheppard at AO3, At FF.Net |
Other: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Rodney McKay/John Sheppard is by far the most common slash pairing in Stargate Atlantis.
SGA is not much of a threshold fandom; for the most part, slash fans seem to have come to SGA from other existing slash fandoms. It has been called an "old school slash" fandom, possibly because of the lack of ironic distance in its approach to slash. It is also possible that the subject matter and types of stories being written were a part of the reason, rather than simply the 'tone' of the fandom. It might even have been something that happened due in part to Fannish Drift.
Origins of McKay/Sheppard Fans and Fannish Drift
Since SGA was a spin-off of a pre-existing show, there was already a large fan base interested in the Stargate universe. At around the same time, many Enterprise fans were growing disenchanted with their show, and decided to try Stargate Atlantis. These two communities brought with them an interest in canon-centered, character-based stories, akin to classic first and second wave slash stories. [1]
The pre-existing Stargate community existed primarily on mailing lists, and was supported by the Area 52 archive. Other SGA-focused mailing lists were created, paralleling the existing SG-1 ones, and Area 52 opened up to SGA fan fiction. On the Enterprise fan side, the need for a more-SGA focused archive was clear, and so the Wraithbait archive was formed along with its associated mailing lists. The interesting thing here is that the Enterprise crew also brought with them a strong interest in Sheppard/Weir and threesomes with their McKay/Sheppard slash, while the SG-1 community seems to have been more exclusively slash-focused.
Both sets of communities had some people who were also set up in LJ and some who posted to Fanfiction.net, so all major slash community hubs were hit with fiction right away, exposing large swaths of potential new fans to the show. In-person pimping at the Escapade 2005 slash con also exposed a lot of existing slash fans to the possibilities inherent in the show, and the relationship between John and Rodney. However, the first ship_manifesto posted was Sheppard/Weir, and the first slash one Beckett/McKay; both were posted in the late November/early December timeframe in 2004. The John/Rodney manifesto[2] wasn't posted until second season started, July 2005. Crack Van's brief introduction to the show [3] was posted at the end of February, 2005.
The next two big groups to populate the Stargate Atlantis slash community were Popslash writers and writers from Smallville. Popslash was also in very early; on crack_van, the first popslash/SGA crossover recommendation is "Untitled by Coreopsis", recommended on Dec 15, 2005 [4] The rec even includes pictures as the two communities may not have been familiar to each other. As evidenced by Singular Tropes By Fandom, the popslash writers were noted for writing fantastical stories without requiring a lot of explanation; Smallville had its fantastical element stories as well, and with the addition of a few Harry Potter slash fans, this set the stage for the crackfic vs. canon-based fic controversy that keeps popping up in the McKay/Sheppard fandom. The fantastical also typifies Lezlie's third wave of slash.[1]
RPS fans such as LOTRPS writers acted as the next wave, bringing with them a much more realistic tone, which also rather nicely aligns with Lezlie's fourth wave, fascinating, given that the original theory was written in 1993. As general steps, the fandom passed through the wave progression in a classical manner; perhaps this is part of why the McKay/Sheppard slash fandom is considered "old school slash," despite its high percentage of crackfic.
Everything that SGA touches, turns into AU SGA Crack....She introduced us to the show when we were just innocent, naive waifs and occasional fans and appreciators of SG-1. She pushed and pushed and pushed SGA on us until we sighed mightily, crossed our arms and flopped on the couch and were slowly drawn into a fandom where psychic telepathic whales are canon. - artemisiabrisol, Welcome to McShep Tin Hat Nation, 21 October 2008, (accessed October 22, 2008)
McKay/Sheppard in Canon, a brief overview
Most of these moments appear in vids and are referenced in fic.
Season 1:
- Rising (So math is a turn-on for you, McKay?),
- Hide and Seek (Chin up, Brave!Rodney),
- Thirty-Eight Minutes (John's first bug bite),
- Underground (Just you and me and an underground bunker make three),
- The Defiant One (Sand Fleas! Sand Fleas! Yuck.),
- Hot Zone (Apartment shopping)
- Sanctuary (Jolene!),
- The Brotherhood (The Genii, Mensa tricks and a ZPM),
- The Siege Part 1 & 2 ("So long, Rodney!")
Season 2:
- Trinity (possibly inspired more episode tags than any other episode; see The Post-Trinity Phenomenon for more)
- Aurora ("habit of saving each other's lives")
- The Lost Boys (supportive arm touching in the field)
- Grace Under Pressure (inspiration for countless tags of hypothermia-induced snuggling)
- Inferno (cock-blocking at its finest)
Season 3:
- McKay & Mrs. Miller (introduced Jeannie, a supportive presence in much fic)
- The Return Part 1 (the phonecall)
- Echoes (whale-watching)
- Tao of Rodney ("The way a friend feels about another friend.")
- The Game (playing the Ancient Sims game)
Season 4:
- Adrift
- Miller's Crossing ("I know.")
- The Last Man (rewriting time itself to save John)
Season 5:
- The Shrine ("John!", beer on the pier)
- The Prodigal (racing RC cars through the halls)
- Vegas (gum in interrogation)
Notable Fanworks
Influential Vids
- Bohemian Like You by Shalott
- Jolene by Zoe Rayne
- My Brilliant Idea (link) (The Red-Haired Irish Girl song) by lim
- Four Years (link) by Fabella
- Dreams (link) by Newkidfan
- This Is How It Works by lim (7/2006), vid for the story Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left To Lose (see below) by synecdochic
Multimedia
- Missed the Saturday Dance by Zoetrope, WWII and modern-day AU that uses prose, art, video, and audio to tell the story. (10/2006)
Fanzines
- Military/Intelligence, multi-author McShep anthology zine (2006)
- Surfacing, multi-author McShep anthology zine (2007)
- Gene Therapy by Lady Ra, crossover with Smallville, also features Clark/Lex. (2007)
- Wraith Killers by Lady Ra, crossover with SG-1 (and telepathic big-cat fandom?). (2007)
- Undercurrents multi-author McShep anthology zines. (2009 & 2010)
Canon-Based or Canon-Related Fanfiction
(added McShep stories with fanlore pages of their own as of 15 May 2011)
- AS, a John/Rodney story by Frostfire
- The Balcony Series by Leah -- early in fandom, season one episodes, brought in a lot of new fans. (started 11/2004, completed 9/2005)
- Environmental Controls by Kalimyre (2/2005)
- Two Weeks by The Grrrl and mmmchelle -- Important early look at John and his parents, and what it would be like to vacation on Earth after being in another galaxy. (2/2005)
- Transcendental by astolat -- v. early novel. Controversial in that Rodney shows himself able to repeatedly think Sheppard under a table. Some felt John was humiliated by Rodney; others adored the novel. (3/2005)
- A Beautiful Lifetime Event by astolat -- season-1 AU kidfic, frequently cited as a classic in the genre. (4/2005)
- Hindsight by Rageprufrock -- (early controversy, concrit discussion). (8/2005?)
- Untalented And Completely Unprepared, But Giving It His Best Shot Anyway by Dasha -- (Better choice for either John or Rodney or Season 2 page?). (12/2005?)
- Scenes from a Lesser War by amireal -- Influential DADT-repeal story. (2/2006)
- DADT, Damyata, Damyadvam by trinityofone -- a very different take on the DADT trope. (3/2006)
- Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left To Lose by synecdochic -- Is it gen, Bob, or (past-)McShep? Widely hailed as moving or brilliant, anyway. (3/2006)
- Speaker for the Dead by MrsHamill -- Inversion of FJAWFNLTL where it's John who makes a new life. (7/2006)
- Tannhauser Gate by trinityofone -- cyberpunk fusion. (5/2006)
- And Be One Traveler by amireal and trinityofone -- SGA/SGA RPF crossover novel-length metafic. (10/2006)
- Coming Home and General and Dr. Sheppard by xanthe -- Set in a BDSM alternate universe where people's tendencies as submissive or dominant define their roles in society. Deeply loved by many for the sweeping romance, criticized for fantasy-like level of unrealism by others. (2006)
- Take Clothes Off As Directed by Helenish -- viewed as responsefic to Xanthe's stories above. (11/2006)
- You're Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl) by trinityofone -- Influential bodyswap and genderswap story. (12/2006)
- Crimes Against Humanity by seperis -- mirror verse AU where they're all psychopaths locked up on Atlantis, which is used as a high-security prison. (WIP 2006-2008)
- Acidimia by sheafrotherdon -- John-as-a-Runner story. (8/2007)
- And All the World Beneath by seperis -- SPN crossover apocafic, also features John S./Dean W. (8/2007)
- Written by the Victors by speranza -- strong McShep subplot in this highly influential Atlantis-goes-independent epic, which was deeply loved by many, deemed disappointing by others. (9/2007)
- The Difference Engine by copperbadge -- John-is-a-robot story which covers how he teaches himself to feel. (5/2008)
- Indelible by Shaenie -- epic McShep fic, widely recced for its multilayeredness and characterization. (8/2008)
- Under the Skin by d -- John and Rodney communicate by writing on skin after a traumatic event
McShep AU Fanworks
McKay/Sheppard is a pairing especially rich in AUs, many of which take place on an Earth without a Stargate.
Example AUs:
- Class of 2005 by coreopsis -- Possibly the first High School AU in SGA. (1/2005)
- A John Sheppard Christmas by Coreopsis (2005)
- Class 6 (2006)
- Si Muovo by Kass and Sihaya Black -- John is a priest, Rodney a Jesuit priest (and astrophysicist). (2008)
- Two Men Walk Into a Bank by Brumeier
elderwitty compiled the Giant McShep AU List, which includes hundreds (as of March 2011 close to 900) of stories featuring such alternate universe roles as Actor/Agent, Figure Skater/Coach,Lumberjack/Environmentalist, Model/Painter, Nursery school teacher/Clown, Singer/Keyboard player, Sith/Jedi and TV Producer/Talk Show Host.
McShep Reclists and Reccing Resources
McShep-focused recommendation lists, posts, and communities:
- List of McKay/Sheppard-focused reclists at mckay_sheppard LJ community (compiled 4/2006)
- Why I Love Mckay/Sheppard rec post in unusual format, by ceteramisto. (6/2006)
- McShep recs by seperis (last updated 2/2008)
- Rec posts tagged with pairing: mckay/sheppard at LJ community polyfandomrecs. (Most recent post: 7/2008)
- SGA McKay/Sheppard fiction recs by deltacephei (started 3/2007, last updated 6/2010)
- Romance (John/Rodney) recs post by fiordelighi. (1/2009)
- Recs tagged John/Rodney at stargateficrec. (ongoing)
- Recs tagged McKay/Sheppard at LJ community Epic Recs. (ongoing)
- Rec posts tagged McKay/Sheppard at Dreamwidth community fancake. (ongoing)
Meta/Further Reading
- McKay/Sheppard of Stargate Atlantis - Mutual Elements; WebCite Season 1 ship manifesto look at the pairing (2005)
- MY FUCKING FANDOM GIVES ME FUCKING FITS, part 34,849 by Hth (2007)
- A McShep Theorem; WebCite An analysis of canon body language that may be viewed as showing elements of courtship, presented as commentary and screencaps covering seasons 1-4 (2008)
- Analyzing McShep--Materials Appreciated; WebCite (request posted to the mckay_sheppard Livejournal community soliciting metatextual analysis and opinions; interesting comments) (2008)
- and then, randomly, there was a McShep Primer on your flist; WebCite by Aja (written after season 5, covers seasons 1-4, strongly supports the pairing) (2009)
- McShep Essay; or, why these two gay space idiots have captured my heart; WebCite, by popkin16 (2012)
Livejournal Communities
- mckay_sheppard - slash community
- McShep Match - fanfic challenge
- McSheplets - ficlets
- daily_mcshep - screencaps
For more, see SGA Lists and Communities
References
- ^ a b Sherrold. The Wave Theory of Slash. 2008-10-08 LiveJournal post. (Accessed October 18, 2008). See also Wave Theory.
- ^ Mutual Elements Ship Manifesto essay, accessed October 18, 2008
- ^ Stargate: Atlantis - A Brief Introduction to the Show (Accessed October 18, 2008)
- ^ Popslash/Stargate: Atlantis rec, John Sheppard/Nick Carter accessed October 18, 2008