SGA: Sheppard/Zelenka
Aug. 14th, 2006 09:46 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
elven-wolf.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ship_manifestoCzech Mate: The True Adventures of the Flyboy and the Geek
Pairing: John Sheppard/Radek Zelenka
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Spoilers: "Duet", "Grace Under Pressure", "The Siege", "Trinity", and "Allies" sorta.
Email: elven_wolf@livejournal.com
The City
Stargate Atlantis is the popular spinoff to Sci Fi's long-running series Stargate SG-1. It follows the adventures of a group of intrepid explorers who find a wormhole to another galaxy. They travel there only to find the Lost City of the Ancients: Atlantis, which has been abandoned for ten thousand years. In the discovery of why the original inhabitants left, the new Atlanteans find themselves battling the same enemy, as well as new enemies that have developed in the last few millennia.
The show itself is multifaceted, dealing with serious storylines as well as a good deal of camp and Star Trek references. While SG-1 is more of a military-centred show, on Atlantis the civilian scientists match the military in numbers and often drive the action above the Marines and Airmen on base. This sets the stage for the complex interplay between civilian and military forces on the expedition.
The Flyboy
Major/Lt. Col. John Sheppard is the military leader of the Atlantis expedition, and leader of the flagship team. Like his Milky Way counterpart, General Jack O'Neill, Sheppard is rebellious, cocky, and snarky, though his sense of humour and personality are his own. Sheppard is younger, more optimistic and a little on the naïve side.
As an officer in the United States Air Force, he doesn't quite fit in. He has wild untameable hair, tends to trust people more than he probably should, and has a cocky rebelliousness that makes him follow his own instincts against orders more often than not. Yet he loves to fly, and it's easy to imagine a younger John looking at a recruitment poster and thinking, "they'll pay for me to learn to fly? Cool!" and signing up without giving it another thought. Only to later on realise he's Joined The Military and have a brief moment of "aw fuck!" before getting over it and learning to deal with it. He's way too laid back not to.
His personal life is an enigma. We don't know anything canonical about his family life and background, and even nowadays he keeps things close to the vest when it comes to interpersonal relationships and emotions. He acts and looks like a ladies' man, but doesn't score quite often enough to justify the image. He'd much rather spend time playing with his buddies.
The Geek
Now, let's take a look at the other half of this pairing, one Dr. Radek Zelenka. He is a brilliant engineer and physicist, second only to Rodney McKay. Even though Rodney is loath to admit it, Radek is practically his equal in intellect. Zelenka hails from Czech Republic and can often be heard spouting expletives in his native tongue with a venom only matched by Rodney's own tirades.
On the show, Radek is a secondary recurring character who's gained a significant loyal fan following. He often acts like a foil for McKay, letting him know when his plans are likely to fail, and bouncing ideas off each other like they almost share a brain. On his own, Radek is more thoughtful and methodical, thinking things through before plunging into potential danger. He's often seen delivering bad news, being the first to notice when a Wraith hiveship is on its way or when Rodney's experiment is about to blow up in his face. And speaking of Rodney McKay...
Mutual Friends
The force of nature that brings John and Radek together is none other than Rodney McKay. Off-world, Rodney is John's default second and constant pain in the ass. On base, Rodney is Radek's immediate supervisor and constant pain in the ass. If Rodney is not pestering one, he's arguing with the other.
Yet when Rodney gets in trouble, and needs science to rescue him, John will always enlist the aid of Radek Zelenka. In the second season episode 'Duet', Rodney gets beamed into a Wraith dart ship. The dart gets shot down, effectively trapping McKay in the beaming mechanism. Who is John going to call?
Radek, of course. Only scientist on Atlantis who can come close to Rodney's intellect, without being encumbered by his ego.
John listens intently to Radek's explanation. Unlike a certain other Stargate Airman, John doesn't hide from science. In fact, he is considered by some in fandom to be a closet geek. This was a tidbit that was revealed in season one's 'Rising', in which John is shown to be able to do complex maths in his head, and later on in 'The Brotherhood' when it was revealed that he took, and passed, the Mensa test.
John tells Radek to activate the programme that will make Rodney reappear. This of course, works perfectly--as far as they can so far tell--and Rodney rematerializes, takes a look around, and faints dead away.
Everybody rushes to his rescue, but John prefers to stand back and hang out with Radek some more.
Later on we realise that all is not well in the land of Rodney, so again it's up to Radek (and John) to figure things out.
They're both very concerned.
This is the beginning, to me, of a beautiful friendship. In between saving Rodney's ass every so often, I can picture them comparing notes on how to deal with said physicist and how to avoid shooting him/poisoning his coffee. They both care about Rodney, in their own special ways, but it takes a strong man, or pair of men, to handle him.
And it takes the both of them to keep Rodney from self-destructing in 'Trinity'. The team has discovered an Ancient laboratory on another planet, and the geeks are all atwitter with the possibilities.
John: Hm, I wonder what they're up to...
Rodney: Oh, Colonel! We were just--
Rodney: --talking! Just talking. About science-y stuff. Totally innocent.
Look at how happy cool Ancient weapons make them! And look how Radek looks at John.
Radek: Oh look! He has nice posterior!
A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's two thousand words.
By the middle of season two, you already have a rapport between the two of them that excludes Rodney. John calls Radek by his first name, and the two have formed a working relationship that, well, works. The scene above, from Trinity, is what clicked the pairing for me. It actually started as an OT3, and I read some fics in that arena, but being a hardcore loyal McBecker, Rodney soon returned to Carson and left Radek and John to carry on without him.
It works for me!
Rodney's in trouble again! Wondertwins to the rescue! But of course, Radek first has to explain to Dr. Weir how they're going to carry out this miraculous recovery.
Suddenly it's like Dr. Weir isn't even in the room anymore. Need a room, boys?
So off they go in the Puddle Jumper, on a wing, a prayer, and a splash. John pilots the spacecraft into the ocean merely on Radek's assurance that the craft will be watertight.
They rescue Rodney and get back home safe and sound.
When It's Love
But it can't be all about Rodney, all the time. That can only put a strain on a relationship--and we know how hard it can be to maintain one of those in the Pegasus galaxy, in between engineering disasters and soul-sucking alien attacks. John and Radek work as a pairing because of who they are individually.
They come from very different backgrounds, and might at times suffer from clashes of the cultural variety, but they have bigger, badder things to be afraid of. On Atlantis, there's only Earth vs. the rest of the galaxy, and the characters realise that more often than not.
John respects the scientists, and while him and Rodney might seem like the obvious flagship pairing to a lot of fans, to me John is deeper than he seems, more thoughtful. You can see traces of this in the intense moments of heroism that he demonstrates. You can see how much he cares about his crew and how much he actually thinks about things. It's this thoughtfulness that he shares with Zelenka.
Radek grew up in what is now Czech Republic, a country which has seen its share of turmoil. It's possible that he's had military training under the country's mandatory service earlier in life. Such a background can temper a person. Radek is at heart a scientist, but he's capable of making the difficult choices when he has to. Prior to the siege of Atlantis by the Wraith, he was faced with the decision to permanently destroy everything they'd only begun to discover about the Lost City. It was a decision that took survival into account, not only his own survival, but that of billions.
They're both heroes in their own way, willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. John claims he doesn't want to sacrifice himself, but he'll find it necessary often enough to prove his calibre. Yet he's always grateful for the scientists, who may yet find ways to avoid disaster and keep him from having to lay down his own life.
Radek immediately looks up when he hears John coming.
Then pretends like he's engrossed in his work.
What does John have there? *gasp* It's coffee! He's bringing his geek some coffee. Now THAT'S love.
Unfortunately, random hussy steals Radek's mug, but hey, it's the thought that counts.
Hey, where's my coffee?
Time to get to work. There'll be more coffee later.
Unfortunately, John can't keep his mind on the subject matter, and his attention keeps straying to Radek's tongue.
And that cute little smile.
So Why Slash?
Every Flyboy needs a Geek, and especially in the Pegasus Galaxy, where companionship seems so difficult to achieve. I think John would ultimately look for someone outside of his gate team for love, or rather, find himself surprisingly finding love outside his team. He has stated himself that he never sees it coming. So, finding himself ensnared by the Czech? A definite possibility.
There's no lack of opportunity, as John is one of the few Atlanteans who carries the Ancient gene that allows him to activate all kinds of devices, and what better subject of study for a scientist than that? Also, his relationship to Rodney has brought him close to Radek's orbit on more than one occasion. After a whole day out in the field or in the lab with Rodney, John would welcome the change of pace.
Also, if we're to endow John with such thoughts, Radek is better for his career. Rodney's too talkative, too vibrant and obvious in his emotions, even when he pretends not to be. Radek is more discreet, more calm and quiet when he needs to be, and dare I say it, a good deal more mature.
But ultimately, why slash? The possibilities with these two are great, especially given the limited amount of actual screen time we get from them. Their personalities seem to mesh, but it's up to the fanficcer to flesh their relationship out. That's something that often attracts me to a pairing.
So, Here's How You Can Join In The Fun
The first place you want to go to in order to experience this pairing is![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
sheppardzelenka. You will find fics, graphics, and all kinds of goodies.
If you want to see the budding attraction I've described in fic form, check out In Focus by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vileseagulls.
For something a little more mellow and a tad bittersweet, check out A Summer Yet To Come byseverusslave.
And for something very hot, try Melting the Darkness bypierson.
And you can't miss the video to 'I Want Candy' bytaelonmahal.
Of course, you can always go to Wraithbait.com and check out the categories there. The Sheppard/Zelenka section is small, but there's some goodies in there!
I hope you enjoyed my little rambling tirade, and that you'll check the pairing out and see if it's to your liking. There's more fic than I've listed here, but the fandom is so small that you'll be able to navigate it and find other goodies. Happy hunting!
ETA: Fixed bad LJ tag.
Pairing: John Sheppard/Radek Zelenka
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Spoilers: "Duet", "Grace Under Pressure", "The Siege", "Trinity", and "Allies" sorta.
Email: elven_wolf@livejournal.com
The City
Stargate Atlantis is the popular spinoff to Sci Fi's long-running series Stargate SG-1. It follows the adventures of a group of intrepid explorers who find a wormhole to another galaxy. They travel there only to find the Lost City of the Ancients: Atlantis, which has been abandoned for ten thousand years. In the discovery of why the original inhabitants left, the new Atlanteans find themselves battling the same enemy, as well as new enemies that have developed in the last few millennia.
The show itself is multifaceted, dealing with serious storylines as well as a good deal of camp and Star Trek references. While SG-1 is more of a military-centred show, on Atlantis the civilian scientists match the military in numbers and often drive the action above the Marines and Airmen on base. This sets the stage for the complex interplay between civilian and military forces on the expedition.
The Flyboy
Major/Lt. Col. John Sheppard is the military leader of the Atlantis expedition, and leader of the flagship team. Like his Milky Way counterpart, General Jack O'Neill, Sheppard is rebellious, cocky, and snarky, though his sense of humour and personality are his own. Sheppard is younger, more optimistic and a little on the naïve side.As an officer in the United States Air Force, he doesn't quite fit in. He has wild untameable hair, tends to trust people more than he probably should, and has a cocky rebelliousness that makes him follow his own instincts against orders more often than not. Yet he loves to fly, and it's easy to imagine a younger John looking at a recruitment poster and thinking, "they'll pay for me to learn to fly? Cool!" and signing up without giving it another thought. Only to later on realise he's Joined The Military and have a brief moment of "aw fuck!" before getting over it and learning to deal with it. He's way too laid back not to.
His personal life is an enigma. We don't know anything canonical about his family life and background, and even nowadays he keeps things close to the vest when it comes to interpersonal relationships and emotions. He acts and looks like a ladies' man, but doesn't score quite often enough to justify the image. He'd much rather spend time playing with his buddies.
The Geek
Now, let's take a look at the other half of this pairing, one Dr. Radek Zelenka. He is a brilliant engineer and physicist, second only to Rodney McKay. Even though Rodney is loath to admit it, Radek is practically his equal in intellect. Zelenka hails from Czech Republic and can often be heard spouting expletives in his native tongue with a venom only matched by Rodney's own tirades.On the show, Radek is a secondary recurring character who's gained a significant loyal fan following. He often acts like a foil for McKay, letting him know when his plans are likely to fail, and bouncing ideas off each other like they almost share a brain. On his own, Radek is more thoughtful and methodical, thinking things through before plunging into potential danger. He's often seen delivering bad news, being the first to notice when a Wraith hiveship is on its way or when Rodney's experiment is about to blow up in his face. And speaking of Rodney McKay...
Mutual Friends
The force of nature that brings John and Radek together is none other than Rodney McKay. Off-world, Rodney is John's default second and constant pain in the ass. On base, Rodney is Radek's immediate supervisor and constant pain in the ass. If Rodney is not pestering one, he's arguing with the other.
Yet when Rodney gets in trouble, and needs science to rescue him, John will always enlist the aid of Radek Zelenka. In the second season episode 'Duet', Rodney gets beamed into a Wraith dart ship. The dart gets shot down, effectively trapping McKay in the beaming mechanism. Who is John going to call?
Radek, of course. Only scientist on Atlantis who can come close to Rodney's intellect, without being encumbered by his ego.
John listens intently to Radek's explanation. Unlike a certain other Stargate Airman, John doesn't hide from science. In fact, he is considered by some in fandom to be a closet geek. This was a tidbit that was revealed in season one's 'Rising', in which John is shown to be able to do complex maths in his head, and later on in 'The Brotherhood' when it was revealed that he took, and passed, the Mensa test.
John tells Radek to activate the programme that will make Rodney reappear. This of course, works perfectly--as far as they can so far tell--and Rodney rematerializes, takes a look around, and faints dead away.
Everybody rushes to his rescue, but John prefers to stand back and hang out with Radek some more.
Later on we realise that all is not well in the land of Rodney, so again it's up to Radek (and John) to figure things out.
They're both very concerned.
This is the beginning, to me, of a beautiful friendship. In between saving Rodney's ass every so often, I can picture them comparing notes on how to deal with said physicist and how to avoid shooting him/poisoning his coffee. They both care about Rodney, in their own special ways, but it takes a strong man, or pair of men, to handle him.
And it takes the both of them to keep Rodney from self-destructing in 'Trinity'. The team has discovered an Ancient laboratory on another planet, and the geeks are all atwitter with the possibilities.
John: Hm, I wonder what they're up to...
Rodney: Oh, Colonel! We were just--
Rodney: --talking! Just talking. About science-y stuff. Totally innocent.
Look at how happy cool Ancient weapons make them! And look how Radek looks at John.
Radek: Oh look! He has nice posterior!
A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's two thousand words.
By the middle of season two, you already have a rapport between the two of them that excludes Rodney. John calls Radek by his first name, and the two have formed a working relationship that, well, works. The scene above, from Trinity, is what clicked the pairing for me. It actually started as an OT3, and I read some fics in that arena, but being a hardcore loyal McBecker, Rodney soon returned to Carson and left Radek and John to carry on without him.
It works for me!
Rodney's in trouble again! Wondertwins to the rescue! But of course, Radek first has to explain to Dr. Weir how they're going to carry out this miraculous recovery.
Suddenly it's like Dr. Weir isn't even in the room anymore. Need a room, boys?
So off they go in the Puddle Jumper, on a wing, a prayer, and a splash. John pilots the spacecraft into the ocean merely on Radek's assurance that the craft will be watertight.
They rescue Rodney and get back home safe and sound.
When It's Love
But it can't be all about Rodney, all the time. That can only put a strain on a relationship--and we know how hard it can be to maintain one of those in the Pegasus galaxy, in between engineering disasters and soul-sucking alien attacks. John and Radek work as a pairing because of who they are individually.
They come from very different backgrounds, and might at times suffer from clashes of the cultural variety, but they have bigger, badder things to be afraid of. On Atlantis, there's only Earth vs. the rest of the galaxy, and the characters realise that more often than not.
John respects the scientists, and while him and Rodney might seem like the obvious flagship pairing to a lot of fans, to me John is deeper than he seems, more thoughtful. You can see traces of this in the intense moments of heroism that he demonstrates. You can see how much he cares about his crew and how much he actually thinks about things. It's this thoughtfulness that he shares with Zelenka.
Radek grew up in what is now Czech Republic, a country which has seen its share of turmoil. It's possible that he's had military training under the country's mandatory service earlier in life. Such a background can temper a person. Radek is at heart a scientist, but he's capable of making the difficult choices when he has to. Prior to the siege of Atlantis by the Wraith, he was faced with the decision to permanently destroy everything they'd only begun to discover about the Lost City. It was a decision that took survival into account, not only his own survival, but that of billions.
They're both heroes in their own way, willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. John claims he doesn't want to sacrifice himself, but he'll find it necessary often enough to prove his calibre. Yet he's always grateful for the scientists, who may yet find ways to avoid disaster and keep him from having to lay down his own life.
Radek immediately looks up when he hears John coming.
Then pretends like he's engrossed in his work.
What does John have there? *gasp* It's coffee! He's bringing his geek some coffee. Now THAT'S love.
Unfortunately, random hussy steals Radek's mug, but hey, it's the thought that counts.
Hey, where's my coffee?
Time to get to work. There'll be more coffee later.
Unfortunately, John can't keep his mind on the subject matter, and his attention keeps straying to Radek's tongue.
And that cute little smile.
So Why Slash?
Every Flyboy needs a Geek, and especially in the Pegasus Galaxy, where companionship seems so difficult to achieve. I think John would ultimately look for someone outside of his gate team for love, or rather, find himself surprisingly finding love outside his team. He has stated himself that he never sees it coming. So, finding himself ensnared by the Czech? A definite possibility.
There's no lack of opportunity, as John is one of the few Atlanteans who carries the Ancient gene that allows him to activate all kinds of devices, and what better subject of study for a scientist than that? Also, his relationship to Rodney has brought him close to Radek's orbit on more than one occasion. After a whole day out in the field or in the lab with Rodney, John would welcome the change of pace.
Also, if we're to endow John with such thoughts, Radek is better for his career. Rodney's too talkative, too vibrant and obvious in his emotions, even when he pretends not to be. Radek is more discreet, more calm and quiet when he needs to be, and dare I say it, a good deal more mature.
But ultimately, why slash? The possibilities with these two are great, especially given the limited amount of actual screen time we get from them. Their personalities seem to mesh, but it's up to the fanficcer to flesh their relationship out. That's something that often attracts me to a pairing.
So, Here's How You Can Join In The Fun
The first place you want to go to in order to experience this pairing is
sheppardzelenka. You will find fics, graphics, and all kinds of goodies.If you want to see the budding attraction I've described in fic form, check out In Focus by
vileseagulls.For something a little more mellow and a tad bittersweet, check out A Summer Yet To Come by
severusslave.And for something very hot, try Melting the Darkness by
pierson.And you can't miss the video to 'I Want Candy' by
taelonmahal.Of course, you can always go to Wraithbait.com and check out the categories there. The Sheppard/Zelenka section is small, but there's some goodies in there!
I hope you enjoyed my little rambling tirade, and that you'll check the pairing out and see if it's to your liking. There's more fic than I've listed here, but the fandom is so small that you'll be able to navigate it and find other goodies. Happy hunting!
ETA: Fixed bad LJ tag.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 03:04 am (UTC)That first LJ tag comes up unknown.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 10:00 pm (UTC)And thanks! Love your Radek icon.
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Date: 2006-08-15 11:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 10:36 am (UTC)This is very good, it's about time this pairing got some exposure. And, gah, thank you so much for linking me. ♥
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Date: 2006-08-16 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-08-17 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 07:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 09:32 pm (UTC)