Sheppard/Teyla - a rare pairing

[tielan]

You know, I'm beginning to think that Sheppard/Teyla should get rare-pairing status, canonically-inclined or not.

God knows that it's less-popular than both Sheppard/Weir and Teyla/Ronon, harder to find fic, icons, or photomanips for, and impossible to encourage anyone towards. There's no middle ground for the pairing: people either like it, or loathe it and won't touch it with a ten-foot pole.

And I'm getting tired of not being allowed to write or post it in ficathons and LJ comms because it's apparently 'popular'.

Popular, my ass.

If it's so popular, then someone point me to the fic. I've found two authors I trust to write it well in all circumstances and maybe three or four others who are reasonable. And then there's the cliched, badly spelled, grammatically incorrect, unbeta'd, labouriously-written stories by authors too 'precious' about their fics to entrust them to a beta reader or to take constructive criticism about their spelling and grammar, let alone their characterisation.

No, good fic is not the same as all fic, but the fact that there are only two really good, regular writers for Shep/Teyla is a simple mathematical indicator that the overall selection pool is pretty small.

If it's popular, then someone explain to me why the SGA newsletter regularly features Shep/Weir and Teyla/Ronon but very little Shep/Teyla.

If it's popular, then someone tell me why a het ship canon vs. fanon pairing poll turned up 183 people who wanted to see Teyla/Ronon in canon (against 111 people who wanted to see Shep/Weir) and 20 people who wanted to see Shep/Teyla in canon.

Shep/Teyla a popular pairing? Bloody well do the math, use Earth logic to compute rather than fan logic[*], and gimme a break.

And seriously reconsider the automatic exclusion of Shep/Teyla any time someone does something involving the phrase, 'we don't want the popular pairings.' Because Shep/Teyla is so very not popular.

[*]But I don't like Shep/Teyla! We can't let it into the pairing communities for rare pairings because I don't want to read that stuff! EW!

Comments

[therisingmoon.livejournal.com]

I think it's because the John/Teyla subtext is so subtle that you'd have to actively look for it compared to the buckets of McKay/Sheppard, John/Elizabeth and Teyla/Ronon UST that's so easily spotted that even if the semi-canon pairing is John/Teyla, you wouldn't really notice it unless you looked (or you were indifferent to Elizabeth...)

also, since this is a relatively new show, the interaction and subtext can be built up over the seasons but it would still be eclipsed by John/Rodney, John/Elizabeth and Teyla/Ronon because they are more obvious to the casual viewer.

or something like that.

[tielan]

I'm not talking about show subtext or complaining that less people see Shep/Teyla.

I'm pointing out that the fact that there is less fic, less artwork, and less support for Shep/Teyla should land it in the 'less popular' bucket when it comes to fandom pairings - where it rarely lands right now.

It might not have been the case before Season Two, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it's been easily eclipsed by the popularity of Shep/McKay, Shep/Weir, and Teyla/Ronon.

And if it isn't a popular ship, then it shouldn't be being excluded as a popular ship.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

I think it's because the John/Teyla subtext is so subtle that you'd have to actively look for it compared to the buckets of McKay/Sheppard, John/Elizabeth and Teyla/Ronon UST

That's totally subjective, though. I agree that S/T is somewhat subtle; at least it's done with a very light touch. But buckets of the other pairings? Sure, if you want to look for them.

I think Shep/Weir is popular because women identify with Weir and want the hot guy, Shep, and so they might as well pair up Teyla with Ronon to get her out of the picture. Kind of like the people who tried to torturously write Sam/Teal'c or Sam/Janet is order to keep her out of the Jack/Daniel happynest of love ;)

[snoggingpicard.livejournal.com]

Amen to this. It is very tough to find quality fic out there, and what disappoints me is that even with some of the outstanding work (yours included), others refuse to try it out merely because of the label. I have never encountered such venemous hatred of a ship before, but for some reason, there is a lot of animosity towards this one and the people who ship for it. I don't understand it. And I'm not one for trying to convert others to my ship -- it's a very personal thing -- but I also try not to react so violently toward other pairings. *shrugs* I've met some great shippers from other "camps", but the general feeling toward S/T is very, very negative. And yeah, it's aggravating when the pairing gets edged out in the popularity contests but also isn't allowed to qualify for the less popular pairings. There has to be room for us somewhere!

[tielan]

it's aggravating when the pairing gets edged out in the popularity contests but also isn't allowed to qualify for the less popular pairings.

That's pretty much my issue. Shep/Teyla doesn't have the numbers - it's not popular. But a lot of communities claim it is and won't accept stories or pairings or requests for it in spite of simple empirical evidence.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

I find it interesting because I'm a pretty consistant Shep/Teyla writer and I haven't experienced the 'venemous hatred' that I've seen that quite a few others have experienced. I don't know, maybe they're scared of me or something *g* or maybe I just don't hang out in the right circles.

Like I said earlier in this thread, I think the reason that Teyla is relatively disliked is because most of the female fans of this show - and female fans are what you tend to see in this neck of the woods - identify more with Elizabeth, for reasons that I would list but I'd probably end up pissing people off ;)

I was around for the very very venemous hating of Sam/Jack that took place between seasons 4 and 7 especially, and of course back in X-Files fandom with the anti-M/S shippers. And there was undoubtably chemistry there ;)

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

You know I was all confused when the Isis awards started because I had it in my head that W/S wasn't the dominant pairing, but as far as I can tell, you're right.

I keep thinking that somewhere out there there must be an enclave of Shep/Emmagan people, and I just don't run in their circles, but then I remember that fandoms are small and FANDOM as a whole is incestuous, so surely those people would have turned up by now.

I don't get it.

Ironically, because I am at heart incredibly perverse, the lack and people dismissing it makes me want to see more of it. Possibly I just like annoying people (hey I slash Sheppard and Beckett and there are maybe 8 people out there who write that? Anything that runs contrary to the major pairings is just toxic to people apparently).

[tielan]

I'm on a couple of Shep/Teyla lists, and honestly? Everything on those lists is generated by about 7 people.

So it looks busy, but there aren't too many people actually writing for the damn pairing.

And yeah with the dismissal. Unpopular is one thing, the active dislike I keep coming across is very different. Teyla/Lorne is unpopular. Shep/Teyla is hated. It's probably why a lot of my writing has gone shippy; I abhor a vacuum and this one is pulling at me.

I can almost see Shep/Beckett (like Shep/Ronon), I just don't go looking for the fic and I prefer the het pairings.

[m00nbrain.livejournal.com]

Since I'm new to the show and the John/Teyla ship I've barely scratched the surface, which I hope to change.
I have noticed how small the following for this pairing is and how much un reasonable b.s. it recieves. I haven't seen any concrete reasons for the hate.
I love the fact that I've found many dedicated and talented writers for this ship.

[tielan]

I think that our definitions of 'dedicated and talented' writers differ somewhat.

The two writers I mentioned as good are talented, but they're not hugely productive in terms of the number of fics they write per month. That's not necessarily a bad thing: I'd rather have quality over quantity in the end. And quality is more likely to convert those who are willing to be converted.

However, it is very frustrating to find that most people exclude Shep/Teyla from communities and ficathons on the basis that it's 'popular' when it's nothing of the sort - as the numbers are witness.

[madjm.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything profound to say. Just, you know, I totally agree. I want some John/Teyla fic on a regular basis, dammit! Is that too much to ask? :(

[tielan]

You could always write it yourself!

*prods*

You are one of the two writers I absolutely trust, btw. The other is allisnow.

[alliesings.livejournal.com]

At times like this I curse Jolinar for usurping the Shep/Teyla muse. S/T is my favorite current ship, but I have absolutely no muse for them. And it is hard to find good Shep/Teyla fic. I am pretty sure I run in all the S/T circles, but it is so rare for me to read great fic for them. Of course, I'm kind of busy to read fic at the moment, but I know that there is that entire series by Sel and Alli to read when I want to dedicate some time to it. But I'm writing now, and I have to go with that, ya know.

We're definitely not a majority.

[tielan]

It took my muse a while to get into S/T as well. I think it was mostly the lack that got me started. That, and the bloody Elizabeth/Ronon pairing. Once I started writing for them, Shep/Teyla just slipped in the backdoor and started making like bunnies.

*grumbles at you*

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I don't 'ship Sheppard/Teyla. Which really only means that I will never write Sheppard/Teyla. I don't mind reading it as long as the story is good (which is the same for all other pairings, including slash).

I pains me that this is where our fandom has split. Not because people 'ship Sheppard/Teyla, but because it might be a rare pairing, even though it is canon inclined. Look at poor Beckett/Cadman. They're canon confirmed and it's still hard to find good stories about them. At the Isis Awards this year, the mods decided to allow Sheppard/Teyla on the grounds that they aren't terribly common and the hope was that this would allow the readers and writers to find fic. It was removed after a Sheppard/Teyla 'shipper complained (quite vehemently) that her ship was not, in fact, rare.

Just because it's canon, doesn't make it popular. Sheppard/Teyla has proved that. I am not saying it should be a rare_pairing like say....Lorne/Cadman or Caldwell/Heightmeyer. To me, "rare" means two characters who rarely get screen time together, and "unpopular" seems to judgemental.

I suppose what I am saying is that you have my full support. Lord knows, if the tables were turned and I was part of a small, talented Sheppard/Weir group, I would hope for the same thing. If there's anything I can do, let me know.

(Random aside: I also like the 'ships that Sheppard/Teyla opens up. I never even thought about Ronan/Weir until I read "To Serve A Queen" and by the time I read that Rodney story with the huge title I don't remember but the fic was awesome and Ronan and Lizzie were married, it seemed exceptionally natural.)

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

Maybe the canon has an effect. Why bother to write a pairing that's part of canon? The show is providing that pairing for you, so you don't need to write it, or something along those lines.

[neth-dugan.livejournal.com]

To be frank, I am anything but a Shep/Teyla shipper (do you guys you Sheyla?), not the least because I'm a rather avid McShepper.

THAT SAID...

(and, frell, I'm sounding like people I get annoyed by now)

You have a good point. (oo, now I don't). You don't see that much Shep/Teyla stuff, not on the newsletter in anycase, nor on wraithbait and I'm too scared to go to fanfiction.net for unknown fic half the time, but I'm sure it's the same there.

Which, in a way, is kinda sad because diversity is something brilliant.

And, also, you're right in that it's unfare that it gets treated with a status it doesn't poses, at least not anymore. It's not a major pairing, yet it get's treated like that just because the writters jumped us with the Daniel/Sha're vibes in Rising, and it gets mentioned in interviews. And whilst that's all well and good, the fandom hasn't responded, and it's frankly unfare to treat it as though it had!

And a large part of that is probably everyone else looking at it, shaking their heads, and going 'ewwww!'. Well, even if they think that, it doesn't mean they should treat the pairing like that.


So, I'm just going to nod, and agree that it's getting unfair treatment, even given my status as a slasher in SGA.

[tielan]

I'd say I'm noticing this because I'm a Shep/Teyla shipper, but I like to think that if another pairing (even one I didn't like) was getting the same treatment and someone brought it to my notice, I'd be fair about it.

And yeah, 'Sheyla' is one term for it. But I really don't like smushnames: Shep/Teyla or S/T or John/Teyla or J/T are my shorts for the pairing.

Heh. I don't go to ff.net much, myself. I post there, but I can't bring myself to read most of the stuff...the summaries are enough to scar me...

[amalthia]

I don't see too much Teyla/Sheppard hate but that's probably because most of the people I friends list are rather laid back people and are kind of open to all sorts of pairings. I haven't really been tempted to write Teyla/Sheppard myself, mostly because I didn't care for how Teyla was written season 1 but I really enjoyed what the writers gave her in season 2 and I'm really beginning to like Teyla as a character. I'm not much of a het writer but I could see Teyla and Sheppard now, where as last year I had a harder time with it, but not in a way where I just had to tell people to please stop or anything. (which I think is completely wrong for fans ask, with maybe the exception of the TomParis/Neelix fics from Voyager)

I agree that Teyla/Sheppard isn't common or easy to find and I would not call it popular.

I think you're more likely to find well written threesome fics with Teyla/Sheppard/McKay (I did find a fourseome with Ronon that was pretty hot too) Strangely I haven't seen any Weir/Teyla/Sheppard or McKay.

Basically there are few authors that can write het I'd be willing to read and you're one of them. If you ever write Teyla/Sheppard I'd read it. (btw, your story Sensetivity you had some really intense moments between Sheppard/Teyla, and I loved it)

[ladyjax.livejournal.com]

angely I haven't seen any Weir/Teyla/Sheppard

Nope and I keep looking in vain for it (even though I have a tiny possible ficlet for that)

[ladyjax.livejournal.com]

And, also, you're right in that it's unfare that it gets treated with a status it doesn't poses, at least not anymore. It's not a major pairing, yet it get's treated like that just because the writters jumped us with the Daniel/Sha're vibes in Rising, and it gets mentioned in interviews. And whilst that's all well and good, the fandom hasn't responded, and it's frankly unfare to treat it as though it had!

That's about where I am with it all. I rarely read a lot of Shep/Teyla (about two or three authors at most because the rest just makes me want to hide my head in the sand) but I'm just annoyed that there's such a lack of interest in the possibilities of the pairing. And yes, I've seen the hate. It's not pretty.

The fact that I could cruise through the sga_newsletter or Wraithbait for the past several days and find maybe one or two stories J/T related and yet a bunch of J/E tells me that there's something up. Oh, and Ronon/Teyla? Ah, I'm just gonna leave it alone.

I know I started writing het fic in SGA for two reasons: a) I wanted to see if I could and b) as a direct response to the hordes of Shep/McKay. I didn't write Shep/Teyla because, for me, it didn't present a challenge. But I still went looking for it because it's very rare for a woman of color character to actually get fic written about her at all.

What I started hearing from my friends was how so many fans were turned off by Teyla's dress, how she spoke. The fact that she was the alien babe and thus dismissable. And I was like, "What crack are you smoking and can you keep it away from me, please?"

Oy.

Will I ever write John/Teyla? Maybe one day, if I have something I want to say about them or explore that relationship. It doesn't stop me for wanting to see it and see it written well and thoughtfully.

I'm lucky that my friends who know me as a slasher have followed along on my Teyla-centric stuff.

[tielan]

I don't get the issues with Teyla's dress and alien babeness.

It was one thing to introduce Anise into SG-1 purely for the alien babe dynamic (and she was purely alien babe dynamic).

Teyla was one of the natives and the point at which Atlantis interacted with the Pegasus galaxy locals - otherwise they're just this bunch of peeps intruding into a galaxy rather like the European colonialists did - taking pity on the 'poor natives'. At that point, she's already ahead in the 'got a reason to have her?' stakes.

[nightchik.livejournal.com]

Do you have John/Teyla recs somewhere?

[tielan]

allisnow and madjm. Anything by them.

Uh...

allisnow and seldear have been playing 'fic tennis' for a while now - it's on their LJs. Some of seldear's ones are a bit odd, but that's just my opinion.

'Kata' by Davechicken (can be found on Wraithbait)

The Moonmoth wrote a neat post-Letters From Pegasus, not-quite-UST story. I can't remember the name, though; just that I enjoyed it.

And there's my stuff if you care to risk an author's pride in her own work. *g* Tag is 'john/teyla' on my LJ.

I'll get some more to you later when I've had a chance to go through my recs.

[stungunbilly.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of on the fence about this: it isn't really a rare pairing, IMHO.
But it isn't one of the most popular ones, either.
The tricky thing about SG:A is that there are so MANY viable pairings. There are the most popular, (McKay/Sheppard, Sheppard/Weir), and the middle children, and then the actually rare.
I'd love to see more Rodney/Teyla, myself, but it is very hard to find. Is it rare? Not as rare as, say, Zelenka/Ronon, but far more rare than Teyla/Shep.
It's really that one *expects* to see more Sheppard/Teyla (who I for one would go for light years before I'd ever read Sh./Weir, btw) than one actually does. But one still gets a heck of a lot more of it than, say, Rodney/Ronon, more's the pity.*g*
Personally, I love Weir/Dex, so I'm all for you getting more of the fiction you love, though. Maybe there can be a (or another?) Shep/Teyla ficathon, where people exchange stories on requested pairings for a S/T story.
Anyway, good luck!

[amalthia]

I really like the idea of Rodney/Teyla but I don't see many stories with them. I think for me I may have issues with Teyla/Sheppard because he's in command of the team and she's a woman (in the wrong hands it can easily look exploitive, i'm more sensitive when it comes to women in fan fiction), it's also one of the reasons I'd have to separate Weir/Sheppard from Atlantis for me to really believe in that pairing.

It also helps that I've read some good fics with Teyla/Rodney (example: The Silent Art of Watching)

[doxymom.livejournal.com]

Well, as for the SGA Newsletter, sometimes I think they only document whatever the latest post is. So if a journal gets three posts, only the last shows up--if it qualifies. We had a huge party on sga_john_teyla and only a couple of the graphics, fics, challenges, icons, etc., were listed in the newsletter--probably because they all were posted on the same day so only the last two or so were mentioned.

I chalk it up to them having so much to do they can't read all of a day's posts in every LJ they watch.

You do have a point. Compared to McShep and SW, JT is a very small pairing. Most of the fans don't seem to want to do much creatively. I don't know if TR is gaining yet or not.

[doxymom.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I mod on those lists and on at least one it's incredibly hard to get anyone to post anything. It's downright weird. There are hundreds of people and yet it's like no one knows what to say. I keep trying to post challenges, etc., but it seems to be fairly futile.

And you're totally right about JT seeming to be hated. It's weird too.

SG fandom is a new ballgame for me. I don't recall any other fandom I've been in (quite a few over the years) being so divided or volatile. It's like a lot of people came to the show with their minds already firmly made up about what they like or dislike and that's that. I suppose some probably did.

And so few people seem inclined to do anything creative for John/Teyla. I see more and more each month, but nowhere near the numbers of the other ships.

[natacup82.livejournal.com]

*here via the sga newsletter*

I'm inclined to agree with this, it is damn hard to find any sort of quality J/T fic out there or hell any fic period in LJ land. Granted it's not my only ship, but it seems to be the bastard step-child of this fandom. People hate it venomously and beat it down wherever they can but seem to swear that it's way too prevalent. Maybe people consider something a 'popular' pairing if it involves two of the main credited cast.

[tielan]

People hate it venomously and beat it down wherever they can but seem to swear that it's way too prevalent.

Best summary of the situation I've yet seen.

Maybe people consider something a 'popular' pairing if it involves two of the main credited cast.

Then I would have to direct them to a dictionary definition of the word 'popular'. I'm pretty sure that 'involving two of the main credited cast' doesn't qualify a pairing as popular. (And what about Rodney/Ronon, or Ronon/Elizabeth, Ronon/Teyla, Teyla/Rodney...?)

[princeali-m-fan.livejournal.com]

This might be semi-sorta off from your post, but I just have to rant :)

I'm one of these odd people who refuses to piegon hole myself into shipping those two because 1. they are my favorite characters, 2. it just seems like the obvious thing to do since they are my favorites, and 3. shipping bites; however it's a pairing that if you pointed a gun at my head you *might* be able to get me to say it, but take that with a grain of salt because you could get me to say the same thing about Teyla/Beckett of all pairings. I'm just not a shipper in general. If I were to ship them though, it'd honestly be because it *is* a quiet and less popular pairing. I'm not sure if I'd want all those crazy people in my pairing. I know the fans can get a little...hyped-up, but they mean well...I think. I can see where having a lot of people in the pairing would come in handy to write fanfiction, though.

I came in the fandom a year late, so I missed all the anti-Teyla bashings (thank God cause I would have had to whoop someone's ass cause Teyla's my girl, lol), but I'd say that from what I've read of the accountings and heard from people, that that definitely had something to do with the overall hate of the Sheppard/Teyla pairing and then now the small numbers of fans. People rebelled against the idea and this is what is left. A lot of the new people I see who ship the pairing are newbies in the fandom who have no idea about all the back crap of the pairing, which I guess could be a compliment because they accepted the pairing just from what they saw on tv and not online.

As far as the big pairings go, I'd honest to God would rather eat my kidneys and pour acid on my lungs than go Shep/Weir. Who came up with that?! That, to me, is a crack pairing and it's so popular because everyone is just deciding to go along with the crockery. You have this miserable woman who seems pretty lonely now that she and her boyfriend parted ways, so what better thing to cheer her up than to stick her with the gorgeous hero who she supposedly has chemisty with (which all I see is leadership connections and goes about as far as a co-worker relationship) and live happily ever after as the two leaders of happy Atlantis.

Crack. Pairing.

Yes, I am a complete and utter Teyla fan, but I love Weir too, so no I'm not saying that because "omg u don like weir cuz u liek teyla!!1" I just don't think Weir *needs* anyone and I feel like in season 2 they just threw her off on Sheppard much like they were doing with Teyla in season 1. Like this is the writer's way of getting more people accepting to the girls since they are so hated, disliked, least popular, etc. Sheppard is just that ideal person that everyone wants their character with rather it be het or slash.
Even if Shep/Weir became canon, which God forbid it doesn't, I STILL wouldn't think it's a good idea, pairing, thought, etc. I will never like that pairing. Ever. Part of my reasons is because it's so popular and once pairings get that big, it becomes collective stupidity as opposed to individual madness :D

And as far as Teyla goes, I've seen a lot of people grow to like her more this season than the first because they think Ronon changed her and made her a new likeable person. I so disagree with that. *Part* of that change I will credit to Ronon since I think he showed her that it is ok to be the "different" one, yet still be yourself while fitting in, or at least trying to cause I think that was part of why she was so "stiff" and "closed off" as people were calling her from season 1 along with other things. But Teyla has always been Teyla. Now she's just Teyla with someone to talk to who understands how stuff in the Pegasus Galaxy goes down without having to explain, AND is more comfortable with the group of people she is with now. The idea of a Teyla/Ronon pairing kinda makes me cringe, but I'm not completely against it...just 95% against, lol.

So, I'd definitely would say that Teyla/Sheppard is a small, unpopular pairing, but I wouldn't say that's a completely bad thing except for in situations like the one you described with fanfiction. It's small, but semi-influential pairing since it still manages to piss people off when certain scenes happen like in "The Long Good-bye", lol.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

"As far as the big pairings go, I'd honest to God would rather eat my kidneys and pour acid on my lungs than go Shep/Weir. Who came up with that?! That, to me, is a crack pairing and it's so popular because everyone is just deciding to go along with the crockery. You have this miserable woman who seems pretty lonely now that she and her boyfriend parted ways, so what better thing to cheer her up than to stick her with the gorgeous hero who she supposedly has chemisty with (which all I see is leadership connections and goes about as far as a co-worker relationship) and live happily ever after as the two leaders of happy Atlantis.

"Crack. Pairing."

*hearts you*

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Huh. I do see your point --

and I'm just not a John/Teyla shipper. To be perfectly honest, it's more of a canon pairing to me than Sheppard/Weir, mostly because we have canonical proof that there was or at least used to be some measure of sexual attraction -- their chemistry in "Rising" and Sheppard's rather unambiguous actions toward her during "Conversion" as well as the anvil in "The Long Good-Bye".

Interestingly enough -- at least to me -- John/Elizabeth are just the other way round -- I don't see any sexual desire or spark, but canon proves that Elizabeth cares deeply for John, and that John feels enough for her to go pretty much insane and kills sixty when he thinks she's dead.

...yeah, that's why I McShep. & ;-)

Back to my point, the one that's simply yours: Yes, there is very little John/Teyla, and treating it like Sheppard/McKay or Sheppard/Weir seems grossly unfair.

[tielan]

as well as the anvil in "The Long Good-Bye".

Your mention of the 'anvil' is one of the things that is pushing me to get the hell out of this fandom.

I know one of the things that scares me most about shipper wars is how very..."Harmonian" people are getting about their pairings.

(ref. Harry Potter community: Harmonians = Harry/Hermione rabid shippers who smushed 'Harry' and 'Hermione' together and got the name 'Harmony'. And by 'rabid' I mean 'not just fanon pairing, but canon!')

ie. "canon inclinations may say not, but I BELIEVE MY PAIRING WILL OVERCOME IN THE END!!" [/frothing]

It's one thing to say you prefer a pairing: quite another to keep insisting you're not only 'right' but that your pairing is the only reasonable pairing or that all others are baseless and the people who follow them, idiots.

Hmmm...pt.1

[vaberella.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure whether to leave a response or not. I'm not a fan of using LJ, although I have one...I just usually lurk and have only posted on a few boards, and mainly J/T if I have a fic that I'm done writing for.

As for Shep/Teyla being a 'rare' ship....I'm at a cross road. I think that overall it's a relatively popular ship, depending on boards from the French to the GW (which it's finally getting some serious play) and various other boards I've jumped on. People who aren't shippers, admit to either one or both of the characters seemingly interested in the other.

So fandom wise I believe it's recognized. Now as for it's presence being seen. So far only in the french group and actually I believe German group I've seen a lot fanfics and a lot of videos made. As for the english speakers not much of a splash and I must agree not much in the work.

I joined the Shep/Teyla group info in mid to late January...although when I showed up especially at GW it was definitely met with hatred..mainly for my statements in regard to Weir, which were not hateful but disappointed. But of course I was black listed and anyone it seems who feels around the same and normally gets bashed, black listed, and harassed. I've even been followed to other boards. So that shows how far some people will go to pointedly attack. Especially when I wasn't even aware of a war that was going on.

I was informed about SGA from a friend who explained to me Teyla's character was played by a woman of African descent and that she played a dynamic role....well that drove me in and I only came to see her. Why? I'm a woman of african descent and I am also a womanist, and I strongly feel that there needs to be substanstive representation of us on television especially for younger viewers in the MTV generation. What does all that mean? I came in because of my political background, nothing more and nothing less. I like Storm from X-Men for the same reason. But I always get sucked into love since I love love, and you know what I felt the chemistry coming from John to Teyla, and I felt somthing there from Teyla to John.....So I was way way way late in the whole SGA thing..didn't even know it existed until January of this year; and thankfully was not around for Teyla bashing which I think plays a part.

Now I feel there are a lot of factors that could play a large role in different ways to the way this fandom is interpreted and of course the feelings of the people.

I know on GW that it stems from animosity by the Shep/Weirs from a person by the name of Pam. Let's just say potential J/T shippers have been harassed, me being one, for posts made and for those not made, or in defense of others, for being a 'Pam'. Of course Pam from what I've been told was a big hater of Weir..and from there it seems that anyone who happens to like J/T must be like them if they have reservations about Weir..or if they like Weir but prefer the J/T ship. From what I'm told many veteran shippers ran off, others just didn't want to deal with the drama and what not.

When it comes to the LiveJournal...well since I'm new and coming I didn't even know there were communities here...I just usually go to yahoo groups. And they were great and seem to have hundreds of people, not many frequent posters but a rather sizable amount of people. So on that front I think it's fairly popular.

Re: Hmmm...pt.2

[vaberella.livejournal.com]

I do agree with the disappointment of fanfics for J/T many of them are just poorly written, very OOC, others are lackluster, there is no direction or just really rushed. Don't get me wrong there are gems in rough, but not many. But that could be said about any fandom and just feel that generally in the SGA fics I have read JT, SW, TR, or just Team have left me with the same impression, I'm not saying what I write is great...but not many authors are in the same calibre as Jeanette Winters, Virginia Woolf, or Henry James for that matter.

I had to agree with another poster there that it could be because it was pretty much canon. First season there was no question that they were sort of pairing J/T, and it was made rather public that they would be the couple if there was any. The flirting was blatant, unlike other viewers I do not agree there was subtlety it was continous. From 'Home', 'Hide and Seek', 'Letters from Pegasus', 'Rising' on and on and on. That makes them relatively canon...and most people were just sort of expecting it. I know that would have kept me from writing since I have the show doing it for me. Hence the reason I never contributed to the X-Files fandom...it was there on screen and there was a multitude anyway so that doesn't compare. But I didn't bother because I felt it was canon. Season 2s episode has not changed the view, but I feel that the writers are being much much much more subtle..there's a vast difference into the feel of season 1 and season 2, in regards to the their relationship...although I felt that more so we get Teyla's feelings like in 'Lost Boys' and 'Allies'.

Another point as to why it may not work is because of the Teyla hatred and the Weir love. I mean from what I gathered people really had lame reasons to hate her....oh it's her top, why does she show her belly. I'm like, 'who are you?' Sure the writers may have her dress that like to appeal to others...but in the Indian culture those tops are very similar and other tribal cultures all over the world women dress similiarly..so are they in a way denoting sex appeal? No. She's an alien woman take it with a grain of salt and move on. So comments like that made no sense. There really wasn't any concrete dislike but the superficial from what I gathered.

Then there's the argument of character development in season 1 vs. season 2. I think that plays a vital role on Teyla. Many people like her more now, than before. Now the question is why? Many shippers for Ronon/Teyla claim Ronon. I look beyond shipper for that because it is of course not dependent on Ronon. Teyla in my eyes was always a credible character, yes she moved from the political to the interesting to me, and I liked that about her..she was multidimensional.

Now let's look at the character development. For those who seem to think that Teyla was litle developed in season 1 it seems to come from those that don't bother to really pay close attention. There is a history behind this development. In Rising we get a woman who is a leader of her people, and then once these foreigners or aliens show up on her planet asking for aid her village is ransacked, then she and a few of her people are culled and heldl captive and her and her people can never really return to that planet they called home! Why? because of these aliens. So let's just say if I was Teyla I would be a very suspicisious of their motives in the beginning, although grateful that they came back and saved me and a few of my people and gave my people a home. As the Atlantis crew should have.

Then from there we can automatically tell that Teyla was also impressed by their skill and weaponry, I felt in season 1, rather than look at them as close friends really....she looked at them as allies and only for the purpose of ending the tyranny of the Wraith. We can clearly see this in 'Hide and Seek' and also in 'The Gift'. She wants their end. But let's go to 'Suspicion' and 'Hide and Seek' although Teyla is on John's team and should actually be involved they keep her out of the loop in 'H&S' which I can understand.

[beth-soprano.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adore John/Teyla and yes, it is annoying when you can't find any good fics for them. (I write fanfic but I'm young and fairly new to writing, so I need at least another year of experience before anything I write is actually good).

[beth-soprano.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adore John/Teyla and yes, it is annoying when you can't find any good fics for them. (I write fanfic but I'm young and fairly new to writing, so I need at least another year of experience before anything I write is actually good).