Ship Manifesto: Why I ship John Sheppard and Connor Davids (and not just because I wrote 'em)
This is a ship manifesto for teamatlantis .
As soon as John Sheppard walked (or flew, as the case may be) onto the screen, I was hooked. He was hot, he was witty, and later on we found out that he had the brains to match his brawn. The man was badass in a million and one ways.
Over the various seasons of Atlantis, we saw John Sheppard’s character open up. By Season Four, he had found his stride. He had a best friend and amazing teammates. He had found his little nitch in the world that was Atlantis.
Along the way we saw John with various women. He flirted with most, including Weir an some would argue Teyla, but John never settled down. And trust me, John Sheppard could have had anyone he wanted. He didn’t have to end up alone (as he did in the series finale, which I will conveniently discard).
I could never picture John with another military member. There are several obstacles to those relationships, and John needed someone he didn’t have to worry about, someone outside of his chain of command. He needed a scientist.
John has always had an easy going personality. He rolled with the punches, adjusted quickly to new scenarios, and in general seemed to be a bit of a risk taker. (What? The man willingly went on a one way trip to another galaxy. If that doesn’t count, what will?)
He also seemed to have a fluidness to him. Rodney referred to it as his charm, his way of flirting with everyone he met. John was friendly, and liked to diffuse possibly stressful situations with a smile and an easy statement. He was a natural ice breaker, a wooer. Case in point - meeting the Athosians.
But whenever I meet people like that, they’re usually covering up for something. In John’s case, I think it was an innate loneliness, and here’s why: he was alone on Atlantis. Sure he had Rodney (when McKay cold be pulled away from his science projects), and he had Ronon (who at best is a poor conversationalist), and Teyla (who always seemed to have her own problems and just offer circular advice), but they weren’t cutting it.
He was separate on Atlantis. He was the head of the military, and an Air Force serviceman in the midst of Marines, for the most part. His scientific counterpart, Elizabeth, was coy at best, and their relationship was always more of a lost possibility than any real chance of happening. And when she left, Carter took her place. Someone with more authority over John than Elizabeth had (or at least more that John would recognize), and someone who was an unknown quantity. John never seemed quite comfortable around her. Then Woolsey replaced Carter, and he distanced himself from the Atlantis crew quite often. Leaving John alone in his burden of command.
Again, John needed a scientist. Someone separate from the command track, who could be apart from the work John had to do all day.
So John used his natural charm to fit in better, to cover up his loneliness, but he was still alone at the end of the night.
And here’s why I ship John and Connor.
Connor Davids is a scientist, unaffected, for the most part, by decisions John makes. He’s an autonomous unit that works at his own pace and sets his own hours, something that could work around John’s gate schedule and own work ethics.
He offers John understanding, and the chance to be a person without all the regalia. John can leave his (arguably unwanted) command at the door every night and just be who he wants to be with Connor.
And Connor has a unique balance of strength and delicacy. He can beat up anyone who might want to hurt him, he can take care of himself. Except that he can’t, in all things. He occasionally needed someone else to help him, to remind him to eat and sleep and have fun every once in a while. John needed someone to remind.
John has always seemed like the kind of person who needed to be needed. He couldn’t sit around while the Genii invaded Atlantis, and wait for back-up. He couldn’t sit around while a retrovirus infected the citizens of Atlantis. And he didn’t want to leave Colonel Sumner to the Wraith. He had a duty and a job and he needed to do it.
I think Connor changed John’s life profoundly. It made him realized that he could love and be loved. It made him face facts about how apart he was from everyone else. It showed him that someone could accept him - nagging and all.
Every soldier has a mission, but not every soldier has a purpose. I think Connor helped give John that purpose. His mission was to protect Atlantis and his people. His purpose became to live while doing that.
His purpose was also to help (wittingly or unwittingly) Connor Davids find himself. Connor was lost before John, and content with being alone. He didn’t realize what he was missing in life. He lacked social graces and friendships and the ability to interact with people. John gave him that.
Some might argue that Connor was friends with Evan before he was friends with John. I think that that was a friendship that would have died without John’s subtle influence in the background. Connor looked up small talk conversation starters to better converse with John, I believe he applied those to his conversations with Evan.
Meeting John caused Connor to blossom. To really realize his full potential. To become who he was, as Nietzsche would say.
And that’s why I ship John and Connor.
As soon as John Sheppard walked (or flew, as the case may be) onto the screen, I was hooked. He was hot, he was witty, and later on we found out that he had the brains to match his brawn. The man was badass in a million and one ways.
Over the various seasons of Atlantis, we saw John Sheppard’s character open up. By Season Four, he had found his stride. He had a best friend and amazing teammates. He had found his little nitch in the world that was Atlantis.
Along the way we saw John with various women. He flirted with most, including Weir an some would argue Teyla, but John never settled down. And trust me, John Sheppard could have had anyone he wanted. He didn’t have to end up alone (as he did in the series finale, which I will conveniently discard).
I could never picture John with another military member. There are several obstacles to those relationships, and John needed someone he didn’t have to worry about, someone outside of his chain of command. He needed a scientist.
John has always had an easy going personality. He rolled with the punches, adjusted quickly to new scenarios, and in general seemed to be a bit of a risk taker. (What? The man willingly went on a one way trip to another galaxy. If that doesn’t count, what will?)
He also seemed to have a fluidness to him. Rodney referred to it as his charm, his way of flirting with everyone he met. John was friendly, and liked to diffuse possibly stressful situations with a smile and an easy statement. He was a natural ice breaker, a wooer. Case in point - meeting the Athosians.
But whenever I meet people like that, they’re usually covering up for something. In John’s case, I think it was an innate loneliness, and here’s why: he was alone on Atlantis. Sure he had Rodney (when McKay cold be pulled away from his science projects), and he had Ronon (who at best is a poor conversationalist), and Teyla (who always seemed to have her own problems and just offer circular advice), but they weren’t cutting it.
He was separate on Atlantis. He was the head of the military, and an Air Force serviceman in the midst of Marines, for the most part. His scientific counterpart, Elizabeth, was coy at best, and their relationship was always more of a lost possibility than any real chance of happening. And when she left, Carter took her place. Someone with more authority over John than Elizabeth had (or at least more that John would recognize), and someone who was an unknown quantity. John never seemed quite comfortable around her. Then Woolsey replaced Carter, and he distanced himself from the Atlantis crew quite often. Leaving John alone in his burden of command.
Again, John needed a scientist. Someone separate from the command track, who could be apart from the work John had to do all day.
So John used his natural charm to fit in better, to cover up his loneliness, but he was still alone at the end of the night.
And here’s why I ship John and Connor.
Connor Davids is a scientist, unaffected, for the most part, by decisions John makes. He’s an autonomous unit that works at his own pace and sets his own hours, something that could work around John’s gate schedule and own work ethics.
He offers John understanding, and the chance to be a person without all the regalia. John can leave his (arguably unwanted) command at the door every night and just be who he wants to be with Connor.
And Connor has a unique balance of strength and delicacy. He can beat up anyone who might want to hurt him, he can take care of himself. Except that he can’t, in all things. He occasionally needed someone else to help him, to remind him to eat and sleep and have fun every once in a while. John needed someone to remind.
John has always seemed like the kind of person who needed to be needed. He couldn’t sit around while the Genii invaded Atlantis, and wait for back-up. He couldn’t sit around while a retrovirus infected the citizens of Atlantis. And he didn’t want to leave Colonel Sumner to the Wraith. He had a duty and a job and he needed to do it.
I think Connor changed John’s life profoundly. It made him realized that he could love and be loved. It made him face facts about how apart he was from everyone else. It showed him that someone could accept him - nagging and all.
Every soldier has a mission, but not every soldier has a purpose. I think Connor helped give John that purpose. His mission was to protect Atlantis and his people. His purpose became to live while doing that.
His purpose was also to help (wittingly or unwittingly) Connor Davids find himself. Connor was lost before John, and content with being alone. He didn’t realize what he was missing in life. He lacked social graces and friendships and the ability to interact with people. John gave him that.
Some might argue that Connor was friends with Evan before he was friends with John. I think that that was a friendship that would have died without John’s subtle influence in the background. Connor looked up small talk conversation starters to better converse with John, I believe he applied those to his conversations with Evan.
Meeting John caused Connor to blossom. To really realize his full potential. To become who he was, as Nietzsche would say.
And that’s why I ship John and Connor.