John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell
Other Names for Pairing: flyboys
Appearances: John Sheppard appears in all five seasons of SGA. Cameron Mitchell appears in seasons nine and ten of SG-1. The two of them appear together in episode 10x03 of SG-1: "The Pegasus Project."
Canon pairing or not? No
Brief Overview
Major/Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard is the military commander of Atlantis throughout all five seasons of SGA. He's played by Joe Flanigan.
Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Cameron Mitchell is a character from Stargate SG-1. He's the official leader of SG-1 during seasons nine and ten and the two subsequent movies. He's played by Ben Browder.
Basic Information
John Sheppard and Cameron Mitchell are both career Air Force pilots who, by different paths, end up in the Stargate Program: one as the military commander of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy and the other as the leader of SG-1 on Earth. They only appear together on-screen one time over the course of all three shows, and while they appear to be friendly with each other, they are not a canon pairing. However, the canon similarities in their ages and careers and interests create a lot of common ground that is often used by fic writers as the basis for a relationship.
Screencap courtesy of Gateworld
Key Scenes & Episodes
John Sheppard and Cameron Mitchell are on screen together exactly once, for three minutes and fifteen seconds in SG-1 10x03, "The Pegasus Project." Most of this time is spent in a meeting with the rest of SG-1, Rodney McKay, and Elizabeth Weir; the last thirty seconds show the two engaged in conversation, largely about how to handle Rodney McKay. Cam also makes an off-hand comment later in the episode about John having told him that Rodney works miracles under threat of impending death, which suggests the two of them speak from time-to-time.
The other key episodes for this pairing are the SGA episodes "The Return, Part 1" and "The Return, Part 2" (3x10 and 3x11). While Cam doesn't appear in these episodes, the six weeks John spends stationed at the SGC after the Atlantis Expedition is forced to return to Earth are frequently used by fic writers as an opportunity for John and Cam to interact.
Major Fannish Tropes
Several tropes and scenarios show up fairly regularly in John/Cam fic, including:
*The Golden Boy vs. the Maverick. John starts the series as an Air Force officer with a black mark on his record, one whose suitability for his chosen career is sometimes questioned. Cam starts his stint on SG-1 with a record that's described as "impeccable." A number of stories play up this contrast.
*Shared History. It's popular to write John and Cam as having known each other for a long time--often before either of them entered the Stargate program. This is a trope that's made plausible by the similarities in their careers and ages, which make it quite reasonable to assume that their paths have crossed before.
*My Galaxy or Yours? One of the main obstacles facing John/Cam is the fact that they’re normally stationed in separate galaxies. Perhaps not surprisingly, there are a number of stories that try to fix this by arranging for them to be in the same galaxy, either by having Cam reassigned to Atlantis, or by having John end up at the SGC instead of being sent to Atlantis. A popular subset of the latter trope involves John becoming a member of SG-1.
*Comfort Fic. There are a number of stories in which Cam tries to cheer up John when John’s stuck on Earth during "The Return" or following "Enemy at the Gate," an effort that often results in the two of them getting together if they aren’t already in a relationship.
*Family Fic. There are quite a few stories that highlight the contrast in John's and Cam's relationships with their respective families, often by having Cam taking John home to meet his parents, and having his parents treat John as family.
*Common Interests. John and Cam are often shown bonding over sports and/or cars and/or flying.
Resources: Communities, Primers, Meta, Reccers/Rec Lists, and Guides
Communities
*sg_flyboys is the main John/Cam community on LiveJournal. The community owner runs an annual thing-a-thon exchange in late fall/early winter, and the community is open for general John/Cam posts the rest of the year.
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sg_flyboys is a Dreamwidth-based John/Cam community that's open to all John/Cam discussion and material.
Meta
* John And Cam Are Awesome (And Here's Why): The 'No Penguins' Edition A somewhat humorous look at the relationship in less than 1000 words. (Created October 2010, last updated October 2010)
Fanworks Sampler
Fan Fiction
* Here is No Water (8676 words, NC-17) by frostfire_17 - This story was one of the early touchstones in the John/Cam fandom. Set in Afghanistan before either man enters the Stargate program, it plays up the golden boy/screw-up trope in the context of an antagonistic attraction, leading to a couple of complex sexual encounters.
* The Towers On The Heights Reach To Heav'n's Own Blue (9200 words, R) & Steal The Thunder From The Sky (9500 words, NC-17) by minervacat - "Towers" is technically gen, but it’s an excellent precursor to "Steal The Thunder From The Sky," which is probably one of the mostly widely recommended John/Cam stories out there. In "Towers" Cam starts up an email conversation with John about football while John works on setting up a soccer league on Atlantis. In the sequel, which is definitely not gen, Cam invites John to accompany SG-1 and General O'Neill to the NCAA Final Four. Both stories are from John's point of view, and the second story does an excellent job of capturing all of SG-1.
*Never As Bad As Anticipated (Until It Is) (72 923 words, NC-17, also features minor Emmagan/Kanaan, Brown/McKay) by bluflamingo - Cam is sent to take command of Atlantis at the start of season four instead of Sam Carter. This was the first John/Cam Big Bang, written by one of the best known John/Cam authors, and it did a lot to raise the profile of the pairing and attract new John/Cam fans. Unlike the first two stories on this list, this story is about an ongoing romantic relationship, not just casual sex.
*50 Things About John Sheppard and Cam Mitchell by bluflamingo - Exactly what the title says. Where "Here is No Water" is the casual sex touchstone, this is probably the romantic relationship touchstone.
*Imaginary Boys (27 362 words, NC-17) by busaikko - This fic addresses a couple of popular tropes, including John and Cam getting together during "The Return," and a transgendered, MTF John. It also features a Cameron Mitchell who is less easy-going and accepting than he’s usually written, which is an interesting variation.
* Stranger Here Myself (5100 words, PG-13) by slybrarian - This is one of a multitude of John/Cam fic in which John gets dragged home by Cam, in this case for Thanksgiving. It also features Cam coming out to his parents, another popular trope.
* Sports as a Metaphor (3300 words, PG-13) by etain_anders - An excellent example of the very popular trope "John and Cam get together while John's stuck on Earth during 'The Return'."
* Ecclesiastes (20,098, NC-17) by somehowunbroken - Another, somewhat more involved (and AU) example of Cam trying to comfort John during "The Return."
*Last One Out of the Circus (5100 words, NC-17) by tesserae_ - This is set during the other main John/Cam episode, "The Pegasus Project." Cam touches something he shouldn't.
* Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (4500 words, NC-17) by alizarin_nyc - This is one of a handful of John/Cam stories set in the AU created in the SGA episode "Vegas." In this story, a Cam who never got out of his wheelchair meets former homicide detective John Sheppard.
*Expatriate (3504 words, NC-17) by ltlj/Victoria Custer - This is part of the Retrograde series, an AU in which Atlantis remained isolated for longer than a year, and in which reconnecting with Earth did not go smoothly. It features the popular trope in which two characters have to pretend to be attracted to each other for their own safety, leading to mutual recognition of their actual attraction.
* Red Ribbon (14 800 words, NC-17) by scrollgirl - This is the first in a series that addresses a common fanfic trope: genderswitching. In this case, John is temporarily turned into a woman, which leads to John and Cam getting together.
* What Happens Next (13 860 words, PG-13) by bluflamingo - This one does another common trope: kid!fic. John shows up Cam’s doorstep with a two-year-old child who calls him "Dad."
* By the Banks of the River Styx (3773 words, PG-13, features major character death) by skieswideopen - Apocafic in which Cam is the last man on Earth.
*This Delicate Thing We’ve Made (~93 000 words in five parts, NC-17, includes graphic depictions of violence and sexual abuse) by race_the_ace - This series in AU from the very beginning. John’s the perfect officer inside the Mountain, but he’s got a dark past that he doesn’t let show. Cam gets past his defences and they create a life together. There are a lot of dark topics in the series, and it’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s well worth the read. (Unfinished - the author anticipates two more stories in the series.)
* Midnight Train (~6000 words, PG-13, features traumatic injury) by miss_zedem An AU in which John is Cam’s physical therapist after his accident. It’s certainly not the story as we know it, but the author weaves the story believably, and by the end you can certainly believe that things could have happened this way.
Links to tags at major archives and collections:
*John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell Index at Crossroads - This is probably the most complete list of John/Cam fic around
*John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell tag on Archive of Our Own
* John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell tag on Stargate Fic Rec
*John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell tag on SGA Newsletter Delicious
*John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell tag on Kinkmeme Delicious
*The Big List of John/Cam fanfic - It hasn’t been updated since October 2010, so a bit outdated now, but it’s a reasonably complete list of fic written before then.
Fan Art (manips, icons, drawn art, comics, photocomics, photography, etc.)
* Trapped and Bored by calcitrix
* Showdown by calcitrix
*Tulips by clayeer
Fan Vids
*Average Superhero by DoubleTreble1518
*Dirty Little Secret by colls
*Fast Cars by colls
*If They Could Read My Mind by colls
*The Travelling Song by entninja
Audio Fic, Podfic, Filk Songs, and Radio Dramas
*Falling From the Sky Now and Then, written by torakowalski and read by twasadark - Cam helps John steal a puddlejumper while John’s stuck on Earth during "The Return." (4500 words, R)
*Why John Sheppard gets a reminiscent smile on his face when he thinks of chocolate chip muffins, written by minnow1212 and read by twasadark - A first time story that takes place after John’s ATA gene gets him temporarily summoned to Earth. (1780 words, PG-13)
* Expatriate, written by Victoria Custer and read by lunate8 - John and Cam are on the run from the Genii. (3500 words, NC-17)
Links to tags at major archives:
*The John/Cam tag @ Jinjurly's Audiofic Archive
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