Tongues of Men and Angels

Fanfiction
Title:	Tongues of Men and Angels
Author(s):	mad maudlin
Date(s):	December 2009
Length:	Words:58523
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Stargate Atlantis
Relationship(s):
External Links:	at LiveJournal; at AO3
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Tongues of Men and Angels is a John Sheppard/Rodney McKay/Tanys/Kharoush story by mad maudlin.

Tanys and Kharoush are Tok'ra original characters.

Reactions and Reviews

2010

The One That Teaches Us That Brain Parasites Can Be an Effective Therapy. (Don't Try This in the Real World, Though.) Tongues of Men and Angels, by mad_maudlin. Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay.

Okay. I have - a thing. The Goa'uld make me want to CLAW MY SKIN OFF. Just, you know, preemptively. In case they turn out to be real. And yet. This story, for me, is alllll about a relationship, and it's not the McKay/Sheppard one. (Not that I am not bang alongside the McKay/Sheppard one, of course. I enjoy it! I am pleased it is here! But it is not the centerpiece of the story for me.)

Because this is a non-Atlantis AU, and there are Tok'ra in it, and this, for me, is about what being a Tok'ra is like. It's about the relationship between Tok'ra and host, and it's the first story I've ever read that made me believe the Tok'ra might be more than just Goa'uld with slightly (slightly!) better press. I actually like the Tok'ra, as they are portrayed here. Okay. A few of them. But that is a huge thing for someone who is as mind-controlling-parasite averse as I am!

But this story is 60k words of gateversey goodness, so it is also a fantastic action piece, and it has great hurt/comfort, and some very nice bits for SG1, and engineering, and sarcasm, and, just, everything I want from an SGA story (except Go-playing ghosts and John and Rodney turned into seahorses who are disturbed to discover that MPreg is their new canon, because no SGA story can be absolutely everything). In fact, this story probably also makes perfect toast and can bring rain to parched lands. It's that good, people.

And it's amazing to me, because it's a happy ending for John and Rodney that doesn't involve Atlantis, and the thing is - I always kind of assumed that there wasn't a happy ending for them that didn't involve Atlantis, largely because, well, it seemed like they had had that relationship conversation with earth. You know, the one that goes, "It's not you, it's me. It's just - we don't feel the same way, and we want different things, and - yeah. I mean. I care. I do. But it's not working out." (In Rodney's case, he'd be the one saying this. In John's case, it'd be earth.) So I am frankly stunned that mad_maudlin could use the guys as, you know, roughly the same people (and not seahorses or circus performers or satellites or whatever) and find them a happy ending that does not involve a certain imaginary flying city.

Anyway. Read this. It's awesome.

I just had to let you know that this is one of my favorite SGA stories of all time now. :) Rodney and John were perfect, and their characterization was unbelievably good here.

2012

I enjoyed this. John's finding a home with the Tokra (instead of Atlantis--though who knows where discoveries will lead) and Rodney among them worked well. John's leaving no one behind and his ability to galvanize Rodney into greater heights of desperate genius were great riffs on canon/fanon character, and I liked how you depicted both John's slow physical recovery and his getting to know Kharoush through dreams. Having John see Kharoush as former hosts and then finally, once John had accepted Kharoush, as John himself was a nice touch.

2015

I'm going to be reccing this soon, and I just have to say how much I still love it. It's got so many of the elements of SG-1 and SGA canon, but better: smarter, more thoughtful, more real. I could easily read novel after novel of their adventures.

2016

I never thought having two Johns in one body would be this charming. While Kharouch is of course much more mature and stable, he's like a John version of the To'kra. Enigmatic bastards.

And Rodney decided to leave Earth that way is both sad and fitting, really. During that time in Siberia would be about when he was estranged from the sister (I really don't like his sister much) and SCG just punished him for messing with SG-1. And his personality is so strong and fixed that despite three years with a several millennia old To'kra in his head and living/working in a place that actually appreciate him didn't dampen his insecurities one bit when it comes to dealing with Earthlings. Sighs.

Love your work! It was so exciting and the tension keep building and building with some down time along the way. It was a good choice to make all from John's point of view, because at this rate Rodney's POV would have been full of panicpanicpanicking and unnecessary angst (which all compile into one adorable lump of sweet genius McKay) that would be exhausting in addition to all the action. And Rodney is that much more lovable when we look at him through other's eyes anyway.

I enjoyed the story. It was a lot of fun. But it seemed as if Rodney and John did a lot of things the difficult way just for an excuse to make things harder on themselves.

There was no good reason given as to why the Lion Guard disguise was off the table as it was shown a couple of times that they were capable of taking out the enemy when they had to so getting a disguise would have been simple. They also never consider stealing one of the transports. They are on one to get parts and it would have been a simple matter to cloak and simply get out of there. Instead they spend a lot of effort on getting away and fixing their own ship. In all, I feel as if the running away from the camp was just a means for them to finally find abandoned lab. They could have simply stealthed the ship again and with the resources to be had on the new ship, namely food, they could have resumed their search for quite some time.

And talk about setting a president. If the Tok'ra really have to give up the ZPM in exchange for John then they are likely going to have to trade other highly valuable things away in the future. There really is no good reason as to why they have to trade for him anyway. Especially as the SGC never particularly wanted him there and are not utilizing him fully.

Again, love the story but I feel as if it could use a little more fleshing out as far as world building goes.

Thank you for writing this and sharing it for others to enjoy.

Why This Must Be Read: This is probabaly quite well-known, but it hasn't been reccd for 5 years and that was in another category, so as I'm doing Tok'ra and Goa'uld recs I really wanted to include it. It's a marvellous long, plotty, satisfying read, and obviously the fact that I'm reccing it in this category, plus the excerpt below, are both slightly spoilery - but wait, there's more! Lots and lots more. Highly recommended for a great read, lots of John and Rodney snark, and a nice long slow-burning relationship between them.

2017

This was an excellent story. I wasn't sure how I felt about the Tok'ra at first, but the way you introduced Kharoush through John's dreams was just perfect. I wanted John to accept being his host before he did XD the characters were bang on, so perfect! Really really enjoyed this. Gotta love it when John is everyone's favourite space boyfriend.