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Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Comment Room Archive

Comments for the week ending January 1, 2017

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Happy New Year! And best wishes for 2017!
Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

From the San Francisco Bay Area, Happy New Year!
Matthew
SEASON 3! WOO WOO!

"NO! I WILL NOT ALLOW 2016 TO KILL AGAIN! THE COUNT SHALL NOT DIE YET! (after New Years though, you all do what you want)"

Oh, all right. Ten. There, the countdown is complete for the final time this year.

Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

Haha. True.

Ninth!

Matt - [Saint Charles, Missouri, USA]
"For SCIENCE, which, as my associate Fang indicated, must move ever forward." - Sevarius

Eighth(8th)Eight!!!!!!!!
Vinnie - [tpeano29 at hotmail dot com]

Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Singing Together - R.I.P. Mother and Daughter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzjgp2XebwE&t=40m18s
B - [brownie2 at buffalo dot edu]
B

ED - I'd spotted the "Frakes" part, but not the "Thom" part. Good eye.
Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

I topped the Comment Room last week concerning patience for acquisitions. My Rain goodies arrived today. Patience pays off!

<fires up the CDs>

Brainiac - [OSUBrainiac at gmail dot com]
There is balance in all things. Live in symmetry with the world around you. If you must blow things up and steal from those around you, THAT'S WHAT RPGS ARE FOR!

I just saw Rogue One for the first time. I teared up at the final scene. It's all the more poignant now. In a bizarre way it presciently became a tribute to Carrie Fisher.
B - [brownie2 at buffalo dot edu]
B

Whoops. Forgot the red.
Ed

Sad news about Carrie Fisher. With the loss this year of Jerry Doyle and Ron Glass, it strikes me that "Gargoyles" has been fortunate that most of its quite extensive cast are still thriving.

Algernon: Yeah, an anthology series was more what I had in mind, especially given the breadth of the universe even by this point. Realistically, Greg's right; I can't yet see any of the new comic characters leading a series except for Fleur as we knew.

Masterdramon: Excellent! Thanks for the rundown. An impressive scope. I'll have a look sometime. It's good to see fanfic alive.

I've had a chance to start "Traveler". Just over a third in. Some good characters and a nice bit of world building but it's still early days and I don't want to give away spoilers. I noticed a character called Thom Frakes; a nice nod to some "Gargoyles" alums. One silly thing that I did notice is how long many of the chapter titles are. Unusual for Greg -- even "Rain" and "Masque" were mostly one or two-worders.

Ed

And this "Shakespeare and 'Gargoyles'" talk makes me hope all the more that someday Greg will get to tell that "Weird Macbeth" story.
Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

Yes. It does make me wonder whether, as Ed suggested, these kinds of posts indeed stimulate conversation better than the countdown did.
Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

Glad to see so much discussion in the CR. Been so long.
Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]

TODD> You can bet if I was a member of the Manhattan Clan, I wouldn't let my copy of Billy Shakes' complete works outta arm's reach.
Algernon
I guard your death

I forgot to mention this, but in Bishansky's story, Brooklyn's evidently become familiar enough with "Titus Andronicus" before the Phoenix whisked him away to recognize the events and mention Tamora's name (thus setting up another time loop with the implication that Tamora took her name from her Shakespearean counterpart - but she's the original of the Shakespearean character, presumably including the name). Which thought led me, in turn, to think of the first mention of Shakespeare in "Gargoyles", with Goliath having come across "Macbeth" and mentioning it to the other gargoyles shortly before the events of "Enter Macbeth". (Brooklyn and Lexington's conversation about that suggests that they might have indeed decided it was time to start reading Shakespeare's plays after that - hence leading to Brooklyn apparently discovering that little-known play; he'd definitely come across "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by "The Mirror" since he mentions it there when the gargoyles are explaining to Elisa about the Third Race.)

Which got me wondering, in turn: "Macbeth" is Shakespeare's one play set in Scotland (though there are a few Scottish characters in other plays, such as a few of the history plays). Could Goliath have been drawn to it in particular because it was set in the "old country", if a bit after his time? It did start me wondering whether the Manhattan clan must have spent some of those early nights after their re-awakening finding out what had gone on in Scotland in the last thousand years (and there'd certainly been a lot of developments over that time).

Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

TODD> "More likely an early version of Duval."

It was definitely Duval. We have some big plans for him.

MASTERDRAMON> First of all, thanks for the plug. That post is awesome.

"Both Chip and Greg also have a number of older fics that pre-date these interconnected ones, and it's up to them to consider how thoroughly each remains part of the shared "canon." But all of them are definitely worth a read."

My old fics are definitely still canon, as far as I'm concerned. I look forward to expanding on them eventually, but I'm not tackling 2198 again in the immediate future, eventually I'll play there again. My next story is set in 1997. A new villain and some old faces.

Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]

MD> D'aaaaw! Thanks for the plug, Kev. Looking forward to Hawaiki.
Algernon
I guard your death

Seven!

For a quick and dirty guide to the fics that've been published so far in this burgeoning shared universe:

Algernon-84

Title: Lips Red as Blood
Cast/Spinoff: Gargoyles
Set In: 1997
Short Synopsis: The legendary vampire Count Dracula (a mainstay of Al's fics overall) first encounters the Manhattan Clan, on a search for some very particular blood.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11525594/1/Lips-Red-as-Blood

Title: Crimson Scars
Cast/Spinoff: None, precisely - pre-"Gargoyles"
Set In: 1926
Short Synopsis: Fiona Canmore and Mina Harker (of Stoker's original novel) team up to track down an occultist and a certain Demon, who seem to have stumbled upon an...artifact of note.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11772293/1/Crimson-Scars

Title: Old Night
Cast/Spinoff: Gargoyles 2198
Set In: 2198
Short Synopsis: The beginnings of the Space-Spawn invasion have an unexpected consequence, as the theft of the Master Matrix frees a wizened and ancient Dracula from his imprisonment and unleashes him upon a new generation at New Camelot.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12063474/1/Old-Night

Title: Daughter of Night
Cast/Spinoff: TimeDancer
Set In: 1476
Short Synopsis: The Phoenix Gate brings Brooklyn to 15th century Romania, where the local Carpathian Clan of gargoyles is all that stands between Vlad the Impaler and his quarry.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12165626/1/Daughter-of-Night

Title: The Pact
Cast/Spinoff: None, precisely - pre-"Gargoyles"
Set In: 1475
Short Synopsis: Not precisely a "Gargoyles" story, or at least not solely one, but it slots in neatly with all of Algernon's other Dracula-related fics. The story of how Vlad the Impaler became a member of the undead in the first place.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12211998/1/The-Pact

Title: Heroes of Ulster
Cast/Spinoff: Heroes of Ulster (...duh)
Set In: 1997
Short Synopsis: An ongoing series of adventures starring Rory Dugan and the Banshee, starting with their first post-Gathering encounter and continuing on through encounters with numerous other figures from Irish folklore.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12228639/1/Heroes-of-Ulster

Gryphinwyrm7/Chip

Title: Vessels
Cast/Spinoff: TimeDancer
Set In: 12, 1560, 4016 BC, 1942, 11
Short Synopsis: As the years above indicate, this is a series of themed adventures throughout the early stages of Brooklyn's TimeDancing. Picking up immediately where "Daughter of Night" leaves off, Brooklyn finds himself in Rome during the casting of the Humility Spell and an invasion by a Gothic army, in Guatemala during the age of the conquistadors, in World War II-era Nazi Germany, and finally in ancient Egypt, picking up friends and conquering baddies along the way.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12171906/1/Gargoyles-Timedancer-Vessels

Title: Eye of the Tiger
Cast/Spinoff: Pendragon
Set In: 2004
Short Synopsis: Two Knights of New Camelot - Lady Tea and Sir Griff - travel to India, seeking after rumors of a "were-tiger" seen in its jungles.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12204227/1/Gargoyles-Pendragon-Eye-of-the-Tiger

Title: Journey to the East
Cast/Spinoff: Pendragon/Bad Guys
Set In: 1997
Short Synopsis: A bit of an interesting example, in that Chip started this fic prior to before we all started cutting our teeth on Spring.me, but finished it years afterward, retroactively folding it back into this new shared 'verse. A team-up between King Arthur's Knights and the Redemption Squad, to investigate the disappearance of an ambassador in China.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5322686/1/Journey-to-the-East

Title: The Swords and the Sun
Cast/Spinoff: Pendragon
Set In: 2004
Short Synopsis: Sir Griff and several of his fellow Knights find themselves rushing around the world, as legendary swords from Japan to France are stolen in quick succession.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12218683/1/Gargoyles-Pendragon-The-Swords-and-the-Sun

Title: Camazotz
Cast/Spinoff: Pendragon
Set In: 2004
Short Synopsis: Sakura (a newly knighted gargoyle, as of the previous story), Fleur, and Parvati (from Eye of the Tiger) head to Guatemala to assist the Mayan Clan with what sounds remarkably - and disturbingly - like a vampire.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12231741/1/Gargoyles-Pendragon-Camazotz

GregX/Greg Bishansky

Title: Sorrows to the Stones
Cast/Spinoff: TimeDancer
Set In: 850
Short Synopsis: Set several Dances after Vessels, Brooklyn finds himself in an isolated Roman colony in Brazil and has his first encounter with Tamora - a local gargoyle whom the Romans call "Queen of the Goths."
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12290379/1/Sorrows-to-the-Stones

Both Chip and Greg also have a number of older fics that pre-date these interconnected ones, and it's up to them to consider how thoroughly each remains part of the shared "canon." But all of them are definitely worth a read.

The core group writing these fics is, largely, the same core group which participated in the super-ambitious "SpecGargs" roleplaying group on Formspring/Spring.me a few years back, and many of the original characters and story concepts established there have found their way back into these fics.

One shouldn't consider that RP (which, regardless, lacks an archive) to be necessary to enjoy these stories, though people who were fans of it should DEFINITELY get a kick out of what's been written so far - and what's still to come.

Personally (time out for shameless plug), I'm currently working on a TimeDancer story to be set in this shared 'verse, myself. Called Hawaiki, it will be set during one of the "lost adventures" between Act 3 of Vessels and its epilogue, and will feature a handful of Chip's OC companions for Brooklyn as part of the cast. A quick preview:

Title: Hawaiki
Cast/Spinoff: TimeDancer
Set In: 1790
Short Synopsis: Brooklyn, Fu-Dog, Benuthet, Zafira, and Kebechet find themselves in late eighteenth century Hawaii, where the expansionist campaign of Kamehameha I threatens to push the remnants of a Hawaiian Clan into total extinction. But that may be the least of their worries, as interference from the Americans and British threatens to unleash a long-dormant evil onto all of Polynesia - an evil not seen since the darkest days of Mab.

Masterdramon - [kmc12009 at mymail dot pomona dot edu]
Ko Whiro te atua o te kino o te ao.

BISHANSKY - Yes, I think it's a aafe assumption that most of the readers won't be that familiar with "Titus Andronicus"; it doesn't have the name-recognition of "Macbeth" or "A Midsummer Night's Dream". I know I learned about it early (I didn't read the play all the way through, but looked at parts of it; the scene that I most remembered was when Titus and his surviving family members are shooting arrows containing petitions to the gods for justice upwards, then claiming in jest that their arrows flew so high as to strike the constellations of the Zodiac, with much resulting mayhem - such as Taurus the Bull, pricked by one arrow, charging at Aries the Ram in return and striking him so hard that Aries' horns fall off and land in the palace, where Aaron the Moor finds them and Tamora suggests he give them to the Emperor as a present).

Yep, I spotted Valiant; the name immediately made me think of Hal Foster's comic strip "Prince Valiant", though I doubt it was intended as an allusion. More likely an early version of Duval.

Speaking of Shakespeare, I mentioned a few days ago the "Shakespeare Live" performance. This month, PBS also aired a British adaptation of Shakespeare's early history plays, "Henry VI" and "Richard III", under the title of "The Hollow Crown: the Wars of the Roses", which was quite good.

Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

I could see Shari working as the host of a Tales from The Crypt style anthology series, retelling myths and legends from around the world in a Gargoyles style.
Algernon
I guard your death

Well we didn't get that many new characters designed to be leads in the comics. I'm sure we would have eventually gotten them.

Shari is a fascinating character, but I'm not sure she could be a lead. However, she could show up just about anywhere. Gargoyles, obviously. She had a cameo in Bad Guys, but she could always show up again. Pendragon, definitely. Heroes of Ulster, depending. TimeDancer. Gargoyles 2198. So many possibilities. I know I have ideas for her.

Fleur is going to be one of the leads when we get Pendragon, but we knew that already.

Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]

Have to say, I quite liked the room kicking off with a conversation piece instead of a stream of numbers.

Greg: I'll have to check those out at some point. Particularly great to have "Heroes of Ulster" fanfic as that spin-off was revealed so late.

I do wonder whether any of the characters introduced since 06 would feature in spin-offs. I don't think so although a spin-off for Shari could work as a vehicle to tell almost any story. As Greg W now has a no spoilers policy, I guess it's unlikely we'll ever know.

Ed

<checks the number of unique posters thus far>

NO! I WILL NOT ALLOW 2016 TO KILL AGAIN! THE COUNT SHALL NOT DIE YET! (after New Years though, you all do what you want)

I am once again a perfect sixth.

So, what's everyone planning for 2017, other than hoping to enjoy some Rain, some YJ, some Traveler, and some (new) works of the Wise Man in general?

Brainiac - [OSUBrainiac at gmail dot com]
There is balance in all things. Live in symmetry with the world around you. If you must blow things up and steal from those around you, THAT'S WHAT RPGS ARE FOR!

Thank you!

Actually, Tamora (my Tamora) goes back even farther than Spring. I think I first came up with her in 1999/2000 (after seeing the play at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). She was going to be in TGS, had a pretty large arc mapped out for her. But TGS kinda ended with a whimper. But I loved the play, loved the design that Shauntell drew up for me, and wanted to tell her story. I jettisoned everything from TGS except the name and design... and, from what little I recall about the TGS days, she had very little in common with the Shakespearean Tamora, save for the name. But hey, starting from scratch (in a post-comics world) seemed like the best move... and so far I'm happy with how she turned out.

Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]

Reposting in case anyone missed seeing it yesterday. Merry Christmas! Santa Kitties: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTId7j6-0Ek/VJLK546vQYI/AAAAAAABlII/8PmsFE80A_w/s1600/cat-christmas.jpg
B - [brownie2 at buffalo dot edu]
B

GXB> Fun stuff, man. I also took the liberty of dropping a short review on FF.net for ya!
Algernon
I guard your death

Also, and I won't lie, part of the fun for me was assuming most people that click on it and decide to read it have never heard of "Titus Andronicus" so, I decided, to play with their expectations considering Original Characters that hook up with Brooklyn are a dime a dozen.

Yeah, I'm kinda mean. ;)

Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]

TODD> Thanks for the review you mentioned. I did fix the typo you mentioned. No worries. As for the Illuminati making it to South America in the 9th century? Well, considering that Carbonek is like a mini-traveling Avalon, so who knows how far they've traveled so early?

Did you recognize "Valiant" at the end? ;)

As for Demona parallels, I knew they were inevitable; but there are several similarities between Demona and the Shakespearean Tamora. So I worked to differentiate them. Like Tamora not being an anti-human racist, for one. The fact that she tends to keep her cool and not lose her temper. And when she pops up in other fic (and she will, and not necessarily written by me), there will be more.

Ed> Really glad you liked it, and the comics are definitely my canon. The comics, the show, Greg's Canon-In-Training, and my previous fics as well the ones currently being written by Chip, Algernon, and maybe one or two others (we'll see). Check out their fics, they're terrific. Algernon has a great "Heroes of Ulster" series going; and Chip has some cool TimeDancer fics, and a really fun take on Pendragon going.

The locale was a result of several conversations, I believe Chip suggested it. He showed me an article about Roman vessels being discovered in Brazil, and I was sold. But at one point, it was taking place on the tip of Sicily. At another point, it wasn't even really Rome, it was almost Charlemagne's court.

It was fun. I don't plan for my next story to be so gruesome. ;)

Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]

Appropriate timing, too, Bishansky - the same day that PBS aired the "Hollow Crown" adaptation of "Richard III".
Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

Great work, Greg. No spoilers but I really liked the surprising location - this opportunity to show a surprising take on the past is a lovely feature of Timedancer. And I was delighted to see your Shakespeare references even included lines. I also like that you play with ideas introduced in the comics.
Ed

Reposting...

I'll drop a Christmas present for the CR. I've written a new fic... been years since I wrote this one. And, GASP, Demona is actually NOT in this one. But yeah, Algernon, Chip, Masterdramon, Brainiac, etc have consulted, and some of us are now writing in a shared universe. All my previous Gargoyles fics are still canon to that. But this time I decided to play with Brooklyn.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12290379/1/

Sorrows to the Stones

A TimeDancer story. Brooklyn arrives in 9th century South America where he discovers a lost Roman colony, and meets the beautiful leader of a fallen gargoyle clan. Has Brooklyn finally found true love? Brooklyn/OC

Greg Bishansky - [Sorrows to the Stones]