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Geri writes...

Hi,

Sorry, I asked a question but forgot to put a link to the ramble it refers to and thought you might have trouble finding it. My question refers to this ramble where you discuss the idea that Gargoyles might have originally not used language and communicated psychically instead, an extension of how they didn't used to have names.

https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=387

I thought it was fascinating and I was wondering whether you've given it any more thought since then. Thanks.

Greg responds...

Thanks for the link. Yeah, the ideas still interest me. Something to explore someday, maybe.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Geri writes...

Dear Greg,

I'm a big fan of yours. I have a question, but first I just wanted to express my gratitude. I recently lost my grandfather. It was the first time someone close to me passed away, so it was especially difficult. It prompted me to reread Rain of the Ghosts and I found it very comforting during a difficult time. I thought your portrayal of the grieving process was very vivid and true to life, and I appreciate that you didn't just rush through it the way other works of fiction often do. I'd give anything for my grandfather to be in a bracelet so I could talk to him every night like Papa Bastian. I hope I get to read the rest of the books in the series and hear the audioplay version of the second book someday, but until then I'll happily support the other projects you're working on, especially Young Justice: Outsiders.

As for my question, a while ago I saw this ramble all the way from 2004 about whether Gargoyles might have communicated psychically rather than through words. I was really fascinated by it at the time and it spurred me to think about the nature and limitations of language. I even did some study of the philosophy of language when I got to college partly because of seeing that ramble. I was wondering, have you given that idea any more thought? For example, is it any closer or farther away from something you'd consider bringing into the text if you ever get a chance to make more Gargoyles stories? Thanks!

Greg responds...

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad Rain and Bastian could help you through a difficult time.

As for your question, I haven't really pursued that idea. I'm leaning more toward instinct than telepathy. But I also haven't had a need to explore it further. So we'll see.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

When the eggs hatch, do expecting mother gargoyles know instinctively which hatchling is theirs to nurse? Or do they just nurse any hatchling?

Greg responds...

The latter, in essence. They are all rookery mothers to all the hatchlings.

Response recorded on July 23, 2021

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Jan Rott writes...

Hello again,
1) How do the clans determine the names of newly-born members?
a) Ishimura
b) London
c) Manhattan
d) Labyrinth

2) Did Nashville itself determined his name or were his parents?

Greg responds...

1 a-d. No spoilers.

2. No spoilers.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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Cronny writes...

How does the commitment ceremony worked? Is it a gargoyle tradition of mating or similar to a wedding? Has there been a humans and gargoyles that can have sex?

Greg responds...

1. I hope to depict it someday, so I'm not going into detail here.

2. Closer to a wedding, I suppose.

3. No spoilers.

Response recorded on July 09, 2021

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Algernon writes...

Hey again, Greg...

A question I've often wondered but never really got around to asking. Given that Clan Leaders tend to have pretty broad and unilateral powers, does the Gargoyle Way allow any recourse for a Clan dealing with an abusive Leader?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on July 09, 2021

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Graham T. writes...

Topic: Gargoyle Biology

Question 1: Given the Gargoyles' wings are like bat or bird wings, nor noticeably have a smaller pair of hands, could there possibly have been a Gargate species that existed with two sets of arms, instead of a pair of arms and a pair of wings?

Question 2: Given the immense diversity between Gargoyle appearances, including the Loch Ness clan being semi-amphibious, do Gargoyles have a high genetic mutation rate or a special genetic adaptivity depending on the environment?

Greg responds...

1. Well, I suppose. Interestingly, an older design for Lexington gave him two sets of true arms, including two sets of hands, with his wings largely unchanged, i.e. that middle set of arms that you can see in the center of his wings were still there, but they were more firmly developed and had actual hands at the end.

2. Maybe? I'd have to consult with some of our fan-biologists on the possibility. But keep in mind, Gargates are a VERY old species. They've had tons of time to evolve. Way longer than humans have had. The miracle is that they have maintained as much cultural, um, "integrity," as they have.

Response recorded on June 30, 2021

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Jack Carpenter writes...

What's the smartest observation that you've ever seen a fan make about one of your shows?

Greg responds...

Geez, there have been so many... and yet of course nothing comes to mind at the moment. That's not a comment on the fans, who are fantastic, but on my crap memory.

My guess is it was something at one of the GARGOYLES BIOLOGY & CUSTOMS panels at the old GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES conventions. Those rocked! Check out some of the Gathering diaries in the archives and you might find some cool stuff recorded.

Response recorded on September 18, 2020

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Lea Teresa Sutherland writes...

How do gargoyles mate ritualistically? I am writing a story and I want to use it in my fanfiction on how they mate. Is it like humans or is there a whole ceremony?

Greg responds...

I wouldn't call it a formal ceremony. But flight is involved.

Response recorded on September 18, 2020

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Confused writes...

In Enter MacBeth, MacBeth refers to Demona as the Gargoyles' queen. But wouldn't she or even someone of her clan from the past have told him a bit about Gargoyles and their clans and that they didn't have kings or queens? Or did she leave him to believe she was their queen?

Greg responds...

I think you're taking his statement too literally. He saw her as the leader of the gargoyles, which she was during the key moment of his natural life. He views leaders in terms of kings and queens, so used that language. (Also as a chess metaphor, I seem to recall.) But he wasn't speaking or thinking about her this way literally.

Response recorded on October 17, 2019

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LooLoo writes...

Hi Greg, I have a question about traditional gargoyle culture and lifestyle--that is, their culture/lifestyle as it existed before being exposed to a ton of human interaction and influence. I realize these details likely vary from clan to clan and from century to century, but for instance, the Wyvern clan.

How might the Wyvern clan have lived prior to forming its alliance with the humans who then built the castle? We get some sense of this in the series: communal, leader and second, etc. But:

1. Aside from the rookery, would the area where the clan lived have contained some structures or shelter of any kind that the gargoyles built?

2. Would there be areas designated for certain functions (like, a place where food is prepared and cooked -- assuming they'd cook food), or would the area they occupied be more fluid in how they used it?

3. Did the clan always stay in a certain area, or would they move around at all to different areas, depending on time or year or something?

4. Aside from the leader and second, were there any other specific jobs within the clan, for instance people whose responsibility was the hunt, or would everyone sort of participate in all clan activities?

5. Related to this, in what ways did the clan's lifestyle/behaviors change after they formed the alliance and the castle was built? I imagine, even if the humans were at first very enthusiastic about their new gargoyles allies, there must have been some culture shock (on both of their parts) with having to share the same space and live together.

Thank you for your time!

Greg responds...

1. No.

2. Tend toward the fluid, I'd think. But I'm sure habits become traditions over time.

3. Clan life centered around Wyvern Hill, but they hunted, etc., all around the vicinity.

4. Warriors were also hunters. And every gargoyle was a warrior first, though some had other interests. Desdemona, for example, was spiritual, the closest thing they had to a Warrior-Priestess.

5. I think you can see most of this in our pilot.

Response recorded on June 15, 2017

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Zeke writes...

Since Goliath and Demona are the same age roughly in 994 what would happen when Goliath became to old to lead the clan and stepped down? Wouldn't Demona also be too old?

Greg responds...

Yes, it would have been a concern eventually. But they were both young at that stage, and the bigger concern at that time was death by violence, not by old age.

Response recorded on December 22, 2016

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How did the Manhattan Clan survive in the 10th century without n writes...

Hey Greg, I'm a huge fan of Gargoyles, but there's something that's been bothering me for quite some time... the fact that Goliath's clan, with the exception of Goliath, didn't name themselves until they awoke from their cursed slumber.

It strikes me that, at a bare minimum, they would have had extreme difficulty formulating plans for defending the castle and assigning roles. If they didn't have names, how did a typical strategy briefing go? How did Goliath make clear which gargoyles were in charge of which task? How did people get the attention of single gargoyles in the middle of a crowd?

Could you write a hypothetical dialogue of what they would say when setting up plans to defend the castle when addressing the entire, pre-slaughter clan?

Greg responds...

I could. But I won't.

Gargoyles didn't have defined specific names, but they referred to each other by relationships, signifiers, etc. (For example, "My Angel of the Night" or the "Gargoyle of the Sword".) I'm sure they made it work.

Response recorded on July 14, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

You have said there were homosexual Gargoyles, are there also transgender Gargoyles that could transition? Also, how does surgery for Gargoyles work? Is that even a possibility for them, like something as easy as adding stone or shaping stone while they were in stone sleep, or operating on them while they were flesh or would it be impossible?

Greg responds...

There has been no such thing as gender reassignment surgery for gargoyles. Frankly, there's been no such thing - for the most part - as SURGERY for gargoyles, period.

You definitely cannot operate on a sleeping gargoyle. But you could, in theory, operate on a gargoyle at night. I suppose you'd use an epidural or something. (I'm not a doctor.)

But, yes, I imagine there have been transgender gargoyles over the centuries.

Response recorded on July 11, 2016

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EXALT writes...

We know that separations and affairs are quite rare among Gargoyles; what about rape? How rare it is among Gargoyles, and how much heinous it's considered as a crime?

Greg responds...

It's rare and extremely heinous.

Response recorded on July 11, 2016

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EXALT writes...

We know that, when Elisa dies, she's going to receive a Wind Ceremony, despite being human, because she's a full-fledged member of the clan. With that in mind...
1)Is she going to be the first human to receive a Wind Ceremony?
2)If, back in the middle ages, the Captain of the Guard had died without betraying the clan, would he have been given a Wind Ceremony?
3)If the Magus hadn't asked specifically to stay in the Hollow Hill, would he have been given a Wind Ceremony?
4)What about Katharine and Tom? When they die, are they going to receive Wind Ceremonies?

Greg responds...

1. That seems unlikely.

2. Odds are he would have received human burial.

3. Potentially.

4. No spoilers.

Response recorded on July 07, 2016

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KittyKatt25 writes...

This might seem like a weird question, but how do gargoyles greet each other. Like from different clans. Same or opposite sex greetings different? If then, how so? Like for Hudson, if he met a younger gargoyle (male or female) from another clan, how would they greet each other? Just very curious. I just can't find an answer to this question, I've looked nearly everywhere. Can you help me?

Greg responds...

Did you look at the show itself? Or the comics? We've seen Hudson and other gargoyles meet and greet gargoyles from other clans multiple times.

Response recorded on June 03, 2016

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Paul writes...

Did Demona remember, when she saw the Magus, Katharine, and Tom taking the eggs out of the rookery, that she had laid one of those eggs?

Greg responds...

Of course. But she also regarded ALL of those eggs as her rookery children. She could not have singled out the one egg she personally laid from all the others if she tried.

Response recorded on October 28, 2015

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Allison writes...

Hi, Greg, hope the tour's going well. Hope you have fun!

I've got a question about gargoyle eggs and customs. Does rookery parentage apply to every gargoyle in a generation of the right age to reproduce? For example, would Iago/Coldsteel be considered one of Angela's rookery fathers despite the fact that he never mated or had any involvement with producing eggs?

Greg responds...

To some extent, it's up to the individual. One doesn't have to be a biological parent within an appropriate generation to participate in the raising of hatchlings. (It takes a clan, afterall.) But if one in essence opts out of the responsibility, that's considered a bit odd, but allowed.

Response recorded on October 27, 2015

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Mara writes...

When I visited Puerto Rico last fall (October of 2013) we went on a tour of the cave system in Camuy- which is awesome. On the tour, our guide commented that normally, human settlements only exist in caves that have a clear entrance and exit that face east and west- so that there is light in the cave during the day. For that reason, caves with north/south facings would be avoided.

Anyway, my question is- did pre-bronze age gargoyles tend to have settlements in cave systems over other areas- since their eggs need thermal energy access anyway?

Greg responds...

Rookeries tended to be in underground caves.

Response recorded on July 31, 2015

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Mara writes...

Do gargoyles, as a race, have an common origin myth?

Greg responds...

Generally, yes. But the clans over time became so spread out and isolated, variations abound.

Response recorded on July 31, 2015

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Mara writes...

Was there ever a Wind Ceremony for the gargoyles at Castle Wyvern?

Greg responds...

If you mean the gargoyles massacred there by Hakon, then, no. Sad, right?

Response recorded on July 28, 2015

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ashley. B writes...

Dose Brooklyn have a younger sibling I read gargoyles couples each normally have three eggs/ three children so I know he has a brother dose he have a younger sibling.

Greg responds...

For all we know, Brooklyn is the youngest of the three biological siblings. If he did have a younger sibling, he or she would be the same age as True.

But, of course, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything. No Spoilers.

Keep in mind that Brooklyn considers his siblings all to be the same age, give or take a day or two. The biology matters less than the Rookery.

Response recorded on March 09, 2015

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Anon! writes...

Do gargoyles (specifically the Manhattan clan) recognize / notice misogyny and sexism in human societies? If so, what do they think about it? Does a similar gender hierarchy exist among gargoyles?

Thank you for your time!

Greg responds...

1. It may sneak up on them. They'd probably think it was nuts. Especially since, from their point of view, ALL humans are so physically weak that the differences between male and female would seem negligible. Plus they certainly know that both male and female humans can be deadly and dangerous.

2. Largely no.

Response recorded on December 08, 2014

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Micey writes...

I read the gargoyles wiki on how they only have one mate for life but I couldn't find anything about how they actually chose their mates. Is it like a human and they just chose their mate by courting and falling in love with that gargoyle or does it have to do with certain things, like the horns, wing size, color, etc.?

Greg responds...

Attraction plays into things, of course. But you saw how Angela and Broadway got together, and there are no RULES, per se.

Response recorded on November 14, 2014


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