Very Rough Draft

Honestly. Elisa and Fox as frenemies is utterly underutilized. I want to see these two get into ridiculous hijinks. I want Fox to look at Elisa, grab her by the shoulders and go "come on, Maza, don't you just wanna go apeshit sometimes?" And Elisa just being, absolutely done with her while trying to hold on to her moral compass and Fox's is like - Whoops! I accidentally committed a felony!

And Elisa's like 😑 you did that on purpose.

Super Rough Draft

Goliath-Centric

Basically, writing stuff about Goliath's parents and his wonderful home life. And generational trauma.

: - )

ANGST!

Gargoyles did not claim parentage to their children. Hatchlings were children of the clan, raised up and cared for by the village. It was considered selfish to do otherwise. 

"We are a community, we need to operate like one. Just as a hive cannot be sustained by one bee. Just as the nest of an ant cannot be ruled only by a sole queen, everyone has their part to play, everyone has a role, a service to do. It is the way of our people." 

An elder once said to him.

Then did that mean his mother was selfish? 

Lia.

His mother. She had claimed him for her own against every warning she should not. But, she did not care and his clan did not much care for her. His mother was an outsider, but literally and metaphorically. Hudson had found her, half starving and bloodied by a river bank and took pity of her. She said she had hailed from a clan faraway where the land was barren and mountainous, but she did not speak of it more, she had no desire to return, she had ran away and never looked back.

And while his clan was gracious enough to allow her refuge they never truly accepted her. And his mother never really made an effort to build any bridges between them and her. She was a loner and kept to herself. 

His clan was content to leave her and not pay her any mind. Until she claimed his egg for her own.

The elders were not happy about it and voiced their discontent.

"Those are not our ways" 

"They may be yours, but they are not mine. I abide by no one's rules, but my own" 

The elders of Clan Wyvern kicked up a fuss, but it is not as though they did much about it. Or could do anything about it, given that the clan leader of that time-Samson-did not care and was his father, not that he had much part in raising him. 

His younger self never understood why. His mother and father never became a truly mated pair which also struck a nerve with the elders, but they were too afraid of Samson to voice it openly to his face. They had no ceremony and made no real fan fair about it. It often made him wonder if his parents ever liked each other. They never argued, disagreements sometimes, but it never escalated. His mother never had anything bad to say about his father nor did he ever hear his father bad mouth his mother.

They were an odd pair-silent and distant. 

There were very few pleasant memories he had of his own father. Some of them vivid, others hazy, his father was a man of very little words and an even shorter temper. He was not very well liked among their clan. He was temperamental, violent almost to the point of being unhinged, and seemingly uncaring about anything else that wasn't killing. And not all that friendly. 

There was no one in the clan that he considered friend, Goliath doubted he ever truly trusted anyone. The closest thing to that, probably was Hudson.

And his mother- 

Like he said before-their relationship was always a mystery to him. 

"I do not think I'm capable of love" 

Goliath looked up, meekly, his father was so tall, even while sitting he had to crank his all the way back to catch a glimpse of his face "I do not understand others" 

…..

"I hardly understand myself" 

"I'm not kind. I only know war, blood-violence is my only expression. I'm not meant to be gentle. Or anything else of that matter" it's the most he's ever heard him speak. 

"I cannot not be what you wish me to be" 

Goliath ducked his head not knowing what to say "I was never meant to be a father" 

Goliath didn't know what he meant to do by telling himself such. He had been so young then, and his father was more an entity of fear than a person to him. He never smiled, never laughed, he was never much of anything. When he wasn't brutalizing his enemies, he'd be alone, carving wood until his hands bled. And while his mother was distant, he can recall the small, quiet smiles she'd give him. Or sometimes she let out a bout of boisterous laughter though those were rare.

Most of the time she was sad. And when she wasn't abrasive towards others, she was stagnant, her face vacant except for the emotions he was far too young to understand.

The writers missed a good opportunity to have Elisa kiss Goliath's stone form.

Poland’s Mystical Crooked Forest.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. 

If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)

Gargoyles are just giant bat-people.

No I don't take criticism.

I don't know if you take requests, so feel free to decline, but, recently I wondered what Goliath from Gargoyles would look like if he was a big Cybertronian man like Optimus Prime. I really love the way you draw the transformers! You make them look so soft and cute, I just thought a Goliath turned Cybertronian would look amazing in your style.

Er, honestly I feel like Xanatos already beat me to it and that’s the Steel Clan…

"And a Hunting We Will Go"

Summary: Someone does some fishing. Some very expensive fishing.

Words: 1,191

3/4

Warnings! Animal Death

~Beep!~

~Beep!~

God, someone please shoot me! 

~Your call may be put on hold~

Elisa couldn't help but roll her eyes.

The disembodied, dial up music on the other end of the line almost made her see red. Two hours, two damn hours! She's been on hold since four in the afternoon! 

‘Come on, come on, dammit, let's go already!’

~Beep!~ 

~We're currently busy at the moment, but a representative will speak to you shortly~ 

~Beep!~ 

‘Shortly my ass!’

The music played again, like a hellish melody.

'I hate tax season. Hate it!' Bored, Elisa snagged her pen tapping it harshly against the kitchen table. 'Next time I'm hiring some smuck to do this shit' 

'If I can afford' 

The tapping stopped for a minute.

~Beep!~ 

~We're currently busy at the moment, but a representative will speak to you shortly~

'I'll make it fit'

Somehow.

Another twenty minutes past before someone finally, finally picked up the damn phone. But, despite the blessing the call just added to her frustrations.

"....how many dependents did you say you have again…...?" 

Her lips tightened, doing her best to not snap- "Three. Three kids" she can't remember how many times she had to repeat that now.

This was stupid, beyond stupid. She just wanted the call to end for god's sake, the man over the phone kept droning on and on, in a hush wispy, barely audible voice about tax deductions or something, it was very obvious that he hated his job and sounded like he wanted to be anywhere, but on the phone with her.

It was like pulling teeth. 

One by one by one.

Sitting on the couch watching Teletubbies with the kids was starting to sound like heaven right about now.

After a while, her mind drifted. ‘Whoever wrote tax laws ought to be shot.’

She heard something squeak in between the irritated tapping and clicking of her pen. Ignoring it, she leaned against the kitchen chair before switching the phone to her other ear.

Another squeak. Sounded like wet shoes sliding against a tile floor.

She ignored it again, clicking her pen.

'I need a drink after this. Maybe I can raid Xanatos stash without him noticing'

~Squeak~

'Ugh, what is that?!' but she didn't feel inclined to worry about it. The castle was riddled with strange noises. It used to freak her out, but she had gotten used to it over the years. And besides, she wasn't the only resident lurking around.

~Squeak~ 

"Maza, a word if you may" Elisa rolled her eyes again.

"I'm busy Xanatos, bother me some other time" 

“I believe it may interest you”

“You can’t hide from Fox forever Xanatos”

“I’m not, but this isn’t about her”

~Squeak~ 

'Okay! That was getting annoying!' she snapped around her chair to level Xanatos with a glare and find the source of that ungodly sound only to stop and freeze.

Xanatos was drenched head to toe. His characteristic ponytail was undone. Hair was in his eyes, slopped around his shoulders and he smelled like fish and algae.

He looked completely disgruntled. Which was also rather uncharacteristic. And the jacket of his suit was missing.

"Wha-?" 

"Hi, Auntie Lisa!" 

Then she looked down. 

Two giddy kids were tucked under his arms. Alex's eyes gleamed, shined really, his long dark, red curls stuck to his face. And there was Aodh, wrapped in Xanatos' jacket, not giddy, or mischievous, but unperturbed as she munched on a half-eaten koi fish.

They were a wet mess.

The crunch of bone and flesh invaded the quiet for a second.

"They raided the koi pond" 

As if the half-eaten koi fish didn't give her a clue. Elisa didn't know whether to laugh at the spectacle before her or sigh. Wasn't Owen watching them?

"You didn't say we couldn't play in it, dad!" 

"Please tell me that wasn't expensive"

"The pond's fine. The fish on the other hand-" Xanatos glanced at her daughter, he seemed almost amused despite his obvious veil of exasperation "well I'll leave that to your imagination" 

'Well, isn't that just peachy' Everything in this building was outstandingly expensive to suit Xanatos opulent tastes. He's right on that matter, she didn't want to imagine what that fish might cost her, if he were a pettier man. 

"Why do you have a Koi Pond just laying around anyway? Inside a building. Where anybody can just trip and fall in it" 

"I like the aesthetic." 

"Sure." Right. Of course.

"It's not like I expected two troublesome kids to try and make it into their personal fishing spot." 

"Ah-huh" 

"Nor was I prepared for one of them to actually eat the koi fish" 

Elisa smirked a little "Oh really, and here I thought you were always prepared for the impossible" 

He looked disgruntled again. The shock faded, but damn did he look miserable.

That suit had to be worth more than anything she's made in the past five years. She can't help but snicker-

-who would've thought that all it took for him to lose his cool was a bunch of unruly kids.

Karma was beautiful in its own way.

"Can I have my own Koi fishpond then, dad?" 

Xanatos refined from a sigh.

"I'll think about it" 

"Yes!" It definitely wasn’t a yes, but Alex interpreted it as one.

“David!”

There was something akin to fear in his eyes “Ah,” he cleared his throat “In the kitchen, dear.”

Fox walked-waddled into the room; they saw her belly before they saw her “Are you hiding up here again-” Xanatos turned around on instinct.

“Hi, mom!” Alex waved.

Fox blinked a few times before she broke down into hysterical fits of laugher.

“Fox, please” she had to hold onto the threshold to hold herself up.

“He fell into the pond trying to fish the kids out” Elisa supplied as flatly as possible. Fox snorted.

“I did not fall.”

“Had a nice swim, David!?”

“I guess you now know what it feels like to swim with the fishes, huh, Xanatos?” Elisa couldn’t help herself. Fox had a conniption fit.

“The children could’ve drowned”

Now both women were laughing.

“I can swim, dad, Aodh too, you know that, and Puck was with us.” Corrected by a child.

“Speaking of Puck-Owen, where is he?” she asked in between fits of laughter.

“He scampered off, after I-collected the children”

“Left you for dry, huh?” Elisa got the impression that he wanted to roll his eyes at her. But forced himself not to for whatever reason. Instead of saying anything he placed Aodh gently on the floor. The sudden jostle of movement hardly interrupted her eating.

“We’re still playing, dad!” Alex protested.

“Both of you need a bath” he squirmed out of his father’s grasp “Alex.”

“We can take a bath together! Come one, Aodh!” he grabbed her fingers, and dragged her along. Aodh simply followed without much fuss towards the baths. Alex knew the castle like the back of his hand, as he led them away.

She was still eating the fish.

Elisa shook her head; hopefully, that was the extent of today’s excitement-

~Beep!~

‘You’re call has been disconnected’

Dammit.

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Doll Tor, Derbyshire, England

Doll Tor, occasionally known as the Six Stones, is a small stone circle near Birchover, west of Stanton Moor in the Derbyshire Peak District. Dating from the Bronze Age, the circle consists of six standing stones.

More about Doll Tor…

Mossy Edge