It's turned up before?

The practicalities of a particular idea for a mini by The Trojanhorse on 2009-05-31 10:32:00 UTC Reply

I'm about to start work on sporking a fic in the Merlin (BBC) canon, and as far as I'm aware a) no-one's done one yet, and b) no mini is designated for this canon.

Being as it's unique to the programme, I would propose that the minis be mini-Questing Beasts. There are other monsters in Merlin but mostly they're pretty generic heraldic beasts.

The only issue with the Questing Beast is that its bite is canonically fatal and incurable.

So my question is, if I did end up using mini-Questing Beasts, would it be best to say that the minis do NOT have this canonical power, or that they all have to be kept muzzled, or simply to pick a slightly less invariably deadly creature to be the mini?

Right then, sounds like mini-Questing Beasts it is. (nm) by The Trojanhorse on 2009-05-31 22:37:00 UTC Reply
Sounds like it would work. by Tomato on 2009-05-31 16:17:00 UTC Reply

Most Minis of fatal creatures are mostly harmless.

Let me guess...the fic's Merlin/Arthur?

Actually it's adult!Mordred/Merlin... by The Trojanhorse on 2009-05-31 22:37:00 UTC Reply

... with unrequited Merlin/Arthur, poorly written 'kink', and spelling errors all over the place, hence the query about minis.

Fun... by Tomato on 2009-06-01 13:33:00 UTC Reply

Good luck with that.

cheers, I'm going to need it ... (nm) by The Trojanhorse on 2009-06-01 21:21:00 UTC Reply

Although the Questing Beast isn't quite unique... by Buta no Kaabii on 2009-05-31 14:41:00 UTC Reply

It's popped up in other Arthurian fantasy before. I know I've seen a few literary references here and there. Should probably make a good mini, though.

As for mini-ness, I think they should just lack the bite of doom. Muzzles are a bit risky - they might be forgotten or removed somehow, which might mean loads of dead Agents. Generics just don't work as well.

It's turned up before? by The Trojanhorse on 2009-05-31 22:35:00 UTC Reply

Ooh, you got references? I know next to nothing about the Arthurian legend, it's just that I'd not heard of the Questing Beast before and I figured that a creature that's a hybrid of what looks like a leopard and a cobra and which is tied into a religion that appears to have mostly been made up of pick n mix aspects of fantasy/Celtic religions was mostly an invention, but I'd be really interested if you know where I could find more to read about it.

Oh, Glod. by Buta no Kaabii on 2009-06-01 06:45:00 UTC Reply

As I was thinking of that, I realized that I completely forgot just where I heard of it. Pretty sure there was at least one mention of King Pellinore trying to skewer an undescribed Questing Beast of some sort, in some story I read quite a while back. I'd guess a little digging around about the beast might turn up something useful.

Heh, it's all right :) by The Trojanhorse on 2009-06-01 08:09:00 UTC Reply

I just google-imaged 'questing beast' and got shedloads of pics that are decidedly old-looking and not at all BBC Merlin, so I'll happily believe you :)

I think they'll make a neat mini - who WOULDN'T want a miniature leopard/cobra hybrid?

Of course... by Huinesoron on 2009-05-31 14:01:00 UTC Reply

... Balrogs are canonically giant, evil demons of flame and shadow, but people hug Mini-Balrogs all the time. The attributes of minis are usually rather toned-down from the originals -- that's why they're minis. So a toned-down version of fatal and incurable would be, what, painful?

Anyway, minis don't tend to bite people. Much.

hS

This is, of course, an essential logical point by The Trojanhorse on 2009-05-31 22:33:00 UTC Reply

that had escaped me at my bedtime last night :)
Seconded. by Cassie Cameron-Young on 2009-05-31 14:21:00 UTC Reply

You beat me to it. :P