y'all have no idea how hard it was not to turn Merlin into Brynden Rivers 💀

A rlly close friend of mine hit me with some genuinely peak questions abt this AU, and since I literally cannot shut up once ppl ask me abt lore, I proceeded to infodump.

Asked: Who are Merlin and Snow in this AU? Is Jack basically a Lannister? And was I ever planning on replacing Aerion Targaryen w/ Average?

Merlin isn't actually based on any single akotsk character, buuuut he's heavily inspired by both Valarr and Brynden Rivers. He ended up as a Targaryen prince who wanted to become a maester but was ultimately banned from the Citadel. Naturally Bloodraven swoops in and takes him on as his apprentice instead.

Snow is a Tyrell lady. That's... honestly pretty much it.

And yeah, Jack is a Lannister. The whole idea was that Jack and Snow would grow up as bffs, bc let's be real, the two richest Houses in Westeros end up tied somehow.

As for Aerion, nope he survives this exactly as himself.

All right, this is the last post in this run. Oh, and a while back I posted on my Instagram Stories that I was working on a DuncanxSansa story, but it was going to be rsatsd. However, I came up with some ideas along the way, and Red ended up becoming a blend of Arya and Sansa, along with Arthur the hedge knight.

The other day, I was trying to figure out what kind of comics, graphic novels, manga, etc, the characters would consume, or at least, what their favorites would be.

My mind immediately went to Merlin and Arthur having a wide variety of Asterix and Obelix issues, Tintin (or anything from 2000 AD mag), and as they entered adolescence (for Arthur), something like Blacksad, The Dark Knight Returns, or even Berserk?

For Merlin, it’s pretty obvious, Hellblazer and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Snow gives me the vibe of loving W.I.T.C.H., Wonder Woman, Persepolis, and the contemporary Always Never.

And I couldn’t finish without mentioning that the triplets (at least one of them) would loveeee Zerocalcare’s work and The Armadillo’s Prophecy!

That’s sort of the idea.

There are details that might give it away, but others that don’t. Like Dunk being stuck on extended watch duty over Dany while Aggo, Rakharo, and Jhogo are off scouting for the next settlement. By this point, Rhaegal’s already starting to show early signs of wanting to take flight, so... Dunk ends up being the one basically acting as the launch point for those first glides.

Universe, just take Jorah Mormont away and drop Dunk to Daenerys pretty please.

No, but seriously, this passage from got feels like it was written for Dunk. It has that strong, big brother, warm kind of energy.

“Ser Duncan, you may go and rest”

“I am on guard duty, your grace; not even the scorching heat will make me leave my post”

“Go and rest”

"So you were the other guard watching the tower that night… you and green eyed, the famed last line of defense. I have to admit, the title sounds more impressive than what you showed" he said with an ironic snort.

"So it would seem. Though, if we’re being honest, you can’t be that flawless yourselves if you let one of your own be captured so shamefully."

He almost answered, but held himself back. The strain of keeping up the exchange had already sunk into his bones. Even so, he straightened as much as he could, refusing to show weakness.

"Your companion didn’t last long either, Snowdrop. Everyone makes mistakes. I suppose mine was underestimating someone fresh out of cavalry training."

She did not reply. Her gaze dipped briefly toward the fire, aware there was some truth in his words.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The fire crackled faintly, fading into embers.

"So… you’re planning an exchange" he said at last.

"At midday, just outside the Caves of Despair" she answered without hesitation. There was no point in hiding it; the orders had already been given.

A faint smile touched his lips, more weary than mocking.

"If all goes well, I hope you keep chasing me. It’ll be a pleasure to meet again."

She drew a slow breath and tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.

Okay but let’s pivot this question a bit, because here’s how I’m reading it.

This might be the easy takeaway, but I’m pretty sure that near the end of the movie Merlin straight up dies. And like (in some cases) getting struck by lightning can absolutely kill you minutes later from all sorts of complications. The interesting part is that he still keeps his cursed form until Snow White kisses him… which not only breaks the curse, but literally brings him back to life.

So yeah, to me that implies the spell doesn’t break unless the exact condition is fulfilled (kiss kiss for the most beautiful woman in the world). No loopholes, no “death cancels it out” clause nothing. In a darker scenario where Jack gets impaled or killed? Same rules would apply. The curse just… stays.

What really gets me is: how insanely busted does the Fairy Princess’s magic have to be for death itself to not override it? Meanwhile Regina’s magic literally collapses when she dies, which lowkey gives us a power-scaling hint right there.

So yeah. My conclusion?