✶ HE DIED FOR A KING WHO NEVER KNEW HOW TO LOVE HIM.
a roleplay interest post — for bbc merlin (canon-divergent, grief-heavy, merthur-centric)
“It was never just destiny. It was devotion, and that’s worse.”
🩸 WHO I AM
i’m lory (23, she/her), an adv. lit / novella style writer drawn to the emotionally raw, myth-drenched, quietly devastating. i write slowburn, prose-heavy, trauma-aware plots steeped in psychological tension, internal conflict, and the kind of love that’s always a little bit cursed.
i write exclusively on discord, use tupperbox, and thrive with partners who are just as obsessed with co-creating as i am—OOC chatter, spiraling playlists, voice note headcanons at 2am. i love rapid fire replies when the mood strikes, but slow, steady suffering is welcome too.
🔞 18+ only. open to nsfw and dead dove themes (grief, legacy, betrayal, obsession, etc) with clear communication and narrative weight.
🐉 WHO I’M CRAVING
right now i’m possessed by the need to write arthur pendragon—before the fall, after the fall, in another life where he still ends up breaking his own heart. i want the version of him that never quite knew how to be loved, not properly. not by him. i want the guilt, the grandeur, the grief.
i’m looking for someone to write merlin (or a compelling OC) across any timeline, canon-divergent arc, or reincarnation concept. i’m open to POV swapping too if our styles click—i’ve written merlin before, and i adore exploring him through arthur’s fractured lens.
💔 preferred ship:
arthur + merlin (canon divergence, reincarnation, unspoken yearning, “i would’ve died for you” but he already did)
🕯️ TONE & THEMES I’M DRAWN TO
– canon divergence where arthur lives… and wishes he didn’t
– merlin telling the truth too late / arthur realizing it too early
– grief as devotion • destiny as punishment
– knights as ghosts • the crown as a cage
– “you served me. but you loved me first.”
– love that’s mistaken for loyalty until it’s too much
– the tragedy of everything unsaid
– reincarnation where only one of them remembers
– emotional repression • yearning • betrayal • the weight of magic
– “do you hate me for not seeing it?” / “do you hate me for loving you anyway?”
📍 PLOTS I’D LOVE TO WRITE
– canon divergence AU: arthur survives camlann. merlin confesses, and it ruins everything / saves nothing
– reincarnation AU: arthur doesn’t believe in destiny, but merlin looks at him like he remembers drowning
– modern day: arthur’s the politician or soldier; merlin is still magic, still waiting
– ghost AU: arthur haunts camelot. merlin stays anyway.
– war-torn high fantasy AU with echoes of canon: still the once and future king, still dying wrong
– enemies to lovers, but the betrayal already happened
– arranged marriage AU: arthur must marry for peace, but merlin was the only one who ever loved him freely
– post-canon: grief-tethered, legacy-haunted, they find each other in dreams and ruins
🪶 TROPES & DEVASTATION I LOVE
enemies to lovers • forbidden love • unspoken devotion • identity reveals • repressed magic • “it’s always been you” • forced proximity (on the run, on the throne, in exile) • “you died and i never got to say it” • the weight of a crown • duty vs desire • “you don’t get to come back” • the sword was a metaphor • haunted forests • shared destiny • “you called me friend but i meant something else” • “why didn’t you tell me?” / “would it have changed anything?” • betrayal as heartbreak • time doesn’t heal • memory as curse
⚠ CONTENT NOTES
✨ will write:
grief • trauma • emotional repression • betrayal • death • magic as burden • post-war grief • nsfw / dead dove with nuance
⛔ will not write:
underage smut • glorified abuse • noncon/dubcon without consent & weight • bigoted content of any kind
📬 YOU, MAYBE
if you want to write a love that stretches across lifetimes, that was doomed before it even began—if you want to rewrite the ending just to break it again—like this post, comment, or message me.
tell me who you write. tell me what they regret.
let’s build something that feels like a final prayer never spoken aloud.
“It was destiny, yes. But it was also love. And no one survived it.”












