#but merlin only had to tell him ‘yo there’s this sword in this stone. pull it out big man’

[gd-dollopole]

If my future, magical boyfriend won’t make up an important and unforgettable piece of legend that will live long in the minds of men, just because I’m having a bad day and low self esteem over whatever I’m fit to be the Once and Future King and rule over my own kingdom, then I don’t want him.

[troublesometrollhunters]

Hm.. What about the reader going back to the past. And tries to reconnect with Draal. But finds out that he doesn't know who the reader is?

( I'm doing this ask because I worked hard on it but remember guys only soft/fluff filled requests. The only requests I'm taking are fix my feelings requests after Rott. )

Staring at Draal from across Dwoza market you can't believe it's him. He's alone just walking through the stalls minding his own business as he looks around. Your breath hitches as his eyes meet yours. You pull your cloak close and feel a pang as he looks away. Jim tries to grab your arm telling you no but your already running, shoes smacking across the cave floor as you gain speed. A human in troll market was unheard of but here in Dwoza, in this time, it was practically a crime.

You hug him before you can stop yourself. Your face is buried in his carved chest as your arms barley reach around his body. Feeling his stone under your hands you can't believe it. He was whole in your arms. He was here, really here and he was okay. He still had his arm, he wasn't frozen forever or in peices. He was here with you in this moment. He was still alive.

You could feel him stiffen under your touch too shocked to respond. You missed the feeling of his arms wrapping around you and his face nuzzling into your neck but in this moment you'd take anything.

The smell of molten rock and worn leather fills your nose making you hold back tears as your grip on him tightens. Draal hasn't moved you yet but if he threw you away and you got injured it wouldn't matter. Over and over you wished to give away everything to have him for just one more moment and here he was, even if he wasn't your Draal. It was still Draal.

Jim runs up to the two of you concerned as other trolls stare and begin to talk. By the way Jim pulls on you, you have a feeling it's about you but you don't care.

Jim begins saying something but you can't hear him as you clench your eyes shut hoping this moment would never end. As Draals calm breaths fill your ears and you feel his chest move under you, you couldn't help but remember everything you and Draal had been through before his untimely demise in Merlins wretched tomb.

You'd hated each other at first. But Draal was insistent on courting you. He never said why but soon enough his pestering led to love so it never mattered to you.

You think fondly of the times where you'd spar together in Jims back yard. He taught you how to properly hold a sword. He taught you to defend yourself and stand by Jims side as a friend and ally. He taught you to fight and to never heistate, for the troll world was one of war. But he also promised you he'd always be there to protect you.

You can almost feel the heavy blankets Jim used to give you because the basement got cold and you insisted on staying with Draal. You'd have sleepovers when Barbara wasn't in the house in Jims basement so Draal wouldn't get lonely. He'd hold you close and you'd sneak in a kiss before you both drifted off to bed.

And how could you forget the drunken nights? Where he was drinking glug (as you drank your beverage of choice) in Trollmarkets pub. His booming laughter and voice echoing off the taverns walls as you both told stories throughout the night until early morning.

Than there was your nightly walks, where you'd go on long walks in the woods. During these times Draal would tell you about his childhood and old life before he met you. He told you secrets, he told you stories, and he told you on one of these walks that he loved you.

Holding back sobs there was the fleeting memory of the way he'd pull you close as you both danced under the stars enjoying each other's presense.

But most importantly there was the memory of how he gave you a dagger carved from his living stone as a courting gift and how some months later he proposed with the most gorgeous battle axe and matching ring. A ring that you still wore. And how he had said he was with you to the end and truly he was with you til his end even under Gunmars control...

The memories fade as your finally pulled off Draal. Jim looks sheepish tucking you behind him as Draal huffs seeming pissed. You should be worried but you have a dreamy smile on your face. Looking at Draal you hum seeing no recognition of you in his golden eyes.

Smiling sadly knowing he doesn't know you and your warmth will only be met with coldness you accept this. It wasn't your Draal, just Draal.

Jim quickly apologizes as he begins dragging you away too where Callista originally had been taking you both.

"That was reckless." He hisses. You closed your eyes thinking of your beloved. You knew it was reckless but too see Draal again even if he didn't recognize you... you'd do it again and again. As you spun you wedding ring letting Jim pull at you you smile. He was not your Draal yet but someday he would be...

[aspiring-wildfire]

Okay not to be Merlin on main in 2019 BUT i think what kills me the most about this stupid show and keeps me coming back to it is that it had so much potential and it was so underutilized

Like seriously every character arc had the potential to be so incredible and so many of them fell so flat- and don’t get me wrong, i love the show, i love how fun and funny it was, and there are definitely some really good moments that have the epic legendary feeling to them (Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone, Merlin fighting Nimueh, Merlin killing Agravaine, the coronations, some of camlann, etc) but like. There’s so much more they could have done, both plot/legend-wise and character-wise

Merlin deserved to actually have his powers explored (if Cornelius Sigan could make the tides roll back MERLIN CERTAINLY COULD- he’s the most powerful sorcerer ever and he can do magic just by instinct and the most they have him do the whole fucking show is blast some lightning, and only twice!! This boy was supposed to be made of magic and able to harness the LIFEFORCE OF THE EARTH come ON there were SO MANY FUCKING CHANCES TO HAVE HIM BE SERIOUSLY POWERFUL and they diDNT USE ANY OF THEM)

Arthur deserved to have a consistent fucking characterization (and yes, i get that he’s noble and good AND a prat and that those aren’t mutually exclusive but they yo-yo his relationships w people around SO MUCH, especially his relationship w Merlin- I think the most glaring example is the scene in season 5 where Arthur Merlin and mordred take Gwen to the ‘sorceress’ to cure her and Merlin disappears to go, y’know, become the sorceress, and Arthur’s so clearly worried and protective but then as soon as they get Gwen back he like??? Just forgets about Merlin??? And that’s not the only time but they flip between them having this really meaningful relationship and it just being played for comic relief like ‘oh haha Arthur doesn’t care abt merlin’ and it makes me so uPSET also he should have had so many more ‘Once and Future King’ moments)

Morgana deserved a FUCKING REDEMPTION ARC (or at least part of one i mean fucking come on she’s not even the ultimate villain in a solid chunk of Arthurian legend and she was such an interesting and complex character and idk this is less a writing thing and more just an ‘i love morgana and desperately wish we got to see more of her and Arthur as siblings ESPECIALLY w how toxic Uther’s parenting was’ thing)

Gwen deserved not to have her character flattened in season 5 (i love her she’s my girl and I’ll defend her to my dying breath but once she became queen it became so much less about her and her symbolic importance as representing the people of Camelot and so much more abt how she affected Arthur and it makes me mad- she lost a lot of the endearing awkwardness and level-headed moral compass that made her so wonderful in the first place)

And i could go on!! Mordred deserved to be able to choose good, Arthur should have found out abt Merlin’s magic WAY earlier (personally I’m a fan of the ‘Arthur’s always known bc Merlin SUCKS at subtlety’ route but that’s just me), Gwen and Arthur should have had a better developed relationship (they were cute and all but there was no real substance to it? Like idk they just... didn’t really understand each other as much as like, Gwen and Lancelot did or Merlin and Arthur), Aithusa should have been so much more important to the story (and so should Kilgarrah tbh), we should have seen SO MUCH MORE of the knights, we shouldn’t have just skipped over the golden age come ON, Lancelot shouldn’t have died so soon and definitely shouldn’t have been brought back as a shade to romance Gwen like wtf, morgana shouldn’t have turned on Gwen (her dearest friend) in a split second over a vision of her as queen, the magic=gay analogy should have been explored further (just TRY to tell me its not a metaphor), and Arthur (and Morgana imo) should have healed all the hatred and pain that Uther caused and been a better person than him

Idk yall im just sad and frustrated about how much potential went unrealized

[ladylynse]

Hello, I apologize if you have already answered what I am about to ask. When you write a story how do you develop the plot? And do you ever think about plot holes? If so how do you prevent those?

Hi, Anon. Thanks for asking!

I start with my idea. Sometimes it’s as simple as “it would be hilarious if Maddie saw Phantom get hit with the Booo-merang when she knows it reacts to her son”. Sometimes it’s a paragraph or two or ten of random ideas smushed together(technical term)--this is more or less the stage my DPxML fic is at. There’s a lot of me going, “Oooh, this would be fun” or “ooh, or I could do this”, and I’ll actually talk to myself like that in my notes. It’s long, ramble-y, grammatically incorrect, and basically the equivalent of me brainstorming some sort of initial idea, the root of the story. (I’m already rambling, so the rest of the answer will be under a read more.)

I then start doing a bit of research on stuff I’ll need to write the story. Depending on how long I’ve been in a fandom, this can be very basic stuff (people’s names) to more specific things (what day does Adrien have fencing?) and will always include some sort of cheat sheet for myself if the characters use slang (like Randy. And Jake.). If I come up with any ideas--or potential ideas--while doing that, I jot them down. Even if it’s a couple lines of dialogue or a way to end a scene, at some point, if I can write that scene into the story (eg Gwaine saw Merlin’s eyes glow gold.) All of this starts in my initial fic document and eventually gets moved to a scrap file associated with that fic. Do not delete ideas/scenes/dialogue/anything even if you aren’t currently using it. You might be able to recycle them into a different fic or later in the current story.

Then I start writing. To see if it’ll work. Even if I don’t have a very clear idea of where things are going yet, and certainly no idea of the end. Sometimes I need to try a few different ways to start a story (Reflections went through various iterations. Mockingbird and my DPxML fic are still in that stage) before I find one that seems to flow. That’s when I look at the situation the characters are in (or about to be in) and try to figure out their actions and reactions to the stuff I’m putting them through. And then I try to let that drive the plot. It’s something I’ve gotten better at over time--making it less obvious that the characters are doing that because that’s the way I want the story to go--but my best plots tend to be character-driven. (This may or may not help you avoid some plot holes. Depends on what the plot hole is. It’ll hopefully help you cut down on the “well, why didn’t they do that like they always do?” sort.)

If you need a character to do something that’s not in character for your plot to go the way you want, you need to give them a reason to act out of character (eg Danny not telling Jake his secret because there’s a paranormal studies/ghost hunters convention in town--and because Jazz keeps ragging on him). If you can’t give them that reason, then you need to find another way to achieve what you want to happen without them doing that--or change your initial idea for the plot. Even if you start with a plan in mind, you will probably have to tweak it at some point. This is normal. You’re just adapting to your story. Sometimes, a story will get away on you--it’ll write itself in a direction you weren’t expecting or past the point where you’d initially figured it would end (hello, Treachery)--but, at least in my experience, if it’s the characters driving the story that way, and you let them, it can actually turn out to be a better story than what you’d initially planned. (Again: Treachery. The unplanned part ie second half is much better than the planned part.) It’s just a matter of keeping them reasonably in character so that things don’t get too out of hand. 

I only think about plot holes once I notice them. Honestly, I’ve gotten good at patching. If something doesn’t occur to me, I can’t prevent writing it in. It’s not so much plot hole prevention for me as adaptation of the story to make it more acceptable once I realize it’s there.

Sometimes, when I’m editing a chapter or rereading something to remind myself of the story thus far/what’s happened, I’ll see something that doesn’t work that I’d missed before. (Random note on the ‘remembering what’s happened’ bit: if you plan a long fic taking place over multiple days, do yourself a favour and make a timeline for yourself in your scrap file. So much easier. That’ll allow you to make accurate references like “last week” and “three days ago”. I did this with Shattered and regretted nothing.) Once I notice a plot hole, I consider the damage. Have I posted something where it’s already stated? If I haven’t, repairing it typically isn’t that hard, though of course it depends on what it is--you just need to give it some justification, shaky or otherwise, or do a bit of rewriting to patch it up. Once it’s firmly written in and you don’t notice it until chapters later, your best bet is writing in justification for it later. In some cases, this involves you turning your plot hole into a plot point. It may be a small plot point or it might be a significant one that will actually shift your intended story a little bit. I did this a lot with my earlier Doctor Who crossovers. I got quite good at retroactive patching there, and my plot hole turned into foreshadowing, although in all fairness all of those involved time travel to one degree or another so that made things a bit easier; I didn’t have to stick to the rules of the actual universe. 

So here’s a plot hole of mine that’s recent that you might have noticed if you’ve read Down the Rabbit Hole: the note on Toby’s bed. Why...why are they communicating that way? Why go to the trouble of sending a note to him that way? Why not just phone or text or email? I missed that initially. And now I see it. And now I have justification (that hasn’t yet appeared in-fic) for not communicating by normal 21-century means. Depending on how things go, it might be hinting at something bigger, or it might just be a small one-off thing.

Now, in case you’re interested in my disaster of a ‘planning paragraph’, this was how Masks began--and please bear in mind I’d seen ten episodes, subbed, at this point and wasn’t entirely sure on what stuff was called:

Blademaster. Fights with knives. Unless it’s someone fromAdrien’s fencing class; the transformation could make that thing deadly sharp.That’s better, actually. Go with that. Marinette actually beats Adrien to thetransformation because she was skulking around waiting for him to come outafter class/lesson/club/whatever it is is over (to just ‘happen to be there’and try to ask him to catch a movie or something in casual conversation) andheard the commotion, while he got caught up in the fleeing people beforemanaging to sidestep and transform. Ladybug hasn’t managed to get the swordaway from Blademaster in the meantime and nearly gets the cord of her luckycharm thing cut for her trouble. Chat Noir shows up and pretty much fences withhis quarterstaff thing until Blademaster starts to cheat, at which point hevaults over him and tags him from behind, hoping the distraction is enough forLadybug to free herself from whatever she ended up in. Evil moth guy isdemanding the gems, so Blademaster starts trying to take a slice out of ChatNoir, who evades rather than parries, trying to draw Blademaster awayfrom…something…and Ladybug takes over when he’s backed into a corner and needsto turn to scale the wall. She yells at him to get the something away if he’sfigured out what Blademaster is after—she hasn’t, yet; just that the blade isprobably what the akuma is in—and Adrien, being there for the transformation,knows exactly what happened and can oblige. But he isn’t long out the door whenhe hears Ladybug scream; Blademaster had either grabbed another blade orsomehow acquired something sharp—I’ve never fenced; I’m not entirely sure howsharp those things are—and while avoiding one blow, she jolted off the courseof the other and got her earlobe sliced off/the gem ripped out. Blademaster hasa gem—moth guy is rejoicing and demanding he now get the other one—andMarinette, with one hand clamped to her ear, has to get out of there despitethe pain because as much as she needs to get Tikki (?) back, she doesn’t wantto risk her identity and—more importantly—she’s not sure how much longer shecan remain upright. She hits the change room or office or something, aiming fora first aid kit or at least a wad of toilet paper, and Chat Noir is shocked theLadybug is gone. He manages to defeat Blademaster and retrieve her gem, but itis inactive, and while he manages to catch the dark butterfly in a fencingmask, he doesn’t have the means to banish its evil OR to erase the ill that hashappened here; that’s Ladybug’s turf. But how is he supposed to return hergem—return her—when he doesn’t knowwho she is, and his own transformation is wearing off? (Marinette will bepulling a new hairstyle or modelling a hat or just plain skipping school—ifthere IS school; what day was fencing class again?—and getting Alya to coverfor her with her parents on the pretence that she’s trying to work up thecourage to do something with Adrien, perhaps, and she really doesn’t want tohave that conversation with her mom,when in reality she’s just trying to find Tikki. Not sure what happened withTikki, exactly. Needs to regain energy, which Plagg (?) would know and informChat Noir accordingly, but with them trying to keep secrets from each other….)

and that will give way to notes like this:

Tikki, PlaggMiracle Stones/MiraculousHawkmoth

Ladybug – lucky charm at end, always ends up with somethingshe doesn’t know what to do with at first and then figures it out; yo-yocompact; BOTH EARRINGS for the miracle stones…but maybe ripping one out woulddeactivate the other. She is the ONLY ONE who can cleanse the akumas. Chat Noir – (allergic to feathers), ancient destruction/cataclysm; batonYeah, if that ring comes off, the Kwami is forced out and the detransformationis right awayPlagg is SUCH a glutton, he’ll even chase after stuff he thinks is food

----

Okay. Adrien picks up Tikki and Miracle Stone, so Marinettefinds nothing and tries to track down Chat Noir, but Tikki, once recovered, canjust tell Adrien who Marinette is. Problem solved. That’s not fun. Unless Tikkidecides to respect Marinette’s wishes?

Or maybe they each find one earring, and Tikki isn’t wellbecause they’re divided?

Adrien and Marinette can both find nothing—Marinette because she hasn’t achance to look, Adrien because he doesn’t know TO look—but unless Tikki’strapped there, she gotta be able to get out.

Wait, Adrien’s chivalrous. He’ll respect Ladybug’s wishes.Even if he hates it

----

If Plagg can’t see, when they transform, Adrien won’t beable to see, either.

“What do you mean, I can’t transform?”“If we transform, this thing would get sucked in, too, and you won’t be able to do anything.” [lines from the Rogercop episode]

Statue set on green stone (granite?) with the top edgejutting out about chin height for Adrien

-------------------------Nope, gonna have to go back and change Blademaster’s restoration to Phillipebecause that DOES seem to be after Ladybug’s restoration. [turns out I was right the first time with this, but I’d checked with someone else and they’d thought no one changed back until after the Miraculous Ladybug bit, so I’d changed my initial plans here, and a few months later we got an episode that confirmed that, no, the magic link just needs to be broken, things don’t need to be fixed yet.]

[andrewmoocow]

Gravity Soul chapter 7: The Excalibur Filler, Are We All Fools? (originally posted on April 21, 2018)

AN: Last time on Gravity Soul, our heroes begin their search for Pacifica but suddenly an old enemy of Maka and company makes her dastardly debut! After a hard-fought battle, Medusa splits the team apart and sends them tumbling towards different parts of the forest. The team consisting of the Stan twins, Wendy, Death the Kid and his Demon Weapons the Thompsons find themselves upon a particular cave where they meet a certain annoying Holy Sword. Hilarity ensues. 6-15-15-12-19!

"Ugh my head, where are we?" Stan groaned rubbing his head as he got up from his fall. "Anyone okay here? Use the hand signal if yes!" Suddenly Ford rose up shaking his head as well. "Now what was that signal again?" the scientist wondered. "Oh, I know!" Patty cried getting up. Rather than making an OK symbol, she clapped her hands, formed her hand into a peace symbol, then into an OK symbol before putting it over her eyes. "I think that was the "I can see your underwear" one." "Dammit, be serious everyone!" Ford exclaimed in frustration. "No egghead, she's right. Your underwear is showing!" Liz stated pointing to his pants, in which they began to drop down a bit. "Oh my goodness, thanks for the heads up!" Ford hastily pulled them up and secured them with his belt. "Now where are we?" "I think we're somewhere near a cave." Wendy guessed pointing at one hidden behind a waterfall and a few bushes here and there. Although it did look gorgeous, there was still the task at hand. "Do you think it might lead us to something useful?" Death the Kid asked examining the cave entrance. "I dunno, let's get in there!" Stan began marching into the cave with the others following close behind, except for Kid who was clinging onto a nearby tree branch. "Hey, this is no time to climb up trees!" "No, I simply refuse to walk into that cave. I'll get wet." Kid stated continuing to grab onto the branch. "Okay then, climb onto my back." Wendy offered. The young shinigami complied leaping down and jumping onto the redhead's back before they finally proceeded. "I have a bad feeling about this." he said.

Traversing further into the cave, the team felt an air of mystery surround them as if something fantastic would await them. But Kid on the other hand felt a heavy amount of deja vu smack him in the face as he watched the fairies fly about. "Something seems awfully familiar about this cave." he mused trying his hardest not to fall off of Wendy. "Almost like we are in for a world of pure obnoxiousness." "Oh please Stripes, I got enough of that from Gideon last summer." Stan sneered smacking a fairy onto his back. "But we seem to be close, these winged things seem to be spreading." Suddenly one fairy flew before them with a benign expression on her face. "Greetings travelers, what happens to bring you here?" "Yeah Crysta, you know where we can find something that can help us kill a merged monstrosity?" Wendy asked. The fairy's face then contorted before them, her eyes darting to one side, gritted teeth showing, her nose completely vanishing only leaving behind the nostrils and wrinkles appearing all over before she flew away in a hurry. "Wait a minute Kid, didn't you and Black Star make that face before?" Ford asked Kid, who was now frozen in fear. "Oh no, not him! Anyone but him again!" he began panicking before making his decision. "That is it, we are leaving right now!" He then leaped off of Wendy not even caring about getting wet and stomped back towards the cave entrance before Stan grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Oh no you don't squirt, you're coming with us whether you like it or not!" he yelled dragging him through the water while Liz and Patty led the way. "I already told you I'd get wet!" the symmetry-obsessed boy cried. "Who cares, we are finding this whatsit and getting outta here!" Finally making it to a domed chamber with a small stone platform in the middle and a sword implanted in it, Stan immediately got excited. "Neato, a sword! We could definitely use one of these!" he cried walking onto the platform and pulling on the weapon. "Good grief this is tough! Someone give me a lift here!" he called before Ford stepped up and grabbed the handle of the sword as well. "Now what could a sword be doing here?" "Yo when you get that out, can I have it as a souvenir?" Wendy asked. "No Wendy, no one's taking it as a souvenir unless you value your sanity!" Kid shouted pointing at her before trying to make a mad dash for the brothers. "DOOOO-OOOON'T PUUUU-UUULL IIIII-IIITTTT!" But he was too late. Stan and Ford finally pulled the sword free and it shone heavenly upon them. "CONGRATULATIONS TRAVELERS! I AM EXCALIBUR, THE GREATEST AND MOST STRONGEST WEAPON OF ALL!" a voice boomed for everyone to hear. "AS A REWARD FOR PULLING ME FROM THE STONE, I SHALL NAME ONE OF YOU MY NEW MEISTER!" The light descended upon the twins and gave way to reveal a small white creature standing before them. The creature had no mouth to speak of, his only facial features being a rather long nose and a pair of eyes staring blankly at the Pines. He wore a white top hat on his head with a matching frilled ruff & jacket and held a cane in his non-existent hand. "That's it, this is Excalibur?! Kinda expected him to be taller!" Stan commented trying to hold back laughter while his brother gazed in awe. "I cannot believe it, the sword of King Arthur himself, and we pulled it out of the stone!" "FOOL!" Excalibur shouted spooking the twins. "Why yes, I am indeed Excalibur, the strongest weapon in the world formerly wielded by King Arthur. And I see you've brought an old friend too." He then turned his gaze to Kid, already cringing at the sight of him. "Please Excalibur, I insist that I interview you!" Ford exclaimed dropping to his knees in excitement. "I want all the details, like Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, the Holy Grail-" "FOOL! You're asking too much sir." the sword stated smacking Ford with his cane, making his nose jiggle. "So what makes you so afraid of him Kid? Other than actually being pretty rude." Wendy asked. "He must have some kind of latent power to incite anger in those he comes across!" Kid deduced pounding his fist into his palm. "Plus, he is of course disgustingly obnoxious. But I don't know what he is doing here, he's supposed to be in the Eternal Cave." "Why this is my summer home, it is very nice this time of year." Excalibur stated spinning around in a circle. "Now then my six-fingered muchacho, you said you wanted to hear my story?" he asked pointing his cane at Ford. "Why yes! Please tell us sir." Ford sat down on the platform and began listening intently to the sword's tale while the others did their own thing. "My legend dates back to the 12th century. It began on an intensely hot midsummer's day. Wait, it was a chilly autumn's day..."

"Grunkle Stan, Ford, Wendy, Kid! Where are you?" Dipper called for the aforementioned people as he, Mabel, Waddles, Maka, Soul and Crona scoured the forest for them. "They couldn't have gone far. We gotta get them back before we can continue on to Kishin Cipher." Maka declared. "Yeah but at this rate, what chance do we have? I mean, we've seen how strong Medusa's gotten thanks to him!" Soul replied. "Chances are whatever else he's gonna throw at us is gonna waste our asses!" "Don't say that Soul," Crona said. "even if the odds are against us, I know we can win in the end." he said before Ragnarok interjected. "Now that's my boy! You've grown much braver!" he shouted harshly rubbing his head. "Hey, stop it Ragnarok!" "But how can we contact anyone else now? She destroyed our flashlight and now we're separated from the others." Mabel wondered before she suddenly got an idea. "Wait, I think I have a sweater for that!" She took off her current shooting star sweater before swapping it with a lightbulb design that actually functioned as a light source when she pressed it. "Wow, that's really efficient!" Maka exclaimed. "Though don't you think it might become a fire hazard?" "No, it's a fun hazard." Mabel boldly declared. "Now let's get the band back together!" She raced off deeper into the woods before the others followed in hot pursuit. "We're coming guys!"

In another dark part of the forest, Soos, Melody, McGucket and Stein were trying to find a way out while Spirit panicked for his daughter. "Oh what am I going to do?! What if my little Maka is hurt or even dead?! This forest is just so dangerous, there could be predators or criminals out here!" Suddenly his worrying was silenced by Blair. "Oh don't worry big guy, I'm sure Maka's group is fine!" the sexy Monster Cat assured him. "Besides, she's still super strong!" "Oh thanks Blair." Spirit gratefully thanked her. "By the way, why were you so quiet lately?" he asked. "I dunno, I just couldn't find the right thing to say." Meanwhile Soos and Stein were trying to contact the others. "So what do you suppose we do doc?" the former handyman asked. "Why don't we just use the flashlight?" Melody suggested. "That is a great idea Ms. Melody. In fact, I'll try it right now." Stein pulled out the tool and turned it on for about a few seconds before it suddenly flickered out and died. "What the?!" "Sorry 'bout that dude, but if it makes you feel any better I packed spare batteries!" Soos tried to cheer him up by sifting through his backpack but finding no spares. "Oh right, I used up most of them for my radio." He pulled out a radio and turned on some music. "Am I blanchin'? Girl we blanchin'! I live up in a mansion!" "That actually is quite catchy, but let us not distract ourselves." Stein stated. "I suggest we sit here and wait until someone finds us." Just as he spoke, they spotted a faint light in the distance, which upon further inspection turned out to come from a sweater Mabel was wearing as Dipper, Maka, Soul, Crona and Waddles followed her. "Soos, Dr. Stein!" "Dudes! You're safe!" Soos cried scooping the twins in his arms. "Thought we lost you there." he said before Melody joined in on the hug and Blair glomped Soul. "I've missed you too Soul! I was worried you were hurt something fierce or-" "MAKA CHOP!" Maka screamed slapping Soul silly. "Okay, enough stalling. Now we need to find the others and proceed on our mission." Dipper stated. "Let's move out everyone!" With that, the nearly reassembled crew set off to find the other members.

"The one thousand provisions of the Holy Sword Excalibur. #618. When ordering food at a restaurant, always ask for many plates of breadsticks." Team Stan and Excalibur were now sitting at a fancy restaurant calmly waiting for their waiter to arrive. "So you brought us here to this place just so you can get some breadsticks?" Stan asked before the stereotypically French waiter arrived at their table. "Allo allo allo, vat can I get you?" "Okay, I'll have some linguini with a side of tea, Earl Grey, hot." Ford stated. "My scoundrel of a brother here will take some ratatouille. Our dark-haired companion and his fair maidens shall have the escargot, symmetrical of course and finally Ms. Corduroy will have the beef bourguignon." "Anything else mousier?" the waiter asked jotting down their order. "No, I think that's it." Wendy said before Excalibur hit her with his cane. "FOOL! You forgot one thing." he declared. "All right fine. The little guy here will take some breadsticks." "Make that 20 plates of breadsticks garcon." the Holy Sword added. "Mon dieu, that many?!" the waiter gasped. "Oh well, I shall make a note of it." He walked away leaving the patrons at their table. "Seriously, twenty breadsticks? Isn't that a little excessive?" Liz asked before she got a cane to the face. "FOOL! Nothing is too excessive." "I don't want to know what the bill will be like." Kid deadpanned. "Once they come with it, I suggest we say thanks for the food then run for it." Stan suggested. "#202. I can only accept the grandest of toilets." "Are you done yet Excalibur?! Other people need to go too!" Stan cried pounding on the door of a large duck where the sword did his business. "In fact, how can a guy like him go to the john when he doesn't have a hoo-ha or uh-oh?" "I can't take it anymore Grunkle Stan! I have to go now!" Dipper cried behind him doing a potty dance. "Just go behind a tree kid, simple as that!" "I get he wants his privacy," Ford stated standing before the duck. "but isn't this a bit much?" As it turned out, the duck had taken up a small part of Gravity Falls. "#75, Excalibur's birthday, which is everyday by the way, shall be celebrated in grand style." "Wait, everyday?! You must be like really old then!" Wendy exclaimed. "So what kind of cake do you prefer?" Stan asked looking over a catalogue of confectionary treats. "Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, carrot, coconut, devil's food-" Suddenly Excalibur cut him off. "All of the above! It is my birthday after all."

"Black Star? Tsubaki?" Dipper called out for the ninja and his weapon. "Gideon?! Where are you guys?!" "Should we search for Stan and Kid first?" McGucket inquired crawling behind them. "You know, you've got a good point McG. Why don't we find them first?" Mabel responded. "We'll save them for last. Right now we need to get Team #4 back." Dipper stated. "Yeah but aren't we going out of order? Three comes before four y'know." Soos added. "Ditto." Soul replied. "Okay, change of plans. We'll find Stan, Ford and Kid first then Black Star and Gideon." the boy changed his mind and looked onward. "But where could they be?" Suddenly they heard a faint voice singing. "Excalibur, Excalibur! From the United King, I'm looking for heaven, I'm going to California!" the voice crooned. "What is that?" Maka wondered. "I think I know that voice from anywhere." Stein announced before his face distorted in disgust. "It's Excalibur." "Wait, the Excalibur?! As in King Arthur's sword?!" Dipper exclaimed cheerfully. "Please, I have got to see it in person, I just have to!" Just then, Stein simply commanded him to stop talking. "I admire your enthusiasm Dipper, but just so you know Excalibur can be very abrasive which explains why he doesn't have too many Meisters." "Yeah I have to agree dude, that face he made really gives me a bad feeling about this." Soos agreed with the strongest Meister before attempting to imitate the Excalibur face. "Y'know for some reason I can't make it myself." he stated. "Well we got no time to waste, let's find the others and get back on track!" Melody declared walking away from the group before the others followed her.

"#452, attendance of my five-hour story telling party is absolutely mandatory." Every character that has and will eventually appear in this story were now gathered around Excalibur while he told a story that went on for quite a while. As he continued narrating, the audience grew smaller over time until only Ford and Dipper were left. "That is all!" the sword declared to his two-man audience applauding his tale.

"Now if I were a wrinkly old man in a dark forest, where would I be?" Gideon pondered as he, Ghost Eyes, Black Star and Tsubaki searched the woods for the rest of the Mystery Meisters. "Probably taking a whiz, what else?" Black Star answered. "Or perhaps he just gave up and went back to the Shack." Ghost Eyes added. "I don't really think so guys. Mr. Pines may be old, but he most certainly isn't a quitter." Tsubaki disagreed with them. "Besides, did you see how he fought Medusa?! And he's only like fifty-something years old!" "Yep, a fifty-something year old man who found a way to ruin my reputation last summer." Gideon snarked before he pulled out their flashlight and flickered it twice to signal help. Suddenly it began to give out and finally died. "Uh, did we pack any batteries?" "Actually, I think Soos used up most of them." Black Star guessed before he randomly bumped straight into Soul, who was already with the twins, Maka and Crona. "Wait, Soul?!" he exclaimed staring at his friend. "Black Star?" "SOUL!" Black Star cried as the two ran towards each other with tears in their eyes and cherry blossom petals flying around before hugging tightly, still crying. "I thought you were a goner bro!" the last of the Star Clan sobbed. "Me too buddy!" Suddenly, the two of them were shot in the head by none other than Death the Kid. "Oops, finger slipped again. My mistake." "Kid? Then that must mean..." Mabel gasped before her great uncles and Wendy came into view behind him. "Hey kids, sorry it took so long." Stan nervously apologized before Dipper and Mabel rushed into their arms. "We were worried sick, where were you two?" the alpha twin asked. "Well we found this cave that had all these little fairies and this little annoying thing in a hat." Stan replied. "Oh look, here he comes now!" "Wait, little annoying thing in a hat? Oh no!" Black Star panicked before he found none other than Excalibur stepping out of the night shadows of the forest. "Long time no see!" the sword benignly greeted the party. "OH HELL NOOOOO!" Black Star screamed at the top of his lungs, echoing throughout the forest before Tsubaki stuck her hand over her partner's mouth. "Be quiet Black Star, Kishin Cipher could still be watching us." "So why did you bring him with you?!" Black Star demanded incredulously removing his weapon's hand and glaring at Black Star. "FOOL!" Excalibur shouted as usual. "Why it's actually the other way around. In exchange for learning my 1000 provisions, I would help your companions find you guys and here we are." "I can't believe it, the very Excalibur wielded by King Arthur! I have like a jillion questions for you!" Dipper exclaimed getting incredibly excited before he finally collapsed. "Hey Dipper, you all right?" Wendy asked waking him up. "Oh I'm fine Wendy. So how was meeting Excalibur." And that was when she, Stan, Ford and Kid all made the Excalibur face. "Painful." they answered. "And I guess we're pretty much stuck with him." Liz added transforming back into her human form. "And trust me, I've dealt with Patty's childishness and Kid's disorders to know how to survive this." "No time to waste everyone, let's find Pacifica!" Patty shouted transforming as well and pointing onward. "Yes, follow me everyone!" Excalibur exclaimed letting his cane lead the way. "For your information Excalibur, Dipper and I are supposed to be the leaders." Maka stated before she got a whack to the head from the Holy Sword. "FOOL! I actually know this town from top to bottom for some reason, so let me be the leader." As the Mystery Meisters dreadfully followed the Holy Sword onward to the former Northwest Mansion, a wolflike creature with a frog perched on its head watched them from behind a tree, its left eye glowing a hellish red and fangs showing as it snarled.

"Master Kishin Cipher, the enemy has now been led astray. There is no doubt your master plan will go uninterrupted." Medusa reported back to a large sack hanging under the hole in the roof before a crystal ball appeared from out of nowhere and showed the Mystery Meisters now reunited and on their way. "I greatly apologize for failing you oh great God of Weirdness and Madness, please tell me what I should do to redeem myself." There was dead silence until Kishin Cipher telepathically installed a new order within the witch's mind. "Understood." she accepted and walked over to the now lowered cage containing Pacifica Northwest. "Wake up little one." The former rich girl awoken and rubbed her eyes to find the witch towering over her with a cold frown on her face. "W-what are you going to do with me?" she whimpered curling up into a ball and trying to scoot away from her. "Why it's simple Llama," Medusa answered, her stoic expression turning into a manic grin. "we're going to prepare you.”

And that was Chapter 7, the aptly named Excalibur chapter! Just what is Medusa going to prepare Pacifica for and will our brave band of heroes save her in time while surviving Excalibur?! Find out on the next chapter of Gravity Soul! Review or I'll take your soul.