Inktober Day 22: Open

Inktober Day 22: Open

Art by @2hoots

Hi! So far I’ve greatly enjoyed the Mystery Kids series and do hope to see more in the future! Though while reading it, I developed a question that has haunted me for about a month, that being what year these stories take place in. What I mean is that Psychonauts takes place in 1982, Gravity Falls takes place in 2012, I have no knowledge of when Paranorman takes place, and Coraline presumably takes place in 2007. Thank you for all that you do and I hope you can get to this question soon, thanks!

So, at least when I was writing MK, it wasn't actually clear what year psychonauts took place in--we only had psychconauts 1 and whatever circumstantial evidence it provided. and to be frank, I still don't totally buy pyschonauts 2 being in 1982, haha.

As for the other series involved, neither Coraline nor Paranorman state a firm date as far as I'm aware. That leaves some wiggle room! So, for the sake of the crossover, it makes sense to base things in the year of, or at least close to, the media that actually has a set date--gravity falls.

So, at least when it comes to my mystery kids stuff, 2012 is what made sense to me.

Hope that makes sense ^^

Laser tag but anything goes Did this as a secret santa for funneylizzie :)

Mystery Kids and the Nightmare Mirror: Act Three

The final act: though the kids have faced their nightmares, there’s still some loose ends to tie up--including dealing with the person who put them in this situation to begin with...

Act 3, Scene A

-The kids skid to a halt in the Mystery Shack parking lot and rush out.

DIPPER: “Well, nothing’s like, on fire or anything. That’s good.”

RAZ: “Yeah, but you said he wants something in the Shack, right?”

DIPPER: “Maybe? Gideon’s insane, who knows what he wants.”

-They head up to the gift shop door, but find it locked. Running around to the front, they find it’s the same story—but then the door swings wide, and Gideon steps out.

GIDEON: “Well, looks like y’all survived. I’m impressed really, but I’m afraid you’re too late—the Shack is mine!”

DIPPER: “No way Gideon! You can’t just lock us out of our own house! Stan’ll be back any minute with the keys.”

GIDEON: “It won’t matter if I change the locks!”

CORALINE: “You’re gonna do that in like… ten minutes?”

GIDEON: “This town loves me! I have connections all over, I could call a locksmith and he’d be over in a jiffy. And there’s nothing y’all can do about it.”

MABEL: “You wouldn’t dare!”

GIDEON: “Oh but darling, I already have dared. Now leave before I call the police on you lot for harassing me!”

RAZ: “No way Gideon! We’re not going without a fight, no matter what you have up your sleeve!”

GIDEON: “Even without your special powers? Face it, you’re nothing without—”

-There’s a solid thwack, and Gideon falls back hard on the Shack’s wooden floor. Raz shakes out his fist, wearing a smirk.

RAZ: (Smugly) “It doesn’t take psychic powers to make a fist.”

-Gideon looks up at the gathered kids, nursing his jaw, and tries to scuffle back as they approach before ducking out to stand on the lawn.

GIDEON: “No! Stay back! I’ll—I’ll make you regret this! This won’t be the last you see of me, mark my words! Next time you won’t escape!”

LILI: (Furious) “Next time we won’t hold back! Without your supernatural stuff to help, you’re the one who’s nothing! So get lost.”

-Gideon tries to come up with a retort, but fails. They watch him flee into the trees, glad to see him go; it’s been a long day, and they’re more than eager to relax.

DIPPER: “Well, I’m glad that’s over. Though I guess that psychic block thing is still up; we should probably destroy it somehow.”

CORALINE: “I know a little bit about magic, but not how to get rid of anything like this. Anyone else have an idea?”

-The others shrug.

RAZ: “We can wait until tomorrow. I think we’ll be okay until then. I just hope it’s easy to get rid of.”

-A bleat interrupts the scene, and it zooms out to show Gompers in the foreground chewing on a sheet of paper marked with a sigil—part of Gideon’s spell.

DIPPER: “… I’m gonna say it’s taken care of.”

-With a laugh, they turn to head inside. Dipper grabs the mirror from the golf cart, and they all go to the attic and flop down on a variety of sleeping bags and blankets to breathe a sigh of relief.

Scene B

-But the peace doesn’t last. Just as Dipper sets the mirror down, he’s interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice. Gideon isn’t finished yet.

GIDEON: “Listen here you meddling freaks! That cursed mirror was only the beginning! I’ve got things you couldn’t possibly imagine at my disposal, and they won’t be half as easy to beat as what you faced today! Horrors the likes of which you’ve never—”

-Mabel, who’s trying to block him out with a pillow, finally gives up. Hopping up from her bed, she grabs the jar of glowwyrm spit and opens the window; Gideon is visible directly below.

MABEL: “Eat slime, Gideon!”

-She lobs it down with all her might. The glass shatters at her tormentor’s feet, and the glowing ooze splashes up to coat him nearly head to toe. He freezes in utter disgust for a moment—then takes off running, screeching at the top of his lungs.

DIPPER: “Nice throw. I’m not even mad about the sample.”

MABEL: “We can get more.”

-Coraline scoffs.

CORALINE: “Not anytime soon, I hope. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m adventured out for at least the next week.”

WYBIE: “Yeah, that was some intense stuff today. I mean, I thought just the Beldam’s hand was bad enough, but then I saw the whole thing.”

CORALINE: “Welcome to my world.”

LILI: “You know, Raz and I are used to being the ones who deal with inner demons face-to-face. You guys handled it pretty well, all things considered.”

DIPPER: (Guarded) “…What’s that supposed to mean?”

RAZ: “You guys—well, most of you guys—are just regular kids. We didn’t expect you to have all this… previous experience with the supernatural.”

LILI: “Never mind it was stuff that could kill you.”

CORALINE: “You guys really thought we were normal after everything we’ve been through in just the last couple days?”

RAZ: “Well… yeah. But we know better now. I guess it wasn’t just Gideon who underestimated us.”

MABEL: “Psh, besides, ‘normal’ is for boring people! You guys are the least boring people I’ve ever met, and it’s awesome!”

DIPPER: “Yeah, I thought maybe I was the only one who knew anything about the supernatural. Thanks to you guys I know I’m not the only one investigating this stuff. Maybe together, we can figure out all the mysteries of this town—and even more!”

RAZ: “I dunno how much help me and Lili can be. We could be called out for a mission any moment…”

LILI: “But until that happens, I think we’d rather stay here. It’s more exciting, and plus… there’s people we actually like.”

WYBIE: “Funny what fighting monsters will do for friendships, huh?”

-Coraline elbows him playfully.

NEIL: “I just hope that since we kind of saw our worst nightmares today, we don’t dream about them all over again.”

DIPPER: “Yikes, I didn’t even think about that.”

NORMAN: “Even if we do… I don’t think it’ll be the same. Those things were already the worst thing we ever dreamed about, and then we had to face them in real life. And we did. No one even got really hurt. And… we learned we’re not alone.”

CORALINE: “Are you saying it was actually good Gideon attacked us?”

NORMAN: “Uh… maybe?”

RAZ: (Confidently) “I get it. We’ve proven we can work together as a team, and not even risk of death can stop us. If you ask me, Gideon should be shaking in his boots at just the thought of messing with us again.”

MABEL: “I like the sound of that. Oh! Oh! Who wants to help me burn his letters?!”

RAZ: (Eagerly) “I do!”

LILI: “Absolutely.”

WYBIE: “It actually looks like the perfect night for a campfire.”

NEIL: (Excited) “Ooh! Can we make S’mores? I love S’mores!”

CORALINE: “And I think we all have some great stories to tell to go with ‘em. C’mon.”

-They get up and head out in good spirits, leaving the room dark except for the full moon’s light as it filters in through the triangular window.

Scene C

-Everything else fades to black. The screen glitches, then blinks to an image of Bill, a wheel of intrigue for the Mystery Kids, and his laughter echoes in the background before the screen flickers to black. The credits roll.

END OF ACT 3

---

-Credits panels show the kids around the campfire, telling each other their stories.

-Panels for: Writing/directing staff. Board artists. Voice Actors. Sound Editors and Music.

---

-Post-credits scene! Most of the kids are gathered around the kitchen table.

WYBIE: “So this Psitanium stuff... It fell to earth as a meteor?”

LILI: “Yep, and that’s about all we know about where it’s from.”

RAZ: “It’s an area of active research for the Psychonauts.”

DIPPER: “What if… it was made by aliens?”

-Cue a knock-off of the X-Files theme as the screen cuts between each kid looking serious and contemplative as they ponder the implications. Coraline walks in and shakes her head at the scene.

CORALINE: (Amused) “… Dorks.”

THE END.

Thanks for reading!

oh yeah it should go without saying that MK: The Nightmare Mirror was written well before psychonauts 2 or possibly even season 2 of gravity falls, so it is not canon-compliant with them

but what can i say, i’m not psychic XD