Aldebaran The Demon - Tumblr Posts

It’s Cozmo again :D

I got some questions— who’s your favorite and least favorite character in LoopJuice?

Also

What’s your favorite sentence/scene you’ve written in the LoopJuice series?

Hey Cozmo! Excellent questions, thank you!

Hmmm. Favorite in general would be a split between Beetlejuice and Lydia, of course. I’ve put so much into their development, and I love the original characters dearly, so I’d say either of them! Least favorite? Cyrus or Juno. I loooove writing evil characters, and I also love hating on them along with my readers.

Favorite to write for is obviously either Beetlejuice, Barbara, or Cyrus! Beej’s inner dialogue is always so fun, and Barbara’s ‘do no harm but take no shit’ attitude is also very delightful. I have to revert in my mind to someone who has a very different vocabulary than me for her, so it’s always fun and engaging. Cyrus and the other demons (including the others yet to be properly introduced) have a very strange way of speaking that is a treat to write. They’ve very obviously learned to speak from observing humans and their media, but not really often actually engaging with them. They snipe and insult and make threats so nonchalantly, and always have their own agendas and repressed feelings. It’s fun!

Least favorite to write would, unfortunately, either be Delia or Charles. I have very little experience with straight-edged characters like Charles, and Delia is a fun type of person I don’t often interact with, so I don’t have much experience with. I always feel like I’m not doing either of them justice, or that readers will think they are OOC.

OOOUGH THATS A TOUGH QUESTION. I’ll have to think on that and come back to ya! Without actually looking back myself, I’d say perhaps either Chapter 3 of Time is a Flat Circle or one of the various strongly emotional scenes in Time’s Arrow. (or an upcoming scene in Time’s Arrow…) I am very proud of the dread and exhaustion that it gives off, and how many comments I received about people’s reactions to it. Time’s Arrow has a lot of very emotional scenes that I am proud of, but some I am not. I will have to give a quick re-read soon to give a proper answer!

Thank you again for the question, Cozmo! 💙

Chapter 8 of Time’s Arrow, “October passed me by just like any month” is up! Enjoy the spooky festivities!! (Because next chapter will not be as fluffy as this one.)

As always, details!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “October Passed Me By” by girl in red! It’s perhaps the most literal title lyric.

- “Shaking as they poured over their every option, over all of the possibilities laid out before them.” - They have accidentally picked up on some of Cyrus’ speaking patterns.

- “Exhaustion weighed down their limbs, the heaviness of it all threatening to crack their collarbone as it settled down heavily on their shoulders.” - Kinda referencing the song “Sweet Hibiscus Tea” by Penelope Scott. Also “Never Love An Anchor” by The Crane Wives!

- “Beetlejuice?” - The first time he has not called him “Mr. Juice”!

- “The man asked, eyebrows creased in concern as he slowly stepped closer to the demon.” - FINAlLY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT IS CONCERN AND CARE! WE DID IT!

- “… as Charles returned with a package of mascot bandaids…” - Pokémon bandaids!

- “(He thought he heard him asking something about grey hair.)” - His hair turns grey when he is overwhelmed / overstimulated / burnt out. Charles does not have the color chart memorized yet.

- “He just wanted to go to sleep.” - By sleep he means hibernate.

- “Beetlejuice didn’t know who bandaged his face, or who gave him a warm mug of cinnamon tea. Someone kissed his temple, a cat jumped in his lap.” - Charles bandaged his face, Delia made him the tea and kissed his temple, and Pluto is in his lap!

- “Someone’s hands were on his shoulders.” - Charles’ hands.

- “He opened his eyes to find Lydia’s shoulders moving with each deep, purposeful breath she took.” - She is sooo super mad and is plotting Cyrus’ demise, but she is trying to hold it in for Beej.

- “He’d avoided discussing Cyrus with them for as long as he could. What they had was wonderful, but it was still new. Unsure. Fragile. He supposed this was as good of a test as any.” - It is not fragile but Beej has never been in like an actually stable relationship so it feels strange.

- “… he swallowed hard, staring down at the mug in his hands. ‘Happy Father’s Day to my favorite financial burden’. Huh. This is Chuck’s.” - Charles doesn’t let others use his favorite mug, but he is making an acception for Beej here.

- “The hands squeezed his shoulders, and someone kissed the top of his head.” - Again, Charles and Delia.

- “They all sat in a semi-comfortable silence, the ghosts’ arms wrapped around his midsection, Adam’s lips in his hair while Barbara rested her cheek on his collarbone.” - The “lips in hair” is from a lyric from “The Bed Song” by Amanda Palmer, one of my favorite sad songs. Wanted to highlight the sweet intimacy of this scene.

- “Barbara and Adam both had to step out of the room separately to take breaks, during which he heard them doing their best to stifle sobs. (They never left him by himself, thankfully.) He was sure he’d never seen the two of them so… angry. Adam’s face turned red, and he quietly clenched his jaw and nodded along. Barbara often stood to pace the room, swiftly returning to her chair after she’d gotten the bursts of rage out of her. He could still feel the rage boiling within them, even as they laid peacefully beside him. He hadn’t had anyone ever… sit and listen and care like that. Reassure him, over and over; “it’s not your fault”, “we’re here for you”. “We love you”. Over and over. They thanked him for sharing with them. They held him as he cried.” - Just kinda wanted to highlight this. The Maitlands are no strangers to trauma and a tough conversation like this, so they are unfortunately well-versed in how to handle them. They are furious, but they are going to rage about it later, when Beej isn’t there. Also, no, he did not tell them about the Deal, so they have no idea about his time limit.

- “Beetlejuice had seen the kitten choke on his own back paw before.” - Based on my friend’s kitten. Little guy is dumb.

- “Don’t talk about my son like that, Shoggoth.” - Based on a strange trait of mine, where I call people by their last names when I’m mad at them.

- “They frowned, tail tip shaking as they lightly tugged at their leg fur. (It was getting quite long, lately. They weren’t sure what to do about it.)” - Wool shearing is on the horizon!!

- “… her face flushing a light pink as Ash leaned in and scooped it up without a problem.” - Lydia has a type. This comes up several times in the chapter. Also, Ash is putting on lots of muscle mass thanks to Barbara’s lunches!

- “ “You were making weird.. pained dad noises with each step!” “Those were… normal noises!” ” - Shout out to my fellow non-dads who make dad noises due to pain.

- “Lydia crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Do I have to call Barbara? Because I’ll totally call her.” Beetlejuice growled, a noise which his sister readily returned. “… no. I’ll stay put.” ” - The mere threat of telling Barbara is more than enough to convince him.

- “ “Yeah, it sounds like a proper hoot.” He ignored the way both teens raised an eyebrow at his phrasing.” - If I have been judged for using that word, so too will Beej.

- “ “Are we leaving soon? I think I’m going to chew my own arms off if I have to be stuck in this any longer.” Lydia groaned softly. “Not again, please.” She ignored Ash’s soft but disbelieving ‘again?’.” - They have yet to tell Ash the full details of the time loop.

- “Lydia had done their makeup before her own, carefully painting on skeletal features. The two of them were both flushed as she held the other teen’s face and leaned in close. Beetlejuice had to step out to chase Pluto around to escape the tension.” - Lesbians.

- “ “We can have plenty of fun together while they’re at school.” Slowly, he turned his head back to look at his boyfriend with wide eyes. “… oh?” Barbara nodded enthusiastically. “We still have to watch ‘Hocus Pocus’!” “Don’t forget ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’!” Ah. Okay. Not what I had in mind, but still fun, I guess.” - Beej thought they were gonna get freaky, but he is totally happy with not doing it for now.

- “Barbara tutted, quickly walking over to them. “You might think it’s gross now, but you’ll be all ‘gross’ with a lucky lady someday!” Beetlejuice was sure the teen’s face was flushed under all the makeup. “Ohh, you two look so cute! I wish I could pinch your cheeks!” She leaned to kiss Lydia’s forehead, then an astounded Ash’s. “You two be safe and have fun today, alright? We’ll start the festivities as soon as you get home!” ” - MOTHER BARBARA MOMENT!!

- “Barbara made him bacon and eggs.” - As mentioned in a previous chapter, Barbara makes bacon and eggs the particular way Beej likes them!

- “The next movie was some sort of weird animation. The visuals were nice and strange (and oddly familiar, somehow), and the songs were catchy.” - Hehe, it’s because it has the same aesthetic as his original movie.

- “He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until he was woken by the sound of the front door opening.” - Knocked the fuck out by head scratches

- “He swiftly went to get up and phase down through the floor to meet his sister, but was halted by Adam gripping his face and pulling him in for a sudden deep, long kiss. Beetlejuice was reduced to a puddle of pink-haired (and faced) goo in his hands, stammering out false starts to sentences. (He even thanked him. How ridiculous is that?)” - A reference to how Adam tricked Beetlejuice in the musical! Perhaps not the best method to use here, in retrospect. I sure am glad Beej didn’t think on it too hard.

- “… a strange backpack was placed on his back.” - One that looks like Bowser’s shell!

- “She paused to kiss his cheek. (He wished, more than anything, that her lipstick would leave a mark.)” - Sad reminder that they are, indeed, dead.

- “Fuck, when did Lyds get so tall?” - It’s happening! She’s getting taller!!

- “Beetlejuice even somehow managed to squeeze into a storm drain and grab the ankles of an unlucky group of parents following behind their trick-or-treating kids. He’d never heard such a high-pitched wail come out of such a large man before.” - Based on a personal experience.

- “The fun only briefly halted when Lydia noticed a missing person poster that was posted around town for a local old coot. Beetlejuice hurried her along, pushing down the bubbling guilt in his throat. “It’s Connecticut, people go missing all the time!” He had no frame of reference for that, of course, but she seemed to buy it.” - Hmm. Weird! I wonder what this is about?

- “(‘They’ not including Beetlejuice. He wasn’t allowed to hold the knives and gouging tools, but he was allowed to direct Lydia on how he wanted his pumpkin to look. And eat all of the pumpkin guts.)” - Also based on personal experience. I was not allowed to eat the guts.

- “The latter two were in their own versions of the group costume, Charles wearing a green sweater and a fake mustache, Delia wearing a yellow dress and a plastic tiara.” - just wanted to highlight their cute Halloween costumes.

- “She released his tail, wiping her hand off on her pants afterwards. “Can’t have Mrs. D stealing all of your gratitude!” ” - Ash thinks Delia and Charles are already married. Also, she’s wiping her hands off because Beetlejuice’s tail feels weird.

- “ “Hey, I try not to judge you two on your hobbies. Maybe they were measuring me for a coffin!” Ash nodded, stepping back as Beetlejuice got to his hooves. “Yeah, I need practice, and if you’re not gonna let me do an autopsy on him, at least I can - ” ” - Ash plans to work in a morgue!

- “But Ash did a splendid job of distracting him, egging him on with insults about his driving skills. What are they up to? It was hard to pay attention to the stupid, colorful track. He kept falling off, his mind stuck on what Lydia could possibly- ” - Ash and Beej trash talking! Also yeah it’s Rainbow Road.

- “Those twinkling vermillion eyes shone brightly at him, dark skin and pretty freckles glistening gently with demonic power. (Geez, she’d gotten more powerful.) A purple-jeweled nose ring was the only addition to her appearance. Her corkscrew-curly hair was still untamed, matching russet-colored cow-like ears barely poking out from underneath. A tag hung from her left ear, her name inscribed in various scypts. Long, curved horns accented her face. She was tall and broad, hulking over him like always. He weighed nothing to her, like holding a handful of grapes. Russet-furred bovine legs hidden by dark dress pants, a plain black dress-shirt with wide sleeves.” - Say hello to Deb! Here is her description, so it’s all in one place. She is a beautiful buff woman, and she is 6’6”! All demons are tall, Beej is an exception. Also, “He weighed nothing to her, like holding a handful of grapes.” Is a reference to “Brooklyn-99”!

- “Beetlejuice squirmed futilely in her grip, pointing at each of the humans in turn. “Deb, that’s Chuck, (he ignored the man murmuring “Charles, please”) Delia, Ash, my partners Barbara and Adam, and my.. sister Lydia.” ” - notice how he trusts Deb enough to give her their real names?

- “ “She’s quite the talented witch! How long has she been a part of your coven?” Lydia’s face flushed, and she looked down at the floor. “Just, uh… just two months, Miss.” ” - I would act the same way if a giant, beautiful woman complimented my skills.

- Bela is pronounced “bay-la”!

- “ “There’s a two demon limit to this house.” Barbara and Adam exchanged glances as Lydia and Beetlejuice let out twin exasperated groans. “Daaad!” “Don’t ‘dad’ me, missy. Two demons is plenty.” ” - damn that sucks. I wonder if this rule will ever be broken!

Chapter 9 of Time’s Arrow, “I am selfish, I am broken, I am cruel, I am all the things they might have said to you” is here! Woof. Sorry everyone. Happy Beetlejuice 2 premiere! :,)

THIS CHAPTER IS PARTICULARLY ROUGH. PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Extras below!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title is from “Never Love An Anchor” by The Crane Wives.

- “The next ten months moved at the speed of a dream.” - A call back to a line from Time is a Flat Circle, which itself is a reference to “Asteroid City”! Gotcha again!

- “They read ‘Flowers for Algernon’, ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’, and… some sort of Jane Austen novels.” - I wonder if those stories are thematically relevant to this chapter?

- “He had no idea what to do about his fur anyhow. It had never grown in that long and thick before, how was he supposed to know it would do that?” - It was growing properly because he was finally happy and healthy enough for it to do so!

- “She was tall. Well, at least taller than him. Damnit.” - Bela is 5’9”! She is on the shorter side for demons. Beej is just especially small, since he was malnourished.

- “Her roots were black, the rest of her hair cascaded down to her shoulders in similar curls to his own, colored with a gentle lavender hue.” - Bela’s resting hair color is purple instead of green like Beej!

- “She had an orange-jeweled nose ring.” - Bela and Deb have matching nose rings, since exchanging jewelry is how demons court each other!

- “Shades of a gentle maroon red flickered through Bela’s hair.” - Bela has different colors for her emotions than Beej does!

- “Most were “whales”, stolen away in malevolent Deals to forever be a supply for the demon they were tied to. Slowly withering away to nothing.” - this is inspired by “Doctor Sleep”, because I’m a huge Mike Flanagan fiend.

- “They were all strange, all lacked the innate ability to socially adapt that the other demons thrived off of.” - Autism can run in a family, and it sure does run in the Shoggoth family!

- “He didn’t know why she was upset, but he knew it was up to him to make it better. (Why else was he here?)” - Still partially believes his only purpose is to make others happy, or they wouldn’t want him around.

- “… she hesitated, still firmly grasping the bright green fleece blanket he’d summoned from his room around her shoulders.” - The same blanket Charles got Beej for his room!

- “ “I watched this movie last night, since I couldn’t fall asleep. It was..” their voice caught in their throat, and their breath hitched. Beetlejuice slowly rose from his chair, setting the ice pack on the counter. “… lotta.. big feelings about it, huh?” They rapidly nodded, wrapping their arms around themself. “I don’t… I can’t keep living the way I do.” ” - Ash watched “I Saw The TV Glow”, which is a horror movie about being trans. It gutted me the first time I saw it. Ash had a similar visceral reaction, and it made her rethink how she is living. It also informs a lot of this chapter’s theming, but it is not required viewing for this fic. It is very, very difficult to watch for neurodivergent queers.

- “The living need attention too, Ash. It’s okay.” - This line is partially taken from “Dead Girls” by Penelope Scott, which is a very important song on Ash’s playlist.

- “You feel like you’ll die if you stay there. Or… worse.” - An “I Saw The TV Glow” reference. There’s quite a few in here.

- “Thank you, Beetlejuice.” - the first time they’ve called him by his actual name!

- Anyone spot more Time is a Flat Circle parallels?

- “It was then that Beetlejuice got hit by his first car.” - This is mostly a joke about how I, the author, have been hit by 4 cars. I feel like Beej would be similarly unlucky.

- “… it’s like being a wolf dog.” - This is based on how I’ve explained what it was like to grow up in my household.

- “Memories washed away like chalk on the sidewalk.” - Another “I Saw The TV Glow” reference.

- “Adam and Barbara celebrated their birthdays, which landed a couple days apart from each other, by smelling wine and watching ‘Lord of the Rings’ together. Beetlejuice was invited to join them.” - Based on something Adam made Beej he would promise to do in an earlier chapter!

- “June was full of beautiful sunsets he watched with his family.” - This was, like the previous thing, also listed among the reasons Beej should keep “living” in a previous chapter.

- “At the end of the month, walking to school and the store with Lydia, Beetlejuice realized with horror that Lydia was taller than him. Like, at least half a foot taller.” - Lydia is 5’7” now, he’s just being dramatic.

- “(How could no one see it? He felt so happy, but still he felt pieces of him slowly dying and rotting away. How could no one see that he was rotten? That he was dying?)” - This is partially another “I Saw The TV Glow” reference, and a reference to the ending of the song “you smell of dead flowers” by vslush and cliesel

- “August came like a thief in the night.” - A callback to Time is a Flat Circle! Which is itself an Edgar Allen Poe reference.

- “… they say old man Hirsch signed up for it right before he went missing.” - Yes he is named after Alex Hirsch, creator of “Gravity Falls”. Love ya Alex!

- “ “I managed to talk him down from another viewing of ‘Pride and Prejudice’!” (Another? What was that? They’d seen it before?)” - This is meant to alert the reader that something is very wrong, as “Pride and Prejudice” was brought up before by Beetlejuice himself.

- “Beetlejuice scratched at their left arm. The scars had started to fade.” - He was resorting to self-regulating self harm less enough that his arm was healing before this point.

- “I… I couldn’t.. I didn’t have enough energy to resist the Seal w-.. without a cult.” - Beetlejuice was tricking people to sign up for his cult under the guise of a “Loyalty Program”.

- “Why have they been going missing, then?” … “They swore they were choking on the taste of blood, bile rising in their throat as they felt their flesh between their teeth.” - Beetlejuice ate a few members of his cult. That’s why there’s missing persons in the town.

- “Someone’s hand gripped the back of their shirt, trying to pull them out of the kitchen. Panic spiked within them. Beetlejuice felt the blow to the back of their head, the horrible stabbing agony in their chest. That familiar, terrifying sensation they’d felt over and over and over and- ”- Beetlejuice had flashbacks to being killed during the loop over and over because Charles touched his old wound and it scared him, hence why he lashed out.

- “There’s still time. There has to be.” - Yet another “I Saw The TV Glow” reference.

- “ “Hello, pet.” Time’s up.” - Meant to envoke a terrifying line in “Yo, Girl” from Heathers the musical.

- “I’ll make you wish you could die!” - This line was originally going to be a more blatant reference to a line that Circus Baby from the FNAF series says often, “You won’t die, but you’ll wish you could.”

- “You always bounce ba- ” - Meant to be a reference to this scene from “Adventure Time” which I’ve… never seen…

- “Beetlejuice was distantly aware that Cyrus brought his claws up to his mouth to lick some of the blood off of them. “Choke on it,” they sputtered, although they weren’t sure if Cyrus could understand them through all of the blood that bubbled out of their mouth.” - Meant to be a reference to the horrific death of Captain Rhodes from “Day of the Dead”!

- “Beetlejuice wheezed out a last croak as Cyrus once again gripped their hoof and continued dragging them towards the portal.” - This is meant to evoke the gut-wrenching opening scene of “Scream”. Specifically, the part where Ghostface is dragging Casey away, and she is wheezing out her last breaths, which her parents can hear over the phone. The music in that scene never fails to make me cry. (I cried my eyes out rewatching that scene and imagining it playing when the Maitlands see the basement, but that’s not how things will happen…)

- “I’m sorry I was the one you loved.” - From “I’m Your Man” by Mitski.

Chapter 10 of Time’s Arrow, “Used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that, Now you're all gone, got your make-up on, and you're not coming back”, is here! Lydia POV time! Sorry it is short… that is for literary purposes.

As always, here are the extras!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” by Yeule! Haha, get it? Because this chapter’s from the POV of a 17 year-old demigirl? Also, it is meant to reflect their relationship and her mental space throughout it. The dream-like quality of the song is meant to mirror how confused and adrift Lydia feels here.

- The chapter is much shorter because less happens, and adding the next chapter on to this would make the pacing off, and because Lydia’s POV is very different from Beej’s! Also different from how it used to be. She’s older and more put together, and her thoughts are more concise. She takes less time to ponder than Beej does.

- “And she felt like she couldn’t breathe. … Lydia’s throat burned, which she’d assumed at first was from crying. But now it still ached horribly, and it felt like it was constricting.” … “Lydia’s hand drifted up to her throat. So red. Her hand flinched away as she swore she felt something warm and wet, but there was nothing there.” - Lydia’s connection with Beej is making her feel an echo of what he is currently feeling. It only really happens when something major happens to him, so she didn’t feel every car accident and shin-banging. Just the catastrophic things.

- “Normally, she’d go to Beetlejuice on nights she was plagued with nightmares and insomnia. Either he would curl up at the foot of her bed, or she would join him in his own bed in the basement. His presence somehow always chased the nightmares away.” - Because Beetlejuice always uses his demonic powers to will the nightmares away. Bc he’s a good big brother sometimes.

- “The image of her brother, trembling and snarling, just about frothing at the mouth, hunched over with stark-white hair, growling wildly as he turned and lashed out at- ” - A bit of the physical description we missed out on from Beej’s POV! He looked just as wild as he felt.

- “It was surely one of their… ‘episodes’. They’d been having them less and less as time went on, as they grew and healed and adapted to their own traumas and triggers. (Afterwards, she’d realized it was the yelling and touching of his old back wound that had set him off. It was understandable, she supposed, but still… scary. He’d never lashed out like that before.) She and Adam had theorized it was PTSD, but they couldn’t be sure. The idiot wouldn’t see a therapist.” - Beej was learning and healing and growing, but only so much can be done without professional help.

- “… promising she’d whip him up a healing spell as soon as she could gather the ingredients. (Healing wasn’t her sort of spell. She was more interested in scrying, curses, and hexes, but she was certainly willing to try it out for her father.)” - A peep into Lydia’s studies as a witch! One of the things that is regretfully lost in the last few chapters due to Beej’s spiraling POV. He was having trouble holding on to all the details in his mind.

- “She huffed out a laugh, halting to turn her head and cough.” - Lydia is much more polite than Beej. He would just cough in people’s faces.

- “ “Oh dear.” Delia placed a hand on her chest. “I still have my old inhaler. Do you think that would help?” ” - Delia lore! She had childhood asthma.

- “The morning came at a snail’s pace, but in just a breath at the same time. It was staggering.” - Lydia experiencing a little bit of what Beetlejuice usually did. It is rather upsetting, especially since she’s not used to it.

- “Her girlfriend readily offered a sympathetic listening ear, offering to put up signs for the store and then come to the house to be a sort of moral support. (That’s why she l- liked her so much.)” - Another thing that was regretfully lost with Beetlejuice’s POV is the full development of Lydia and Ash’s relationship. I hope to do an extra side chapter on them in the future! Also she almost slipped up and admitted she loves them here.

- “Pluto and Percy were sat staring at the door, their legs tucked under themselves.” - They could tell something was wrong, and were waiting to be let in to go check.

- “ “H-he left a note,” they eventually managed. ” - This is one of two key differences that sets this version aside from the bad ending: Ash found Beej’s note left for them.

- “If you’re reading this, I have to go away for a while. I don’t know if I’ll be able to bounce back this time. Be nice to Chuck and Delia. Give Adam and Barbara a hug. (I know you hate those, but just one for me, alright?)” - Oops! This accidentally referenced Eda’s speech in “Agony of a Witch” from season one of “The Owl House”.

- “ - Beebleboose’ ” - The curse’s lingering effects still won’t let him say or write his own name.

- “ ‘Go away’? What the hell did that mean? If anything, it read like- Lydia gasped, gripping Ash’s arms as she stood up straight.” - Lydia realized it reads like a suicide note here.

- “ “.. she woke up screaming, calling his name.” Her expression softened with concern, brows creased together. “She was clawing at her throat and begging to come see him, but I was worried it was just… one of her fits. Made her wait it out, see if it would pass. But-” “Wait, ‘clawing at her throat’?” She nodded, some sort of dark fear clouding her eyes. “.. yeah. Saying she couldn’t breathe, that.. something was wrong, that she needed to…” she swallowed hard. “That she needed to see Goose, and she… she couldn’t stand to lose another sibling.” ” - Bela watched a lot of the Shoggoth spawn fall prey to other demons. She is similarly connected to Beetlejuice, but she chose to be since she can tell he’s not very smart and she wanted to keep an eye on him. She felt a more extreme version of what Lydia did, and had an anxiety attack thinking he was dead-dead. She is devastated to think she lost the little brother she just gained.

- “Lydia was startled by the sound of Pluto growling. She’d stopped at the base of the stairs and was now frozen there, back arched and fur standing, her one golden eye round and wild.” - Pluto could sense Cyrus’ lingering vibes, and she decided they were rancid.

- “There. A gentler, hazier voice pulled their awareness to the far wall, where a piece of paper was taped to it.” - This is the insight from her scrying pulling her in the right direction.

- “She lifted the hefty cat up, draping him over her shoulders. Fuck, he’s getting huge.” - No longer a runt, he’s a giant boy now!! He has long fur too.

- “She closed her eyes, speaking the ancient words she’d rehearsed over and over again. She pressed her forehead to Percy’s, feeling the boost in power her familiar granted her flowing through her, buzzing and melodic.” - A peep into a scrying ritual! No blood required, thanks to Percy’s help.

- “She was standing in a pool of blood. It nearly covered the entire basement floor.” Cyrus cleaned up after himself. (Aside from one thing, which we will see in the next chapter)

- “ “B-” Lydia dug deep within herself, finding the rooted connection within her. She tugged hard at the thread that connected them, but found it went slack. Like there was nothing on the other end.” - This thread was referenced in the second chapter of Time’s Arrow, where she used it to find Beetlejuice in the woods. It can’t help her now.

Chapter 11 of Time’s Arrow, “Wait for me, I’m comin’, Wait, I’m comin’ with you”, is here!! Yeehaw!!!

Extras below!!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are either from “Wait for Me” (live version) or “Wait for Me (Reprise)” (album version) from Hadestown, for obvious reasons. Pick your poison!

- “The air around her felt so cold. She was sure death had never been so cold before.” - Once again, my silly theme of warmth. Beetlejuice didn’t realize he was giving off warmth and love just as much as he was receiving it.

- “Percy lay a short distance away, one paw outstretched to gently touch Lydia’s knee.” - Based on a weird, silly thing my own cat does.

- “None of them really seemed to mind as the cat strolled over to the rug, his nose loudly whistling as he sniffed at the air.” - Percy has a deviated septum that makes him snort when he’s excited, and whistle when he breathes through his nose! It doesn’t bother him too much. Partially based on my own cats.

- “ Lydia’s gentle whimpering sobs quieted when he raised his head and let out a loud, strange meow. (That kitten really did have one of the strangest voices she’d ever heard from a cat. Perhaps Beetlejuice had some sort of influence on him?) “… what is it?” She whispered, voice hoarse from crying.” - He’s got one of those weird, long, creaky meows. He did take after Beetlejuice. Also, familiar communication! He’s alerting her to Cyrus’ fur.

- “What’s up, Soos-” - She calls him ‘Soos’ as a nickname. It is one of those fun, weird pet nicknames that evolves over time. Also a reference to “Gravity Falls”.

- “She froze, letting out a loud gasp when her hand made contact with the carpet in front of Percy.” - She can use things like strands of fur to scry.

- “It felt like mere moments, it felt like it stretched out for weeks.” - Another instance of a character feeling how Beej often feels and being unsettled.

- “Deb could not guide them. “… I’m sorry, little ghosts. I care for you all and for Goose, but..” something dark clouded her eyes as she averted her usually bright eyes away from them. “… I can’t help you any more than preparing you. I can’t risk losing the precious, peaceful, fragile existence I carved out for Bela and I.” ” - The last sentence is a reference to “Good Omens”! Also, yeah, Cyrus is very powerful in the Netherworld and could ruin Deb and Bela’s unlives.

- “She nearly wretched as a pungent odor hit her open mouth, revolting and… familiar.” - Beej used to reek of the Netherworld.

- The various dead people - I made them up! Not based on any real people. They were fun to think up.

- “ “You two again?” She groaned, shaking her head. “What part of ‘pick a number and wait your turn’ do you people not understand? You cannot skip the line!” ” - This is a joke at the fact that they met in the movie, but not the musical. This version of Adam and Barbara have not, in fact, met Miss Argentina.

- Huge shoutout to @raineisinkless for her help with Miss Argentina’s dialogue <3

- Miss Argentina and Beetlejuice - Time works weird in the Netherworld. Beej was cursed and cast out long before she died, but since time there is nonlinear, he was in the Netherworld for when she first died and started working there. He was very nice to her.

- “She turned to the pale woman sat next to her, dressed in a beautiful blue figure skating gown stained red with the blood that constantly flowed from the gaping wound in her neck. “Patrice, take over for me. I’m taking my lunch for the year.” ” - Yes, she only gets one break per year. And Patrice is a reference to Miss Argentina’s original actor, Patrice Martinez!

- “Is she living it up on top?” - This is a reference to the Hadestown song, “Livin’ it Up on Top”.

- “The room they stepped into was pitch black. Not even the dim lighting from the hallway could permeate it’s darkness.” - It’s kept dark because demons have sensitive eyes. And they can see in total darkness! Well, most of them.

- “They growled again, the little supply closet suddenly feeling much hotter. “Shut up.” ” - They got very embarrassed at the implication that they care about Beetlejuice.

- “The other demons would swallow your souls whole if they knew you were here.” - Partial joke reference to “Evil Dead”.

- “I know it’s not like how we talked about, but-” - Surprise! Well, maybe not to some of you. They’ve been discussing becoming demons for a while now!

- “She heard their bones creaking as they did.” - They got bad joints.

- “Something brushed up against Barbara’s arm. “All you two have to do is shake my hand.” ” - Larry was being nice and showing Barbara where their hand is here.

- “Your souls need time to create and bond with your new bodies.” - Demons have their bodies and souls combined, which is why they don’t pass on to an afterlife! Their soul dies with their body.

- “Barbara gasped as a warmth flooded through her, hot and exhilarating in her veins.” - Hellfire!

- Altair and Vega - Their demonic names! Yes they have meanings behind them. No I will not elaborate currently. I will in a different post if I remember (or if someone asks me/reminds me)

- “Barbara yelped as it seemed fabric was passed over her head.” - Larry straight up tucked them under their coat here.

- “There were no stars or moon above to light their surroundings, just the dim glow of humming pink fluorescent lights somewhere just outside the alley.” - There are no stars in the sky because they’re all wandering the streets.

- “It was out of the kindness of my Hearth that I brought you two here.” - hehe, yeah, they say ‘Hearth’ instead of ‘heart’. As a joke on the fire in their chests.

- “He looked down at himself, glasses briefly slipping down his nose.” - A little bit of foreshadowing to his ears changing.

“‘Pollux’, in bright yellow. It seemed like half the sign had burnt out, and Barbara could just barely make out that it used to read ‘and Castor’.” - They were besties that made Deals and ran their Covens together. Then Castor died. Whomp whomp.

- “Barbara had to shield her eyes. Had neon lights always bothered her eyes that much? Maybe being stuck inside for so long had made them sensitive.” - Her eyes are getting more sensitive to light as she changes!

- “Adam was covering his ear with his free hand, gritting his teeth and softly complaining about how loud the lights were.” - Similarly, Adam is getting more sensitive to sound.

- “Thick, blue smoke, pungent and noxious. It smelled… herby, but Barbara could not quite place her finger on which herb it was.” - The blue smoke Cyrus and other demons smoke is actually something of his own creation! It’s how he gained so much power among demons. Perhaps I will elaborate in a Cyrus lore post since this is the last we’ll see of him in this fic! She knows her herbs, but not this herb.

- “It was dim, lit only by the sign outside, but somehow still Barbara could make out nearly everything.” - Again, demon changes! She can see in the dark now.

- “A particularly short demon manned the bar, ignoring one demon quite literally barking at them as they wiped a glass clean.” - Author demon sona cameo! I didn’t halt to describe them so I didn’t break the flow of the scene.

- “(Although, he wasn’t wearing blue like they’d said he was. He was instead wearing black wool cloak.)” - Uh oh. Where have we seen black wool before?

- “ “Where is he?” Adam repeated, gripping his wife’s hand tighter.” - A reference to the live version of “Wait for Me” from Hadestown.

- “You won’t find him. You could look for the rest of your un-lifetimes and you’d never find even a hint of him.” - A reference to the song “Home”, how Lydia mentions she could search the afterlife for an eternity and never see her mom.

- “Barbara wanted to punch that smug look off his face.” - Foreshadowing.

- “It was then that Barbara realized he was missing three fingers on the hand not holding the cigarette.” - HE FUCKIN’ GOT HIM GOOD!!

- “Barbara just about growled, the words coming out with a throaty noise.” - She can actually growl now!

- “The demon only paused when Adam involuntarily let out a strange little growl of his own. Cyrus slowly looked between the two of them, something glinting in his eyes. His smile wavered for a few moments. (Barbara thought perhaps she recognized… fear?)” - He is afraid of the power they both now wield. Perhaps this will be elaborated on later? Also Adam can growl now too hehe

- “His smile widened as his eyes flicked over to the Maitlands. “It was only made tolerable by the feeling of his intestines snaking between my claws.” ” - He said this to rile them up. Also, this has been previously mentioned by Beetlejuice as something Cyrus did! Just not directly.

- “Ah. Shit. Lydia didn’t mention how tall he was. That’ll make it much harder to reach him.” - Foreshadowing!!

- Adam recognizes the tale they’re recreating, hence his apprehension at first; Orpheus and Eurydice. Just with added stakes, since all three of them have to not check, not just Adam and Barbara.

- “She swore she heard the bartender whisper, “good luck”.” - :)

- “Yeah, well, die mad about it,” - A joking reference to a scene in “The Owl House” I accidentally mirrored here.

- “ “S-seven,” Barbara stammered, picking the first one that came to her mind.” - thank you @ten-chocolate-sundaes :) I wonder what he’ll do with this number

- “It seemed like days passed.” - because they did! Thirteen days to be exact.

- They’re deers!! Surprise!! All of the deer and star foreshadowing for Adam and Barbara is finally paying off!!!

Heyyy. I couldn’t wait any longer!!! The next chapter of Time’s Arrow, “Flowers, I remember fields of flowers”, is here. We’re back to a Beetlejuice POV!! Yay!! (Kinda..)

Please read the warnings carefully before proceeding.

Here are the extras! Not too many of them, surprisingly.

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Flowers” from Hadestown. Now we’re seeing our Eurydice’s perspective! Very literal. At one point, all Beetlejuice can remember is flowers.

- Songs for this chapter: “Flowers” from Hadestown, “Goodbye” by Bo Burnham, “The Moon Will Sing” by The Crane Wives, “Francis Forever” by Mitski, “Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus” by Nicole Dollanganger, “Our Word” from 36 Questions (again), “Doubt Comes In” from Hadestown.

- “Turns out seven thousand years of whatever the hell he found himself in now was a lot worse.” - Haha, surprise Ezri and Raine! This is what number you/Barbara picked for :)

- “He was not a participant, like in the last time loop he was stuck in. He was an invisible observer, unable to be heard or seen or to touch anything. But he felt it all.” - The worst of all worlds! Time loop, trauma, invisible. All of the things Beej hates. Also, the inability to be seen is inspired by a scene in “The Haunting of Hill House” where Nell is ‘missing’, but she was right there. They just couldn’t see her.

- “Had he really looked that bad during the fight? No wonder they were scared of him now.” - Yeah he looked pretty insane, as mentioned in Lydia’s POV in chapter 10.

- “What did they think of him, now that he was gone? What were they saying?” - This line, along with a few later, are inspired by the songs “Who Was She” and “Who Is She (Reprise)” from “Centaurworld”.

- “(The words ‘I love you’ don’t leave his lips. He didn't know them yet.)” - Yeah he didn't really hear the words “I love you” for a long, long time.

- “The demon-… They-…. Beetlejuice knew there was more, but try as they might, they couldn’t remember it.” - This was Beetlejuice starting to forget his own name/identity.

- “Panic coursed through the demon as they wheezed out unsteady breaths.” - Him unable to breathe and wheezing the whole time is meant to emulate the ending of “I Saw The TV Glow”.

- “They… remembered… flowers. Purple, yellow, green, red, orange, and blue.” - This, of course, calls back to the first chapter of Time’s Arrow, as well as the title lyrics for this chapter. Also the new blue is for Ash :)

- “Oh well. You made this bed. Now lay in it.” - This is meant to be a reference to the ending of the title song for this chapter.

Tag list: @raineisinkless @c0zmo-writes @musical-fiend @katslitterbox

(Want to be tagged in updates to LoopJuice / CorpseJuice? Let me know!)