(Lawrence) Betelgeuse "Beetlejuice"

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 The first hints of change were starting to creep into the oak trees that dotted the landscape around Winter River.  Some of the maples too, were boasting a slight yellow tint to their leaves.   September, was an unusual month, caught between summer and autumn, and at one time, Lydia had loved it, because, it also brought her mother's birthday.

Emily, never one for mundane tradition, spent her "birthday month" doing things for other people.   Buying the car behind theirs coffee, or, once, going into a seedy biker bar and paying off a Hell's Angel's member's tab.  (Charles nearly had a heart-attack over that one.)    She also would bring donations into the local animal shelters, with the promise to Lydia that someday, they'd get a pet that needed them.  

Someday never came.   

As much as Lydia wanted to carry on Emily's tradition, it felt empty, hollow, without her.   She couldn't find the joy that her mother always brought, that always radiated from her.   It felt fake, it felt wrong without her.  Lydia wondered if Charles felt it too.  While he'd been better about talking about Emily, he still was more reserved on the topic than she would have liked.

But, it was a start.  And it was genuine effort on her father's part, so, she forgave him.   

On the 19th, her father came into her room, holding a paper in his hands.  Lydia looked up from her phone, raising an eyebrow when he coughed awkwardly.   "Lydia...I know this time of year has been difficult.  It's....been hard for me as well. "

She set her phone aside and sat up on the bed, surprised at the admission.   "It sucks," Lydia said quietly.     

Charles nodded, twisting a corner of the paper he held.   "It does.  Which is why I was thinking we should do something in honor of her.   She...Emily always wanted us to get a pet.  But, she felt dogs and cats were too--"

"Mainstream." Lydia felt her lips twitch into a smile that her father mirrored.  

"Yes, that. Well, it so happens, that Delia--" Lydia's smile waned at her father's mention of her stepmother.    "Delia found a rescue that I thought...well it sounded so much like something Emily would do...."  

Charles handed her the paper.   Little Stinkers Skunk Rescue.  

"A skunk?"  Lydia's eyes lit up and she swung herself off the bed onto the floor.   "Really?!  Delia thought of this?!"

"She did.  She thought a pet might bring a calming energy into the home--"   Charles blinked in surprise when Lydia hugged him tightly, like she used to.  Before everything had changed for them.   And changed them.   It made a lump in his throat, but, in a good way, as he hugged his daughter back.   

"I love it!  Dead Mom would have flipped out!   It's perfect!  Of course she'd have wanted a skunk---can we go today?  Oh my god, we have to give it a good name.  Can we get a baby name book on the way?"  

"I--I don't know if a baby name book is entirely appropriate for a skunk, Lydia, but.....sure."  He saw so much of Emily in Lydia's eyes, and such joyfulness there, how could he say no?   

Green = All things positive. Varying in shade and brightness depending on the emotion and intensity. This is his default.


Purple = Lonely/Depressed/Sad/Hurt.


Red = Anger. Hopefully fleeting, if not, this is bad news. What little common sense he had to start with has gone out the window. Approach at your own risk.


Here ends the colors we see in canon. The following are head/canon, but, will be seen in-game.


Yellow = Anxious/Nervous.


Orange = Confused/Puzzled.


Pink = This demon's version of a blush.


White = Terrified.


Gray = Ill/Injured/Something is wrong.

Lydia would receive two hand written notes that looked like a child from the Middle Ages scrawled out with a green sparkle gel pen (sour apple scented). Both were folded into neat little squares.

One on the front of the folded square read: “On the ExOcism of Gostes”
The second: “On the ExOcism of Deomins”

His spelling isn’t much better in the Latin the notes contain, but, a promise is a promise.

In much smaller letters both read: “NOT FOR MAL”

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Application
Player Information
Name: Tam
Age: 30+
Preferred Method of contact: plurk
Contact Info: toomanydogs
Number of Characters in the Kingdom: None
Timezone: EST

Character Information
Character Name: Lawrence Betelgeuse ("Beetlejuice") Shoggoth
Age:Thousand or so? Looks to be in his thirties.
Canon: Beetlejuice the Musical
Canon Point: Post Show
Gender: Male

Character History
Character History: Beetlejuice isn't too forthcoming with his own past, other than making some rather fantastic (and most likely entirely fictional) claims involving celebrities, and his claim that he went to Julliard.

What is known, is that his father left when he was very young, and his mother, Juno, told him while he was growing up that she wished she had left him too. Juno was apparently an alcoholic as well, the demon relaying to Lydia he once told his mom to choose between the booze or him, and she quickly chose the booze.

Beeteljuice has hair that changes color with his emotions. The three colors shown in the musical are green (happy/default), purple (depressed/sad), and red (angry). It seems to be involuntary, as he talks about his mother complaining about it.

He was born a demon and dead. Until the events in the musical, had never been human or alive. He worked as a bio-exorcist (getting humans out of houses belonging to the deceased.)

Wikipedia Summary:
A group of people at a graveyard mourn the passing of Emily Deetz. Emily's daughter, Lydia, reflects on the death of her mother and her own inability to be noticed by her father, Charles ("Prologue: Invisible"). A millennia old demon named Beetlejuice arrives, claiming that living life to the fullest is pointless, as it will all be worthless once death comes ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing"). Beetlejuice then tells the audience, through means of breaking the fourth wall, how as a demon, he is invisible to all living beings unless he gets someone to say his name three times, and reveals that he has a plan to accomplish this.

Beetlejuice then introduces Adam and Barbara Maitland. They are a normal married couple who desperately want to start a family, but are not emotionally ready and project their insecurities onto their hobbies. As Adam and Barbara reason to themselves why they're not ready for a child, they fall to their deaths through unstable floorboards in their home ("Ready, Set, Not Yet"). The "Handbook for the Recently Deceased" falls from the sky, but Beetlejuice burns it, wanting the newly deceased Maitlands to haunt their house and get a living person to say his name three times, which will allow him to be seen by all living beings. When Barbara and Adam awaken from their fatal fall and realize that they are dead, Beetlejuice reveals himself to the couple and offers to help them adjust to the Afterlife ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 2"). Beetlejuice reveals to the Maitlands that the Deetzes have bought their house. He tells them that in order to remain in their house alone, they will have to scare the Deetzes away, and the Maitlands accept his help ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 3").

While moving in, Charles reveals to Lydia that he wants to start a gated community, using the house as a flagship model home, and is having a dinner party with some business friends. Lydia expresses her desire for her mother to return, mentioning the fact that nobody seems to care that she's gone. Praying for her mother to send a sign that she's still there, Lydia vows to make her father acknowledge the fact that tragedy struck their family ("Dead Mom"). In the attic, Beetlejuice is trying to teach the Maitlands how to be scary. Despite his best attempts, Barbara and Adam are not scary at all ("Fright of Their Lives"). Beetlejuice becomes frustrated with the couple and abandons them, and they vow to scare the Deetz family away themselves ("Ready Set (Reprise)"). Meanwhile, Delia, a woman who Charles hired to be Lydia's life coach and is secretly his lover, tells Lydia how everything happens for a reason, but fails to get her in a positive state of mind ("No Reason"). After their session, Lydia meets the Maitlands as they are roaming the house trying to scare the Deetzes. Lydia wants to leave the house just as much as the Maitlands want her family out, so she tries to convince her dad that the house is haunted only to find out that he and Delia are engaged.

Feeling as if Charles is just trying to replace her mother, Lydia flees to the roof, where a depressed Beetlejuice laments that he will never be seen ("Invisible (Reprise)"). Beetlejuice becomes ecstatic when he realizes Lydia can see him and tries to convince her not to kill herself, with the intention of getting her to free him from his curse. Lydia teases Beetlejuice, but does not say his name. The Maitlands come to check on Lydia only to be possessed by Beetlejuice into saying positive things about him to further convince Lydia. Upon learning about possession and that any ghost can do it, regardless of skill, Lydia decides not to work with Beetlejuice and instead work with the Maitlands to ruin Charles' dinner party ("Say My Name").

At the dinner party, Barbara and Adam possess Charles, Delia, and their guests ("Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)"). However, instead of being scared, the investors see the ghosts as a selling point, making them more interested in Charles' project. Feeling desperate, Lydia resorts to summoning Beetlejuice. Now visible to the living and able to affect the world around him, he forces the Maitlands to the attic before throwing Charles, Delia and the investors out of the house, much to Lydia's joy.

Act II
A Girl Scout named Sky explains for the audience how she has a heart disease where any shocking thing could stop her heart but nevertheless is excited to be a Girl Scout. She rings the doorbell of the Deetzes' house to be greeted by Lydia, who invites her inside ("Girl Scout"). Beetlejuice appears and frightens the poor girl into leaving the house. He summons more versions of himself to help Lydia scare every visitor that comes into the house ("That Beautiful Sound"). Beetlejuice tells Lydia that now that she lives and works among the dead, she should also follow their rules, and gives her a copy of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. However, because she is not dead, Lydia can't open it. Lydia realizes the book could help her reunite with her mother, and runs to the attic for Barbara and Adam's help. Feeling once again alone and betrayed, Beetlejuice talks with his clones about how although he can be seen, he wants to leave the house to finally connect with people. He decides he must trick Lydia into marrying him, which will allow him to roam free in the living world ("That Beautiful Sound (Reprise)").

In the attic, Barbara and Adam help Lydia open the Handbook, when they realize they should have gone straight to the Netherworld instead of remaining in their house. Adam opens the door to the Netherworld, but Barbara shuts it, afraid of leaving the house. Lydia berates them because she hoped to use the book to summon her dead mother. She exits the attic in disappointment and anger. Barbara realizes that all of their fear has held the Maitlands back, and she and Adam decide to become bolder and better ("Barbara 2.0").

Delia, Charles, and Delia's guru Otho re-enter the house to rescue Lydia, bringing a box that can supposedly trap souls. Beetlejuice tricks Lydia by telling her that reading a passage from the book will resurrect her mother, but instead she unknowingly begins an exorcism of Barbara and is forced to agree to marry Beetlejuice to stop it ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 4"). Beetlejuice stops the exorcism and opens a door to the Netherworld to send the Maitlands away for good, but Lydia jumps through the door, with Charles following ("Good Old Fashioned Wedding").

Lydia and Charles enter the Netherworld to be greeted by Miss Argentina, who along with other Netherworld residents, urges her to return to the living world ("What I Know Now"). They then meet Juno, director of Netherworld Customs and Processing, who soon finds out they are still alive. Lydia runs from Juno, and frantically searches for her mother in the Netherworld, but is unable to find her. Charles finds Lydia in distress and reconciles with her ("Home").

Lydia and Charles return to the house where Beetlejuice is preparing to kill everyone. Lydia plans to trick Beetlejuice by marrying him, as Charles, Delia, and the Maitlands get him ready ("Creepy Old Guy"). The wedding brings Beetlejuice to life, allowing Lydia to stab him and kill him again. Lydia and the Maitlands try to send him back to the Netherworld, but Juno appears, reveals herself as Beetlejuice's mother, and tries to take Lydia back with her. Beetlejuice stands up to Juno, having learned to appreciate life in his brief experience. Juno pretends to be moved by Beetlejuice's speech and throws him out of the house. The Maitlands, Charles, and Delia refuse to let Juno take Lydia. Beetlejuice then crashes through the wall riding a sandworm, which then eats Juno.

Beetlejuice then says his last goodbyes to everyone before leaving. The Deetzes and Maitlands rejoice in their victory and agree to share the house as they clean up and repair the damages done to it. Lydia accepts that although her mother is gone, there is still so much left to enjoy in life ("Jump in the Line").

Canon Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetlejuice_(musical)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEQXypPEic

Character Motivation: Pay attention to me! Which is quickly followed by, if not tied with, love me. Currently, there's quite a bit of make Lydia happy, and that might just be his entire moral compass. Scaring the living daylights out of people is yet another huge motivation, as he finds the screams of terror of the living to be absolutely hilarious.

Personality: The briefest of summaries would be: Boisterous, temperamental, inappropriate, chaos demon with serious abandonment issues.

Adam Maitland simply describes him as "A dangerously unstable individual",

While Lydia summarizes him with: “Yeah, he's a monster, but he's my monster.”

His mother, on the other hand, states that he is: "So desperate for somebody to love you, that you act like a damn fool."

Beetlejuice is by default friendly, but, easily and quickly crosses the line into inappropriate. He doesn't "get" most social rules, or the concept of personal space, or personal hygiene for that matter. If someone is attractive, his first impulse is to make-out with them. If someone is upset, his first suggestion will be murder. To him, it's merely a permanent solution to whatever is bugging them.

Murder was his first suggestion to Lydia Deetz when he met her, in an effort to get her to work with him and not kill herself. She turned him down flat, so, he can accept "no" as an answer to his "Let's kill them" solution.

If slighted, he can be temperamental at best and downright vindictive at his worst. If he feels he's been betrayed or abandoned, that vindictiveness can be terrifying, and as with "helping" others, his first solutions tend to be violent ones.

People will probably find themselves having to explain things that "should" be obvious to a being that's roughly a thousand years old. (As in why someone is upset, why we don't kill someone who has upset our friend, and why some people don't want a demon with questionable personal hygiene that they just met hanging all over them.)


Canon Strength/Weaknesses: He's a demon who is fully capable of bending and breaking reality. Magic is easy for him. Want to change the way your house looks? BJ can do that in a matter of seconds. Want to hang out with more of him (why on earth would you...)? Have a clone army. If he wants something he can materialize it, whether it's a box of popcorn and soda, or a giant head and hands in his likeness. He change his own body as well, able to give himself extra arms or legs. Reality is his silly-putty and he does not hesitate in reshaping it into something more entertaining.

Something that any ghost is capable of is: Possession. Beetlejuice can possess the living and the dead, as well as objects. Perhaps more impressive he's able to possess multiple individuals at once.

And since he's already dead (again) he's fairly difficult to hurt. His version of Lydia literally shoved him off a Gothic style roof, and he was fine.

To make his life (death) difficult, he literally cannot say his own Name (Betelgeuse). He gets around this through charades, or, for the geeks in the world, astronomy. Any attempts to say his name come out as a mess, and writing it doesn't fare much better.

There's also the rule of three. Beetlejuice can be summoned into the world of the living by saying his name three times in a row, unbroken. (This is a slight variation with this incarnation of BJ. Other versions could have other words interspersed and summoning/banishment would still work.) Saying his name three times in a row again, would send him back to the Netherworld. (**Mods, if you wished to keep this weakness in game, it could be used to send him to his room. The player would also be fine with keeping summoning if the Mods wished.)

Beetlejuice also breaks the fourth wall. He's able to directly address the audience. This would obviously not be an ability he would keep in game. He's also a good dancer, singer, and ukulele player.

Apprentice Sorcerer Application
Class: Monster or Hero (he lacks "strong morals" and is more of the "Star of the Show" type, buuuut. Either or.) He did save Lydia and her family by siccing a Sandworm on his own mother, so Hero would be accurate.

Element: If Monster: Fire. Appropriate not only because he's a demon, but, also taking into consideration his temper, and his tendency to burn things in order to get rid of them. (In canon, he burned the Maitland's copy of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, and Lydia's suicide note.)
Weapon If Hero: Microphone/Knife. It's a microphone that conceals a dagger.

Sample Section

First Person Sample:

[There's a very off-kilter looking man with green-tinged hair, and a manic smile peering from the mirror.]

Okay, so, it isn't as if I've never used a mirror to communicate before. But, this is the first time I've used a mirror to communicate with a bunch of people. So. Uh. Hi there, breathing people. Or not breathing people.

[The man leaned forward. He sounded like someone had taken sandpaper to his vocal cords.]

I'd introduce myself, but, I can't. I have this curse, and I literally can't say my own Name, which is my middle name, but, you know how it goes. [A very irritated look, a slight red tinge creeping into the green of his hair.]

Of all the things to STAY it has to be the curse thing. It couldn't be my POWERS nooooo, it has to be the inability to perform a basic in-tro-duc-tion.

[Huff.]

All I can do is tell you guys, I'm a demon. And I resent the whole having to get a job thing, and I really resent the limitations on my powers.

[His expression dropped briefly into a sulk, before brightening again. The red and purple in his hair dissipating, being replaced by green once again.]

SO! Who wants to commit a little arson? Kill a few of your enemies? I am more than happy to help! Just say the word! Three times. That's...actually pretty important. Or it usually is. Maybe not so much here? Still, I like hearing the sound of my Name, so, go for it, I mean, I sure as hell can't say it.

[Snaps his fingers.]

Does this stupid thing tell you who is calling? That would make things easier. Unless it says fracking Lawrence. That's my first name, and I do not want a city full of people calling me that, and so-help-me if you even THINK of calling me Larry I'll make it the last thing you call anyone.

Third Person Sample: https://smk-ooc.dreamwidth.org/7226.html?thread=805946#cmt805946