#( DELORES. / PAST. )

[binothesteptrashcan]

Ok it’s ranking Fives time and I’ve definitely forgotten a couple but now they’re all dead anyway so whatever also Season 4 Spoiler Warning

1.Brisket Five- Iconic. Apparently always wrecking shit for the other Fives and seems to take pride in it. I feel like he was the one who created the commission bc he just has that aura of I Want to Cause Problems. Wish we got a full episode on him and why he’s named Brisket Five and the other shit he wrecked instead of ep 5.

2. Apocalypse Five- I mean he tried to kill Homewrecker Five what more could you want in a man. Only second because he missed.

3.News Paper Five- Great with numbers even by Five standards. Opens up questions about the news paper itself like what timeline is it from? Is it a Five produced newspaper? He is in a timeless zone why is he reading a newspaper? Is it just for the crossword/sudoku? It’s probably just for the crossword/sudoku.

4.Drunk Five- me too buddy me too. Presumably got kicked out of the deli/diner/whatever it was and I hope it was because he saw Homewrecker Five coming and was preparing to get rid of the lowest common denominator.

5.Waiter Five- I don’t trust him no real Five would ever work customer service willingly there’s something else going on but he also serves Homewrecker Five a sandwich without enough sauerkraut and sucky coffee so points for that.

6.Booth Five- Boring. Bland. Might as well be Shitty Exposition Five and his only redeeming quality is that I must assume he was trying to motivate Homewrecker Five by telling him to give up so he would do the opposite and save everyone which clearly backfired.

7.Literally Any Other Five I’ve Missed- idk like Old Man/Technically Mentally Younger Five from seasons past or Baby Five or Pre-Time Travel Five you get the picture.

8. Homewrecker Five- Last and certainly Least what the fuck dude. Why are you like that. Why did you give up on your family your entire life has been about getting back to them and keeping them safe like you didn’t even try? Also why not go get Delores????? why did you not tell Lila about the way home immediately????? What the fuck is wrong with you????? Why are you working for the CIA and how did you not notice your boss was in a fucking cult he had a tattoo????? Fully convinced Five from seasons 1-3 was actually either Brisket Five or Waiter Five and he got fucked over by some cosmic entity and is being forced to work customer service and is currently biding his time before he goes and saves his family for realsies.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk

[an0nymousmessenger]

When the Sun Rises Again

Five Hargreeves x Reader Synopsis: In which you see a familiar boy with a mannequin at a park after saving the world. Word Count: 2.7k tags. Fluff, Comfort, s4 epilogue continued, more than friends less than lovers A/n: A little continuation of the epilogue of when you see Delores in the end credits with an unidentified person ao3 link

On August 8, 2024, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. It would be no exaggeration to say that this day was completely normal. The sun was shining, and the weather was the best it had been in a long time.

The wind blew gently, rustling the nearby trees and bushes in this small sanctuary.

It was a nice afternoon in August, perfect for people enjoying their outings at a small, lesser-known park. Picnics dotted the grassy areas, and people strolled together, enjoying each other's company.

Laughter filled the air as children chased each other in a harmless game of tag. A couple walked their dog, deep in conversation. Nearby, a man led a meditation session among a group, while a woman sat with her daughter, braiding her hair.

The moment seemed fragile and almost unreal, at least to the eyes of the newcomer. It was a tranquility you weren’t quite used to, and you found yourself struggling to take it all in. Still, you continued forward, focused on one main objective.

You passed the meditating group, the mother and daughter, and many other familiar faces you didn't dare acknowledge. Everything seemed to slow, as if memories from a past time were beginning to overlap.

In the midst of all this, by a rather old but beautiful tree, a few gentle marigolds grew from within the ground, sprouting out enchantingly, showing off their petals to the world. They shined golden, and perhaps with a little magic too.

You took your hands in the pockets of your light jacket as you walked casually with your new sneakers through the grass.

Eventually, you stopped in your tracks, and stared at a specific pair, glowing in the summer’s light. You hesitated, your breath caught up in your throat as some unfamiliar feeling began to bubble in your chest, threatening to overspill.

You wondered if it would be okay to disturb them, questioning whether you should just stay still and take in the scene a little longer. Just for a while. After all, time was on your side this time.

You squinted, fighting against the bright summer glare.

You looked onward, afraid that if you closed your eyes even for a second, the scene in front of you would disappear—that the feeling of the wind and sun had been just your imagination. That the boy sitting there with a gentle expression, one you’d only seen a few times in your life, would vanish with the wind. Fleeting, and brief.

As if he were never there.

A sweet but deceiving dream.

Even if it were a dream, you would be satisfied because, to you, everything was fine. Everything was as it should be.

But alas, the tangy summer scent was real, and the reality you were currently walking through was undeniably real.

So incredibly real.

It was terrifying.

The sun’s warmth shone generously on the pair—a boy who seemed to be in his teens, accompanied by a rather unique mannequin that only had its upper body. They sat at a plain table, enjoying each other’s company.

The boy held a newspaper in one hand and a cup of black coffee in the other. Another cup sat by an empty seat, while the mannequin rested by a nearby tree.

At first glance, it almost seemed as if the two were having a pleasant conversation. The boy looked relieved, his shoulders relaxed, legs crossed in comfort as his dark eyes browsed the weekly news.

It seemed as if he had no worries on his mind, no stress or problems weighing on him. Although his eyes still carried that tired look. It was a look not commonly found in the kids his age. Some would even go on to suggest his eyes give off the feeling the boy was much older than he let on.

But even if that were true, they had nothing to prove such a statement.

You took in this sight with a little sigh, a mental click, as if forcing yourself to capture this moment and lock it away in your heart, hiding it carefully from the world before anything else tried to take it away.

Just in case.

Just for safe measure.

You looked around again before making your way toward the empty seat opposite the newspaper-reading boy. He wore a plain white collared shirt, the top buttons undone, paired with simple dark shorts, giving him a youthful yet old-fashioned look.

As you approached, the boy noticed you and looked up, raising a questioning brow, which greatly amused you.

You gave a small smile before asking in a rather level voice, “Is anyone sitting here?”

“Well, it’s not exactly occupied, now is it?”

A familiar tone of dryness, tinted with a grain of sarcasm, dripped from the boy’s reply.

Your smile grew as you pulled your hands out of your pockets and gestured toward the seat. “Then do you mind?”

The boy, usually armed with harsh and sharp remarks, shook his head.

You sat down and picked up the cup, noticing that it contained your favorite drink, as if the boy in front of you knew something you didn’t. As if he had almost expected you to come and find him.

You brought the cup to your mouth, took a sip, then another, before gingerly setting it down back upon the table, a warm feeling spreading in your chest. Then, you took another look around.

This time, your attention was mainly on the boy in front of you, who seemed a little out of place in such a peaceful setting. The wind gently tousled his hair and rustled his shirt, causing him to clutch the newspaper a little tighter, pretending to be uninterested.

You decided to also pretend you didn’t notice his occasional glances toward you. You pretended you didn’t notice the searching look in his eyes, a habit he tended to have when he hadn’t seen you in a while. A habit of his that you would keep to yourself, hidden away from the dangers of the world.

“It’s a nice day, isn’t it?”

The boy sighed, looking away while taking a sip of his black coffee. “If you say so.”

You leaned against the table, one arm supporting one side of your face as you put on what he dubbed your ‘shit-eating grin’. “Why don’t you play with the kids over there? You know, kids your age.”

With a sharp, unamused glare, he responded, "I'd rather chew on concrete," his voice flat and unamused.

You huffed in your seat. “Somehow, even on such a nice day, you still manage to make it old and boring.”

"Maybe if you raised your standards, you’d actually appreciate reading the newspaper and having a simple drink while at it. But I won’t hold my breath."

“Prick.”

“Amateur.”

You sat up, narrowing your eyes. “Hey, says the one who looks like a–”

“One more word and I’ll have you up in that tree over there.”

“...”

You smirked, leaning in. “As if you could stand being apart from my charming company.”

He rolled his eyes, but a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Aren’t we full of ourselves today?”

“What? Can’t I enjoy myself on such a lovely morning?”

He scoffed, glancing away from your teasing expression, and mumbled under his breath, “I suppose some people have to.”

You look at the boy, the way he was looking away from you as the tips of his ears turn a slight red. You twirl the cup in your hands that contains your preferred drink, the one you usually order when out and about, and can’t help but think to yourself:

What a liar.

Though, you guess you’ll cut the boy some slack, he after all has worked quite hard for way too many years to count. You’ll let him have this one, just this one.

And so, instead of teasing him anymore, you rest your hand on your elbows and stare at the scenery of the park, soaking in his presence and the fact that he is finally here with you.

He was here safe and sound.

Ah. You suppose you were both liars.

“You're doing it again,” spoke the boy out of the blue.

You turned towards him with a cheeky smile, “What exactly am I doing?”

“That ridiculous face.”

You rolled your eyes and stuck out your tongue, “Bleh,”

He gave you a disgusted look as if he couldn’t believe you’d done something so childish, but you couldn’t care less. After everything you’d both been through, you deserved to indulge in such small matters.

Certainly, it was not the end of the world, was it?

He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose before muttering, “I can’t believe I somehow have to put up with you…”

And yet, he made no attempt to move. Instead, he seemed to settle even more comfortably into his park chair.

You paused for a moment, taking in his ‘I’m seriously done with you’ expression before adding, “Yeah, and I’m a grumpy teenager who’s emotionally constipated in apparently every timeline.”

The boy shot you an unamused glare. “I'm not.”

"Yeah, you are."

"Idiot."

His retort was lacking in bite, something you’d come to recognize as his way of showing that he couldn’t find anything harsher to say.

“Fine! Then ask her,” you said, pointing at the mannequin beside him.

The boy let out an exasperated sigh, clearly used to your antics, before turning toward the object of your pointing.

“Delores doesn’t think so.”

"Oh yeah? Is that what she really said?"

He put on a sly grin. "Why don't you ask her yourself and find out?"

You turned toward the mannequin, playing along. "Has he been mistreating you while I've been away?"

He took a sharp breath, his voice dripping with mock indignation. "How dare you insinuate such an outrageous—"

“Oh, you’ll live,” you muttered as you took another sip from the cup.

“Prick.”

“Ass.”

“Annoying.”

“...”

You and he shared a small staring contest before you broke into a fit of laughter. The childish insults hadn’t been lost on either of you despite the years. Even with his usual sharp and witty remarks, it seemed that your banter had devolved into a playful exchange, bringing you both back to simpler times.

He looked at you with an exasperated expression, but couldn’t hide the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards.

But of course, you were unable to see this, too caught up in your own little laugh. This also caused you to miss the way he had briefly looked at you, as if he too were saving this moment in his mind, causing his usually sharp persona to soften, if only slightly. He’d never admit it, not in a hundred years.

The laughter died down, and you noticed the silence that settled over you. You looked up at the boy, finding him already looking at you. A comfortable silence enveloped the three of you, including the mannequin, and you couldn’t help but let out a soft smile.

And he looked at your smile, one that he would never tell you that it made him want to look away as a burning feeling crept up his ears. He’ll never tell you he noticed the light in your eyes as you did so, the way your eyes looked at him made him feel some sort of way. He’ll never tell you it was that smile, along with everything else, that had him crawling through time to get back to you, to see it again.

To see you and his family again, alive and well.

He’ll never tell you that he missed that smile, and he often wondered when he would see it again. He would never tell you that he had gone to your favorite coffee shop and bought two drinks instead of one, he’ll never tell you he had been sitting here all morning, waiting.

Instead, you two simply shared the silence in the distance.

Perhaps at another time, you would do something about this silence, you would reach out, and touch upon all the things you two were too afraid to say.

Perhaps one day, this silence would allow the two of you to be vulnerable without hesitation and caution. And perhaps one day, you’ll be able to reach over to take and take his hand in yours, to invite him to dance with you in the late of night or rain. You’ll both wear a smile, perhaps a tired smile, but a smile nonetheless, and you’ll both be listening to the best 90s bangers of the ages on an old record player.

But at least for today, the two of you will take your time.

Because today, you’d enjoy each other’s presence and the trivial banter. After all, you had all the time in the world.

It had been a while since you last bickered with the boy, much less joked and laughed. It was nice. 

Really nice.

Was it sad to say that this was all you ever wanted? To sit down, share a drink, and talk about useless and stupid things? That you wouldn’t trade this for the world, that you would fight to keep this moment in your hands.

The boy looked back at you before straightening his newspaper, effectively regaining your attention.

“Stop zoning out.”

“My bad.”

He rolled his eyes, muttering something along the lines of how he didn’t go through all that shit just for you to start staring into space and feeling sad or whatnot.

Your foot brushed against his for a brief moment. At first, you meant to pull it back, but instead, you left it there to gauge his reaction. He didn’t move his foot away, and you couldn’t tell if he was ignoring it or deliberately letting it stay there.

You stare at him, silently, before a question tumbles its way from your mind and to your lips, “Are you happy?”

The question lingered in the air between the two of you, like an untouched subject that none of you had dared to ask in the past. It was out of reach back then, and there had been much more pressing things to be worrying about.

And maybe, just maybe, that between you and him, one of these days you can truly rest. It’ll be a day just like today, and the distance between the two of you will be like a distant memory, and you can once again lean on him, as you had always done, and he can melt into you, as he had once done before.

The boy looked away from you and into the distance, observing the lively park as the sun enveloped him in the warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Nothing was out of the ordinary—if you didn’t count the teenage-looking boy drinking coffee with his mannequin and the newspaper he was reading in the middle of a park.

He looked down and smiled, the sun gently caressing his features as a genuine smile graced his face, but of course, it wouldn’t be him if he didn’t try to hide it as he answered in a soft uncharacteristic voice, “Yeah…yeah I am.”

You looked at him, seeing the way he was trying to hide his emotions, and rolled your eyes. It seemed no matter the time or place, he was still the same, and for that, you couldn’t have asked for more.

Perhaps, in a way, this meant the future was bright. That a time would come when this tranquility, so unfamiliar now, would become all you know. Even if today was just the beginning.

You took another sip from the cup and smiled.

“I’m glad.”

Extra.

"Hey, you should tell me where you got these drinks."

"What now?"

He rolled his eyes, feigning uninterest.

"Seriously! I know you bought these for me."

He continued flipping through the pages of the newspapers.

"Oh, did I? And what if I said they’re for Delores?"

You held up the drink.

"Delores prefers lattes, not this."

"Does she? How fascinating."

"Prick!"

He set the newspaper aside and gave you an amused look.

“Fine. I’ll take you there next time. Happy now?”

You don’t point out that this was his way of admitting he did buy the drinks with you in mind, but you’re too content to press the issue. You decided to let him off the hook... again.

[eyecan02]

Most people interpret Beetlejuice lip syncing "MacArthur Park" as a goodbye to Lydia because they felt he probably knew deep down that they wouldn't be able to get married. Here's my personal take. Yes, the song IS a break up song but I interpret the song as Beetlejuice singing about how both he and Lydia separating from their exes not from each other- how Delores and Rory are in their past now. That's why Beetlejuice freezes everyone (before Wolf shows up) because their pasts don't define them/matter anymore. It's about their "now" and living in the moment with each other. Just my take.

[beanpodz]

Things they could have done instead of the Lila/Five romance plot:

1. Lila and Five continue being frenemies and both form a common bond stuck in the subway system when they both realize they were both manipulated by the handler. Like what if Lila still hated Five for killing her parents in the original timeline. You get the comedy and drama of Diego struggling to support his wife and brother. You get Five having to deal with the turmoil of having to come to terms that while his actions were all a means to an end, they still hurt people. You get Five being back in the apocalypse and Lila gets to see the life he had to live for longer than she’s been alive. She begins to understand his reasoning for doing what he did. You get Lila having to learn to accept Five as family and get through her past trauma. And then you can have a funny scene where Five and Lila come back from the underground being mean besties and Diego having no fucking clue what happened.

2. Lila runs into the subway adventure because she needs a break from her new monotonous life. We keep that but instead of her developing a fucking Colleen Hoover ass relationship with her husbands brother, she actually gets a arc that fosters growth. Her and Five could both be incredibly bored of their new lives but going through 7 years alone, almost being killed and eating rats (the exact excitement they thought they wanted to go back to), leads to them getting their last hurrah but understanding all they really want is to go back home to the people they love. Five wants to go back to his family and finally live our his life’s goal. Lila wants to go back to her kids and actually talk with Diego. They bond on their journey and come to find a new understanding of family and home.

3. They BOTH find the Five deli and while all the other Five’s are telling him to give up and accept that the apocalypse is inevitable while the umbrellas are still alive, Lila pushes him to find another way. Lila knows the impossible is possible. She got her parents back. She found love in a 60’s psych ward. She escaped the kugelblitz and lived another day. She is a good mother despite the woman that raised her. Her and Five have the one common goal of LOVING their family so much they would do the impossible to save them. They find another way to save the world and the subway is actually useful beyond a quick resolution and a convoluted romance plot.

And I think all of these include the ‘little Greek guy’ thing but it keeps the original humor we felt as an audience because of course Lila would never cheat on Diego with Five and the idea is hilarious

Also I think Five should tell Lila about Delores in all of these and the softness and love he has for her makes her miss Diego but that’s just a me thing

[enchanting-chit-chat]

Beetlejuice's Backstory and the Black Plague 💚🕷️🥀💀 PART 3

Good evening! As promised, here’s Part 3 of my series on Beetlejuice’s past and movieverse. Today, we dive deeper into historical fashion, analyzing the outfits of Beetlejuice and Delores to uncover their personal stories.

If you missed the earlier parts, check out PART 1 and PART 2.

Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ (2024)... and many, MANY speculations.

Quick recap: In Part 1, we discussed the Plague. In Part 2, we delved into Beetlejuice’s past, questioning the claim that he died over 600 years ago.

I wondered: is that really true? Why does his clothing reflect the Baroque style, then?

That's right! In Part 3, I confirm my previous point: there are several clues suggesting that Beetlejuice most likely lived during the Baroque era - a cultural movement that began in Rome at the end of the 16th century and faded around 1750. Here is the list of the clues I noticed:

The lace neckband around BJ's neck.

His three-piece wedding suit.

Delores off-the-shoulder neckline and puffed sleeves.

The bird masks used by Delores and the undertakers.

AliveBeetlejuice first outfit (when he's stealing from corpses): specifically, the pirate shirt and the type of shoes.

Keep in mind that most of these elements were revolutionary novelties of the 16th-17th century. Here is proof for every. single. one of them.

The Lace Cravat

A behind the scenes still of Michael Keaton in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' vs. the portrait of Jacob de Witte, Lord of Haamstede (Netherlands). The artwork was made by Jan Mijtens in 1660.

The first cravat, the predecessor of modern neckties and bow ties, originated in France during Louis XIV’s reign as a political and fashion statement. (Although the early idea comes from the Ancient Roman focale, used around 200 CE). The King was inspired by a particularly eye-catching necktie wore by Croatian mercenaries as part of their uniform. The new article of clothing quickly became a fashion staple for high-ranking men across Europe.

In its use, it represented the evolution of the common handkerchief, already popular in the 1500s as a practical tool, a flirty decoration, and a status symbol. I believe the variant Beetlejuice is wearing in the picture is called ‘jabot,’ and is one of the older, simpler versions.

Lace, often used in cravats, highlighted the wearer’s wealth. Italian lace, especially from Venice, was highly sought after by the European elite since the 15th century, when ruffs and collars were in vogue.

This detail suggests two possibilities:

Beetlejuice might have been an impoverished aristocrat (or a rich merchant) clinging to his title until the end. This could also explain the ring on his index finger, symbolizing power or family ties. Or both.

Alternatively, he may have been someone who strongly wished to be part of the elite.

Jacket and Breeches

Aristocratic fashion, 1630 (Victoria & Albert collection) vs. What Beetlejuice wore in the wedding scene.

Another standout innovation of the Baroque period was the introduction of the three-piece men’s suit, known as the ‘Habit à la française.’

This ensemble included a tailcoat (a calf-length jacket), a coat (a long waistcoat), and knee-length breeches. Like the cravat, this fashion was adopted across Europe. As you can see, Beetlejuice is perfectly embodying this fashion, which evolved and remained popular until the 19th century. Interestingly, one shoe is missing.

Pirate Shirt

Originating in the 16th-17th century, the ‘poet shirt’ or ‘poet blouse’ remained popular through the Romantic era. These multi-purpose shirts served as both underwear and nightwear, featuring long tails that reached mid-thigh or knee. The body and sleeves were gathered at the collar and cuffs, creating a full, loose fit.

Delores' Outfit

For comparison, I’ve included an illustration of noblewomen’s fashion at the court of Louis XIII (died 1643). His successor, Louis XIV, made France a cultural and fashion beacon for the next two centuries.

In the movie, Delores wears two nearly identical outfits: long dresses with puffed sleeves ending just below the elbow, a corset, and an off-the-shoulder neckline. This style aligns with 17th-century trends when fashion became more comfortable and relaxed.

The black color suits her character’s personality and role in the film, possibly hinting at a connection to the late Renaissance and the Spanish Court.

In fact, during the reign of Charles V (1500-1558) and his son Philip II (1527-1598), Spanish aristocracy particularly favored the black color, as it represented austerity and power for both men and women. Additionally, a deep shade of black was particularly difficult to achieve with the dyeing methods of the time, making those fabrics quite expensive to make.

However, The Spanish style was quite the opposite to what France later proposed: it consisted in a severe and somber luxury, which increased in opulence as the time passed. As Spain happened to be the beacon of fashion before Louis XIV came along, it's only natural that black rapidly became quite popular all around Europe as well. The color was particularly appreciated by the members of the middle class in Protestant nations and, apparently, in Italy as well.

Finally, keep in mind that 'Delores' is a variant of the more common 'Dolores'. Both names have Spanish origins and means 'sorrows'.

So what do we think? Was Beetlejuice from a rich family? Was Delores a Spanish witch?

Who knows! But I’m willing to dream and speculate!

Until the big reveal from Tim Burton himself in the now teased but not confirmed yet sequel, have a fantastic week!✨

[the-entity-down-the-street]

Okay so. The New Beetlejuice Movie.

I have thoughts about Lydia and Beetz, and how Beetlejuice's feelings developed for her.

Yes. I ship them. I don't think I've come out and said it yet, but yeah I'm one of those. Block me if it bothers you. Winona and Micheal ship it, too. For the record.

Analysis under the cut

Okay folks. So, I don't believe for a second that Beetlejuice loved her in the first movie. He doesn't know her, barely interacts with her, doesn't care about her outside of having a means to an end. You can see this in how he treats the wedding, too. He rushes it and does everything in his power to stop everyone from saying his name. I don't even think they had a cake?

Now, this isn't to say he isn't intrigued by Lydia.

"I think I could get along with Edgar Allen Poe's daughter, she gets me."

Let's be real, though. He's a scumbag and a sex pest in the first movie.

This is in stark contrast to the sequel. He calls Lydia the love of his life, keeps a photo of her on his desk, fulfills all his promises to her, helps her get revenge on Rory *after* making him tell the truth about his motivations, and the DANCE SEQUENCE?? If his goal was just to escape the Netherworld, he'd have rushed the wedding vows and gotten it over with as quick as possible. And considering he has *more* motivation to get out than the first movie-- Delores coming to kill him, for real, permenantly-- that makes the second wedding even more romantic. He is down BAD bad.

So, how did we get here?

That's what I've been puzzling over for past couple days. I think it has something to do with the psychic connection Beetlejuice mentions to Bob.

@herefortheships has an excellent post that helped fill in the "why" of the psychic connection. Lydia can see all kinds of ghosts. What makes Beetlejuice different?

It's because they almost completed the wedding in the first movie. Sure, Lydia never said "I do", but they were almost there, and with this marriage ceremony being so powerful as to bring the dead back to life, even an interrupted wedding forms a link between them. Beetlejuice being such a powerhouse himself, and Lydia being naturally psychic, probably strengthens it. The closest comparsion I'd make is never closing out with a Ouija board. A very powerful, horny Ouija board.

So, this gives Beetlejuice a chance to get to know Lydia over the years. He watches her grow up, with a set of ghost parents no less. He sees her powers strengthen, and how she goes on to start a show utilizing her gift. I wonder if the show inspired Beetlejuice to start his own business?

She becomes a wife, a mother, a fully rounded adult who never loses her adoration of the macabre. I think he sees what he originally saw in Delores, and it ignites something, for lack of a better term, long-dead within him. Lydia is a much better person than Delores, too, and Beetlejuice knows that. After all, she originally agreed to marry him to save her (already dead) friends.

No wonder he's fucking smack dizzy in love. He softens, becomes a marginally more respectable person. Keeping a picture of teenage Lydia on his desk is objectively creepy, but that's also when he saw her in person last, so it makes sense.

Something else I noticed, and this kind of a tangent, but it's interesting.

He only started appearing to her again recently. Like, she'd felt him around the corners, but it's only around the start of the film that he tries to actively get her attention. I have a theory as to why. In part, he wanted to make himself better for her before making a grand entrance (reputable businessman and all), but there's something else that's more obvious.

Rory. He knows Rory's bad news, and I wouldn't be surprised if he used his connection with Lydia to spy on him. Beetlejuice probably knew he was planning to marry Lydia for her money soon. Now, he couldn't talk to her properly due to her blatantly trying to push him out, but he could still be loudly present.

Notice how when Rory summons him, Beetlejuice presents as a relationship counselor. He even says "I think there's an enabler here, but we'll talk about that later," which I think is because he wants Rory to know he sees through the emotionally manipulative bullshit.

I think he also knows Lydia was not going to believe him if he said Rory was a creep. I mean, why would she? Beetlejuice bides his time with gross out gags and other typical Beetlejuice antics. It's only after he's proven himself honest enough to stay true to his word by saving Astrid and sending her boyfriend to hell that he gives Rory the truth syrum.

He's really, really grown to genuinely love Lydia, way more than he ever loved Delores I'd say, and it's because he's fallen in love with the woman he got to watch her become.

[d-apperc-adaver]

PART I

warnings: n/a, no there will be no smut, but spicy things will HEAVILY will be hinted at. sorta

plot: this chapter is more of a buildup. frustrated hopelessly in love gn reader :)

Thinking about Beetlejuice’s love life made you filled to the brim with rage. This havoc created by Delores and thinking about his past with her…lit your fuse.

It was quite obvious. You were tapping your finger obnoxiously on the table thinking about it.

And now he also has the nerve to say that Lydia was the love of his life?!! Damn that man! Damn him! Eternally!

Superficial deals for his own benefit. Or so at least you tried to convince yourself.

He was outright ridiculous at this point. The Beetlejuice you knew would’ve moved on already. And you know Beetlejuice.

You saw the man have an Elvis phase, get a fixation on speology, teach you medieval languages, lie that his middle name was Pete because he lost his shit when he heard Louis Armstrong sing Cuban Pete.

You always stayed. Just to be seemingly made out of cellophane when you tried to talk to him about anything relationship related thing. Didn’t matter whose problems were. If it weren’t about something he did in the past, a rendezvous, he would avoid it like a devil running away from holy water.

Everything made you internally explode.

He drove you crazy.

And you kept tap tapping at the surface of your table, the poor thing might just get a dent.

But the thing is, why did you even care about his poor “love choices”. Why did you put up with this then organise a mental pity party, “it should’ve been me! ME!” for yourself?

Fair enough he talked a good chunk about them and about how what a catch he is, but still. You accepted his way of being when you took the commitment of being his friend. A gross, perverted, ridiculous in every capacity and disgustingly charming ghost.

And you loved it. You were in absolute awe with his way of being.

You don’t quite remember when you started to fancy him. But in moments like this you sure do wonder why the feelings remained.

You really wished he would have seen more in you but unfortunately you seem to not have bewitchingly cursed enough eyes or some other bullshit.

But with the sound of your thoughts growing louder and louder and getting thrown off by your own feelings that you wanted gone and substantial amount of jealousy, you got back to work.

I mean. Doing him a favour. Sorting leftover business flyers..yeahhhh.

Ironically enough this was the fuel to all of your fire.

If you could say so.

“Looking for a…

LOVE CONNECTION?”

“DEAD-ICATED TO FINDING YOUR MATCH?”

It’s as if you could smell the cheap candles, satin robes and rose petals right in your face.

Makes sense to get angry at a lovey dovey flyer he planned on sending to any woman, VERY MUCH preferably a breather he would have to “woo” to do that weird wedding ritual, in his close proximity. I mean he already went ahead and conjured one for Lydia. But the worst part of this is that he seemed to have more of a romantic obsession with her now rather than his just do it for his own freedom. Ew.

So while doing that. You tried your best to keep your mind quiet from the suppressed feelings for Beetlejuice out of all ghosts, and moved to the normal classic good ol “TROUBLE WITH THE LIVING” flyers. You packed them up neatly in boxes, hell even put labels on them.

You got up from the table with a loud sigh of relief of finally getting away from things that reminded you of your adoration for the demon (oh how you’d love to just staareee all day into those big blue eyes) and rising your head up you were met with a horrifying:

“What’s got your panties in a twist hun?”

———————————————————

Hope u enjoyed the fanfic ���´･ᴗ･`♡ thx for reading through

I’m cooking up a part two…

EDIT: THE TAGS!! How could I forget the tags… gee. I’m stuid :P

[itstheghostofmypast]

Transparent Love

Five Hargreeves x F.Reader ft.platonic Ben

Summary: Her past that she had forgotten after coming to the commission, her past that she had forgotten after marrying Five- the mistakes and guilt that she had forced herself to forget, all resurfaced at the worst of times. One thing was for sure, even if you run from your past, it'll catch up to you, in one shape or another.

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Word Count: 3.3k

Read Time: 16 min

Requested by: @simpformoonkight

If there was one thing Five Hargreeves was proud of, it was his ability to read people like a book, and his favourite person to read was his wife; from the day he had met her at an Irish bar to the day he had reunited with her in the 60s, not once had she caught him off guard, even the little kiss she had given him in front of his siblings wasn't a surprise for him.

A whimper caught his ear. He glanced up from the newspaper cutouts that Elliot had glued to the wall to find her curled up on the couch, clutching onto the blanket for her dear life. Walking up to her he gently brushes the stray hair out of her face, caressing her cheek, trying to calm her down. He doesn't remember the last time she'd had such a nightmare- well, there was that one time.

The married life did not bring much change to their routine, they'd still go on missions, she'd still choose the comfortable silence, and he'd still be arguing around waiting for her to calm him down, she'd occasionally stress eat and he'd choose to storm off to cool down if the two ever argued, but one thing was clear, the two loved each other no matter what. Due to this very reason, he had believed in the all-transparency policy, sharing everything with her, now, to some extent that meant becoming extremely vulnerable in front of someone and giving an entire list of weaknesses, not that he had many, the point was, for Five Hargreeves, other than Delores, she was someone who he would die for, someone who he'd trust blindly at any given moment of time and space, which is why he assumed she felt the same way. Never keeping anything from him. Or so he thought.

It wasn't until their third anniversary that that belief in transparency somewhat cracked. He had come home early from a mission, and since the two had gone on separate ones, coming home early meant that he could set up her surprise. The well-dressed man opened the main door only to hear something crash, his killer instincts kicking in as he blinked into the living room, spotting her sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, mumbling to herself.

"Y/N! What happened?" his fingers gripped onto her shoulders, jerking her back to reality as she looked up at him, letting out a choked sob, pouncing on him with a death grip of a hug, her face pressing onto his collar as she choked on her sobs.

He remembers sitting there for hours that night, with her weeping in his arms, unfortunately, she never told him what had happened, but had only thanked him, and claimed that her dream was so bad that if he hadn't shown up when he did, she might have done something irrational.

"What's that look mean?" he glanced at the intruder who had come to sit on the opposite couch, a giant mug of coffee in hand.

"What do you want, Klaus?" letting out an exasperated sigh he stared at his brother, the person she had spent most of the 60s with while they were parted. He watched the other one shrug before smirking at Five, "Trouble in paradise?"

"None what so ever." he snapped back earning a chuckle from Klaus who shook his head, "Come on Five, it's plain as day, you have that bitchy look on your face, the one where you're thinking but are perhaps constipated in the process."

"Not a day goes by where I don't want to strangle you Klaus”, sighing he leaned back on the couch, his hand resting on Y/N's head, gently scratching her scalp out of pure habit, it was something that would help both of them calm down.

"Everyone has secrets Five, we" He gestured at him then an invisible ring where he assumed the latter would pick up on the notion of the gesture representing their family, "Of all people should know that."

"We don't have secrets, Klaus"

"Perhaps, or…you just have things you haven't talked about, I mean", reaching for the table he placed his mug down then looked at Five, eyes flickering to her, "Have you told her everything? Like everything everything? Not a single secret?"

Five glanced down at her stirring form then up at Klaus, "No, I don't. Neither does she." with that he had concluded the discussion.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

That was until they came to the new timeline, a mistake, but probably a harmless one. Amidst the uncalled-for battle, she ran into the living room, after helping up Diego, only to stop when a tentacle slammed in front of her before slithering back to its owner, Ben, shit.

"What are you guys like? Did they steal you two from your parents?" he snapped at her only for her to pull out her handy dandy pistol, a.k.a 'Bodyguard'.

"F*ck around and find out." aiming at him she muttered, "I don't wanna do this Ben."

"Sweety, your gremlin and co.  burst in here. We're just taking out the trash." With that he swung another tentacle at her, one she dodged with ease, bouncing off the opposite wall to kick him. He may have been stronger but he wasn't quicker.

"I said I don't wanna do this." she said aiming right at his forehead, "But threaten my husband or his family one more time and I will."

"Husband?"

"Let's go! Move, move, move!" was all Diego yelled, grabbing her and tossing her over his shoulder in the process and running out.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

"So, what now?"

That's all she heard before they began bickering, shit, this timeline, this was not what she was expecting, what happened, where did they go wrong- should she have stopped him from meeting up with his father in the past? This was not good, definitely not good, should she tell Five? No- what if there's a way out? Wait, is there? Isn't time supposed to flow as per agenda- at least the beginning and the end, what if-

"Y/N?"

"Huh?" Glancing up from her lap she met with a confused Five, his hand automatically reaching to caress the top of her head, an act Klaus had noticed back in Dallas- a way of his to calm down his wife, much like one would do to a cat.

“What’s wrong?” his words were but a whisper, eyes scanning her, as if reading her every move, the way her breathing was uneven, eyes darting around them, trying to calculate, fingers twitching with anxiety- give her something to eat and it’d be the perfect image of how his wife usually got when she was nervous.

 “I- nothing, I think I just hit my head a little too hard.” With a gentle, yet, assuring smile she, “So, what are we going to do now?”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

With that question she found herself on a sofa, giving Allison and Vanya the room inside, since it did have two beds and the sisters needed some time alone- that and she needed some time alone as well, she needed to think, she needed to process this, to make sure things did not go south, to make sure she had everything under control this time, to make sure she could save him this time- if not Ben, then Five- this was no longer for Ben, this probably wasn’t even the same Ben- but her husband is all that she cared about.

The thought of her husband had her trembling in fear, she was hiding something from him and she didn’t know how long it could go on. She knew she couldn't keep it up for long, it was either her insistent stress eating that would give it away or his usual commendable deductive skills that he'd use to put the puzzle together. Maybe she should tell him, or maybe she should just try to fix this herself- there was no need to increase his burdens.

It was her hunger that led her downstairs, spotting the three brothers as she looked at their approval in silence, wanting to occupy the free seat.

"What are you guys? Barn animals?" Klaus sighed before smiling at his sister-in-law, “Oh, hey there my sweets, are you per se on a stress-eating roll again?” he asked, chin in palm, admiring the way she had filled up her plate more than Luther would.

“S-stress? What no!” clearing her throat she took a sip of her coffee, trying to not start an actual conversation, her original thoughts of asking either Klaus or Diego for some form of assistance went down the drain, much like her confidence.

“You know Ben?” Diego perked up, causing his brothers to pause and look at her, only for her to choke on a slice of bread.

“Stop harassing her.”

Never had she been so glad to see her husband, who sat beside her, gently patting her back and glaring at Deigo, “How the hell would she know Ben anyway?”

It was during their little meal that Five had announced his retirement, looking at her expectantly, as if wanting her to do the same, which she did- though hesitantly.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Initially she had thought of talking to Ben, she was convinced she should too but the moment they had landed in the house, a basic fact had occurred to her- this was the asshole Ben, she was used to the one who had lost everything. But then again, she wasn’t like this back then either, in fact, she was as paranoid and impulsive as Five, perhaps that’s why she fell in love with him, for deep down she missed her old self, the one who could protect her- or perhaps that was just a front, for her to pretend in those dark times, trying to tell herself that she was not afraid and Five was the real deal, he really was never afraid. So, she decided not to say a word, but the only problem was, that her anxiety was starting to pent up to a breaking point.

“Where have you been all day?” Five asked, looking up from the newspaper, his bathrobe replaced with a floral t-shirt and slacks, “Also, why are you on edge? Are your hormones kicking in?”

“What does that even mean?” mumbling she flopped down on the couch next to him, resting her head on his lap, his hand instinctively going to play with her hair, gently caressing her head.

“You horny?”

Clicking her tongue at his question she glared up at him, earning a chuckle in return. It had been long since the two were at peace like this, at least for him, what he did not know was that she was not in peace at all, but only that his presence near her was somewhat calming. She wanted to tell him how this timeline was no better than his own, that and a persistent fact she had somehow stumbled upon began to bother her.

“I’ll understand if you are”, smirking at her he pinched her nose, earning a swat of his hand in return, his hearty laugh echoing in the small room, this was possibly the most domestic the two had been since they travelled back in time.

“Five”.

 Her hushed tone caught his attention, eyes darting to scan her face, her brows furrowed to the slightest degree, so faint that one could barely notice it, but Five just wasn’t anyone. He had noticed her unease ever since they had come to this timeline, how she was eating in proportions larger than Luther’s, how she was more on edge, quieter, he would’ve been blind if he hadn’t noticed it, but he respected her boundaries, for he truly believed that the two had no secrets. Sure, she had always been closed off, but he knew for a fact that she’d never keep anything from him.

“What’s the matter?” he responded with a tone as quiet as hers, earning a small smile.

“I love you, Five.”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

“Five, listen to me, I swear I wanted to tell you but-“

“BUT WHAT?” his voice boomed in the corridor, causing her to flinch, and Klaus who was behind her cleared his throat, “Five, buddy, just hear us out.”

“Shut up Klaus, I am…” sighing he ran his hand through his hair, wanting to rip it out, “I- why would you take his side when the future I said let it happen, when I said let it happen.” She stared at him in disbelief, she knew this was out of his control, but she had never imagined for it to get this out of hand.

“Five, I need you to calm down and listen-

“I AM CALM!”

“BECAUSE I CAN’T LOSE EVERYONE I LOVE AGAIN!”

“Again…” frowning at the statement he looked at her, then glanced at Klaus who shrugged, hand reaching to console the shivering girl, only for her to slap it away, “What do you mean by….Y/N… is this…your timeline?”

With a shaky breath she nodded, trying to walk over to him, only for him to raise his hand and stop her, “I…I need some time.” With that he turned around and walked away, not even listening to her pleading, blinking away when he felt her come closer.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

“So, are we gonna talk about what’s going on between you and your husband?” Klaus asked, picking up a glass of wine, no, he picked up hers, her seventh glass of wine and as much as he wanted everyone to enjoy Luther’s wedding, he knew this was not what he wanted for her, or what her brother wanted for his wife, but he was too stubborn to approach her.

“Nope.” With that curt response, she snatched her glass back, “I can’t believe you are willing to die like this.”

“Well, I’m not. You know that, but we got voted out and Five, well, Five is Five, he’s stubborn, arrogant, and annoying but he loves you more than anything.” He smiled softly, taking it back from her as he placed his hand on top of hers, “Go talk to him.”

…

That’s how she finds herself on the rooftop, staring up at the imploding cosmos, soon to be part of it all. Spotting her husband at the other end, sitting on a cushioned seat, staring up at the sky, bottle in hand. Approaching closer she stopped when he turned his head in her direction, an unspoken apology swirling in his eyes, though she knew he had nothing to be sorry for, she knew he had been transparent with her since the moment he had told her, told her how much he loved her, devoting his life to her. Though she had nothing to apologise for as well, what she had hidden was a part of her memory, an experience so foul that she had spent a good amount of time trying to forget it. Sitting on the opposite seat she smiled, “Hey stranger.” Watching him sit up straight, placing the bottle on the table between them, hand reaching for hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, Five, I just, you need to understand how before I met you, before the commission, I was someone different, living a different life, one that ended poorly.”

“Tell me, trust me, I’ll believe and listen to anything you say.”

 She looked at him, admiring his sculpted face, noting the seriousness and love his features held for her, all for her.

“I… it’s a long story, I honestly don’t remember much of it.” Taking in a deep breath she continued, “It began in a blur, well, most of it was a blur, one day everything was normal, the next there were walkers, the undead, then there were groups of survivors, humanity was falling, wars had begun and slowly, the world had begun to wither away. In about a week I had lost everyone I loved, my parents, my siblings, my friends…I was…so alone.”

“How…for how long?” he asked, moving closer to her, which she appreciated, the cold had begun to creep up on her, “About 3 years…alone, I mean, I was fine at first, I mean, I was scared, obviously like any normal teenager, but it was so exhausting, I didn’t know who to be scared of more…the undead, the other groups or the men I just- then I met the Sparrow Academy, we were fine- I mean Ben was an asshole- as usual…but then one day..”

“Ben, we need to leave!” grabbing his hand she dragged him out of the building, he was too shocked to even react, his siblings being torn apart before him- but…they had powers! He had powers and this did not make any sense.

Sitting in front of the makeshift fire, she stared at the burning wood, she had gone numb far too long ago, but for Ben, all of this was new, he was so used to being surrounded by those who could bear him, that his world had shattered. She felt sorry for him, she did, but a twisted part of her was relieved, his instant obnoxious attitude came to a stop. She was tired and scared as it is, but when she saw all the siblings together, she was …jealous. No, she just missed her family, thinking that perhaps if they had any training like all of them did or powers, maybe her family would be alive too.

It didn’t take long for Ben to let her in, perhaps because she was the only one there, the only one who had his back now, the only one who would stay awake and keep watch while he was asleep, the only one who’d make sure he was eating, sometimes give him her rations as well. He would return the favour often, making sure she was warm, wearing extra layers, or that she had enough sleep, staying up and keeping watch. Slowly turned into a cycle of a unique bond, one where they needed to be next to each other, needed to know what the other one was doing.

“Ben, I swear, they are expired.” She hissed, snatching the bag of chips and tossing it away, earning a whine.

“Come on, not everything is expired, plus you can hear the crisp, that means they haven’t gone stale.” He argued, picking up a few batteries for their torches, “Listen, you let me get those chips, and I’ll keep watch tonight.”

“Ben, you’re supposed to keep watch tonight anyway.”

“shit.”

That was her fault though, maybe if she was awake, they could’ve had a chance, and maybe, he would’ve been alive. But just like the day it all began, it all happened so quickly. One moment she finally fell asleep, the next she was shaken awake by Ben. He was yelling, telling her to sit on his bike, the one they’d ride on, going from state to state, city to city, the very bike he had named Jennifer. The last thing he had told her was,

“I’m sorry, I am…thank you for spending your time with me, I’d pick you over my siblings any day.”

“Ben…this Ben?” Five whispered, more to himself than her, hugging her close to him, ugly sobs wracking through her form, causing him to tighten his hold on her, “Come on it's okay, it's over, it's over.”

“I…” pulling back she looked up at him, “I didn’t want to lose you so- so I agreed with your father and I just – forgive me.”

“My love, I…I should be asking you for forgiveness.” He smiled, leaving a gentle peck on the top of her head, “I should have been more patient with you, I had noticed your nightmares, the panic attacks but I…I really couldn’t place them”. Letting out a chuckle he smirked at her, “You’ve always been my favourite riddle, never easy to solve, but so addictive.”

 Smiling up at him, she nodded, not at his stupid statement, but at the thought of them being together forever, or however long they may have left, even if time was crumbling their love wasn’t, it was as pure as the will of an angel and as clear as a crystal- a form of pure, melancholic, transparent love.  

A/N: not only is this centuries late, but Tumblr has had it in for me for the past two days. Nothing was uploading. I hope you like it @simpformoonkight , haven't watched the walking dead, but did some researching.

[non-plutonian-druid]

[ID: Three drawings of Five and Delores in the centaur au, where Delores is a real person (and a draft horse). In the first, Delores covers her mouth and looks at Five, who is a foal, with part disbelief and part hilarity. In the second, she holds him up like a kitten and says "omg ur so small". In the third, both Delores and Five are approximately thirty and are lying down, resting their heads on each other's horse shoulders. End ID.]

and turnabout's fair play:

[ID: In this drawing, centaur Delores is a foal and centaur Five is old. Delores is wearing a commission-issue gym shirt and grinning at him, while he rubs his face in exasperation. End ID.]

im collecting all of the centaur au stuff with delores and five and weird age shit going in it that ive accumulated over the past year over here so that its all quarantined together.

something about how stupid the centaur au is makes me able to joke about five permanently deaging himself lmao. normally i Cannot

Delores in the first drawing is thinking about how if she doesn't look where she steps shes gonna break all his bones.

[tinned-beef]

So many people are saying that maybe Diego will die and then Five and Lila will be together do you think that's true based on what you've seen?? 😭😭😭

lmaoooo good question anon. this one is particularly funny to me because i just really don’t think it’s going to happen (or at least i very strongly hope not)

i’m assuming diego is going to get the fake death this season (in the past 3 seasons at least one umbrella has a ‘fake death’ near the end of the season: allison in s1, ben in s2, luther in s3). but this is just my assumption based on how the tua instagram and promos seem to be teasing it. also steve blackman has said multiple times that this is a happy ending! (i think) so it’s pretttyyyy safe to say that most of, if not all of the umbrellas will make it out alive.

while in the first episode diego is led to believe that lila is maybe cheating on him with five, i personally didn’t see any romantic subtext hinted between the two at all. they work REALLY well as friends and as much as the writers are iffy on the characters sometimes i really don’t think they’d do this. it’s also just- straight up weird? five is physically 19/20 in s4 and is still very much a 60 (ish… this is debatable) year old man mentally. on the other hand lila is 35? 36? even ignoring their personalities and character traits, the age gap is just weird.

anyways anon the main bit of evidence i can give you is that during their dinner lila specifically complains about how hard it is being a mother and wife and five responds with something about being thankful he never got married (delores erasure but. okay.) this explanation is a bit biased because putting lila and five in a romantic relationship is something that just might ruin the show for me, but i am trusting that the writers wouldn’t do something like that. i am very strongly hoping that diego and lila are endgame, and if not, then let lila be a strong independent woman herself 🙏

[ihaveforgortoomany]

Discussing Urd (2.2 Spoilers)

This will compile for anyone my own general thoughts on Urd, the links to the previous posts (haha I figured out how to use PC version without locking myself out yippee)

The links below are from from the CN came out and my initial speculation, plus an analysis of Urd as a character I'll make at a later point, below them will be any new info or thoughts I have:

New thoughts or just new stuff with Global release:

Igor - "Her works seemed to be published after every era the 'Storm' has affect"

Vertin - "Could she really have crossed the 'Storm eight times?"

Confirmation that Urd has been writing UTTU entries possibly since the First Storm. Doctor Dores, this new iteration or version or alias of Urd confirms she is aware of being the author to the Rayashki and London:

Doctor Dores: "A foggy city by the Thames, and a little town blanketed in snow and sunflowers. I met so many different people, though I find I can no longer recall their voice, I have only their words left, only my records of them"

"To forget the past - its lessons, in pain and joy alike - that isn't a blessing. It's oblivion"

Each time she crosses the Storm, her memory is lost with her records being the only surviving evidence of that previous experience, these pieces are the letters and memoirs of 'A Friend From Afar'. It is not known how exactly she is able to ensure each time these records are not lost (maybe something like an arcane skill or something that has similar properties to Vertin's suitcase) . Whatever it is, after each Storm she is able to access it, and publish it shortly after as claimed by Igor, the issues are always published after the Storm. Urd clearly doesn't seem to be aware of what started her recording her every experience but understands it as the only way to retain a sense of self, or else continue to being Stormed and forgetting everything.

Igor and Urd knowing each other prior to the Storm is fascinating, Urd was probably a war doctor of sorts prior to the First Storm .

The Dores story fragements:

"Once you get used to the darkness, you'll find it kind - compare to fate that took my sight" - I wonder what gruesome and horrifying reason is for her blindness then, this does confirm that she wasn't born blind from the start.

"A strangely shaped typewriter; the only weapon this doctor had in her battle with fate" - The typewriter is clearly seen in her Dores iteration, and the symbol for the Friend From Afar memoirs such as it being seen in Rayashki, maybe this is the object she is able to retain across each Storm, in order to record her memories each time she finds herself caught in a Storm. (parallels to how Vertin also initally used to use her suitcase of record fragments of the last era, but now able to save others). Its hard to confirm if the typewriter is always with her, as Martha and Bessmert didn't have the typerwriter with them visually or hinted at.

My main theory on Urd, outside of being Vertin's mom is this: She was a former member of the White Marble House, the defacto and elusive leaders of the Foundation. She was closely allied with Igor, and probably the two of them aspired to make the world a better place through their actions. Whatever happened in the days leading to the first Storm, Urd was given a marble chair and went into the "white house" something she did and something happened that Igor does not know. Remember how Vertin said she remembered her mother being in a medicial room strapped down? What if that was within the white marble house? Maybe what Vertin saw was the aftermath of whatever Urd did, leading to her blindness?

We also know that memory around the time of the First Storm was fuzzy (the interchapter The Star Greta mentions this) - Why no one knows who Urd is? Remember the leader of Laplace prior to Lucy had vanished in the Storm, so probably many members including Urd were forgotten by the masses.

I think we can say for certain that 'Urd' is the true name to the identity of the Friend From Afar, Doctor Dores, Martha and Bessmert as Igor calls her Urd and knows her prior to the First Storm.

(Any other theories and speculation surrounding Urd will be linked here, this is gonna get long if I just wrote everything here)

Also feel free to ask about shit, or discuss in comment below)

[digitalsnoopy]

Irreplaceable by @ashyybashy

Irreplaceable: prolauge

paring: five hargreaves x you/reader

warnings: violence, cursing, death, and if I miss anything don’t please let me know !

part one

Hargreaves had no weaknesses- except one…the worst one. Love is a terrible thing. It is a curse with a fatal ending. There is no cure, no matter how hard you try and replace it. A simple distraction can not cure something so irreplaceable.

Not even the Five Hargreaves’ mind could grasp that fact. Shocking right? Five Hargreaves was a victim to this tragedy of a curse. 45 years away from the cause might sound like a wonderful vacation from a disease…however that was not the case. Every day for the first 4 years felt suffocating to the boy. Especially when you had witnessed the death of the loved one(s).

Yes, the boy had other loved ones he had witnessed the pink flush of life coating their now hollowed out cheeks. However, this one was different…he didn’t love you like the rest. You weren’t his “family” hearsay- more like a family friend? Your father was an old colleague of his, therefore you have seen him and his family more than just once in a while.

It didn’t take long for Hargreaves to fall into the disease. You were intoxicating, from every sarcastic comment to the way rubbed your under eye bags when you were bored.

At first you guys butted heads whenever one looked at the other. Yet, you both had soon found relation in each other’s past. He felt like he had someone else he felt safe with…she understood everything that came out of his mouth. Though you were an only child, had no powers, and not traumatized..you still understood. You refused to let him use the excuse, “you won’t understand.” by shutting that down with a, “then help me understand.” He needed you, you were his escape.

When Hargreaves had gotten himself stuck in time, he was mortified at the sight of his family lying lifeless before him. His stomach churned and he couldn’t breathe. When he turned his head to the left and saw the strand of h/c his knees buckles and it was like his airway decided to betray him. He knew he loved you. That’s why half of his heart crumbled that day…nothing could fill that gap.

Maybe a distraction could help. Help take your mind of the disease called love. That’s what Hargreaves thought when he met Delores. Who in the back of his mind was a version of you.

[sarcasticscribbles]

Make a TMA OC with me: The EYE

"Statement of Delores Calypso, regarding a set of cards that unveils the past, present, and future. Original statement given September 28th, 1975. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

Statement begins.

It's believed that your initial set of tarot cards must be a gift from someone to enhance your karma and enable clearer communication. I'm uncertain about the source of my deck, but whoever brought it to me gifted me more than a simple deck of cards."

-

Delores Calypso, Del, is a Tarot reader possessing the gift of perceiving a person's path. By their tarot set, they guide and assist any traveller in making decisions, aiding them in choosing a path but warning what destiny has already set in motion.

TMA OC made with twitter polls! This was so much fun and I really want to make another, let me know what entity you wanna see next!

[herefortheships]

Assuming there's a third Beetlejuice movie, what do you think about the possibility that Lydia might learn more about B's and Delores backstory and, bc said story involved a ritual that demanded marriage (and possibly sex?) followed by murdering the spouse to gain immortality, it might make her even more wary of Betelgeuse's motivations wrt herself and marriage to her than usual?

Cause like, personally, I found him a little too nice and helpful in the last movie. Would be nice if his moralitity and motivations were a little more ambiguous in the next one, though I'd have ofc absolutely no problem if in the end it turned out he was just in love. I just think it would be interesting if there were extra stumbling blocks wrt him convincing her he's in love.

It would be interesting if they start the movie showing us more ambiguous motivations from Betelgeuse, and then as the story progresses it turns out we (and Lydia) were misjudging him and his actions. Depending on how they do it, it might be a little over-played, though, considering that's sort of what happened in the sequel.

We have several instances in which Lydia sees glimpses of Betelgeuse at the start of the film and she's terrified that he might be haunting her because she's seeing him again. Meanwhile Betelgeuse is out there giggling and kicking his ghostly feet because "Lydia might have actually seen him this time"! I thought that was cute and funny, and also part of the joke in the film, that while Lydia is scared being "haunted" by Betelgeuse, all he's doing is trying his best to contact her. His intentions were not evil, though Lydia thought they were.

So there was already a misunderstanding there: Lydia thinks he's haunting her for the sake of tormenting her, while in reality, he's simply trying to get her to see him.

There's also his marriage deal to escape Delores this time. We the audience know it's an excuse to marry her because he's head over heels for her (we've already seen how he was trying to get her to see him for over 30 years through his conversation with Bob which happened before Delores was mentioned to him, so Delores has nothing to do with him trying to be with Lydia), but Lydia doesn't know that.

Now, at the end of the film, however, she's seen how Betelgeuse did have feelings for her, after all, and was helpful to her and did nothing to harm her. All the contrary, he did even more for her than he had to, and even got himself in trouble, nulling the marriage contract that was supposed to be his condition to help. It says so clearly in the page about Code 699, by the way, that bringing a living person to the afterlife will result in any marriage the Deceased has to that person being nulled and voided, so no doubt Betelgeuse knew getting Lydia into the afterlife world result in that (plus the extra trouble he got into), but he did it anyway because his actions are all for her.

Lydia should know this by the third film after the events in the sequel (if we are so lucky to get it), so I don't think that her finding out about Betelgeuse's past lover and what they did in their brief relationship while alive will deter her from being with him if she does end up falling in love with him. If anything, she will understand him better; she will know he was played and murdered. It was Delores who wanted to perform the ritual, in the first place, and he only had the satanic ritual to fulfill her wishes (more evidence that this man has always been a romantic who will put his girl's needs before his own; the man drank fresh blood for his girl and had a satanic wedding and everything lol).

I don't think Lydia will suspect he will be seeking to perform a similar ritual. He's already attempted to perform a ritual by marrying her, before, so, if anything, her wariness to be with him will be around that experience. It will be about the question "Does he truly love me or does he just 'want out' and is playing me?" Let's not forget Lydia is fresh out of at least one failed marriage that we know of (Richard) and a toxic relationship (Rory), so she will naturally be wary of getting into a new relationship now. Getting into a relationship with Betelgeuse also has the added spice of him being long dead and a prankster, potentially murderous ghost/demon.

It doesn't matter how nicely Betelgeuse plays or how many heroic actions he performs in the film, the default around him, at least for the characters inside the movie, will be to see him as a potential threat and a volatile character. As the audience we know he's probably changed and has good intentions, but the characters in the story don't know what to expect from him. Lydia at least now can have an assurance that he isn't as scary as she thought and will not harm her or her daughter.

She knows he does some scary tricks but in the end they are just scary, but harmless, illusions. At least to her. He has harmed others, but Lydia has been safe with him. The Babyjuice was an illusion, for example, and he never truly sewed her lips together. She was obviously not truly pregnant and didn't give birth to Babyjuice either. Those were just scary, yet harmless pranks. The nightmare Babyjuice coming from Astrid is also a scary and messed-up, but harmless, prank; even Betelgeuse himself thought that one was weird. lol

I think Betelgeuse struggles to show his affection in a non-scary to a living human kind of way. So it would be interesting and also funny if they show him trying to prove himself to her and completely failing to see that he's totally scaring her instead. This is where Astrid could come in and help him if they go this route in movie three (I keep saying this, but they have so much material to pick and choose from for a potential third movie, it's crazy).

Astrid doesn't truly yet know Betelgeuse. Just that her mom told her "don't' ever say that name". Outside of what Lydia warned her about "bad things happening", what Astrid knows about Betelgeuse is that he helped save her life. I'm just saying, if the writers wanted they could bring in that dynamic in movie three (not me lowkey wishing for a sort of "parent trap" kinda situation with Astrid helping out Betel win her momma's heart 💀. As if that would ever happen, but a girl can dream).

Anyway, to end my ramblings. I have a hope they could start the third movie with a time jump. Moving forward months or maybe a year or two. If they start with a time skip then we can start the movie with an already established Betelgeuse x Lydia dynamic. They could get along, though Lydia might be cranky about the whole thing (until she comes to terms with her feelings for him lol). There's so much material there for a fun movie. The second movie already ended with showing us Betelgeuse is still hanging around Lydia, so it would be easy to start from there.

Tl;dr: I don't think learning about Delores and Betelgeuse's past will get in the way of Lydia. She already has her reservations about Betelgeuse, but at least now she knows he also made mistakes in his love life, and in his case it literally got him killed. Betelgeuse will still have to prove that he isn't out to get Lydia for something nefarious, because as good as he behaves he will still be perceived by many as a villain (even by the audience!). At least now he has both Lydia and Astrid, and even Delia, as witnesses that he can be helpful and even caring (they all witnessed him expose Rory, for example, and they all benefitted from his powers and trusted him when they needed help the most). He just has to do something selfless, with no marriage strings attached, to finally prove that his fondness for Lydia and her family is genuine.

(By the way, sorry for taking a while to answer! I still have backlogged questions I'm going through, and I like to give thoughtful answers, so it takes me a little while sometimes to answer. Thank you so much for asking me! I appreciate sharing my headcanons and thoughts with you. 💚💜)

[beetle-blogging]

I'm still not done with this theory. I thought about it again in context of the transcripts of the Small Print in the Marriage Agreement bc something about it niggled at me, and I connected some dots. This is gonna be long and partly a rehash of some of my previous posts, sorry.

TL;DR: Betelgeuse might be, or might have been in the past, trying to gain immortality through marrying and then murdering Lydia the same way Delores tried to do to him, except in BJBJ, he was trying to contractually obligate Lydia into the steps of the ritual through the small print of the marriage agreement. One of which, apparently, includes Falling In Love. He's only trying half-heartedly, though. Cause he likes her.

There was literally no reason for Delores to have been in the second Beetlejuice movie except to give Betelgeuse an excuse to narrate his backstory and exposit to the audience about the immortality ritual that Delores tried to pull on him.

Betelgeuse is clearly both intimately familiar with the ritual bc he was a victim of it, as well has theoretical knowledge of it, or else he couldn't have narrated the flashback like that. He, while alive, wouldn't have known about the cult or the requirements and purpose of the ritual, or even that there was one. He had to have looked that up later.

The ritual definitely requires marrying and then murdering your spouse and stealing/binding their soul, and likely also requires the love of the victim (at the time of the wedding? Wedding night? Murder? Cause while Betel doesn't seem to like Delores anymore, he did look smitten in the flashback and called himself "bewitched". Love is at least useful to get them to marry you) - and possibly also for the victim, because Delores was still acting like she had some possessive, fucked-up love for Betelgeuse. That part is actually very weird. Why the hell would she STILL act like she's into him when she murdered him, or at least tried to? I know fanon has it that he's a fantastic lay, but it's been 600 years. While I'm at it, I doubt the consummation was just for fun or done as a last kindness for the condemned, so there's another likely necessary step of the ritual.

And while that backstory and bit of lore was imo very interesting and sad, it didn't actually add anything, did it? We didn't need those particulars, fun as they were to watch, they weren't relevant to this movie. "Betelgeuse's ex wife is pissed and hunting him" would have given us the same movie minus the lore. Or just write her out. We didn't need her stalking the halls, or killing Bob - which was just added to give her more to do - or even showing up at the church, either. She was completely unnecessary after that flashback. Or even at all, if nothing further is ever going to be made of that ritual or cult (and would we want another soul sucker in BJBJBJ?). Ok, she was scary in a hot way, but that's it. Even without her, Astrid could have opened the door to the Sandworm in order to get rid of Betelgeuse in the church, who'd then have rerouted it to only Rory, followed by "We had a deal" etc just fine. The number 1 complaint people have about this movie is that Delores was just there for no reason. Betelgeuse/Delores does follow the theme of Love Betrayed same as Astrid/Jeremy and Lydia/Rory, and that's neat, but that wouldn't have required a background story involving a cult and a ritual that can get one out of the dead thing, for good gain you Immortality, through marriage and murder.

Then there's this:

Delores: Your soul belongs to me, my love, for eternity.

Betelgeuse: You don't want to spend eternity with me.

That sounded like they'd be bound together forever, not like she was going to eat his soul. At least, it sounds like that's Betelgeuse's understanding of what Delores is after. He'd still have been by her side. He just didn't wanna be after she killed him. Ok, so that bit is also there for a reason. Everything else, between flashback and church scene, is filler. Poor Bob.

Now we come to this transcript of the small print of the Marriage Agreement (only the highlighting is mine, transcript by jadeluz-official (who deactivated, and I don't know their current username or I'd link directly), which tbh, I'm not sure if we can count the text as canon bc it's basically imperceptible to the majority of the audience, but if the transcript is accurate then the contract is plain fascinating:

Do you see what I'm getting at? Cause the Immortality Ritual Theory occured to me weeks before I ever saw that transscript, I first mentioned it on my blog here and send herefortheships an ask related to the idea before that... but the part where Love might be an requirement for the ritual just hadn't occured to me then. Then I reread that small print which would compel Lydia to love Betel, my mind flashed back to Betelgeuse saying Delores had bewitched him, and I was like, uhhhh.

In context of my theory, Betelgeuse trying very hard to to woo Lydia (firm, very visible canon) and also having a contract ready that would obligate* her to love him for eternity and to fulfill all his needs (which is technically in the movie, but barely legible), is very sus. We've got love, marriage, sex (needs), and two people bound together for eternity all covered. The only stuff that's missing is the blood-drinking and the animal sacrifice. Which, 1) might have just been for the satanic aestetics, and 2) would still have been very easy to get Lydia to do if that contract had made her fall in love with Betel.

*again, the canonicity of that small print is questionable, but it does recontextualise Betel's wooing A Lot. Or like, make his motivations for it more ambiguous. Why write the Agreement like that? Why write it at all? (Was that in the script? I very badly want to read the script but I can't find it)

None of the above imo invalidates the headcanons/observations I and other people have made about how Betelgeuse did not try all that hard to either enforce that marriage agreement - which HE never even signed.

(he didn't even have Lydia sign it below when it says it will become effective once it's signed below, and yes I am being pedantic about a prop that people likely weren't meant to read anyway, but someone did bother to write it and it is meant to be a contract written by a demon/evil spirit who makes a lot of deals, so the signature being in the wrong place is really funny to me)

An agreement which should not have been voided by the Code 699 violation anyway bc it's an engagement, not a marriage. Nor did he physically/magically force Lydia into marriage in the church despite having ample time, plus there's his suspicious failure to fight back against banishment and instead inflating like a balloon and becoming helpless at the first "Betelgeuse".

Those can't all be out-of-story oversights. Maybe the handbook was meant to say "voids marriage contracts", but even so, the contract makes the code-violation it's own loophole. There's so much wriggle room to get out of the marriage. It's like the scriptwriters made a list of ways Lydia could escape the marriage this time, and then used all of them.

I don't think Betelgeuse really wants to screw over Lydia the same way Delores did him. At least, not anymore. But the pieces are set up in a way to suggest that the thought has occured to him, and that he might keep the ritual in his proverbial backpocket in case "have her fall in love with me and agree to stay with me forever voluntarily" fails.

Or maybe, he believes that the immortality ritual is still his actual plan A - cause this theory does imo fit quite nicely (as a retcon) even into the first movie where he said he wanted out of the creepy dead thing for good, cause he's arrogant enough to believe he could get Lydia to "help" him with that if only she let him out for a bit so he could make her like him (tbf, Toonverse proves him kinda right; he can be lots of fun) - and is now deeply, genuinely confused why he keeps self-sabotaging and giving Lydia outs, cause he himself is not aware just how deeply he's fallen for her after 30 years of watching her and trying and failing to get her attention. Too deeply in love to just give her a love potion (Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian had them, and hey, if Truth Serums exist...), take her to a church, take her to bed under the influence, and then kill her. And too much in love to make her love him through a contractual obligation that she'd be bound to after the wedding.

Betelgeuse pointed Astrid to that loophole in the Handbook by drawing her attention to the book in the church and implying she'd find info about his and Lydia's deal in it. Mention of the deal is not in there, only the loophole to it is. And he knew she saw that page already because he clearly followed her to Jeremy ("She decided to trade lives with the boy"). This self-sabotage could have (further?) backfired on him because the other page she'd flipped to at Jeremy's was the one about Sandworms.

He's a deeply, deeply conflicted man.

[enchanting-chit-chat]

Beetlejuice's Backstory and the Black Plague 💚🕷️🥀💀 PART 2

Hello, hellooo! I’m thrilled that so many of you enjoyed my previous post! 🎊 This is the second part of a series dedicated to the Black Plague era, BJ’s past life, and other movieverse theories.

If you missed it, here is PART 1.

Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) and many, MANY speculations.

In the previous segment, I analyzed various pieces of evidence and concluded that Beetlejuice was:

definitely a plague survivor.

possibly a monatto by profession (though this is still debatable).

most likely Italian, living in Italy during one of the historically significant outbreaks in European history.

However, we still haven’t addressed the million-euro question: Which plague outbreak did he live through when he was alive? And the reason I avoided this question until now is that it’s basically impossible to tell for now. Here’s why:

Reason number 1. The two most notable outbreaks in Italian history occurred in 1350 and 1630. However, after the first incident, the disease reappeared in smaller epidemics every few years across Europe. Additionally, upon rechecking my sources, I discovered three more significant outbreaks:

in 1658, mainly affecting Naples.

in 1749, confined to Sicily and Calabria.

the very last one, in 1815, affecting the Bari area (Noicattaro)

After these outbreaks, the disease seemingly disappeared from Italy for good, which is great news but leaves us with many possibilities.

Reason number 2. In both movies, Beetlejuice has repeatedly proven to be an unreliable narrator. This means we can’t take his origin story at face value.

For instance, his claim of being over 600 years old completely contrasts with the clothes he and Delores are wearing in the backstory sequence. That style of fashion is typical of the Baroque period, which flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s.

To keep it brief: Beetlejuice’s neckband, his three-piece suit, and Delores’ outfit visually suggest that the backstory is likely set in the 17th century and definitely did not occur before the 16th century.

On top of that, consider that Tim Burton navigated various historical periods throughout his filmography: think about Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Big Eyes, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I believe that it’s unlikely that historical inaccuracies were unintentional.

For context, here is what Beetlejuice and Delores would wear if their story was actually set in the Middle Ages, around the 1300s-1400s:

…not quite the same impression they give during the backstory, is it? And lace cravats were invented in the 1660s. This fact alone is significant because:

It would suggest that Beetlejuice is actually 'younger' that what he stated: Personally, I believe he might be around 300-400 years old. However, this is just an approximation, and I might be wrong.

It would imply that the backstory he narrated and showed us might be a lie (partially or entirely).

Or… perhaps he lied earlier about being 600 years old, but the backstory is the actual truth? Maybe he never learned to count properly… who knows?

My point is that there’s no way to discern what is true and what isn’t. All I can do is analyze what I see with my own eyes, hoping to find some answers. And yes, this means that, in PART 3, I’m going to delve into historical fashion, in unnecessary detail.

But that’s fine, I enjoy making sacrifices for this team. 😀

Until then, have a fantastic week! ✨