#SNJstories

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@badthingshappenbingo

Trope/Prompt: Lifted By The Neck

Fandoms: Super Mario Fandom, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Main Character: Luigi

Content Warnings: Near chokeholds, near electrocution, romantic tension

Word Count: 609

After centuries of not writing, here is another entry for the Bad Things Happen Bingo. This one (which went through many changes) was inspired by the Luigi and Bowser film scene and saying, "What if this happened in Dream Team and how we thought the context was?" Since I like giants, monster/human relationships, and realizing you have a crush, I used that as the jumping point for the prompt, Lifted By The Neck. By far, this is the shortest and possibly least dark of the entries so far, but I'm glad how natural the scene went while writing it.

Thank you and Please Enjoy~

#Bad Things Happen Bingo #Lifted By The Neck #fanfiction #AO3 #fanfic #badthingshappenbingo #Mario #Mario and Luigi: Dream Team #mario and luigi dream team #Luigi #Bowser #Bowuigi #SNJstories #one shot #romantic tension #secret crush #Slight Injury

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Title: Eating At The Butcher

Name of Dish: A Self Aware Fox and Raven Teriyaki with a cup of Chamomile Tea

Prompt: Free Space

Fandom(s): Original Work, Nightmare Before Christmas, Mario + Rabbids, The Muppet Show, & Copacabana (Song)

Genre(s): Humor, Fluff, and Dark

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Relationships: Tony/Lola, Original Characters & Original Characters

Content Warnings: Macabre/Dark topics, blood mention, hospital mention, mention of a bullet wound, mentions of eating people, Implied Hurt-No-Comfort, and self-indulgent/self-insert randomness

Word Count: 5,965

Summary: A self-indulgent one-shot that is somewhat meta. A starving writer looking for inspiration comes across a mysterious and strange restaurant in the middle of the woods. The establishment expects its first customer to act in awe, unaware that she has surprises of her own.

It took me a while, but I finally finished a self-indulgent fic for one of my fanfiction bingos hosted by @thebutcherbingo

I love the aesthetic of the blog, so for my free space, I wanted to explore the world of a place where The Butcher restaurant exists and this piece was the result. No talk of cringe or beta-reading, we put ourselves in the spotlight. This is a meta self-insert fic that is me gushing about The Butcher while reflecting on my writing this year. Taking things one step at a time. I don't know if I'll add to it should I write more fanfic in the series and get a bingo or blackout. All in all, I had fun with it.

Not only does this have a lot of references and headcanons about supernatural restaurants, but I also introduce the concept of self-insert fusion where my self-insert can shift into canon characters for a while. Reasons that she does this is to get into character for writing (and in case the staff tries to harm her, but they can't because giant monster).

I hope you will enjoy this piece. Please share/comment/like/kudos. Thank you.

#The Butcher Bingo #The Butcher #fanfic #fanfiction #crossover #SNJstories #SNJfic #giant #tiny #g/t #self insert #self indulgent #Original Work #Eating At The Butcher #one shot #Nightmare Before Christmas #Oogie Boogie #copacabana #Mario + Rabbids #Phantom of The Bwahpera #Tom Phan #The Muppets #The Muppet Show #Kermit the Frog #Gonzo the Great #OC: Chase the Waiter #OC: Host the Shadow #random silly stuff #Humor #Fluff

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@warmandfluffybingocards​

Title: The Pumpkin Scramble 

Prompt: Visit to a Pumpkin Patch 

Fandom(s): Disney’s Villainous, Nightmare Before Christmas

Main Character: Shelley Marie

Content Warning: Brief scene of Spiders, a child’s imagination and wonder, Oogie scaring a kid, fluff: Halloween Edition

Word Count: 1,312

Summary: Oogie Boogie and Shelley Marie search for pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. 

Excerpt: 

Without turning around, Shelley frowned and tapped her foot to the ground, placing her hands on her hips. "Oogie, what did we say about scaring other kids without asking?"

"What?" Oogie threw his hands in disbelief. "We saw the pumpkin first and I ain't giving it up! It's perfect! Can't you imagine my face carved into this thing and spiders crawling out when people get too close?"

Here’s another entry to the Warm and Fluffy Bingo! As soon as I saw “Visit to a Pumpkin Patch”, I knew I wanted to write something with Shelley Marie and Oogie Boogie. There are more Shelley Marie fics from me in the future, some of them involving her and her Found Disney Villain family. I wish we had more content of her. Also in this fic are little headcanons about Oogie sprinkled in. 

I hope you all enjoy this one and that more fics will come at my own pace!

#Shelley Marie #Oogie Boogie #Disney #Villainous #Disney Villainous #Nightmare Before Christmas #Oogie Boogie Bash #fanfic #fanfiction #SNJstories #fluff #Warm and Fluffy Bingo #one shot #Visit to a Pumpkin Patch #AO3 #it took a while but I finished this #OC: Lenore Marie

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@badthingshappenbingo​

Trope/Prompt: Doesn’t Realize They’ve Been Injured

Fandoms: Disney Mirrorverse, Nightmare Before Christmas 

Main Character: Oogie Boogie 

Content Warnings: Mentions of Death, Gore, and Fire, Scars, Tears, Injury, feels no pain, implied legs being torn from burlap skin

Word Count: 1,663

So he replies, "Then how do you manage?" I dodge the blast, and apologize for collateral damage

What time is it? Another one-shot for the Bad Things Happen Bingo! This entry was inspired not only by the song Mercenary by Panic! at the Disco, but it also got inspiration from the new Disney Game, Disney Mirrorverse. Specifically, Oogie’s bio includes the fact that he “feels no pain” which a friend of mine pointed out that it fits the “Doesn’t Realize They’ve Been Injured” prompt. So I wrote a little thing that included some of the headcanons I created for Mirrorverse Oogie a while back and some reoccurring OCs that will be in future fanfics. There will be more Mirrorverse fics in the future, hopefully with more action and characters. 

Please enjoy and share this if you can!

#Bad Things Happen Bingo #Oogie Boogie #Disney Mirrorverse #Nightmare Before Christmas #fanfiction #AO3 #one shot #SNJstories #fanfic #Doesn't Realize They've Been Injured #badthingshappenbingo #Mercenary #OC: Spits #OC: Phobos #cw: bugs #cw: death mention #cw: injury #origin story

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The Cult Critique Type of Fiction: Fanfiction Fandom: Cult of the Lamb Fictober Prompt #1: "I chose you." Warnings: Fluff, a tired babysitter-type figure, an outcast being validated, and mentions of a religious cult  Word Count: 616 words

Whether or not I complete these challenges on time, I’m still going to take my time with these drabbles. I wanted to try an October Writing Month thing and all the current ones are so inspiring. For the first Fictober Prompt, I decided to write for the new game, Cult of the Lamb with my interpretation of the Lamb and their followers. Note that I’m going to be focusing on the characters and relationships rather than anything too mature or religious. My Lamb is a dark sweetheart full of angst. There will be more Cult of the Lamb fics to come in the future. 

For now, please read and enjoy! 

As for future entries, I most likely would post out of order for Fictober. 

#fictober #fictober22 #Cult of the Lamb #fanfiction #prompt 1 #I chose you #fluff #cw: cult #SNJstories #fanfic #ao3 #The Lamb #Fergie the Frog (COTL OC) #The Cult Critique

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Snake and Spider Stew For Yuu

Felix Cavatica's School Uniform Vignette

A Twisted Wonderland One-Shot for the "Legends Over The Horizon" Series.

Content Mentions: Snakes, Spiders, and illusions

Word Count: 4,050

Summary: On one Saturday with no classes, the Vice Housewarden of Ramshackle Dorm establishes a new tradition after realizing the food situation Crowley put for both Yuu and Grim. To get the sense of home cooking again, Felix decides to make a creative spin on Snake and Spider Stew and stock up at Sam's store with some surprises along the way.

Excerpt:

Yuu and Grim found themselves lined up in the kitchen which was mostly swept up and decent. Yuu had found a torn apron in one of the pantry closets and gave a chef's hat for Grim to wear. Felix paced in front of them as if he were a professional instructor. 

"Let's start with what we know. What do you know how to cook?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to know what he was working with. 

"Besides making creations in the microwave?" Yuu tilted their head. "I can make sandwiches, omelets, pizza, pre-packaged soups, mashed potatoes, and milkshakes, and I can follow the recipe well!"

"I just eat whatever's lying around. It's a bonus and delicacy if it's a fine-dining meal!" Grim shrugged. Felix pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. 

"... you're not gonna survive Twisted Wonderland having food like that alone. Move over and let me show ya how it's done." 

I forgot to post this on here since I was participating in No Content November at the time, but here is one of my personal story one-shots for one of my Twst OCs, Felix. I know Felix does not come into the main fic "Legends Over The Horizon" until the second or third chapter, but I wanted to practice writing for him and the lore/references/relationships. Plus I was about finished with the one shot at the time.

This fic features my Yuu who is Autistic and Nonbinary. I tried my best with this. I have a lot of fics on the back burner. Happy Holidays and Enjoy!

#Twisted Wonderland #fanfic #fanfiction #Legends Over The Horizon #oc #twst oc #OC: Felix Cavatica #Yuu #Grim #Jade Leech #Sam twst #personal story one shot #Oogie Boogie #AO3 #cw: snakes #cw: spiders #SNJstories #one shot #Snake and Spider Stew for Yuu

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@chilltobember

Monster Mushroom

Chilltobember #1 Prompt: Mushrooms Fandom: Cult of the Lamb Warnings: A Mutating Mushroom Monster gets killed, Cults but nothing bad or explicit happens Word Count: 766 Summary: After a long journey to get provisions, Cecil the Monkey comes back to Passiflora to show his haul to his best friend, unaware that he may have brought something that intends to eat the entire cult! Luckily, their Leader is there to save the day. Excerpt: "Don't worry! Maybe it's not poisonous and we could eat it all up?"

"Even if it were, it's too big for Leader not to notice--"

"Not to notice what?"

Hello! I forgot to post this on here because school and life, but I have this ready to go for Chilltobember. If I did post about it, I’m sorry in advance, I’m posting it anyway. For Chilltobember, I plan for my prompts to have different fandoms. Do not worry, I do have Kingdom Hearts for one of the weeks. For this first week, I chose the mushroom prompt and I had the idea of a giant mushroom monster so I went with “Cult of the Lamb” for this one. I don’t have the game, but I love the concept of taking care of animal villagers while demonic/supernatural things are happening. It’s a small funny scene, but I like it and I hope to write more soon in my spare time. 

Note: I diverged from canon and created my own species just for this one shot. There are no actual monster mushrooms in game and for the missionary part of the game, the only food item a Follower could get would be meat. 

I hope this is okay. 

#chilltobember #chilltobember2022 #Cult of the Lamb #Week 1 #Mushrooms #fanfic #SNJstories #fanfiction #AO3 #flash fic #one shot #monster #OC: Cecil the Monkey #OC: Page the Rabbit #OC: Fergie the Frog #Monster Mushroom #I like this event #regardless of whether I finish on time or not I'm going to post my fics #I'm talking about the other monthly challenges as well #I'm not concerned too much with this one because it's low key and relaxing

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@badthingshappenbingo​

Trope/Prompt: I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed

Fandom: Cuphead

Main Character: Mugman

Triggers/Content Warning: Multiple Injuries, Implied Bleeding, Brief Death, Near Death

Word Count: 1,657

Another entry for the Bad Things Happen Bingo challenge almost one year after the last one! I am shocked that I managed to finish this one. 

For the trope “I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed”, I was inspired to attempt a Cuphead one shot because I’m all for the “innocent character breaking down and becoming a fighter to protect those they care about” trope and I figured Mugman needed more recognition. I did not know how to incorporate the trope realistically, but I tried. 

Although I have roleplayed with Cuphead characters before and saw some amazing fanworks, this is my first time writing something official about it. Don’t know if I will write more Cuphead in the future, but this was fun to work on for a while. 

I’m probably the only one doing this challenge who’s using obscure/different fandoms for their entries. Just look at what we have so far! Ha, ha! 

I hope you guys enjoy and share this please!

#Bad Things Happen Bingo #Cuphead #Mugman #fanfiction #AO3 #SNJstories #King Dice #one shot #Second Player #I Ain't Got Time To Bleed #badthingshappenbingo #alternative look at the King Dice battle #cw: injury #cw: near death #cw: brief death #Angst but Happy Ending #the brothers are alive do not worry

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@badthingshappenbingo​

Trope/Prompt: Stumbling and Staggering 

Fandom: Pokemon, Pokemon Black 2

Main Character: Hydreigon

Content Warning: Bruises, Wounds, Low Health, Nuzlocke Undertones, Paralysis, Rage, Brief Instance of a bite

Word Count: 1,742 

While trying to improve myself and waiting for my Summer Residency to head into my Master’s, I decided to tackle some of my wips that were almost done. Thus, I managed to finish another entry of the Angst Bingo challenge. For “Stumbling and Staggering”, I was reminded of my Post Gameplay of Pokemon Black 2 where there was this challenge at Black Tower where you can’t use items at all. The last time I played, I was making a run for it at the elevator where this trainer that I had previously avoided saw me and battled me. Despite all odds, my Hydreigon who was Paralyzed and at 3 HP managed to defeat a Poliwrath without getting hit and I was able to make it to the elevator as planned. Around the same time, Hydreigon leveled up and wanted to learn Outrage, but I decided not to teach him that. Hence the inspiration for the one-shot. 

This was sitting on my flash drive for months. I was afraid that I was going to be too vague and it was my first time trying to write a realistic Pokemon battle, but I managed. I hope this counts for the prompt. I do want to write of the Pokemon fandom when I get the chance though and perhaps write more stories about my Self Insert Pokemon Trainer and her DarkFang another day. 

Thank You and Please Enjoy!

#Pokemon #Pokemon Black 2 #one shot #fanfiction #fanfic #SNJfics #SNJstories #Self Insert #OC #OC: Pokemon Trainer Jess #Hydreigon #OC: DarkFang #AO3 #ao3 link #cw: bruises #cw: paralysis #Outrage #Based on Actual Gameplay #Bad Things Happen Bingo #Stumbling and Staggering

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After many weeks, I’m finally done with the first chapter of my Poker Night 3 series I created after my fan version of a PN3 cast. It took a while, but I’m happy with what I have so far.

Basically, instead of a Pandemic, this 2021 in the story is giant monsters rampaging and the fate of the city and world decided on a poker game. The next chapter may not be for a while, but I wanted to post it before the year is over.

Please share and enjoy!

#poker night at the inventory #poker night 2 #Poker Night 3 #AU #fanfiction #SNJwrites #SNJstories #Sam and Max #Nightmare Before Christmas #Bendy and the Ink Machine #bowser’s fury #Mario #Little Shop of Horrors #Monster Game Night #AO3 #OC: The Player #OC: The Rookie #Ahhhhhh I can’t believe I did this

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Here it is and right on my birthday as well:

A Prequel to my Poker Night 3 AU fic “Monster Game Night” titled “Dead Man’s Hand”! This is set during Poker Night 1 and features my interpretation of the Player, a genderfluid person named Ziomara Martinez. I have been working on this for weeks trying to write this smoothly as I can with references and just the right amount of angst.

Hopefully, I could get some more writing done today. Please check this out and give a like, Reblog, kudos, or comment! Thank you!

#poker night at the inventory #Poker Night 3 #OC: The Player #Sam and Max #Sam #Max #Tycho #Reginald Van Winslow #Strong Bad #OC: Walter Blake #AO3 #ao3 link #fanfiction #SNJwrites #SNJstories #Fanfic #cw: gunshot but no one gets hurt #cw: fear of storms #OC: Ziomara Martinez #References to Sam and Max but indirect

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On The Edge of Living: Chapter 4; “Ready, Set…”

With surprising anticipation, I have the next chapter to one of my top fanfics so far up and running! It took me a while, but I managed to fill in the gaps in between scenes.

“On The Edge of Living” is an alternative take on Beetlejuice the musical with original characters, scenes, and supernatural powers. In this chapter, we���re meeting the Maitlands!

Please check this out and share if you can. I enjoy this so much and I’m so excited! 💜

#Beetlejuice #beetlejuice the musical #fanfiction #SNJstories #SNJfics #SNJwrites #On The Edge of Living #AO3 #Lydia Deetz #Barbara Maitland #Adam Maitland #giant #tiny #g/t

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While I have a lot of projects going on, I had wanted to put down the prologue to one piece I have thought about a year ago. More than likely, this is going to be in the back burner, but I wanted to put up the premise and see where it takes me.

This is a Little Shop of Horrors fic that takes place after the play/original Director’s Cut ending. Basically it’s what happens when five to seven childhood friends who are starting to grow up do when they get hybrid plants of their own, form a club, and how they cope when the world ends. So far, I have only Patrick Martin’s nephew figured out, but the rest of the gang and the other plants I still need to create.

Please give this a read and tell me what you think? It’s my first time since a long while that I written for the Little Shop fandom.

And don’t worry! I also have fluff stuff in my wips as well.

#little shop of horrors #fanfiction #SNJstories #Audrey II #Twoey #The Audrey II Club #ao3 #Patrick Martin #OC: James Sumpter #Nervous as always but here’s the prologue to it

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@badthingshappenbingo​

Trope/Prompt: Kick Them While They Are Down

Fandom: Nightmare Before Christmas

Main Character: Oogie Boogie

Triggers: Fire, Mild Gore, Dismemberment, Death, Hints of Abuse

Word Count: 2,182

Before the new year, I wanted to post a one shot for the Bad Things Happen Bingo after getting into a Nightmare Before Christmas mood. For the following trope, I had to look it up. It defines itself as attacking someone even when they are helpless/down. With that, I wanted to do it both physically and emotionally, so this was made. I had the perfect scene for Oogie Boogie’s origin that I wanted to get right. Although I have written for Oogie for a long time, I was very nervous writing this since I haven’t posted anything like this before and I was afraid I made him OOC. But I’m proud with what I have and I hope to touch upon Oogie’s story on a later date. Hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think!

#nightmare before christmas #Oogie Boogie #fanfiction #SNJstories #Bad Things Happen Bingo #badthingshappenbingo #original characters #origin story #Kick Them While They Are Down #cw: mild gore #cw: hints of abuse #cw: death #cw: dismemberment #Deadbeat

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Your New Best Friend

Finally, a new fic! I have always wanted to write for the Beetlejuice fandom and with the whole chaotic life going on, I got some time to write it. It has taken me months, but I finally finished this. I’ve always wanted to write a one-shot about what happened between acts of the musical and really delve into Lydia and Beetlejuice’s friendship. I hope you guys enjoy under the cut!

Your New Best Friend

Fandom: Beetlejuice the Musical

Major Characters: Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz

Word Count: 6,018

Links: Archive of Our Own, Deviantart, Fanfiction

Summary:  What happens to Lydia after she summons a demon at Dinner Night and kicks out all the adults? A sleepover filled with vandalism, pizza, and beheadings, that's what. Oh and friendship too!

When Lydia Deetz summoned Beetlejuice in anger, she didn't know what to expect. Her entire plan turned out wrong that night. Everyone seemed to enjoy getting possessed by actual ghosts, treating it as if it were a joke. A money-making joke to dance and celebrate about. It made her sick. She had her doubts when she stood on the dining table and called out his name, sensing him materialize right by her side. She hesitated until she saw her own father kiss Delia, a woman he dared to replace her dead mother with. At that point, the third call rumbled out of her mouth in a natural scream that didn't hold back. 

"BEETLEJUICE!"

Then all hell broke loose. 

Food and furniture went flying in different directions. Chandeliers caught on fire. A murderous roast pig went on a rampage. It wasn't until the ghost summoned a giant version of himself, complete with massive hands and an even bigger head, that everyone decided to run for their lives out of the house. Lydia sat down on one of the chairs, watching all the chaos happen before her. She got a glimpse of Charles reaching out to her by the door and for a moment, she raised her hand slightly towards him, only for her to drop it and turned her head away while closing her eyes tight. She heard the front doors slam shut with a loud bang, then silence. She opened her eyes and she was met with an empty house. No family. No humans. No ghosts. Just her and the demon she summoned.

"You did it." Lydia said in a quiet voice, still in awe and shock that what transpired was real. She stood up from the chair and went up to the demon. "He's really gone?"

"Oh yeah," Beetlejuice nodded with a wicked grin on his face, "It's our house now, kid!" He snapped his fingers and a burst of energy surged through Lydia and the entire house, sending a shiver to the girl's spine. Then the walls popped with black and white stripes as the furniture and decorations warped into twisted contortions of themselves. Both the human and demon slowly turned into a circle, watching this change happen right before their eyes. 

"Whoa." Was all Lydia could mutter at the moment once the initial changes were complete. 

"Looks like we're not invisible anymore!" Beetlejuice crooned, his voice even more gravely as he wrapped his arm around Lydia's shoulders with a triumphant laugh and pulled her close, proud of his handiwork and excited for the chaos to come. For a moment, the lights flickered a couple of minutes as the two stood at the center of the living room, taking it all in. Then Beetlejuice dropped his arm and glanced at Lydia to see her reaction. 

There was a spark in her eyes that the demon hadn't seen before. It wasn't like her resting mourning face or her mischievous grin. It was a genuine sparkle of awe and happiness. At least, he guessed it was. He wasn't sure with breather emotions. 

Then Lydia did something that took him aback; she closed her eyes and let out a snarling roar that rolled into howling laughter. She twirled and hopped in place, flapping her hands as fast as she could while chirping and squealing. When she heard herself doing that, she opened her eyes and stopped immediately.

"I'm sorry." Lydia said, looking away out of embarrassment. "I-"

"What are ya saying sorry for?" Beetlejuice asked with a scoff before he grinned and bounced on his heels in excitement, waving his hands in circles. "No one has ever reacted like that to my work before. I like it! Gimme more of that! Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Lydia blinked, flabbergasted at the response. Then again, this was a demonic spirit thing that was probably invisible since forever she was talking to. Although she had to keep on her toes, she decided to throw caution to the wind on embarrassment by pushing herself forward with a smile, waving her hands around as well. 

"That was cool and scary at the same time!" Lydia exclaimed with a laugh as she and Beetlejuice bounced together. "The way they screamed and ran as your arms were like WOOSH! Now that's what I call a dinner party!" After a minute of laughter, she steadied her breathing and stopped in thought. She didn't think she'd get this far into her plan if she were being honest with herself. Lydia expected something to backfire and her father to punish her in some way. Now that she was alone with the demon, she didn't know what came next.

"... So what now?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Beetlejuice grinned.

"Anything you want, kid; we're free! No boring breathers or newly-deads tying us down! It's time to go wild and have some real fun!" He floated up a few feet in the air, streamers popping out of his hands before he landed back down on his feet. "Remember: no holding back on me, Lyds. Tonight's your night, so you get to call the shots! Think of all the things ya wanted to do without Chuck and adults around and do 'em!"

"Okay...?" Lydia quirked an eyebrow, hesitant. After thinking for a moment, she went and picked up an oddly-shaped vase from a stand nearby. Strange how Delia's 'art work' didn't change with the rest of the house. She jutted her hip to the side and mocked, "As my guru Otho always says..." She then threw the vase hard on the ground, shattering it into pieces as she exclaimed, "Shut up, Delia!"

"Yeah, shut up, Debra!" Beetlejuice cheered in agreement as he stuck a striped tongue out towards the broken pieces. "Serves her right trying to tell you what to do!"

Lydia nodded. She reached for another piece of artwork when she stopped herself. She didn't want to make too much of a mess and most of the other pieces were heavy anyway. It wasn't because she felt sorry for the woman trying so hard to get her to like her. To change. Not at all! She recovered by rolling her head back to stretch it out. She probably looked ridiculous, but this was her night after all. It wouldn't hurt to act like a demon. 

"As much as I want to break more things, I got a better idea. Let's trash Daddy's office!" Lydia suggested. 

The demon clapped and rubbed his hands together with a sinister smile. "Oooooh, let's!"

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" With a sly grin, the girl poked at Beetlejuice's nose, tagged him, then ran off with a laugh. It took the demon a minute what had just happened. 

"Hey, that's not fair!" He protested, but laughed as well as he dashed up the stairs after her. 

On the second floor, Lydia ran down the hallway and skidded until she arrived at her destination at the end of the hallway. She got inside the room first, surveying her father's office of what potential damage to cause. The office wasn't too elaborate, consisting of a file cabinet, book shelf, desk, and laptop. Charles didn't get to set up the desktop yet. From the corner of her eye, Lydia saw a picture frame lying face down on the desk. She carefully picked it up and gasped.

It was a family portrait with her dead mom. Emily Deetz was a foot or two shorter than her father, but she easily dominated the photograph with her smile. Lydia would best describe her mother as a chocolate cake decorated with black icing laced into spider web designs, cookies that looked like gravestones, and whipped frosting that were shaped to be ghosts. On the day of the photo, Emily wore a straw sunhat, a nice lilac blouse with a pair of jeans, a pair of rose-gold eyeglasses, and her bat necklace which was really a large rubber, red-eyed bat with a string attached to each wing. Her mom would say that on a full moon, she would turn into a giant bat demon that preyed on vampires, monsters under the bed, and tangerines. It made the young girl smile each time she said it. 

Lydia placed a hand over her mouth and choked a silent sob. She didn't think her dad would keep the picture let alone have it framed on his desk. Before she could process it further, she heard the demon coming from down the hall. Alarmed, she unfastened the back of the frame and pulled the picture out, placing it in a pocket of her dress before she threw the empty frame to the ground.

"Hey, don't start without me, Lyds!" She heard Beetlejuice exclaim outside the room.

Lydia turned towards Beetlejuice, only to shriek when she saw a huge rotting egg slanted against the wall instead. She covered her mouth as she watched the thing sprout golden eyes. 

"Guess I'm the rotten egg." The egg spoke in Beetlejuice's voice.

"Couldn't you just teleport or go through walls or something?!"

"Whoops! Kinda got lost in the moment there." With a puff of green smoke, Beetlejuice shifted back to normal, dusting his suit a bit. He then cracked his knuckles as he went inside the office. "So how should we wreck this place? You take the first swing." He then gasped and snapped his fingers before he suddenly pulled out a baseball bat from behind his back and handed it to Lydia with a smile. She smirked and rolled her eyes in response, but her face fell when she grasped the bat in her hands and surveyed the room. It was different thinking of all the things she could do out of anger versus actually doing them. The bat trembled in her grasp for a minute, but she thought about her father and steeled her resolve as she raised the bat.

"This is for ignoring me." Lydia said, then whacked the desk in front of her as hard as she could. 

"Yes." Beetlejuice nodded with a wide grin, taking a step back as Lydia swung at the walls and furniture. 

"This is for moving out of our house!"

"Yeah! Keep it going, kid!"

"This is for treating me like I'm invisible!" Lydia roared as she threw the bat down on the chair. 

"There ya go! That's what I'm talkin' about! Lemme do something! Lemme do something! I can do anything ya want-" Beetlejuice stopped himself when Lydia opened her mouth to speak and he cut her to it. "Except setting the room on fire. Am I right? You breathers usually don't like rooms on fire. I can even eat anything!"

Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Anything."

Upon hearing that, the teen looked around until she spotted something in a hidden shelf: her father's laptop. Grinning, she grabbed it along with its plug and shook it right in front of the demon. "How about this then?"

Beetlejuice nodded, excited. "I never had that before! Throw it here!" The ghost smiled as he floated backwards and opened his mouth in order to catch the object like a snack.

Lydia immediately closed her eyes when she saw him open his mouth. Jaws should not bend that way. Ever. She counted to three and threw the laptop in Beetlejuice's direction. She heard a couple of chews and swallows before she opened her eyes to see Beetlejuice slurp up the charger cable like spaghetti. Once it was swallowed, he hiccuped and licked his teeth clean of keyboard letters. Lydia took a wary step back. 

"Do you eat teens by any chance?" She asked out of curiosity, hoping that he didn't. The prospect didn't seem to look good as the demon floated in her direction and poked at her arm in thought. She sighed in relief when he shook his head. 

"Nah, it depends. Yer kinda scrawny lookin' to me and ya probably taste salty. Besides, adults got more meat on 'em!" 

"Oh... good to know. If we have any cranky neighbors, I'll feed them to you!" Lydia smiled nervously as she held a thumbs up, not knowing whether he was serious or not. Or both. Once she saw that the damage was enough in the room, she led the demon out to the hall.

"Before we do anything else, I got to change out of this dress. It's too... bright and cheerful." Lydia almost gagged, then she smirked at the ghost. "Meet me downstairs?"

"You know it." Beetlejuice pointed finger guns at the teenager before he teleported himself back downstairs, sitting on a chair covered in spikes. He stared off in thought. 

"... can you believe it?" Beetlejuice addressed his audience as he pointed a thumb upwards. "A breather who actually sees me and she said my name. And we got an entire haunted house to ourselves! This is going to be- oh my gosh, I know this fanfiction trope!" In an instant, the demon took out a printed packet from his back and skimmed through it, squinting a little. "This is the part where the writer goes in between scenes from the original source material in order to show character development, relationships, and something called 'fluff'."

Beetlejuice paused with a neutral expression on his face until he suddenly burst out guffawing and slapping his knee, throwing the packet over his shoulder and causing it to burst into flames and disappear. 

"Like that'll ever happen!" He exclaimed after his fit of laughter, standing back up. His face lit up when he heard footsteps from above and he turned his head to see Lydia at the top of the steps. Instead of a normal nightgown or whatever young breathers wore to sleep, she seemed to wear a red poncho that looked just like a spider web over a black shirt and leggings. She also wore fake claws in both her hands, a makeshift wolf tail tied around her waist like a belt, and one of those headband things with animal ears on her head. Around her neck was one of those traditional cameras he had seen breather tourist with whenever he got the chance to explore. With her pale face and eye shadow, she looked spooky.

Lydia let out a loud roar as she laughed, stomping down the stairs, "Grrr! I am Lydia Deetz, the Werewolf Demon! I've come to scare the breathers, kiss all the cool girls, and eat everybody else!"

"Oh no! Connecticut is doomed!" Beetlejuice laughed along with her. He floated right behind her and suddenly grabbed her, lifting her off the ground. Lydia was about to protest when she looked down and saw how high off the ground she was. 

"I'm... floating? I'm floating!" She smiled and let the demon lift her up higher to the ceiling. She outstretched her arms and wiggled her claws, pretending she was a flying witch or a real ghost. She then snarled to the air. 

"Ya need fangs ta be a werewolf demon!" Beetlejuice concluded after taking Lydia's new costume into consideration. With a blink of his eyes, a couple of Lydia's teeth sharpened into fangs, making the girl's grin grow. He chuckled and levitated back down to the floor. "What's with the red spiderweb get-up anyway?"  

"My mom made it herself because I liked spiders. When I was little, I pretended to be a spider witch and I begged to be one when I got older. I wear it to bed every night ever since." Lydia said as she fiddled with one of the poncho's edges and she was placed down. "My favorite Halloween costume was this full body werewolf suit my parents got me when I was nine or ten. It doesn't fit me anymore, so I had to improvise."

"Huh. Even some breathers have good tastes." The demon commented, his face unreadable, but he gave her a thumbs up. Lydia poked her new fangs with the tip of her own tongue before her face lit up.

"I gotta get a picture of this. To celebrate our new house!" She went up to Beetlejuice and grabbed her camera, turning it around towards them and pressing on a button as the camera flashed and the demon winced, shutting his eyes tight. 

"Sorry! Didn't think making an old time selfie would be weird." Lydia apologized. While he adjusted his eyes and the photograph started to develop, Lydia also took out her cell phone from one of her pockets. Although she had a phone and she appreciated the modern advances of cameras in her generation, there was something about using a traditional camera that her parents used and a physical photograph instantly appeared that appealed to her. Nonetheless, the occasion called for both types of pictures. When Beetlejuice was ready, Lydia opened up the camera on her phone and took a picture of herself and Beetlejuice with playful, snarling faces and no flash that time. She then went to her gallery and to her surprise, there was Beetlejuice clear as night on her screen.

Beetlejuice gasped, grabbing the phone from the teenager's hands as he examined the handiwork, "I'm visible in photos and technology now! I wish I could say the same thing about the other one." A third arm of his seemed to pop out from the ground, holding a photograph of Lydia and a blurry shadow creature with two yellow lights in the background.

Lydia rolled her eyes and giggled as she reached for her phone. "Glad to make your night, then. Let me just post the digital one on my tumblr and twitter."

The demon almost dropped the cell phone in shock, but Lydia caught it just in time. 

"You got a tumblr too? We really are BFFFF's!" Beetlejuice grinned and bounced on his heels. 

"How did you get a- oh, wait. Let me guess: it's a hell site, so demons automatically get accounts?" Both she and Beetlejuice smirked and shot finger guns at each other.

"Exactly. You're catching on to the whole being a demon thing!"

"Good to know." The teenager typed and started posting as she continued, "I'm not an online person myself, but sometimes I post some good shots and see what's strange and unusual out in the world. What's your username so I could follow you?"

"3xthecharmguide: Shameless plug-in is shameless!" He announced in an almost mocking monotone as he looked out towards what she guessed was space. 

"What?"

"What?" Lydia snorted and shook her head. Once she had finished with her post, she searched for the username until she found his blog. "Huh.... just some pictures for now. I could help tune it out for you if you want. And wait till I show you Tik Tok!"

"You breathers are into clocks now?" Now it was Beetlejuice's turn to raise an eyebrow in confusion. The teenager chuckled and rolled her eyes. 

"I'll explain it later." She was about to say something else when she felt her stomach growl and she winced. She didn't eat anything for the whole day and she was too busy organizing the dinner party with the Maitlands to care. Beetlejuice seemed to hear the growl and raised an eyebrow.

"Hungry? All that food from that fancy party is probably gone by now. And I think I saw that roast pig almost ate a man. It. Was. Awesome!" 

It then occurred to Lydia: now that everyone living left, there was no one who would make dinner or drive to the grocery store anymore. Sure, she could cook simple things on the stove and use a microwave, but even with that, the fridge and pantry wasn't really filled up ever since she, her father, and Delia moved into the house. Curious, she turned to the demon.

"Can you cook?"

"Do you like stale popcorn and roasted rats?" Beetlejuice grinned as a large flame formed at the palm of his hand. Lydia stared at him in disgust, then pulled his hand down by the wrist without batting an eye.

"No, put the fire down. I'm good." She said, then shrugged. "We could order pizza? And I have a stash of snacks hidden in my room. If we're lucky, maybe there's a monster movie marathon tonight."

"Monster movie marathon?!" The demon exclaimed with a big smile on his face as he bounced on his heels. "Yes, yes, yes! That's a thousand times better! Let's do it!"

With a smile and a nod, Lydia strolled into the kitchen and dialed on her cell phone, calling the nearest pizza place in the area to order delivery as she opened the cupboards and got out two blenders. Luckily, the blenders didn't change with the kitchen and other appliances either. 

“Hey, can I have two large pepperoni, one mushroom, and one Meat Lovers all with extra cheese please?” She asked as she placed the blenders down onto the counter and plugged them in. Beetlejuice hovered over her like a child wanting attention and Lydia gently pushed him away. When he kept insisting, she went to the freezer and got an ice cube out, placing it on the edge of the counter without any thought to it. In response, the spirit focused on the cube and hovered over it instead. As Lydia listened to the person on the phone and gave them the address, she couldn’t help but feel like a mother. She suppressed a gulp and hung up the phone once the order was placed, trying to dismiss that thought from her head. 

"Lydia, the ice cube is shrinking!" Beetlejuice cried out as he pointed to the melting ice cube, poking at it with a finger. 

Lydia stared at disbelief, blinking a few times. "It's melting."

"'Oh... okay." The demon shrugged and seemed to accept this as he picked up the ice cube and placed it in his mouth. A few seconds later, he stuck a black and purple striped tongue out from his mouth, exclaiming, "All gone!"

With a chuckle, Lydia opened the fridge and got the milk, ice cream, and syrups, placing them onto the counter. She then got a big spoon, what was left of the cereals from the cupboards, and any other condiments she could find since something told her the demon had strange tastes.

"Unfortunately, we only got neo- neopol- Napoleon? Uhhhh... the chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream!" Lydia stuck her tongue out from stumbling on the word. "We're so gonna get new flavors for next time. Like Rocky Road! Or black cherry chocolate chip!"

"Or maggot chili chocolate and horse flesh!" Beetlejuice added with a smile. 

"Ewwww? I'm not going to ask." Lydia scooped up half a tub of ice cream for her blender and the rest for Beetlejuice's. She squirted strawberry syrup while the demon chose chocolate. As for toppings, they used sprinkles, different cereals, and mustard for some reason. For a last finishing touch, Beetlejuice added squirming earthworms and beetles in his blender. To make it fair, Lydia put two big helpings of gummy worms in hers. Once every ingredient was in, they blended their concoctions at the same time as some sort of race to see which one was done first. Beetlejuice won by default. Before they could prepare the other snacks, 

Ding-Dong!

"Pizza's here!" Beetlejuice cheered at the doorbell and clasped his hands together with a wicked grin on his face. "Let's scare 'em."

Lydia rolled her eyes and shrugged with her own grin. "Why not?" With a snap of the demon's fingers, the two disappeared in darkness and the front door opened to reveal a young adult male carrying a large insulated bag of pizza.

"Uh... pizza delivery?" The man called out to the house, noticing no one at first. He then gasped when Lydia popped up from the ground in front of him, her arms behind her back.

"To be...." She moved her arm forward to hold out Beetlejuice's head in her claws as she dramatically posed, "Or not to be!"

"Is that really the question?" The head replied with a crazed look in his eyes as he stared at the delivery boy, a fanged grin on his face. 

The delivery person dropped the bag and screamed at the top of his lungs in response before he charged out of the house and into the streets. 

"I love that sound!" Lydia and Beetlejuice sighed in unison. Lydia then turned Beetlejuice's head to face her as she lifted it up and they both laughed with the demon's body jumping in joy from the background.

Monster Movie Marathon night was underway without a hitch. Lydia got all the chips, candy, cookies, and juice boxes she had in her bedroom while Beetlejuice set up a brand new television decorated in stripes and spikes because aesthetic. Along with their pizza, snacks, and drinks, Beetlejuice also conjured up some popcorn, soda, and a pair of 3-D glasses for himself. When they had gathered up everything, the two of them hopped onto the sofa, blender glasses in hand, and Beetlejuice turned on the TV with a snap to his fingers.

"Good evening, Spooks and Ghouls." An announcer greeted from the television in an eerie echo that sent nostalgic chills to Lydia's spine. "We welcome you to our weekend monster movie marathon starting with that classic cult film 'The Boogeyman straight from Hell!'"

Beetlejuice and Lydia smirked as they grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza each. Pizza, monster films, and no crummy adults? What more could they need? They clinked their blenders together before taking a swig of their respective milkshakes in unison. The two then proceeded to watch the film, occasionally commenting on how cheesy or inaccurate it looked with the demon explaining what would really happen. At one point, Beetlejuice had swallowed his blender in one gulp, glass and machine included.

Lydia still couldn't believe that this striped man lying down on the floor and staring at the screen with a grin on his face, the same man who had begged on his hands and knees for her to say his name earlier yesterday, was an actual demon from Hell. She knew demons took on many forms, but a chubby dead guy who looked like a dumpster-diving raccoon didn't cross her mind. Even though she had her doubts, she was enjoying his company. He was funny, gross, scary, and goofy once she observed him. Back in New York, her only friend was her mother. She didn't really have a best friend until now.

Time passed and another movie played. A vampire flick. Lydia slouched forward, her head resting on the palms of her hands as she watched the film with an eager smile, engrossed by its tone and horror. Beetlejuice took up the rest of the unusual couch with his legs hanging off of the armchair that looked more like a tentacle as he laid on his back, crossing both his arms and legs, and stared at the ceiling in thought. He couldn't believe his luck or what happened either. He found a breather that could actually see him. At first, he planned on ditching the kid and the dreadful house somehow, but that changed within the last few hours. Lydia was much more fun than the stiffs he knew both in the Netherworld and the breathers residing in the house. She was creative, spooky, funny, dark, and one of the few beings that could keep up with his antics. Who knew there were breathers like this out in the world and he hadn't met them yet! He wished he had someone like Lydia in his younger centuries. 

Beetlejuice glanced to the side, watching as Lydia's grin grew at the sight of a breather's face contorting in horror with a shadow overwhelming them. The demon then smirked. Lydia Deetz was officially his new best friend and he was determined to keep it that way as long as possible. Forever even.

Before Lydia knew it, it was midnight. The movie marathon had ended and the TV shut off by itself. As she rubbed her eyes that seemed to buzz from focusing too much on the screen, she surveyed the damage of the living room. Or the after-living room now. Empty pizza boxes, chip bags, soda cans, and candy wrappers scattered across the floor. Crumbs were everywhere. Although Beetlejuice ate the most, Lydia felt stuffed from all that pizza and junk food she ate. She slowly stood up from the sofa and took a step forward, only to sway to the side. 

"Whoa there, Scarecrow!" Beetlejuice caught the girl in his arms just in time and pushed her back standing. "Ya look like you're about to pass out in a grave."

"Me? Pass out? Not for Lydia Chrysanthemum Deetz! I'm full of energy!" Lydia protested while holding back a yawn as she stood up straight and put her hands to her hips... only to fall back onto the sofa. 

Lydia took a few minutes to rest. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a tiny window near her eye. Upon seeing it, she jolted awake and sat up. It seemed that she was outside and someone put a replica model of the house and the hill it sat on near her while she was sleeping. She was going to dismiss it as such when she examined the detail of the model and some movement caught her eye. She squinted to find two familiar people waving their arms from one of the windows.

"Adam? Barbara?" Lydia blinked. Sure enough, a tiny Adam and Barbara were waving at her, looking quite shocked to see the now giant teenager. Lydia waved back only for her to let out a scream as something scooped her up in the air by her arms and hugged her tight.

"Lyds, yer just the right size to take over this town!" A familiar gravely voice boomed with a cheer. Lydia struggled against the giant demon's grip, feeling like her bones would pop if he got any tighter. 

"I still need to breathe!" She wheezed out. With a sheepish "Oops!", Beetlejuice let go of her and placed her down next to him.

"Would you look at us? Two scary demons ruling Connecticut together and having our kind of fun. First order of business, we make stripes, black, and nail polish the top fashion statement. We're going places, kid!" Beetlejuice pulled Lydia close to him and started walking off, throwing his ideas out there. Lydia shook her head with a smile and was about to listen when she glanced up and caught something at the corner of her eye coming from his striped shirt. In a shirt pocket that seemed filled with who knows what, Lydia swore she saw tiny arms trying to climb out and a woman's head popping out. 

"I can breathe! Freedom!" A tiny feminine voice squeaked. The teen's eyes widened.

"Um... Beej? What is that?" Lydia asked, pointing to his pocket.

"What is what?" The demon stopped, causing the obvious human in his pocket to scream and fall back down. He looked down and nodded. "Oh right, that! While you were napping, I decided ta get myself a random breather to play with. Don't worry, she's a big fan and my pocket's not that bad."

Lydia's face fell. "Beetlejuice, no. If we're gonna haunt anything together, we're not kidnapping people!"

Beetlejuice rolled his eyes and groaned. "Ugh! First, it's no killing. Now, it's no kidnapping! What's next? No floating? And it's not even a kid!"

"Oh, thank-"

"It's the writer."

"Dude!" Lydia threw her hands in the air, resisting the urge to strangle the giant demon. "You can't just go into a writer's house and steal them away!"

"Why not? There's no rule saying that I can't and she doesn't seem to mind. Right, babe?" 

In response to the question, a tiny tan hand poked out from the pocket and formed a shaky thumbs up. 

"See? She has a way with words!" The ghost chuckled, using one of his fingers to gently push the hand back into his pocket. When he saw Lydia give him a disapproving frown along with her arms crossed, he sighed. 

"Alright, alright! I'll take her back to her house. But first, I'm takin' you ta bed. Ya gotta have a lot of energy if yer gonna be scary at your own haunted house tomorrow!" 

"Wait, what?" Before Lydia could question or protest, she was scooped up by the waist and hung to the demon's side as he carried her off somewhere. Then it became blurry for her. She couldn't tell how much time had passed or where she was. As she let out a yawn, she started to see things. Memories of her when she was seven or nine. Nights when her father would stay overnight on a business meeting and she and her mother would pretend to be giant monsters parading in their home while eating and doing whatever they wanted. At the end of their play, Emily would pick her up, carry her upstairs to bed, and tell her a story as she tucked her in.  

Lydia then remembered. She was at a haunted house in Connecticut with two ghosts in the attic and a demon who was taking her upstairs to bed. She groaned sleepily. No wonder grown-ups warned children about eating late at night. As she hung to the demon's side, she couldn't help but reminisce about the good times that she would never have again for a long time. 

"Once upon a time... there was a girl who wanted to be... a werewolf...." She mumbled to herself with a soft yawn as the demon trudged through the hallway. "Her daddy wanted his daughter... to be a perfect little girl... but her dead mom wanted her happy... so the girl ran away to the woods... so she could become a werewolf. She... she... she-"

"She came across a demon deep in the forest." Beetlejuice continued with a sigh. "Very powerful, looks great in stripes, and had lots of cool powers and dance moves, but he was lonely because nobody could see him and nobody else was like him. When he saw that she could see him, he got really happy. So he offered her a deal. 'If ya summon me and gimme all the bugs I can eat, I can make ya a werewolf and we could be friends'.

The demon reached the bedroom and went inside, noticing that it was bare of anything interesting save for the dark curtains and spider sheets on the bed. He placed her on top of the bed as he continued, "So she tried to get all the bugs she could get. Mostly earthworms, ants, and some ladybugs ta add a little luck. Sure, she got mud and leaves all over her, but she did it. She said his name three times and poof! He was summoned just like that. He made her a werewolf without the bite thing and they hung out together in the woods, scarin' all the breathers they wanted."

Lydia grumbled in a daze, maneuvering herself so a blanket was covering her up. She smiled and snuggled against the bed, finally asleep. The demon was about to leave when he saw something fall from under her pillow and landed onto the floor with a silent flutter. Beetlejuice bent down and picked it up, examining it. It was a photograph of Lydia and her dad that he immediately recognized, but it was the woman that threw him off. He never saw her in the house or of the recently deceased around the area. 

Then it hit him.

He said nothing, some of his hair strands turning purple as he pinched the corner of the photo and tore off Charles's head. He grabbed hold of the other corner, but let go after a long second. He opened the bedside drawer, placed the photo in, then closed it shut. Beetlejuice glanced over, watching Lydia turning to her side, out like a light. Before he disappeared, there was a hint of a smile as he patted the side of the bed.

"Sweet nightmares, kid."

#Beetlejuice #Beetlejuice the Musical #snjwrites #snjstories #fanfiction #Lydia Deetz #frienship #giant #tiny #g/t #tw: body horror? #does Beetlejuice taking off his own head count? #fan fiction #Charles Deetz #Delia Deetz #Emily Deetz #Adam Maitland #Barbara Maitland #lots of references galore #and a surprise cameo #also mentions of eating people #it's been years since I last posted something

[subukunojess]

Courage

AO3 Link

Bad Things Happen Bingo @badthingshappenbingo​ Trope/Prompt: Touch Starved Fandom: Courage the Cowardly Dog Main Character: Courage Triggers: Slight mentions of Animal Abuse/mistreatment Word Count: 1,487

My next entry for the angst bingo I signed up for years ago. Hopefully it'll help me with my writing and get me to practice more. When I searched for Touch Starved, it took me a while until I realized that the only character I could think of that could fit that category would be a character from my childhood, Courage the Cowardly Dog. I remembered how the episode "Remembrance of Courage Past" moved me and I wanted to write a short but sweet one shot of that memory in Courage's point of view. I have not written for Courage before and I found it challenging to keep with the prompt while also keeping in character. Hopefully this is okay. Story under the cut:

What did he do?

What did he do?!

The little pink dog scrambled out of the dumpster he was dropped into, his mind and heart racing as he tried to calm down. He found himself in a city alleyway surrounded by brick walls and trash cans. As he stood up in worry, he suddenly froze as he heard a countdown  blaring in his mind and the sound of something big opening nearby. He turned his head to the direction of the sound, only to gasp as the roof of a building opened up and a rocket started blasting off into the sky. 

Now the puppy remembered. 

He was at the Vet's office with his parents after getting his head stuck in a metal fence while playing catch. Everything was normal at first; the veterinarian got his head unstuck and gave him a lollipop, then went to talk to his parents. The puppy, although scared, assumed that the man was going to ask questions about him and give advice before he and his family left for home. That seemed like a normal thing to do when talking to a doctor. 

Until he heard his parents scream. 

The world came to a complete stop when the little dog turned and stared as his parents dangled inside a large net with the vet carrying them behind his back to another room. What was happening? This was supposed to be a veterinarian. A doctor. Someone you trust with your health. How could a person like that kidnap his parents?

He had no time to think. He ran after the human, determined to save his parents no matter what. He went through several doors until he snuck into an office where the veterinarian was taking his family to an actual giant rocket on the other side of a window. The puppy remembered watching rockets on television screens. He had seen scary films about aliens and news reports about people flying to the moon. This man was sending his parents to outer space? Not if the puppy could do anything about it. 

He saw the man throw the two dogs into the rocket, shut the door, then walked back to a control panel when the countdown began. 60. 59. 58...

Quickly, the pink canine rushed towards the rocket and jumped towards the door where he could see his parents through a little window, scared as they were calling for help and looking for a way out. He saw their big worried eyes making contact with his and his heart broke. He tried opening the door. He really did. But there was nor knob or key. 

"Hey, what are you doing there?!" The veterinarian boomed as he entered the room and loomed over the pup. The puppy screamed in terror and ran away in circles, trying desperately to avoid the large intimidating from catching him and throwing him into the rocket as well or something worse. He noticed red arrows pointing to a metal drawer, so he ran and clambered into it, sliding down a chute just as ten gangling fingers almost grabbed him by the waist. 

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

That was how the pink puppy found himself surrounded by trash as he waved goodbye to his family from beyond the clouds with tears welling up in his eyelids until they trickled out to the rough pavement. 

This wasn't a bad dream he could wake up from. This was a living nightmare. 

This was his punishment for getting into trouble. For not being brave enough. For choosing to survive rather than help his parents or join them so they could still be a family. For not knowing what to do at a time like this. Before, his parents always forgiven him whenever he had made a mistake or got too scared. They would kiss him if he hurt himself and give him big hugs. They would encourage him to do tasks by himself, congratulating him when he did them and reassuring him when he didn't. His father would scratch him behind his ears. His mother would curl up around him with her body when he had a nightmare. His parents always knew what to do. And now they were gone.

The pink dog didn't know how long he was in the alleyway. Minutes? Hours? Days? 

He wanted someone to scoop him up in their arms, hold him close, and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But who could he trust? Anyone could be a monster willing to hurt him. To turn on him and do who knew what. He sat huddled by trash cans as he trembled, squirming around and hugging himself to quell his craving for contact. No family. No home. Cold. Hungry. Guilty.

The puppy wailed at the top of his lungs, almost hoping that his sobs would be loud enough to travel to outer space so that his parents would hear him. For anyone to hear him. 

And someone did. 

"Oh my! What are you doing out here all alone?" A mature feminine voice called out, dripping with concern and an accent. The young dog glanced to see a large woman walking towards him. She had long brown hair and circular glasses on as well as dark boots and a large dark green coat that reached her ankles. He whimpered, trembling as the woman got closer to him. A part of him didn't want to stay. For all he knew, the human would lead him to a secret lair or something. He couldn't trust strangers. And yet, a part of him sensed that the woman was not evil or scary. A part of him wanted comfort no matter the danger. So when the woman loomed over him, he simply stared at her and raised his paws to be scooped up.

Warm plush hands soft as wool held his sides and lifted him into the air. If he weren't so weak and wary, he would have snuggled into her arms or lean closer to her touch. But he couldn't. Any moment now, she would see how pathetic he was and drop him. He stared at her and waited with trembling wide eyes and dried tears.

Instead of a scowl, a tight grip to make his bones pop, or his face smacked against a brick wall, he was met with a soft grin as the woman gasped, "What courage you have!"

Courage? This woman must be mistaken. There was nothing courageous about him. Period. He ran away when his family needed him most. He cried and ran away from anything nearly everyday of his life. 'Coward' was the more appropriate word to describe him. 

And yet, she seemed like an honest woman. Her face looked round and gentle like the fluffiest pillow in the world. Her hair seemed like a mix of chocolate and cotton candy you'd find at a county fair. She smelled of home cooking and blankets sewn by hand with care. Most of all, the eyes that hid behind the protection of her glasses glimmered in truth and positivity. He didn't consider himself a special creature, but at that moment, he knew that his keen senses were telling him to trust her. 

"My name is Muriel." The woman introduced herself, "Would you like to come home with me?"

It was because of her touch and gaze that made the puppy smile as he hugged the closest arm to him. Muriel's smile grew as her arms wrapped around his waist in a firm embrace. 

"I'll call you 'Courage'. We'll have a grand time!" She promised him before heading off to take him home in a green pick-up truck across the street.

Courage let himself get lost at the touch of Muriel's arms, sinking into the warmth even when she got into the truck and gently placed him to her side. He never stopped touching her lap for anything. Although no one could replace his family, this woman was a welcoming close second. He thought about the days he'd spend with his new owner. Perhaps she'll feed him good meals and they do chores or crafts together. Maybe they'll spend their quiet days rocking back and forth with him curled up on her lap. They would grow old together and he'll help her around the house. He'll protect her. If there were monsters out there in the world, he was determined to protect one of the good humans in the world even if it meant his life. But he didn't think too much of it for now.

Courage lifted his head up after a while and watched as acres of sand and dirt zipped right by before his eyes. It was just miles of nothing. He glanced to the front to see a little house and a windmill coming over the horizon. A house in the middle of nowhere away from people? Yes. This was home to Courage. 

#Courage #Courage the Cowardly Dog #fanfiction #SNJstories #Bad Things Happen Bingo #badthingshappenbingo #Muriel #touch starved #cw: animal cruelty #cw: thoughts of animal abuse #Remembrance of Courage Past