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flysafepapi · 2 years

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siren song 6/?

masterlist

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Summary: He remembers the scent of her perfume, something that smelled strongly of rose, as she carefully closed the small window in the bedroom and crossed herself, whispering words under her breath that were too soft and quick for him to hear. His mother had turned and smiled at him, and even at that age he could see that she was trying to hide something behind it. Her voice had been shaky, whether with fear or anger he still doesn’t know, when she told him that he was going to be safe. The thought of asking what he was safe from hadn’t occurred to him at the time but he thinks he knows, now.

Tagging: @the-makingsofgreatness @zablife @lyarr24 (just let me know if you want to be added on or taken off)

It’s easier than Tobias thought it would be, to work at least semi-functionally while Sofia sits at the bar with her head resting on her hands while she watches his every move like she’s never seen someone working behind a bar before. It’s a carefully planned move to get under his skin, he’s watched her do the exact same thing to Arianne before, so it would be easy to ignore if he wasn’t so tense he could pass for a statue every time the doors open. It’s going to Tommy on the other side eventually, and while he pours drinks he tries to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable.

“Back again already?”

“Sorry?”

Tobias glances up from the double he’s pouring and curses silently to himself when John steps through the door with Arthur not far behind, both of them looking like they’ve already been at the drink for a good hour already. It’s not an uncommon sight, and they don’t even have to ask before Tobias is turning around and pulling the bottles of whiskey down, along with two clean glasses.

“You didn’t show up last night.”

“Right. Yes, much better. It must’ve been just a twenty-four hour sickness.”

“Don’t be rude, Tobias, introduce me.”

It takes every bit of the willpower he’s learnt over his many years to stop himself from reacting outwardly. Sofia grins at him, utterly unconcerned and clearly thoroughly enjoying this, and turns towards John with a smile.

“Best customers, more like,” he mutters under his breath, unheard by everyone except Sofia, and trains his eyes on the glasses and not the complete disaster of a scene that’s unfolding in front of him. Objectively, he knows that Sofia is an exceptionally attractive woman, and this isn’t a new thing, but it’s one thing to hear about it and another thing to witness it happen with people he’s friendly with.

“You’ve been holding out on us, keeping this beautiful woman away.”

“I think you’ll find I’ve been sparing you.”

“What are you drinking?”

The smile that Sofia gives has, Tobias knows, been the last thing some people have ever seen, and John’s own smile falters for a second as if he can sense that there’s something wrong happening here but can’t quite figure out what. It could be anything, really; the coldness of Sofia’s hand in his, the fact that her eyes are darker because she hasn’t fed recently, the unnatural sharpness of her teeth.

“I think I’m craving something red.”

“Sofia.”

“Don’t worry, Tobias. I won’t indulge too much.”

“Nothing wrong with-”

For a second, the entire room seems to freeze when the doors open again. Sofia eyes him curiously when she notices his slight pause, quickly putting two and two together, and she makes a small noise in the back of her throat when she figures it out.

“Evening, Mr Shelby.”

This is, hands down, one of the worst nights of Tobias’ life. He’s sitting in the small room, sandwiched in between Arthur and Sofia, desperately wishing he was anywhere else but here. Tommy looks vaguely amused at his distress, which should be irritating, but he has to bite down on his tongue to keep the slight smile off his face. Considering the smug look Sofia sends him, he fails completely.

“I’m only in the city for one night, so of course I had to meet all the friends Tobias has been making. He’s always been very solitary. We were all surprised to hear that he finally settled in one place.”

“We?”

“Our parents and siblings. There are a lot of us but we don’t see each other much, usually we communicate through letters if we need to. I’m on my way to meet up with a sister of ours, so we can travel together.”

“How many is a lot?”

Eight, with the recent addition of William. The agreed upon date for all of them to make the voyage home is fast approaching, and he’s not looking forward to it. They’ve settled somewhere in America, last he heard, and his last few trips there had been less than pleasant. He’ll still make the trip regardless.

“There are eight of us, and our parents. Of course, there’s also going to be wives, husbands, children.”

“Jesus. I thought the house was full enough with five of us.”

“It’s certainly never boring. So, Tommy, you’re the one that Tobias sent-”

“Shouldn’t you be leaving? You’ll miss your train.”

Sofia gives him a look, telling him that she knows exactly what he’s doing, but plays along this time.

“Of course. I must have lost track of time. It’s been nice meeting you all, I hope I see you again the next time I’m in the area. Tobias, walk me outside?”

It’s phrased like a question but he knows it’s not, and he follows her through the doors and down the street a little, just out of earshot for anyone that might be listening.

“Satisfied now?”

“He seems a little broody, but I can see the appeal. Not someone I would pick for myself, but-”

“Don’t tell them yet.”

“They’ll want to know. This isn’t just a minor slip-up, Tobias. This is serious.”

“I know. I’ll tell them, I promise. Just let me do that in my own time.”

For a second, he’s sure that she’ll say no, but eventually she sighs and nods like Tobias knew she would. Ever since they met, they’ve always looked out for each other, regardless of the situation. He loves the family he’s found, the family that found him more accurately, but the bond he shares with Sofia has always been just that little bit stronger.

“Fine. Fine, they won’t hear a word about it from me, but you better figure this out soon. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“Good. Alright, I really do have to go. You’ll be alright here?”

“I will. I’ll see you in three months, just like we all promised.”

He stays outside for a few more minutes after she’s gone, watching until long after she’s disappeared from sight down the road, and when he walks back inside it’s to Arthur and John putting their coats back on.

“Where are you going?”

“Wherever the night takes us, Tobias. Adventure is calling!”

“I think that’s a hangover calling, but each to their own.”

He waves a hand when they leave, getting to work on cleaning up the place. There’s still glasses sitting on most of the tables so he tackles those first, gathering them all up into his arms carefully and carrying them over to the sink. The bubbles fill the sink quickly, and it doesn’t sound like any glasses break when he submerges them into the water this time, which is a small victory.

“She seemed nice.”

“She is.”

Tobias doesn’t turn around. The screech that the ancient tap makes when he turns the water off makes him cringe, grating in his ears like nails on a chalkboard.

“You never answered my question.”

“Which one?”

“Why all the gifts?”

There are a lot of ways he could answer. He could divert the question again and turn the conversation around to something else. He could say that he has no idea what Tommy is talking about. He could reach out and make sure Tommy’s dead long before he hits the floor, though that’s just a more extreme version of the avoidance option. He could tell the truth.

“I sent them because I wanted to.”

“Why?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

Tommy scoffs, “There’s always a reason.”

Behind him, the bubbles pop softly, and Tobias does what he’s always done. He risks it all on a gamble.

“Come with me.”

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“No. You’ll have to wait and find out when we get there.”

The alleys and streets are easy to navigate, he’s been up and down them enough times to almost have them memorised, and remembering the way back to the house he’s been living in had been his first priority when he got here. It’s about the time of the night when most people are already home safe in their beds, or on their way to doing just that, and the main sound that echoes against the brick walls is their footsteps. He keeps the door locked, and it only takes a second to unlock the door and open it to the darkness that lays on the other side.

“After you.” Tobias gestures towards the doorway, and laughs at the sceptical look Tommy throws him. “Calm down, I didn’t go through all this trouble to lure you here just to kill you. I’ll go first.”

Inside, the darkness is so complete that it’s hard for even Tobias to see anything, but he knows where to do and finds the stairs easily. Behind him, he can hear the sound of Tommy’s heartbeat. The rhythm has remained fairly steady until now, and it picks up more and more the further up the stairs they go.

“Here we are.”

“It’s a room.”

“Oh, ye of little faith.” He reaches out and takes Tommy by the shoulders, carefully manoeuvring him through the pitch black room until he’s standing more or less in the middle of the space. “Stay right here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Not far.”

He hears Tobias’ footsteps walking somewhere away to his left and shifts slightly but stays in place. There’s a strange sort of fear that comes from not being able to see a thing about where you are. Someone could be waiting three feet away with a hatchet and he wouldn’t be able to know until the first strike. After a few seconds, Tobias stops walking and Tommy hears him shifting things around instead. Boxes, by the sound of the scraping along the concrete.

“Ready?”

He has to raise an arm up to shield his eyes from the sudden light and even then it takes him a few minutes to blink away the spots dancing in his vision. When they’re gone, faded enough to be able to see, he lowers his arm and looks around the room. What he thought was Tobias turning the light on are actually windows, dozens and dozens and dozens of them lining the walls to the point that there’s more glass than brick.

Most of them are tilted, both backwards and forwards, so the moonlight reflects off of them and across to the window opposite, lighting the entire room up like it’s daylight. It’s the closest Tobias has gotten to daylight in a long time.

“It took a long time to figure out the exact angles. A lot of trial and error, a few cases of almost blinding myself when it reflected right in my eyes. As far as I know, no one else really comes up here. If they do, they haven’t touched any of the windows or these.” He lifts up the heavy covers he uses to cover the windows on the nights he feels like sleeping in this room. “I didn’t think anyone would be, I rent this place from a delightful old man, but it can’t hurt to take precautions.

“Why?”

“Why not? Not everything that makes people happy has to be explained. People pick flowers because they enjoy the scent, they read books because they like following along on someone else’s exciting adventures, they eat things they probably shouldn’t because they taste good. But in addition to that, there’s someone who plants the flowers because someone they love enjoys the smell. There’s someone who writes the books, and cooks the food.”

He pauses for a second, but when it becomes clear that Tommy isn’t going to say anything, he keeps talking.

“I used to draw when I was young. I’m sure I was no great talent back then, but my mother would exclaim over every piece of art of mine that she saw like it was a long lost painting from a long-dead artist. Drawing was something I liked to do, and it was made better by how much she enjoyed them.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“So you’ll understand.”

Though all the carefully adjusted windows reflect light from the moon and each other, lighting up the room in a cascade of light that Tobias can safely walk through without the threat of dying, the usual awe he feels in seeing it pales so completely to the sight of the light playing over Tommy’s face when he turns that it freezes him in place for a second.

“Understand what?”

“You wanted to know why I sent you the flowers. It’s the same reason why I drew for my mother. Just like why mothers knit clothes for their children, or why wives bake sweet things for their husbands. We all want to see the people we care about be happy.”

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rainofthetwilight · 10 months

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honestly, when i first saw sora's backstory, i didnt react much, but now im noticing everything and its just really sad to think about

see this little kid who was full of hope? see this girl, that was just an innocent kid full of life, having that one role model that every kid had in some point of their lives?

this girl was then stripped away from everything she loved the moment she realized the truth, that this "role model" of hers was abusing poor innocent creatures, that their people have been brainwashed by this so-called emperess she actually used to follow, having your own parents shun you and take away everything you had and isolate you just because you knew the truth, and said truth wasnt just something bad, no, it was a fucking nightmare to think about, imagine taking that all in at 10

if the merge never happend, she would've been stuck in that sucker of a realm her whole life. she wouldve never been able to continue her childhood, her love for tech, nothing just absolutely nothing. she wouldve been locked away and alone forever, she wouldnt even have her own family by her side

the fact she didnt even hesitate to leave when the merge happend is heartbreaking, she was so fucking young, and was treated so poorly by everyone. imagine staying like that for probably months. she even named herself after that freaking dragon to respect her.

and as someone who actually experienced what sora had to endure when i was a kid, being shunned by my family for nearly a year during that time, i just have to point out that:

ana and sora are two completely different charcters.

when ana left, she became sora. a completely new person that was an ending with a new beginning, seeds that became remenants.

I know alot of people will disagree with me and say that lloyd had a tougher backstory, or maybe harumi, etc, but every charcter experienced something the other wouldnt handle, making no tragedy rougher than the other

i have nothing else to say but..damn

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carnivalcarriondiscarded · 9 months

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dawg my body is so ready for seeing your human versions of the gang. like the need to draw these sillies is JUST TOO DAMN GREAT--(please don't take this as "OMG HURRY UP", i'm just very excited to see your interpretations!)

well shit now i gotta buckle down on brushing up + improving upon my human scribbling skills, which - meager to begin with - have deteriorated due to Puppet Disease (and i say this with playful exasperation. i've been needing an excuse to Practice and this is a damn good one)

though i will say! i'll be adhering to the ~canon~ human versions we've been gifted via Clown's pokemon au. ofc since we don't know what Howdy, Poppy, Sally, and Eddie look like, i'll have to think of something myself

#like the canon designs we have are so so good why would i Not adhere...#i mean i might take some creative liberties here and there but yk yk #also... barnaby's kinda bear-coded ngl.... love that for him #and honestly i'm starting to consider like... writing this au??? tidbits perhaps???#because i've got a lot more internal creative freedom since this au diverges so severely from The Main Thing #it's one of those aus for easter eggs & keeping characterizations accurate but some freedom to bend them #because of the circumstances of the au & the inherent changes involved #its a fun puzzle of balancing how the au affects things but also keeping things as recognizable / canon-compliant as possible #rambles from the bog #i really gotta make a tag for this au since apparently i will be posting more than Twice about it! lookie that!#ohhhh god i just realized im gonna have to do some outfit design #FUCK that is not something i'm very good at.... in my own life or on paper.... digital paper....#well im gonna go do a human study #study some styles i like study structure etc etc #nothing like being truly Unwell about something to push that artistic drive & improvement!

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felizusnavidad · 6 months

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"i don't think i'll ever understand musicals the way you do" is something i've heard from one of my friends a couple of days ago when i told him i'm about to cross the whole country just to see one of those (my favourite one!) live in theatre. and i can't blame him. if you'd have told me a year ago that i would do something like that, i'd probably have laughed in your face. life is so unpredictable. i guess i have changed a lot. and i could write thousands of essays about how musicals helped me get through the shittiest period of my life, but we are not going to talk about this today. today we are talking about in the heights, the first musical i got a chance to experience live in theatre, hopefully not last. so grab a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable, this is going to be the longest essay you've ever seen, friends.

a little warning: spoilers. a lot of them actually. so if, by any chance, you haven't seen/heard it yet and you are going to, don't read it.

first thing i feel like i need to mention is that they had this mini bar inside the theatre and you could order a lot of different drinks there and one of them was called abuela's coffee. i heard one lady explaining to someone that it's actually coffee with condensed milk. my jaw dropped and i was like CAN I STAY HERE FOREVER, PLEASE? for those who don't understand why, here's a quote from the first song:

USNAVI: abuela, my fridge broke, i got café but no con leche ABUELA CLAUDIA: try my mother's old recipe: one can of condensed milk

so this was my first "OH! THEY GET IT!" moment (a little note here: i had a lot of oh, they get it moments, mostly because i don't have any people around me who understand musicals the way i do... honestly, you'd have to live inside my brain). that was the first time ever when i could actually be in the room where it happens with all those people who get it and care about it as much as i do (mostly actors and people responsible for the whole show tho, but we will get to this later).

let's get to the show. so when i finally went inside and i saw the stage, i already had tears in my eyes (don't judge me please). usnavi's store, abuela's door, daniela and carla's salon, all those puerto rican, cuban and dominican flags (one couple behind me was trying to figure out which one is which and it was funny because i knew and i wanted to scream)... listening and memorizing the whole soundtrack is one thing. being able to experience it all live is something else. all those things around me were so familiar and this was the first time in months (MONTHS! OR EVEN YEARS!) i felt really understood. after all, it was all like a little celebration of lin's story (the one i love with all my heart) and i truly felt like home. so that was another OH! THEY GET IT! moment.

i don't think i'm going to talk about every single song here, that's not the point. i will talk about my favourite moments, but also about things that didn't work very well in my opinion (again: this was a polish version so all the songs were translated into polish. and they did a really great job here, surprisingly. but it wasn't perfect, more about that later).

one thing you need to understand is that i will never be normal about musicals so of course i had to burst into tears at the very first song (i don't even know why, i think i was a little bit too excited). i was actually crying in the most random moments like when i first saw nina or at the end of carnaval del barrio because I KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT (who the hell cries at carnaval del barrio when everyone is having the time of their lives lol, me apparently).

ok, so the first song. the choreography, oh my god. it was everything. the translation was also pretty good here, i need to say this was probably one of my favourite moments. imagine me leaving today giggling like a child when usnavi came on that stage and started rapping, i was in heaven. also, i have to admit, the cast was amazing. i could never imagine anyone better for this role (and again, i am talking about polish actors because everyone knows who's the best usnavi of them all). he was cute and charming and awkward and so adorkable and also really handsome. he was actually perfect in my opinion.

i kinda lost my mind when i saw nina for the first time. first of all: i already knew who was going to play her and let's just say i fell in love with this actress before i even saw her live on that stage. this was important to me, because (as some of you know) nina rosario is my favourite character. and oh my god, she was an absolute perfection. what a voice, sweet jesus. i'm being serious, this girl is so talented, give her every award (i honestly hope i will have a chance to see her again one day, i'm just crazy about her). and breathe was so good! polish version was amazing, i was so scared they would screw it up, but they didn't, so all's good (this song is very important to me, ok?). also, she's a phenomenal actress, i could feel all her emotions for real. and of course i cried, what did you expect?

i don't have that much to say about benny, except that he was really cute and he had amazing chemistry with nina, so once again, the casting was really good. i mean, he is not chris jackson of course, but i have decided i'm not going to compare all those actors because everyone knows at this point how much i love OBC, i was trying to have an open mind. vanessa was also pretty great, amazing voice and her dancing skills, wow, just wow. i could talk about all those actors for days actually, but i'm not going to do that, so i will just quickly mention that i absolutely loved daniela and carla, abuela claudia made me cry, sonny was the funniest character in the whole play and i don't think i will ever recover after piragua guy's performance (i was the only person in the audience who was laughing when he came on that stage, they don't get it, ok? polish people have no sense of humour and that's a fact). actually, there were a lot of funny moments (obviously) and i was the only person who was laughing, god help me.

so let's get to the first thing that was a little disappointing for me. you will not believe it, but it was actually... 96,000 (this is one of my favourite songs and i seriously can't live like this). it's not the translation tho (it was honestly fine), it's the voice overlapping part at the end (again, the best thing ever, just listen to we don't talk about bruno from encanto and non-stop from hamilton and you will understand why it works so well in every lmm's song). the thing is, you could actually only hear vanessa's part and i wanted to die, because EXCUSE ME. i always sing usnavi's part and you could barely hear a word from it. but apart from that, the rest was fine, the choreography was amazing and it's just something i needed to mention because i had thoughts about it.

paciencia y fe! ok besties, i have thoughts, again. abuela claudia was absolutely incredible, also, her relationship with usnavi is something that you can't see in the movie version (they were so sweet i wanted to curl up and die. i knew about it before, i saw slime tutorial with obc on yt, ok? i'm pretty sure lin would be mad at me for watching bootlegs lol. i just wanted to say this). the translation didn't work out at the very end of the song tho, because when in the og version abuela sings about the "winning ticket", everyone knows already she won the lottery. i don't remember polish translation exactly, but it was something with double meaning, depends on how you interpret it, and i'm 100% sure people who didn't know the plot just didn't catch it. the rest of the song was absolutely beautiful tho.

when you're home. i was so afraid of this one, because i am totally crazy about this song (did i ever mention lin wrote this one after one of his first dates with vanessa? no? yes? ok i'll shut up about this now). oh, they did a really great job with it and it's a relief. i have nothing else to say, except that i was crying like a baby, but this song always makes me cry so what did you expect exactly? one of the best moments for sure. again, nina and benny's chemistry was absolutely incredible.

as much as i loved the club, i was actually really disappointed with one part, which is usnavi's famous "jealous i ain't jealous, i can take all these fellas, wHaTeVaaaaa". i've been waiting so long for this! and they messed it up with their stupid cringy translation which i don't even remember at the moment but usnavi was actually mad at benny and he cursed? ANYWAY. the rest of the song was great and the choreography was absolutely phenomenal, oh vanessa! let me get the next one! (i love her so much, she was amazing here). a little note from me: no one was laughing at the "no hablo ingles" part, NO ONE BUT ME!!! THEY DON'T GET IT! WTF! i was so mad (i am aware of the fact that most people probably didn't even know this story before and they just wanted to see a musical, not THE MUSICAL, which is totally fine. but sweet jesus, where is their sense of humour? they left it at home or what?).

and blackout was that part where the voice overlapping effect worked very well, so all's good. actually, one of the best moments for me as well. people were actually so confused when all the lights went down, but that was just so amazing. all the panic! everybody was screaming, crying! WE ARE POWERLESS! THE END OF ACT I!!! oh, i had the time of my life.

i had this weird feeling that they didn't exactly know how to translate most of hundreds of stories so they just made this song shorter than it actually is. which is fine i guess. honestly, it's better than bad translation, so i can forgive them. what i absolutely can't forgive tho is that the audience wasn't laughing at US NAVY. polish people, you have no fucking taste. i said what i said. and then again, usnavi and abuela's relationship was so sweet this song actually made me cry (mostly because i knew what was coming but also, i was just this weird girl who was sitting there in the second row and was crying at the most random moments).

ok, guys, honestly. carnaval del barrio was the best moment from the entire musical. oh, how much i want to experience it again! daniela was absolutely incredible, carla was so sweet, piragua guy stole the whole fucking show for me (seriously guys! he was just so amazing!). also, those little details i have never noticed before? i can't even tell if the same thing happened in the original version (the quality of that bootleg is actually terrible), but benny dancing with american flag somewhere in the background was so fucking funny and i don't think i will ever get over that part where at the end they were all still dancing and celebrating and nina and usnavi just ran away as fast as they could because... because you guys know what just happened. also, this is the moment i started crying.

i was so scared of it. let me tell you one thing, i experienced abuela's death at least fifty times and i still cry every single time. so atención is something i have to mention, because all the emotions and kevin's shaky voice made me burst into tears right away, and this time i wasn't the only one because i saw a lot of people crying when they realized what happened (i also heard a lot of OHs when he said abuela passed away, so yes, most of them didn't know this story and they were surprised). and alabanza was something else. believe me when i tell you i am writing this with tears in my eyes, i have never cried so much in public. this was the moment i was the most scared of and i was absolutely right because holy fuck. i was a mess. all the actors with those candles singing alabanza a doña claudia! (yes, they didn't translate it, all the spanish parts were left like in the original version and i am so grateful for that), it was just so sad and so beautiful. and this time i was actually like oh, they get it now (everyone was speechless and people were crying).

everyone must know at this point how much i adore champagne and i wasn't disappointed (thank god!). once again, usnavi was absolutely adorable here and people were actually laughing this time (also thank god!). how do you get this gold shit off? (my favourite line from the whole musical) was translated really well and the moment when usnavi and vanessa kissed! with all lights on them! this was so emotional and the audience reacted so well! we were all clapping (it was so funny to pretend like i didn't know it was gonna happen haha i was just as excited as all of them and once again i was like OH! THEY GET IT!). 10/10, would recommend.

if you think i wasn't crying during the last song, think again. one thing i absolutely hate about the movie version is that they actually changed the graffiti that made usnavi stay in washington heights, but i'm not gonna talk about that and i'm not gonna talk about vanessa also being there in the movie. in the original version it was a portrait of abuela claudia made by graffiti pete and oh boy, i lost my mind (i knew about it but i still lost my mind because it was absolutely beautiful). i got the feeling it was a little rushed in our polish version, but i can forgive them because it still made me cry. also, at the very end, usnavi did not only finally acknowledge he's home, when the song was over he pretty much told the audience that we are all home right now and may i just say... i felt that. i was home. they made me believe for the first time in my life i was where i belong, and somehow that was everything.

one thing about me is that this is actually all new to me. this was my first musical i saw live in theatre (and also lin's first child, which is exactly how it was supposed to be i think), and believe me when i tell you i've never had this much fun in my entire life, not even at all the concerts of my favourite artists. it was worth every money. it was worth spending 11 hours on the train and 11 more on my way back home, which by the way we should normalize (people are doing crazy things just to see their favourite artists on the stage and it's considered normal, so why can't we consider THIS normal?). anyway, i don't expect anyone around me to understand it the way i do, but i feel like i really found my thing, and it's all because of lin-manuel miranda, our beautiful puerto rican genius. he made me believe musicals can be cool and i truly wish i could thank him for that one day.

and like i said, in the heights is my favourite story with my favourite characters and i listened to it so many times i have memorized all the little details. experiencing it live is something completely different tho and i think it's safe to say this was the best night of my entire life. even tho most of the people in the audience didn't really get it, i finally felt like i was a part of this world created by my favourite genius and for the first time ever i felt understood. so i think i can say that now: i found my island, guys, i'm there, i'm home!

#if you were able to read the whole thing: congrats #also another note from me: i apologize for all those “they get it” “they dont get it”#i swear to god i am not making fun of anyone #you guys just know how much i am into it #and if other people were just there to enjoy it it's totally fine!#not everyone has to be obsessed!#but i am!#so i just wanted to explain it ok?#good.#also i apologize for it being so long but i had so much to say and i still feel like i didn't say everything i wanted #feel free to leave a comment or ask any questions if you want #now if you think i will finally shut up about in the heights on my silly little blog think again #i love it even more now if that's possible #and another explanation: i'm gonna tag this as my countdown because again i want all my ith posts in one place #thank you for your attention #it won't be long now*#why do you write like you're running out of time*#(not gonna tag this as ith cause this is only for my moots cause you guys get it)#(the last time one of my ith posts was seen by people who dont even know what that is i was depressed for days but that's another story)#(iykyk)#(and you know cause you left me tons of sweet messages guys i love you)

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rearranging-deck-chairs · 5 months

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the thing with doctor who i think is that it gets better the more you know. maybe this is true of all writing but i only know doctor who so we'll focus on that. but i think it gets better the more you know this is why my fic is not very good. i dont know many things. i think if you have a background in like, just any field you can use you can make your doctor who stories more interesting. like linguistics maths physics and music are things that come to mind for me that i would like to know to make my doctor who stories more interesting but i think it can work with, like, almost anything. biology stuff also works well adds a lot. sociology stuff history. if you know how to sew really well or youve worked in meat factories. just, if you have deep knowledge about something this will enrich your doctor who stories (again, might be true for literally every writing)

but also things you can know that are just lived and not books. like i said with that post about different countries' doctor whos, every country would bring its own history and values and perspective to the stories. but also like for example the class stuff or the queer stuff you see with rtds stories like anything a writer Knows will make their stories more interesting

and thats why doctor who could literally be so good If They Diversified Their Fucking Staff. in every sense of the word. you need disabled people, trans people, racialised people, people with different religions but you need people who know other things than writing too! which i get is difficult because theyre mostly working in their fields and not writing but like there are writers who are not or have not only ever just been writers. or just get writers with some weird fucking hobbies!

even in the most basic way even if you keep your entire show white christian able-bodied man, if you have more of those you will have better stories. it will still suck! but like, less than if you only have 1 guy writing right? thats not a novel concept artists know this writers know this thats why they work together. and i get that making tv is very complex and theres a lot of interests and a lot of choices being made that arent even to do with the stories but i find it so frustrating to think about how good doctor who could be if they let other people in to put their knowledge and their perspective in the stories

#and not just in the writing but in Every Department Obviously #i just dotn know how television is made so i dont know. like. what those are #the secret good disabled trans decolonialist doctor who that lives in my head man #like you know that feeling when an artist like...........Gets a certain theme or smth #like Knows what to do with it bc they have a certain own experience or knowledge #like when an artist truly fucking knows what theyre doing #you know that feeling? when youre like this SAYS something abt the theme/trope/idea/whatevs #you know?#doctor who is so full of unused potential #i feel like we're spinning our wheels a little bit #and maybe others feel that too bc showrunners keep being like WE NEED NEW SHOCK BIG NEW #but like. youre not gonna get that with the same old perspectives!#for truly new good refreshing you need some new good refreshing people on the mic #anyway. just. frustrates me #10 to the master but it's me to doctor who the show: you could be so much more!#like 13 and 15 are fun right? with the idk new outfit and the rwandan proverb on the sonic. fucks. but #to use rtds own words. ridiculous craven feeble gesture also a little bit. i want like. substantially good stories #i want to feel like the writer knows what theyre talking about you know?#you know that feeling #anyway #you get what im saying #the secret good doctor who that lives in my head man #except. it doesnt live in my head. bc it lives in many otherp eoples head. by definition #but sometimes i read like fic by friends who fucking Know things and im like damn #damn!!!!! doctor who could be so much better!!!!!!#i also think when youre a writer whos only a writer theres the risk of chasing your own tail a bit #in that th elonger youre a writer the more you only start writing about writing bc thats what you Know #i think thats a risk #also not a novel concept pretty sure professional writers are aware of that one gfhkjghgjg theyre not stupid

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ninja-knox-ur-sox-off · 1 year

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I love Monkie kid and the way they tell stories but oh my GODS this unreliable narrator stuff starting to stress me out

(Note: i've only seen up to ses 4 ep 8 no spoilers in the tags please)

#knox rambles #LOVE THE SHOW #BUT ALL THIS 'THIS IS WHAT HAPPENDED' BUT ITS NOT ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED IS STRESSING ME #CAN WE GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER FOR ONCE #ALL WE'VE GOT IS UNRELIABLE NARRATORS WHO TALK TRASH ABOUT MONKEY KING #EVERY TIME I TRY AND COME UP WITH A THEORY I HAVE TO CHECK WHO SAID THE THING IM BASING IT OFF OF TO SEE IF ITS PLAUSABLE OR NOT #AND HECK NO MATTER WHO SAYS IT YOU CANT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY #I JUST WANT A STRAIGHT ANSWERRRRRR #WE HAVE LIKE NEVER GOT ONE AND NOW THAT WE'RE INTO LORE ABOUT MONKEY KING ITS STRESSING MEEEEE #LIKE AZURE (spoilers for ep 8) MAKES IT SOUND LIKE WUKONG NEVER GOT THE MOUNTAIN OR RAN INTO BUDDAH #AND ITS POSSIBLE HE DOESNT KNOW BUT ITS ALSO POSSIBLE THEY JUST TOOK THOSE BITS OUT #BUT THERES NO WAY TO ACTUALLY TELL #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #i mean whatever the outcome im not gonna stop writing monkey king with his usual furnace buddah mountain stuff #just gotta add on him being low-key used by azure and fun stuff HDHDHFHHFG #also heck off topic suddenly but thinking suddenly about how Azure and Macaques perspectives of monkey king are opposites #FACINATING #mac: hes selfish he only cares about himself get out while you can he always wins and gets what he wants and leaves you behind #azure: hes selfless hes great he cares so much about his people and puts them before himself but he failed and keeps failing #azure: he doesnt know what hes doing #mac: he knows exactly what hes doing #SORRY SUCH A SIDE BAR THERE I MIGHT MAKE AN ACTUAL POST ABOUT IT LATER GOOD DAY

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thatoneluckybee · 3 months

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Tell me about your OCs! (if you have any)

Good grief I have many an oc… I’ve spoken vaguely about my mains online BUT I keep it vague for privacy stuff lol. The main set are from a story me and a close friend began IRL years ago that was all but abandoned after the pandemic. They aren’t really into it anymore so essentially I’ve been given free reign over them. However… I have no set plan on what we’re gonna do. We both love art so we’ve considered making it into like a webcomic or a book but neither of us know. It’s just this series stuck in my head. I keep things vague with them love in case we ever do get around to making this a real published thing (also because I am… 60% sure said friend has a tumblr and Do Not Want Them To Find Me.)

#i have so many little people and characters in my head from things ive made over the years i love writing #there’s also a book i stopped writing cause my parents got too involved and it wasnt fun anymore but who knows i may finish i have too much #lore in my head.#my notes app is CLUTTERED with ocs and game ideas and comic ideas and book ideas and—#hmmm. ive been working on a new idea for a bit amnd there’s one thing ive had for over a year but it isnt fleshed out enough for me to have #like. oc introductions.#maybe i should finish fleshing out one of these half-finished prompts so i can tumblrify it.#OH AND #i DO have VERY vivid dreams often and if a character appears often I name them #so i guess those people count as ocs?#because theyre dreams they are very strange #i think dreams are so interesting. they can be such a deep dive into your inner self OR just essentially shitposting behind your eyelids #its so cool to me. maybe i should talk about those.#aight chat what do i do. who are my tumblr ocs gonna be.#flesh out the horror idea? flesh out the other milder horror idea? or talk about the dream characters?#those three i havent spoken much of irl who will be my Tumblr Ocs #i love them all so #asks #anonymous #I DID NOT MEAN TO RAMBLE i may screenshot this and make these tags a whole post

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tickle-bugs · 1 year

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For the warmup prompts can you do Beetlejuice and Lydia (platonic! I do not ship them romantically in any way whatsoever) with the dialogue of “I bet I can get you to say my name.” If not, I totally understand!

So for people who haven’t seen/listened to the musical the vibe is completely different from the movie LMAO less “this is our weird uncle beetlejuice the family won’t talk to him he’s wanted by the feds and can’t come within 500 feet of the house” and more “cool but still weird cousin beetlejuice who collects strange rocks, is always in danger of being actively actively on fire, and is wayyy too into dark humor”. It’s a good show! If you like comedy musicals with a rock lean to the soundtrack, you’ll probably like it. It’s got a Little Shop of Horrors sensibility to it, I think.

If anyone tags this as ship w/ Lydia and Beetlejuice I will crawl out of your screen like the girl from the ring and gnaw on your bones I’m so serious

AU where the plot of this show doesn’t take like. A week LMAO. Basically Lydia hasn’t said BJ’s name yet but she also hasn’t decided what to do with her dad yet. So they’re at an impasse. Lydia regularly goes to hang out in her haunted attic and lament because Delia won’t go up there, thus making it safe. Beetlejuice keeps doing Say My Name-style ad pitches to get Lydia to summon him properly but he’s not very good at it.

EDIT: FORGOT THE BODY HORROR WARNING OOPS!! It’s very mild but just in case anyone needs it <;3

Full-Time Spectres

Lydia’s life is far from conventional, perfectly so, but she’s started to adapt to the strangeness in the walls of her house. She doesn’t have the one ghost she wants most of all, but she’s got three that do just fine for entertainment and scheming purposes. She’s gotten used to the cold spots, the occasional flicker of the lights, and Adam’s habit of walking through walls rather than doors--he figured out that he could and never wanted to stop.

Some things she’ll never adjust to, though, like her attic being strewn with scraps of brutalized board games.

Monopoly’s been pinned to the wall with a knife, Ludo sits perfectly still on a shelf with suspicious-looking green liquid in the shot glasses, and a chess board hovers in the air, eternally aflame. It’s a massacre and she doesn’t know where half of these things came from.

“What’s, uh…what’s happening here?” Lydia kicks the door shut behind her. The door creaks open. She kicks it closed again with a frown.

Adam looks up and squints at the door. His eyes dart around as if he can see the schematics of it and diagnose the problem from halfway across the room. Lydia allows herself a tiny smile.

“Adam’s teaching me to play checkers.” Beetlejuice beams, which is unsettling in itself.

“Well, I tried to reach him to play chess, then a few other things…it didn’t go well.” Adam pushes his glasses up his nose and surveys the board in front of them. He captures one of Beetlejuice’s pieces with a triumphant little ‘aha!’.

Beetlejuice takes a long, pensive look at the board. Very thin tendrils of smoke curl out of his ears as he tries to decide which piece to play. Adam, sweet Adam, goes to help him make an advantageous move, but Beetlejuice shushes him.

“What are you doing?” Lydia sidles over to Barbara, who fumbles with an old lamp. She sets it down before she can shatter it.

“Well, it was going to be a surprise but…” Barbara gestures excitedly to a small nook in the attic. She’s rearranged various boxes of her former belongings to build a shoddy sort of booth. A heavy, ugly floral curtain hangs precariously over the doorway.

“It’s a dark corner!” Lydia gasps sarcastically.

“No—well, yes, but it’s supposed to be a kind of mini dark room? I don’t know much about them but I know you’re always taking pictures.” Barbara shifts awkwardly.

Oh. Oh.

Lydia cradles her camera in her hands, running her thumb along the outside. The pebbled texture is a kiss to her fingertips. If she concentrated hard enough, she can remember the feeling of her mom’s warm hands over her own, showing her how to hold the camera.

“If you don’t like it—“

“You made this for me?” She whispers. She tries to swallow the lump in her throat.

“Still workin’ on it, but yes.” Barbara gestures lamely.

“You…didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got nothing but time. Might as well use it right.” Barbara shrugs. Lydia bounces on her toes.

“I’ve still, um, gotta clear out all of our junk. Adam and I don’t need it anymore, not really, and you need room to breathe. I know it’s not much, but--”

Lydia crashes into Barbara for a hug. She’s icy to the touch, but her touch is the most comforting thing Lydia can imagine. Barbara pulls her in close, cradling the back of her head with her cool hands. There is no heartbeat in her chest, but Lydia can feel that it’s not empty.

A memory of her mother prickles at the back of her mind. She pushes it down.

“Do you want help?” Lydia pulls away and looks towards the dark room, ignoring the twinge of grief in her gut. She can see its potential around the edges.

“It’s your surprise! You can’t help with that!” Barbara gasps, affronted.

The curtain falls heavily from the hooks and thumps into the ground. A plume of dust kicks up and Lydia coughs.

“Okay. Maybe you can.” Barbara scratches her head. Together, she and Lydia hoist the heavy curtain back into precarious-looking hooks embedded in the wall. As they back away from it, silently begging it to stay in place, Beetlejuice sits up ramrod straight.

“Adam, Barbara’s throwing away your coin collection,” Beetlejuice gasps and points over Adam’s shoulder.

“What? They’re vintage!” Adam whirls around. Beetlejuice moves a bunch of pieces around, making a bunch of captures, and eats a piece for good measure. He winks at Lydia. She fondly rolls her eyes.

“You know I would never.” Barbara says. Adam deflates. She kisses his forehead. He grumbles a little but accepts it.

When Adam turns back to the board, Lydia has the express joy of watching him go through the five stages of grief in real time. He looks from Beetlejuice to the board in sheer despair.

“Why do you keep eating the pieces?” Adam puts his head in his hands.

“Because, Adam dearest, it makes you mad.” Beetlejuice pats his shoulder solemnly. Lydia snorts.

“Well, I’m officially out of games.” Adam pats his thighs and stands. He ambles over to Barbara and appraises the curtain. He puts his hands on his hips and starts muttering about supports and tracks. Lydia tries to follow along but her eyes near-instantly glaze over.

“Sooooo, Lydia.” Beetlejuice slides over to her. “Have you given my offer any more thought?”

“You still haven’t given me a convincing argument. Calling yourself ‘the worst of the best’ isn’t exactly a glowing review.” Lydia wrinkles her nose.

“These two like me!” Beetlejuice points at the Maitlands. Barbara gives a teasing ‘meh’ gesture just to see him splutter in offense. She laughs softly.

“I’ll admit, I’m coming around on him.” Adam chuckles.

“Thank you, Adam. Mwah.” Beetlejuice blows a kiss in his direction. Adam turns a little pink and goes back to working on the curtain. Barbara whispers something in his ear that makes him turn even pinker.

“They like anyone. I’ve met cardboard with stronger opinions than them.” Lydia scoffs, then turns. “No offense.”

Adam and Barbara both shrug.

“Fair point. Counteroffer: you hate your dad, I hate your dad, let’s kill him.” Beetlejuice gives his most enthusiastic jazz hands. Lydia stares at him blankly.

“Denied.” She pushes his hands out of the way.

“On what grounds?”

“On the grounds that you suck. Your fate hinges on me and you can’t even get me to say your name. You spend all your time cheating at board games because you need me more than I need you. That’s pretty lame for a big, scary demon,” Lydia says mockingly, curling her fingers into claws. When Beetlejuice gives her the finger, she gives two right back with a smirk.

“Lydia, be nice,” Barbara chides, goosing Lydia’s side. She yelps and smacks her hand away.

Beetlejuice gasps. Lydia slowly meets his sparkling eyes.

“No.” Lydia points at him. Beetlejuice smiles slowly, wicked and full of mischief.

“I’ll kill you. I’ll bring you back to life just to kill you--”

Lydia steps back, Beetlejuice steps forward, and all hell breaks loose. Lydia springs over a pile of Maitland junk and ducks under Adam’s arm. She shoves him into Beetlejuice’s path.

Beetlejuice simply picks Adam up and deposits him elsewhere like a Maitland mannequin. He squeaks and leaps out of the way of their chase.

The two of them circle each other around an unbuilt dining room table kit, Lydia just barely keeping out of arm’s reach. She bolts past a dilapidated spin-your-own-yarn kit and dives through Barbara’s legs to hide behind her.

Beetlejuice stops and visibly considers the consequences of doing the same. Barbara gives him a withering look. He tries to circle around her, but Lydia’s excellent at moving her around like a meat shield. Beetlejuice visibly starts scheming.

Barbara looks at Lydia, looks back at him, and slides out of the way.

“Barbara!” Lydia screeches in outrage but there’s not enough time to screech and run. He grabs her and pulls her into a bear hug.

“Thank youuuu, Babs!” Beetlejuice grins at her. She shakes her head fondly and honorably discharges herself from the battlefield.

“Hey Lydia…I bet I can get you to say my name.” He cackles evilly. Lydia hisses at him, but damn it, she’s already giggling nervously. He swoops his hands over her stomach, wiggling his fingers but not quite touching.

“B-Beetlejuice!” She squeaks and rocks up onto her toes in lieu of running.

“That’s one!” He singsongs, finally touching down on her stomach. She folds into his hands—unwise, really—and curses Beetlejuice to the high heavens and below.

“Think we should help her?” Adam leans over to Barbara. They both watch Lydia worm around in Beetlejuice’s arms, not making much of an escape attempt despite the volume of her threats.

“Nah.” Barbara moves a crate of nearly-unused embroidery hoops out of the way with tender care. The curtain collapses again. Both Maitlands sigh.

“Beetlejuice, you fucker!” Lydia growls, but quickly loses it to laughter. He’s doing this infuriating little pinchy-thing to her sides, one that makes her leap clear off the ground each time. She tosses her head back and cackles, her whole face scrunched with the force of it.

God, she hasn’t laughed like this since…well, it’s been a while. She’d forgotten that she could.

“Eh, that probably counts. One more!” Beetlejuice finds a deathly spot on her lower ribs and decides not to leave it alone.

“Beeeeeeeeeeeee--AHHH!”

“Hm, yeah. See, now we’re gonna have to start over.” Beetlejuice tasers her sides, right at that spot, and feigns disapproval. Lydia makes a noise at a pitch audible only to dogs and demons.

Crunch.

Lydia’s foot connects directly with his face in a frankly-stunning high kick. He drops her roughly. Something goes flying across the room and hits the wall with a quiet thump. Barbara gasps sharply and covers her mouth in shock.

Beetlejuice touches his nose—or rather, the space where it used to be, and a thick hush falls over the attic. Everyone’s eyes drift to the nose, now fallen among jars of the most rancid-looking kombucha on the face of the earth. It twitches plaintively.

He laughs, loud and boisterous. His lack-of-nose whistles as he does. Adam picks up the fallen nose and gags before tossing it to Lydia and wiping his hands on his shirt.

“Got your nose,” Lydia giggles weakly, depositing it into Beetlejuice’s hand.

“Nice shot.” Beetlejuice chuckles, uncomfortably nasally, and shoves his nose back into place with an awful crack. He takes a long, wheezing inhale and gives her a thumbs up.

“So…” He sidles close to her, bringing back the jazz hands.

“No.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” He sighs.

“Lydia, are you alright?” Delia’s voice curls faintly up the rickety staircase. She climbs up, but not all the way—Lydia can tell by the shuffling of her awful shoes.

Everyone freezes.

“Lydia?”

She opens her mouth to answer Delia and Beetlejuice squeezes her sides. She yelps and whirls around, but he doesn’t even have the decency to feign innocence. He just does it again, waiting for the precise moment she goes to speak.

“Y-Yeah, I’m o-okay.” Lydia wrestles with Beetlejuice’s hands, her voice shaking with barely-restrained giggles.

“Oh god, please don’t make me come up there.” Delia’s ‘whisper’ is anything but. Beetlejuice snorts.

“I’m fine! Just, uhm, doing spring cleaning.” Lydia calls back, stomping on Beetlejuice’s foot. He doesn’t even flinch.

“Okay.” A long, heavy pause from Delia.

“You can go now!” Lydia yells. Delia’s heels click quickly down the stairs, back towards the dreary living.

“You’re insufferable,” Lydia hisses at Beetlejuice, punching his shoulder. He holds his hand over his heart and gives a grand, sweeping bow. When he stands up, he smacks his head against the dagger in the wall. Lydia snickers at him.

He turns around like a penguin, never one to do things normally, and makes a delighted noise at the pierced Monopoly board. He pulls the knife out of the wall and pokes his finger with it a few too many times, fascinated with the sharpness of it.

He stretches, makes a bunch of vague measurement and aiming gestures, then lobs the knife straight upwards. It lodges into the ceiling with an enthusiastic ping! The blade warbles with the force of it.

Beetlejuice slaps the Monopoly board down on the floor and plops down in front of it. Adam bemoans the state of the attic ceiling as Barbara consoles him.

“Wanna play?” Beetlejuice snaps his fingers and the board changes, shifting into black, whites, purples, and greens. Graveyard moss creeps along the edges of the board. Monopoly components spawn into existence on the board, appearing in puffs of fog and comically-quiet wails of the damned.

“Sure.” Lydia sits opposite him. She pokes at some of the moss. It sprouts to meet her touch.

“If you get stabbed, you lose?” Beetlejuice casts a cursory glance to the still-wobbling knife. The blade shifts slightly out of the ceiling.

“Deal.” Lydia sticks her hand out to shake. Beetlejuice takes it with gusto.

“You guys wanna play?” Lydia turns to the Maitlands. Barbara and Adam look at each other, communicating in that telepathic way of theirs. Barbara grins and leads Adam over to the board to sit.

“I call thimble!” Adam reaches for it. Beetlejuice swats his hand. Adam reaches again. Beetlejuice swats him a little harder.

“You can’t have the thimble. I’m the thimble.” Beetlejuice pinches it between his fingers.

“Can I have the thimble?” Barbara leans close to Beetlejuice and looks up at him through her lashes. Lydia never would’ve guessed that a demon could blush, but sure enough, Beetlejuice’s face takes on the slightest bit of color.

“I sense that I’m being manipulated.” He narrows his eyes.

“Is it working?” Barbara smiles.

“Yep.” He slaps the thimble into her hand. She passes it to Adam. He beams. Beetlejuice rolls his eyes but his gaze lingers on them for just a bit too long.

“Well played, Babs. Well played.” Beetlejuice scoops up the racecar piece and frowns at it. Its tiny metal form melts and reconfigures into a small hearse. Satisfied, he places it right next to the cat piece—Lydia’s, of course. Barbara takes the top hat with pride.

When Beetlejuice jumps Adam for his extra get out of jail free card—of which there are a suspicious amount in Beetlejuice’s version of the game—Lydia laughs and swipes a bit of Beetlejuice’s money. Adam’s hiccupy cackles are the backdrop for Barbara robbing the bank in broad daylight, taking as many bills from the tray as her heart desires.

Lydia’s life is certainly very strange and painfully unusual, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. She can only hope that her mom will love being part of the attic’s menagerie of ghosts and ghouls as much as she does.

#this...this got out of hand #rewrote it twice so it might be a bit of a mess but i think i got to mash together the concepts i was leaning between #hope u enjoy it anon!! thank u for this!!!#my fics #beetlejuice musical #ticklish!lydia #lil bit of adam at the end too but im not gonna tag it #lydia deetz #adam maitland #barbara maitland #beetlejuice #not gonna tag delia either but bless her heart #not explicitly ship but. i think adam barbara and beetlejuice hold hands sometimes idk #tried to include a couple easter eggs/references i hope ppl enjoy those hehe #also bj is just so much fun to write. funky lil freak

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