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NOOOO DONT

im jumping

@possum-quesadilla

HAHAHAHA

Hey Raine?

Pick a number between one and ten for me please :)

Im scared

7

Hey all! Here is Cyrus’ backstory, including his human life and then his time as a demon up until his first appearance in Time’s Arrow!

Note: this is not meant to sympathize him, he sucks. Just wanted to share some backstory that’ll never come up in the fic!

TW: He grew up in the 1800s, where plenty of nasty stuff happened. Warnings for child labor, work incidents, mentions of homophobia and sexism, blood and violence, rampant substance abuse (including alcohol and drugs), gambling, murder, manipulation, emotional and physical abuse mentions. He’s a nasty dude.

Cyrus is a younger demon, having lived in America in the 1800’s. His real demonic name is “Sirius”, which is the brightest star in the night sky, also known as the “dog star”, and part of the constellation Canis Major. Canis Major is meant to be the hunting dog of Orion the hunter.

His human name was Jack Patrick Howard, and he was born and raised in Maine. His father was an immigrant from England, and his mother was a Maine native. He has a strong drifting accent (either Maine farming or cockney) that he does his best to cover up.

Jack grew up on a sheep farm with his folks, and was sent off to do small odd jobs for neighbors and local businesses by his father to make a quick penny for his poor family.

At the ripe young age of eight, he started pocketing half the money he earned from his odd jobs and just told his parents that people were paying him less.

At the age of thirteen, he took on a full time job in a factory and moved away from his parent’s farm.

He met a boy at age fifteen, and the two were seen as the best of friends by everyone around them. Really, he and that boy were dating, but that obviously was an issue back in 18-whatever.

That boy died mysteriously in a factory accident, purposefully caused by Jack when he realized people were starting to get suspicious of their close relationship.

Jack fled the factory shortly after, moving from job to job, drifting between towns. He became a grifter.

He worked a lot of odd jobs; factory worker, farm hand, logger, bartender, etc. He stole often and loved to spend the money on drinking and smoking and gambling, and he would just flee the town when he was caught.

Eventually, when he was 25, Jack got a letter: his aging parents needed help caring for themselves and the farm. So he traveled there, treated them all nice and sweet whenever company was over.

But once he’d settled in, he killed his parents and blamed it on their age/poor health. He inherited the farm and all their money, which wasn’t much.

Not able to hold down a farm by himself, Jack let his family farm go to ruin and then sold it for much less than it was worth within a year.

Jack continued to be a grifter, drinking and smoking his money away and stealing whenever he could, until he was about 33 years old.

That is when his crimes caught up with him.

A furious woman whose husband was driven to drink himself to death after their business went under due to Jack’s stealing their money and driving customers away came after him with a flintlock pistol while he was asleep.

He managed to escape, but not without grievous injuries.

Jack was going to die.

“I’d sell my soul for one last drink,” he said, as he hobbled along into the woods.

“That can be arranged,” a voice answered.

A demon named Canis came to him, offering up one last drink in exchange for his soul.

Jack thought quickly. He was always very clever.

He asked, instead, for the demon to retrieve an apple from a nearby orchard. He was too weak from blood loss to climb up and get one, and he would certainly exchange his soul if he could have just one last refreshing bite of an apple.

The demon grumbled but acquiesced, scaling the tree to get Jack an apple.

The man carved a crucifix into the bark of the tree with his pocket knife before the demon could come down.

Furious and trapped, the demon demanded he scratch off the cross and let him down.

Nope, not unless Jack got to drink and smoke and do as he pleased forever.

After much growling and grumbling, the demon agreed.

They shook on it, and Jack allowed the demon down.

Still quite angry, Canis said he would make him a demon, so that he could trick and scheme and lie for eternity. Sure, he wouldn’t “live” forever, but it was close enough. Jack hadn’t thought it through and set out the proper parameters of the Deal.

Canis had another stipulation: Jack would not get hellfire in his chest like every other demon. He would get only embers, and forever feel the chill of death unlike every other demon.

With that, Canis granted him his new name and led him down to the Netherworld.

Sirius.

He was fuming. He wanted to live forever, and now he was stuck in the Netherworld for eternity?

Now going by ‘Cyrus’, he immediately sought a way to scheme and climb the ladder.

Being on the bottom rung of the demon social ladder was horrendous. (May elaborate on that in another post if desired)

Being born a human was looked down upon among demonkind, despite the majority of them being born as humans.

He heard whispers of the Shoggoth spawn, and the power they wielded.

He then heard about a Shoggoth demon named Beetlejuice, and how he was unhappily married to a cruel demon named Rigel.

How he sought after attention and any crumb of affection by almost any means necessary.

He found his mark.

While Cyrus charmed and manipulated Beetlejuice, he searched for other ways to help him grow his power.

As he was schmoozing up a newly-dead in one of the waiting rooms, trying to strike up a Deal, Cyrus discovered something interesting growing from the carpet and the moldy corners of the ceiling: a strange little blue-leafed plant, with an alluring aroma.

It was called the ‘Tears of Prometheus’, and it grew in places where human despair was in great abundance.

Cyrus learned it had a wonderful warming affect on him when consumed, even more so when ground up and smoked.

It had other effects on the rest of demonkind.

It was highly addictive, but in very short supply.

Cyrus decided to seize control of that supply, plucking all of the plants and storing them away to grow himself.

His power and influence in the Depths grew rapidly overnight.

He was a nobody, a demon without even a building to his name.

Suddenly, he was rivaling the other higher level demons.

He had the power and influence he always wanted.

But he wanted more.

Cyrus convinced the members of his Cult to set up an exorcism ritual, and convinced Beetlejuice to lure his terrible husband at the time to it.

They watched him be Extinguished together.

Cyrus gained all of the Cult members that had belonged to Rigel.

(Cyrus does not have a Coven, only a Cult. He is hella sexist.)

Unfortunately for him, his little stunt got Beetlejuice in serious trouble with Juno, and he was cursed and banished to the surface.

So Cyrus waited for his return, all the while searching for another Shoggoth to steal power from, but he found none.

So he waited.

So uhhh. Chat.

I’m just about finished with chapter 12 of Time’s Arrow. I thought it would take longer, but the vision was so strong I finished it, it just needs polishing.

Question is, do I publish it when it’s done, or do I wait to let the last chapter simmer? Work on the next chapter of Lonely Remnants?

I keep rereading chapter 12 and going

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Here’s a wee bit of art for chapter 12 of LoopJuice… I don’t really like how it turned out but. Oh well! If I keep tweaking it I’ll go crazy.

Posts I want to make as extras for my fics:

- Differences between Lawrence and the Shoggoth, in terms of appearance, voice, mannerisms, etc. (CorpseJuice)

- Explanations to the town and more on backstories that won’t show up in the story itself (CorpseJuice)

- The demon hierarchy and society explained, kinda (the afterlife too) (LoopJuice)

- A list of scenes that were cut from LoopJuice, so y’all can pick which ones I write when (ie Beetlands date nights, Lydia and Ash’s talk in the woods, Charles and Beetlejuice bonding, etc) (same will probably apply to CorpseJuice later on)

- Backstory on Deb, Larry, Bela, and other demons (LoopJuice)

- More info about Lydia and the witchcraft she practices (LoopJuice)

- Break downs of playlists / specific songs (both)

- Break downs of themes / referenced literature (both but especially LoopJuice)

Will take suggestions to! Anything you’re confused about and/or want me to expand upon? I’ll answer just about anything, as long as it’s not spoilers!

My Latin teacher was talking about Orpheus and Eurydice today and I thought of you.

Typing that just made me think— the lyric "she called your name before she went, but I guess you weren't listening” reminds me of LoopJuice Beej and Lyds. Everything reminds me of LoopJuice/CorpseJuice. You’ve infected my brain… /pos

-Cosmo

Awww! I’ve given you all brain worms <3 sorry, they’re terminal <3 /j

YEAH THATS ONE OF THE LYRICS IN PARTICULAR I GO CRAZY OVER!!

But in all seriousness. You guys don’t understand how long I’ve been plotting and going insane over the Orpheus and Eurydice connection. There are others of course but that one is. OUGH. I love making literature connections like that…

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

Please read the warnings carefully before proceeding.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baby is home!!! :,)

bouncing in my chair, spinning around as I pace around the house, aggressively flapping my hands, so joyous I'm unable to sit still, stomping my feet in joy, unable to make words, all you hear is "BABY IS HOME BABY IS HOME YESSS YESSSS RAGHGHGHGHGH BABY IS HOMEEE BABY IS HOME BAbY BABYY BABYYYYYYY BABY IS HOMMEEEEE BABY IS HOME BABY IS HOME BABY IS HOME"

HOLY SHIT WAHAHSJSJSGQIEIAPAOSK SA

YOU YOU YOU

LARRY SAVED US

ALL HAIL LARRY

YAYAYAYSYSYAYYAUAYAUAUAHDUDKDNEI

YIPEEE

YEAAAHHH!! YIPPEE!! THANK YOU LARRY!!

Larry would be so embarrassed by the amount of people hyping them up.

I think they deserve a lore post for this…. Perhaps…

I need that clip of Michael from The Good Place where they’re like “we found all four of the clues you left us” and he’s like “that’s great! Actually I left like 1200 just in case” but it’s. Me about foreshadowing in my writing

Seeing all of the overjoyed reactions to chapter 12 of loopjuice but knowing what’s coming in the next one is like. I feel like that one monkey

This one

“Lonely Day” by System Of A Down reminds me of Adam, Barbara, and Beetlejuice’s relationship, especially in chapter 11

YEEEESSSSS AHH I LISTENED TO THIS IN THE CAR AND TEARED UP A LITTLE THANK YOU

i’m so excited for the next loopjuice chapter :D

I am too!! It’s going to be very long, and I have 8-12 hour work days the rest of this week, so progress will be slow unfortunately. But I am very excited to work on it!!!!

Thank you for your enthusiasm and the ask! <33

“‘Til death do us part, please keep breaking my heart, til it ceases to beat, please be mine”

I feel like those lyrics are very Beetlejuice and Cyrus. I love Will Wood.

WHAT YES THEY DO!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH. WHAT SONG IS THAT.

Awww, thanks! I understand not trusting incomplete works, I don’t either most of the time.

But I promise I will finish Time’s Arrow or die trying!!

Best of luck!! Hope you enjoy! Chat wish them good luck for all of the heart wrenching stuff

Wait, are you aware that Time is a Flat Circle has a sequel? /nf nm

i am deeply afraid of unfinished things (if you click on the one unfinished one i recommended you'll understand it's entirely porn and has no plot so therefore doesn't matter)

BUT loopjuice was too good. so i am Trusting You to finish the sequel and i will start reading it tonight

Chapter 13 of Time’s Arrow, “Everything stays, But it still changes, Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, In little ways, when everything stays”, is up! Sorry for the wait!

Here are the extras!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Everything Stays” from “Adventure Time”. Thank you Cosmo! The vibe of the song “Today Today” by Jack Stauber really fits this chapter, as I hear the ending as a happy reunion, and I’ve been planning to use it for this chapter for forever. Unfortunately the lyrics don’t fit, so I went with the next best song!

- Beetlejuice’s voice - Beej is experiencing vocal paralysis, a very painful condition. The only really good example I can find of it is Red from “Us”, so I suggest you watch a clip of her speaking to get a good feel of how he sounds if you’d like!

- “Beetlejuice struggled to get back to his hooves, nearly stumbling into a wooden chair that was set up in front of the wall. Where had it come from? Why was is there?” - They brought down one of the dining room chairs and took turns waiting for him.

- “It faded when he realized he couldn’t hear the Maitlands. Try as he might, he could not hear the ambient tone of their souls.” - Now they have a new sound he’s not used to! They’re not actually gone here.

- “She can’t. … She can’t be gone. … She can’t be gone. They both can’t be.” - This is a direct reference to the song “Lima Bean Man” by Jack Stauber, which greatly inspired scenes in this fic.

- “A strange, fuzzy cat stood wide eyed at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor, eyes glinting in the darkness. He didn’t have the time to even attempt to try to remember which one of the cats it was when the feline turned and bolted back up the stairs, letting out a strange gargled meow as it went.” - Percy went and alerted Lydia that Beej was back! He is such a good familiar.

- “The man tightened his grip around the demon, lifting their hooves up off the ground as he buried his face in his shoulder. One hand cupped the back of the demon’s head, holding him close.” - FATHER MOMENT. FATHER MOMENT.

- “A strange, newer sort of warmth radiated within him that he didn’t quite recognize.” - THE FIRST TIME TRULY FEELING FATHERLY / PATERNAL LOVE

- “She wore an oversized black hoodie that read “shrimps is bugs” (heheh, that’s too funny, where did she get that?) …” - Lydia wore his hoodie because she missed him. He does not recognize it as his hoodie.

- “Some sort of green glow reflected in her eyes. It took him a few moments to realize it was his hair. (It could turn green? And glow?)” … “He thanked Adam as he set him down, face warm and what strands of his hair he could see tinted orange. (Orange too? Weird.)” - yeah, he doesn’t remember that his hair changes color.

- “ “Why don’t you sign instead, son?” The memories were shaky at best. His head was full of fog, any words just barely registering.” - Beej is not mentally present enough to register that Charles called him ‘son’ multiple times. He will freak out later.

- “(Why were his fingers tinted blueish-purple?)” - oof…

- “Beetlejuice let out an involuntary little giggle as the life coach pressed a kiss to his forehead, her cherry chapstick leaving a light smudge. She swiftly released him, hands gripping his shoulders. “Don’t you ever do that again, young man!” “Ne-nei-eith-ther young-ng nor a ma-man,” he quipped.” - two call backs to earlier Delia interactions!!

- “Their eyes had a faint glow to them in the dim light, like his own.” - they have the reflective cat eyes like Beej does!

- “(What? No. Focus!) … Even more freckles spread across her nose and beautiful rosy cheeks- gah! Focus!” - Even when he can’t remember his partners, he, as one of my mutuals put it, “is too in love”.

- Barbara and Adam’s demon forms - Barbara is based on a fallow deer, Adam is based on a sika deer! They have spots on their legs that are currently covered by their pajama pants.

- “Beetlejuice briefly put a hand to his throat. The external wound was certainly already healed, but…” - It definitely left a scar btw :)

- “Beetlejuice scowled down at his shaking legs, then glanced at his sister and f-… Charles, who were gently holding his arms to help him stay upright.” - HE ALMOST CALLED HIM HIS FATHER

- “Curiosity got the better of him after he’d managed to put on a pair of pajama pants with a weird little emo looking creature on them.” - These are the Kuromi pajamas he got on Lydia’s birthday.

- “He couldn’t get down on his knees, but he could rest very low on his haunches.” - Thanks to my discord pals for helping me figure out the logistics of Beej begging on his knees with sheep legs.

- “Lovebug, sweetie, we’ve been planning to do this for a while.” - SHOUT OUT TO ANYONE WHO CAUGHT THE HINTS ABOUT THIS! I’ve been sprinkling them in since the latter half of Time is a Flat Circle!

- “Beetlejuice could not remember what the food Delia had prepared for them was called. He downed it happily. It was crunchy and soft and savory and salty, and all around wonderful.” - Panini melts! Thank you Cosmo

- “The movie is peaceful and beautiful and romantic, and he’s warm and - ” - It’s “The Princess Bride” :))

- “But it certainly wasn’t a tall, muscular teen, with hair dyed in blonde, black, and red patches.” - it’s called calico hair! Ash went through a crisis while Beej was gone.

- “Lydia softly cleared her throat, stepping back from the other teen. “Beej, why don’t you give Ash a hug?” ” - Lydia could tell Beej was struggling to remember here.

- “Beetlejuice couldn’t help but laugh as he released them, taking a step back to give them space.” - Beetlejuice is assuming Ash doesn’t want a long hug, and Ash is assuming Beetlejuice doesn’t want a long hug. But they both do!!

- “He caught sight of them swiftly wiping the wetness from both their eyes.” - Ash really missed Beej, but they know they’ve probably had an emotional day and don’t want another person crying about how they’re back.

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

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

HELP. OBSESSED. OBSESSED. GRGRGGGRGGRG

YAYYY

Also other doodle

Ehehehehehhee