A long-overdue hello. I'm really sorry about the long hiatus. COVID-19, online school, presidential elections, and other things that's happened in the hell known as 2020. I just couldn't find it in me to write.

So, with my extra time, I took to YouTube. I discovered a lot of new interests, in particular, horror. I don't know what's so appealing about it, but I was hooked anyway. I learned as much as I could about the genre. I inevitably came across Beetlejuice, and I can't let go of it. I haven't actually watched the movie, but I have seen a few episodes of the cartoon and listened to the musical's soundtrack.

Naturally, inspiration struck me. I decided to try my hand at a "characters watching their own show" fic. With the cartoon iterations!

Keep in mind, I haven't seen the musical. I've had to rely on animatics and Wikipedia for this. If I get anything wrong, I apologize.

Now, for the first time in forever, here's the story!

Lydia Deetz was in her room, reading another one of Edgar Allan Poe's works. Unusually, she could barely pay attention to the words on the current page. Because today was exciting.

Somebody had made a musical all about her and her poltergeist friend, Beetlejuice. In just a few hours, it would be opening night!

The ink in her book suddenly swirled, and it formed the familiar shape of a ghost wearing a striped tuxedo. Lydia smiled. "Beetlejuice!"

He grinned back, holding up two fingers. "Two more times, Babes."

The goth girl obeyed, and Beetlejuice appeared next to her, floating in the air. He joyfully whizzed around. "Can ya believe it? A show! All about us!"

Lydia laughed. "I'm interested to see what they got, considering they kept the storyline a secret."

"I wish they gave us creative control over what they could do with us," Beetlejuice said, halting his travel around the room.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"I guess."

He landed on Lydia's bed, in a sitting position. "One thing's for sure. They better get me right! Beetles and all!" A few beetles escaped from under his shirt. He quickly snatched them and put them in his pocket. "Save 'em for later."

Lydia said, "I'm expecting a few creative liberties for the sake of drama. Always happens with adaptations."

"Then it better not be unrecognizable."

The ghost looked at Lydia's mirror. "How 'bout we pop over there right now?" He promptly burst in an explosion of green goo. He quickly regenerated.

"It doesn't start for a few hours," Lydia reminded.

"Doesn't matter! We'd beat the lines!" A stripe on his jacket separated, and he whacked it out the window with a baseball bat.

Lydia chuckled. "Okay, okay. It'll be a long wait, though."

"Then I'll entertain ya." He conjured up a marching band uniform, complete with a giant drum.

The girl smiled, then went up to her dresser, picking up a familiar spider brooch. She then approached the mirror. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!"

In a flash, they were in the Neitherworld, conveniently near the resident theatre. Beetlejuice: The Musical. The Musical. The Musical was on its sign, on a striped background.

Lydia pinned the creepy crawly accessory on her red cobweb poncho. "You got the tickets?"

"Sure." Beetlejuice pulled them out, handing one to his friend. "Got 'em for free."

"What was the scam?" Lydia asked mischievously.

"Believe it or not, there were none. I really did get 'em for free."

"I guess since we're the main characters, it makes sense."

They walked to the entrance. Lydia knew that normally, they were supposed to wait outside until they let people in. But things weren't ever normal in the Neitherworld.

The ticket person let them in, and they made their way to the auditorium. The tickets granted them front-row seats.

Beetlejuice settled in. "Best seats in the house!"

Lydia sat in her own seat. "BJ, there's something I want you to promise me: no juicing anyone, both the actors and the audience."

"Wha-!"

"I want to see the show. The real show. And everyone should be allowed to enjoy it without any disturbances."

"Fine," Beetlejuice pouted. A halo appeared above his head. "Anything for you, Lyds."

"It'll only be a few hours," she assured him.

A few minutes passed. Lydia looked at the playbill she had picked up, and began flipping through it, stopping when it got to the cast list. She showed it to Beetlejuice. "This guy plays you!"

"Alex Brightman, huh," Beetlejuice read. "Sounds like a fun guy."

"And my actress is Sophia Ann Caruso. Can't wait to see her."

The two friends filled the remaining time by telling stories. As they did, more ghouls and creatures began to trickle in. Among them were Jacques and Ginger, the Monster Across the Street, Doomie and Pinky (they somehow managed to get car spots), Mayor Maynot, Beetlejuice's parents and brother Donny, and more. By the time the lights began to dim, the entire theatre was jam-packed.

"Wow. Never thought this many people would want to see this," Beetlejuice commented.

A voice crackled to life on some loudspeakers. "Good evening. Thank you for coming. Feel free to comment on the show as it goes. The actors could sure use it! Now, here's Beetlejuice!"

As the curtains opened, Beetlejuice could barely contain himself. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" He summoned a popcorn bucket full of wiggling beetles and other insects.

Lydia simply sat back, ready to enjoy the show.

And...it's showtime!

How will Beetlejuice and Lydia react to their musical selves? Will they like them? And how about everyone else's reactions?

I will mainly focus on our two leads, but expect some commentary from supporting characters. And there may be some overarching story behind the scenes...

I hope you like this. Tell me what you think! And feel free to give ideas on a certain reaction!

CocoDisney out!