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bjfinn · 1 month

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THE TRIAL OF OTHO FENLOCK

TW: mention of suicide

"W-where am I?" Otho asked, looking around in trepidation. He strained futilely against the manacles that chained his wrists to the stone wall at his back.

"Welcome to the In-Between," Beej told him. "Think of it as kind of a no-man's-land between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Since you're not dead -- yet -- I can't take you to the Netherworld, and most of the witnesses are dead, so they can't go Topside."

"You can't do this!" Otho protested. "I have an appointment with my manicurist at three!"

"When I'm done with you," Beej said, scowling, "the only nails you'll be worrying about will be the ones keeping your coffin-lid shut."

Pac cleared his throat. "Uh, Beej ... what am I doing here?"

"You're the judge."

"Me??? "

"Well, I can't do it," Beej said. "He could have the verdict overturned because of, uhh ..."

"Judicial bias?" Pac suggested.

Beej smiled broadly and winked at him. "See?" he said. "You'll do great!"

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly Pac was seated at a desk on a raised dais. He was wearing a judicial robe and a ridiculously ornate white powdered wig, and looked for all the world like a younger, befuddled Rumpole of the Bailey.

"I refuse to play along with this ... this charade!" Otho exclaimed. He was now in the defendant's box, hands cuffed in front of him.

"I don't think you have much choice, buddy," Pac said. Truth be told, this guy was starting to piss him off, and even though Pac didn't know what this "trial" was all about, he was already inclined to believe Beej.

"That's right, Kevin! " Beej snarled, striding over to his captive. He raised the baton that had appeared in his fist. "Now shut your yap, or I'll --"

"The, uh ... prosecution will refrain from threatening the defendant," Pac said in his best "judge" voice.

Beej scowled sullenly, but backed down.

"Okay, uh ... opening statements, I guess," Pac said. "The prosecution will go first."

"Thank you, your Honour," Beej said. "And may I say that you look hot in that robe."

"Get on with it," Pac scowled.

"Okay, okay," the demon sighed. "Right. So, uh .... we are gathered here today to hold this man --" he pointed dramatically at Otho -- "accountable for his crimes against humanity, ghost-kind ... and me specifically."

Otho scoffed. "You? What did I ever do to you? "

Beej stormed over to him and leaned in until their noses were almost touching. "YOU TRIED TO EXORCISE ME!!!" he roared, his hair scarlet.

Otho threw his head back, grimacing in disgust. He waved a hand in front of his face. "Can you blame me?" he asked. "Your breath alone is a crime! Not to mention your fashion sense. I mean, stripes? Really??? That's sooo last century!"

"I like stripes!" the demon retorted. "Lots of people like stripes!"

"Beej," Pac warned. "Focus."

"He started it!"

"Okay, uh ... the defendant will refrain from insulting the prosecution's clothing."

"Or his breath," Beej added.

Pac sighed. "Or his breath."

"Or his --"

"Or anything else," Pac said quickly.

Beej nodded, mollified. "As I was saying," he continued, scowling at Otho, "I will prove -- beyond the shadow of a doubt -- that the defendant did willfully and with malice aforethought steal from his victims --"

"It's not my fault that people like to give me things," Otho said.

"-- used his position of influence to satisfy his carnal desires --"

"You're one to talk."

"-- drove people to suicide --"

"Some people are beyond help," the ersatz guru put in. "I can't be held responsible."

"-- knowing that they would be condemned to civil service in the Netherworld!" He turned to Pac. "It's a shitty deal -- believe me, I know. That's why I stopped Lydia from throwing herself off the roof."

"I thought it was 'cause you needed her to say --" Pac began.

"You say tomato, I say GUILTY!" the demon replied, whirling to point a finger at the defendant. "It's as plain as the knock-off suit he's wearing!"

Otho gasped in horror. "This is a custom Armani, I'll have you know!"

"I request a summary judgement," Beej said.

"I-I don't know if it's a knock-off," Pac demurred. "I buy mostly second-hand."

"You always look hot, though," Beej told him.

"Thanks," Pac said, grinning.

"The prosecution will refrain from buttering up the judge," Otho frowned.

"Hey!" Pac exclaimed. "You don't make the rules, pal!" Then he sighed. "The defendant has a point, though. No more buttering me up -- either of you."

He looked at Otho. "The defence will proceed with their opening statement."

"I'm innocent."

"And?"

"And that's all," Otho said, crossing his legs and resting his hands loosely on his knee. "What else is there to say?" He pursed his lips smugly.

Pac sighed heavily. I really don't like this guy, he thought to himself. "I don't think you get it," he said. "If Beej wins, you'll be ..." he looked at the demon. "What happens if you win?"

"I take him to the Netherworld."

"I thought only the dead were allowed to go there," Pac said.

Beej nodded eagerly, a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Right. And, uh ... what happens to him there?"

The demon shrugged. "Depends on who gets ahold of him," he replied. "But it won't be pleasant! Well, not for him, anyway!"

" 'Depends on who ...'? Uhh, never mind." Pac shook his head. "Hear that?" he said to Otho. "It's not gonna be good. So you better say more than just 'I'm innocent'."

Otho's bottom lip began to tremble. "I ... I never meant to hurt anyone," he said. "I just ... I just wanted to help people. Spiritually, you know? I mean, so many people are searching for answers in this crazy world, looking for meaning, for purpose." He took a deep, overly dramatic breath. "It's not my fault that they wanted to give me all their money."

"Did you ask them to?" Pac queried.

"I simply told them that ... donations were welcome to help with administrative costs."

"Like a fancy new car," Beej sneered, "and a fancy new wardrobe, and a fancy new --"

"Okay, okay," Pac said. "Let him talk."

"In order to be successful, you have to look successful," Otho explained. "No one is going to listen to somebody who looks like ... like ... a stoner -- no offence, your Honour."

"None taken," Pac frowned.

"Objection!" Beej yelled. "The defence is buttering up the judge!"

"Uhh, no, he's really not," Pac told him. "He just called me a stoner, and implied that I dress like a loser."

"Oh," the demon said. "Yeah, right. Well ... the defence is insulting the judge! Off with his head!"

"No! No offing with his head!"

"I'm filing a motion of judicial incompetence!"

"Hey! This was your idea, pal -- I never asked to be here! Now, settle down!"

Beej grumbled, but said nothing.

"Okay," Pac said. "Let's get on with it -- call your first witness."

Beej snapped his fingers, and suddenly a young woman was sitting in the witness box.

"Hi," Pac said to her. "Uhh ... please state your name."

She leaned forward and spoke into the microphone. "Anne Butler."

"Permission to treat the witness as hostile, your Honour," Beej said.

"What? Why?"

"For fun."

"Beej ..."

"Okay, okay," the demon scowled. "Party pooper." He approached the witness box with a sheaf of papers in his hands. "Hey, how you doing?" he said. "Nice to meet you. I'm BJ -- or Beej. Your choice. Maybe later we could --"

"Get on with it," Pac sighed -- he was rapidly losing patience with this whole situation.

"Uh, yeah. Right." The demon cleared his throat dramatically. "Now then, Ms Butler -- how did you meet the defendant?"

"I ... I was in a bad place," she began. "I'd just broken up with my fiancé, the place I worked was laying people off and I was sure I'd be next, my dad was diagnosed with cancer ..."

"Sounds rough," Beej cut in. "So you were feeling vulnerable."

Anne nodded. "I saw a notice about a new group that was starting -- so I called the number to find out more, and they told me that the first meeting was that Saturday, and it was only twenty bucks, no obligation. So ... I went. I mean, what did I have to lose -- besides twenty bucks and a couple of hours, right?

"Anyway, there were a bunch of people there, and Otho was in charge. He seemed to genuinely care about us, you know? About what we were going through."

"Scumbag," Beej muttered.

"Beej," Pac warned.

"Sorry, your Honour." He turned back to the witness. "What happened in this meeting?"

"He led us in a ... a prayer, I guess you'd call it -- but we weren't praying to God. More like we were asking the universe for guidance, I guess. It was kinda strange, really, but I figured why not? It's not like God was paying attention."

"Yeah, He can be a real piece of shit," Beej nodded. "He's always like 'Oh, I love my children, they're my treasures, you guys can come to me whenever you need help', but then when you do he's like 'Whoops, sorry -- I just gotta take this call, and I'll get back to you on that' -- and then He never does. Just like the deadbeat dad He is -- am I right, or am I right?"

"Objection," Otho said. "The prosecution is ... well, he's leading the witness off-track. She's supposed to be testifying against me! "

Pac looked at him incredulously. "Really, dude? You're pissed that she's not? "

Otho looked nonplussed. "Well, it's my trial."

"Bring it back on track, Beej," Pac sighed.

"Uh, yeah -- right. Sorry. It's just that it's a bit of a sore point for me, you know? My dad took off before I was born, and then when I finally managed to track him down you know what he said? He said, 'Tough luck, kid -- I never wanted to be a father anyway.' I mean, what kind of bastard says that to his own kid, for crissakes? And my mom -- oh, don't get me started on her! She was the worst! One time she --"

"Beej!"

The demon bit his lip and looked down at his feet. "Sorry. Uh ... where was I?"

"You were asking the witness about how she met Otho," Pac reminded him.

"Right. So Otho was in charge of the meeting."

Anne nodded. "After the ... prayer he had us all tell about what was going on with our lives -- why we'd come. It felt good to talk about it, you know? So I decided to keep going to the meetings.

"Anyway, he got us to start meditating, and taught us about crystals --"

"Crystals?" Beej asked.

"How different kinds of crystals attract different kinds of spiritual energy -- I know it sounds really crazy, but it made sense, you know? Anyway, he'd sell us the crystals and candles we needed --"

"He sold you pretty rocks and scented wax."

"Well, yeah -- but it's not like you can just find them lying around on the street, right? I mean, he had to buy them first."

Otho nodded, trying his best to look the picture of innocence.

"Anyway," Anne continued, "as time went on there was always another crystal or candle we needed to get, and they got more and more expensive."

"I had to cover my costs," Otho interjected.

Pac shot him a warning look.

"How much money did he end up taking?" Beej asked.

"Nearly $15,000 -- all the money I had!" Anne replied, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. "That's ... that's when I decided to ... to ... I took a bunch of sleeping pills."

"And now you're a civil servant in the Netherworld."

Anne nodded.

"And it's all because of this guy!" the demon exclaimed, pointing dramatically at Otho. "He drove you to suicide, knowing what would happen to you after! You must really hate him."

"Well, I --"

"You must wanna see his guts ripped out."

"Um ..."

"You must wanna see him flayed alive, his eyes poked out, his head on a pike! His liver eaten by hideous birds! His flesh burned with acid! His --"

"Beej!"

Beej shook himself. "Uh, sorry, your Honour -- guess I got a little carried away for a sec." He turned back to Anne. "One last question -- did he ever, you know ..." He made a circle with his thumb and index finger and quickly slid his other index finger in and out, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Anne nodded, distraught.

"It's okay," the demon said. "Tell us all about it."

"Come on, man!" Pac sighed.

"We need to hear every detail about what he did to her!" Beej protested.

"You just wanna get your rocks off!"

"Is that so wrong??? "

Pac sighed and turned to the witness. "Was it, uh ... consensual?"

"Yeah, I -- I guess. I mean, I didn't really want to, but he said it was an important part of the healing process."

"How was it?" Beej asked. "I bet he's got a small dick -- a tiny little thing, no bigger than a --"

"I object!" Otho exclaimed. "I'll have you know that I am very well-endowed, thank you very much!"

"Really? Well, I think the court should have proof! Drop your pants!"

"No!" Pac shouted. "No one's dropping their pants!" He took a deep breath. "The witness is excused -- thank you, Ms Butler."

''But I'm not done questioning her," Beej protested.

"Call your next witness."

"Wait," Otho said. "When do I get my turn?"

"You're the defendant!" Beej told him. "You don't get to ask questions!"

"Uh, he's also acting as his own lawyer," Pac pointed out.

"That's not my problem."

"All right -- you may question the witness."

Beej scowled. "I'm gonna file a writ when this is over!"

"Yeah, you do that," Pac chuckled. He looked at Otho. "Go ahead, ask your questions."

"I, uh ... I don't actually have any questions for this witness at this time, your Honour," he admitted. "I just wanted to make sure that I could."

Pac frowned. "Okay, then -- next witness."

*****

And so it went. Witness after witness was called to testify, and Pac found his hands full just trying to prevent Beej from making a circus of the whole thing. Otho, for his part, spent his time alternately making snarky comments, sobbing, and coming up with lame excuses for his actions.

"Any more witnesses?" Pac asked wearily.

"Just one more, your Honour," Beej said. "The prosecution calls Delia Deetz to the stand."

Delia appeared suddenly in the witness box, looking a bit dishevelled. "What the hell -- BJ? Otho! "

"Hey, Mom," Beej said.

"BJ, what's going on? What am I doing here?"

"Otho's on trial," he explained. "And you're my last witness."

"On trial??? BJ, what are you doing?"

"He hurt a lot of people -- including you. He should pay for that." Beej took her hand in his. "You just tell your story, and he'll get what's coming to him -- I promise."

"BJ, no -- I ... I can't. I won't help you hurt him. He's still my friend."

"But he hurt you!"

"Yes," she nodded. "Yes, he did. But if he hadn't ... I never would have moved to New York. I never would have met Charles, or Lydia. And so I never would have come to Connecticut with them ... and I never would have met you. And I wouldn't have become your mom."

Beej's face fell -- he hadn't considered that.

"Otho has done a lot of bad things, but it's only because he did those things that you're part of our family," she said. "I think you should let karma deal with him."

The side of Beej's mouth twitched.

"Beej?" Pac asked. "What do you wanna do?"

The demon let out a loud sigh and snapped his fingers, freeing Otho. The ersatz guru rubbed his wrists.

"You're free to go," the demon told him.

"Really?" Otho sneered. "Not even an apology?"

"Otho, darling," Delia hissed, "shut the hell up before he changes his mind!"

Beej snapped his fingers again and Otho disappeared, transported back to the land of the living.

"Thank you, BJ," Delia said. "It was the right thing to do."

"I only let him go because of you," he told her.

"I know, honey. Now, how about you take us all back home?"

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice the musical #beetlejuice musical #beetlejuice broadway #beetlejuice the broadway musical #bjtm #bjtmtmtm #bjfinn writing #the trial of otho fenlock

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monstermaster13 · 2 years

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Forgotten Werecreatures: Characters part 1.

- April: April Madison is an anthro styled werefox, she is known for being a trickster and comedian who likes playing tricks on people, she's modelled on Megan Fox but her name is a combination of April as in 'April Fools' and Madison, as in Billy Madison.

- Mina: A timid and adorkable anthro were-mouse.

- Jon: An anthro style were-duck detective.

- Hayley: An anthro styled were-hyena who often rides in a wheelchair (not because she's insane or needs help moving around, she just uses it because sometimes she injures herself), who starts off as an antagonistic character but turns good later on.

- Jason: An anthro were-Pikachu who is very into science fiction and fantasy.

- Owen: An athletic but at the same time gentle anthro male werehorse.

- Reina: An anthro were-reindeer who acts as a companion to Jerry the weregrinch and helps him with his problems.

- Sarahbeth: An anthro styled female werehorse who is a fashion icon and actress, she is based on actress Sarah Jessica Parker who often gets made fun for her looks (and also since SJP is the originator of the joke about her appearance looking like that of a horse).

- Celia: An anthro were-civet assassin.

- Ellie and Toot: Anthro female were-elephant sisters, Toot has a rare genetic condition that gives her pink skin as a nod to the pink elephant sequence from Dumbo.

- Aisha: A vooodoo princess who is basically if Tiana had powers like Doctor Facilier, she discovered she could turn herself into an anthro were-aligator with the help of some extra special magic and her 'friends' from the other side.

- Edith: A plus sized fashionista anthro styled werecat who is revealed to be related to Otho from Beetlejuice, her full name being Edith Fenlock, she is modelled on actress Wendie Mallick and has her voice. She knows a lot about interior design and fashion and dabelled in the paranormal and also has a similar sense of style to him, favoring red and black or black and purple outfits and sometimes wearing a kimono-like nightgown just like the robe he wears sometimes, and thus is the butt of many jokes including being slapped by some of the others numerous times (a nod to a recurring joke in Dunsten Checks In) and she tends to put on a full-of-bravado persona when she is trying to impress people. Deep down though, even though she claims to know how to do some magic and how to deal with spirits, she is actually a bit of a wimp when it comes to actually dealing with them. Edith is basically described as being 'catty' by quite a few people and her encounter with Beetlejuice basically took this to the next level when he actually did think that she was wearing a dead cat's fur when she showed up in her winter gown and coat, he humilated her numerous times and turned her into a werecat. Apart from having an extreme dislike towards leisure wear based on what happened to Otho, she tends to dislike badly made outfits in general. In addition to this, she felt offended when Colleen said that she 'looked like a couch'.

- Mousette: A version of Queen Mousette from Blues Brothers 2000, who was turned into an anthro style were-alligator as the result of losing a magic contest against a certain voodoo using shadow-man with 'friends on the other side'.

- Synthia: Often mistaken for Cthulhu, this anthro styled were-squid is a fashionista.

- Laura: An anthro style deep sea were-fish, it's unknown what kind she is, but she has traits of the anglerfish family.

- Angelina: An anthro styled were-tigress who is basically a supernatural Angelina Jolie hence her name.

- Silicia: An anthro styled were-octopus who uses her ink for artwork and enjoys sharing it with people, even if some think it's weird.

- Ashliynn: An anthro weredonkey who used to be a bratty teenager like on a certain MTV show, basically the origin of how she became a weredonkey is that she threw a fit at a magician during her party for not getting the right type of car that she wanted, only to get turned into a non-morphic donkey along with her father as a punishment, eventually she realized her mistake and apologized and the two got turned back to humanoid forms, now they're anthro styled were-donkeys. It's explained Ashilynn has sort of a fear or aversion to the Pleasure Island scene in Pinnochio, mainly because she feels bad for the children turning into donkeys, she even will turn down the offer of going there for a vacation.

- Elvira: A version of the iconic character who is an anthro styled werecat made to resemble the werecat twins from Monster High. The Mistress Of The Dark spent a rather lovely vacation on Moonscar Island, and ended up getting in touch with her werefeline side but unlike Lena and Simone she's a nice werecat.

- Grace: Named after and modelled on Grace Jones, she is an anthro were-zebra fashionista, she's fiery and fiesty and very unique...she may not be perfect but she's perfect for you.

- Charlton: An anthro styled werechicken who is adorkable and loves novelty songs.

- Britney: A version of Britney Spears who is an anthro styled were-fish. a type of were-fish but what kind of were-fish is never explained, it's explained though that she grew up in a strange town where everyone started off looking like a normal human being but later developed half aquatic traits and that a certain 'house lord' who also happened to be a fish-creature set up shop there. She used to be terribly afraid of water, specifically drowning and would have nightmares about drowning or being attacked by half human/half fish-monsters, that is until she and her family along with a team of swimming champions went on a deep sea diving tour, they spent several nights there, staying at the resort. Unfortunately due to a plague, her team-mates started becoming ravenous half piranha-like creatures and attempted to chase her, luckily she escaped into a deep sea tavern area while she was discovered and taught by a race of deep sea were-fishes, where she gradually evolved into a deep sea were-fish-woman herself.

- Maurice and Moolyn: An anthro styled were-bovine power couple who are professional wrestlers.

- Catherine: An anthro styled were-fish. Catherine and her family moved to a strange new town which naturally of course she was afraid of, but eventually she got to love it especially once she discovered the neighbors have a son who is her age who enjoys aquatic lifeforms, it seemed like things were looking up for her, but then she noticed her brother slowly growing scales on his arms and hands and developing webbed hands, like those of a sea-monster, the same was happening to her new best friend too and to her parents, and then she realized...they were turning into humanoid fish-creatures and the very same thing started happening to her.

- Louise: An anthro styled wereleopardess. This wereleopard is known for being pop-royalty and an ever-changing chameleon when it comes to fashion, to say she's infuential woud be an understatement. She gets her name from the pop icon Madonna (Madonna's middle name is Louise).

- George: An anthro styled were-gorilla just like Ken. Despite being part of the most intelligent species on earth, this gorilla is always the second banana to a more powerful primate, but while he is at most an 'associate' as are the other apes in his group, he is an excellent one and even if his current group leader dies, he is always more than happy to assist the one that replaces him, he is efeminate and extremely eloquent, there's definitely something flamboyant and gay about this ape considering he chooses to be with male troop members as opposed to female ones. His ape clan or rather the entirety of the ape society he comes from have a liking for Asian attire, as indicated by him wearing a kimono on most occassions, he is sometimes mistaken for a couch but they know that like any good ape, or even like a literal spider-monkey, he weaves his web everywhere. His voice has a warm tone to it and a Southern baritone. He is a tribute to the late Glenn Shadix since he has a similar fashion sense to Otho Fenlock and Associate Bob and has a voice like Glenn's.

- Jakara: An anthro styled female werejabberwocky, she and her brother are from England and basically both of them started out as good guys until they became a little too protective of the treasures they obtained except with a twist...her brother who is a British detective basically became too prideful for his own good and started obsessively protecting his treasure from people which in turn gave him his weredragon powers (he basically now resides in New Zealand from time to time), while Jakara basically ended up losing herself to the madness of a strange place called 'Underland'.

- Merrika: Merrika or 'Merisha' is an anthro styled were-snake much like Sahara, only she started out as a male. Basically the story goes that Merrik was a cat-fisher and online stalker who was also a body-snatching killer who always preferred to take over female bodies, why...it's explained that in his warped little mind he personally believed he was a woman and thus acted as such, when he posed as a redheaded woman named Andria he took over her body, assuming her form in the process and conning people into thinking he was her, the actual 'Andria' was the daughter of a priestess and once she found out about Merrik impersonating her to take advantage of innocent people, she made damn sure that he wouldn't be able to switch into another form/body. 'Clearly if you're not comfortable in your own form or body, it is obvious your own skin isn't good enough for you so you snatch the bodies of your victims. You envy the female human body, so how about I curse you to have one of your own?'. The curse turned Merrik into a snake-woman, she can possess as many people as she likes but she cannot shed who she is - no matter how many 'skins' she ends up 'shedding'.

- Amber: An anthro styled werepanda who is a magic user extraordinare and mystical shop owner who is extremely agile and is known for being a talented singer.

- Tara: An anthro styled Red Werepanda with magical abilities, although unlike the protagonist in the film Turning Red she doesn't need to get excited or anxious in order to turn into the form you see, she has special techniques.

- Jennifer: A female anthro styled weregrinch. She is a very stylish Weregrinch who is more comfortable stealing hearts than presents, to her the greatest present you could ever give is the appreciation of others for what they are...she acts like a dark fem-fatale but is extremely sweet when you get to know her.

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