Mr. Shoggoth the #1 eldritch monster dad headcanons
Just a few fun things I came up with about Beetlejuice’s Lovecraftian dad being the better parent.
Adam was actually the one that connected the dots after seeing a bit more of what Beetlejuice can do. (What? He prefers cosmic and existential horror over gore and jumpscares, seeing an adult dressed as a baby is friggin’ terrifying!)
Mr. Shoggoth didn’t know he had a son until Beej came looking for him under Antarctica. He didn’t even know he could have a child. He’s also surprisingly receptive and even exited about the idea.
Mr. Shoggoth used to be rather indifferent about humans. But hearing his son talk about his ‘other’ family is infectious. He grew to love Lydia as a second child just from hearing Beetlejuice speak fondly about her.
These days he might interfere when he sees a human in danger.
Mr. Shoggoth met Lydia first, since she’s the horror fan and the most accepting of all things scary. He was a bit self-conscious about how people might react to how he looks, he wants to have a good relationship with his son’s family after all. But he realised that as long as his form doesn’t shift too much and he looks somewhat symmetrical people react a lot better.
Beetlejuice and Lydia dubbed him ‘Pops’. Mr. Shoggoth loves it and rarely answers to anything else anymore.
Charles fells a little awkward calling him Pops. So he walls him Mr. Poe instead, much to Lydia’s delight. (Which was exactly what Charles was aiming for when he picked that name.)
Pops can be a bit of a deadbeat dad, but that’s more-so because he can’t exactly live in human society and doesn’t quite know what to do as a dad. He’ll still spend time with and help his two kids whenever they ask.
Lydia is allowed to sleep over from time to time. She had no idea how to explain to friends why she has a one-person arctic tent at the front of her closet.
Even though the Shoggoth became independent centuries ago, building is still an important part of their culture. So of course Pops taught his son how to build. By Shoggoth standards Beetlejuice’s architectural decisions are rather...interesting. Pops and Delia are hella proud though.
Very few people know just how much they f*cked up when they get Lydia to grumble ‘just wait until my Pops hears about this’ under her breath. Prepare for regular nightmares to insomnia induced death in extreme cases.
Shoggoth opinions on humans range from mildly curious to hostile. But as long as humans restrict themselves to the surface and they can keep the deep, they rather share the world with humans than the other option.
They tolerate Pops’ family and keep an eye out for Lydia when she stays over. Having a demon on their side might come in handy one day after all.
In return, all the Shoggoth are either ‘uncle’ or ‘cousin’ to Beetlejuice (and to some degree, Lydia). Reactions to this range from annoyance to mild fondness.