#the ghosts.

[transbutchblues]

i’m thinking about Mycenae again and looking at pictures i took while in Greece and. the Atreidai still haunt this place. trust me i was there and they told me

[thir13enghosts]

when & where my versions of the black zodiac died

(this list is subject to potential change in the future of course)

billy michaels

date: june 21, 1959 location: philadelphia, pennsylvania (but like in the suburbs)

jimmy gambino

date: december 31, 1969 - january 1, 1970 location: new york city, ny

susan legrow

date: july 4, 1987 location: springfield, ohio

royce clayton

date: october 11, 1957 location: madison heights, michigan

dana newman

date: february 14, 1972 location: new york city, ny

isabella smith

date: march 1, 1695 location: burkittsville, maryland (yes the blair witch town)

margaret & amelia shelburne

date: september 24, 1879 location: bridgeport, connecticut

george markley

date: august 26, 1895 location: west virginia

lenore howlett

date: october 31, 1947 location: a nondescript prison somewhere in nebraska

horace mahoney

date: april 17, 1991 location: probably somewhere in like maine (i once saw someone call horace “like something out of a stephen king novel” and honestly? yeah.)

jean kriticos

date: december 25, 2009 location: agoura hills, california

[thir13enghosts]

question for u. which ghosts do you think try to suck up as much of the future times information as they can and which do you think try to ignore the passage of time

hmmm

the most interested would probably be jean. i feel like she’d wanna see what she’s “missing out on” even if it’ll just make her upset.

isabella, margaret, and george would be both frightened and curious by the juxtaposition of their world and the world today. the change is so jarring, but at the same time, it’s nice to know that things have changed and for the better (for the most part).

amelia would most likely be unsure but still willing to hear abt it.

dana does Not want to fucking hear abt it.

billy is fine either way, but that’s mainly bc he can’t really comprehend the fact that he’s dead.

jimmy isn’t particularly interested, but still occasionally asks abt the present and what’s going on “up top” to satisfy his own curiosity.

royce tends to veer between going out of his way to keep himself in the dark and sometimes joining jimmy on asking questions.

susan is curious abt modern life, but she doesn’t really act on it bc she Really doesn’t like being reminded of the fact that she’s been dead for over 20 years.

lenore doesn’t care.

horace acts like he doesn’t give a shit, but in reality, the fact that the world just moved on w/o him is terrifying and He Doesn’t Like That.

[thir13enghosts]

the ghosts of the black zodiac, ranked from least to most unhinged

jean kriticos

george markley

margaret shelburne

billy michaels

jimmy gambino

amelia shelburne

royce clayton

susan legrow

dana newman

isabella smith

horace mahoney

lenore howlett

[break-between-the-walls]

Um… maybe we should leave this alone. [Gently shuts book] Let’s just… go back to Jackie.

The book closes.

Meanwhile, Jackie is waiting outside, bouncing in place and occasionally glancing up and down the street. A man and woman leave one of the houses and get into a car parked on the street, probably on their way to the movies or something. Besides that, there's nothing.

[break-between-the-walls]

[Can I open it?]

The book flips open, pages turning like they’re caught in a gust of wind. The contents are pretty technical. But occasionally there are sticky notes, torn notebooks pages, and scrap paper slipped into the pages. These have little notes written in pen. The handwriting is pretty bad, but with some work, they can be read. They’re a strange combination of someone trying to simplify the contents, random angry swear-filled scribbles, and small notes written in the margins with phrases like “please be okay” “please come up with something” or simply “please please please”.

[break-between-the-walls]

Can we try pulling the book out some more?

The book moves again. Now it is out from under the bed.