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Published: 2013-03-21 15:31:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 43066; Favourites: 1097; Downloads: 224
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Description
Title:“Ghost Thread - Postman of Acheron” (ゴーストスレッド -三途の川の郵便屋-)
Alternative Title:
“A Man, a Plan, a Canal - Panama”
Jakob Knaves was horrified when a letter showed up one day at his house with no return address - the contents being a curse from an unknown sender. According to the letter, there was only one way for the recipient to protect himself and his household from the fate described within: to make 15 copies of the document and distribute them to 15 people within the time allotted.
Jakob knew what he had to do, and wasted no time. He transcribed the 15 copies to parchment by hand and set out that very night to spare his younger siblings the misfortunes that might visit them. One by one, he nailed the cursed parchments to the sides of his neighbors’ houses by lantern-light. As he was nailing the 13th copy to the side of one particular house, its occupant emerged from the door.
“Hey! What are you doing there?”
Jakob was quick to apologize. “I’m sorry, sir; I know your probably sleeping-”
And this was his mistake, for he did not know that this man was a Grammar Nazi (whose ears can hear even the differences in spelling of heterographs), and this misuse of the word “your” would be his last. Before Jakob could finish, the Nazi procured a firearm and punctuated him in the head, dropping him to the ground. His assailant then dragged his body into the nearby canal and let him loose into the currents.
This canal also happened to be where old content from a series of tubes known as the Internet is dumped out. Jakob’s body was covered in all sorts of junk, from tinypics to midi files of TV shows from the 80’s. But most importantly, he was tangled up in old forum threads - one of which was necro’d just as he was passing from the canal into the River Styx.
Jakob was brought back to life, but only part-way. He is now stuck in a limbo, confined to hopping between necro threads lest he fall back into death. His only goal now is to find a thread that connects back to the Grammar Nazi who killed him, and to follow it to his house and finish posting that poster that he left half-nailed.
Perhaps then he can at least save his family from seven years of bad luck in romance.
(SPOILER: Nope! He is too late. )
Sorry guys, it’s been a while since I wrote something like this, hasn’t it? Anyhow, I hope you like it!
This one was drawn entirely in SAI, though I did all the sketchwork in Flash. I still feel like my painting is very rough, but I also feel like I’m gradually getting there. But every time I see part of it looking splotchy and uneven, I’m reminded of my work from like 8 years ago (which is about the time I was still experimenting with raster painting) and I facepalm. And then I go “ouch!” because I am holding a stylus in my hand.
IT IS GOOD TO WEAR GLASSES, MY FRIENDS.
Made in PaintTool SAI
Related content
Comments: 130
DetectiveAnonymous [2013-04-09 10:24:44 +0000 UTC]
Your stories are so great, yet so bizarre.
Still, I almost wish that half of your works were real series.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Tariray [2013-04-09 03:43:34 +0000 UTC]
(catching up on your work cause i've been abroad so response is not subject to the vagaries of updates)
-
I remember that Jakob. I thoroughly enjoyed shooting that ignoramus. I was also a man back then.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
phantomspaceman [2013-04-05 04:11:54 +0000 UTC]
I love the description! (pic's cool, too) But it's so funny, because I just started posting Grammar Lessons on FFN, and my first Lesson was Homophones.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Telaros [2013-04-04 18:51:29 +0000 UTC]
In response to your spoiler: On the brightside, their kid grows up to score some hot chicks in Rune Factory 3.
Seriously though, stop writing stories about me. 80's TV shows are awesome. Littl'bits is awesome.
Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go upload more pics to tinypic while playing my favorite 8-bit medleys.
Your not the boss of me! Threads aren't dead if I post new stuff in them!
Right? Everyone does that... right???
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
kuramay [2013-04-02 21:37:54 +0000 UTC]
Your story and art are still amazingly bizarre! I love them!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
PhilosophicNature [2013-03-31 12:27:06 +0000 UTC]
Yaay, glasses! ...I'm half-blind without mine.
(Really? This is what I get out of this? *facepalm)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to PhilosophicNature [2013-04-05 03:23:03 +0000 UTC]
glasses save your eyes again
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
YukariYakumo [2013-03-29 19:42:31 +0000 UTC]
"Don't forget to add a comment!"
...I looked at the image, ignored the title, and read "Ghost Sled" instead.
Hoip doip doip doip.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to YukariYakumo [2013-04-05 03:21:36 +0000 UTC]
He's gonna slide down the slippery slope of the undead
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
OtavaPanthar [2013-03-28 15:05:54 +0000 UTC]
It's almost like Gen-San and Klaubautermann got combined made into Internet...
Now if you excuse, I'll have to go build me' own floodgate: Spring is coming after all
(Oh the numerous ways this could intepret considering the context and place to write this. I love it!).
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Mikisakiiro [2013-03-24 22:56:20 +0000 UTC]
I just saw the sketch and it made me giggle like a three-year-old.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hoshihime [2013-03-24 18:35:14 +0000 UTC]
I really love the sharp painterly look of this piece~
Also, the narrative is fantastic, one of your best, I believe. (I don't know if I ever told you, but I follow your work your stories as much as for the illustrations themselves)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
RakkuGuy [2013-03-24 05:42:49 +0000 UTC]
dude this looks so cool, there is a reason your my favorite artist
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to lashghost12 [2013-03-24 01:15:44 +0000 UTC]
you are the first to make note of it!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Minkymy In reply to JohnSu [2013-03-24 17:32:14 +0000 UTC]
What have glasses helped you with? Apart from seeing, I mean.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to Minkymy [2013-03-26 03:12:14 +0000 UTC]
protecting my eyes from sharp things
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
rufiangel [2013-03-23 06:57:10 +0000 UTC]
I really love the lighting for this particular one. The mood is awesome! And the story is amusing, as always.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Widget101 [2013-03-22 21:49:01 +0000 UTC]
those dang Grammar Nazis XD and that is why I am Comma-Kaze instead
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Wakelord [2013-03-22 13:27:49 +0000 UTC]
I like the story, but the art doesn't seem to be of your usual quality. The colours blend together to make it hard to spot what is actually going on. Particularly that it is a nail in his mouth, letters in his pouch and that he is jumping from thread to thread(?).
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to Wakelord [2013-03-24 01:11:04 +0000 UTC]
Maybe I will try again another day in another style
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
rasenth [2013-03-22 09:00:02 +0000 UTC]
Every one of your illustrations can make an entire comic series, I swear. ;U; I WANT TO SEE A SERIES BY YOUUUU
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
cddmanful [2013-03-22 04:28:49 +0000 UTC]
Love your manga-cover!
Rules to live by: Don't look at old art--it's dangerous to the eyes....
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
fateavernicus [2013-03-22 03:59:02 +0000 UTC]
sir i salute you. a goat became very "Sir.like A BOSS"
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Demosthenes-101 [2013-03-22 03:41:57 +0000 UTC]
Amazingly cool looking picture and looks like something that would and should be on an anime-horror film or game. In fact it SHOULD be a game!!!!!
It would be like the game "Slender" instead of collecting notes, you nail them to specific places while doing everything you can to avoid the Grammar Nazi who can smell your spelling errors on the notes you're nailing everywhere!
Yeesh! A Grammar Nazi indeed!
I wonder what that looks like!
Please tell me that the Grammar Nazi got cursed in the end!
It would only be due justice if Jacob was able to entwine the Grammar Nazi in the threads he's on and then cast him in the relic world of 4-chan to experience and eternity of spelling and grammatical errors!!!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to Demosthenes-101 [2013-03-24 01:08:14 +0000 UTC]
Grammar Nazi was eventually captured by the Grammar Allies and put on trial for war crimes
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Demosthenes-101 In reply to JohnSu [2013-03-24 06:15:58 +0000 UTC]
FINALLY JUSTICE!!!!! What was is sentence? (Pun intended)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to Demosthenes-101 [2013-03-26 03:11:53 +0000 UTC]
his sentence ended in desu.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Demosthenes-101 In reply to JohnSu [2013-03-27 02:07:50 +0000 UTC]
...and that my friends is justice done RIGHT!!!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
crazy4anime09 [2013-03-22 03:24:44 +0000 UTC]
This looks amazing!!! I love the colors! fav ^^
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
tigergirl198 [2013-03-22 02:54:43 +0000 UTC]
Awesome!! This is amazing! Great job as always!
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lord-of-the-trout [2013-03-22 02:45:07 +0000 UTC]
This is one of the greatest backstories I've ever heard.
I am in awe at the very words you have laid before my eyes.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Firedblue [2013-03-22 02:42:27 +0000 UTC]
Also I see that his legs are kinda confusin' people, specifically where they meet up with his tunic, and I think that could be remedied by pushing the shadows more where his pants visually meet his shirttunicthing, since that'll make his leg look like it's receding in space and make the tunic look like it's casting a shadow on something instead of being on the same plane as it. It's mostly his leg on the left that looks confusing. I really really love the purple shadows you used, too! The lighting is just gorgeous ;u;
Sorry if the critiquing is uncalled for, I just think it's really cool that you're taking painting for a spin and I spent a whole lot of time looking at it QuQ
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
JohnSu In reply to Firedblue [2013-03-24 01:03:42 +0000 UTC]
No problem, critique is welcomed.
I am currently holding back on shadows because I fear the "gradient airbrush" effect, which I do not like.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Firedblue [2013-03-22 02:34:27 +0000 UTC]
I wouldn't worry about it looking splotchy, dude! The cool thing about painting, digital painting included, is how you can get textures and interesting looking surfaces from the irregularities that a varying brush produces. I would really really love to see some sort of texture in this dude's clothes, since everything in this work looks like it's made out of the same material and it makes the image itself look uninteresting even though the subject matter is freakin' awesome.
My favorite brush to use before I had to switch over to a mac was the default acrylic brush, and I think it could help your efforts a whole lot! I'm such a fan of your stuff and it's so cool to see you steppin' out of your normal style! I can't wait to see more like this!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
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