faharis - Stuff
Stuff

I take commissions and donations.

566 posts

Night Parade Of A Hundred Ghosts

The comic opens with a woman, Naomi, lying in a heap on a dingy mattress. The mattress is stylized to show the floorplan of her small apartment— boxes still packed, dirty laundry scattered on the floor. It’s dark in here, but angry red light spills in through the blinds, and Naomi’s phone glows at her feet. The panel is framed by desert milkweed (Asclepias subulata.) Abstracted figures hide among the stems, along with a single cocoon.

Her phone buzzes with a string of text messages: “hey” “we havent talked in a bit” “i heard you quit?” “or just” “stopped showing up to work?” “did something happen? i mean they didnt try to” “i didnt get you in trouble did i?”
The days all start to run together. Naomi returns home and disposes of her labcoat immediately. The dishes pile in the sink, the trash fills up. She sleeps what she can away. The string of text messages continues, over the fugue: “nai” “the last thing you want to do right now is talk to me” “i know that” “im just” “im worried” “im coming over” “ok?”

Naomi turns off her phone.
She rolls over and tries to sleep this away, too, but it’s too much. The light bleeds through her blinds and coalesces around her heavy head. She curls up with her face in her hands and lets out a choked sob. Her body heaves and heaves.

Suddenly, her eyes fly open. Her weeping is interrupted by— of all things— the wingbeats of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
Drifting back to consciousness, Naomi squints at the impossible butterfly. It lands on her phone as a voice interrupts from off-screen. “Don’t beat yourself up.”

“But how can we call ourselves good ancestors?” Another voice asks. The panel pulls out incrementally. Naomi is laying at the feet of a small crowd, all gathered in a circle around her. She pales.

Finally, we see them all. There are all sorts, from all eras: A burly 飛脚 hikyaku (or postman), a woodsman and his scholar husband, a tall, dark stranger in a broad-rimmed hat and serape, a silver-haired doctor gripping her oversized doctor’s bag, and a musher the size of a small mountain, along with their cadre of 樺太犬 karafuto ken, or Sakhalin huskies. Kimono folded right-to-left, it would seem they’re all ghosts.

The conversation continues over Naomi’s head. The musher points emphatically at the window blinds, shouting “We can’t even get her to leave her house!” but the doctor hushes them. “Shh! She’s waking up…”
Naomi shoots up in bed, eyes bugging out of her skull. “Wh–”

The musher is equally shocked. “You can see us? But you’re still alive!”

At this point, Naomi emits a keening noise that turns into an inarticulate “aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” The gaggle of ghosts is taken by surprise. The huskies start barking, elbows are thrown and shoulders are jostled as Naomi tears out of bed. Even the monarch butterfly takes off. The musher continues: “That means you’ve spent so long acting like a ghost…”
“… At this rate, you’re going to become one!” The musher finishes, in a panic. But before Naomi can take off too, the doctor loops her arms with hers and pulls her out of bed. The doctor shouts: “WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!”
The ghosts set to work immediately. The doctor unceremoniously dunks Naomi in the shower, shouting “TAKE A BATH!”

Stumbling out of the bathroom half-dressed, the musher and the stranger pull a bomber jacket over her shoulders. “GET DRESSED!” They add.

Down the hallway, the scholar and the bowman have commandeered Naomi’s phone, giggling and whispering to each other like schoolboys. “TEXT YOUR EX!” They conclude, but Naomi pulls away from her captors and shouts back “NO“
Naomi yanks her phone out of their hands and leaves them a withering glare. She wrestles her way through the befuddled crowd of ghosts, until she reaches the front door. “That’s enough.” She says. “Out.”

The musher holds up a hare and protests, “But you haven’t eaten yet! Everything’s worse on an empty stomach.”

“… You do know we love you, right, Nai?” The doctor adds, clenching her fists.

“We only want to help!” The scholar and bowman conclude.

Naomi swings the door open with the force of a gale wind, or maybe an ocean current. The monarch follows her. “GET OUT.” She says, pointing outside.
The ghosts do as they’re told. Swept up in the action, they escape into the night like a crashing wave. It’s chaos: The musher releases the hare, which leaps up into the moon. The doctor and the bowman high-tail it outta there, smiling gleefully. The hikyaku looks more like he’s being dragged away with the current than running. A husky bolts through Naomi’s legs. Naomi is left standing there, dazed.
The parade of ghosts vanish with the early morning dew as the monarch butterfly escapes Naomi’s apartment. It flutters away, taking the last shreds of night with it. Naomi stands there, speechless, as the curtain lifts to reveal her ex. She looks back at Naomi, equally shocked.

“Naomi?” She asks. She idles on her motorcycle with her phone in her hand, showing the last text message in their conversation: A response from Naomi that says “Okay.”

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts

My comic for “Queer Compassion in 15 Comics,” a collaborative anthology that blends social science and art to illustrate LGBTQ+ experiences of compassion. You can read it online for free, or purchase a physical copy at that link :)

I was asked to write a statement about this piece, which I will share here:

There are some difficult feelings in the comic about estrangement, belonging, and cultural longing. The story didn’t click for me, though, until I started reading the stories of others in the community from the research. There’s a lot of beauty in there, but there’s also a lot of hurt. I wanted to squeeze everyone’s hands and somehow find the perfect words of comfort— and isn’t that all that anyone wants to do when they see family going through it? So I started thinking of it as a call-and-response between you, at your lowest point, and the ghosts of your ancestors. If they could talk to you, what would they say? “Look—you’re safe and fed.” “You’re alive.” “How magnificent!” “You can cry, but wouldn’t it feel better if you did it in the shower?” “Now hold my hand and walk with me.” “Take care of yourself.” “Brush your teeth.” “Text her back.” “We love you.”

It’s surreal to share this. I began working with the anthology crew in 2021, towards the beginning of my undergrad. In just under a week, I’ll be graduating. This project has been living in the back of my brain for the past three years, a source of comfort and catharsis. Now we get to inflict it on all of you, hahahaha…!! Sincerely, I feel so lucky to have been able to participate in it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who leaves their touch on this anthology— scientists, artists, interviewees, readers, and beyond.

  • dragonflea
    dragonflea reblogged this · 4 months ago
  • kellymcanena
    kellymcanena reblogged this · 4 months ago
  • ortie-pnk
    ortie-pnk reblogged this · 4 months ago
  • gemstonehoopink
    gemstonehoopink reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • my-green-frog-pond
    my-green-frog-pond liked this · 5 months ago
  • gemmahale
    gemmahale reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • 12rabbits1trenchcoat
    12rabbits1trenchcoat liked this · 5 months ago
  • c0smiccreepers
    c0smiccreepers liked this · 5 months ago
  • roddaprime
    roddaprime reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • roddaprime
    roddaprime reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • daboyau
    daboyau liked this · 5 months ago
  • fortisloid
    fortisloid liked this · 5 months ago
  • enlightened-moron
    enlightened-moron reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • enlightened-moron
    enlightened-moron liked this · 5 months ago
  • errorcritical
    errorcritical reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • shaanziidov
    shaanziidov reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • therinredoubtbogdragon
    therinredoubtbogdragon reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • therinredoubtbogdragon
    therinredoubtbogdragon liked this · 5 months ago
  • theinfamousdoctorf
    theinfamousdoctorf reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • lendubsofficial
    lendubsofficial liked this · 5 months ago
  • thedemonsurfer
    thedemonsurfer reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • processormalfunction
    processormalfunction liked this · 5 months ago
  • masserror
    masserror reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • masserror
    masserror liked this · 5 months ago
  • shrikestrike
    shrikestrike liked this · 5 months ago
  • obfuscobble
    obfuscobble reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • thearchivething
    thearchivething reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • squeakerspeaker
    squeakerspeaker reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • squeakerspeaker
    squeakerspeaker liked this · 5 months ago
  • soda-and-pop
    soda-and-pop reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • soda-and-pop
    soda-and-pop liked this · 5 months ago
  • aro-carpenter
    aro-carpenter reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • mantidbasil
    mantidbasil reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • mantidbasil
    mantidbasil liked this · 5 months ago
  • wistereia
    wistereia liked this · 5 months ago
  • its-bee-bitch
    its-bee-bitch reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • its-bee-bitch
    its-bee-bitch liked this · 5 months ago
  • oxygenbruh
    oxygenbruh reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • oxygenbruh
    oxygenbruh liked this · 5 months ago
  • doublerabbits
    doublerabbits liked this · 5 months ago
  • lorebird
    lorebird liked this · 5 months ago
  • nerverack
    nerverack liked this · 5 months ago
  • ex-bee
    ex-bee reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • oddlysmallcrow
    oddlysmallcrow reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • oddlysmallcrow
    oddlysmallcrow liked this · 5 months ago
  • littleboneandblood
    littleboneandblood liked this · 5 months ago
  • skyroze
    skyroze liked this · 5 months ago
  • silverhawk7669
    silverhawk7669 liked this · 5 months ago
  • eggmixercortex
    eggmixercortex reblogged this · 5 months ago
  • sapphymayeyeplease
    sapphymayeyeplease reblogged this · 5 months ago

More Posts from Faharis

10 months ago
Not All Heroes Wear Capes

Not all heroes wear capes

11 months ago
Got The Idea From The Curry Making Scene Its Just So Hells Kitchen I Cant

Got the idea from the curry making scene… it’s just so Hell’s Kitchen I can’t

10 months ago

I need everyone to know that the ship Götheborg, the world's largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, answered a distress call the other day.

I Need Everyone To Know That The Ship Gtheborg, The World's Largest Ocean-going Wooden Sailing Ship,

Imagine waiting for the coast guard or whatever to show up and instead a replica of 18th century merchant ship pulls up and tows you to the coast.

11 months ago
Dungeon Moomin Meshi

dungeon moomin meshi

10 months ago
A Weird Trick to Get Doctors to Listen to You — Pain News Network
Pain News Network
By Crystal Lindell, PNN Columnist There’s a lot of advice out there on how to get a doctor to take you seriously. Most of it is wrong. Lu

This ABSOLUTELY works.

I have used this for many years. Definitely b do it.