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jflaxman β Last Voyage of the Charon
#apocalypse #apocalyptic #bering #black #boat #charon #city #dark #diesel #dystopia #dystopian #environment #evocative #ferry #flag #future #james #journey #landscape #last #marine #ocean #post #ruin #ruined #rusty #sea #ship #sky #storm #stormy #trader #tub #tug #vision #visionary #voyage #flaxman #jflaxman #art
Published: 2016-08-12 00:47:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 28605; Favourites: 772; Downloads: 323
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Evocative work.Related content
Comments: 66
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"Weigh Anchor!" The shipwright cried and off we sailed into the dark ocean. The Charon... her last voyage, a symbol to all on board in so many ways. I sat calmly on a deck chair near the rear, the gun barrel of the 55mm anti aircraft gun mounted on the ship slowly moving across left and right, darting around looking for threats. I sat quietly in my black robes and armor, my holy book in my right arm, trinkets from my priesthood in the other, and my mask blocking the foul stench of the ruined city we left behind. The early morning air created a fog that surrounded us, mixed in with the toxic ash of the ruined world we lived in, the skeletal remains of charred skyscrapers and skeletal heaps of burned out cars, tanks and vehicles of every description littered every view around us. The boat moved slowly, sailing through the sprawling metropolis turned flooded mass grave.
I stood up, nearly hitting my head on the gun barrel swinging around above me and decided to head to the ships bow to watch the voyage first hand. Every other passenger was on the starboard side, watching the floating remnants of the city around them pass by. Quite an eclectic crowd. Barbaras, a slaver that was abandoned by his fellows. Lucas and Jamie, two teens in a waking nightmare hoping for a respite from the hell they live in. Captain Marcus on the wheel, an old sailor, living a long life dodging bullets and pirates, with his shipmates and crew, Jack the engineer, Luke the chef, Reggie and Andy the deckhands and Bart the gunner. Further on, i encountered Karlos, a mercenary. Tank, a huge behemoth of a man fondling a young woman barely half his height. And finally, Lily, a rebel running from the Alliance and its oil crazy cronies.
I sat down on the deck chair i brought with me and opened my book. By now... it was just for the sake of entertainment. I had lost faith in the words printed in it. I sat quietly, wasting time contemplating. My thoughts were interrupted by of all people Barbaras the slaver. Heavy gloves and boots, leather armor mixed with kevlar plating, he even still had his tonfa and mask. He came up to me, lack of manners apparent, and said in a booming, gravelly voice. "You are a man of Faith?"
I chuckled sofly to myself. "Well.... i used to be. I used to. I saw my faith change... change to levels i never would have thought. Once we were peaceful. Once we stood for something. I saw my faith get... overrun by greed. I read my holy texts searching for answers.... i found nothing."
I took the book, and tossed it overboard. He seemed genuinely shocked. His eyes showed above his mask, i could see his horror at my actions. "You... you abandon your gods? So easily!?"
"No my son. I abandoned the faith. Not the gods. I abandoned the church that fell to human emotion. Never my faith in Gods. I dont need my books or cathedrals. I have God right here." I said, gesturing to the empty foggy void around me. My God... or rather Goddess. Is Nature. Gaia. Mother nature. Her law: Only the strong survive. Only the Great thrive."
He looked at me for a while. And after what seemed an eternity, he spoke. "What is this faith? Can you teach it to me?"
"I am still thinking... still formulating. But i shall tell you what i know thus far. Im thinking of calling it... The Gaia Concordat... Or simply the Concord. Perhaps that will be a beacon of hope. Come sit... Lets talk." Came my reply. We sat down together and began talking. Hours and eventually days passed, and along the way we picked up more passengers from an opposing shore, adding in a few more people, and even a man of my former faith among them.
We were still a week away from the end of our voyage. We had calculated that if we fish we could survive easily, but Marcus, my fellow priest and i had opted to eat minimally to make sure everyone else stays sated. Keeping the peace. Barbaras and the Captain shared the parts of their meals they wouldnt eat with us and the voyage went well. Finally, we arrived. All was so... calm. We landed upon the shores of a desert marred by ashfall. No gunfire. No stench of poison or blood. No sense of dread or hatred. No... nothing. Just calm.
I chuckled to myself. Marcus turned to me. "Whats so funny?"
"The boatman and his ship named Charon, traveling on the river Styx to deliver the fallen to a new life." I stated simply, gesturing to the ship and its captain. "The question is... shall this be purgatory... or paradise? Thats all down to us."
"What do you mean?" he asked. I looked at him, and he could see my smile behind my mask. "All power demands sacrifice. The greatest power is the power of choice. The greatest choice is the pursuit and acceptance of the truth. The greatest truth is the meaning of your existence. the greatest sacrifice, is choosing a new meaning. Perhaps that is the meaning of our new faith... The ultimate of all power, is one we already have in abundance." I turned around and handed him the trinkets of our old faith that i had been holding all this time.
"Perhaps... we choose greatness. Not pointless prayer. Perhaps we stop begging God... and try to make him obsolete. At least... that is my choice." I smiled at him once again and waited for his response.
"...... the obsolescence of gods?Β hm... Replace the Gods." He said as he looked at the trinkets i gave him in deep thought.
Those words... those were the last words spoken by Marcus James Florian, and the first words spoken by Caesar The Ash Emperor, Avatar of the Gaia Concordat, Master of the Ashfall Wastes. A conqueror of both the pen and the sword, a man of greatness, of glory, of near immortality. The man who conquered the West, then restored it to greatness. The man who gave greatness and greenery back to the empty wastes.
The man who restored my faith in humanity.Β
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sorry that this is a long one.
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No problem! This is just the sort of thing I hope to inspire with images labelled "evocative work." I could write my own stories and say they were "canon," but I'd rather 50 people wrote 50 stories all their own - although they wouldn't have to share them, it's interesting when they do.
It was also interesting to compare your story with the one Westernciv posted a while ago and Basement-Aviator's thoughts on it. I liked the way he made the Charon the main subject of his story (if not its main character!) just as I like the way your story builds on your Concordat scenario and brings in new characters. If you're going to take it further, you're welcome to use the Charon for this thought-provoking interlude. I was very impressed with this quote:
"The boatman and his ship named Charon, traveling on the river Styx to deliver the fallen to a new life." I stated simply, gesturing to the ship and its captain. "The question is... shall this be purgatory... or paradise? Thats all down to us."
It's a truly timeless question, and one worth asking ourselves every day.
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I just want to say that I love how you design your vehicles. The colors and textures are stunning.
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The eye, which gives an egyptian feel to the lower part of the boat, and at the same time is surrounded by the text "Cry me an ocean", is a really nice touch. Made me fave the picture.
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I love the tone and continuity of this piece. Very fun to look at. My guess is the thirteen tires represents bad luck since it is the last voyage. And the black flag? Nice touch. The crew seem like the type that accept their fate but wont give up without a fight. Fave this for sureΒ
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Cry me an ocean, hahaha, nice!
A glorious piece of work man, now this... this is the kind of art I frigging love seeing. That dystopian feel and look is just entertaining.
Damn good work. The captain and crew of the Charon have obviously seen plenty of these waters... and that gun in the back, noice~
Good work on this man, I love it!
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As a former steamboat riding post apocalypic raider, I greatly approve on this.
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Did I intentionally forget to mention it was in an online roleplaying game?
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Fractal ( www.fract.org ). It's a french-speaking, bug-ridden, NPC-free mess and totally addictive.
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nice, will check it out
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oh my!
what a great steamboat drawing!
it looks so large, sturdy and impressive, but i also like that it looks rusty, tarnished and old at the same time. (a perfect contrast, if you ask me!)
as for the story behind the painting, i can only guess:
charon, is the name of the boatman who was moving the souls of the dead down to the underworld.
charon, was the name of the boatman, and in greek, charon/ΟΞ±ΟΟΞ½ means the joyous one (often said ironically), and in other interpretions, its anΒ euphemism for death. (''ΞΏ ΟΞ±ΟΞΏΟ''/''death'').
in the mythology, the dead had to pay the boatman (charon) with 2 coins: one in order to go in the underworld, and one in order to get out of the underworld (one day, hopefully?)
this is the reason as to why people have been burrying their dead with 2 coins placed on the eyes of the dead person. 2 coins for the boatman. 2 coins for charon/death.
(others used only 1 coin, placed in the mouth of the dead)
i also like this detail in the steamboat, with the trireme ''eye'', and the logo saying ''dry me an ocean'', a clever joke/pun to the classic motto ''cry me a river''.
what can i say man? its a great drawing!
you rock!
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It's great to hear from you again! It's been a while since I've posted any post-apocalyptic pics and reactions to this one have been very encouraging. I had a feeling you'd appreciate the nods to Ancient Greek mythology, and I'm glad you filled me in on details I didn't know (interpretations of Charon and burial rituals). I've recently been reading more on Ancient Egyptian mythology, which features fewer heroes and longer, more complicated funeral rites, though I haven't made any references to this in art or writing for a while.
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I could see this operating in a post-apocalyptic setting sort of like Waterworld but way better as a movie.
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Very evocative. Even when you don't have an accompanying story, your pictures are a novel
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You're too kind. I really need to write more stories.
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fishin? yeah we do that occasionally... with an 75mm loaded with HE shells, that or the crane for shark-week...
looks like they have salvaged part of a ww2 marder II on the back there 
evocative... muts have seen some shit
also the eye gives it a nice "go screw yourself, we don't care" feel to the entire picture.
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Lovely drawn, I'd love to own a vessel like that in real life
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Amazing work on the rendering of this, sir!
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And so we set sail to Point Lookout...
I really like the grayish atmosphere
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Very nice, I love your wasteland drawings.
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What it says on the front is my answer to most of the Tumblr feminist culture out there. Captain Nonbinare.
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I am triggered...
Jk
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Cry me an Ocean.
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You do know I was kidding right?
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Noooooooo.Β
www.imdb.com/name/nm0799777/
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T. Hanks a lot
m.imdb.com/name/nm0000158/
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My philosophy is that the more people cry racism, the more negative the people who cry it appear since they seem to get more and more sensitive. Hopefully this trend in our culture will die out givin a decade. I adore people like Jeremy Clarkson or Gavin McInnis, people who bsolutely do not care about this thing and make fun of it given the opportunity and talk sense when necessary.
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