HOME | DD
jflaxman — A Sack of Failure
#bag #beast #blunder #calm #civilisation #construct #contemplation #cultural #culture #cyborg #dark #debris #deer #detritus #fail
Published: 2017-05-07 02:20:33 +0000 UTC; Views: 9200; Favourites: 295; Downloads: 82
Redirect to original
Description
The Thirteen Realms are strewn with the detritus of fallen civilisations. The Nup Shullet are mostly remembered for the necroplasmic garbage bags they used to contain their failures. When they failed to recognise their worst idea of all in time their society collapsed and its people were dispersed. Ironically only these Sacks of Failure – which could be viewed as monuments raised not to success but incompetence – give any idea of the Nup Shullet’s former wealth and influence.
Most people now avoid the Sacks, for bad ideas are very contagious, and any damage to a Sack risks contaminating vast tracts of land with manufactured pop songs and worse. Yet these Sacks have great significance for the Hanaji Sages, who seek them out and sit before them while contemplating new ideas. If they feel drawn towards a Sack, they know their thoughts are misguided or wrong, and need rejection or revision. If the Sack exerts no influence, they know their thoughts are harmless but pointless; and if the Sack repels them they know their thoughts are worth pursuing. Whatever the truth of these beliefs, the Hanaji are admired as some of the most constructive thinkers to inhabit the Thirteen Realms.
Related content
Comments: 59
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
The 13 realms are all metaphysical, focused on things like spirits, dreams, and the like. They all revolve around our realm.
Think of earth as a sun and the realms as orbiting planets.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
so basically our realm is the prime realm 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
More than that, our realm is the reason why the others exists in the first place. All of humanity's collective conscious and unconcious minds blur together in metaphysical ways that create entirely separate forms of reality that exist in a non material state of being. Every time enough people recognize a new concept, it forms into an entire realm around itself.
In shorter terms, the realms represent the totality of who we are.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
now that sounds like how the warp from 40k is suppose to work
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yep! The key difference is that these realms are made with magic instead of psychic energy, so they'll never change like the warp does.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
i can't help but think that this is suppose to be a parody of something
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
A llama wearing a clown mask next to a giant sad blob in an endless desert where it's always cloudy... SEEMS LEGIT!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I love the camel/mummy thing! The creature sinking in the goo on the left looks like a sad Mickey Mouse! Great work!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I love this to no end and I have no idea why this resonates with me so well, amazing job my dude!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Now I can only thought of this figure in grey who appears around quite often as Gleich.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
It's a very unique concept. There're always such pleasant stories behind your pictures.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks, I hope to have more soon!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Very true! I try to tell myself this every time I read a godawful book.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Reminds me of the music industry since the turn of the millennium.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I agree - I mentioned manufactured pop songs for a reason!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Woah they story behind this art is actually good that surprised me
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Just out of interest, what did you expect?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
A 50 line bio talking about the Sacks Name,Gender identity, Sexual orientation, likes and dislike and etc
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm sure some people get off on that stuff but there's enough of it already.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
For sure dude. Keep up the great work i'm looking forward to more stories from you. By the way, out of curiosity where do you get your inspiration for this stuff? Do you read a lot stories or study history?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Sorry about the late reply. I haven't formally studied history but a past job in book wholesale and the long commutes involved provided me with lots of books and reading time I would have otherwise missed out on. I've been variously inspired by nonfiction, weird fiction, pop culture, dreams and real-world experiences, but I try to build on these instead of copy them directly.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
No problem dude. You seem pretty interesting. You must be a treasure trove interesting stories. What's the strangest thing that's ever happened to you?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
ah! another awesome pic+story....
great details on the sack's eyes; they look like they're made out of pus... pus-like eyes... thats quite strange, but a good detail, nonetheless...
i also like the design of the hanaji sage, and of his steed, for the steed/horse has nice features: a strange clown-like mask(face?!), a large hump, a large-tortoise-like shell, many stripes of bandages for an outfit, and kneepads for knee protection/armour...
the hanaji sage looks really awesome as well: i like his robes, they give him a mystical/mysterious style, while his gloves+loafers are also an interesting thing to see; then, i also like the design of his umbrella, with the many eyes, and the scarlet-red background... its a really cool design, if you ask me! (and it matches with the style of a sage/mystic...)
as for the story, i LOVED that the wise hanaji-sages travelled far, in order to see sacks of failure from a close distance, so that they can see if their thoughts were stupid, mediocre, or wonderful/wise...
judging by the sacks reaction to their thoughts, and using them as a mean to calibrate their thoughts is a more correct, refined manner.
brilliant!
i also liked the mentions of the nup shullet, of the hanaji people, and of the kingdom of the thirteen realms: a kingdom that needs to be more explored, and to allow us to learn more about it:
which are the 13 realms? what caused the initial destruction of the old, fallen civilisations? which region/realm is which, and what are each realm's characteristics/people/customs?
this seems like a very promising idea, an idea which could expand into a large(r) universe, a universe that would have the kingdom of the 13 realms fighting/neighboring with various different ''kingdoms'', regions and coalitions, which in turn could result in many more legendary stories...(and it would in turn create a new lore/epoch...).
all in all, a GREAT drawing, and a GREAT story, with nice elements, and with a good moral of wisdom...
excellent work, keep it up!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You've mentioned a lot of things I didn't cover in the story but some thought went into all of them. The sacks looked like normal garbage bags to start with but got larger over time and the bad ideas that went into them gave them a kind of intelligence, though they can't do much with it as they have don't have limbs or motivation. The eyes and mouth would have started off as lesions/sores like the ones I've drawn and some sacks might even have multiple eyes, mouths, etc.
The steed's a cybernetic construct which was meant to combine the best attributes of deer and tortoises (speed and resilience) but these have naturally been compromised. The clown mask shows this sage has the support of Demihelmanthes which would ward off most potential aggressors and the eyes on the umbrella give extra protection against the Sonnelion Hornets you'll meet in a future work!
The Thirteen Realms are alternate dimensions created by barely comprehensible beings who ruled over them as gods. Each realm was populated by creatures removed from worlds in our own universe, humans being a favourite due to their amusing levels of inventiveness and credulity. Their rulers were occasionally kind but more often indifferent or malicious; then one of their aides, Jongler Soth (who you'll also meet in a future work) created the Thirteenth Realm to offer humans, among others, sanctuary in a much happier environment. To begin with all went well and Soth became a thirteenth god; but the other twelve resented him for stealing their followers, stopped their usual bickering and united to overthrow him. The Thirteenth Realm is now a ruined travesty of the paradise it was, haunted by the corrupted remains of Soth's benevolent creations, whose people merely subsist in the shadow of their ancestors' achievements. Yet glimmers of hope endure in the form of Soth's surviving sympathisers and escapees from other realms, and it is rumoured Soth himself may one day return to right past wrongs...
Kerembesi Dir, Moht Bahru and Pangeria are three regions of the Thirteenth Realm you've already had a glimpse of and there's room for many more! Less powerful beings can also create smaller and simpler dimensions, as Vigsel Scree did in the Torus of Dementia, though these are often subject to the whims of higher powers (eg. Vigsel Scree could only manifest as a fibreglass dummy before nightfall and his victims were given a chance to escape). I'm happy to discuss this further though gmail might be the best place.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I don't know what's better. Story in descr or art?
If I were you I'd write ilustrated story book (or you doing it already?)
Sorry for my english - really rare use it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Thank you very much, and there's no need to apologise for your English - it's much better than my Polish! I haven't any immediate plans for a book but a few people would like to see one.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, Polish is one of the most difficult languages and propably most difficult language with latin letters, so...
People are right about book ;]
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i believe that his drawings are legendary, but his stories are also (equally)magnificent.
he has created such a huge lore in his stories, that all of those universes+realms could fill a book.
he is a great writer, and i've been suggesting the same to him:
he should write a book*, it would become a legendary book to read, full of dark worlds, and epic horrors to behold.
*or more books, since his creativity is huge.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, he have almost all materials for ilustrated creppy horror/fantasy travel book. Now, all he should do is created two characters. Character 1: tourist who want visit (something)lands; character 2: tourist's tour guide, native who shows char1 every wicked thing in country. After that jflaxman could write normal, fabular storys about this world.
(and again sorry for my english. I can easily read novel in english, but say/write sth... 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Funny how we as human beings are mostly capable of stroking our own egos by raising monuments to our successes rather than our failings.
For some reason, this makes me contemplate the remains of Berlin Wall when I was in Germany last year. That's the closest thing I can think off the top of my head that could be even remotely compared to a "sack of failure" and a monument to human error.
I might be wrong though, considering the wall wasn't initially raised as a monument of human error to begin with.
Bravo to you for yet another twisted yet truly evocative piece!
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
This piece was only meant to be a bit of escapist fun but it's inspired some thoughtful comments. Our own world is littered with monuments to states and ideals which were meant to last forever but now say more about our capacity for arrogance and delusion (Shelley's Ozymandias sums it up the best for me). I've often wondered how long our own civilisation will last and how future generations will view it.
I'm a little envious to hear you've been to Germany - several friends and workmates have said I should move to Berlin due to its cooler climate, rich history and vibrant contemporary art scene. On the down side I've also heard it's filled with American hipsters! My partner has relatives further east and knows several Balkan dialects so an Old World jaunt isn't out of the question.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I first heard Shelley's Ozymandias recited by the magnificent voice of Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad. Indeed, an apt assessment of ancient legacies that were intended to be immortalised, but instead faded into oblivion through the ravages of time.
I live in Ireland so certain European cities are a bit more accessible to me. Berlin is certainly well worth the trip! From even it's architecture alone, It's just as rich and vibrant in it's history and culture as you've described it, along with some of the most affable and easy-going folk I've had the pleasure of meeting as well as one of the most spectacular Zoos to boot! (This is coming from someone who's not a major fan of zoos). It personally makes me quite proud of my German heritage!
Haven't ran into too many hipsters over there though. I put up with enough of 'em at home as it is.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I can think of some other places that could qualify. They're not so much monuments to human error, though, as they are monuments to the errors of humanity. I'm thinking of the Hiroshima Flame, the Auschwitz Memorial, and things like that.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hmm. Those do sound like more appropriate comparisons. Cheers!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
The American Republican Part would be pulled towards those like a nail to an electromagnet.
Politics: Neck and neck with religion when it comes to excusing bad and just plain wrong ideas.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
This wasn't meant to be political, but I'm now imagining a Sack of Failure as the next US President!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
| Next =>