#Austerlitz

[kohoutek-lucni]

Ráda bych se s vámi všemi podělila o absolutní highlight včerejší rekonstrukce bitvy u Slavkova, který jsem se pokusila popsat na mnou pořízené fotce:

[crazystill]

[tomwambsgans]

tom and greg (and willa) + a virus/sickness/death

as laid out by connor, there is an undeniable connection between the notion of a virus/affliction and Love in succession. as willa, tom, and (especially) greg proceed to be the only characters who get contagiously sick, it's made likely that those literal maladies run parallel to them having caught feelings. notions of greg having to deal with spores in his lungs in a potential new apartment (said by willa, no less) even appear in the very same episode that tom, also moving into a new apartment, gets sick in a way otherwise irrelevant to the plot, thus drawing the parallels even clearer. less overt, then, are how these themes allude to AIDS.

tom's reference to the knowledge of the crimes and cover-ups on cruises as a "virus" is interesting (and wholly unnecessary, thus worth examining) wording. firstly, this is said only to greg despite the same information being alluded to by gerri and being later revealed to shiv. so the vein through which tom wanted to share "the death pit" with greg is one entirely different than sharing it otherwise. he alludes later, still in the context of trying to make up for involving him in this, to innate bonds that he and greg share. particularly in the realm of vulnerability. consider in particular that 1) greg was originally intended to be an overtly gay character, 2) greg's dad is inarguably gay and was active in gay areas and promiscuous during greg's childhood in the 90s, which 3) is also the period of time in which the cruises crimes mainly took place, and 4) is the decade in which the AIDS crisis peaked in the US. meanwhile marcia's reference to someone "who was your way" being murdered is overtly directed at willa, but worded vaguely enough to seemingly address tom and "his way," too. even thinking only of willa, the goals that drive her arc are in an industry widely, historically, deeply associated with gay men. her play, Sands, has a plot that's left vague but also is wrapped up in viruses and bugs, both having its unfinished plot caused by one and causing one itself. finally death is undoubtedly haunting the whole of succession's narrative, but between tom and greg, it's ultimately a fakeout. other than logan they're the first to feel that they've sealed their fates, that they're fucked forever, that they're both going to die simply because of who they are and things that they can't avoid, in fact things enmeshed in their connection to each other... but there's also protection and ressurection. and as the theme of sickness and all it foreshadows comes to a close, it winds up benign. they're going to be okay.

[gatabella]

Claudia Cardinale, Austerlitz, 1960

[napolebonasacc]

Allegory Of The Battle Of Austerlitz, 2nd December 1805

By Antoine Francois Callet

[galakteon]

Back on tumblr to celebrate austerlitz day with prince Bagration! <3 (with yermolov and his pun)

[papillon-de-mai]

For instance, if I am walking through the city and look into one of those quiet courtyards where nothing has changed for decades, I feel, almost physically, the current of time slowing down in the gravitational field of oblivion. It seems to me then as if all the moments of our life occupy the same space, as if future events already existed and were only waiting for us to find our way to them at last, just as when we have accepted an invitation we duly arrive in a certain house at a given time. And might it not be, continued Austerlitz, that we also have appointments to keep in the past, in what has gone before and is for the most part extinguished, and must go there in search of places and people who have some connection with us on the far side of time, so to speak?

— W.G. Sebald, from "Austerlitz"

An innate desire to “arrest the passage of time”.

[alexandermagedler]

Tvarozna, Tschechien 2019

[j-ayne]

"When we step into the entrance hall we are seized by a sense of being beyond the profane, in a cathedral consecrated to international traffic and trade." p. 12

[empirearchives]

I’m crying, this author was UNHINGED 😂😂

[tomwambsgans]

tom's signature frozen silence, abrupt head-turn, and dead-eyed stare when he hears something that he wants badly not to internalize

[illustratus]

Fight for the Banner (1805) by Wiktor Mazurowski

[aartwain-blog]

The Eagle above Men

The snow. The steam. His hands. That’s all he sees.

It’s cold on the plateau, on this morning of war. All he knows is that the enemy is there, across the stream, several hundred meters away. For now, like hundreds of other soldiers, he’s trying to warm his hands. He wears mittens, but the cold pierces everything, creeps under his clothes, bites to the bone.

He stomps his feet to bring back some warmth. His comrades imitate him, but the officers call them to order.

— Damn it, he thinks, we’re going to freeze to death before we even see the enemy.

He’s been waiting for hours. For an order. A sign. Anything that would make him move. At last, the sun has risen, clearing the mist from the plateau. Its rays strike the men, warming them a little.

But they also reveal a surprise...

Suddenly, music bursts forth. Loud. Proud. A martial tune that cuts through the frozen air. The soldier stands frozen in astonishment as, emerging from the fog like specters, soldiers appear.

— They’re moving so fast…, he thinks.

Then he sees the colors. Blue. White. Red. The French.

They advance in step, bayonets fixed, in tight columns. Shouts of alarm ring out. The Russian soldier senses hesitation all around him. His comrades shift nervously. But more than that, he perceives the officers’ unease. Should they fall back? Hold the position?

At last, the order comes: Hold the line.

Hold? But how?

The French are already within musket range. They quickly deploy into line and open fire. A volley cracks. Russians fall around the soldier, but the line holds. Rifle to shoulder, he fires back. Other Russians shoot in turn. Their volleys are less precise, but still hit.

— Company! Charge!

The music changes tempo. Quicker. More urgent. The French react immediately and rush forward, bayonets out. The Russian line wavers. The impact is brutal. The front bends. The battle becomes a chaos of screams, strikes, and blood.

The Russian soldier tries to thrust his bayonet at a Frenchman. The opponent parries the blow. A shot rings out. The Russian stumbles.

He’s hit. Right in the stomach. Pain strikes like lightning. He falls. Blood spreads across his tunic, warm and sticky. Around him, the line breaks. The men flee. The rout is complete.

His gaze turns to the sky. Blue, clear. An eagle soars overhead, majestic.

His eyes close.

The eagle flies over the battlefield. It sees other clashes to the south, around two villages. To the north, along a road. Everywhere, the French push back the Russians, then the Austrians.

The plateau has changed color, on this day, December 2nd, 1805.

The eagle flies over Austerlitz.

[klara-1838]

[isthenapoleoncute]

Hope everyone had a fun “Waterloo day,” you sadistic napoleon-hunting meanies

See you on 2 December

Aka

Austerlitz Day! Or as I like to call it, the Day my Napoleons Play

[successionbracket]

Round 2