#Consciousness of Shock

[xpuigc-bloc]

Consciousness of Shock

Victor Brauner

1951

64x80 cm.

Wax encaustic on hardboard

Guggenheim Museum

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, 1976

[quo-usque-tandem]

Consciousness of Shock by Victor Brauner

[victusinveritas]

Notes on the attack on USAID

[zuko-always-lies]

Zuko and the Day of Black Sun (warning: this will not be the most positive post about Zuko)

Zuko: Because the Avatar's not dead. He survived. Ozai: [Shocked and horrified.] What? Zuko: In fact, he's probably leading this invasion. He could be on his way here right now.

Ozai: [Laughs.] Oh, that's just beautiful. And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure. Zuko:But I've come to an even more important decision. [Closes eyes and momentarily pauses.] I'm going to join the Avatar and I'm going to help him defeat you.

Zuko's actions in the DoBS are actually very odd, when you come to think of it. Zuko knows that there's an invasion force trying to take advantage of the DoBS. He's pretty sure that Team Avatar is leading the invasion. He knows Ozai and the Fire Nation are uniquely vulnerable. He knows Ozai's location. All Zuko needs to do is find a way to get Team Avatar to where Ozai's hiding, to lead them there somehow, and the war is won. People have (rightfully or wrongfully) criticized Zuko for refusing to kill Ozai when he had the chance and dumping the responsibility on Aang, but Zuko didn't even need to kill his father himself. All Zuko had to do is find a way to help the invasion and get them to the right location, and Team Avatar would take care of his daddy problems for him. Hardly the easiest task, given the level of distrust he's earned from them, but hardly impossible either. And Zuko is not known for refusing to do the impossible.

Yet Zuko doesn't try to help the invasion. He doesn't even take advantage of the eclipse to rescue his beloved uncle. He instead chooses to use the time to mouth off at his awful father, while very clearly acting like he knows the invasion is going to fail.

When I first thought of about, I thought Zuko was being stupid and mislead by his emotions. He was so focused on his (justified) feelings of resentment toward his father that he missed a golden opportunity to win the war. Or maybe Zuko was so focused on doing what he thought Iroh wanted him to that he lost track of the situation.

Yet the more I think about it, the more I realize Zuko was actually being really smart. Zuko needed Team Avatar to lose the DoBS. After all, if Aang finds and kills Ozai on that day, and the invasion defeats the Fire Nation, then

Zuko doesn't get the emotional catharsis of personally telling off his abusive father to his face

Zuko doesn't get to prove himself personally to his beloved uncle by rescuing him (since the Gaang would almost certainly free Iroh once they find out about him)

Zuko doesn't get to join the Gaang and prove himself "redeemed" to them

Zuko doesn't get his glorious, special destiny of joining with the Avatar, teaching him firebending, and befriending him

Zuko doesn't get to become friends with the Gaang, like he so clearly desperately wants

Zuko doesn't get a chance to face his sister again, beat her, and prove that he's better than her

Zuko generally doesn't get to be a hero, doesn't get to be the main character, doesn't get a special quest and mission, doesn't get a chance to be the person who helps restore balance the world. At most Zuko gets to be an opportunist who changed side at the last moment.

So yes, Zuko desperately needed the invasion to fail. If it doesn't, Zuko gets none of the things he desperately wanted. Zuko writing off the invasion and showing zero interest in helping it was actually very logical on his part.

[evangeliooon]

making a love and deepspace dr even though i still don’t know shit abt the game and the last time i played was in #august

[raffleshitposting]

just saw an advertisement featuring raffles and genuinely thought i was hallucinating him for 10 seconds

[yeommijeong]

I like me better when I'm with you

Mr. Gu & Yeom Mi Jeong Episode 8, My Liberation Notes (2022)

[lesbianlenas]

love how in a time where everything is so terrible u can still get news alerts w sentences that u truly do not expect to see 😭

[professorjirt]

it’s occurring to me that Frodo has had a near death experience, been near dead, or just straight up momentarily dead way too many times

[talesofwhimsy]

I'm 100 pages into Moby Dick and they just got on the goddamn boat

This book actually kinda fucks hard it's great?

[jedidiahjartin]

Do people ??? Actually want me dead ??? What???? Like I know a lot of people don't like me but wanting me dead is. Something else

[headphonemouse]

Ch. 427

Shin Yoosung pulling out premature grey hair on my head tackled the boy immediately.

I can't believe I forgot about kdj's premature grey hairs. Post epilogue dokjoong bald4bald

[areadersuncertaintyprinciple]

Mrs. Dalloway captures the sense of rupture caused by a catastrophic war

Beneath the seemingly mundane surface of a single day in London, Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway paints a haunting portrait of a society fractured by the trauma of World War I. The novel's exploration of this rupture goes beyond explicit references to the battlefields, weaving the threads of displacement and fragmentation into the very fabric of its narrative.

One of the most potent tools Woolf employs is the fragmented narrative structure. The novel leaps between the consciousnesses of various characters, creating a kaleidoscope of thoughts and experiences. This fractured form mirrors the shattered state of post-war society, where traditional structures and expectations lie in ruins, leaving individuals adrift in a world that no longer feels familiar or coherent. Clarissa Dalloway, the novel's central figure, embodies this internal fragmentation. Haunted by the ghosts of a lost past and grappling with the hollowness of her present, her stream-of-consciousness reveals a mind struggling to find meaning in a world irrevocably altered by the war.

The novel's temporal tapestry further underscores the sense of rupture. Flashbacks and shifts in consciousness disrupt the chronological flow of time, creating a feeling of disjointedness and dislocation. This temporal disorientation echoes the profound loss of continuity experienced by those who lived through the war – a past that haunts the present and casts a long shadow on the future.

The contrasting perspectives of the characters further highlight the social ruptures caused by the war. Clarissa, clinging to pre-war values and traditions, represents the privileged upper class desperately trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy. Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked veteran, embodies the trauma and disillusionment borne by those who witnessed the horrors firsthand. This stark juxtaposition reveals the chasm that now separates different segments of society, a consequence of the war's devastating impact.

Woolf's masterful use of the stream-of-consciousness technique allows readers to delve into the characters' raw and unfiltered emotions. Their internal monologues, chaotic and fragmented, mirror the psychological fractures caused by the war. Clarissa's anxieties, Septimus's paranoia – these intimate glimpses into their minds reveal the profound emotional ruptures that lie beneath the surface of everyday life.

Through its fragmented form, disjointed timeline, and contrasting perspectives, Mrs. Dalloway delivers a powerful and multifaceted portrait of a society grappling with the aftermath of a catastrophic event. The novel's exploration of rupture is not merely a historical artifact; it resonates deeply with our own fragmented times, reminding us of the enduring consequences of trauma and the ongoing struggle to find meaning in a world forever changed.

[foreseers-flower]

my life is so cyclical. i find a hobby. i write self insert fanfiction for it. the cycle continues. how long? who knows. until i die perhaps!

[teethbomb]

hrrnnggg digital circus…

[breaddo]

my favorite thing about not knowing anything is when someone is like "SURELY you know [blank]" and they've immediately lost. my ability to not know jack shit about anything pop culture is endless and you should be afraid of me