#history summarized

[hydrosspyross]

Le comte de Monte Cristo (2024) is good adaptation actually

when you look at it from the intentions of the team that made the film, it is very effective at story telling, the changes made serve the story

we cannot be scholarly, we're on a time limit, the film is 3h and very efficient at telling the story in a way that is faithful to the spirit of the book

he teams interviews are really in the spirit, i do love what they did, it is creative

did i think Valentine and Maximilien were interesting in the book? Yeah, fun for Noirtier to win in the end, love that for him

let's talk the bad, the good, the interesting, the changes

Edmond is arrested while Bonaparte is in power. He gets arrested for treason to the king when the king is not even in power! like my guys look up history, to make him be arrested during les Cent jours is so funny when that is a big point in the book. was Dumas the best historian? not always but he did have the right dates

Let's talk Villefort. In the book, he was a young and upcoming king's attorney whose father was a Bonapartiste. He did want to be a good attorney, a just one, but his first solo case has to involve his father. So in order to protect his reputation, his future marriage to a peer family, he needs to protect his father from the justice of the king. And so Edmond gets taken with no trial, no justice and he cannot be freed ever. Vengeance time Villefort has to deal with poisonings in his own home, to which he turns a blind eye, because it would be a bad look for crime to be in his house. His father who is bedridden and can only communicate through his eyes hates his grandson and daughter in law, he only loves Valentine, Villefort's daughter from his first marriage. Valentine who is basically Villefort's main redeeming quality. He will lose everything because he always tried to hide the sins of his own house - he is a man who somehow produced 2 evil sons and one angelic daughter, all black and white no shade of gray to be found here

Now film Villefort is fucking evil and irredeemable from the start. He hears his sister's name and sends Edmond to be disappeared, then sells his sister to a brothel. He also does bury his newborn son alive (the baby has the cord wrapped around his neck at birth, it was nature, not a voluntary act) - why is he such a caricature of a villain? it is an homage to french classic adventure films, the "capes et épées", very Manichean worldview, you need your bad guys, and your good guys, because Monte Cristo is so ruthless, we need the bad guys to be bad, and not just pathetic cowardly self serving men

Tiny detour to Angèle de Villefort, new character who takes on the role of Noirtier (Villefort's father) and Bertuccio, the Corsican who wanted revenge on Villefort for not trying the murderers of his brother (Villefort assumed all Corsican were smugglers so criminals) and revives the baby in the box, before bringing him to the state ward for foundlings - mixing them together into Angèle allows André to not be a caricature of a troubled boy, Benedetto is o over the top evil spawn it's ridiculous, we are humanizing him, giving him more meat!

André de Villefort, Andrea Cavalcanti, being more than just some opportunist, but the hand of vengeance molded by Edmond gives him a much needed depth, the audience gets to feel sympathy for him. He was abandoned, the only person who cared to love him died in misery, Monte Cristo gave him the means to avenge her! Angèle, his angel of mercy. I do think giving him all that depth did serve the story and allowed the audience to feel more, to feel his loss, to rejoice when he goes fro the jugular (metaphorical and physical)

Making Fernand and Villefort friends is such a concept, they did it all together knowingly, it was not serendipity that put them on the same path years later when in Paris, it was their sins coalescing and keeping them together

Now onto Danglars, an accountant in the book, who becomes a huge and rich banker. Sent to a bank on the recommendation of Morrel, there is no betrayal there, no backhand, just a man scared his actions may be found out by a man of honor. Morrel is losing it all more to fate than anything, a sad tale so Edmond can become a hero to the Morrels. He need to be a hand of justice, not just vengeance. Danglars is always very much a coward. he is calculating, allows his wife to have her lover come into their house, letting her take some of "his" money to place and play with investments, so long as it does not cause his own ruin. He is a man disinterested in his daughter, self important, and obsessed with his money. it is not about being mean, it is always about his own interests, he is a jealous beast

Film Danglars is another beast entirely, relishing on the pain he causes others, delighting in ruining Morrel, rejoicing in being a slave monger. He hurts people to hurt them, the justice he gets is honestly a bit more fitting to his book counterpart, but the loss of everything is still the biggest blow this tiny selfish man could suffer. It could be said he lacked development. sacrificed on the altar to develop other more interesting parts of the plot

We'll get to Fernand, but first i wanted to talk about Faria, because it so very classic adventure films to make him a knight of some secret order instead of the secretary of the last in the line of Spada, the one to inherit when Spada the original said it would be ok to retrieve the treasure so very "capes et épées" very fun detail to have thrown in i love that - we are paying homage to the films that came before

The Morcerf meeting Monte Cristo and why it was changed, or at least why i think it was changed. in the book, Monte Cristo saves Albert from bandits in Rome, later they meet again in Paris, where Monte Cristo will later be introduced to Comte Fernand de Morcerf. In the film, it is all still very much staged, but so much more masterfully. Paris, the home of the Morcerfs becomes Monte Cristo's stage, everything happens as he dictates, they are his puppet but don't know it. We follow Edmond, and everything is always exactly as he predicts, to the letter - Fernand is at a disadvantage from the start, but he does not even have an inkling of doubt.

we, as the audience need to see who is in control, what the rules are, no all knowing narrator will tell us, this is a film, we need to show not tell, also we can cut the Italy voyage for budget reasons, and with no Epinay and no Valentine, and Danglars having another punishment, things can and should be changed, Vampa, is after all the last piece of a puzzle we're not building here, so might as well trim the fat

Monte Cristo has set the stage, he is in power, this is a master class

But then we see moments when Edmond admits to needing to keep the wounds open, the vulnerability that he refuses to have for most of the book, we make him human, we ground him a bit more. If the wounds heal, which they start to do around André and Haydée, then he might abandon his vengeance. The mvie said let's start to give this man a heart before the end!

i love the scenes o plotting with Edmond Haydée and André, those are the only moments Edmond takes the mask off before the end, he gets to be more vulnerable with his chosen children (as he does with the Morrels in the book but still, i find it so meaty for the story and the characters) the plotting, the scheming, the moments of fun they get to have!

André being in on it, being loved and a part of the team, not just a pawn for Edmond, Benedetto is a simple criminal, nothing interesting, but in the film, he is so much! so so much more! The remorse at André's death, completely absent in the book, because he is the evil spawn of Villefort, like give me some meat!! There is love, there is heart, there is pain unknowable, unbearable, you put the knife in his hand, you're the reason the child you love is no more

Mercédès, be in it in the book or the film knows that Edmond is doing something, she does nothing to stop him, she knows people will be hurt, but the guilt she has (i don't think she should feel guilty, but misogyny has been alive for centuries) stops her from stopping him. she cannot make herself stop the justice he doles out

Edmond and Fernand both having scars on the left of their faces (the heat side, yes they are foils) - lets add some visuals!!

We don't get to see how much of a coward and a backstabber Fernand is. Not only did he betray Ali Tebelin Pacha of Janina, he also betrays the Spanish and the British, all that after having betrayed both Edmond and Mercédès, he is watered down in that aspect for the film. But he does it so willingly, with his eyes wide open. His actions will hurt the one he claims to love the most. All that he did it for, he loses it, Albert leaves, Mercédès leaves and cannot respect him anymore

Albert gets more development, he gets to be more than just a tool to hurt his father, he is the avatar of young Fernand that Edmond cannot hurt anymore in the book, he's more in the film, also we don't get to see how much of a mama's boy he is

Haydée and Albert as avatars of Mercédès and Edmond, who could not get to be happy together, but their children can!!

Haydée is the heart, but she is so much more representative of that in the film. The film allows her to be so much more than just one of Monte Cristo's tools, also she gets to not be his prize in the end

Albert is very lonely, all is friends absent from the film, we have to make room for him to be the young man in love from all adventure films, it's about the meta of knowing those classics

actually i think Mercédès telling it all to Albert when he goes to kill Monte Cristo is something that should have been kept, Albert being told, understanding the sins of his father is a very important bit to his character growth, he needs it to become a man and stop being so innocently childish

Edmond sending his daughter with the son of the woman he loved and the man he hates to be happy, to live and to love, yeah no there is something about that, poetry

the duel! Fernand, finally actually fighting, the most cowardly man in the world, the expert in backstabbing, and selling his friends, finally has to have a confrontation! and he loses, but he will have to live, live with the shame, live alone, without the woman for whom he did all that, the woman who never asked for this, who was actually not even happy with him, the woman who only chose him because he was the last thing she had in the world

that is so much more "capes et épées" than if he just blew his brains in one of his most cowardly moves ever, "you shall live with your shame there is no escape", that is a change that was needed for the story the film was telling

also killing yourself to avoid the shame is not something that will speak to wider audiences nowadays

kind of loss that only Morcerf knew the hand of fate was Edmond Dantès the young man they screw over, but i get it, it was all about the dramatics

Edmond's letter to Maximilien and Valentine (in the book) instead being addressed to Mercédès the woman he loved, the woman that loved him, the woman he could not be with anymore, because life changed them so is so poignant, it is such a fitting goodbye for the film and the characters as they exist in the film, they shall be alone and separated, but they live on in their children who will live for them, love for them, be for them

they broke the curse!

[elitadream]

Basically the whole Mushroom Kingdom

Knowing how Mario and Peach “secretly” feel about each other must be exhausting😆

THIS. ☝️😭

Especially for Luigi, omg. >< I mean sure: Toadsworth, Daisy, Toadette and all the Kingdom's citizens would have a hard time keeping their mouths shut when watching Peach demurely clasp her hands together to make a wish - ever the same one, no doubt - and sigh dejectedly to herself in quiet longing.

But they wouldn't know what it's like to deal with a sibling who's literally lovesick. To enter a room and find their brother hunched over and grimacing in obvious distress, his eyes lost and imploring as he would turn and say: "I love her so much, Lou... I- it hurts," with pained and hopeless surrender. To listen to his enamored ramblings for hours on end, yet only have vague and constrained support to offer. To see him hurting so badly on some days, and somehow still having to refrain from grabbing him by the shoulders and yelling "She LOVES you, ebete!!" to his bewildered face. Oh, to just end that needless suffering... It would be so easy. But he can't. When all would be pleasant and bright, he wouldn't mind, and would even take some enjoyment from what he secretly knows... But there would also be times - disheartened and crestfallen - when that silent vow would be very hard for Luigi to keep. 🥺😣

[nabaath-areng]

I don't know what you'd call it in english, but my village has this parish association that takes care of the local history in the area, hosting most events going on here etc, and for ages I've been wanting to help out with their digital photo archive. The stuff they post on their FB page is impossible to sort through, and the actual online archive is very barren and without any decent search function...

And I just got phone call informing me that I'll be handed responsibility for it!!! They were in need of help for several tasks including this one and so I'll be receiving all the digital files they have, meet with them to look over the physical stuff, and also get free reign over their online archive!!! No time limit, something I can do despite being unable to leave the house, AND I get to help to make it easier for everyone here to access the sheer amount of material that's been preserved!!!!! I'm so excited I almost don't know what to do with myself LOL

[uglyduckling339]

broke: use chatgpt to do ur research paper for you

woke: ask Tumblr Mutuals™️ who have a special interest in the topic to do the research and summary for you

[thegabgibberr]

cookie run kingdom episode 10 spoilers below read more

if someone had told me a year ago that there'd be a cookie run version of 'the garden of earthly delights' (heironymus bosch), id have pointed and laughed at you. however, seeing it referenced in such a manner made me (quietly, out of respect for sleeping family members) freak out.

[kvothbloodless]

Once again thinking about PGTE. This time im thinking about how EE Massively improved on GRRM's riddle of power (was it Martins? Does anyone know if theres an older source?). Like the initial premise is excellent and is a very cool way to demonstrate the practicalities of power.

But EE fucking blows it all out of the water with "'No one knows,' he told me. 'You see, the Miezans broke the stele.'"

I mean, I know its not surprising that in a story about stories, epistemology reigns supreme, but. Fuck.

In Varys' riddle the point is that power lies where people believe it lies. And this is a good point! But Varys specifically is using the riddle to Convince others where they should believe power lies. Even within the original (?) source, the Actual answer to the riddle is that power lies with Varys, the riddlegiver.

And then EE takes that point (which isnt explicit in asoiaf, and May not even have been intentional), and uses it as an analog to the violence of colonization and cultural genocide. Power lies where people believe it lies yes, which means that really, power lies with those who shape how people understand power in the first place.

[drgnflyteabox]

Had to add that from my sideblog cause I was just reading about chatgpt "summarizing" things on Twitter & substack

And btw it doesn't even work. I've seen people in my program (English) use it to summarize dense texts and it's always missing things, adding others (that don't exist) and overall missing the human understanding element

Had a classmate summarize a novel with a chatgpt for an essay so she didn't have to read it and it invented two characters and got her an F 😭

[alixanderkrex]

Rilke’s First Duino Elegy is a deeply philosophical and existential work that reflects his broader themes of transcendence, beauty, suffering, and the limitations of human perception. It is enriched by concepts from classical studies, particularly in its allusions to Greek mythology, classical heroism, and Platonic ideas about the nature of reality and longing.

Context of Rainer Maria Rilke Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) was an Austrian poet whose work often explores the tension between the material and the spiritual, the transient and the eternal. His Duino Elegies, written between 1912 and 1922, reflect his preoccupation with metaphysical longing, artistic creation, and the terror inherent in beauty. These elegies were influenced by his experiences in Duino Castle, as well as his readings in philosophy, art, and mysticism. Rilke’s writing often places human existence in contrast to the divine or the infinite, emphasizing a feeling of estrangement and the necessity of transformation through suffering and embracing it as much as the nurturing solitude offered by life to us, which he expresses as being not just beneficial but necessary. He deeply valued solitude, seeing it as essential for personal and artistic growth. He believed that solitude was not loneliness but a necessary state for self-discovery, inner strength, and creativity. Rilke viewed solitude as a way to confront one’s deepest thoughts and emotions, fostering a deeper understanding of oneself and the world. In Letters to a Young Poet, he advised embracing solitude rather than fearing it, arguing that it allows individuals to develop independence, patience, and emotional depth. He saw solitude as a space where one's soul could mature, free from external distractions and societal pressures. According to Rilke, true love and relationships could only flourish when individuals had first cultivated their own inner world, making solitude a foundation for authentic connections. For Rilke, solitude was not an escape but a path to wisdom, self-sufficiency, and a richer, more meaningful life. He believed that in solitude, one could listen to the whispers of the soul, unlocking creativity and personal transformation.

Use of Classical Concepts with in The First Elegy

Angels as Platonic Forms or Divine Messengers The poem opens with a desperate cry (which, to me, was reminiscent of the opening lines of Homer's Iliad): “Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the Angels’ Orders?”

Rilke’s angels are not comforting figures but rather terrifying beings whose essence is too overwhelming for humans to bear. This aligns with classical and Neoplatonic views of divine beings as existing on a higher plane of reality, beyond human comprehension.

The idea that “Every Angel is terrifying” evokes the Greek concept of daimons—spiritual intermediaries between gods and humans in Platonic thought, which could be either enlightening or overwhelming.

Beauty and Terror—The Sublime in Classical Aesthetics “For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we can still barely endure.”

This reflects a classical and Romantic notion of the sublime, where beauty is intertwined with awe and fear. The Greeks associated beauty (kalon) with both harmony and a kind of divine mystery that could lead to madness, as seen in the myths of Phaedra or Pentheus.

Alienation and the Stoic Worldview “Not Angels, not humans, and the sly animals see at once how little at home we are in the interpreted world.”

This echoes the Stoic perspective on human beings as estranged from a rational universe, struggling to interpret existence in meaningful terms. The idea of the interpreted world suggests an awareness that human perception is limited and filtered through subjective understanding.

Classical Lament and Mythology

The poem references the myth of Linos, a legendary musician mourned in ancient Greek laments. “Is it a tale told in vain, that myth of lament for Linos, in which a daring first music pierced the shell of numbness?”

The death of Linos, often seen as a foundational moment in the development of song and poetry, reflects Rilke’s belief in suffering as the origin of artistic creation. This aligns with the classical idea that poetry arises from grief, as seen in Orpheus’s lament for Eurydice.

Heroism and Fate “Remember: the hero lives on, even his downfall was only a pretext for attained existence.”

This recalls the Homeric and tragic Greek conception of heroism, where the hero’s suffering and death are not simply personal losses but transformative moments that give meaning to existence. Rilke’s hero transcends mere mortality by achieving a state of eternal significance, much like Achilles or Heracles.

Transformation and the Arrow as a Metaphor “The way the arrow, suddenly all vector, survives the string to be more than itself.”

This is reminiscent of Aristotelian and Platonic ideas of potentiality and actualization. The arrow is a symbol of release from earthly attachments, reflecting the classical idea that true existence lies beyond the constraints of the material world.

In Conclusion

Rilke’s First Elegy is a meditation on human limitation, divine terror, and the need to embrace suffering as a path to transformation. Through classical concepts—Platonic transcendence, the sublime, mythological lament, and heroic endurance—Rilke connects ancient wisdom with modern existential longing. His poetry echoes the classical world’s awareness of mortality, beauty, and the pursuit of meaning beyond the tangible realm.

[crandairy-juice]

just making the most self indulgent dnd characters. meet gawain

[mik0is0bored]

AAAUUUUGHHH IM SORRRYYYY IM SO SORRY DONT COME AFTER ME😭😭😭😭

[kannedia]

Tataru Week - Day 1 - Scion/Home

They try to meet up like this every week.

Originally, Inam approached Tataru to figure out just what her sister had gotten herself involved with.

It was one thing to learn from Momodi that Sana had been made an Envoy for Ul'dah. It was another to hear from rumours that Sana had joined a strange group of like-minded individuals. Finding them was, for all she knew, a stroke of pure luck.

She did not leave with the information she sought. Tataru instead promised to bring her case to the attention of the group's leader.

The second time Inam visited Tataru, it was partially to deliver paperwork on behalf of her Grandmother. It was during this visit that Tataru brought out a kettle and two tea cups. The two had a lovely talk where Tataru shared the information on the Scions that she was allowed to share with Inam.

Inam would continue her visits when she could to swap rumours and stories with Tataru. She didn't have the authority to help with all of the paperwork, but she could bring snacks from the store.

They would, in time, become good friends. By the time her sister has made her first journey to the First, Sana is trusted enough to be able to help Tataru with keeping the Scions afloat.

Inam is, from this point, considered an honorary Scion.

[herrscherofmagic]

oh this is gonna be one hell of a week for me...

...and it's only Tuesday x-x

Today I just caught up with WuWa's main story, after starting the game for the first time in the last week of v2.3...

but then tomorrow HSR's v3.4 comes out, with the climax (I think?) of the Amphoreus arc and huge plot stuff happening...

...but then the following day WuWa's NEXT main story update releases (jfc the previous one left on such a cliffhanger so I'm glad I only have to wait a couple days for this one T_T)

so yeah. i've got a lot of story to get through this week lmao

[habizuh-studios]

another issue that's spreading with chatgpt is that some teachers are actively encouraging you to use it. you have to use it for some assignments as a requirement. Like, what the fuck????

[wall-eye]

Today I was thinking about teachers from highschool and man. I'm still not over my one chemistry class. That man could not teach. I'm almost convinced there was supposed to be like. Home textbook reading he never gave us. He couldn't summarize literally anything into a single phrase, we had a lab every week that was never related to what we "learned" that week. The weekly schedule was written on the board on friday and it was of the previous week and there was absolutely no structure to the week at all. I remember literally nothing from that class except the very first unit. On significant figures. Literally just making sure you extend out your math as far as you need.

AND THEN WE DID ZERO MATH EVER

I took that class because I heard chemistry was the most math science.

We once had a test that I bombed that had a bonus question that was just name 3 things we learned this semester not on this test and I literally couldnt name anything

[qstarhalo]

Now will anyone call me crazy if I did another q!Bad and Crowley comparison and include a comparison to Crowley being the snake of Eden and Bad being trapped under the Euphrates River. Or is that too far of a fetch.

[orpheusilver]

can i be critical of black sails' writing for a second. for a show thats typically very very good at creating depth for even minor characters, 90% of the black characters are super fucking shallow