the text to follow along with - translation by ada @bookcalanthedaily!
as an example of why the fonopolis audiodramas are fantastic (and just because i love this part), i want to talk about this scene between regis, geralt, and the rest of the company.
regis begins his argument by suggesting the dynamic between him and geralt is one familiar to human stories, one in which geralt has the upper hand — that witchers kill monsters. geralt “knows where he lives,” as a witcher, geralt is able to “hunt him.” regis suggests that geralt is being merciful by “letting him go,” by putting down his silver sword and having mercy on “him, who is a threat to people.” this is the dominant human narrative, that monsters, that vampires are a threat to people and are exterminated, eliminated by witchers. regis is aware of this and is mocking it. in a sense, he’s not just taunting geralt & co., but all preconcieved human conceptions and fears of vampires.
but then, then! he begins to argue back, beginning with “ah… one more thing…” where he points out, by making geralt admit it himself, that it is actually the situation in reverse. geralt is not being merciful, that he is not “letting him go” — it’s the other way around. regis gets geralt to admit that any offered price, no matter how high, on regis’s head would be too little compensation for fighting him. meaning, he gets geralt to admit that he would never hunt him, that he is more powerful than him, that if geralt fought him, he would lose.
despite geralt being a witcher, being sworn to kill monsters, to eliminate evil, he is not fighting regis. how curious? why? is the witcher being merciful? taking pity on him? … no. geralt put down his silver not out of mercy, but out of wisdom and fear. he knew he could not win that fight. regis, in this scene, wants to make it very clear that geralt inspires no fear in him — that geralt is not letting him go. he is letting geralt go. he wants to make it very clear that he is not “a poor, hapless creature.”
regis makes this point in an absolute clever way, in which he does not boast at all of his own power or capabilities, as he is not the one appraising himself. if he had gone about it in a more straightforward way, i.e., bragging about himself to the company in this scene, beginning to boast about himself, they would have had no reason to believe him. as dandelion says in the tower of the swallow about regis’ age, “it could have been an ordinary swindle.” and it would have been largely undignified, like a frightened animal puffing itself up to look larger. the logic being that ‘of course he would attest to his own power, he’s trying to frighten us.’ ‘fear me, for i am the night’ and all of that type of arrogant vampire trope nonsense would have made him the butt of the joke. regis is an arrogant vampire, but he would not act like this, it’s beneath him… “for reasons of age.”
instead — he gets geralt, a professional in the matter, to gauge the situation factually. in doing so, regis demonstrates not only his power, but also his intelligence and his dignity. and regis is regis - he wishes them no ill will, he’s a guardian of humans, he just dressed dandelion’s head wound with expertise and care - but alongside this, he demands dignity and respect… politely, of course. and in it, he has a great sense of humor… a sense of humor which isn’t simple or cruel, as in, ‘it is funny to frighten people,’ but rather one that’s inquisitive, detail-oriented, and based in socio-psychoanalysis, as in, ‘human fears, as mistaken and illogical as they are, are funny, and it’s hilarious to not only point out, but to demonstrate the gaps in the logic.’
without deviating from the text, the voice acting and narration adds context to this scene by incorporating tone of voice, details of conversation (such as laughter), and engaging pacing.
[the VA for] geralt remains cold and defensive throughout. he holds a silver sword not only in his hand, but also in his tongue. his characteristic short responses are highlighted by his frustration and fear. he’s dealing with unpredictability. at any moment, this could turn into a fight… from geralt’s perspective, if the nature of the conversation changes, he and his sword are all that stands between a powerful force and his friends - his friends, who he denies are his company. this highlights his true nature, his struggle - he cares for dandelion, who he just saved during their escape from vissegerd’s camp, he cares for milva, who he empathizes with and owes for her help… he even might care for cahir, simply for the virtue that he’s a human. geralt’s defensiveness of them in his attempts to shoo regis off, are represented in the gravely serious, ice-cold tone of the voice acting. like a wolf protecting his pack…
[the VA for] regis is clearly amused and entertained, but also demonstrates the darker tones of conversation and topic at hand. the comical manner from which his light “unbelievable, you’ll let me go? me, a threat…” drops in tone to a serious “… to people?”
and everything else he says and does adds so much more context to his character’s intentions and personality:
his “ah, one more thing…” (worthy of columbo!) is extremely casual, but also premeditated and planned. it was part of his argument from the beginning, but in order to complete the argument, he is pretending like it’s a simple curiosity and not rhetoric.
his genuine amused laughter preceding “you tickle my vanity…” is almost saying, ‘well, that’s an understatement…’
his pause between “i understand” and “thank you” - upon the last syllable of dziękuję his speech falters into a laugh, suggesting he showed his fangs not out of malice or because he was trying to scare them, but due to a genuinely amused smile from laughter. whereas geralt is on edge in a situation that could become life-or-death, regis is shrugging his shoulders, joking, mocking, holding a casual conversation…
this is how you do adaptation - staying close to the text, but adding more flavor, adding even more life into the characters. interpreting, but not radically changing. understanding, working with… it’s a love letter to the book, a correspondence…
