#trial script

[nalyra-dreaming]

Be careful, it's one of a kind! - Or: the trial script.

I took a few screenshots and put them through the editor, and there are a few interesting tidbits of information that can be gleaned from the few shots we got of the final trial script:

Supposedly the trial was written by the "Vampire Santiago", and the "Vampire Samuel Barclay". With... "additions made" by the "Vampire Lestat de Lioncourt".

Now the last part is particularly interesting, because as we see in the screenshots we get, that there are quite a few "additions" that Armand makes, but he is not listed there.

We now have (additional) confirmation by Assad (at the SDCC 2024 panel) that Armand was the one who orchestrated Claudia's / their deaths, so let's keep that in mind here. Especially since he is not listed.

"Our red curtain. Our spotlight. Santiago acting as master of ceremonies. But this is the only part of the play that will mimic our normal fare. That and our finale."

There's several aspects to this.

We know that - at least in Armand's tale - Santiago "took over". "Master of ceremonies." But only acting, not actually being. The "mimic our normal fare" both hints at this being not what they normally do, and, given the mock aspect of the trial - it acknowledges the farce it is. It is not a play, not a trial, but something in between, framed as neither, while implementing both.

Santiago's entry speech. With an interesting annotation by Armand: "You are standing half in and half out of your light."

Only, Santiago isn't actually standing in and out of the light. (At least in the version we got to see.)

Now, those who know the books know that the force of Lestat's personality is often called a "light", and not always in a wholly positive manner.

For example there is this comment by Nicolas, which refers to it:

And for every aspect of our proposed damnation you found exuberance, and there was no end to your enthusiasm and the passion coming out of you-and the light, always the light. And in exact proportion to the light coming out of you, there was the darkness in me! Every exuberance piercing me and creating its exact proportion of darkness and despair!

The lights of the stage obviously put them all into focus, too, something that was forbidden before Lestat came and destroyed the old ways. The "walking in the places of light" was one of the things the Children of Darkness accused Lestat of when he encountered them.

I think the comment there is a kind-of-meta comment, of Armand being half in shadow hand half in light. There is a choice here, for light or darkness.

Here, he chooses darkness.

Some things we haven't heard in the episode:

"If the prosecution's evidence convinces you to condemn those HERETICS for the heinous trampling of the vampire laws we will carry out our sentence before your very eyes as only we at the Théâtre des Vampires know how: slowly, inventively, gruesomely."

And then, this lovely stage direction 💀:

"Agency: If and when Claudia or Louis speak, (drive) them together, close their throats, (Santia)go will address it with the audience, as per the below:"

"I don't need to hear from you..."

That part we heard in the trial.

Apart from the stage directions and the part we didn't hear Armand's notes are also interesting once more: "Remember to comment...." and something starting with "Fi"... "Fine" - or "Find their thoughts" (could fit I think). Because this note, even largely unreadable proves once more that Armand was fully in on what they did to Louis and Claudia there. Made sure that the blows... would land.

This one. This one we didn't get to hear! (The part after "Tik Tok")

Santiago reading from her diary: "He soaks in the light from everyone around him, making it all about Lestat. This is most definitely about you and your death."

Light reference again! (See the quote above.)

And (accompanied by Armand's notes to have Santiago hand the diary to the audience):

"I know she was your favorite. I know she was your baby lu. But she had us all fooled. She's the best actor of all of us. She lies so sweetly, doesn't she. But look closer. When the mask falls away, she's a monster."

Oof. When the mask falls away... Pot to kettle.

"I can't hear you." - say it louder.... Lestat.

And then: Lestat's entrance. Being seated in an especially prepared "Bergere en cabriolet".

And here we have another "I can't hear you! Let me f...". It's the counterpart to the blend-over (below), another read from Claudia's diary there, after Lestat talks about loneliness and Louis "abandoning him". (Btw, I don't buy this shift to blame to Louis and Louis "hunting" Lestat for one second, for the record^^. I think that was all very much BS for the trial, in order to make Louis seem guilty to the audience.)

Armand's comment (on Lestat's first lines) makes it seem as if Lestat was less than enthusiastic - or weak. Now, I said before, I think there's quite enough evidence to suggest that the "real trial" might have gone a bit more like in the book, with Lestat mostly out of his mind and his mind meddled with as well (see below).

But the counterpart to the blend-over is actually the most interesting one, imho:

(This is a hard one to see, it's only seen in blend-over and Louis' hand moves across it before the scene fades to Armand scribbling down the note!)

"It This is too early for Lestat to acknowledg[e...]"

This is too early for Lestat to acknowledge. Louis and Claudia, would be my guess. This direction is proof that Armand made directions for Lestat especially as well. It's the only one (we have so far) where he actually writes the name.

Armand knew he could make this direction. And he made it.

Given Lestat and their history this, for me, is proof, that Lestat's mind has been meddled with as well, at times at least. Because there is no way that Lestat would have followed Armand's directions there, imho. Would not have done something, especially in that moment, where they set up the execution.

Yes, Sam is on record saying that Lestat played along with the play itself so he could get into the audience's heads, and therefore make it easier for him to make them shift Louis' sentence to "banishment" (that's where the "additions" come from, in all likelihood), but there, at the point of judgement and the execution being set up he does not look at Claudia (but he does look at her afterwards!), he's staring straight ahead, swaying on his feet.

Taken out of the equation, so to speak.

(That's an extra shot btw, extra shots always carry meaning.)

So.

Quite the script. -.-

Clear stage directions for Santiago, Lestat, and the other coven members should Louis and Claudia try to do something.

Now. I know there have been a lot of posts about Armand "master mind" or "villain" or victim, or what not. And I am glad that Assad has been so very clear on that just recently, though all of it is already given with what the show gave us, imho.

Armand did plan the trial. Did master-mind it. Did pretend. Did direct. Did lie.

He orchestrated their deaths.

And Lestat interfered with Louis' death. At the very least.

And.. Armand continued to betray Louis. For 77 years.

I said it before, I don't quite buy the tower scene, I expect it to get more context, at the very least.

It will be very interesting to see if they return to the trial next season, and in what capacity.

Because all the "hints" are, all the evidence is there already.

[tokenducks]

T4T Solangelo but in a FTM Will and amab nonbinary Nico way

[whatyourehungryfor]

there is something there in how season one introduces characters that embody tropes (such as the burnout, the popular girl, the nerd, etc) that are subsequently deconstructed and played with; the impact of these tropes regarding how they are perceived is felt in universe and with how the audience sees things. and then in later seasons the characters are put into boxes yet again but this time very literally assigned more concrete roles within the group and well. call me crazy but perhaps these roles might also be restrictive and we shouldn't fall into the trap of defining the characters by them. its not like the show goes out of its way to show how damaging that is in universe or anything…

[vagueeyes]

The idea of a historical one in the midst of the Number 9s was a nice idea, to completely show you that you could go anywhere and do anything.

INSIDE NO. 9 | Period pieces

S2E3 "The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge"

S3E1 "The Devil of Christmas"

S9E5 "The Curse of the Ninth"

[a-couple-of-notes]

I too loved everything about Agatha and Rio this week ("she is my scar"--that's my shit!) but I do want to give flowers for how efficiently that relationship is connected to and contextualized by Alice's story.

Alice has spent a long time dismissing her mother and being angry at her, not seeing that Lorna worked as hard as she could to protect her. Agatha and Rio both immediately see it--Agatha is the one to put the pieces together, and Rio's the one who answers the question of "what were Lorna's intentions?" with "to save her daughter"--because, in some way, they are Lorna. They would do the exact same thing to try to protect their child (as we see Agatha desperately attempt to save/protect Teen later).

At the same time, like Alice, Agatha has retreated into anger to avoid grief. She doesn't, or refuses to, understand it was Rio's job to (presumably) reap Nicholas' soul. Alice has to "face" the curse and her own grief by the end of the episode, and likewise, Agatha has to face both her feelings for Rio and the truth about Teen.

This is just really smart writing; it weaves the themes of mothers and children throughout, has two parallel narratives about bridging an impossible gap in a relationship, and furthers the larger arcs of every character involved. Plus it's super gay.

(And they even throw in the bit about Jen's backstory as a midwife! More thematic weaving of motherhood and children--it makes a lot of sense that Agatha specifically would consider midwifery "important work" worth leaving someone alone for, as she said in Episode 3.)

[shallowseeker]

Happy "It's-- amazing. You did-- amazing," Monday!

"It's-- amazing. You did-- amazing."

///

Do you even realize how amazing you are to me?

///

15x09 The Trap (Text Attributions// Supernatural scripts here via @spnscripthunt. Transcripts are located here via SPNWiki. Visit their Tumblr to donate.)

[blueiight]

when you are on a network that puts you on a timeslot that does not allow for explicit sex scenes , how do you emphasize the thread of sexuality being a relevant factor in the protagonist’s journey? divorce-by-incomplete-blade his marriage, before louis met armand, he was in cruising parks when he wasnt with claudia or trying to be a photographer. that is my one critique of this season i didnt see articulated - in that we did not have enough time to see the times in paris louis lived. we hear him speak of familiarity to gordon parks’s methodology [implying that he knows the man or knows of him very well at the very least] and tell claudia in earnest excitement at the dinner table abt the parisian multiracial avant garde. anyways... the cruising park is where armand decides to confront louis directly for the first time after following him & claudia for five months. the physical evidence of photographs cannot be altered so readily, but the story of them remains to be told by the photographer, louis. and what does he tell us?

“pictures are outward evidence, they do not lie, but neither do they tell you a thorough story.”

[nalyra-dreaming]

Do you know if there is some sort of archive with claudia's diary pages, the talamasca files and other fun written things full of info like that? It gets annoying trying to hit pause in the right frame every tine while trying to find details

Not really, no.

There were efforts to create something like that a while back, but I must say I have lost track of it, unfortunately.

I have some of the Talamasca files here. Here, here and here are some of the diary pages.

And I made an analysis of the few trial script pages we got, here.

Hope that helps?!

[abbysmultiverse]

Guys I need shifting friends pls feel free to dm me !!!

[vagueeyes]

A part of the in9 + extended universe journey that I'm really enjoying is watching the films that the League love - you get to know their influences and understand how their brains work!

Last weekend, I watched HÄXAN - mainly for three reasons (reesons?):

It's a favourite film of Reece's

@silverview's post about the film's parallels to THE TRIAL OF ELIZABETH GADGE

@unreesonable's post about Reece narrating the film at an event in 2017 (I've also since read the interviews he did when he performed it at the Flatpack Festival in 2018). After watching, I can definitely see why he was invited to do this (it's SO in his wheelhouse). What fun these events must have been!

Yesterday I relistened to the commentary for THE TRIAL OF ELIZABETH GADGE, and today I reread the script and rewatched/read along. I already quite like the episode, but watching the film definitely made me appreciate it even more!

Under the cut are 4 moments of interest from the script + ep, as well as 5 film + ep parallels that jumped out at me:

some spoilers for HÄXAN (& ELIZABETH GADGE ofc), also trigger warning for depictions of torture

In the commentary, r&s mention the opening scene was cut down, which is definitely what happened - in the episode, they also added in a shot of a crow, later revealed to be Elizabeth Gadge:

I really love the first two pages of the script because it's so full of detail. The character descriptions for Mr Warren & Mr Clarke, in particular, is my favourite part:

Not to mention this exchange (& stage direction) that was cut:

Steve also talks about them making the mistake of calling the family the Gadges, and it turns out one of these mistakes is left in the script (which I really didn't notice until I was rewatching & reading along!):

One main element of the film that I think the episode captured really well is how baseless and ridiculous witch trials were. But what I think is also interesting is that the episode actually has a calculated reason for Elizabeth Gadge being accused (her family wants to get rid of her so they can take over her room), whereas in the the film's dramatised witch trial, a man dies in his bed and his wife subsequently accuses a poor, old woman (who turns up to their house to beg for food) of causing his death through witchcraft. She is quickly arrested and tortured into confessing.

In both instances, the inquisitors in the film & Mr Warren in the episode have no interest in the truth!

The aforementioned wife in the film also gets arrested and accused of witchcraft, and there's a scene where she's essentially tricked into confessing, which reminds me of the scene where Mr Warren traps Elizabeth Gadge by crumbling & placing the cheese in front of her, so that Snowflake the mouse would go to her:

There's also a section in the film that shows the instruments of torture that were used to extract "confessions", pointing out, "You and I would also be driven to confess mysterious talents with the help of such tools, isn't that so?"

There's a part about the thumbscrew, which is also shown in the episode! There's even a bit in the film where one of the actresses apparently "insisted" on trying it out, which was pretty wild.

The "pricking" scene in the episode is also in the film, although the latter depicts it for a different reason:

Finally, on a more light-hearted note, I have to mention the part where Waterhouse accuses Elizabeth Gadge of "kissing the Devil's arse":

I was convinced r&s made that up, but this is actually shown, like, twice in the film??

What!!

[mayimkjs]

The Writhing of the Weak (弱者の蠕動) Japanese Transcription

Feel free to use this how you like with no credit to me required. Credit should go to Yamanaka.

エス: Es

ハルカ: Haruka

1|ミルグラム監獄内

尋問室薄暗い尋問室の中。

不安そうに椅子に座っているハルカ。

扉の外からコツコツと足音。

ハルカ　「......ぁ」

ガシャンと乱暴に扉が開く。

ハルカ　「......っ」

びくっと怯えるハルカ。

扉を開けたエスは気にすることもなく、座っているハルカの前に立つ。

エス　「さて、尋問を始めよう。囚人番号1番、ハルカ」

ハルカ　「は、はい......。ご、ごめんなさい」

エス　「......？何を謝ることがある？」

ハルカ　「あ、あ、いや......ごめんなさい」

ハルカの態度を不思議がりつつも話を続けるエス。

エス　「ふむ。ミルグラムはお前たち囚人の罪を明らかにし、適切な判断をくだすために存在している。そのためにいくつか話をしよう」

ハルカ　「はぁ」

エス　「なに、尋問といっても現段階では手荒な真似をするつもりはないから安心しろ。ちなみに、虚偽も黙秘も認めている」

ハルカ　「きょぎ、もくひ......」

エス　「言いたくないことは言わなくても構わないし、嘘をつきたければついても構わない」

エスの言葉に意外そうに口を開くハルカ。

ハルカ　「そうなん、ですか......」

エス　「あぁ、ミルグラムはお前の記憶から直接歌を取り出すからだ。僕はそれを見てお前の罪を判断する」

ハルカ　「......」

エス　「つまりお前がどんな主張をしようと大きな問題はなむしろ黙秘をした “嘘をついた” ということ自体がお前が自分の罪に対してどういう意識を持っているかを示すことになる」

ハルカ　「はぁ......」

エス　「そもそも、罪に対して反省しているかどうか、それを判決の基準にするかすら僕次第なのだがな。わかるな？」

少し困ったように考えるハルカ。

ハルカ　「えっと......わかりません」

エス　「は？」

ハルカ　「え？」

エス　「ん？」

ハルカ　「あ、え、あの何言っているかわかりませんでした。むずかしくて」

エス　「......うん？」

ハルカ　「あの、ごめんなさい僕あたまがあまり......」

軽く頭痛を覚えながら、言葉を続けるエス。

エス　「......ハルカ、お前歳はいくつだ」

ハルカ　「えっと777だったと思います」

エス　「......思います？」

ハルカ　「あ、いや、自分の年齢に興味なくて......ごめんなさい」

エス　「......調子狂うな」

おもわずこぼすエス。

エス　「......続けようか。ミルグラムでの生活はどうだ？」

ハルカ　「あ、あの最初はわけわからないしちょっと怖かったんですけどみんな良い人なんで、大丈夫です......」

エス　「みんな、とは。他の囚人連中か？」

ハルカ　「あ、はいあの、ユノさんとかマヒルさんとか優しく、てくれます......」

少し考えたのち、改めてハルカをじっと見つめる

エス　「......少し興味があるな。ハルカの目に他の囚人はどう映っている」

ハルカ　「あ、え、いや。ぼ、僕なんかがみんなのことを喋るの、わるいです」

エス　「安心しろ。この部屋でのことを他の囚人に漏らすことはない」

ハルカ　「えっと......は、はい......何を話せばいいんでしょうか

エス　「そうだな。誰とよく話すんだ？」

ハルカ　「あ、よく話しかけてくれるのはユノさんと、マヒルさんと、えっとミコトさん......フータくんも、少し怖いけど、かまってくれます。ムウさんとも、たまに話します......」

エス　「ふむ、カズイやシドウは？」

ハルカ　「あ、あの大人なんで、少し怖いんですけど二人とも優しい人だと思います......」

エス　「コトコは？」

ハルカ　「あ、ちょ、ちょっと怖いです」

エス　「まぁ予想通りだ。あとは名前が出てないのはアマネか」

アマネの名前が出て、少しトーンが落ちるハルカ。

それとは裏腹に落ち着かず細かい手の動きが増える。

ハルカ　「ア、アマネちゃん......」

エス　「どうした」

ハルカ　「に、苦手なんです......あれくらいの、子供......あ、あ、アマネちゃんは良い子なんですけどい、いや、い、いやなことを、思い出すんで......」

顔を下げ、頭を抱えるハルカ。

エス　「大丈夫か？随分顔色が悪いな」

ハルカ　「そもそも、あまり僕は人と関わっちゃいけないんです......し、囚人のみんなとも......勘違いしちゃだめなんだ」

エス　「なぜだ。好きにすればいいじゃないか。僕は他者との関係の中でこそその人間の本質が見えると考えている」

バッと顔を上げ、エスに対して前のめりになるハルカ

ハルカ　「かっ......看守さんにも言えることなんだ」

エス　「僕にも？」

ハルカ　「......あまり僕に近づかない方がいい。生まれつき人を不幸にすることは得意なんです......僕を知ろうとすればするほどきっと看守さんも不幸になる......」

エス　「ハルカ......」

ハルカ　「だって、だって......あぁ、ごめんなさい、一人でずっとしゃべって......」

エス　「......続けろ」

ハルカ　「い、いつだってそうなんだ。僕が、僕は、ただ普通にしてるだけなのにぜんぶ、だめにしてしまう......」

ハルカ　「看守さんだって、みんなだって僕のことを知ったら......僕のしたことをすべて知ったら」

ハルカの目に浮かぶ涙。

ハルカ　「僕を、見捨てるに決まってる......」

頭を抱え、震えるハルカ。

ハルカ　「ぼくは身勝手な “ヒトゴロシ” だから......」

しばらくハルカを見つめたあと一息をつき話始めるエス。

エス　「......ハルカ」

ハルカ　「はい......」

エス　「顔をあげろ」

ハルカ　「はい......」

エス　「......ふんっ！」

ハルカ　「ぎゃん！」

ハルカの顔面を思いっきりビンタするエス。

思い切り後ろに椅子ごと倒れるハルカ。

床に尻もちをつき、頬を抑えるハルカ。

ハルカ　「い、いたい......な、何をするんですか......」

ハルカを見下ろし、冷たく言い放つエス。

エス　「僕は看守だ。今のは囚人に対しての教育的指導だ。赦される」

ハルカ　「うっ......」

ハルカの襟首をつかむエス。

顔をぐっと近づけ威圧的に話しかける。

エス　「いいか、よく聞け囚人番号1番。何度でも言おう、僕は看守だ。お前の本性を知るのが僕の仕事だ。お前が何者だろうと、お前がどんな非道を働いていようとすべて見届け判断するのが僕の仕事だ」

静かに怒りを押し殺しながら言葉を続ける。

エス　「それを言うに事欠いて、見捨てるだと......？あまり僕をナメるなよ......」

ハルカ　「あ......あぁ」

エス　「お前の罪を知り、お前の罪を赦すか赦さないか判断し終えるまで、お前は僕の管理物だ。逃してもらえるなどと思うな」

ハルカ　「か、看守さん......」

エスの威圧感に呆然としていたハルカ。自然と口角があがっていく。

ハルカ　「ふ、うふ......」

エス　「ちょっと待てハルカ。何をニヤニヤしている」

ハルカ　「えっ......あ、あ、ごめんなさい。きもちわるいですよね......へ......へ......」

エス　「きもちわるい」

掴んでいた襟首を離すエス。

床に正座するハルカ。

ハルカ　「あっ、あっ......ちがくてへ、へんなはなしなんですけどちょっと、うれしくて......」

エス　「......嬉しい？」

ハルカ　「はい......」

エス　「おかしな話だな。僕が言うのも難だが監禁され、拘束され、こうして尋問されている。この状況に対して怒りや恐れを覚えるのが自然だろう」

顎に手を当て考える様子のエス。

エス　「......そういえばお前は最初からずっとそうだ。ふさぎ込んではいるがミルグラム自体への混乱を感じない。その点はフータやムウの反応の方が腑に落ちるというものだ」

ハルカ　「そ、そうですね......フータくんはすごく怒ってますね......こわいじゃ、じゃなくていや、あの僕はこのミル、グラムでしたっけ。何のためにあるのかとか、よくわかってないんですけど看守さんが自分に興味を持ってくれて、色々聞いてくれるのは、なんだか嬉しかったりします」

床に正座するハルカ。

ハルカ　「あっ、あっ......ちがくてへ、へんなはなしなんですけどちょっと、うれしくて......」

エス　「......嬉しい?」

ハルカ　「はい......」

エス　「おかしな話だな。僕���言うのも難だが監禁され、拘束さ れ、こうして尋問されている。この状況に対して怒りや恐れを覚えるのが自然だろう」

顎に手を当て考える様子のエス。

エス　「......そういえばお前は最初からずっとそうだ。ふさぎ込 んではいるがミルグラム自体への混乱を感じない。その 点はフータやムウの反応の方が腑に落ちるというものだ」 

 ハルカ　「そ、そうですね......フータくんはすごく怒ってますね ......こわいじゃ、じゃなくていや、あの僕はこのミル、 グラムでしたっけ。何のためにあるのかとか、よくわかっ てないんですけど看守さんが自分に興味を持ってくれて、 色々聞いてくれるのは、なんだか嬉しかったりします......」

エス 「......」

ハルカ　「そ、それがおしごとでも僕のやったわるいことをあきらかにするためだったと、しても......です」

エス　「......ふむ」

ハルカ　「......」

エス　「変なやつだな」

ハルカ　「あう......」

正座のままびくびくしているハルカ、遠い目をするエス。

エス　「一人目から特殊すぎる。お前は七人目くらいでくるべきだ。この仕事の大変さを今はっきり理解した」

ハルカ　「ご、ごめんなさい......」

エス　「ふむ。まぁ良い。 反抗的な囚人よりはいくらかマシだな......」

ハルカ　「......ほっ」

安堵のため息をこぼすハルカ。

エス　「ただし! あまり勘違いをするなよ、ハルカ。僕はお前 と仲良くしたくて話を聞いているわけではない僕の目的 はあくまでお前の犯した罪を知ることだ。お前が何をし たのか、なぜ“ヒトゴロシ〟となったかを知るためだ」

ハルカ　「は、はい......」

エス　「まだニヤニヤしている」

ハルカ　「ごっ、ごめんなしゃい」

頬を手で抑えて笑みをごまかすハルカ。

エス　「緊張感のない男だ。僕がお前を赦さないと判断するだけでお前の身にどんなことが起きるか......」

ハルカ　「何がおきるんですか?」

エス 「......」

突如出来た無言の時間にあわてるハルカ。

ハルカ　「......えっと」

エス　「さぁな。お前は考える必要はない......きっと僕にもな」

ハルカ　「......」

エス　「そうだ、あとひとつ言いたいことがある。お前は自分が身勝手なヒトゴロシだから周りと関わってはいけないといったな」

ハルカ　「はい......」

エス　「囚人どもは皆”ヒトゴロシ”だ。何を遠慮することがあるあいつらにくらい好きに振る舞えばいい」

ハルカ　「......えっと」

わずかに口角のあがるエス、

エス　「お前にもわかりやすく言おうか。 お前ら全員ダメ人間だ。 だから気にするな」

ハルカ　「......は、はは ......それも、そうですね」

エス　「ふっ」

突如部屋にある時計から鐘の音がなる部屋の構造が変化していく。

ハルカ　「え......」

エス　「おしゃべりの時間は終わりのようだ。恐れることはない。ただお前の記憶をのぞかせてもらうだけだ」

怯えるハルカの肩に手を載せるエス。

エス　「囚人番号1番、ハルカさぁ。お前の罪を歌え」

[jaggedjot]

When naming the members of the Théâtre des Vampires, Armand introduces Louis and Claudia to their “playwright in residence”, one Samuel Barclay (“Sam. Call me Sam.”). This is almost certainly a reference to Samuel Barclay Beckett, the famous modernist writer, theatre director and playwright. The style of theatre that Beckett was instrumental in creating, the so-called Theatre of the Absurd, with its focus on existentialism and tragicomic tones, shares some notable characteristics with the plays shown at the Théâtre des Vampires; Louis’ complaint that “They were weird! And always ended in death or some kind of cruel, barely motivated violence.” feels affectionately pointed. Beckett’s most famous work, Waiting for Godot, has also been confirmed by a reviewer to appear in the show (“Santiago fuming about the lack of action in a vampiric version of Waiting for Godot”). The choice of name and the inclusion of a play that was written during this period of Louis and Armand’s lives (“The Paris Albums, 1946-1949.”) but did not premiere until 1953, could suggest that Sam is meant to be the man himself. 

This is not the first time the show has played with the idea that a famous writer may have been a vampire, however, unlike Emily Dickinson, Beckett was alive and working in Paris until his death in 1989. Considering the ending of the show’s source material, it seems unlikely that Sam will live that long unless he independently parts ways with the Théâtre des Vampires. It is also notable that, if intended to be a cameo, Sam has been quite underplayed compared to historical figures like Jelly Roll Morton and Jean-Paul Sartre. Though the supposed playwright for the company, Sam is shown selling tickets for the performance and collecting laundry rather than, say, giving notes on that night’s performance. Sam is presented as apart from the other members of the coven; absent during their prank on Louis and Claudia, not joining in the ensuing greetings, and leaving during the introductions. This framing of the character suggests that he is therefore not intended to be the real Beckett. Perhaps then the name was chosen by Sam himself in an attempt to emulate a writer he admires. Perhaps it is meant to further emphasise the strangeness of the supposed playwright for the company having the least interaction with its members, while only being shown to perform menial tasks. Or perhaps this is simply a reference made by a team of writers with backgrounds in theatre.

[cuphamster64]

Working on kinito singing daisy bell audio rn. Not going amazing but I'm trying my hardest.

[thxrgism]

writing fanganronpas is so funny because you can really just end up like “oops! i accidentally paralleled Trigger Happy Havoc”

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

Also, speaking of the demo, I've been thinking a lot about Ultimate Real Fiction DR2s and DR1s lately. I had the idea for this au (which doesn't even necessarily need to be an AU) where in the v3 universe, Team DR made Live Action TV show adaptations of DR1 and DR2 as a way to test Ultimate Real Fiction technology.

While Hajime and Makoto in the demo don't align with my main thoughts on this AU, it does propose a neat offshoot where in these tests, they potentially only inserted the *memories* of the DR1s and DR2s into their Real Fiction actors while maintaining their original identities. Maybe as a way to enhance their emotions and make the acting more "authentic" before realizing the potential and diving into creating true Real Fictional Characters. In this case, the surviving "DR1s" and "DR2s" (if any died at all) would still be on the side of and working with Team DR. In the demo, they were helping test the V3's real fiction personalities before the season began, and especially making sure Kaede was ready to be a protagonist.

[cecelovegood]

Hear me out,

If they make a full 5 season HoO show (after a full PJO show obviously), then I feel like they really should make a movie trilogy based on Chalice of the Gods (and the two books that will follow it).

Plus a ToA show would be amazing, but that takes place last and idk if they’ll get that far.