#also also...Nandor waiting for the right time...like...what if he actually really wants to turn Guillermo too

[bottombaron]

I'm starting to wonder if there is actually something legit about the 'right time' to turn Guillermo that Nandor keeps talking about...

It was brought up again in the premiere and something about how Guillermo said that "deep down I'm not ready [to become a vampire]" before Derek jumped him...

...what if Nandor hasn't actually been putting it off for no reason...what if there is actually a 'right moment' for it and this whole time we were thinking that moment had to do with Nandor being ready but what if it's about Guillermo being ready??

[something-about-sunflowers]

I kinda feel like too many people aren't looking at the whole picture with Guillermo and Nandor/his family this season?

Guillermo knows, to a certain extent, that it's hurting Nandor that he's avoiding him. He just can't not avoid him because of the whole 'secretly turned by another vampire and Nandor will have to kill him then himself for the sake of his bruised honor/ego' thing.

Guillermo is also hurting though. His attempt to take some agency for himself by actively pursuing something he's wanted since before he even met Nandor has massively backfired on him in every possible way he couldn't even begin to expect. He didn't know he'd have a Weird Transformation. He didn't know there was some taboo for having another vampire turn him as Nandor's familiar (and he's not actually Nandor's familiar anymore anyway, technically, they're all just dumb and forgot that fact). He, comparatively, only recently found out about the whole Van Helsing thing and that his family can't control themselves around vampires (though I feel like it probably will be different with their Memo, if we're being honest), so he very likely thought for most of his time waiting for Nandor to turn him that he'd still be able to see them occasionally and get/give closure over a longer period of time before he had to stop seeing them when it became obvious he wasn't aging like they were.

He does care about his mom, yall, did you miss him breaking down in the elevator or were you just distracted by him breaking the hand-rail? He's just been very preoccupied with a whole lot of drama (Which he complained about! He told Nandor how upset he was that the wedding and Baby Colin were keeping him too busy to see his family! The end of season 4 was days before the start of season 5.) and an extreme life change. He's an adult. That kind of shit happens when you're an adult (granted, his situation is significantly more fantastical given the whole vampires thing but still). Sometimes you get caught up in your adult life and you miss your mom's birthday. Sometimes you make a big life change that you think is what's best for you and it means you won't be able to be as close to your family. Yes. It's selfish of him - to an extent - but for fuck's sake you can't live your life for other people, even - especially, in some cases - if those people are your family. I'm kind of appalled at people saying that he's deserving to feel bad and rejected because he made a choice for himself. Do you think his mom is blaming him as harshly as some of you are? No! The first thing she asked him was 'are you happy with this change?' She cares about her son's happiness. He's not entirely in the right but fuck do yall know how to do anything but swing hard in the other direction? There's grey areas! All in the middle! Right there, look!!

And then on top of him already being extremely emotionally compromised from reckoning with having to leave his family behind, on top of the already 'emotionally difficult' avoiding Nandor for both of their sakes, he gets another big rejection in his own home from the people he cares most about. I don't know if Nandor noticed that his rejection hurt Guillermo. He's dumb but I really don't know if he's that dumb. He's been able to recognize in the past when he's hurt Guillermo so I don't see why he couldn't now. Are yall gonna blame Memo for feeling bad if Nandor decides to do something to try and win him back or cheer him up? Or if Nandor is upset/worried about having hurt Guillermo?

I don't really know where I'm going with this anymore lmao. My point is: Yes, Guillermo's choice is hurting people but it's also hurting him and he's been hurt for a while now and hurt people hurt people (which is why Nandor lashed out too!) so cut him a little bit of slack maybe? He didn't do anything to intentionally hurt anyone he just wanted to take some agency back for himself that he's been missing for like. Ten. Thirteen years or so now.

[strawberryseeded]

ok more thoughts (tbh just typing out stuff until it makes sense) abt the wwdits finale cos i was kind of out of it/frustrated whn i made the last post lol ^^;

literally everything, EVERYTHING until now indicated that nandor didnt give a fuck about guillermo and he was gonna 100% kill him, actually, literally, for having another vampire turn him, since this is a HUGE disrespect towards him in the vampire world. and ill be honest we as the audience kind of know already that nandor does care abt guillermo... but we also know that nandor isnt really aware of this, and thats hes pretty selfish and proud (and also an idiot). so yeah, hes very well capable of killing guillermo tbh!! but he doesnt!!!!

instead, he tells guillermo hes too important for him to do that, and that hell be sad if he dies! AND he even helps him turn completely by giving him human blood. unusually quick to catch on to what the problem was, i might add. as if he had taken guillermo's vampire hunter's blood and how it would affect turning him into consideration before. AND when he realizes that guillermo is unhappy he not only -as i said before- is the 1st one to notice, but he IMMEDIATLY cooks up a plan to help him revert the process. a GOOD one (wtf) and again, very quickly too, as if he was expecting this turn of events. HECK HE EVEN SAYS THAT EXACTLY he says that he suspected/feared that guillermo wasnt 'cut out' to be a vampire, which i think is something that has come up before in the show but in context im sure we all brushed off as a mere excuse for not turning him, since thats just the reality for familiars in this universe.

in the end, they go back to how things were b4 guillermo was bitten. everything goes back to normal… right? right, except we as the audience have a different perspective on things.

again, we kind of knew that the vampire clique(?) uh yea idk sorry im calling them that rn lol) kinda, sorta, cares about guillermo. maybe. well, now its... somewhat? confirmed, via the guide subplot that vamps are assholes to others bc they just hv a vampire way of expressing things. then again, this whole thing was towards another vampire, and until the last episode they dont see guillermo as a (true) vampire.

so like okay whats these two (guillermo and nandor)'s deal then

ok so this is the first time i actually think abt this sorry im slow lol.. until now ive been just seeing things unfold and just kind of paying attention to some details or other's ppls opinions. BUT NOW(?) i can actually SEE (kinda) whats goin on !!!!! i have some Personal Opinions & Feelings after the s5 finale

clearly theres the plot embryo structure at play here, and i think i now understand guillermo's arc a lot better.

theres something he wants, somethings he's always wanted: to become a vampire. for some LONG 4ss time now hes been very frustrated bc his master doesnt seem to have plans for turning him any time soon. hes growing anxious bc of this but we know thats not the only reason; he clearly thinks the vampires in the house dont value him, dont see him as an equal. he thinks nandor doesnt care about him. and hes not entirely wrong, tbh.

the "final" decision to ask derek to turn him comes from mostly these feelings of being inadequate, of feeling like hes the only one who actually cares (about guillermo himself. about what he wants. about him and nandor's apparently dead end relationship)

so he gets sick of waiting, and he just goes to get what he always wanted by his own means.

and regrets it completely. so much so that at the end he makes the decision to turn back.

so... what it is what he truly wants, then? or, better yet, what does he need? his true wish. why did he want to become a vampire this whole time? what is he after?

in the last ep is also revealed that (apparently?? idk im gonna need a bit more context) its guillermo who choose nandor as his master. or at least, he genuinely thought nandor was a really good choice. the best even. he admires him, wants to be like him. wants to be near him.

guillermo probably admires the vampire's lifestyle more than being a vampire itself. he has a very supportive family but they are also... vampire hunters, so its clear they dont like vampires, and probably disagree with their lifestyle for that same reason, which obviously ties together with it being a religious family and also the fact that guillermo's sexuality is pretty obviously closeted.

ok im gonna leave it there i think the conclusion its p obvious at this point

but what about nandor??? welllll ok i think i got it but lemme try to figure it out entirely?

i think nandor's most important arc until now was... kind of the opposite but also the same as guillermo's. he tried to become human.

the reason he did this was bc he felt lonely as a vampire. yea being a vampire is cool as fuck but its kind of isolating in a way too when youve got no one to share it with. im not gonna go super in depth talking abt this bc 1) i saw this season whn it came out n havnt rewatched it since n dont wanna misquote anything -.-;; and 2) i think the meaning its also pretty self explainatory. im literally describing it and you can already tell what everything means. of course its guillermo who goes to get nandor back to tell him that thats not who he is.

ok moving on. nandor is p much still alone in the romantic/lifetime partner sense. he alredy tried changing who he is to get a partner (or at least, to have a place where he doesnt feel as lonely) and that didnt make him happy. NEXT, with the help of the genie (sorry idk if thats how u write it eng is not my 1st lang im lazy etc) he tried, on the contrary, to change all his partnerts to the point they werent themselves anymore to accomodate his needs and whims. he tried to find the "perfect" partner, one that did everything he wanted, exactly. well, surprise, that didnt work out either. that didnt make him (or anyone) happy.

at this point i think its p obvious that he needs to compromise with other people. hes too self absorbed, too focused on what he wants as an end goal and doesnt truly see who his partners are as people. for him, they just serve as a role, they just exist to feel this void he has, this loneliness.

woooow guillermo's and nandor's issues are way more similar than what i thought!!!!!!!!!!!wooooooooooow using my brain worked u guysss ^^

[sweetest-omens]

okay it’s been discussed a million times but I would like to talk AGAIN about the blocking/body language in the 0401 best man scene [wwdits] [long post]

okay first up, we open on nandor drying guillermo’s hair:

this comes directly after nandor jumping into the water after him to save his life with no hesitation. and then THIS. a complete 180 in their dynamic. right out of the gate all of the erosion of boundaries that was paced so gently in season 3 are completely shattered. but look at the body language!! nandor is still very physically distant. he dries guillermo’s hair with the tips of his fingers and then dumps the towel over his head.

next, we get a bouncy, tentative “how are we feeling?” from nandor

this is so funny to me because he’s standing there doing his little nervous hands, hovering close but still maintaining distance.

I’m gonna skip over the little water bit because it covers a lot of the same bases. devotion through acts of service, role reversal, blah blah blah. but I do want to point out that all of nandor’s devotional gestures are functionally useless (hair still wait, water full of god knows what etc.) but they serve literally only to reassure guillermo that they are an on equal(ish) footing.

okay after that we get the “will you be my best man at my wedding” ft this beautiful baby boy facial expression:

and then:

they are standing... so close. guillermo puts himself in nandor’s personal space by standing up on “you’re getting married!!” but then nandor comes into his personal space with a saucy little “dont be jealous”. I couldn’t quite capture nandor’s mirco-expression after guillermo says “I’m not” but it is RIDICULOUS. a split second of bitchy sulky baby that he very quickly covers up.

anyway. HUG DODGE

sure, nandor refusing guillermo’s physical affection is a gag throughout the series. but usually nandor calls it out verbally. this, he just avoids, and then...

straight across the room to give the camera this look. I know it doesn’t look like much here but it is a distinct, sheepish(?) glance to the camera, and then he looks away. he deliberately has his back to guillermo to hide a series of small flickers in his facial expression. [also just really noticing how beautiful his outfit is here *cher voice* can we get a little commotion for the dress?]

and then he reveals his reason for wanting to get married: he’s been lonely. now, I know this has also been a theme through the series, nandor being unlucky in love. but a marriage within the month is a big step. what’s changed? guillermo being absent in his life, that’s what! what’s going to fill the guillermo-shaped hole in his life? oh, a romantic partner! a wife! good thinking, nandor!

the thing is, I don’t think either of them have the will or the words to discuss the massive shift in their dynamic. they are trying frantically to express it, but failing at every turn (this is why the closer they get, the more physical fights they have). but I really, really want to talk about the way their emotional connection manifests in the blocking for this scene:

HELLO! the closeness of the best man declaration with them literally inches apart, followed by the chasm of emotional distance that nandor creates with the absent wife. and its actually guillermo that rounds to the other side of the coffin. I mean, guillermo is very vulnerable in this scene. he’s in nothing but a little robe, and dishevilled and nandor has just saved his life. but this is the only time he seeks protection for himself in the form of a physical barrier between them. (also it being a coffin, and the unfulfilled promise of vampirism that is the true barrier between them).

I know this has all been said a hundred times before. but I rewatched this scene and was struck by how big the emotions are and how they affect both characters physically. also I apologise endlessly for my shitty little screenshots idk how to gif. BUT please go back and rewatch the scene for all of nandor’s heartwrenching microexpressions. there’s one that the camera barely catches when he’s got his back to guillermo and it drives me insane let me see his whole FACE. anyway <3

[ineffably-human]

Some very belated meta about Guillermo's season 4 cliffhanger (which got so long I considered splitting it into two posts, but tbh I think these ideas need to exist together)...

I want to emphasize again that I'm convinced: at least in part, Guillermo took matters into his own hands for the entire household. He's getting himself turned right now to get them all moving forward again. And I still can't get over that.

Maybe it's because I sat wondering about how that line translated for two weeks before the episode aired in English. The entire ending was hanging on it. 'Nothing changes, but I can'? 'Nothing will change [about this place? about my life?] unless I do'? Did Guillermo really think the best way to move forward in his life was to remake himself in a way that left him completely alone?

But he's specifically talking about something outside of himself. "Nothing ever changes in this house, nothing's ever going to change, unless I change it."

And that's not something he has to care about. He could look at Nandor sitting in his chair, settling down to read for a decade after driving everyone insane, and he could say 'oh, okay. None of it meant anything. All these things you supposedly needed from me, the boundaries you crossed in my life, the loneliness and fear you said you had - those were all whims to you, and you don't actually give a shit.'

Instead he asks what's next, asking Nandor to take the lead again. He doesn't express his own fears (we'll come back to this), he asks for Nandor to validate them by feeling the same: "Don't you feel like nothing ever changes around here?" And when there's no answer to 'what's next?', when Nandor claims there's nothing he wants or will want for many years, that's what gets Guillermo moving.

Because that means another ten or fifteen years of waiting, yes - but also because Guillermo knows that's not true. He's watched Nandor, watched all of them, try to achieve something beyond what they've been for hundreds of years. He's seeing them experience truly heartbreaking losses, and treat it as a factory reset. And he still has that human perspective - that short life span, that newness and urgency. So he's saying 'fuck that, not this time,' about them and about himself.

We're slowly ruling out different elements of The Reason, whatever it is, that Guillermo's convinced himself being a vampire is what he needs. His relationship with Nandor is frayed and needs to be rebuilt. He's closer to the others, but not so close he'd need to change his life for them. They no longer need his constant protection, and they get into plenty of trouble even with him there as a stopgap.

He's come out to his bio family and they support him, so it's not about being accepted as a gay man. (And it's becoming a vampire that could risk his relationship with his family, forever!) I think there's an element of sexual freedom, but he's taken steps to do that now without vampirism, and if anything his relationship with the vamps has impacted his chances to have these things. He's seen there are parts of life he's missing out on, that he could maybe achieve if he stepped away.

He knows his strength and his worth, his physical abilities. Hell, he could lose a lot of the power he has, if he goes from slayer to vampire. I don't think it's rooted in self-loathing, because we never really see him talk about himself as lacking. If anything he welcomes the opportunity to preen, he lays it on a little thick.

I thought for most of the season that with a normal life waiting in the wings, all ready for him to move back into it when the time was right, we were going to get him torn between that and the supernatural world. But Guillermo never seemed to have interest in leaving. He wasn't making plans to move in with Freddie or move back to London before the disaster happened, he wasn't using the stolen cash to scout out a new apartment. In Go Flip Yourself he was angling for a new improved bedroom.

What we keep seeing, over and over, is that Guillermo lives his life based on lies. He lives his life in compartments, curating himself for the situation he's in and the image he wants to convey. I think he truly is devoted, truly does take pleasure in acts of service for loved ones. But on the other side of that, he only gets what he wants by sneaking his way into it. Does anyone have a full picture of him? His family and Freddie can't by design. The vampires made it a point, up to now, to not care about his feelings or learn anything about him. Nandor's the only one who has even started to ask, and most of the time he doesn't think to.

("Don't you feel like nothing ever changes around here?")

But the vampires we meet, while they all have hidden depths, don't really have secret selves except for their species. They live mostly on the surface, impulsively and chasing pleasure. (I'd say at least for the Staten house, they also use it as a way to avoid thinking about things that are deeper or more painful.) They're unapologetic, and most important, they live selfishly. And the thing about being selfish is, it means being seen.

Guillermo is waiting for vampiric power, vampiric selfishness, to have the freedom to exist as a whole person

And the thing about that is: Guillermo is selfish at heart, absolutely. It's one of the reasons he'll make an excellent vampire. But one of his best traits is his empathy - for everyone, monsters included - and how much he truly wants to give to the people who matter to him. The whole thing about his photo hitting that line in opening? Is because Guillermo has to sacrifice 'hope and compassion' to get what he wants, but he's also never lacked for it. And the others are changing, he's the catalyst for their change, because of who he is and the influence he exerts on the stagnant, selfish world around them.

I don't think becoming a vampire magically takes empathy (or really any human trait) out of people. The new vampires we meet pretty much act like their old selves. Even Nadja's doll is just a younger version of her. I think vampiric craziness and selfishness is a result of immortal lifespans, and a life built on death, and a culture that seems to emphasize power and violence over connection to others - even when it works against them.

I'd still love for Guillermo to become a vampire, because I think he can bring that fresh perspective to the table. (Plus I think he and the vamps have plenty to teach each other, I don't want them to lose each other.) But isn't it interesting, that paradox of kindness and selfishness? That potential for Guillermo to embrace the most dangerous parts of himself? The chance that maybe, now, it'll be Guillermo's turn to fuck up - and for the others to remind him of what's still in his heart?

[natjennie]

ok I havent actually read the transcript yet but. guillermos dating this guy because he genuinely does like him and they hang out and get along but after a while they end up talking about how work has been his whole life for the past 12 years and he hasnt gotten a chance to like, be a person on his own, and this was a really wonderful way to do that but his heart is genuinely somewhere else. now that he's had time and space away from nandor he realizes he does truly miss him and wow maybe meg was on to something.

and this bf guy is super supportive but hes like "wow it kinda sounds like this guy was a dick to you. and he's really oblivious." and they agree to continue "dating" in a really obvious and disgustingly over the top way to try and make nandor jealous and realize what he's missing out on. so they keep upping the ante and nandor always stands there like "hah good for you guillermo :) I have to leave now :)" and punches a hole in the wall of his room. rips his coffin apart with his bare hands. but he refuses to actually say anything, and they kick it up a notch.

we get a full parallel gail proposal scene but this bf guy proposes to guillermo and they're really hamming it up and watching nandor's face and he just :] meanwhile he's breaking his own finger bones in his clenched fist. and guillermo is obviously disappointed nandor seems to not notice or care, and maybe his feelings were never gonna be reciprocated at all, and this was a dumb idea and eventually bf guy has had Enough of it.

so he marches up to nandor and pokes a finger in his chest and does a whole speech like "hey dipshit! have you been paying attention at all? he's in love with you! if you weren't so busy wrapped up in yourself and what you want, maybe you'd see that he's been right here the whole time! and you'd be so fucking lucky to have him! dumbass! for having super human senses you vampires are really fucking stupid sometimes" and memo does the same little embarrassed wave nandor did w/ the heartguard scene.

and then memo's face shifts to confusion because wait a minute he didnt tell bf guy they were vampires.. and bf guy goes "oh, yeah, hey. dont worry about it. they're like, wicked obvious with the blood and the fangs and the old goth clothes. it's really easy to put together. also I'm a werewolf, so. yknow." and guillermo's eyes nearly pop out of his head and he gets a "for fucks sake!" out and some spanish swearing before he flinches as nandor's hand is on his shoulder turning him around as bf guy ducks out to take his leave and CUT TO CREDITS "damn these vampires" by the mountain goats plays thank you good night.

[colinrobinsonn]

ahhh I never write fics but here’s nandor x guillermo after this week’s ep 🥺

- x -

Guillermo sat on the front steps of the house after driving back from dropping off the Baron, the Sire, and the hellhound at their new home in New Jersey. It had been a long, long night and he should really be heading to bed but he just needed a few moments of quiet.

The night air was sharp and the dark sky had only a few clouds overhead. Today had been successful, yes, but also very scary. He wasn’t thinking about facing the Sire, or the Baron again (although it had terrified him). No, he could not let go of the horrible feeling he’d been having all day that he may lose his entire family.

He heard the front door open quietly and he turned round to see Nandor coming out the door and walk towards him.

“Ah, Guillermo, there you are. What are you doing out here? It’s fucking freezing.”

“Just taking a minute.”

Nandor came and sat next to Guillermo on the same top step, looking out onto the street and then up at the sky as Guillermo was. It was quiet for a few moments between them, then Guillermo turned to Nandor, “Was there something you wanted, Master? You were looking for me?”

Nandor didn’t turn to look at him as he said, “Oh, nothing…”

“Okay…” Guillermo let the silence linger on.

“It’s just-“ Nandor began before he noticed Guillermo shiver. He was only wearing his shirt and waistcoat and the sun was, obviously and fortunately for Nandor, yet to come up. “You’re cold.”

Guillermo put his arms around himself, “Yeah, I guess it’s a little chilly.”

“Why don’t you go back inside?”

Guillermo shrugs, not being able to explain why he wants to be outside right now. Maybe he’s enjoying sitting here peacefully with Nandor under the night sky too much. Maybe he needs to clear his head. “But your fragile human body is going to freeze to ice. You don’t want to be made into an ice chip do you, Guillermo?”

“What? I’m not going to-“ he shakes his head, huffing quietly from Nandor’s ridiculousness, “I’m fine.”

Nandor stares at him, fangs bared, like he doesn’t believe him, like he really will turn into an ice chip in a few moments. “Eesh, fine. Here,” he says as he unclasps his black cape and drapes it delicately over Guillermo’s shoulders, and then quickly turns back to look at the sky.

Guillermo froze - not into an ice chip - but out of surprise, slight nervousness, and an uncertainty about how to react to Nandor’s… kindness. “Thank you, Nandor,” he went with, looking up at his strong profile.

“You are welcome, you will not freeze now and I will not have to defrost you and ruin my precious Persian rugs,” he replied matter-of-factly, nodding his head and putting his hands straight out on his knees.

Guillermo grabbed the cape and brought it round his body to wrap up in. The material was very warm and as he brought it up towards his chin he became very aware of being surrounded by Nandor’s very distinct and familiar scent: of oils and incense and musk, of history and comfort and home.

Nandor looked at his bodyguard and felt his dead heart constrict. The sight of Guillermo snuggled into his cape with a content smile on his face challenged Nandor. It challenged him to give in. To give in to feelings of softness towards Guillermo which he mostly did not allow himself to give into, and was always weary of whenever he was around him. Or saw him. Or thought about him. For Nandor, it was Him, for he had become everything. Everything he believed in, everything he fought for, and everything he smiled for. It is suffice to say, he did not win the challenge, but it felt good to lose.

“Guillermo-“, he took a quick breath in and held it, “I came to say that I am sorry for what happened today.”

“Huh? But we did it, we-“

“Just-“ Nandor put his hand up to tell Guillermo to let him finish.

“I am sorry for how you were treated today and if that hurt your feelings. I mean, it should hurt your feelings but I don’t know if you always let it.”

“Mas- Nandor, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Guillermo said. Nandor could literally be talking of about twenty different points today where his feelings could have been “hurt”.

“You know what I am talking about,” Nandor growled, impatient. He shot up off the steps and paced in front of Guillermo. Did he want to make him feel even more ashamed? He guessed he deserved it. He calmed his voice, “I am talking about the time when I allowed for you to be used as bait for the Sire.”

“Oh.” Guillermo breathed out, looking up at Nandor who had stopped his pacing now and was looking at Guillermo. There was a small silence, and then Guillermo also stood up and walked down the steps towards Nandor, cape still round him and falling far below onto the floor.

As he stood in front of Nandor, Nandor could not stand how adorable he looked wearing his cape, oversized on him. It made him feel… protective and proud.

Nandor was too caught up in his thoughts so Guillermo spoke first, “That’s my job, right? To protect you?”

“Yes, I suppose it is…” Nandor said quietly, unsure as Guillermo approached him further.

“But I would have done it anyway. I always would have.” It’s true, he went the extra mile whilst he was his familiar and even before he didn’t know of his bloodline.

Nandor did not know what to say to that. So instead he focused on how the cape was falling off of one of Guillermo’s shoulders. Without thinking, he raised his arm and pulled the material back up and around his shoulder.

He did this with such care and without agenda that it made Guillermo choke up slightly. He felt tingly all in his chest and willed himself to hold on. To not fall too far tonight, as he did so many nights, especially since Meg’s comments at Massive Fitness. As much as he was committed to Nandor, he could never let himself believe that Nandor felt the same.

The small act felt unnaturally natural for Nandor. When he fully comprehended what he was doing, he did not have the instinct to jump back and push Guillermo away, to tell him to get out of his way. Instead, the act made his next words come much easier.

“Guillermo… it should be my job to protect you. You came into my life, and it is a dangerous one. I have… taken too much from you, and you should not be willing for me to take your life.”

The double meaning was there. Yes, he was talking about what happened today, but Guillermo could not help but apply Nandor’s words to his own vampiric dream.

“No.” Guillermo could not, would not, keep going on like this. “It’s not that you have taken too much from me, Nandor,” he said with conviction, “it’s that you haven’t given me enough.”

“Guillermo…-“

“I’d die for you,” Guillermo said bluntly and laughed, “you know that? I would actually die for you. Not become undead, not become a vampire, I would die.”

Nandor looked away from him and took a step back, “Do not speak this way, Guillermo.”

“And I’m fine with that, I am,” he continued, “you’re not taking anything away from me, I’m giving it to you, because I want to. Because that’s how I feel.” Guillermo felt breathless from the outburst and he was slightly shaking, not just from nerves, but because the cape had unwound itself from his middle and only lay across his shoulders again. He shook his head slightly; tonight of all nights he was going to go there. “How do you feel, Nandor?”

“I-“ Nandor was stunned and his brain was working overtime to keep up with his little ex-familiar.

In all of his anxious tension, Nandor’s hesitance was too much. Guillermo huffed and span round to go back inside.

Nandor’s chest clenched and his heart fell, he couldn’t stand the sight of Guillermo walking away from him anymore. “Wait-“ he said as he grabbed Guillermo’s hand and gently pulled him back round to face him. The cape fell off his back.

Guillermo looked up at him, small tears in his eyes as he waited with little hope. His optimistic heart started again, however, when Nandor brought his hand up and drew his fingers through the front of Guillermo’s hair, sweeping it gently to the side and pushing small strands behind his ear. Guillermo’s heart was beating so hard he was sure Nandor could hear it, feel it even. His hand landed delicately on Guillermo’s cheek, like he was touching something precious, and he leaned in.

As their lips touched tears ran down Guillermo’s cheek which Nandor smoothly wiped away with the pads of his thumbs, as he brought his other hand to Guillermo’s other cheek. Guillermo was once again encased by Nandor, except this was the real thing and infinitely better. Guillermo’s hand found its way to Nandor’s neck, his fingertips pushing their way into his hair.

The kiss was gentle and undemanding; a shy but loving meeting with someone you have loved for years. Nandor pulled away but only slightly, so their foreheads rested against each other’s. Their eyes were both closed as they breathed unevenly with each other.

“Guillermo, I would die a thousand times over for you to have one more minute alive.”

Guillermo, teary, giggled dizzily and with relief at the vampire’s words and opened his eyes to find Nandor’s still closed.

“Hey,” Guillermo said as he leaned away and gently urged Nandor to open his eyes by putting his hand under his chin, “so… we’ll protect each other, right?”

Nandor had opened his eyes and was looking down at Guillermo who wore a bright, understanding smile on his face. His cheeks were quite pink and so Nandor leaned down to pick up the fallen cape and pull it back around the smaller man. He held on to Guillermo’s hand, brought it to his lips and kissed the top of it, where the knuckles lay. “Always.”

[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

Fic Rec Fridays

So I’ve wanted to do this for awhile now to share the wonderful stories I’ve read through the week, and wouldn’t you know it the first time I actually get around to it, I do it for Nandermo and not Bagginshield. 😅

Anyways! Please enjoy my recommendation for Nandermo I have read this week!

The Festival by AshaDev- Multi-chapter 9/9, 14K+, Rating: E

Summary: Guillermo goes to a Renaissance Faire with the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area and unfortunately, the group tags along. Nandor doesn't approve of Guillermo's friends or how they hang all over him.

Why I Recommend: I actually love the Mosquito Collectors and enjoyed some content where we got to see more of this little troop of vampire hunters. However, jealous Nandor was a great addition in a really fun setting.

Of Friendships, Reunions, and Wooden Knitting Needles by readandwritesilver- One-shot, 8K+, Rating: T

Summary:  Guillermo follows Nadja into most of her higher-level meetings, and accompanies her most times she leaves the house, but he stays out in the waiting area in a comfy green chair that he’s more or less designated as his own for everything else. Meetings with lower-level individuals, like the one Nadja’s currently in, aren’t enough of a threat for her to need protection, and he’s also often sent out when she’s trying to get work done on her own, because she “finds the rattling of his heart in his chest distracting.” (“I like that I can hear you coming, Guillermo,” Nandor once said, a few years ago, with his hand pressed to Guillermo’s chest in a moment of drug-blood-induced lucidity. Guillermo doesn’t want to think about that.) --- Four months in London, England.

Why I Recommend: The season 4 fix-it we are all secretly hoping for but know we are probably not going to get (or at least right away).🙃 I really like the friendship between Guillermo and Nadja that develops in this one, and SPOILER for the happy ending between our bodyguard and vampire master. 🥰

A broken heart, a broken soul, a broken everything by MrSpockify- One-shot, 3K+, Rating: T

Summary:  Guillermo and Nandor discover a side-effect of having Van Helsing blood running through your veins, and it puts a damper on the whole "turning you into a vampire under the moonlight along the banks of the river Tigris" plan.

Why I Recommend: So I’m quickly becoming a sucker for the “Guillermo lays broken and bleeding and Nandor turns him” trope. But I never considered what would be a twist to this trope and without giving too much away, I am quickly becoming enamored with this alternative! 

Scenes from an Alliance by Interrobam- Multi-chapter *Still in Progress* 56/?, 110K+, Rating: M

Summary:  " Guillermo met his eyes across the courtyard, and for a moment the human was grave and resolute as a warrior in battle, resigned to his fate yet defiant to its circumstances. For a moment Nandor imagined this meeting as the start of a war rather than a courtship, and for that moment he felt as if he'd found his footing again. 

But then the human had done something outrageous. 

Then the human had smiled. 

"In the end, when all was said and done, the marriage of Nandor the Relentless and Guillermo de la Cruz would be remembered as a pivotal and defining moment in the history of human and vampiric society alike. 

In the beginning, however, it was mostly just a mess.

Why I Recommend: This is an amazing AU set in a world where the vampires have built an empire, and Guillermo comes from a nearby city-state of vampire hunters who are accepting an alliance between their people that hinges on Guillermo and Nandor’s arranged marriage. 12/10 Slow burn built on pain...ful misunderstandings and Guillermo and Nandor being idiots, and I can’t even complain because it’s so in character for both of them. 😭 😓 Awaiting the next chapter eagerly!

the age of iron, steam, and speed by ghostoftonantzin- Two-shot, 10K+, Rating: E

Summary: Guillermo did not mean to burn the moment War Machine walked into the New York Department of Powered Beings offices into his mind, but it was kind of hard not to. War Machine wasn’t officially known as War Machine, the nickname was considered kind of rude, but “The Swordsman” didn’t quite capture the raw terror he inspired in the general population.

Nandor is a superhero of questionable morals, age, and ability to limit collateral damage, and Guillermo is a bureaucrat who really likes his job.

Why I Recommend: I love this AU. I want to write, for this AU. I’m more disappointed that I only got two chapters to this AU. I have re-read this particular fic 3 times at this point, and the little hints towards what I could only assume would be revealed in a longer fic open a plethora of possibilities.  😍 😍

***

If you haven’t read these yet, I strongly encourage it! I’ll try to make this a series and be back next week with more fic recs. Happy reading!

[diamondcitydarlin]

I am just...honestly fascinated by this sudden ‘change of heart’ with Guillermo tho in regards to being a familiar and becoming a vampire, there’s a lot going on there and a lot to unpack, and I’m hoping somewhere in the depths of what is about to be a long, directionless rant I’ll find the clarity I haven’t seemed to quite grasp yet. 

ALSO I’M SORRY THIS IS A LOOONG ASS POST BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO PUT IT UNDER A READ MORE AND SUBJECT INNOCENTS TO MY BLOG LOL, BUT I’VE TAGGED ACCORDINGLY 

So, I already made a post about ‘Collaboration’ and some of the interesting subtext we get within that episode. Mainly, that this episode is an interesting one for Guillermo because he finally gets what appears to be and should be (at least at first) the opportunity he’s always been waiting for. To this point, across seasons, Guillermo has driven home that his one and only aspiration in life, the reason he tolerates an endless, shitty position, is because he hopes to become a vampire. He’s wanted it since he was a kid. IF HE CAN’T BECOME A VAMPIRE, WHAT HAS THIS ALL BEEN ABOUT?? 

If it was as simple as just wanting to become a vampire by any means necessary, leaving Nandor for this golden opportunity should have been as easy as taking off an ill-fitting pair of shoes...but it wasn’t that, was it? When Nandor pretended to shuck him off as if it didn’t matter, Guillermo got angry and sad in equal measure and only really brightened again when Nandor came back and promised to do better by him. Not necessarily set down a concrete timeline for the ‘becoming a vampire’ thing though, but Guillermo didn’t seem to care about that all that much anyway. Interesting. 

Now we’re able to see a version of things in which Guillermo is being treated better as a familiar, but rather than this development improving his mood he seems all the more aware of the fact now that...maybe he doesn’t even want to be a vampire anymore. Maybe he’s wasting his time here. Maybe he needs to swim towards open waters, so to speak. 

Very similar to Nandor, Guillermo, I think, is not really aware or fully accepting of the inner workings of his own mind. He strikes me as a character that does a lot in the way of burying the truths of himself so far down, he even convinces himself that part of who he is doesn’t really exist- even when it does, and drives a lot of his actions. The show plays to this by only ‘showing’ us concretely how much Guillermo wants us to know, with only small hints and nods to other things going on. That fits and rings true to the norm for a mockumentary style of filming/writing, in that the audience has to rely on a lot of subtle cues from the subjects to figure out what’s ‘really going on’ with a character or plot line; the ‘camera’ in a mockumentary style piece is as much of a visceral, present character as anyone else in the cast and is treated accordingly (but then, like 99.99999% of human beings have seen the entirety of The Office and Parks and Rec, so yall know this already) 

I think part of the way to figuring this all out is to ask why Guillermo wanted to be a vampire in the first place. His answer to this would probably be something along the lines of ‘because they’re cool’ which, you know, valid. That would be a fitting and satisfying answer if, say, I had given it because there was a time when I was about 4-6 years old that I, too, decided I would grow up to be a vampire. Because it was ‘cool’ and aspiring to anything else seemed boring. Again, valid. For someone who has dedicated pretty much ALL of his adult life to apprenticing into vampirism based on a childhood dream that never died? THAT begs a bit more of an in depth reason, I think, to which for now we can only guess. 

I’ll try to make an educated one based on what I believe is going on here, that Guillermo himself is either not aware of or not ready to share with the cameras: I believe his drive to want to become a vampire, given it was based in childhood flights of fancy (and probably some Guillermo-self insert/Armand fanfics, let’s be hONEST) was rooted in a need to feel respected and powerful, at the heart of things. When we first meet Guillermo, and for much of season 1, we see that he’s quiet, subservient, meek, and we learn briefly about how he was bullied in school. I think Guillermo was raised to be this way and use silence/subservience as his only defense mechanism, which may also go a long way to explaining why he’s so reserved. For 10 years, I think it was enough for him to tell himself that everything would be better for him once he became a vampire, he’d have all the things he never had as a human. Respect. Appreciation. Power. Control over his own life.

That said, things have changed quite a bit for Guillermo since season one. While learning that he had Van Helsing blood came as an unpleasant shock, embracing and exploring that side of himself proved that he’s actually kind of a bad ass even without being a vampire. He only ever wielded this power to protect Nandor and others so far, but it is a power nonetheless, this agility and strength that is too great for even VAMPIRES to successfully fight back against. He’s also a smart cookie that knows how to manipulate a situation, something that he’s been using a lot this season too. So, power, then. He has it already. Respect he received from his vampire-hunting group. 

But that still leaves appreciation and, dare I say it, maybe even affection/love. I think there’s a part of Guillermo that wants to feel like he’s accepted and cared for, but even when it’s offered (by groups like his vampire hunting clan, or Celeste’s vampire community lol) he seems to shy away from it going too far, like it’s just too much or ill-fitting coming from people he barely knows. Given that he’s a private, introvert type this makes sense. 

One thing has remained consistent for Guillermo though, across both seasons and episodes, and that’s his seemingly unwavering concern and affection for Nandor. Even in this last ep when he’s unashamedly shucking off duties that don’t fit his job description and maintaining those professional boundaries like a BOSS, he still snaps to and gets to work the moment Nandor is kidnapped. Laszlo’s gone? Meh, who cares, not his jurisdiction. Nandor’s gone!?? Fuck it, he’s getting the keys. A ‘vampire’ offers him the opportunity of a lifetime to become a vampire quickly and live within an accepting community of likeminded people and Nandor told him ‘go for it’? He’s upset that Nandor didn’t fight harder to keep him. 

So now he’s back and Nandor’s making a consistent effort not to abuse Guillermo’s position. This seemed the ideal resolution at the end of ‘Collaboration’, but after a couple of weeks it becomes clear that it wasn’t. For some reason. Guillermo’s no longer satisfied and thinks maybe it’s time to do more with his life. 

I’ll try to sum up the points I’ve made so far into a concise version of where I think Guillermo’s at right now, at least subconsciously; mostly all the things he hoped that turning into a vampire would grant him, have already been granted. He’s learned that he’s strong, smart, capable as is, more than he or anyone else had ever given him credit for. I think it makes sense that his burning need to become a vampire has begun to ebb into a quarter-life crisis of questioning who he really is and what he really wants, because the dream he nursed for so long has turned out to be pretty shallow and maybe not even necessary. He realizes there’s more he could be doing than working tirelessly to an end goal that no longer seems so sweet. 

But that leaves the ‘affection’ and ‘acceptance’ elements dangling in space, held up by his own affection for Nandor that has yet to be really defined. It’s pretty clear that Guillermo is nursing it hard, but what is the nature of it? Even as his sense of loyal devotion to a cause has started to fade, even as his view of Nandor as this unflappable role model has begun to disappear too bc he’s starting to see Nandor for who he really is (a himbo idiot that he can outwit, outmatch without even trying hard) this raw affection still remains. It’s still important that Nandor fights for him. It’s still important that Nandor is safe and protected.  

And, as with the rest of these things I mentioned, I don’t think Guillermo is even really aware of how much he cares about Nandor, how much it drives his actions and thinking, how important that relationship is to him. It’s easier to just sort of...ignore that and pretend it isn’t a factor, that’s Guillermo’s modus operandi when it comes to complicated feelings. 

I think back to that line from season 1, wherein Guillermo’s kind of musing wistfully about how different his life might have been if he’d stayed at Panera Bread/in a stable job with pay and benefits, but then handwaves that all away with ‘The heart wants what it wants’. By this point in the show he was already kind of drifting away from the goal of becoming a vampire (whether he realized it or not). 

The heart wants what it wants indeed, Guillermo, but maybe it’s not really ‘becoming a vampire’. Maybe it’s something else entirely that keeps you tied to this house, this thankless ‘job’. 

At this point, I really cannot say for 100% certain what I think will happen next with Guillermo. This show has proven solid at pulling out unexpected plot twists I wouldn’t have seen coming, but then, I also have been pretty good at predicting where they’re gonna go with things. Like 7/10 lmao. My two theories right now are: 

He’ll become a vampire in the series finale- unwillingly, maybe by accident. This one I think is plausible because it’s a bit of a kick in the pants. It’s the outcome he’s wanted for SO LONG but has just realized maybe it’s not all he can do or wants to do. I could see a situation where, idk, maybe Guillermo expresses to Nandor his thoughts lately about moving on from this and, in an act of stupid desperation, Nandor thinks maybe if he changes him that’ll keep him in his life, so he does it while Guillermo’s asleep and then surprises him when he wakes up...only to find out maybe that wasn’t actually what he wanted anymore, but UH OH what’s done is done. This could provide a lot of tension in the next season, I think. But as it’s a bit of a ‘shocking’ twist type route to go, I can’t be certain this is what they’ll do. Kind of a toss up. 

Guillermo leaves to pursue something else, which the camera crew will follow and document. This is the ‘sensible’/’safe’ route that most scripted shows would take, I think, in this situation...but again, I’m not certain about this one either because Shadows is known for throwing us for a loop and this seems a liiiittle predictable. It’s also very similar to what JUST happened in episode 8 and, were I writing the show, I’d worry it would come across as redundant. Like, maybe we already did this angle and should explore other options to keep the audience on their toes. Also, as much as they love putting Harvey with new casts of characters for episodic stories, I’m not sure they’d transplant him from the main cast for an extended period of time because he’s part of what makes that dynamic run so well. But then, the synopsis of the finale does say that vampires have to ‘survive without Guillermo’ while preparing for an event, so this may happen in some small, episodic measure again.   

Anyway, to wrap this up into a conclusion, I don’t think I’m wrong in predicting that Nandor/Guillermo’s relationship has been set up in such a way as to keep us guessing, sort of a Sam/Diane, will-they-won’t-they type thing that will remain a constant throughout whatever happens next, but will require both characters growing independent of each other in their own respective subplots. At this point, it has always remained consistent that Nandor and Guillermo prioritize each other even when it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t think either of them are ready to realize, accept, and sort through the layers of what they feel for each other. The master/servant dynamic makes that difficult, I’d imagine, so I think inevitably we’ll see the show start to pull them away from that. All I’m saying is, if whatever is going on between them wasn’t VERY complicated it would’ve been resolved as whatever it is a long time ago. Nah, there’s some deep, repressed shit they’re ignoring collectively for whatever reason, and usually that points to something that will, at some point, become romantic. Either way, to understand Guillermo is to keep a close eye on how his dynamic with Nandor grows and changes and I’m, as ever, VERY eager to see how it does. 

[famdommcfanface]

Thoughts on re-watching the what we do in the shadows finale (shame I couldn’t record my thoughts when I watched it this morning before work). Spoilers under the cut, obviously. This is going to be so long.

Not even tagging this. This is just for me.

First of all, really appreciating whoever’s google doc I use for uploading the last two eps super early.

‘Family member’ Guillermo I love you.

It didn’t even occur to Nandor that Guillermo wouldn’t be in the portrait. I love them.

I thought he was just calling Guillermo a dog the first time around

Aspen? I think his name is Aspen. Aspen!

It’s not even Guillermo’s hellhound it’s the baron’s and the sire’s now. Although I feel like it’s not really owned, more an equal member of their household.

Return of girlboss Guillermo.

AND I DESERVE IT

OH MY GOD I DIDN’T NOTICE COLIN’S PORTRAITS LAST TIME I heard people say it but i kind of thought they just edited around them not... oh my god my heart.

Love Donal Logue. I’ve never heard of him before wwdits. Donal Logue to become a new regular cast member petition.

I love that everyone’s sad about Colin. Like, not just Laszlo.

Hey Baron! I love the Baron. I love him just turning up periodically.

Meg! Bring back Meg petition

I love the big bang theory being a major part of Nandor’s character arc

Although Colin’s life wasn’t eternal as far as they know. Whatever.

They just... do not give them any privacy.

Nandor looks really pretty here I don’t know what to say

MY SWEET SWEET GUILLERMO

Nandor has at least planned to abandon Guillermo three times in as many episodes I think Guillermo does deserve something at this point.

Nadja could have just fucking murdered Guillermo there why is that hilarious

Three good-time boys

Nadja is so glamorous here I love it

Nadja just trying to start the VCR with a paperweight... people should stop saying Nadja isn’t stupid just because she’s the least stupid.

Yass queen

Viago is so gay I don’t even know. Also, is Viago in England? I don’t even know. Is the worldwide vampiric council in England? I’m from England and I disagree with that.

Aww Guillermo does care about her.

Malewife Laszlo

Guillermo stop sneaking up on vampires how have you survived this long.

I love Laszlo playing the piano. I don’t know I just love it.

Gatekeep Gaslight Girlboss Guillermo

Nandor is adorable he’s my little meow-meow.

Kinda let Nandor go on holiday? He never says he won’t come back.

Guillermo really said I’m holding onto found family as much as I fucking can

I CRIED LAST TIME I’M CRYING NOW LASZLO HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME.

They’re not allowed to be romantic enough. Nadja is sometimes, but Laszlo rarely is. God I love them.

Feel really bad for Guillermo there.

Guillermo deserves a better room.

Guillermo’s so hot right now. I know everyone else has said it but he’s so hot. I love the waistcoat too.

Nandor’s also really hot when he’s like ‘you poor, dear thing’ also gay

God this is so fucking gay. That knife wasn’t even aimed at Guillermo. They love each other.

SO FUCKING GAY I forgot how gay this was.

WILL YOU MARRY ME

YES YES I’LL MARRY YOU

Want to see an AU where Nandor and Guillermo have to work out how to get into Iran.

HUG HIM NANDOR

MY NANDOR THAT’S SO GAY GUILLERMO

Guillermo actually being sad about Laszlo and Nadja leaving

Nandor and Guillermo as equals

Really thought the guide was going to hit on Nandor here and I’m actually glad she didn’t.

Nadja really said peace out.

Nandor goes travelling with one small backpack Laszlo goes travelling with over three boxes of porn

God I love Laszlo’s hat here. Do I need that hat?

Aw they’re actually for Guillermo.

MASTER! WAIT FOR ME! Explicitly romantic.

No, Nandor, wait for him. Nandor don’t get on the train. He loves you go back.

Tbf Guillermo is both accurate and persistant so...

Laszlo you need to learn to communicate.

She’s like three times your age Laszlo ‘over the last few hundred years’ fucking idiot.

Cummy Bob or whatever his name of is definitely mysterious and terrifying

Big Renesmee vibes here. Has to be a reference.

I... I don’t even know. Great episode. Absolutely batshit.

[aion-rsa]

What We Do in the Shadows Season 3: Harvey Guillén Wants Buffy to Train Guillermo

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains spoilers for What We Do in the Shadows season 3 episode 3.

Things have changed for the Staten Island vampires on What We Do in the Shadows season 3 as they step into positions of power. This may not make much of a difference for Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), whose new job as secretary of the Vampiric Council, is much like his fake job, at a cubicle in an office. But Laszlo (Matt Berry) may spend a little more in the potting shed. His love Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), is running the council, along with Nandor (Kayvan Novak), who’s familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), has been promoted to the position of bodyguard. It was easier than killing him.

Based on the 2014 feature film by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, What We Do in the Shadows follows four vampires, who have been roommates for longer than anyone cares to remember, as they cope with life in the modern world. Which is not held up on the shoulders of four horses.

Nandor the Relentless was a fierce and terrible Ottoman warrior, known for pillaging villages and turning the Euphrates red with blood. Guillermo worked at Panera Bread. The bond that ties vampire to familiar is a strange one. The pay isn’t great, the hours are daunting, and they don’t get employee-of-the-month plaques. The only real incentive is the promise of everlasting life as a ravenous bloodsucking fiend, and there is something of a hiring freeze at the moment.

British Iranian actor and voice artist Kayvan Novak co-created and starred in the British prank show, Fonejacker, and also can be seen alongside Matt Damon and George Clooney in Syriana, as well as the films Cuban Fury and the Walt Disney live action remake of Cruella. He plays three different characters in Men in Black: International. Harvey Guillén acted in the movies The Internship and in Netflix’s Truth or Dare, and his TV works include The Magicians, and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. He earned a GLAAD Media Award his role in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Me What to Do” episode of Raising Hope, and made LGBTQ+ Latinx history by becoming the first queer Latinx actor to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Critics’ Choice Award for his role as Guillermo de la Cruz. Starting Sept. 2, Guillén will also host After the Shadows, a new talk show following and discussing What We Do in the Shadows.

Novak and Guillén hovered over Den of Geek to speak about Nandor and Guillermo’s new job descriptions, as well as old habits, cloaks of many voices, and Van Helsing DNA.

Den of Geek: I wanted to congratulate you on your characters’ new duties. Is it more fun running vampires or running from them?

Kayvan Novak: Has Nandor run from a vampire? I guess I have. I think they’re equally as exhilarating and frightening.

Harvey Guillén: I would say fighting the vampires is exciting with all the combat when that opportunity comes up. Yeah.

Guillermo took out the entire local vampire command, but couldn’t stake a vampire council docent. Is Guillermo getting soft?

Guillén: I don’t think he’s getting soft. I think the only reason that he even put himself in that scenario is because he knew that his old housemates, because remember he moved out of the house, his old housemates were in danger. I think at the end of the day we forget that he had mostly only humans in the house. And you know, what separates us from everything else in the world is that humans are driven by emotion and have a conscience and have a heart. So he couldn’t live with himself, if he knew that they were set up by the Vampiric Council to be eliminated at this theater. That’s the only reason he goes and saves his chosen family. Even though they’re total assholes to him, he is still loyal at the end of the day. He’s still loyal to these four vampires, especially Nandor. I think that he’s not getting soft. He’s just starting to see what’s important to him and what’s worth fighting for.

Did the “Cloak of Duplication” episode come up because you were already doing the impressions?

Novak: I guess the writers had an idea. They had a sense that I was a bit of a mimic and I liked doing impersonations. And I think they decided to kind of craft an episode around that. I was slightly apprehensive of the number of impressions that they thought I could do considering I had to do all of my castmates who, although I could do impressions of some of them, I’d never done it to their faces. So it was a new challenge. Not only to learn very quickly how to impersonate them with their help, because they helped me along the way, and they told me how to deliver some of the lines. But then having to do that in front of them, it took some concentration.

Whose voice was the easiest?

Novak: I guess the easiest, or the one that I had done was Colin Robinson. Because he’s got a very specific [voice]. It’s kind of the closest to mine in a way. And the rhythms of it, very specific. Nadja’s voice and Kristen [Schaal]’s voice, I couldn’t actually do. I can only kind of do their physicality. So, the voices you hear are not my voice. They’re the voices of the actual actors. Guillermo’s voice, Guillermo’s delivery, that took a minute to kind of get into that groove. And then Matt Berry, Laszlo’s character, I’d never really tried an impression of him. And it was really more the physicality that I got into to deliver those lines in that rhythm, that really was the key in. Because you’re always trying to find the key in.

Harvey, what was it like hearing Guillermo come out of Novak’s throat?

Guillén: It was great. Because I’ve seen Kayvan do impersonations of everyone, he’s a master. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do me in a full scene. Like he would make a good joke or mimic me and say, “Yeah, yeah, now my friend,” and he does like a caricature of my voice, which is always fun, but yeah, “you’re my best buddy,” that’s like an ongoing joke on set that he always does. But to really kind of do it and kind of really capture Guillermo’s inflections and the volume where he placed him. I was like, oh my gosh, this is great. I was in awe. Like I was like, this is great. I had to do a double take, like that’s not me. That’s wait. That’s not me. Okay.

Blade, Buffy, the Frog brothers, and now Guillermo. Guillermo is the descendant of the greatest Slayer of all slayers. Is this nepotism?

Guillén: I don’t know if it’s nepotism because I don’t think he’s gotten anything handed to him. And he’s worked really hard for everything he has, and even now being the descendant of Van Helsing, it’s still not easy. Now, it comes with another wagon full of problems and choices to be made and predicaments that he now has with his housemates. But I would love to see some of those legendary slayers and chosen ones make an appearance and guide him, maybe help him out. Maybe Buffy pops in and says, I’ll show you how it’s done. That’d be great. Or Blade comes back, Wesley Snipes comes back. We’ve already had him. Who knows? But yeah, I would love to see someone show him the ropes or take them under their wing or, he’s learning by trial and error. And I think so far he’s doing okay. So maybe he’s a self-made Slayer in his own way.

When Nandor and Nadja were introducing themselves to the rogue vampires, you are each soloing, but hitting the beats at the same time. Can you just walk me through the rehearsal of the timing?

Novak: I think to really nail a scene like that, we’re both kind of focused on the direction of, I think Yana Gorskaya directed that scene. And that was just a case of us kind of working together, but also allowing her to kind of pull us through the scene to make sure that we hit those marks perfectly. It took some practice, took a few takes, took rehearsal, but you always know you’re going to get it. And you know that if you’ve got to get something that’s a bit of a challenge to get to, you want to be in the right company. And, and thankfully, we are because we’re in each other’s company.

Harvey, when you interject objections and you break and you look at the camera, they’re like hi-hat taps, are these scripted or are you doing it strictly on an intuitive basis?

Guillén: No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it scripted for Guillermo that he looks at the camera. I think we do, as we do a rehearsal and we have our DP and our director follow us through rehearsal and whatever feels organic in the moment, there has to be an organic beat. Right? So, if it’s, most of the time it is Guillermo, because he’s the only human in the room, aside from the camera crew. And so, when he looks at the camera crew, it’s like, oh God, you’re going to film this, aren’t you? And the camera catches that moment. And it zooms into it. It’s like, you’re not, oh no, it’s incriminating. And so, as you connect with another human. Did you hear what he said? Or did you, I can’t believe they’re talking like this because who are you going to connect with the vampires who live in their own world of lust and pleasure and feeding. They don’t care, they’re immortal, but the humans in the room are like, we can go to jail at any moment for a lot of these things. I can get in trouble myself.

So, most of the time, when Guillermo looks at the camera, it’s either out of fear or it’s either like I’m smarter than them and you see that, right? So it’s like you saw that, right? But he can never say it. So he can’t verbally say what he’s feeling. So, their face does it all for you to the camera.

Did Guillermo and Nandor meet at Panera Bread?

Guillén: We talked about this. I think the idea that, if he was working at Panera Bread, it must have been shortly after high school or something. And somewhere along the lines, he must’ve met Nandor, he must’ve come in when Panera was closing and maybe tried to feast on him? Maybe, I don’t know. The backstory I gave myself was, he convinced Nandor not to feast on him and kill him, but to service him in return to become a vampire. That’s the backstory I gave myself. But Kayvan, what do you think?

Novak: I think whatever happened there’s CCTV footage of it-

Guillén: Somewhere. Yeah.

Novak: And I think that would be the best way of revisiting that because, if they didn’t have a documentary crew following them, then they’re relying on kind of just, incidental cameras, capturing stuff. I think it would be cool.

Guillén: I think that’s cool. Yeah.

Nandor is 758 years old, and going through an eternal life crisis. Is he becoming too Americanized or does Nadja have a point about there not being anything more to existence than just slaughter?

Novak: It’s a funny one because he’s been around so long, you’re supposed to eventually just blend into your environment and be taken over by and become an American or become a Staten Islander. And for some reason they live in such an insular world that they resisted this. But now for some reason, whether it be an emotional light that’s gone off in his head, he’s decided that no, he wants to humanize himself more and, yeah, be more like the people that he kills, almost. The world that he feeds off. He wants to be part of that. And I think, Nadja, she’s the cynic she’s like, stop dreaming. Stop. You know, there’s always that person that’s like, yeah, you could do that. But there’s lots of people that want to do that too, you know? And you’re like, oh, you’re right. I better not waste my time chasing pipe dreams. There’s always that person in the room and that person, for Nandor, is Nadja.

What’s it like to act against Nadja’s doll?

Guillén: Such a diva. Yeah. Difficult. Late to set. She always has to be carried. I don’t know if it’s in her rider, but the doll has to be carried by two, like men-

Novak: Dressed in green.

Guillén: Dressed in green. Yeah.

Novak: I actually did have to do a couple of scenes where there’s a montage sequence with me and the doll and we actually got onto some really funny stuff. I was teaching her sword fighting, a bit of a spoiler, but it’s very quick. I don’t know if it made it in but I was teaching her sword fighting and then I was like, well, we might as well have a sword fight. And then she disarms me and then she chases after me and I run. But I don’t know if that made it in the cut. I just decided that would have been a funny thing to do. To be disarmed by this doll. I think Nandor has a soft spot for the doll. Obviously, it’s a cool bit of special effects that’s for sure. It’s awesome.

What will you be getting Colin Robinson for his hundredth birthday?

Novak: A new contract. You know, his management team has been slacking.

I was talking with Mark Proksch about the physical comedy and Harvey, yours is particularly perilous. What’s the choreography prep like and making those fight scenes hit their funny marks?

Guillén: Well, I think physical comedy is just as good as you know, anything we do, so I mean, a lot of us do physical comedy in the show, but you never see Guillermo really in motion to do physical comedy most of the time it’s because he’s always so put together. So even with the combat and fighting, the note that Jermaine gave me for the finale was, Harvey doesn’t know he’s been at this. All right. So he doesn’t know what’s happening. So it was more of an idea that his face is like “what’s happening?,” But his hands were coordinated and bad-ass, and that’s the way I’ve been playing him. And now that he’s coming into his own, now he’s more relaxed into his own power of Van Helsing. But it’s also funny. It’s just funny to see someone who’s like a baby duck, like learning to walk for the first time. It’s like he’s trying. And you know, so that physical comedy comes in hand.

Kayvan, can you tell me what it was like working against Aida Turturro and learning to love after, after 37 wives?

Novak: Aida was a riot, from day one. She was a fan of the show, which is always wonderful and incredibly flattering. She was so into the show, she was so into the world and into us as performers. And I think that just, she had so much fun when she was there and we had some intimate scenes. The first time you see us, she’s on her back and I’m on top of her. And that’s quite an introduction. But she just went with it, you know? And it was just a lot of fun, a lot of fun with her and yeah, we just spoke to her today actually, and she was singing the show’s praises again. And she’s genuinely so excited. She’s not keeping her cool or trying not to be a fangirl about it. She was just super enthusiastic to be there. And you feed off that. You love that.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

What We Do in the Shadows airs Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. on FX.

The post What We Do in the Shadows Season 3: Harvey Guillén Wants Buffy to Train Guillermo appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3niKJN3

[beccarooni-watch-later]

Twilight Highlights

(A.N: my first WWDITS fic! it’s a little ooc but yknow its canon that nandor likes twilight and none of u can tell me otherwise. also i love nandor/guillermo with all of my soul and being)

"Oh yeah, I introduced Nandor to Twilight," 

Colin Robinson shrugged at the cameramen, beige sweater almost blending in completely to the cream coloured chair he was currently swathed in. 

"I figured it'd be a good way to bring more tension into the household. People were getting a little chummy lately - and that's kind of a disruption to my feeding." 

Introducing things to people was a pretty good way of draining energy, but this was a game his flatmates had long since gotten wise to. Usually when he was recommending something, it was just a long winded way of getting a good energy harvest - annoyance with a long buildup was something of a feast for him (the creation of the podcast had truly been a turning point in energy harvesting techniques, a real big hit in the Energy Vampire community). 

Twilight was supposed to be another one of these schemes, but it turned out Colin had severely underestimated the former warlord's love for YA melodrama. When he'd tried it on Laszlo, he'd fed for a week on the angered ravings of vampiric inaccuracies and overall poor word choice. And of course, anything Laszlo heard about was shared with Nadja - so it was really a 2 for 1 meal, courtesy of Stephanie Meyer. 

He'd been expecting the same with Nandor - although his flavour of anger was a bit more punchy than Laszlo and Nadja's. They were more of a slow-cooked kinda deal - hisses and grinding teeth and darkly muttered curses. Nandor was more the type to skewer a book he disliked with a sword and then never speak of it again. Kind of like taking a shot of something strong.

He'd waited a week for that punch of energy. What he got instead was a tentative knock on his door, and Nandor asking if there was another book, and that's how he knew he was in trouble. 

Because, he'd had to pour over those books for hours to get the right information to spam the message boards with. To get details wrong, you needed to get them right. And there was nothing like spreading blatant misinformation about a YA series on an internet forum to get his engine going, so to speak. 

Which meant that he knew about Twilight. 

Which meant that, since he was a fan of it now, Nandor talked to him about Twilight. 

Now he was hanging out with Nandor of all people, listening to him ramble about the tragic romance of Bella and Edward, and feeling the full force of the lovechild of irony and karma hitting him in the face because holy shit, this is what it feels like.

It wasn't as bad as being drained by Evie, but still. Owch. 

Although he couldn't deny that the hit of energy he got from Laszlo accusing him of turning Nandor into a glitter loving monster was one of the most interesting flavours he'd had in a long time. 

"You bloody idiot, you know what he gets like!" 

Laszlo had sighed, dusting off a small pile of glitter from his sleeve from where he'd accidentally disturbed Nandor in the middle of a portrait creation. 

"This is going to be the ball of basket obsession from the 1990's all over again."

Nadja hissed through bared fangs, bony fingers clenched tightly between her skirts. 

Maybe there was another reason that Colin had introduced Nandor to the books - and, when he'd caught up with the technology, the movies. But it wasn't something he was about to disclose in front of a camera for the whole world to see. 

He had a reputation to protect. Cool, suave, level headed Colin Robinson. Ruthless, fangless - an apex predator in a beige sweater vest. He couldn't risk that getting damaged - his flatmates would lose respect for him. 

Although to their credit ever since his promotion and subsequent funeral, his flatmates had been trying with him. Whether that was out of genuine friendship or fear for their immortal lives - well that was anybody's guess. And, so what if he wanted to do something nice in return? Doing something nice just added more build-up to the eventual anger he'd get when he next decided to feed on them - draining his flatmates was no fun if they were expecting it. 

And if he'd introduced Nandor to a book series where the vampire and the human could be together...well, it was a coincidence. It was just to get Nandor mad when the movies turned out to be terrible. 

It wasn't to give him something to relate to. A piece of fiction where he wouldn't be portrayed as the monster feeding off of an innocent human, where vampire hunters weren't the likes of Van Helsing with stakes and pitchforks.

It wasn't to give Nandor an excuse to ask Guillermo to take him to the movies at night - one of the few activities the two could actually do together and still feel normal.

No, it was to annoy him. At some point, Nandor would get annoyed by something to do with Twilight, and then it was a win-win for Colin Robinson. Slow cooked anger achieved - yay for him.

Yeah, that was it. 

Nandor and Guillermo would be insufferable as a couple anyway, he was sure of it. There'd be even more opportunities for him to sweep in and make things awkward: candlelit dinners to disrupt, gifts that he could read the ingredients lists of and watch as the light left his flatmate’s eyes. 

Hell, a double date with Laszlo, Nadja, Nandor, and Guillermo would give him enough anger and frustration to feed him for a month. 

So it really was all for selfish reasons, this new hobby of Nandor’s. Reputation protected. 

Still evil, still cool, still Colin.