#and nandor needing to stop trying to make his loved ones more like him
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Related to the meta I wrote last time...
So there was this abandoned plot line from the episode with all the wives where one of Nandor's guy wives kept asking Guillermo questions about himself and that made Nandor uncomfortable so he had the Djinn poof him and like -- god, there's a lot to unpack there. Like, when I tell you that I've thought about that for months.
Now... there are a lot of different things I could say about this. And frankly speaking, I still might. But for now, what I really want to get into is this odd tendency I've noticed in Nandor to view his wives almost as extensions of himself. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this might be how he conceptualizes the difference between husbands and wives -- it's not a gender thing; it's a situation of ownership.
I'm not saying that Nandor is fully awful about this. He doesn't seem to believe that his wives literally belong to him or that he can tell them all what to do, like marriages of that time often would have been. But he does seem to see them as extensions of himself. They may not physically belong to him, but they are still his.
Like, he still expects these wives to be fully loyal to him. He still expects them to dote on him and guess what he wants and be pretty much exactly what he needs them to be. Their actions (and what people think of them) seem to be things that he believes reflect on him. Their actions are his actions, their beliefs are his beliefs, their wants are his wants -- and vice-versa.
We see this very literally becoming an issue with Marwa. He so fully transformed her into an extension of himself and his desires that she fully lost herself as a human being -- and that's even before he straight-up turned her into someone else.
So one of his wives being very interested in Guillermo does seem like something that would be very disturbing to him on a number of levels. First and foremost, there's the obvious annoyance that one of his wives would be interested in anyone but him. (We see him get upset with his others wives for this.) But then, you know, there's the fact that it's Guillermo specifically.
There's this discomfort with someone treating Guillermo as desirable and important, obviously, as it makes Nandor face the fact that Guillermo is desirable and important -- and that he hasn't treated him that way. There's also the discomfort with the fact that anyone else would get to know more about Guillermo's personal life than he does. But more than that, I think Nandor feels discomfort even acknowledging that Guillermo has a personal life outside of Nandor for people to ask questions about.
Nandor is very weird and possessive about Guillermo's personal life.
On top of all that, though, we have the fact that it is an extension of Nandor who is asking these questions. There's the inherent betrayal of part of him going to someone else, but more importantly -- I mean, it's very similar to what happened with Marwa at the wedding. A piece of him is very interested in Guillermo, and maybe that's going to make him confront the fact that he is very interested in Guillermo if he doesn't put it down immediately.
Because the thing is -- he does this to Guillermo, too. He very explicitly says that someone insulting Guillermo's honor is insulting his honor. He very explicitly claims Guillermo as his own and very purposefully monopolizes all his time and effort. He claims Guillermo's abilities, too, and uses them as he sees fit. He even physically manhandles Guillermo's body for his own needs. (See: using Guillermo's wrist, not just his watch, as his own in 4.09.) He has clearly always seen Guillermo as an extension of himself the same way he does his wives, and some of the shock of s3-s4 for him is realizing that Guillermo is his own person.
I think that's why we see him prodding at Guillermo and asking questions and watching him and testing him in s3. I think that's why he sounds bitter about not knowing anything about Guillermo's family or any of the things that he does in s4. I think it's why, when he is confronted with this person that Guillermo loves, this last small part of Guillermo that Nandor has not managed to possess, it makes him want to claim it for his own.
Nandor is wildly possessive over Guillermo in the same way he is his wives, but Guillermo is no longer happy simply with being possessed. There are parts of Guillermo (like his family, like the vampire hunting, like Freddie) that Nandor is slowly realizing he does not have access to, and he doesn't like that. Guillermo is really coming into himself, is becoming strong and recalcitrant and independent and uncontrollable, and Nandor isn't really sure how he feels about that.
Because here's the kicker: Nandor is totally fucking horny for people he can't control.
When you look at his love interests we've seen that he's been most into, it's always people that he cannot control. Gail, who he can never manage to rein in, who he can never quite manage to claim. She uses him casually and then she leaves, and she always has control in the relationship. Meg is a lesbian, totally uninterested in him, and he has no control over her, either. Jan is a complete power reversal, and one that Nandor seemed particularly thrilled with. She owns him and he likes it.
The point I am coming to here is that Guillermo is really starting to resemble these women that Nandor has run after -- and I think Nandor is starting to come to the realization that Guillermo is not an extension of himself, like his wives were. Guillermo is his own person. And maybe what Nandor really wants is to be the subservient one in this situation. He doesn't want Guillermo to become one of his wives; he wants Guillermo to become his husband.
Nandor wants to be Guillermo's guy wife.
We see him start to lean into this role reversal in s3-s4. Submitting to Guillermo's physical strength and leadership when they go after the Sire. Caring for him after an injury in 4.01. Going full role reversal and literally serving Guillermo in 4.05. Having Guillermo try on his groom's clothing in 4.06. Like... the man's not being subtle here.
He's still struggling with these ideas, clearly, but they're for sure there. And I think it's part of why Freddie ended up becoming such a clusterfuck. Nandor was still sort of seeing Guillermo as an extension of himself and wanted to claim all parts of him, especially the parts that Guillermo had thus far kept hidden from him. I don't think it's a coincidence that Nandor mostly just wanted to eat Freddie until the moment he realized he was there for Guillermo. Then he followed them around like a weirdo until Guillermo admitted Freddie was his boyfriend -- and then Nandor wanted him.
But as much as he was seeing Guillermo as an extension of himself, he was also seeing Freddie as an extension of Guillermo. And like Nandor's guy wife and Marwa showing interest in Guillermo and that being a direct representation of Nandor showing interest in Guillermo, Nandor going sappy over Guillermo's extension is another way that Nandor is indirectly showing his true feelings for Guillermo.
And so much of 4.09 was Nandor realizing that Guillermo wasn't his. He is not an extension of Nandor. Nandor can't have access to every part of him. He has to let Guillermo have some things that are just his. He has to relinquish control over him.
Put bluntly, 4.09 was really about Nandor having to decide whether he cared more about Guillermo being 100% his or Guillermo being happy. And I guess we know which one he chose.
I think even Guillermo understood on some level that Nandor was mostly just upset that Guillermo had a single goddamn thing that Nandor didn't have access to. That's essentially what he accused Nandor of, wasn't it? Not letting him have this one fucking thing for himself. Even he seemed to understand that Nandor's new crush was more about Guillermo than it was about Freddie -- even if I'm not sure he quite made the jump to understanding why.
So... by the end of s4, Nandor has gotten rid of his wife. She had become so much of a very literal extension of him that he was sickened by it, so he destroyed her. (RIP Marwa, you were a real one.) He had also gotten rid of the extension of Guillermo that he had claimed. And, this might be the most important part, he'd gotten rid of some of that internal idea that Guillermo was an extension of him. In letting Freddie 2 go, he was in some ways letting Guillermo go as well.
Now if only Guillermo actually wanted to be let go... :')
Up until this point, I think Guillermo also thought of himself as an extension of Nandor -- and it wasn't until their planned trip went up in flames that he was able to start conceiving of himself as his own person. He started trying to create this life outside of Nandor. And while that life was short-lived (and I don't think could ever last forever), it did give him enough independence that by the end of s4, as Nandor has given up on Guillermo being his extension, so has Guillermo.
And he decides to take the life that he now owns himself into his own two hands.
Do I think the two of them are going to be less codependent going forward? I don't think so, and honestly I certainly hope not. But I do think the shape of their relationship is definitely going to change.
Hopefully for the better...
#that detail was... I want to say from the casting call?#so I'm not even sure if it made it to the final script#but when I say I Would Like To See It#anyway I do wish that all of this had been a little more coherently laid out in the show itself#I feel like we got hints at some big ideas especially near the beginning of the season#like Guillermo being honest with his loved ones#and nandor needing to stop trying to make his loved ones more like him#and how Guillermo and Nandor both had these romanticized ideas about their relationships that didn't pan out#and being careful what you wish for#and what found family means really#but I do think things fell apart a little near the end#wwdits#nandermo#wwdits meta#long post
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Laszlo cares SO MUCH and it isn't a new development in season 5, he's ALWAYS cared that much. Who he extends that care to may change over time, but like. In season 1 we see the lengths he went to trying to guard Nadja's happiness. He's killed Jeff god knows how many times, and it wasn't out of jealousy! Not with him and Nadja out here fucking and sucking everyone and anyone happily and openly. It was because having Jeff around always made Nadja unhappy eventually, and he hated that.
He gives his sappy speech at the orgy because he cares more about expressing his love for Nadja than he does about a lot of sex, despite being one of the horniest characters ever to grace the screen.
We see that he's managed to form a sincere attachment to Sean, and is deeply distressed at the thought of killing him. All the caveats that come with him being a vampire apply, of course, but he's still the first one in the house to form a sincere attachment to someone OUTSIDE of the house. And he LOVES Sean! He's always so delighted to help him in any way he can, goes out of his way to help get Sean out of the messes he gets himself into, NEVER judges him for it. He just LIKES him and accepts him for everything he is, and enjoys being there for him.
In season 3, he spends all this time with Colin Robinson, who he doesn't even like that much, bonding with him and trying to show him a good time, because he knows he's going to die soon. He wants to make Colin's remaining life as nice as possible. He wants to be there for him at the end. He prioritizes that, again, the feelings of this person he cares so much about, on his birthday and final day, over power and prestige among the wider vampire community. He initially refuses to ever go back to England because his wife was snubbed there, and he loves her SO MUCH.
Even what he did to Guillermo was out of care for Nadja. Deeply misguided, for sure, and not showing much concern for Guillermo at that point. But insert vampire caveats, the point is he CARES and tries his best to show it.
We then see him doing his best, with really no tools or skills, to raise baby Colin. Asking for help, even, when he feels he's doing it poorly. Setting aside his own expectations and even sharing memories of his own father to try and be what baby Colin needs. His whole life revolves around that kid all of season 4.
And then season 5 with Guillermo. He's the first one to notice something is off, which to me says he was keeping an eye on Guillermo. Maybe because they bonded more in season 4. Maybe because he was worried Guillermo would take the loss of baby Colin as hard as he did. But he notices.
And then when he finds out the truth, he keeps Guillermo's secret and spends months trying to help him. Despite Guillermo having done something he finds repugnant. He actually gets so invested in helping that it leaves him catatonic for days when he realizes he can't (because let's be real, that was in no way about organizing books). He then steps in to stop Guillermo's soft spot for Nandor and his trust in him from getting him killed (and secondarily, from leading to Nandor doing something he knows he'll regret). He KEEPS trying to look after Guillermo even after Nandor finds out.
He's also the one best able to give the Guide what she needs, regardless of how sincere (and I do think it was at least somewhat sincere, I can't imagine he would bestow backside compliments he didn't mean under any circumstances). He may not have decided she's one of his people yet, but he knows how to recognize what she needs and give that to her, which is more than the others are capable of in that moment.
I dunno man. Laszlo doesn't always show it well or get it right, but he cares and tries so terribly hard.
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You’re losing me || wwdits Nandermo fluff
After killing Derek, needless to say Nandor could no longer think straight. He refused to talk to cameras and for two days hasn’t slumbered or feasted. He knew he had to do something. But wasn’t it too late? Nandor knew for over a decade to not get close, to not…
“Nandor” Nadja interrupted his thoughts and for that Nandor was more than grateful, “are you okay? You’ve been acting like a big American hamburger” it was making her sick being this nice, as she is used to screaming her way out of situations.
“I am okay, thank you Nadja” he muttered not looking away from the painting of him and his horse John, slightly dragging his finger through the hole Guillermo left with a dagger long time ago.
“Malakas” she yelled out, and rushing to him and forcefully turning him to face her, “you’re just like Laszlo, something’s wrong and then all of the sudden ‘yes, yes, very good, thank you’ “ she said mockingly out of anger. It’s not that she didn’t want to help, quite the opposite, she hated seeing her friends in pain. Especially Nandor. But the dummies never learned how to communicate, “now speak”
“I appreciate your help, Nadja” he smiled, “but I’m just alright” he let go of her and turned back to the painting.
“Fine, you don’t wanna talk, don’t. We are leaving now, but if you don’t think that when I come back I won’t sit down on your coffin until you speak, think again” Nadja stormed out, yet Nandor seemed unbothered.
Sometimes he’d look at the painting, dragging his finger around where the dagger used to be. Nandor felt like it was a big warning: a giant wall standing between him and… Guillermo.
It was difficult when he was just a familiar, then it was even more complicated when they found out he’s a vampire killer, and even more terrifying when he disobeyed and turned himself into a vampire.
‘Treat them mean, keep them keen’ is what he was taught. With his soldiers, with his wives and husbands, with his familiars. But Guillermo has never been keen. And that both intrigued and terrified him.
And it has never been in Nandor’s nature to be warm and cuddly. After all he was a slaughtering machine from his birth till now, and when he thinks about him, he wouldn’t love him either, a pathological people killer.
But he’ll do it. Everyone’s out of the house, except for him and Guillermo. And he’ll do it.
He launched himself down the stairs, nervously waiting to “accidentally” bump into Guillermo. And after standing there for solid 15 minutes, it seemed much easier in movies, he thought. He was just happy the cameras were out of the house with Laszlo and Nadja.
“Guillermo” he yelled out not being able to wait there any longer, “I need to speak to you”
“Yes, master?” He appeared as it seemed out of thin air right behind him, scaring him.
“How are you feeling, Guillermo?” He couldn’t think how to open, and ‘I would like to marry you’ seemed a little too forward. It was dangerous territory, if he rejects Nandor, he’ll most likely have to leave. And Nandor won’t be able to stop him as hypnosis no longer work on Guillermo.
“I have a headache” he nodded.
“I used to have those in Al Quolanudar whenever one of our wives would hit me at the back of my head with a rock” he laughed trying to release the tension.
“What?” Guillermo looked confused.
“My wives” he corrected himself, suddenly missing the camera to which he could uncomfortably turn to.
Guillermo looked at him with the look that could only translate into “you’re losing me”. “I’m losing you” Nandor thought back.
“I think I’ll go to sleep, master, I’m very cold” Guillermo muttered as he tried to walk past him but Nandor stopped him.
He slowly walked closer to the short man, with his right hand wrapping Guillermo with his cape. That’s better, he thought.
“Perhaps it is time you call me Nandor” yes, that’s great start, he thought.
“Okay” Guillermo blushed a little, although through that thick beard it was difficult to see. But Nandor could. He always did, “Nandor”
Nandor stood there, smiling warmly at the man, and Guillermo smiled back. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was smiling because he enjoyed his company, or because he was… feeling like he had to. There’s no going back now, he thought.
Nandor gently put his free left hand on Guillermo’s cheek and without waiting leaned in to kiss him. He almost forgot what it feels like to kiss a human, so gentle, so warm. And for a second there Nandor thought that his heart might start again for him. But that was over. He pulled away as he felt Guillermo not returning the kiss. And with that he might have just stab him with the wooden stake because Nandor didn’t want to exist.
“I am sorry, Guillermo” he muttered lowly, “I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. I never kissed anyone with glasses before” he smiled uncomfortably, retracting the cape from the man.
“Shut up” to his surprise Guillermo pulled the taller man in again. He must have just been taken by surprise the first time around, he thought. Although Nandor no longer wanted to think. He was watching his fangs carefully as to not bite Guillermo accidentally, slowly pushing the shorter man to the wall.
It was fascinating. The lips so soft and gentle and warm, Nandor could lose himself in the insanity that is this kiss.
“I don’t want to lose you, Guillermo” he pulled away to gather his breath, but the man pulled him back in.
“You won’t” he muttered back.
So unbelievably beautiful that kiss was. Nandor has never felt such… what’s the word? Love? Before. Most his suitors were non human, vampires, werewolves, lovers brought from the dead, and none of them had the heart like Guillermo. So kind, so warm, so…
“Nandor!” Nadja yelled out standing across the hallway, making them both pull away, “is that your idea of ‘im okay’?”
Guillermo was smiling uncontrollably as Nandor turned around, and if he could blush, he would be painted red by now.
“I told you I’m fine, Nadja. Now more so” he smiled back at Guillermo, making Nadja curse in Greek as she ran to her room.
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I was bored. Wrote some fluff based on this fanart and ‘you’re losing me’ song by Taylor Swift. ITS NOT MINE! Found it on Pinterest. Their vk k_e_r_e_r_e_k, if you know the artists please comment their @, I really want to give proper credits to them. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
#wwdtis#wwdits#what we do in the shadows#nandermo#nandor and his boyfriend#nandor the himbo#nandor the idiot#nandor what we do in the shadows#nandor the relentless#nandormo#wwdits nandor#nandor x guillermo#nandor the bitchless#guillermo what we do in the shadows#guillermo van helsing#guillermo de la cruz#wwdits guillermo#vampire guillermo#ofmd spoilers#ofmd trailer#our flag means death#archive of our own#blackbeard ofmd#ofmd#ofmd 2#ofmd s2#ofmd season 2#ofmd stede#ao3 writer#fluff
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I've just read your analysis and I almost wholeheartedly agree with it (I wish we'd had a little more time, a couple more scenes with a fully vampire!Guillermo in order to explore that regret and his reasoning), but apart from that I need to say that you're so right and correct. This season was so good, one of my favorites for sure.
Thank you for writing all that, for putting it into words and organizing it.
I wanted to ask what you want to see with Guillermo on season 6, you briefly touched on it in your post but it had me intrigued.
(Also I can't wait for that Nandermo analysis, get writing bestie!)
HELLO!!! Thank you for shooting me an ask and liking the analysis, i’ve JUST opened this blog and it took me by surprise I’m very humbled!
You didn’t ask for this but I want to speculate as to why it all happened in the last episode and we didn’t have more time to explore Guillermo regret his decision and I guess it could be said that A Choice Was Made to show that how at the drop of a hat decision it was for Guillermo to realize this was NOT it for him, and that he doesn’t even need time to realize he dislikes it. Just the thought of killing someone by himself is enough for him to know he’s fucked up. This is not the “I called in a bomb scare” or gravedigger or victim finder Guillermo or vampire killer Guillermo who can justify everything he does is for the sake of others and to protect others and be very well comfortable in his hypocritical comfort zone. When it comes to killing himself and doing it for himself, he chickens out.
That immediate reaction is what’s meant to make him soft and not cut out to be a vampire, and it just goes to show he was only in it for the power trip of being a vampire. It honestly was so clear for me, but I do understand why it looks like they rushed everything :( Or it’s that I love this show too much and it was a bit to my taste that I cant see the problem 😭
I could myself enjoy Guillermo comically flailing around to try making it look like he was drinking blood but finding alternatives and hiding it from everyone and suffering in private in a “i made my own bed and i now lie in it” themed “THIS FUCKING SUCKS” episode and Nandor finding out at the very end — but I think the point was to leave it open-ended and not traumatize Guillermo too much that he would never consider vampirism again. He isn’t ready — yet, in his own words.
So like, to answer your question, I kinda know what to expect from the next season from Yana’s interviews, I think it’s in two different ones she says “now what? What comes next for guillermo what will he do now? Will he still be with the vampires?” is the engine of season 6, so I believe we’ll either be seeing Guillermo have an existential crisis and parallel with Nandor in s3 (EVEN WELLNESS CENTER HAIR AND HIS LONGER HAIR MATCH WEIRDLY) and slowly coming into his own because he cant be a familiar anymore, or, frustratingly he’ll stay a familiar but they’ll subvert it by having him being more of a roommate like colin than a familiar, so things on paper didn’t change but they did change tremendously. I never want to theorize with this show because it goes very wrong every time, but I believe some kind of realization as to why he still wants to stay with the vampires despite losing his primary excuse is coming for Guillermo. Perhaps try to return to normal but find out that he doesnt have a normal life, but “taking things to places you dont expect” line makes me stop considering things tbh 😭 like YES I would love for guillermo to go off on his own for self-discovery (maybe we get to meet new van helsings) and the dynamic to shift AGAIN a bit, but obviously im wrong and i will be wrong because this show is just. Outrageous like that
But I am dumb, so I am expecting Guillermo to become a roommate and an A Vampire Slayer Roommate That Lives With Them and Protects Them and Doesnt Work For Them At All since the familiar title is dropped. It honestly could be going in the direction of wwdits movie, like viago carries the weight of the household the most and they’re bickering about the workload, it could really be interesting to see him TRY to make the others work... Or, Nandor could take in a new familiar, which could shake things up a bit and Guillermo would be even more unsure of his position or think that he has no place here anymore when it’s something stupid and simple as Nandor going “Yeah you’re not a familiar anymore what did you expect” — and again he’s a roommate that they dump most of the workload on.
But for sure I’m expecting “I just want to stay with you because I love you guys” to be the resolution of the guaranteed “what do I do now” conflict of s6, and maybe the vampires to be like “you are not going anywhere” to him underneath the “we would be very inconvenienced if you’d leave now so we will graciously allow you to stay here” guise.
Or, perhaps a love realization towards nandor on guillermo’s side as to why he wants to stay if he’s not actively aiming to be a vampire as a main goal. But that’d be asking for too much I think, HAHA
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Being a vampire and discovering Nandor is your ancestor would involve... (Part 1)
🦇 You're a young vampire who just moved to Staten Island in search of a fresh start. Your clan was massacred by hunters, and you are looking for a new home, or even just a place to rest for a while.
🦇 You've been wandering the streets, hungry, when you notice a man walking alone in a dark alley; you immediately decide he'll be your dinner for tonight.
🦇 You follow him for a while, ready to pounce... and then you realize you're not alone. There's another vampire who has been following your prey; you almost collide when you try to attack at the same time.
🦇 This is the moment you meet him. You're nervous for a moment, because many vampires wouldn't take kindly on an intruder hunting in their territory, but he surprises you; he looks kindly at you, taking in how hungry and tired you look, and in a whisper he offers you to attack together and then share the prey.
🦇 Which you do. You drink blood until you're pleasantly full, and you're going to thank him for his help and bid him good night, but he stops you, and offers you to come to his place.
🦇 He wouldn't be able to explain why he does that. He is not attracted to you, even though he thinks you're really cute; he rather feels a protective instinct towards you, and not just because you are and look much younger than him.
🦇 He wants to know more about you, and he wants to make sure you're OK. So he offers you to rest at his house, and you decide to accept; you're usually wary of strangers, vampires and humans alike, but instinctively you know you can trust him.
🦇 “Well… if you really don’t mind. I am (name), by the way”. “It’s very nice to meet you; my name is Nandor, Nandor the Relentless”. “Do I have to call you that, or is Nandor enough?”
🦇Thankfully Nandor’s housemates like you as much as he does; they let you stay the day, and find you some new clothes since you've left your previous home bringing next to nothing with you because of the imminent danger and you've mostly been surviving stealing cash and clothes from victims.
🦇 You still have daymares about what happened to your clan, and usually the only thing you can do is wait they pass, and then hopefully go back to sleep, or remain in your coffin, waiting for the sundown, desperately trying to think about something else. The second day after your arrival at the Staten Island residence, though, you decide to get up and go watch TV, hoping it will calm you and take your mind out of it.
🦇 Instead, you meet Nandor, likewise a victim of insomnia; after a moment of mutual embarrassment, he offers you to check some daytime TV together; you end up with your cheek on his shoulder, giggling while you watch the re-runs of some old soap-opera. In the end, you confide in him, telling him about your daymares and that sometimes, no matter how calm and in a good mood you are, you just can’t help thinking about the friends you have lost.
🦇 “It would have been better if I had died already, grief and solitude are even worse than death” you comment sadly, and Nandor’s reaction is… unexpected. You thought a great warrior like him would berate you for such sentimentality, or simply tell you that everybody loses people they care for sooner or later, therefore you may as well get used to it and mourn in the privacy of you heart. He doesn’t.
🦇 “I wish I could tell you it gets better, or that there’s a sure way to eliminate pain and sorrow, but it would be a lie” he confesses, an arm that has settled on your shoulder without any of you realizing; it’s nice, you think once you do, it makes you feel safe “The loved ones you lose stay with you forever, and perhaps it’s a good thing; I’d rather remember than forget, even if it makes me sad. Maybe it’s up you, you know? You need to learn to keep them in your heart putting aside the pain and the grief; remember the good things and forget the bad ones”.
🦇 It’s a really unexpected, but very wise, advice; you’re not sure whether you’ll ever be able to follow it, but you thank Nandor for his help, and he’s happy to see you’ve calmed down. You could go back to sleep, but you decide to stay, and watch TV next to him until dawn. None of you says much, but it feels nice, you think, like you don’t have to; it’s nice to have found a friend.
🦇 You get along well with Nandor’s housemates, so well they don’t want you to leave. A one-day stay soon becomes two and then three because "oh, tomorrow we 're doing this and this, you must absolutely come" and before you know it, you're part of the family.
🦇 Nandor is the most adamant about you staying. You try to convince him that you're old enough to take care of yourself, like you've already done for more than a century; you don't want to impose on him and the others, and you can find your own place in town or elsewhere.
🦇 You might as well be talking to the wall. Nandor, who in his heart can't stand the thought of you leaving, and doesn't understand why, decides that Staten Island is no place for a young vampire to live alone. He has Guillermo steal a coffin for you from a local funeral home, and put it in the house's spare room.
🦇 You trust him. The fact that you're both vampires doesn't necessarily mean that his intentions are pure, and you're used to be wary of people you don't know well, but with him... With him is different. You wouldn't know how to explain it, but you know he only has your best interest at heart, that he worries for your well-being, even though he barely knows you, and that he doesn't plan to hurt you or bother you in any way.
🦇 Also, you don't want to leave, and not only because it's so nice to be in a comfortable house with other vampires after a year on the road, alone, constantly looking behind your shoulder fearing that the hunters have finally found you.
🦇 You want to stay because of Nandor. You feel... an attraction towards him, though there's nothing sexual or romantic in it; it reminds you of how you felt with the other members of your clan, a feeling of home, almost of family, which makes no sense, since you practically just met. Anyway, you feel a certain sympathy towards Nandor, and it's nice to find someone who cares for you, after a whole year of solitude.
🦇 Less than a week after your first meeting you have a new home, and a new best friend; your life has changed for the better since the moment the two of you almost collided while hunting the same prey, and you couldn't be happier.
Hello everyone! This is my first time writing on Tumblr, so I’m quite nervous! I don’t know whether I’ll write anything else, but it’s nice I was able to finish it. English is not my first language, so please forgive any mistake.
This is part one of three.
#What We Do in the Shadows#Nandor the Relentless#Kayvan Novak#Nandor the Relentless would involve#Nandor the Relentless x reader#Bellona's stuff
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Nadja Bad? part 2 - WWDITS and Character Arcs
In my last post I explained what I see as Nadja's arc throughout the seasons, but I didn't touch on the main point of her detractors. Which is, that Nadja is given less emotional complexity and development than the other main characters, who are men.
This is a bit weird to me, mostly because, well, by season 3, it was pretty obvious to me that the only characters that have some kind of emotional development are Nandor and Guillermo. And really, it's mostly Guillermo.
Lazslo was essentially just the definition of hedonism throughout the show. Sure, he had his relationship with Colin, and he does have a scene or two a season where he talks about his childhood and trust issues, but it doesn't really seem like he's intent on working through those. The most Lazslo focused episode is the Jackie Daytona one, which was just incredibly stupid[compliment]. Only now, in season 4, he's shown any kind of growth, which is also not that much if you ask me.
Colin's main development was his reincarnation so, I'm not really sure that counts. He did try to find his origins in season 3, but gave up after a few failed attempts.
Nandor's main development was his existential crisis in season 3, which made him search for love. But in that regard he hasn't developed much since then, he's still looking for a romantic partner to fix all of his problems. The main thing that has changed in Nandor is his treatment of Guillermo, but that's a lot because Guillermo changed.
Guillermo really is the main character of the show. He's the only one who actually gets to be introspective and realize things about himself and change. And that makes sense because, the others generally don't need to. Most of the show consists of them fucking something up and getting away with it mostly consequences free, either because someone saves their ass(usually Guillermo) or because they're fucking vampires. They're huge immortal babies. And that's great! That's part of why the show is so fun.
And this is why it bothers me that people are saying that Nadja doesn't have an arc because like, none of the vampires do. At least, not more than her. So why is Nadja singled out as the bad character? Why is failing at running a nightclub inherently less deep and meaningful than failing at being a father or failing at being a husband?
And I do agree that it's a shame we didn't get to see her interact as much with the other characters, and that everything she did in the last 4 episodes was mainly about the club and not any kind of relationship, but I also think people are overestimating how emotional and relationship-focused the other characters' scenes were.
Lazslo had one scene of opening up to Colin. Guillermo and Nandor had maybe two conversations about their relationship. The rest was just dick wishes and child abuse.
And this is not me shitting on the show. I fucking love season 4 I can't stop thinking about it. But I'm also very much aware that the things I'm personally obsessed with, are probably mostly speculations, subtext or things that were completely unintentional.
I'm not trying to discourage you from being critical of season 4 and what it's done with the characters and Nadja in particular. I probably share many of your criticisms. But making these sweeping remarks about how the writers don't put any attention at all into her character arc and making her a shallow, screaming, power-hungry woman, while ignoring the shallowness of the other characters just reads, idk, a bit sexist, maybe?
Like, I get that the point is to call out the sexism, and there's probably some truth to that, but audiences have biases too. And I think that we're all so used to seeing female characters that are badly written, that even when a decent female character comes along we're not able to see her complexity, or call her out on things that we ignore in her male counterparts.
All that being said, I do hope we'll see more of Nadja other than her running the nightclub this season. But the thing is, I'm so sure we will that I really don't feel the need to complain that the episodes we've gotten so far are repetitive in that regard.
But again, we'll have to wait and see.
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A Change in Perspective (4/13)
Nandor goes to the witches for help with him vampire depression, and gets a potion that will help him figure out what he needs to be happy. It's not all smooth sailing--he may not like what the potion has to say, and everyone may not love the changes he's about to make, and no one can ever, ever find out that he went to the semen-stealing witches for help.
But hey. It's better than super slumber.
Clothing shopping wasn't easy. Nandor couldn't see himself in the mirror, for one. He had to rely on Guillermo to describe how he looked, or take pictures on his phone to show him. Of course, he needed to filter Guillermo’s feedback through his own mental translator. Fortunately, Nandor was as well-versed in his familiar as Guillermo was with his master.
Anything Guillermo said was great, or stuttered at, or gushed over went in the pile. Anything Guillermo said looked "fine" went into the garbage, where Guillermo would fish it out and carefully hang it up on the return rack. On very rare occasions, Nandor would try on something that would make Guillermo’s heart skip a beat. Those went in the pile, and also into a little mental file for future reference.
Nandor had been thinking a lot about that kiss.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Guillermo asked. He shuffled the many bags in his hands, trying to find a comfortable way to hold them.
"Guillermo, if you ask me that again I am going to order you to stop asking me that," Nandor said. "Do you need to eat something before we go on? I do not want you to faint."
"No-What? No. I've never fainted."
"And I do not want you to start now." Nandor halted in front of a store, so suddenly Guillermo walked right by him. Nandor hummed thoughtfully, looking up at the sharply dressed mannequins. Some of them were wearing vests like Guillermo wore. Nandor had always thought those looked very nice.
"You are sure you do not need the human food?"
"If this is our last stop, I can eat when we get home."
"This is our last," Nandor confirmed, and led the way inside.
He liked this one. It was quieter than the other stores and smelled only of leather--no pounding music or artificial perfumes. There was an older, well-dressed man standing at the polished wooden counter; he looked up and gave Nandor a polite nod when he walked in.
"How can I help you, sir?"
"I would like one of those," Nandor said, pointing at the mannequin. "I am trying something new."
"Yes," the man said, eyeing Nandor's cape. "I can see that."
The changing area was too small for Guillermo to join him, so Nandor had him sit on the little bench outside while Nandor made his selections and got changed. Nandor had gotten halfway through buttoning up a silky shirt the color of old blood when Guillermo spoke.
“Can I ask something?” Guillermo asked.
“No,” Nandor said. There was a pause on the other side of the curtain. “I am kidding, Guillermo; yes, you may ask.”
“Oh,” Guillermo said, sounding more relieved than amused, which was not what Nandor wanted. “I’m just curious what made you decide to update your wardrobe. You’ve been dressing this way the whole time I’ve known you.”
Nandor debated how to answer.
“We used to keep up with the fashions," Nandor said. "Dress like everyone else did, you know. But then it was the nineties and everything was black and fake leather, and it didn’t look good on any of us, so we stopped paying attention. But it is hard to keep track of things when you don't pay attention. Like you!"
"I pay attention," Guillermo protested.
"Yes, but I did not pay attention to you. One second you are this little guy running around shining my shoes and then all of a sudden it is ten years later and you are…you are Guillermo.”
And what a shock that had been.
"So…it’s about remembering when you are?"
Nandor considered this. He felt something tug at the back of his mind, a half-formed idea clamoring to be completed. Remembering when he was…remembering who he was. Something about being here and what was here and not…not…
“No, I think I just want to try a new style.”
“Oh.” There was a silence, but it was the heavy pause of someone weighing their words, of debating what they were about to say and not sure if it was going to go over well. "Do the clothes…make you feel better?"
"No," Nandor said. "I am buying the clothes because I feel better."
"Oh."
"You did the same thing," Nandor said. "I didn't notice at first when it happened, but you did."
"Did what?"
"Dress differently. You never wore those vests and things before you became my bodyguard. And even before that, it was only once you were killing all those assassins you started doing your hair nicely."
"What? There was nothing wrong with how I did my hair, my hair was fine," Guillermo said, surprisingly defensive.
"It is much more flattering this way," Nandor said. "I am saying you look handsome, Guillermo, it is a compliment."
Guillermo's heart skipped a beat so hard, Nandor could hear it through the thick curtain.
"Oh. Um. Thank you."
"You are welcome," Nandor said, trying not to sound too pleased. “Have you ever thought of eyeliner?”
Another heart skip.
“I think you’d look very nice in eyeliner,” Guillermo said, voice suddenly sounding oddly strained.
“Not for me, for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes. You have very nice eyes.”
“I d—That—I—that—I never—I mean—”
Nandor opened the curtain and stepped out. He spread his arms to display the charcoal grey suit, which he thought paired quite well with the red shirt. “What do you think?”
Guillermo turned bright red. Guillermo dropped the bags. Guillermo made a sound like he had almost swallowed his own tongue.
"I think he likes it," the store clerk said, drily.
"I will take two," Nandor said.
#wwdits#nandor the relentless#guillermo de la cruz#nandermo#what we do in the shadows#what we blog in the shadows#a change in perspective
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Dark Shenanigans - Nandor x (f)reader
Summary: It’s Nadja’s something hundredth birthday, with that said, you’re on a mission to make it great.
Warning: fluff, general vampire nonsense
Masterlist
“Yeah being a half vampire half human does have its perks. I mean for one I can do all that cool vampire shit and I can go out in the sunlight...so that helps for when they’re all being really annoying.” You admit with a casual shrug to one of the documentary cameras before turning to an isle of party supplies. “So anyways we’re at this store.”
The camera shifts to the multiple arras of supplies and materials at the local supermarket in Staten Island that you and your vampire lover’s human familiar, Guillermo, currently are. Specifically on the hunt for birthday decorations for Nadja and ghost Nadja who’s possessed a strange looking doll for the time being.
Since the other four actual full vampires can’t shop for themselves at this time of day or really in general, you and Guillermo have been given such an honorable task in making Nadja’s birthday the best one yet. Considering she’s the most well balanced in the head out of the four of them and is the only other lady of the manor.
“Hey Y/N, how’s this look?” Wonders Guillermo as he holds up a bunch of Mardi Gras beads of yellows, purples, and greens. “Comments, questions, concerns?” He adds with a small smile.
Eyeing up the beads, your head shifts over to the other various colors, “Hrmm, G I’m feeling the vibe you’re going for this year and I like it, but let’s go with Nadja colors.”
Guillermo’s dark eyes light up at your positive suggestion, “Right! So the red and black ones then?”
“Yup. She’ll love that shit.” You state with a satisfied nod of approval, “Let’s get some black and gold confetti from over there and oh, those masquerade masks look cool as fuck.”
You pick up and test out various masks in the background as Guillermo adds some bits of dialogue for the documentary crew, “Um yeah she’s really cool isn’t she.” He says with a smile while glancing at you then back to the camera, “Which is kind of odd since Y/N’s been with Nandor since 1793 so you’d think she’d be a little more like them but no, she’s super chill and really nice.” Suddenly his face goes a bit serious as he leans in to whisper, “But she did kill a whole street gang once when they threw a slur at me so I wouldn’t mess with her. For your safety.”
The camera pans back over to an oblivious you who’s put on a masquerade mask and is swinging a plastic light saber around with a whole lot more accuracy and grace then would a normal person. The camera then pans back to Gullimero, “Um, I’m just gonna....make sure she doesn’t smack anyone.”
——
Arms full of groceries of food for you and Gullimero, as well as random party decorations for Nadja’s birthday tomorrow night, you use the bottom of your boot to skillfully open the door as the documentary crew and Guillermo follows suit. Guillermo now on the verge of falling over with the large heart shaped pillow in his arms that’s covering most of his body.
You don’t feel tired in the slightest due to your half vampiric abilities so this is nothing to you, “Alright.” You state, turning on your heel to face the crew and Guillermo, “They’re asleep so we gotta be extra sneaky now, I don’t want Nadja catching us with all this cool spooky birthday shit. Everyone to the attic!” You whisper yell before leading the charge to the attic.
They all follow as quietly and as quickly as they can and then soon enough in no time are you and Guillermo back outside in the sunny garden trying to figure out if you should blow up the giant sea monster pool floaty.
“I mean it would look cool as hell and no doubt out-do whatever the fuck boring thing Lazlo probably has planned.” You quip with a shrug while the two of you stare thoughtfully at the small gloomy dark pond. “He’s got no chance with us. I’ve won best decorator and card maker for two hundred years in a row.”
Guillermo side eyes you in honest amazement, “Wow that’s a lot of years. And cards.”
“I know. I was an artist in the 12th century but my no good terrible good for nothing piece of garbage trash sexist human husband, who I was forced to marry when I was only sixteen, took all the credit for my artwork in that era.” You confirm with a growl, “But it stings less because once I finally grew into my powers and strength at eighteen I simply made his untimely demise look like an accident.” You add with a smirk.
“Oh, wow.” Mutters the intrigued familiar.
“Precisely. The old fool was thrown off his horse because I told Philip, the horse, to throw him off. And he did. Which killed the idiot so I got the house and all of his money.”
“That’s......neat.” Mutters Guillermo as he shoots the camera crew from behind you and him a nervous look. “Uh the suns going down so I should probably help Nandor out of his coffin.”
Raising your head to the sky you immediately see how the sun has begun to paint the clouds in beautiful colors of oranges, reds, light pinks, and darkening purples. “Oh, how bout that. Yeah alright let’s get inside.” You nod to Guillermo before turning to walk towards the manor’s giant mahogany doors.
——
Turning the handle and walking a couple feet into the large main room that holds itself as a sort of crossroads for all the other various connecting hallways and staircases. You don’t make it even three more steps towards the left ascending staircase before you hear the highly recognizable voice of your one and only.
“Y/N! My lovely wife and favorite person still ever so lovely!” Announces Nandor loudly with a grand smile showing off his pearly white fangs, “How I have missed you and your morning kisses. Where have you been off to?” He wonders softly as you smile a big dumb love-struck grin right back up at him, you’d absolutely die to hear that accent one last time.
“I can’t tell you right now it’s a secret!” You whisper yell back, causing his thick dark brows to scrunch up in confusion.
“But I am your lovely strong puff dragon Y/N.” Whines Nandor adorably as you roll your eyes at the cameras before looking back up at him.
“Fine. Come here then.”
In an instant he’s at your side, excitedly awaiting what secretive news you will tell him, “Okay, so we know it’s Nadja’s birthday tomorrow right?”
“Yes. I remember because she hasn’t shut up about it.”
“Right. So me and Gullimero got some fun surprise birthday party decorations and they’re in the attic and we can’t tell Nadja.”
Nandor gives you a knowing look of affirmation as he leans in closer to you, his demeanor suddenly shifting into a more saddened one, “You went shopping without me?” He says quietly.
Leaning up to give him a quick peck on the cheek your hands instantly find his, “Just for a little while, but I still need to find more stuff so....you wanna come?”
Nandor’s big dark eyes light up with joy as you hand him a kind smile, “Yes! Let us go in search of unknown treasures for our lady friend Nadja so she will not be mad at us for terrible dull gifts of friendship.”
Laughing you give his hands a playful squeeze, “Come on I’ll race you to Party City!” You say before leading him past the camera crew and Guillermo who simply watches the two of you leave, glad to have an hour of peace.
“There’s a whole city for partying? Y/N why have we never been to this place?”
——
“Y/N there are no people partying here.” Whines your vampire lover in puzzlement as he follows you from the entrance to a side isle. “You said this was a city for partying.”
“That’s just the name of the store Nans.” You retort with a small chuckle as he looks from right to left at all the color coded party plates and napkins galore.
“Well the title is very misleading.”
“Agreed.”
Turning to the right you guide him towards the decretory pirate themed isle in search of something that will peak his interest. Also you wanted so badly to make it to this spot but Gullimero was a man on a mission so your intention was thwarted for when you had Nandor with you.
Speed walking down the pirate themed isle you quickly halt all movement as Nandor’s large body stops within less than an inch from your back. Smiling brightly you snatch the desired object in front of you and as swift as a cat turn to face him.
“Have you come for a dual my old enemy?” You speak slyly, eyes narrowed as you hold the foam sword right in front of his face. “I sense a nervousness about you. Tell me, are you ready to face your inevitable bloody end?”
Staring at the pointy foam, his dark puppy eyes shift over to you as an adorable fangy grin breaks out across his pale face, “Seems you have come prepared, oh radiant and alluring seductress. Well, so have I!” Shouts Nandor before grabbing two foam swords from off the rack and swinging them in both hands like a mad man.
Taking a cautious step back you hold your pathetic five dollar sword in both hands like a true warrior ready for battle, “Only one shall leave this place alive.” You affirm with a smirk, “And it’s not going to be you.”
“Arrrrrggg.” Bellows your lover as he charges you like the true conqueror that he once was. But all to soon do you swiftly duck under his arms and swat him over his stomach with a confident thwack sound.
He makes a puny little “oww” as you turn around to face him once again, “Y/N you hit me kind of hard.” He complains, looking rather defeated and genuinely hurt that you could have intentionally injured him on purpose.
Bringing the plastic weapon down to your side once again, your face suddenly softens as you walk over to him, “Come here you big baby.” You quip sincerely as he leans down so you can give his cheek a quick kiss.
Rising back to his full height, Nandor almost blushes as the corners of his eyes crinkle into a happy smile, “Actually it didn’t hurt at all I just wanted you to kiss me.” Reveals the vampire with a proud grin as you simply roll your eyes.
“Should have known.” You add before turning and snatching up four more plastic foam pirate swords for the others. “Alright let’s get outta here, follow me my love, to the checkout line we shall purchase our weapons of war and partying on the high seas.” You announce with gusto as Nandor stands proudly at your side, ready to follow you anywhere.
“Yes. To check out.”
——
Kicking open the unlocked door, Nandor bursts into the vampire residence with bags full of goodies for Nadja’s birthday party. You right behind him but less dramatically, “We’re back!” You shout to no one in particular as Colin Robinson suddenly appears from out of nowhere, looking ready to leave with his funny little hat and usual beige jacket.
“Oh hey guys,” He starts with a friendly nod, “I’m just heading out on the town tonight. I guess there’s a fair or something in the park and I wanted to test my skill at the ball toss. I’ve been reading up on the body mechanics and how the game is set up which seems pretty basic all in all. Also I really want to win a stuffed bear this time, it might add a little pizazz to my room. Welp see ya’round.” Adds Colin before walking past the two of you without another word and out into the night he goes with some of the camera crew following close behind.
Nandor turns to you with a look of annoyance, “Jeesh I thought he would never leave. Let’s go to your room I want to kiss you some more now.”
“Why my room?”
“Because since you are half vampire you get to sleep in a bed and because I am a full vampire I sleep in a coffin.” Inquires Nandor while looking at you with those big beautiful dark eyes of his, “And my coffin is too small for cuddles so your room will suffice.”
“Yeah that’s a fair point.” You shrug before following him to your room.
After many cuddles leading to other more rated R type activities that lasted until just about sunrise, you finally got some well needed rest while the sun shone high in the sky until she began her dramatic descend back into oblivion. Opening your eyes you slowly rise from out of your comfy bed, already missing the presence of your obsidian eyed lover.
He gets too nervous about your closed windows for fear that the sun might burn him which would be impossible because you black out the glass. But alas, he’s very cautious about these types of things and won’t risk it for anything, though he feels bad about leaving you in the morning, you understand.
Suddenly it dawns on you that today or perhaps tonight, is Nadja’s birthday and you completely forgot to set up any decorations. Shit, how stupid. Throwing the blankets off of you, your feet move quick as you speedily change yesterday’s outfit for something a bit nicer and more clean.
Racing out of your room and into the dimly lit manor hallway, you make a bee line for the attic but before you’re able to reach the steps, Guillermo runs into you, just about knocking you into a wall of various stolen ancient weapons. Sharp ones at that.
That was close.
“Y/N are you okay!” Worries the familiar as you quickly gather your bearings.
“Guillermo! The decorations! Nadja’s birthday!” You whisper yell as the human man simply smiles. “Why are you smiling, this situation does not call for smiles.”
“Don’t worry. While you were sleeping I set up all the decorations.” He replies with a shrug, “No problem.”
“What? But that must have taken you all day, you could have asked me for help. I would have come.” Your brows furrow as he shakes his head, though you still feel bad for not helping with anything.
“Well I did try, but um,” Gullimero awkwardly clears his throat, giving the camera a quick glance, “Nandor was with you and last time I asked for you while you and him where having alone time he threatened to carve out my eyeballs and force feed them to me.”
Pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance you take a deep breath, “Sounds like him. Very creative when he wants to be, alright, well....where’s everyone?”
“Oh, they’re not up yet. I was actually on my way to get you. I made blood popsicles and the pool floaty is all done and in the pond.” He says with a sense of pride for his decorating skills. “I think she’ll like what we’ve come up with this year.”
-
Standing in the living room with your three fellow immortals you search a dresser for her card, “Oh shit where’s my card? I could have sworn I had it yesterday on my dresser but I don’t remember seeing it there in the morning. Maybe it’s in this one?”
“Witches!” Hisses Nadja as you huff in frustration, where the hell did you put that damn card?
“Oh, Y/N my love,” Intervenes Nandor with a gentle tug of your sleeve, “I took it with me when I left your room before sunrise because I wanted to put my name on it too so she would know it’s from us.”
“What?” Replies Lazlo dramatically, “Now hold on just a damn minute, this card competition is individually scored so I won’t be having any of this nonsense. I worked really hard on mine this year.”
“Oh lick a donkey’s arse, look here,” You retort with, quickly holding up the card for Nadja, “there are two separate drawings on ours so either way if one of us wins she gets both our pictures. So you better hope your drawing doesn’t resemble a night clubs bathroom wall.”
“Yeah.” Mutters Nandor, who’s hiding behind you while resting both hands on either one of your shoulders as you glare at Lazlo.
“Fine.” Agrees Lazlo begrudgingly, “And mine will be amazing, this bitch of paper took me a whole six months to plan and produce. Can’t get quality this good anywhere else I guarantee it.” Adds Lazlo with a firm nod of self approval as you glance at the nearby camera.
“Right, okay everyone sit it’s time for presents. I want to know what you all got me.” Beams Nadja excitedly as she smiles a fangy grin in delight, plopping herself down in one of the arm chairs. Lazlo quickly finding the other one while you and Nandor seat yourself on the large couch. Colin and Guillermo finding somewhere to sit close by respectfully.
“Well, all I can say is hold onto your socks my dear cause this is going to blow you away.” Smirks Lazlo as he pulls a small box from out of his jacket pocket.
“If it’s a self made business card that says invitation to sexy town I will puke.” You deadpan while Nandor laughs from beside you, causing Lazlo to lose his smirk as Nadja hides her amusement the best she can manage.
“He he, sexy town, nice one Y/N.” Mutters Nandor with a proud grin as you raise a brow at Lazlo who’s giving you a hard glare.
“Oh, my dear pumpkin pie love, don’t listen to Y/N I will love anything you gift me.” Encourages Nadja with a bright welcoming smile, no doubt immediately boosting Lazlo’s once irked mood.
Rolling your eyes you shift a bit to find yourself leaning into Nandor’s body as Nadja opens up the rest of the vampire residents various gifts. A joyous fangy smile gracing her pale features every single time, revealing this birthday party was a thrilling success.
After much more fun that just about lasts throughout the whole night, and some rare but hilarious attempts at dancing between the five of you vampiric individuals. You’re feeling rather sleepy and you can tell Nandor is ready for a trip to dreamland as well.
Swaying to the lowly playing record instrumental, you hold Nandor tight while simultaneously enjoying the feeling of him so close, him doing just the same as he keeps you firmly pressed against his chest. His long dark hair tickles your face as he presses his head to your cheek, doing his absolute best to keep the flow without tripping up.
Sensing his growing fatigue, you gently squeeze his hand, “My love the sun will be up soon, let’s get you to bed, yes?”
A small lazy smile tugs at the corners of his lips while he looks down to meet your gaze, “But my dark angel I’m not tired. I want to dance with you a little longer.” He whines adorably before failing to conceal a big yawn.
Giggling, you lean back to slowly lead him towards the door, “That yawn says otherwise.”
“That wasn’t a yawn Y/N, I was just smiling really big.” He protests, though he still follows your lead to the door.
“I’ve never seen anyone smile like that.” You add with a raised brow.
“Well maybe that’s just how I smile.”
Letting out a breathy snort, you pull away from him to at last take his one hand, “Come. I can’t have a single ray of that dreaded sun to get a taste of your precious skin. Not on my watch.”
Glancing at the closed front door, Nandor squeezes your hand, “Well um, now since you’ve mentioned the sun...I think I’d like to go to my crypt now.” He says, the flash of worry crossing over his face for only a brief moment.
“You sure? I mean a sunrise is pretty beautiful if I’m being honest and I know you never get to see them...”
“Not funny Y/N. And not fair, you know I can’t because I am full vampire.”
“And you’re missing out.”
“And I’d like to stay alive Y/N.”
“Aren’t you dead?”
“Yes and I am your only husband so I need to stay not burnt to a crisp.”
Chuckling, you follow him down the hallway, “Oh really? Don’t want me finding myself with another vampiric lover? Some new beast to sweep me off my feet and take me away into the night.” You tease.
Side eyeing you, he frowns, “No. Don’t I sweep you off your feet?”
Stepping into his crypt you stop him with your hand against his bicep, “Always.” You whisper sincerely with a quick wink, causing him to break out into a big fangy grin.
“Good. And if anyone would try and whoo you I would make sure there would be no more whooing again!” Exclaims Nandor, making the candles rise in flame for only a short second at his rise in emotion for how much he loves you.
“I don’t doubt they would fall by your blade. Not for a second.”
#nandor the relentless#Nandor x reader#nandor x you#nandor x y/n#what we do in the shadows#what we do in the shadows x reader#vampire fun yeah#love my big huggable vampire#:)
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mine and my sister’s two hour wwdits/nandor x guillermo convo today
- the vamps just wanna be content and live a chill kind of life because they found their fam
- colin robinson potentially has guillermo’s phone number now so colin texts him all the time, annoying him, but eventually they actually form a friendship over texts and they bitch about the other vampires. one time they are in the fancy room with them all whilst nandor/nadja/laszlo are arguing about some bullshit and guillermo and colin are texting in front of them and they laugh at their phones. nandor stops arguing and looks at guillermo, “what are you laughing at?” “give me that”... “hey, I’m not being a whiny warrior!!”
- colin robinson’s looks to camera are EVERYTHING
- nandor struggles with change, he always talks about his human life and not much else in between. he struggles with the change in his and guillermo’s relationship and how he has to talk about his feeeeelings now
- so nandor struggles with the idea of turning guillermo because it’s a big change. maybe guillermo will want to leave and explore his new vamp life away from the place he’s been in for his whole life. maybe guillermo will realise that nandor is not as cool as guillermo think vampires are (although guillermo already gets exasperated with nandor but at the same time /is/ still ennamoured with his vampire status)
- guillermo knows that nandor struggles with change which is why he hasn’t pushed him thus far. but now guillermo feels more empowered with his slayer heritage and his secret activities (killing vampires lol) he feels the courage to push nandor. guillermo is understanding himself more and he needs and wants and desires. he’ll push nandor to answer him and hold him to making him a vampire. he’ll push him to acknowledge they care about each other, even though he knows if he does push too far nandor will pull away
- because nandor does push people away when he feels emotionally vulnerable around them. he knows he needs to change and be better for guillermo. with nadja/laszlo/colin robinson he knows he can just be his asshole self because they can be and, because they are fam, it’s kind of unconditional family love
- guillermo can handle change, to an extent. like he’ll go to celeste’s and get on there, he embraces his slayer life at times and is so ready (or he thinks he is) to be a vampire. in this way tho... how long will he wait for nandor to be brave?
- when push comes to shove, however, nandor will be vulnerable and talk about his emotions with guillermo so guillermo won’t leave (”collaboration” ep). he’d rather put himself out of his comfort zone than lose guillermo - but it will only be baby steps
- when nandor found out guillermo killed carol and was scathing him, he was also scared he might not able to protect guillermo from harm (not really knowing that guillermo is badass and can look out for himself)
- guillermo will be a sick vampire because unlike the rest (presumably) he’s made the choice to be a vampire and knows a lot about them and of course already has amazing innate physical abilities and fighting skills
- in vampire literature and movies the biting of the neck and sucking blood is always portrayed as quite sexual, and it’s almost awkward to think of nandor and guillemro doing it now because they don’t seem there in their relationship. it’s almost like leading up to a first kiss. it would be so intimate. and maybe that’s how it’s framed. nandor will be ready to turn guillermo when he is ready to confront and work through his feelings
- nandor is lonely
- maybe after all this leaving and secretive and emotional stuff going on nandor wants to bring their relationship back to strictly business, trying to force formality again
- guillermo is maybe a little overwhelmed as well by events
- head canon that when nandor looks for love guillermo is hurt and jealous and angry. so he dates too. he dates guys and nandor hatessss it. he tells him he can’t see them anymore and he’s his familair and it’ll distract from his duties but obvs guillemro is like if you can date, why can’t i? challening him to say why he doesn’t like it. nandor is like fine. nandor’s dating life doesn’t really work out (have you SEEN those teasers omg lol) but guillermo’s does and he likes the affection and respect and openness he gets from his dates and he sees one guy regularly. nandor obvs hates him but kind of watches it go on anyway, getting sadder and sadder and kind of feeling like this is good for guillermo (it is. he deserves it. he likes the guy. the guy is nice.) but. it’s not nandor. and nandor is so hurt and wants so much that he finally tells guillermo how he feels. and so on.
- colin robinson supremacy
just our thoughts and reflections on the characters! we don’t think this is all how the characters actually feel, but would they could feel and how we feel about their stories :)
#this is for wwdits/nandemro losers only lmao#i love my sister for this#im sure there was more we spoke about but ya know#i have but one small brain#idk who is actually gonna read this/care but i needed to get it out lmao#pre season jitters am i right#wwdits#nandor x guillermo#nandermo#nandermo to the max#what we do in the shadows#mypost
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I often wonder what nandermo's trajectory would have looked like had nandor's depression not been accelerated by his big bang crisis or Guillermo had been there for it to encourage him away from spiraling. He seemed really set on making Guillermo feel more equal until he got completely distracted by his own inadequacy and then, ya know, all the rest happened.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, anon. Things have been busy for me this month, work-wise, and I wanted to have time to think about it.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the fic I've written that's s3-era has this question in mind. I feel like Nandor was sort of spiraling for the entire season (frankly, I think you could probably trace it all the way back to season 1, if you wanted to) but things really started getting bad after Gail and his existential crisis in The Casino. It's when the ravages of time really seemed to start getting to him.
Like, I think learning about the fall of Al Qolnidar and seeing the death of his descendant kind of sparked that fixation with time? But Gail leaving him (again) and him realizing the cosmos was not how he imagined it turned all that into a full-blown crisis.
I think, though... I think Guillermo is actually part of the crisis. I think a lot of what started Nandor's downhill slide is this sense that he's not in control anymore. He's not in control of his past (Al Qolnidar is gone, he's forgotten his language, he's lost track of his descendants, etc.) he's not in control of his present (his shitty love life, his existential confusion, the council is not nearly as fun as he thought it would be) and the future is just stretching on and on and on. Like -- he can't even handle his now, and he's supposed to do this forever? Yikes.
And then there's Guillermo. Guillermo is paradoxically both Nandor's rock and the absolute epitome of how much control he's lost. He depends on Guillermo, but Guillermo isn't what he thought he was at all. He loves Guillermo, but he's having to come to terms with the fact that he doesn't know him. Guillermo's got this whole second life that Nandor doesn't have access to, and that makes him itchy. I think that's why we start seeing him ask Guillermo real questions in s3 and trying to get to know him. I think it's why he wants to go on this world trip with him. I think it's why he tests him.
(I think it's why we start to see him develop an interest in Guillermo's family in s4, and why Nandor ended up being so fucking weird about Freddie...)
Also, like... as much as Guillermo is good at comforting Nandor, he's also very good at enabling him. Like, Guillermo knows Nandor's in crisis in s3. I suspect he probably knows about the whole Big Bang thing in detail, especially because it was basically the first thing Nandor said to him when he came back to the US. But Guillermo isn't actually that good at defusing situations with Nandor, if we're being real with each other. He kind of goes along with his insanity sometimes, only stopping him when things have gone way too far.
Some of that is probably habit (he's so used to being subservient) and some of that is like... I mean, he likes Nandor. He wants to help him. He's desperate to be needed. But he's also willing to help Nandor in Nandor's way when he should be helping him in Guillermo's way. Like... sometimes you need to go along with a whole citizenship farce, but sometimes you need to yell at him and snap him out of it. Sometimes you gotta slap the vampire!
But Guillermo still doesn't do that very often in s3, though he's clearly more comfortable with it in s4. (Though... he does still do the familiar fights...)
But yeah, I'd go so far as to say that a lot of Nandor's crises are actually specifically spurred on by Guillermo trying to "help" and just making things weirder and more dangerous.
So... could he have averted all the bullshit in late s3 if he'd tried?
....probably not.
I think things were doomed to blow up one way or another, and Nandor's bad choices (along with some simple bad luck) just picked the way it happened. That said, I do definitely think that things could have gone very differently for nandermo if a few key events hadn't happened in s3 -- imo, the cult and the box.
Nandor was desperately reaching out for ways to find meaning in his life, and the first time, when he went to live with Jan, he left Guillermo to do it. The second time he threatened to do the same, but I think he'd learned his lesson. He was going to bring Guillermo with him on his trip.
And then he wasn't able to.
This trip was supposed to be his way of righting his life. Finding meaning. Clawing back control. He didn't want to think about mortality (see: Colin Robinson) or abandonment (see: Laszlo and Nadja) or existentialism (see: Jan). He wanted to go on a fun trip with the only person who made him feel safe anymore and figure things out.
But we all know how that went...
Like. Yes, obviously things would be different if not for those two events. But I do think that their relationship would have spiraled out of control anyway just because Nandor still has that root control problem with Guillermo. He's still picking away at him, trying to figure out what's real between them now and what's not. Trying to figure out who Guillermo really is and how much he can still trust him -- or, frankly, if he should be trusting him more.
There's a sort of manic edge to Nandor's interactions with Guillermo in s4, and I think it's the continued manifestation of that tension in him. He wants to pull Guillermo closer, he wants to figure him out, he practically wants to crawl inside his skin -- but Guillermo is starting to pull away. And that just makes him even more fucking unhinged about him. He can't handle going on another trip alone, y'know? He really does depend on Guillermo to make him feel safe, emotionally as well as physically.
He just... hasn't really figured any of that out yet, imo. He doesn't get why he does a lot of what he does, or how it all seems to come back to keeping Guillermo close to him and eradicating all the parts of Guillermo's life that he's not allowed to share.
He's so fucking stupid. :')
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I’m highkey yearning for the scenario where Nandor “Guillermo DEFINITELY didn’t kill Carol” the Relentless is absolute shit at pretending he isn’t hiding something from his other roomates.
He’s jumpy and twitchy, and he’s constantly whisking Guillermo out of the room if any of them even make eye contact with Guillermo. And when Nandor actually fucking throws Laszlo out the window after he walks in on Guillermo cleaning dust off the floor (they’ve been having quite a lot of dust lately, Guillermo really needs to start doing something about that), they call an emergency house meeting because things are just getting ridiculous.
And Nandor’s worried when he gets to the meeting because oh satan they’re all staring at him, and Guillermo’s out on another stupid errand run, and oh dear this is starting to look more like an intervention than a normal house meeting.
Colin actually attempts to start the meeting calmly, a small, “Nandor, we’ve noticed you’ve been acting a little... off lately—“ that abruptly gets cut off with Nadja yelling at him, “We know what you’ve been hiding from us, you little shit!” (and Nandor could have sworn he saw the little Nadja doll in the back nodding sagely, but thats impossible—)
And Nandor’s full on sweating now—he didn’t even think that was possible anymore— because he knows even after 10 years, the others just kind of barely tolerate Guillermo and are definitely going to kill him for killing another vampire. And Nandor wants to protect Guillermo, he really does. But Nadja and Laszlo and even Colin Robinson (fucking guy) are much stronger than they look and theres no way he’d win in a 3-to-1 fight, and oh god he and Guillermo are going to have to flee to the countryside and become goat farmers to avoid being killed, and he’s supposed to be Nandor the Relentless, not Nandor the Goat Herder—
But then he finally registers what Nadja has continued yelling at him, an exhasperated flurry of, “—and we get it, we understand that the honeymoon period can be a little passionate and intense. But that’s no excuse for putting Colin Robinson in a headlock for asking Guillermo if he could check the miniature ice box in his closet-room!”
“I honestly just wanted to check if I left my pudding cup in there—“
“Shut up, Colin. As I was saying, your jealousy is getting out of control, and you very badly trying to keep your relationship a secret from us is not only making you even more insufferable to deal with, but is also rather insulting.”
And before Nandor even has a chance to ask what the fuck Nadja is talking about, Laszlo continues, “We know, we know. We understand that vampire-familiar relationships are generally looked down upon and greatly discouraged—“
“I thought they weren’t allowed.”
“Shut up, Colin, it’s not actually written down anywhere. But as I was saying, we’ve known each other for decades, Nandor. You and Gizmo shouldn’t have felt the need to hide your love-making, at least not from us, my old friend!”
And Nandor’s man enough to admit his brain had actually stopped working at those words. He’s gaping at them, sputtering nonsense, and Laszlo’s clapping him on the shoulder and Nadja actually looks like she actually feels a little sorry for him.
And of fucking course thats when Guillermo arrives home and walks into the meeting room to see Colin looking vaguely constipated, Laszlo stiffly patting Nandor on the back, and Nadja looking torn between punching Nandor through the roof or getting him another expired baskin robbins coupon to make him feel better.
All their eyes turn to Guillermo, and before he can even ask what in world is going on, Colin calmy states, “Sorry, Guillermo. But the cat’s out of the bag.”
Nandor sees the way Guillermo freezes at that, sees the way Guillermo’s hand twitches minutely, ready to grab the barely repaired broom and use it as an impromptu stake to defend himself.
(and Nandor swears he shivers in fear at Guillermo’s deadly competency, definitely not any other emotion, and his pants don’t feel a little tighter why would you ask something like that—)
He also sees the way Guillermo’s jaw clenches, and the way his eyes are starting to look a little watery, and “Master, how could you tell them that—“
But before Guillermo can give anything away, Nandor’s instantly across the room. He slides his arm around Guillermo’s back, tightly grips at the back of his neck in a silent plea to please shut up for 5 seconds, and very loudly and quickly anounces, “I’m sorry, Guillermo. We just couldn’t hide our love from three amazingly intelligent and perceptive vampires such as our roommates. What fools we were!”
“I’m sorry, excuse me?”
And Nandor feels a little better for a second that he’s no longer the only one gaping, but Laszlo helpfully supplies, “The jig’s up, Gizmo. But fear not! Your secret’s safe with us, no other vampires need to know you and Nandor have been bumping uglies in the night,” which is thankfully enough to keep Guillermo speechless for some time.
“Honestly, we’re mostly just surprised it took so long for you guys to finally get together,” and what in fuck’s name is that supposed to mean, Colin. But Nandor can feel Guillermo on the verge of a confused mental breakdown and decides that they’ve had quite enough of this meeting. He’s starting to steer them out of the room, pretty sure he’s blabbering nonsense about how yes, him and Guillermo are definitely in a romantic relationship and that’s totally the secret they’ve been keeping from everyone—
When Nadja and Laszlo leave them with parting gifts of, “So can you please stop acting like you’ve committed a crime? We’d much rather deal with walking in on you fucking than almost getting stabbed for sneezing in Guillermo’s direction,” and, “Really, you’re both acting as if you’ve killed a vampire or something!”
Nandor and Guillermo both sprint out of the room at that, Nandor’s arm still tight around Guillermo’s waist. Because while at least the others haven’t realized Guillermo’s killed vampires, now they have to pretend they’re apparently madly in love until everything calms down in the house again.
And it shouldn’t be too hard to sell, to fake it around the others. Nandor considers himself an excellent actor, and it’s not like he’s actually in love with his familiar—
But then he glances down at Guillermo’s wide eyes, his irresistably flushed cheeks, his parted lips ready to ask a million questions once they’re finally alone. Sees his pulse point jumping, goddamn smells Guillermo’s intoxicating blood running through his veins— ready to rip apart anyone who dares try to drain Guillermo of that blood—
And Nandor has the sinking feeling that becoming a goat farmer might be easier than what he’s about to endure.
tldr; give me a Nandor x Guillermo fake dating to hide that Guillermo’s a vampire slayer fic because I am THRIVING IN THIS TENSION
#nandor x guillermo#wwdits#shadows fx#nandor#guillermo#nandor the relentless#guillermo de la cruz#y’all i am still screaming PLEASE someone write this out or I will#THEYVE LITERALLY GIVEN US THE PERFECT SETUP FOR FAKE DATING AU#also dying at the thought of laszlo just saying#‘looks like blood isnt the only thing Nandor’s sucking tonight-‘#after the two of them flee the room#and nadja throwing laszlo out the window herself for that line#laszlo#nadja#colin robinson
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Leftovers - Part 8 - Nandor the Relentless x Reader Fanfic
Previous parts: Masterlist
Summary: The night of the vampire orgy arrives and brings with it a boat load of angst!
A/N: I decided to just run with it and let my angst flag fly. Bon appetit!
Warnings: Female reader, Angst, dumbassery, idiots in love, infidelity I guess
---
The cameraman steps up to the barred window of the cell and points his lens inside. You’re curled up with Guillermo on a hastily installed couch, leaning into one another for warmth in the cold, damp room. A mouse scurries across the floor and something drips from the ceiling over your heads.
“You don’t think they forgot about us, do you?” you ask, trepidation clear in your voice. You tug the sleeves of your sweatshirt down to cover your frozen hands and press yourself further into his body for warmth.
Guillermo glances at the camera with a wince as he lies, “No. I’m sure they didn’t forget us.”
---
Earlier in the evening:
“The last orgy was a bit of a disaster and I never got to use it…”
Nandor stands in the middle of his room, doing a twirl for the camera to show off his outfit. Chains and leather straps crisscross his bare chest, and his waist and legs are studded with protruding dildos of varying sizes.
“Life of the orgy!” he gushes.
There’s a beat of silence that follows and then a muted question from the documentary crew, “And will...[unintelligible]...be participating in the orgy?”
Nandor avoids answering, looking away from the camera and baring his fangs in a nervous smile.
---
Guillermo’s lying across your bed, absently scrolling on his phone while you dig through your closet, holding up and rejecting piece after piece. Your “style,” if you could call it that, consists almost entirely of work out clothes, derby merch and the odd sundress for special occasions. Not exactly ripe pickings for a vampire orgy ensemble. But you know you still have that pair of fishnets from when you first joined the league and you figure you can build a look around them.
“So, you’re not gonna wear the t-shirt?” Guillermo grins, rolling onto his side and showing off the highly fashionable “Do Not Eat” shirt.
“Nandor will protect me,” you reply automatically, your voice is muffled from the back of the closet. “I just moved in! How can it be such a disaster already?”
Guillermo gets up and comes over to lean on the door frame of the closet as he cautiously warns, “Uh...okay, but...Nandor isn’t--um--he’s not known for being very reliable in social situations…”
Guillermo’s mind flashes back to the time at Simon the Devious’s club, when Nandor would have gladly handed him over to a strange vampire just to avoid confrontation. Still, his loyalty tugs at him and he adds, “I mean, his heart is in the right place...most of the time. But he just gets so excited and he has this need to impress when he’s around other vampires.”
You back out of the closet, clutching the rogue fishnets victoriously in your hands and looking back at Guillermo quizzically, “I know he can be flakey, Guillermo. But...he loves me.”
You recall the words falling from his lips that night...my love...and an irresistible smile forms on your lips.
Guillermo stares at you, gobsmacked, for a moment before replying, “Alright, Smash. But...are you sure you even want to go? I mean--and don’t be offended--you lost your virginity like a minute ago and now you’re going to an orgy?”
Heat spreads across your face and you look pointedly away from your friend. You walk over to the bed and pick up the little card from your nightstand, smiling down at it and tracing your fingers over the glittery letters. After a minute you finally answer, “It’s not--I mean, I’m not going to...do anything with anyone else. I just have to be there because…”
Because you’re afraid your boyfriend is going to have insane vampire sex with strangers if you don’t keep an eye on him… Because you’re too chicken to actually talk with him about it… Because what if he thinks you’re silly and stupid and decides being with a human is just as boring as he always assumed?
Guillermo reads your thoughts on your face and he croons, “Oh, honey. Listen, I was here for the last orgy. And, even though it never really got going… Smash, it’s not something for the faint of heart.”
“I’m not faint of heart!” you insist, your voice pitched up in indignation.
“No!” Guillermo agrees, moving to sit beside you on the bed. “No, you’re not. You’re in love with an immortal blood-sucking fiend who has centuries of experience on you, though. And you’re very, very new to...all of this. I don’t want to see you get hurt. You should talk to him.”
You can tell from his tone that Guillermo isn’t optimistic about the likelihood of Nandor understanding your human worries and actually changing his ingrained behavior in response. But you know he’s right, you should still talk to him.
---
You find Nandor in his room, making a few last minute adjustments to his attire. As soon as you set eyes on him you stop in your tracks, making an involuntary choking sound as you take in the ridiculous number of enormous dildos strapped to his body.
Nandor looks up as you enter and he puffs out his chest, stalking toward you with his arms held up and his mouth open in a menacing hiss.
“What do you think, my mortal? Do you want to run in fear...or do you want to come?”
You can’t think of a single thing to say to that. All that’s running through your head as you stare, transfixed, at Nandor’s ridiculous costume, is that he clearly hasn’t planned this with his freshly deflowered lover in mind.
You finally clear your throat nervously and mutter, “That’s what you’re planning to wear?”
You look down at your PJ pants and hoodie, feeling suddenly, painfully ordinary. How could you have ever thought you were a match for someone as intense, seductive and dangerous as Nandor the Relentless?
Nandor misses your reaction and enthuses, “Isn’t it great? If I position myself just right--” he drops into a squat-- “I can accommodate two astride each knee and hip while still having room at my pelvis…”
He starts thrusting into the air lewdly and you hold out your hands to stop him.
“Nandor,” you’re at a loss for words, feeling a hollow ache in your chest already anticipating the hurt to come. “I thought now that we’re...an item...you might want it to just be you and me, tonight.” And forever.
Nandor stops mid-thrust with a quizzical expression, “At an orgy?”
“Well…” how to explain your seemingly very human sensibilities on monogamy. “You said you love me, right?”
Nandor rises and comes toward you, looming over your smaller frame and taking your shoulders in his large hands as he answers, “Yes, my sweet mortal. But what does that have to do with the vampire orgy? Didn’t Nadja explain to you--?”
“Yes, yes!” you interrupt, frustrated. “But I don’t want you to...have sex with anyone else! Not while we’re…”
The cameraman bumps into a heavy lamp by the door, momentarily drawing Nandor’s attention. Suddenly feeling the weight of expectation on his shoulders, Nandor bristles and straightens his shoulders as he answers your concern.
“But you are my human,” he says, slowly as if he’s explaining to a child. “I am not your vampire.”
You close your eyes for a second, holding a hand to your chest as if you can somehow stop the damage happening inside. You really didn’t think he could hurt you so much with just a few words.
Desperately you try one last approach, “But...if you’re going to be busy having crazy, acrobatic sex with all these strange vampires...how are you going to protect me? Or do you think Nadja’s t-shirt is really going to stop someone who’s determined?”
“Ahhh!” Nandor cries with a relieved smile. “That’s your worry! Well, fear not, my human. I have worked out the perfect arrangement to keep both you and Guillermo safe for the evening.”
---
Nandor, wearing a heavy, fur-lined robe over his sex gear, leads you and Guillermo down the narrow staircase into the basement. You haven’t been down here since your first night in the house, when Nandor locked you up in the cell to save for later. Though it’s late April, there’s snow on the ground outside and a chill in the air. As you descend the steps the temperature drops even more. But you hardly notice in your effort to keep yourself from falling apart after your disastrous discussion with Nandor. Your eyes are trained on the broad expanse of his back, as if you can somehow will him to turn around and really see how much you’re hurting. Guillermo takes your hand in his and gives it a squeeze.
“Here we are!” Nandor announces, stopping in front of the human cell with a grandiose sweep of his arm. “I’ve made it nice and cozy for you. You’ll be locked up safe and sound, so no wandering vampires can get you. And I’ll come down and let you out before dawn.”
You glance skeptically inside and see that one of the couches from the library has been moved down here for your comfort. Other than that it’s still the same damp, dark, depressing cell you remember.
“Nandor, this is...extreme,” you complain, looking up to meet his eyes for the first time since you left his room after he said those harsh words. You see his gaze flicker as he takes in your red-rimmed, tear-misted eyes, but his expression is inscrutable.
“I agree, master. We could just stay upstairs in Smash’s room…”
“Silence, Guillermo!” he hisses, not taking his eyes off of you. He reaches up to cup your face in his hands and his expression softens. “This is the safest place for you to be. Only I have the key to the cell. You will be...protected.”
“I don’t care about being protected!” you cry. “I just want--”
“Enough! My word is final on this!” Nandor cuts you off and his tone is closer to the one he uses for Guillermo. You shrink away from his touch and he looks crestfallen for a second, but then he straightens his spine adopting the warrior’s confidence that he wears like a robe to cover what’s underneath. “Into the cell, now. Both of you.”
The door closes with a creak of its hinges and the heavy thunk of the lock sliding into place.
Nandor peaks through the barred window and waves at the two of you, “Alright, have a good night! Wish me luck at the orgy!”
His footsteps echo through the basement as he walks away, trailing the camera crew behind him. Once they leave, the cell is only dimly illuminated by the guttering flame of a single candle stick mounted on the wall outside. You meet Guillemo’s eyes silently for a long moment and then plunk down onto the couch and cry.
---
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Nandor curses frantically as he clambers down the basement steps, two at a time.
It’s the night after the orgy. He’d gone to bed at dawn feeling drained--literally and figuratively--and covered in the slow-to-heal puncture wounds characteristic of vampire fangs. The orgy was a resounding success. Though, truth be told, Nandor spent much of the night going through the motions as his mind fixated on the look of hurt betrayal on his human’s face before the party. He couldn’t understand why you’d begrudge him a night of dark fornication, a celebration of his vampiric identity. Nor why you’d resent his efforts to keep you safe from the violent debauchery. All he knew for sure was that with each new sexual encounter of the evening he found himself missing you and wishing more and more that you were by his side.
That is, until he and Laszlo partook of some opium infused blood towards the end of the festivities. Nandor stumbled to bed with a pleasant buzzing in his head that completely drowned out the small voice warning him that there was something important he’d forgotten.
“She’s going to be pissed!” he hisses into the camera while rushing down the dark corridor toward the cell. As he approaches the door he says, louder, “Good evening! Wake up time! Everyone have a nice sleep?”
He turns the key in the lock and swings open the door, ducking inside with a grimace of trepidation. He finds you curled up with Guillermo on the couch. The two of you are shivering against the cold that feels like it’s settled permanently into your bones. You’ve spent an entire night and a day locked in a frigid cell without a blanket, food, or any amenities whatsoever.
Nandor fiddles his fingers nervously and asks, “Guillermo...mortal...are you alright?”
It’s Guillermo who finally answers, “You forgot about us.”
“No, no...not exactly,” Nandor denies. “But you know how it is with guests over. Things get very hectic--”
“You forgot,” Guillermo repeats. “About. Us.”
Nandor’s shrugs helplessly, “A...bit. I forgot a bit.”
You can feel the intensity of his eyes on you, but you refuse to look up as you stand on shaky legs and make your way around him and out of the basement.
Nandor stands there silently for a moment before turning to the camera and mouthing, “Fuck.”
---
Tags:
@festering-queen @kandomeresbitch @strangestdiary @glitterportrait @scuzmunkie @redwoodshadows
#nandor#nandor the relentless#nandor x reader#nandor the relentless x reader#nandor the relentless imagine#nandor the relentless fanfic#wwdits#wwdits fanfic#what we do in the shadows#what we do in the shadows fanfic
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Today is a good day. I finally got my hair cut, the dvd player I assumed to be lost in the mail came a day early, and I was finally able to sit down and watch Interview with the Vampire
I was expecting to make a bunch of WWDITS refrences and jokes, and I did, but it was also surprisingly similar to the Hannibal series. Like, way too similar. As in, if you’re gonna read my live reactions, know that there are spoilers for that show, especially the end of season 2.
Anyway, tomorrow I’m gonna cover either Lost Boys or Only Lovers Left Alive since I have the dvds for those and now that I have access to a dvd player, I wanna watch them
Enjoy!
Interview with the Vampire
I really gotta finish reading the book, but what I can say right now is that I expected it to be super straight and I was convinced that the clerk at the bookstore would judge me like “ew vampire simp” but they probably just thought I was even gayer than I look agsgudkhk
I was confused about why there was a modern bridge until I remembered that this is supposed to be told as a flashback
How many WWDITS jokes do you think I’m gonna make?
JAYWALKING? HOW DARE
Anne Rice wrote the screenplay? Huh. I’m glad it means that no one gets to try to make this straight
“What do you do?” “I’m a vampire” Louis I love you
The actor playing the interviewer looks familiar
Making a post-viewing note to say that I figured out where I knew him from and it broke me
The interviewer thinks that he’s a weirdo but he’s a whole ass supernatural being
The long hair gives me Nandor vibes
“Shall we begin when I was born to darkness” dude shut up
I’ve already complained about this in the book but can we please stop making confederate vampires? Thanks
He just opens up his shirt sguahaukhd and Lestat is in the corner watching. I bet it wasn’t even Louis wanting to die that drew him in it was seeing him shirtless
I could insert an essay about how vampire bites are inherently queer but the creators clearly know that, the music was weirdly romantic and Lestat was literally sweeping him off his feet
Oh this is GAY gay
This is even more queer than the book I was terrified that they would try to straightwash everything
Bruh Lestat just got it over with in the book here he’s making a whole date out of it
Lestat you’ve asked him if he wants to be turned like 8 times just fucking do it
I can’t tell who is more like Nandor in this situation. Probably Lestat since they’re both edgelords
Ow that does not look fun
“Happens to us all” hah nice
Where’d the blood go? I swear i’m not gonna pull a cinema sins but I was already thinking about how he’d need to clean up
I adore their vests
“When you wake I’ll be waiting for you” gay.
“My friend” oh that was a very not straight way of saying that
“I don’t wanna kill people” “Oh don’t worry I got you covered” Lestat my beloved
Dinner date??? Dracula???
Lestat juicing the rat is so funny for no reason
Insert essay about drinking rat blood from a super fancy glass
Lestat eating the rich is a vibe
Vampires can read thoughts?
Well, Lestat can
“Evildoers are easier and they taste better” Lestat is the best
Oh my god this movie is so bisexual
Nevermind Louis is more of a Nandor because they both like MILFS/GILFS
Homoerotic fight? Hell yes
Codependency isn’t good Lestat it’s abusive
I have mixed feelings about the way Louis’s slaves are portrayed in the book and the movie
Oh god Louis’s eating chickens Venom-style
I don’t like this
Dude you bit her people usually scream when they get bitten by someone
Lestat is angy
I actually adore Lestat. I hated him in the book because he was abusive to Louis but he’s fun here
Did he bite her boob?
Ok so vampires don’t necessarily need to bite someone’s neck in this version. I still don’t know where that came from
“It’s your coffin my love enjoy it” agshkdhkahu
Oh god I’m getting Hannibal vibes from Lestat is that why I like him so much?
Shit why am I getting gender envy for an actual psychopath
Did they break up? :(
Is the plague an actual plague or vampire attacks?
Oh no don’t eat the child
Lestat is me
LESTAT WHY ARE YOU DANCING WITH A CORPSE AGYASJYGJ
Lestat you didn’t
You fucking baby trapped him
I made those hannibal comparisons as a joke
“Surprise! The kid you thought you ate is alive!”
Do not turn the child. Bad idea
He turned the child
Just don’t leave it in the Bronx
She suddenly looks super fancy and put together?
“You must stop before the heart stops”
“Our daughter” Lestat shut the fuck up
Louis don’t make excuses you were baby trapped
Claudia is amazing I love her
I was expecting to make WWDITS jokes but it’s just devolved into “Hannibal but if Will didn’t betray Hannibal at the end of season 2 and they ran off and started a happy murder family”
Lestat really is just Hannibal with a better fashion sense and willingness to eat the rich
LOUIS WHAT WAS THAT TONGUE THING AGSYSGJY
Claudia is awesome
Oh no they’re fighting
Claudia’s situation is actually really sad
Lestat shut the fuck up
HELL YES STAB HIM
Ok this is very uncomfortable thing to hear from a child. I know she’s like, a lot older, but I don’t have to like this anime logic
Lestat needs to stop being so funny when he’s mad
“I’ve brought a present for you” DAMN HOW THE TURNTABLES TURN
Oh no Lestat is hungry
Claudia is giving me Guillermo vibes
Alcohol blood?
“We forgive each other then?” Don’t make me feel bad
HE DRANK THE DRUG BLOOD YESS HE DRANK THE DRUG BLOOD
I can’t remember why dead blood is bad I know it was in the book
“I’LL PUT YOU IN YOUR COFFIN” DAMN THAT WAS A RAW ASS LINE
Not them quoting fucking Hamlet
Don’t ask how I immediately knew that
Louis is the only one who actually recognizes when things are fucked up
DO NOT PUT HIM IN THE SWAMP THAT PRESERVES CORPSES
DON’T ASK HOW I KNOW THIS BUT SWAMP IS A BAD IDEA TO PUT A FUCKING VAMPIRE IN
VAMPIRES NOTORIOUSLY DON’T DECOMPOSE TAKE HIM OUT OF THE SWAMP
This is giving me Will and Abigail vibes
I like Claudia’s little cape thing
I FUCKING KNEW IT
YOU PUT HIM IN THE SWAMP YOU IDIOTS
Don’t call her a naughty little girl
He did
Oh no fire
Road trip?
Ship trip?
“We deserve your vengeance” NO YOU DON’T HE’S FUCKING ABUSIVE
Claudia has some great capes
Ok I have a lot to say about Bram Stoker but I will fight Louis for insulting him
Only I get to make fun of Stoker
Ok looks like it’s the 1880s?
She should have her hair up though.
Armand?
Are we gonna see Armand?
Oh that’s not Armand
BRUH WHY ARE YOU DANCING AHSHSUSGKK
I love Santiago
ANTONIO BANDERAS HELL YES
YEEEESSSSS
I know nothing about this man I’m just possessed by the spirit of Guillermo
Is she an actor?
Did they just kidnap some poor woman
Put her shirt back please
Oh I totally get why Guillermo wanted to be a vampire Armand is so cool
Please don’t say “no pain no gain”
Please put her clothes back
I had to lock my door otherwise someone’s gonna walk in and think I’m watching porn
“Monstrous” Yes Louis you’ve said that
Are all vampires this brooding and insufferable?
Sometimes I wish I was attracted to men just because I feel like I’m missing out
...you’re the oldest? You sure?
Don’t call him “beloved” you look like, 8, and he’s your dad
They really did quote this movie in WWDITS
“You would leave me for Armand if he beckoned you” OH BOY. I THOUGHT THAT THE QUEERNESS WAS JUST GONNA BE OBVIOUS BUT NOT OVERT
Please stop saying that Louis and Claudia are dating I was to throw up
“The world changes. We do not”
Are they about to kiss?
Please decide if she is his child or his girlfriend
Please don’t call him father and then kiss him on the lips I hate this so much
I am so confused what is going on
SUNLIGHT PIT?!?!
Jeez WWDITS took a lot from this movie
YES ARMAND
Oh wrong wall
Oh they’re dead
Ouch
Oh he’s mad
Louis really likes arson huh
This is literally the third building he’s set on fire
Oh no sunlight
Are they about to kiss? I’m genuinely asking
Bruh their faces were so close
Louis is a movie nerd adhkaduhku
Is Lestat alive?
He’s pretty stubborn about dying so far I wouldn’t be surprised
BAT
I really want Lestat to be alive
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Eat something jesus louisus
Oh of course he immediately says something gay
This is so gay
How long has Lestat been in that chair
Lestat has attachment issues
Interviewer has Guillermo energy
Oh my god the interviewer is fucking JD from Heathers
This is so so cursed
I do not know what to do with this information
LESTAT FUCK YES
He’s so extra akadgykfgyky
“Still whining” “Have you had enough? I’ve had to listen to that for centuries” Lestat my beloved
I had to pause I was laughing so hard
Anyway final notes: I rate this a 9/10, this was one of the most enjoyable movie experiences I’ve had in a while, but there were definitely some uncomfortable moments. As much as I consider this a highly influential piece of queer media, and it’s one of few vampire movies that make their queer vampires sympathetic rather than outright villanous, it suffers from a dangerous lack of intersectionality. People who are much smarter than I am have probably talked about the fact that Louis is literally a slave owner and that the portrayal of the slaves is as obstacles for the main characters rather than like, real human people in a horrible situation (it’s much worse in the book). As much as I loved this movie, I feel obligated to point out that it really fucked up there
Also the whole thing between Claudia and Louis made me want to throw up. I loved them both separately but the movie could not make up it’s mind about what to do with those two together.
Anyway, despite the fact that I went on a huge rant about the movie’s flaws, Lestat was what saved it for me. I hated him in the book but he was delightful here. Also, turns out that putting Tom Cruise in period dress makes me forget that he’s a scientologist
I highly recommend this movie, especially if you’re a fan of the Hannibal series
#wwdits#wwdits fx#what we do in the shadows#watching a vampire movie every day until the WWDITS hiatus ends#hannibal nbc#nbc hannibal#interview with the vampire
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I have to say, my biggest hope is that Guillermo is absolutely gonna get dragged back into all their bullshit and realize that his place is in this horrible, lovely house with these horrible, lovely people because, newsflash, he’s kind of horrible and lovely, too. As I’ve mentioned before, normal healthy human Guillermo with normal healthy human emotions is literally my nightmare scenario. lmao. Like damn, bro! I wanted you to blossom, yes! But into something equally feral, dude!
That said, I do think that’s probably what his arc is going to involve this season. That tension between the two worlds he’s standing in. They’re already really laying the groundwork for it, I think... Like we’ve got his human (slayer) family and his nice(?), human(?) boyfriend on one hand and this whole insane world that he’s dedicated his life to on the other. I know he’s trying to learn to balance the two, but I do think that he’s going to find that, some concessions aside, he’s going to have to make a choice eventually.
I think the choice is to some degree obvious, because if he goes full normie he’ll leave the house and the show’s already been renewed. lmao. But I also think there are hints that he’s not as well-adjusted as he keeps saying he is, and that he’s doomed to keep getting sucked into their unbelievable bullshit. I think the problem is... Guillermo, deep down, enjoys their bullshit. He enjoys being needed. And he can say that he’s just staying to be Nandor’s best man and just staying to make sure this child does not die (talk about an open-ended project...) but I do think he just can’t fucking help himself. He will always allow himself to get persuaded back because this house is what he needs, even if it’s shit to and for him. And despite what he said, it took roughly five minutes for Nandor to convince Guillermo to let his life revolve around his insane desires again.
(I think my favorite Guillermo moment in the premiere was actually the moment the djinn was summoned. The fact that his instinct is STILL to whirl around and grab a knife to protect Nandor when the djinn appears! An all-powerful creature, just about, and Guillermo pulls a fucking knife on him! That’s the feral little gremlin I know and love!)
Honestly, I think s3 made it clear that Guillermo is potentially the craziest one there in that house and I’ve always loved that for him. I’m worried about his fairly “normal” priorities this season, but I do have to believe that it can’t last. Guillermo’s said that he’s looking out for number one and going straight (...so to speak) before, but that’s never lasted, either.
Like... I think that he is starting to long for a “normal” family, but his bio family will never be normal. They’re all slayers, and I’m sure at least some of them would murder Nandor in a heartbeat. (aka, the only vampire that Guillermo is still willing to admit he’s fond of.) He’s starting to long for a more emotionally fulfilling romantic relationship, but what can that even look like for him outside of the supernatural world? Is he just gonna try and hide that he’s a literal murderer for the rest of his life? Is he going to just stop being a slayer? Is that even something he’s capable of?
I can’t see dating someone “normal” working for him because Guillermo is not normal and I’m not sure he ever fully can be. You can’t build a relationship on lies, Guillermo! But damn, how do you date a normal person without lying about the things you’ve done? All the things you will likely continue to do?
I guess we’ll see!! I know a lot of people are happy to see Guillermo getting a little healthier but I’m practically turning into the devil on his shoulder like “okay, but isn’t being feral more fun?”
#it's certainly more fun to write about lmao#honestly the more I think about it the more I think Guillermo won't be able to have a normal relationship with a nice human#[spoilers for leaks to follow in tags]#like okay best case scenario Freddie ISN'T playing him#but we still know Guillermo's lying about every part of his life because how do you even explain that shit to a human?#much less a NICE one#like Guillermo's a murderer who has dedicated his life to murder and that's a fact#the only humans who would be chill with that are like... probably other familiars honestly#or full psychos lmao#wwdits#nandermo#wwdits s4 spoilers
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A Change in Perspective, Ch 9/14 -- Confession
Nandor goes to the witches for help with him vampire depression, and gets a potion that will help him figure out what he needs to be happy. It's not all smooth sailing--he may not like what the potion has to say, and everyone may not love the changes he's about to make, and no one can ever, ever find out that he went to the semen-stealing witches for help.
But hey. It's better than super slumber.
I'm sorry it's such a short chapter this was supposed to be part of the last chapter and I missed it but I promise I'll post the next one soon to make up for it ;-;
AO3 link
It was one thing to think “I am going to tell Guillermo how I feel” and another thing to actually do it. The first day he didn’t say anything, he told himself it was because Guillermo needed more time to adjust to the newness. The second day he didn’t say anything, he told himself the same—Guillermo had been so unsettled by the rapid changes.
The third day, he realized he was hiding in the library because Guillermo didn’t go in very often, and told himself he was a coward.
Nandor found Guillermo sliding out of his room with a shifty expression, pulling the door quietly shut behind him .
“Guillermo,” Nandor said, and Guillermo jumped, his heart rate speeding up. Nandor gave him a playful, stern look. “Are you trying to clean again?”
Guillermo gave him a sickly grin.
“Old habits,” he said, weakly, and Nandor smiled reassuringly.
“You’ll get used to it. Now, if you are not busy, there is something I need to talk to you about."
He waved Guillermo back into his room. Guillermo looked slightly panicked.
“Oh, I, I actually—”
“It is very important,” Nandor said. Guillermo went in, shoulders tense and grower tenser when Nandor shut the door behind them. The human’s expression was uncertain, even wary.
"It's a good thing," Nandor hurried to say. "I hope it will be a good thing. I think it a good thing, I hope you will think it is a good thing but it is okay if you don't--"
Nandor shook his head and made an irritable noise. Pull it together, Nandor. You're a grown man, you can confess your love without sounding like an idiot.
Probably.
"Guillermo," he said. "I wanted to say that...We have grown very close recently. For a long time you were just, you know, my familiar. Just sort of there. But recently I have come to recognize you as a real person. You are brave and honorable and clever and, and funny and very handsome and—”
Nandor was not sure how to end the sentence, but it turned out not to matter. Guillermo’s expression changed, and Nandor stopped talking, heart sinking. It was not a happy expression. It was almost a grimace, pained and uncomfortable.
"Nandor,” Guillermo said, his voice hollow as an empty coffin. “I--I'm--that's. I'm flattered, but I--"
"That is okay," Nandor interrupted, not wanting to have to hear Guillermo say it. He forced a reassuring smile. Guillermo looked away.
"I just don't think it's a good idea," the human mumbled.
"I understand," Nandor said, as if his heart wasn't being crushed into a little ball in his chest, crumpling like paper. "...I would like us to still be friends?"
"Yeah." Guillermo looked at him again, his eyes a little too bright. "Of course, always. I'm..." He began to move towards the door. "I should go."
"I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"No, no, it's okay. I'm fine."
But Guillermo didn't look back as he hurried out of the room. Nandor shut the door again, and slumped back against it. He rubbed his eyes, which were stinging. It had always been a possibility, he'd known that. The dream hadn't been a prophesy. Lilith had even said, up front, that he might not be able to get everything he saw in his dreams.
He reminded himself that could still be happy without Guillermo.
It didn't make him feel any better.
He would be happier with him.
Nandor sighed.
"Fuck."
#nandermo#guillermo de la cruz#nandor the relentless#wwdits#what we blog in the shadows#a change in perspective
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as I get ready to run out the door--
I think about s3e10 so much. Nandor says a lot at the end of that episode about testing Guillermo and such, and it’s really hard to tell how much of that’s the truth and how much of that is thinking on his feet so Guillermo won’t beat the shit out of him. I know a lot of people think the whole thing was bullshit and a lot of people think it was all true, but I think I fall somewhere in the middle?
Cut for length. This one got long, lmao. But it’s really the heart of the whole relationship, isn’t it...?
The one thing I am positive about is that Nandor is purposefully pressing Guillermo’s buttons in that episode. I think that much is clear. It feels like every action he takes in that episode is calculated to make Guillermo feel hurt and angry, and while that’s... honestly pretty par for the course with Nandor, this time it felt purposeful. There was an odd sense of waiting to Nandor in this episode. Like he’d say something just blatantly hurtful and mean and then he’d wait. If he’d just decided to go on this journey without Guillermo, that’d be one thing. That would square with a lot of his actions in s3. But things like telling Guillermo that he wanted to get away from him specifically, things like forcing Guillermo to say to him that he wasn’t a vampire so he couldn’t understand these things, etc. “Once a familiar, always a familiar.” It’s like he was purposefully trying to push him over the edge.
There’s this moment when Guillermo finally snaps that I just -- I have just watched it so many times, as my poor twitter followers can attest. When Guillermo isn’t even in the foreground, Nandor is, and he doesn’t even say anything at first. He just has this tense, measuring moment, like he knows they’re finally at the edge of the precipice and he’s about to see if Guillermo will take them over the edge. He truly does look like this is what he’s been waiting for. I believe him that far. The question is... why? And how long has he been waiting?
I initially thought this was just some lark of his in episode 10, that once he decided he wanted to leave, then he decided to figure out if it was safe to take Guillermo with him. The fight that he forced, imo, seemed to have been less about whether Guillermo has the power to protect him and more, y’know, what will happen if he pushes Guillermo too far? I feel like that undercurrent has been simmering between them even before s2e10, really. Probably ever since Carol, definitely since Guillermo lost his temper and left to be with Celeste. It’s like Nandor knows that Guillermo has limits now, and that he’s dangerous once he’s pushed past them. The real question for him then becomes... how dangerous? And towards whom? Will Guillermo ever hurt him? Even he doesn’t seem to have fully believed that the hypnosis worked (why even pick a fight if it did?), or at the very least he seems like he feels the need to test its efficacy.
I think that on the surface level, Nandor might have even been thinking “can I push him so hard that he will snap and forcibly take what he wants?” and to him, a former commander, that would read as “he’s getting soft and I want to make sure he’ll still do what’s necessary”. That much might’ve been true, in his head. But I think there’s a much more personal element to his antagonizing, which, again, is like. Okay, but if I do push him and he does snap, what will he do to me? Will he hurt me?
And he gets his answer, doesn’t he? Guillermo would hurt him, if Nandor hurt him enough first. It never fails to escape my notice that when Nandor throws his knife at Guillermo, it goes wide -- but when Guillermo throws it back, Nandor has to dodge. Guillermo is not fucking around in that scene. But, and this is key, Nandor also finds that Guillermo will instantly stop if Nandor asks him to nicely. So the key to handling Guillermo is, well, his humanity, and his love of Nandor. And I think once Nandor finally gets where the lines are, he’s much happier about bringing Guillermo on this trip with him. He knows what Guillermo will do, but he also knows where Guillermo will stop. I think that’s comforting for him.
The more I review the series, though, the more I become convinced that Nandor’s been cooking up this kind of half-baked idea in the back of his head since the beginning of the season. He’s clearly gone off on a lot of tangents throughout the season trying to find meaning for his life, but he does keep coming back to Guillermo. And I think maybe he does believe he’s been testing Guillermo? I mean, I think he has been testing Guillermo, actually, just maybe not on what he thinks he has.
It’s little moments, honestly, like Nandor watching Guillermo so, so closely in the dinner scene at the casino, when Nadja and Laszlo demand he go clean up the mess like a familiar. The way he looks so damn angry and disappointed when Guillermo finally acquiesces. Or the way he watches Guillermo and allows him to take charge in the episode with the Sire. That odd little note of pride in his voice when he tells the Baron that Guillermo managed to kill him.
I think Nandor really has been closely watching Guillermo’s actions throughout this whole season. In his mind, he might have been watching for signs of strength or weakness, like a commander would one of his soldiers. But I think it’s actually just the weirdness of it all, isn’t it? Nandor’s really had to mentally recategorize every interaction the two of them have had for years. Guillermo has had years to learn Nandor, but Nandor largely squandered that time. Now he has to play catch-up and learn Guillermo. He’s a threat now. But also a potential partner. I don’t know if Nandor is consciously thinking of that in romantic terms yet (I’d suspect not) but I do think he’s realizing that Guillermo has far, far more potential than he’s ever given him credit for, and he wants to explore that potential. He wants Guillermo at his side now, not behind him, and he wants to know what it means to have him at his side.
I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again. They managed to close the power differential in such complex and sometimes subtle ways, and I really do think a lot of that is shown in that damn piece of luggage. I’m not sure what was more surprising, that Guillermo would ask Nandor to do a favor for him, or that Nandor would agree. Every “favor” he’s ever done for him in the past has been the bare minimum, poorly executed, and quickly abandoned. (See: the beating-off pillow.) Agreeing to haul Guillermo’s luggage to the station (ironically, as Guillermo is taking care of Nadja & Laszlo’s) and then doing it feels more like he’s finally committing to a tenuous partnership in this journey of theirs.
So then, after Guillermo “abandons” him at the station, that last lingering shot of Guillermo’s luggage left on the platform has a bit more meaning. He’s finally gone out on a limb and given Guillermo a chance to be with him on a more level field, and then... Guillermo didn’t take it. There’s disappointment in Nandor’s actions there, but I think also a sense of... betrayal? I think him leaving that suitcase there is sort of him leaving that chance behind, too. The hope of a new relationship. And that sucks. :(
I guess what this long, rambling post is getting at is... well, I do think that Nandor was testing him. I think that this whole season has been Nandor prodding at the edges of their relationship to see what it is now. Will Guillermo hurt him? Physically? Emotionally? Is he still safe with Guillermo? What is Guillermo to him, now? A warrior at his side? A partner to help him think through problems? Someone to travel the world with and live a new life? I’m not sure even he knows. I think that’s why it’s so hard to puzzle out what Nandor’s motivations have been. I’m not sure even Nandor knows.
Why e10? I think the last push he needed was Colin Robinson’s “death”. I do think that made him reexamine his relationship with immortality. Like, I think he’s thus far been romanticizing the things that come with mortality, but being faced with actual death took a lot of the shine off it. That’s given him the push to change the way he’s been living and live his life to the fullest. Some of that is going off to find himself or some such bullshit, and some of that, I think, is finally nailing down this weird, nebulous thing with Guillermo.
I think... I think I would even go so far as to say he gave Guillermo two tests in s3e10. One physical and one emotional.
The first was, well, what would Guillermo physically do to Nandor if he pushed him too far? Guillermo “passed” that test. He wouldn’t allow Nandor to shove him around, he defended himself, but he also stopped when Nandor did. That was clearly what Nandor wanted to see. Someone who had the capability to stand toe-to-toe with him, but who loved him enough to stand down anyway.
But the second test was, like... What would Guillermo do once Nandor trusted him? Would he leave him again, like he did twice in s2? I think Nandor has a lot of anxiety around abandonment, and Guillermo has unknowingly fed into that a few times. And uh... Guillermo failed that test. Not of his own volition, obviously, but Nandor doesn’t know that. He didn’t show up. He left Nandor alone again. And that hurt Nandor deeply.
Like everyone else in this fandom, I’m desperate to see where s4 goes with this, especially now that Nandor’s working with so much disappointment and betrayal that Guillermo has in no way earned. I’m curious to see if his journey helps him work through any of these thoughts and feelings that he clearly has not fully dealt with.
(I’m also curious to see if Guillermo and Nadja are walking into what clearly looks like a trap, but whatever.)
ugh my heart I can’t stand it
#NOW THE VAMPIRE QUESTION IS SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY...#wwdits#nandermo#thinkin about these questions a lot as I write my current fic#nandor is not my favorite vampire actually but he's the one I keep coming back to#like a monkey trying to open a fucking walnut#I don't fully understand him and that makes me write so! many! words! about him!#rip me rip my fanfic rip my brain tbh
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