#why do i feel the need to suddenly start including demetri

[felixschokehold]

Uh oh this new chapter of my Felix fic with mild spice/angst is up and Demetri is fractionally involved is this gunna turn into a poly thing uhhhhhh

[americancowgirl19]

Puppet Master

Summary: Riley Biers, king from the shadows.

Warnings: angst, fluff, vampire mob shit

Reader: Female Vampire Reader

Pairings: Riley Biers x Female Vampire Reader

Word Count: 2,310

A/n: @fyeahtaylorp

Masterlist

“And what do we have here?” Aro questions, tilting his head as Felix forces the vampire he, Demetri, Jane and Alec brought back from America.

“This is one of the two vampires responsible for the newborn army in the Cullen territory, Master.” Jane tells him. “The other was torn apart and burned.”

Aro steps forward and places his hands on the American vampire. He struggles but is unable to escape Felix’s grip. Aro reads his mind. He sees his life, his death and his ‘resurrection’. He pays particular attention to the part in his memories where the Cullen boy, Edward, told the guards about this boy being his daughters mate.

“I see,” Aro whispers, pulling from him. As far as he could tell this vampire had no ability other than the fact that he is easily manipulated. For millenniums he had hoped that when his daughter finds her match they would be as useful as she is. The fact that he’s one step away from being useless is a disappointment.

His first instinct is to kill Riley before his beloved daughter ever finds him. Then, perhaps, he could find a suitable match and have Chelsea bond them together. Unfortunately, for him, the plan is just a passing thought as not even two seconds later the woman in question struts into the room.

Riley instantly senses you. He struggles even more in Felix’s grip until he can see you. Even though you’re barely in the corner of his eye, it’s enough to settle him.

“I wasn’t informed a trial was in session,” You state, your voice sounding as smooth as honey. Riley craved to hear it once more.

“Ah, my darling,” Aro greets, smiling brightly at you. You return the smile, albeit a more reserved one, as you walk to his side. “They have just returned from their mission and brought back the one responsible for all the trouble,”

“I see that,” You mutter, your eyes not sparing your friends a single glance. You stare at the kneeling man as he stares back at you. “Have you come to a verdict?” You question. Aro’s calculating eyes stare are you.

“He created a newborn army, caused quite the eruption.” Aro tells you. Your head turns to him. It only takes one look for you to catch onto what was going on.

You love your father as he loves you. The two of you worked hard to build this coven. As much as you loved him, you weren’t na��ve. You knew your father’s thirst for power. You knew he would do anything to gain an inch, even if it meant hurting the ones he claimed to love.

You also knew him like the back of your hand. You didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking. Even if it had only been a few minutes since you walked into the room, you could already sense the tie binding you to this new vampire. A tie that Aro knew about. You assume, by the look in Aro’s eyes, that this vampire has no ability to please Aro.

Only vampires that were useful to Aro’s ultimate plan survived breaking the law. The only reason he’s still alive is because of the connecting tie to you. Still, you knew that wouldn’t have been enough to save him had you not arrived. 

“Well, I’ve been paying attention to the human news. I haven’t seen a single report about some demonic creature tearing apart a city in America. That means the vampire secret is still a secret.” You tell him. Aro’s lips tighten, his eyes trained on you.

You walk toward the kneeling vampire, unable to help yourself you comb your fingers through his hair enjoying how his eyes close briefly to enjoy the contact. You don’t stop walking, you pace around Felix as you continue with your second point.

“Has he had any dealings with the Children of the Moon?” You question. 

Aro shakes his head hesitantly. A pleased, yet cocky, grin lifts across your face.

 “He hasn’t exposed our secret to any human, unlike your precious Edward Cullen. He also hasn’t hunted in Volterra, that I’m certain of.” You mutter, knowing that your friends had brought him straight to the castle. “He hasn’t been a false witness to any other crime. Any immortal children?” You ask, your eyes glancing to your father as you pause by the twins.

“No,” Aro says lowly. You stare into your father’s eyes wonder if he wanted you to continue or if he was done pretending to be in charge. He remains silent prompting you to continue.

“Yes, he has caused some attention with his hunting habits,” You concede. You slowly move back toward Aro. “and yes his newborns made a mess of things. However, all the newborns are now gone and his hunting's in the future will be more... discrete,” You promise him.

“The Volturi do not offer second chances,” Caius growls from his throne. Your eyes roll as you turn toward him.

“Oh, do shut up Caius or I will have you punished for the town you drained in 1305,” You snapped, glaring at him. You and Caius spend a few moments staring each other down. A stare down you inevitably win. A small surge of pride runs through you when Caius averts his gaze.

Turning your gaze, you look back at your father. You continue to step closer to him until your just about toe-to-toe. You’re posture is relaxed but your gaze is challenging. You dare him to go against you.

“So, let me get this straight you want to kill him for a law that has been broken by everyone in this castle at least once?” You ask. “I just don’t see how that’s necessary,” You hum.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Aro states.

“Perhaps,” You hum condescendingly. “Felix, let him go.” You order. The brutish vampire releases Riley. You hold your hand out as you continue to stare at your father. Riley looks around him as he slowly stands up. Slowly, he takes your hand. “Though, is suppose to make up for his transgressions he can have a place on the guard,”

“A marvelous idea,” Aro nods. You hum, taking your gaze off of him. You send a smirk to Caius before pulling Riley out of the room.

“What’s going on?” Riley askes you quietly. You don’t answer.

You take him to your part of the castle and into your private quarters. It’s one of the largest rooms in the castle. It certainly impresses Riley.

“Make yourself at home,” You tell him, closing the door behind the pair of you. Riley turns to you after observing the room.

“What the fuck is going on?” Riley asks.

“Before I tell you my story,” You say taking a seat by the table. “Why don’t you tell me yours? It’ll be easier that way,”

You waited for Riley to begin. You understood his hesitance. When he did begin, you soaked up every detail. You managed to bite back multiple growls at every mention of this bitch Victoria. You didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed that she’s already dead. You honestly would have liked the pleasure of killing her yourself.

“Well, I can tell you for certain that Edward was right. Victoria was using you. She wasn’t your mate.” Riley sits down in the adjacent seat.  “You weren’t anything more than a means to an end,” You tell him.

“What is this place?” He asks, looking at you. “What am I doing here?”

“This is Volterra, Italy. You are in the Volturi castle. We are the strongest and largest coven of vampires. The vampire world, like the humans, have laws. We’re the coven that enforces them.”

“And I broke your laws,” Riley states.

“Some minor ones,” You shrug. “You did nothing that nobody else in this coven has done,” You assure him. Riley frowns his eyebrows and you sigh. “Think of us as... the vampiric mob.” You smirk. With that explanation, everything starts to click for Riley. “Every vampire here serves a purpose because every vampire here - well, almost every vampire has some sort of ability. Like Edward with the mind reading and Jane with the torture,” Riley nods keeping up with you so far. “If you have value to the coven, you live. If you don’t, you die.”

“And what is my value?” Riley asks. You press your lips together.

“I’m your true mate,” You tell him not wanting to beat around the bushes. “You’re still alive simply because I want you to be.” Riley’s eyes widen a fraction. 

“You’re my mate?” Riley whispers. You nod, gently holding his face in your hand.

“And I have waited for you for over three thousand years,” You tell him.

“You’re-... What?” Riley asks. You grin laughing at his astonished look.

“I had lost faith that you would come,” You whisper to him. “I figured after all the lives I took and destroyed that I wouldn’t ever find you. I figured you had lived a human life and died long ago without me ever knowing. I never believed I was worthy of you but here you are,” By the end your sentence you had moved even closer to him. “And I will destroy this entire coven, my father included, before I allow one of them to harm you.” You promise.

“Three thousand years?” Riley whispers. You laugh kissing his cheek.

“I hope you’re into older women,” You whisper in his ear before leaning back in your seat. Riley’s quick to grab your hand before you can withdraw from him completely. You smile, interlocking your fingers with his.

“You’re father’s in this coven?” Riley suddenly asks.

“Aro,” You tell him. “He can read every thought in your mind with a single touch,” You explain. Riley instantly pictures him. “He would have had you killed had I not shown up,” You mention.

“Can you read minds too?” He asks. You smirk.

“My gift’s a little deadlier than mere mind reading,” You tell him. Riley raises his eyebrows obviously wanting to know. “I can kill everyone in this castle at the same time without lifting a finger or blinking an eye,”

“How?”

“Molecular combustion,” You tell him. “I can speed up the molecules in your body until you just burst. I can do it so fast you won’t feel a thing or I can draw it out,” Riley winces. “So, as you can see, if I want something, I get it,” You wink at him.

“What do you do here?”

“Destroy problematic vampires,” You answer shortly. “My father, along with Marcus and Caius, run the coven. I’m not into politics or power all that much. I have enough to make me happy. I have more power sitting in the background than I would on the front lines,”

“How so?”

“Fear,” You smirk. “Everyone here is afraid of me, with good reason. I’ve killed some of my fathers prized possessions more than once. It’s why the twins make such an effort to befriend me. I’ve also sped up Caius’s molecular structure enough to cause severe pain for a month straight after he pissed me off one time. They can’t control me. They can rule the coven all they wish but if I want something all I have to do is take it. It brings me great joy to watch the oh so powerful Kings of Volterra shudder in fear at the sight of me and stand by helplessly while I take what I want. Stomping on their ego is always satisfying.”

“So, even though I have no power, I will be apart of this coven?” Riley asks.

“Yes,” You nod. Riley slowly smirks.

“And since you truly hold all the power, does that make me the second most powerful vampire?” Riley arches his eyebrows. You chuckle winking at him.

“Now you’re getting the hang of it,” Riley smirks broadly. “You spent the last year being that red headed whore’s puppet but now you’ll spend the rest of your immortal existence playing puppet master with the strongest coven, hell the entire vampiric race as your puppets” You tell him.

Riley imagines his future with this kind of power. You stand up and walk behind him. Your arms circle around him and rub his chest. Your head nuzzles into his neck, your teeth nipping at his marble skin.

“Anything you want, my love, I will be sure to give it to you,” You promise him.

“Your father is the king of Volterra... but if we control him then...” You hum biting his ear seductively. 

“You catch on quickly, my dear” You whisper to him. In a flash, you come in front of him and straddle his waist. His hands instantly grab your hips. “Rule from the shadows,” You tell him. “Wil Aro, Marcus and Caius as a front all opposers and enemies will target them instead of us,”

“Surely vampires know of your power, wouldn’t they be able to figure it out?” Riley asks.

“When I use my power, I never leave witnesses outside of this coven,” You tell him. “There are only three people outside of this coven that know of my power. Edward Cullen, Carlisle Cullen, and Alice Cullen. Should word spread, I made sure they knew what I would do to those they love,” Riley smirks holding you close to him.

“Rule from the shadows, all the power we want, all the benefits, hardly any risk,” Riley mutters.

“A major step up from small town Forks, don’t you think?” You ask, tilting your head.

“Well, I certainly didn’t think this is where I’d end up,” Riley admits before getting handsy with you. You smirk, dragging your nails down his chest. “Certainly glad I did though,”

“Ditto,” You whisper, pressing you lips to his unable to hold back any longer.

[invaderdoom78]

The Short Second Life of Amy Peterson

Oh boy, Peter was worried about Charley, not even a day ago he’d gotten a frantic call from the young hunter about a rumor of bodies being found around the seedier parts of Vegas with all of their blood drained, along with some rumors that his girlfriend Amy, who, because her body had never been found, had been classified as a missing person after Jerry had attacked her, had been spotted lurking around the aforementioned parts of the city at night. However, despite having the police about the potential missing person sightings no one was able to find any trace of her or who might have been responsible for the alleged serial killings. So he was freaking out, both slightly terrified and worried about the potential that Amy could still be alive and that’s how he and Peter found themselves walking around an area of the city that was well known for being full of druggies and dealers, searching for any sign of Charlie's girlfriend.

“This’s stupid” Peter grumbled, keeping his hands in his jacket pocket, one of them grasping the small revolver he was hiding in it

“I know” Charley said, looking around the street, holding a can of wasp spray “maybe we should split up”

“What?” Peter asked, grabbing Charley by the back of the shirt to keep him from leaving “why the fuck would we do that?”

“So we can get out of here quicker” Charley said, getting out of Peters grip so he could cross to the other side of the street

Taking a tighter grip on his spray, Charley descended down the closest alleyway he could find, ever vigilant for any sign of movement, human or otherwise. He was really hoping that the woman people have been seeing wasn’t actually Amy and people were just seeing someone who happened to look like her from a distance because if it really was Amy, that could only mean that she’d been turned. Groaning a bit in the back of his throat he was frantically scanning his surroundings, searching desperately for any sign of his girlfriend or really just any woman that had blond hair that was lurking around the area. Unfortunately, the blonde he did find wasn’t who he was looking for though. It was Jane and he was positive that she would absolutely murder him if she knew she could get away with it and now they were alone, in an alley- together. The moment his brain recognized her and the potential danger he was in Charley stumbled backward and into a row of garbage cans, knocking them over as they fell on top of him. With flailing arms, he managed to knock away the bags that were covering his face and only saw Jane smiling sweetly at him before she left, obviously enjoying the reaction she’d gotten from him. Letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding Charley leaned back into the trash, resting his head back on the can his upper half was laying on, eyes shut.

“Hey, Char Char” A familiar feminine voice called to Charley “whatcha doin’ down there?”

Casting a death stare at Charley as he walked away Peter thought about either ditching him or just staying right where he was, waiting for him to come back, and not help him look, but then he remembered what happened with his mom a few weeks back when she showed up out of the blue making him realize that Jerry was probably just incapable of finishing off his prey. So he began walking in the same direction as Charley on his side of the road, not really making it that far before he heard something moving around in the alley next to him. Grumbling to himself about how he was going to kill Charley for talking him into agreeing to any of this Peter took a firm grip on the handle of his gun as he turned down it. He’d barely even taken a step into the alley when he bumped into Felix, the two just staring at each other in a bit of shock as neither one was expecting to see anyone else that quickly.

It’s that fucking guy. Felix thought to himself as he looked down at the hunter.

He had no idea who Peter was, he just knew that for whatever reason Jane and Alec went to his house every time they had a mission in America and never once did they tell him or Demetri about where they were going. Really the only reason he recognized Peter was because after one mission Demetri had tracked the twins down to his house and, from a bit of a distance, they both saw them in the humans living room, Jane clinging to Peter as he and Alec were talking. Neither one of them had spoken to Aro about what they had seen and he has never brought up the subject to them so they’d both figured that he wasn’t a threat. Peter didn’t know who Felix was either, he’d never really asked Aro much about the members of his coven, so he was absolutely ready to shoot him with his holy water-soaked bullets he’d loaded into his gun, but just as he was about to pull the gun out of his pocket he spotted the Volturi necklace around the vampires neck. So neither one was willing to strike the other and neither was willing to take a step closer to the other, so they circled each other, not breaking eye contact as they backed away from the other; Felix backing out of the alley entirely and Peter further into it. With Felix finally out of his sights, Peter turned around just as he walked past a dumpster, glancing at it and spotting Alec, alone, sitting on the ground next to it.

“What the hell’re you doing?” Peter asked looking down at the young vampire

“Jane, Demetri, Felix, and I were tracking down a vampire and somehow we got separated and now I don’t know what to do” Alec said, looking up at Peter

“Well don’t sit there!” Peter said, pulling Alec to his feet “these alleyways are disgusting, you could literally be sitting on a spot someone’s taken a shit on”

“Did you see anyone?” Alec asked

“Yeah, I just saw a really tall bastard right before I found you”

“Felix?” Alec asked talking Peters's hand

“He went this way” Peter said pointing to where Felix had just gone

“Amy?” Charley asked, looking up

She looked exactly how he remembered her and was even wearing the same white dress she’d had on during the attack, but she’d added jeggings and knee-high boots to her legs, full length gloved to her arms, and had wrapped a large shawl around herself so that it was shielding her upper body and head from any sunlight she may come in contact with. She also looked like she hadn’t bathed in a few days, and oddly enough like she’d lost a noticeable amount of weight, even though that really shouldn’t have been possible in her current state, her blue eyes were wide, bloodshot, and her pupils were extremely dilated. She was also frantically looking around her surroundings like she was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows any minute now and snatch her up, her body was also shaking like she was suffering through tremors, and she was scratching her arm furiously like her skin was crawling with ants.

“You’re still alive. Mmmm” Charley said regretting his choice of words

“I guess” Amy shrugged, hovering over Charley as a small drop of thick black substance, that was probably blood, began creeping out of her nose

“Uh” was all Charley could articulate as he watched his girlfriend's odd behavior, pointing at his own nose in hopes that she’d get the hint

She did and quickly grabbed the end of her shawl and used it to wipe away the blood, her head whipping towards the entrance of the alley.

“You need to get out of here Charlie!” Amy whispered leaning in closer to Charley “they’re coming for me”

“Who?” Charley asked, sitting up a bit “who’s coming for you?”

“I don’t know who they are. I just know they’re vampires and I think they want to kill me”

“I can help you” Charley said

“You can’t” Amy whispered, her face only a few inches away from his “I’ve been trying to get away from them for the last few days but they keep finding me. I can’t put you or your mom in danger”

Stepping out of the alley Peter and Alec ran across the street to the side that Charley was on and down the alley, he’d disappeared in.

“Charlie!” Peter yelled when he saw Amy standing almost on top of the young hunter

With a look of pure panic on her face, Amy straightened up quickly, taking a step back over one of the fallen trash cans, wanting to get away from Alec and Peter but still not wanting to abandon Charlie. Peter was pretty sure he recognized this vampire; even after all the time that had passed Charley still had Amy’s picture as the lock screen on his phone and when they first met it seemed like he looked at it every five minutes, so he’d seen it quite a few times so he had a decent idea of what the blond looked like and he was pretty sure this vampire was her, but he knew there was still a possibility he was wrong.

“Hey, Peter” Charley said trying to sound casual

“Hey, Charlie” Peter said, moving Alec a bit behind him “whatcha. Whatcha doin’ down there?”

“Oh, you know. Just chillin’ here with Amy”

“...That’s Amy?” Peter asked pointing at the blond “Amy as in your girlfriend who was killed by Jerry, Amy?” he tried to suppress the smile that was spreading across his face

“Yeah” Charley said

As much as he tried to stop himself Peter couldn’t help it as he fell into a fit of laughter that was so hard his sides had almost instantly started hurting and he slowly collapsed to the ground. In the midst of the older hunters laughing fit Jane, Demetri, and Felix appeared at the mouth of the alley; all of them honestly looking confused about what was happening in front of them with Charley still in the garbage, Peter dying of laughter, and Demetri and Felix just standing there wondering if they should be worried about what could potentially happen with Peter there. Feeling the sense of pure terror flooding into every nerve of her body Amy wanted to run away but she still couldn’t bring herself to leave Charley behind. Just as the other vampires took a step towards Amy and Charley everyone, including Peter, felt something similar to a tingling sensation filling the air and suddenly they were no longer visible to the vampires, the trash cans even looked like they’d never been disturbed; like she and Charley had never been there.

“...She’s still there” Demetri said after a few seconds of confused silence

“Shit” Amy growled as the scene around her turned back to normal

Breathing heavily, with air that she didn’t need Amy turned her panicked eyes towards Felix and made intense direct eye contact with him as he walked up to her. Feeling a small chill going down his spine Felix reached the blond in a few steps and attempted to restrain her so she couldn’t escape again, but this time she was able to match him in his impressive strength. Before it seemed like she was no stronger than an average human and was only able to escape because of her ability to create illusions. Realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to overpower her like last time Felix used his imposing height to his advantage, taking a firm grip on the back of her shirt, lifting her into the air when she tried to run away, at a speed that made it seem like she didn’t have the enhanced speed of a vampire. As he watched the vampire approach Charley felt conflicted because he still loved Amy and wanted to protect her but it was obvious that she’d been eating people and if he just sat back and let this guy do what he needed to do, then he wouldn’t need to be the one that pulled the proverbial trigger. Because of how much of a fit of laughter Peter had fallen into he wasn’t aware enough of his surroundings to realize what was going on, until Aro joined them in the alley, obviously also a bit confused about what was going on. Somehow his brain was able to focus in on his lover and despite how hard he was trying to explain to Aro what was happening he couldn’t, so he grabbed the vampire's hand instead.

“Oh, dear” Aro murmured, keeping hold of Peters's hand “set her down Felix”

Doing as he was told Felix released his hold on the back of Amy’s clothes and let her drop to the ground, but moved so that he was standing behind her to prevent her from escaping again.

“We aren’t here to harm you, my dear” Aro said softly, taking a step closer to Amy “may I?” he held out his hand for her to take

Taking a few deep breaths, Peter managed to calm himself down enough for him to be able to get back to his feet and tousle Jane's hair when she approached him. Right as Charley and Peter were about to start their search for her Amy had stumbled upon them and, knowing that the Volturi were still in the area, she'd kept close to her boyfriend and saw how the two were interacting with each other. So, even though Charley seemed to be afraid of Jane, watching Peter be so at ease with three out of the five vampires made her feel a bit more comfortable with taking Aro's hand.

“My” Aro said, letting Amy take her hand back “you’ve had quite the year

“Yeah” Amy said scratching her arms again

“Let’s get that tainted blood out of you” Aro said gently, leading Amy away from the trash cans

“Why’re you still sitting in the garbage?” Jane asked looking at Charley

“Good question” Charley said

“Maybe we should get you to the hospital” Peter said, noticing that one of the bags that had been torn open was full of broken glass

“Yeah probably” Charley said, fighting his way out of the trash “I actually think something might’ve cut me so I’m pretty sure I’ve got, like, all of the diseases now”

Helping Charley to his feet the two started walking back to the car when Peter started chuckling.

“Stop laughing you ass!” Charley exclaimed

“After all the shit you’ve given me I’m gonna laugh at this until the day I die”

“...Do you think she’ll be safe with them?” Charley asked once they got to the car

“Oh yeah” Peter said getting into the car “she’ll be fine”

“Will— will I ever get to see her again?”

“Maybe” Peter shrugged “I imagine Aro’s taking her to my house to get that drugie blood out of her so he’ll probably let her say goodbye to you at the very least and depending on where she’s put in the guard then maybe she’ll be visiting America sometimes”

“I don’t know what to do Peter” Charley sighed as Peter pulled away from the curb “I still love her but I don’t know if I can deal with this”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You still love her and that’s a good start”

“I hope you’re right” Charley sighed, slumping into the car seat

[marvelousmatt]

Matt Berry on Why Making What We Do in the ShadowsWas ‘Terrifying’

By Elisabeth Donnelly

Since the debut of the definitive mockumentary on the secret life of centuries-old vampires, the 2014 horror-comedy What We Do in the Shadows, New Zealand comedy treasures Taika Waititiand Jemaine Clement have shown admirable commitment to expanding their bone-dry world of silly vampire jokes into a mini empire. Coming on the heels of the first spinoff, last year’s New Zealand television show Wellington Paranormal, and the persistent rumors of a sequel called We’re Wolves, their TV adaptation of What We Do in the Shadowspremieres on FX March 27.

With the same creative team behind the movie (many of the episodes are directed or written by Waititi and Clement, and some are directed by former Shadows familiar Jackie Van Beek), the show sets up a similar world with a different cast of vampires, preening and arguing for the presumably exhausted documentary team filming their hijinks. This time the vamps are living in an elegantly crumbling Staten Island manse, and their coven includes foppish dandy Lazlo and the tempting Nadja, who are in a long-term open relationship; Nandor the Relentless and his officious human familiar Guillermo; and the inspired creation of an “energy” vampire, khaki-clad day-walker Colin Robinson. While the main cast is a murderer’s row of comic actors who mostly cut their teeth on English television — plus the ascendant Beanie Feldstein, of Lady Bird and Booksmart — the most recognizable face for a particular strain of U.K.-besotted comedy nerd is that of Matt Berry, who plays Lazlo.

For the past decade and a half, Berry has been stealing scenes in shows like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and The IT Crowd, appearing in his own sketch show called Snuff Box, and writing and acting in his creation about a middle-aged actor, Toast of London, which netted him a BAFTA for best male comedy actor in 2015. If anything can be considered a comic trademark, it’s Berry’s voice — plummy and unforgettable, a knighted foghorn that’s fallen on hard times and is trying to get you in the sack; much of his hilarity stems from the mismatch between his vocal elegance and his actual persona. Naturally, he’s found success as a voice-over artist, most recently appearing in Netflix’s Disenchantment, and he’s also a talented musician, making legitimately good psychedelic rock (not to mention all of the music for Snuff Box and Toast of London).

Vulture recently spoke to Berry — who’s deep in the process of working on Channel 4/IFC’s Victorian detective-comedy series Year of the Rabbit — to find out how What We Do in the Shadows tapped into his deepest fears, and how Netflix has changed the trajectory of the once-cult comedian.

How did you get involved in Shadows?

I did a film with Jemaine [Clement] two or three years ago [An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn], and when we were working on that he said, “I’m thinking of doing a vampire series based on the vampire film I did. Do you want to be in it?” That’s literally it. It was as quick and simple as that, and we made the pilot in Los Angeles and filmed the rest in Toronto [as a stand-in for Staten Island].

What kind of freedom did you have to create your character?

I started from the beginning and tried not to pay any attention to the film. I treated this as a completely new job with a new set of characters in a new scenario. It was exciting for all of us that it was different.

How did you and the other actors keep a straight face? Did you end up doing a lot of takes?

There’s a lot of takes. We shot all the time, it was quite an intense shoot, so that helped for the lack of breaking. You just didn’t know your ass from your elbow. You already have jet lag and it’s four in the morning.

So you were shooting vampire hours, in this case?

We started scenes at four in the morning, or even later than that — or earlier than that — which was something to get used to, but you get on with it. The hours are a lot different in the U.K. There, you shoot from seven in the morning until seven at night and then everyone goes home.

What’s it like to do the wirework that makes you fly as a vampire?

Wirework is terrifying. It’s terrifying because I’m afraid of heights, and you have to look like you’re not, when you’re a vampire. There’s no reason why a vampire would be afraid of heights, much like a bird wouldn’t be afraid of heights. So that’s the veil of acting, because one minute you’re standing on the floor and then, within two or three seconds, you’re 50 feet in the air.  In one case, we were next to a building, so you can really feel how high up you are, and then you have to do your lines and look as if everything is completely normal. That was hard for me.

How did Lazlo’s costumes help with the role?

Well, they were kind of heavy. But very useful when it’s outside and it’s cold. Big capes and cloaks. They really come into their own when it’s snowing and minus-four degrees.

What was it like developing a comedic rhythm with the other vampire cast members?

I hadn’t worked with Kayvan [Novak] before, that’s the weird thing. We’d been in comedy in the U.K. but our paths had never crossed. At last they did, and it was a real joy, because it took going to the other side of the world to work with him. It’s an odd thing, what causes you to work with people. It’s the same thing with Natasia [Demetriou] — she’s fantastic in what she does. But they’re two people I never worked with in the U.K.

What’s it like having such a distinctive voice?

I don’t hear it the same way as you do. It’s something that I’ve always had, and I would exaggerate it with friends when I was at college. It kind of went from there, and it’s basically taking the piss out of actors that I would’ve worked with or seen when I was much younger, especially stage actors who did TV work and over-projected. That’s where it came from, and now it’s turned out to be hilarious.

When did you know that you could make people laugh?

I don’t know. You do what makes you laugh. I draw from the most pompous people, who are the people that make me laugh the most. My father’s not pompous, but he says ridiculous things, and I base things on him and somebody who has no sense of humor whatsoever. They’re the people that have made me laugh. If somebody has no sense of humor, I think that’s a great place to start for British comedy, in terms of your character.

Tell me more about winning the BAFTA. The photos of you with the award are really joyful.

People always say this, but it’s true for me when I say that I absolutely did not expect to win. [Toast of London] had been described by most critics as “cult,” and as we all know, no one votes for the cult option, let alone the performer from the cult option. When my name was read out, I was in complete shock. I had prepared nothing and therefore walked onto a stage in front of a full theater — not to mention a live BBC broadcast — with nothing to say. I immediately went into some kind of automatic mode and gathered the necessary reserve power to thank most of the people I needed to. My only interest was to thank my family, which I did, so job done. It was an honor and I’m still incredibly thankful and feel incredibly lucky.

What’s your favorite vampire?

That would easily be Christopher Lee, with Nosferatu running a close second. I’ve always been a huge Hammer Horror fan, so Lee’s portrayal would’ve been the first and most potent I saw. I missed out completely on the recent teen-vampire genre, as I was probably either looking for my keys, working, or in the pub.

Now that shows like The IT Crowd and Toast are on Netflix, do you feel like less of a secret?

The only difference is that someone from somewhere that you never expected has seen you and wants to know if you’d like to be involved with something else. When Toast got on Netflix, I noticed a difference. It was something I thought that only myself and a few people would find funny, and suddenly it’s on a very large platform. Now it kind of belongs to everyone. The shows I do, you can see them everywhere now.

What are you working on next?

A show called Year of the Rabbit, which is a Victorian detectives thing that I’ve co-written for Channel 4. I did that a week after finishing Shadows. Now I’m in the edits for it. I’ve gone from being 700 years old to 200 years old.

I have to get this Rabbit thing done. It’s like when you work on something that isn’t quite finished, you can’t think of anything else. All I can think about is Victorian London until it’s finished, and then when it’s done, I’ll go on holiday and not think about it.