Derek

* Vampire
* Human

**Derek** is a vampire and former vampire hunter. He appears in *What We Do in the Shadows* (TV series).

## Biography

### Human Life

As a human, Derek joined the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area, a secret vampire hunting group, despite him having never seen a vampire at the time. The other group members were Claude, Shanice, Tonya and eventually the familiar Guillermo, who stumbled across the group by accident and decided to join in order to infiltrate them.

At the group’s second meeting with Guillermo, the members discussed the house which Shanice believed to be one of the last known locations of Jenna, her friend who had become a vampire, and left in a van belonging to Derek's mother to slay the residents inside. The club arrived at the house, which turned out to be a completely different home to the correct one (Guillermo's residence). The group snuck in, split up and discovered multiple sleeping residents, who suddenly awoke and revealed themselves to be vampires. Guillermo fought them off, killing several of them, and rescued Tonya, Shanice and Claude, but Derek became distracted by the objects in the house and was taken by the vampires. The group drove away, in a state of shock, to return the van to Derek's mother.

### Life As A Vampire

Unbeknownst to the group, the Hustle Dynasty turned Derek into a vampire but left him without a mentor. Over the following year, Derek proceeded to engage in multiple misdemeanors putting him at risk of revealing the existence of vampires to mortals. He frightened subway passengers by turning into a bat, stole IV bags from local blood banks and fed on bystanders sleeping on park benches while out in the open. He also somehow came to obtain an unlicensed hellhound named Aspen. He was summoned to the Chamber of Judgement by the Vampiric Council for his crimes.

At his trial, Derek was shocked to see Guillermo sitting on the throne as the head judge. In order to compensate for the relatively mild sentence given to their previous defendant Iorek the Knavish, the judges Nandor and Nadja demanded Derek be executed in the Well of Daylight, against Guillermo's wishes.

Guillermo secretly came to see Derek in the well and gave him his coat to protect him. Back at home, Guillermo plotted to rescue Derek by secretly gossiping to both Nandor and Nadja, claiming that others were accusing each vampire of being walked over by the other. Later, Laszlo returned home in a drunken state, having failed to defend his friend Sean in small claims court when he fell victim to a pyramid scheme.

Guillermo brought Laszlo and Derek to the Chamber of Judgement, pretending that Derek had escaped, and Guillermo lied about him having the right to a defence attorney. With Laszlo too drunk to provide an effective defence, Guillermo spoke on his behalf and claimed that Laszlo volunteered to mentor Derek and help him work off his transgressions. Nadja accepted the deal just so that Laszlo can have the satisfaction of finally winning a court case.

Under Laszlo's mentorship, Derek became a door-to-door salesman in order to sell off the pillows that had landed Sean in debt.

Later, Derek got a job at a convenience store where he was approached by Guillermo who offered Derek money to turn him into a vampire.

## Relationships

###### Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area

Derek had something of a tense relationship with the vampire hunting group. He would often suggest that the group have sex with each other so they aren't virgins, this irritated the group.

###### Guillermo

Derek first meet Guillermo at the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area association, which was a secret vampire hunter group. They seemed to get along well enough at first. After the group went to the The Hustle residence on their first vampire hunt, Derek was left behind by the others, believing he was dead. The Hustle Dynasty turned Derek into a vampire but abandoned him just as quickly. Derek was soon captured by the vampiric council but Guillermo managed to save him from being sentenced to death. Guillermo then went to Derek and offered him money to turn him into a vampire.

## Powers & Abilities

### Common Powers

Derek has all the common abilities of a vampire which include:

* **Immortality:** Vampires do not age past the point from when they were turned and are thus unable to die from old age.
* **Enhanced Strength:** Derek is easily able to throw a full-grown human across a room or fling them into a wall, breaking it.
* **Enhanced Speed:** Vampires are able to move extremely quickly, appearing as a blur.
* **Enhanced Durability:** Vampires are able to shrug off mortal wounds that would kill a normal human.
* **Enhanced Senses:** Vampires have heightened senses, including enhanced hearing, smell and the ability to see in the dark.
* **Flight:** Vampires can levitate off the ground and fly unassisted. (Derek has not been seen flying yet, so it is unknown if he is able too)
* **Hypnosis:** Vampires possess a form of mind control through eye-contact and verbal commands. They can compel their victims to follow orders or erase their memories.
* **Shapeshifting:** A vampire can transform into different animal forms, such as bats or canines.
* **Wall Crawling:** A vampire can climb walls without the use of tools or any kind of equipment.
* **Regenerative Healing Factor:** A vampire's body will heal quickly when wounded.

### Unique Abilities

Derek has not shown any unique vampire abilities as of yet.

## Weaknesses

Derek has all the weaknesses that come with being a vampire:

* **Sunlight**: Will burn in sunlight, with even small amounts of exposure causing him to start smoking.
* **Wooden Stake:** A wooden stake to the heart will instantly kill him.
* **Decapitation:** If Derek's head is cut off he will die.
* **Holy Water:** Contact will cause his skin to burn.
* **Garlic:** Contact will cause his skin to burn.
* **Silver:** Contact will cause his skin to burn.
* **Salt:** Contact will cause his skin to burn.
* **Blood Diet:** Without blood, Derek will grow weak and become decrepit in appearance over time.
* **Invitation:** Derek cannot enter a home or premises without an invitation from the owner.
* **Religious Imagery:** Will harm or frighten him. Prolonged exposure will cause him to burn and bleed from the eyes, even references as small as crossed fingers can repel him.
* **Religious Phrases:** His mouth will catch fire if he tries to say religious phrases sincerely.
* **Homeland Soil:** Derek cannot rest or regain his vampiric powers without sleeping within close proximity to soil from his place of birth.

## Trivia

* Despite being a vampire, Derek faints at the sight of his own blood.

## Appearances

* *What We Do in the Shadows* (TV series)
	+ **Season 2:** "Brain Scramblies", "The Curse"
	+ **Season 3:** "The Chamber of Judgement"
	+ **Season 4:** "The Wedding"

## References

Bender, Jake & Dunn, Zach (writers) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (April 22, 2020). "Brain Scramblies". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 13. FX.
Naftalis, Sarah (writer) & Johnson, Liza (director) (April 29, 2020). "The Curse". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 14. FX.
Meny, William (writer) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (September 23, 2021). "The Chamber of Judgement". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 25. FX.