General VA Question

I wasn't too sure where to put this, because the question itself doesn't fit into a certain book or character section.
Anyway, Richelle tweeted that Vampire Academy was listed in a vampire table on wikipedia, and I know wiki isn't the most reliable place in the internet world, but I thought I'd check it out, and I found in the supernatural section a few "traits" that I didn't think occurred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tables_of_vampire_traits#Supernatural_Powers

It says that VA vampires can shapeshift. And I'm 99% sure they can't, but now I'm questioning myself, so I was wondering if anyone remembers I moment when someone shapeshifted?
Also, it says the vamps aren't immortal, though obviously they're talking about Moroi over Strigoi.

If anyone can prove me wrong or confirm my thoughts, it would be much appriciated.

I saw that too. I was like... eh.. when in the series do any of the vampires shapeshift? And I consider myself something of a VA expert.

I think the table was filled out by people that know nothing of the VA series. Otherwise they'd have known that Strigoi vampires are immortal and have supernatural speed and that Moroi and Strigoi vampires can use glamour/compulsion to a degree. But also I think it's because the two different types of vampires in VA are hard to pin down into just one category. It looks like they're trying to fit them both in the same table and it's just not possible. It's hard to compare any two Moroi. No two Moroi have the exact same abilities (Spirit users are much different from Fire, Earth, Water, Air types).

Edit: Do Strigoi vampires have an attractiveness to them? I mean... they don't suddenly gain an attractiveness when they turn Strigoi do they? I thought they just looked the same as they were before turning except that they have the pale skin, fangs, and red ring around the pupils... Do they appear attractive to non-Strigoi?

I'm glad someone else picked up on it too then. I mean, when you spend a heap on time online discussing VA with other equally obsessed VA fans, you think shapeshifting would come up occasionally. But it sort of made me question whether I'd just skipped over those parts or something.

Yeah, I sort of noticed that too, and I get that it'd be a little difficult joining the two of them together, except it appears that you can type in a longer response if necessary, so why not go "Moroi: (answer), Strigoi: (answer)" for the parts that work? Maybe we should go edit it

Also, it talks about glamour...wouldn't that sort of be compulsion? Therefore they do have glamour.

I think it's not so much about attractiveness, as it is about fear and mystery. Sort of like a danger signal that's sent out from them. But I guess there has to be some form of attractiveness occurring for so many humans to surround them and want to become strigoi themselves. Although that might just be the immortality and strength that's attracting them.

I thought about fixing it myself but the last time I edited a wikipedia page it flagged me for vandalism.

And yeah, I would think that compulsion would be considered a type of glamour. There's so many things wrong with this table.

I don't really think Moroi/dhampirs/humans become more attractive after turning Strigoi. I think they look the same to others except that now they have this supernatural thing about them, as well as the physical changes of being Strigoi. But they don't appear any different to others except for those changes. It's not like in other series where the vampires look magical or especially beautiful to humans or something. I think they just look the same as always. For example:

VA and BP spoilers

Spoiler:

I kinda doubt that shapeshifters are going to appear in the VA series. Unless it's something that comes about in the spin-off... or if there's more to the psi-hounds than we thought....?

Yeah, I'm with you there..I definitely don't think they magically get better looking or anything, just a mysterious attractiveness.

dimkaluv wrote:

I thought about fixing it myself but the last time I edited a wikipedia page it flagged me for vandalism.

And yeah, I would think that compulsion would be considered a type of glamour. There's so many things wrong with this table.

I don't really think Moroi/dhampirs/humans become more attractive after turning Strigoi. I think they look the same to others except that now they have this supernatural thing about them, as well as the physical changes of being Strigoi. But they don't appear any different to others except for those changes. It's not like in other series where the vampires look magical or especially beautiful to humans or something. I think they just look the same as always. For example:

VA and BP spoilers

Spoiler:

I kinda doubt that shapeshifters are going to appear in the VA series. Unless it's something that comes about in the spin-off... or if there's more to the psi-hounds than we thought....?

You mean...if V.A Vamps can shapeshift, tell me that the Strigoi lost that ability, long ago, so that way, it can be easier to kill those Undead Vamp Grunts[Only Dimitri and the Elders are as far away from the Grunts as possible, as they're mid-tier Undead Vamps, at best!]

The idea of humans wanting to be Strigoi...that sounds like Cirque Du Freak, in which a lot of humans who wanted to become Vampaneze became Vampets[half-vampaneze] first, only for them to lack the honor most Vampaneze would have.

Vampaneze are the opposites of the Vampire Mountain Vamps of Cirque Du Freak, except unlike the Strigoi, Vampaneze have a genuine code of honor, at least[well, most of them do!]

That table made me go ugh. The only thing i could come up with as to why the answers on the table are the way they are is because it only includes Moroi vamps.

Question: would a table like that include dhampirs too? They are half vamp after all.

Lol, funny little fact about my imagination. Until the middle of Blood Promise, whenever i read about Strigoi i would picture them exactly in their human form but their skin so super pale it almost has a green tint or a blue tint to it. But that's not the way they are supposed to portray. I don't think it's that their attractive they just appeal and project a sense of charisma that attract people... and you know the whole compulsion thing.

My guess is they wouldn't include dhampirs, because they don't drink blood and aren't as effected by their vampire side. But that sort of sucks because they are sort of vampires.

You mean..if Shapeshifting isn't as forgotten a craft for the Moroi as we are lead to believe...does that mean that the homewreaking $lut will rear her ugly head, once more?

How are those two things even related?

I suspect that Spirit-Wielders could shapeshift, and if i turn out to be right[and i pray that i am wrong!] it means the homewreaker will be free to further destroy the Moroi, further. >_>

I dont think spirit users can shape shift but I'm pretty sure with their super compulsion they can alter what people perceive their appearance to be.

Peace love n VA wrote:

I dont think spirit users can shape shift but I'm pretty sure with their super compulsion they can alter what people perceive their appearance to be.

Then it means the Strigoi have already infiltrated our defenses, then!

Okay, I have a general VA question too. I'm re-reading the series and i guess my question is Why did Lissa "heal" Rose after the car accident? I mean , how do you choose between Your mother, father, brother and best friend? Was it just because Rose was next and closest to her? Does Lissa feel regret over not saving a family member and feel guilty for having those thoughts? I mean it's kind of big burden to carry. Granted, at the time Lissa didn't know she can heal but nevertheless she did. In my mind, during the accident, Lissa found her way to Rose first. What if she found her way to her parents or brother first instead? I know it's a totally irrelevant and convoluted question, but it has been nagging me, i want to know what you guys think

Perhaps her parents died from wounds that they can't remotely cheat death, from[E.G, something short of a headshot from a bullet, anyone?] as opposed to the death-wounds Rose had taken, at the time.

In any rate, Rose' Plot-Armor was less ridiculess than too many of the stuff you'd see in twilight, by all means!

Peace love n VA wrote:

Okay, I have a general VA question too. I'm re-reading the series and i guess my question is Why did Lissa "heal" Rose after the car accident? I mean , how do you choose between Your mother, father, brother and best friend? Was it just because Rose was next and closest to her? Does Lissa feel regret over not saving a family member and feel guilty for having those thoughts? I mean it's kind of big burden to carry. Granted, at the time Lissa didn't know she can heal but nevertheless she did. In my mind, during the accident, Lissa found her way to Rose first. What if she found her way to her parents or brother first instead? I know it's a totally irrelevant and convoluted question, but it has been nagging me, i want to know what you guys think

I've considered this before too, and I've come to the same conclusion, that Lissa was closest to Rose when they crashed. I guess if she'd been near her parents or brother then they'd be the ones that were saved...but the story would turn out COMPLETELY differently. Not only would she not be the only Dragomir left, no-one would have been there to stop her freaking out from all the Spirit-effects. Obviously, there wouldn't be a story if that's the way it went.
Lissa probably does feel guilty for not saving one of her family, but at the same time Rose was her family...she went everywhere with them (obviously she did because she was in the car at the time of the crash) So I don't think Lissa would be too guilty though, because at least she saved someone who was close to her, she didn't end up with no-one.

SecretMagic wrote:

Peace love n VA wrote:

Okay, I have a general VA question too. I'm re-reading the series and i guess my question is Why did Lissa "heal" Rose after the car accident? I mean , how do you choose between Your mother, father, brother and best friend? Was it just because Rose was next and closest to her? Does Lissa feel regret over not saving a family member and feel guilty for having those thoughts? I mean it's kind of big burden to carry. Granted, at the time Lissa didn't know she can heal but nevertheless she did. In my mind, during the accident, Lissa found her way to Rose first. What if she found her way to her parents or brother first instead? I know it's a totally irrelevant and convoluted question, but it has been nagging me, i want to know what you guys think

I've considered this before too, and I've come to the same conclusion, that Lissa was closest to Rose when they crashed. I guess if she'd been near her parents or brother then they'd be the ones that were saved...but the story would turn out COMPLETELY differently. Not only would she not be the only Dragomir left, no-one would have been there to stop her freaking out from all the Spirit-effects. Obviously, there wouldn't be a story if that's the way it went.
Lissa probably does feel guilty for not saving one of her family, but at the same time Rose was her family...she went everywhere with them (obviously she did because she was in the car at the time of the crash) So I don't think Lissa would be too guilty though, because at least she saved someone who was close to her, she didn't end up with no-one.

Lissa didn't know she had the ability to save her family and still doesn't fully understand what she can do. For the longest time after the accident, Lissa always thought that Rose was just not hurt as badly as her family. I think the accident was so traumatic for her she shielded herself from remembering that Rose died as well. Also, Lissa lost consciousness (I think?) after saving Rose which probably didn't help her remember what actually happened that night.

Like Kim said, Rose was pretty much Lissa's family. They met at such a young age that they probably consider each other sisters more than best friends. I really don't think Lissa regrets saving Rose over her family because she didn't understand what was happening at the time. She wouldn't have known how to save her family either way. Saving Rose was an accident. I also think Rose was probably more accessible than her family and that's why she was able to save her.

How I see it in my head is that Lissa, after seeing what happened to the rest of her family, saw Rose dead next to her and just couldn't fathom being alone that she brought this power out of herself and was able to resurrect Rose.

My guess is that Lissa, while going to check and see if Rose was dead, touched Rose and unwillingly saved her...that's why she passed out, because the magic was controlling her instead of Lissa controlling the magic. And then when she woke up and found that Rose was alive too she didn't question how it happened. I think they only began to question stuff when their connection started to appear and then when Victor told them Rose had technically died it was like "Oh! Lissa must have saved her."

I guess my question stems from trying to understand Lissa. Cause i know if it was *me* , if after the fact i found out i had these powers all along the what ifs would kill me. Maybe that;s why Lissa is so hell bent in trying to uncover all of spirit's magic. hmmmm

Okay i got another general VA question. This one is a spoiler for those that havent read Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise and the First chapter of Spirit Bound. I'm re-reading Shadow Kiss and the whole Rose- Manson thing is pissing me off. Rose, couldn't have feelings for Manson. At all. Yet in SB , the first chapter we learn she is dating Adrian. I guess the question is, does it tick anyone else off? It's just in my head, Rose is in love with Dimitri. She couldn't date Manson or return feelings because of it. In the end, Manson died. Now with Adrian, we know Rose still is in love with Dimitri but is dating Adrian anyway. I guess i'm pissed off because she didn't give Manson that chance. And now she is giving Adrian that chance. Don't get me wrong i love Adrian. But, will Rose's love for Dimitri get Adrian killed as well?

Peace love n VA wrote:

Okay i got another general VA question. This one is a spoiler for those that havent read Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise and the First chapter of Spirit Bound. I'm re-reading Shadow Kiss and the whole Rose- Manson thing is pissing me off. Rose, couldn't have feelings for Manson. At all. Yet in SB , the first chapter we learn she is dating Adrian. I guess the question is, does it tick anyone else off? It's just in my head, Rose is in love with Dimitri. She couldn't date Manson or return feelings because of it. In the end, Manson died. Now with Adrian, we know Rose still is in love with Dimitri but is dating Adrian anyway. I guess i'm pissed off because she didn't give Manson that chance. And now she is giving Adrian that chance. Don't get me wrong i love Adrian. But, will Rose's love for Dimitri get Adrian killed as well?

I don't think it's just in your head. Rose *says* at the beginning of SB that she hasn't moved on from Dimitri. She's said that she will never love anyone like she loved Dimitri. People can argue that oh she's just a teenager, like she knows what she really wants. But the fact is, it's in the book. I didn't write it. It's there. You can't argue that it's not there.

I don't really think Rose is actually giving Adrian a chance. I think it's more like she's leading him on and letting him believe he's got a chance with her. She's not *with* him. In her head she's still with Dimitri and she's plotting ways behind Adrian's back to save Dimitri (she can't even tell Lissa about her secret plans). So no. She's not actually with Adrian. It's more like a cover. And yeah, that ticks me off a bit. It's not right to treat people like that, and I really don't like seeing them together because I'd prefer her alone than with anyone that's not Dimitri.

Rose did the right thing with Mason. I think she's taken a giant leap backwards in terms of maturity with Adrian. Rose knew she could never feel about Mason the way she does for Dimitri, so she let him go. If she led him on it would hurt him much worse, and she didn't want to hurt him. His death later on happens solely because *he* couldn't let her go. I don't know what the F Rose is doing with Adrian. I hope it ends quickly though and I hope he's still alive afterwards.

I think Adrian is completely wrong for Rose anyway. He was actually pretty insensitive at the end of Shadow Kiss. Like sorry your boyfriend's dead but you're single now right? At least Dimitri brought out something good in her. I don't see Rose growing/maturing with Adrian. That's not to say I don't like Adrian. He's a great guy. Just not the one for Rose.

Lol, a little worked up Ash?

I totally disagree about the cover thing. I don't think she loves Adrian, because like Ashley said Rose admits she'll never love someone the way she loves Dimitri. But I think, after everything she's been through in BP, Rose recognises that Dimitri might be a lost cause. She's got the tiniest of hopes that may or may not actually work, and I think she's sort of come to terms with the fact that Dimitri as her partner is a slim possibility. That being said I do think it's wrong for her to be with Adrian though. while I don't believe it's a cover, I think she really is trying to make things work between them (more than she did with Mason), realistically if her hopes come true then being with Adrian become a major problem.

Hehe, i love when ya'll get passionate about VA.

I've spent so much time thinking about these books ( I should be putting that energy into my schoolwork lol) I dont even know what to think or theorize anymore. It's like my brain flat lined on the critical thinking. All i know is after re-reading shadow kiss... I adore Adrian! Oh and a little funny from re-reading shadow kiss... the first time around ( even the second and third time around) i pictured the Jill girl as you know a younger teen girl. But when i re-read SK again.. the book says she's taller than Rose. It throws off the whole image in my head lol

I never really take notice of heights in books...sometimes they stick but most of the time I get them wrong

When I picture characters I just see them as either short, average, or very tall. It's fine and all to get specific about their heights, but it doesn't really make much of a difference when you're only picturing them in your head.

dimkaluv wrote:

When I picture characters I just see them as either short, average, or very tall. It's fine and all to get specific about their heights, but it doesn't really make much of a difference when you're only picturing them in your head.

That's exactly why I like books to stay books (and not be turned into movies and tv shows) because you get to make your own images of people and you're not going to offend anyone by having those images.