#vablappreciationweek

[edenprime]

@vablappreciationweek day seven » favorite book overall

the indigo spell — a moonlight ritual, a barren desert, virgin sacrifice... what had i just foolishly walked into?

[sydneysageivashkov]

vampire academy/bloodlines appreciation week day 3: favourite character

Out of old habit, I put my hand on my collarbone, touching a cross that was no longer there. Don’t let them change me, I prayed silently. Let me keep my mind. Let me endure whatever there is to come.

[acesydneysage]

Sydney's descriptions of Adrian in each book

@vablappreciationweek Favorite ship: Sydrian

In my Demi!Sydney masterpost I mentioned how, in her first description of Adrian, she notices that he's handsome, but describes him in a more detached way, comparing him to a work of art:

The speaker was a Moroi guy, a little older than me, with dark brown hair that had undoubtedly been painstakingly styled to look messy. Unlike Keith's ridiculously over-gelled attempts, this guy had actually done it in a way that looked good. Like all Moroi he was pale, and had a tall lean build. Emerald green eyes studied us from a face that could have been sculpted by one of the classical artists I so admired. Shocked, I dismissed the comparison as soon as it popped into my head. This was a vampire, after all. It was ridiculous to admire him the way I would some hot human guy.

Now compare that to her description of him in The Golden Lily, after they already have some emotional attachment:

His sarcasm aside, he looked supremely delighted to see us. He had the tall, lean build that most Moroi guys did, along with their typically pale (though not Strigoi-pale) skin. I hated to admit it, but he was more good-looking than he had any right to be. He wore his dark brown hair stylishly messy and had eyes that sometimes seemed too green to be real. Adrian had on one of those button-up printed shirts that were trendy with guys lately, with a blue pattern on it I liked. He smelled like he’d been smoking recently, which I didn’t like.

It's less dramatic, but much more involved, in my opinion. This got me thinking about the topic, and this is now a compilation of Sydney's first full description of Adrian in each book. It gets adorable and it gets sad.

In the plane in The Indigo Spell, when she's absolutely not halfway in love with him already, no sir:

I was watching the attendant fasten an oxygen mask when a familiar and intoxicating scent washed over me. [...] I kept sneaking glances out of the corner of my eye, partly to see if he was looking at me and partly just to study his features. He was the same Adrian as ever, annoyingly good looking with his tousled brown hair and sculpted face. I vowed I wouldn’t speak to him, but when I noticed he hadn’t written anything in a while and was tapping his pen loudly on the tray, I couldn’t help myself.

Don't you sneak admiring glances at your friends?

In The Fiery Heart Sydney is in full hormonal teen mode, unable to focus on the meeting where she's about to join a witch coven because she's distracted thinking about making out with her vampire boyfriend (look how far my baby has come):

After a lifetime of praising myself for stoically adhering to mind over matter, I was kind of astonished that someon as cerebral as me would take to physical activity as quickly as I had. Sometimes I tried to rationalize it as a natural animal response. But really, I just had to face the truth. My boyfriend was insanely sexy, vampire or not, and I couldn't keep my hands off him.

In Silver Shadows, on the other hand, actual physical descriptions are set aside in favor of ripping my heart out of my chest. First looking at a picture:

I had no idea where she’d gotten the picture, and I didn’t care. My heart leapt as I looked into their smiling faces, faces I loved and had missed so terribly. I’d imagined their faces countless times, but there was no substituting the actual image. I took in every detail: the way the light played off Adrian’s hair, the way Jill’s lips curved in a shy smile. I had to swallow back a wave of emotion welling up within me. Maybe Sheridan had meant to punish me by showing them, but it actually came off as more of a reward—until she spoke again.

Then when she actually sees him in person:

They fell out of my line of sight, and suddenly, my vision was filled with the most beautiful image I could have hoped for: Adrian. For a few seconds, that doubt plagued me again, that this was just one more deception on the Alchemists’ part. But no, there he was before me. Adrian. My Adrian, gazing down with those piercing green eyes. I felt an ache in my chest as emotion momentarily overcame me. Adrian. Adrian was here, and I fumbled to find something to say, some way to convey all the love and hope and fear that had built within me these last few months. “Are you in a suit?” I managed at last, my voice choking up. “You didn’t have to dress up for me.” “Quiet, Sage,” he said. “I’ll make the hilarious one-liners during this daring rescue.” His eyes, warm and full of love, held mine for a moment, and I thought I would melt.

The Ruby Circle is still kind of sad, since Adrian got hate crimed, but it's a sweet ending to this compilation:

There was nothing more I could say as I helped wipe blood and dirt from Adrian’s face with a damp cloth, brushing aside wayward pieces of chestnut hair. He gave me his devil-may-care smile and still managed to look dashing, despite his bedraggled state. [...] Looking at Adrian now, I felt a surge of love well up within me, despite our earlier tension. I could no longer imagine a life without him in it. It was impossible.

We start with cute for an evil creature of the night and end with I can't imagine my life without him.

I think the compilation turned out to be a nice little map of their relationship, so here's this quick thing I made, because I got caught up in the day 2 prompt and didn't prepare properly for the rest of the week. TBF my favorite character, ship and platonic relationship were on that fic.

[belikov-barnes]

VAMPIRE ACADEMY/BLOODLINES APPRECIATION WEEK DAY 1: MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN (OR SOMEWHERE)

[zmeyette-junior]

VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES APPRECIATION WEEK DAY 3: FAVOURITE CHARACTER SYDNEY SAGE

[vablappreciationweek]

And I think that’s it for the week! Thank you to everyone who participated, whether it was for one day or all seven. I don’t know about you guys, but I really appreciated all the new vabl content 🥰

[origin-en-route]

VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES APPRECIATION WEEK DAY 7: THE ALCHEMISTS ARE A CULT

@gravedangerahead​ gets producer credit because it was her idea

[edenprime]

@vablappreciationweek day three » favourite character

sydney sage — p.s. "the red hurricane" is what i named the car. p.p.s. just because i like you, it doesn't mean i still don't think you're an evil creature of the night. you are.