BenMurray

I didn't realize that Twitter solved the Ducky thing:

Answering my own question here I guess. While I saw vampires feeding off of each other as a sexual thing in the movie, it looks like it's more of a drug metaphor in the books. So the boys hooking up with each other would be more like doing a bunch of coke together than it would be like an orgy. And the wrist bands covering their cuts would be more analogous to an addict hiding track marks. TVTropes.com has this to say:

So the popular boys finally confess that they were behind all the creepy things that happened to Lissa including the blood writing on her wall that “Modern Family” licked. Their explanation is that they were harassing her because Mia agreed to have sex with them if they did. Ok, horny high school boys doing dumb, mean things so they can have sex with a hot girl. Got it. But then they explain that the writing on her wall happened because they thought it would be fun to hook up in the princess’s room and things got out of hand. We see a quick flashback of what I think was three guys getting it on while they smear blood on the wall. I don’t mean to slut shame or anything, but they seem pretty cavalier about admitting that the new “trend” with the Moroi Boys is to have wrist slashing orgies with each other. And talk about a double standard! Aren’t those the same boys who were shaming Rose for allowing Lissa to suck her blood even though it was presumably only for survival rather than for fun? Speaking of wrist cutting, Lissa ends up with cuts on her arms as a result of using her powers. She seems to be very ashamed of this and goes to great lengths to deny that they ever happened. But if all the other Moroi are walking around with bandaged wrists because they like to cut themselves when they gang bang each other, why would she be so nervous about it? I guess I’m just really confused about how sexuality is treated in this movie. What was “normal” behavior and what were the taboos? Modern Family says at the end that it was more fun killing that it would have been to lose her virginity. Are those two things mutually exclusive in this world? P.S. I never got to go on any hemoglobin factory field trips when I was in high school. Is there such a thing as a hemoglobin factory?

For some reason the whole "Ducky" thing struck me as very odd. I understand that "Pretty in Pink" is something of a cultural touchstone but I don't think it would be relevant to the main audience of this movie. I mean, I'm 35 - older than most people who would be likely to see this thing - and I have to admit I've never seen it. So anyway, I chalked it up to the writers just being out of touch. Then I started thinking about what else it could mean. A quick Google search reveals that "Ducky" might be more commonly used as British slang than it is used as a Pretty in Pink reference. Here's the definition from collinsdictionary.com: In that light, when Rose says to Mason, "Whoa Duckie, I don't have time to deal with your feelings right now" is she just calling him a sissy? I know she isn't British, but maybe she picked up some slang from all her British friends at vampire school? Probably not. If "Stealth" can rip off "Top Gun" (another 1986 release) then I guess Vampire Academy can reference "Pretty in Pink."

You are 100% right on that one. Pretty sure that was Jamie Foxx's influence.

So I know EDI learned to ignore orders by observing Josh Lucas. I think he picked up some of Jamie Foxx's creepy sexual predator vibe too. Foxx's line about women kneeling down to him and EDI's violent, non-consensual midair refueling scene seemed like they came out of the same playbook. After all, they are both "Extreme Deep Invaders." Also, considering all the rapey-ness, Wizard of Oz inspired nicknames (TinMan) and the strappy buckled harnesses, I'm relatively sure there's a Zardoz connection here worth exploring.