#khdr upperclassmen

That’s is why I like to think Vidar is considered the leader of the upperclassmen, he’s the most adaptable and open to change. This also draws a nice parallel to Xehanort, who is also seen as a leader (albeit reluctant and more casual) on account of his perspective and potential knowledge as an outsider - people trust Vidar because his perspective and knowledge come from knowing everyone in the circle, being able to put their skills and strengths to good use. Even with figures like Heimdall and Helgi who can be more analytical and stubborn respectively, or with someone as capricious as Vala - all of them trust Vidar’s judgement and confidence in the end. 

I guess his fatal flaw could also be the way he so easily accepts change? He overlooks the way life changing events can affect people, too busy focusing on how to achieve the best outcome, assuming everyone will be able to follow. If Eraqus is so reluctant to change, grow and let go of people he cares about, then Vidar is constantly on the move even if it means leaving some people behind for the greater good. 

Not to say he’s entirely oblivious to emotions or cruel enough to ignore them, it’s more like Vidar knows just how powerful feelings can be and how they can cloud and affect people’s judgements, so he makes a point to remain focused and calm for everyone else’s sake. I definitely can see Vidar as the type of leader that only sees himself as a pillar for everyone to lean on - he can’t cry or openly show weakness, because he needs to be there for everyone else. In his eyes, comfort is a one-way street.

...Which is why his friendship with Hoder and Vali is so important. I love to think of them as best friends, their little own trio because everything has to come in groups of three. The three compliment each other very well and you can just tell they’re close because of the way they interact with each other, even if they’re not together as often as others like Xehanort’s gang. They just get each other, y’know? Hoder and Vali offer the support Vidar needs in a way that he can accept it. Or just sneakily enough that he won’t notice <3

I imagine that his fighting skills are average - he’s still miles ahead from Xehanort and Eraqus with the level of an upperclassmen, but Vidar doesn’t stand out in any specific aspect unlike the others. That doesn’t make him any less dangerous, however - Vidar is in his element when he’s able to control the flow of battle, let it be by guiding his friends and putting their skills to good use or sliding in when needed as support. His keen eye allows him to know if someone’s struggling or not. When alone and facing against stronger enemies, Vidar focuses on outlasting or outrunning his enemy until he can regroup with the others - he uses his surroundings and the general area to his advantage and quickly adapts to his enemy’s patterns.

Personally, I love that Baldr has this massive burden of peering into people’s hearts, giving him this massive awful complex about realizing the darkness that haunted him was his own, making him chase after his sister, the only person he truly felt safe with. And because Baldr compares himself and his sister to Xehanort and Eraqus, Hoder carries a similar burden to Eraqus - they both believe themselves to be responsible for keeping their respective loved ones from falling to the darkness in the only ways they know how. Eraqus does so by chasing after Xehanort and try to pull him out and back onto what he perceives is the “correct path”. Hoder does so by remaining with Baldr as a “shield” (GET IT. A SHIELD. BALDR’S MASSIVE HEARTLESS. GOD IM IN PAIN) to make the world less scary for him, accidentally keeping him from experiencing life on his own rather than as her own shadow. 

I like to think that Hoder essentially taught herself to read people’s feelings with scary accuracy, just so she could know if her brother was struggling in any situation and to remain loving, attentive, receptive and kind at all times. To the point where it became second nature to mediate between people at the cost of her own sense of self. Hoder can tell if you’ve had an awful day or if you’re feeling under the weather just by exchanging a few words or looking at you for a few seconds. But, similar to Baldr, she doesn’t know what to make of herself when left alone. 

Her friendship with Vidar and Vali has helped her separate herself from Baldr and slowly come to understand and realize the sort of person she is when she isn’t being Baldr’s anchor. Vidar knows about her strengths and weaknesses, Vali encourages her to step out of the limits she set for herself. Both of them help Hoder solidify her own identity. While she gets along with pretty much everyone, those two are the ones who get to see Hoder at her worst. 

Hoder could also be close to Vala, on account of her being straightforward when needed and emotionally mature - she lets Hoder know right away that she doesn’t need a babysitter nor anyone to monitor her feelings so closely. If she gets angry, she knows how to cope with that, Hoder should not be made responsible for her or anyone’s mental and emotional stability. Even if this clashes with Hoder’s struggle and her deep sense of duty, she appreciates Vala all the same, even looking up to her strong personality.

To further push the entire “Hoder as Baldr’s shield” themes, I can see her as a tank, shouldering most of the damage. Hoder makes up for her lack of proper discipline and techniques with her incredible defense - unlike Vidar and Vali, she’s an emotional fighter and her feelings clearly permeate into her fighting style. Hoder is at her best when she’s allowed to cover someone’s back, as having someone to “protect” helps her focus more, this is something she and Helgi have in common. She’s at her worst when left on her own, as she tends to get carried away and forgets to look out for herself - the other upperclassmen know Hoder takes out her unspoken frustrations on the Heartless and she’s extremely embarrassed about it, since “she should know better”. 

Vala is best described as capricious, confusing and playful, which contrasts her “Look At Me, I’m Smart And Elegant And Fragile” look. She likes to make an impact and leave an impression wherever she goes, either that or to keep people guessing, wondering just what her deal is. It’s all in light-hearted fun, of course, there’s never any malicious intent behind her actions or words, but it can rub people the wrong way more than often.

As mentioned before, Vala is extremely mature and attuned to her own feelings. Unlike many of her classmates she knows her limits like the back of her hand, carrying herself with confidence. While Vala enjoy teasing and acting mysterious, she’s honest when needed and never sugarcoats her words. I can also see her being the type to constantly counter or second guess Vidar and his plans, as a way to offer a different perspective and force him to think even further outside the box - “to keep him on his toes” she’d say. Sorta like pokemon rivals, I guess lol.

Since some (if not most) of her dialogue alludes to her sight, I like to think Vala is the type of person who can also pinpoint your vibes with just a single glance - you know, like “oh, I get it. You’re a Moon Virgo, that explains everything” and then you go home, look it up and find out that holy shit, she was right. Another of my personal headcanons for her is that she’s an only child, the kind that would’ve loved to grow up with many siblings - so she gets attached really easily to her juniors and everyone else’s siblings. 

As opposed to Vidar, Vala has poor leadership skills - if she’s put in a position of power or authority for any reason, she sort of expects everyone to just do as she says. There’s zero room for questioning her decisions or offering alternatives. Why else would she be in charge otherwise? While it is rather hypocritical of her, Vala actively avoids leadership and is more than content with dumping those heavy responsibilities to someone who’s willing to carry them.

I like the idea of Vala’s personality not quite matching her appearance, and I also love the idea of her fighting style matching exactly the type of person she is - similarly to Aqua, Vala’s fighting style is composed of graceful gestures and dancing, with a heavy focus on magic. That’s the aspect Vala excels at. Whereas Aqua follows a proper rhythmn and moves a lot (since her entire thing is ballet and fluid movements) Vala’s is mostly static, only moving when she feels like it and instead using her signature move, those pillars of light, to keep her opponents away even if she leaves herself rather vulnerable. You’re not fighting Vala, you’re stepping on HER ballroom and dancing to HER tune. Her style is as playful as her, so she’s at her best when left alone or when paired up with someone who can keep up with her, like Sigrun, Vali or, surprisingly, Vidar.

Ok. Vali as a selective mute. Is that anything? Cause it’s everything to me <3. I love to imagine he only speaks when strictly necessary and signs the rest of the time. It took some time for all upperclassmen to learn but now they constantly have conversations with each other in class whenever Odin has his back turned on them. It’s also super handy during outings to other worlds, in case they need to remain silent - not that they have any need to be extremely stealthy, considering Vali’s skills, his hearing is impeccable and you’ll never hear him approach. In the group, he acts as the perfect scout for recon and gathering intel.

I imagine he and Vidar were childhood friends, and then Hoder came along not too long after - just like the Destiny Island trio! But instead of being a loud group of friends, I can absolutely picture them as the very quiet, very polite kids that barely talk and that every adult adores because “they are just so well-behaved” - when in truth they just really feel awkward or out of place and would rather sit in a corner in silence, together. Parallel play, their beloved. Still, Vali was 100% the one getting them all into shenanigans every single week.

As for dynamics, Vali is a healthy medium between Vidar and Hoder. He’s neither extremely attuned to other people’s feelings nor entirely seeing them as liabilities, but a secret third thing : he’s just a regular guy. While Vidar shows concern through actions and Hoder through words, Vali adapts to ways they both understand and can receive - hence his role as Vidar’s immediate right-hand man. Vali’s eternal loyalty and reliableness puts Vidar’s mind at ease, it’s one less thing for him to worry about. As for Hoder, Vali offers a safe space for her to drop the act and get out of her shell.

For no reason other than me finding it funny, I like to think Heimdall has a casual one-sided rivalry with Vali <3. Vali excels in speed and mobility, something Heimdall very lowkey resents because his thing is ALSO speed. The two spar quite often and it’s quite the spectacle, with others often commenting on both taking it too seriously.