#khdr upperclassmen

[luxmoogle]

..What’s the right thing to do?

[visionj-journal]

COMMISSIONS - KO-FI - CARRD - WEBSITE - BLUESKY - INSTAGRAM - YOUTUBE - LINKTREE

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KHDR thumbnail sketches!

Spent some time sketching out thumbnail ideas with KHDR on my mind <3

Had a lot of fun with these, you can tell I stopped with 'simple subject' pretty quickly and just progressively did more and more complicated things.

In some ways that means I failed, but i quite like these thumbnails so I think I won!

I'm definitely planning on making some of them into full illustrations, just hope it pans out! :D

Please, do tell me which ones are your favorites!

Time: 7h~

Tools: Krita, iSpring Free Cam 8, PureRef

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COMMISSIONS - KO-FI - CARRD - WEBSITE - BLUESKY - INSTAGRAM - YOUTUBE - LINKTREE

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[lovelycureaestetic]

Kingdom Hearts ALL Ships Tierlist

FINALLY done with this! I've tried my best, it's 213 ships as of right now spanning through all the games and sprinkling in the Disney charas too.

Did I miss your favourite rare/crack/crossover pair? Do tell me and I will add them! Remember that the "ship" can be romantic, platonic or familial so don't be shy, I'd love to make this list even longer so that everyone will be able to rank their favourite most obscure ships💕

Also I'd love to see your lists so do tag me if you use this! ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

[pauputoot]

EDIT: THERE ARE BETTER RIPS ON THE WIKI NOW, use those instead!!!

until somebody data-mines khdr, we're not going to have very good pictures of the upperclassmen. in the meantime, i went ahead and took screenshots and ran them through waifu2x to make them slightly-less-abysmal quality. use these for whatever you want.

they're still... not great, unfortunately

also, if someone wants to add these to the kh wiki, please be my guest! i was going to do that, but i don't have permission to, and i really cannot be bothered going through the effort of gaining that permission, lol

[vanibear]

exclusive vintage vanibear sketches of a few of the upperclassmen from back when the khdr finale dropped 👍

obsessed with vali. transgender beam.lgbtq all at once

og sketch of the vala/sigrun piece I did. honestly kinda like the vibe this has more than the final

vali and helgi nonbinary swag Through The Roof .also formulating modern au versions of them here

vidar <3 victim of only draw character bust facing right era

[nobodies-png]

Upperclassmen HCs (1)

We saw very little of them in general but they went so hard with their designs and moments, so this is me trying to flesh them out a bit with headcanons and some observations/analysis about them and their relationships with each other because YES I’M STILL THINKING SO HARD ABOUT THE UPPERCLASSMEN, THEY ARE LITERALLY SO COOL AND I WANT HTEM BaCK

I don’t know enough about norse mythology to implement it to my HCs and stuff in a meaningful way </3 so it’s just me thinking - posting the rest under the cut because it just hit me not everyone has that funny feature to shorten long posts instantly

this post only has Vidar, Hoder, Vala and Vali! I’ll post the others soon!

If Baldr is a parallel to Xehanort, it makes sense to me for Vidar to be a foil to Eraqus - the first pair share similar circumstances, Baldr exists to show what could happen to Xehanort if he strayed too far. They clash because they both are, essentially, massive outcasts due to their special ability and had different ways of coping and dealing with it. Meanwhile, Vidar and Eraqus share similar extreme mindsets and opinions, but they clash because Vidar is an unstoppable force (he forces change and pushes through adversity because that’s the only way light will grow stronger) and Eraqus is an immovable object (he remains stagnant because nothing can get worse if things don’t change at all, light WILL remain strong as long as nothing tips the scales).

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. 

In terms of agility, it’s a tie between Vali and Sigrun. Both are very acrobatic, but while Sigrun uses this skill to get out of harm’s way, Vali uses it to enhance his attacks, to make up for his lack of power and strength. He’s at his best in enclosed or claustrophobic spaces, anywhere with places to climb, jump or grab onto. And, true to his design as a ninja, fights with Vali tend to be a “blink and you miss it” kind of situation, especially because he tends to target outliers or stray targets, or any Heartless aiming to sneak up on someone. He’s at his worst in open, empty spaces, obviously, but Vali’s speed and quick reactions allow him to team up with people like Vala, Heimdall or Helgi.

[dandelionvirus]

Trying to think of my ships for the upperclassmen and my gosh it's just 'all poly' Vidar and Vali But Vidar and Hoder Hoder and Heimdall but Heimdall with Helgi Helgi with Sigrun But Sigrun with Vala and Hoder too. just a big circle.

Heimdall and Sigrun hold hands sometimes.

[lightandfellowship]

[Image description: Digital KHDR fanart depicting the upperclassmen as chess pieces. At the very bottom of the image are four chess pieces representing Hoder, Heimdall, Sigrun, and Helgi. They are upside down and silhouetted in black against a white background. Above them are two rows of black and white squares forming a chess board pattern. Above that are three pedestals holding up Vali, Vidar, and Vala's chess pieces, with Vidar's piece resting on the tallest pedestal in the middle. Both the chess pieces and the pedestals are silhouetted in white against a black background. Above them is a white heart with Baldr's hand silhouetted in black inside of it. He holds the iconic Kingdom Hearts crown in-between his index finger and thumb, posed to place it on Vidar's chess piece. End image description.]

"I paved a path for him to succeed, if he had only followed it to the end."

[scalacaelumxx]

Khdr AU where almost everything is the same, except everyone has wings. It’s a little something I’ve been working on (and writing a lot about) and I finally finished the Lowerclassmen!

Wing notes + a tiny au lore dump under the cut:

In Scalan society, eagle and crane wings are preferred and more desirable to every other type. Eagles for their strength and size, cranes for their symbolism and heritage. Anyone who has a pair of them are typically seen as more capable/important. If wings are permanently damaged, it’s seen as shameful/frowned upon, so keyblade wielders have to take great care in protecting them while they battle.

Usually flight training starts at about 16 years of age, because their wings aren’t grown enough to carry them until then. They keep growing until about 20-21.

Letting someone touch your wings or groom them is an excellent sign of trust.

Xehanort: White Bellied Sea Eagle

- A not insignificant amount of people are skeptical of his wings, because an outsider shouldn’t have wings in the first place. And on the off chance they did, how did they end up with eagle wings? There’s a lot of distrust towards him among the upper circles.

- He also got a good grasp on flying relatively easily, which sparked some debate. He’s not interested in hearing the rumors.

- Only Eraqus is allowed to touch them, with Vor being an occasional exception.

Eraqus: Red Crowned Crane

- His wings are a rare sight and a very important status symbol. His family, Odin, and most of Scala ad Caelum’s leadership constantly pressure him to take care of them, but he’s constantly forgetting.

- Is a slow learner with flying. He can glide just fine, and uses them to glide to lower levels of the city instead of taking the stairs.

- He also forgets how big they are already and continuously bumps them into things or knocks things over.

Vor: Red Backed Shrike

- Her wings are small, but they have the most growing to do. Unfortunately she falls behind in flight lessons, and she worries about her classmates leaving her behind.

- To make up for this, she tries her best to take care of them, and grooms their wings. She knows she doesn’t have to, and they constantly offer her support, but she wants to do something.

- They flap when she’s excited or happy. When they’re finished growing, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

Baldr: Dove (damaged)

- His wings were damaged from birth, and he is very self conscious about it. Hoder is also very protective over him because of it.

- Because his right wing is particularly damaged, he won’t be able to fly unassisted. His classmates are continuously coming up with creative ways to bypass that.

- Hoder is the only one allowed near his wings, and she does most of his grooming.

Urd: Snowy Owl

- Her wings are especially fluffy and soft. Everyone loves them. She also loses the most feathers, so everyone knows who to blame when lots of little white feathers show up.

- Her wings are resistant to the cold, which works well with her tendency to use ice magic.

- They’re also naturally warm and very comfortable to be around

Hermod: Shoebill

- He takes very, very good care of his wings. He also takes very, very good care of his classmate’s wings in case they don’t.

- He inadvertently puts a lot of strain on his own though. He’s at the higher end of learning how to fly, but they’re always tense.

- When he’s irritated, they twitch in annoyance. The other’s lightheartedly poke fun at him for it.

Bragi: Bearded Vulture

- Those aren’t Bragi’s wings, they’re Luxu’s. When he took a new vessel, the vessel’s wings changed to his own. Luckily, Bragi’s natural wings were similar enough where with a little dye, no one noticed the change. He blamed the slight differences on his wing growth.

- Has to dye his constantly them ginger so the white doesn’t show and make other’s suspicious.

- He likes to use them to mess with people, and swats people or objects with them to mess around.

- He, being Luxu, is an expert at flying. Pretending he doesn’t know how to and having to willingly crash land during training is something he doesn’t particularly enjoy.

[goldensunset]

khdr.... *collapses and dies*

[locallepidoptera]

We’ll rebirth. Second earth. I’m awakened. Their forsaken. Meant to be. Don't you see. I guarantee. Please believe me.

[the-au-collector]

The Dark Road devs did not need to go as hard on the upperclassmen designs as they did

[visionj-journal]

KHDR upperclassmen sketches! Next we have Sigrun!

Really loved drawing this one, I did my best to untangle her outfit and make her as cute as possible - her color scheme may be one of my favorites.

I really do think she's the cutest out of all the upperclassmen <3 In the close-ups I worked more on adding more softness to her cheeks and figuring out more of her hair. How it curls, how it falls. I did go a bit too far into the sketch I think, started coloring the lineart a bit too much, but I stopped myself as soon as I could XD - not quick enough haha.

This one looks like a cinnamon roll, and is a cinnamon roll!

For more in-depth look into the process of these sketches I’ll be posting a video on my YT channel on Sunday the 4th so do come and check it out!  

[zxal]

Maybe Sigrun. I haven't seen any art of the older classmates.

I rlly got her name mixed up with Helgi somehow while watching 😭😭 I'm so sorry sigrun i love youuuuuuu

[khdrincorrectquotes]

[invidiatechdemo]

"I didn't want to believe it either.

...He's the brother of a good friend."