#this was written in a very hazy state im sorry if my english isnt englishing.

[orbeater]

HAI do you have any headcanons about specifically how vander views the other guards and students vs how they see him?

Ok so i think i wrote down a good amount time to ramble. Gonna talk about my hcs for the general worldbuilding and his upbringing a bit so it gives more context for his interactions with people i suppose. I'll highlight the part of your ask so you can skip to that 👍

Royale high plays a very major part on balancing the harmony between the different elemental groups. It was created as a sign of fraternity amongst the kingdoms and a vow of sort to never cause harm amongst each other, no matter how different they are, because the future generation is dear to them, and they wouldn't want them to suffer because of their actions. RH itself is set in a kind of a central city, a multicultural hub consisting of all sorts of people and creatures from different kingdoms, making it a very reputable institution due to its diversity and education quality available for everyone. Personally i would like to imagine it also goes beyond high school levels, mostly because its more convenient to imagine a place where kings and queens were made to also have college level education.

Now because of its stature, RH is in close connections with all sorts of kingdoms. Naturally, if you're training to become a knight the chances of you getting picked are high if you're from RH. RH also hires those that show valuable skills in the field as their guards. Some people use this as an experience of sort to later go for a Knight's position for their respective kingdoms.

Now moving onto Vander's upbringing:

He was raised by some of the most respected knights of the dark kingdom, which was how he was inspired to attend RH till graduation (I hc him to be of the dark element). He took up a position as a guard at the school to get more like credit for becoming a knight later on.

As a kid, his parents weren't around a lot because of their jobs. He never held it against them though, but he did grow up isolated because of his shy nature. He had a creative side to him too, his main hobby being writing. The time that he did get to spend with his parents, he cherished it a lot. They always taught him how even if the worst times were to fall on them, the people who loved him would always be there for him. What you give would be what you receive, things like that which he still holds as one of his main teachings. He's really just a shy guy who cares about his close group of people a lot, even if they're few. His main motivation to continue as a guard is the fact that he gets be of help to the students and people in general, because all throughout his younger days he was misunderstood and looked upon as some sort of like. A stone hearted person. Which was only because he isn't the best at expressing himself. He might look too serious and tough, but underneath it all he has a good heart.

Hes also kinda bad at social queues and stuff, sometimes saying things that might come across as strange, which gives people the wrong idea about him. I don't want to call him a nihilist, hes more of a uhhh, positive emo? If thats a thing anyways.

Also all the song lyrics he says, bro is just humming 👍. Hes a nerd who likes silent hill and fire emblem and quotes dracula (all canon).

The main part! His interactions with the other guards:

Philip:

Philip being Philip was always kind to Vander ever since he joined the guards. As his senior he would always engage in meaningful conversations with him, giving him advice and such even though Vander's responses would be short, he still saw him for how he was. It left a great impression on him, and he respects Philip a lot. They also engage in conversations about their favourite novels and poetry sometimes.

Zalia

Zalia would be wary of him at first, since shes not the one to trust others quickly. She also gets thrown off by the fact that he just sometimes appears out of nowhere (man has silent footsteps), and remains on edge a bit. I do think she'd slowly be able to trust him as more time passes by, because he does his job properly and doesn't give her a reason to doubt him. He also helps around with tasks like sorting the guard log which takes a long time just by herself, so she comes to appreciate his company even though he doesn't say a lot.

Hans

I feel like. He actually wouldn't mind him that much. All the times he gets assigned to work with him he's actually glad because the guard doesn't actively try to engage in conversations a lot, plus he doesn't annoy him unlike Edward. He just has to tell him to do some work or tell him his next patrolling area and he'd just go do it with no hesitation. The only time Hans was hesitant to tell him about his next guarding spot was when he was suppose to guard the dungeon, because of course he cares about others, and is aware of how unsettling the place is, even for him. Vander would be indifferent, but he would still think highly of his senior.

Edward

He'd be scared of him at first. Edward would be out patrolling the dormitory hallways at night, which already puts him on the edge. Vander being the guy with silent footsteps would see the guard walking alone and would ask him if "he perhaps required his assistance" which would scare the shit out of the other guy. After sometime though I can see them becoming good friends, especially once Edward would find out about his interests and realise that he's actually really chill. He would still not watch horror movies with him though, because he knows that a "not particularly frightening" for Vander would be a "keeps you awake at 4am" for him. Maybe he'd try to compliment him every once in a while but then he'd get flustered when Vander would say something really genuine because he obviously means it

Oliver

Theee nerd4nerd dynamic. I think Oliver would be a little scared of him at first, not because he thinks he looks scary or something, but because he has no idea how to interact with him. Over a course of time though, he'd realise how similar they are. They'd bond over his "Im a light fairy but my bestie is a dark fairy" anime that I have mentioned before. They both would enjoy the eveningfall season. They'd watch slasher films together. They'd talk about their lives with each other, maybe they would play dnd and bring Edward with them. They could sit in silence next to each other for hours and it wouldn't be awkward at all. I could enjoy a romantic dynamic between them two IF it isn't the weird alpha yandere Vander and soft bby Oliver bullshit because holy shit that makes me so unreasonably mad. The best dynamic is when Oliver is stronger than him in general because that is so funny. Man can clock an 8 ft plant monster but will panic over the idea of engaging in a conversation with a stranger. Imagine them bonding over their isolated childhood and how they were treated by people and that that didn't affect the fact they both still see people as something worth protecting. Can you see my vision. But also like I've said they'd never make it past the hand holding stage because together they're shy². Vander would be the closest to him amongst the guards.

Alexander

I feel like Alex would already sort of know that Vander is chill. He's quiet so they could just sleep and he wouldn't really say anything. Sometimes he'd quote something profound and Alex would just be like "Woahh....." and then he'd go back to snork mimiming. They would also look upto him because of how proper he is and because he is older than them. Vander wouldn't really mind his company, they'd both just stand next to each other while he guards and Alex just naps peacefully. Maybe he would buy them some snacks from the vending machine whenever he would run out of money, which Alex really appreciates.

Nathaniel

Honestly they'll have the most coworker type of relationship. It'd be a very one sided sort of conversation but they could still be work friends. Nathaniel would tell him random stories about his dreams, or the trading hub, some duck he saw, etc etc and Vander would just hum along. Nathan would appreciate his company because Vander is a good listener and lets him ramble about different things

Taj

For their first meeting Taj would be.... confused? by Vander's demeanor, but he wouldn't question it. Over time i think they both can become work friends because of their shared interest over reading I guess. Not much else to say really.

In short Vander is just a very normal emo guy who lives by the idea of