#bondsmiths | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shakesthewizard · 5 months

Text

The Bad Kids as Knights Radiant

A while ago, I wrote this post assigning the main characters from Deltarune orders of Knights Radiant from Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive books. Now I'm gonna do the same with Fantasy High's Bad Kids!

Adaine O'Shaughnessey - "I will Seek Truth." The Order of Truthwatchers.

Do I need to elaborate on this one? The strongly opinionated youngest child of a rich and powerful family who has oracular visions thrust upon them without their asking and has to use their newfound power to save the world despite their pronounced lack of physical ability and the presence of neurological, emotional, and physical disabilities? Is anybody gonna fight me on this?

In all seriousness though - Adaine is defined by her desire to uncover lies and use the truth to set things right, no matter the cost. She so strongly values telling people what they need to hear, instead of what will make them feel better, and alongside Riz she's half of the team's mystery-solving power.

As a Truthwatcher, Adaine commands the surges of Progression and Illumination, and while powers-wise those feel a bit more geared towards Fig's spell list, Adaine is a master of handling the battlefield without drawing attention to herself, and as a Diviner she fills a much stronger support role than other Wizard subclasses.

Boggy the Froggy is Adaine's Lightspren.

Fabian Seacaster - "I will Reach my Potential." The Order of Elsecallers.

The Elsecallers are the consumate badasses of the Knights Radiant, and probably the most concerned with appearances, aside from the Lightweavers (who we'll get to, don't you worry). Fabian himself has huge potential for strength, grace, social aptitude, and academic success, that we see him fulfill over the course of the show. He's an excellent fighter who isn't afraid to utilize a nontraditional ability or tool in unique ways to give himself an upper hand. It reminds me a lot of Jasnah soulcasting on the battelfield.

As an Elsecaller, Fabian commands the surges of Transformation and Transportation. I think Transformation is the most apt thematically, as we see during his season 2 arc, learning to live as himself without abandoning his father's legacy. Although Transportation is also appropriate, given both that he's a very mobile combatant, and that he was the first among his party to gain access to a vehicle - one which he uses on the battlefield constantly.

I would say that the Hangman is his Inkspren, but I really think if he's anything he's a Dustspren.

Gorgug Thistlespring - "I will Seek Self-Mastery." The Order of Dustbringers.

While his personality doesn't match what we know of the Dustbringers in the series so far, Gorgug is otherwise an extremely good fit for this order. In season one, his arc centers on accepting his anger as a natural part of himself, and learning how to point it in useful and helpful directions, as well as reconnecting with his orcish heritage.

In seasons two and three, Gorgug dives into artificing; learning how to take things apart and put them back together, and pioneering ways to combine his skill with technology and his prodigious destructive power.

As a Dustbringer, Gorgug commands the surges of Division and Abrasion. These feel very appropriate for our curious barbarian, and I honestly don't feel like there's a lot I could say that wouldn't be plainly obvious. The kid rips stuff apart, what can I say?

Fig Faeth - "I will Speak My Truth." The Order of Lightweavers.

Performance. Art. Identity. Lies. Fig feels almost like an embodiment of this order. If you know anything about Lightweavers, I don't even know what to say that isn't already apparent. Fig disguises herself, invents new identities, lies constantly, and is the party's designated spy. She expresses these illusory powers by way of her artistic expression, and has a bad habit of running from her problems using those same powers. But of course, when the time comes, she shows an unmatched prowess for using those powers to completely dismantle the lies and schemes of ne'er do wells.

As a Lightweaver, Fig commands the surges of Illumination and Transportation. She uh. Makes illusions and turns into other people. Look, I don't know what else to say. She's a perfect fit.

Kristen Applebees - "I will Unite Instead of Divide." The Order of Bondsmiths.

Holy shit. This is why I wanted to make this post. Kristen, who with force of will and clarity of purpose brings a god back from the dead and forges a bond with her. Kristen, the most powerful Cleric of any god for the last century, who even at her most ignorant is the one to start treating the bad kids as a team before anyone else. Kristen, whose source of power is immense and strange, and who she conflicts with regularly, even as they share a purpose.

As a Bondsmith, Kristen commands the surges of Tension and Adhesion. Again, these are perfect for her. Kristen as a character feels at times to be made of tension; pulling at a deep and very serious love of ritual and spirituality that is at odds with her seeming inability to take things seriously the more dire they get. The girl who can create a new god, who can bring one back from nothingness, and who flunks out of her Cleric class the moment her teacher isn't 100% in her corner. Kristen's arcs also tend to be pretty central to the larger plots, what with the Harvestmen, The Nightmare King, and now Cassandra's spouse seeming to have a pretty pivotal role in whatever the Rat Grinders are up to. In short; Kristen Adheres the bad kids together.

Kristen's Bondsmith-spren is, obviously, Cassandra.

Riz Gukgak - "I will Protect." The Order of Windrunners.

I'm gonna be real with you, folks, I have never encountered a more Windrunner-ass motherfucker in my life. "I gotta do the right thing no matter what and be emo about it the whole time. What do you mean I have friends who love and support me?" Look me in the eyes and tell me if Riz got assigned to Bridge Four he wouldn't immediately dedicate himself to saving his whole crew and freeing them from slavery. You know I'm right.

As a Windrunner, Riz commands the surges of Adhesion and Gravitation. These aren't great fits for his real, very stealthy skillset - but if we're being honest Gravitation is the least thematically interesting surges anyway, and Adhesion is just the "cool nice guy" surge, which Riz already is.

lmk if this is the kind of content you're frothing at the mouth for and I can do more characters (I'm on my hands and knees give me characters to do this with it's so fun for me)

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #stormlight archive #adaine o'shaughnessey #fabian seacaster #fig faeth #kristen applebees #gorgug thistlespring #riz gukgak #knights radiant #truthwatcher #elsecaller #lightweaver #bondsmith #dustbringer #windrunner

26 notes · View notes

magenta-somethings · 4 months

Text

how navaniel could have won

or, a 1700 word fic in which Navani is slightly more gay, Raboniel slightly less dead, and I play hard-and-fast with worldbuilding note: picks up right near the start of chapter 113 of RoW, which is where the first line is taken from

“My soul…is burned… almost all away…”

In another universe Navani’s mind—drenched in agony, overwhelmed with a piece of god—wouldn’t have focused on the semantics. She would have accepted the words and heard the rest of Raboniel’s dying request and retrieved the dagger and driven it into her heart. And after she would have left a note on Raboniel’s corpse naming her hero and commanding that it not be disposed of without consulting the queen. She would have seen to the funeral herself, and snapped at the Brightlord who questioned why an enemy deserved this honour, and later found comfort in her husband’s arms, even as she couldn’t think of how to explain the wound in her chest. For years, the memory of a hand and a voice, joined to her by song, would have haunted her. And it would have been a sweet haunting. One grief she would have cherished, even as she struggled to name it grief, unlike all the others of her life.

But in this one, her mind tripped on soul. It picked it up and examined it. And the scholar in her found it inaccurate.

“Not your soul,” she corrected. “Your Voidlight.”

“Is there… a difference?” asked Raboniel. It was intended to be rhetorical. The intended answer an obvious no. She was Fused, and so she could not exist without Voidlight. She hadn’t been able to exist without it for the last seven thousand years. She was bound for Braize, changed by the touch of Odium. And this time there would not be enough of her left to return to Roshar sane. Yet Navani was a scholar and, perhaps more importantly, a believer of the Almighty, even after everything, and so for her the answer was yes. There was a difference.

The gears of Navani’s mind were beginning to turn, their teeth slotting together. “A human can be filled with Voidlight,” she said. Moash had proved that—at least there was one thing the bastard was good for. “And a singer can be filled with Stormlight.”

“I don’t… follow,” Raboniel said. But even through her agony, Navani could see a glint of interest in her eyes. She was a scholar too. Even to the end.

Sibling, Navani thought, what if we were to fill Raboniel with Stormlight? Would it allow her to live? To keep her mind?

I—I do not know, the Sibling thought back. The Fused are not merely singers. Odium has changed them. And even then, she would likely need to be constantly infused. The Stormlight filling the hole left by Voidlight.

A hypothesis formed and, despite everything, with it excitement. Navani would not feel guilty about that. Not now, at least. Guilt did not drive scholarship. What if she were a Radiant?

She could feel the Sibling’s bewilderment. Their connection still raw and sensitive. Less an exposed nerve and more a nerve that had never been covered in the first place. No spren would bond her.

Which was true. But that was not what Navani had in mind. That would give her too much power. She did not trust Raboniel enough for that. Yet she wanted her to live. It was a selfish desire, unworthy of a queen. But wasn’t that why? Raboniel had given her the gift of being a scholar. Of letting the world fall away, until it was just the two of them and science and a rhythm. The gift of being selfish. And now in front of her was a theory that begged testing.

What about a squire? she asked.

Again, bewilderment. Worse. Insult. This was a dangerous game, when the Sibling had only barely accepted her. But she could not convince herself Raboniel wasn’t worth it.

Her? As our squire? She tried to unmake me. She would unmake all that remains of Honor.

She did. And she would. But did she not also join with me? Did she not sing the Rhythm of War with me? I’m your Bondsmith now. And our duty is to unite. Yes, she did you a great injustice. But if we can get her to join us, think of what it could mean.

The Sibling fell silent and in that silence she read begrudging acceptance. This would cost their bond, already so frayed in its first hour of existence, but she could make it up to them. The spren of this tower. Her spren, in the way she was their Knight Radiant. She could make this work.

“Are… going to share… your thoughts?” Raboniel forced out. “A theory… of yours would be… a good parting gift.” Pain soaked her every word, but still she spoke. “Or… a final punishment? It… would not work. Kindess… or cruelty… from you, I would accept both.”

Navani kneeled. Took Raboniel’s hand in hers, like she had when they uncovered the Rhythm of War together. “Raboniel, become my squire.”

Raboniel stared at her. A bark of laughter tried to make its way up her throat, but all that managed to escape was coughs. “Oh, Navani… my Voice of Lights. Even now, you… surprise me. But it will… not work. Pick up the dagger. I made more anti… anti… I made more. There.” A tilt of her head, just enough to gesture to her desk. “Please. End it. My suffering. Me.”

My Voice of Lights. What about that caused her heart to sing? Likely it was just the intensity of the day. “You said you appreciated anything that can still surprise you. Show your appreciation. Help me test one last theory.” Raboniel shook her head, but Navani could not let her refuse. Not yet. She needed to entice her. Get her to see the possibility of it. The potential. She tightened her grip on her hand. “You say it won’t work, but what kind of scholar would we be if we didn’t try? If we Infuse you with Stormlight, and then use the anti-Voidlight, your connection to Odium should be severed. If you are right, and your soul and Voidlight are one, then you will die. If you are wrong, you get to live one final life. One that could see the end of this war.” One that could be spent with me. The desire was unexpected, but not unexplainable. Her collaboration with Raboniel had been unlike any other. The things they could discover together, with just a little more time…

Raboniel eyes were slits, barely open. But they were open. She had not closed them yet. Navani could still see the crimson intensity of them, more beautiful than any ruby. “An end…”

“If you still wish to die after our experiment,” said Navani, even as it pained her to say, “then any dagger will do the job. And if this fails and you are sent back to Braize without your mind… then I swear to find you, in whatever body you are reborn in, and fill you with enough anti-Voidlight that there will be nothing left for Odium to use.”

One of Raboniel’s thumb, slender and so weak, traced the edge of Navani’s hand. “Such sweetness… I have not tasted for centuries. Yet… I… we are still enemies… how could I… be your squire?”

How barren Raboniel’s life must have become, that this was sweet. Suddenly, Navani wished to see her drink wine of every colour. To see her filled with the taste of berry and honey and fruit. Raboniel would see most of the world dead, and yet Navani wanted only sweet things for her.

It must be the intensity of the day. That, and the dying light of her eyes.

Becoming a squire normally takes time, shared the Sibling. But you have a Connection. If she says the words, then maybe…

“You want an end,” she began. She had tried to be logical in her arguments, a scholar presenting a theory, but the edges of desperation were creeping in. “Let’s find it. A better one, where human and Singer are united. Where we both win.” She grabbed her other hand as well, clinging to both like she could keep Raboniel’s soul anchored. “Please. Lady of Wishes. We are both of Odium. But we are also both of Honor. Place your trust me.”

“We are… equals.”

Navani stared into her eyes. Into the thin red line. All that was left. “Raboniel, please.”

Raboniel closed her eyes. And then her lips began to move. Somehow, she knew. “Life… before… death.”

She glowed. Not red, but white. The white of a sun directly overhead. The white of Honor’s lightning. The white of Stormlight. It was beautiful, and Navani wanted nothing more than to stare—to watch as Light traced her marbling and knitted together her flesh and mended dead limbs—but she couldn’t. She let go of her hands and scrambled to her feet. Grabbing the dagger on the way. The black sack and its terrible diamond was easy enough to find, and easier to slot into the dagger.

By the time she returned there was strength again to Raboniel. But now, no longer blinded by Light, Navani could see something dull about her eyes. A wound Stormlight could not touch. “The Lady of Wishes… a squire,”Raboniel said, and this time the pause was not from pain but from astonishment. “This will shock the others. So much of what we have achieved together will.” There was an amusement to her voice, and a grief, and what Navani thought might have been a hope.

“There is one final part to our experiment,” said Navani.

“Of course,” said Raboniel. She stood, and how had Navani nearly forgotten how she towered? She would only just be able to reach the center of her chest. “Seven thousand years, and you are the first I have permitted to pierce my heart.” A humming. “If you are right… one more life. One that will be full of negotiations.” She tilted her head, as if listening to something. The rhythms. “If I am right… this is as tender a death as possible.”

Navani, in that moment, wondered if she should be cradling Raboniel, like she did her daughter. In case this was a killing, one of mercy. But no. They were equals.

Navani took a breath, and plunged the dagger deep.

#stormlight archive #navaniel #navani kholin #raboniel #rhythm of war #rhythm of war spoilers #fic #stormlight archive fic #what if #raboniel becomes a bondsmith squire #might revise & post to ao3 #and maybe expand on #because i feel like squire!robaniel would be juicy #like here raboniel is convinced enough by navani to commit to uniting #but that isnt the same as no longer having any internal conflict #or not being in conflict with navani at all #raboniel is a very conflicted character & even a near death experience and lesbianism isnt enough to resolve that #i think it would also make the navaniel dynamic even more complex #plus poly negotiations with dalinar i think will be fun

19 notes · View notes

isdalinarhot · 4 months

Text

whenever I think about bondsmith squires from the olden days who never got literally any powers whatsoever but still swore bondsmith oaths I think really hard about shoving them in a locker

#luke.txt #if I had to write a big long YouTube apology about how I was a bastard as a teen and I didn’t even get to open sick portals afterwards.#and THATS why I got 10% bondsmith on the knights radiant quiz

16 notes · View notes

youravraragechessenjoyer · 9 months

Text

Chekhov's Bondsmith?

STORMLIGHT 5 THEORY, SPOLIERS FOR ROW

Okay, so. There's a missing Bondsmith. And What if... Crackpot theory... It's Kaladin.

Okay, So I might just be talking nonsense which would track since 90% of my experiences with Stormlight is fawning over how cool Kaladin is, but I think it makes sense.

Now keep in mind that I've only read through Stormlight once and finished a few months ago.

So first off, It is possible for someone to have a double Nahel Bond, it's confirmed through a WOB though it is described as difficult to juggle between orders.

Next, The evidence:

I'll split it up between books:

In TWoK:

Jezrien led the Heralds and not Ishar and yes this by itself is nothing but it is a weird choice for Brandon to make as he could have just made Jezrien the Bondsmith but didn't.

Kaladin turns the Bridgeman into Bridge 4, all people of different nationalities and ideals and he UNITES them into one group.

And at the end he gains control of the UNITED bridgemen.

WoR:

Kaladin's arc in this one is about being less racist to Lighteyes and at the end he becomes the starting point for equalization of Darkeyes which we see in affect later in the series. He UNITES the classes both in his mind and in the world. He also lets Renarin in, furthering this.

He also gives Rlain the weapon and treats him with respect, UNITING him with Bridge 4 and in a sense he UNITES humanity and the listeners.

Oathbringer:

This is the book Kaladin starts his sympathies to the Singers, furthering the UNITY between them in his mind.

He starts UNITING all of the Bridgemen into Windrunners.

ROW: At this point he is a UNITING symbol and leader of the Windrunners, and is at dismay when he thinks about how Bridge 4 no longer exists and is UNUNITED

He also UNITES the humans in the tower to fight the Singer Occupation.

And his respect for the Singers grows even more. If you subscibe to KalxLeswi or KalxVenli than he could even UNITE them like that in the next book.

Also he's going to Shinover next book which could put him near the Valley when starting the journey or even when/if coming back for the champion battle whether or not he ends up being the champion.

There might be more I missed. Again it is a crackpot theory but the idea popped out to me and I had to write it down.

#brandon sanderson #cosmere #kaladin stormblessed #stormlight archive #Bondsmith #Windrunner

33 notes · View notes