Charm Learning Shard (Worm/Exalted) (COMPLETED)

[Dakkah]

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Sorry to break it to you champ, but according to OP this story will end as happy as Canon.

 

[ses]

Well this is a disappointing chapter, also I really hope whatever the fuck was up with the other not shown timeline wasn't poorly thought out precog bullshit. Poorly thought out precog bullshit is one of the biggest things that ruined canon Worm as a story.

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Truth. The Simurgh as presented is literally God, and having her arbitrarily interfere is no different than saying "divine intervention!" to justify plot twists.

Oh god, why is being Taylor Hebert always suffering? Please can we move on into the recovery arc? I need there to be a recovery arc where nice things happen and Taylor makes real friends…

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This is the kind of author that gets a pride response from that, so that's just less likely to make it happen, lmao.

The little girl pokes you. She doesn't say anything, or even look at your face. You follow her pointing finger, to where she's written a message on the wall in flunky blood.

BOOM SOON

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Did Lisa coach her not to talk to Taylor to avoid getting soul's price'd?

 

[Zxzx24]

Sorry to break it to you champ, but according to OP this story will end as happy as Canon.

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Oh goody!

Truth. The Simurgh as presented is literally God, and having her arbitrarily interfere is no different than saying "divine intervention!" to justify plot twists.

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Mmm. At the same time it's kind of her job in any given story. To be a plot bandaid.

Feels kind of silly to have her monofocus on Taylor.

The Simurgh has hobbies! And maybe a boyfriend! Let's get a day in the life of Simurgh interlude.

One where she wakes up, makes sure to feed her pet Goldfish (Taylor's favorite. Trauma flakes) and then spends the rest of her day on non Taylor centric schemes to torture people.

Would have been nice to see more from Lisa too. Aside from her borderline servile interactions with Taylor we really don't know much about what she was doing. Makes her feel like a prop.

 

[klattmose]

Did neither of them think to have Taylor shapeshift into Lisa form and infiltrate that way?

 

[Vealie]

Rip in piece Lisa

Taylor's support network, such as it was, is just vanishing at a rapid pace. Oof.

 

[wigg55]

Oh god, why is being Taylor Hebert always suffering? Please can we move on into the recovery arc? I need there to be a recovery arc where nice things happen and Taylor makes real friends…

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I got bad new for you, author kinda confirmed the opposite is gonna happen.

 

[queermunist]

Honestly Lisa is better off this way. In her words, Taylor is a bit of an awful bitch. Being another of her slaves is probably as bad as being Coil's pet. It's not like Taylor would think twice about enslaving Dinah too. It's not like Taylor is above torture either.

Mercy kill.

 

[zapking5]

"We can't change anything," you observe grimly. There's no way to signal your other selves. If you attack early, he'll just close this timeline and deal with you in the other, prepared. If you call it off, he'll close the other timeline when the attack happens there, and come after you here.

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Can't Lisa just ignore his call, and then they attack at the scheduled time? Why are attacking early and calling it off the only options?

 

[Fernando]

Mercy kill.

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Yeah. Lisa likes living and not going into the forever box, but after having figured out that Soul Price quite literally gave Taylor a leash on her soul, I can imagine this kind of scenario would've also been a bit of a win for her.

Not great or ideal, but like the saying goes, "there are fates worse than death."

 

[Kennethil]

Did neither of them think to have Taylor shapeshift into Lisa form and infiltrate that way?

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That's an excellent point. Maaayyyybe her slight brute rating would give the game away as soon as the torture started?

 

[Jajasx222]

There were like 50 other ways to beat coil with taylor powers, and even ways to save lisa in that situation easily, buuut noooo, no shepashifting into lisa, no literaly killing coil in a microsecond before he could even think to use the gun...

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

Rip in piece Lisa

Taylor's support network, such as it was, is just vanishing at a rapid pace. Oof.

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Truth. The Simurgh as presented is literally God, and having her arbitrarily interfere is no different than saying "divine intervention!" to justify plot twists.

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The Simurgh does have non-arbitrary goals in the setting. One of the ways it could respond to an Exalt, or Gamer, or some other exponential-growth threat, would be like in this fic. Tear them down emotionally, steer beneficial influences out of their life, and pinball them through a bunch of minor targets on their way to Scion, so as to ensure that whatever is left over won't be in a state to interfere further.

 

[Kennethil]

Yeah. Lisa likes living and not going into the forever box, but after having figured out that Soul Price quite literally gave Taylor a leash on her soul, I can imagine this kind of scenario would've also been a bit of a win for her.

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Soul Price loyalty degrades with bad treatment though, so the prospect of escape is far from hopeless.

 

[ses]

The Simurgh does have non-arbitrary goals in the setting. One of the ways it could respond to an Exalt, or Gamer, or some other exponential-growth threat, would be like in this fic. Tear them down emotionally, pinball them through a bunch of minor targets on their way to Scion, and ensure that whatever is left over won't be in a state to interfere further.

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If the Simurgh is breaking the supposed fair play rules she set up for herself than literally nothing in the setting matters. She can do literally anything with no chance of failure. She's God. There's no reason for her to not just brainslaver the relevant individuals directly. She can mind control everyone at any distance on top of anything else she pleases.

 

[John Doey]

Honestly Lisa is better off this way. In her words, Taylor is a bit of an awful bitch. Being another of her slaves is probably as bad as being Coil's pet. It's not like Taylor would think twice about enslaving Dinah too. It's not like Taylor is above torture either.

Mercy kill.

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As awful as Taylor is, being a particularly useful slave doesn't seem that bad. Alec is enjoying himself at least, even gets his own slaves!

 

[zapking5]

Well, at least Taylor might become Dinah's pawn instead of the Simurgh's now?

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

If the Simurgh is breaking the supposed fair play rules she set up for herself than literally nothing in the setting matters. She can do literally anything with no chance of failure. She's God. There's no reason for her to not just brainslaver the relevant individuals directly. She can mind control everyone at any distance on top of anything else she pleases.

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I don't see how the Simurgh broke masquerade. It got its shot at Taylor fair and square in Ottawa, gave up or delayed whatever target it had in Sydney to do so. Everything from then on can be precog pinball.

Side note: Dragon said "before 2:07", Taylor got out on 2:07, and with Dragon orchestrating things I'd wager the soldiers got the same notice. Did all the nice soldiers just let an off-by-one error slide to delay their incipient crimes against humanity?

 

[GiantAnteater]

Ughh, Simurgh and Contessa being assholes to people while making them squirm isn't an entertaining read. With the (pseudo) Exalted powers in play I was hoping to see them neutralized, but it seems that it won't be happening.

 

[Zxzx24]

The Simurgh does have non-arbitrary goals in the setting. One of the ways it could respond to an Exalt, or Gamer, or some other exponential-growth threat, would be like in this fic. Tear them down emotionally, steer beneficial influences out of their life, and pinball them through a bunch of minor targets on their way to Scion, so as to ensure that whatever is left over won't be in a state to interfere further.

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I mean yeah, but at the same time...

It's tantamount to her declaring Taylor the single most important thing in the world.

To make her the main focus.

Which is just...

Eugh. When the Simurgh is already so close to being an authorial mouthpiece. (Which she was in worm too)

 

[Dakkah]

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Joy has a lot of free time for her antics, 2-3 performances per year: Who knows how many irons she has in the fires since she's unlikely to need sleep. (As for the Name reveal, that might've just been a "For whom it might concern" kind of thing, people that get it feel targeted those that don't won't really see anything deeper in it.)

 

[Vealie]

Zizplots are sadly a ball and chain around this fic's ankle.
Worm is at its best at the human/street level.

Superpowers breaking society over their knee is just a better story than Ziztessa gambits, sandbagging kaiju and an extradimensional physical god.
I'm surprised more fanfics don't just handwave away all the really high level stuff.

Cauldron existing in a different form, with many of the same characters trying to avert the (para)human apocalypse rather than the brainlet alien one, isn't a bad thing. Anti-heroic illuminati paternalistic plot to save people from themselves and fucking up royally would be very in keeping with the tone of a more humancentric Worm.

A while back I was outlining a worm/the boys crossover setting where it's a superpowered civilisational train wreck entirely of human making.

Spoiler: Worm/the boys

No Entities
No endbringers or interdimensional plots at all

Tinkertech isn't blackboxed but Tinker knowhow is not propositional knowledge
Anything sufficiently advanced may as well be magitech for all normies can understand it
Each tinker is developing a new tech tree with very little overlap
Reliability that comes from mature technology isn't present
Field testing prototypes to satisfy the conflict drive results in a lot of breakages
Reed Richards is useless in full effect

Compound V
Cheap to synthesise once you know the trick
Vought tightly controls access to knowledge about the synthesis and manufacture of V
Takes out people who discover it
Mature capes generate & excrete (piss) low quantities of V - build up in food chain
In the distant future the % of Capes will approach 100%

Vought big bad
Natural Triggers help obscure the secret of compound V
Despite Vought's efforts knowledge of the existence of compound V is out there but far from common
Akin to Taylor not really knowing about trigger events before a conversation with the Undersiders, it's just not widely known
Vought have pushed the 'unwritten rules' at a time they were concerned about their very expensive assets being killed in gunfights
Unwritten rules suit most capes pretty well so they've gained an inertia all their own

Natural Triggers
Similar to worm: trigger events possible within a decade of the first heroes appearing
Cape population growing exponentially
Conflict & Power experimentation Drive
Amy Dallon esque breakdowns possible if ignored.
Power usage is inherently satisfying, far less so if repetitive.
Most capes are high functioning addicts within a year.
Thinkers can get by on social combat by and large but have their foibles
Accord would be a particularly severe example
Tattletale's need to needle people & be the smartest woman in the room is more typical

Powers slowly get stronger over time in addition to regular gainz from conditioning
Brute ratings act as a multiplier to physical condition - scrawny teenage brute isn't coming close to getting the most out of their power.
A Thinker who goes from untrained to trained may see great initial growth in physical capabilities but would only experience the baseline few percent a year for their main power
As with unpowered training gainz rate falls off quickly and very few attain the equivalent of an elite gymnast or bodybuilder physique.

All capes Brute 1+
Comic book peak human/Captain America tier at minimum on top of primary power.
Very difficult for experienced normie fighters to handle inexperienced capes in melee.

Looming breakdown of society
Growing numbers of cape adrenaline junkies & malefactors fraying the social order ala Worm
Superpowered gangs
A - S Class threats like Heartbreaker
Cape population rising proportionally
Cape powertrips/bad behaviour ala Boys
Sex clubs & drug abuse
Hypocrisy
Accidental deaths
collateral damage

 

[ses]

Also I had been looking forward to Taylor showing off the rat!kitty to Lisa, and now that's not gonna happen.

 

[Zxzx24]

Also I had been looking forward to Taylor showing off the rat!kitty to Lisa, and now that's not gonna happen.

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If only Taylor had someone big and fluffy she could turn to in this hour of need...

Oh right.

 

[Ruy]

Did neither of them think to have Taylor shapeshift into Lisa form and infiltrate that way?

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I honestly thought this would have been the plan. It is incredibly obvious considering the tools Taylor has available.

I honestly feel like, it is ending up with the plot finding excuses for Taylor not to get a useful power. She could have easily captured Coil and gotten that SMA charm.

, I can imagine this kind of scenario would've also been a bit of a win for her.

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Why not just commit suicide and avoid the torture then?

 

[AppleGrowth]

This is just….I'm done. I just can't. It's just getting depressing now.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

I mean yeah, but at the same time...

It's tantamount to her declaring Taylor the single most important thing in the world.

To make her the main focus.

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But isn't a new Exalt exactly such a threat to the Endbringers? Other threats have been around longer and either were eliminated or mitigated.

Ughh, Simurgh and Contessa being assholes to people while making them squirm isn't an entertaining read. With the (pseudo) Exalted powers in play I was hoping to see them neutralized, but it seems that it won't be happening.

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An Exalt can get the powers to do that but Taylor hasn't yet. If there's a silver lining, it's that navigating around unknowable things is difficult and even the Simurgh cannot do it perfectly, so it cannot perfectly block Taylor from getting any of the 'right' charms to defend or heal herself. But, ya know, grimderp.

Also I had been looking forward to Taylor showing off the rat!kitty to Lisa, and now that's not gonna happen.

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Yeah, was looking forward to a lot with Lisa... probably why she had to die now. Lisa could have done so much to help Taylor understand and exploit the more esoteric charms.

Sucks also that it's one less vaguely sympathetic viewpoint character. There aren't that many of those now.

 

[passislisk]

Actually beyond Taylor level stupid to let coil fire the gun as opposed to just popping him. Boring resolution that feels like a complete lack of payoff for the coil scene buildup.

 

[Dakkah]

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Honestly wouldn't be surprised if she saved TT in the other timeline, but jumped the gun by killing coil. A snatching defeat from the jaws of victory kind of thing.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

Honestly wouldn't be surprised if she saved TT in the other timeline, but jumped the gun by killing coil. A snatching defeat from the jaws of victory kind of thing.

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That would fit. My favorite theory so far is that Aisha decided to swoop in for the big kill without asking, but I'm convinced that something is due to go wrong involving her simply because she was off screen so long.

Actually beyond Taylor level stupid to let coil fire the gun as opposed to just popping him. Boring resolution that feels like a complete lack of payoff for the coil scene buildup.

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Is the only acceptable payoff a clean win? I mean, there are literally a hundred fanfics where Taylor and Lisa thread the Coil+Dinah needle cleanly and without loss.

 

[Paralein]

That would fit. My favorite theory so far is that Aisha decided to swoop in for the big kill without asking, but I'm convinced that something is due to go wrong involving her simply because she was off screen so long.

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Same. Aisha has been off screen way too long, there's definitely something coming up. With Fenrir out of the picture Taylor also has lost all protection from a sudden Aisha betrayal, and her getting fucked over by trusting a mysterious note handed to her would fit the whole "Taylor is not allowed to have things/persons she trusts" thing going on.

Although I'm really not sure how Aisha's loyalty apparently degraded so much so quickly, even without a direct betrayal coming up. The note she gave Taylor and her ghosting her for so long are already weird.