Charm Learning Shard (Worm/Exalted) (COMPLETED)

[Mentos]

I mean, it makes sense to me that the guys dealing with training and operations coordination don't act like you'd assume the hardcore legbreakers do

 

[goricnac]

I dont think there is any argument that Taylor is getting shown the more "palatable" side of the Empire to avoid scaring her off, the fic got kicked from SB during those stages, and yeah it was just a recruitment tactic. The issue a lot of people, myself included, have is the newspaper scene. That was not something Kaiser or anybody pushed, that was Taylor finding outt hat canonically to this AU the empire doesn't do hatecrimes, they do overly violent vigilantism and claims of them doing evil are exaggerated by biased media.

It doesn't help that all their biases and beliefs seem to be getting confirmed on every other scene as according to the fic the only black people that go into empire territory are criminals and rapists looking to cause trouble.

 

[Stanley_Jeb]

the only black people that go into empire territory are criminals and rapists looking to cause trouble.

Click to shrink...

I mean... They're going into empire territory. Broadwalk etc. isn't their turf IIRC, so I doubt they're going there because they have to, and simultaneously I doubt any normal PoC, or anyone who doesn't fit into their worldview, wants to be in empire territory.
"Looking to cause trouble" is about the only reason I can imagine anyone wanting to go into empire territory, so Taylor only encountering PoC with ill-intent makes sense.
Hell, even PoC criminals/rapists would probably just be better off not going into empire territory as well, even if a good chunk of rich people live there, simply because the consequences of getting caught could potentially be lethal.

This comes back to the "vigilante justice" thing I talked about earlier: The major motivation HAS to be hate, because little else makes sense from a risk/reward standpoint.

 

[Mentos]

"Looking to cause trouble" is about the only reason I can imagine anyone wanting to go into empire territory,

Click to shrink...

Maybe like, tourists that don't know any better.

 

[Zxzx24]

I mean... They're going into empire territory. Broadwalk etc. isn't their turf IIRC, so I doubt they're going there because they have to, and simultaneously I doubt any normal PoC, or anyone who doesn't fit into their worldview, wants to be in empire territory.
"Looking to cause trouble" is about the only reason I can imagine anyone wanting to go into empire territory, so Taylor only encountering PoC with ill-intent makes sense.
Hell, even PoC criminals/rapists would probably just be better off not going into empire territory as well, even if a good chunk of rich people live there, simply because the consequences of getting caught could potentially be lethal.

This comes back to the "vigilante justice" thing I talked about earlier: The major motivation HAS to be hate, because little else makes sense from a risk/reward standpoint.

Click to shrink...

Eh. I dont think people deserve to get beaten to death for walking into the "wrong" part of town. Realistic or unrealistic that's the ideology they are championing.

Or they would, but the empire doesnt really kill people in this AU do they?

Or do dog fighting I guess? Havent heard about that either. Wonder if she'll run into Rachel again?

This is not "virtue signaling" or "white people evil oppressors" reactionary commentary, this is legit concern that a group who's core tactics involve regular hate crimes and nazi ideology is being presented as basically 4-chan shitters in a neighborhood watch and all their biases are being shown as correct. With the accusations of hate crimes being, so far, all sensationalized by the news and just violent vigilantism

Click to shrink...

A lot of the arguments and talking points have pretty much been dredged up directly from 4 chan. I see a lot of the same things being talked about on /b/ Jewish conspiracies, crime statistics, accusations of the government and news media being corrupt...

The usual whataboutism that tries to paint being a racist or a nazi as "at least being honest about your hatred" and "they are just as bad as we are" etc etc etc...

Like probably word for word somewhere? You using a source for this Daniel Snuts ?

And that being said. Love the story. Not nearly grim dark enough though cmon! Gimme some of that delicious angst!

 

[Waterfly]

So now that everyone is done vomiting up their 'opinions' of right, wrong and what justices is. Do someone have a guess at how lungs charm will work? Did I miss a description somewhere or is it still unknown?

 

[Stanley_Jeb]

Maybe like, tourists that don't know any better.

Click to shrink...

Maybe, but those are generally contained in the Broadwalk. Not that I'd assume BB has much tourism to begin with, given how dead the place is and what with the struggling economy. I think someone actually made a map about what gang has what territory (PRT included), but I can't find it for the life of me.

Eh. I dont think people deserve to get beaten to death for walking into the "wrong" part of town. Realistic or unrealistic that's the ideology they are championing.

Click to shrink...

And I'm not saying anything against that. I am saying, however, that people generally don't want to get beaten to death, and thus the amount of people walking into the wrong part of town will probably be reduced to PoC people who have to go there to achieve whatever objective they are pursuing. The only thing I can think of that you can't get anywhere else in the bay is either direct access to the Medhall Building (and I do mean direct, since I doubt it's the only pharmacy in town that'd have the relevant products) or to bash the rank-and-file fash.
EDIT:

Do someone have a guess at how lungs charm will work?

Click to shrink...

My guess would be a Malfeas Charm. Green Fire, Bronze Skin, that sort of stuff. Maybe even the full-on Shintai.

 

[Zxzx24]

My guess would be a Malfeas Charm. Green Fire, Bronze Skin, that sort of stuff. Maybe even the full-on Shintai.

Click to shrink...

Devil tyrant avatar Shintai would be siiiick.

Its just needs to be an astoundingly high essence cost transformative effect. Hm.

For Solars?

One of my favorites is Electrum divinity fusion Or Hallowed Bond of Night and Flame. Or whatever you call the charm that lets a solar and their lunar mate fuse.

Theres not Lunar around, but idk. Wasn't there one that lets a Solar fuse with their familiar as well?

So now that everyone is done vomiting up their 'opinions' of right, wrong and what justices is. Do someone have a guess at how lungs charm will work? Did I miss a description somewhere or is it still unknown?

Click to shrink...

I feel so tempted, but I won't

 

[Saltedboi]

Devil tyrant avatar Shintai would be siiiick.

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately, Taylor would need By Rage Recast first, that's the Charm that actually gives you the library of Mutations that manifest when your Anima flares. Devil-Tyrant Avatar Shintai just makes all of the mutations manifest at once. Wait, does she even have an Anima? I don't think we've seen it yet, outside of maybe with Newter, but without one BRR is pretty much unusable without DTAS, maybe that's why she's having trouble making it do anything?

 

[lurkinglurker]

Are there any racist Charms?
Like say you are at a party and your rival is putting the moves on the girl you like, so you use the Flaming Chicken Eggshell Shuffle Charm and punch your rival when nobody is looking to turn them into a Dragonblooded?
Maybe a Sidereal Charm that makes the reality spiders swap the threads that make a target character's ancestral lines?
This might be why Lung's power is misbehaving, actually. What if Lung's Charm is a racist? It dislikes Solars and is wriggling around on the stat-sheet to avoid being sullied by one using it.

 

[Nero200]

Unfortunately, Taylor would need By Rage Recast first, that's the Charm that actually gives you the library of Mutations that manifest when your Anima flares. Devil-Tyrant Avatar Shintai just makes all of the mutations manifest at once. Wait, does she even have an Anima? I don't think we've seen it yet, outside of maybe with Newter, but without one BRR is pretty much unusable without DTAS, maybe that's why she's having trouble making it do anything?

Click to shrink...

It was mentioned that her power ignores prerequisites.
Not sure how that would interact with By Rage Recast, since it creates what D-TA uses, but it's worth considering.

 

[Saltedboi]

Are there any racist Charms?
Like say you are at a party and your rival is putting the moves on the girl you like, so you use the Flaming Chicken Eggshell Shuffle Charm and punch your rival when nobody is looking to turn them into a Dragonblooded?
Maybe a Sidereal Charm that makes the reality spiders swap the threads that make a target character's ancestral lines?
This might be why Lung's power is misbehaving, actually. What if Lung's Charm is a racist? It dislikes Solars and is wriggling around on the stat-sheet to avoid being sullied by one using it.

Click to shrink...

The only Charm that I can think of to turn someone into an Exalt would be a Martial Arts Charm from the Sidereal Charcoal March of Spiders Style. It's called Pattern Spider Touch, and is the penultimate Charm in the style. The text for it is long, but to summarize: Anyone you strike with this unarmed attack can be transformed into any non-Primordial creature, or unmake them utterly.

The text explicitly states they can turn someone into a Lunar Exalted with a whole new identity with people who should know of them remembering them. It also says they gain no new charms in the process, only re-flavoring those they had, and that their Anima display will correspond to their new form, but it says nothing about learning new charms as this type of Exalted, so it might be possible to do that, which would pretty much make someone into that type of Exalt.

Not really sure what you mean by racist Charms to begin with though, the closest thing I can think of are Holy Charms, which are more effective against Creatures of Darkness (basically creatures that Sol Invictus doesn't like), or Native Charms, that only the category of Exalt/Spirit that has it can learn. Any non-Native Charm can be learned by an Eclipse, and it's quite possible that Taylor could learn even Native Charms, seeing as she isn't really a particular type of Exalt. If it is a Native Charm, then she should either be completely unable to learn it, or it should work just as well as any other, considering her Essence worked well enough with it to learn it. That's how it works for Eclipses at least, if I remember correctly.

 

[Daniel Snuts]

You arrive at the bar to find an unwelcome surprise: You're no longer partnered with Rune. Instead you've been assigned to guard... one of Hookwolf's fighting pits.

"That motherfucker!" you exclaim, and proceed to explain to the bartender (and anyone else within earshot, which at the volume you're using is everyone in the room) exactly who you're referring to, and how you became convinced that he doesn't settle for flowers on Mother's Day.

"So let me get this straight," he says. "You're claiming that Hookwolf is getting revenge on you by scheming?"

"Yes!" You know how stupid it sounds without context, but your relationship with Hookwolf is a special case, alright? "Let's see how he likes being dragged in front of Kaiser again."

"Don't. Here, I'll show you."

He leads you through the 'staff only' door, into the operations center, and shows you the whiteboard with patrol schedules for the week. He walks you through the logic, showing how they are short-handed, and can't defend the fighting pits properly. Shows you the reports: The fighting pits are being attacked.

"It's still bullshit," you say sullenly. "He's doing it deliberately."

"Perhaps. But it's legal bullshit. He has the authority, he has a valid pretext. If you go to Kaiser with this, he will rule against you."

You grumble under your breath. The ops people look unsympathetic.

"Look, lady, you lost. Suck it up and move on."

---

As the parahuman on duty you're offered a ringside seat, but you find that dog-fighting isn't really to your taste. You elect to stand guard outside instead, with Fenrir invisibly patrolling around the building. You occasionally join him for a lap or two out of sheer boredom. You have to find a way to get out of this and back with Rune, this is unbearable.

What, are you supposed to be horrified at the treatment of the poor little doggies inside? Please. You eat meat. You don't labor under the illusion that animals are people. Except Fenrir of course, who magically turned into a person when you adopted him. That's not some touchy-feely 'my dog is special' bullshit. You literally used magic to transform his nature.

The average pig is probably both smarter and nicer than the dogs in that pit, yet most people who get conspicuously upset at dog fighting won't turn down a sausage any more than you will.

"Animal cruelty laws ensured that the pig that turned into this sausage lived a happy life!" they'd say. No they didn't. The discussion at the bar the other day revolved around the millions of illegal aliens working in near-slavery conditions in the agricultural sector. Big Ag clearly considers laws to be something that happens to other people.

(though one guy disputed the 'near-slavery' description on the basis that slavery wasn't nearly as bad as people have been led to believe, because of course he did)

For that matter, it's well known that Hookwolf used to participate in underground bloodsports himself, before he joined the Empire. He's not even breaking the golden rule with regard to these mutts. Hell, your entire career in the Empire is based on making a dog fight for you. Pretending to be upset at dog-fighting would require levels of hypocrisy that shouldn't even be possible.

You are, however, reaching levels of boredom that shouldn't be possible. Bored, bored, b- suddenly not bored! Let no one say you're not earning your keep, because you spotted the incoming trouble way before either of the unpowered enforcers sharing your post.

"Quick, give me your jacket," you tell one of them.

"What?"

"Your jacket. Now. Cape reasons."

He looks to his partner, who shrugs in response.

"Now, dammit!"

He finally obeys. You put it on. Drawing the hood up and turning away from the enforcers, you slip you mask off. One benefit of a half-assed costume like yours is that you can just cover up the chest piece and remove the mask and bam, instant civilian.

You hide the mask beneath the jacket and hurry around the corner, where the van you spotted just parked. Even if you hadn't recognized the vehicle, the glow coming from the driver is instantly recognizable. You lean up against the driver's side door before they have a chance to open it, and knock on the darkened window.

The window is rolled down, and the scowling face of Rachel Lindt greets you.

"Taylor? The fuck you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same." Her power is active, and you see pulses of 'empower canine' going into the back of the van. "You're using your power to cheat at dog fighting?"

"No! I'm gonna knock this place over! Fuck up every dog-hurting piece of shit in there!"

Oh. "You should leave," you say. "There's a cape in there right now."

"I can take them."

"You probably can," you admit. She has two dogs back there, from the way her power is acting. Fenrir could maybe win if they don't have time to grow to full size, but you don't trust him to murder his old roommates decisively enough, even at your orders. "But your dogs might get hurt in the fighting. And if you don't win fast enough, some asshole might start killing the fighting dogs out of spite."

She growls at that, and moves to shove the door open. You hold up a hand to stop her.

"Look, I've been scoping the place out too. If you come back-" you rack your brains, trying to remember the schedule you were shown earlier today - "tomorrow, between two and four, there won't be any capes."

She hesitates, and you press on. "It's the best way to keep the dogs safe. Isn't that what you want?"

"...fine. But if you fuck me on this-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Bubbles is doing fine, by the way. If you were wondering."

She gives you a curt nod, and drives off without another word. Crisis averted. Opportunity gained. You put your mask back on and return to your post.

"What was that all about?" the guy asks as you give him back his jacket.

"Cape business."

He rolls his eyes at that, but doesn't pry further.

This is your big chance, of course. Hookwolf's soul price is right there for the taking. Just call him up and tell him to lie in ambush here tomorrow afternoon, and you'll have an Empire lieutenant for a minion.

All you have to do is betray Rachel to her death.

It would be so nice, to finally have a way to make him show off his power. To end this stupid drama between you, that's cutting into your time with Rune. You want to be able to turn into a giant monster made of chainsaws so bad you can taste it, especially since turning into a dragon didn't work out.

...You can't do it. You just can't. When you set out to gather soul prices, you wanted to be Morally Ambiguous Santa Claus. There's no moral ambiguity to be had here. You'll have to solve the Hookwolf situation the other way.

---

Rachel pulled off her raid successfully, judging from the way Hookwolf treats you the next day. He doesn't even pretend to teach you how to fight, he just beats you unconscious over and over again. If your injuries render you unable to stand up without also knocking you out, he kicks you in the head until that is no longer the case. While you're being regenerated by Othala he paces back and forth, swearing up a storm.

It's not that he suspects you of colluding with Rachel - you're still alive - it's just that he has no reason not to take his anger out on you. You accept it silently, because it is your fault. You could have given him the thing he most wanted in all the world, and instead chose to fuck him over. You deserve this.

You learn that Othala's power isn't quite perfect, because the world keeps wobbling alarmingly even after it's over and you've been patched up the final time. But you don't mind so much: You spent the most of the night lying on the ground waiting to heal, and without any lessons to distract you you were finally able to figure out Cricket's power.

You experimentally activate it on your way home, and your somewhat unsteady walk turns into an alert crouch as you slip into a martial arts form. There's no one around, but you feel unusually alert and prepared to block incoming attacks. You know kung fu? It's not echolocation, but some part of the danger sense component appears to have carried over intact.

Still, it's uncanny. Your version of the power took the form of martial arts. Is it really a coincidence that you learned it at a dojo (fuck Hookwolf, you're calling it that)? Or can you influence the outcome in some way, and have been doing so subconsciously all along?

You realize that you recognize the stance you're using: It's mantis style. That you learned from someone named Cricket. Your brain is definitely plotting behind your back.

Maybe this one is an outlier, caused by your mildly concussed state? Yes, let's go with that. That way you can pretend that you don't know exactly why Lisa's power was made weaker in exchange for a Master component, and Rachel's power gave you an invisible friend.

You could go on. Cliff's power gave up physical power for improved shapeshifting just when you needed a new identity, Dragon's let you finish the armor in time to get home, Vista... You know what? Never mind the denial, you're willing to accept a whole bunch of unpleasant truths about yourself if it means your intangible-dog-petting power was on purpose. You duck into an alley and spend a couple of minutes petting your intangible dog, heedless of the risk of discovery as glowing mind-hands provide belly rubs to nothing at all.

Could you ask for a better partner, a better friend? No, you could not. Okay, if you were really picky you could perhaps ask for a friend who didn't lick his privates in full view of anyone with sorcerer's sight quite so often, but you don't really begrudge him that. It must be lonely, being the only member of your species in the world.

Hang on, if you're really doing all this on a subconscious level, does that mean that deep down, you don't actually want to become a dragon? Because fuck your brain if so.

Fuck your brain anyway. It's not as if Rachel is useful to you, or anything but a detriment to society as a whole. But nooooo, you still chose her over getting freaking Hookwolf as a minion, because apparently human life has intrinsic value. Ugh. You suck so much.

Danny picks up on your grouchy mood when you get home. "Who peed in your cheerios?" he asks - the flippant words hiding genuine concern, because dads gonna dad.

"Got called in to the dog shelter," you say absently. "Big uproar, someone left a door open and a bunch of dogs escaped." For all that you were giving your brain shit earlier, you're pretty amazed at its ability to come up with this load of bull on the spot, after having been beaten on all night. Though if you were in top form you might have wanted to go with a less complicated non-lie about taking a bad fall during self-defense class, you belatedly realize.

More subconscious bullshit, no doubt. A desire for your father to be aware, and supportive. God, you hate introspection. You hope your Brute rating is enough to shake this off with a good night's sleep. "Got a proper chewing out too, for all that I wasn't even there when it happened," you continue. "You know how it is."

"Shit flows downhill," the life-long union man observes sagely.

"Yeah. Gonna crash now."

===

Spoiler: Updated status

Charms:
Taylor: All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, ???
Tattletale: Know the Soul's Price
Bitch: Spirit-Tied Pet
Aegis: Ox-Body Technique
Browbeat: Shaping the Ideal Form
Dragon: Implicit Construction Methodology
Kid Win: Industry and Forge Wisdom
Lung: ???
Vista: Mind-Hand Manipulation
Cricket: Mantis Form

Spoiler: Mechanics corner

Supernatural Martial Arts, or SMA for short, are special charms that any type of exalt can learn, as long as they have the appropriate level of enlightenment (terrestrial, celestial or sidereal)*​.

SMA being what they are, Taylor could theoretically use this foundation to gain enlightenment of the Bulb of the Perfected Lotus, intuit and re-create the rest of Mantis Style without a teacher or parahuman template, and become a true SMA practitioner. She would then be able to create any number of new celestial styles without ever needing to reference another parahuman.

All she needs is a nice calm dojo somewhere where she can meditate and practice for a couple of years without distractions, so it's going to happen real soon now.

*​Every terrestrial exalt who has ever attempted sidereal enlightenment has had their soul spontaneously explode. But at least one sidereal master insists that it's theoretically possible, and keeps trying to teach them.

 

[tkioz]

And that's was the bridge too far for me, I'm out.

 

[Zxzx24]

I will admit supporting and defending dog fighting wasnt something I was expecting to see when I mentioned Rachel possibly showing up.

Not terribly surprising. Given Taylor has apparently gone full wacko. What a fuck head.

You could have given him the thing he most wanted in all the world, and instead chose to fuck him over. You deserve this.

Click to shrink...

...wow that brainwashing is really goddamn effective.

She thinks she deserves to get her shit beaten in for being naughty towards the people shes manipulating and intends to betray.

Who are also Nazis.

Fuck your brain anyway. It's not as if Rachel is useful to you, or anything but a detriment to society as a whole. But nooooo, you still chose her over getting freaking Hookwolf as a minion, because apparently human life has intrinsic value. Ugh. You suck so much.

Click to shrink...

But thinks Rachel should die in a hole for trying to stop dog fighting.

Amazing.

I would love to get a look at her intimacies if she is has them.

I wanna see how prevalent love respect and obedience to the empire are.

Edit:
I will also say. Wow! She finally got a power from an empire cape!

Shes only been here for like... 3/4s of the story?

What the fuck.

 

[goricnac]

Ok so we have now gone to defending dog fighting and equating it to the cruelty of agricultural practices... damn at this point am reading more out of morbid curiosity on how far the author is gonna push cause this is fucking wild!

Also if you wanna know why her arguments are even more stupid than they seem google what a "bait dog" is.

 

[Disminded]

So… does solar exaltation make you a sociopath? Because I could legit see this Taylor tagging along with the S9 just so she could copy their powers.

I mean, she's charismatic and amusing, but getting a bit hard to sympathize with.

Edit: Though I suppose it should be noted that she did take a fall for Rachel when it would have been more expedient to give her to Hookwolf. So there are some morals rattling around in there somewhere.

 

[Zxzx24]

Ok so we have now gone to defending dog fighting and equating it to the cruelty of agricultural practices... damn at this point am reading more out of morbid curiosity on how far the author is gonna push cause this is fucking wild!

Also if you wanna know why her arguments are even more stupid than they seem google what a "bait dog" is.

Click to shrink...

This does promise to be quite the trip!

So… does solar exaltation make you a sociopath? Because I could legit see this Taylor tagging along with the S9 just so she could copy their powers.

Click to shrink...

I think you might be confusing the complete lack of caring about others feelings for charisma?

She has the social toolkit of a maladjusted scorpion.

That being said. Not having to manage your own emotions, and viewing the emotions of everyone around as tools you use to manipulate them can come off a lot like charisma.

 

[KonradC]

So… does solar exaltation make you a sociopath?

Click to shrink...

I think she's leaning on her manipulation harder than it is healthy

 

[Zxzx24]

Ok so we have now gone to defending dog fighting and equating it to the cruelty of agricultural practices... damn at this point am reading more out of morbid curiosity on how far the author is gonna push cause this is fucking wild!

Also if you wanna know why her arguments are even more stupid than they seem google what a "bait dog" is.

Click to shrink...

Shes using the cruelty of agricultural practices as a defense of the cruelties of dog fighting. The equivalence is there to trip people up by sounding intelligent and reasonable.

Remember her conclusion is that "dogfighting is not that bad." By providing an equivalence to something... normal people also find horrific.

Glossing over the fact that dogfighting is horrible by distracting people by pointing out other horrible things also exist is the point.

See how she smugly decides that it means dog fighting is cool and acceptable despite her own argument being evidence in support of it actually being just as horrifying than the also monstrously cruel agricultural industry?

It's like the Slaughterhouse nine kills loads of people, so its definetly cool for me to do it since nobody really cares enough to stop them.

 

[TWT]

Yeah man you're tiptoeing right on the line of an irredeemably unlikable protagonist here.

Spoiler

 

[omni001]

...You can't do it. You just can't. When you set out to gather soul prices, you wanted to be Morally Ambiguous Santa Claus. There's no moral ambiguity to be had here. You'll have to solve the Hookwolf situation the other way.

Click to shrink...

Oh thank fuck. Personally I like the fact that this Taylor matches canon attitudes of Taylor befriending and abandoning all sorts of people as needed for her goals, but a line really needed to be drawn somewhere.

I am very happy she didn't betray Rachel.

 

[PlasticSoldier]

I liked the chapter.

 

[DigBickBaddy]

I am loving this fic. This is Taylor at her most base, sucked up into things she really shouldn't just for the sake of power and control.

 

[Zxzx24]

Oh thank fuck. Personally I like the fact that this Taylor matches canon attitudes of Taylor befriending and abandoning all sorts of people as needed for her goals, but a line really needed to be drawn somewhere.

I am very happy she didn't betray Rachel.

Click to shrink...

Crossing the line over to full blown supervillain territory will have to be deferred for another day.

 

[Logos01]

So… does solar exaltation make you a sociopath? Because I could legit see this Taylor tagging along with the S9 just so she could copy their powers.

Click to shrink...

It kind of does, actually. The Primordials, upon their defeat, gave a last gasp supreme "Fuck You" to all the existing Exalts, permanently staining them such that even being reincarnated through the cycle of life and death would not free the Exaltation of the Curse. (The ones they didn't manage to outright steal in hopes of one day gaining their revenge against the gods directly that is. The Green Sun Princes and Abyssals got fucked over a different way though.)

The Great Curse condemns all Solar Exalts to slowly but surely developing a niche character flaw unique to them, but one that will inevitably ruin the value of everything they hold dear. This flaw gets more extreme the more it is indulged and the longer they live. (Background lore for Exalted had the Solars reign over Creation in the Second Age (the age after the Rebellion), until the Sidereals and Dragon-Blooded turned on them due to the Solars having basically become the second coming of the Primordials.)

These Flaws are typically tied to whichever Virtue the character most embodies. One of which is "Conviction", which is the trait related to gritty determination to not give up no matter the odds (sound familiar?). A canonical Conviction flaw that Solar Exalts can develop is called "Heart of Flint".

Two guesses what Heart of Flint does. The first doesn't count.

 

[GAMB42]

This fic is going to darker and darker places man ... and I'm gonna watch just like I would a full trainwreck at this rate. I'm not even going to start on the whole dog fighting thingy except I kind of find it to be in-character since this Taylor obviously does not care about heroics or even morality at this point anymore.

At rate things are going I'm sure Taylor is gonna end up as a Warlord given that her whole pysche revolves around herself in the most narcissistic way possible, like one of those quirky sociopaths we see sometimes in other medias. The self justification for her actions is always there and I'm pretty sure Rachel only got a reprieve because she knew Taylor before and thus our MC associates her to to people who matter category.

Frankly I expect Taylor to not care one bit to the empire at large, but if some one hurts Rune she is gonna be out for blood. Same thing with Lisa and the rest of her aquaintances. Other people on the other hand...

 

[omni001]

Oh I almost forgot. Does anyone more familiar with Exalt know if Taylor's Spirit-Tied Pet allows Bubbles to learn her martial arts? I wanna know if we're getting a Mantis Style Doggo.

 

[Logos01]

Oh I almost forgot. Does anyone more familiar with Exalt know if Taylor's Spirit-Tied Pet allows Bubbles to learn her martial arts? I wanna know if we're getting a Mantis Style Doggo.

Click to shrink...

You don't have to be an Exalt to learn Terrestrial Martial Arts. Just having Awakened Essence will do that trick.

No idea if Bubbles has Awakened Essence.

 

[zapking5]

I really want to Taylor to suddenly beat Hookwolf next time, even if it would be incredibly stupid of her.