Harry Potter and the Skittering Spouse
- Thread starter Fencer
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Superhero
- Location
- Here
Taylor's biggest flaw when it comes to plans is a complete inability to answer "and then what?" after she achieves whatever goal she's decided to throw herself at before either it breaks or she does. Dumbledore, in contrast, seems to be all about longterm planning but less capable when it comes to immediate action or on-the-fly (heh) tactics.
I would hope this isn't a weird bashing exercise or a way to verbally fellate Warlord Skitter's Escalation™ Powers or whatever the hell, so the teenager just bulldozing over the 100 year old politician and educator is presumably not what you're going for.
I'd suggest having him respond by questioning not her ultimatum but the necessity of and reasoning for it overall. He'll probably acquiesce if agreeing is not too fundamentally damaging or dangerous, but putting the seed of doubt in Taylor's mind will go a much longer way than she probably thinks it will, and his giving in can be done in such a way as to make clear he's conceding materially but not remotely ideologically.
I would hope this isn't a weird bashing exercise or a way to verbally fellate Warlord Skitter's Escalation™ Powers or whatever the hell, so the teenager just bulldozing over the 100 year old politician and educator is presumably not what you're going for.
I'd suggest having him respond by questioning not her ultimatum but the necessity of and reasoning for it overall. He'll probably acquiesce if agreeing is not too fundamentally damaging or dangerous, but putting the seed of doubt in Taylor's mind will go a much longer way than she probably thinks it will, and his giving in can be done in such a way as to make clear he's conceding materially but not remotely ideologically.
- Location
- San Diego
Taylor has a remarkable ability to lie to herself for justification. So that seed might not be enough to grow
- Location
- New England
I was thinking the same thing. How much damage can Taylor to do Dumbledore, either through reputation, politics, position, those he's close to, or physically, before he gives in and admits defeat. I'm thinking actually turning the DA into a magical militia in Hogwarts, and very loudly trumpeting the fact that Dumbledore is fucking awful at protecting said school so it falls to literal children to do it.
Then, if that doesn't work, start teaching the kids to shoot on site and that stunners are for pussies. THEN move into "maybe Dumbledore was progressive for his time but nowadays I'm concerned about him..."
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- Location
- Russia
The biggest issue that Dumbledore would be facing is that the closest person to Taylor in mindset, if not morals and goals, is probably, well, Grindelwald. And Dumbledore genuinely had no idea how to deal with that man beyond just locking and hiding him away somewhere.
- Location
- California
Taylor: "I'm not talking about the greater good, I'm talking about actions that will make it more likely we live through this and the terrorists don't."
Harry: "I'm here to keep her from going overboard."
Dumbledore: "Urk!"
Harry: "I'm here to keep her from going overboard."
Dumbledore: "Urk!"
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Tricky without knowing the focus of the ultimatum.
Dumbledore has had many decades of dealing with all sorts of people, and likely knows all the tactics. So, he might try and reflect the demand back.
* "What would you do in my place?"
* "What do you think the consequences of that will be?"
* "Do you understand how magic reacts to certain things?" (This is about his view of how the prophecy must be managed.)
* "I'm afraid there're forces at play here that you don't understand." (Attempt to deflect.)
Hopefully some of that might help...
Stahor
BookWorm
- Location
- Russia, Moscow
I think advanced negotiation techniques only work when both sides open to compromise. It does not help when someone wants to sell you a brick in back alley, which is general MO of peak Warlord Taylor in diplomacy.
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sorry I dropped a comment like that and dipped. Was 6 stories up in a bucket lift all night welding in 32 degree weather. checking my phone was not top of my priority list tonight.
Without going to into detail dumbledore asked taylor what her plans are for the school year. Taylor rattled off two options for if she has to do things without the order. One is watching Harry's back for anyone interested in planting a knife there the other is going hunting. Naturally dumbledore hates both of these options but lacks any morally acceptable means of forcing Taylor to pick a third choice. He can set her to work with the order but then she'll turn things into combat missions or decide he isn't ever going to step up at which point she goes rogue anyway. They both know it. So Taylor has laid down her ultimatum and now Dumbledore has to pick the lesser of those "evils" from his pov none of these options are what he would call good.
I know how I want it to go it's just that Dumbledore and surrender… don't really go together. He gets his way always. And it's tripping me up because I'm not sure how to write the man when he's been forced to choke down an option he doesn't like.
Also things may spiral entirely out of control much faster than I thought initially because there is no way this doesn't implode.
Without going to into detail dumbledore asked taylor what her plans are for the school year. Taylor rattled off two options for if she has to do things without the order. One is watching Harry's back for anyone interested in planting a knife there the other is going hunting. Naturally dumbledore hates both of these options but lacks any morally acceptable means of forcing Taylor to pick a third choice. He can set her to work with the order but then she'll turn things into combat missions or decide he isn't ever going to step up at which point she goes rogue anyway. They both know it. So Taylor has laid down her ultimatum and now Dumbledore has to pick the lesser of those "evils" from his pov none of these options are what he would call good.
I know how I want it to go it's just that Dumbledore and surrender… don't really go together. He gets his way always. And it's tripping me up because I'm not sure how to write the man when he's been forced to choke down an option he doesn't like.
Also things may spiral entirely out of control much faster than I thought initially because there is no way this doesn't implode.
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- Location
- Florida
If things implode let it implode. have a fight right now, Taylor Vs Dumbledore GET READY TO RUUUUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEE
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Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
Given Dumbledore in canon and the wizarding world in general, I think the solution involves the word "Obliviate."
- Location
- Australia
From memory Harry at least is technically a child and I think nominally a ward of Dumbledoor. But following that route likely leads to a unsatisfying legal mess.
- Pronouns
- They/Any
Watching Harry's back is, however, the less bad of those options for Dumbledore, generally speaking; a specific task which means her activities will be relatively constrained, her priorities clear, and her location known? Way better than Taylor going hunting. It's not optimal, but his optimal would be 'Taylor is sent back to Bet' and that is not something he currently knows how to enact. A lot of otherwise-appealing options are going to run into the rather large roadblock called Harry, who Dumbledore is trying not to alienate despite doing any number of things that, if discovered, would absolutely alienate him for perfectly good reasons.
It's definitely gonna implode but that seems inevitable at this point, tbh.
bobnik
Memetic Warfare Specialist.
Wow that's hot for night time. Stay hydrated!
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
Alternative, very cold. It's freezing in Fahrenheit.
Windborne
Devourer of Stories
- Location
- Oregon
I mean if your goal is to get Taylor into Hogwarts which is what I'm assuming and so I could be very wrong here, that would also be Dumbledore's goal I think in order to better understand her given my understanding of his character, and I wouldn't even bother trying to have Taylor argue against it. Taylor's a smart cookie, she can prepare and research at Hogwarts which is a pretty secure location hundreds of times better than anywhere else. If he gives her a reasonable incentive to go, Harry would likely agree purely because it is actually sensible. And she and Harry already discussed this situation already back in chapter 2 or 3.
She's absolutely not ready to take on Wizards beyond a single fight in my opinion. She'll have the surprise only once, maybe twice, but that won't win her a war. There are things she needs to prepare, and Hogwarts can give her that chance. And Dumbledore can back down, he does so repeatedly, in Years 2 and 5 when he's removed from Hogwarts he just vanishes into the ether to avoid conflict.
Also he doesn't need to be the one to personally discuss this with Taylor, he has made mistakes and alienated her a bit and he'd know that. He absolutely would ask someone like McGonnagal to be his emissary in this matter.
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I think he would pick the "Watch Harry's back" option. This would put Taylor in Hogwarts, his 'seat of power'. I think he would believe that this would allow him to exert more control on her. He would believe that he could do things like refuse to allow her into meetings he would have with Harry or similar situations.
Of course, he may underestimate Taylor herself, but that isn't anything new.
Of course, he may underestimate Taylor herself, but that isn't anything new.
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
*Points at the reader who deserves an internet cookie*
Right! That's what makes the most sense! Anyone with a lick of common sense and dumbles goals would go for it. But Draco. Mother fucking Draco and his asinine orders and snape's stupid fucking vow and dumbledore's elaborate assisted suicide plan. Gosh damn it I hate that plan
32 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pronouns
- They/Any
Oh right, "I am going to kill myself in the way that spreads maximal guilt around to as many people as possible, including the child who it appears to have been my late-life's goal to be sure gets infinite servings from the Trauma Variety Buffet!"
I hate that plan too.
I forget, has Taylor been explicit about how much murder that spell buys you if she at all detects it happened?
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
To harry yes though she's giving dumbledore a pretty explicit warning this chapter if nonverbally
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
I'd have to disagree a bit. We see Dumbledore not get his way a few times. Most notably when he was ousted from Hogwarts, though there were a few other times.
What Dumbles does excel at, is making things look like they were always part of his plans.
Dumbles is, if nothing else, a social prodigy, even something of a mentalist. He know all the players from the major to the inconsequential. He knows how they think. He can predict them to a fair extent. And he has such skill at this that he can quickly pin down most people he hasn't met.
And Taylor is so far outside his experience that he's basically starting from square 1 trying to figure her out.
Dumbles modus operandi in this situation would be to (mostly) graciously back down, while making it look like he was doing the person a favor, and then studying the person from a distance until he figured them out.
- Location
- San Diego
Good luck with that, Dumbledore. Let's ask the last person who tried that hpw it went.....
Oh. Wait. She's dead.
- Location
- The City of Tears, Hallownest
- Pronouns
- He/Him
She's not, because Contessa explictly sent Taylor to Magic earth so she wouldn't kill Alexandria. but the point stands.
I imagine the play here would be a shell game on dumbles part.
Having het at Hogwarts and as a member of the order will give him greater control over her than otherwise, so he has to try to balance that control & containing her such that she won't be able to interfere or act against his plans against her chafing under this and peacing out.
I think the way through here for him would be to try to play more into the preparation part of things and work to make it look like he's listening and supporting her.
Try to loop her with Hagrid to work with magic bugs (and to try to position her out of the castle at key points), provide her with resources and information (to keep her busy without having to actually put her into action), have her work with Filch to take on some shifts doing rounds of the halls (so that she has to follow known paths at specific times), etc.
He can't actually control her, that should be pretty clear by now, but if he wants any ability to influence her actions he has to present like he's working with her even when it'll still be difficult to obfuscate his actual intentions.
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