Don't know author plans, but it seems all multidimensional Worm threats (Doormaker, Scion, Gold Morning, Dauntless Titan, potential wild Simurgh with dimension hopping tinkertech etc) remained relevant.
Harry Potter and the Skittering Spouse
- Thread starter Fencer
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Superhero
- Location
- USA
Are we pre or post S9000? I forget where that takes place in the timeline of Taylor's life, and I can't figure out where in the timeline of events Taylor is at this point. The problem with Taylor is she is the kind of person that would murder a baby for the sake of the world so a little acceptable targets as collateral damage of a teleporting bomb delivery would not be enough to stop her from doing it on a moral level. If anything it only makes it more ethical for it.
Unless she develops some personal connections to withhold her impulse to solve things in a snap it just shifts the story to a logistic puzzle of getting a hold on some stable explosive. Hrmm, if you are looking for a wrinkle to stop bombs from being teleported it could be that the stresses of teleportation could make the explosives detonate before the teleport even goes off, leaving the explosive bits behind like with splinching.
Unless she develops some personal connections to withhold her impulse to solve things in a snap it just shifts the story to a logistic puzzle of getting a hold on some stable explosive. Hrmm, if you are looking for a wrinkle to stop bombs from being teleported it could be that the stresses of teleportation could make the explosives detonate before the teleport even goes off, leaving the explosive bits behind like with splinching.
Just a few thoughts on the whole issue:
1. House elves, especially when given a fey background, would most likely not be able to attack people. Defend them, at most. Otherwise we would have heard about assassinations or at least massive prank wars before. Let's just say vampire rules apply: House elves can't act without proper permission. If they aren't invited in, they can't interfere with a home. Probably the reason why they aren't used to deliver mail, too.
2. Taylor could use owls to deliver bombs, she doesn't need to rely on house elves. This would make timing things complicated though and limit the payload.
3. While it would be possible to deliver dangerous packages to Death Eaters, their homes might be protected. There might be magic to warn of danger or their house elves would intervene. Doesn't Gringotts employ some of that?
4. Wards are not a thing in the Potterverse. Those are charms and jinxes. Or possibly even ritual/blood magic in case of the Dursley home.
5. To get past defensive magic you'd need to use mundane explosives or toxins, anything magical would probably be detected instantly. And I wouldn't want to bet C4 would get past any spell that is checking for danger or malicious intent.
6. Where would Taylor get mundane explosives in 90s Britain? She'd have to raid the army. Which would be discovered quickly since this is during The Troubles and people are paying a lot of attention to explosives, weapons and ammo. She'd have to get a skilled wizard on her side for apparition, memory charms and possibly an invisibility cloak just to stand a chance.
7. The Order of the Phoenix would most likely be opposed to the entire thing and rightfully bring up the point that this is going to get innocents killed. Bombs are indiscriminate.
8. Even if Taylor somehow managed to overcome all those hurdles and blew up Malfoy mansion, there's no guarantee she'd actually manage to kill Lucius. He might be able to apparate away or have a protective charm on his person or use house elves to open packages for him. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of security routine done for packages from unknown senders. At least one wizard in the past must have sent a cursed object to an enemy, so people aren't just going to touch everything they receive. The magicals aren't completely incompetent and stupid after all.
9. Assassins/bombs rely on surprise to work. Once Voldy or the Death Eaters are warned the whole thing is not going to work anymore. Even worse, I can totally see Voldy coming up with his own version and sending dark magic bombs to his enemies.
10. Escalation isn't your friend when you lack the knowledge, skill and resources to go as far as your enemies. At this point Taylor needs to worry to stay healthy and sane, she needs to concentrate on defense. After all, she's going to Hogwarts and she has basically no magic. Any first year can send her to Madame Pomfrey with a minor prank. Her only option right now is lethal surprise attacks, which is not something she can use in a school.
11. I'm fairly certain wizards have spells against bugs. Just to keep their homes free from pests. Once people are aware of Taylor, those spells will be used everywhere.
1. House elves, especially when given a fey background, would most likely not be able to attack people. Defend them, at most. Otherwise we would have heard about assassinations or at least massive prank wars before. Let's just say vampire rules apply: House elves can't act without proper permission. If they aren't invited in, they can't interfere with a home. Probably the reason why they aren't used to deliver mail, too.
2. Taylor could use owls to deliver bombs, she doesn't need to rely on house elves. This would make timing things complicated though and limit the payload.
3. While it would be possible to deliver dangerous packages to Death Eaters, their homes might be protected. There might be magic to warn of danger or their house elves would intervene. Doesn't Gringotts employ some of that?
4. Wards are not a thing in the Potterverse. Those are charms and jinxes. Or possibly even ritual/blood magic in case of the Dursley home.
5. To get past defensive magic you'd need to use mundane explosives or toxins, anything magical would probably be detected instantly. And I wouldn't want to bet C4 would get past any spell that is checking for danger or malicious intent.
6. Where would Taylor get mundane explosives in 90s Britain? She'd have to raid the army. Which would be discovered quickly since this is during The Troubles and people are paying a lot of attention to explosives, weapons and ammo. She'd have to get a skilled wizard on her side for apparition, memory charms and possibly an invisibility cloak just to stand a chance.
7. The Order of the Phoenix would most likely be opposed to the entire thing and rightfully bring up the point that this is going to get innocents killed. Bombs are indiscriminate.
8. Even if Taylor somehow managed to overcome all those hurdles and blew up Malfoy mansion, there's no guarantee she'd actually manage to kill Lucius. He might be able to apparate away or have a protective charm on his person or use house elves to open packages for him. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of security routine done for packages from unknown senders. At least one wizard in the past must have sent a cursed object to an enemy, so people aren't just going to touch everything they receive. The magicals aren't completely incompetent and stupid after all.
9. Assassins/bombs rely on surprise to work. Once Voldy or the Death Eaters are warned the whole thing is not going to work anymore. Even worse, I can totally see Voldy coming up with his own version and sending dark magic bombs to his enemies.
10. Escalation isn't your friend when you lack the knowledge, skill and resources to go as far as your enemies. At this point Taylor needs to worry to stay healthy and sane, she needs to concentrate on defense. After all, she's going to Hogwarts and she has basically no magic. Any first year can send her to Madame Pomfrey with a minor prank. Her only option right now is lethal surprise attacks, which is not something she can use in a school.
11. I'm fairly certain wizards have spells against bugs. Just to keep their homes free from pests. Once people are aware of Taylor, those spells will be used everywhere.
Crazael
Rehydrated Demon King
- Location
- Lost to the vagaries of time.
I believe she was in the process of turning herself in when she got yoinked by Contessa, who drugged her and explained that she was gonna kill someone important to her and then dumped her in an alley in Vegas.
Probably depends on how such spells work. If they just instakill bugs in a large area, then Taylor will be pretty crippled. Yeah, she would have common sense and combat experience to offer, but ultimately it would be a bit hard to believe she would be able to play a huge role. Especially since most of that combat experience is utterly reliant on bugs everywhere.
For all that wizards don't always act optimally, HP magic is still extremely strong. Taylor winning repeatedly against baby!Eidolons with no special edge of her own would start to stretch disbelief eventually.
But if spells simply try to compel bugs away from an area, then I figure it won't be an issue. If a spell tells bugs to go away from the house, and QA tells the bug to go into the house, then I figure the bug will go into the house.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
They don't have things they call wards, but they certainly have spells which are effectively wards. Sure, anti-apparition spells are technically jinxes, but seeing as they are either permanent or semi-permanent spells cast on a location in order to protect it from something, they are wards by most definitions of the word. Same thing with the anti-muggle spells on the Leaky Cauldron and Hogwarts. The blood-based protections on Number Four Privet Drive would fall in the same category, as would the Fidelius.
Serpent King Codpeices
- Location
- Upstate NY, USA
- Pronouns
- Fjf
I start typing replies into this thread but they keep turning into story snippets where Taylor discovers the Gemino charm and applies it to grenades. Or minmaxes the Wizengamot.
But, to the earlier question about basilisk skin armor - I'm assuming that a full shirt or coat of it would be too heavy and mobility restricting to be practical. It probably could be used as overlapping panels of ablative armor, inserted into a shirt or vest.
≈=========≈
Taylor: OK, everyone, delivery from Gringotts. Here's your new basilisk skin armor! We need to start training with it.
Group: assorted noises of approval with some grumbling about more training.
Fred: Any leftover skin?
Taylor: Uh, some? Why?
George: Oh, an experiment...
Taylor: Well, here it is.
(Some time later)
Fred (bursting into the room): Attention, attention! We'd like to introduce...
George (right behind him): The newest, latest and greatest wizarding wheeze!
Fred: Personal protective equipment!
George: Of a VERY personal nature!
(With a well practiced synchronized movement the twins whip off their pants and perform a series of pelvic thrusts worthy of Magic Mike. They are wearing shiny dark green studded leather codpeices)
Fred: Protect your trouser snake...
George: With the King of Snakes!
(They drum on the codpeices with their knuckles)
Fred and George: Serpent King Codpeices!
Hermione: (completely deadpan) You left us out. What about bras?
Taylor: Goddammit.
But, to the earlier question about basilisk skin armor - I'm assuming that a full shirt or coat of it would be too heavy and mobility restricting to be practical. It probably could be used as overlapping panels of ablative armor, inserted into a shirt or vest.
≈=========≈
Taylor: OK, everyone, delivery from Gringotts. Here's your new basilisk skin armor! We need to start training with it.
Group: assorted noises of approval with some grumbling about more training.
Fred: Any leftover skin?
Taylor: Uh, some? Why?
George: Oh, an experiment...
Taylor: Well, here it is.
(Some time later)
Fred (bursting into the room): Attention, attention! We'd like to introduce...
George (right behind him): The newest, latest and greatest wizarding wheeze!
Fred: Personal protective equipment!
George: Of a VERY personal nature!
(With a well practiced synchronized movement the twins whip off their pants and perform a series of pelvic thrusts worthy of Magic Mike. They are wearing shiny dark green studded leather codpeices)
Fred: Protect your trouser snake...
George: With the King of Snakes!
(They drum on the codpeices with their knuckles)
Fred and George: Serpent King Codpeices!
Hermione: (completely deadpan) You left us out. What about bras?
Taylor: Goddammit.
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In fairness, this is pretty consistent with canon. Remember, these are the people who give all of their money to the goblins to handle and then regularly piss off the goblins.
To quote* Harry Crow
[half joking]
(*Accuracy not 100% guaranteed. It's along those lines at least.)
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Aaand thread marked. Cheers.
*dances off to dither about calling out of work do to snow which is mostly plowed at this point but will keep falling in bits and spurts until the end of my shift.*
I'm not so sure about this. Harry seems pretty done with wizards and the Wizarding World in general at this point. Not only did they ignore him telling them Voldy was back for a year at this point, but Sirius is dead, he's been shanghai'd into a marriage (and accidentally hurt Taylor in the process- something that's going to twig his 'saving people thing'), and Fudge is straight-up asking him to lie about Fudge doing a good job with regards to Voldy. Add on to that all the BS he's gone through with regards to the government as a whole: they imprisoned and tried to kiss Sirius despite him being innocent, kissing Barty Crouch Jr. without interrogating him, letting the entire population of Azkaban break out twice now, and not doing anything right after the first war with regards to investigations and trials.
I could see Harry letting her go warlord on the ministry, if only to root out the moles once and for all... especially after she tells him about Coil.
M. H. Fuzzball
Aperture Science-certified Horrible Person
- Location
- Sector 2814
The Harry Crow quote is, "Whoever has your gold, makes the rules."
Yes. That. Also:
[jk] I never promised 100% accuracy! In fact, I specifically discounted it. [/jk]
Kaernetron
Feuergeist
- Location
- Weit, Weit dort Oben
Basilisks are on about the same level as abominations spawned from Sith Alchemy, I'd be extremely wary of any mold growing on the corpse and strongly recommend a cleansing with fiendfyre. *see avatar*
My headcanon, considering the number of Goblin Rebellions and wizards allegedly always winning, is that Gringotts was an attempt at making a joke about history being written by the losers (implying wizards lost at least the last rebellion) - but somehow the punch line got left out.
- Location
- uk
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"Muggle tech doesn't work around magic"
Just have the triggering mechanism fail when it's teleported, so anything more complex than a chemical fuse and a string f fails. That way she can use it or twice before the other side twigs and learns to either have a flame suppression charm up (to deal with gunpowder based triggers) or to transfigure anything odd that they receive, or see dropped off, and then remove it from the house.
Don't forget that gunpowder weapons have been around longer than the statute.
- Location
- California
Even if she can't send directly 'lethal' via owl and house elf, Mindfuckery works too.
"why do we keep getting sent amorentia soaked cakes?
"who is poisoning our booze with self-loathing draughts?"
Paranoia can be a powerful weapon.
"How'd he die?" "Bad reaction, he takes calming draughts regularly but when they mix with certain ingredients they cause hypertension and cardiac arrests." "Who sent him booze spiked with those reagents?" "According to everything we can tell...you"
"why do we keep getting sent amorentia soaked cakes?
"who is poisoning our booze with self-loathing draughts?"
Paranoia can be a powerful weapon.
"How'd he die?" "Bad reaction, he takes calming draughts regularly but when they mix with certain ingredients they cause hypertension and cardiac arrests." "Who sent him booze spiked with those reagents?" "According to everything we can tell...you"
There are some pretty magic-resistant bugs in canon - if QA can control Acromontula, that's gonna be big. If they're too smart or whatever to qualify, Blast-Ended Skrewts almost certainly do. IIRC some pests like Doxies get pretty high threat ratings in sufficiently large swarms, too...
For that matter, Hagrid will 100% be down with breeding giant cuddly monstrosities if she promises to love them, he'd be like a discount Panacea who's actually into the biotinkering...
Skrattybones
Chao is all you need
Pretty easy to come up with something. Magic teleportation fries electronics or whatever. No functional detonator or timer means no teleporty-explodey techniques. Bam, done.
Besides, I prefer my bad guy murder with a little more personality.
- Location
- Russia
Alternate option: most explosives blow up upon elf apparation due to unforeseen chemical/magical interactions, killing the elf but leaving no trace in RL. Basically the elf with the bomb teleports and never arrives.
Cloak&Dagger
Definitely Insane
Hermoine: "...magic disables electronics. There's no way a bomb's trigger would work. And defensive spells and house elves can detect chemicals too, so it wouldn't work anyway."
Taylor: Clockworks intensify
Taylor: Clockworks intensify
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- Location
- California
Taylor: "Pretty sure enough C4 to equal the weight of target has 'personality.'"
- Location
- leiden (NL)
I can definitely make explosions with completely innoculous substances and trigger it with purely mechanical or chemical means. Afterward it's just a matter of using enough of it.
And just to be clear, there is a way to make explosions using WATER as the main explosive material. And we were taught it in chemical class at age 13. It's just a matter of applying what you are taught with some imagination.
And that before getting into chemical reactions emitting dangerous gases.....
EDIT: I doubt Winslow was teaching that, but all that is in the schoolbooks (or at least was when I was a Kid. It definitely will be in the advanced chemistry books - under exothermal reactions rather than explosives but it means the same or with warning about dangerous and/or poisonous by-products -)
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Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Personally I suspect that, given Rowling's known and loudly stated views on certain subjects, the Goblins were probably supposed to be at least partially a caricature of certain Jewish stereotypes.
But yes the whole situation does indeed rather heavily imply that the Goblins won the most recent rebellion.
e:
The large amount of ambient magical energies at Hogwarts disables complex electronics.
This is not the same thing as 'magic disables electronics' which it demonstrably does not.
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