Toot Toot and the dread cat Mister

[KurtinStGeorge]

Some of you already know this, so this is a PSA for everyone who doesn't know yet.  Toot Toot; and judging by the the book cover Lacuna, will team up with Mister to face off against an invader Harry is unaware of, in the short story "Little Things."  It will be released next May in a collection of short stories titled "Heroic Hearts." 

Here's a link to the Amazon page on it. 
https://www.amazon.com/Heroic-Hearts/dp/B09FC1MHY4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Heroic+Hearts&qid=1638310575&sr=8-1

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Unless the cover is totally unrepresentative (Exhibit A Harry Dresden’s Hat) the threat is going to be in the Toot size range, so that if that is indeed Toot’s Sweet, Lacuna it is the eighteen inches height range plus and set after Cold Days. The armour and sword would suggest post Peace Talks, which time it could be several feet.

Toot doesn’t really care about Harry, he cares about the Za Lord, so it is likely Pizza is involved. An attack on Pizza S’Press by a rival fast food chain? Could it be evil clowns?

[Mira]

Yeah, and it makes his armor look more like Harry's old leather overcoat.. Somehow I don't picture that, but then again those it is always in the cover art, Harry never mentions wearing a hat either.

[Ed0517]

Unless the cover is totally unrepresentative (Exhibit A Harry Dresden’s Hat) the threat is going to be in the Toot size range, so that if that is indeed Toot’s Sweet, Lacuna it is the eighteen inches height range plus and set after Cold Days. The armour and sword would suggest post Peace Talks, which time it could be several feet.

Toot doesn’t really care about Harry, he cares about the Za Lord, so it is likely Pizza is involved. An attack on Pizza S’Press by a rival fast food chain? Could it be evil clowns?

'
I think Toot LIKES Harry, but he SERVES the Za Lord. Do I smell a rat.... in the mozzarella?

[Conspiracy Theorist]

On the teensiest bit of research Domino’s Pizza had a mascot called the Noid, voted amongst the creepiest of mascots.

Somewhere in the NeverNever the old nearly forgotten mascots dwell, dwindling in size and power, desperate to be relevant again and loved by children. Hold on, I have just described Day One.

If we are going into folklore, Boggarts i.e. Brownies gone bad. We don’t know what happened to the Brownies who looked after Harry’s old apartment. What happened to them after it burned down? Did they move into the Castle and get corrupted by Marcone/Namshiel as a housewarming gift for Harry?

Will we find out why Mister is called The Dread Beast? Has he been snacking on a diet of Little Folk? Is his cat litter full of fairy dust?

[Mira]

Maybe Mister likes pizza?  Or he isn't dreaded by Toot, but by their enemies.. I can just picture Toot riding Mister into battle on a pepperoni saddle..

[vincentric]

The Little Folk are afraid of cats in general. Molly used that in Cold Days to run off Lacuna and her allies. Mister, being near malk-sized, would inspire some dread in them.

[Mira]

The Little Folk are afraid of cats in general. Molly used that in Cold Days to run off Lacuna and her allies. Mister, being near malk-sized, would inspire some dread in them.

Yeah, but Toot isn't just any little pixie anymore, heck he took on Shaggy in defense of Harry, he's grown in size since then, and is well armed now.. I doubt he'd be afraid of Mister, plus I really doubt that unless he is possessed, that Mister would be an enemy of Toot.

On the cover at least it looks like they are confronting some kind of bald headed demon.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Arguably Toot took on and defeated Mavra an old Black Court Vampire one on one in Battle Ground.

It’s the team up which is intriguing Mister and Toot should be deadly enemies like Harry and Marcone, so it has to be a significant threat which affects both of them. Is Jim going to parody the ending of Battle Ground writ small?, if so is Marcone/Mister going to reveal he is a Malk Changeling and not a vanilla cat at all?

 (If A Malk Changeling he would have an extra long tail, the loss is significant as Lea may have planted him as a spy on Harry as kitten, in PT/BG Harry relates a story of a kitten involving his father which is very like Harry and Mister. That would make Lea a very determined stalker. She is. Mister is old for a cat , 3 years old by Storm Front making him 18 by Christmas Eve, in PT we have Harry commenting upon Mister getting on in age, but not really any diminution, so maybe Harry is starting to suspect something?. As a Changeling he wouldn’t age normally and it would start being noticeable. Mister in his micro fiction refers to humans as Monkeys, a term the Fae use derogatorily about mankind when called fairies. When has Mister seen a Monkey?. His food bowl in the microfiction refers to him as Emperor which would make him a Cat Sith. Jim has joked about his cat Fenris coming into his house as a stray kitten under false pretences, he was just a very small stray cat about 2-3 years old and not a kitten who totally dominates all the other pets and humans.)

Technically Mister considers Harry his vassal (he is a cat) which means he could consider Toot the vassal of his vassal.

Mister probably doesn’t like pizza, but would accept any anchovies picked off of one.

[Mira]

 Well, while Mister is getting on, it isn't unusual for them to live to be 18 or so.  My current cat Gabby
is about that age, she also lives his kind of life style, an indoor/outdoor hunting life style.  Now granted she doesn't leave as many dead birds on the doorstep or drag in as many dead rodents though the dog door to deposit in some dark corner like she used to, but she is still a tough old cat.

Oh one more thing, Gabby, as it happens does like pizza and will beg for it along side of the dogs.. She almost likes it as much as Kentucky Fried Chicken, extra crispy...

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Both my 16 year olds are winding down, loathe to go outside now, arthritic and losing teeth. Neither hunt any more.

The point is that Harry should be noticing anything like this in Mister if they are occurring, and all Harry realises is his calendar age, not symptoms of aging.

Besides if Jim killed off Mister the fanoutrage would be 1000 times worse than killing off Murphy, something Jim must be surely be aware of.

Besides it would be typical Harry to wind up with a second daughter
pet of whose supernatural nature he was unaware of, and right under his nose.

[Mira]

The point is that Harry should be noticing anything like this in Mister if they are occurring, and all Harry realises is his calendar age, not symptoms of aging.

Actually I think Murphy mentions it to Harry, I think in Cold Days.  Mister went to live with her after Harry's "death,"  I don't have time right now to look up the exact quote, but it is mentioned that Mister isn't as young as he used to be, and I think something about the cold affecting him.. On the other hand Mister is a beloved character, so I don't know if Jim is willing to have his fans read as nature takes it's course.  However Mister isn't the only one, little Maggie is supposedly highly intelligent, could well have inherited talent from her father, is what eleven going on twelve now? If she was at least six when Changes happened, she would be, but still talks a lot like and is treated like a six year old in many ways.  True, she has suffered a lot of trauma, but that doesn't account for all of it.

[Ed0517]

Unless the cover is totally unrepresentative (Exhibit A Harry Dresden’s Hat) the threat is going to be in the Toot size range, so that if that is indeed Toot’s Sweet, Lacuna it is the eighteen inches height range plus and set after Cold Days. The armour and sword would suggest post Peace Talks, which time it could be several feet.

Toot doesn’t really care about Harry, he cares about the Za Lord, so it is likely Pizza is involved. An attack on Pizza S’Press by a rival fast food chain? Could it be evil clowns?

Hey - toot is growing due to the responsibilities placed on him by Harry - why is Lacuna growing? Heck, she could be a DENT....

[Mira]

Hey - toot is growing due to the responsibilities placed on him by Harry - why is Lacuna growing? Heck, she could be a DENT....

  She is a lot more complex than we think, until she was "captured" by Toot she was also a leader.  As far as Mister goes, he may tolerate the little folk very well, let us not forget that Brownies are Harry's cleaning service. 

[LaraBeck]

You can actually read an excerpt of the story here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611814/heroic-hearts-by-edited-by-jim-butcher-and-kerrie-l-hughes/#

Actually I think Murphy mentions it to Harry, I think in Cold Days.  Mister went to live with her after Harry's "death,"  I don't have time right now to look up the exact quote, but it is mentioned that Mister isn't as young as he used to be, and I think something about the cold affecting him.. On the other hand Mister is a beloved character, so I don't know if Jim is willing to have his fans read as nature takes it's course.  However Mister isn't the only one, little Maggie is supposedly highly intelligent, could well have inherited talent from her father, is what eleven going on twelve now? If she was at least six when Changes happened, she would be, but still talks a lot like and is treated like a six year old in many ways.  True, she has suffered a lot of trauma, but that doesn't account for all of it.

Yeah, it is in Skin Game that they talk about how Mister is getting old. Harry is aware of it, at least.

“I’m . . . sort of settled now. And there’s nothing on the island big enough to take him. But it’s cold out there in the winter, and he’s getting older.”
“We’re all getting older,” Karrin said.” Skin Game, Ch 5.

About Maggie, at the time of the Christmas Story she would have just turned 11. I dunno if it's just my experience, but I haven't met an 11 year old who would still get all starry eyed at Santa Claus. The thing with Maggie always takes me out of the story, she acts, talks, is talked about and treated like a 5-6 year old, which is weird. However at the same time she's supposed to be super smart *shrug*. Her portrayal is inconsistent. I hope that improves as we get to see more of her. I wasn't a fan of her addition to the story, but since she's here already, I hope she becomes more of a character than just a plot device.