Little Things [spoilers]

[g33k]

Hmmm.  An idea has just struck me, I don't see anyone has mentioned it yet.

Is it possible -- with new Icy Bob the Castle -- that Jim is going with an intentional mirror of Calcifer in Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle?

[g33k]

Mab took over handling Mister post Grave Peril, when he became interesting to her as Winter Knight. Before that it was all Lea...

I think Mab's Handmaiden was put into the path of Margaret LeFay on Mab's orders.

Mab wanted Margaret's (Starborn) child to have a Fairy Godmother:  to have Mab's choice of FG's.

Mab was planning -- from before Harry's birth -- to get her WK's mantle onto Starborn shoulders.

Because seriously, folks:

• What is the Winter Knight?  Mab's primary free-willed Mortal agent.
• What is a Starborn?  A mortal with extra resistance to and power over the Outsiders.
• What is Winter's BIG duty?  Fighting Outsiders (primarily at the Gates, but still).

Why WOULDN'T Mab have been laying exactly that long-term plan???  We already know -- from how Marcone's Vault was primarily a honeypot for Nicky & Anduriel -- that Mab does lay these subtle & long-term plans; plans that require others' plans to take advantage of, that require others to follow the trail of breadcrumbs that Mab leaves them...  It would have been much, much easier to manipulate & fool a mortal such as Margaret "LeFay," or even the "Black Council" if they were ostensibly recruiting Margaret to bear a Starborn.

I suspect Mab was behind the entire notion of elder-Maggie trying for a Starborn baby; she didn't care what others' pretext was, she wanted her Knight, and her Handmaiden was her primary agent in the matter.
 

(n.b.  Mister as a Malk (or Malk-changeling) seems to fit well with the overall plan).
 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

We really need to see what Lea’s deal with Margaret was. I think she bargained with Lea the first born female issue of her line, to get out from under Raith and the White Council. That would be Maggie. WOJ has it when Harry finds out about the deal he will want to murder Lea. Anything involving Maggie would do that. Another WOJ is that Maggie might not be a wizard but instead something else. What if the Leansidhe wants a successor? That been Leas interest all along in what Harry’s daughter could be for her. Harry would not be pleases for his daughter to become a killer muse.

Mab may have known about Harry but prior to Grave Peril had no contact, he hadn’t demonstrated his potential use to her. We know in Grave Peril Harry’s actions created a split in the universes, and that would have got Mab’s interest. WOJ has it she can contact her alters (there is only one Uriel). In the Mirrorverse Harry may not have been recruited by Mab as unsuitable. Mab may know this. The twist may be our Harry is a Destroyer, but that is what is needed by Mab and The times.

Both Lea and Mab have their own agendas in relation to Harry’s family.

[Mira]

I think Mab's Handmaiden was put into the path of Margaret LeFay on Mab's orders.

Mab wanted Margaret's (Starborn) child to have a Fairy Godmother:  to have Mab's choice of FG's.

Mab was planning -- from before Harry's birth -- to get her WK's mantle onto Starborn shoulders.

Because seriously, folks:

• What is the Winter Knight?  Mab's primary free-willed Mortal agent.
• What is a Starborn?  A mortal with extra resistance to and power over the Outsiders.
• What is Winter's BIG duty?  Fighting Outsiders (primarily at the Gates, but still).

Why WOULDN'T Mab have been laying exactly that long-term plan???  We already know -- from how Marcone's Vault was primarily a honeypot for Nicky & Anduriel -- that Mab does lay these subtle & long-term plans; plans that require others' plans to take advantage of, that require others to follow the trail of breadcrumbs that Mab leaves them...  It would have been much, much easier to manipulate & fool a mortal such as Margaret "LeFay," or even the "Black Council" if they were ostensibly recruiting Margaret to bear a Starborn.

I suspect Mab was behind the entire notion of elder-Maggie trying for a Starborn baby; she didn't care what others' pretext was, she wanted her Knight, and her Handmaiden was her primary agent in the matter.
 

(n.b.  Mister as a Malk (or Malk-changeling) seems to fit well with the overall plan).

I agree with most of this, in fact all of it, except I still don't think Mister is a Malk.  He might be
half Malk, and like Sarrissa, Lily, and others who are half Fae/half human,he has a choice. I believe he has chosen to live as an ordinary cat for the most part, much like Lily and Sarrissa chose a human lifestyle until forced to go full Fae.  Now at the BAT if may be that the choice will forced on Mister, but until then he likes the life of an ordinary tom cat.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Yes, I suspect Malks can’t get high on catnip, but changelings can, through their half felis domesticus side.

Mister is a fiend for catnip, it has been shown on multiple occasions. He might have to forswear it to go full Malk, currently he has all the benefits of a Malk, random sex and violence PLUS catnip.

Harry would swap with him if he could.

Generally Mister has not been confronted with an adversary he couldn’t dispatch or run away from, if he does, like Greebo he might have another option. Does Mister have an adversary? Yes. Rudy has a long standing grudge  over Harry which includes Mister, poor trigger discipline, first against Mister, then against Harry and then against Murphy. Harry terrifies him, so what would Rudy do if he is fired for repeated poor firearms discipline? For won’t of a better charge? I think he would revenge himself on Mister, Harry’s pet ‘cat’, if that is used as the pretext to fire him.

When one grasps a Malk by the tail, one had better makes sure it has a tail.

[RobReece]

If Mister were a changeling, then I suspect that he wouldn't have been chasing Bob the blue around, he would have been actively pursuing the invaders or laying in wait for them.  Mister heard them the same time that Toot did, but Bob had to lead  Mister back into the kitchen to get him engaged with the fiends.  I think Mister is just a cat, and that is awesome enough all by itself.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Who said Mister wasn’t killing Gremlins elsewhere within the Castle?

Harry may be finding bits of dead Gremlin all over the place, only locating some by the smell when they start to decompose. Between the Za Guard and Mister they may have finished off most of the Gremlins before Bob realised the danger. Bob couldn’t get the Sprites attention, but he could get Misters.

[Mira]

Who said Mister wasn’t killing Gremlins elsewhere within the Castle?

Harry may be finding bits of dead Gremlin all over the place, only locating some by the smell when they start to decompose. Between the Za Guard and Mister they may have finished off most of the Gremlins before Bob realised the danger. Bob couldn’t get the Sprites attention, but he could get Misters.

If he was, I doubt he had been doing it very long or the Gremlins were either not very bright or who ever sent them underestimated an old tom cat..

[Conspiracy Theorist]

All three, most of the Gremlins were easy for him to despatch, it didn’t take him long to dispatch even the dangerous scar eye. They weren’t very bright, they were comprehensively out thought by Toot. Everyone THINKS Mister is an old tomcat.

[Mira]

All three, most of the Gremlins were easy for him to despatch, it didn’t take him long to dispatch even the dangerous scar eye. They weren’t very bright, they were comprehensively out thought by Toot. Everyone THINKS Mister is an old tomcat.

Well, he is for now..  Also Harry thinks the Gremlins were all killed, I wouldn't be shocked it Mister has a couple stashed away to play with now and kill later.. 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Oh yes. Harry will wake up at 3:00 am to a ruckus and little cries of “help me! Help meeee!” ending in a little crunchy silence.

[Mira]

Oh yes. Harry will wake up at 3:00 am to a ruckus and little cries of “help me! Help meeee!” ending in a little crunchy silence.

Then the housekeeper Brownies will run across the random bloody shoe that isn't part of Za'Guard's uniform..

[Dina]

I've read the story (in Amazon sample) and I liked it. I am a little surprised at how easy it is to invade Harry's castle.
Poor Harry, so many things in his plate while he is grieving so bad. 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

The Castle currently has a bloody huge hole in it’s roof which is where the Gremlins got in. The Defences were strong against certain magical threats (the Fomor bomb would have been detected) but not mundane threats like the Boom, nope. Remember Marcone had a boom sniffing dog on patrol during Peace Talks, everyone there would have realised a boom would be a threat. Not Marcone as there were children in the Castle. The Merlin wouldn’t care about it and Carlos would have told him about the dog and that way around the defences as well as the hole in the roof.

Harry as a ‘ghost’ was able to get past the Defences because they weren’t set for that, similarly so could the gremlins, too small a threat. Gremlins plus boom was a viable plan.

Except for Toot and Lacuna (the brains of the outfit)

[Mira]

I've read the story (in Amazon sample) and I liked it. I am a little surprised at how easy it is to invade Harry's castle.
Poor Harry, so many things in his plate while he is grieving so bad.

They got in easily because it is a threat that Bob didn't take into account.  However having said that, we don't know how long Marcone has actually taken the coin with in himself or if before he did Namshiel perhaps was a shadow with in his head.  I mention that because at the end of Battle Ground looking at the wards of the castle Harry said that they are as old a those on Demonreach.  Someone like Nasmshiel could read those and know how to breech those.