Little Things [spoilers]

[Mira]

One thing I have noted is that Harry has invited Winter Fae to reside at the Castle (that surprised me) and that Bob has adopted Winter colours (also surprising) The Castle has become a Winter Fortress in the mortal world. This suggests that Harry may be trying to forge a new connection in the Never Never for the Castle perhaps with Arctis Tor, with Mab’s help. Is this the reason for his meditation? He is willing it into existence changing facts on the ground to make it so as quickly as possible.

Possible, but more likely he is trying to deal with his grief plus a huge tanker load of PTSD.  I imagine that Butters suggested it, actually he needs Mouse at this moment as much as if not more than little Maggie.  Dogs do wonders for people suffering from it, he also might try a little pot.

Now that would be a fun scene, Bob trying to engage with Alexa or Siri, to try and pick them up, thinking they too are spirits of intellect. Harry would never let him live it down.

Or a wall of the castle suddenly blowing out with a disembodied scream, "YOU PERVERT!" Because Alexa really is a spirit of intellect. 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

That would only work if Bezos is Black Council. Which I have theorised in the Dresdenverse.

However not impossible, the Baku came into existence from the Never Never because Japanese children believed in it from the nineties onwards. Alexa  was introduced 2013 and Siri 2011 so both are a little too early (its 2014 in the Dresdenverse) for them to develop.

However Clippy the Microsoft Office Assistant existed from Windows 1997 until the characters demise in 2011, so will have been around for about 17 years, at this point in the Dresdenverse installed on every Microsoft machine at that time, making an immense User base.  I can remember Clippy on my office machine from about 2000 onwards and god I hated it irrationally, like most people.

Worryingly the code for Clippy was developed from Microsoft Bob (that is a real thing). Therefore if there is a candidate for an AI programme to make the jump via the Never Never to becoming a spirit of intellect, it’s Clippy. All I can say is that Butters needs to kill it immediately and with extreme prejudice.

I have speculated about the White God coming into existence via the Singularity and things existing from the internet coming into existence via the Never Never is a way forward. Butters “Gaming Display” from his connection to the White God would suggest this. On this basis Internet Trolls, Trolls who are Spirits of Intellect would be a thing.

[Mira]

  Oh and one more thing confirms that Harry is suffering horribly from PTSD, he graphically mentions what he sees in flashbacks in Christmas Eve.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

It’s a Christmas Carol parody, of course he has flashbacks.

[Mira]

It’s a Christmas Carol parody, of course he has flashbacks.

 Not really the same..

[magnuskn]

Um, did they just post the entire story in the preview for the book? I mean, that basically takes away my incentive to get the book at all, until Jim releases a collection.

Anyway, Toot is a badass. Dang.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

The story is 20 pages.

The main takeaway isn’t that Toot is a badass (he always was) but his personal growth (emotionally not physically) the Sprites appear to have little in the way of empathy and no real concept of death. Toot is struggling in that recently he has grasped the concept of death, alone of his fellow sprites (because he is growing). He knows Harry is hurting from the loss of Murphy but doesn’t know how to express it because he doesn’t fully understand it. By the end of the story Toot nearly suffers a similar loss. At this point he connects the concept of death, his own potential for loss and Harry’s grief and is able to comfort Harry,  he has developed empathy for Harry’s situation.

Oh and he values Lacuna above pizza.

Frozen pizza at least. She had better not push it with a fresh pie shop pizza.

Of the Little Folk only the Cobbler Gnomes are truly capable of putting themselves in another’s shoes.

[magnuskn]

Huh, the "excerpt" on the front page seemed pretty complete, not sure if there is a middle part missing or if it continues after the post-oven denoument.

And I wasn't making a conclusion on the personality and trajectory of Toot, but rather his actions in combat in the story. Harry was pretty right recalling Leonidas.

[RobReece]

The Gremlins descended from the roof via the hole made by Ethnui, they either  climbed up the exterior of the Castle or were dropped by a flier. I suspect the former, Bob would have sensed a large flier and Gremlins are not fliers. Until the hole is repaired there is a gap in The Castle’s Defences.

I don't think we they came through the hole in the roof, Toot found them in the passage

(click to show/hide)

I shot down darkened corridors and up close-fit spiral staircases to the passage to the roof—and found it occupied by the enemy.

(click to show/hide)

A carpet of creatures the size of sewer rats poured down the staircase from the roof.

the "hole" had been open to the main hall. 
I'm thinking that a good carpenter has already closed that opening,  especially if they have a number of people staying there.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

It was all tarps.

[Mira]

It was all tarps.

It was my impression that this was less than a month after the Battle, Harry is still in a cast and his ankle wrapped heavily.  With all the damage to the city, there are priorities before a wizard's castle would be dealt with.  Also not all that easy to fix, there are houses with blue tarps still on the roofs a year later after a hurricane.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I wonder when Harry found out that Toot had used the heavy canvas to trap the Gremlins he said to himself “it’s a tarp”

[Mira]

I wonder when Harry found out that Toot had used the heavy canvas to trap the Gremlins he said to himself “it’s a tarp”

  I am still wondering why the big person guard didn't notice them..

[vincentric]

I think all the Little Folk cloak themselves in glamour naturally and have to make some effort to be seen.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Toot says it is difficult for even Harry to hear when he uses his inside voice, and Harry can Listen.

A protective glamour would be a pro- survival evolution practically everything is bigger and stronger than the Little Folk.

Little Folk in this context seems apply as a term to sprites, brownies, cobbler gnomes and gremlins, plus all other such tiny Fae.

Sprites includes the tooth fairies such as Lacuna, who is a sugar free Sprite. (I suspect Jim finding there was no Coke Zero left, instead had a sugar free Sprite when he sat down to write Little Things, and realised he could retcon a pun by calling her and Toot Sprites for the first time)