The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Who will hurt more emotionally for Harry?

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g33k:

--- Quote from: Cats_are_evil on November 15, 2025, 07:28:56 AM ---See, here's the thing. What if the mirror mirror version of Susan was a simple homemaker with kids. She than offers Harry a chance to just give up and have a storybook life. No monsters. No courts. A family life that he could raise his daughter. He'd be free of the winter knight contract. Think how painful it would be to turn that down. Remember in Summer Knight I think when the summer lady gave him a brief moment free from his pain. Think how much more pain he's in now. That's why I think the Susan one will be harder. Because he KNOWS Murphy will hurt to see. 
--- End quote ---

Susan was half-turned, though, and that will likely still be true in the Mirror'verse (unless she got all the way turned there).  The "simple homemaker" future isn't possible for her.

Nor can Harry escape HIS contract:  he's still got a WK-mantle inside him, and both Mab & Maeve thus have hooks deep into him (I can only imagine Lloyd Slate will be bewildered and even-more violently psychopathic if confronted with another WK).

Moreover, Harry (being Harry) isn't capable of just laying down all his worries and chilling.  Not when the monsters are out there preying on mortals.  And WoJ states that the Mirrorverse is in worse shape than Dresdenverse-Prime.

KurtinStGeorge:
Susan and Murphy will not only be different in the Mirror Mirror world, their individual attitudes towards Harry will be heavily colored by the decisions and actions of Alt-Harry.  Seeing Susan and Murphy alive will elicit a reaction from Harry, but then he will find out what each of them thinks of him; well, actually what they think of his doppelganger.  For example, it's possible Alt-Murphy will draw a weapon and start shooting at Harry the moment she sees him, because Alt-Harry is one of the bad guys. Harry will have to deal with those reactions, whatever they may be.  I think it will heavily effect his longer term emotional reaction.

Imagine a worse case scenario for Harry.  He is forced to kill Alt-Red Court Susan.  She won't be the youngest vampire any longer.  There won't be a noble cause behind Harry's actions, just Harry surviving a terrible situation.  Something like that would change what Harry feels in big way.  For this reason I don't think we can easily predict what will hurt Harry more.

Cats_are_evil:
Plus, we are looking at Harry a year later. He's had time to heal. We have no idea what state he'll be in after 12 months. Maybe he finally admits Molly is the best choice for him. That's my opinion BTW. Maybe he and Lara seal the deal on wedding night. We just don't know.

Mira:

--- Quote from: Cats_are_evil on November 15, 2025, 11:54:13 PM ---Plus, we are looking at Harry a year later. He's had time to heal. We have no idea what state he'll be in after 12 months. Maybe he finally admits Molly is the best choice for him. That's my opinion BTW. Maybe he and Lara seal the deal on wedding night. We just don't know.

--- End quote ---

  "Heal" in the case of grief is often complicated and is never simple.  Yes, over time the loss becomes less front and center, but like some injuries, never fully goes away.  I think that will be the case of Harry, he will get to the point where he can function again, even function well, but the scars are real and Harry isn't one to forget or not feel the pain.  The question becomes is Lara capable of understanding that?  Is Mab?

g33k:

--- Quote from: KurtinStGeorge on November 15, 2025, 08:39:45 PM --- ...  For example, it's possible Alt-Murphy will draw a weapon and start shooting at Harry the moment she sees him, because Alt-Harry is one of the bad guys...
--- End quote ---
100% this.
We know that the decision causing the MM divergence happens "at the end of Grave Peril," but not what that decision is, or how close to the end of the novel.

But we know that Murphy got trapped by the Nightmare who Fake-Harry'ed its way in.  A year later in SK, she's still combining drugs & alcohol to damp things enough to get a night's sleep (that was a huge trauma for her) and if Mirror!Harry isn't as supportive after SK, this could be the souring of their relationship... Harry turns to darker paths, makes deeper compromises; Murphy trusts him less and less; and by the time Harry!Prime gets to the Mirrorverse, Murphy sees him solidly as a BadGuy.

That said, not a shoot-on-sight target; but certainly an armed-and-dangerous / hand-on-holster / do-not-trust individual.


--- Quote from: KurtinStGeorge on November 15, 2025, 08:39:45 PM ---
Imagine a worse case scenario for Harry.  He is forced to kill Alt-Red Court Susan.  She won't be the youngest vampire any longer.  There won't be a noble cause behind Harry's actions, just Harry surviving a terrible situation.  Something like that would change what Harry feels in big way.
--- End quote ---
One of the very-real possibilities of Harry's "decision" is that he decided to trade Susan to Bianca, when Bianca made that offer (at the beginning of the climactic fight).  In that case, "Susan" is gone and only another blood-sucking monster exists in a Susan-shaped fleshmask.

Or, Bianca could have spent the intervening years using the Rampire's time-honored "Jaguar Warrior" training-methods to brainwash half-Ramp Susan into fanatic loyalty.

Either of those would be their own whole serving of trauma for Harry!

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