TBH Stars and Stones for me points to something a'la Stonehenge.

Astrology, druidism, human sacrifice.

It could be as simple as them being missing aspects of them. If love and hatred are the same force then the sword of love is missing part of what it should be.

It's not really. Love as a Virtue is different force than love as part of emotional spectrum - that can be used by titans, wizards, fae to empower their spells. They coincide - but ultimately are not the same.

Because if there was, then free will is greatly cheapened, and the whole point of my theory/head canon is to avoid that.

Is it? I mean if any time free will can be used - all possible itterations creates new universe then it seems logical one of those itterations is - ABSTAIN from using it - and going with the flow. Not doing something when you can is ALSO a choice in itself.

You can choice to swim against the flow... or with it.
TBH very well choice Dresden did in Grave Peril was exactly NATURAL choice - in accord of what we know of his inner mechanisms, but he could... well betray himself.

The ability to exercise free will is what defines mortals in the Dresdenverse. The use of that ability is different than possession of that ability. Uriel says the use is rare.

Indeed, but he also point to several uses of it by Dresden alone in "Warrior".
So "seldom" used by him does not seems to be "rare" - just well - way less often that people thinks.

Not against yourself, but against your nature. Acting against your nature isn't the same thing as acting against yourself. Acting in accordance with your nature is often detrimental. An addict acting against his nature is a very good thing.

That's quite odd definition of nature, I have to say.

And basically has a pet God with which to rampage through the White Councils underwear drawers.

Wait what?

We know dead Wardens shall serve as new recrutis FOR STARS AND STONES.

Which implies either event for which Black Court is renewing his armies or organisation or cult to which Black Court belongs.

Any decision that isn't against one's nature doesn't create an alternate reality according to Jim. So the "natural" decision would be a decision that isn't against one's nature and wouldn't be an exercise of free will.

Is there a WOJ to that? That would be weird to me, considering free will sort of is part of our nature, it's what defines mortals in Dresdenverse.
Using free will as against of own nature in this regard is weird.

Without exercising choice Harry would have done X in GP.  But he exercised free will in that book and did Y. In MM, Harry exercised free will and did Z. Y was a good path. Z was a good path. There is no universe in which Harry did X. There may be universes in which Harry did something other than X, Y, and Z, but we don't know because we don't have any indication of a third universe.

But why do we assume there is not like basic universe where Harry did X?
Also - overall it seems to me Dresden had not done anything against his very character in GP. He was faithful to it - till end. Burn the world to save one soul - that's very much natural Dresden as we know him. I mean if option of acting against oneself has power to split the universes - that still should include - option 0 being preserved.

But then you seems to consider that you "exercise" free will only when you act against yourself - not every time you stand against real choice, which is quite weird definition of "exercise" for me. It's like you using exercise like physical exercise, when one has to struggle to get gains.
I see it more as exercising your power over something - each time you do it, you're using your power even if it's easy for you.

So option that only unnatural Dresden's exist is bit weird to me.
If you have quote I'd like to see it, if not - well I think we should hunt for another AMA or Q&A and ask him long and convoluted questions about nature of free will and multiverse.

On the male gaze thing, I think that one has to ignore a great many character descriptions to reach a lot of the "male gaze" descriptions of characters that appear in the books. For example, in DB several female characters appear. The only one that gets the male gaze treatment is the one trying to seduce Harry. (And maybe the naked jogger, I don't really remember).

Agree. And it was pointed to me, that many characters get too much descriptions over and over, so maybe sexy babes stood bit more - but it's the same with guys and other beings. Descriptive guy Dresden it.

In my theory, a limited number of Dresdens exist. As few as two, but maybe a lot. Definitely less than all imaginable Dresdens.

That I agree. Still this will be massive number - because it's not just his descisions spliting reality but all 7 bln mortals around.
Some of those splits can be identical from Dresden Files perspective as butterfly effect shall never caught to him, but there are probably worlds when Dresden is different not because of own choice split - but because someone put him in situation when entirely different set of choices and actions was possible.

Agreed, but if he had killed him that bell cannot be unrung.. 

Consequences could not. But from perspective of Dresden soul and character however paradoxically it can seem it could be better. It could push him to stronger spiritual jihad for instance, and stronger grasp of control, and overall better morality.

TBH I often have feeling he is WOJ-ing lot of stuff, that really would be better in books as signs Harry is getting better grasp of supernatural world.

But my overall theory about why MM Harry is evil is TBH necromancy.
It's a long time since we've got proper Necro thread, whole kill your doppelganger is implied to by our world Kemmler way to avoid White Council, Mavra is meant to be Darth Harry ally (or ally of Prime Harry against Darth Dresden - there is grammatical possibility), Dracul was teased as part of Stars and Stones.

So my bet in this regard is - that of three apocalypses - Empty Night being Outsider driven, Hell Bells denarian driven, last one is gonna be necro / dark wizards one. And they are the ones that god least attention hiding well in shadows.

I think Mirror!Dresden is Black Council - and we're gonna get big infodump about them thanks to Mirror Mirror that will help Dresden fighting them in next books

Here's the dilemma. If you can't read the future, what good is the exercise of free will? At best you're guessing.  What you can do is to be true to yourself. So Harry is the type of man that couldn't walk away. And if he does then he has abandoned what it is to be him.

Becasue free will is not only about foresight of consequences. It's about choosing what's wrong and what's right. Picking one of options.
I believe that any choice is true to yourself - by which I mean human beings are complicated not simple like angels, and they have various drives. So I do not really believe in this true to myself - what myself - my Shia Islam Sufi superego or my id of predator hedonist? Both are part of me like my hands and arms... If something is not from myself - I'd not be able to choose it really. I could not just take a knife and stab someone randomly, as it's just no there. But multiple other goods and evils are.

That is an assumption, or they might see an avenging angel, which would also make them faint.

but would Bradley then act as he acted?

But Harry didn't kill Rudolph, in the emotion of the moment, yes, he wanted to and tried.  However the Sword of Faith by giving him a good burn sobered him up from his emotion.  In that moment he then chose not to do it, and felt shame that he had tried to do it.

He would feel such shame after killing Rudolph anyway TBH if there was no Butters to stop him.

That is my point, MM Harry is just too evil. It is difficult (for me) to imagine that our Harry could end being that unless he has external influences, but of course, we will see what JB has in mind.

Turn every book in another story - another corrupting influence after another. Another justification for greater good after another.
It was 14 years since Grave Peril. Lot of time to go dark.

But in that world, not the one you belong in..  Also you are assuming that Harry would make a different choice in the mirror world, Harry remains who he is, in both worlds.  The effects on others might be different, but at the core, Harry is who he is.  In Mirror Mirror, while the Kirk in the other world was evil, Kirk remained who he was in both worlds.

If people are WHO they are in strict sense, there would be no free will whatsoever - just nature playing itself just like Mab or Uriel does.
Free Will, Choice means - the character is able to take both choices, that he has in himself ability to choose.

And Harry definitely have some dark, dark potential - people would not faint at his Soulgaze otherwise.

The point for Butcher is to find possible choice earlier which chosen otherwise would gave us first step for Harry into deeper Dresden. Not a choice to turn him into mustacho twirling villain from the get go.

If Mirror Harry made a important free willed choice different from our Harry then he will be a different Harry. That kind of choices are the choices that shape your soul. That is why the butters tried to stop Harry when he tried to kill Rudolph, that choice would have resulted in a different Harry.

TBH one could agree Harry already made a choice to kill Rudolph. Butters changed consequences not choice itself.
But also in terms of souls - WOJ says otherwise - choices rarely changes soul - because soul already have potential of multiple choices in it's essence. And if you look into a soul - you see them - not just those active and realised - like with Molly's Soul - multiple fates, multiple possibilities, roads not yet taken, shadows of things...

It would change though - Sight. Sight is more about what's now around person. Soul is about immovable essence.
Or at least that's how I understand soul theory from WOJ.

So, again I hope it is that his choice did not made him evil but more vulnerable to external corruption and that is what make him evil (probably a Denarian??)

I think Darth Dresden will likely be necromancer.

Also we have seen Harry's condition after Grave Peril and that was when he saved Susan from an even worse fate, she could escape and handle her condition. If he had made the choice the white council had liked him to make and sacrificed Susan for "Peace" his condition would have been much worse.

And Harry is capable of making very bad decisions in such a condition.

Problem with this for me - is considering Harry state in "Grave Peril" I cannot see him at all submitting to peace offer.
It's... this thought does not even cross his mind really. I'd like to see something more subtle, smaller that leads to some catastrophe - possibly Michael's dead and Amoracchius destroyed or smth. I can more likely see Dresden fucking up more severly while trying to save Susan than leaving her for Reds.