#too many forced villains that think murder doesn't count if the murderer feels bad about it

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Fanfic trope game:

Villain Midoriya Izuku

D: Not my favorite. I avoid it if I can, but it won’t necessarily put me off reading something.

I've said all i needed to say with Butterfly

[tokyoghoose]

nous aimons tous les deux jours

pairing: dabi x reader

playlist: things we never say - bad bad habits*, sincerity is scary - the 1975, love love love - of monsters and men, if i go, im going - gregory alan isakov, i dont know me like you do - low hum, if i get high - nothing but thieves ( alice kristiansen cover ), i dare you - the regrettes, problems - deathbyromy, fool of you - meltt, hell and you - amigo the devil, creature - it looks sad, tongues and teeth - the crane wives, hooked ( addicted you might say ) - eleisha eagle, nothings gonna hurt you baby - cigarettes after sex, a dream of you - far caspian, so alright, cool, whatever - the happy fits, a lovely night - ryan gosling

warnings: mentions of violence, brief mentions of drugs for expression, and suggestive themes

summary: we love every other day

announcements!

this is my first try at a enemies/lover thingy! Originally it was going to be an enemy to lovers but i liked the idea that they're just on opposing sides a little more haha. Lemme know if you'd like to see the other one though!

i know there are a lot of hero x villain fics like this out there 😌 this is my take on it, so please bare with me!

feedback is welcome and appreciated! requests are open!

"We really have to stop meeting like this."

An addiction. That's what it is. Either that or it's some kind of reverse psychology like you want what you can't have—because nothing else makes sense. If you knew him as a regular person, honestly you probably wouldn't have given him a second thought. If he was a hero you worked beside—or god forbid a villain—then you probably wouldn't have cared for a hookup or two, but then you'd get over it. It's not infatuation. It's an addiction. It's toxic and unhealthy and it just feels good even if it shouldn't. But the high; the high is unbeatable.

It continues on forever and more. From the moment his gaze pierces yours it's like snorting a rail of coke or taking a tab and the trip never ends. It's not even the fact you could get caught. You two are so damn obvious; anyone who stumbles into an alleyway at three in the morning would see the two of you doing more than what a fight warrants. It's just him. It's simply Dabi.

Romeo and Juliette's syndrome is probably a better term for it. But hell, it's not like he'd die for you. Right? It's not like you've known each other way longer than some days and nights and you certainly aren't teenagers and he's definitely not somebody who moves onto a girl and decides he's in love at first sight just because his 'rosaline' left him face down ass up. So maybe Romeo and Juliette is just lack of a better term.

But it's so unfair. How the hell are you supposed to escape him when it's like he's around every corner. With every breath you take, it's like he's an inch closer to crushing your chest with his. And maybe you want him to? This isn't very hero-like.

"You're the one always tracking me down, doll."

The pet name sends shivers down your spine and it makes you want him all the more.

Who am I? What has gotten into me?

You blame the pink tint to your cheeks on the brisk wind of the night, but the heat to them is a large contrast. You cross your arms over your chest and scoff, trying to look taller, stronger, and broader. Not in a threatening way, but more a warning.

This time you'll really take him out.

"In case you forgot, it's my job."

You tell yourself that every time.

And every time he gets away.

"I'm not doing anything but taking a walk."

He steps closer, the already short distance between you two getting shorter. The streetlamp that cuts the scene in half flickers, a moth flying away from the light and towards the moon. You count three squares in distance and you resist the urge to step back.

"You're a wanted criminal, Dabi."

He doesn't deny it but scoffs anyway, shoving his hands into his pockets leisurely. It's like he's never bothered. You're just a nat he's waiting to squash. You have to remind yourself of that: You're just prey.

"I think you just miss me." His tone is serious, but he's only teasing—no matter how true it is. You're starting to think that he can read minds—it's actually quite concerning.

You force a laugh past your lips, trying to show you aren't bothered by what he says. It's just a game of cat and mouse, and it's time the roles switch.

"Please. I could throw you in jail right now."

"But you wouldn't do that. Isn't that right, bunny?"

Your guard faulters and it gives him the opening he needs to corner you completely—and quite literally. It's a blink of an eye and he has you against the brick wall. It'd look rather suspicious to anyone passing, or maybe it looks endearing. But it doesn't matter, to begin with when it's a barren street. Even the crickets seem to have fled.

It's like wherever Dabi walks, everything else scatters. If it were the sea, you're sure it'd part red.

Dabi smirks, trapping you between his body and the cool, damp bricks. The mist from earlier rain seeps slowly into your hero suit, sending a violent chill down your spine. His other hand touches your hip, fingers grazing the fabric so faintly that it'd feel non-existent if it weren't for the heat radiating off them. You hitch your breath when his nose nudges your neck, his hot breath causes shivers and his eyes bore into your own with something mischievous.

"I-"

His lips ghost the skin of your neck and you subconsciously pull it taut, tilting your head to the side. You're beginning to hate how your body arches into his and how it reacts to the simplest of touches.

Like a brick to a window, your dissolve shattered easily.

Dabi quirks a brow, challenging you to continue as you sputter about. It's embarrassing. You can hear him say it now, just like so many times before: "Oh? A big hero like you getting flustered by a big bad villain like me? How cute."

Your walkie talkie comes alive with static and a voice cuts in asking for help to take down a gang of criminals a few cities over.

My saving grace.

"I-I have to go." You push him away by the shoulders with sudden confidence, but he doesn't seem to put up much resistance.

God, you want to wipe the smug smirk off his face.

He backs off and turns with an unbothered wave, proving his point that you wouldn't- couldn't touch him, much less win against him in any sort of battle. The untouchable.

"Until next time, right?"

———

It's like a new tide from the moon—how fast your feelings towards him change. He's awful. A criminal, a villain, a murderer. He's the literal icon of everything your against.. or of what you're supposed to be against.

But you understand him. You get his whys and you feel his emotion like you're apart of them. You empathize with him and it makes you so fucking angry at yourself because you know—as a hero—you should never side with a villain like him, no matter how much sense he starts to make.

Blame it on his tone and the smoothness of his words. He's just a swindler.

The next time isn't even a full week later. He technically protects you from some randoms in an alleyway and you catch him in the act of it all, turning to catch whoever was following you, only to be met with cold blue eyes and a pile of ashes in front of you.

Of course, it ultimately ends in the same place it always does; his bed.

His scent and touch linger a little too long after these meetings and you decide once again that this is the last time.

It's a real shame you have to blame it on his body heat and not the undeniable attraction you feel towards him. But you suppose that could count towards it.

His hands are anywhere—everywhere—and they leave a fire in their wake. It's too much and still not enough. All you want is to be closer. Fingers in his hair, pulling him into you until you can't, and then pulling him in more. It's like air, the way you breathe him in. When you finally give into dabi it no longer becomes a crime, but a necessity.

It's overbearing and messy and awful, but you can't help but slip into his embrace and into his warmth.

It's freezing and he's the sun.

Tangled in between cotton sheets, you feel him rub circles into your shoulder and you hear his heartbeat. It's reassuring to know someone like him even has one. Then again, he probably wouldn't have protected you if he didn't have one. How many times has he saved you from harm's way? Honestly, one time is too many.

It almost makes this fling of yours respectable. It almost makes you want to admit you're falling for that smug face and bad attitude.

"We talked about what we'd do if we ran into your league again, you know?"

Why on earth would you bring that up of all things, y/n?

He doesn't need to know anything about your career, much less your plans to take his team down.

"Hmm.. is that so?" Dabi's fingers move up to draw languid circles into your collarbone before shifting slightly to loom over you. His other hand comes to rest on your hip, sending a searing, but welcomed heat to the flesh. You hiss quietly at the sensation, already knowing there's a bruise forming from the activities not too long ago. His lips replace his hand on your neck and he removes his arm from under your head to hold himself up.

Your hand finds his messy hair, fingers delving into the raven locks and tugging gently as he makes his way to the column of your throat and to your ear. He nips at it, nose brushing against your jaw; his hot breath creating goosebumps that rise to your flesh.

"I like knowing you think of me when I'm not around, Angel."

The tone and raspiness of his voice makes you groan, feeling him kiss beneath your jaw. You just know he's smirking at the reactions he elicits from you because you can feel it. He enjoys watching your internal struggle. You can't act like you didn't choose to form whatever this is with him.

You tug his hair to look at him, bringing his face up and he almost looks annoyed that you disrupted his path heading down towards your chest. Your lips ghost over each other's and you lean in for a kiss, only for him to pull away and leave you chasing.

"I also like when you call my name."

Your hand falls from his hair to cup his jaw, practically pulling him forward into a kiss. It's rough to cover up the intimacy and need behind it. His fingers dig into the plush of your hip, thumb pressed into your stomach before his hand goes upward with an ulterior motive.

Pulling away from him before he can initiate anything more, you run your thumb across his lips and the silver bands that adore the lower half of his face. Surprisingly enough, it didn't take long to adjust to the different textures

"And I like how you kiss me."

This almost feels too domestic—not that you mind, but you're positive he knows you're wrapped around his finger, in the palm of his hand. It's impossible to hide it now. Your actions speak louder than the three words on the tip of your tongue, poisoning your mind.

It makes you cringe when you think about it all. How easily he can get into your head and twist your arm. Some nights you catch yourself thinking that maybe you'll be able to convince him to open his eyes a little wider to see your point of view, especially when you've begun to see his. They're horrible—the villains you go against, but he makes them seem so different. You hate how he makes you double think everything.

He playfully nips at your thumb when you push it gently between his lips, teasingly. His hands trail up your arms, pulling them off of him and above your head. You're the one who makes the move to intertwine fingers as he pushes them down harshly on the pillow underneath you. Insatiable. That's what he is. Is it so wrong to keep wanting more?

The sun beginning to rise over the horizon and spilling in through the window doesn't seem to stir him as he makes his descent from your lips.

You already know that by the next morning you'll hate him and that surrounds him. You'll hate yourself for listening to your heart instead of your head simply because it just 'feels so right.' It's a constant cycle between the two of you, and you're sure he feels the same. He doesn't agree with anything you stand by like a hero, but there's something that keeps him close enough.

There's only so much you can expect, even when you deny it over and over.

But god, you have to stop meeting like this.

[ebaeschnbliah]

FIVE  YEARS  AGO  WHEN  IT  WAS  CHRISTMAS

________________________________________________________________

PLAYING A LITTLE MORE WITH SYMBOLISM

FIVE YEARS AGO IN SHERRINFORD SOMETHING HAPPENED …..  AND THEN SOMETHING BEGAN  …..  AND THINGS STRARTED TO CHANGE

MYCROFT: This is my fault.  Moriarty. SHERLOCK: Moriarty? MYCROFT: Her Christmas treat: five minutes’ conversation with Jim Moriarty five years ago. SHERLOCK: What did they discuss? MYCROFT: Five minutes’ conversation …. unsupervised.

MYCROFT: There is, in this facility, a prisoner whose intellectual abilities are of occasional use to the British government. JIM: What, for, like, really difficult sums, long division, that sort of thing? MYCROFT: She predicted the exact dates of the last three terrorist attacks on the British mainland after an hour on Twitter. That sort of thing. In return, however, she requires treats. Last year it was a violin.

EURUS: Look at the violin. SHERLOCK: I need to know how you escaped. EURUS: Look at the violin. SHERLOCK: It’s a Stradivarius. EURUS: It’s a gift. SHERLOCK: Who from? EURUS: Me.

_____________________________________________________________

JIM: This year? MYCROFT: Five minutes’ unsupervised conversation … with you. JIM: Me?!  With me?! MYCROFT: She has noted your interest in the activities of my little brother.

GOVERNOR: You gave her a Christmas present. Remember her Christmas present 

It’s obvious when it all started. Well, she was never the same after that Christmas. It’s as if you woke her up

What is known about Eurus Holmes:

Eurus is different. She knows things she never should have known. Is aware of truths beyond the normal scope. And she  is exceedingly curious. (She doesn’t like not knowing?)

The abilities of her mind are described as ‘incandescent’ since childhood. (Glowing white …. wow! Surely, some people would envy her)

The 'Redbeard-Incident’ happens. Sherlock - a very emotional child before -  changes completely.

Eurus doesn't know about pain. ('You never felt pain’ - 'You always feel it but you don’t have to fear it’)

Eurus is locked away on an island …  in solitary confinement …  for more than 20 years? (That sounds horrible and also exceedingly boring for a curious spirit like Euros. It also sounds like: 'solitary confinement is locking you up with your worst enemy’)

Eurus is too clever to be a prisoner of her own meat. (Sounds a lot like 'The brain’s what counts. Everything else is transport (PILOT))

Eurus remembers everything becaus she has a big enough hard drive. ('This is my hard drive, and it only makes sense to put things in there that are useful … really useful’)

Eurus has a special effect on people. She is able to affect them. 'Enslaves’ them … one after the other. Obviously she was captivating and faszinating since eaarly childhood. Also Eurus is able to manipulate people into doing things. Even killing themselves. Anyone who spends time with her is automatically compromised

Her 'era-defining genius’ (beyond Newton!) is occasionally used by the Brit.Government to prevent crimes. In return she gets treats provided by Mycroft. (To reduce the boredom?)

Five years ago something draws her attention and she makes a special request. Eurus noticed Jim’s interest in Sherlock. Eurus asks for an unsupervised meeting with Jim. Mycroft allows it. He takes a 'calculated risk’.

Eurus tells Jim about 'Redbeard'  After that meeting Eurus 'wakes up’ somehow and she never is the same again as before.

Obviously Eurus knows about Sherlock. But how does she know about Jim? Wherefrom can she even know that someone like Jim exists and that he is interested in Sherlock?

As mentioned before I don’t think Eurus is a real person. She symbolizes Sherlock’s extraordinary brainpower but cut off from emotions and empathy. His  ability to 'read’ people like open books … see through them and deduce them. But grounded solely on logic and reason.

And the Sherlock of S1 seems to fit that profile on several occassions.

Finally getting the opportunity to chase after a serial killer feels like Christmas to him

John has to remind him that a woman lying dead is no fun

Sally mentions that Sherlock isn’t payed for his work - that he likes it - that he gets off on it. And she fears that someday he could be bored enough to commit a murder himself.

Sherlock doesn’t hesitate to torture a dying man to get some information

Sherlock is absolutely fascinated by the 'great game’ someone provides for him. He doesn’t care for the people with bombs strapped to their chests. The only thing Sherlock is 'delightfully interested in’ is the mystery of the clever cases … the thrill of the chase … the blood pumping through his veins … finally not being bored ….

All of this (and there is more to find) leads me to Jim

Brilliant, dazzling, charming, fascinating, colorful, unscrupulous, dangerous, wicked, evil, insane and sooooo changable Jim Moriarty.  Sure, Jim is a master villain who is responsible for many crimes but compared to people like Magnusson or Smith he still seems to be different. Despite all the darkness gathered around him, Jim doesn’t feel as creepy and disgusting as Smith or downright repulsive like Magnusson. Dangerous, deadly, annoying …. yes … but nontheless … different.

Sherlock describes his own profession as 'cosulting detective’. Jim calls himself a 'consulting criminal’. Both get bored easily. Both want to be distracted. Both enjoy the thrill of a clever game of wits.

And on the roof of St.Barts we get this dialoge:

SHERLOCK: … I am you – prepared to do anything; prepared to burn; prepared to do what ordinary people won’t do. You want me to shake hands with you in hell? I shall not disappoint you.

JIM: I see. You’re not ordinary. No. You’re me

I AM YOU  &  YOU ARE ME …..  DO YOU MISS ME?  …. 

MARTIN FREEMAN (Unlocking Sherlock at ca. 1.45): “Sherlock is like a shark”

STEVEN MOFFAT (ASIP Commentary Sherlock’s backstory: “The way [the drug use] sits in the original stories is to make him exotic, you know–that he’s a creature whose brain is so powerful that he needs stimulation–needs to be stimulated the way a shark needs to keep swimming forward to breathe, his brain must be active.”

MARK GATISS/ANDREW SCOTT (Sherlocked Panel, Question 20): “… as Andrew says, Moriarty is the dark side of Sherlock, he’s like a shark I think, just silently moving, constantly moving.”

If Euros isn’t a real person but symbolizes Sherlock’s brainpower cut off from empathy ….. how far fetched is it to assume that the same might apply to Jim Moriary? Have we been told and shown already multiple times that …

Jim symbolizes Sherlock’s dark side? The ruthless genius who lives just for the thrill of game? Who is constantly looking for distraction to avoid boredom? Who flirts with self-destruction on a regular basis?

BLOODHOUND AND SHARK …….  YIN AND YANG ……. LIGHT AND SHADOW ……. TWO FORCES INSIDE EVERYONE……. GOOD OR BAD ……. GREAT OR GOOD ……. IS THIS THE FIGHT SHERLOCK FACES IN THE STORY WE ARE SHOWN ?

And this brings me back to the start and to 'The final problem’. We are told that 'five years ago’ Eurus noticed Jim’s interest in Sherlock. That Euros desired Jim for Christmas. And that Mycroft took a 'calculated rist’ and allowed it.

WHAT HAPPENED HERE AND WHEN DID IT HAPPEN ?

'Five years ago’ based on what date? And what other things happened 'five years ago’? This show likes to repeat important words and phrases:

SOO LIN: I had hoped after five years maybe they would have forgotten me, but they never really let you leave.

SHERLOCK: Mary Morstan was stillborn in October 1972. Her gravestone is in Chiswick Cemetery where – five years ago – you acquired her name and date of birth and thereafter her identity

Two characters - Soo Lin and Mary Morstan - who are both Sherlock mirrors - changed their lives dramatically  'five years ago’. But there is a little more: 

JOHN to DI LESTRADE: You know him (Sherlock) better than I do.

Looks like Sherlock Holmes began working with the police five years ere he met John Watson …. five years ere this story starts with the case of 'The study in pink’. Five years prior to ASIP Sherlock’s life too changed dramatically.

And in THOB there is this little bit of Dialoge:

SHERLOCK: Oh, this is Mycroft, isn’t it? LESTRADE: No, look … SHERLOCK: Of course it is! One mention of Baskerville and he sends down my handler to … to spy on me incognito

This suggests that it was Mycroft who established the contact between his little brother and Scotland Yard - with DI Lestrade as intermediary.

And what has all of this to do with Eurus, Jim and symbolism?

It is known that Sherlock has a past as drug addict

His brain is constantly in motion and needs stimulation … needs work

He is easily bored and then even prone to self-destruction

Eurus got a Stradivarius from Mycroft. Did Sherlock get one too? To keep his brain occupied?

Eurus noticed Jim’s interrest and desired him for Christmas. Does this mean:

Sherlock’s extraordinary powers of deduction noticed an interrest in the dark sides of life … in crime? Did he express his interrest in solving crimes? And big brother Mycroft took a 'calculated risk’ and established some connections? To keep Sherlock away from boredom and drugs? To keep Sherlock occupied in the times Mycroft himself had no need of his brothers deducing abilities? And Sherlock woke up and began spreading his wings?

Sherlock being able to set his restless brain to 'rea'l work. Soving puzzles and mysteries. It must have felt like Christmas to him. Excited and enthusiastic like a big child: Like little Archie is excited about headless nuns and maggots in dead peoples eyes (but not able to see the pain, the suffering and the tragedy of victims as well as their relatives and friends)  Sherlock becoming independent and self-employed … at least on the surface … and playing the sociopath to keep people and emotions at bay. Like Mycroft taught him since childhood: 'don’t get involved …. all lives end, all hearts are broken … caring is not an advantage’. Working with the police must have confirmed this sort of philosophy. Constantly dealing with the dark side of life … be it small or big crimes …. it surely must have left traces too.

But investigating real crimes, deducing all sorts of people for work must also have sharpened and honed Sherlock’s already extraordinary skills even more. And when he makes the acquaintance of a discharged army doctor who reacts completely different to his 'deduction thing’ ... that normally pisses off anyone else …. Sherlock is …. interested. He starts pondering things he never thought of before. He starts asking himself questions, like:

Is something wrong with me?  What made me like this?  Who do I want to be? 

And Sherlock sets out for the quest:  WHO  I  REALLY  AM

On this quest Sherlock learns a lot of things. He discovers the concept of empathy, friendship and love - symbolized by John. He meets his own sexuality - symbolized by Irene Adler (and it doesn’t matter that she’s pictured female). He recognizes his own biggest enemy, his dark side - symbolized by Jim Moriarty.  Sherlock even faces his drug addiction which bears the ugly face of Culverton Smith. And finally he unearths - deep inside himself - the reason why he is the man he is.

He faces Eurus. Supressed and held captive - cut off from empathy -  through cleverly applied mental manipulation. As mentioned above I think Eurus symbolizes Sherlock’s deduction skills. That what makes him unique. But also that, what must appear to most people as a terrifying, mosterous skill …. looking through people and reading them like books. Laying open all the carefully hidden secrets in mere secunds and without any emotion. And now …deep down in Sherrinford … Sherlock starts deducing himself through his own deduction skills … through Eurus. Eurus sets up several 'tests’ to evaluate Sherlock’s reaction … meaning …. Sherlock is 'testing' and evaluating himself and it feels like vivisection to him. But still he contiunes. It’s all about Sherlock’s buried emotions, his cut off empathy. Eurus is holding the mirror up to Sherlock …. meaning …. Sherlock forces himself to look in his own mirror. Recognizing how other people must see him but also recognizing who he himself really is. And realizing in the end what kind of man he wants to be in the future.

Eurus and Jim - 'they got on like a house on fire’

The ruthless gamer joined with cold reason and logic. Reckless and dark Jim who knows about dark things … the forgotten things … knows the truth about Redbeard because Eurus told him. Eurus needs Jim to pass on the message. And Eurus needs Sherlock help her escape trom her prison. From the cabbie Jeff Hope to the pool and to Bart’s roof - from the padded cell to the victorian waterfall - on dvd’s and TV screens - from 'E’ to Faith Smith - and finally to Eurus … Jim is always there. Miss me?  From Hope to Faith!

Jim is always there - circling the deep, dark waters - always prodding and poking, teasing and luring. Guiding Sherlock deeper and deeper inside himself? To Sherrinford and Eurus. And there Eurus (logic and reason) tells Sherlock that Jim is dead. Has Eurus killed him? How? Eurus can kill with words, we are told. Did she talk to Jim and then he killed himself? Like Sherlock talked to Jim on Bart’s roof and then Jim shot himself?

That reminds me of the cabbie Jeff Hope in ASIP:

JEFF: I didn’t kill those four people, Mr. ’olmes. I spoke to ’em … and they killed themselves. An’ if you get the coppers now, I promise you one thing. I will never tell you what I said.

Someone who talks to people and then they kill themselves? Sherlock is more than eager to lay his hands on this special case. He feels like it’s Chrismas. And at the end Jeff Hope reveals that Jim had been his sponsor. Coincidence?

But the most interesting thing is this:

The PILOT goes a complete different way. There is no Jim Moriarty in the picture at all and Jeff Hope has quite a differnet strategy. He offers his victims the choice to choose one of two pills and threatens them to force it down their throats in case they refuse. Quite simple.

Looking at the PILOT as the 'real’ story and ASIP as the first episode of Sherlock’s inner evolution …

…. isn’t it interesting that Sherlock’s subconscious mind supplies him right at the beginning with a case where the killer claims he is able to talk his victims into suicide? Which turns out to be a lie because Jeff Hope uses a fake gun to force his victims to take the poisoned pill. It’s just Sherlock he lures into his cab with this incorrect claim. And Sherlock can’t resist the mystery. Can’t stand 'not knowing’ …. and takes the ride. There it beginns …

If Eurus has really killed Jim then …

Logic and reason have eliminated Sherlock’s dark side

But I wonder if this is really true. Judging by the picture of bloodhound and shark on the T-Shirt  - portrayed very similar to the sign of Yin and Yang - I dare to doubt it. Maybe the shark belongs to Sherlock’s personality after all -  just like the bloodhound. Maybe he just has to find the right balance between light and shadow … between Yin and Yang. Because I just can’t picture a Sherlock Holmes who is not thrilled by the prospect of an intricate mystery, turned on by the chase, the blood ppumping through his veins … with John at his side.

I always know when the game is on!  Because I love it!

Ending this with Professor Dumbledor’s wise words:

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us, what matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

_______________________________________________________________

Reblogging this post from January because 'something' seems to have 'devoured' the original one. Thankfully there are such things as copies. :)))

January, 2017

[roxannepolice]

Thank you very much for this addition! I'm rather in the camp that says it's Rey who's going to do the healing, as it's her heroine's journey that's unfolding. Thinking in terms of what would be the harshest lesson for Ben makes him the central character and while of course he is one if the main characters, it's not his journey that is central. I know it sounds like a giant headscratcher but out of the two of them it's Rey who will have more to learn in epix, hence it makes more sense to me it will be her who'll have his blood on her hands and realise just a bit not too late that she never wanted it - because I agree we will get some powerful af force healing.

Does Ben have to learn that fo's ways are wrong? I wouldn't say so. It's a very intetesting thing that hitherto we've only seen him engaged in operations he's personally invested in - both times when he was sent to find the map to his "murderous" uncle - in emotional turmoil - in TIE Silencer - or both - Crait. The closest we get to see him reacting to fo doing something for its own sake is destruction of Hosian system and it's clear he's not comfortable with it (that's the exact moment he goes alas, poor Vader). So I would say he doesn't hold many illusions about fo - what he does have illusions about is his ability to control them and the belief that everything that's happened is for the higher good, that it will all result in the galaxy becoming a better place (which, btw, it will, only in a completely different way than he or anyone thinks). A coup tells him not only that he never had the power to control them, but also that he killed his own father in vain and I'm all in for Driver delivering a Hamlet meet Macbeth meet Lear absolute despair scene. Also, in order to feel guilt for not telling someone you love them you have to believe that would have mattered to them.

Whereas as far as Rey is concerned. First of all, I hope the fact that trilogy's heroes and villains have been handed to us in such an unceremoniously nonreflective manner as they hitherto have been, was a ruse intended to lull us before all the hell breaks lose in epix, since we're also getting clear messages things aren't as b&w as the heroes would like. Fo didn't destroy the Hosian system because they're villains, they're villains because they destroyed the Hosian system - and when you think of it, Resistance is now in a situation very similar to imperial forces at the time fo was born. I'm not exactly saying that fo and resistance will completely change places, but I am counting on fo members being depicted as more differentiated with some of them being not so bad people (also, this trilogy doesn't have an individual redemption for a finale) and resistance members shown as capable of bloodcurdling attrocities.

So basically both parts of our protagonist will have to learn about their throne room mistake in epix. For Ben it will be realisation he was wrong to take power, but Rey will also have to learn that she was wrong to wordlessly reject him and reach for weapon - which is understandable but the message it sends, and I think it was intended to send this message, is if you are not with me then you are my enemy.

yup, dark!Rey is coming and I'm all in for it

Unpopular opinion; I want Kylo to be mad at Rey. Not in a rage like Crait, but so mad, he's done. I see too often other fans writing him as pining and all sad for her, while she carries on with life. Like, she left him (rightfully so, I'm not denying that) and in his eyes, it was a pretty cruel thing to do, after she promised to help him. I'm not saying that I don't want them together, I just feel Kylo shouldn't be the one doing the chasing in epix, or be the first to apologies.

Yeah, it has a lost to do with viewing Rey’s journey as complete and expecting Ben to be the only dynamic character in epix. Because I definitely don’t see Ben chasing after Rey to apologise. TFA and TLJ were so full of him on his knees before her it wouldbe gratuitous to have him play too much of a penitent in epix, maybe some angsty af last breath forgive me, but nothing more. But angry?…maybe more like resignedly bitter as I expect him to be about almost everythingas sl. I think tlj left him at the point where he has no idea what to believein and what not to believe in, so why exactly should he be angry aboutsomething as minor as the zillionth person in his life saying they’ll help himand not delivering?

I think it’s good to analyze their states of mind regarding the smut hutvisions and Snoke claiming full responsibility for the bond to understand inwhat states we leave both Rey and Ben at the end of tlj. Rey is morestraightforwardly trusting throughout – she discovered there actually is somelight left in Kylo Ren, so the obvious conclusions are that he’s gonna join theright cause and she will be eating whipped cream of ‘em tiddies before the dayis through. She has three moments of hesitation, one when she gets shacklesinstead of flowers as a welcome gift, second when it turns out she’s not theonly one getting visions and third, worst, when she actually fears Ben willkill her. But of course, the worst ordeal comes after the sex duel, when she’spulled to face her demons. Now, while I agree the right way to interpret theyou’re nothing speech is manipulative but not really, I’m actually afraid Benmight have shot himself in the foot with it – because in acting this way hemade almost all of the audience but I actually think Rey too, a not masterpsychologist that she is, believe her ordeal on Supremacy was the ultimate lesson againstthe blind hopefulness. She shuts herself at him at this point and later oncontinues her tried out way of dealing with problems – denial that is going to be one of the actual things she’ll be taught out of in her journey, imo. She doesn’t killKylo because force doesn’t will it, yeah totally only that. Maybe someday he’lllearn he’s also a tool in force’s hands and she’s totally not emotionallyengaged in him learning it. A lot of people argue that should Rey be referringto Ben as Kylo in epix it would be a regress to her character – but I would sayshe currently has any reason to disregard much of her progress in tlj – and herprogress in epix will be about reaccepting it as a progress - heroine’s journey involves rejection of the old life, intoxication and disappoitment with new one and finally reintegration of the two. In summary, while Rey’s intuitive and straightforward attitude towards her future great-grandfather in law on the one hand hadgenerally positive consequences, on the other doesn’t let her grasp what isgoing on in her totally not bae’s psyche - so maybe we could get her acknowledging some mistakes on her part before the story is over. But for at least a half of the movie I expect her to basically clench her teeth and acting like she’s fine. And the longer she does it, the more volcanic will it be when she erupts.

On the other hand I would say Crait meltdown was Snoke’s ultimate laugh at KyloBen, the ring slipping off Isildur’s hand when he needed it most, though obviouslyit could have been avoided if he had destroyed the ring/controlled his temperno I’m not a b*tch for the concept of the villain cursing the fallible hero/antiheroin his last breath what do you mean?. Now, I don’t really think his takingpower was spontaneous – I think it was dormant at the back of his head forquite some time and the smut hut vision definitely gave it fuel since now hefelt he had someone to share that power with. This boy has been trying tounravel what exactly does his great-grandpa want from him for two decades andcounting and now he seems to have finally got a proper answer, and boy does he like that answer. But Snoke claiming full responsibility for the force bond, which barely affectedRey, left Kylo lost again – which paradoxically has a positive undertone to it.Because then, despite walking into the throne room thinking in part of power, hekills Snoke purely for Rey – at this point he doesn’t rely on any vision orscheming only plain won’t have his woman hurt. Unfortunately, once the sexduel is over, his state of mind can best be described as

I think he’s a bit drunk with success at this point huh, it worked – so maybethe vision was true, might as well propose, as taught by mr Darcy’s handbook for pompous byronic bachelors. Which could have had only one result. So basically by the time of Crait meltdown Ben’s mental trajectorythroughout the last couple of hours has been rather hopeless – hopeful (smuthut) – hopeless but loving – hopeful? – hopeless and angry. Giving someone aglimpse of hope only to shut it down is an actual torture method, some wouldsay the cruellest of them all, but I think should a confronation occur Ben would be likelier to see it for Snoke’s doing that it was or be frustrated with his great-grandpa, and not see it as malevolence on Rey’s part. I masochistically love his face in the momentthe last force bond opens – he’s so completely surprised by it, I think it’sclear his actions since he woke up were those of a man who has nothing to hopefor and everything to be angry with. But if I were to interpret his state of mind during thelast fb I would say it’s fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu……

Would he give up hispower at this exact moment? Nope. Is he hoping Rey changed her mind? Also no. He’scounting on anything, any sign that he hasn’t screwed up everything once andfor all, some hesitation if nothing else. And he gets nothing, which is exactlywhat he needs right now though it’s not a conscious psychotherapy on Rey’spart. Rian Johnson actually compared Ben at the end of tlj to Anakin when Vader’smask is put on him – and at those points they both know they screw up royally andit’s all their fault, even if they wouldn’t acknowledge that. Painfully, there’s anotherparallel here – the last nails in their coffins are yet to come, for Anakin thenews of Padmé’s death, for Ben I guess coup, translating not into loss of poweronly ultimate proof that all his efforts have been vain. It would probably be a bit too dark for a pg-13 movie, but I wouldn’t mind if epix gaveus a moment when someone, especially fg Luke, mentioned to Ben something about forcebeing with him and he just plain broke into a hysterical laughter.

So if you ask me I’d say what we’re left with is a man at the brink ofinsanity, someone a bit too drained to be angry with anyone. Of course, the twocrucial differences between Anakin in RotS and Ben in tlj is that a) the latter’sevil wizard overlord is dead; bad news being he took over his position makinghim an apparent big bad, good news being - he took over his position making him aperson left with nothing but power and his own conscience and b) the latter’s loved one is still aliveand he knows it.