shifted_ooc | coordinated with the activity check for the first time ever

Entry tags:

hmd concrit

coordinated with the activity check for the first time ever

How's my driving?

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Oh my gosh, Jade XD. He makes me laugh soooo much! Not always for the right reasons, but that is what makes Jade awesome >.>; I love how you switch between serious!Jade and frivolously!commenting!Jade as well. I think you're doing an awesome job with him!

Also, you know how I feel about Brax. It's interesting to see how he's dealing with this consequence, although part of me is like "stop being such a pillar of unmovingness, Brax!" But. That's Brax for you.

Thank you very much! And he has SO MUCH SOURCE MATERIAL TO MOCK HERE.

Are there points where you think he is too unmoving? There's a lot of variance with Brax, so if there are parts where you think it's not right, I'm happy to hear about it.

Hahaha, so he does!

I wouldn't say that exactly. More like... Okay, let me try to work out what I'm thinking here. I got really excited when I saw his struggle in his new entry, but he's been very collected in the threads. I know that there are signs of the illness from him--some of the things he's been willing to do, for example. I love talking to you about his thought processes--how he's acting, I suppose, out of the kindness that borders on manipulation. But I think I'd like to see more of his thought processes in the threads? His actions are very controlled--as Brax always is--but I know there are mental things going on, and I'm curious about them! I hope that makes sense.

It certainly makes sense! And to start with, I'll try to put out more within the context of the tags themselves. That's a lack of demonstration, which is fairly easily fixed, but I also think there may be problems in the actions too. Though I have been having fun, I was not totally satisfied with what I was doing.

I'm going to explain this to show what I'm trying to balance to help me better understand how to fix it, and also to get your thoughts on the matter?

The struggle with Brax is always between how collected he should be and how collected he shouldn't be. If he isn't collected enough, he loses what makes him alive. I was doing a practice thread where too many things became too clear and I realize that the tension of all the deceit and manipulation and secrecy is what really holds him together. What sustains him is that doubleness and duplicity. A liar needs to lie.

But if the problems don't come out, the complexity isn't there. It takes a lot for Braxiatel to crack, but here in this thread, I have established that he has cracked, temporarily and artificially, but it's there. So what is Braxiatel when he has cracked?

On one hand, he's the man who was able to lie to his friends for four years so they never realized just how broken he had become. On the other hand, he's the man who uses Jason as a hitman and destroys the history of two planets just because someone denied him an art piece he wanted.

I'm wondering if that may be part of the problem. When he's broken, Braxiatel goes for what he wants regardless of others. He doesn't think clearly. But here, on the Plane, there is not much he wants. There aren't art pieces for him to screw other people over for. Braxiatel isn't the Master and he doesn't do bad things for kicks, so it's a whole lot of crazy with nowhere to go.

It also isn't an expressive crazy. I remember, when I read through the novels in order, earlier novels often talked about how Braxiatel's eyes could never stay still; later novels often talked about the stillness of them. Brax, when he snaps, puts even more effort into making himself seem normal and sane. That's why, when he stood up, his movements were slow and careful and measured.

So what is needed, then, I suppose, are measured, controlled, precise movements for Braxiatel to get what he wants. Or, in the case of him revealing sensitive information to Narvin, what Pandora wants.

(Actually, I sort of wish he shot Narvin in the kneecap now... --what? He was thinking about doing it. The only reason he didn't was because they were being catty and he hadn't run out of things to say to Narvin yet. I imagine if that had gone on a bit longer he would have done it, particularly since Narvin seemed to be approaching a violence threshold.)

I'm sorry to put the burden of this on you, but I wonder if I'm not thinking of it the right way because, you know, you think of something from one way for a while and you can't think of anything else, so: in the threads, were there any points where you wondered why Braxiatel didn't go after something he might have wanted?

I don't know Brax's canon half as well as you do, so it's not so much that I think there are places he should have wanted something but didn't. It's more like...let me try to compose my thoughts now. I suppose it's more like I wonder what he was thinking to react as he did in some cases.

For example, you e-mailed about why he put up a shield when Ten tried to punch him, and I thought that was an awesome little detail--that it was out of love. But that didn't really show in the thread. In the thread, Brax just seemed unmoved and...I'm not sure I want to say "unconcerned" since obviously he's trying convince Ten to let him help with whatever is going on, but he wasn't riled at all by the Doctor's words--even about the Fifth Axis--and he didn't seem to mind the punch. And knowing what I do about Brax, I have a feeling this was a sign that he was upset and smarting on the inside about what Ten was saying since I tend to equate Brax's most unrealistic calm moments with being anything but. But I wanted to see and hear that in the thread. Just how did he feel? What was going through his head?

That's basically what I said before, so I'm sorry I'm not being more helpful. I guess what I'm saying is that I understand that he acts measured and controlled when things are at their worst, but I'd also like to see signs of that struggle--of the breaking--whether inward or outward. I can assume that some of his actions in these threads are things he wouldn't have done without the consequence, but they're hard to pick out. And maybe that's partially because Brax is so hard to understand and read, really. But I feel like I got a better sense of it in Benny's thread when Brax was having happy hallucinations, which I know is partially because he was with Benny, but you really showed how his motions and responses were affected by what he was seeing, and I'd like to see more of that here.

I suppose the only other thing--and I know this gets complicated when you start putting effects on top of effects--is that Brax seems pretty much the same in Oliver's thread as he is in some of the others. Obviously, there was anger overtaking him in his thread with Nathan, but otherwise, I do wonder how Oliver's consequence is affecting him. Does he seem to be acting about the same because Oliver's consequence is leading him in some of the same thought patterns as the illness? Is it simply to do with similar coping mechanisms? Which I would understand, but, at the risk of being repetitive, I'd still like to get this sense from him. What does Brax want? Is it different with the different consequences? What is he trying to accomplish here, besides simply hiding what he's dealing with?

I think, maybe the reason I can't really say "Brax should probably have acted differently here" is that I know how well you think these things through, and I'm sure there are reasons why, like, Brax seems so aware of how the minds of others are being affected even when he has so much going on in his own mind, but I want to know what they are!

And I really hope that made sense ^^;

It does make sense, and I'm sorry for dragging you through it all. I appreciate it very, very much (especially after the day you've had). And even though you don't know as much of his canon, you still have a sense of him, I think, and I value your opinion.

There's something worth mentioning here, something which I think illustrates your point. I've used the metaphor before too, and it's particularly suited to what Oliver has seen. The post I used for Braxiatel's cracking was something I'd written back in September. I got the image in my head and wrote it all out.

But I didn't post it. One, because he hadn't been pushed that far. Two, because Escaping the Future came out and I felt massive pity for the poor bastard. But three, and most important, because I wondered if anyone could tell the difference. And that's the metaphor: if someone always wears a mask, how can you tell when he changes his face?

I think different people know how to push him harder, and I think certain characters are more attentive to the little cues he gives off. (In the thread with Oliver with the hallucinations, Oliver missed that the way Brax was holding his tea and the way he positioned himself to subtly block off Oliver were two signals that indicated how terrible he was feeling; in the more recent thread with Ten, Ten didn't notice that Braxiatel called him 'Doctor' instead of 'Thete,' and that he only switched over to 'Thete' to try to placate and calm him.) I admit that at times I feel awkward pointing out even in brackets what his gestures mean. I'd have felt very awkward if I'd said in the brackets that the way Braxiatel's fingers curled when he was talking to Oliver was his physical representation of the sudden loneliness he was feeling. So I'll try to look for ways to make it less awkward, and of course if you have any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.

(I realize I didn't actually address the particular instances you brought up, because I take from what you're saying not that you are asking for my justification but would like to see more of it in the threads themselves. But I don't mind explaining and having those explanations open to question.)

Don't be sorry! I'm happy if it's helpful, but I do wonder if it's mostly just that I'm not picking up on the subtle clues, even more than that Oliver wouldn't. I do understand that you don't want to start hitting us over the head with mental notes, either, and it's a hard balance. Maybe I'm just much too curious about what's running through Brax's head and I'm evil and want to see him crack more, but I really loved the entry and would like to see more of that side of Brax.

I do hope this turns out to be helpful and not just me nitpicking or something because I am loving the thread ~~and stalking the entry~~, so I'm certainly not saying that it's not lots of fun as is!

We've already established that you're evil. But I think part of it is that Braxiatel doesn't want people to notice his cues. He's happy when he gets away with it. Canonically, he usually does get away with it, so I try to work in his hints in ways that other characters are unlikely to notice. Perhaps this is why it is difficult: if they're done in ways that characters need to work to notice, then how can muns see it?

Questioning is always helpful. If things aren't questioned, then you can't assess how they might be fixed or improved.

(Just jumping in here to say that well, him not noticing Brax calling him "Doctor" was more my fault. I was looking more at what else was being said and fretting about what to do with the consequence's effect on Ten. I'm usually good on picking up name clues too :| But! I tried to fix that with him becoming angry when he did switch to calling him Thete? He didn't want to be consoled or anything.

But I don't mind being pointed toward things? That's me, though. And I can be dense and oblivious.

I'm loving the thread though ♥ Like ridiculously so.)

(As a rule, in universe, most characters either don't see Braxiatel's cues or don't want to see them, so I never find it problematic when another character doesn't see what's going on with him. Braxiatel is patronizing when he's like this, so angry makes sense.

One concern is that first person threads, which are designed for a sort of streamlined performance, will get bogged down if I explain his motivations for his actions constantly - particularly for Braxiatel, who is wrapped in layers of manipulation and illusion, who has reasons for his reasons.

I'm interested to see where it goes! I should point out that by now, Braxiatel thinks he needs to knock Ten, Oliver, and Romana out so they'll stop being self-destructive. Mental illness is a disturbing practicality in Brax.)

*nods* Yeah I know, especially with how long he was able to go without most people sussing on to him and his plans, etc. His patronising made me want to pop him in the face so badly. It wasn't hard to tap into Ten's anger ^^;

Oh gosh, I don't think it needs to be done constantly because, like you said, it would bog things down. I'd think it'd eventually become mentally taxing, as well, to keep them up all the time. I try to use more detailed things when they're most appropriate/important--or, well, like I said I try. And actually, in ours, I want to do a bit more myself. The thread has really been making me think a lot (well, Megumi would say that I agonise over things like that too much >.>), and I want to do more too.

*laughs* He'd probably deserve it at this point, but I'm loving letting him loose and seeing how it's affecting Brax. I'm interested to see where it goes too~

Brax is the guy who managed to be patronizing when locked up by the friends whose lives he ruined and who rescued him from imprisonment/experimentation after a horrific defeat in a mess entirely of his own making. I think he deserves a medal for that incredible audacity.

I think it will be interesting to see if you do throw it in!

Dude, I wish he had shot Narvin. It would have been amazing. And It probably would have gotten him to stay away from Brax for a while!

If he'd been around of the ones throwing out anger vibes, he'd very likely have done it. I insist that getting into an exciting round of fisticuffs with Narvin is much more fun than saying stupid things to Narvin, but the voice in his head that wants an Imperiatrix's victory Strongly Disagrees.

It really is! Inflicting physical harm on Narvin is a blast -- why else would the universe indulge in it so often?

Pandora is going to be sorely disappointed when Narvin doesn't do what she wants. He's contrary like that.

Edited 2010-10-27 14:57 (UTC)

Irving will do a happy dance. ...okay, no, he'll probably throw out a quip of some sort because this is Brax and Narvin we're talking about, and no one ever shows Narvin any signs of gratitude, appreciation, or approval. But I'm sure Braxiatel can manage to sneer out something about Narvin offering them a rare demonstration of intelligence and foresight, which is almost appreciation. Sort of.

Seriously, if he cared at all what they thought of him, he'd be more than a bit put out about the lack of gratitude. Leela figures out going behind Darkel's guards is a good idea, and she's the greatest thing since sliced bread. He manages to rig a barrier between them and the guards using nothing more than Matrix access and a single terminal, and he gets no thanks whatsoever.

...okay, so maybe he is a little bitter.

Every time I relisten, I realize more and more how horrifically underappreciated poor Narvin is. New themesong for Narvin.

One day he's just going to sit back and let everyone else try and figure out how to protect themselves. It'll be funny!

He says this, but he is about as capable of quitting his job as Brax is of quitting his.

Of course! But really, how hard is it to give him a non-snarky thank you once in a decade or two?

Experiment idea: no one is allowed to insult Narvin.

And then the universe blows up.

Aha, yes. But he's used to insults! You know, if Brax really wants to throw Narvin, all he has to do is give him a (sincere-sounding) compliment, and he'll be completely at sea.

Edited 2010-10-27 20:00 (UTC)

As that requires 1) sincerity, 2) directness, and 3) complimenting, I suspect that, should Brax try, he would choke on his own words and die on the spot.

Well, it doesn't need to be actual sincerity! Narvin would be astonished just by the idea of a compliment, pretend or not. ~~Poor guy.~~

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