What would have happened if the Ambassador hadn’t been there in Markovia when Brion captured Baron Bedlam. Would he still have executed his uncle and usurped his brother’s throne?
Honestly… i don't think he would have - he may have still done something drastic which separates him from the group - but i don't believe he would have gone as far as cold blooded murder without bazovvi and i definitely don't think he would have even considered taking the crown without someone prompting him to… bazovvi manipulates and plays upon a number of elements which all ultimately push brion to act the way he does - like riling up the crowds, bolstering his ego, reenforcing bedlams villainy and need to be stopped… potentially even influencing bedlam to make the decisions he makes. If you get rid of bazovvi and all the things he either psychically or verbally influences you are left with the brion who just discovered his sister has been working for the enemy and his elders/mentors knew without ever telling him about it.
In that moment brion would have been feeling hurt, betrayed, confused - all very valid, though thanks to him being massively self centred in general, his focus tends to remain all on him… it’s about how he was kept in the dark, how he sacrificed everything to rescue Tara and has been betrayed, how he is the victim in all this… meanwhile Tara was victimised and manipulated by years of abuse after being abducted and gar just narrowly avoided being crushed by a rock. Brion doesn't really think beyond himself most of the time - if ever he does, it will often lead back to him serving his own ego in some way… with that in mind, I imagine him demanding explanations but refusing to actually listen to them, then he would start raging out because no one will say what he wants them to say - which is apologise to him specifically and admit they should have indeed told him - which they absolutely shouldn’t have because he would not have handled that information well at all. Then, I can see Dick telling him to chill out which again just infuriates him more and we know how Brion gets when his anger takes over - it may even be bedlam still tries to escape in the commotion but winds up feeling the brunt of his nephews rage… ultimately everything comes to a head when brions actions hurt halo as they try to talk him down - whether that’s emotionally hurt or physically - i dunno, but with it the damage is done and it all ends with him leaving - knowing he wants nothing to do with those who will keep secrets from him…
Now I’ll admit, that’s all very OTT and probably wouldn’t at all happen like that - it would likely play out a lot subtler - and better - but that’s just the string of events my brain is currently offering so I went with them. My point is, had bazovvi not been there, I think Brion would have still kicked off and done some sort of damage before ditching everyone to do things his own way, just not intensional murder levels of damage… when he gets into a state he’s basically pure emotional energy without direction - more impulsive than methodical. Bazovvi, and jace for that matter, manipulates him by providing a particular direction for him to focus that energy on - like activating his meta gene, or killing that “war criminal” bedlam, or claiming the markovian crown for himself. On his own I don’t think Brion would have ever come up with these ideas - especially when he’s in a rage… So long story short, while I’ll admit I don’t think it took much nudging on bazovvis part to get Brion to kill bedlam and take his brothers thrown, bazovvi was still the main contributing factor which ensured everything happened the way it did… or at least, that’s my perspective on it…
This got so long and rambly - I hope it makes sense ( I’ve read through it so many time checking over it, my brains kinda gone numb to everything it says 😬) Anyway, thanks for the ask timewandererus!
LB
