#ringneckedpheasant

prereq. information that i never know if i've conveyed thoroughly is that basil's one of those dang abominations they warn you about and shares mental and metaphysical real estate with a desire demon. not getting into that the most here for length etc

it all starts off with the fact that basil, a mage, has zero magical training whatsoever. never set foot in a circle. repressing it for most of his life, lucky it didn't go the chateau d'onterre route, the works - the important element is that he's got no knowledge about magic, but god damn is he interested in it now that, over the course of the mage rebellion and some prevailing circumstances, he's had a little time to get over the basic level of fear of his own magic.

he's got interest, he's got woefully unrefined talent, and he does in fact have some excellent and willing casual instructors in the other mage companions. i do think that solas is the best teacher between the three, and definitely the most immediately helpful at first for a lot of reasons, and they're all very different in discipline, but that's another tangent - one way or another, dorian's into esoteric theory and basil really gravitates towards him after in hushed whispers for obvious reasons. that as a shared experience is going to set up one hell of a foundation for bonding, and basil, even as a grown ass adult just due to the few and far between nature of his interpersonal relationships, will hold onto something like that for dear life. basil's also got your good old passing morbid fascination with death that sure can happen, and this absolutely insane time magic tying into that and all of the connections drawn there is, surprise, fascinating to him!

so his first excuse to be around dorian after in your heart shall burn, after he's really had to make himself settle down and get it together, is studying with him. and if either of them went into any such interaction with designs on anything of a non-academic nature, those hopes would be forgotten immediately because these bitches are autistic basil will genuinely get really into things that someone he enjoys is passionate about. this is also his longest-lived excuse to be around dorian and, as may be apparent, quickly becomes less of an excuse than the actual purpose of hanging out. the end of a long night may derail into drinks and conversation, but nothing is pushed. (this is partially because each presumes himself not to be a genuine candidate for affection.) the half-joking flirtation that dorian breathes and basil can pretend to be fluent in dies down when they're alone. basil's got a much larger presence in public than private, normally, and social scenarios can bring out desire a bit of bravado in him. and dorian's dramatic performance is subdued in turn. it's not necessary! they're still both dramatic fucks, but it's not to a theatrical degree. you know.

basil caught what he figured were feelings pretty quickly, due to this following an established pattern with people he had developed affections for. hell, he had to break down and examine his feelings about some other companions, but those could be dismissed for a thousand other reasons. given his romantic history - fresh out of self-induced heartbreak (there is more to it than this. he does not process that.), three for three in his mind as his relationships have gone, and loath to ruin things. not to mention the fact that, were he unaware of his own emotional instability, he's very frankly been reminded of it when attempting less-than-romantic pursuits by the objects thereof. everything at hand lets him know he is just not in a place for that right now, isn't sure if he would want the relationship or if he just wants a relationship, etc. exercises some maturity in this respect for the first time in his life. the fact that he nearly doesn't have the time or energy helps.