Basil
“Honestly, what am I doing, getting worked up about it. There’s no place for me there…”
Artist
It has been a few years since Basil up and moved to a new town. Whereas they remain a relative unknown among the people there, they have one very intimidating alias - as a legendary bassist.
Almost 7 years prior, Basil left the nationally beloved band they were a part of due to disputes about their marketing. The managers wanted them to rebrand to a "girl" band, and Basil, still coming to terms with their identity back then, could not abide.
Labeled as an industry-wide traitor, Basil left their hometown behind and moved. Since then, they have worked anonymously with musicians to compose for them, but they have never had the courage to pick up a bass again. In fact, they have lost all passion for the craft. That is, until...
- Basil is currently working anonymously under the pen name "Viridian".
- They are also well known as a composer, not just bassist.
- After the incident, they've felt incredibly disgusted and apathetic about playing music again.
On their surface, Basil is a very calm-headed, friendly person. They know just what to say in social situations, sliding through life with ease. However, most of this is a mask; they don't make any real connections.
Deep down, they are carrying a lot of pain from when they were basically ousted from the music industry, and they made the painful choice to "retire" at the ripe age of 21. Basil desperately wants to play again somewhere deep down, but they've resigned themselves to their current lonely, miserable existence in which their life is just "okay". This apathetic approach has led to them being completely isolated in their current home.
- bass
- cats
- walks in nature
- gendered terms
- staying inside all day
- arrogant pricks
( fellow musician, crush )
Like a ray of sunshine, she gave Basil a sense of warmth the second they laid eyes on her. It was then no surprise that they would seek her out again, finding her playing her music.
Slowly but surely, something is stirring within them, the tips of their fingers tingling with the ever-present urge to pick up the bass again. But they deny it to themselves. After all... how could they possibly justify picking up a bass again after all that has happened?
- Endlessly fashionable and charismatic, Basil often wears muted and business-friendly colors. However, they mostly do this for appearances. If they were to choose their fashion more freely, you would see a much rowdier assortment of darker colors. This is seen when they take off the purple button-up shirt, revealing the turtleneck top underneath, exposing their whle back and the tattoo on their left shoulder. This style somewhat mimics what they used to wear to concerts, definitely following punk and goth aesthetics. Today they aren't as intense about those fashion choices, but elements of it still remain very clearly in their clothing choices.
- Basil generally tends to dress more masculine with buttoned shirts and long pants, but this is mostly a hold-over from the times that they have been made to feel "not good enough" for their identity. In reality, they are extremely confident they could rock the shit out of a black dress, but for the moment they dare not voice such thoughts, lest someone call them a "girl" again. They still have a number of outfits just waiting for the day that they have the guts to wear it again.
- Basil favors golden jewelry and accessories because it matches their hair for the most part. They are usually wearing any number of rings and bracelets that they've collected over the years. Most of the pieces are several years old, well-taken care of and loved by Basil, despite the painful memories they sometimes bring. Basil might also be keeping the items around as a form of self-punishment, trying to remind themselves that they shouldn't play music anymore.
- In their youth, Basil looked much different, though they actually still went by the name "Basil" back then, but as an artist name. The nickname stuck and when they came to terms with their identity, they had their name formally changed to Basil. Because of the long hair and very different fashion they used to wear as a teenager and 20-21 year old, no one has recognized them yet. It'll only be a matter of time for that to happen when they eventually start thinking about picking up and playing the bass again. Of course, Poppy will be a huge part in the catalyst to make this happen.