The dichotomy between Janus being the primary driver of the urge to fit in whilst also being one of the ones that stands out on purpose is quite interesting to me, especially due to his impulse to protect his ego as much as possible. One would think he would try to conform and make his personality appear like the others', but he very intentionally sets himself apart. He does, however, disguise himself as the others when he thinks his own persona won't be enough to successfully either get his point across or appear trustworthy enough to believe. When in the form of himself, though, he actually explicitly attempts to make himself seem worse than he actually may desire to be at heart, not better.
He hides his real self consistently, but never in the way that he pushes Thomas to. He wants Thomas to have a support system, but doesn't outwardly care if he has one himself. He wants Thomas to succeed, no matter the cost to his own quality of life. It's reminiscent of Virgil's "putting on a dark persona is the best way to get anyone's guard up," as Janus puts up a wall of darkness and misdirection as a way to shield himself and expose the others, but while also using the faces of the others to get Thomas' guard down when he feels it's necessary. He feigns innocence just as he does evil, but hardly ever gives being himself a try.
Why should he? If he's vulnerable in any manner, he just gets torn down. When he's on the verge of tears, when he's trying to be honest, and even when he's giving a glimpse into a version of himself not shrouded in self-protection. It always ends in some sort of insult or a different reason to keep hiding. He wants to be trusted, but he's scared to act in the way that may earn him that the fastest because it's been proven to not be safe for him to do so. That way, of course, would be being genuine.
Make no mistake, Janus is still very morally gray at his core. He's supposed to be. He's supposed to do what benefits him, as well as what benefits Thomas, regardless of what the actual morals attached to the decision may be. He has proven this in various different ways. But he actively places himself in the role of the aggressor, even when he would seemingly prefer that the conversation be handled in a calmer manner.
Now that he's accepted and the others are starting to get to know him more, his facade is starting to fall. They're starting to see more of his truth, and why he hides so much of it from him. The question remains of how Janus will react to being discovered, and just what will it take to bring his genuine personality out for everyone else to see?
