mystery loves company

a lot of people subscribe to the idea that virgil is a shortening of "virgilius," as it generally holds the same meanings but fits with the nomenclature that the dark sides have. some argue it also would explain janus' comment about virgil's name in svs (i think this was just about him being a dark side, but i digress)

an idea came to me. i got curious. i did some research.

crocuses are purple flowers that bloom in early spring, and only for a short while. they're very prominent, but not native, to north america, and are named after a greek man, crocus. here are some versions of his myth:

-he is a lover to a nymph (smilax), but when the gods forbid them to marry, he turns into the flowers from sadness

-he is unhappy with his affair with the nymph and the gods turn him into the flowers

-he was a lover of hermes (GAY!!!! YIPPEE!!) who accidentally killed him (gods always be godding. gods will be gods), and it was his blood that caused the flowers to bloom and/or hermes turned him into the flowers and his blood was the stigmata

-if this sounds familiar to you, it should, as this is most definitely related to apollo and hyacinthus, whether it be a parent myth or an evolution of that myth

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so, virgil? crocus? why?

obligatory, it ends in -us. we know that -is is still a valid option for DS names because LS names go by phonetic rules and there's no reason for DS names to be any different, but still, -us

the most common type of crocus is purple - if the others saw his eustress state, i can see them naming him "crocus," maybe as a way to make fun of him initially. (because of the canon regarding how sides developed, i feel like it's safe to assume that virgil being a vague idea meant that he wouldn't have a strong enough sense of purpose or "self" to give himself or organically Have a name; see tinkerbell, how fairies know their names innately) it would give incentive to change the name later on, to show his growth out of who that person was and to distance himself

crocus gay. i can't say much more for that. actually, YES I CAN: the key formation/first real presence being towards c!thomas' first date during his young adolescence, as well as his general relationship with/regarding c!thomas' queer experiences,,,,,Yeah. again could see this as another aspect as to why it would have been a name that was a jab or just a name that made sense.

transformation. in all versions of the myth, crocus ends up taking on a different form. could have initially been in reference to the way that he changes states, from purples to black eyes, but virgil's key purpose as a character is to demonstrate growth and change. in crocus terms: rebirth, renewal, the way that spring can immediately bring with it something beautiful following the tough winters (i've even found crocuses in the snow before, so they're very resilient and can grow even in the worst, least-ideal circumstances)

crocuses are also associated with youth, in art being picked by young girls. they also only live a fairly short while, flowers dying young (like crocus in the myth), and they come very early, ie 'when spring is young.' crocus being the name for young virgil would be in line with this

crocuses can be associated with sadness or joy. that's very virgil-coded. he kicks in as stress in situations of both the positive and negative varieties.

also just mentioning the existing precedent that side names are sometimes derived from certain mythology, like janus (roman mythology) or roman+remus (biblical mythology)

can you not just hear janus drawling, "well, aren't you just a crocusssss?" after seeing virge "in action" for the first time

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