Abused Virgil / Logan dynamic where Logan helps Virgil heal by learning not to outright deny the abuser's lies
(bear with me. also, i'm using abusive Dark Sides for this, but really it could apply to any other scenario if abusive Dark Sides isn't your cup of tea.)
One of those biggest lies is: "the Dark Sides had to hurt me, otherwise they would have affected Thomas."
Originally, Logan's response to that lie is something like: "That's entirely illogical. You are not a lightning rod that needs to absorb negativity and hurt to keep Thomas safe. You're not being hurt now, and Thomas is fine. They lied to you. You don't deserve or need to be hurt."
But Logan has to slowly learn that that ISN'T what Virgil needs. Telling someone that a belief is illogical doesn't make them un-believe it. "It has to be this way" is the only 'why' Virge was given for why he was being hurt over and over; taking that away is terrifying, not comforting, so Virge is never going to accept what Logan says at face value.
So, eventually, Logan's response changes. Instead of outright denying the lie... he learns to live in it. With Virgil. Because Virgil doesn't need to deny the belief; he needs to understand it.
So "What they told you was demonstrably false, Virgil" eventually becomes...
Logan: "Let's assume, for the sake of analysis, that what they told you was true. That you need to be hurt by them to keep their negativity from affecting Thomas. You're not being hurt by the Dark Sides currently, and Thomas isn't being affected. So... what do you think is happening?"
Virgil: "Maybe it... takes time to... accumulate?"
Logan: "So the Dark Side's negativity would have to reach a certain threshold before affecting Thomas, and it isn't yet at that threshold?"
Virgil: "....Maybe, yeah. That's why they'd need an... outlet."
Logan: "....Alright, now, if that were true, here are other consequences that we should-- in theory-- notice alongside of it. We can explore the consequences one at a time, and see if they match the system you noticed."
It's not always the best system. It's not easy for Logan to entertain the idea that Virgil *needed* or *deserved* to be hurt... but he'll do it to help Virgil get to the root of the lies he's been told. But, sometimes Logan goes too overboard with it, too clinical, and accidentally makes things worse.
