brand new svs take
ive been staring at my wall pretending to be on a fench talk show for an hour. it is 2am.i am having insomnia. and suddenly it is so clear to me.
first, context to this analysis: i have like 2 posts about this already but basically in POF, janus' title is denial, which leads me to believe that "deceit" as the name for his core function was made up by patton or roman in order to influence how cthomas views him. it is easier to lead chhomas away from actions that janus suggests when he is framed as something with an inherently negative connotation than something else that is neutral. denying. an be bad, but it can also be good - thomas is american, which means he is entitled to the fifth amendment right of freedom from self-incrimination which is reiterated in the miranda rights, among other 5th amendment rights. they have chosen to villify janus to scare cthomas,
who else have they done this to?
now, the actual analysis part:
when thomas as virgil delivered the angry line in SVS "i think it's ridiculous that anyone is entertaining and of this. guys, he's a liar. you literally know him as deceit." ,
most of us latched on to thatbas a hint that virgil knew janus' real name. and honestly, that was probably the intention, and i think he definitely did.
HOWEVER
we still dont know why virgil hates janus. when virgil and roman were butting heads in season 1, their conflict boiled down to 2 roots:
1. roman's grandiose ideas made virgil - and subsequently thomas - afraid of the potential failure and fallout, casing virgil to shut down roman's ideas to prevent thomas from feeling that stress and disappointment later when they feell through
2. roman was deeply offended by this and villifies virgil to insane degrees, constantly antagonizing him to the point that he (well, attempts) commits in-universe suicide. virgil would spit back at princey in self defense
BUT there was a personal element there, a kijd of fun gamewheee virgil found roman's boundless energy and optimism for the future unbearable (scary, but also, it goes against his pragmatism and clashes with his more laid back and quiet vibe), and roman disliked how virgil apulf casually dismiss anything without consideration, and thought virgil was too damj emo for his own good. there is no doubt that the two them honestly enjoyed the thrill of the banter they exchanged, even though both of them were hurt by the intentions behind. THAT whole shabang was character driven, not purpose driven, and we've seen them work through that.
we dont know what character conflict exists between janus and virgil, what past needs to be unparacked to understand why janus loves taunting virgil to make him upset and why virgil always raises to the bait so he can let out all of his anger at janus for SOMETHING. and yes, there is also the innate reality that virgil as anxiety dislikes lying or denial because he's concerned about being found out and the subsequent consequences, or of thomas seeming vain by choosing not to give up certain info/prioritizing himself, he's afraid of the social judgement and potential loss of friends there
ok? okay!
so, yes, virgil had multiple dogs in his fight of not wanting janus' ideas entertained. he has an unknown personal vendetta and messy past with him, janus represents everything that sends his nerves into overdrive -
but you know what else?
virgil knew janus as janus, not deceit.
he knew janus as denial, not deceit
"i think it's ridiculous that anyone is entertaining and of this. guys, he's a liar. you literally know him as deceit."
i think it's ridiculous you guys are entertaining any of this. you hate him, and you're listening to him. do you know what happened when you hated me? you were hellbent on shutting me down regardless of the circumstance.
you know him as deceit. you've chosen to make him seem evil. you have completely reframed him and his purpose to be EVIL. and what are you doing?? you're encouraging it. you're hearing him out.
that's not fair. that's not fair, that when i was your villain i got nothing, and now he's your villain and you're talking. show him what i saw. treat him how you treated me.
prove to me that it wasn't just ME that you hated. prove to me that it really was self defense for thomas' sake, and fucking listen to me when i say that you know him as deceit. you know him as untrustworthy.
you knew me as ANXIETY, full stop, and that was enough to nullify my input. you've chosen to know as him something worse and are giving him more than i ever got.
