MKKK can u elaborate on ur janus/orange dynamic.... i am intrigued... - @transfemlogan
I would LOVE to. Goddd i have so many thoughts. Buckle up everyone this is gonna be a long one
Icarus was actually the first to "join" the dark sides- janus started the whole thing shortly after The Split™️ (which i'll probably get into eventually).
Their early relationship was really just a matter of survival, in the midst of a mindscape in crisis mode- it's the reason icarus agreed to being hidden away in the first place, though he'd deny having ever agreed to it at all.
For the first year or so, it's just the two of them, stewing in a lot of doubt and frustration and bitterness and regret. Once remus enters the picture, things start to finally balance out, as he brings some much needed levity and distraction into the dynamic.
After that, they've pretty much settled into their main dynamic, the one featured in my early 20s stuff.
All icarus has ever wanted is to be listened to. His whole life, he's been ignored, disregarded, hidden away, forgotten. It's for this reason that icarus fucking despises janus- as far as he knows (or believes), janus the reason for everything that's ever gone wrong in his life. Icarus hates everything that janus represents, and he'd love nothing more than to put that asshole in his place.
(Little does he know, janus has already done it himself.)
Janus knows what icarus wants. He also knows that as long as he has everything under control, icarus has no way to fight back, or get out. He has an ironic bit of sympathy for icarus- he knows what it's like to feel powerless, to be disregarded. When it really comes down to it, they're in the very same boat. But janus being janus, he's allergic to telling people anything, so he just lets icarus think whatever he wants to think. There's nothing wrong with a comforting lie, after all. And at least it keeps him occupied.
Now let's jump ahead a bit.
*i love you like an alcoholic starts playing*
Season 2 is where their dynamic really starts to get juicy. After.. *gestures at virgil* events happen, all bets are off. Janus reveals himself, he gets what he's always wanted, and best of all, he still has everything under control- everything being icarus. At least, that's what he thinks.
Icarus is currently in the middle of transitioning from "it's so over" to "we're so back", thanks to his newly discovered escape route named logan. After years of watching from the sidelines, as everyone else gets what he's always wanted, he finally has a way out- and you bet your ass his number one priority is to make janus regret everything. (And his number two priority is probably to have a kickass musical number whilst doing so.)
What i really love about their dynamic is the familiarity of it. This established back-and-forth they have, this endless battle that they've just grown accustomed to. It's the epitome of "unstoppable force vs immovable object". Because at the end of the day, they're both driven by a sense of duty- a devotion, an obsession, even. They're both completely committed to their goals, and they're eachother's biggest threats.
They're stuck in this never-ending cycle because it's who they are. Neither of them will ever back down, no matter the cost. And if they go down, they'll go down together.
After all, anything's worth it for him, isn't it?
