#janiper

II. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Height: 6'0

Weight: 165lbs

Build: Meso-ectomorphic

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Scent: Oranges, juniper, and sandalwood

Fashion: When it comes to clothing choices, he generally wears a brown leather jacket, pants, and leather boots for his uniform. He usually couples his jacket with either a button-up shirt or a soft turtleneck depending on the occasion. He loves a soft sweater for those cold nights but wears a nice pair of boxers to bed. (He's a boxer briefs kind of guy, if anyone's asking.)

Faceclaim/Voiceclaim: Henry Golding

Voiceclaim (Singing): Brendon Urie (our pansexual icon)

III. PERSONALITY

Quick-witted, sassy, and creative are just three words to describe Janus. He developed a sense of adventure as a kid from reading all these books about this hero who travels the universe and visits all these exciting places. His quick wits allow for some funny moments and unexpected and devastating comebacks when needed. Jan is also fiercely loyal to the ones he loves and will do his best to give them all the love and protection they deserve.

Underneath that mask of a wide smile, soft eyes, and a sharp sense of humor is a lonely child who grew up in a golden prison with abusive siblings and a million and one restrictions as to who he should be and how he should behave. He developed a fear of loneliness when he was growing up, believing that he was never truly loved by anyone (besides Nerissa (and Vexx)), that he was only his parents' political chess piece (who don't even remember his name), and that at the end of the day, when people are tired of loving him, he will be alone once again.

TL;DR Version: If Peter Quill/Star-Lord and Anastasia from the 1997 animated film of the same name had a gay baby, that gay baby's name would be Janus Peg'asi.

Strengths: Adventurous | Affectionate | Charming | Cheerful | Creative | Empathetic | Funny | Loyal | Perceptive | Sassy | Whip-smart

Weaknesses: A great big ball of anxiety | Hates being alone/feeling neglected | Hides his emotions a lot | Overthinking | Tends to use humor and sarcasm as a coping mechanism | Body-conscious | Poor alcohol tolerance

Likes: Art (drawing, painting, designing) | Music (he's a total pop boy with a side of indie, rock, jazz, alternative, and showtunes) | Singing | Dancing | Cooking | Good coffee (!!!) | Breakfast food (see below) | Riding motorcycles | Being around the people he loves and cares for

Dislikes: Feeling helpless | Inequality and injustice | Dishonesty | Having his trust broken | Unnecessary rudeness | Being kept out-of-the-loop | Bad haircuts

Dreams/Ambitions: Janus's biggest dream was to travel with his best friend Vexx around the world and perhaps never return to Goldis and forget about his family (except for Nerissa, of course). Perhaps the two would settle in a place that was just quiet and tranquil. Maybe a beachside house where they could just enjoy the peace and solitude the world had to offer without ever having to worry about being royal or even abusive siblings. However, the more he got to know the Andromeda Six crew, the more he dreamt about including them in his dream of peace, quiet, stability, and happiness away from everything that hurt them.

Fears: Janus' biggest fear is loneliness stemming from the idea of being alone. It's not in the context of literally being left alone in a room, but knowing that there is no one else left in his life to love. He may have, in a way, lived through that for most of his life, but it doesn't mean he enjoyed it. He hated being alone, especially because it was evident most of his family hated him for a reason no one even knew. For Janus, being alone meant he was no longer loved by those he gave his love to. Being alone meant no one cared about what would happen to him. Being alone meant he was, as Arlo and Celest would say, "unwanted." Being shunned away to one corner of the palace for most of his life doesn't do wonders for a person's social development. It also doesn't help that the others who reside in the palace wing he lives in are just terrible people. While his sister Nerissa was a breath of fresh air and Sorenn was a nice person (to his face, at least), Janus never really got to build solid relationships with any person except Vexx Serif, the Royal Guard assigned to him. Even in his time in college, Janus knew nobody really enjoyed his company solely because he was a Peg'asi. His fears only amplified when he learned that Vexx betrayed him and that he learned that Nerissa was among the casualties of the palace siege.

IV. RELATIONSHIPS

Parents: King Fenris and Queen Lucrezia the Solar Queen

Even though Fenris and Lucrezia are Janus' biological parents, he hardly knew either of them. Fenris was pretty much an absent father was only seen by Janus at events the youngest Peg'asi was invited to.

Lucrezia was cold and distant to Janus for some reason not even Nerissa understood. If there was any conversation to be had between Janus and Lucrezia, it would involve Lucrezia forgetting her own son's name and saying a different name instead (ex. Jonas, Jason, Jerome, Jamiroquai(??)), constantly ignoring or gaslighting her son's feelings, and basically making him self-conscious of his appearance. Regarding the latter, Lucrezia had a habit of pointing out Janus' physical flaws, calling him 'fat', and telling him that he's wasting the physical beauty he inherited from his mother by not improving his body and making himself look good.

Siblings: Janus has 10 older siblings but Nerissa, the eldest, was Janus' favorite one simply because he got to see her often. She'd interact with him without judgement and give him all the love for her younger brother. Nerissa saw so much good in Janus that it ached her to see his potential wasted because no one else saw it let alone wanted to nurture it. It was Nerissa who pushed Lucrezia to allow Janus to go to college in exchange of allowing her mother to have potential suitors brought to Nerissa (but it didn’t mean she had to marry any of them though lol). Janus worked hard to make Nerissa proud so that Nerissa's sacrifice of her freedom as a proud single woman who didn’t need a man to please their mother's archaic desire to have the eldest Peg'asi daughter wedded would not be wasted. They also bonded over a mutual dislike of their mother.

If there was a second sibling to note, it would be Sorenn and Elettra. Both of these older siblings were always nice and polite to Janus (at least to his face). However, they all barely spent any time together, which made it difficult to gauge if these two older Peg’asi siblings had anything in common with Jan.

Current Partner: Juniper "June" Nyux June was the first person Janus laid eyes on after the latter woke up after a time. He was so kind, considering they just met and Jan was a complete stranger to the entire Andromeda Six crew. When they started out as friends, Jan found himself constantly spending time with June when he could. He enjoyed so many things of their time together from the light conversations they had to just sitting together in silence and enjoying a nice quiet meal. If you could even count it as a first date, the time they spent together at the Festival of Valen in Teranium would maybe be one of Janus’ favorite dates with June ever.

The revelation of Janus’ true identity and royal past drove a wedge between the prince and the gunman for a while. When June distanced himself from Janus, it hurt the latter so badly that he fell into depression. Jan was so deeply wounded by the fact that yet another person he felt could be at least someone he saw a long-term relationship with - be it platonic or romantic - has slipped away from him because of something he could not control. He felt powerless for days and had no motivation to get up, which elicited concern from majority of the A6 crew. Eventually, after their return from the Azure territory in Cursa, June decided to finally talk to Jan and apologize for inadvertently hurting him when the gunslinger needed distance. They slowly began repairing their relationship over the next few days. After their mission in Orion, Jan and June decided to finally give the idea of "them" a shot and become boyfriends. During their downtime from missions, they'd spend time together (either alone or with Bash and Aya keeping them company) around the ship in the kitchen or in each other’s bedrooms. June realized that perhaps this thing he had going on with Jan was going to be good for him when Lizzie (his pet lizard) immediately became comfortable with the stowaway despite never having met him.

[More updates about their relationship to follow when we get more game updates hihi]

Boss/Employer: Calderon "Cal" Lynch - reports directly to the Captain

Co-Workers: The A6 Crew

Friends:

Juniper “June” Nyux - See “Current Partner”.

Ayame "Aya" Ikade and Sebastian "Bash" Ilahaj Aya and Bash are mashed up together in this bullet point for good reason. Jan, Bash, and Aya have tons of fun together, whether it's simply just hanging out at the kitchens together over a game of cards, cooking (except for Aya, who’s basically banned from the kitchen), or getting into mischievous shenanigans together, much to Calderon Lynch's chagrin. However, if there was to be a mom-friend in every friend group, the job usually falls to Jan to be that mom-friend (even if they take turns being that from time to time). These two crewmates also pretty much indoctrinated Janus into their favorite activities. They also all share a love for good music. One time, Jan was playing music and singing along in his bunker while getting dressed. When Aya and Bash barged in, Jan was too engrossed in the song and pretty much putting on a concert (for no audience) to notice them enter. Jan only did notice them when Bash joined in the chorus, with Aya following suit (despite being comedically off-key as hell). The three ended up putting on a concert of sorts as the rest of the crew gathered at Jan's doorway with varying reactions. Some were amused (June and Ryona), some were judging them (Damon), some pinched the bridge of their noses to keep themselves from going off because pretty much everyone disappeared from the bridge to see the commotion (Calderon), and others were confined and unconscious in the infirmary (Vexx).

Calderon "Cal" Lynch Jan and Cal were hostile with each other at first, with Jan not understanding Cal's cold and curt front with him and Cal just seeing Jan as either just baggage or a brat of sorts despite not knowing Jan's background. The more they get to know each other, the more they develop their understanding of each other. Despite the almost comedic sexual tension between them at first, they eventually develop a sort of friendly relationship wherein they both manage to push each other's buttons or tease each other, topped with a victorious smirk on whichever man won the battle. It was often Calderon, but Janus (despite being the master of sass that he is) managed to get the upper hand when he could. One infamous instance was the "Mr. Sixhead" incident about Calderon's forehead, earning raucous laughter from Aya, Bash, and Damon and a headache-inducing flick onto Janus' forehead (which left a bit of a mark for a day) from Calderon. However, when it's time to be vulnerable, they make sure to keep an open ear (and open arms in Calderon's case because Jan's a total hugger) for the other to talk. (It's usually Jan who needs to vent but Calderon is actually a great sounding board for advice, whether Jan admits it or not.)

Ryona Mi'haden Ryona was basically Jan's guidance councilor/older sister figure in the crew without question. When Jan fell into a deep depression not only after remembering who he was but also June distancing himself from Jan, Ryona was the one who took great care to listen to Janus and let him sob on her shoulder. It was with his interactions with Ryona that Jan realized so many things about himself -- mainly that he really was a lonely child who just wanted real human connections and tried to conceal his feelings with sass, sarcasm, and a smile. Ryona was always a good source of sibling-like comfort for Jan and it was always something Ryona was happy to be for Jan. Jan also appreciates how calming Ryona can be and would spend time with her (and sometimes Damon) for a quiet and calm cup of tea over some light reading. Sometimes, to clear his head, Jan would offer to help Ryona tend to her plants while they talk about their problems.

Damon Reznor Damon, Janus’ fellow “short king” who also stands at 6′0, was always someone Jan had a hard time getting along with at first. Their relationship went sour as all hell when Damon suggested they turn Jan over to Zovack. Janus couldn't get past this for a while and even called Damon a "heartless self-serving asshole", with the "self-serving" part met with an ominously angry clapback about hypocrisy aimed at Janus' privileged background as a Goldian prince. When they both learned that there was more to the other person than what both said about each other, they eventually made peace with one another, came to a mutual understanding, and made a pact to never lie to each other. He also stopped flirting (or teasing, depending on how one looks at it) with Janus when the latter made it official with June, but instead would tease Jan about his feelings for June. It didn’t stop Damon from trying to find Janus’ tickle spot(s), though. Eventually, their relationship got better after they began to slowly bond over literature and films, even if it usually led to Damon poking fun at Jan's taste in fiction (but actually lowkey enjoying it but would never admit to it).

Vexx Serif Oof. Where to begin with Vexx “The Ex” Serif? Vexx was essentially Janus' first official friend, given how it was hard for Jan to make friends because he was either constantly trapped in the palace or hated by his schoolmates for being a Peg'asi. Vexx was also Janus’ first love and first heartbreak. Vexx was an open ear to Janus' frustrations and dreams. However, when Jan learned that Vexx was not only using him to investigate any possible ways to infiltrate the palace but was also  involved in the death of Nerissa, it stung him really badly. It took a long time for Jan to forgive his former Guard and the two found common ground to become friends again after Janus learned the truth about Vexx’s disappearance prior to the palace siege.

V. TRIVIA

Janus's name is from the Roman god of the same name. In Roman mythology, Janus was known as the god of beginnings, transitions, and endings. Alexander means "defender of men."

Jan loves breakfast food. It's pretty much his favorite thing to cook. You can win Jan over with a stack of fluffy golden pancakes or golden-brown waffles, bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns, and a good cup of coffee.

When it comes to affection, his top love languages are quality time and touch. Speaking of touch, Jan is also an absolute cuddler.

Jan is a really good dancer. Beyond the ballroom dancing he learned at the palace, he also took a PE class in college that centered around more contemporary styles of dancing. He later put dancing into his workout routine on the ship (and even taught June some ballroom dancing 🥺🥺🥺).

Aside from June, he naturally gravitates towards Bash and Aya, instantaneously becoming friends with them and hanging out with them more often than the other crewmates. Bash and Aya actually gifted Jan a music player (they found at Teranium and upgraded) with a nice pair of orange earphones as a "Welcome-to-the-Crew" gift.

Jan is actually a really good motorcycle driver. Vexx, using his own motorcycle, taught him how to operate one whenever they would sneak out of the castle and they would drive into the city. When Janus left the palace to find Vexx, he stole Vexx’s motorcycle (that he left behind) and rode away into the night to try and find his missing friend and then-boyfriend.