#Dark Sides

[le-sapphic-artist]

Roman pre-AA: yeah no I’m not dealing with him

Logan, pointing to the other Dark Sides: would you rather deal with them?

Roman:

Roman: never mind we’ll take the purple one

[imnotgrimimjustagrumpyreaper]

The subtle confirmation that Remus and Janus have just NOT been included in anything for YEARS?? Can you imagine living in a world with exactly seven people and you don't get invited to Christmas?? I'm sorry, I'll never shut up about this.

[the-name-i-want-was-taken]

Facts about the dark sides you probably already know:

-They each have an association with a certain animal

Virgil: cat (scaredy cat)

Janus: snake (liars are often referred to as snakes)

Remus: octopus (no clue)

-They each have an ability to make Thomas listen to them

Virgil: voice gets louder

Janus: can shut the other sides up

Remus: can muffle the other sides and be the only one Thomas can fully hear

-They all have makeup included in their looks

-They appear instead of rise up

-They all have seemingly ‘grown up’ together. Similarly as the light sides seem to have hung out with and known each other the most before the show began, it’s clear that Virgil, Janus, and Remus were all (once, in Virgil’s case) extremely close.

-They all wear black

Little side note/theory, Logan is the only light side to also wear black. Given that he has some connection to the unknown orange dark side, whether it be because he becomes him or the side splits off of him, it’s interesting to note this.

-Before DWIT, Virgil was unsettled and scared of Remus

-Janus and Virgil both share a job of self preservation, but Janus goes about it in a way Virgil is deeply against

-Remus is the only side in an official episode to have had a solo (his song was entirely sung by him)

-Remus canonically whispers ideas into Roman’ ear while he’s sleeping

-Unlike the other two, Remus has not undergone character development to better fit in with the group. Instead, Thomas and the sides have developed around him since you can’t reason with intrusive thoughts. All you can do is accept them and move forward.

-Janus and Virgil were the only sides in Selfishness vs. Selflessness to not swear to tell the truth.

-Remus is the only side to have revealed his name in the first episode he was in

-All of the dark sides have been bested by Logan

Virgil was beaten by him in their debate

Janus was shut down by Logan emphasizing the importance of knowledge and how it’s our greatest defense

All of the distress Remus was causing was explained away by Logan’s words and methods to help Thomas move forward

[incorrect-robbie]

Janus: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Virgil: Amen

Remus: Except for the herpes that shit’ll come back to haunt you

[dikdikpronouncedxylophone]

Virgil: Do either of you have any healthy stress outlets?

Remus: Yelling!

Janus: Drinking.

Remus: Murder!

Janus: Manipulation.

Virgil: Ok, so we have yelling...

[blitheringbongus]

Dark sides are finished! Three more to go!

[grey0-0]

My Roman Empire is the sides and Thomas’s reactions after Janus got slapped

[43on14n]

My three boyfriends. And yes, they smoke weed.

[loganslowdown4]

Today I was thinking about how the dark sides are represented as ‘villains’ because c!Thomas thinks that that side of himself is reprehensible. Like he sees completely in black and white. And because of this, any thought or action that comes from that side is immediately villainized, to the point where they act and even look like cartoon villains.

His point of reference for ‘bad guys’ has always been from his experience with the media he consumes, like cartoons or video games. It’s actually an immature way of looking at himself.

I get the wanting to separate good from bad, and this works for the big moral yes or no questions. But there gets to be a point where we grow up and realize that most instances in our lives have shades of grey answers, which is actually why Janus and Remus are there. We eventually just accept those sides of ourselves as part of us.

And eventually, they become more mellow and we realize they’re just there for self preservation. It’s not selfish to look after yourself if you have to lie about something. We’re not bad because we have intrusive thoughts. Being bothered by them literally shows us what NOT to do. In their way, they are a form of moral compass.

Neither sides are there to make him comfortable, but being comfortable leaves you vulnerable when you need protection. So Janus and Remus aren’t great sides but they aren’t ‘villains’ either, as Thomas sees them. They deserve acceptance just as much as Virgil does, because, like Virgil, they’re working to protect Thomas just as much.

Just some food for thought today! 😁 Also check out the colours in Thomas’ tie whoa 👀🤍🖤

[micropoet]

Burned

Inspired by “The Line” by Twenty One Pilots. I might add more chapters to this later, so comment if you want to see more. Enjoy!

What if Virgil leaving the Dark Sides was a painful process in more ways than one? 

TW: Blindness, illness, burns, fighting, bad feelings lol

Ft. Mostly Virgil and Janus, but everyone else shows up for half a second.

Take a seat

But I'd rather you not be here for

What could be my final form

Stay your pretty eyes on course

Keep the memories of who I was before

So stay with me because

My body's on the line now

I can't fight this time now

I can feel the light shine on my face

Did I disappoint you?

Will they still let me over

If I cross the line?

---------------------------------

Virgil sunk back to the dark side with his eyes firmly closed. He opened them slowly, adjusting to the darkness in stages. He squinted out into the shadows, then fully opened his eyes. Virgil tried to pick out the shapes of his desk and his bed, and after a few minutes of tensely waiting Virgil could make out their outlines.

Out of habit, Virgil flicked his light switch on and off. He barely noticed the difference between the two. How long would it be before he couldn’t see anything on the Dark Side? 

A knock at the door interrupted the depressing thought. Virgil shuffled to his door and pulled it open. 

“Ah, so you are back,” Janus stated and shuffled into the room without waiting for an invitation. Virgil rolled his eyes and moved to close the door. He froze when something brushed his arm. 

He hadn’t seen anything there. What touched him? Did one of Remus’ creatures sneak its way into his room? Janus would have told him about that, right? But what if Janus couldn’t see it either? What if it was creeping around, waiting for one of them to drop their guard, then it could… 

A hand grabbed Virgil’s arm and he most definitely did not scream. 

“What’s wrong?” Janus asked. The hand was Janus’. 

“Something touched me! Is there…? I thought…?” 

“You’re not making sense, sweetheart.” 

Virgil felt Janus’ cold hands move to rest on either side of his face. 

“Oh dear! You’re burning up!” Janus exclaimed. A hand was moved to Virgil’s forehead. He sighed into the coolness, letting Janus’ cold blood suck away the excess body temperature. 

Janus tutted. “Come. Lay down. No, no whining. You need to lay down.”

With half-hearted grumbling, Virgil found himself being gently shoved into his bed. The covers felt cool and crisp against his fevered skin. He’d always been freezing cold, what was happening? 

“Here.” Janus stated. 

“Here, what?” 

“Tea.”

“... what?”

“Seriously? Can you not see the cup of tea that I’m holding six inches from your face?” Janus asked incredulously. 

“Whatever,” Virgil scoffed. He squinted in the darkness to see the edge of a cup and hesitantly reached out to grab it. 

“Virgil,” Janus’ voice was deadly serious. “Can you really not see the cup?” 

Virgil’s hand closed over the warm mug, but Janus refused to release his hold. 

“Answer me, Virgil.” 

“It’s not a big deal-

“Answer. Me.” 

Virgil paused. 

“Sweetheart…” Exasperation filled Janus’ tone. 

“Jan, you don’t need to worry about it.” Virgil started. 

“Worry about what? The fact that you can’t see something a foot in front of you? Or the fact that you’re lying to me?” 

“I’m not answering that question.” 

“Why?” Virgil didn’t reply. Janus finally let go of the mug. “Why won’t you listen to me on this? Why won’t you admit those Light Sides are bad for you?” 

Again, Virgil stayed silent. What could he say to resolve their months’ long debate? Staring at the near empty-blackness, Virgil couldn’t recall his usual defenses and justifications. Eventually, Janus sighed. He sounded so tired. Virgil heard him step away from the bed. The anxious side panicked at the sudden absence and the disappointment he was sure Janus had on his face. 

“I told them my name.” The words tumbled out of Virgil’s mouth before he could think about them. “We were filming and it just kind of… slipped out.” 

The silence in the room was heavy.

“I’ll let you rest, but we’re not done with this conversation. I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready.” Janus said simply. Virgil only knew Janus had left the room from the sound of the door clicking shut. 

The warm cup of tea felt like flames on his skin. Even the bed became unbearably hot. Virgil took off his hoodie, but kept it close, unwilling to lose it to the darkness around him. It was too hot to sleep, and too dark to do anything else, so Virgil simply lay there thinking of Janus’ threat to continue the conversation. 

Honestly, he’d been narrowly avoiding talking about the Light Sides for weeks. Janus hadn’t thought much of it when Virgil had first joined a video, but his opinion had quickly shifted when Virgil returned. The shift between the Light and Dark Sides wasn’t like walking through a door, it was a whole different environment. It was… well lighter, with the Light Sides. Brighter might be a better word as colors appeared more vibrant, smells more potent, every sense was amplified on their side. That, and the Light Side was unbearably hot, like standing on the surface of the sun. 

The first few times Virgil had returned from filming with debilitating migraines and shivering uncontrollably. Janus took care of him (and Remus promised not to use his jackhammer during those times, which was something) but Virgil could tell it weighed on him. It was around his third or fourth time going to the light sides when Janus broke down. He begged Virgil not to go back, to stay on the Dark Side where he was safe. 

Janus didn’t understand that it wasn’t up to Virgil anymore. There was an instinct driving him forward, pulling him back to the Light Side over and over again. Even when Virgil tried to resist the pull, he’d wind up back at the Light Sides, no matter how badly it hurt. 

But Virgil hadn’t been able to explain this, not in any kind of valuable way, and it had devolved into an argument. At least, until the migraines went away. At that point, Virgil reached sort of an equilibrium between the two sides. The fighting stopped and it was almost normal. Virgil would come home from filming and join one of Janus’ self-care days or watch Remus make questionable modern art. But of course Virgil wasn’t lucky enough for that to continue. 

He noticed the temperature changes first. He hadn’t noticed when it first became comfortable to be on the Light Side, but he had noticed when everything on the dark side started to feel colder. Even taking scalding hot showers couldn’t match with his apparently elevating body heat. That had been relatively easy to hide from Remus and Janus, not that they were continuing to point out what was wrong with going to the Light Sides. They assumed that he had figured out the balance between the sides. They didn’t think they’d have to deal with any weird illnesses again. And Virgil couldn’t take the disappointed stares, so he kept it to himself. The vision changes were much harder to hide. 

The dark side grew dimmer and dimmer at an alarming rate. At first, Virgil could rest in his room for a little while until his eyes adjusted to the darker area, then go on with his day. But as the light gradually disappeared from his home, Virgil was at a loss. He spent more time in his room, trying to hide the reality of the situation from his family, but that only brought accusations. 

Remus was the first to suggest that Virgil might prefer the light sides over his family. Virgil wasn’t sure if it was an intrusive thought or something Remus had actually been worried about. In the end it didn’t matter because Virgil could only dispel the suspicion once or twice before it set in. 

Virgil had to say no to so many of Remus’ “outings” that the creative side had stopped asking him altogether. Virgil could go days without seeing or hearing from Remus, which was a feat in itself. Janus, on the other hand, only grew more clingy. Nearly every conversation between the two was an interrogation or an argument. Janus wanted to know why Virgil was filming so many videos, why he spent so much time in his room, why he was so jumpy recently, why he didn’t do any of his normal activities. Why why why why. 

It never stopped. And while staring at the pitch-black space where his ceiling was supposed to be, Virgil nearly started to cry. It was hopeless, wasn’t it? If he hid what was happening to him, Remus and Janus thought he was avoiding them. If he showed them what was happening to him, they would demand he stop seeing the Light Sides and Virgil couldn’t just stop. So Virgil just resigned himself to waiting, taking the suspicion, and holding out until he got better. 

What if he didn’t get better? What if he spent the rest of his life trapped in darkness? What if he couldn’t see Janus or Remus again? What if the only burst of light he got was when he filmed a video. Could he live like that? If the heat kept building Virgil was sure he couldn’t. But would Janus keep taking care of him, even if Virgil couldn’t give him an honest answer? Janus would never abandon him. They’d been through a lot and fought a lot, but Janus was always there for him when it counted. But part of Virgil wondered if there was an end to Janus’ patience. 

“Oh Virgin~!” Remus called from outside the door. “Dinner’s ready! Hurry before I come up with something creative to do to your plate!” 

Virgil shook off the train of anxious thoughts and stood up. He traced the wall with the tips of his fingers, trying to lead himself back to the kitchen. As he struggled to find the doorknob, Virgil was struck by a horrifying thought that it may be getting darker. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay. Breathe. Breathe.” Virgil repeated. He closed his eyes. Strange, it was darker with his eyes closed, but only half as terrifying. His closed around the doorknob. With a sigh of relief, Virgil opened his eyes and pushed the door open. What greeted him was a black void. 

Virgil took in strained breaths. He was fine. Perfectly fine. He walked forward five steps and bumped into the small table they had in the hallway. No problem. Virgil turned to the left and walked forward. He found the wall with his fingers. He found the deep gouges where Remus had practiced with his morningstar. He was almost there. He was so close. 

Something cold and slick pressed into Virgil’s side. He froze, waiting for Remus’ cackling laughter. There was no laughter. Instead, the thing disappeared somewhere into the infinite blackness. Virgil shook. 

There was something there. Something that moved. And he couldn’t see it. It could be anything. It could be anywhere. Virgil hadn’t even heard it move. Was it still there? What was it waiting for? He couldn’t see ANYTHING.

Virgil dropped to the ground in a fetal position. Panic gripped his entire body. His eyes frantically scanned the surrounding area, to see nothing. Absolutely nothing. Virgil tensed and tucked his head defensively. 

The thing could be anywhere. It was waiting for him, Virgil knew it. The fear seeped like ice through his blood, freezing him in place. It was dark. It was so so dark. Anything could happen and Virgil couldn’t move and he was all alone in the dark and it was so hot his skin was melting and it wouldn’t stop it wasn’t stopping it will never-

“-gil. Virgil!”

Hands, too many hands, grabbed him out of the darkness. He couldn’t see where they started or where they ended. It was endless. Where were they taking him? 

“Virgil, please. Focus on me. Focus on my voice.”

“I can’t! It’s here. They’re everywhere. I-I….”

“It’s alright, sweetheart. It’s just me. It’s just Janus. You’re safe.”

“There was a-”

“Shhh, little one. Breathe with me.” 

Janus counted. His hands tapped out the rhythm. Virgil struggled to follow along, shaking through uneven breaths. Janus’ pattern stayed steady. Virgil looked instinctively for Janus’ hands, but couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t even see his own body. Virgil felt like he was floating in darkness, completely isolated in the pitch black. 

“Stay with me, sweetheart.” 

The hands squeezed Virgil, reminded him of his body. He whined. It was so hard to stay present. He screwed his eyes shut. 

“Just focus on my voice and relax.” 

And Virgil did, eventually. As Virgil’s breathing evened out, Janus drew him into his chest in a hug. Virgil caved into the familiar gesture easily, closing his eyes as Janus wrapped him in his arms. It was nearly impossible to be afraid when Janus held him like that. But as he calmed down further, Virgil realized that Janus was just waiting to start the interrogation. 

“Would you like to tell me what got you so worked up?” Janus questioned. His tone remained calm. 

“No,” Virgil answered. He kept his eyes firmly closed. 

“Will you open your eyes for me?” 

Virgil shook his head. 

“Why not?”

“It’s too dark,” Virgil muttered. 

“I would think it would be darker with your eyes closed, sweetheart.” Janus chuckled. One of his many hands brushed away Virgil’s bangs. Virgil flinched at the bitter cold. 

“Please open your eyes for me.” Janus’ tone was so soft and pleading that Virgil complied. He opened his eyes, facing the void.

“Dear, can you see me?” 

Virgil was already in shattered pieces on the floor, but somehow, that question broke him further. “It’s so dark,” Was all Virgil managed to say before bursting into sobs. Janus breathed in sharply, then tightened the hug. 

“Oh sweetheart. I’m so sorry. It’ll be alright. You’re going to be okay.” 

The words were comforting, but Virgil could hear the waver in Janus’ voice. He was lying. 

“What’s wrong with emo?” Remus’ voice cut through the darkness. Virgil didn’t even bother attempting to answer. 

“He can’t see,” Janus answered for him. “The Lights did something to him.”

“Those mother-”

“It wasn’t them.” Virgil answered quickly. 

“You don’t need to defend them, Virgil.” 

“I’m not defending them. It’s the truth!” Virgil pulled away from the hug but kept a hand on Janus for stability.

“Oh, so your eyes just suddenly don’t work for no reason?” Janus retorted sarcastically. 

“Ooo! They could have imploded and be leaking blood into your brain right now!” 

“Not helpful, Remus.” 

 “I’m telling you, this has nothing to do with them. Use your mind reading thing if you have to, I’m NOT LYING.” Virgil repeated firmly. 

“Then what caused this? Because you could see this morning, you come back from the Light Side and you’re suddenly blind? What do you want me to believe?” 

“Me, Janus,” Virgil spat. “I want you to believe me.” 

“Then tell me what happened when you stayed late today, hm?” Janus’ voice was a near growl. 

“We were brainstorming for the next video. Nothing crazy.” “You mean the next video where they ridicule you?” Remus snapped. 

“They’re not really like that!”

“But they’d blind you?” 

“They didn’t do anything to me!” 

“Stop saying that!” 

“Then stop denying it!” 

“I’m not denying anything! It’s the truth!” Virgil’s heart thudded in his chest as he screamed. The heat in his body built like steam in a pressure cooker. The darkness surrounded and suffocated. 

Janus grabbed Virgil’s arm. Virgil lurched forward as Janus yanked him. He could feel the coldness of Janus’ breath on the side of his face. 

“If they’re so trustworthy, why don’t you stay with them instead?” 

The words burned white-hot. The hand on Virgil’s arm scalded his skin. Then suddenly, he could see. 

Brilliant light dispelled all darkness. In the stark white light Virgil could see Janus’ face in stunning clarity. Virgil could make out every line of anger and disgust. In that split second, Virgil met Janus’ eyes and saw a face of utter disappointment. 

As quick as the vision came, it vanished. 

Instead of returning to darkness, Virgil found himself in a bright hallway. Colorful paintings dotted the walls. To his left, Vigil could make out a blue, indigo, and a red door. In front of him, was a door painted dark purple. 

Virgil blinked, but the image stayed. 

His door. The Light Side. It didn’t make sense. 

“Oh, Heya kiddo!” 

Virgil’s head snapped to the side to see Patton walking towards him. Had Virgil lost his mind? This had to be a dream. 

“Did ya forget something? I’m an excellent finder, seeing how I have… four eyes.” Patton tapped his glasses, then laughed for an unwarranted amount of time. Definitely not a dream. 

“Anx- Virgil, what happened to your arm?” Patton asked, his face suddenly showing concern. 

Virgil looked towards his arm to see a handprint emblazoned in red. He prodded it and felt the burning sensation anew. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” 

Virgil was done with questions. People kept asking him questions when he had NO CLUE what was happening. 

“He- He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t do this to me,” Virgil choked out. His voice shook, but no tears fell. He was spent, completely dried out. 

“Who wouldn’t, kiddo?” “I- I can’t- I’m supposed to-” “Shh, shh. It’s okay. We’re just gonna lie down in the living room for a minute, okay?” 

Virgil allowed himself to be led away from the vibrant hallway, to another vibrant hallway. The colors blurred into a kaleidoscope of useless visual information. He was sat on something soft. 

Warm arms wrapped around his torso. It felt wrong. Janus’ hugs were always cold. Awkwardly, Virgil was pat stiffly on the shoulder. Wrong. Remus was slimy or unsanitary, but never stiff. A third voice echoed in the room heroically declaring vengeance. Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. 

Virgil forced his eyes shut, placed himself back in the darkness he was supposed to inhabit. But burned on the inside of his eyelids in blazing white was that look in Janus’ eyes. That fear and disappointment. 

He didn’t belong in the Light, but he could no longer go back to the dark. He’d reached too high, and, like Icarus, Virgil burned. 

[analoceits]

virgil being aware of an inside joke between janus and remus and HATING that he knows it. i. i thhink im gonna have oragn failure.

[skylarstar1000]

Give it up for the biggest baddest gang of dorks known to mankind.

VIRGIL, REMUS, AND JANUSSSSS!!!

[touyubesposts]

My Sander Sides Enlightment

You know what’s always kinda bothered me? Those mean takes on the other sides. Like ‘Janus is manipulating Patton and isn’t actually trying to be friends with him,’ ‘Patton has too much moral superiority,’ ‘Roman never learns,’ So on and so forth. There is something bad to say about all the sides. No hate to anyone who's made one, you are valid and probably right in your own way. I think the only reason they bother me so much is because you can easily say the opposite. The most common phrase being ‘Nobody listens to ____’

“Nobody listens to Patton! He was trying to show the others that Virgil was good all along and only when Virgil was gone did they listen.”

“Nobody listens to Logan! He gets ignored constantly and he’s getting mad because of it.”

“Nobody listens to Roman! Every time he comes up with a solution, he gets shut down only to get blamed for not coming up with a solution.”

“Nobody listens to Virgil! He only gets listened to when he forces Thomas to hear him, and he doesn’t like doing that.”

“Nobody listens to Janus! Even when he has good ideas and arguments, they get pushed to the side because he is a dark side.”

“Nobody listens to Remus! That was the entire point of an episode. And all he wants is to be listened to, it doesn’t matter who.”

And all of these are valid points. But at some point, you have to wonder who’s not listening the most. Which is how I think the criticism posts of the characters came to be in the first place. But I don’t think any of them are to blame. Even when this new side gets revealed, it won’t be his fault either. The fault isn’t on Roman, or Logan, or Janus, or any of them.

It's on Thomas.

And of course I don’t mean ‘Writer Thomas,’ I mean ‘Character Thomas.’ Throughout the series, Thomas has always held himself high. You can’t be perfect, but you can try to be. And every time a situation comes up, he doubts himself, wondering if he’s even any good at all.

And in comes the sides, telling him that he can’t be bad and here's why. In fact, Thomas won’t let himself be bad at anything. Can’t be a bad worker, can’t be a bad actor or singer, and certainly can’t be a bad friend. Even in situations where he wouldn’t even be those things, he can’t even let himself risk it.

And so, the sides follow suit.

Logan becomes the perfect person for knowledge and learning, never letting himself be anything less than right all the time.

Roman strives to be perfect physically and materialistically, coming up with creative ideas that help Thomas move up in the world or, at the very least, make himself feel better.

Patton is the perfectly moral person. Make sure everyone is alright, help whenever and wherever you can, and always keep a smile on. Wouldn’t want anyone worrying for you, right? That wouldn’t be good.

Virgil is the perfect alarm system. Even false alarms are taken with the utmost seriousness. Just as long as no one else knows your anxious.

Janus is a deceiver. And Thomas lies often. So he needs to be the best at putting on a face and making sure nothing goes off without a hitch. Wouldn’t want people catching him in a lie. He needs to be the perfect liar.

And then there's Remus. The only one who tries not to be perfect. But that idea terrifies the others so much, Remus is left to pick up all of the imperfection slack. Maybe that's why Remus was offended when he was called ‘Scary.’

Trying to be so many perfect things all at once, you’re going to but heads with all of the different aspects of yourself. You're going to not listen. You're going to ignore. And in some cases, your perfectionism is going to make you look like the bad guy. And as someone with perfectionism, I relate a little too hard.

Thank you for reading.

[bitchnuggettt]

Eternally thinking about snake parallels in relation to Janus. instead of going heavy handed with a literal heat lamp in Janus' room, I raise you the idea of the entire space being backlit by the same fluorescent yellow you would find in a terrarium, bathing the entire room in warmth and humidity. The overhead lights flicker as the mindscape's dynamics shift, turning deep red/bloody orange whenever Thomas experiences crisis, and fuscia pink on self care days -- all three are common colors for reptile heat lamps and there's so much potential for an aesthetic similar to the smokey tinted spotlighting that Euphoria uses, all contained in Janus' room, including black lights that reveal hidden messages that glow in complete darkness I mean COME ON

[spookybroodydude]

who is this DIVAMPIRE? 💜

first edit in years?