Fascinating Can You Do Janus Since You Talked About Him?

fascinating can you do janus since you talked about him?

*cracks knuckles* Absolutely!

Janus is deception, deceit in it's finest- a smooth-talking person who keeps everything close to his chest. In canon his outfit hides everything but his face- which are covered in scales, making it easy to overlook everything else when that's distracting enough. BUT! He's also way kinder than people give him credit for and his goals align with wanting to protect and keep them all safe and happy too.

Janus gives me SO many fun vibes, but to me it boils down to "immaculate presentation hiding frustrated only-sort-of-reformed-villain that wants you to treat yourself to extravagant things because you deserve it". He wants to be a good guy but it feels like it's his nature to be a manipulative shit. He is a femme fatale, a bond villain, a sassy aunt who talks shit about everyone, strange caregiver, and aesthetically he is a diva.

Inspiration 1: That video of the guy who is a good guy talking like a villain

Tiktok

No good do-gooder #fyp #hero #heartofgold

His outfit in the series screams villain but he's CONSTANTLY trying to make good reasonable points so this has to be a good place to think about it first.

Inspiration 2: Femme Fatale

Classy and refined, Femme Fatales use their looks and words and charms to get what they want, often at the cost of other people. Janus ultimately is a femme fatale in that he is trying to get what he wants and he tends to be smooth about it (this breaks sometimes but for the most part).

When thinking about Janus, seductive is a word that works well for him. He leans into that enticing seduction. Don't you want this? Don't you want to be like this or do this? Wouldn't it be so nice to be convinced~? While Roman is an effeminate romantic side, Janus is the one not afraid to wear the dresses and be the diva. Honestly he and Roman would be so good together flaunting dramatic diva takes if they could get past their bullshit.

Inspiration 3: Spy movies and heist movies

Janus dresses in a hat and gloves like he doesn't want to get his hands dirty. Spy movies have such a mysterious and enticing feel to them. To me deception isn't just about lying, it's about convincing people that lies are true for the purpose of achieving something. Obtaining something, changing something, doesn't matter which, spies and Janus go hand in hand in my brain. Likewise, heist movies are all about precision and timing and the perfect culmination of a plan coming together. Ultimately this is what Janus WANTS to emulate. What I think he would WANT to be. Convincing and suave and charming about it. Does he come across this way? Not 100% but it's a good place to look.

Inspiration 4: Lion King

(bottom image source: FantaTara )

Back again with Lion King, but you can't think about Thomas's sides without thinking about Disney. One Disney Villain comes to mind when I think about Janus, and surprisingly it's not Jafar, it is instead Scar. A lion who didn't get the recognition he craved, a lion whose plotting and scheming got him very far. Mark on his face? Check! Smooth-talking? Check! He is more about wits and words than strength and Janus is just like that.

So we have a person who is suave and cunning, talks a big talk, villain-coded, selfish, scheming and wants to help but uses dirty tactics to do so if he has to, all while wearing a very put together outfit.

Inspiration 5: Decadent parties and backroom poker

If Janus has a vice it is partying in excess and living his best life without a care for the consequences other people experience. Old fashioned cocktail parties, wine and booze, illicit backroom poker games and rigged playing cards, gossiping while he drinks his 16th cocktail and yet hiding himself behind a facade of totally having it together.

Inspiration 6: Chess

Janus is always playing a game, and it's a game of wits for everyone he is around. Every word he says and everything he does feels like a plotted out game and everyone else is a player.

Inspiration 8: Biblical stuff

Can't get rid of the biblical iconography with the snake man, but I chose less to look at the snake as "bad evil horrible sinful" and chose instead to look for images I could use to inspire me the opposite way.... angelic figures tending to or being kind with snakes because ultimately a snake granting knowledge isn't necessarily a bad thing to every belief system, so perhaps that vice-chasing isn't so much evil as selfishness is also not evil. A dichotomy that reflects in his scales- they continue down his entire body on that half. They should always be a prominent feature highlighted by the under eye redness. He is not fully human and that should be shown.

Things that became a must for me:

Keeping him fully clothes most of the time. This also gives into the "snakes are cold" vibes.

Must remain sleek and elegant

If he must show skin, the scales have to be shown off

Adding extra features to his outfit- splashes of yellow that remain refined and potentially softer things thrown in to look less threatening under all the outer presentation layers. Even AUs should do this.

Jewelry or accessories must be sleek and minimalist to be less distracting, but overall can be expensive. Hats are allowed to be big but will always slant and will not be too decorated.

Janus must have expressions of suave mystery, enticing allure, or like he's judging your outfit choice.

Hair is not as fluffy or as wavy- simpler and less distracting and cover his human eye because it's not as important.

Often depict him without his hat when trying to make him more approachable- the hat feels like him hiding more. Likewise do the opposite- often depict him cut off in some way to highlight the snake aesthetic and make him seem more mysterious.

So I ended up with this: