#(stuff not ascribed doesn't mean exclusively non-applicable tho)

[an-organized-confusion]

The Sides As Defense Mechanisms

(Major grain of salt afforded here... because this is Freudian/Psychoanalytic stuff. Not meant to paint everyone as plain old jerks tho. I enjoy everyone, just thought it’d be an interesting exercise to acknowledge flaws and strengths... even if it mightn’t sound it. Focusing just on Vaillant’s categories here.)

Roman

Projection (pathological/immature) - Onto Patton for desired stuff, onto Remus for the undesired stuff... Onwards to Insecurity Land!

Acting out (immature) - he does share some impulsivity with Remus, ngl, but increasingly regretful/doubtful whenever this happens though...

Passive-aggressiveness (immature) - he can have sass rivaling that of Janus, lbr. (Tho at times I wanna say it’s oft stuff that reads as such but isn’t actually intended that way 100% of the time. See this man’s nickname game. Holy shit, I’m with so much of the fandom that it can be hard to come up with new ones, he’s a NATURAL.)

*Schizoid Fantasy (immature) - Given his realm, I could def see him retreating in that direction sometimes - thinking about the “Moving On” episodes here a bit. Though I think I see fan interps play with that in way more detail than canon. (*Smacks trunk/bonnet-* this bad boy can fit so much insecurity in it.)

Displacement (neurotic) - Maybe a touch of that at Remus, Janus, HIMSELF... instead of Patton. (None of whom really deserve painting in B&W/simplistic terms, imo. It’s just simpler to reach for, what can we say, human brains love them there heuristics/shortcuts.)

Reaction formation (neurotic) - he kind of embodies this, when juxtaposed  against Remus in particular.

Repression (neurotic) - poor dude keeps getting mixed messages. orz

Altruism (mature) - He did kind of build his identity around this... still going to need to find a way to achieve this with healthy balance, though.

Humor (mature) - granted, there’s a bunch of self-deprecation to unpack there... but he is an entertaining as hell character.

SUBLIMATION (mature) - just by his function of creativity, he can use that to channel everything negative/unpleasant into an art/performance.

Remus

Distortion (pathological) - often exaggerating the worst stuff of human experience, in bringing them to light

Acting out (immature) - I mean, this IS Remus, we’re talking about. Champion of the Impulsive, Channeler of Intrusive Thoughts. No Think, Just Do. Pffft. (Okay, he demos a great deal of perceptiveness/intuition.... but he is still ALSO a jackass and no one is going to convince me otherwise here. Lots of love.)

Hypochondriasis (immature) - I mean health/mortality worries can be a HUGE font for intrusive thoughts...

Reaction formation (neurotic) - Roman’s reaction’s gotta be formed/reinforced against something. Newton’s third law and all that.

HUMOR (mature) - As warped as hell as it gets with him, he’s aaall about that.

Sublimation (mature) - because Creativity, too. But also, a good fertile ground for more BREADTH of sublime expressions.

Virgil

Distortion (pathological) - but is being tempered (see what was highlighted especially in “Negative Thinking”)

Acting out (immature) - Sometimes shit’s too overwhelming, not to. I get it.

Hypochondriasis (immature) - see the anxious underpinning to that mechanism

Intellectualization (neurotic) - I think he uses some of this tactic... though it’s with less... eloquence than in the case of Janus and Logan.

Anticipation (mature) - I mean, part of Anxiety’s whole purpose is to take into consideration discomfort. Again, there’s the need for temperance~

Humor (mature) - he’s hella sardonic about it, but he’s a sense of it for sure. (Like with Roman... might have a propensity to being a little too self-deprecating.)

Janus

Distortion (pathological) - maybe just a touch, skewing a bit close to a “dog eat dog“ mentality (but an important interlocutor to Patton)

Acting out (immature) - I think generally has more patience than the rest of the Dork Sides... but he can and will get snippy.

Passive-aggressiveness (immature) - given how much sarcasm and double-speak this guy uses...

Intellectualization (neurotic) - definitely puts on these kind of airs in his rhetoric.

Anticipation (mature) - in his case, he’s trying to highlight the discomfort of self-neglect for consideration.

Humor (mature) - I think he wants to appear Serious if it gets the point across... but man’s also hilarious too. I mean “can’t plant too many trees“ absolutely kills me.

Logan

Denial (pathological) - esp as it relates to his own emotionality...

Acting out (immature) - anger outbursts say what?

Dissociation (neurotic) - back on it with the emotional self-reflection shit. :,D

Intellectualization (neurotic) - HOHOHO. Yes. All of the yes.

Anticipation (mature) - accommodating for less charged and more actionable interpretations of how things can turn out.

Suppression (mature) - Logic’s capacity to allowing one to put aside but still acknowledge emotions/etc. to get though Stuff is useful as hell. (Obviously, on an as needed basis, not ALL of the time.)

Patton

Denial (pathological) - esp as it relates to some personal values, but is being broken down

Passive-aggressiveness (immature) - I think it was even less intentional - but he does have a bit of snark/sass (far more subtle than in Janus’s case) and might read as such w/ the “softened language“ stuff

Projection (immature) - treating Janus and Remus as too antithetical to him, at least on a knee-jerk basis. (I think he’s making some effort to get better at that - to Roman’s sad confusion.)

Reaction formation (neurotic) - like in the case of the twins, this is mostly with Janus.

Repression (neurotic) - I just. Yes. Patton, it’s okay to indulge in the neg valence end of the emotional pool, my dude. Aint bad to feel bad sometimes.

Altruism (mature) - definitely has the predilection for that, kind of inherently. Just gotta strike that healthy balance, similarly with Roman.

Humor (mature) - the. gawd. damn. puns. holy. shit.