Just Your Local Twink

logan complains. endlessly. they're hanging out in virgil's room, when virge gets sick of it and throws his old jacket at logan.

logan wears it. begrudgingly. at least he's warm now.

But Remus?

This, now this is a man who sleepwalks. Not like "oh haha I woke up outside haha silly me haha XD" No.

This man wakes up and he's in Janus' bed. When did he get there? How? Nobody knows. All they know is he went to sleep in his own room, and woke up in someone elses.

Half the reason Virgil left was because he'd wake up with mister Cling-Wrap over here suctioned to his side at like 4am.

Janus has tried many methods to stop it, it never works. Remus has no issues with being treated like a damn werewolf on a full moon, chained down, locked up, the whole nine yards, he doesn't care. He likes it, even, claims he sleeps better that way.

It never works. Not. Once. Janus has even locked his own damn door, put a fucking bookshelf infront of it. Didn't work, he woke up, and stinky boy was right there, dead asleep, wrapped around him.

Janus even once conjured a snake to watch over Remus the whole night, because he was convinced Remus was doing this on purpose, because there was just no way he got himself out of all of that in his sleep.

He was, in fact, solidy asleep, the whole time. Dead. Fucking. Asleep.

It's impossible, the shit he can go through just to cling to someone else. Batshit insane.

It wouldn't even be that bad, really, if he didn't snore so damn loud. Not to mention the screaming.

He reeks, but Janus, even Virgil, got accustomed to it after some time, but the snoring?? There's no sleeping through that. Borderline screaming. And then he actually does scream. A lot. Like so much. Every night, blood curdling screeching right into your ear. Every night.

Janus hasn't slept soundly in years and it's most of the reason he's so pissed at Virgil for leaving because at least then they alternated, because yeah, sleepwalking Remus kept a schedule.

But now?

"You know," Patton said one afternoon, "you don't have to perform around me."

Janus had been in the middle of a particularly elegant deflection and lost his place entirely. "I beg your pardon."

"Like—" Patton gestured vaguely, in the direction of Janus's general presentation. "The whole thing. The voice, the deflection, the—" another gesture, "—elaborate thing you do where you agree with me but make it sound like you're being difficult. I don't mind any of it. I'm just saying you don't have to."

Janus looked at him for a long moment. "I'm not performing."

"Okay," Patton said, in the tone of someone who believed the opposite but had decided not to press it. He was quiet for a moment. Then, gently: "I like talking to you, Jan."

The nickname hit somewhere unexpected. He had not given Patton permission to shorten his name. He had also not corrected him the first time he'd done it, which meant he had, in some functional sense, given permission.

"I'm well aware," Janus said, and heard how much flatter it came out than he'd intended, stripped of the irony he'd aimed for.

Patton looked at him with that expression — the one that suggested he had seen something Janus had moved to hide — and didn't say anything for a moment.

"I want to know you," Patton said. "Not — I know you're not going to make that easy, and I'm not asking you to. I just want you to know that whatever you say to me, true or not, I'm still here." A pause. "I can tell the difference, you know. Usually."

Janus was quiet.

"The things that are true," Patton continued, carefully, "tend to come out shorter. Less ornate. Like you got surprised into saying them before you could make them into something else."

This was, Janus thought, extremely unfair. That Patton had been paying this quality of attention. That he had catalogued the patterns of Janus's truth-telling with the same gentle observance he applied to everything, and had apparently found a key.

"That's a troubling piece of analysis," Janus said.

"You make a little face too," Patton added, and there was warmth in it, fond and careful. "Just for a second. Like it costs you something."

Janus said nothing.

"I'm not going to use it against you," Patton said quietly. "I just wanted you to know that I see you. Not just the—" another wave of the hand, "—the presentation. You."

The room was very quiet. Somewhere distant, Thomas was doing something low-effort, and the mindscape was warm and still.

"You're entirely too observant for someone who leads with cartoon frogs," Janus said at last.

Patton smiled, and it was—

It was not a deflection-proof smile, Janus told himself. It only looked like one. He was simply tired. The evening was warm. These were extenuating circumstances.

"I care about you," Patton said. Easily. Like it was just true and he saw no reason to dress it up. "I know that's uncomfortable. You don't have to do anything with it."

Janus did not say anything.

the thing is the reason why logan can effectively debate any of the sides because it's LITERALLY his role to do so. he's not just thomas' logic— he's someone who's meant to temper, especially considering that thomas is very emotions-oriented.

3 of the core sides— roman, patton, virgil— are oriented by their emotion-focused thinking. they see feeling as an indicator of truth. this is something that makes sense considering their roles as sides, but it makes even More sense when you consider that patton, as thomas' morality AND emotions, literally set this system up. it is not normal for one's morals to be the same as one's emotions. not everyone who Feels something believes it to be an indication of one's ethics.

but then look at patton and virgil throughout dwit. because thomas had intrusive thoughts, they feared it implied he Believed in those thoughts. look at the wedding arc. in svsr, patton keeps emphasizing that we need to do what Feels good. this sort of system where any kind of emotion presupposes one's identity has made the light sides the way that they are (roman and his heroic impulsivity, virgil and his fight-or-flight), which makes thomas the way that he is (impulsive, does whatever makes him Feel good).

SO, it is very important that logan acts as emotional regulation to combat this. his role is to Oppose, to restrict. that's why he's the way that he is in lntao. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, this is also why he's such a threat to the dark sides. as emotional regulation, he can diffuse any of thomas' inclinations to be sympathetic towards them. this is most evident not only with how he shuts janus and remus down, but specifically why orange, as a side related to anger, gets the Most tampered down. orange cannot reveal himself as an emotions-centric side if logan, as logic, does not deem it necessary. this is why when he gets angry in wtit, remus gets JOYOUS. the dark sides seem to have a deliberate plan breaking logan down BECAUSE he is one of their roadblocks for thomas to accept all parts of himself.

emotional regulation is a key component in having a healthy dosage of anger and malevolent or dark creativity, because its role is to TAMPER. to filter. this is also why logan is very emotions-averse, because his literal role is to Oppose said emotions!

but we need to talk about another key thing here, which is LOGAN IS DOING POORLY AT HIS JOB.

lntao has made him internalize the idea that the other sides' emotions-centered solutions benefit thomas more than he gives credit for. but the problem here is that he has Stopped challenging them whatsoever, especially when thomas is discerning something he is feeling. look at svs, or dwit, or svsr. yes he is there. but when thomas is at the height of his conflicts, does he ever butt in as much as he did, like in lntao or moving on? NO. he stays quiet! he stays in the sidelines! he is effectively shutting himself up.

and this is not just his fault but the other sides' faults for not recognizing the merit of logan's roles. like i'd argue only the dark sides truly see what logan's meant to do, and yet since they do not benefit from logan's bad emotional regulation, they have to nudge him towards, you know. making him realize he is neglected. making him realize he is being suppressed.

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drawing these is fun ^^

original pics :

My thoughts don’t make me a bad person

My feelings don’t make me a bad person

My thoughts, feelings, and impulses only exist inside my head, and none of it matters unless I act on it

Nobody can see my thoughts or emotions

The only things anyone can see and judge me on are my actions

There’s no such thing as a thought crime