#cthomas

And some extras:

Reason 1: Rage is too specific of a trait for a singular character.

Im well aware that each side is serves more purpose than their defining trait (Janus while also being deceit is also self preservation. Logan is logic but punctuality. And Patton is not just a moral compass but also most emotions. That'll be relevant soon) And so its not impossible to imagine Rage is more than just pure blind anger but I'll debunk some of that too.

Rage is also kinda stepping on Pattons territory. In 'Moving on' and 'ShvSn redux' Patton is fully capable of snapping and getting angry at others, and there were no sign of Orange in those moments. 'But Anxiety is also an emotion that Patton feels and Virgil exists' as stated before, each side isnt just their one trait, Virgil also seems to be a flight and fight respone, general self loathing, and angst; thats stuff Patton doesnt cover.

Rage also can't work as self justice or intense passion because thats also stepping on Janus and Roman's territory too. Roman while being Thomas creativity is also his passion and drive and Janus is fully into Thomas just looking out for himself. All his potential extra traits already seem to be covered by other characters.

Reason 2: C!Thomas just isnt a really angry character.

This one is more shaky given that things are liable to change whenever new content comes out, but Thomas just isnt a very angry character. Of course he gets upset and sometimes its exaggerated for comedic effect but Thomas's anger never seems to be random or like a genuine problem that needs to be solved .

Again. Shaky. But given current info, and the fact that these are all SIDES of THOMAS, I'm a bit confident in saying Thomas isn't a very angry person.

Reason 3: It doesn't make sense in a narrative sense

A meta reason why I dont think its Wrath is that anger issues are much more niche than what some of the other issues Thomas goes through. A lot of people lie, a lot of people have intrusive thoughts, a lot of people have complicated feelings about dating, a lot of people think about their own selfish actions, not a lot of people have anger issues in a way that it would be a problem. The issues that C!Thomas goes through while have specific scenarios for him can also be broad enough for other people to relate to them and take away advice/a message.

The sides also have their own character arcs and, maybe this is bit unfair since Wrath character doesn't exist but I cant imagine an arc he could go through that isn't, again, already covered by another side.

Virgils arc was about being accepted.

Pattons about losing his black and white mentality and not being so stubborn.

Logan has one about being unappreciated.

Roman/Remus have arcs about their insecurities and being ignored.

Janus has one about not being as big of a manipulative dick /J

I cant imagine a potential character arc that someone's who main issue as Anger could possible be.

Also at what point in the story would anger or something adjacent pop up in Thomas life. Most of the issues C!Thomas is going through now are in relation to his new relationship with Nico and Thomas seems more scared of how to relationship will turn out than angry at anything.

So those are my reasons why I don't think Orange is Rage, or something similar. Some are better than others, but then what do I think Orange represents?

Orange is Insecurity

(Insecurity, Jealousy, Envy, something adjacent, but I'll stick with Insecurity)

Reason 1: Insecurity can lead to a lot of different responses, including anger.

Insecure people can often express those emotions in lots of different ways that aren't just self-loathing; they may mask these feelings of insecurity and self-doubt with a hostile mask or react angrily if their insecurity is pointed out.

This also relates to Logan's feelings of being ignored and underappreciated. My speculated reason as to why he's picking Logan instead of Roman or Remus is that the twins are rather open about their insecurities, at least compared to Logan. Roman, albeit more dramatically, has made his issues of his quality of work being put into question. Looking through the chaotic nature of it all, Remus basically introduced himself because he was insecure and being ignored for too long in his mind. Logan, however, because of his 'I have no feelings' attitude, will often gloss over his own emotions, downplay them, or just straight up not acknowledge them. So when he reaches a tipping point, being ignored too long, he has lashed out angrily before. (Learning new things about ourselves, working through intrusive thoughts, and why dating is scary, off the top of my head) It's not impossible to assume that Logan constantly being undermined might affect his own self-image.

Reason 2: Insecurity fits more on a Meta level

Everybody is insecure, at least on some level. Everybody has self-doubts and can be unsure of themselves. Entering into a new relationship can just seem to amplify those feelings and even bring new insecurities we weren't aware of to light. Insecurity reveals itself while Thomas is struggling with a new relationship, while also still grappling with the fact that he only recently accepted some of his more unappealing sides (Janus mostly, Remus is still a Work in Progress), which makes a lot of sense in context with the story.

Going back a little, each Sander's Side usually ends with some kind of message or something to glean from the episode, which would be a lot easier to make more generally appealing if the issue at hand is insecurity, as stated before, something almost everyone suffers with at some point in their life.

Insecurity can also have a lot more than just 'Insecurity'. It can also lead to self-improvement, as many people use their insecurities as motivation to improve themselves in some way (e.g., a person who is insecure about having acne might strive to get rid of it). As for character traits, Orange has a wide variety of potential traits because people deal with their insecurities differently (Though it seems for Thomas at least it's more being expressed as hostile)

Bonus: My interpretation of the Phoenix and Orange Lantanas

This is mainly from that one Orange side video I watched to refresh my mind, and here is my interpretation of how those will fit my argument.

Mainly the rebirth and transformation aspect.

Both the Phoenix in mythology and Lantanas have meanings of rebirth and transformation. How this may relate to insecurity goes back to insecurity also being a means of self-improvement because the 'dark sides' aren't 100% evil and are just more morally gray, like the light sides. Insecurity may lead you to change yourself in one way or another to better deal with your self-doubts or lack of confidence, thus allowing a small sort of transformation to be held. Lantanas are also toxic and an invasive species; however, in relation to insecurity, it is obvious that self-doubt can eat away at ones self confidence to an obsessive degree and harmful degree very easily.

AAAANNNDDD Thats the end of this very long post, it is literally 3am as I am finishing it up and I spent legit 2 hours writing on it and getting my thoughts out there.