History WebVideo / ThomasSanders

Aside from the themes of his content, Thomas is also known for doing a ''lot'' of singing in his media, partly because he's a really good singer and partly because he does musical theater. As a singer, he released an EP in 2013 consisting of Christmas songs, and an album in 2016 with the soundtrack of his ''Ultimate Storytime'' musical, a show with which he went on tour to 17 cities of the USA and Canada, including Toronto and New York City. He's also released both on [=YouTube=] and on iTunes, Spotify and other platforms several singles from 2017 onward like "The Things We Used to Share" or "On the Borderline". He has an album on the way with songs composed by his friend Joan.

** Thomas has a quirk that can be seen in his [=YouTube=] real life shows and also on bloopers from his works of fiction. He tends to look at himself at the camera screen, check if his hair is all right, and comb it with his hands if it's not (and sometimes even if it is).[[note]]He's said he does this because his hair naturally goes to the front right in the middle of the forehead and he has to pull it back all the time.[[/note]] This quirk is parodied in a short where he's having a conversation on [=FaceTime=] with [=JayIsJo=] and he gets so enraptured by his own face on the screen that he can't stop looking at himself, combing his hair and smiling to himself, to the point of missing the whole conversation and the news for which [=JayIsJo=] contacted him in the first place, that they're pregnant.

** Thomas has a quirk that can be seen in his [=YouTube=] real life shows and also on bloopers from his works of fiction. He tends to look at himself at the camera screen, check if his hair is all right, and comb it with his hands if it's not (and sometimes even if it is).[[note]]He's said he does this because his hair naturally goes to the front right in the middle of the forehead and he has to pull it back all the time.[[/note]] This quirk is parodied in a short where he's having a conversation on [=FaceTime=] with [=JayIsJo=] and he gets so enraptured by his own face on the screen that he can't stop looking at himself, combing his hair and smiling to himself, to the point of missing the whole conversation and the news for which [=JayIsJo=] contacted him in the first place, that she's pregnant.

While still an active Viner, Thomas also did a number of Website/YouTube videos, usually collaborations with other Viners or [=YouTubers=] or Q&A sessions. With the end of Vine as an active social media platform, he's transitioned to [=YouTube=] for the bulk of his video content. However, he continues doing short skits in the style of Vine, now renamed as the ''Sanders Shorts'' series, which he releases first on Instagram and Twitter, and later on the rest of his social media. From 2019 onwards, a few of his shorts started premiering first on [=TikTok=], where, to his surprise and barely without any promotion, even though he had an account back since the Vine days, when it still was [=Musical.ly=], he's gathered a huge amount of followers that by 2019 even surpassed his [=YouTube=] count by more than a million. As of January 2020, he has 4.4 million followers on [=TikTok=].

'''Thomas:''' ''[grabbing him by the arms, understandably frustrated]'' ''[[BiTheWay YES.]]''

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Thomas is known for being a ridiculously nice guy in real life, but in his musical theater work he's had several villain roles, including Javert from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' and [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/096dc79ea2c7a33232fdfdbb00283903/tumblr_inline_p3mchzx4n31qkpjah_500.jpg J.D.]] from ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'', as he is a bass singer and many times he was the only one who could reach the low notes these characters sometimes deliver. In particular, his debut in musical theater was doing a villain, Prospero, from ''Return to the Forbidden Planet'', in a show he did while in high school, and he was cast in that role because he was the only one among all the actors that could sing "ultra-bass notes", as he described them.

Aside from the themes of his content, Thomas is also known for doing a ''lot'' of singing in his media, partly because he's a really good singer and partly because he does musical theater. As a singer, he released an EP in 2013 consisting of Christmas songs, and an album in 2016 with the soundtrack of his ''Ultimate Storytime'' musical, a show with which he went on tour to 17 cities of the USA and Canada, including Toronto and New York City. He's also released both on [=YouTube=] and on iTunes, Spotify and other platforms several singles from 2017 onward like "The Things We Used to Share" or "On the Borderline". He has a second EP on the way with songs composed by his friend Joan.

* DontTryThisAtHome: In a Disney Prank Vine inspired by ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'', he spills some glitter powder right in Leo's eyes when he's sleeping. In another Vine, Leo forces Thomas to say a disclaimer, warning the younger viewers to not repeat this prank.

* ManOfAThousandVoices: He can do excellent impressions of [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Stewie and Brian]], [[Series/TheMuppetShow Kermit]], [[Disney/LiloAndStitch Stitch]] [[note]]Thomas has no relation to Creator/ChrisSanders, FYI[[/note]], [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]], and [[Series/SesameStreet Elmo]]; his Stewie Vines are some of his most popular.
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Thomas is known for being a ridiculously nice guy in real life, but in his musical theater work he's had several villain roles, including Javert from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' and [[http://78.media.tumblr.com/096dc79ea2c7a33232fdfdbb00283903/tumblr_inline_p3mchzx4n31qkpjah_500.jpg J.D.]] from ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'', as he is a bass singer and many times he was the only one who could reach the low notes these characters sometimes deliver. In particular, his debut in musical theater was doing a villain, Prospero, from ''Return to the Forbidden Planet'', in a show he did while in high school, and he was cast in that role because he was the only one among all the actors that could sing "ultra-bass notes", as he described them.

While still an active Viner, Thomas also did a number of Website/YouTube videos, usually collaborations with other Viners or [=YouTubers=] or Q&A sessions. With the end of Vine as an active social media platform, he's transitioned to [=YouTube=] for the bulk of his video content. However, he continues doing short skits in the style of Vine, now renamed as the ''Sanders Shorts'' series, which he releases first on Instagram and Twitter, and later on the rest of his social media.

Thomas Sanders is a social media personality and theater actor from Gainesville, UsefulNotes/{{Florida}}.

* IntercontinuityCrossover: Thomas released in August 2019 a [=TikTok=] video, later re-released on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, where Patton, Virgil, Roman, Logan, Remus and Deceit, from ''Sanders Sides'', Dr. Emile Picani, from ''Cartoon Therapy'', and Sleep, from the ''Sander Shorts'', were joined together to lipsync to the beginning of the song "Lower Your Expectations" by Creator/BoBurnham.

* IntercontinuityCrossover: Thomas released in August 2019 a TikTok where Patton, Virgil, Roman, Logan, Remus and Deceit, from ''Sanders Sides'', Dr. Emile Picani, from ''Cartoon Therapy'', and Sleep, from the ''Sander Shorts'', were joined together to lipsync to the beginning of the song "Lower Your Expectations" by Creator/BoBurnham.

* TimeshiftedActor: Thomas had many Vines and shorts where a younger version of him appears. Young Thomas has been played by different actors over time, the most prolific of them Alex Rupp, who appeared six times as young Thomas.

** As a contrast to his light and comedic career on Vine and [=YouTube=], even though he also has light and comedic songs like "Vine vs. [=YouTube=]" with [[{{WebVideo/Paint}} Jon Cozart]] or "The Internet is Down" with AVByte, his music career often goes for a style of slow, melancholic songs like the sad ballad "The Things We Used to Share", the melancholic and nostalgic "On the Borderline", or the both sad and nostalgic "Musical Chairs". Many of these and other songs were written by Joan.

** As a contrast to his light and comedic career on Vine and [=YouTube=], his music career often goes for a style of slow, melancholic songs like the sad ballad "The Things We Used to Share" or the melancholic and nostalgic "On the Borderline", both written by Joan.

In late 2016 Thomas began to turn his solo [=YouTube=] vlog videos into five-way conversations between himself and four aspects of his personality: Logan, his Logic; Patton, his Morality (also known as Dad); Roman, his Creativity (also known as Princey); and Virgil, his Anxiety. These eventually became a full-fledged series called ''WebVideo/Sanders Sides''. In 2017, he debuted a new web series, ''Cartoon Therapy'', where he plays Dr. Emile Picani, an eccentric therapist for couples who uses cartoons as a way to treat his patients' issues, achieving great results despite his methods. He also releases in his [=YouTube=] channel a wide variety of shows, like "Real or Fake Anime" (co-starring Dom Gold), "Voices of Unreason", "I Can't Believe I Never Knew...", "Ask the Experts" (co-starring Joan), "Video Games Through the Ages", later renamed to "Joystick Joyride" (co-starring Joan, Talyn and Camden Foote) and lots of sketches and one-off shows.

In late 2016 Thomas began to turn his solo [=YouTube=] vlog videos into five-way conversations between himself and four aspects of his personality: Logan, his Logic; Patton, his Morality (also known as Dad); Roman, his Creativity (also known as Princey); and Virgil, his Anxiety. These eventually became a full-fledged series called "Sanders Sides." In 2017, he debuted a new web series, ''Cartoon Therapy'', where he plays Dr. Emile Picani, an eccentric therapist for couples who uses cartoons as a way to treat his patients' issues, achieving great results despite his methods. He also releases in his [=YouTube=] channel a wide variety of shows, like "Real or Fake Anime" (co-starring Dom Gold), "Voices of Unreason", "I Can't Believe I Never Knew...", "Ask the Experts" (co-starring Joan), "Video Games Through the Ages", later renamed to "Joystick Joyride" (co-starring Joan, Talyn and Camden Foote) and lots of sketches and one-off shows.

!!Tropes that apply to the Sanders Sides series:
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%% Only tropes dedicated to story structure and plot should be included here.
%% Tropes describing specific character traits, whether individual or in group, should be included in the Characters section,
%% to avoid duplications and dispersion of data.
%%

* AbortedArc: Thomas and the Sanders Sides travel to a new "Mind Palace" created by Patton and Roman as the new setting for the show. However, in the following episode, they quickly go back to Thomas' apartment and never come back to the Mind Palace, and only one single passing mention is made of it at the beginning of season 2.[[note]]In real life, there were technical issues with the sound, mainly an uncomfortable and noticeable echo when characters spoke, that rendered the new location unusable, so the production team decided to revert to the previous location, initially until a new one without technical problems could be found. Ultimately, it would be settled that Thomas' apartment would remain being the main location, even after Thomas moved his production headquarters to a new office in January 2019.[[/note]]
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Thomas and the other sides ([[TheStoic besides Logan]]) actually laugh at Patton's favorite dad jokes in the "Personality Q&A" video.
* AlternateContinuity: Anything that happened in the Vines or in the Sanders Shorts, as well as any personality trait shown by the Sides counterparts there, did not happen in ''Sanders Sides'' unless it was specifically seen in ''Sanders Sides'', and vice versa.
* AlternateUniverse: This is what the Sides' rooms are, alternate versions of Thomas' apartment (or wherever Thomas is standing if he decides to enter a Sides' room from another physical location) located inside Thomas' mind, where the Sides reside when they're not with him.
* AsHimself: Lilly Singh, Butch Hartman and Tara Strong all play fictionalized versions of themselves that interact with Thomas. The same happens with Joan, Dominic, Kyle and Derionna.[[note]]Valerie, Talyn and Terrence appear too, but not as themselves.[[/note]]
* BattleDiscretionShot: The Battle between Roman and the Dragon Witch all happens off-screen and only the sounds of the fight and the scared faces of the others are seen.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: For most of season one, Thomas expresses verbally how he wishes there was some way of getting rid of his anxiety. His wish comes true when Virgil decides to quit as Thomas' anxiety, and this causes unexpected and unwanted side effects on Thomas he hadn't seen coming.
* BirthdayEpisode: "Growing Up" takes place right after Thomas' birthday.
* BlackBugRoom / HauntedHouse: Virgil's room is this. And it's even [[CobwebJungle full of spider webs.]]
* BlankWhiteVoid: This is how the Mind Palace looks when nothing is particularly imagined or when Thomas or the Side that summons it blanks for a second while trying to get there. Instead of a room with a particular shape, Thomas and the Sides appear in a bright white infinity.
-->'''Logan''': It's a little too... basic.\\
'''Patton''': Yeah...\\
'''Virgil''': ''[covering his face with a voice of pain]'' [[BlindedByTheLight MY EYES!]]\\
'''Roman''': Sorry, I seem to have drawn a blank for a second.
* BreakTheCutie: The "Moving On" two-parter (but especially Part 2) is significantly more emotional and somber than most other videos in the series, mostly due to the plot revolving around [[TheOneThatGotAway a devastating event]] [[RealLifeWritesThePlot in Thomas' life]].
* BreatherEpisode: The heartwarming ChristmasEpisode, "The Sanders Sides 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!", pops in between two different {{Wham Episode}}s: the two-parter "Moving On" and "Can Lying Be Good?".
* BurnTheWitch[=/=]TheDragonslayer: A Dragon Witch was found quickly to be the cause of Valerie's troubles and, Roman, being PrinceCharming, Roman fends it off via samurai sword.
* {{Calvinball}}: Patton-cake, a game introduced by Patton at the end of "Growing Up", is supposed to be similar to the game of patty-cake; however, no rules are directly mentioned and the items used in the game are NoodleImplements.
* CanonDiscontinuity: In "The Dark Side of Disney", Virgil rises up like the other Sides instead of just appearing, and he is not affected at all. In "Moving On: Part 2", Virgil rises up when returning from Patton's room, and he feels dizzy and lightheaded, remarks he never did rise up before and asks how the others do it in every episode.
* CastFullOfWriters: Thomas and Joan are the main writers of ''Sanders Sides''. Thomas is the main star and Joan has had many appearances too.
* CerebusSyndrome: During the first half of season one, stories were of light, comedic nature, with self-conclusive episodes. After episode 8, when Joan joined in as co-writer, characters and storylines started being developed and including more elements of drama and even suspense, though never leaving comedy as the basis of the series, and long complex story arcs replaced the earlier self-conclusive episodes.
* ChainOfCorrections: It's a kind of gag that makes some appearances from time to time.
-->'''Thomas''': I've become sentimental.\\
'''Logan''': You're always sentimental.\\
'''Thomas''': More sentimental than on... average!\\
'''Roman''': ''[overlapping]'' ...average!\\
'''Patton''': ''[overlapping]'' ...avalanche! [...]\\
'''Patton''': Oh, so that's why I'm feeling more confused than beverage!\\
'''Logan''': Average!\\
'''Patton''': No, I'm not!
* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: Done at the end of "Fitting In", when the Sanders Sides all change their old season 1 outfits for the new ones in the blink of an eye.
* CharacterFocus:
** Each of the Sides has had at least one episode focused on them. Certain focus episodes have led to a Side revealing his real name; see GivenNameReveal below.
** There have also been some episodes which focus on the interactions between two particular Sides. Examples include "The Dark Side of Disney" (Roman and Virgil), "The Mind vs. The Heart" (Logan and Patton), "My Negative Thinking" (Logan and Virgil) and "Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning?" (Logan and Roman). Patton and Virgil's father-son relationship has been developed as a background story arc in multiple episodes, although they did not have a specific focus episode just for them. The only relationship between main Sides which hasn't got any kind of focus is Patton and Roman.
* CharacterTitle: The title is ''Sanders Sides'' and the main characters are... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Sanders Sides]].
* ChewingTheScenery: Roman's answer when Thomas asks him if he likes the new Crofter's jam:
-->'''Roman''': Like it? ''[louder]'' Like it!? ''[yelling]'' LIKE IT!? ''[screeching]'' LIIIIIIIIIIIIKE IIIIIIIIIIT!!!!????
* ChristmasEpisode: "The Sanders Sides 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!".
** Subverted with "Embarrasing Phases: The Nightmare instead of Christmas", which, despite being released on Christmas Eve, it was a belated HalloweenEpisode.
* CounterpointDuet: During the "Crofter's: The Musical" song, Logan and Roman start singing in harmony, but each sings a different lyric, Logan talking about how happy he is to have a flavor of Crofter's inspired on him, and Roman about how he's starting feeling inferior and less loved by the audience.
* CourtroomEpisode: "Selfishness v. Selflessness"
* CutenessOverload: When Roman conjures some cute little puppies, all the rest of the Sides get too overwhelmed by the cuteness and break out of character.
-->'''Patton''': ''[squealing]'' [[PreciousPuppy Puppies!]]\\
'''Thomas:''' ''[furiously]'' What!?\\
'''Patton''': ''[more squealing]'' You can conjure puppies!?\\
'''Roman''': ''[with more puppies in his arms]'' Sssh, don't tell anyone.\\
'''Patton''': ''[squealing louder]'' Aaaaaaaaawww!\\
'''Logan''': Well this is too precious to process...\\
'''Virgil''': I can't... literally think about anything cynical or bitter to remark...
* DarkerAndEdgier: As the series goes on, it takes darker turns and discusses more mature themes, even with all of the jokes and humor present. Deceit and the upcoming "Dark Sides" seem to reinforce this.
* DidIMentionItsChristmas: In "Nightmare instead of Christmas", Thomas mentions at the beginning it's Christmas, while wearing a Santa Claus hat, until Virgil refuses to keep talking about Christmas and prefers to talk about Halloween instead, being Christmas forgotten for all the rest of the episode except, ironically, when Virgil briefly sings a modified snippet of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on the end card.
* DisneyAcidSequence: The song in "Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts." Pretty impressive considering it's ''live-action.''
* DoubleVision: At first, interactions between characters always happened using different shots and building up the conversations during editing. But since the end of season 1, it is becoming more common to use this effect and have two or more characters on the same shot speaking at the same time, sometimes using SplitScreen and sometimes using ChromaKey.
* {{Dreamland}}: Daydream Mode is this, and Roman and Logan enter it to help with Thomas's problems.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: "Accepting Anxiety" is about getting Virgil back from quitting his job of being Thomas' anxiety, and the other Sides end up entering his room to find him. Note that entering Virgil's room steadily increases Thomas' anxiety overall.
* EnforcedPlug:
** Invoked by Logan and lampshaded by Thomas and Roman midway through "Fitting In (Hogwarts Houses!)".
--->'''Logan''': Okay, look, fantasy is not my jam. My jam of choice is Crofter's. ''[brings out a Crofter's jam jar]'' And this video isn't even sponsored. I'm just a fan. Crofter's: The only jelly I will put in my belly.\\
'''Thomas''': What... was that??\\
'''Roman''': ''[pulls out his own Crofter's jam jar and a spoonful of it]'' Yeah, I mean, I love me a good spoonful of Crofter's, but that was a little out of left field, Logan. ''[he eats his spoonful munching loudly on the metal]''\\
'''Thomas''': ''[yelling confused]'' What is happening!?
** While the above example is PlayedForLaughs, "Crofters - The MUSICAL!" plays this trope much straighter, since Thomas actually got a partnership with Crofter's Organic.
* EvilMeScaresMe: In "Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning?", Thomas was absolutely ''terrified'' by the appearance of Deceit. He also had a similar feeling towards Virgil in the beginning, and he got truly petrified when he saw Remus creepily emerging from behind the TV set.
* FantasticComedy: Though not exactly a {{Sitcom}} per se, "Sanders Sides" has some elements of a sitcom and also several elements of fantasy.
* FiveStagesOfGrief: In the two part episode "Moving On", where Thomas is suffering because of a romantic break-up, Thomas and all of the Sides show, in one point or another, the five stages of grief:
** Denial: Patton denies he's sad and tries to hide it with all the resources his room provides.
** Anger: Briefly shown when Patton yells at Logan to stop, and more clearly when Logan gets offended and storms out of Patton's room.
** Bargaining: Roman shows several examples, bringing up many crazy ideas about how it is still possible to bring Thomas' boyfriend back.
** Fear: Virgil has a panic attack and drags Thomas to another panic attack.[[note]]Some interpretations of the five stages of grief include fear instead of depression.[[/note]]
** Depression: Heavily shown by Thomas throughout the whole episode, with him even mourning and loudly crying in some moments.
** Acceptance: It comes when Thomas and the Sides decide they're ready to get out of Patton's room.
* FlippingTheBird: Deceit briefly appears in "Why Do We Get Out Of Bed in the Morning?" and does this as Thomas kicks him out, although his hands have censor bars over them.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Are you all caught up? Good! Now re-watch the series from the beginning, and this time take note every time a Side says something about lying (''especially'' if the Side in question is Virgil) or every time one of the Sides claps a hand over his own mouth.
* FreezeFrameBonus:
** In the "Dark Side of Disney" video, while Roman and Virgil are arguing about Aladdin, if you pay attention you can catch sight of Thomas enjoying the show and munching some popcorn.
** During "Losing My Motivation", Logan is trying to figure out why Thomas couldn't muster up the motivation to plan for a video. While he's thinking there's a shot of Thomas with various funny descriptions that you can catch if you pause quick enough.
** In "Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning", you can catch what "one other thing" Logan suggests Thomas associate his bed with besides sleep if you're attentive enough.
** "Can Lying Be Good?" is loaded with these:
*** The majority are hints that Patton is actually Deceit, such as "Patton" wearing the cardigan instead of the cat hoodie, wearing light eyeliner, and Logan and Virgil's reactions to Patton saying things that are out of character. Additionally, the design on Thomas' shirt changed from two-faced (while Deceit was disguised as Patton) to a full skull when Deceit revealed himself and then to flowers when Patton actually arrived.
*** That split second frame of Patton looking on at Roman and Thomas' performances in Act Three is extremely brilliant. In that second, and the first time the viewer watches, it's just assumed that Patton is smiling as he always does. However, upon knowing that it's actually Deceit, and on the multiple viewings after, if one actually focuses on his expression, the smile becomes ''much'' more threatening - showing that he's enjoying the ''hell'' out of this.
* FriendshipSong: The "12 Days of Christmas" song largely talks about things all the Sanders Sides did together and wraps it all glorifying the incorporation of Virgil into the group as a friend.
* FunWithHomophones: This piece of dialogue is a good example of how an innocent word causes an embarrasing misconstruction because of how it sounds exactly the same as [[CountryMatters another word]].
-->'''Patton''': Let's look at Kant.\\
'''Thomas''': Woah! Good night, everybody!\\
'''Patton''': No, Immanuel Kant, K.A.N.T.!
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** "Adultery". Thomas tries to tell Patton what adultery [[YourCheatingHeart actually means]] in "Accepting Anxiety: Part 1" but Roman stops him.
** Logan does it in "Why Do We Get Out Of Bed in the Morning?" when telling Thomas that he should only associate his bed with sleep... and [[SexualEuphemism one other thing]] ([[FreezeFrameBonus as the phrase "ahem... copulating" quickly appears on the slide]]).
* HappyPlace: Patton's room is this, and everyone entering it experiments "a jolt of happiness".
* HomemadeSweaterFromHell: Subverted. The Sides wear what Thomas has called "ugly sweaters" for the Christmas episode "The Sanders Sides 12 Days of Christmas". However, they're not as ugly, as all the Sides like them and in real life they even were released as merch, and they ran out of stock in a matter of days.
* HypocriticalHumor: "Becoming a CARTOON!" has a couple of instances of this:
** Virgil comments on how Thomas sometimes makes cartoony facial expressions. Thomas then asks when he's ever done something like that--while making as many cartoony facial expressions as possible.
** This exchange:
--->'''Roman:''' After all, the best kind of comedy in cartoons follows some line of logic. Otherwise, it would just be random and that's... \\
'''Patton:''' ''[yelling with a potato in his hand, looking at the camera]'' PO-TA-TO!\\
'''Roman:''' ...never funny.
* IAmBecomingSong: The song "Lies" talks about New Year's resolutions and describes what Thomas is about to do to improve himself in the year to come.
* InsistentTerminology: Thomas has clarified several times that the Sides are ''aspects'' of his personality and not separate personalities themselves, as he does not have any disorder that would cause that. However, he has gotten messages from people who do have Dissociative Identity Disorder about how his videos have helped them regardless, and he plans on making a video addressing the difference between DID and what he does.
** In the early times, however, even Thomas himself used the term "personalities" once, [[note]]in the January 2017 Snapchat story "My Personalities All Had Little Adventures Yesterday", now available on his Twitter account[[/note]] before dropping the term.
* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: Part of the plot of "Accepting Anxiety". Logan, Patton, Roman and Thomas all travel to Virgil's room (which is inside [[MentalWorld Thomas' mind]]) to check up on him.
* LampshadeHanging: Thomas does this repeatedly in "Accepting Anxiety: Part 1". He lampshades many tropes and structures that are used in the Sanders Sides vlogs, including Logan providing all the expository information due to being the OnlySaneMan and that when the Sides first appear in a video, they're referred to by their nicknames to quickly establish what they generally represent so new viewers don't get confused.
* LampshadedTheObscureReference: In "Can Lying Be Good?", when Roman shifts to Thomas' mom shape, Thomas asks with a British accent, "Are you my mommy?" Just in case there were any confused viewers, Logan is quick to say: "''Series/DoctorWho'' reference? Fantastic!"
* LateArrivalSpoiler: There are a few facts on the story that now are basic common knowledge but that were the main story arcs at the time and constitute spoilers for anyone who doesn't know anything about the show.
** The Sanders Sides have names, they were revealed one by one during season 1, and now everybody uses them, in and out of universe.
** Despite being an important plot twist at the end of season one, now everybody knows there are other Sides apart from the four main Sides and they're known as the Dark Sides. Only the exact amount of them is to be known yet as well as their real names, but the one that has been revealed by now, namely Deceit, is at this point as common knowledge as the core main Sides.
* LiteralSplitPersonality: Basically, the whole core premise of "Sanders Sides" relies on this trope.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles: Thomas Sanders is playing not one, or two, or three, or four... but five! characters at the same time, and we're not even counting the Dark Sides.
-->'''Joan''': You've got to get sick of playing all the characters... every once in a while.
* LostLoveMontage: Played at the end of "Moving On: Part 2", where Thomas literally wanders down Memory Lane and sees some of the good and not so good moments he lived with his now ex-boyfriend.
* LotusEaterMachine: The Sides' rooms have a startling potential for this. The longer they're in Virgil's room, the more anxious and hysterical Roman, Logan, and Patton all become. In Patton's room, everyone but Logan succumbs to the siren song of the nostalgia it inspires, at least initially. Thomas even says he doesn't know why Patton would want to leave.
* MentalWorld: Each of the sides has their own part of Thomas' mind, or "room", that they reside in when they're not in Thomas' apartment.
* {{Moe}}: [[InUniverse Used in-universe]]. Anxiety-as-Talyn. The other Sides can't help but gush over how cute he is... even when he [[RunningGag hisses at them]].
-->'''Patton:''' [[YoureCuteWhenYoureAngry He's like a little kitten now!]]
* NoodleImplements: The game of Patton-cake requires tuna fish, two tennis rackets, dipping someone's fingers in candle wax, and Virgil sulking in a corner.
* TheOner: The main song sequence in the Christmas episode is roughly three and a half minutes long. Deserves special mention because it is actually ''four'' such takes, composited together into near-seamlessness.
* OverlyLongGag: Roman kept yelling for exactly 22 consecutive seconds:
--> '''Roman''': ''[speaking as Logan in an animation]'' Why didn't I listen to ROMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN?
* ARareSentence: A phrase by Roman, understandable in context, but quite weird out of it, as Virgil points out.
-->'''Logan:''' I would like a say in this...\\
'''Roman:''' Not today, Logic!\\
'''Virgil:''' ''[ironically]'' That's a good phrase to live by...
* ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud: Thomas does this in a gag that goes [[MetaFiction quite meta]].
-->'''Logan''': Life is uncertain! We can't accurately predict each twist and turn like we might be able to if this was a scripted series!\\
'''Thomas''': Nods in agreement.\\
'''Roman''': Thomas, that wasn't dialogue.\\
'''Thomas''': What?\\
''[Thomas pulls out a copy of the script that reads "Why do we get out of bed in the morning, by Thomas & Joan" and reads a page, then pulls it down.]''\\
'''Thomas''': Oh! ''[nods in agreement]''
* RuleOfThree
** How many flashbacks Thomas uses in order to prove to Logan and Patton that they argue far too much.
** It seems that Roman, Logan, and Virgil himself seem to disagree with the fact that growing up is ''amazing'', like how Patton puts it.
** In the Sanders Sides Q&A video, the last three Sides that haven't revealed their names look like they will...until something stops them or they just don't. Logan's phone drowns Patton and Roman out and Virgil acts like he's going to only to not do so because, as he says, he doesn't have to.
** It takes Roman three tries to get Logan to remember that [[ForgotAboutHisPowers they can shapeshift]].
** The number of times that different groups of people react to Thomas and the Sides making obvious statements in "Becoming a CARTOON!".
** In "Learning New Things About Ourselves," the Sides offer three examples of methods by which Thomas used to learn.
* RunningGag:
** Patton calling the process of becoming an adult "adultery."
** Serious people wear neckties.
** Logan is learning contemporary slang words using flash cards. He doesn't always use them correctly.
** Logan misused in-universe the word "infinitesimal" in one video. [[NeverLiveItDown Patton doesn't let him forget it.]]
* SequelEpisode:
** "Growing Up" is a sequel to "Way Too Adult".
** "Why Do We Get Out Of Bed in the Morning?" can be seen as a sequel to "Losing My Motivation". It's even lampshaded by Logan and Thomas early on in the former video.
* StageWhisper: Roman turns back during a conversation and this happens:
-->'''Roman''': ''[whispering to himself]'' Roman, you dunce. You made a joke and now they'll think everything's fine.\\
'''Thomas''': Roman?\\
'''Roman''': ''[realizing everybody's heard his aloud "whispering", turning front quickly]'' Umm, yeah? [[MediumAwareness Are we still making the video?]]\\
'''Thomas''': Yeah, you know that. [[LampshadeHanging You didn't, like, sink down or anything.]]
* ShoutOut: Way too many to properly list here. Creator/{{Disney}} references are the most frequent, though.
* ShownTheirWork: Thomas and Joan make lots and lots of work on research about a topic before writing an episode, and they make sure what they have learnt reaches the audience, usually via Logan's exposition.
-->'''Logan''': The relationship between anxiety and performance can be expressed by this curve, the Yerkes-Dodson curve. It's named after psychologists R.M. Yerkes and J.D. Dodson. They...\\
'''Roman''': Get on with it, Calculator Watch!
* SmallSecludedWorld: Though not isolated from the outside world, roughly 80% of the onscreen action of the series takes place in the same room, Thomas' living room in his own apartment, and the other 20% usually takes place in settings imagined by Thomas while in reality he still hasn't moved an inch away from his living room.
* SpeakInUnison:
** Logan and Roman do this when they tell Patton to not screw things up during the Q&A.
** In the first part of "Accepting Anxiety", Thomas and Patton say that they doubt [[ItMakesSenseInContext anybody will be looking through Thomas' car]].
** In the first part of "Moving On" when Logan suggests indulging in nostalgia might convince Thomas that things can improve, Virgil and [[ThePollyanna Patton]] say "Can they?" at the exact same time and with the exact same sad voice. This is one of the first hints we get that something is very wrong with Patton.
* StrikeEpisode: "Accepting Anxiety" has Virgil quitting being Thomas' anxiety, and Thomas and the other sides working together to get him back.
* TalkingToThemself: Self explanatory, after all it's the basic premise of the whole series.
* {{Teleportation}}:
** All the Sides engage in this when they enter or leave Thomas' apartment. Most of them rise up from the bottom of the screen when they enter, and sink down when they leave. Virgil and Deceit's method of entry is to simply appear in their place, usually surprising everyone who isn't used to it, though they leave like everybody else. Thomas only uses this method of teleportation when entering or getting out of one of the Sides' rooms. The one time Virgil did emerge like everyone else, when he came out of Patton's room back to the apartment, he felt dizzy and light headed, and asked how everyone else did it every episode.
** Other forms of teleportation include Thomas traveling into his mind to Lilly Singh's apartment, with the help of Roman, and also the different trips he and the Sides take to the Mind Palace or its theater, the Dream Spaces or the Sides' rooms.
* ThanksgivingEpisode: Subverted with "Way Too Adult"--while Thomas mentions that Thanksgiving is coming up, the main plot of the episode is about Thomas not knowing how to cook and do other adult things.
* ThatLiarLies: Played in song. Thomas sings about all his resolutions for the new year, and the Sides, with special vehemence of Virgil, tell him that "they're lies, lies, lies, lies, lies..."
* TrustPassword: Roman asks for Patton to go through one of these after the trouble with Deceit, and Thomas and the others make him a couple of questions to find out if Patton is the real Patton or if he's another impostor like Deceit. Patton's goofiness is unmatchable by anybody else, so it's not long before they deduce he's the real Patton.
* TwoPartEpisode: "Accepting Anxiety" and "Moving On".
* TheUnreveal: In "My Personality Q&A" (an episode where Logan's name was the only one to have been revealed), Patton and Roman's names were overlapped with Logan's ringtone while Virgil refused to say his.
* ValentinesDayEpisodes: "Alone on VALENTINE'S DAY!".
* WeReallyDoCare: The whole premise of "Accepting Anxiety" is based on this trope.
* WeirdAside: Anxious Logan gives a slightly disturbing example.
-->'''Logan''': Look, Virgil, you're a natural fight-or-flight reflex. That's what you're instilled in humans to act as you do. And for some people... Yes, you're a little heightened, but what's a little extra height? I mean, that just means you're tall enough to ride every ride at Disneyworld. '''Unless you're too tall and you get decapitated on "It's a Small World"...''' Wow! I'm sorry for that little tangent, I am reeling right now! The point is too much of anything can be counterproductive.
* WhamEpisode:
** "Accepting Anxiety": Anxiety decided to duck out because he truly believed he was not wanted. Also, his real name is Virgil. Others exist.
** "Moving On": Patton not only embodies Thomas' morality and good feelings, but also his bad feelings, and it's strongly implied he has been suppressing the latter.
** "Can Lying Be Good?": One of the others shows his face, and he's Deceit. He has a power to impersonate the Sides and keep the others forcibly silent about it. It has been revealed the "others" are in fact "Dark Sides".
* WhamLine:
** In "Accepting Anxiety: Part 2", Roman tries to reassure Virgil by telling him he is "nothing compared to the others."
** In "Can Lying Be Good?", we have Patton saying, "Wow, I'm so proud of you, Thomas. You're so mature." in a ''deeply'' sarcastic tone of voice. It's what finally confirms for Virgil that this is ''not'' Patton.
** And, of course, from the same episode: "DECEIT!"
** In "Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts", Virgil finally admits to Thomas his at this point open secret about the Dark Sides and him: "Because... I was one of them."
* WhamShot: "Can Lying Be Good?" has two big ones. First, Patton waving his hand and forcing Logan to cover his own mouth. This is the first ''major'' clue that not only is "Patton" not really Patton, but something is very, ''very'' wrong. And, a minute after that, the first appearance of Deceit in the flesh.
** Near the end of "Selfishness v. Selflessness", before Deceit makes his leave, he tells Thomas, “I’ll ''always'' be a part of you”, and reveals that just like the other sides, he too has a ‘logo’ of his own; a two-headed snake.
* YesNoAnswerInterpretation: This example at the end of "Moving On: Part 1".
-->'''Logan''': ...their anxiety worsens.\\
'''Thomas''': Virgil, that's not happening, right?\\
'''Virgil''': ''[with a demonic loud voice]'' NO... ''[covers his mouth with his hand]''\\
'''Logan''': I'll take that as a "yes".
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Inverted in both parts of "Accepting Anxiety"; in Part 1, Thomas summons Patton and Roman by calling them their aspects instead of their names, tipping them off to Thomas' unusual behaviour. In Part 2, at separate points where Logan and Roman let the anxious energy of Virgil's room get to them, Thomas reins them in using their aspect name ([[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep or nickname, in Roman's case]].)
-->'''Thomas:''' That's enough outta you! ''Logic!''\\
'''Thomas:''' Pump the brakes, Princey!
* YouCanSayThatAgain: Thomas and Patton went on a rant of this trope until Roman stopped them sword in hand.
-->'''Thomas''': Wait, so we're stuck in a loop?\\
'''Patton''': You can say that again!\\
'''Thomas''': We're stuck in a loop?\\
'''Patton''': You can say that again!\\
'''Thomas''': We're stuck in a loop?\\
'''Patton''': You can say that again!\\
'''Roman''': ''[Irritated, sword in hand]'' Oh, my gosh! I will kill both of you! With my bare hands! ''[chuckling a bit]'' ...and this sword.

* DisneyAcidSequence: The song in "Dealing With INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS." Pretty impressive considering it's ''live-action.''

-->'''Dahlia''': ''[in despair, surrounded by friends trying to comfort her]'' I've wronged this test!\\

* EvilMeScaresMe: In "Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning?", Thomas was absolutely ''terrified'' by the appearance of Deceit. He also had a similar feeling towards Virgil in the beginning.

* "Because....I used to be one of them.

* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: Part of the plot of "Accepting Anxiety". Logan, Patton, Roman and Thomas all travel to Virgil's room ([[CaptainObvious which is inside]] [[MentalWorld Thomas' mind]]) to check up on him.