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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42533
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42533
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

# Porthos needs more depth.

Actually, there is a psychological theory of friendship. The premise is two-fold: First, if you and I like the same kind of music, the same kind of books, the same kinds of restaurants or games or political articles, or whatever (not necessarily all at once), then by us being friends, we double our odds of chance discoveries. If you find something new, you share it with me, and if I find something new, I share it with you. There is _synergy_ here too: It isn't just a trade, you giving me your finds in return for me giving you mine. We can enjoy the new find together, feel the same sense of appreciation, and make an emotional connection that grows with our mutual enjoyment.

The second fold of this argument is complementarity; when we are each good at different things that are important to both of us. One may be good at composing original music, the other at poetic lyrics and singing. One may be good at illustration, another good at writing children's books. One may be good at original fashion, another good at marketing fashion.

I know I make that sound like a business proposition, and it is the reason many friendships result in businesses. But it doesn't have to be business, sometimes it is just life skills, and again there is synergy: Together as friends we may be better at life than either of us would be alone, because you can rely on my skills that you don't have, and vice versa. It is important this be two-sided, of course, or the motivation for friendship doesn't exist for one of us, and that party will pull away, or would rather be friends with somebody else that is a better fit.

To get to your question, you need to make Porthos both likable and _really good_ at something, so Athos and Aramis _want_ him around. Given his more physical nature and their more intellectual nature, Porthos might read people very well, he might be their natural lie detector. He may be their bargainer, the guy that can get a room at the inn when nobody else can. He may be their emotional counterweight, the guy that keeps their spirits up when they have been defeated, or captured.

He can be the guy that brings the fun, that somehow always has a laughing girl on his lap, the guy whose table in the bar is always the loudest party, the guy that can't be beat at darts or cards, and his friends may enjoy that, because they couldn't do it themselves, and even smart people like to unwind once in a while.

Porthos can be the guy that is suspicious of human nature (whether warranted or not), the devious bastard, and because of that spots traps and tricks the other two would not, because he can _think_ like the villain.

You have already partitioned their personalities. Now you have to figure out _why we have these partitions and what good do they do._ Porthos with his physical, visceral, gut logic nature has an important role to play in the survival of the group. In addition to sharing some traits (including beliefs) that his friends **do** have, Porthos has something his friends **don't** have, and they know it, and they appreciate it. The emotional synergy created both by sharing what they **do** have, and receiving what they **don't** have, is what makes them friends, why they (platonically) love each other and like to be with each other.

Original score: 4