sugah
: Cracks my knuckles. I love a lot of things about Hughie but I think what really grabs me about him is that despite being the “moral center” character he is a bit fucked up and flawed. He makes stupid self-destructive choices based on anger and a sense of inadequacy, he has moments of being drawn to the catharsis of violence and has to overcome that
I have discussed how Hughie is a lot more subtly unwell compared to other TheBoys who have lived this shit for a while so he falls under the radar in marketing and perception of him but the growth is there and he is desperately trying to stay hinged even though it would be so much easier to go completely nuts. I like that being good isn’t 100% natural
Like is he overall a good person yes but he has to consciously make the choice to be which is more compelling My other favorite thing is just that he’s a dweeb and is still a dweeb despite the horrors. Let him have his whimsy
Least Favorite thing I cannot think of anything about him specifically that I dislike. My main gripe is framing where somehow Hughie rejecting trying to be an alpha is framed as a good thing but they’re also fine belittling him for the same thing. The Boys in general tries to both criticize and glorify traditional masculinity which does not always work out
Like I don’t know if the writers think calling Hughie a twink is funny for the same reasons I think calling him a twink is funny. Funnily enough this dichotomy reminds me a little of like what SPN’s intent may or may not have been with masculinity vs. how everybody has just decided Dean Winchester is bi which good for you spn fans
sugah
: IT DOES FEEL LIKE IT like they’re trying to both make those succinct points about the social stuff while also just being like “well we’re Garth Ennis’ The Boys we gotta keep our frat boys entertained” it’s kinda fascinating to me how sometimes the gory slapstick and cruder humor works for me and sometimes it doesn’t idk man
Favorite line: he has some absolutely insane shit that he says that I think about. I may be part of the problem of the dichotomy bc the shit he says to convince that Mr. Fantastic Fundie that they fucked cracks me up regardless and him capping it off on the phone with MM like “yeah, blackmail? Not cake. You just kinda say shit”
Though my actual favorite bit is when Hughie goes back for the others without Butcher in the last ep of s1 and they have an exchange like Butcher: You’re a disgrace to Robin’s memory Hughie: I think I’m doing this for her
Like it kinda encapsulates the strongest aspect of The Boys for me and how it takes a look at grief and revenge and how much humanity are you willing to lose to get even That entire scene is very good since Hughie just realizes that destruction isn’t going to actually help him grieve
broTP basically every TheBoy I love his dynamics with them. Butcher gets special mention bc like. It’s an extremely codependent and unhealthy broTP but I’m obsessed with it in the same way I might be with a traditional ship. No Children but it’s for your brother figure
I also really like Hughie and Victoria’s dynamic you like instantly get the sense that they’ve been close friends in the year between s2 & s3 and their chemistry in their scenes is really good (which ok yes that might be bc the actors are dating irl but still)
OTP: Annie...Hughie and Annie just do smth to me that this archetype of couple doesn’t usually do for me and I’m not fully sure how to quantify it. Their dynamic is just very sweet when they get those moments to breathe between the insanity of the show and how enamored they are w/each other
(Side note I am also slightly deranged about the cross canon stuff I have thought about with Hughie bc rp does this to me. I have considered AU scenarios)
NOTP: Homelander yes I have seen it on tumblr. I have no clue where it came from and I have no interest in it or the likely Stockholm syndrome psychological torture nexus that would need to occur to make it viable. Not that I have a leg to stand on in viability with my crosscanons but respectfully: where the hell did this come from
A-Train is also somebody I have seen w/Hughie but I will let it slide in terms of weird impossible ships bc I think it’s funny. Jack Quaid proposed a fanfic where Hughie and A-Train bury the hatchet by going to a Billy Joel concert together and I laugh whenever I think about it
Random headcanon: upon finding out Hughie had a cat named Jar Jar as a kid I have become convinced of two things 1) That cat was ugly as sin and Hughie prob has a soft spot for ugly-cute animals 2) It’d be funny if Hughie was a Star Wars prequels apologist bc of how much Simon Pegg’s character in Spaced fucking hates the prequels
Strongly held opinion: I’m still kinda mad about parts of s4 but I will however defend the subplot with Hughie’s parents. It’s important setup for his development. Understanding his mom informs his rejection of senseless violence and the stuff with his dad is a surprise tool for s5 trust me
Song I associate w/him: the in-universe Billy Joel songs that crop up are the obvious ones. I’ll listen to Pressure esp when I need to get in the mindset for writing Hughie
Red Panda Jean
: OK LET’S GO favorite thing about Butcher is that he’s messy and I either love him or hate him depending on the angle I think about him. The changes to Butcher are probably some of the best things about the show bc he’s like genuinely funny in his audacity and has a meaningful conflict that makes him far more fun to watch
I think the changes to how Lenny died (he was hit by a bus in the comics) are more compelling bc they give Butcher genuine guilt rather than just a random cruel accident and variety bc it’s less of a sense of contrived misery that he lost both of his closest people to shitty circumstances out of his control bc life’s a bitch Which life still is but y’know
I also love Ryan being an actual character in the show bc like. We get to see Butcher actually trying to be caring in a way that does not come naturally to him so of course he fucks it up but his attempts to protect Ryan gives more reason to root for him beyond “this cool guy is badass and mean bc he’s COOL” and makes his descent more devastating
Which it may be cheating to make this my least favorite thing but I cannot fucking stand comics Butcher and it’s a miracle how much I like show Butcher with what they had to work with. I find the original Billy Butcher in the comics insufferable
Even in the show Butcher ends up falling into that “have your toxic masculinity and critique it too” thing I mentioned talking about Hughie which I have feelings about but also like Damn Butcher is so much more annoying in the comics and yet he is supposed to be the right and cool one bc Garth Ennis has this specific mindset that I do not care for
“You could take the red pill and go home and cry into your chai latte or you could take the blue pill and...or is it the red pill? Well take that one and don’t be a cunt”
Red Panda Jean
: I think Karl Urban may have genuinely bungled which pill it was iirc but either way it makes me laugh and it’s accidentally great on a meta level with how a lot of redpilled guys probably like Butcher
brOTP: also the rest of The Boys but I am also esp interested in his dynamic with MM and that whole mess that he and Hughie are as I mentioned before (Platonic No Children starts playing again)
OTP: Well I like Butcher with his wife obvs and what that dynamic says about him but I am also just like. He totally had something going on with Kessler right? They read like there was something going on
I also am getting sold on Butcher and MM as the epic divorce dads of The Boys. Sometimes two dudes have history that would be even more fascinating as a ship possibility. Also MM being dragged into Team Mr. Mom status while Butcher is Team Emotionally Stunted Dad makes the thought of describing MM wanting Butcher out in s4 as a divorce very funny to me
NOTP: Homelander. I know people are into the hate ship angle but it personally just leaves me cold I prefer hate ships where there was at least Some kind of positive history at some point to make the attraction angle work. I think I also just don’t want HL shipped with anybody bc I hate his ass on a visceral level
However I am a bit amused by the idea of HL being such a loser that he attempts to hang out with Butcher that one time. Imagine having no friends so you go visit the guy that wants you dead
honestly, if Karl Urban genuinely bungled that line and they just ran with it? Great choice. and LMAO, yes. Now that you mention it, MM and Butcher do reek of the divorced dads. That dynamic is beautiful.
random headcanon: I feel like when he is trying to not drink (I know he said he’d gone a year sober between 2 & 3) he’d be an Arnold Palmer type of guy. I forget what kinds of actual alcohol we see him drink I think he was a straight whiskey dude so he prob doesn’t love sweet stuff too much so. Unsweetened ice tea and lemonade is prob the mocktail of choice
I gotta look up more East London culture stuff for next I dust off Butcher to get more of a sense for this stuff but I do like the idea of his taste getting gaudier the more he breaks from his upbringing as a kind of middle finger to his dad
Strongly held opinion: I will egg the house of anybody who calls him an idiot for turning on Soldier Boy when he does like do y’all really expect him to be cool with a guy attempting to hurt his stepson
Also also: “Butcher is the real villain” GO BACK TO FRESHMAN ENGLISH CLASS BC APPARENTLY THE IDEA OF A GUY SUCKING WHILE STILL FIGHTING A WORSE ANTAGONIST IS TOO ADVANCED FOR YOU
A friend pointed out that Butcher is a lot like Sweeney Todd and that did something to my brain chemistry Also there are a lot of Shayfer James tracks that make me think of Butcher I’ll have to put more on there
My other favorite thing is just that he’s a dweeb and is still a dweeb despite the horrors. Let him have his whimsy
Butcher: You’re a disgrace to Robin’s memory
Hughie: I think I’m doing this for her
That entire scene is very good since Hughie just realizes that destruction isn’t going to actually help him grieve
Butcher gets special mention bc like. It’s an extremely codependent and unhealthy broTP but I’m obsessed with it in the same way I might be with a traditional ship. No Children but it’s for your brother figure
1) That cat was ugly as sin and Hughie prob has a soft spot for ugly-cute animals
2) It’d be funny if Hughie was a Star Wars prequels apologist bc of how much Simon Pegg’s character in Spaced fucking hates the prequels
Which life still is but y’know
Damn Butcher is so much more annoying in the comics and yet he is supposed to be the right and cool one bc Garth Ennis has this specific mindset that I do not care for
Also there are a lot of Shayfer James tracks that make me think of Butcher I’ll have to put more on there