#also ik carriedreamer has a tumblr im just too shy to tag lol

[aclosetfan]

What about the boys? What fears would they have?👀

That's a good question! We don't have a lot to go off in canon, do we? Haha I'll give it my best shot and see what yall think.

I think that, like the girls, the boys wouldn't be afraid of much for the same reasons (i.e., being desensitized). Though, I feel they would be subjected to more horrors and less healthy outlets than the girls. So, while the girls have a sound support system to help them cope mentally, the boys are shit out of luck (unless it's your headcanon that they end up "going good"). For that reason, as the boys grow, they probably employ avoidance tactics and refuse to participate in any deeper self-reflection when confronting the things they are afraid of. Instead, they likely just barrel through their issues and bury them deep, deep, deep down inside of themselves, only for it to surface at the most inopportune times.

I think it's important to remember that they are "villains" who want to inflict fear, not be ruled by it, so if they are afraid of anything, they probably keep that locked tight. So, honestly, I don't think any of the boys would admit to any kind of fear, even the silly childhood ones, like being afraid of the dark. Though, likely, they'd accuse the other brothers of always being afraid of stupid things (which I think is already canon).

If I can get a little more meta with ya, based on the fact that the boys live in Fuzzy's cabin away from civilization, I think it can be argued that, like the girls, they'd also be afraid of rejection. However, unlike the girls, who constantly work for the City's love, the boys decide to reject everyone outside their trio before anyone could genuinely reject them. With that mentality in mind, I feel each of the boys would probably be afraid to show their true colors to people outside of their sibling unit and wary of other people's good intentions and love.

Next, I feel that the boys would have some major daddy issues, especially with HIM. Since the boys have died before, and they've witnessed how easy it is for HIM to manipulate life and death, they'd probably have an unhealthy fear of their mortality. Because of that, the boys would constantly try to prove their worth to HIM, and HIM would use that fear in his favor. If the boys never "go good," as many people like to think, I believe HIM's control over them would derange their minds, and they'd end up with sociopathic tendencies (if not already).

Finally, to end on a semi-lighter note, Brick's disgust with cockroaches in the episode Bubble Boy makes me think he doesn't like them! Also, in one of the comics, Butch doesn't like eating snails (which isn't a fear, but maybe a phobia??). And, obviously, none of the boys like being emasculated. I also really like how carriedreamerx (the author of As Time Goes By) gives Butch a fear of needles, connecting it back to Mojo experimenting on them as children. I think that's an interesting idea and links back to my "daddy issues" theory. I can't think of any canon-like fears for Boomer, but because he's probably more sensitive, like Bubbles, I bet he takes abandonment harder than his brothers.

And, ya know what, honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, because of their shitty upbringing, I think the boys would be afraid of adults as children, and as they grow, that fear morphs into a more profound hatred for others.

In sum, I feel that the boys would be afraid of a lot but admit to nothing. If you really think about the boys for longer than five minutes, like Bunny and Princess, they're tragic characters. Their semi-abandoned children who grow up feral in the woods and likely experience horrifying neglect and other such abuses. And that just breaks my heart.