#i'm gonna give ya all the hits folks now i got these babies

[chanoeys]

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? GREATEST HITS of WESTERNS

[thevillagequeer]

@ariemfox here is the second song you requested!

A Boy Named Sue Two - Johnny Cash

listen here!

okay this might be a lyric by lyric breakdown....we'll see.

but first of all, take note of the rhyming/syllable fit of A Boy Named Two instead. because,,, yes.

basically, this song is rife with diego and reginald bitter father and son vibes ala I'm a Man (the use of that song for diego makes me go feral i love it sm)

so let's break it down, with my pretty bolded snippets of song:

But the meanest thing that my daddy ever did... he went and named me Sue Two

if there is any Hargreeves kid with more vocal disdain for the way Reginald chose to raise them, it would have to be Diego "My name is Number Two, you know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it." Hargreeves.

And I got a lot of laughs from a lots of folk Seems I had to fight my whole life through Some gal would giggle and I'd turn red And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head I tell you, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue Two

now here, this isn't just directly about his name, but you can't tell me Diego didn't grow up constantly hyper aware and embarrassed over his stutter, his inferiority to Luther, his anything everything it all. Kid felt too much, and it all boiled over, again and again, in a house where survival came from restraint and obedience.

But I grew up quick and I grew up mean My fist got hard and my wits got keen

Same here. Bottle it up and punch it out. What you can't get off your tongue, blades and fists will do just fine. Isn't it interesting how the guy with the ability to manipulate any trajectory decided to take up boxing? The sport without a projectile. Just you, your fists and whatever's going on inside your head.

The second half of the song really gives me vibes of the fight between Diego and Reginald from S2 (I'm A Man scene, my beloved)

But I made me a vow to the moon and stars I'd search the honky tonks and bars And kill that man that gave me that awful name

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad... Knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye He was big and bent and gray and old

And I looked at him and my blood ran cold And I said, "My name is Sue Two, how do you do? Now you gonna die!"

Where Five kept his number and reclaimed it by turning it from a piece of data into a name, I think Diego would hold onto Number Two as righteous evidence. Doesn't matter the timeline, doesn't matter shit. His father looked at him and decided he was a tally mark, and he will always make that known. That a supposedly living, breathing man added him to a list of seven, and that it was his android mother who looked at him with her fiber optics and liquid retinas and said "You are my son, your name is Diego."

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes And he went down, but to my surprise He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear Then I busted a chair right across his teeth And we crashed through the walls and into the street Kicking and a-gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer

Well, I tell you, I've fought tougher men But I really can't remember when He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile

Another thing I love about the Reginald and Diego fight scene is 1) we finally get to see Reggie put his money where his mouth is for once and 2) that bitch fights just as dirty as the kids he hates. Olympian my ass. He has a baby knife (Deadpool would be pissed, that's his thing) and will hide it until the time is right.

And this song illustrates that so well too!! Unfortunately for Diego, sometimes your foil is your father and sometimes the blade you carry he carried first.

And he said, "Son, this world is rough And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough

It's that name that helped to make you strong"

Just some nice gaslighting. Feel free to apply it to "You were never just children, you were meant to save the world!"

But you ought to thank me, before I die For the gravel in ya gut and the spit in ya eye 'Cause I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue Two"

Reggie went to the grave and beyond and into other timelines thinking he was justified.

What could I do? Well, I got all choked up and I threw down my gun I called him my pa, and he called me his son Come away with a different point of view And I think about him, now and then

the end of the song, on its face doesn't apply to them at all. but, I can't help but think Diego wishes he could have had the ending of this song. In another life, with another father, perhaps.

Send me an ask about a song from my playlists for the characters of the Umbrella Academy!

[danses-with-dogmeat]

Congrats on 1k followers sweetness! For this even would you kindly do a Megaton- Hancock SFW "I'll always choose you?" if you so desire? He deserves to know how much we love him ♥️

Yes omg, he absolutely does. Unfortunately, I just had to put some hurt in there, but there's a good bit of comfort to balance it out I think 😅

Aaaaaaaand I totally got carried away, so this is pretty long... whoops.

Hancock felt a hand slap his back as he squeezed through the crowd of bar-goers at The Third Rail, a few folks giving him "Well done's" and greeting him fondly as he made his way back to his and your table.

"Yeah, yeah, you all know I just do it for the caps and laughs, right?" He winked at them, "Heh, love all you delinquents."

Hancock turned to address his people as he approached the table, finding it free of you.

Must've gone to get some drinks.

"Whattaya say, ya bunch of misfits! Of the people?"

"For the people!" They echoed, a slew of cheers-ing following his declaration as he turned his attention to the bar with a smile on his face.

The mirth wilted though, and quickly, at the sight of you standing at the bar, unreasonably close to some unknown patron.

The young and attractive bar-goer was laughing, their eyes grazing unapologetically over your body as you shyly looked away.

Is that a fucking smile? Did that shit just make you smile?

The ghoul's jaw clenched, his restless fingers brushing over the hilt of his knife as he took a step towards you, fury shining in his eyes as jealousy took a firm hold of his heart.

The stranger's arm rose, their hand grazing over yours from where it rested on the countertop, and Hancock stopped in his tracks at your reaction. Or, rather, your lack of a reaction.

You met the stranger's eyes, a blush heating your perfect cheeks.

The cheeks he'd laid a million kisses over, that he'd caressed lovingly a million times, that he'd made flush with crimson, that he'd made scrunch with joy...

Fuck.

Hancock backed away, pulled his hand swiftly away from his knife, and sank into the chair behind him as his eyes stayed locked to you and this stranger. This attractive stranger, this suave, smiley, charming asshole that fully captured your attentions.

The attentions he was under the illusion that you'd had only for him.

Who the hell am I kiddin'? No way I really thought things were gonna last with you...

Hancock's hands were rough as he pressed his face to them, his chest aching and heart pounding as he tried in vain to slow the deluge of thoughts pouring into his mind and drowning him in self-loathing.

"You okay, baby?"

He roughly tugged his shoulder away from the hand that was placed against him, not bothering to grace the question with so much as a look.

Maybe in a few days I'll take someone up on their offer. Maybe when I'm chemmed out of my mind and needing another form of distraction, maybe then I'll hit them up for a night of hot an' heavy 'therapy'. For now though...

"I got you your drink. Is something wrong?"

This time, the voice clicked, and Hancock's hands flew down onto the table, his gaze snapping to you as you seated yourself across from him.

Every kind of emotion bubbled up in his chest as he saw your face, his eyes flitting back and forth slightly as he tried to look into both of yours at once. Looking for the truth, looking for an answer as to why.

Why you were here with him now, instead of up at the bar, why you were talking to that stranger in the first place, why you bothered with him at all if you were just plannin' on doin' this in the end, why you didn't pull your goddamn hand away when that bastard touched you.

He wanted to spit and yell, but also crumble to pieces, and another part entirely wanted to embrace you, rejoice having you back with him, while another still just wanted to forget that he saw you up there at all.

"Hancock." Your lips formed his name, dragging his gaze downward to take in your words as his ears filled with ringing static.

"What's going on, love? You okay?"

He blinked.

Am I?

"Please." You reached your hand out--

The hand that bastard fucking touched.

--And you placed it in his own, your thumb running soothingly over his knuckles as your eyes pleaded for a response.

"Talk to me, John."

"The bar." He growled, trying to keep his voice steady. "What was that, Sole?"

"What-?" You recoiled slightly at his tone, at the accusatory look he gave you, before recognition flashed in your eyes.

"Oh, you saw that asshat coming on to me? Yeah, that was fucking rich, wasn't it?"

Hancock's bare brows remained furrowed, even in response to your light tone and the laugh you let loose. His glare was unyielding, but still tinged with hurt.

"Going after your partner, in freaking Goodneighbor? In your town? I think they had a death wish."

"You were smiling." Hancock tugged his hand out of your grasp, slumping back in his chair as he reached for his drink. He grimaced as he took a sip, less at the flavor, and more at the thought of it being the reason you were at the bar in the first place.

"I-I know." You said, your voice quiet now as your eyebrows scrunched together.

You pulled your hands down to your lap.

"They were drunk, I wasn't sure what they'd do if I just outright turned them down, so, I just smiled and told them I didn't have time to talk. That I was meeting my partner here. Then I came and sat down..."

Hancock frowned at that, taking another drink, and releasing a small sigh as he felt some of the tenseness wash away from him.

"You really think I liked that asshole?"

He shrugged, looking away from you and down at the table.

"They were pretty good lookin'... They made you smile. I dunno Sole, maybe... Maybe you shoulda liked 'em, y'know? Maybe they were... I don't know--"

"Hancock, what?" Your voice rose an octave, and the table shook as your hands came down forcibly onto the glossy wood.

"How can you say that? H-how could I-- I like you, John. I don't care what they looked like, I didn't even hear what they said to me, I was too busy trying to get out of that conversation, trying to get back to where I wanted to be, back to you."

"Really?" He rasped, his voice quiet.

"Yes. Really." You smiled, your cheeks scrunching familiarly, and Hancock felt his chest warm at more than just the alcohol.

"I don't care how many strangers try to charm me in bars, don't care how 'good looking' they are. I love you. I choose you over all of them. I'll always choose you."

Hancock's eyes widened like saucers, his body seizing at the words as his mouth fell open. He swallowed heavily.

"Sweetheart, you... love me?"

You nodded enthusiastically.

"I do. I really do." Your eye contact with him broke as you peered around the full bar, your gaze pausing at the stairs. You turned back to him, with a glimmer in your eye.

"Whattaya say, you wanna get outta here?"