#man is full on neutral disguised as a loyalist

[intheseautumnhands]

Sorting Hat Chats: Oxventures

Hey look, I finally actually got a sorting post written! .... and it's one that I'm pretty sure interests absolutely nobody else, because I don't think anyone else in the Sorting Hat Chats community is into Oxventures, and also the reverse. But the brainwanderings will go where they wish and they don't ask me for permission, and I've been marathoning (and sleeping to) a lot of Oxventures lately, so let's go.

Just in case anyone does choose to take a look, I'll do a brief sum up of both system and canon, so that no one's lost. System first, because I have some other thoughts about canon I want to mention. The full rundown of the basics is here, but just so we're all on the same page:

A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE @sortinghatchats​SYSTEM

Your Primary house is your motivations, values, and why you do what you do. 

Lion Primaries do it this way because their gut tells them it's right.

Bird Primaries do it this way because the system they've put together to guide them tells them this is what's right.

Badger Primaries do it this way because it's the best thing for the community as a whole, or for the most people.

Snake Primaries do it this way because it's the best thing for the people they prioritize.

Your Secondary house is how you approach the world, the methods that come most easily and naturally to you.

Lion Secondaries charge. They attack problems head-on and directly, and they're in their comfort zone when they are their authentic selves.

Bird Secondaries plan. They collect tools, skills, and information, and they're in their comfort zone when they're prepared for the situation.

Badger Secondaries toil. They put their nose to the grindstone or they build connections to get things done, and they're in their comfort zone when things call for steady, consistent work.

Snake Secondaries improvise. They're adaptive and quick on their feet, and they're in their comfort zone when they have the wiggle room to go with what comes to them.

Other terminology may come up as well. I will try and link to posts that explain it better if I end up using anything.

A VERY BRIEF EXPLANATION OF OXVENTURES

Oxventures is the D&D Actual Play show done by the youtube gaming channels Outside Xbox and Outside Xtra, DMed by Johnny Chiodini from the tabletop game channel Dicebreaker. They've been going since fall 2017, first in-person and now streamed. It is an extremely fun show with a group of very entertaining players that have been basically learning to play as it goes. If you're into D&D shows and not too bothered by a very hand-wavey approach to rules, I greatly recommend it.

There are, however, some things that make it difficult to sort. It's a comedy show, and while I don't think this is true for every comedy, in general, it's very easy for characterization to occasionally get passed over for a laugh. It's sometimes hard to tell what jokes are being thrown around OOC versus IC. And the D&D format means there is no going back and editing anything; characterization is developed on the fly, and there's already been discussion that talked about how some of the characters changed as they were being played. Also, it's action-driven -- you don't always get a lot of information on what's going through people's head, so motivation can be hard to pin down.

So it's a little difficult and I've gotten wobbly on a lot of them. Which makes it a great choice for my first sorting!

(...To be fair, it's my first sorting post. I've been watching this system and sorting things to myself for -- *checks when I first mentioned it* wait hold on five years? Really? Okay, cool. Excuse me while I sit and have a mental montage to How Far We've Come as I remember all the fine-tuning it's been through in that time.

Anyway, I've been sorting things to myself for five years, so I'm not new to this, I'm just new to trying to explain my whys, so I hope this comes out understandable. I'm sorry for the rambling, because we're already 750 words in and I haven't even started.)

   ANYWAY LET'S GET TO THE SORTING.

Corazón de Ballena, human pirate rogue  Corazón, oh Corazón, what... do I even do with you. He's clearly not a Badger -- fairness and other people's needs are not his priority. Between the obvious Jack Sparrow riff and the "pirate seeking glory" thing, my instinct is to say a Lion Primary, probably a Gloryhound Lion in specific. I could see a Bird Primary, just because there is something extremely constructed-feeling about Corazón -- I think his truth would look very Snake-like, prioritizing himself and the people he chooses, but I could see it.

But I'm going to lean into a full Snake Primary, I think. While he doesn't care about most people, he does care very much about the people who do matter to him -- see his whole complicated relationship with his father, even after his father tried to kill him; see his burning down a guy's house because he's mean to Prudence; to some extent, see his attempt to help end his old crew's curse. He puts people above anything else, but only the people he chooses to (or where can't help it, in his father's case) I think he'd almost like people to believe that he's Burned and doesn't care about anyone else, but he very much is not, though he doesn't seem to let new people into the circle often or easily, either. I could still very much see a Gloryhound Lion, but in the end I think if asked to put the party first or fame and fortune first -- he would complain, he would never let them hear the end of it, but he would also choose the party every single time.

For Secondary: Corazón would really want people to think he's a Snake. If he could read the descriptions and pick his own, I'm pretty sure he'd say he was a Snake. Adaptable, cunning, deceitful -- and it's not that he's not these things, but the way it manifests itself feels much more like a rapid-fire Bird Secondary. He's analytical, he learned magic entirely from books, and I haven't actually counted, but I would bet you that he makes more investigation rolls than anyone else. While his quickly thought up plans do work, they often tend to rely on things he already knows -- disguise self and minor illusion come up often, hiding and evading, etc. He seems to be one of the party that gets the most non-combat use out of his various magical abilities. It's a very quick and jack-of-many-trades style of Bird, but it's still very Bird.

Dob, half-orc bard  Dob is quite possibly the loudest loyalist primary... just, that I have ever seen, ever. To start with, I'm just going to drop this quote here: "I know there's good in you, jailor I just met!"

How about the way that he's first introduced as a bard who goes from town to town playing the lullaby his lost sister used to sing to him, searching for her. Or his habit of, to quote TV Tropes, "engaging in random acts of adoption". Or the time he tried to learn spells to apologize to the dead orphans. Or how he still managed to forgive the skeletons that killed the orphans. Or the time he forgave the cult that almost got them all killed. Or giving the cultists (from a different cult) relationship advice. Or the time he ended up listening to the jailor's marriage woes. Or....

Look, I could keep going but I think we've got enough examples. So: Badger or Snake? On the one hand he definitely seems to worry about saving his particular people first when there's danger... but, there's a level of guilt about innocent people who have died on his watch, and that habit of taking in random people on multiple adventures, that really makes me lean towards a Badger Primary. Dob seems to genuinely care about everyone they cross as a default, and of all of them, he's the first I can see coming to the aid of an enemy who he has no prior positive experiences with.

As for a Secondary, Dob is the master of quick plans, quicker lies, and steamrolling NPCs into going along with things. The entire party ends up thinking on their feet more often than not, but he seems to do his best work that way, as a Snake Secondary often does. Sometimes he goes so fast that he forgets something and makes a mistake -- which is how "don't be a Dob" has become a thing -- but his impulsive ideas actually work out more often than it doesn't, and he's also very good at connecting with a wide variety of people. On the page for Snake/Slytherin Secondaries, the SHC site says, 

"Slytherins will adapt to their own best advantage without thinking about it. They’ll walk into a situation and things will work out to their benefit without them quite knowing what happened or what they did to influence it." 

-- and doesn't that just fit with Dob's ridiculous amounts of luck?

He does seem to spend a fair amount of time in his neutral state, or at least adapting in a non-conscious kind of way. There is something generally blunt about Dob a lot of the time, enough that I considered Lion pretty heavily -- but in the end, he works best when he's running on the fly and making shit up, in a way that feels extremely Snake to me. And he's not only so good at lying, but so quick to default to it, that Lion doesn't feel accurate.

Egbert the Careless, dragonborn paladin Poor Egbert, the worst paladin. While his original order really seems to prioritize a very classic Paragon Lion Primary, Egbert barely seems to have a model of one -- it's more of a performance, which is being chipped steadily away by the rest of the party. He tries, but I can't see a genuine Lion Primary from his background killing people so casually. Or hitting an old man with a cursed mace over and over until he turns into a seal. And then keeping the seal as a pet. Or just... saying "maybe crime is good!" because he likes the food at the crime den. He's trying, but he's really not good at it. So the question remains: what is he?

I think it's hard to place him because, one, he really want to be that Lion. And second, whatever he is, I think the values that motivation is set on are... kind of in flux? I don't think he's super burned; I think he might be lightly charred at best. But: if he's a Bird, he's in the process of losing the truth of "whatever the Order of the Dragon Door says is right" to something that comes more from the party and probably more genuinely. If he's a Badger, he's in the process of changing communities. If he's a Snake, the Order is getting pushed more and more out of his inner circle, replaced by the party.

I was leaning Badger, but the more I think about it, I think that's the remnants of the attempt to play Lion. I think Egbert's a Snake Primary who is starting to shed his old skin. (There's like three layers of bad joke in that, and I'm sorry.) The Lion priorities made that Snake look a little more Badger-y, but he does so, so many things that just don't strike me as caring deep down about need. Like the thing where he turned an old man into a seal. I just keep looking at that incident and I either need to completely ignore that incident -- which is hard, when Seal Gaiman is still hanging around -- or go with something else. His reaction to Dana's bigotry in Snow Mercy does feel a little more Badger-y to me... but that could still be that Lion Performance flavoring, and/or a symptom of how the party as a whole gets pissed about anti-tiefling sentiment coming out in sympathy of another maligned race. I also feel like a Badger would be working a little more actively on atonement and stop getting distracted.

He is, however, a very loud Lion Secondary. While the party as a whole does a lot of ploys that involve deceit or talking their way into things, Egbert is rarely the one doing that part. He doesn't bother with subtlety, or with doing any of the many things he can as a paladin, which is how we got the whole glorious "you've been able to teleport for how long?" moment. He does sometimes manage to make connections that move the story along, and he always does it by being himself.

But most of all, I can't think of a better word to describe how Egbert attacks a situation than charging. I'm just going to quote again from the site: 

"their problems are met head on rather than subverted, negotiated, or cajoled. They have an efficiency so direct it’s almost combative." 

And that seems like Egbert to a T.

Merilwen, wood elf druid Merilwen is a Badger Primary whose version of "people" is "animals, my community, and also I guess these four now". She doesn't really seem to care about what would traditionally be considered "people", and Ellen (who plays her) has spoken about how Merilwen's morals towards non-animals is pretty much entirely influenced by the party --  but with the things she cares about she strikes me as extremely Badger. She's absolutely ready to throw down everything for the party, but when they're not in danger from it, she will also absolutely fight the rest of them for an animal -- see that incident where she talked everyone out of fighting the Owlbear. "Animals are hurt" or "you hurt my friends" is the fastest way to bring out her viscous side.

She could also maybe be a Snake who includes all animals in her circle, but: one, I very much feel like she'd choose whether to prioritize her friends or an animal over who needs her more. Two, the way she interacts with her family and her community in Elf Hazard seems very Badger to me. Her worry about not being able to see her family again, her unwillingness to disappoint them and decision to take a new name to make them happy, even after the danger is past. Things like Merilwen's Meat-Grinder also strike me this way -- specifically, her willingness to do massive damage to save the party and subsequent discomfort with having done it, even though she doesn't care that much about the people who were hurt even after having done it. "Fair and loyal" seems like a good way to sum up her morality in general. Her being so close to Dob and understanding each other so well also adds to this (even if a lot of that likely has to do with Ellen and Luke (who plays Dob) being so close as much as anything, but if I try to separate out things that are OOC-influence I will be here forever).

I'm torn between the foundational Secondaries for her: Bird, or Badger. There is something about her likelihood to fall back on "I turn into a [cat/bear/octopus]" as a plan that feels a little Bird-like to me -- that fallback on the favored, most well-used, best-understood tools, even in situations where it takes a little forcing to make them fit. On the other hand, she seems to be the one most likely to see a job that's not being done as part of the plan, and go fill that role. She's certainly steady, trustworthy, quiet, and consistent. I don't think she has a problem with shortcuts on many things, but could see her raising objections about things she actively cares about. She also often solves things by connecting with animals, which fits when you consider her people/community largely being animal-based. I'm still a little back and forth on this, but in the end, I'm going to lean towards a Badger Secondary.

Prudence, tiefling warlock I'm having a hard time putting my finger on Prudence. I think this is partly Jane's play style -- I feel like she's the least likely to go into what's going on in Prudence's head or why she's doing things, and she doesn't really have a driving goal we're aware of except "do things to make Cthulhu pleased", but that's mostly along the way. She's not a Badger. I would lean towards not a Lion; I guess it's possibly she's a Lion whose gut morality is about hedonism, "I should have what I want", or something like that, but I really don't get the impression that she has much of an internal morality overall. "Some things are just wrong and you can't talk your way out of it" (to quote the Lion/Gryffindor Primary page) absolutely does not sound like something Prudence would ever thing.

So again we're between the decided Primaries: Bird or Snake? I could see her being a Bird, but I have no idea what her truth is at this point. Still, I want to lean towards Snake Primary, specifically one that was burnt. We're going into how-IC-was-this-anyway territory here again, but there's a moment early on, in Brawl of the Wild, where Jane is narrating Prudence hurling herself in front of two of the others and stops mid-narration to ask "wait, why am I doing that" -- it feels incredibly like a Snake who's found themselves unburning while they weren't paying attention and now is trying to figure out how this happened. She's also pretty open with how fond she is of the party, pleased as punch when Corazón burns down the house of a guy who's an asshole to her, even more pleased when Egbert seems corruptible, seems genuinely happy that the group has gotten more lax about killing, and of course there's "You'll never leave me, Corazón, I'll kill you first" and hugging the Egbert-statue after he's been kidnapped when no one can see her.

But more than the party, what makes me lean towards Snake is her relationship with her warlock patron. There's nothing cold, nothing business-like, it's not even worshipful: Cthulhu-dad is kind of a joke, but... it's also not? Even if the actual fatherly-ness of it can be read as joking, she still genuinely seems to have warm, loving feelings for him, and that particular set-up really strikes me a loyalist thing.

(That gives us an all-loyalist party, but honestly, considering they're not the most moral people around and how quickly they all bond... that kind of works?)

Bird Secondary -- her plans tend to be the most practical, she has her favored methods for handling things, and her interest in all things magic strikes me as very Bird-with-a-favorite-thing. Her Bird seems pretty good at reading people, too, particularly knowing the party's strengths -- which is often chaos and making things up. She's not quite a rapid-fire as Corazón, but she's pretty good on her feet if need be... it's just that her lack of interest in what's morally right means the plan she usually pulls out is "eldritch blast". To be fair, it usually works.

IN SUMMATION:

Corazón: Snake Primary/Bird Secondary (possible Snake performance)

Dob: Badger Primary/Snake Secondary (possible Badger model)

Egbert: Snake Primary (attempting to model the Order and possibly Shattershield's Lion Primary, which comes off weirdly Badger-ish in the end)/Lion Secondary

Merilwen: Badger Primary (whose "people" are animals, the elf community she grew up in, and now the Oxventurers)/Badger Secondary

Prudence: Unburning Snake Primary/Bird Secondary

OXVENTURE IN THE DARK BONUS ROUND:

Very recently they've begun an Oxventure spin-off series, playing Blades in the Dark instead. We're only two episodes in, and since part of the plan is to rotate who's in each episode, most of them are only in one -- and since we've gotten so little of the new group, and so much can change as the players learn their characters and find their feet, I can't confidently sort them right now. But I think it'd be interesting to share some initial impressions and see how they hold up down the line. Spoilers for both episodes if anyone's behind, I'll put Lillith and Barnaby last just to be sure.

Edvard: If Edvard the inventor is not a Bird Secondary, I will eat my hat. I could see him going the way of the traditional SHC impulsive scientists who do things For Science, and ending up in Lion/Bird territory, or going towards Bird/Bird; at the moment I don't think he'll be a loyalist, but we'll see!

Zillah: I think we know less about Zillah than anyone else at this point, but we do know that, one, she's doing crime to get money for her family, and two, she seems pretty level-headed. I'm thinking maybe a Lion Secondary, leaning away from Bird Primary but at this point could see anything else.

Kasamir: Between his class/playbook being about having his fingers in a lot of crime pies, Johnny saying he's not really good at anything besides crime, and his slight mentor-y vibe in episode one, I'm getting Badger Secondary or Bird Secondary vibes -- leaning Badger right now, but we'll see. (I'm also getting Mozzie-from-White-Collar-but-more-physical vibes, but I cannot find the sorting that Moz used to be under, unfortunately. I want to say either Badger/Bird or Bird/Badger.) He doesn't strike me as a Lion Primary at this point, but we'll see.

Lillith: I was going to say Bird Secondary because she's leaning so hard into the intellectual, but so far she has tried to solve problems by befriending a ghost girl and convincing the workers to start a union so.... I'm feeling some Badger/Lion or Lion/Badger vibes coming off her at this point. She might slide into a more Bird-y role in the future, or it might end up looking more like a model.

Barnaby: Despite having gotten through two episodes now basically saving the day by being himself, I don't get Lion Secondary vibes from him -- actually, I'm thinking he could end up a Badger Secondary, just extremely far on the Courtier Badger side of the scale, and one that’s very full of himself. Not sure on that yet, though. Primary: no idea, but probably not Badger.

[hamitome--imagines]

Royal Pain in the Ass

* Hamilsquad x Reader

* Hamiltime

* Requested by anonymous

* Request: the reader is King George's child but they hate his cuz he's a jerk so they come to America and join the revolution and the Hamilsquad?

A/N: So, the requestor didn’t specify a gender in anyway so I made it gender neutral. And this is quite long. Yet, I kinda like this. And I hope you all do too.

Word Count: 4,000 (Wow, that’s very pleasing)

~~

You sighed as you straightened out your formal attire in the mirror. It was almost time for dinner with your father, King George the Third of England. Has there ever been a more pompous title? You were forced into association with him as you were his child. You would gladly give away everything you ever had if it meant you’d lose all ties to him. He was a royal ass. His colonies across the ocean knew that. Every time you thought of those tiny communities, a smile appeared. They were brave. A knock broke you from your thoughts as a maid entered your room.

“Oh forgive me. But your father requests you in the dining hall.” She said.

“Of course he does. But thank you.” You made a point to show the kindness your father didn’t. You weren’t looking forward to dinner. Lately, they’ve been painfully quiet. Mostly because you had nothing to say to him. You didn’t like your own father. How sad was that? You stopped in front of the large wooden doors to the dinning room. You took a deep breath and pushed them open.

“Ah Y/N.” Your father greeted you.

“Father.” You replied with a polite nod. He smiled at you before scanning the document in front of him.

He handed it off to a servant with a sigh. “Send more soldiers to the colonies. And I want Massachusetts locked down. Port closed, soldiers doubled. Make it an outcast among the other colonies.” He ordered. The servant nodded, bowed, and scurried off.

“What now?” You asked him, trying to keep the venom from your voice.

He sighed and rubbed his head as if fending off a headache. “It would seem that the colonists don’t appreciate my taxes.”

“Imagine that.” You mumbled quietly so your dad didn’t hear. “What did they do?” You asked, excited to hear it. They had some spunk over there and it never ceased to piss off your dad.

“They boarded a cargo ship, poorly disguised as savage natives. Then, they proceeded to throw all the tea into the harbor as an act of defiance.” He told you. You tried, you really did. But you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. It was hilarious. That was the best thing you’d ever heard. Your father didn’t share you opinion. “Is something funny Y/N?” He asked. He was clearly mad but you decided not to care.

“Yes. Those colonies are humiliating you.” You admitted. “And your little plan to cut off Massachusetts isn’t going to work. It’s gonna piss them off even more. They’re gonna point to that city and say ‘Look what that jackass of a king has done.’” You taunted.

“You know Y/N, if I didn’t know better I’d say you support that little uprising.” Your father threatened.

“And if I did?” You asked.

“Excuse you. I’m your father and king, I deserve your loyalty!” He shouted pushing up from the table.

“All my life all you’ve ever been is a king, never a father. And I hope those colonies revolt and I hope they win. I hope they take everything form you. I hope your left looking at those colonies as they grow to be more powerful then you could ever expect.” You told him. You voice stayed level and calm. A technique you had picked up from him.

You never got to hear what he’d say when a maid rushed in. “Sorry sire. But there’s more news form the colonies.”

“What now?!” He growled as he followed the maid out. You silently cheered and ate your dinner in peaceful silence.

—

After your outburst things between you and your father never got better. They actually grew much worse. He kept a knight from his guard on you at all times. “For protection.” He always said. You knew it was merely to keep an eye on you. You hated it.

Still, the two of you kept up a pretense for the people. So you sat aside you father one day in the throne room. A soldier stepped forward. “Sire, we must inform you. This arrive today.” He handed you father a scroll. Curiosity over took you. You stood and walked over to stand beside your father. It was a court day so he was donned in his full kingly get up. Crown on his head, a cape over his shoulders, a scepter lying near by. You wore a crown as well, just less flashy and gaudy. Also, your father made you. Your father unrolled the scroll and your eyes widened.

“The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America”

No way. They were actually declaring themselves free of your father. You looked back up at the soldier and saw he was terrified. This wasn’t a joke. The colonies did this. You were really proud of them. “What on earth is this?!” You father yelled, causing you to actually jump back in surprise. You’d never seen him so angry.

“The uh…the colonies are declaring themselves independent from us.” The soldier stammered in fear.

“And why is that?!” You father screamed. “After all I did for them!”

“Father!” You shouted now. “Stop screaming at the solider. He clearly doesn't have the answers you want.”

“Y/N, leave. You are in no position to voice your opinion on the matter.” He told you lowly.

“Father?!” You exclaimed in disbelief. Sure you told him how you felt, but he has never kicked you out before.

“I told you to leave. That’s an order.” And there it was. You glared at him. You went to leave but stopped in front of his chair.

“What ever you decree ‘Your Majesty.’” You put as much venom and sarcasm into the last two words as possible before storming from the throne room. You tore the crown you were wearing off and tossed it to the ground as you stalked through the castle. If he was going to cast you aside like nothing, you would make him regret it. You found your room and rummaged for your least formal attire. Unfortunately, that wasn’t much. You grabbed some clothes and started to tear the embellishments from it when you could. It took away the flashiness and created a few tears. Finally you deemed it good enough to pass.

You gathered up some valuables and shoved them in a small bag. You never asked to be royalty and, now more then ever, you didn't want to be. So you weren't going to be. You slipped on the ruined clothes and grabbed the small bag. You grabbed a hat to hopefully help to obscure your face. You knew their was a guard on the other side of the door so you went to your large windows. You quietly opened it. You took a deep breath and swung yourself over the ledge.

You don’t know where your idea came from but you were gonna follow through with it. You made your way through England, darkened with the late hour. You made your way to the docks. You bought a ticket on a ship with one of the objects from the castle. The ship didn’t leave until morning. You hunkered down in an inn near the docks. You left early and boarded the ship.

You stood at the end of the boat as it took off. You stared at the country you grew up in. Not long now the castle would know you were gone. There would be chaos everywhere. The town would be searched and the staff questioned. You felt slightly bad but it quickly passed. The staff was never more then nannies and watchers. They never really cared. You were never allowed to leave the castle and wander the city so you weren’t even attached to the town. You scoffed as your old home got smaller and smaller. “Good riddance.”

“You hate England that much?” A man asked from beside you.

“More than you could ever imagine.” You admitted.

“So is that why you’re going to the colonies?” He asked.

You let out a bitter laugh. “Oh no. I hate England so much that I’m going to help the colonies. I want to make sure the king loses everything he ever had.”

—

Why did you want to do this?

You stood, terrified, as you came off the boat. There were people everywhere and you didn’t know them. You did’t know where anything was. You squared your shoulders and stood up to full height. You could do this. You were royalty dammit! You just had to find someone to help you. However, they ended up finding you. “Excuse me? Sorry, you just look a little lost, confused, and scared. Can I help you in anyway?”

You eyed him up and down. He seemed trustworthy. “Yeah actually I need-“ You stopped when you noticed all the soldiers. Some higher ranking or more trained. Some of these people could be stationed as soldiers but where you father’s eyes and ears. “Never mind, not here. Is there an inn or something near-by?” You asked hopefully.

“Uh yeah. Come on.” He led you through the crowds and further into the town. He led you up to a decent house.  “My place.” He explained. He led you inside. “Ok, now why couldn’t we talk at the docks?”

“There were soldiers everywhere. And I’ be willing to bet some of them were just there to report back to the King.” You sneered.

“How could you know?” The man asked.

“I just came here form England. I know a bit about…stuff…” You replied evasively.

“Hang on. What’s your name? I’m Alexander Hamilton.” He said with a small smile to evoke some trust.

“Oh Y/N L-L/N.” You stuttered out a last name that you pulled from mid-air. It would be awful if you said your last name was Fredrick, like the king. You’d have to commit the name to memory. “Anyway, I uh…I wanna join up with the revolution. I don’t suppose you’re a loyalist.”

“No way. Are you?” He asked suspiciously.

“I just told you I want to fight the crown. Why would I be loyal to the same crown?” You asked.

“Just checking.” The man said. “Ya know, if you know a little bit about the British, the general would love to meet you.”

“Good, cause I want to meet the general.”

—

You were sitting in Alexander’s house, waiting for General Washington. You were a bit anxious. After a while, there were two sharp knocks on the door. “That’d be the general.” Alexander said, hopping up from his seat. He went to the door and pulled it open.

“Hamilton. Why did you send for me?” He asked. Now you were very intimidated. Washington was a large imposing man. He was tall and well built with dark skin. He was kind of frightening.

“Oh this is Y/N L/N. They just came from England. They know quite a bit about the forces and strategies. They could really help out.” Alexander explained.

Washington glanced over at you. “And you’re not loyal to the king?” He asked suspiciously.

“No.” You growled. “I want to see the king lose everything that was ever important to him.”

Washington smirked and nodded. It seemed like he could sense your honesty. “What kind of information do you have to offer?”

“Well I can tell you the British soldiers aren’t well trained for distance strikes. I’m guessing they usually try to approach your lines?” Both men nodded in answer. “Well that might work to your advantage.” You commented, deep in thought. “If you have half your men stationed somewhere, let the British chase them down. Keep retreating. Then, have the other half, with a competent general, come around behind them. Close in on both sides.”  You suggested.

The men stared at you in shock. “That’s a great idea.” Washington admitted. “If you want to help our cause, I’m more than willing to offer you a place along side my men.”

—

You were constantly working with the General, exposing every weakness you knew. You were vital to the group and you knew it. By now, word of the missing royal heir had reached the colonies. No one cared much, they thought it didn't effect them. Plus, your image was rather unknown in the colonies. People don't pay for portraits only to send them across the ocean. Well, your father did, but he was crazy. The army thought it was a fascinating story and kept coming up with crazy explanations.

At first you had laughed about them. Silly little stories about the missing child running off to become a jester in a different court. But lately, they seemed to be wishing violence on you. True, they didn't know it was you but their theories weren't as funny anymore. Claiming, hoping, the kings child was caught and killed by French nobles. Or perhaps that a ship sunk, and you were one of the passengers. "Anything to weaken the King." They'd say about the ideas. If only they knew the king would probably rejoice at your death. Hell, you were opposite sides. He probably didn't even really care you were gone. Just another disrespectful subject.

At the camp, you shared a tent with Alexander Hamilton, John Laurens, and Lafayette. Alexander had insomnia or nightmares or was working with Washington until late hours. You never knew when he'd be up or asleep. John was an extremely light sleeper. He was up at dawn, the slight sunlight waking him up. Lafayette was unpredictable. Sometimes he worked guard late at night, sometimes he just didn't want to sleep yet. Other days, he'd be the first one asleep.

You had also befriended Hercules Mulligan. The two of you had an interesting bond. You were both spies in your own right. Hercules a constant spy, you merely an informant. But you were both crossing a dangerous enemy. You were a little surprised when you learned of Hercules' position. They had a spy in a tailor shop. It was honestly genius. These little colonies really were amazing.

One night, as you slept, the guys met up together. "Where's Y/N?" Hercules asked as he noticed your absence.

"Oh still sleeping. They don't sleep too well on the cots so we weren't gonna wake them." Alexander answered.

"Yeah didn't they mumbled something about the cots feeling like cement slabs compared to what they're used to?" John asked.

"Something like that." Alexander agreed. "Anyway, what do you have Herc?" Hercules had claimed he had more information. Though it wasn't vital to the cause, he knew his friends would want to hear it.

"Well, news is that the king's kid must have boarded a boat. They're most likely in the colonies. The found a ticket was bought with some jewelry from the castle." Hercules explained.

"How long ago?" Lafayette asked.

"Months ago now. Well, that's when they would've bought the ticket. They would've been here about..." Hercules trailed off, thinking.

"As long as Y/N." Alexander spoke up. He spoke cautiously, as if suggesting something even he didn’t want to admit. “I mean, if you think about it.”

“You can’t be suggesting that they’re royalty. They hate the king, complain about him all the time.” John spoke up. “They can’t be the child of the king.”

“But how much do we know about them?” Hercules asked.

“They are notre ami.” Lafayette tried.

“They don’t write to anyone?” Hercules asked.

“No. They don’t have chance. Either I’m up, or Laf will wander in at some random time, and any light will wake up John.” Alexander answered.

“What if they go report back to soldiers?” John asked, starting to believe everything as well.

“Y/N is the last name of the heir to the throne.” Hercules spoke up.

“Have we been harboring our ennemi the whole time?” Lafayette asked.

—

You woke up as you were pulled off your cot. You didn’t hit the ground as someone was dragging you up by your collar. You were roughly shoved against the pole holding your tent up. As you finally registered your surroundings you found Hercules was holding your collar. The rest of the group around him. You could tell it was still dark out. “What the hell?” You asked as you tried to push him off.

“We want some answers.” Hercules demanded.

“About what?” You asked, panic clawing up. They trusted you so far. You couldn’t lose it now, you couldn’t admit anything. They would kill you.

“Let’s start with something easy.” John said lowly. “Who are you?”

“I told you-“

“You told me a last name that sounds made up.” Alexander interjected.

“I suppose it’s merely a coincidence that you share the same first name as the king’s child.” Lafayette spoke up.

“Or that you arrived here at the same time as them.” Hercules added.

“Or that they’ve been missing for some time.” John ended.

“I uh…” You stopped. Could you lie? Either way you’re losing their trust. And your pause told them enough. Hercules scoffed and let go of your collar. You dropped to the ground and coughed a few times. “What do you want me to say?” You asked.

“Well if I were, I’d start explaining why we shouldn’t just kill you. Or us you as leverage.” Alexander growled.

“Because it wouldn’t be worth it.” You mumbled.

“What?” Lafayette asked.

“Because it wouldn’t be worth it!” You practically shouted. “My father doesn’t care, trust me.” You stood from the ground. “I hate him. I want him to lose. He always acted like my king and not my father. He treated me like a subject so I decided to be the most defiant subject there is. Haven’t I helped you?”

The men exchanged glances. “We do have an upper hand now.” Alexander mumbled.

“You could kill me and his royal ass would’t care. In fact, he’d probably be happy.” You whispered. “We’ve never seen eye-to-eye and now he knows I support you guys. He probably knows I’m the reason he’s losing.”

“Why would your dad be happy about your death?” John asked.

“Because he hates me.” You whispered. The guys noticed your emotional turmoil. Guilty looks spread across their faces. You sniffed, trying to compose yourself. “You guys won’t tell the other soldiers or the General will you?” You asked hopefully.

“Your secret is safe with us Y/N L/N.” Alexander told you.

—

“’Til the world turns upside down.” You muttered to yourself as you readied your gun. France finally provided the colonies with funding. You were going to fight the British in Yorktown. This would be the one of the final fights.

“What was that Y/N?” Alexander asked you.

“Oh, just an old drinking song. It’s not important. Are you guys ready?” You asked Alexander and John.

“We gotta start a new nation and I gotta to meet my son.” Alexander said with a grin. You smiled at your friend. His new son was all he could talk about lately.

“We’re good to go.” John answered. “Are you good?” He asked in concern. They were always worried about you before a fight. They were concerned about how you felt about killing your fellow country men.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s end this.” You said with a small smirk. They smiled at you.

“Sounds good to me.” Alexander said.

You had hidden in trenches at the start of the war. After that you pushed forward instead of your usual tactic of retreating. You were trying to force them toward the sea and blockade them. They weren’t escaping this time. Unfortunately, that involved getting closer to them than before. You raced forward, gun ready to shoot, and aimed at a man with a red coat draped over his shoulders. The man fired off a shot. As he readied his gun once more, he glanced at you.

“You!” He exclaimed on shock. You lowered your gun in surprise. No on had noticed you yet. “Why are you fighting with the rebellious scum?” He growled. “You no good, traitorous scoundrel! You were an heir to the throne. Your father is going to be very displeased when we return you. What do you think he’s going to do to the biggest traitor to the crown?” Suddenly a gunshot from behind you caused you to jump.

Alexander sauntered up beside you. “That was my friend you were disparaging.” he growled. You smiled up at him. A gunshot in your direction caused the both of you to spring back into action. Your trio was running around, fighting. You were standing near John Laurens when a loud BOOM sounded. You looked over to a canon. You quickly jumped forward and shoved John to the side, tackling him in the process. An explosion sounded from near where you both were.

“Holy shit. You saved my life.” He exclaimed.

“Of course.” You said as you stood and helped him up as well.

The battle waged for a week. Eventually you noticed a white flag in the distance. You slowly lowered you gun. A small disbelieving laugh left your lips as the symbolism dawned on you. “We won.” You said a bit quietly. While you were quiet, your friends were loud.

“We won!” Alexander shouted. A few days later, you stood watching the men line up and leave. They were singing the same old drinking song you had mumbled a week ago. You sighed and began quietly joining in. The boys looked at you. “That’s what you mumbled a few days ago isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Pretty much everyone in England knows that song.” You said with a small, shy shrug. The boys shrugged as well, unconcerned.

Lafayette shouted, “We won,” once more. The he added, “Freedom for America, freedom for France!”

Alexander leaned closer and threw and arm over your shoulder. “We won!”

“We won!” You all shouted together.

—

“You say, the price of my war’s not a price that you’re willing to pay. Insane! You cheat with those colonies while I’m frighting with France and with Spain. I’m so blue! I don’t remember an arrangement where you went away. You were more that a subject to rule. Well even despite our estrangement, I’ve got a small query for you.

What comes next?

They’ve freed. Do they know how hard it is to lead. You’re on your own. Awesome! Wow! Do you have a clue what happens now? Oceans rise, empires fall. It’s much harder when it’s all your call. All alone across the sea. When the people say they hate you, you can come crawling back to me. Until then, you’re on your own.

King George III”

You scowled at the letter your father had sent you. You could point out every lie. You tossed it onto your desk and sighed. You were able to afford a decent home with the money you gained from selling the items from the castle. There was a knock on the door so you went to open it. Alexander stood on the other side, a small baby in his arms.

“I have someone you need to meet.” He said with a smile. You welcomed him into your home. “Say hi to Philip Hamilton.” He said as he handed the small boy to you. You smiled down at the sleeping child in your arms and cooed some nonsense to him. Alexander smiled at you before glancing around. He noticed the letter on your desk and picked it up. He quickly read it. “Are you gonna go back?” He asked.

You noticed what letter it was that he was currently holding. You shrugged slightly, a little hard considering you were holding a baby. But a small smile appeared on your lips. “Eh, I didn’t like being royalty anyway. I think I’d much rather be Y/N L/N, a citizen of the United States of America.”

Alexander smiled back at you. “Well then may I just say, welcome home Y/N L/N.”