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ridiculousn3sswrites · 4 years ago

Text

Closer

*Thomas Jefferson x Reader

*Summary: Reader is very into one of her housemates. After a couple house parties, she finds out he’s very into her.

*Warnings: Swearing, drinking, (mentions of) weed smoking, jealousy, insecurity, smut, grinding, hickies, tiddy sucking, fingering, vaginal sex, (my attempt at) dirty talk, a lot of consent check-ins, morning after awkwardness

*A/N: I’VE FINALLY BEEN DRIVEN TO WRITE SMUT. Like, this was hard for me but I had fun writing it (this fic is 8k words oops). Also sorry if it’s not the best, I really did try.

My Ko-Fi

**********

You had two major rules for living with people: never sleep with them, and definitely never develop feelings for them. In your two years of living in the dorms you’d managed to abide by those rules, but you faced the biggest challenge to your rule the second you stopped living in the dorms. In your third year, you moved into a housing option that was a lot cheaper than the dorms or a regular apartment. The house you moved into was pretty small - only 12 people - so everyone saw a lot of each other. Cue the start of your troubles.

When you first had a video call with the other members of your house, your eyes immediately were drawn to one corner of the screen. Sure, you’d joined in the middle of a conversation so his box was highlighted, but you were sure you would have been watching his little screen anyways. You could tell he was sitting in bed - wherever he was - and he was already familiar with a few of the people in the call from the way he was chatting with them. He had a neatly trimmed beard, curls forming a halo around his face, a bright smile, and a pair of black glasses just pulling the look together, even if you didn’t really know what look that was.

When he gave his little introduction piece, you knew this would be trouble. Not only was his voice attractive, he also had a bit of a southern accent, which just doubled his attractiveness. Everyone went through their introductions, you being one of the last people because you didn’t volunteer until a lot later on. When people had the chance to ask questions, the guy - Thomas - decided to speak up. “Is that a (favorite show) poster behind you?”

You looked back at your wall like you didn’t know exactly what he was talking about. You were just surprised he pointed it out. “Oh, uh, yeah! It is!”

“Nice!” Thomas told you, giving you a bright smile. You could feel your breath catch at the sight, but you managed to smile back. As the call ended with one other person giving their introduction, you could already tell you were in trouble. You knew you couldn’t pursue anything with Thomas even if it happened that he also found you attractive. It wasn’t only that you’d be living with him, no; he was also one of the house managers, so if things ended bad, he could really make your living situation not the best. But still, there was nothing stopping you from finding him attractive.

When you moved in, you immediately ran into Thomas. You knew you were supposed to check in with Angelica so she could get you your keys, but she was helping someone else at the moment. “Hey, you’re (y/n), right?” Thomas asked, sitting at the dining room table as you just stood there waiting for Angelica.

“Y-yeah, I am,” you stuttered, silently cursing how nervous you were around him. This was your first time meeting the guy in person, and you were really going to make a fool of yourself, weren’t you. You looked back to where Angelica had disappeared upstairs, wondering just how long she would take.

“Well, I’m Thomas,” he introduced himself, standing from his seat. “I can take you on a tour of the house while you wait for Angelica if you want.”

“Uhm, sure, that’d be great!” You immediately accepted, feeling your face warm from the entire interaction. Thomas walked up next to you, nodding for you to follow him. Your parents were waiting outside for you to get your keys so they could help you move in, but since you had some time, why not?

**********

It didn’t take long for everyone to start feeling comfortable around each other. The only real issues there were in the house were arguments Thomas and Alexander would get into, but even those wouldn’t get too bad. Within a month of everyone moving in, it really started to feel like a little family. Which made your attraction to Thomas that much worse. You thought it would go away once you got to know the guy and it would fade into a friendship, but you were dead wrong. The more you got to know the guy, the harder you fell. The way he joked, the way he made sure you weren’t talked over (and if you were, he always made sure to come back to you and ask what you were going to say), almost everything about him made you realize it wasn’t just surface level attraction.

By the end of the first month, a few of your housemates - John, Alexander, and Laf - planned a little party in the living room. It was just for your house, but it really sounded like they were planning to throw a rager. You weren’t really one for parties, but it sounded like it could be fun. The fact that Thomas said he would be going had nothing to do with it.

When the day of the party came, you didn’t really know what you were going to do. You knew Thomas was going to be there, and Peggy really wanted to go, so after spending the afternoon deciding, you started getting ready for the party. You showered, pulled on a dress you saved for going out (not that you really went out in the first place), put your makeup on, and just sat there waiting for Peggy to get ready.

“This is gonna be so much fun! I saw Alex and John come in with the drinks for later and they bought so much,” Peggy gushed as she tried deciding between dresses. She finally turned to you. “Which one looks better?”

“Depends on the look you’re going for. The one on the right is definitely cute, but the one on the left is great if you’re trying to look hot,” you told her after a moment of looking at the options. She put the dress on the right back in the closet. Once she actually knew what she wanted to wear, she quickly got ready. As she was getting ready, there was a pounding on the door. Peggy went to go look, but whoever had done that was already gone. You already knew you were running a bit late, but who ever really showed up to parties on time?

The music wasn’t too loud when you and Peggy got to the living room half an hour after the party was supposed to start. The lights were off, save for one of those multi-color party lights, balloons were all over the floor, and some colorful YouTube video was playing on the TV. Alex and John were already drinking, quickly pulling Peggy to the booze table to make her something. Herc and Laf were sitting on one of the couches, just chatting, and Thomas was hanging near the pool table, talking to Maria. Maria looked gorgeous, red satin slip dress hugging her figure and sheer thigh-high stockings creating an image you could only hope to compete with. You left the living room, going to get yourself some water from the kitchen.

Just going across the hall was a huge difference. Aaron was sitting at the table, laptop in front of him as he worked on something. Angelica and Eliza were in the kitchen, making something that you were definitely going to try later. “Do you know what they’re making in there?” You asked Aaron as you filled your cup.

“No idea, but I know I’m going to have to clean it afterwards,” Aaron complained, looking up from his work. “You look nice.”

“Thanks. Are you going?” You nodded your head towards the living room.

“No, I have work to do tonight. Have fun, though.” To be honest, that was probably the longest conversation you’d had with Aaron. He normally kept to himself, except when he was dragged into hangouts with the house by other people. You took your cup of water and went back to the living room, seeing Peggy, John, and Alex huddled around Alex’s phone as they put more songs in the queue. Thomas was drinking something from a mason jar, though in the dim light you really couldn’t see what it was.

“Hey, (y/n), you look cute,” Thomas said as he walked up to you. You immediately looked down at your cup and mumbled a thank you. There was just something about being called cute that hit different, especially when it comes from someone you were very attracted to. “Do you want something to drink?”

“I’m good, I’m playing adult tonight,” you told him, holding up your cup a little. You finally looked at Thomas, the colored lights casting a mix of reds and blues on his skin. He was wearing a button up shirt, different from the t-shirts and tanks you’d seen him in before. When you looked a little further down, you saw he was wearing basketball shorts. That would just make it easier to- you stopped the thought there. You didn’t know where it came from, you couldn’t even blame any alcohol in your system. Instead, you blamed it on the colored lights in the dark room, creating an almost intimate atmosphere.

“Thank you. Would you mind cutting John off when he starts getting a little, you know?” You nodded. You did know. John was a bit of a sloppy drunk, but he hated when anyone pointed it out. That’s why every drinking night needed a designated adult. Thomas took another drink before nodding to the empty couch. “You wanna sit? No one’s really dancing yet.”

You nodded again, following Thomas to the couch. Even when the music picked up, only a few people were really dancing. Thomas got up a few times to refill his cup, but he never really left your side. The two of you talked through the night, and you found yourselves getting closer as the night went on. His attention was entirely on you, even brushing off Maria when she tried to pull him to dance. There were a few songs where you actually wanted to dance, and Thomas practically jumped at the chance to dance with you. Eventually the music changed to slower stuff, and you went back to sitting down with Thomas.

You really tried to stop your mind from racing at the proximity, but you couldn’t help it. As the two of you talked, the lights still dancing across his skin, you could see yourself closing the small gap, kissing him. Every now and then he’d brush his fingertips across your skin, but you couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not. Your skin burned with the slight brushes. Your mind ran to what his touch would feel like if it was more purposeful, how his skin would feel under your fingers. When he leaned forward, brushing some hair from your face, you wondered if he would always be this gentle.

Thomas was mid-sentence when it finally became too much. You took the chance, leaning in and pressing a questioning kiss to his lips. He tensed, and you immediately went to pull back. When he realized what you were doing, he brought his hand up to the back of your head, holding your face to his. The kiss started gentle, but it got more insistent as it went on. You could feel the party around you just melt away as the two of you kissed, your hands feeling his arms as you let yourself fall victim to your wants. You couldn’t tell if the kiss had lasted for minutes or hours, but you knew you must’ve looked a mess.

“Do you want to come up to my room?” Thomas asked, breathless and low enough for just you to hear. You nodded, and Thomas immediately stood, leading you by the hand. You could hear John’s drunken cheers as you and Thomas went up the stairs. His room wasn’t far from the stairs, and it didn’t take long for you to end up in his bed. His body lightly pinned yours on the bed, one of his thighs between yours. Thomas broke the kiss, only to trail kisses down your neck as his hands ran up and down your body.

“Thomas, please,” you said, not really sure what you were asking for.

“I know, Sugar.” You could feel his smirk against your skin. “I want you too.”

“I think I’m going to call it a night,” Thomas said, standing up. You were shocked at his sudden announcement. It wasn’t even just to you, he announced it to the whole party. He gave you a small smile before turning to leave the room. Just before he left, he turned around once more. “Reminder that quiet hours start in an hour, adjust the music accordingly.”

As soon as Thomas left, you could feel your social battery dying. You should’ve known better than to allow yourself to fantasize about what could’ve happened that night, just because he was paying attention to you. It didn’t take long for you to call it a night after that, just feeling exhaustion that wasn’t there before as you took off your makeup and changed into some sleep clothes. As you laid in bed, waiting for sleep to come to you, you couldn’t help as your mind replayed the night and your fantasies. The last thought you had was of the way Thomas looked in the colored lights, and the phantom feeling of his lips on yours, even though you never actually felt them.

**********

In the week following the party, you and Thomas went back to just how you were before. You were a little disappointed, but your mind immediately went to justifying the change. Or rather, lack of change. He’d been drinking a bit. He knew you felt out of place with all the drinking and weed smoking going on. He probably wanted to make sure you were feeling okay since you’d had a few conversations about how quickly your social battery died. There were all of these possibilities, but nothing was ever confirmed. So you just went back to how things were.

Then Laf planted a seed in your mind. It was delivery time - that time of night when everyone’s packages got delivered and people would either grab their packages and open them in their room, or open them in the dining room in front of everyone else. You’d just ordered a cute romper in an attempt to feel something, so you opened it in front of the rest of the group. “That’s so cute! You know, it seems like something the type of girl Thomas goes after would wear,” Laf announced when you held up the romper.

“What are you talking about?” James asked as he opened his own package, not even looking up. It was some lights for the little garden he was starting in his room. Maria was very invested in the new shoes she’d ordered, but you could tell she was still listening.

“They’d be cute together! You guys should go on a date, I’ll set it up,” Laf continued, focusing his attention on you now. “I ship them! They’re my new ship!”

“What’s going on?” Thomas asked, coming out from the kitchen. You looked down, folding the romper as fast as you could.

“Nothing,” Laf said. You looked up just in time to see Laf wink at you.

“Alright.” You could tell Thomas didn’t believe him by the side-eye he was giving him, but you were glad Laf didn’t announce it any louder than he already did. When you and Peggy got back to your room, you couldn’t help but tell her about the seed Laf had planted. Sure, you found Thomas very attractive, but the concept of a relationship with him had never entered your mind. Until now. Of course Peggy just made fun of you, but you knew it was all in good fun.

It took two days for that seed to be completely destroyed. You started to notice Thomas and Maria hanging out a lot more than they did before; they were almost constantly talking to each other, and there was once that you went upstairs to use the bathroom and saw Maria leaving Thomas’s room. You were in the living room watching a movie with the Schuylers when Thomas came in. “Hey, Maria and I want to watch something after, can you text me when you’re done?” Thomas asked Angelica, not even acknowledging anyone else.

“Yeah, sure,” Angelica told him. With that, he left the living room.

“Your boyfriend’s cheating on you,” Peggy teased, not loud enough that anyone else could hear her.

“Can we not do this right now?” You whispered, already feeling your chest tighten. Of course you should’ve known. People like Thomas never went for people like you, they would always end up with people like Maria. Why would you let Laf even give you the slightest bit of hope that things would be different? Peggy’s face immediately fell when she saw just how you looked.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but you just shook your head. Why was she sorry? It wasn’t her fault. This was just on you.

For the next week, you avoided Thomas and Maria as much as you could. You took your dinners to your room to just eat and watch (favorite show), you didn’t really talk to them if you were in the same room as them, you didn’t go out of your way to hang out with them. If they noticed, they never said anything to you. Then again, it wasn’t really like you gave them the chance to.

**********

You wanted to keep your distance from your housemates, but John pulled you into agreeing to go to yet another house party. It would just be for your house again, but this time he’d managed to get everyone to agree to come. He didn’t even let you be late, grabbing you and Peggy from your room as soon as the party started. So there you were, standing by the pool table, sipping some drink that was way too strong (Aaron was designated adult this time), just watching the party around you. Maria was already there, wearing yet another dress that made her look absolutely gorgeous, but Thomas was nowhere to be seen.

“James, where’s your friend?” John practically yelled over the pounding music.

“He’s coming, don’t worry,” James said, rolling his eyes. You tensed at the confirmation, even though you knew he was going to be there. Before you could really think about it, Laf pulled you onto the dancefloor. Laf and Herc made sure that you were enjoying yourself, dancing with them and making sure you didn’t have the chance to think about it too much. Laf knew everything that was going on, trying to tell you that he was sorry about the entire ‘shipping’ thing. You just waved it off, not wanting to let it ruin the fun you were having.

You don’t know how many songs you danced with them before you needed to take a break and get some water. They finally let you out of their sights as soon as you promised to come back the second you were done. You appreciated their concern for you, but it was starting to get a little stifling. As you stood by the sink, glass stained with the red of your lipstick, you let your mind wander once again. You had been too busy dancing to pay attention to the party around you, but you guess Thomas must’ve arrived at some point. Had he been dancing with Maria? Did he even care you were there?

It was like the universe took your questioning as manifestations, and you wondered why it didn’t do that for literally anything else you tried manifesting as Thomas walked into the room. “I thought I saw you leave. You look really cute.”

You looked down at your outfit, taking in the romper that you’d bought not too long ago - a button down with a thick belt at the waist. You tried to ignore the way your heart fluttered at that, tried to remember the past few weeks where Thomas was completely focused on Maria, but your heart seemed to not get the message. “You know, you never compliment me outside of parties,” you decided to address the situation head on. “Is Maria waiting for you?”

“What?” Thomas seemed like he genuinely had no idea what was going on. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“I mean, the two of you have been spending a ton of time together, I’d expect you’d come to the party together,” you almost snapped.

“What about Laf and Herc? You seemed pretty close to them tonight,” Thomas immediately argued. You should’ve known he wouldn’t just let you snap at him without biting back.

“They’re just making sure I have a good time. Like you did last time,” you said, taking a deep breath. “I’m gonna go back.”

You heard Thomas say your name as you went back to the living room, but you kept walking. When you got back, Laf and Herc were immediately by your side. You gave them a soft smile, which they quickly returned. It didn’t take long for exhaustion to start to set in, your legs starting to hurt and your eyes starting to tire. You sat down in the corner of the couch, watching the party continue around you. It didn’t take long for Thomas to take the spot next to you. “I’m sorry.”

You just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Maria needed help with her statistics class and we’ve been spending time together because of that. I didn’t realize you’d take it the wrong way.”

“I’m so stupid.” Thomas looked confused. “I should be the one apologizing. I just kind of decided you didn’t like me.”

Thomas scooted closer, taking your hand in his. “Yeah, I kind of realized that. I really do like you, though.”

“Cool,” you said, not knowing how to really react in this situation. Thomas laughed, shaking his head as you felt the heat rise in your face. “I… uhm… I’m kinda feeling tired. I think I’m gonna head to bed.”

Thomas looked dejected before understanding crossed his features. “Your social battery?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Is it even midnight?”

Thomas checked his phone. “Just about. Do you want to come to my room?”

You stared at him blankly, your heart racing at the question. It was almost exactly like your fantasy at the last party, not that he’d know it. He had to know how that sounded, right? It seemed to take him a second to realize it, eyes widening. “I mean, just to hang out somewhere calm. I want to spend more time with you.”

“And what’s wrong with my room? People will notice if I go upstairs instead of just down the hall,” you argued, leaning closer to him.

“I know you have a bunk and I don’t want to sit on Peggy’s bed.”

“You could sit at my desk.”

“Under your bunk? That kind of defeats the purpose of hanging out.” Thomas rolled his eyes at your obvious deflection. You were just giving him a hard time at this point, still a little vindictive even if the only real issue over the past few weeks had been because of you.

“Alright, but don’t be surprised if I end up just passing out,” you agreed. Thomas gave you a blinding smile. “How are we gonna do this? If we leave together people are gonna talk.”

“Let them,” Thomas said, standing up and offering his hand to you. You took it.

Amazingly, no one seemed to notice the two of you leaving except for Aaron who shot you a pained look. You felt kind of bad for leaving him alone to everyone else, but your social battery really was dying and Thomas was offering an escape. He lead you up the stairs, down the hall a little to his room. The door was already slightly open - just so he wouldn’t have to carry around his key - but he opened the door further to let you in first. It was your first time seeing Thomas’s room, and it really fit him. He had a few pictures on the wall above his desk, the desk itself was neatly organized - textbooks stacked on one side, laptop in the center, a few pencils next to it. His bed was pushed to the corner near his desk, black comforter and deep magenta pillowcases different from the typical college dude bedding.

“You can sit down if you want,” Thomas said, walking over to his closet. He grabbed a t-shirt from one of the drawers. “I’m just gonna go change my shirt, you can sit on the bed or the chair, whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

Thomas left the room, and you decided to sit on the bed, still unsure of what you were doing. Your fantasy from the last party kept replaying in your mind, reminding you of just how different these circumstances were. You pressed a couple fingers to your wrist, feeling your racing pulse. You didn’t know why you were so nervous. You were pretty sure nothing was going to happen, but the images of Thomas kissing you, him touching you, it made your mind go crazy. Before you could talk yourself out of it, Thomas came back. “So, uh, what do you wanna do? We could listen to some music, or watch a movie…”

“Can we just listen to some music? Like, something softer though,” you said. Just listening to music seemed less intimate than watching a movie on his laptop with him, even though you really didn’t know why. Thomas nodded, turning on his speaker on his desk. He handed you his phone.

“You can choose,” he told you, sitting on the bed next to you. He pressed his back against the wall, watching you as you shared one of your playlists to his phone. Even though you could feel him watching, you missed the way his eyes took in your profile in the harsh light of his room. “Do you mind if I switch off the main light and turn on my desk light instead?”

“You know, this is sounding more and more sus as you keep talking,” you told him as your music started playing from his speaker. You turned the volume down a little, letting the music be just loud enough to provide some background noise. It was just what you needed to recharge. “But yeah, the ceiling lights are really harsh.”

Thomas got up to fix the lighting situation before taking his spot next to you once again. The two of you just sat there quietly, close but not quite touching, letting the soft sounds of your music wash over you. A few songs passed before you decided to just make your move, scooting closer to him to rest your head on his shoulder. You were still pretty drained from the party, and the excuse was ready if he was going to question you. He didn’t.

When he brought his hand up to play with your hair, you didn’t say anything. You enjoyed the gentle brush of his hand, almost as if he was afraid to disturb you. You closed your eyes, focusing on his touch. He started near your hairline, his fingers tracing a curve behind your ear, whispering down your jawline for a second before repeating the process. Time wasn’t real in your little bubble, the only clue being the songs changing in the background. “(Y/n)?” Thomas asked, voice low like he was trying not to break the atmosphere.

You hummed in response, eyes still closed, and you could feel Thomas’s soft laughter more than you could hear it. “I thought you fell asleep.”

“If you keep playing with my hair I just might,” you teased, smiling as you opened your eyes to look up at him. You were slightly taken aback at the way he looked at you, but you tried not to show it. It took you a second before you could finally place it - adoration. It was completely soft, something you never really saw on him before. You could see him leaning in, but he stopped a hairsbreadth away. You waited to see if he would close the miniscule gap or if you should, but then he spoke.

“Can I?” He practically whispered, bringing his hand up to caress your jaw. You nodded even as your heart pounded in your chest. Thomas stayed for a second as though he was giving you a chance to back out, and when you didn’t take it, he closed the gap. The kiss started out gentle, like he was still worried you would change your mind. You were enjoying yourself and the slow pace, but when your mind started taunting you with the things that could happen, you decided to take a chance. You brushed the tip of your tongue against his bottom lip, and he gladly took your sign to deepen the kiss.

Thomas kept one hand cupping your jaw, but the other moved to rest on your hip. The feeling of his hand sent a jolt through you, even through the layer of clothing still separating his skin from yours. You put a hand on the bed to reposition yourself, but Thomas pulled you onto his lap, your core resting on him. You let out a small gasp at the sudden move. Thomas pressed a kiss to your jaw. “Is this okay?” He mumbled against your skin.

“Y-yeah. Yeah, it’s good.” You were a little flustered at the position, but you definitely weren’t complaining. Thomas grasped your chin, tilting your face to look directly in your eyes. Your gaze darted down to his lips, trying to look anywhere but his eyes. You could tell he was studying you, your reactions. He brushed his thumb against your bottom lip, dragging it down just slightly.

“You’re so damn cute,” he murmured before kissing you breathless. Your hands went up to cup his jaw, holding him to you, while his settled on your waist. You went to adjust your position, accidentally grinding against him. Thomas let out the most sinful groan, breaking the kiss to rest his head on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, it just felt so-”

He was cut off by another groan as you grinded against him again. You bit your lip, feeling him harden underneath you. “Don’t apologize.”

Thomas brought you back down for another kiss, his hand on your hip now guiding your movements against him. You softly whined into the kiss, every sensation heightened by the dim room, the soft music. He broke the kiss, laughing slightly as you tried to chase his lips. Before you could say anything, he started kissing down your neck, nipping and soothing the spots with his tongue. As he worked, you started grinding against him faster, needing something to ease the heat pooling in you.

“I need you so bad,” you whined as he worked a spot on your collarbone. Thomas let go of your skin with a wet noise, looking up at you with hooded eyes.

“You sound so pretty when you’re needy,” Thomas said, smirking up at you. He brought his hands up to the buttons of your romper, the question evident in his eyes. You nodded, and he started slowly undoing your romper, pressing a kiss to each inch of skin revealed to him. “You’re gorgeous, Sugar.”

A shiver ran through you at his words, but you ignored it, instead opting to reach for the hem of his t-shirt. “What’s fair’s fair?”

“Of course.” Thomas took the chance to flip your positions, taking off his shirt as your back bounced slightly against the bed. You couldn’t help your sharp inhale as his shirt hit the floor. You knew he was built from what you saw around the house, but seeing him without any barriers was a completely different situation. His abs were solid, something you saw briefly the one time he lifted his shirt to clean his glasses in front of you, so you took the chance to drink in the sight. As your eyes trailed back up his body, he saw him looking down at you with a smirk. He was attractive and he knew it.

He was getting a little too smug for your liking. You wouldn’t normally consider yourself a bold person, but your next move definitely was. You slightly lifted yourself up, undoing your belt and smoothly sliding it off. You pushed the top of the romper off your shoulders, taking a quick glance to see Thomas’s attention completely on you. His smirk had fallen, but his bottom lip was caught between his teeth. You reached behind you, unhooking your bra in one movement (a silent victory on your part). Thomas eased himself down beside you, trying to hide his eagerness, but you could see it in his eyes. The second you tossed your bra to the side, Thomas was back on you, kissing you deeply as his hands explored your chest.

Whatever upperhand you had was gone as Thomas’s thumb ran back and forth over your nipple, drawing a keening whine from the back of your throat. You could feel his smirk as his lips left yours, kissing down your neck again. He nipped at your collarbone, licking at the spot before trailing his tongue across the tops of your breasts. Your hand flew up to hold the back of his head, needing to feel more of his mouth on you.

“You’re so responsive for me, Sugar,” Thomas hummed. “The way your body just acts on its own, the little noises you make for me, it’s intoxicating. All I’ve done is kiss you, we haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet.”

“Do you get off on the sound of your own voice?” You asked, gasping as his hand kneaded your breast. His movements were lazy, like he was ready to just have a conversation about this while teasing you to the point of madness.

“No, but I can tell you do.” He wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t need to point it out like that. Your silence spoke volumes. He decided to take pity on you, kissing and sucking on the breast he wasn’t kneading. Thomas’s first licks across your nipple were teasing, watching your reactions. You knew you couldn’t be loud - you couldn’t even step in the house without someone hearing you - but the electricity running through you at his touch was making that insanely difficult for you. When he used just the right amount of teeth, even you were surprised at the moan you let out.

Thomas didn’t make any move to quiet you, instead switching over to the other breast. You didn’t know what to do with your hands, switching between holding him to your breast and fisting your hand in the blanket beside you. You tried pressing your thighs together, but Thomas’s body on yours made that almost impossible. He grinded down on you, letting out his own little groan at the slight relief the pressure offered. Thomas brought one of his hands to your waist, teasing at where your romper was still on your body. You whined when his mouth left your skin, not that you’d admit to it. “Can I take this off?”

“Yes, please,” you told him. Thomas sat up, watching you for any signs of discomfort as he fully took your romper off. As he went to shed his own shorts, you leaned back on your elbows, watching. Even though his basketball shorts had already done little to conceal his arousal, seeing the tent in his boxers sent another rush of arousal through you. You spread your legs for Thomas to take his rightful spot between them, which he quickly did. He brought his hand to your core, running his fingers over the fabric there.

“Fuck, you’re soaked,” Thomas groaned, rubbing a little harder. “This all because of me?”

“You know it is,” you tried snipping, but his thumb finding your clit through your panties made it sound more like a plead for something. “Thomas, please touch me.”

“I am touching you,” he teased. “You want more already?”

You nodded. It was almost comical how fast your panties came off, but feeling his fingers against your lips quickly threw any humor you found in the situation out the window. He ran a finger along your slit, watching as you threw your head back against his pillows. You didn’t see the smirk that graced his lips again, watching the way you quickly fell apart under his touch. He hadn’t even done that much, but he wanted to see what’d you do when he actually took you apart.

The wetness between your legs glistened even in the dim light, and Thomas unknowingly licked his lips. There would be time to taste you later - he had the feeling if he went now, he’d be there all night. He dipped his finger into your entrance, teasing like he had been all night. You let out a soft whimper, half ready to beg, but then he gave you what you needed. He carefully inserted his finger into you, feeling around for your spot while his thumb worked your clit. Your soft noises were driving him crazy; even though they weren’t loud, they were mesmerizing, and he wondered how you’d sound if you didn’t have to worry about being overheard.

As he pumped his finger in you, he made sure to drag it along your wall, dragging out every little whimper he could. You tried to close your thighs on his hand, but he held them open with his free hand. Thomas wanted to see what he was doing to you, see your arousal glistening on his finger. Once he was sure you were ready, he slid another finger into you, drawing your loudest moan yet at the stretch. He curled his fingers, sending a shock of pleasure through you. He smiled when he felt you shudder, knowing he found it.

Thomas’s attention on your clit and the pressure on your spot was bringing you to your edge and fast. Your fisted hand in his sheet was pulling it down, your other hand trying to muffle the noises you were making. You weren’t normally so vocal in bed, but the way Thomas was playing your body just brought out this side that you never knew about. “I’m close,” you panted out the warning.

“Then cum for me, Sugar. Cum on my fingers.” It wasn’t an order, but your body listened to him like it was. You bit into your arm to hide your moans, and you swore you were close to breaking skin. Thomas worked you through it, his fingers slowing considerably but not quite stopping until the last shudder wracked through your body. He pulled his fingers out, looking at them covered in your juices. “Look at that, Sugar. You got me all messy.”

Before you even had the chance to be embarrassed, Thomas took his fingers in his mouth, making sure to completely clean them of your essence. You thought he couldn’t get more attractive, but the blissed out look on his face as he tasted you proved you wrong. You let out a soft whisper of ‘fuck’ at the sight. Your body was weak from your orgasm, but that didn’t stop you from sitting up so you could kiss him properly. You pulled back from the kiss, holding his face in your hands. “Thomas… do you want to?”

“Yeah, if you’re okay with it,” Thomas said, bringing one of his hands to cover yours. You rolled your eyes.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t,” you sassed. You let out a shriek as Thomas pinned you back down to the bed.

“You’re so annoying.” Thomas kissed you, grinding his still-covered erection into you for a second before he got back up to dig in his desk drawer. He emerged a few seconds later, condom in hand. “Perks of being a manager.”

“Aren’t those supposed to be if we need them, not your personal use?” you decided to tease him.

“Technically this is you needing them,” Thomas laughed as he pulled down his boxers. His length stood proudly, precum beading at the tip. He stroked himself, watching you squirm on his bed. You could feel your body growing hot at his intense gaze, slight embarrassment making you want to cover up, but heavy arousal beat that out. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from his hand on his dick, his thumb rubbing the head, smearing the precum. After what felt like ages of the agonizing tease, Thomas finally rolled the condom on.

Thomas climbed back over you, caging you in between his arms. He dipped his head, catching your lips in a kiss that was softer than any of the ones you’d shared before. When he broke the kiss, he only separated a breath away. “Are you ready?”

“Please, Thomas, I need to feel you.” Thomas slowly dragged one hand down your body, reaching between the two of you to line up with your entrance.

“Tell me if you need me to do anything,” he said before finally sliding into you. You whined at the stretch, just bordering on the right side of uncomfortable. Thomas kissed you as he stayed still, waiting for you to get used to his size. After a second, you rolled your hips, needing him to move. Thomas picked up on your movement, giving a testing thrust. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

“Please, Thomas, move.” Thomas nodded, keeping his pace slow, but still hitting every spot that had you crying out for him. You tried to cover your mouth to muffle your noises, but Thomas stopped you, instead threading his fingers with yours and holding your hand to the bed. He kissed at your neck, and you could tell he was leaving marks, but you really didn’t care. The feeling of him inside you was driving you wild, but you needed him to move faster. You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

“What is it, baby? You want me to move faster? But I like feeling you around me, gripping my dick so nice,” Thomas panted into your ear. Even though he was teasing, he still sped up his movements. You knew you were talking, but you didn’t really know what you were saying. The only thing you really registered was a stream of curse words and pleads for more, even though you really didn’t know what more you were asking for.

You could feel the heat pooling in you, so close but not quite there. You choked out a warning, your walls squeezing around him. His thrusts were getting faster and sloppier, just hinting that Thomas was nearing his end. “C’mon, baby, just a little longer. I’m almost there too,” Thomas panted into your ear, pressing his face into your neck.

You scratched your nails down his back, working your hips against his as you tried to reach your peak. Thomas nudged the side of your face, bringing his lips to yours. He brought a hand down between your bodies, feeling blindly for a second before finding your clit. You moaned into the kiss, unable to control it any longer. You broke the kiss, moans filling the room as Thomas worked you through it. Thomas followed soon after, unrestrained groans mingling with your own noises. He pumped into you a few more times before easing himself out of you, laying down next to you.

You laid there, letting the pleasant soreness settle in your body. You looked over at Thomas as he threw out the condom before sitting up and looking around for your romper. You saw it crumpled near the foot of his bed, and as you were pulling it on, you couldn’t help but make a little quip. “So that was fun.”

“Yeah, it really wa- why are you getting dressed?”

“Because I need to go back downstairs?”

“Stay with me,” he said, climbing back in bed beside you and wrapping his arms around you. “I”ll get you a shirt, you can go clean up in the bathroom, we can stay and cuddle…”

You had to admit, that all sounded very tempting. Then again, you had to think about the walk of shame you’d be doing. Either you could do it now when it wasn’t likely anyone was awake still, or you could do it in the morning before anyone else was up. Thomas pressed a kiss to your neck. “Alright, I guess I can stay.”

He gave you a bright smile before hopping up off the bed again. He grabbed his boxers from the floor and pulled them on before going to grab you a shirt. Once the shirt was on, you checked the hallway and bolted to the bathroom to clean up. By the time you got back to Thomas’s room, the music was off, and Thomas was in bed, scrolling on his phone. He looked over at you, the same bright smile on his face again.

“Hey,” you said, suddenly feeling shy. You’d just slept with the guy, and you were wearing his shirt, but now you didn’t know what to say.

“Hey.” He put his phone down on the desk before pulling his legs in so you could climb in next to him. Once you were in bed, you sat there, trying to figure out what to do. He wrapped his arm around your middle, pulling you into him. You took a deep breath, letting yourself relax into his hold. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “Stop worrying so much, go to sleep.”

You couldn’t help but listen to him.

**********

The first thing you registered was the fact that you were not in your bed. You knew the sheets felt different, your stuffed bear was not next to you, and there was definitely someone sleeping right beside you. It took a second for your half-asleep mind to piece together what had happened the night before, but once it did, you couldn’t help the word that slipped from your lips. “Fuck.”

“We already did that, Sugar,” Thomas mumbled from beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you close to him. He nuzzled into your neck, and you’d be lying if you said that didn’t make you melt.

“Thomas,” you trailed off, not knowing what you were supposed to say. You lived with this guy, and would for at least 7 more months. Not only did you live with this guy, he was a manager for the house you lived in. That broke some of the most major rules you had for not only living with other people, but dating in general. Wait, were you even dating now?

“Shush, it’s still before noon. We have some more time.” You didn’t know what exactly he meant by that, but you let yourself relax into his hold. You should probably have this conversation with him when he wasn’t half asleep.

You stayed in bed with him for another hour before you finally went down to your own room. You waited for the hallway to go completely quiet and made your way down the stairs, only to see Peggy, Alex, and John sitting at the dinner table. “Look who finally made her appearance. So, how was Thomas?” John asked, a sly smile on his face.

“I just ended up passing out in his room after the party,” you tried lying, not meeting any of their eyes.

“So that’s why you’re wearing his shirt?” Peggy jumped in. Before you could even try to defend yourself with more lies, Alex spoke.

“The walls here are way too thin to try lying about things like that.”

#thomas jefferson x reader #thomas jefferson imagine #hamilton imagine #reader insert #smut

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justkending · 5 years ago

Text

Just Roommates. Chapter 27.

Series Summary: These two college friends have had years to grow together. Each being the others support system, adventure buddy, movie night partner, and dorky roommates. That is until things start coming to a new light in their relationship. At least for him… Is there something else there? Is it possible? Were these feelings always there?

Pairing: (Modern) Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warning: Fluff, Adulting, sexy-times mentions, language.

Word Count: 2700+

A/N: This is a very simple chapter, but I needed it for the next chapter:) Hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 27:

"That's perfect right there! Thank you!"

Y/N was instructing the movers bringing in the last of their furniture while her and Wanda started unloading items for the kitchen. Steve, Sam, Clint, Wanda, and Vision had all pitched in their cars as ways to help with moving the smaller boxes from their flat. Nat and Maria were going to be there within the next hour.

Bucky was out by the cars with Steve bringing in a few more hauls of the boxes.

"So, when's the engagement party?" Steve asked.

"I honestly think Y/N's just going to count this move in party as the engagement party. She's not one for all the formal events. Which I'm perfectly fine with," Bucky smiled, re-adjusting his grip on the larger box as they walked up the porch.

"Really? How are we supposed to get you two gifts if we didn't know this was the engagement party?" Steve asked.

"Don't act like you guys didn't all bring some housewarming gift. I saw you all casually trying to hide your little gift bags and stuff. Horrible hiding by the way," Bucky chuckled as Steve opened the door for to the two of them.

"Housewarming gifts are different from engagement gift," the blonde countered.

"I guess, but we really don't need anything. We just want to hang out with you guys in our new home. That's enough for us both," Bucky shrugged, putting the boxes down and turning to see Wanda and Y/N laughing in the kitchen.

"You know, Bucky, just a year ago you would be all over the material things. Something I think Bonnie would have played a part in and also been ecstatic for," Steve smiled looking at his friend. "The fact that's not even a thought for you shows how lucky you got Buck. You and Y/N both got lucky."

Bucky couldn't looked away from Y/N. She was in her 'moving overalls' as she called them since apparently she had so many they all had a special purpose. Her hair was in a messy bun with a head scarf wrapped keeping her wayward curls out of her face. Failing at at its job, but still cute nonetheless. One of the overall shoulders wasn't hooked and was hanging off her shoulder. She was laughing and pointing something out to Wanda in the living room.

"I did get lucky. The woman has taught me more things than I cared to know existed. And because of that I'm a lot more content and happy with my life." Bucky sent a single nod and smile after making eye contact with Y/N who blushed and winked back at him. "I'm on a high Steve, and I haven't fell from it in 6+ months."

"I feel you brother," Steve said squeezing Bucky's shoulder.

"You feel me?" Bucky said with a small laugh knowing Steve was as single as could be. "How do you-" When Steve's reaction was just a dopey smile as if he were lost in space, Bucky's eyebrows shot up. "You punk! You're seeing someone and you didn't tell me?!"

"Hey, hey. Quiet!" Steve said, putting his hands out in surrender. "I-I just wanted to see how things would go and didn't want anyone to get their hopes up, but... Yeah... There's a girl."

"Steve, that's amazing!" Bucky said, pulling him into a hug. "How long?"

"Remember Dr. Erskine from your charity gala?" Bucky nodded. "One of his shadows for his work happens to be in the geriatric field, and he mentioned the senior home to her. She came by for a visit to see the home for some research and we kinda hit it off." Steve had a blush creeping up his neck and was rubbing the back of it in nerves.

"Well, what's her name? What was she doing research for? How old is she? Blonde or Brunette? Or maybe redhead-" Bucky started spouting out questions.

"Her name is Margaret, but she goes by Peggy. She does different funding for senior homes and is doing research in veterans history. She's trying to write a book right now about different stories of WWII vets and Vietnam vets. She's just a few years older than me," Steve answered with a laugh. "And brunette. The most beautiful brown hair and brown eyes I've ever seen on a woman..."

Bucky watched as Steve once again drifted into a dream world. He knew how that went considering it happened to him practically every time he thought of Y/N.

"I'm happy for you Stevie. And don't worry, I'll keep it on the down low. I know how important the beginning of a relationship is, and with our friend group, I'm not going to chance ruining that," Bucky laughed half joking, half being serious.

"You can tell Y/N. Just Y/N though," Steve laughed.

"Ok, good. That was my next question..." Bucky grinned.

"Come on. Let's get you moved in," Steve nudged as they went back outside for another load.

___________

"Y/N, this place is going to be beautiful!" Nat said, raising her glass as the group of friends sat in the living room on the new furniture.

There were boxes scattered everywhere in their designated rooms, some opened but not unpacked. Only things out were some coasters for the end tables, and a few accent pillows that came with the couches today.

"It's true. I saw some of the decorations you have boxed up, and just by the looks of it this place is going to be stunning," Maria nodded, taking a sip of her wine.

"How many bedrooms?" Clinton budded in.

"Four including the master. So enough for you guys to crash if you ever get too drunk to leave," Bucky winked wrapping his arms around Y/N's middle on the chair they were snuggled into.

"Careful to make that offer. I may never leave," Sam laughed with a smirk.

"Everyone but you," Bucky said with a fake glare.

"You see how he treats me, Y/N? So mean and for no reason," Sam fake pouted.

"Oh, quit it you two. Always teasing the other until someone actually gets their feelings hurt," Y/N waved them off. "Sam, you are more than welcome to stay here when you want."

"Thank you," he said in a proud tone as if he won.

"Of course after day 3 there will be a rent fee," Y/N added with a smirk of her own as she took a long sip of her drink.

"Hey!" Sam said, choking on his drink a little.

"That's my girl," Bucky laughed.

"So what did you guys decide on for the flat? Are you going to sell it or..." Wanda asked turning to them from where she was sat by Vis.

"I'm going to rent it out for cheap to some college kids. No point in bumping the price when I don't really need the extra money. I remember how hard it was for people to find affordable housing during that time, and that way I can still keep it. It's already paid off," Bucky answered.

"That's a good idea and sweet of you. College me would have jumped for a place to stay like that for cheap," Nat nodded.

"Y/N thought of it. I was going to sell it, but made better sense to just rent it out," Bucky shrugged.

"Ok, enough boring adult talk! Tell us how it happened!" Maria jumped in.

"Gotta be more specific sis," Y/N laughed.

"The proposal! We've all seen the ring! Now give us the details!"

"Ok, ok. You wanna tell it or me?" Y/N turned to Bucky who just smiled and shrugged.

"We both can, but you start."

"Ok," she smiled before turning to the group. "So we came out here just to set up some lights and see the finished product of the house."

The rest of the story later, the girls were ooing and aweing at the sentiment. The men just grinning and sending smirks to Bucky for the romantic kind of man he apparently had been hiding from them.

After some more catching up, Y/N giving the girls room tours as well as sharing her decor ideas, while Bucky took the guys out and showed them the land and what they planned to build, the crew started packing up.

Bucky and Y/N said goodbye to everyone as they packed into their cars, and waved to them until they were out the driveway and headed back to the city.

Y/N let out a sigh and turned back to the house. Bucky followed and wrapped his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"We have a lot of unboxing to do," she said.

"Yep, but we unpacked a lot tonight. Let's save the rest for tomorrow."

"Yeah, ok." She turned back and gave him a hug as she fell into him. "I love you."

"I love you even more Y/N. Let's go to bed."

________

The next night, Bucky got a call from work saying they had a business trip that Stark had set up for the two to travel and speak with a few investors on some new projects. Something that was bound to take place in the merger. It just so happened to come up when the two were moving in and had a shit ton of boxes to unpack.

"How long?" Y/N asked once Bucky got done explaining Starks travel plans, and they unboxed some items for one of the guest rooms.

"Sounds like a couple of weeks. No more than two, hopefully only one," Bucky sighed. "I can see if I can make it shorter. I don't want to leave you to unpack all by yourself, and maybe the investors-"

"What are you talking about?" Y/N laughed, stopping and turning to Bucky from the bedside table she was organizing. "You don't have to make your work shorter just because I need help unpacking some boxes."

"Well, no, but-"

"I know what you're doing B. It's not going to work."

"I'm not doing anything..." Bucky mumbled, looking down at the bed frame he was currently screwing in the last few pieces into place for.

"You don't want to travel with Stark for up to two weeks, and you're using moving as an excuse. Nope. Nuh uh. You're going mister," she said matter a factly as she plugged in the bed side lamp and brushed her hands off.

"And what if I don't want to go cause I don't want to leave you?" Bucky said with a raised eyebrow standing up.

"It's your work Bucky. You're going to have to leave sometimes to take care of business." Her hands were crossed over her chest and hip popped. Bucky places his hands on his hips in an attempt to mock her sass.

"You want me out of the house or something?" he joked.

"No... I've just noticed you've been pushing work to the side, and trying to distract yourself from it and using the house as an excuse."

"I'm not-"

"James Buchanan Barnes. You have a huge, crazy busy, growing, multimillion dollar business to run. You can't keep distancing yourself from it just because you don't like Stark all that much," she said, taking a step closer and Bucky matched her.

He paused. She was right. He had been finding any excuse to work from home, or only going in during times Stark wasn't there. He still was extremely annoyed by the man, and the less time he spent with him the better. On the other hand he had been really excited about living with Y/N and being with her more now that they were engaged.

Screw knowing each other for years. The man was in the honeymoon phase still, and hadn't even glimpsed outside of the puppy love he had for her.

"But what if I don't want to..." he pouted moving closer and putting his hands on her hips as he pulled her in.

"Sucks. You're the big boss man whether you like it or not," she shrugged, still crossing her arms with a playful gleam in her eyes.

"You're kinda scary. You know that?" Bucky chuckled tilting his head to her.

"When I need to be, yes. That's not new news," she said with a sly smirk. "So on that note. Let's get you packed for your trip."

"But-"

"Nope! No excuses bossman!" she said walking out the door to their room.

_________

Y/N was right. This was a big opportunity for the business, and even though Bucky was getting comfortable spending his time with Y/n in their new house, and as a newly engaged couple, he did need to get out and actually work.

The trip ended up being a week and half. Y/N having to stay behind to handle some housing things like plumbing, gas, land surveying and all that fun stuff. That and she still had her job as a personal trainer/ yoga instructor, so she couldn't just up and leave with only a day's notice for almost two weeks.

The two facetimed and talked every night and day. Y/N showing him new places she had got around to decorating and layouts and ideas for the land.

What Bucky didn't know was that Y/N had the girls over almost every night to help her finish up unpacking and decorating before he came home. Sometimes Steve and Sam too if she needed some more heavy duty help.

"Y/N, this is all so stunning. He's going to be so surprised when he gets home," Nat smiled as they all stood looking at the newly decorated home.

"Really? You think? It's not too much is it?" she questioned bringing her hand to her chin as she examined the room they were currently in.

"He's going to love it Y/N. Anything you do he loves, but this is crazy impressive," Steve added as he packed up his tool box. "You ever thought about interior design?"

"That's what Bucky said," Y/N laughed. "And now that I have so many people asking me that," she looked at Maria, Wanda, and Nat who had also been commenting on it all day, "It's starting to sound like a possible fun side-job."

"Well, I'll pay you to come revamp my apartment if you do anything close to this," Maria grinned, taking a swig from a beer bottle.

"You got it," Y/N laughed. "Ok, I need to go pick him up from the airport in about an hour, so I'm going to go get changed and do a few last minute things. Thanks again you guys for coming out here and helping."

"Anytime! Maria and I love the scenic drive here, and it gives us a chance to see your fucking gorgeous home," Nat smirked bumping her hip with Y/N.

"That and you know you can always call if you need a handy man when Bucks not here," Steve added, picking up the tool box.

"Thanks for that Stevie. I appreciate you," she said giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"Yeah, I'm just here for the free alcohol," Wanda teased as she downed the rest of her beer. "Helps when Nat's driving."

The crew laughed at the red head and started heading for the door.

"Let us know what he thinks! And when you guys are ready, we can have a housewarming party since it's all done!" Nat shouted as she walked to the car.

"Will do! Love you guys! Drive safe!" Y/N shouted and waved from the porch as they loaded up and made their way down the long driveway.

Once they were out of sight, Y/N turned to look at the finished product of their home. The lights on the porch were hung and turned on. The inside was lit up and bringing life and a sense of comfort to it.

"How did I get so lucky?" Y/N sighed as she thought about the life that was to come with her special person. All she had to do was pick him up from the airport, and yet another milestone would be made.

(Ok pictures are coming next chapter!)

Just Roommates:

@starfirerules @buckys-blunders @alexxcorona113 @tcc-gizmachine @vrgelivvvv @nighttwingg @firefly-in-darkness @mizzzpink @poppunkdork @nerdygirlwithacrush @irespostthingsiwanttoseelater @ellaenchanted91 @sebbbystaaan

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @zeilenkrieg @lizzymacy555 @iheartsebastianstan @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravic @traceyaudette @kakakatey @notyourtypicalrose @laneygthememequeen @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @snffbeebee @thefaithfulwriter @marvelfansworld @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan @naomi02hook @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @carls1022 @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @carls1022 @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes au series #justkending #bucky barnes roommate su #marvel #marvel au #marvel roommate au #Winter Soldier #winter soldier au #bucky barnes x reader

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fourteenacross · 6 years ago

Note

Wait, totally just remembered that it’s the Angelica tour in Boston, so I will amend that question abt Shoba to ask: who were your favorites in the cast? (I saw Angelica tour in Atlanta and was sooo impressed)

Again, this is literally over a month old, I’m sorry I’m a disaster!

My favorites in the Angelica cast were deffo Hannah Cruz as Eliza, who had an undercut and was fucking fierce and incredible and I want to marry her, and Nick Christopher as Burr????

I put all those question marks there because I saw Nick Christopher as Washington on b’way a couple years ago and he was pretty good! So I was honestly skeptical about his Burr when I saw his name in the program, because...those are very different characters with very different physicalities. But he blew me away, for real--a lot of his take on Burr reminded me of Daniel Breaker, whom you may remember I fucking adore. He plays a Burr that can be almost goofy at times, always Very Over This Nonsense and sarcastic, but then will turn around and be singleminded about what he wants in Act 2. It super worked for me. (Though it did not work as well for my friends, some of whom were not into this interpretation of Burr.)

And Hannah Cruz’s Eliza definitely pulled in a lot of tomboy troublemaker shit that I loved. Her Eliza had an attitude and a drive that I loved. I haven’t seen the character played that way before and I was super into it.

We also saw Dorcas Leung as Angelica and she blew me away. We’d seen her as Peggy/Maria the first time we saw the Angelica Tour and she was perfectly fine (it’s a goddamn thankless role, tbh), but WOW she was FANTASTIC as Angelica.

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ariafsar2 · 7 years ago

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Hamilton Traders

Hey guys!

So I’m really not one to actually post something like this but one of my friends is getting caught in it now and as someone a little more established in the trading world (this is not me jerking myself off I just have been doing this longer than she has) I wanted to make a post about it.

So this is for anyone who as has traded or is in the middle of a trade with [email protected]/ari-afsar.tumblr.com

This trader is claiming to have an audio master of the Philip Company, Second National Tour, #Hamiltourtoo however you wanna know it by from the Evening performance on April 21, 2018. She very well may have this audio but let me explain how this trade between her and I progressed.

The first red flag to me really should have been the cast list she posted, claiming that Nyla Sostre was on for her role as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds that night. Jen Sese was on for this role in both the Matinee and Evening performances but I let this slide thinking perhaps there had been a change before they could change the slips in the playbill (why did I think this...who knows..).

When we traded the first audio that was sent to me in a mega.nz folder labeled 4/21/2018 ham

was actually @punxyphillip ‘s January 09, 2018 Hamilton Chicago master. It’s one of my favorite audios and I’d recognize it from anywhere but if you don’t trust my ear, I compared the wavelengths in Audacity from this and the audio of the Jan 9 performance and they’re exactly the same. (01/09 at the top. “04/21″ at the bottom.)

And this point I figured there was just a mixup and I let [email protected]/ari-afsar.tumblr.com know, she apologized and said she had indeed mixed them up and would send me the correct audio later. Cool, I was fine with that because I know stuff can get thrown into the wrong folders and mixups do happen.

They sent me another link this morning. A Google Drive folder labeled “hamilton (philip company - 4/21/18) ari-afsar’s master”

You can see here the cast list is what she had originally posted on tumblr. When I downloaded this, I was a little surprised to find out it was actually @elizabethhamilton1780 ‘s master from April 14, 2018′s Matinee. I know this because the tracks are labeled, I did the tracking.

And comparing the wavelengths again, you can see they are indeed exactly the same.

After I saw this I asked [email protected]/ari-afsar.tumblr.com again and was told her audio was “being marked as unavailable” and there had been another mixup with folder labeling and that “it keeps being corrupted or taken because of whatever reason”. She told me that if I didn’t want to trade anymore that was fine (I have already sent her my side of the trade) and she could send me a different bootleg that she had just received. I told her it wasn’t an issue and that I just wanted her to be more careful with labeling things if this was indeed two mistakes and to inform anyone else she had traded with she had sent them the incorrect audios.

I’m not sure who else she has traded with but I know for a fact she sent @elizabethhamilton1780 the same Jan 9 audio ( @punxyphillip ‘s) as I got and said that it sounded different because “i [ari-afsar] messed around a little bit with the tracks.” She also hasn’t informed her yet that she sent the incorrect audio.

Like I said, I don’t really like that I have to make this post and I have informed @ari-afsar that I was making it solely to let anyone else who was trading with her/was planning on trading with her/had already traded with her for this master that they were probably sent the incorrect audio.

Thanks if you read this far. If anyone else can prove they traded with her and were sent the incorrect audio I’ll happily gift one of my masters to you if it’s something you’d want just send me a message! y’all can hate me/send hate (anon is back on for my #1 fan out there lol)/whatever you want for posting this but I thought it was important to share. Stealing people’s masters is NOT a way to get established in this community, there are so many people who will help you and gift things or even just looking on tumblr, reddit, yahoo there’s lots of stuff that gets gifted and that can be a good start.

#Hamilton Audio #Hamilton Bootleg #Audio trading

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anais-mitchell · 6 years ago

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Hamilton Angelica Tour in Atlanta, 6/2/18 Evening

So, this was my first time EVER seeing Hamilton and being the extra person I am I had to document all my thoughts so I could remember everything I loved and share it with others! The cast was the full Angelica cast with Edred Utomi as Hamilton and Karli Dinardo as Peggy/Maria. Putting this review under a read more because it is LONG. If anyone has any specific questions about cast members or songs feel free to ask!

We were seated in left orchestra, and while there was no obstructed view there were moments where characters (often Eliza for some reason) were either blocked by someone else or had their back to us.

(I also credit the structure of these rambles to @fourteenacross whose Hamilton reviews are always so well thought out and insightful 💙)

Alexander Hamilton: I nearly passed out when I heard that first note. But this is just such a good introductory number, everyone played their parts very well. The staging is unique and beautiful and when the ensemble all sang together towards the end I felt it in my soul. The “me? I....” part was as striking as expected.

Aaron Burr, Sir: I could tell from the get-go Edred and Nicholas had awesome chemistry as Hamilton and Burr. The bursar lines were really funny. Edred seemed very deflated in his little “ha” after Burr’s advice. The squad introductions were predictably fun and Chris Lee’s dancing is a godsend.

My Shot: I lovedddd Edred in this song. He had so much energy with the squad and was very determined as Hamiton should be!!! Chris’s delivery of “anarchy” will never fail to crack me up, and Chaundre’s coat flip was awesome. Ruben got the crowd so pumped on the “rise up” bit which is one of my FAVORITE parts of the show. But my favorite part of this song was definitely Edred. He had a great little nervous “oh am I talking too loud?” and his “I imagine death” was so vulnerable and convincing. I loved seeing the sisters in the wings, I’m not sure if this was intentional but I almost saw Julia kinda staring longingly at Ham? Foreshadowing? Or me looking too much into things? Who knows?

The Story of Tonight: Edred and Ruben both have lovely singing voices which made this a 10/10 number. The camaraderie felt so real and it’s just such a sweet little number that I adore.

The Schuyler Sisters: All around so much fun. Karli’s Peggy wasn’t as pouty as some of my favorites but she was still very cute and got some laughs. Nicholas had a very funny delivery of “your daddy’s got money.” They all sounded amazing and had awesome energy!! But one of my favorite dumb details in this show is Eliza’s facial expressions during Angelica’s roast and downsides of being pretty far left, Burr was completely blocking Eliza from my frame of vision :(( still, overall great number and Sabrina especially slayed!

Farmer Refuted: Really funny. Edred’s Ham was so frustrated with this tiny guy because “he’s WRONG and I’m RIGHT and I need to SHOW HIM.” Lafayette distracting Burr in the back was a great detail as well.

You’ll Be Back: I thought this was done well, but honestly it might have been my least favorite king song of the show because he didn’t have many funny moments until the back half of the song. He did this growl on “and ever” that was hilarious, but to me the funniest part was the ensemble scurrying out SO QUICKLY when he called them and following his dance moves.

Redcoat transition got some audible gasps.

Right Hand Man: The beginning of this song where the Schuyler sisters and ensemble sing at the front of the stage then quickly run away is just one of my favorite little details of the show. Such captivating and almost haunting choreography. Carvens has AMAZING stage presence and such a powerful voice!! His Washington was so frustrated with everything and very authoritative. The cannon “BOOM”s were so loud in the theater and really brought you into the scene. Nicholas had a very funny delivery of “from a distance.” I loved loved loved the Schuyler sisters harmonizing in the wings as well.

A Winter’s Ball: This was the first of many moments where Nicholas used obviously fake cheeriness to cover up how annoyed Burr was with Hamilton to AMAZING effect. Chris looked so put out when Hamilton pushed him aside lmao. And I totally missed the faces of the guys towards the end bc I was watching Angelica and Eliza like YES THOSE ARE MY GIRLS. Whoops.

Helpless: Ahhh this was just so CUTE. You could actually hear Julia smiling through some lines, her Eliza was so smitten and pleading w Angelica. Edred and Julia had fantastic chemistry and you could so feel the love between them. Julia had a wonderfully “wtf” reaction to “Angelica tried to take a bite of me.” Also, I owe my life to all her riffs. She has such a lovely vibrant voice that reverberated through the theater so well.

Satisfied: This is my favorite song in the whole show and Sabrina did not disappoint. First of all, seeing the “rewind” bit live is SO COOL. I loved that Sabrina genuinely played it as feeling a real emotional and romantic connection to Hamilton but also was so protective of Eliza and knew she couldn’t have him. She was the perfect blend of Angelica’s stoicism and emotion. And oh god THE BRIDGE. That scene where it’s just Angelica, Eliza, and Hamilton on stage and Angelica looks absolutely gutted as she delivers the “at least...” part and Eliza has this huge smile.... ugh just rip my heart out. No fancy riffs in the end but she did it well. Sabrina’s ending was heartbreaking and the staging w Angelica totally alone on stage was :((( I want to hug her. Fun tidbit: when Eliza and Burr are dancing, Burr was doing this SUPER dorky dance I can’t even explain and Eliza had the funniest look on her face.

The Story of Tonight (Reprise): They were all v drunk and silly and I loved it. Literally any scene Lafayette was in, Chris Lee was doing all kinds of weird dance moves that cracked me up. When Laurens was teasing Burr about Theodosia, Mulligan came up behind Burr and did this huge exaggerated thrusting motion that had me DYING. Edred’s “oh shit” was everything. In the final few lines after Hamilton said “what are you waiting for?”, Nicholas did this little almost resentful laugh that was like, “you could never understand.” Such a great dichotomy between these two characters and the actors did it so well.

Wait For It: First of all, Nicholas has an incredible voice and great stage presence and he rocked this number. I was fully captivated. Also, he got some laughs on “I’m keeping the bed warm while her husband is away” and “Theodosia she’s mine” which I’ve never heard laughs on? However, he had a REALLY BAD line flub that made me cringe but he recovered well. In the bridge part, he lowkey started singing the lyrics to The Word Was Wide Enough and then had like 5 seconds of silence before catching it again YIKES. But he made up for it doubly by going SO HARD on the final chorus w amazing emotion and intensity. You so felt Burr’s philosophy and wanted to root for him so badly. Loved it.

Stay Alive: I absolutely loved the little bit with the Bullet just skirting over Hamilton at the beginning. Robbie Nicholson’s Charles Lee was SO ANNOYING. It was perfect. The instrumentals of this number are superb as well. I really enjoyed Eliza and Angelica's presence in the balcony as well, Julia riffed a little bit on the “stay alive”s and it sounded very good. The Lams moment at the end was subtle but definitely there.

Ten Duel Commandments: I just really enjoy the staging of this song and the use of the turntable. I know I keep talking about the minute deliveries of Nicholas’s Burr, but THEY WERE SO GOOD. His “can we agree that duels are dumb and immature?” and “okay so we’re doing this” were just comic gold.

Meet Me Inside: INTENSE. Carvens basically bellowed his first “meet me inside.” Edred was super argumentative and pissed up until “call me son one more time” where he realized he messed up. Carvens “go home” was very firm but not yelled or whispered.

That Would Be Enough: Julia is a star. This number was just all kinds of cute, she was super touchy and physically affectionate with him and they really tugged on my heartstrings. Also she had one of my favorite touches that Solea did where she holds her belly on “and we could be enough” and her final “enoughhhh” had such a nice vibrato. The ending pose warmed my heart. Such a touching little song.

Guns and Ships: I LOVE CHRIS LEE!!!! His rapping was very crisp even with the accent and he had hella energy. His Lafayette was so eager and energetic. Something you don’t see in bootlegs is how COOL the choreography of passing Washington’s letter to Hamilton is. The Hamliza goodbye was very sweet, Edred touched her belly and she looked very sad.

History Has Its Eyes On You: Carvens has such a captivating and strong singing voice. All the harmonies of the ensemble and the ensemble singing together were transcendent.

Yorktown: Hi again I still love Chris Lee. It felt really good to clap for “immigrants, we get the job done.” You could really feel Edred’s emotion on the part about Eliza and his energy throughout the number was amazing. Jennifer Geller was mesmerizing as the bullet and I adored her part with Ruben. Mulligan’s rap WENT HARD Chaundre really brought it. Also I would like to reiterate my love for Carvens his “not yet” was so powerful!!! That emphasis!! I have never felt more alive than when the entire ensemble was singing at the end and all the chants. Another hidden gem of this number: on the second “the world turned upside down,” I could CLEARLY hear Raven Thomas doing a lil riff and it was much appreciated I was kinda sad to not see her as a sister.

What Comes Next?: This was funny.

Dear Theodosia: Nicholas and Edred had gorgeous harmonies together. A lovely and simple number that worked so well with the two of them.

Laurens Interlude: OUCH. Between Hamilton, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan I didn’t even know who to look at. Hamilton looked so gutted, he was gripping the chair and just seemed devastated. Laf and Herc were in the balcony reading the letters and Lafayette gave a little salute and Mulligan just took a drink. Ruben had a very mournful and sad delivery and the stare between him and Edred towards the end was just heart wrenching. They definitely played up Lams in this scene.

Non Stop: I seriously love this number. Edred and Nicholas play so well off of each other. Edred had awesome energy and totally internalized the whole persistence and blind determination of Hamilton in this number. I completely missed his little flourish on “I practically perfected it” tho FOR VALID REASON and that reason was Nicholas delivering the line “he’s just non stop” with the ensemble through gritted teeth and a fake ass smile which was PRICELESS. Nicholas’s “okay” after “you’re a better lawyer than me” was really high pitched and funny. After Hamilton left, Burr like chased him down during “I’ll keep all my plans close to my chest” and it seemed like Burr was just desperately trying to prove to Hamilton that MY WAY OF DOING THINGS IS JUST AS GOOD AS YOURS, one of many excellent little character moments Nicholas threw in bless him. Edred and Sabrina had excellent chemistry in that tiny bit, his long stare at her was painful. “The other 51!!!” was just as emphatic as I could have hoped for. Julia’s “Alexander... AlexANDER” was pissed and I loved it, the final 30 seconds were beautiful. Julia has amazing riffs that sound so clear even when the whole ensemble is singing. Edred’s last “I am not throwing away my shot!!” was so LOUD lmao what an amazing number though it was a perfect Act 1 closer.

What’d I Miss?: After seeing Act 1, I knew Chris’s Jefferson would just be above and beyond, and I was so not disappointed. @ontheupandupagain said something in her tags the other day that he has such a good singing voice in this song AND HE REALLY DOES, his voice is like silk. But the acting was just invariably hilarious. His best scenes as Jefferson were playing off of Chaundre’s Madison though. Chaundre coughed into his hand and then shook Chris’s hand with it and his face was just like, “what the fuck dude?” and I thought it was SO FUNNY. He also did so much crazy stuff with his extra af coat which I loved.

Cabinet Battle #1: This was highkey the funniest number in the show. Chris and Chaundre had so many tiny little flourishes that had me in stitches. Ex. Chris getting ALLL in Edred’s face, Chris dropping the mic and Chaundre trying to pick it up but fanning it like it was too hot, Chaundre being so offended by “getting high with the French” that he literally shoved an ensemble member out of their chair and had to fan himself, them delivering “you don’t have the votes” with dance moves in PERFECT synchronization. Ugh so good. Edred was really good in this too, his mimicking of Jefferson’s dance moves was hilarious and he went v hard in his bit. After Jefferson and Madison left, he was very indignant w Washington like “I’m right!!! Listen to me!!!”

Take a Break: Julia and Ruben were very cute. Philip was tapping his legs like a little kid while playing the piano which was very in character. I thought Ruben’s Philip rap was very good! He was nervous until like the last two lines and then had such a funny victorious run up the stairs. But again, left orchestra probs, Edred was totally blocking my view of Julia beatboxing :( And god bless Edred for having equal amounts of chemistry with both Sabrina and Julia. The “my dearest Angelica” hits you right in the heart and Sabrina was almost fearfully hopeful but then dismissed it right away. Julia and Sabrina had awesome harmonies, and the bit where Angelica tried to go after him and Eliza stops her will never not hurt me.

Say No To This: Edred was very actively narrating to the audience in the beginning so you could definitely tell everything Maria did was through his retelling. His first “show me how to say no to this” got laughs which was kinda weird. One part of his performance that was so unique was that his “fuuuuu-” was very exasperated and funny more than downright shocked and horrified. Karli definitely played Maria as more of a victim too, she looked so panicked during the middle bit. Her “stay” note was AWESOME. One bit that tugged at the heartstrings was after James Reynolds clipped his whip thing, she stared at Hamilton very longingly and it almost seemed like a cry for help. I really liked the way all of them did this number.

The Room Where It Happens: Okay so this was definitely the best performance of the whole show. Hands down. Nicholas ran the gamut of Burr’s emotions from frustration to anger to horror to unbridled ambition. I can’t even really comment on Chris, Chaundre, or Edred because of how captivating Nicholas was. One touch I really liked was when Jefferson and Madison were planning for the meeting, Burr was aggressively pointing at them to the audience like “look at them!!! look how corrupt they are!!!” But yeah he tore that ending up on Leslie and Josh levels. There was huge applause MIDWAY THROUGH THE ENDING. He went so so so hard, literally slamming on the floor in just an unhinged state of finally letting go of his calculated demeanor. Such a huge shift for Burr and a showstopper in every sense of the word. Ugh I have chills just remembering it.

Schuyler Defeated: “They don’t like you” was delivered to great effect. Burr was almost nagging Hamilton towards the end as Hamilton walked away. These two just really had endlessly great chemistry.

Cabinet Battle #2: Very good all around. They were both super frustrated, and all the typical funny lines were very funny. I think Edred could have gone a just a little bit harder on “you must be out of your goDDAMN MIND” but hey that’s a very minute complaint. Chris got all up in his face for “Daddy’s calling.”

Washington On Your Side: Jefferson’s “wtf” face when Burr shows up will never not amuse me. And Chaundre’s “which I wrote!” was so indignant. They were all very calculating through the whole number and the crescendo of the song pumped me up so hard. 11/10 guys.

One Last Time: This was my favorite number Carvens did by far. His Washington was very desperate to have let a good impact on his country but in a very different way than Hamilton is. Edred’s reactions to all the different bits, especially “Jefferson started it,” were great. And I’d be lying if I said the ending didn’t draw some tears to my eyes, Carvens has such a powerful voice and this song is so cathartic.

I Know Him: I enjoyed it. The lines that are usually funny were funny.

The Adams Administration: Nicholas almost broke because of the king bouncing, but he kept it together. The “sit down” bit was predictably very funny. i loved how conniving Jefferson, Burr, and Madison were at the end, especially how Chris said “let’s let him know, what we know.”

We Know: Hamilton was kinda dismissive when he first said “Secretary Jefferson” but slowly realized something was up by “what is this?” He was very frantic to discredit their accusations. Chris’s “my God” was so disgusted and he was on such a high horse it was HILARIOUS. It totally reminded me of Gina Linetti high horsing Amy in the Season 1 B99 Thanksgiving episode, it was that good. Also, Eliza and Philip in the balcony was a subtle but heartbreaking touch.

Hurricane: I would literally die for the staging, lighting, and choreography of this song. Some of the light changes just hit you straight in the heart and all the choreography with the ensemble holding the chairs is so good. As for the actual performance, I think Edred was the perfect balance between Lin’s quieter emotions and Michael’s almost rage like intense emotions. He got kinda choked up at the part about his mother which ouch. Edred just had a lovely voice too which really shone through in this song.

The Reynolds Pamphlet: This song is EXPLOSIVE live. Chris was so thrilled and Edred was so defensive. Philip was so upset seeing the pamphlet. And oh god, when Angelica showed up Hamilton was so relieved but she yanked away so quickly and she genuinely seemed pained to do so. She was so so hurt and angry, she almost looked on the verge of tears because she had sacrificed so much for him and Eliza and he just threw it away. She almost spit out “god I hope you’re satisfied” into his face and raised a finger in his face, it looked like she could hit him. Rather than staying in his face like Renee did, Sabrina was so angry she left right away. And the dancing in the middle of the stage was definitely the funniest thing the king did.

Burn: UGHHHHH MY HEART. First of all, Julia’s voice is just beautiful on its own. But she really brought the emotion in this. She was so devastated and betrayed, and the fact that she played Eliza as so utterly in love with Hamilton before just really fucked me up. She barely choked out the “I’m” after the long pause. Her ending was super angry though but it was all anger coming from real sadness and hurt. After her final line, she did this little choked sob that just put the nail in my coffin of love for Eliza. This whole song I was just fully engrossed and probably had my mouth just hanging wide open.

Blow Us All Away: I whispered “oh no” to my dad at the beginning of this. Ruben’s Philip was so confident and idealistic and the father/son scene just made you want to scream at Hamilton. Little observation, Eacker’s cape is so swooshy and the actor was playing around with it so much. But yeah this Eacker seemed so much older than Ruben’s Philip and there was a definite power imbalance. Ruben seemed really nervous right before :( and oh god, when he shot on seven my heart just dropped to my stomach because WHY IS THIS HAPPENING. The whole theater gasped.

Stay Alive (Reprise): :(((( Edred’s Hamilton was so panicked and desperate. You could tell he really internalized it when Philip said “I did exactly what you said Pop” and was horrified that this was partially his fault. And Julia just ran out with tears already in her eyes and it was just over for me. She was so motherly and you could tell this was just her worst fear of something bad happening to her son. Ruben didn’t expressly play it like he was dying but he definitely seemed terrified and in pain and didn’t have the Musical Theatre Death Smile which thank god. You could hear a pin drop when the heartbeat stopped, and Julia did a version of the scream that was more like a sob but wow I was in pain. And she yanked that hand away from Hamilton so quickly. It was like she felt he didn’t deserve to mourn with her.

It’s Quiet Uptown: My god, what an intimate and beautiful piece of theatre. I cried which was a given. But really, between Hamilton, Angelica, Eliza, and the ensemble, the grief is so raw and powerful. There are some staging bits I never noticed before, like the ensemble kneeling and doing the sign of the cross during the lines about church. Edred was SO CHOKED UP during some lines. You could just feel how much regret he felt and how he realized how much he’s messed up everything. His delivery of “and you would smile, and that would be enough” was particularly gut wrenching. Sabrina’s voice was beautiful and so sympathetic in this song too which just added to all the poignancy. And then UGH. When Julia’s Eliza took his hand she was just so tired and relieved and devastated. Edred was audibly sobbing (so was I.) This scene is just the perfect encapsulation of the unconditional love Hamilton and Eliza had for each other and Edred and Julia’s performance was just so :(((

The Election of 1800: Chris Lee dramatically saying “Can we get back to politics?” and Chaundre Hall-Broomfield saying “Please?” through tears is really just the best way to get an audience full of crying people to laugh. Burr was SO FAKE during this song I loved it. His reactions to the voters was priceless, and when he greeted Hamilton with “Alexander!” he had such a fake ass smile and exclamation with his arms spread out for a hug; it was GOLDEN. Edred was so emphatic when he said “Burr has none” and Nicholas seemed so personally betrayed. And of course, the ending was flawless. Burr was trying so hard to go back into his cheery public persona but Jefferson just wanted nothing to do with him.

Your Obedient Servant: Burr was LIVID at the beginning of this song. Nicholas had such a great buildup to his anger. The back and forth between the two was just so good through the whole song and they hit the comedic bits right on. But the actual challenge part was very “shit’s about to go down.”

Best of Wives, Best of Women: They were such a good Hamliza pair :( so soft, so in love, so pure.

The World Was Wide Enough: Both Nicholas and Edred were just on their A-game for this song. It seemed like Nicholas, for the first half, was really trying to justify to the audience that he was doing the right thing and that Hamilton was a bad person who deserved this. His “this man will not make an orphan of my daughter” was heart wrenching. And props to Jennifer Geller for being a fantastic Bullet, especially in this song. Edred’s monologue was so mesmerizing; every word was delivered with purpose and you really got the vibe that he just wanted more time. And I truly think that “rise up, Eliza!” and then “my love, take your time; I’ll see you on the other side” is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in the whole show. My heart just stopped. My heart also stopped on the shot because woww ouch. You could instantly feel Burr’s regret and just overall thought of “what did I just do?” Angelica and Eliza looked so sad when they came out. The final bit, with Burr alone in the middle of the stage and Hamilton looking down on him from the balcony, and then the light going out on Hamilton is just genius direction. Nicholas had a really dramatic pause on “for Hamilton and.... me.”

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: The instrumentals of this song alone make me tear up. Sabrina was so fierce coming out for her part and I loved it. And then was Julia came out as Eliza I was just a mess. “I live another 50 years” was delivered particularly well. She was so frantic trying to ensure she had done everything, and then there was that moment of beautiful clarity with the orphanage. God bless Julia K. Harriman and God bless Eliza Hamilton. The ending with Hamilton and Eliza was absolutely breathtaking and the perfect final moment of their love, and Julia’s gasp was everything.

Edred Utomi as Hamilton: I will admit, I was a little bummed to be missing Austin Scott as I’ve heard great things about him. But I was so impressed by Edred! He had killer chemistry with Julia, Sabrina, Nicholas, Ruben, Chris, Carvens, Karli and basically everyone with whom he interacted. His singing and rapping voices were both equally good. I did prefer his Act 2 to his Act 1 though as I think he was more comfortable and really thrived in some of the more emotional numbers i.e. It’s Quiet Uptown in which he absolutely destroyed me. I really have no complaints, he did everything a great Hamilton needs to do and was such a nice guy at stage door. I hope he gets a lot more opportunities to go on in the future and maybe even a principal role in a company.

Julia K. Harriman as Eliza: I was so excited to see Julia as she was amazing in First Burn and the audios I’ve heard of her. Her journey as Eliza was so heartbreaking because she was genuinely so in love with Hamilton and was so betrayed and sad by the events of Act 2 :( she was a very good mix of an angry Eliza and a sad Eliza but she conveyed her inner strength so well. I can’t even pick a favorite number for her because she wowed me in every song she sang. Plus, her voice is just out of this world and I would love to hear her do some recording in the future.

Nicholas Christopher as Burr: If you couldn’t tell from my review, his Burr was one of the best parts of the show. This role suits him perfectly and he was able really make you sympathize with Burr. It’s such a complex role to play and he did it with aplomb; he had a very distinct difference between Burr’s almost corny fake public persona and his inner ambition and drive. His final verse of Wait for It and his entire Room were religious experiences, plus he was so emotionally impactful in The World Was Wide Enough. I also loved that his Burr was so funny! Burr is usually not a comedic role but he had a much more subtle humor than the characters who are explicitly played for laughs and he had me cracking up. He had so many little moments of characterization that made the payoff in the end that much more worth it. He is now right up there with my all time favorite Burrs and I would kill to see him again.

Sabrina Sloan as Angelica: I knew of Sabrina before she was cast because of her run as Vanessa in ITH, and I was super excited as she was a Vanessa I really enjoyed. She so did not disappoint. I feel like the role of Angelica is being turned into a mostly “sassy” role and sassy can sometimes cross into bitchy or straight up unlikable, but Sabrina really made you feel all of Angelica’s emotions and that is exactly the kind of actress that my favorite character deserves. I obviously loved her in Satisfied because that song is the very thesis of Angelica as a character, but she was also so good in Reynolds Pamphlet and Take a Break. In the gran scheme of the play, Angelica does not get that much to do despite being one of the most well written and complex characters imo, but Sabrina forced you to be so invested in Angelica and feel her every feeling. I adored her.

Carvens Lissaint as Washington: Superb. For those of you who don’t know, Carvens used to tour as a poet before musical theatre and that honestly helped his performance so much. He knew exactly what words to emphasize to punch you right in the gut; his “not yet” was seriously so good how does one make two words so powerful. He has all the gravitas of CJack and has a very gospel-esque voice that he put to WORK in One Last Time. I was so thrilled to see him in this role and I can only wonder what his Burr and Laf/Jeff were like on Broadway.

Chris Lee as Lafayette/Jefferson: THE ACTUAL STAR OF THE SHOW. Listen I am a person who gets very annoyed by the emphasis of Jefferson as a character over the females and Burr in the fandom but god Chris Lee is a revelation I am so sad he is leaving but infinitely glad I was able to see him. Everything he did was so funny. In Act 1, if you looked in the background of any scene he was doing these little body roll dance moves and in Act 2 he just had this super jazzy and unbothered swagger when he walked which were both amazing. His singing is also super underrated as this is not a singing heavy part but he riffed all over the place in What’d I Miss and Story of Tonight. All of his little flourishes in the Cabinet Battles were just golden and he played so well off of Chaundre and Edred. Definitely my favorite Laf/Jeff so far.

Rubén J. Carbajal as Laurens/Philip: He has a man bun now! I enjoyed him more than I thought I would. I wasn’t particularly wowed by him in the bootleg but seeing him live was different. This role is really small but I think it can be one of the best parts of the show when really done well, and while I don’t think Ruben reached that level, he definitely didn’t fall into some of the tropes I really dislike for that character like the smiley death scene or the complete lack of chemistry between Laurens and Hamilton. (Seriously, the boy is 19 and dying I will never understand why some performers insist on making it seem like he’s all mature about it Philip should be TERRIFIED it irks me.)

Chaundre Hall-Broomfield as Mulligan/Madison: I thought he was awesome. His Mulligan was very brash and booming like Oak’s which I liked, and he went really hard during the Yorktown rap. His Madison was FANTASTIC against Chris’s Jefferson. He was such a sweet guy at the stage door too.

Karli Dinardo as Peggy/Maria: She was announced as an understudy right before the show started and she was good! She didn’t really wow me but it’s such a small part I was satisfied with what she did. I preferred her Maria to her Peggy because she was able to add some emotional nuance to the character. She has a really nice voice so that helped. It would have been cool to see Isa but I’m not disappointed, I thought Karli’s performance was super well done.

Peter Matthew Smith as King George III: Good! All King George’s blend together for me honestly but he was funny.

Ensemble: Every moment where the entire company sang together was heavenly and filled the theater so perfectly. The choreography of this whole show is just so great and they were all amazing dancers and added so much to every scene they were in. Appreciate ensemble 2kforever. Jennifer Geller was an excellent bullet and really drew your eye in every scene. Like I said before, Raven’s voice really stood out in some parts which I loved.

Stagedoor: It was kinda awkward because nobody really cheered or anything when the cast came out? But everyone was really nice. Julia, Chaundre, Karli, Edred, and Robbie Nicholson all came out and were super nice and took pictures. I was next to a little girl and they were all so sweet to her. Chaundre passed out flyers for their BCEFA event on Monday too which was cool. When Edred came out someone next to me said they cried and Edred was like “me too!” lol. But there was one girl next to me who was pushing and kept calling the male cast members “dad” and asking when Chris would come out which ugh. We left after Edred bc our ride was there and I think Chris came out after him bc I could hear cheering down the street rip.

If you’ve made it this far thanks for reading my rambles, I enjoyed it so much and couldn’t ask for a better first Hamilton cast! It went above my sky-high expectations and I cannot wait until I get another chance to see it, whenever in the future that may be.

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yukinojou · 7 years ago

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Hamilton West End: delayed impressions of December 15

*eyedart* It's been 3 weeks, high time to write my impressions of Hamilton in London...

I saw the December 15 show, 1 week before official opening night, from the first row of the upper circle, with the full first cast. I was last at the Victoria Palace Theatre for Billy Elliot in 2012, so the renovation was quite stunning. The Upper Circle is still dizzyingly steep, but there are actual handrails making the descent comfortable enough, and the renovation team actually put in enough ladies' restrooms for once. Props to the staff lady doing traffic control in the loo, making sure people didn't miss an empty cubicle :) The extra hard ticket control was also done very smoothly, though the pre-show mailings scared us a bit too much - we got there 90 minutes before the show and ended up camping in the upper bar for almost an hour.

Anticipation was high, but I admit to a moment of trepidation as well. I've been blasting the cast album for over two years, I've inhaled the Hamiltome and I admit I got my paws on some video visuals of dubious legality, so I was very attached to the original Broadway cast, especially since all of them were so absolutely stunning. I've had this reaction before - after so many viewings of the Warsaw Tanz der Vampire production it's so carved into my brain that I'm immensely critical of other performers tackling the same songs...

That lasted about 5 bars into the opening song, mind you.

Photos and clips don't do the set and choreography justice. There's always something going on everywhere on both levels and every freaking finger-twitch from the most in-the-background person in the shadows means something. There's actually quite a lot of props, and the bare set means that all of them have to be carried on by the cast. And every time it's freaking meaningful who carries the quill / jacket / desk / whatever. I could watch this show 15 times and still notice new things.

The choreography and direction is about both symbolism and shapes. So many times it's a living sculpture onstage. And the same in the soundscape of the songs and the lyrics and the acting. Yeah, it's the one freaking show that's not overhyped.

Cast, in bullet points and mostly random order:

Rachelle Ann Go - I intentionally avoided reading too much info about the cast, and the moment she opened her mouth I went "wait, she's Filipina, isn't she?" She's got that pure nightingale voice and steam-train charisma that must be in the water there. Same stunning mold as Lea Salonga and Leah Delos Santos. And on top of that, she was absolute steel underneath in the second act. This was an Eliza who is very much in charge, someone that Alexander is chasing to keep up with. She didn't steal the show, she owned it from Schuyler Sisters onwards.

Obioma Ugoala - Washington was the role I was most worried about, mostly because Christopher Jackson was so good and commanding and three-dimensional. Um. Yeah. I may actually have a new favourite Washington, both with the fatherly vibe towards Hamilton and with the sheer gravitas. This man yells "attack", you freaking attack. Best. Casting. Ever. Also had me in sniffles during One Last Time.

Jason Pennycooke - Lafayette/Jefferson was second on the worry list, seeing as readers of this tumblr have had to suffer many many pictures of Daveed Diggs. Guess who did his best to steal the show. Tiny adorable floofy-haired dynamo of a man, bouncy as all get out, absolutely different from Daveed and so very very good at playing a totally self-centered but very intelligent man. The moment we left the theatre, we all went "JEFFERSON!"

Rachel John - the saddest, most mature Angelica I've heard yet. Virtuoso, but with an undercurrent of melancholy that made the role her own. After Schuyler Sisters, she seemed slightly apart from the show, always watching, always the observer.

Cleve September - adorable is a good word. He was an absolute sweetheart in his own songs, and when he wasn't singing, he was doing his best to make everyone else shine too, putting telling the story ahead of his own applause. If he was a Takarazuka actress he'd be in Yukigumi, and y'all know I'm a forever-Yuki girl.

Christine Allado - she still seemed to be finding her Peggy (though the shyness worked for the character), but her Maria was an absolute tour de force. Someone get this woman to sing tango. And dance tango. She's got an opera background, and the combination of those deep tones with a deeper version of that pure Filipino sound is killer.

Tarinn Callender - Numero Tres I was worried about needlessly. His Mulligan was powerful and joyful, while his Madison was just hilarious, especially the contrast between his nerd-dom and Jefferson’s look-I’m-so-cool. I just about choked when they couldn’t work out the mic drop :D

Giles Terera - I think he may have had a bit of a cold or something distracted him in Act One, because I wasn't quite feeling it. I thought it was the combination of not entirely clear diction (as a non-native speaker I take a while to get used to unfamiliar accents) and a distant aspect that didn't connect with me. Whatever it was, it cleared up by Act Two. His Room brought the house down, and by the time he was falling apart in The World Was Wide Enough, my heart was breaking.

Michael Jibson - MWAHAHA. Someone give this guy an Olivier for sheer comedic timing. No slouch on the voice and movement, but it's the freaking timing that had me in stitches.

Jamael Westman - giant giraffe of a junior Machiavelli who needs a hug :D He had a great concept for Act Two and Hamilton's entire emotional journey. Great voice, good acting, arms and legs all over the place, and possibly my Hamilton from now on.

Ensemble - so energetic and precise. I loved the Bullet, Leah Hill, especially - she's got a magnetic quality. Not quite sure who was our James Reynolds, but he oozed evil.

In conclusion: very tempted to hunt for cheap flights and cancellation tickets.

#hamilton #hamilton west end #hamilton london #rachelle ann go #jamael westman #obioma ugoala #jason pennycooke #rachel john #cleve september #christine allado #tarinn callender #michael jibson

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whyamilikethjs · 7 years ago

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He can't make you feel this way - Daveed Diggs Smut

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x Reader

Warning: smut and swearing i think

Requests: nope this idea just popped in my head

A/N: sorry if this is really bad i'm writing this in a car to tennessee, also requests are opened and i'm going to be writing a lot so send them ! enjoy :)

It was a typical Saturday mid-morning and the entire cast was rehearsing for tonight’s show. I was one of the dancers thanks to my boyfriend’s role as Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. We were running Yorktown when Andy rushed us, stopping us in the middle of the choreography. We all stood in place confused and breathing heavily from our intense dance.

“I hate to inform everyone that Jasmine won’t be with us for the rest of tour due an important family crisis.” He said obviously concerned and in stressed.

“What are we going to do?” A dancer spoke up and a few voices spoke up in agreement.

“Glad you asked, well the show must go on so we need a replacement and this is why I stopped you guys because I wanted to ask (Y/N) if she’d be willing to take over as Peggy and Maria since I know you know the music for it.” He explained and my eyes went wide at the sudden offer. I nodded quickly and the rest of my friends began cheering at the sudden change in a more important role. Andy whisked me away and dragged me backstage to talk to me.

“We are going to need you and Lin to practice your scene of ‘say no to this’ and we need to run ‘the Schuyler sisters’ so you know the dance. Are you up for that?” He asked and I agreed excited beyond belief. Andy dismissed the rest of dancers and brought out Phillipa and Renee to teach me the choreography.

It was an hour later when I finally understood all the placements for the character Peggy so I decided to go to my new dressing room and take a break. Once I stepped in I noticed how much bigger it was and I happily took advantage of the couch by throwing myself down on it and letting my muscles relax. It was only a couple minutes of lying down when a knock appeared at my door.

“Yes?” I called out not bothering to look up to see who had just entered the room.

“I got you some lunch.” A voice called which I quickly recognized as Daveed making me look over with raised eyebrows. A smile grew across my face as he strolled over with a brown paper bag in one hand and plastic to go cup of my fav drink. I sat up to let Daveed sit down next to me and I swung my legs over him as he pulled out a sandwich and handed it over to me.

“You’re the best.” I grinned at him as I took a large bite out of the food. “I feel like actual death from learning all this stuff.” I groaned only earning a chuckle from Daveed.

“Are you done for today?” Daveed asked as he ate his own food.

“I wish, but I have to learn Maria’s song with Lin still and I have learned that pretty quickly for tonight.” I sighed in complete exhaustion and stress.

“Don’t worry baby, you’ll get it and you’re going to do great tonight and for the rest of the shows.” Daveed smiled sincerely as he rubbed my leg and I replied by pressing my lips to his in a sweet kiss. We both finished eating and I quickly returned to the stage where Andy was standing talking to Lin.

“Ah, there you are! I was about to come find you.” Andy exclaimed as I walked up to him. “I’m going to let you and Lin run this, basically when the ensemble sings ‘no to this’ you guys will need to have a short make out session and then when Lin comes to yell at you, you need to kneel down as if pleading to him and then you’ll have the chair scene. Basically, the choreography isn’t super strict and you guys can have fun with it.” He explained and I nodded relieved that it was only certain things to remember. Andy walked off and I turned to Lin.

“Can we save the kissing for tonight? Sorry but I’m very tired and I would just like to figure out the important dances.” I asked and Lin agreed with a grin. We ran through everything pretty quickly and it only a few run throughs before I felt confident in it. Afterward, there was still a couple hour before we had to get into costume so I decided it would be best if I took a nap in the dressing room.

I woke up to the annoying ring of my alarm and I rolled off the couch and sat up rubbing my eyes. There was a knock at the door and was soon opened by Marie who was going to be doing my hair, makeup, and costume. “Are you excited?” Marie asked as she started on a large amount of stage makeup.

“Yes, but also fairly nervous.” I shrugged and Marie nodded agreeing. The rest of the process to get ready was a comfortable silence for the most part until I was completely decked out in extravagant clothing and makeup and large hair. I quickly thanked Marie before leaving the dressing room and heading backstage to join everyone else. Daveed wrapped his arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my cheek.

“Good luck tonight baby, you’re going to do great.” Daveed smiled down to me and Andy called for us to all take our places.

Daveed’s P.O.V

I had just finish Yorktown and I hurriedly rushed off the stage to change my costume as Jefferson. I pulled the hair tie from the bun and let my curls stick out and I changed from my blue coat into a red and much more expensive looking jacket. I headed back and first spotted (Y/N) standing on the side of the stage in changed outfit as well. I placed my hand on the small of her back letting her know I was there. She turned around smiling and the joy in her eyes made my heart leap with happiness.

“How are you feeling?” I whispered in her ear. I smirked watching her lightly squirm at my touch.

“I’m giving 110%, I’m just hoping everyone is enjoying the show.” She said with furrowed brows and she looked out to see part of the crowd. Her caring personality is still one of my favorite things about her.

“Good luck, you’re up next.” (Y/N) winked at me as she adjusted my jacket and placed a light kiss on my lips as the final notes of Non-Stop played and I rushed out as ‘Burr’ announced me by singing “You simply must me Thomas, Thomas!”

(Y/N)’s P.O.V

What’d I miss, Cabinet Battle #1, and Take a Break went by quickly as my nerves began to get to me as my large scene came sooner than I expected.

“There’s nothing like summer in the city.” Burr sang out. Lin sat down at the desk pretending to write.

“I hadn’t slept in a week I was weak…” He started and I adjusted my dress one last time before walking out into the light.

“I know you are a man of honor…” I sang out to him as he walked over to me.

“So I offered her a loan, I offered to walk her home. She said:”

“You’re too kind, sir.” I sang out completing his sentence.

“I gave her thirty bucks that I had socked away, she lived a block away. She said:”

“This one’s mine, sir.” I gestured to a non-existent house and we walked in that direction.

“Then I said Well, I should head back home, she turned red, she led me to her bed, let her legs spread and said.”

“Stay?”

“Hey…”

“Hey?”

“That’s when I began to pray, Lord show me how to say no to this…” Lin called out while I sang out some backup vocals to the song, my heart was racing as I looked at the front row and saw how invested people were in the music.

“Then her mouth is on mine and I don’t say…”

“No! No!” The ensemble sang out as Lin turned to me and placed his lips to mine, creating a deep and lustful kiss for everyone to watch. I placed one hand on his bicep while my other hand rested on his chest, his hands ran up and down my back and we pulled away once the ensemble quieted down. Lin wide-eyed began to sing once again.

“I wish I could ay that was the last time, I said that last time. It became a pastime…”

Daveed’s P.O.V

My blood boiled watching Lin’s hands roamed around (Y/N)’s body. I clenched my teeth as my mind wandered to Lin doing more things to her.

“I hid the letter and I raced to her place, screamed how could you in her face, she said,”

“No, sir!” (Y/N) cried out on her knees pleading to him.

“Half dressed, apologetic, a mess…” Lin sang out again. They continued to sing out a few more verses until Lin sat down on the chair placed in the center of the stage and (Y/N) sat on his lap, leaning back into him as Lin’s hands went to rubbing one of her thighs and the other ghosting over her breasts. His nose was pressed up to her neck as the both of them sang and much to my relief the song finished and (Y/N) rushed off stage. Another song started up and I looked over to (Y/N) to see her breathing heavily.

“Did it look good?” She asked and I nodded, changing my view to the stage, quickly heading out when it was my signal.

(Y/N)’s P.O.V

I furrowed my brows in confusion as Daveed went on stage without saying a single word.

The show finally finished and we all went out to give our final bows and met a few fans before we could finally go back to our rooms.

“Hey, Daveed, (Y/N) the whole cast is going out to dinner tonight! Care to join?” Lin asked and I happily accepted.

“Sure, we might be a little late though,” Daveed said and I looked up at him confused. Lin nodded and walked off. Daveed grabbed my hand and took me to his dressing room, locking it before looking at me, his look full of hunger. He quickly pulled me into a deep and rough kiss. Daveed roughly grabbed my thighs and pulled me up making me wrap my legs around his waist as he pushed me down onto the couch in his room.

“Daveed,” I moaned out softly as he began to kiss down my neck. I yelped as he let his teeth sink into my flesh, creating multiple marks down my neck. I pushed the jacket off his shoulders while Daveed unzipped the large dress. We both quickly undressed until we were stripped down to our underwear. Daveed attacked me again kissing down my stomach till he reaches my legs. He nipped at the inside of my thighs causing me to whimper out. Suddenly Daveed pushed two fingers into me making me yelp and arch my back, trying to get more friction. He curled his fingers and repeatedly thrust them as far as they could allow.

"Daveed please, I need you." I whined out and I could see him smirk at my words. Instead of replying he removed his fingers and filled me with his length making me moan from the satisfaction and the slight pain from the sudden action. Daveed wasted no time to being moving, easily finding my g-spot and making me groan in pleasure with each movement. Daveed placed his head in the crook of my neck, nipping and then soothing the bitten area by rubbing his tongue over the new bruise forming. I held a tight grip onto his hair while my other hand clawed down his back.

"I-I'm close," I chocked out through moans as Daveed kept roughly thrusting in me and Daveed smiled in satisfaction.

"Let it go baby girl," Daveed whispered in my ear and the feeling of his hot breath down my neck sent me over the edge as I moaned out loudly and came crashing down like a tsunami while Daveed kept going, his thrusts growing sloppy as I rode out my high he came down as well. Once we both finished he removed himself from me and collapsed on top of me and I ran a hand through his now sweaty hair gently.

"I bet Lin can't make you feel like that," Daveed chuckled as he pressed a kiss onto my forehead.

"Is this what this whole thing was about?" I asked concerned as I slid one of Daveeds shirts on in this room.

"I guess I got a little jealous when I saw you and him during Say no to this." He admitted defeated as he sat up and began to put on a hoodie as well as some shorts.

"Babe, don't ever worry about that. You are the only one I love like that, and you are definitely the only one who can make me feel like that." I told him and his eyes lit up at my response.

"I love you too." He said quietly as he kissed me again.

#hamilton #hamilton smut #daveed diggs #daveed diggs smut #lin manuel miranda #alexander hamilton #lafayette #thomas jefferson #lin manuel miranda smut #daveed diggs x reader #daveed diggs imagine #lafayette smut #lafayette x reader #lafayette imagine #smut #imagine #broadway

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rising-above-stars · 7 years ago

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These Inklings of Love VI

@smoljamesmadison inspired part of this chapter! It’s not the best, but it’ll do.

Word Count: 1,669

“Okay, John, we want to hear this. From the beginning.” Lafayette said. John sighed. “You know how Jefferson locked us in that closet?” They nodded. “Yeah, well, a lot happened in there.” Hercules and Lafayette glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. John leaned on the bench and sighed. “There’s something I never told you guys, I never told anyone. About these marks.” He said, gesturing to Hercules’ neck, where Angelica’s tree was clearly visible.

Lafayette nodded slowly. “You have Alexander’s mark, no?” John nodded. “I’ve had it since Alexander and I were eight.” “You told him last night, didn’t you?” Hercules asked. “I knew he wouldn’t remember anything. He told me he has my mark, and I showed him mine.” John shrugged his shoulders and looked up at Hercules and Lafayette. Hercules took a sip of his coffee. “I think this is something you and Alexander need to talk about.” Lafayette nodded. “Herc’s right, John.” John sighed and nodded. “I guess so.” Hercules nudged John. “Come on, man. We’ll show you around before your classes start.” Lafayette nodded. “Yes, and you cannot say no.” John sighed and smiled, shaking his head. “I feel like I’m going to get more than a tour of campus.” “Damn right you are.” Hercules and Lafayette dragged John out of their dorm.

Maria sighed, flopping down on Theodosia’s bed. “I shouldn’t have let Thomas start that game, Mari,” Theodosia said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. Maria looked at her. “We kissed. It meant nothing. Why would she fall in love with me?” “Mari, you never know. Eliza’s a sweet girl. She won’t hate you forever. The past is in the past, it’s time to let it go, to move on.” Maria smiled and shook her head. “You and your Disney.” “What can I say? They’re magic.“ Theodosia grinned.

Peggy hurried down the hall of her high school. She needed to find him. Ever since her sisters and her friends had graduated and left for college, Peggy had to find some new people to hang out with.

There was a certain person who caught her eye. Her lab partner and fellow barista. They had grown close over the years. But there was one little problem that always seemed to interrupt them. Well, make that two. John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton. They didn’t exactly like her friend. They never got along. It had something to do with Alexander not agreeing on their opinions or some other stupid reason.

Now that Peggy was able to spend more time with him without being interrupted, she had started to fall for him. His red Robin appeared on her hip a few days ago.

Peggy’s golden brown curls bounced as she walked up to the two boys. “Excuse me, Samuel, but I have to borrow Charlie for a moment,” She smiled before dragging Charles into an empty classroom.

“Pegs? What’s wrong?” Charles asked once Peggy shut the classroom door. Peggy turned around to face Charles. “I was going to wait until later but I couldn’t wait any longer. I have to tell you something,” Peggy said, walking over to him. “Of course, Peggy. You can tell me anything.” Charles said, reaching out to hold her hands. Peggy nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. What if Charles didn’t have her mark? What if he didn’t like her like that? Maybe she was just overthinking it all. “TheOtherDayYourMarkAppearedOnMyHipAndIReallyHadToTellYouBecauseIReallyLikeYouAndIDon’tKnowWhatYouThinkOrHowYouFeel.” She said, in one quick breath. Charles squeezed her hands lightly. “Woah, calm down Pegs. It’s just me.” He smiled. “Did you say something about a mark?” Charles rubbed the inside of his elbow lightly. Underneath his sleeve, the golden yellow sun that belonged to none other than Peggy Schuyler could be seen.

Peggy nodded and showed him the mark on her hip, revealing Charles’ red robin, blushing lightly. A grin spread across Charles’ face. He rolled up his sleeve to show her her mark. “So the light of my life loves me back.” He said. Peggy’s blush deepened as she threw her arms around Charles, a smile spreading across her face. Charles wrapped his arms around Peggy in return. “What’s Angie and Eliza going to think? Or John and Herc and Laf?” Peggy said after a moment. Charles smiled, planting a quick kiss on her forehead. “Relax, Pegs. It will be okay. You have nothing to worry about.” He knew that her other friends weren’t too fond of him. And that they were most likely very protective of her. Especially Angelica and Eliza. But he hoped that he could win them over, show that he wasn’t bad, that he was good enough for Peggy. Peggy smiled at Charles. “You’re right, Charlie. They’ll like you.”

It was lunchtime. Peggy and Charles sat underneath the large oak tree outside the cafeteria. It was where she hung out with her sisters and their friends, now it’s where she hangs out with her friends. Charles wrapped his arm around Peggy while she rested her head on his shoulder. She was trying to video call her sisters. “Come on, Betsey. Pick up, pick up!” Peggy groaned. Charles pressed a kiss to her head. “Peggy, baby, Elizabeth will pick up.” He said. Peggy chuckled. “You don’t have to call them Elizabeth and Angelica. Just Eliza and Angie.” “But I am mildly scared of your sisters and your other friends.” Charles smiled. He found Angelica and Hercules a little intimidating. And John and Alexander often got into fights with just about anyone. But Peggy never seemed to speak about Alexander anymore. Of course, he knew what happened. Charles couldn’t blame her, really. He knew that Peggy cared a lot about her siblings. Peggy laughed. “They’re big softies. They’ll get over it.” Charles smiled. It would be nice for them to approve, he really cared about Peggy. “You’re probably right, Pegs.” ”I’m always right, Charlie.” Finally, Eliza answered the video call. ��Hey, Peggy. How are you?” Eliza smiled. “Hey, Eliza. I’m great. Is Angie with you?” Peggy said. Charles pressed another kiss to Peggy’s head. Eliza nodded. “Yeah, hold on. I’ll get her.” Eliza called Angelica over, and soon Peggy could see both of her sisters on the screen. “Hey, Peggy,” Angelica smiled. “Who’s with you?” Peggy moved the phone so her older sisters could see her new boyfriend’s face. “I’m with Charles Lee. You remember him, right?”

The two older sisters glanced at each other and nodded. “Yeah, we know him. Hello, Charles.” Angelica said. Charles nodded. “Hello, Elizabeth. Hello, Angelica.” “Charlie and I have something that we need to tell you. And please don’t freak out.” Peggy said. Her sisters were protective. She didn’t know who was worse: John, Lafayette, and Hercules or Angelica and Eliza. The two older Schuyler’s nodded. “What is it? Did something happen?” Eliza asked, concern lacing her voice. Peggy took a deep breath. “Charlie and I have been friends for a while now, we just didn’t hang out as often because we knew there would be some sort of fight.” The two other sisters nodded. Angelica had a feeling that she knew where this was going. Charles could see it on her face. Frankly, he was starting to get a little nervous now. Peggy’s sisters scared him, Angelica more than Eliza He could only imagine what would happen when they told the rest of Peggy’s friends. Peggy continued. “A few days ago, a robin appeared on my hip. I knew who it belonged to as soon as I saw it.” Eliza nodded. “It’s Charles, right?” The pair nodded. Charles nervously rolled up his sleeves to reveal Peggy’s sun on his arm. Angelica and Eliza were quiet for a few moments. Peggy squeezed Charles’ hand lightly.

Finally, Eliza spoke. “I was not expecting this, Peggy. But if you love him, and he makes you happy, then I’m okay with it.” She smiled. Charles relaxed a little. One sister was okay, but what about the other? Angelica sighed, looking at Charles. “I’m not too fond of you, Charles. But it is Peggy’s choice who she falls in love with. And I’ll be there to support her.”

Charles relaxed more, letting out a relieved sigh. He opened his mouth to talk before being cut off by Angelica.

“ I am not finished. If you break Peggy’s heart, you better watch out. You’ll have five people after you.” Angelica warned.

“I’d never dream of breaking Pegs’ heart. She’s the light of my world.” Charles said.

Eliza smiled. “Aw, come on Angie, you have to admit it. They do love each other.”

Angelica nodded and smiled. Eliza’s comment earned a blush from Charles and Peggy.

The bell signaling the end of lunch for the two high schoolers rang. Peggy looked back at her phone. “ We have to go to class. Can you tell the boys to meet up at the café later? I need to tell them too.” She said. Her two sisters nodded. “Oh! And don’t tell them who or why.” Peggy smiled, ending the video call with her sisters.

Charles smiled. “That went well.”

Peggy leaned against Charles. “We still have John, Hercules, and Lafayette to go.”

Charles nodded. “I hope that goes well too.”

Peggy nudged him. “You’ll be fine. Now, come on you nerd. We have a class to get too.” The couple walked back into the school. They had won over Peggy’s sisters. Now they need to win over the boys.

Next>>

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hollywoodx4 · 7 years ago

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Sticking with the Schuylers (44)

I’m posting this from the bus to NY (!!!) sorry this one took so long, but I’m much happier with the direction this turned out than it’s precious draft so take that as you will.

[Edit: I finally fixed the formatting-sorry about that nightmare!]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112 I 13 14 15 16 17 18A 18B 18CI 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 I 30 31 32 33 34 3536 37 38 39 40 41 42 I 43

Tagging: @linsnavi @butlinislin @oosnavi @adothoe

The hot compression of a faux leather skirt has begun to take its toll on Eliza, who stretches her calves in hopes of a burst of relief. It maneuvers the wave of her muscles with a crinkling protest, a lacy top clinging to her physique with a hold she hasn’t quite gotten used to. The slight chill of the air flows through the room and soothes the mugginess of backstage.

“Are you dying yet?” Peggy’s voice, loud and playful, carries across the room with ease. The issue of leather unencumbers her although she has been outfitted in a jumpsuit crafted entirely from the material. She holds a drumstick in each hand, twirling them between her fingers with ease before tapping them against an extra amp. The rhythm is familiar, a song they had crafted together, and Eliza hums the tune while she adjusts her fishnets.

“The crowd is huge tonight.” Angelica’s mass of well-tamed curls pokes out from behind the curtain; the muffled sounds of their opening act receiving mass amounts of applause is a comfort. Angelica hadn’t been too sure about hiring some boy band to back them, but The Rev Squad seems to be getting the praise Eliza had imagined upon convincing her sisters to hire the band.

Eliza adjusts the strap of her electric guitar over her shoulder, her grin wild and untamed as their opening act clamors off the stage. They’re still on an evident high from the crowd’s love, whooping and hollering. Their confidence clashes with the anxiety that still radiates from the Schuyler sisters, the juxtaposition evident. The boys are a mess of sweat and flyaway hairs, water splashing from opened bottles onto their reddened faces. Angelica lets out a hint of a smile before looking away, getting into her own headspace with deep breaths and a few words muttered under confident breaths. Peggy joins their fight, running and hiding with three opened bottles of water around a corner.

Eliza, like her eldest sister, finds herself far too occupied to engage in their games. However instead of moving for a silent confidence boost, her eyes are trained on the last band member to exit the stage. The Rev Squad stylist has dressed each of its members in a suit of varying colors. There’s Lafayette, in a full red ensemble to match the unwavering flame of pride in his eyes. Herc is in bright blue, with a t-shirt underneath (presumably to stop the sweating their last round of outfits had brought him, which he’d gently and apologetically complained about just once). It matches the sweatband he prefers to wear around his head and throw out to the audience each night as their fanbase has grown. John, in his bowtie and gingham, fits the roll of the ‘nice boy’ perfectly. But it’s the simplest of the suits that has Eliza’s heart racing, practically jumping through her lace bodice.

She and the band’s resident bad boy (which she continually attempts to convince to her father is just an unfit label) hadn’t been seeing each other for long. Hell, she’d only met him when The Rev Squad first came to tour rehearsals up in California. The electricity had been too much to deny, and they’d hit it off as soon as she’d stepped into his rehearsal and he’d lost the words to his entire solo. The energy between them had lasted through Los Angeles, and Tulsa, and Tampa…and tonight, playing a sold out crowd in Central Park, those feelings were only heightened.

Eliza’s hands find the bare skin at the bend of his elbows, where he’d rolled up the sleeves of his suit. Her fingers grasp at the material, her lips diving forward to find his before he can take the steps to meet her. It’s a silly thing, this suit, and the way just two black buttons coax the fabric to hug his body in a way that makes her want to pull it off. He seems to want the same thing, the way one stage-sweat misted cheek presses against her collarbone, finding the best position to trail his lips where he knows it’ll drive her crazy. And then, he stops; a poorly aimed pool of water hits Alexander’s back, droplets of water coasting over his shoulders to mist the top of Eliza’s head.

The sudden mist is enough to jolt her awake, brushing at her face and casting a quizzical glance at her hands when they come up completely dry. The dream had been so lucid that even the space on either side of her hips is still fuzzy with the static energy of Alexander’s touch. Closing her eyes, Eliza wills herself to drift back into the world she had so unwillingly left, the tune of an unknown song stuck in an elevator music aesthetic in the background of her mind. She rolls over, a contented hum leaving her system carried on a golden glow of happiness. Her nose meets the feeling of bare flesh and an aroma of dark roast coffee. The lucid feelings of hands on her waist had been real, although Alexander’s arms are fully wrapped around her waist instead of just resting there. His eyes are still closed; they move rapidly underneath a thick blanket of eyelashes in a rare moment of peace. For a moment Eliza watches him-lets herself get caught in the way his relaxation fills the air around them. Her own eyes flutter between open and shut, a hazy side-effect of her ear against his breathing and his beating heart.

“Okay, I have to ask; what the hell were you dreaming about? I mean I know I’m a sleep-talker but you were sleep-singing…”

She shakes her head, the stray tendrils of her hair tumbling down her shoulder along with the lightness of her laughter.

“Can you roll the sleeves of your suit on Monday?” He moves himself away from her with a bemused expression so that he can catch her eyes, the drowsiness a welcome compliment to her upturned lips and reddened cheeks. Alexander chuckles. “What? It was a really good dream.”

She draws out her words with the low musings of a purr, running her fingers along his arm.

“I’m really glad you stayed.” It’s almost inaudible; she murmurs the words after she’s settled back into his chest, her stomach in combat between fluttering and flipping. The tender press of his lip against her forehead invites a wave of tranquility, transporting Eliza back to a time where she had been able to wake up like this every day. She catches the moment; drinking in the heat of his legs against her cold toes, his hurried heartbeat, and his laughter shaking the pillow of his chest. These are the feelings she had been reminiscing about. These are the things that turn her paintings gold and coat them in billowing air in gentle strokes of her paintbrush.

The temporary air serenity is shattered by the slam of her bedroom door against the wall, and for a moment Eliza has a flash of memory; their first time, her hot tears, his hands paving the way to a warm trail her mind turned into embers that stung her body. But this isn’t that time, this isn’t Christmas…that much is evident by Peggy’s yelp of surprise and the lurid click of the door being shut almost as soon as it had been opened.

“Let us know when you’re decent, please. This is important.” Eliza can practically hear Angelica’s eyes rolling in her head, her clear and decisive timbre allowing an impatience to drip from each syllable. She smooths down her camisole and pulls on a pair of shorts, shoulders lifted in a halfhearted shrug.

“Again; why did you give them a key?” Alexander stretches out over the bed when Eliza gets up, groaning before hauling himself up as well. He yawns, a break in the drowsy annoyance he had been displaying, and Eliza rewards him with a kiss and a run of her thumb along his jawline.

“We can come back to bed after, I’m sure it’s nothing. I mean, technically you don’t even have to get up at all.”

“Yes you do, Alex, you’ll want to hear this too.” His curiosity is piqued upon hearing his own sister’s voice, even though she wears more of a bitter tone he’d grown much too accustomed to dealing with. When he opens the door, when his eyes meet the sight of Peggy, Emily, and Angelica with identically crossed arms, he wishes John hadn’t introduced them at all. While Eliza throws herself into the mix he hangs back, intimidated by the wall of frantic conversation that erupts simultaneously, over-stimulating the flow of the room. Angelica’s shouting, Peggy waving her arms while speaking. Emily is shushing them all, spinning on her heel to give Eliza’s sisters an instructional glare as she holds a magazine out to his girlfriend.

He rushes forward as he feels the change in her demeanor; the way she grows silent and her lips thin into a line with a slight downward dip. Her posture sinks, her eyebrows furrowing as she clutches at the booklet with fervent intensity. And then, she drops it completely. Her voice is silent but her lips form one word; unbelievable.

“I mean I was going to come over here and yell at you about this but then I had to ask for your address, and by the time I got it and your sisters were done interrogating me my PR education kicked in and I realized that this is just a bunch of bullshit.” Emily shakes her head, her own copy of the tabloid rolled in her hands like a weapon. She bats it against her opened palm, a distraction. Peggy chimes in as she plops herself on the table, running a hand through her curls.

“I saw it on my way to Maria’s and I think I might’ve forgotten to pay the man at the pharmacy but I don’t even care, I called Ange as soon as I read it.”

The room stands in hesitant silence; the girls wait for Eliza to speak-to react, to say something more than the five syllable word that had never come out. She is immobile. Once she’s read the article the first time Eliza’s eyes fog over, the letters on the page blurring and dancing. They create an image where only the offensive words are sharp enough to read, stabbing in pin-pricks that coat her body in discomfort. She can just barely make out Angelica’s voice, muted by the ringing in her ears. Her heart has begun a sprinting pace, pulsing against her chest and pushing her down to the couch. She clutches the magazine with white knuckles until her muscles lose control; it flutters to the ground in a flurry of turning pages that breaks the silence with the cut of a knife.

Alex slips the magazine from Eliza’s hands, replacing its emotional weight with the winding of his fingers through hers. She draws in a sharp, staccato breath of air before holding it in for a moment. Her throat convulses with the fight of tears that threaten to spill from her eyes but she holds them there. Eliza concentrates on the warmth of Alex’s hand; the way her sisters have positioned themselves around her. She isn’t sure if it is for her own comfort or Alexander’s-he’s visibly tensed since opening the magazine-but it comforts her nonetheless.

…

“How are you feeling?” The question comes in the same tone it always has; genuine, yet slightly mundane. Lisa begins all of their sessions like this, after the meditation and the breathing and the necessary time it takes to prepare for the emotional turmoil she’s signed up for once a week. This week feels different; the meditation was longer. Lisa had let her linger in her own thoughts, the room filled with the trickling of her fountain and her soft and easy breaths. She knows she has to leave this state soon; to do the work she’s come here to do. She’s sure that Lisa has seen the article; has it marked somewhere in her legal pad in her broad, slanted handwriting. She’s sure that the topic is written in a lot of places at this point.

She’s spoken about this more than any trashy tabloid deserves.

There is no one word to describe the way her heart has been jumping around in her chest. A sentence cannot place the pin-pricks, or the headaches, or the nausea. She’s never felt less like herself than in this moment; even when she had been with James, even when she had been living in the hell he had crafted for her…although Eliza is still living in it-that much is certain.

“Do you want to talk about this first or lead up to it?” Eliza likes when Lisa gives her choices; she’s able to sit for a moment, to mull them over in her mind although she’s already made it up. She needs to talk about this article. She needs to thread the thick line that connects her past to this moment, weaves it intricately through her heart and into everything she’s been feeling since she read the words surrounding her name. What Eliza wants is to hide. This is too much. She’d felt so safe, so connected to the present that for once it had felt as though she had a normal chance at a relationship and a life outside of him.

He has excellent timing.

She taps her foot on the ground, a decision made by the way Lisa stares back at her. Her hazel eyes, set behind thin-rimmed cranberry glasses, search her for an answer in a mirror of a mind reader. Eliza doesn’t even have to speak her wishes out loud-that’s something she’s grown to love about Lisa. The middle-aged woman flips the magazine over, setting it backward on the table so that Eliza is looking at an ad for a double stacked hamburger instead of her own face.

“How are things with Alexander?” Good. She starts with the topic she feels will be easiest, the one that’s always elicited more positive responses than negative. And Eliza does smile, although it’s once of twitching hesitance instead of glowing peace. Her shoulders raise and collapse, and she picks at the hem of her dress.

“It’s weird not having him around. He’s very understanding, but I know that he felt a little put out by it all.”

“You’re not as happy as you have been in the past.” Eliza shrugs again, reaching forward to grab a package of putty from the coffee table. She stretches it as far as it will go, the sound of crackling air bubbles a familiar relief. When it has reached its limit, when it has been stretched too thin, she folds it back in on itself and repeats the process. Her body responds to the tense and release of the putty with an understanding taught by experience. Tense and release; the stress has stretched her so thin.

“We had a fight the other day.”

“About?”

“It was my fault, really. And I guess it wasn’t even really a fight so much as it was me overreacting. I didn’t see him all week-he wasn’t returning my calls, he was being flighty. And we all went to John’s for game night on Friday, and he was there, and it just set something off. I was just so upset that I hadn’t seen him so I invited him over after and we talked and he felt really bad about it all. He just got caught up in his work. And I mean, I was really overreacting,”

“-I’m going to stop you right there.” Lisa’s lips are scrunched to one corner of her mouth. She pauses in her writing, tapping her pen over her legal pad with unease. “Your language is very self-directed. During this story, you’ve said your name much more than Alexander’s. You’ve blamed yourself rather than seeing your own side of the story.”

“It was my fault, though. I can’t blame Alexander for working as much as he is. He’s trying to make a name for himself. He has a lot of goals, I can’t hold him back from that.”

“There it is. I want you to think about what you’ve just said for a minute, out of context, and we’ll come back to this.” She flips the page of her notepad, her pen jumping rapidly along the page before pausing completely. Lisa’s eyes move just above the rim of her glasses. “You and James fought a lot, too. Verbally?”

“Yeah.” Stretch and release. The putty pops in her hands. She rolls it between her fingers, soft and pliable. “We fought so much that I can’t even remember what our arguments were about. The…the bad nights always started with a verbal argument.”

There never seemed to be just one thing that set James off more than another; one night Eliza was too shy, the other she was a flirt, or a tease. Names were spit at her through darkened eyes and a posture that loomed over her own small frame. He had a way of making her feel dwarfed, as if her stature and her femininity and her disposition were a curse instead of a blessing. She had folded herself from the tension of the putty so many times that she had completely rearranged who she was to fit him. She hadn’t been Eliza back then, only a shell of herself. Then, she had been Eliza who belongs to James.

“I’m just wondering if maybe this language you’ve been using has been healthy…I want you to understand that this pattern of blaming yourself for every problem in your relationships is self-destructive behavior.”

“It’s not like that with Alex.” She sits forward in her seat, the putty still in her hands and her eyes narrowing subconsciously in a sudden feeling of offense. “He’s nothing like James. You told me I have to start letting go of people and being so clingy, didn’t you?”

“Eliza, let’s take a step back for a minute.”

“No, I want to talk about this.” Her heart is racing now, angered and tired and pulsing heavy against the cage of her chest. If this weren’t her heart, if this were a fist or a foot banging so forcefully on her, Eliza could imagine the stormy ocean of blues and blacks that would have already begun to form there.

“Ok, then. We’ll talk. About the article. You’ve read it?”

“Yeah. A few times.”

“And…”

“I don’t know.” Eliza is perched on the edge of her chair. Her posture is upright and dainty, although tainted with the draw of her shoulders to her cheeks and the tightness of her knuckles. The putty cracks in her hands. She doesn’t want to talk anymore.

She doesn’t speak. For a long time Eliza concentrates on the rhythm of her breathing and the trickling of the fountain because if she lets herself falter, even for just a moment, she’s sure that the inevitable collapse will happen. She longs for the safety of her bed, for Alexander’s sleepy smile and his need to order Chinese instead of pizza. The need for things to be different doesn’t solve anything, only fills her gut with unsettled breathing and the soft heat of anxiety, almost a familiar comfort at this point.

Eliza stares down at the photograph of the double cheeseburger, her foot tapping to the rhythm of an unknown, uneasy song. She’s been to the restaurant before-knows that their veggie burgers are nothing more than thin, overworked patties and wilted lettuce with too many unnecessary toppings. The photograph, however, makes her stomach turn in desire. There are perfectly crafted patties, thick and misted with beautiful dew-dropped juices. The bun is golden, almost glowing. She can almost hear the snap of the lettuce and onion just staring at the ad. But this is merely a façade, a photograph taken multiple times under the best light and with all of the circumstances ideal. There were things like photoshop, and professionals. This burger had everyone on its side. This burger had the advantage.

They’ve used the worst paparazzi photo of her on the magazine’s front cover. Her hair is a mess from the wind, mouth half opened in the midst of a word. Her name-her father’s name-is printed in bold letters next to James’s, just as it had always been. Just as it always will be.

She doesn’t want to feel the twinge of her heart upon seeing his picture again; she’d blocked him from all of her social media, completely shut him out. She avoided the newsstands like the plague, straying far away from any possibility of running into her past again. Now, she faces it head-on. The heat of Lisa’s eyes on her-watching her, waiting for her-burns heavy as s thick and consuming guilt crashes against her with a tsunami weight.

She doesn’t want to talk about it.

Lisa does.

“You’re stuck.” It’s nothing more than an observation, a smooth tone taking note of the way Eliza’s knuckles have relaxed to hold the magazine on her lap. It could be the way she rests it there, unopened. It could be the way her heart seems to have stopped altogether, although she’s sure Lisa isn’t able to tell, no matter how good she is. Maybe it’s the way her lips stick to one another, magnetized by the words she can barely manage to think let alone speak out loud.

“How does it feel to see his picture again?” Eliza feels like all she has done in these past few weeks is cry; for herself, for Alexander, for her future…the way her tears begin to trail down her cheek.

“It feels awful.” It’s the most substantial sentence she’s uttered all session, with downcast eyes and a wavering voice. She’s allowed time to think; to breathe, and to process the words running around in her mind. “I hate him for what he’s done to me. I hate that I can’t have a normal relationship with Alexander, who clearly deserves better than someone who can’t give him what he wants-what we both want.”

“And that’s a valid thing. It’s okay to feel things, Eliza.”

“I don’t want to. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m tired of waking up and being this shell of someone I don’t even know. I don’t want to fight with Alexander anymore. I don’t want him to feel like he’s not trying hard enough. I’m tired of being stuck.”

“There’s something else…all of this fighting, you keep coming back to it. Is there a possibility that you’re hinged on this one small fight for a reason?”

Eliza shakes her head. Her heart resumes its erratic pulsing. Her chest hurts. Her heart hurts. She knows what is about to be said before Lisa can find a way to craft the words eloquently, in a way that will be the least offensive to a clearly fragile Eliza. There is no need to skirt the subject at this point; it has been the trademark thought in her mind from the day she had seen the magazine-had seen her photo next to James’s.

“I’m wondering if this fighting is your subconscious way of punishing yourself, or trying to push Alexander away.”

She doesn’t move from her perch on the couch. The fountain continues to trickle. The putty is still in her hands. Her breath hitches in her throat.

“It’s perfectly normal…if you still have feelings for James, somewhere deep inside…this is a completely understandable thing, Eliza.”

“Can we talk about this next time?”

“You were with him for a substantial amount of time. It’s not human to be able to will that all away.”

Eliza pushes herself off of the couch, her shaking hands launching herself and sending her stumbling. She catches herself just before hitting the coffee table, standing before ripping her purse off of the coffee table. Somewhere, in an incoherent plane of existence, Lisa’s soothing tone is still moving along professionally crafted sentences, her pen a continuous attachment to her yellow legal pad. Even as Eliza knocks down the coat hook with her fumbling hands, even as she murmurs rapidly-paced apologies through her choking breath, Lisa continues to speak. She rises to meet Eliza at the door, watching her hastened pace careen down the hallway.

“Talk to Alexander, tell him how you feel. He can help you, Eliza.”

It takes her three tries to close her shaking hand around the doorknob.

In the silence of the musty hallway, Eliza sinks down to the carpet and holds her head, numb and heavy, in her hands.

In this public level of privacy, Eliza cries until the janitor comes to close the architect’s office next door.

A CHANGE OF HEART? Schuyler and Reynolds reunited

Elizabeth Schuyler is making headlines again-this time for her newly rekindled relationship with old flame and political hopeful James Reynolds!

“She’s always loved him,” our snitch spills “it was only a matter of time before she came to her senses.”

The 20 year old senator’s daughter has been seeing fellow Columbia classmate 23 year old Alexander Hamilton, a fact backed by both her Instagram and Twitter accounts, which boast plenty of photos of the ponytail clad future lawyer. But our source, close to both Reynolds and Schuyler, has falsified these statements.

“[Hamilton] is nothing more than a family friend. She has been seeing him to appease his dream of a green card.”

It seems that Phillip Schuyler’s dreams of supporting the nation’s immigrants have spread to his middle daughter. But we’ve busted this front, and we wish #Jeliza the best in their rekindled romance.

Want more? We’ve compiled a list of our favorite James and Eliza moments throughout the years!

How do you feel about this rekindled romance?

#hamliza #hamliza au #mine: swts #swts

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kevinprace · 7 years ago

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i saw hamilton!!! (8/18/17; la pantages theater)

hamilton: first national tour (8.18.17) - first off, there will be spoilers about the show! don't read if you don't want spoilers.

this is just basically an info dump for everything so i never forget it?? i’ll also prob be editing this a lot when i suddenly remember a detail and want to add it,,

when joshua (burr) first came out, there was like 1 minute of applause and it was amazing!! joshua did such a did job at portraying burr ?? like you could see his affection turn to hatred, one song at a time,, it was beautiful! also his room where it happens was eLECTRIFYING !!! he jumped like 10 feet when he jumped off the table it was amazing !!! his "world was wide enough" was beautiful and his vocals are so so so so amazing i could listen to him talk for days.

raven was my angelica and oh. my. gosh. she was flawless. (i daresare i liked her angelica more than OBC). her satisfied left me in tears and her riffs just ,,, were beautiful,,, she was an angel at the stage door (she complimented my shirts!!) and she did just an amazing job at brining angelica to life ??

soLEA (eliza) WAS AN ANGEL I LOVED HER!!! her helpless was just,, so,, smooth and gorgeous it made me feel like i was falling in love too ??? her burn made me cry, ,, she brought so much emotion (esp in the "you, you, yoOooU") and made me cry again ,,, - also the belt at the end of schuyler sisters had be feeling things,,, wow

ruben (philip/laurens) was such an adorable philip and wild laurens ?? he was able to dramatically change his character act 1/act 2 and thats like so talENTED ??? plus his voice is like an angel so i love him for that

the heartbeat in the background of stay alive reprise,,,,, got me,,

ok but the laurens interlude deserved a spot on that album ?? its so beautiful and yeah i know its super short bu t its,,,

RORY. OMALLEY. MADE. ME. LAUGH. SO HARD. his king george was so funny i just laughed and laughed ?? the lil shoulder raises he does is just adorable ?? and the facial expressions in "what comes next" we just iCONIC I LOVE HIM. not to mention hes a frickin angel and i love him because he took abt 100 pictures for me at the stagedoor and LA is so blessed to have him for a whole 5 months ?? he just reminds me of a lil annoying fairy who keeps providing commentary over the founding fathers’ lives it was fuNNY,,, also kgiii successive loses more clothes as the show goes on,, until like,, he has no crown in reynolds pamphlet its wild

bUT REYNOLD PAMPHLET WAS WILD,,,,, LIKE EVERYONE WAS THROWING THOSE PAPERS AROUND HAMILTON AND POOR PHILIP IM

also also it was so great how, they had everyone on the stage? like even if they weren’t on the scene they were watching the show?? (maybe a sign for “history has its eyes on you” because they were literally watching the events play out ?? idk im not good at analysis)

rory stamping his foot for “im so blue” and the stage lights turn blue was just ,,, iconic

also his british accent was 10/10

our jefferson/laf (jordan) wAS SO SASSY AND HILARIOUS AND EXTRA I LOVE,,,, HIS DANCE MOVES WERE 10/10 IM IN LOVE. he has the best hair, no question!! esp when he shook it around durin "you dont have the votes ?" and his "wHAAAAt" was super iconic im,,, not to mention he wore a keith haring sweater out after the show and i was like !!!

OUR MADISON/HERCULES (mathenee) HAD THE BEST DANCE MOVES 11/10 HE WAS GRINDIN ON BURR AND I ALSO NOTICED THAT DURING STORY OF TONIGHT,, HE STEAL LAURENS' BEER AND THAT WAS JUST,, SOFT,, ALSO THE MIC DROP/CATCH WAS SUPER ICONIC I LOVE HIM

hooo washington (isaiah) was flawless, his vocals in one last time blew me away and i just,,, couldnt breathe ??

charles lee : iM A GENERAL WHEEE EeEEE (that was so funny bc he just jAMMED in the middle of a song it was ,,)

your obedient servant was so passive aggressive and amazingly staged i loved the 10000 letters ham sent in response it was so Extra and i loved it

the cabinet battle funny moments: ok, so the “uh, france” was just hILARIOUS and ham mocking jefferson with the dancing was perfect ,,

and when ever ham said “talk less, smile more” to like mock burr, he woULD TO THE RIDICULOUS DANCE MOVE THAT BURR DID AND NOW ITS LIKE AN “INSIDE JOKE” BUT ITS SO OVER EXAGGERATED I LOVE

and the lighting was just so carefullly thought out and i just could watch the light shows for days because it was just,,, mesmerizing ??

the dancing was amazing, it makes up so so much of the show and i wouldnt trade it for anything ??

the bullet getting pulled away from ham by the other ensemble members and him like walking towards it and away just,,,, like amazing

ALSO THOSE TURNTABLES WERE SO STRATEGICALLY PLACED I LOVE ,,, like during hurricane,,, everyone was turning around hamilton?? like his entire life just ,, there

KARLI (peggy/maria) HER MARIA WAS SO GOOD,,, THE NOTE IN SAY NO TO THIS >>>>> it was amazing

YORKTOWN MADE ME WILD,,,, I COULDNT ,,, BREATHE ,,,, OH,,, MY,,, GOSH,,, THE DANCIN, THE SINGING,,, IT WAS,,, A AMAZING

satisfied was amazing the "rewind" was ,,,, just breathtaking,,, like everyone was doin it again,, but backwards, and a lot faster,,, it was,,,,

aND ELIZA AND PEGGY TOUCHED NOSES IT WAS ADORABLE I LOVE EM - "include women in the sequel" and "immigrants, we get the job done" got a solid minute of applause i love us

THE "MF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS" MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS GONNA JUMP UP AND JOIN EM THE EXCITED LIL HOPS OF JEFFERSON MADE ME LAUGH

WHEN THE STAIRCASE SWUNG OUT AT NON STOP I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT “ IS THIS MAN UP” BECAUSE OF ARNOLD ON THE STAIRCASE THINGY

aLSO MICHAEL (HAMILTON) TRIPPED WHEN HE WAS RUNNING UP THE STAIRS DURING “NON STOP” IT WAS FUNNY BECAUSE HE JUST KEPT RUNNING

also also jef flicked his coat tails so much it was iconic,,,

hamilton. aka michael. he was just ,,, oh my,,, i have no words ??? like,,, his my shot was so different than lin's but it was just like so much better ?? he aCTUALLY CRIED REAL TEARS DURING PHILIPS DEATH AND IT MADE THE MOMENT SO MUCH SADDER ?? his hurrican e was like, heart wrenching you could fEEL the emotion

FARMER REFUTED WAS HILARIOUS LIKE AARON WAS HAULIN THIS LIL HAM OUT OF THE WAY OF FIGHTING SEABURY IT WAS FUNNY??? and seabury was like tryin to get in front of him to talk ?? (it was like that sharpay vs tiara gold from hms 3 they were flGHTING to be in front for the spotlight,, wild)

right hand man ?? you could like feel the canons i was liVing - the cry from eliza was heartbreaking,, you could pinpoint the moment her heart ripped in half,,,

and the same bench from that would be enough was the same one as burn ??? wow the pain,,,

the adams administration where it bleeps out ham's words,,, THE LIGHTS WENT ALL FLASHIN RED AND IT WAS SO FUNNY

the orphanage, i was sobbin

bUT HER GASP At THE END MADE M E QUESTION LIFE

its a shame i didnt get to meet solea or michael at the stagedoor, but everyone else was incredibly kind i dont know how these people are human,, we dont deserve them

all in all, it was so worth the 540 days of waiting im so incredibly blessed to see his production and this tour cast deserves their own album i love them so so much and i can’t wait to see what they do in the future

also i got a signed playbill/poster and they are now my treasured babies i will love them forever

hamilton is like,, so well thought out,,, its not just random? every light, every person on that stage has a purpose and i wish i could see it over and over to understand all the deep meanings but i can’t (bc im poor and barely snagged these tix) but i can wish lol

tl;dr: in other words, hamilton is an amazing show. (sure the fandom is kinda toxic) but it lowkey deserves its hype.

10/10 would watch again

#hamilton #hamilton tour #la pantages #carter's musicals #personal #musicals #broadway #alexander hamilton

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ridiculousn3sswrites · 7 years ago

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Jealous

*Daveed Diggs x Reader

*Summary: Daveed goes to see Reader in Hamilton LA and gets a bit jealous when he sees how close she is to LA’s Lafayette

*Warnings: None, I think

*A/N: I saw Hamilton in LA and absolutely loved it. Low-key when Jordan (Lafayette/Jefferson) came onstage I was like ‘oh, he cute’ and immediately felt like I was cheating on Daveed so yeah, that’s where this came from. BTW I absolutely love Emmy as Angelica, she’s amazing

You peeked out from behind the curtains, looking out at the crowd that was slowly filling the seats. Even though you’d been doing this for ages, going from an ensemble member in the OBC to Peggy/Maria in the touring company, you still loved seeing the audience waiting in excitement for the show to start. “C’mon, (y/n), you do this before every show,” someone teased, walking up behind you. You turned, seeing Emmy, completely ready to take stage.

“Oh hush, I’m still trying to get over the fact that I get to do this for a living,” you laughed, taking one last look at the crowd before walking back with Emmy.

“You and me both,” Emmy said, smiling. “C’mon, Miss Maria Reynolds.”

“Hold up, it’s act one, I’m still Peggy,” you replied as you followed her. Everyone in the cast was joking around backstage, a few people warming up, and a couple of stagehands running around to get the last things in place before the show started. You were talking to Emmy and a couple of others from the show when someone walked up next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You looked up to see Jordan practically towering over you, a goofy smile on his face. You’d become close friends with the touring company’s Lafayette since practically the moment you were an official part of the cast. It led to a lot of jokes about you having a thing for the Lafayettes, since everyone knew how close you were with Daveed too.

“And what’re we talking about?” Jordan asked, looking at everyone.

“Getting dinner after the show,” Emmy told him.

“Oo, where’re we going?”

“Hold up, who invited you?” You laughed. Jordan made a hurt face and you just stuck your tongue out at him.

“(Y/n)’s the one that grew up here, she should know the spots,” Solea interrupted. “Right, (y/n)?”

“Excuse me, I grew up on the food trucks and little spots. I don’t know if y’all are into it,” you told the group. You were immediately met by blank stares, knowing that your point was invalid. “Alright, I’ll try to find a place.”

“Is (y/n) treating us to dinner?” Rory asked as he walked past.

“Why is everyone inviting themselves to dinner?” Emmy asked.

“Because you guys always go to the best places,” Rory told her over his shoulder, making Emmy laugh.

“Okay, well it looks like we’re also adding Rory,” Solea said.

“Add me too,” Michael told you as he walked by. “Places in five.”

“And one more, because a friend’s coming to the show tonight,” Emmy said.

“Wait, who?” you asked. “Do I know them?”

“Oh yeah, you definitely know him,” Emmy replied with a knowing smile before leaving to go talk to other people.

“What was that all about?” Jordan asked.

“No idea, but somehow you started it,” you teased, finally slipping out from under his arm.

“How’d I do that?” he whined.

“You invited yourself to dinner,” you laughed, going to take your place as a stagehand called places.

The show passed by flawlessly as it normally did, the cast met by thunderous applause as everyone took their bows. You were then handed a mic to give the final speech thing before the audience left, and were met by more applause as you took center stage. You thanked everyone for coming out, and then started your spiel on Broadway Cares. “Yeah, so we’re up against all of the other Broadway shows to see who can donate more. We’re going against a Wicked Witch, a lion that says he’s a king, and some whiny kid with a broken arm. Anyways, there’s gonna be a few cast members out there collecting donations, so let’s show them how much the Hamilton family cares!”

After a few more jokes, your speech was over and everyone left the stage and started changing into their street clothes, except for the few cast members that were chosen to collect donations for the night. As soon as you were in your street clothes, Emmy caught up with you and Jordan backstage. As usual, you and Jordan were joking around, and you almost didn’t notice just who was following Emmy. “Holy shit, is that Daveed Diggs I see?” You asked with a laugh, immediately running up to hug him. “I thought you were busy with like everything!”

“Hey, (y/n),” Daveed laughed as he hugged you. “You know I had to see my favorite ensemble member in her leading role.”

“Wow, Diggs, I’m literally right here,” Emmy said, faking offense.

“It’s alright, Emmy, I turned invisible too,” Jordan joked. You immediately removed yourself from Daveed’s arms (even though you really didn’t want to), bounding back to Jordan’s side.

“Right, right, I forgot!” You said, placing a hand on Jordan’s shoulder. You missed the questioning look Daveed shot to Emmy, and her shrug in response. “Daveed, this is Jordan Donica, he’s our Lafayette here. Jordan, this is Daveed Diggs.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jordan said, reaching out to shake Daveed’s hand.

“Nice to meet you too,” Daveed said, his tone cold. Jordan looked down at you, slightly confused, but immediately went back to his normal self.

“So, dinner?” Jordan asked, his hand on your shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll tell the rest where we’re going,” you told him, smiling brightly. You walked off then, Jordan immediately following you. As soon as you were out of earshot, Daveed turned to Emmy.

“What was that?” he practically demanded.

“What?” Emmy asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. Daveed didn’t answer, instead giving her an ‘are you kidding me?’ look. “Alright, alright, I’ll spill. Let’s just say that Jordan and (y/n) are pretty close. Almost as close as you and her were back in New York. Make of that what you will.”

“Emmy, can’t you just be upfront with me? Are they dating or not?” Daveed asked, groaning slightly in annoyance.

“I’m just saying that I’ve been trying to get you two together since New York, but you didn’t want to take me up on that when I had Lin, Pippa, Jazzy, and Renée helping me out. Maybe she has a thing for Lafayettes,” Emmy told him, not answering his question at all, choosing just to blur the lines further. Before Daveed could say anything else, you and Jordan came back, laughing about something.

“Alright, the rest are going to meet us at the restaurant, and Jordan and I are carpooling. You guys want me to just send you the address?” You asked, Jordan’s arm around your shoulders. You ignored Daveed’s sudden tenseness, still confused as to why he’d be acting like this. This was the first time you’d seen him since the both of you had gotten crazy busy, and you definitely were confused about his attitude today.

“Yeah, we’ll meet you there,” Emmy said, placing a hand on Daveed’s arm before he could say anything. “I gotta talk to Diggs about something anyways.”

“Alright then,” Jordan said, just as confused as you were. “I guess we’ll see you guys there?”

“Of course,” Emmy said, smiling as she led Daveed away.

“What was that all about?” Jordan asked, turning to you.

“Hell if I know,” you said, shrugging. “Let’s get going.”

Dinner was at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place not too far from the theatre, and by the time you and Jordan got there, everyone else was already seated. Daveed seemed at ease with the cast, and it made you smile to see one of your best friends getting along with your show family so easily. “There’s our (y/n),” Michael called out the second he spotted you.

“And what am I?” Jordan asked with a fake pout, taking the seat beside Michael. That left you to sit between Jordan and Daveed.

“Annoying,” Solea deadpanned, making the table laugh.

“I… am wounded… I’ve never been this insulted in my life,” Jordan said dramatically. You placed a hand on Jordan’s arm, shooting him an exaggerated look of pity.

“Aw, poor baby, we bully you so much,” you teased him before turning your attention to Daveed. “Diggs, you’ve been doing a crap ton of stuff. Tell us about that exciting stuff.”

“Nope, that part of the night already passed, (y/n),” Michael told you, taking a drink. “Diggs was telling us all about that just before you got here.”

“Really?” You asked Daveed, slightly hurt. Sure, you could always catch up with him afterwards, but you had really been looking forward to actually getting to talk to Daveed since you knew he was here.

“Yeah, sorry, (y/n),” Daveed said with a shrug. “Your guys’ show tonight was awesome. I gotta say, it’s different watching it than it is to be in it.”

“Yeah, you can really understand how so many people get obsessed,” Jordan said. “I must’ve seen the show like four times before I was actually in it.”

“Wow, looks like we got a fanboy in the cast,” Rory teased.

“Uhm, yeah, I did kinda freak when I met you, Emmy, and (y/n),” Jordan laughed, not even trying to defend himself.

“Oh yeah, I definitely remember that,” you laughed. “Jordan wouldn’t even talk to me for a couple weeks because he was starstruck.” The rest of the cast immediately started clowning on him, but he just held his hands up in surrender, accepting it.

The rest of dinner was spent joking around with the cast, and despite the fact that Daveed spent most of the night ignoring you (which frustrated you to no end), you had a good time. As soon as dinner ended, everyone walked out of the restaurant, still joking around. “You want a ride home?” Jordan asked as you pulled on your jacket.

“Nah, I kinda want to catch up with Diggs, you feel?” you told him.

“Alright, see you at the theatre tomorrow,” Jordan told you, giving you a brief hug before heading out to his car. You watched as Emmy and Daveed finished talking before heading their separate ways, and you immediately started jogging towards Daveed.

“Hey, D!” You called to him. He looked slightly surprised but stopped anyways. “We didn’t even get a chance to catch up tonight.”

“Yeah, I guess we didn’t,” he replied coolly. The second he did that, something snapped inside you.

“You know what, give me your keys,” you told him, leaving no room for objection. He tossed the keys over to you, confusion evident.

“Where are we going?” Daveed asked.

“My place. We really gotta talk,” you told him as you got into his car. He got in with no further questions, letting you silently stew. You got to your building in record time, the way up to your apartment silent. As soon as the both of you got into the apartment and you closed the door, you turned to Daveed. “What the hell was all that about?” you demanded.

“This is a nice place,” Daveed said, looking around. “Kinda makes me miss your place in New York though.”

“Damn it, D, answer the question,” you told him, the slight anger you had already falling away. “You barely spoke to me when we were backstage and you ignored me all through dinner.”

“Really? Because it seemed like you’d rather talk to Jordan tonight,” Daveed practically spat.

“Wait, hold up, what the hell does Jordan have to do with this?”

“He has everything to do with this!” Daveed said, raising his voice. “You think I had fun watching the two of you flirt all night when all I wanted to do was finally see you after months of just texting?

“Hold up, you thought I was flirting with him? He’s my friend! I act no different with him than I did with you back in New York,” you argued.

“And I was flirting with you that entire time!” Daveed yelled. You just froze as Daveed stood there, running a hand over his face and nearly knocking off his glasses in the process. You’d given up on thinking anything like that could’ve happened with Daveed in New York, no matter what the girls told you. You always thought he was just like that with friends. “You know what, this is stupid. I should-”

“Daveed, wait,” you cut him off, finally processing what was going on. “You really didn’t get that I’ve liked you since I first joined the cast?”

“I mean, Emmy may have hinted,” Daveed trailed off, a look of understanding washing over his face. “That’s why she was always trying to set us up!”

“And I thought she was only doing that to screw with me!” You said, excited at what this could possibly mean. “So you’re saying?”

“I guess I am,” Daveed said, stepping towards you. He practically had you pinned between his body and your door, and his face was slowly nearing yours. You could feel his warm breath fanning over your face, and your heart was pounding, but in a good way. You saw his gaze drop down to your lips for a moment before going back to meet yours. “Can I?”

“Yeah, I think it’s been long enough,” you said, no louder than a whisper. Immediately he brought his lips to yours. His kiss was somewhat hesitant, as if he couldn’t believe this was really happening. You wrapped your arms around his neck, a hand tangling in his curls. He broke the kiss too soon for your liking, and your eyes fluttered open. You weren’t even aware that you’d closed them.

“That was,” Daveed trailed off, a goofy smile on his face.

“Yeah,” you agreed, giggling slightly.

“We could’ve been doing that since-”

“2015, yeah,” you said. “You know, we have a lot of missed time to make up for.”

“Yeah, we really do,” Daveed said, kissing you again. You smiled into the kiss, knowing that something good really had come from Emmy’s little surprise.

#daveed diggs x reader #daveed x reader #hamcast imagine

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thesestrangerthings · 7 years ago

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THEATRE REVIEW: HAMILTON in Chicago; 6/24/17 matinee

CAST:

Alexander Hamilton: Miguel Cervantes

Eliza Hamilton: Ari Afsar

Aaron Burr: Daniel Breaker

Angelica Schuyler: Karen Olivo

George Washington: Jonathan Kirkland

Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson: Chris De’Sean Lee

Hercules Mulligan/James Madison: Wallace Smith

John Laurens/Philip Hamilton: Malik Shabazz Kitchen (u/s)

Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds: Candace Quarrels (u/s)

King George III: Alexander Gemignani

Philip Schuyler/James Reynolds/Doctor: Jean Godsend Floradin (u/s)

Samuel Seabury: Jose Amor

Charles Lee: John Michael Fiumara

George Eacker: Remmie Bourgeois

Ensemble: Jose Amor, Amber Ardolino, Remmie Bourgeois, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, John Michael Fiumara, Jean Godsend Floradin, Holly James, Dashi Mitchell, Justice Moore, Samantha Pollino, and Gabriella Sorrentino (swing).

HOW THE HECK I GOT HAMILTON TICKETS:

I’m only including this because the process of getting tickets was just as insane as seeing the show itself. This was the first time I’ve gotten to see 2 shows in under 2 weeks with the exception of when I was in NYC. I only had 3 nights in Chicago (a half day followed by two full days) and before I got there I didn’t even consider seeing Hamilton a possibility. I was there with my two sisters, my brother in law, and my parents, and had joked with my dad about getting tickets before but he had always shot it down. The first night we were in Chicago (Thursday) after driving all the way up from New Orleans, all of us except for my mom walked down to the PrivateBank Theatre to look at the marquee. I think my dad felt bad for my siblings and I because we had wanted to do a swamp tour in New Orleans but got rained out by tropical storm Cindy, so he said that one of us should go into the box office and ask about their policy for the standby line. The lady in the box office said that any remaining tickets would be sold for $180 at 10 a.m. on the day of the performance. When we walked back to our hotel, my dad said that he would be willing to pay for my siblings and I to see the show if we could get tickets the next morning at a reasonable price (no more than $180 each). We agreed that we would be willing to sit separated from one another since the probability of there being 4 seats together the day of the show was basically 0.

So my dad walks down to the theatre at 7:30 on Friday morning to be the first in line and waits outside until the box office opens at 10:00. But when the box office actually opens, the guy there says that the remaining tickets will be sold at $350-$500 for the next hour and an unknown number of whatever ones are left will be sold for $180 at 11:00. So we wait there for ANOTHER hour only for the guy to tell us that “unfortunately” only one ticket will be sold at $180. We had already agreed that all of us or none of us would see the show, so the guy behind us in line got the $180 ticket.

So we’re all extremely disappointed as we walk back to the hotel. All 6 of us enter the lottery since it’s digital but we know that we shouldn’t spend any more time of our one weekend in Chicago trying to get tickets that we might not even be able to get (we live 11 hours from Chicago so I won’t be going back any time soon). We’re all still hoping that we’ll magically be able to get tickets somehow though, so my older sister gets on Ticketmaster for the millionth time and looks at availability for the Saturday matinee. And by some miracle, there are 4 resale seats all together for $177 each and we manage to snag them. They were limited view (at the edge of the dress circle right next to the boxes), but they were still better seats than I could ever hope to get for Hamilton. They were as close to the stage as the fourth or fifth row of the orchestra and the only times I could see was when actors were on the right balcony. Not to mention that I had multiple speakers right next to me. :)

REVIEW:

I’m not sure what to include about the show itself because literally every second of it was astounding. I was in shock the entire time that I was even getting to see it in person (I’m still in shock) and everything was perfect. My heart was pounding so fast when the lights went down at the start of the show and King George gave the speech about keeping your phones off.

Miguel Cervantes was AMAZING as Hamilton. He was an excellent rapper and singer and his Hamilton was so savage. He nailed all of the comical moments and made him his own (he squealed higher than I thought a man physically could on “I was chosen for the Constitutional CONVEEEENTION”) and even added in some funny moments that aren’t prominent in the cast album (“Let’s gooooo”). He was charming (”Helpless”), tender (”Dear Theodosia” and “Best of Wives and Best of Women”), utterly savage/salty (he mocks Burr on the line “You get nothing if you wait for it, wait for it”), fierce (”Hurricane”), and heartbreaking (”Stay Alive Reprise,” “It’s Quiet Uptown,” and “The World was Wide Enough”) at all the right moments. If I had to choose a favorite cast member it would probably be him.

Karen Olivo’s “Satisfied” was so much more emotional than I expected it to be. She sang the final “May you always be satisfied” very quietly instead of with her usual riffs (whether she was under the weather or not I don’t know), but that made it even more heartbreaking. There were a couple of ushers trash talking her outside the theatre after the show and I kind of wanted to punch them.

I had heard some negative reviews about Ariana Afsar as Eliza when the show opened back in the fall, but she must have improved since then because she was quite stunning as Eliza and just as vocally strong as the rest of the cast (She had some amazing riffs during “Helpless” and gave an amazing “Burn” as well).

Jonathan Kirkland as George Washington and Daniel Breaker as Aaron Burr were everything that I wanted them to be as their respective characters. It’s obviously hard to beat Chris Jackson and Leslie Odom Jr. but neither of these men had a single moment in the show that left me underwhelmed. “One Last Time,” “Wait for It” and “The Room Where it Happens” were the showstopping, belty masterpieces that I wanted them to be.

Another cast member who stood out a lot was Chris Lee as Thomas Jefferson. On the cast album I much prefer Hamilton to Jefferson, but Lee was so charismatic and energetic as Jefferson that I couldn’t dislike him. The Cabinet Battles were so much fun because Cervantes and Lee were both so savage towards each other. Lee definitely gave an amazing, standout performance.

It was a ton of fun to see Wallace Smith as Mulligan and Madison because I saw him as Enjolras in Les Mis on Broadway two years ago. He had a voice of gold as Enjolras but was suited just as well for Mulligan/Madison even though the two roles are very different. He has a very distinguishable accent in Hamilton which allows him to stand out in the part. Candace Quarrels had a very rich voice as Maria Reynolds and Malik Shabazz Kitchen pulled off the 9 year old kid thing very well. Alex Gemignani was hilarious as King George and I loved that he made a point to emphasize the “da da da da die.” His “Awesome, Wow” was also perfect.

There’s an infinite amount of things I could say about everyone in this cast because there really wasn’t a moment in the show that was anything less than awesome.

I definitely thought the cast deserved standing ovations for several numbers but sadly the curtain call was the only time they got one (Kirkland riffed the crap out of “One Last Time” and got an average applause for it and I’m still salty). The only time the audience clapped during a number was during “Yorktown” but my siblings and I were cheering and clapping so loudly after every song. I couldn’t stop grinning at parts when the whole ensemble came in and it got really loud like “Alexander Hamilton,” “My Shot,” “Yorktown,” “Non Stop,” and “The Room Where it Happens.” I was worried that “Non Stop” would be lackluster in person but it was just as epic as on the cast album and I was so happy about it. :) The choreography in the entire show was absolutely mind boggling despite the fact that I’ve seen a ton of clips of it. The ensemble alone deserves unending praise and awards. We got to meet John Michael Fiamura (Charles Lee) at the stage door and he was very nice. Sadly no one else came out since it was a two show day.

But yeah, there’s basically an infinite amount of good things I could say about this show and this cast. I’m so grateful that I didn’t have to sell my soul to the devil or sell a kidney to afford to see it. If you get the chance to go, definitely do it!

#theatre review #hamilton chicago #hamilton #miguel cervantes #ari afsar #daniel breaker #chris de'sean lee #Wallace Smith #Karen Olivo

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alexanderhxmiltrash · 8 years ago

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My long-winded and long-overdue Hamilton Chicago review

Here's the thing, I could go on for hours about why I love Hamilton and the impact I think it's going to have, but that's a post for another time (that will come, because I have a lot of emotions about this show). For the time being I want to offer my thoughts on the Chicago cast compared to both the original Broadway cast (OBC) and the understudies I had the privilege to see. (A word on some of my comparisons: I've seen Hamilton a few times, and at least three different actors in each role, so that's the basis of my Chicago review.)

Because of my ridiculous obsession with this show, I found myself in Chicago last week to see my favorite show yet again. I had the chance to see the show back in October doing opening weekend, and I was astounded to see how far this cast has come in five months. Don't get me wrong, they were phenomenal to begin with, but this most recent performance blew me away (pun intended).

(If you want the short and sweet version of my comments, check out the tl;dr before the cut.)

In the room where it happens

Seeing the Chicago cast twice was an interesting experience, because with the exception of the parts of Burr and Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, the cast was the same. The one constant, however, was the pure fire and energy this cast brought to the stage. They had a sort of bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed feeling that made the excitement in their eyes infectious.

Looking at the Playbill, you can see the cast is overwhelmingly younger than their Broadway counterparts. For many of them, this is their first gig, so rather than having credits of former shows and national tours, they had thank you's to parents, teachers, and God, but that doesn't mean they looked inexperienced. On the contrary, they were an unbelievably talented bunch, but they took on the show with a sense of awe and appreciation for the chance to be a part of the phenomenon.

The New York show has an energy to be because it's been rehearsed for almost two years now and works like a well-oiled machine; Chicago has the drive of a group of people who are diving in head first on an adventure into the unknown together, and it's that ethos that gives you the feeling that you're seeing the American Revolution unfold before your eyes.

The rest of my review is under the cut, but here’s the TL;DR:

Miguel Cervantes was my favorite Hamilton yet. Hurricane. Was. Incredible.

Wayne Brady somehow managed to combine the best parts of a Tony award winner (Leslie Odom Jr) and my favorite Burr (Sydney Harcourt) for a Burr that was calculated, emotional,

Joshua Henry was a new take on Burr that was very entertaining.

Jonathan Kirkland as Washington was good, but not great and only seemed lackluster because the rest of the cast was so phenomenal.

Ari Afsar gets the "Most Improved" award because her performance in October left much to be desired, but in March she was a fiery woman and a wife who did not take any of Alexander's crap - basically exactly how I imagine Eliza Hamilton.

Alexander Gemignani is obviously a Broadway vet with plenty of experience. He made King George his own in such a hilarious and captivating way.

Karen Olivo is an actual goddess and gift to this world who slayed the hell out of Angelica.

Samantha Ware was a decent Peggy, but her Maria was insane. Everything about "Say No To This" felt like I was truly watching an affair unfold.

Amber Ardolino gave quite possibly the most provocative and sexy portrayal of Maria Reynolds I've seen.

Jose Ramos is such an adorable human being and his Laurens/Philip had such admiration and respect for Hamilton. It was beautiful.

Wallace Smith's Mulligan/Madison deviated the most from the OBC simply because he is so different from original Mulligan/Madison Oak Onaodowan, but in the most wonderful way. If Javier Munoz is the "sexy Hamilton", Wallace is the sexy Mulligan.

CHRIS FREAKING LEE. I have no words. With the right actor, Lafayette/Jefferson can really steal the show, and Chris is indeed one of those actors.

(If you’re looking on my review on a specific actor, all names are bolded for scan-ability.)

What's your name, man?

Miguel Cervantes was by far the best man they could have cast to play the titular role of Alexander Hamilton. In New York, Lin Manuel Miranda was obviously a fantastic lead because he wrote the show, and his successor Javier Munoz, often called the "sexy Hamilton," brought a certain charisma and charm to the role, but Miguel seemed to take the best parts of both of them and masterfully mesh them with his own expertise.

When we first meet Hamilton, he's seeing the world like an overly optimistic 19-year-old, and that's exactly what Miguel portrays from the second he steps on stage. What's interesting is how he grows as a character (and in age) throughout the show. Lin and Javi seemed older and almost jaded by the second act, but Miguel kept up the appearance of optimism while having someone else below the surface that you saw more when he interacted with those closest to him, his wife and Washington. In short, he was a politician.

Interestingly enough Joshua Henry as Aaron Burr had a similar quality of hiding his true feelings when interacting with Hamilton. In comparison, Leslie Odom Jr.'s Burr was very reserved, and you could almost see him seething with quiet resentment, so it was especially chilling when he challenged Hamilton to a duel. On the other hand, in New York you also have Sydney Harcourt as Burr who was a very reactive character; you knew what Burr thinking by how he reacted to his surroundings, so it was the moments he didn't react that made you realize there was more than meets the eye.

Joshua Henry found a way to mix the reactive Burr with the Burr who had hatred against Hamilton festering inside. This created a very interesting dynamic between the two because you knew they were enemies by the end of the show, but they were pretending to be friends for the sake of appearances.

The March performance was truly a treat because Burr was played by none other that Wayne Brady. I grew up watching Who's Line Is It Anyway?, so I almost couldn't believe it when I found out he would be on stage the same time we were seeing the show. I knew he was a talented comedian, but how would he handle Burr, a character who is arguably one of the most dramatic of the show? The answer, of course, is masterfully.

My favorite Burr will probably always be Sydney Harcourt because of his reactiveness; some scenes didn't make sense to me or have as much weight when Leslie Odom Jr. performed them because his Burr was such an internal character, but I understood them with Sydney. Wayne Brady perfected that reactive nature while still having the captivating power I saw in Leslie. His only shortcoming was his dance ability, but I won't hold that against him too much. The highlight of his performance, on the other hand, was most definitely "Dear Theodosia"; this might be the first cast I've seen where both actors for Burr and Hamilton have children in real life, and the emotion behind that song was palpable.

I'll take a moment to diverge from glowing reviews to offer my minimal critique of the show: Jonathan Kirkland as Washington. I only say he wasn't my favorite because there honestly wasn't anything that stood out to me, and if I'm having trouble remembering the performance, there probably wasn't much to recall.

The one positive Jonathan had over other Washington's was he seemed to be a solid head taller than all of the "revolutionary set" and it made it feel like I really was watching a more accurate representation of the Revolution, at least in Act I. Hamilton and Co. were basically a bunch of crazy twentysomethings running around and trying to start a new country while Washington, the only real adult tried to hold it all together. That is exactly the feeling I got seeing Jonathan Kirkland looming over the rest of the cast.

The most improved performance from October to May has to be Ari Afsar as Eliza. Here's what I had to say about her in October:

"Ari's Eliza is adorable the second she steps on stage. She looks around her at a city full of change and excitement like a kid on Christmas, which is fine for the beginning stages of Eliza. My problem is that she never looses that, so you don't get a lot of development from one of the most interesting characters in the show. During Eliza's heartbreaking second act, I didn't feel for her like I did with any of the New York Eliza's. She's talented, but I think she's a little inexperienced in terms of Broadway."

I can't say enough how much more I enjoyed her performance in March. I still stand by the fact that Eliza is the most interesting character in the show, and Ari might be the most interesting Eliza I've seen to date. She wasn't this demure, sweet wife who stood on the sidelines. No, this was a woman who tried the do what was best for her husband and he resisted her at every turn.

She still had that child-like wonder in "Schuyler Sisters," and seeing her fall in love in "Helpless," was adorable, but we start to see a different woman around "That Would Be Enough." She's not just singing a sweet ballad to her husband about their future child, she's pleading with him to understand that she wants him more than his ambitions, which can be seen again in "Non-Stop" when Washington asks Hamilton to be in his cabinet; Eliza does not want him to go, and almost seems like she's lecturing him until he throws her own "Look around, look around...." line back at her. She seems to realize it's not worth trying to convince him at the end of "Take A Break." After Hamilton says he has to go, Angelica looks as if she's going to continue to persuade him, and Eliza just stops her and shakes her head.

It's these small moments that give both "Burn" and Philip's death so much more weight. All in all, she might have given one of my favorite Eliza performances, though not necessarily my favorite vocals. (Not to say she was bad, she was fantastic, just not my favorite.)

What comes next?

The actor who probably took the most liberties with their interpretation of the character was Alexander Gemignani as King George III. The defining characteristic of OBC King George Jonathan Groff was the way he portrayed emotions with nothing more than his facial expressions and tone. He hardly moved while on stage, and Rory O'Malley followed suit, but Alexander was all over the place both in voice and movement. Vocally, he didn't copy his predecessors, choosing instead to even speak some lines rather than sing them, and he pranced around the stage far more than Groff or Rory. All of this created a character who was terrifying due to his unpredictability. "I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love" felt less like a funny like in the song and much more like the promise of a power-hungry ruler.

I've thought long and hard about Jose Ramos's performance as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton and what to say in comparison to the OBC's Anthony Ramos (other than the fact that they have the same last name). I've found Jose's performance is the hardest to critique because he is so similar to Anthony in many ways yet also so different. I think overall, Jose's Laurens/Philip had a bit more innocence to them; there was a spirit of optimism to him where I saw more of a bold and flippant persona from Anthony.

I think what throws me off most is the difference in interactions of Laurens/Philip with Hamilton from Jose to Anthony. There is speculation that Laurens & Hamilton's relationship might have been more than platonic, but even if it wasn't, their bond was stronger than most. Anthony's Laurens and Lin's Hamilton (and even, really, Javi's) seemed to play this up. You got the idea that even if they were just friends, they definitely had no boundaries between them.

With Jose & Miguel, they were still obviously very close, but Jose's Laurens held such a deep admiration and respect for Hamilton. I could almost imagine him standing to the side while Hamilton awed a crowd with his words saying, "Wow, I'm so amazed by him. I'm so proud of him." If we're to believe that Hamilton and Laurens were indeed intimate, this would be the Laurens that is pining after his best friend who's busy falling in love with two girls.

Compel him to include women in the sequel

If you're familiar with the show, you'll know there's a lot of double casting from the first act to the second. As previously mentioned, Hamilton's bff also plays his son and two of his Revolutionary bros become Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, but the most interesting change in my opinion is Ham's sister-in-law who is then his mistress.

All of the doubles tend to be pretty drastic changes, but Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds requires an actress go from sweet youngest sibling (who also sounds like a child) to sexy seductress who can belt like nobody's business. Samantha Ware handles this change beautifully. Peggy in "The Schuyler Sisters" is this adorable girl who's happy to be following her sisters around, but when Maria enters, it's hard to believe they're played by the same actress. In "Say No To This," Hamilton details his affair with Maria Reynolds and how he was blackmailed by Maria's husband. It's a sultry song from the sound to the staging, but it was always a song that fell a little flat to me. That changed in Chicago.

Lin and Javi's Hamiltons paired with Jasmine Cephas Jones (OBC Pegga/Maria) were good, and you could definitely tell Hamilton was doing something he wasn't supposed to, but I ended up frustrated with him for going through with it. With Miguel and Samantha, I felt like I was watching something I wasn't supposed to, but at the same time, I couldn't look away. "Say No To This" is a sexy song, and this was the first time I felt like there was some serious desire from either of them.

Chicago understudy Amber Ardolino took the sexiness of Samantha's performance and turned it up even more (which I didn't even think was possible). This leads me to believe Miguel as Hamilton might be the key to "Say No To This," but obviously the scene wouldn't be possible without the girls. At the beginning of the scene, Maria and Hamilton have an almost kiss, and the sexual tension between Amber and Miguel was heavy in the air. By the time they do kiss, it was a full on make out at center stage, and it was full steam ahead from there on out. Seriously, I felt like I should avert my eyes even though everyone on stage was fully clothed. Bravo. That's acting right there.

Quite possibly the biggest star in the show, excluding the limited engagement of Wayne Brady, is Karen Olivo, who plays the eldest Schuyler sister, Angelica. Karen is a Tony award winner who originated a role in Lin Manuel Miranda's first musical, In The Heights. A couple of years ago, she decided to retire to the Midwest and take a break from acting, but she returned to the stage for Hamilton, and boy, am I glad she did. You want to talk about some freaking character development? I could go on for days about Karen's portrayal of Angelica. She had some serious shoes to fill, too: Renee Elise Goldsberry won a Tony for her Angelica, but I might be willing to say Karen did it better. I'll try to sum up her performance without going on too long.

Let's start with "The Schuyler Sisters." Just as Eliza steps out amazed by New York, Angelica enters the stage in awe, but for different reasons. Angelica is an intellectual (a big reason she and Hamilton are so drawn to one another), so to her, New York is a place of new ideas and so much to learn. My favorite part of the song was her line, "I've been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine..." Renee's Angelica says it almost as if to warn Burr, "Look, I'm not just a pretty face, okay? I'm educated, so you better back off," but Karen's Angelica looked about how I imagine I do when someone asks me about Hamilton: "Okay, so I found the most incredible thing and I've learned sooo much from it, so let's talk about it and dissect every bit of thematic symbolism and depth in every word here." She can't be bothered to give Burr the time of day because she'd rather engage in political discussion.

Then there's "Satisfied," Angelica's confession that although she saw (and loved) Hamilton first, she's choosing to let him be with Eliza because she loves her sister more than she cares about her own satisfaction. Here's a fun story behind the song: Lin originally wrote this melody in a song for an album Karen had intended to record. The project was tabled, and when it came time for an Angelica feature song, Lin essentially asked for the song back. This could be why Karen's performance of the song is so powerful; in a way, it's coming home to the artist it was meant for. It's an incredible song to begin with, but the performance (before this one) that absolutely blew my mind was from understudy Alysha Deslorieux because she threw in some runs at the end that blew my mind. Oddly enough, so did Karen, which leads me to wonder, which one learned from the other?

Seriously, please send me a message if you ever want to know more about Karen as Angelica because I could dissect every detail of her performance of "Satisfied."

The world turned upside down

Still with me? I'm almost finished, I promise.

For the most part, there were a good number of similarities between the New York cast and the Chicago cast. That stops with Wallace Smith. Let me tell you about my love affair with him as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison. Everything about Wallace's performance is different from Oak Onaodowan's Mulligan/Madison, but it's because he has to be. In now way are Oak and Wallace similar; their demeanor, the way they carry themselves, their voices. Some of the cast could imitate the OBC and use that as a bit of a crutch, but not Wallace. And holy cow, that was the greatest thing he could have done. Hercules Mulligan makes a sex joke in "Aaron Burr, Sir," and with Oak's Mulligan, it was a funny comment between bros while drinking, but with Wallace's Mulligan, I fully believed he had somehow tried to have sex that somehow involved four corsets and a horse.

Whereas Mulligan was crude, Madison was obviously educated, sickly, and upper class. He constantly tried to have perfect posture, even though he had a persistent cough (which Wallace worked into the character wonderfully). His relationship with Jefferson was hysterical, but also exactly how I imagined it to be - he was always there to support Jefferson in whatever he was doing, but also the brains behind some of their schemes. One of my favorite Madison/Jefferson moments came in "Cabinet Battle #1": Jefferson usually drops the mic, but Madison catches it before it hits the floor. Instead, Chris Lee's Jefferson set the mic down on the floor like it was too hot to touch and Madison had to use his handkerchief to pick it up and then pretended to blow on it until it cooled down. It was hysterical.

And so I've saved the best for last. Tony Award Winner Daveed Diggs (*giggles because I can say that*) perfectly originated the role of Lafayette/Jefferson on Broadway, and understandably so, seeing as how elements such as the lighting-quick raps were written into the roles specifically for Daveed. It is easy to say a certain role was written for an actor, but in this case, it's completely true. Knowing that, following up such a charismatic role is no easy feat, yet somehow Chris Lee not only tackles the role but absolutely slays it.

Lafayette is a character that, rapid-fire raps in "Guns and Ships" aside, is easy to forget as he fades into the ensemble fairly easily. Chris Lee refused to let that happen. Remember how I said Jonathan Kirkland's Washington made the Revolutionary Set feel like a bunch of teenagers? Lafayette contributed to that greatly. He was like a playful kitten around stage dancing with Hercules Mulligan and laughing with his bros as they distracted Burr so Hamilton could interrupt Seabury in "Farmer Refuted." He was absolutely adorable.

Jefferson in Act II was the charismatic whirlwind you would expect, and Chris handled Jefferson's swagger and confidence wonderfully. He was so sure of everything he said in the cabinet battles, and the fire within him in "Washington On Your Side" was almost terrifying. He balanced all of this with humorous moments such as the beginning of "Washington On Your Side": the previous scene ends with Jefferson and Hamilton center stage and Burr watching in the background. When Jefferson goes to leave, Burr starts singing about how great it must be to be bff's with Washington, and Jefferson looks around like, "Where the heck did this fool come from??" His ability to mix Jefferson's intensity with humor is astonishing.

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?

I think it goes without saying that the creative team of Hamilton has gone out of their way to ensure the quality of the casts in every version of the show, and the Chicago cast is definitely no exception. The ensemble is stunning to watch, the main cast are stupidly talented, and everyone involved gives fervently to make sure the show is the best it can be. The show speaks to the dreamer in all of us and never fails to leave me asking, what will be MY legacy?

#hamilton #hamilton chicago #hamiltonchi #karen olivo #wayne brady #miguel cervantes #hamiguel #joshua henry #jonathan kirkland #ari afsar #alexander gemignani #samantha ware #amber ardolino #jose ramos #wallace smith #chris lee

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