desmon1995

[desmon1995]

would also like to say that i absolutely loved the loud political nature of the tonys this year from the pride displays to the hamilton outfit coordination to the outright discussions of the state of the country, its nice to know that you can always count on the arts to never stay silent when loud and defiant voices are needed the most

[desmon1995]

How Hamilton Aged into A Warning

You know what’s wild? Watching the cultural pendulum start swinging back toward Lin-Manuel Miranda like he never left.

There was a period not too long ago where saying you liked Hamilton out loud felt like inviting a dozen thinkpiece ghosts into the room. Like if you said, “Yo, Hamilton moved me,” someone would pop out of a recycling bin with, “Actually, did you know that in 1794 he—” and then start rattling off Tumblr footnotes like they were on a crusade.

But here’s what I’m realizing, and maybe I’m late—or maybe we were all too busy trying to be culturally spotless to see it at the time: Hamilton ages better than people expected when you actually engage with what it’s saying and not just how it’s saying it. Once you get past the “Ew, America” reactionary knee-jerk and really sit with it? There’s some hard truths baked in there. Stuff that's truer now than when it first dropped.

See, Hamilton isn’t patriotism in a snapback. It’s not “Yankee Doodle: The Mixtape.” It’s about assimilation. Immigration. Performing Americanness so hard that it becomes a death spiral.

Millions of immigrants—then and now—come to this country and are sold the same dusty pitch: “If you work hard enough, keep your head down, speak the language, smile at your boss, and don’t make waves, you’ll be one of us eventually.” And what happens? They get used up. Spit out. Scapegoated. Just like Hamilton. Just like Burr.

And here’s the kicker: both Hamilton and Burr could’ve been allies. But instead, they fall into that toxic trap so many of us do: fighting for proximity to power rather than interrogating the power itself. Burr plays it safe, Hamilton plays it loud—but both of them are playing the same impossible game. And neither of them realizes that the game was rigged before they even got to the table.

Hamilton, as portrayed in the musical, isn’t even a man after a while. He’s an idea. A lingering will. A symbol. And what’s tragic is that he gets lionized not by the people who loved him, but by the system that never wanted him to win—only to use his story later as proof that “the system works.” That if a broke immigrant could rise, you could too. Never mind the body count or the compromises.

Burr, meanwhile, becomes history’s favorite cautionary tale. His caution, his centrism, his refusal to commit—those choices get reduced to cowardice. And we lose the full picture of a man who maybe just didn’t want to sell his soul to either side of a system that already saw him as disposable. His tragedy isn’t that he shot Hamilton. It’s that, afterward, he disappeared from the narrative and nobody cared enough to ask why.

And isn’t that just America?

Minorities vying for control in a system that never had a seat for them. Immigrants trying to prove their worth only to be buried in history books as footnotes or boogeymen. Politicians of color who believe in reform from within but get corrupted or sidelined the moment they step out of line—or worse, when they toe it too perfectly.

That’s the core of Hamilton. Not glorifying America, but exposing its machinery. Telling the story of a man who bought into the dream so hard that he broke himself trying to live up to it. And telling the story of another man who tried to play it safe and still got erased.

So yeah. The music still slaps. The casting still matters. But it’s the message that haunts.

And the truth is, Hamilton was never about founding fathers. It was always about us.

Us trying to find belonging in a country that only offers conditional welcome mats. Us watching friends become enemies because we thought only one of us could make it. Us being told that if we just "don’t throw away our shot," we’ll be fine—only to learn that the bullet was coming either way.

As time marches on, Hamilton doesn’t feel outdated. It feels prophetic.

Because the American dream wasn’t built for us—but somehow, we keep getting cast in the starring role.

[desmon1995]

PLEASE HAMILTON LOVERS HELP ME DECIDE WHICH TO SUBMIT IM RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!! PLEASE!!!! IF YOU HAD TO CHOSE IF YOU HAD TO CHOSE!!

this probably isn’t a good idea so I put a really shitty watermark lol please don’t steal. please.

[desmon1995]

If art can help us grieve, can help us mourn, then lean on it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

[desmon1995]

Very rough WIP of a Mercy fanart that I'll never finish because she deserves an axe.

[desmon1995]

thinking about a light or somethin’ and vulnerability. specifically that we see more intentional vulnerability from swan in about a minute than we see from mercy in the entire album… except it’s being used defensively. she’s trying to skip straight to what she sees as the inevitable outcome - if mercy’s going to leave once she gets to know her, why not just get through that right now? it’ll hurt less.

and mercy, on the other hand… I don’t think she’s intentionally putting herself on the back foot, here, but “what do you see in me? what was it about me that made you stand up for a complete stranger?” is a hell of a vulnerable question to be asking someone you’ve just met. I think she’s used to a very specific form of transactional relationship, and she’s thrown by swan very clearly not expecting that. so she’s desperately trying to figure out what the parameters of this new dynamic are, and tentatively hopeful that swan might have seen something in her beyond physical attractiveness - might have seen her the way she wants to be seen, as someone brave and capable, who has a place within the warriors.

[desmon1995]

thinking about cochise and swan. cochise being the one to say “swan is cleon’s number two” when ajax questions her. cochise telling swan to take the lead in orphan town. cochise being the only one who directly addresses swan as “warchief”. cochise immediately defending swan when rembrandt and cowgirl try to say she ran off with mercy.

[desmon1995]

Swan: This is a bad idea.

Ajax: Then why are you coming along?

Swan: Someone has to get your injured ass home.

[desmon1995]

in honor of the tonys....

[desmon1995]

I wish people payed more attention to details in the Tony's Hamilton performance.

Daveed Diggs was dressed like a black panther (black civil rights activists group, the beret and gloves are tied to that movement).

The King didn't say anything, just the "la da das".

"History has it's eyes on you" was there for a reason.

All of them were wearing black which is considered a mourning color.

While the King was dressed in red which is Republican's color. King George was portrayed as a tyrant, it's basically them saying that the republican party is tyranny.

Lights at the end represent the White House.

The "immigrants we get the job done" part wasn't there for a reason.

This performance was a protest. All art is political.

[desmon1995]

LMM having tears in his eyes is everything to me. Hamilton will always be a huge part of his legacy

[desmon1995]

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY DAVEED DIGGS RETURNS AS LAFAYETTE

[desmon1995]

The Original Broadway Cast celebrate 10 years of Hamilton at the 2025 Tony Awards (full performance)

[desmon1995]

The Original Broadway Cast celebrate 10 years of Hamilton at the 2025 Tony Awards (full performance)

[desmon1995]

i’ve seen @all-our-turf talk about mercy having tattoos, which gave me the idea that maybe the way she bonds with rembrandt initially is by asking her to help her design a tattoo. and maybe rembrandt is the only person (besides swan) who really learns anything about mercy’s life before the warriors because mercy talks to her about old scars she wants to use the tattoos to cover

[desmon1995]

swan and mercy probably have crappy immune systems from their respective lives-before-the-warriors; and swan and mercy probably suck at letting on when they’re feeling ill because they don’t want to make a big deal of it; and swan and mercy probably fret a lot over the other when they’re sick. which is to say, they’re perfect for each other and also the most disaster couple maybe ever

[desmon1995]

listening to warriors on shuffle and got hit with the ULTIMATE YURI BLAST (same train home to a light or somethin)

I FEEL BLESSED