#“no wait-” GOT YOU MR MULLIGAN

[itsgonnagetinspiringsoon]

A real "Eat your fucking dice!" moment from Zac oyama

[ariesqueencobra]

what we used to be | Xl

Pairing: Eli Moskowitz x Fem!Reader

Summary: You find out some interesting facts about Sensei, you and Eli celebrate a milestone in your relationship, you make a statement with your dojo at Valley Fest.

Warnings: swearing, kissing, typical dojo rivalries, karate fighting/demonstration

Word Count: 2.4k

A/N: This was at 1.9k but then I added a cute scene and I'm so happy with it! I love Eli and Reader's relationship, they're so freaking adorable it makes me sick! I'm glad I'm able to push these chapters out, glad you're enjoying them!

Thank you to those who already reblog and comment, I see you and I love you all for it!

I don't consent to this work being copied, translated or reposted.

It was a beautiful day on the beach. Sun shining down, breeze blowing away the heat, the sand soft under your feet, and the waves crashing on the shore.

You watched Demitri crane his neck as he got ready to serve. So much wind up for him just to hit the net. You dropped your head, hiding a laugh. 

“Mulligan, send it back,” Demitri said. 

“There’s no mulligans in volleyball,” Eli said from the other side of the net.

“Says you,” Demitri argued before he stalked off. “Water break.” 

Sighing, you walked closer to the net just in time to see a girl hit on Demitri after assuming he was part of Cobra Kai. 

Going along with it, Demitri pretended to be part of the famous dojo.

Once the girls left, you chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “Seems like you have a few admirers,” you beamed. 

“It’d be actually nice if you earned the Cobra Kai cred you’re so happy to take,” Eli stated, not amused. “When are you gonna sign up?”

“I don’t know. I’m kinda enjoying the gain without the pain,” he smirked.

You raised your brow. 

Before being given a chance to respond, Miguel showed up, pulling Eli’s attention away. 

“Cobra Kai would be more fun with you,” you hiked your shoulders, offering your friend a smile. “You could be badass like me,” you playfully jabbed a few punches at him.

He frowned at you. “You were inside a cement truck the other day,” he deadpanned.

You laughed. “And it made me stronger,” you shrugged. “Maybe it could tone up your noodle arms,” you joked.

He sent you a look. 

Shaking your head, you walked over to greet Eli. 

“Wait till you get a load of this, babe,” Eli said.

“What is it?” 

“Robby Keene is Sensei’s son.”

~

Stretching next to Eli, you reached for your foot, feeling your hamstrings stretch. The conversation you were having was a continuation of the revealed information on Sensei’s lineage.

You were shocked to hear about it. You never considered Sensei to be a dad and even now as you assessed the situation, you figured there was more to the story considering Keene was mentored by his father’s enemy.

“So I did a deep dive online and you were right,” Eli began. “Sensei’s definitely Keene’s father.”

You blew out a breath. 

So much drama to unpack. 

“I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t tell us,” Miguel sighed.

“It explains why he’s giving us shit for kicking Keene’s ass at the tournament,” your boyfriend scoffed.

You pursed your lips together in thought. “Umm, I don’t think that was the reason,” you disagreed. 

Both boys sent you a look.

You rolled your eyes. “I just think it’s more than what we’re assuming,” you shrugged.

“It’s simple. Show no mercy unless it’s his son,” Eli said, kinda aggravated that you didn’t agree with him.

You shook yourself out of the conversation, focusing on your stretching.

“Did you guys see the commercial?” Aisha walked up to the three of you. “Sam’s dad started his own dojo and he disses Cobra Kai,” she handed Miguel her phone.

Listening, you could hear the little joke “snake in the grass”. You were more shocked that Mr. LaRusso actually said it than feeling any anger at all.

“Bet it was Keene that suggested that,” Eli scoffed. 

“What the hell were they even thinking? Karate is all about defense?” Aisha furrowed her brows, getting her phone back. “Yet you throw a pussy move like that in your commercial?”

You exhaled. “Are we going to strike back? Seems only fair,” you suggested. You had to, you figured. If Miyagi-Do’s willing to throw a hit-or-miss joke in their commercial, clearly poking the bear, you had to go in with your own play. 

That’s how the idea of creating a commercial for Cobra Kai came about.

Now Aisha was filming Sensei as he advertised why joining Cobra Kai would be badass.

You stood next to Eli and Miguel as the video recorded, impressed at how easily Sensei was able to sell it. 

He was clear-cut, straight to the point—something you admired from having him as your sensei.

“And cut,” Aisha said, ending the recording.

“All right, did we get it?”

“I think so,” she stared at her phone, making sure the video was captured.

“Great, just make sure the Cobra Kai snake comes in at the end. I really want it to pop, make it chrome,” he stalked towards his office. “And throw “Thunderstruck” under it,” he added.

You raised your brows in amusement, wondering if he would be able to afford the rights for it.

“I think the rights for that song cost too much,” Aisha stated.

“No, I already own it, cassette’s in the car,” he pointed. “Oh and put one of those hash browns on it, like “Hash brown Team Cobra Kai,” he gestured. “And then send it to the internet!” 

You snickered. 

Eli and Miguel left to go talk to Sensei about his son so you made your way over to Aisha. 

“You think we could manage to get more female recruits at Valley Fest?” You asked her. 

She was putting her phone away, a smile appearing on her face. “Oh I’m planning on that, we seriously need more estrogen in this dojo,” she snickered. 

You glanced around, between the smell and the number of boys in the class, you longed for one more girl in the dojo. “Maybe it’d give the incentive to build a locker room, I hate changing in the bathroom,” you sighed, resting your hands on your belt.

While the boys had no problem changing in front of each other, you and Aisha had to take turns changing in the bathroom. Not only was it so gross in there but it wasted so much time. You prayed for a day when you wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.

“I know, it’s disgusting in there,” she grimaced. “Maybe we could take the night to have some fun, it’s been a while since we last hung out,” she said. 

The two of you make plans at least every other week to hang out. Consisting of shopping trips, hanging out at the beach, or going to those fun painting classes, you loved spending time with her. Between that, the boys are joining in or you’re with your families, and in your case, you have a boyfriend who enjoys spending time with you. 

It had been a while since it was just the two of you.

“That sounds like fun,” you smiled. “I have been spending a lot of time with Eli,” you trailed. 

“Thanks for finally realizing, but don’t worry, we can use that time to talk about all the juicy details of your relationship,” she giggled. 

Your cheeks warmed up. “It’s not that interesting, but there are some things that have happened,” you grinned at the memory of saying “I love you” for the first time.

“Can’t wait to hear all about it,” she said, touching your shoulder before she walked out of the dojo.

You headed to the bathroom to change and by the time you got out, Eli was back in his clothes, though he didn’t look amused. 

“Guess who’s stuck on mat duty for the next two weeks,” Eli came up, hands landing on your waist with an irritated frown on his face.

“I hope not me,” you answered, showing a smile in hopes to cheer him up. His frown didn’t change and you sighed. “Sorry, but now you have an answer, right?” You reassured him, rubbing his shoulder. “It’s obvious it’s a sore subject for him.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he sighed. “You ready to go?” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

You nodded before making your way outside to his car.

~

Eli’s hand was in yours as you sat next to each other in the booth. Both of you preferred to be close compared to sitting across from each other. It also made stealing food off his plate easier.

Today marked your eight-month anniversary. 

You couldn’t believe how different the two of you were now in such a short time. You were happy.

“I know we’re not gonna do gifts until our first anniversary, but I wanted to give this to you,” you reached for your purse, pulling out a flat canvas.

His eyes widened as it came into view, his mouth curving upward in amazement. “Badass, babe,” he reached over to kiss you. “How’d you reference it?”

The painting was of his hawk tattoo, a complete replica. It was a symbol of his confidence, carrying so much meaning yet he never got to see it when he wanted. 

You wanted him to be able to. “I have my ways,” you smirked playfully. 

He kissed you again, more tenderly this time before he pulled away, and reached into his pocket. “I actually have something for you too,” he said, clutching something in his hand. “Close your eyes,” he said. “And hold out your hand.”

You grew excited as you did, feeling the soft brush of his fingers around your wrist. You felt something wrap around it and when you opened your eyes again, your face melted as you stared at the pretty flower-beaded bracelet. 

“Eli,” you gasped.

“I got it in lavender since it’s your favorite color,” he said. “It’s also a bracelet so you don’t have to take it off during class,” he explained.

“I love it,” you pressed your hand to your chest. “Thank you, Eli,” you leaned over to kiss him.

“I love you,” he said. 

“I love you.”

After finishing dinner, you drove to your place. You wanted to get more summer work done and Eli promised he’d help.

Toeing off your shoes, you grabbed Eli’s hand and walked down the hall, only to be stopped by your mother who was sitting in the living room.

“Hi, Mrs. L/N,” Eli greeted, a smile on his face. 

“Hi, sweetie,” your mom said, looking up from her book. “Still rocking the mohawk, huh?” She grinned. 

“Yeah, don’t think it’s going away anytime soon,” he smirked, glancing at you as he rolled his lips together. 

“We’ll be in my room, doing biology,” you said, pulling Eli along with you to your room.

You left your door ajar, putting on some study music before you were pulling Eli close to you. 

“What happened to doing biology?” He spoke low enough that the music drowned out his voice.

“We’ll do that later, I want to take advantage before my dad gets home,” you implied.

His eyes widened in realization before you began kissing. 

The moment was nicely shared between you two, the soft music playing, the privacy you had without anyone bugging you. It was just you and your boyfriend, sitting on your bed, kissing. 

You smiled into the kiss, cupping his cheek. His hand resting on your side. 

Afterward, you were putting the study music to good use, a pencil in your hand and Eli’s arm draped over the back of your chair as he watched you work, making sure to correct you along the way. 

Thankfully, you’ve been getting better at understanding the material, and not needing much of his aid as much. It was a relief to have him there though. 

When you got a problem incorrect, you pushed the packet over to him so he could see where you went wrong. You rested your head in the palm of your hand, being less discrete about watching him. 

This was your time to take in his features, pointing out all the things you loved about him. His long lashes, his striking blue eyes, his smile—those were just the few that were obvious. 

Unable to contain the playful aggression coursing through you, you reached out, grabbed his face, and repeatedly kissed him all over his face. 

He began laughing, leaning back in his chair to make room as you invaded his space. His arm wrapped tightly around your waist while he allowed you to assault him with kisses. 

With only a couple of minutes passing by, you both doubled over in laughter, your forehead dropping to his shoulder as you attempted to suppress the giggles that escaped you. But you couldn’t and you didn’t care to hide it.

~

“We’re really gonna do this?” You asked, tightening your belt around your gi.

“No better way than to show those bitches we’re not pussys,” Miguel said.

You blew out a breath, standing behind Miguel as you got ready.

The announcer drew attention to the LaRusso Auto Group stage. The lights dimmed, three silhouettes showing. 

You noticed it was Mr. LaRusso, Sam, and Robby.

They began moving in sync, their movements captivating the audience. While they were supposed to be the enemy, you couldn’t help but feel intrigued by their demonstration. It was controlled, and precise, and it looked like a dance. 

It was calling out to the artist inside you.

“What kind of lame-ass karate is that?” Eli scoffed.

You ignored him, watching the lights on the stage turn on, their movements becoming quicker. None of them attacked, which you found odd. Still, you wanted to know why. 

“I think we’ll get more recruits this way,” Aisha said, pulling you out of your thoughts.

Sensei devised a plan to sabotage LaRusso’s demonstration for dissing Cobra Kai in his commercial. 

“I agree,” you said almost on auto-pilot, your eyes trained on the stage. Anticipation grew in you as Mr. LaRusso called out for the big finale but then the lights dimmed, the sound cutting off and you remembered why you were here.

“Cobra Kai!” You shouted in unison with your team, trotting toward the main stage, gathering the attention of the crowd. 

As you chanted your dojo name, the crowd cheered, rushing over to see your demonstration.

You did your fight choreography, showing the audience what you were able to do. You fought off your teammates in the showcase, sweeping their legs as you punched them. Aisha broke boards blindfolded and Eli brought Demitri on stage to kick a board mid-air. 

You threw out Cobra Kai merchandise, the crowd roaring with excitement. 

Sensei broke a stack of cement slabs in half for the big finale while on fire. 

Standing in a line, you smiled proudly, listening to the crowd chant your name. 

“We did it,” you heard Sensei say and you couldn’t stop a smile from appearing on your face.

[technofinch]

hiiiiii could i see multiples of 3 for mulligan? that guy is Intriguing 2 me :)

ok there are a Lot of questions here so i'm gonna do my best to keep them short & sweet!

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory?

his childhood kinda sucked! grew up quite poor on a shitty planet, his mom always wanted more kids but never got them, his dad was kind of a hardass and worked in a mine like 17 hours a day. he started drinking in his early teens to cope with... all that, so he doesn't have a ton of memories either way lmao.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

he did surprisingly well in school, especially in the more technical classes/math/history. not well enough to get actual scholarships or anything, so he ended up enlisting in the marines to get a higher education, which is where he learned that the marines Fucking Suck!

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?

im gonna be real with you homeboy has seen like 2 animals in his life and one of them is a dog that is his mortal enemy (Mr Cuddles) and one is a mostly-cat that he rarely sees so. i'd say he's Pretty Bad With Animals

12. What is their favorite food?

will never admit it but it's children's breakfast cereals. the ones that are like 90% sugar

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking?

he's good at a very specific type of cooking, which is to say, making meals out of the kind of ingredients you have for a long-term deep space voyage. he loves it, but wouldn't know what to do with an Actual Kitchen and exotic things like Fresh Vegetables. the others aren't particularly impressed by it, but they indulge him - it's an important ritual for him and it makes him feel useful :3

18. What’s their favorite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

hmmm... mulligan doesn't experience a lot of Media, when he does it's usually just catching up on sports to have something to talk about with the other Guys™ at the loading docks. iirc he has canonically played team fortress 2 tho

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper?

he very much has a temper, i would never describe him as "patient" but his anger can be overridden by fear, especially in confrontations with his superiors. he mostly just yells at people and gets it out of his system, if it's something big he'll carry a grudge and continue to make snippy comments until someone calls him on it

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

his sleeping pattern is "not unless absolutely necessary," excluding cryosleep he gets about half the sleep a regular human needs :/ preferred sleeping situation is a hammock, but he's most familiar with thin awful mattresses

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad?

mulligan is way more likely to be angry/resigned/scared than Sad, and i don't think he's cried in a long time. in that situation he would probably flee and hole up like a wounded animal waiting to die until he could successfully bottle the emotion back up

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

he pretty much has to be forced to keep up with his mandatory exercises, luckily the ship's doctor is (was :( ) very good at her job and kept him on track despite his bitching. he does get notably happier post-workout, but if you point this out to him he'll say it's bc it's over lmao

question 33 intentionally omitted <3

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing?

he's good at drawing, especially still lifes, but he doesn't do it much or think of it as a hobby. he also plays harmonica, which he is bad at, and does consider a hobby. he can sing, but the only songs he really knows are ones he learned from his mother, so he doesn't

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging?

call the man. he wants to hear your voice. hand-written letters are basically non-existent in the setting, but he rarely checks his email/texts. just call him. leave a voicemail if you must.

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition?

number one goal is to Survive Another Day, subgoal Don't Kill Anyone. he's not a very ambitious person, like, at all. he would however sacrifice anything to keep his crew safe. he feels a Lot of responsibility towards them, even though he knows most of them are more competent than he is lmao. his secret ambition is to overthrow capitalism and start a commune, however, he also thinks this is stupid.

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves?

in my mind, other people see mulligan as kind of an uncomfortably intelligent dog. just smart enough to get into trouble but will pretty much do what you ask him to do. deficiency of critical thinking and ambition. multiple npcs offered to help him fake his death and quit his job and he did not understand Why they all wanted him to do that.

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organize the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend?

in the academy he enjoyed parties for the booze, mostly showing up to one he wasn't invited to, but after he stopped drinking he pretty much stopped going to parties, and after graduating he really stopped being in groups of more than, like, 10 people who all live together anyway. he does occasionally organize the mandatory crew bonding nights, where he gets everyone together to play dumb party games like never-have-i-ever and watch their vhs cops of home alone 2: lost in new york

[writingsfromstarfleet]

Tom Paris - The Wedding

♫ - Nancy Mulligan - Ed Sheeran 

A/N: This is for a lovely and very patient Anon, I am so sorry this took so long, I hope you’re still around! Thank you all for reading, I appreciate every one of you! Hugs! - Mal  ♡

Never in your life did you think you were one for marriage. You hadn't ever really thought much about it, and never saw yourself actually getting married. You loved weddings, and you loved the festivity of the day but you hadn't imagined you would be having your own wedding someday.

That all changed when you met Tom Paris.

You were both aboard Voyager when she was lost in the Delta Quadrant, but you both came from different sides. You were a member of Captain Janeway's crew, whilst Tom was one of the Maquis you had taken on board. At first, you were polar opposites, exchanging snarky comments and looks back and forth. But the more you got to know him, the more he seemed less like an asshole and more of a genuine person. Eventually, you got to know Tom Paris the person.

Ever since then, you had been inseparable, and whilst on shore leave, Tom had proposed to you. With no hesitation, you had said yes. The bond you had formed with the Lieutenant was far too important to you, and you knew he was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. The wedding planning was put into motion, and soon enough, the day itself had arrived.

As B'Elanna had finished fixing your hair into place, you finally got a chance to look at yourself fully in the mirror. Your eyes welled up and your smile was wide.

"You look wonderful, Y/N," B'Elanna said, smiling just as much as you were. You turned to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, and thank you for the effort you've put in with all of this, I appreciate you so much."

"Don't mention it, the least I could do for you after all you've done for me. Now, stop crying and get ready for the best day of your life."

The two of you finished preparing, and ran into your captain on the way out.

"Why Y/N, look at you! I was coming in to check everything was alright, and my goodness, you look gorgeous." She took your hands and stood back a little, it reminded you of what a mum would do. "Truly, you look beautiful, Mr Paris is a lucky man, I will say."

"Thank you, Captain, for everything."

The hours rolled on and eventually, it came to the big moment. You waited patiently for the cue and with a quick glance over yourself, you took a deep breath and stepped out into the aisle.

The room was filled with your crew and friends, at the end stood Tom and his best friend, Harry. As you walked, you could feel all eyes were on you, gasps and smiles filling the atmosphere. Though the attention fell on you, yours fell to your soon-to-be husband.

Tom's jaw was wide the moment he laid his eyes on you. Barely remembering to blink as you walked, he reminded himself of just why he fell in love with you in the first place. Your ability to captivate him knew no bounds, and he stared as though he may never see you again despite this being the proper start of your life together.  

"Pick it up off the floor, buddy," Harry tapped Tom on the shoulder, and he laughed. "I hope you remember the words."

Tom smiled. "Shut up, Harry."

As you reached the bottom of the aisle, you took your eyes off Tom long enough to see the proud face of your Captain smiling at you both. That alone calmed your nerves and you turned attention back tot he love of your life. The ceremony went perfectly, and the conclusion was reached.

"I do." "I do."

And you kissed.

The ceremony ended and it was off to the mess hall for a party, everybody's favourite part of a wedding. But not before the first dance.

Tom took you by the hand and whisked you to the middle of the dance floor. Eyes locked together, you danced slowly to the music of Tuvok playing the harp, occasional backing instruments played through the hall. Silence overcame the guests as they watched you two engulfed in each others presence, not a care in the world and dancing the moments away. Once you were done, Tom dipped you into a kiss and the hall clapped for you.

Now, it was onto the real event, the partying. Neelix and the replicators had managed to conjure up some decent food and drink, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Making your way around the hall and chatting with your guests, an arm swooped around your waist and pulled you off.

"And where do you think you're going?" Tom asked and you'd giggled.

"Greeting our guests, Tom. You can't miss me already, surely?"

He sensed the playfulness in your voice and pouted like a child. "But I do,Y/N!"

Giving him a kiss, you fled once again, leaving your sulking husband in the shadows.

"Y/N!" The voice of your Captain called you to the other side of the room, where she was stood with Chakotay and Tuvok.

"Hello, are you all enjoying yourselves?"

"We are," she replied, beaming at you and enclosing you in a hug.

"It's been lovely, you look beautiful," Chakotay spoke, also engulfing you in a hug.

"It has been a very nice day, Y/N. May you and Mr. Paris be happy together." Tuvok didn't hug you, but acknowledged you enough that you knew he meant the equivalent of a hug.

"You must be buzzing, Y/N, I have never seen either of you look so joyous, and I can see why. You share a love that anyone would strive for. Here's hoping it continues for you both, and you can keep him well behaved and under wraps from now on."

You laughed along with the group, turning your eyes to your badly dancing husband and nodding.

"Oh, I'll do my best, Captain."

[barbiewritesstuff]

Chapter 5: Easy Peasy

-- I would like to say that any road or place names are made up by me, I have never been to San Diego or even looked it up.

Trigger warning for suicide, mentions of suicide and depression.

Tag list: @because-edmund @blue-aconite

--

He opened his eyes for just a second and glanced at his phone to see an unknown phone number calling him.

Jake didn't know why, but the urge to answer overtook him. His voice shook.

"Sir, this is the Happy Paw Vet clinic. Someone brought in a cat belonging to a Mister Jake Seresin. Would we be able to talk to him?"

He choked.

"Yes -- Yes that's me. I am Jake Seresin."

"We found a black European shorthair with a chip registered to your name. Someone found her right off of Mulligan Drive and brought her to us. She is offering to drop her off, can we verify your address?"

Jake was trying to catch his breath. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he suddenly realised what the fuck he was doing, standing in his bedroom, shirtless and in his underpants, holding his gun.

"Yes. Of course. I live at 76 Gothard Road, in San Diego, California"

"Thank you, sir. Have a wonderful day"

The vet tech hung up. 

His phone lit up in his hands with a text. Maverick had already tried to call seven times since he had sent his message.

"What a mess you have made, Jake Seresin." He told himself. He could call Maverick before the man called a wellness check on him, or worse, drove down himself. So he had a few options: either he stayed seated on his bed until something happened, or he could call Maverick and try to backtrack, or he could still do it. Death was still on the table for Jake, but maybe he could wait until Mrs Mittens was returned to him. 

He called Maverick but there was no answer. Soon enough though, there was a knock on his door. Jake put on an old pair of sweatpants and went to answer. In front of him stood Y/n, holding a cat carrier.

"Oh! Jake! I didn't realise you lived here." 

"I do" He said, completely unhelpfully. 

"Jake, are you okay?" 

He looked to the hallway mirror on this left and took in his appearance. He looked pale, sweaty and dishevelled in a way that signalled he had just lived through one hell of a day.

"Sorry, I just --" He explained, careful not to move his right hand too much, lest she saw the gun and freaked out. Hangman didn't seem to be able to let go of the weapon. "I'm ill" 

She handed him the cat carrier

"I'll go then. I hope you get better, Jake. I had fun on our date."

He smiled, trying hard not to freak at the word date. 

Y/n had barely left and Jake hadn't had time to shut his front door when a blue bronco stopped right next to his car and two familiar men ran out. 

Maverick was busy making a coffee when his phone buzzed. He didn't hear it but Rooster, who was with him in the empty base common room, had.

"Maverick, your phone buzzed" 

"Hmm, could you read it for me, I have dirty hands" 

Rooster unlocked the phone and froze. 

"It's Hangman, we have to go. Now. It's an emergency."

Maverick looked at Rooster, whose face had lost all colour before the young man sprinted out of the room. He dropped what he was holding to race after him. Mav was out of breath by the time they reached the Bronco but he climbed in as fast as he could.

"You need to wear your seatbelt" Maverick tried blocking Rooster from touching the gearstick.

"There's no time!"

"What is going on?!"

Rooster realised he was still holding Mav's phone and threw it on his lap. Maverick unlocked it to read the text when Rooster backed out of the parking spot and drove the car out of the base by breaking every single speed limit set in place by the city of San Diego.

By the time they got there, both men were suitably panicked, something which had only briefly been relieved when they had seen Hangman alive at his front door. Relief had been replaced by worry once they had looked at him. 

The usually charming, put together man was a mess. His hair was tussled, his skin glistened and his face looked slightly green, with deep, dark bags under his eyes. 

Worry intensified when Hangman invited them inside to a barren apartment while holding both a cat carrier and a gun. 

Jake opened the carrier to let out the cat and placed the gun on a side table.

"Coffee?" He asked.

[eclipshift]

Thoughts about Hamilton Hamburg (in no specific order)

Alright bitches, bros, and non-binary hoes

I saw Hamilton in Hamburg and I have SO MANY THOUGHTS

First of all if you aren’t aware, The Hamburg performance is in German, and the show opened this Thursday (the first week of October)

my German level is very low… so if you’ve seen it or have thoughts about the lyrics I want to HEAR

But there were some things that I noticed with this cast that have me vibrating at a frequency that could shatter glass:

First off the cast was incredible and now I need a cast recording or I will explode I need it NOW they are my new favorite cast I’m screaming and crying and throwing up

Hamiltons actor (Benet) is very goofy and young and makes for a GREAT act 1 Hamilton. (Act 2 as well, but his personality, look, and voice were particularly amazing for younger Alex)

He was also very sweet, I told him I was from the US and he got super excited, even asked ME for a picture on HIS phone before proceeding to introduce me to Lafayette/Jefferson’s actor and telling him I’m American

Laf/Jefferson's actor was also very enthusiastic and wanted to give me a hug :3

Lyrical stuff

Put a pencil to his brain, connected it to his heart

fucking lyrical genius

"Talk less, smile more" stayed in english :3

Instead of "you can't be serious" when Burr says "talk less, smile more", Ham say "in german please?" because it was in english

heehee fnunny

"And if you don't know, now you know, Mr. President"

"George Washington's going home" was kept in English. very special.

SOUTHERN MOTHERFUCKING DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS was kept in enlgihs

Literally just Hercules Mulligan

HERCULES MULLIGAN’S ACTOR WAS FUCKING BATSHIT AND NOW I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT HIM 24/7 AHHH

Farmer refuted???? My dog speaks more eloquently than thee??? THE MAN FUCJIGN BARKED

like full on bark bark grrr

Mans was off the shits

Also he had a tendency to stare wide-eyed at others and at the audience and it was very unsettling and very in-character and now that is just how I expect Hercules Mulligan to be

the switch to Madison was silly goofy because He went from crazy tailor to Quiet Sick Man and my brain could not comprehend why he was suddenly Normal™ and not barking at me

Hamilsquad

Just generally the Alex/John/Laf/Herc group had GREAT chemistry and it was very evident in their performance

Laurens did a lil "got your nose" thing with Ham in story of tonight

Story of tonight reprise I DIDNT NOTICE THAT HERC HAD A FLASK INSTEAD OF A CHAMPAGNE FLUTE LIKE THE REST OF THEM

Laf/Jefferson

I can't pick up on accents in german but my expert sources (german friend) told me that Laf indeed spoke with a french accent

"UH, FRANCE"

he was so bouncy and sassy he could have done a bend and snap and I would agree

The girls <3

ANGELICA

FUCKING POWERHOUSE

Opted up at the end of satisfied, I nearly fell out of my seat and died

Eliza has a very gentle voice and it goes very well with the Angelica.

Peggyyyyy was so prettyyyyyyyyy

she had pigtailsssss

very sassy gurl

also her wig for Maria? I need it in the Louvre it was so nice

BURR

Mamma mia

He had a voice

so good so nice

OPTED UP AT THE END OF WAIT FOR IT, I nearly fell out of my seat Pt. 2

Dear theodosia orz

My mother cried

so good, very genuine

Washingturnt

my father had very high expectations because he loves Tamar Greene with a burning passion

his expectations were exceeded

holy butts

One last time?? Again the fact that they kept the "George Washigton's going home" lyric in english??? It made it very emotional as an anglophone

I cried a little

All in all 11/10 I will fight god to see it again

OK THIS GOT VERY LONG I will probably think of more thoughts bout Blease i am Begging if you have thoughts please tell them to me my life will never be the same

[disneyanddisneyships]

Hamilton AU anyone?

Lemme know if you want more. Cause... I REALLY wanna write more...

How does Hamilton, an arrogant immigrant, orphan Bastard, whoreson Somehow endorse Thomas Jefferson, his enemy A man he's despised since the beginning Just to keep me from winning?

How could Jack do this? How could an arrogant orphan from Burgess somehow endorse Pitch Black, his enemy, someone he's hated from the beginning, just to keep Hans, Jack's first friend, from winning the election.

To say Hans was angry was a massive understatement. And he was just about to show how angry he could be.

I wanna be in the room where it happens The room where it happens The room where it happens You've kept me from the room where it happens For the last time

Hans always knew that Jack Frost didn't respect him. He had kept him from everything. Hans was done. This time he wouldn't be kept from anything. This time, he would be in the room where everything happens and no one was going to stop him. Hans brought out his pen and wrote a letter to Jack. This is what it said: Dear Jack I am slow to anger, but I toe the line. As I reckon with the effects of your life on mine.

I look back on where I failed, And in every place I checked, the only common thread has been your disrespect.

Now you call me "amoral", A "dangerous disgrace"?

If you've got something to say, name a time and place, face-to-face

I have the honor to be your obedient servant

H. Isles

Jack couldn't believe what he was reading. His first friend ever was writing him. Seemingly angry about how Jack had voted.

He knew he had to make things right without changing his mind. So he decided to write back.

Mr. Vice President I am not the reason no one trusts you, No one knows what you believe.

I will not equivocate on my opinion i have always worn it on my sleeve. Even if I said what you think I said you would need to cite a more specific grievance.

Here's an itemized list of thirty years of disagreements

Hans read on, quite literally a list of all their disagreements over the past 30 years. "Sweet jesus," He muttered before reading on.

Hey, I have not been shy, I am just a guy in the public eye trying to do my best for our republic, I don't wanna fight but I won't apologize for doing what's right.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant

J. Frost

Hans' anger grew. Jack was taunting him. He knew it in his gut. He would no longer stand to be walked over. He would no longer wait.

Careful how you proceed, good man. Intemperate indeed, good man. Answer for the accusations I lay at your feet or prepare to bleed, good man.

Hans replied. Jack didn't know what to do. He knew where this was going. But he couldn't help it. He was NOT going to change his mind. He did nothing wrong.

Hans, your grievance is legitimate, I stand by what I said, every bit of it!

You stand only for yourself, it's what you do I can't apologize because it's true!

Jack wrote, trying to make it clear.

Hans read. And all he saw was fire. He knew what he had to do.

Then stand, Jackson. Weehawken, dawn Guns drawn

Hans challenged him to a duel.

You're on

Jack agreed. What was he to do? Be marked as a coward and destroy his family's legacy? Tell Elsa that he was a coward? No.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant

J. Frost H. Isles

Casting:

Eliza: Elsa

Angelica: Anna

Peggy: Rapunzel

Burr: Hans

Hamilton: Jack

Washington: North

Laurens: Hiccup

Mulligan: Maui

Lafayette: Eugene/Flynn Rider

James Madison: Bunny

Maria Reynolds: Moana

Jefferson: Pitch Black

I actually made a whole series based on this before I deleted my YouTube channel so... I have the cast down already.

[xxkay1asw0rldxx]

*Hamilton On CrAcK* { *Part 2!* + *memes*}

-ok so Alex, & Mulligan are *BISEXUAL*~

Lauren is *GAYYY*~

and Laf is just straight up *PAN*~

{*My shot*}

{Hamilton}: I am not throwin' away my shot! I am not throwin' away my shot. Hey yo, i'm just like ma country i'm young, scrappy, and hungry. And i'm not throwin' away my shot.

{Hamilton}: I'm a diamond in the rough.. {* Aladdin pops up out of no where*}: Alex stay in 1776, I have a genie. bro the first guy you trusted ended up killing you. stay in your FUCKIN' lane. {Hamilton}: damn Aladdin jeez...

{*back to 1776*}

{Hamilton}: A shiny piece of gold tryin' to reach my goal my power speech; Impeachable. Only 19 yrs but my mind is older.. { AYO WHAT THE FLYING FUCK} these New York streets getting colder, I shoulder Ev'ry burden, ev'ry disadvantage I have learned to manage, I don't have a gun to brandish. I walk these streets famished, The plan is to fan the spark to flame. But damn, it's getting dark so let me spell out my name.

{Hamilton}: I am the-

{Hamilton & Revolutionaries. }: A L E X A N D E R we are meant to be. A colony that runs independently. Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin' on us endlessly. Essentially, they tax us relentlessly. Then King George turns around, runs a spendin' spree. He ain't ever gonna set his descendants free. So there will be a revolution in this century!

{Hamilton}: Enter me!

{Laf, Laurens, & Mulligan}: he says in Parentheses.

{Hamilton}: don't me shocked if ya hist'ry book mentions me! I will lay down my life if it sets us free. Eventually you'll see my ascendancy.

{Hamilton}: I am not throwin' away my shot! I am not throwin' away my shot. Hey yo, i'm just like ma country i'm young, scrappy, and hungry. and*-

{Laurens}: my shot x2

{Hamilton & Laurens}: I'm not throwin' away my shot!~

{Revolutionaries}: I am not throwin' away my shot! I am not throwin' away my shot. Hey yo, i'm just like ma country i'm young, scrappy, and hungry. And i'm not throwin' away my shot. It's time to take a shot!

{Lafayette}: I dream of life without a monarchy. The unrest in France will lead to 'onarchy, 'Onarchy? How you say, how you s-oh! 'Anarchy'!~ When i fight i make the other side Panicky!! with my*-

{Revolutionaries}: SHOT!

{Mulligan}: Yo!~ i'm a tailor's apprentice. And i got ya'll knuckleheads in loco parentis. I'm joining the rebellion 'cuz i know its my chance. To socially advance, instead of sewin' some pants!~ With my*-

{Revolutionaries}: SHOT!

{Laurens}: But we'll never be truly free! Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me. You & I. Do or Die. Wait until sally on a stallion with the first black battalion, With another*-

{Revolutionaries}: SHOT!

{Hamilton}: Burr, check what we got: Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot. I think your pants look hot!* Laurens i like you alot!~ Let's hatch a plot blacker then the kettle callin' the pot...

{*Todoroki comes out of FUCKING NOWHERE*}: Personally i feel offended.

{Jinx*~}: see? we don't ever have to roast Shoto his mom already did!

{ My friends, Hamilton Cast, & MHA characters}: Naw ain't no way...

{Lilac}: Roses are Red, Cacti is prickly holy shit that escalated quickly.

{Yumi}: don't be shy shoto use your fire...

{Jinx}: Cactus Water it'll quench ya!~ {Lilac}:It's the quencheist!*

{Jinx}: Nothin's quenchier*!~

{Evie}: Ya'll play too much! leave em' alone.

{Jinx}: Leave em' alone? like his brother did?...

{Lilac & Yumi}: NAW YOU DID NOT.. {Evie}: I am so srry for there behavior.

{Shoto}: *le cry*

[ back to 1776 ]

{Hamilton}: What're the odds that Gods would put us all in one spot? Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not. A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolistionists? Give me a position show me where all the ammunition is*~

{Hamilton}: Oh... am I talkin' too loud? Sometimes i get overexcited. Shoot off at the mouth. I never had a group before, I promised I'll make ya'll proud!~

{Laurens}: Lets get this guy infront of a crowd!!

{Revolutionaries & Ensemble}:I am not throwin' away my shot! I am not throwin' away my shot. Hey yo, i'm just like ma country i'm young, scrappy, and hungry. And i'm not throwin' away my shot.

{Laurens}: Evr'body sing!~ Whoa!! x3

{Hamilton, Lafayette, & Mulligan}: Whoa!~ Whoa!~ Whoa!~

{Laurens}: Ay!~

{Hamilton, Lafayette, Mulligan}: Whoa!

{Laurens}: whoa! wooh!!~ Whoa!

{Hamilton, Lafayette, Mulligan}: Whoa!

{Laurens}: Said let 'em hear ya!~

{Hamilton, Lafayette, Mulligan}: Yea!!

{Laurens}: Lets Go~

{Laurens}: I said to shout it to the rooftops!

{Company}: Whoa!~ x3

{Laurens}: Said to the rooftops!

{Company}: Whoa!<3

{Laurens}: Come on!!

{Company}: Whoa!~

{Laurens}: Come on, Lets go!~

{Company}: Yea!!

{Laurens}: Rise up!

When ya livin' on ya knees, you Rise up!

Tell your brother that he's gotta Rise up!~

Tell your sister that she's gotta Rise up!~

{Laurens & Ensemble}: When are these colonies gonna

Rise up!

{Company}: Whoa!~ Whoa!~ Whoa!~

{Laurens & Ensemble}: When are these colonies gonna

Rise up!

{Company}: Whoa!~

{Laurens & Ensemble}: When are these colonies gonna

Rise up!

{Company}: Whoa!~

{Laurens & Ensemble}: When are these colonies gonna

Rise up!

{Laurens, Ensemble, & Company}:

Rise up!!~

{Hamilton}: I Imagine death so much it feels like memory. When's it gonna get me? In my sleep? if I see it comin' do I run or just let it be? Is it a beat without a melody?*

{Hamilton}: See, I'd never thought that I live past twenty.. Where I come from some get half as many. Ask anybody we were livin' fast and we laugh, reach for a flask. We have to make this moment last, That's plenty.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

{Jinx*~}:

1. my hands are on fire.

2. ITS LITTERALY THE NEX MORIN'

3. its 6:33 am....

{Jinx*~}: I luv ya'll part 3 comin' this Afternoon!~

[mattmaesonnatural]

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE.

but its all spoilers SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

LITERALLY CLOSE THIS TAB IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE SPOILED.

WARNING*******

*

*

*

very symbrock POV !!!! (everything is from memory I just got home to write this all down)

- LITERALLY right off the bat, Eddie is walking into the police precinct with detective mulligan. Mulligan says something mean about Eddie and Venom goes to bite his head off. Eddie pulls physically on Venoms tendrils and they fall into the women's bathroom and Eddie locks them in a stall. They start fighting and pushing each other. then arguing. Mulligan is right outside the door. listening. AND there's a women in the next stall. she looks under the panel to see only one set of feet and is very confused by two deep voices pushing each other around in the stall next to her. (VERY SUBTEXT STILL YELLING ABOUT THIS)

- Venom fixing Eddies hair when they go to meet Anne

- Anne knowing that Venom was still with Eddie even though Eddie lied to her face. (Anne: Venom take good care of him) [I think she said this twice in the film]

- Eddie crying (upset about Anne's engagement) Venom is sorry he can't fix a broken heart. Cue Venom being like "its okay we'll take care of you." then fast forward to the next morning (fanfiction gap) and Venom is making Eddie breakfast.

- Venom and Eddie physically fighting about Eddie (wanting peace) and Venom (wanting to be his own person)

- Venom throwing Eddie's stuff out of the windows of the apartment (V: EDDIE YOU NEED TO GO Eddie: THIS IS MY HOUSE)

- Venom leaving and Eddie looking sad before fixing up the trashed apartment.

-Venom entering the rave says "Oh my kind of people" then "Finally free of the Eddie Brock closet"

- Venom at a rave and going up on stage to say Eddie sucks and the crowd cheering (makes a big speech about how everyone should be allowed to live authentically). (follow up right after Venom leaves the stage he slums off to the side and sits down and says defeated and sad "Eddie i wish you could see me now")

- Eddie calling Anne to help him get Venom back (Eddie's getting questioned by the police)

- Venom finds Mrs. Chen and is upset and weak, Mrs. chen holds his "body"

- Anne goes (with Dan) to find Mrs. Chen, only to start talking to Mrs. Chen and realize she is Venom. Anne then flirts with Venom to get him to go with them. (Dan is all IM RIGHT HERE!!!) its cute ngl Venom loves attention.

- Venom taking over Annes body, gets Eddie out of the questioning room. Venom lets anne have her body back, but doesn't leave. Eddie being like "come on!! the symbiote in Cletus is gonna kill everyone " and Anne has to speak on Venoms behalf, that he wants an apology and venom wants to make him BEG (Yes venom says that) Eddie starts apologizing half assed, then gets more sincere about and Venom literally hums and then says okay. and flings Anne at him and they hug so Venom can reattach himself to eddie, and i think ? venom says "kiss her" and anne is like "oh nooo get off me" but like in a Venom please dont do this im literally engaged and I know I just flirted with you but PLEASE go back to Eddie. Then she says "I am never doing that again! Okay maybe not never. The power feels great." then Venom slapping Dan in the car and Eddie being like "GOTTA GO" and then Dan being like "geez they need couples counseling"

- Eddie and Venom back together, fight with Carnage. IN A FUCKING CHAPEL. AT A WEDDING MIND YOU. Carnage calls Venom, Father. (CANON SYMBROCK DADS)

- Venom cries as he's being defeated. Hes so weak. Eddie says "Hey Cletus and Carnage arent in symbiosis. They arent a perfect match. Guess who is a perfect match. WE are." and that gives Venom the strength to fight.

- They beat Carnage and Cletus. Venom eating Carnage and then Venom biting Cletus head off.

- police start to show up and they all scramble to get out of there. Anne and Dan leaving and Anne saying "Venom take care of him" and Eddie going "take care Annie" and Annie looking at him and LITERALLY SAYING "yeah you to champ" (LOVE HER) and then Anne goes back over to Dan and Venom comes out and says "TAKE CARE DAN" (cause dan was kinda badass in the film for the amount he was in it)

- Venoms whole thing is that he wants to feel his toes in the sand and wind in his hair. Eddie literally takes them to an island, they are sitting on a beach, Eddie holding his knees and Venom has turned eddies feet black into his own. Venoms head pops up and starts talking about life and then says something something about the people you love and continues on and eddie like pauses and its like "wait wait wait. go back. YOU LOVE ME?" and Vemon kinda dances around it again and they both just sit there staring at a sunset on a beach.

my brain WENT STATIC ERROR 404 with that scene. I wish I could remember what venom or Eddie said exactly. i heard Love and then eddie say "WAIT YOU LOVE ME?" and i blacked out

also the end credit scene FUCKING SHOOK ME TO THE CORE. Im STILL NOT PROCESSING.

Even for a 97 minute feature it was SO well paced. The story flowed well and had some funny bits too. Woody Harrelson was amazing and so was Naomie Harris.

but big SHOUT OUT TO TOM FUCKING HARDY FOR HIS WRITING CREDIT AND FEEDING ME WELL. ANDY SERKIS NAILED IT IM SCREECHING LOVE THIS FILM. ITS A LOVESTORY.

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Venom Let There Be Carnage Alternate Ending

"What would Venom do?" Eddie asked himself as he tapped on the desk, scrolling through his computer for something to help him. "We're fucked." The reporter banged his head against the desk when there was a knock on the apartment door. Despite their fight, as Eddie got up he hoped that maybe it was Venom coming back.

"Yeah, what's u-" Eddie trailed off when he saw the woman at the door. Frances Barrison had a large grin on her face.

"Hey there Eddie." She stepped in the apartment as the man backed away. "You're invited to mine and Cletus' wedding."

"Do I get a choice in this?" Eddie asked as he scrambled for something to defend himself with.

"Nope." She opened her mouth and began to shriek.

~~

"C'mon Eddie. Pick up, pick up..." Anne sat in her fiance's minivan, trying the man's number again but still got nothing.

'He's not picking up. Typical.'

"Well you're right there." Anne said as she tried to dial again, Venom manifesting over her shoulder to look at the phone screen.

"I'm sorry but how are you so can about this? There's literally an alien inside you right now. You kissed Mrs. Chen so he could go inside you. Don't your think that's weird?" Dan said as he looked at both his fiance and the alien incredulously.

"We know it's weird, at this point we're just used to it."

"How do you get used to that?" Dan asked as he pulled the car into park in front of Eddie's apartment building. The trio getting out and moving inside. Dan reaching for the elevator button but one of Venom's tendrils extended out and slapped his hand away.

'No time need stairs.'

"Venom said we don't have time for the elevator."

"Well tell him that I have tender calves and am taking the stairs." Dan pressed the button again when more tendrils shot out and grabbed the doctor. "What the hell-?" The doctor didn't get to finish as he was thrown up the flights of stairs followed closely by Anne and Venom. "Hey! What the hell was that? ...ow..."

'Tell him I think him and his tender calves are full of shit.'

"Venom said this was easier."

'Liar.' Anne rolled her eyes at the symbiote and instead focused on finding Eddie's apartment. Wasn't hard considering the door was blown almost completely off.

"That can't be good." Dr. Dan commented as they stepped over the door.

'Thank you for the commentary Dr. Dan.'

"Hey he's doing his best." Anne defended her fiance. Facing the room she was greeted by a mess. Not unusual save the large claw marks along the wall and all the busted out windows. "Don't suppose you had anything to do with this?"

'No. Not that we can remember.' Venom peeked of the woman and called out. "Eddie, we're here and willing to take an apology for your stupidity-wait where's Sonny and Cher?"

"Sonny and Cher?" Dan asked as he looked around the small apartment.

"Our chickens."

"Why do you have chickens?" Anne asked as she took a deep breath. "Uh gross. What's that smell?"

"The answer to both of those questions are, you don't want to know."

"Hey!" Dan came towards them holding a card in his hand. "Found this...I don't think it's good." Venom had one of his tendrils lash out, grabbing the card from Dan's hand and holding it in front of his and Anne's face.

"It's...."

"...a wedding invitation."

~~

"Oh what a happy day! Aren't you excited Eddie? Me and Frances finally getting out promised wedding." Cletus danced in the chapel's aisle excitedly. His suit covered by a ridiculous fur coat as he hummed before taking a seat in the pews next to Eddie. Eddie glared at Cletus as he wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders. "Or you at a loss for words too?"

"I'm gagged you asshole." Came out a muffled grunt as he tried to pull away from the man. Looking across the aisle he saw Detective Mulligan still slumped over unconscious. Eddie had been in a lot of not good situations before. But trapped with a serial killer that had alien symbiote in his body and they both wanted to kill him? Probably near the top of the list.

"All we have to do is wait for our guest of honor to arrive and we'll have a full on family reunion! Carnage sure was excited when I mentioned both his daddies were gon be here."

Daddies? Eddie narrowed his eyes. He was barely able to take care of himself, the idea he had a part in making a baby was somehow more terrifying than the situation at hand.

"Don't worry about him baby." The woman who brought him here laughed as she pulled Cletus away and dipping him for a kiss. "All that matters right now is you and me."

"Don't think I don't know that darlin'." The serial killer returned the kiss and very openly shoved his tongue down her throat. Eddie watched in horror as he tried but to vomit in his mouth. Instead focusing on his hands that were bound in front of him and trying to save at them on a broken off chunk of wood from the pew.

He didn't get very far when the doors to the church slammed open. Both he and the psychotic couple took pause and turned to see Anne standing in there doorway, a very angry look on her face.

"Anne!" Eddie tried to call out excitedly. Cletus pulled away from his to be wife, eyebrow raised.

"And who exactly are you?" Cletus asked. In response Venom appeared, taking over the woman's body and snarling.

"You took our Eddie."

"Oh! Well I guess the show has begun!" Cletus backed away and allowed his body to fade as a large red body took over. He looked like Venom only taller and if Eddie was being frank, much, much more terrifying. It seemed Venom agreed. The symbiote backing away with a loud ,"Shit!"

"Hey there daddy." The symbiote spoke. Extending his arm and grabbing Eddie. Yanking the man in front of them. The other arm turning into a large blade against Eddie's throat. "Don't think we've got the chance to meet. I'm your son. And it's time to pay up."

~~

'Shit, shit, shit!'

Venom cursed as he retreated back into Anne's body. The woman stood there, trying to make the symbiote come back out.

"Venom, what the hell?"

'That's a red one!'

"I can see! What's so scary about that?"

'That means it combined with the blood of another species.'

"And....?"

'And it's a lot stronger than normal ones!'

"So you're saying we're in trouble."

'An understatement but yes. Very much so.'

"Can you come back out now?" Anne yelled as she scrambled back when the symbiote began to approach them. Eddie in his grip, looked almost as terrified as they were.

.

'No way, we'd definitely die.'

"We're definitely going to die of you don't come out!" Anne screamed as she dodged out of the way of a tendril. It narrowly missed her head as she began to crawl under the pews away from the creature.

'No you're definitely going to die. We'd probably be fine.'

Another tendril wrapped around Anne's ankle, starting to drag her back to the creature.

"Yeah but Eddie won't be!"

'Hmmmm....'

"If you come out I'll let you eat people!" Anne was now full out panicking as she clung to the leg of a church bench for dear life.

'Really?'

"Yes! Everyone! Just help me out!"

'Okay!' The bench finally gave way but Venom took over the woman's body. As they were pulled up to the creature, Venom jumped up and punched the creature with a hard uppercut. This surprised them enough to drop Eddie. The reporter quickly crawling out of the way as the red symbiote retaliated. Bringing the makeshift blade down on Venom as they just further their own shield. The two trading blows when the church bells started to ring loudly. Both the symbiote screeched in pain. Retreating into their hosts bodies.

This left Anne and Cletus staring at each other. Anne getting ready to run when she was grabbed from behind by the strong arms of a woman.

"Hey there blondie." The other woman giggled as Cletus approached them.

"Ah Frances darling, got me another wedding gift? You shouldn't have." The bells continued to toll when the man grabbed a stray plastic bag from the dirty floor and wrapping it around the woman's face. Anne choked and gasped while the couple just stared at her with glee. Darkness starting to creep into the woman's vision when there was a loud shout.

"Hey! Get the fuck away from my fiance!" The grip on Anne loosened allowing her to fall to the ground. She immediately took the bag off to see Dan holding an aerosol can in one hand and a lighter in the other. "Say hello to my little friends!"

By now the bell had stopped and everyone was clearly able to hear this terrible quip.

'He did not just say that.' Venom spoke in Anne's head.

"No...he did."

'I still don't get why you left us for him.'

Venom couldn't complain too much as he took over Anne's body again. Dan lit his makeshift flame thrower and backed the couple away. The red symbiote taking over Cletus' body again and growling.

"This isn't over." The creature hissed out, grabbing the woman and swinging out of the chapel she cackled, them disappearing into the night. But that wasn't what was important. Instead they rushed over to Eddie who was sprawled out on the floor.

"Eddie!" Venom rushed over to the man. Leaning down they ripped the gag out as he opened his eyes.

"Mmm...Venom? You actually came?" He sounded surprised. The symbiote sliced through the ropes and brought the man up in a hug. "Whoa there buddy....you must've really missed me."

"We're still angry at you."

"Yeah. I kind of figured."

"Is there anything you want to say?"

"I'm an idiot?"

"And?"

"You're not a parasite?"

"And...?"

"And....I'm sorry. I was a huge asshole and I could probably be a better host."

"Isn't there anything else you want to say to them?" They turned to see Dan who had been intently watching them from a distance.

"Anything else?" Eddie asked confused.

"Like I love you?" Venom asked and Eddie made a face before leaning in.

"Yeah. I guess. I love you sounds about right." Venom leaned down, lips locking with Eddie's as they left Anne's body and took over his.

"Aww..... that's sweet. I think." Dan spoke as Anne stepped back. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think so. Honestly I'm glad they're finally working through their issues."

"Yeah....here's hoping they don't have anymore kids though." Dan laughed as he said this. "I mean, what are the odds?"

[bridoesotherjunk]

Venom 3: All in the Family

Bit Six!

I do apologize for this not being a super long story. I think there's only like, one more part after this. I hope you liked it, though. :)

When they reach Mrs. Chen’s the little bell on the door rings as they come in. “Hey Mrs. C,” Eddie calls. Venom waves a tentacle at her in excitement.

“Hey you two,” Mrs. Chen greets. “You’re looking better, Eddie.”

Eddie grins. “Yeah, well, I got my better half back, y’know?”

Venom gushes, “Aaawwww” in his head.

When they reach the chocolate, they grab a frighteningly large handful. “Oh! Eddie! Can we buy the jumbo size Swiss chocolate?” Venom asks, stopping Eddie to look at the comically large bar of chocolate.

Smiling, Eddie picks up the candy. He plops it on the counter with all the others and begins fishing around his pockets for his wallet. He’s finally got a hold of it and suddenly the glass door to the shop explodes in a rain of shattered glass shards.

Eddie flinches, as does Mrs. Chen, and the few other customers in the shop scream. Before Eddie can even blink, a tentacle zips into the shop and grabs his arm. There is a second’s pause where Eddie looks down.

He lurches as the tentacle yanks him out of the store. He shouts. (More Tom Hardy noises.) Once he lands on the ground, Venom quickly takes over.

“YOU!” Scream, well, screams. She flings something at them. Venom blocks it by forming a shield.

“What did you do!?” Scream’s voice is piercing. It rings out across the little street in San Francisco. There are people standing a distance away. Some are filming on their phones.

Venom jumps and scoots backwards when a group of people try to surround them.

When he sees who it is, Venom snarls, “You assholes again?”

“Who are these guys?” Eddie asks. Venom snarls, lowering themselves into a waiting position. Ready to fight back should they attack.

“The shitbags who took my spawn out of me.”

One of the men stomps forward. “Your spawn are defective!”

“We haven’t been able to communicate with them at all! They won’t even come out now that you used that sound shit on us!” The one other woman in the group yells.

“The spawn were too young!” Venom shouts. “They were not ready to be born!”

“Well what about Scream?!” Trevor yells, pointing at her. “She’s doing just fine!”

Eddie makes a comment inside Venom, “You said you were getting ready to spawn again.”

“Yes,” Venom answers. “Scream was to be the next born. She was the most fully developed.”

Scream wails and strikes at him. “You rotten thing! Why didn’t you tell us that!?”

Venom jumps, blocks, and uses his tentacles to scoop bystanders up and move them further away from the violence. As he tries to stop her, Venom shouts, “And when was I supposed to tell you!? Oh, excuse me, but it might be important for you to know that if you forcibly remove my babies from inside me, they might die because they’re not ready! Thanks ever so much for the consideration!”

Scream shrieks and starts attacking him with renewed vigor. She is throwing everything she has at them. Cars, streetlight poles, spikes from her own body- everything. (I am bad at writing action sequences.)

Venom does his best to protect the people and buildings around them from getting hit. Scream manages a powerful hit, shredding into Venom’s side.

“Fuck!!” Venom roars.

Using her hair, Scream begins wrapping and entangling them. The tendrils of her hair just keep coming and coming and coming. Venom is struggling. He is ripping at the hair, but anything he rips is replaced almost instantly. Even though he’s bigger, Venom is clearly not prepared to deal with this. She’s still shouting at them as she wraps them tighter and tighter.

“We were supposed to be a team!! We were supposed to be powerful! We were supposed to be like You! Like the Red One!”

Suddenly she is pierced through the shoulder and she howls in pain.

Her hair retracts as she whirls around.

Mulligan stands on the other side of the road. His arm is encased in Toxin, stretched across the street into a huge sword/spear. “Trust me,” he says as Toxin begins to fully envelope him. “You don’t wanna be like the Red One.”

Scream yowls and completely abandons Venom to charge at Toxin. She strikes at him and he dodges over and over again. As her hair finally gets a grip on him, she is shoved down hard by her shoulder. Venom is holding her down. Toxin grabs her head and starts trying to pry the symbiote off of Donna. (Like Riot in Venom 1.)

Just then-

A horrible, cacophonous sound, like the wailing of a dying animal, erupts from across the street. All three of them turn in time to see the monster forming. It bubbles and warps and gurgles before finally, there settles a massive symbiote.

There are three unconscious people lying around it. These are the other ex-Life Foundation employees.

And this. Is Hybrid.

Once she sees the giant symbiote, Scream smirks. A tendril of her hair smacks Toxin in the face as Hybrid charges with a horrific sounding bellow.

Venom gets tackled by the giant. He’s sent tumbling as Scream starts whipping at Toxin. Toxin shrieks at her before sharpening his arms into swords and slashing back at her.

Venom is completely on the defensive. On their own the other symbiotes are much too weak to pose a threat, but together as Hybrid they are overwhelming him. Venom can’t get a hit in. He’s just consistently blocking and blocking and trying to dodge and draw the beast away from any civilians.

Hybrid keeps beating them and beating them. It roars and yowls, but does not speak. It just uses its mass to pummel Venom into the ground.

“Fuck, really wishing we had some backup right now, bud,” Eddie says from inside. Venom snarls and finally manages a hit. Hybrid gets sent flying backwards, landing in the middle of the street, making a crater.

When it pushes itself up, Hybrid’s attention is no longer on Venom.

Its sights are set on Toxin.

Before Venom can say “shit”, Hybrid has a hold of Toxin’s head.

“No! No! No! No! Toxin!” Eddie and Venom are both screaming, sprinting as fast as they can.

They lurch as they are stopped by Scream’s hair grabbing them. Venom rips at the tentacles with horrific urgency. “Toxin!” The two voices scream.

Hybrid pulls Toxin off Mulligan and shoves the man to the ground.

“No!!” Venom and Mulligan cry in unison as Hybrid lifts the squirming, flailing symbiote toward his mouth.

Mulligan jumps to his feet and rushes at Hybrid. The massive symbiote completely dwarfs him. He doesn’t get far.

Scream’s tendrils slash out at him.

All we see is a spray of blood.

And Venom goes berserk.

He slams into Hybrid and begins pounding on it. The Toxin symbiote falls onto Venom and we see him fade and dissolve into Venom. And we see Venom begin to grow and morph. Red begins to bleed into him as he grows larger.

His voice is altered and strange as he yells. There is rage dripping from him. He is Furious.

His maw opens and he chomps down on Hybrid’s arm.

Hybrid screeches.

A sickly green begins to bleed out from where Venom’s teeth pierce into Hybrid’s mass. Hybrid wails in pain. It flails and whacks at Venom’s head over and over again, but Venom does not relent. His jaws are locked tight. He’s frozen in place as the poison from his fangs seeps into Hybrid’s body.

After a moment, Hybrid begins melting and separating into multiple colorful blobs. The man (maybe Trevor. I dunno) underneath is dead.

Finally Venom unclenches his jaws and lets the body fall to the ground. He reaches one hand out and absorbs the baby blobs into himself. He rests there panting for a moment before turning his gaze to where Mulligan lies on the road.

He gets up and slowly, cautiously approaches. “Mulligan?” The combined, distorted voices of Venom and Toxin says.

Toxin concentrates his form, the red coloring streaked through Venom pooling where he moves, and seeps out of Venom’s chest. He hovers over the man.

“Patrick?” His voice is quiet. Shaky. “Patrick?” Toxin’s tendrils extend and trace over Mulligan’s face. They caress gently over his facial hair and move to his unblinking eyes. His tendrils begin to tremble.

“Patrick…?”

Toxin’s breathing picks up speed. He is shaking more violently.

“Toxin,” Eddie’s voice comes through and Venom’s face opens. “Toxin, I’m so sorry…”

It’s at this point we notice that Scream is gone. It’s just them in that street. Them and the bodies.

Mrs. Chen carefully comes out of her store, staring at everything in startled horror.

Toxin’s breathing sounds physically painful now. He is wheezing rapidly, still holding Mulligan’s head.

“I’ll kill her.” He snarls.

Eddie and Venom both blink in surprise. “Toxin-,” Eddie starts.

“NO!!” Toxin whirls on him. “Shut up!” He shouts, voice breaking. “You would do the same if it were Venom! Look at me and tell me you wouldn’t!!”

They are quiet for a minute.

“Eddie?” Venom asks, quiet in the tense moment.

Eventually, Eddie sighs and says, “You’re right. I would… If they had killed Venom, I…” He doesn’t finish. He has a pained look on his face as he imagines what could have happened.

Toxin’s floating head stares at Eddie and Venom for a moment before turning back to Mulligan. He extends a tendril and uses it to gently close his eyes.

Mrs. Chen approaches the small group of them. “Eddie…?”

Cut to next scene.

Scream is using her tendrils to move through the city at an incredibly fast speed. She is clearly running.

She destroys buildings and cars and hurts bystanders as she runs. She does not care.

We hear a loud ‘thud’ noise off camera and Scream pauses long enough to turn and look back.

Venom is standing on the roof of a building a ways behind her. Then we see…

Toxin leap up onto a building closer to the camera. It focuses on him. He lands and ROARS. (He sounds like Carnage.)

Scream starts running again.

“SCREAM!!!” Toxin’s voice carries across the city. He is hunting her. Chasing her like a predator about to make the kill.

And, oh, he plans to make the kill.

We know Venom is following as well, we can hear the heavy thuds as he jumps from rooftop to rooftop, but the camera focuses on the chase between Toxin and Scream. He is gaining on her. And fast.

Shooting spikes as he runs, Toxin looks frighteningly like his parent. There is Carnage in his rage.

A handful of the spikes hit Scream. She howls in pain, immediately her tendrils retract in and she collapses, crashing to the ground. She jumps to her feet just as Toxin lands. Shrieking, she charges in to attack him. Toxin charges too and they collide in a flurry of swinging tentacles. They slash and rip at each other. There is something frighteningly animal about the way they tear into each other.

Everything shakes when Venom lands and joins the fights. He grabs Scream while she’s distracted fighting Toxin.

She turns and tries to fight him as well, but this time she is the one outmatched. She is overwhelmed and losing fast.

When Toxin bites her, it’s over. The poison knocks her to her knees.

Toxin lets her fall.

He stares down at her, watching. The green slowly fades into her body. She melts off of Donna’s body and Toxin picks the symbiote up.

Donna weakly tries to reach for the Scream symbiote, but Toxin is already eating her.

He slurps her up just like Venom did Carnage.

Once she’s gone, Toxin looks down at Donna. “You should go to the hospital,” he says. “Or don’t. The poison will kill you if you don’t get help.”

He turns to Venom, who is receding back into Eddie. Eddie pulls out his phone to call for an ambulance. Toxin, after looking back at Donna one more time, recedes and shrinks back.

Revealing… Mrs. Chen!

Mrs. Chen looks over at Eddie, then, saying “Is this what it’s always like?”

Eddie sighs. “Way more often than you think.”

Mrs. Chen hums for a moment before shrugging and saying, “I could get used to it.” She smiles a little bit.

Fades Out.

Next Scene. An undetermined amount of time later.

It’s late at night in San Francisco. We see Eddie in his apartment, cleaning up candy wrappers. A purple chicken walks up to him and cocks its head at him.

He smiles and scratches her head. “Hey, Agony.”

“Eddie, the kids are hungry again,” Venom says.

Straightening up, Eddie looks at the other colorful animals wandering around the room. Eddie sighs. “Guess we gotta stop and see Mrs. Chen.”

We next see Eddie and Venom heading to Mrs. Chen’s shop. He goes up and tries the door, but surprisingly it’s locked.

“Back alley,” Venom supplies. Eddie goes around the corner.

“Hey Mrs. Chen! Hey Toxin!” He calls, smiling and waving.

“Hi Eddie,” Mrs. Chen greets as Toxin’s head emerges briefly to say, “Hey grandpa!”

“Oooh, don’t say that, you make me feel old,” Eddie teases. “Anyway, Mrs. C- do you got the stuff? The kids are hungry again.”

Mrs. Chen sighs and tells Eddie to wait there. She goes back into the shop after unlocking the door. While she’s in there Eddie shuffles his feet and fidgets.

“So when’s the next one supposed to pop out?” He asks into the open air.

“Soon,” Venom answers back, “Any day now.” Eddie hums and nods.

Mrs. Chen comes back out into the alley with hands full of bags. “All right, Eddie, here you go. Try to go easy this time, okay?”

Eddie does a little finger wiggle. “Oh, yeah, yeah, sure.” As he takes hold of the bags, a loud voice shouts and bright lights flood the tiny alleyway.

It’s the fucking cops.

“Let me see what’s in the bag!” One officer shouts.

Eddie and Mrs. Chen both stay perfectly still as the police approach. The cop who yelled grabs one of the bags roughly. The others keep their distance and keep their lights and guns trained on Eddie and Mrs. Chen.

The cop opens the bag and peers down inside, shining his light. He expects to find drugs, but instead finds… chocolate candies and chocolate bars…

After staring into the bag in silence for a moment, he looks up and stares at Eddie.

Nobody talks for a minute until Eddie finally says,

“I have a parasite.”

-End-

First Bit -> here

AO3 Link -> here

[justkeepswimmingbabes]

Nancy Mulligan - George Weasley x Reader <3

WARNINGS: Marriage lol, cringe writing and my crap writing.

Date: 2/2/22

This is a female reader

Song: Nancy Mulligan by Ed Sheeran

GEORGE POV:

“I was 24 years old when I met the woman I would call my own”

“Ron, the store needs closing!” “You do it then George” I grunted and made my way down the stairs to the front of the store, ushering people to get out. While telling people to get out I saw a beautiful girl with Y/H/C. We made eye contact and that's when she smiled at me. I stopped, she was gorgeous.

“George, stop looking at the poor girl and close the store!” UGH Ron ruining everything. With this I snapped out of my trance and went up to her hearing Ron groan behind me. “Hello beautiful lady I'm george Weasley, and who might you be or do I just call you mine?” She quietly laughed and looked UP AT ME (like damn dat boy tall) “Y/N F/N and I obviously know you, I love your store George.” I smiled at her and this was the day I met the love of my life.

“Twenty two grandkids now growing old in the house that your brother bought ya”

I looked over at my wife and our grandkids, her somehow still having the energy to play with them as I sat back in my chair. “Nanny and Poppy tell us about how you fell in love!” my 3 year old granddaughter asked us. Y/N looked at me and said “well are you sure for a long story” she asked while tickling them. I looked at them and smiled once again saying “Well a long long time ago….”

“On the summer day that I proposed, I made that wedding ring out of dentist gold”

Y/N and I were at a park at sunset… that's when I looked and got down on one knee “Y/N F/N I love you with all my heart, that day I met you at the store I knew I was going to marry you so please do me the honor of becoming me wife.” She looked at me with teary eyes and nodded, then nodded again, and again, and again until she jumped into my arms and yelled “yes, George Weasley I will become your wife!”

“And I asked her father but her daddy said no, you can’t marry my daughter”

After announcing our engagement to Y/N’s family everyone but her father was happy. After a few hours of celebrating her father comes over to me and says “come with me boy.” I start getting worried and I remember (how the hell did you forget??) about asking her father to marry his daughter.

“Boy sit down I need to have a firm talk with you” I quickly sit down looking at the door where I see Y/N.

“You did not ask me to marry my daughter” “Yes Mr F/N I’m very sorry it slipped my mind” I lightly laughed but he was deadly glaring at me and I quickly shut up.

“You may not marry my daughter, you don’t have the funds or the maturity to do so” I looked up at him with fear in my eyes and that's when Y/N came in.

“Father you can not do this!”

“Yes I can young lady! Call the marriage off”

Y/N quickly grabbed me and ran to her bedroom quickly locking the door to make a plan.

“She and I went on the run, don’t care about religion”

After a few nights of her father saying no I was sitting outside with my fathers car waiting for Y/N to come out of her window, we were running away.

I zone out for a couple of minutes thinking, how in hell are we going to make this work?

“George open the doors” I hear Y/N say.

I quickly opened the door for Y/N to come in and we were ready for our adventure.

“I’m gonna marry the woman I love, down by the Wexford Border”

“Here we are the place we’ll finally be married” I hear Y/N behind me. “Yeah finally” I tell her back.

We were at the black lake, it was looking beautiful and ready for us to be married. Everything was set but there was one thing Y/N and I had to do, invite her father.

``Y/N I really think we should at least send him an invitation ``''No George I will not allow it.” We have been having this 10 second conversation everyday for a month. Y/N keeps saying no and that he will ruin the wedding.

“Y/N I don’t care who we invite or what happenes at this wedding but I promise you I will marry you and you will become my wife (I would have died if he said that to me tbh-)

And that's where we kissed under the shining sun.

“She was Nancy Mulligan, I was William Sheeran, she took my name then we were one, down by the Wexford Border”

“Y/N do you take George Weasley to be your lawful wedded husband” (idk:????) “I do” “George do you take Y/N F/N to be your lawful wedded wife” (IDKK SORRY NOT SORRY??) “I do” “You may now kiss the bride”

Here we are under the arch married, all we went through for this moment, our special moment.. Forever.

“And kids that's how your Nanny and Poppy fell in love”

THE END-

EXTRA ENDING

-fell in love” and I kissed my beautiful wife “EWWW” “YOUR WORSE THAN OUR PARENTS” “UGHHHH *GAG* *GAG*

The real end-

[devilscreekballad]

WAIT WHAT WOULD CHARLIE THE HUMAN BE THINKING/DOING???

Weeeeeelll.... okay... spoilers for ch6 (probably)

Miss Josie leans onto the bar and looks Charlie up and down.

"Y'know, Mr. Mulligan, I b'lieve I heard o' ye besides that poster over yonder," she says. "Say, do ye got a sister named Ada by chance? This tall, same hair as ye, funny lass, mouth like a fishwife, good wi' a gun, likes to don men's clothes and shares that skilled tongue o' yours?"

Charlie lolls his head a bit. "Yeah, sounds like me oldest sister Ada. Though she ain't actually much of a smooth-talk-... Oh for crying out loud!"

You watch the blood shoot into Charlie’s cheeks before he buries his face in his hands with a howling groan.

"Yeah, that's Ada, alright," he mumbles morosely.

[entity-of-the-opera]

Hamilton Musical Essay

First off, I want to say that if you like the musical, that’s fine. I’m not trying to tell you not to like it. I’m simply expressing my thoughts about it.

Secondly, this is mostly about things the musical got wrong, but there is definitely going to be some bias and opinions in here. So don’t take anything I say (unless I have provided a source) as fact.

Now, let's go through this show one song at a time.

(quick warning, this post is long. very long. and will take a while to read. i apologize in advance)

ACT I

Alexander Hamilton

I don't have much of a problem with this song, and it is pretty good. However, I do wish that they hadn’t glossed over his early years. I get that they were not that interesting, but they played such a big part in his life, especially in his later years when he was in politics. 

“Me? I loved him” haha no. that line should have been said by Eliza and Laurens. Not Eliza, Angelica and Maria/Peggy.

Aaron Burr, Sir

Oh boy, oh boy, I have quite a bit to say about this one.

I strongly dislike the portrayal of Burr throughout the whole show. I get what LMM was going for with the whole “it’s how history sees him” but, you could’ve given him a bit more character. 

Burr singing “Fools that run their mouths off wind up dead” and then Laurens walking out immediately after is clever, because Laurens really was a fool who ran his mouth off quite a lot. Like the time he yelled at the king of France, King Louis XVI.

There's the obvious mistake that Hamilton met John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan and the Marquis de Lafayette at completely different times. He didn’t even meet burr in 1776 as we see here. He met burr in 1772-1773 when Hamilton briefly went to Princeton.

Laurens, Mulligan and Lafayette have very little character (which is something a lot of the people in this show struggle with.) for people who were pretty close to Hamilton, (especially Laurens) they don't seem like they were written to be very important characters. Their personality in this show can be summed up in a sentence.

And there's the other obvious mistake that Lafayette (and probably Laurens as well) never met Mulligan.

My Shot

The foreshadowing is good, I'll give it that.

For some reason, the chemistry between Lafayette and Mulligan-- who, again, never actually met-- is better than the chemistry between Hamilton and Laurens. What's up with that, huh?

“Wait ‘til I sally in on a stallion with the first black battalion” Laurens never got his black battalion. Congress approved the plan, but the South Carolina Legislative Assembly did not.

“Laurens, I like you a lot” get outta here with that crap. Either make their relationship a bigger part in the musical or keep it out completely. I hate how subtle and glossed over their relationship is in this show.

I do like Laurens’ little part in this song, it’s a rare part of the show where we see his actual personality instead of just “grr slavery bad alcohol good.” Anthony Ramos is a very good singer.

This song is pretty good story-wise. It is very well written. Hamilton’s monologue is surprisingly accurate to the real Alexander Hamilton and his beliefs.

The Story of Tonight

It has a good vibe, and I think it’s the closest we see Laurens and Hamilton throughout the entire show, which is kinda nice.

Again with the Lafayette-Mulligan thing LMM why???

The Schuyler Sisters

LMM unintentionally created a monster when he wrote that “and Peggy” line. That joke is one of the most overused and unfunny jokes in this show and its fandom.

Having Angelica be the “strong woman” in the show was a good idea on paper, but it’s not all that accurate to the real Angelica Schuyler, and it’s like her only personality trait (aside from the whole Hamilton and Angelica thing but I’ll talk more on that later)

I'm gonna say this a lot but oh my god these people have no character to them. Not even Eliza Schuyler-- Hamilton’s frickin wife.

Listen ok I am strictly attracted to men but Phillipa Soo is an absolutely beautiful and amazing and talented person. She has full permission to step on me.

Farmer Refuted

The farmer refuted was a pamphlet published by Hamilton in 1775 in response to something Samuel Seabury wrote about how the congress in Philadelphia was bad. Not an actual public debate like you see in the show. But I’ll let this one slide because having the actors read pamphlets onstage would be a lot less entertaining.

That’s pretty much it the song isn’t that interesting.

You’ll Be Back

This is probably just me but I don’t like how King George III steaks the show and is the main source of comedy. When I asked family members after their first viewing of the show who their favourite character was, almost all of them said the King. 

Mr. Groff, please keep your spit to yourself.

As far as my knowledge of King George III goes-- and I do not know a lot about him so don’t take this too seriously-- this song is a pretty accurate depiction of ‘The Mad King.’

Redcoat Interlude

Just gonna put this here to say The Bullet is a really cool character.

Right Hand Man

Chris Jackson has the voice of an angel.

I don’t like the way Washington is characterized. At some points, he’s over-glorified, but at other parts of the show, he’s downplayed a lot, and it doesn’t at all seem like the real George Washington.

Washington and Hamilton’s relationship in this show is so off from what it would’ve been historically. You don’t see it much in this song so I won’t say much here for the sake of keeping things organized, but I’ll discuss it later when it’s more obvious

Mulligan is shown in a continental uniform, yet he was not in the army. He was a spy. He wouldn’t have worn a uniform.

As with a lot of songs in this show, the music and choreography are amazing. The ensemble is so so talented. 

This scene where Burr is meeting with Washington isn’t entirely wrong, but it’s not exactly how it happened. According to Wikipedia, “In the spring of 1776, Burr's stepbrother Matthias Ogden helped him to secure a position with George Washington's staff in Manhattan, but he quit on June 26 to be on the battlefield.”

Hamilton did not meet Washington at the same time as Burr. He joined Washington’s staff in the spring of 1777.

I’m not exactly sure what he’s referring to when he says “I have some friends, Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette” but I do know that Laurens and Lafayette were not his friends at this point. They weren’t even in America at the time. Mulligan was, and he was good friends with Hamilton.

A Winter’s Ball

The formatting here is wild. This happened in 1780, I don’t know why LMM skipped ahead to this.

“We’re reliable with the ladies” ok that is true I’ll admit.

What is Laurens doing here? He was a prisoner of war in Phillidelphia when Hamilton met Eliza.

Helpless

Eliza was not “helpless.” If anything, Hamilton was the one head-over-heels for her. 

Hamilton. Was. Not. Into. Angelica. Angelica. Was. Not. Into. Hamilton. 

Hamilton’s little speech to Eliza after he gains her father’s blessing is kinda cute and pretty accurate.

A lot of the people shown in this scene were not at Hamilton’s wedding. 

Laurens is shown as Hamilton’s best man, but at the time of Hamilton’s wedding, he was travelling north to meet with Washington after finding out he is to be sent on a diplomatic mission to France. James McHenry, a fellow Aide-De-Camp to Washington, was Hamilton’s best man.

Satisfied

I hate how this is such a good song because what it’s about is probably my least favourite part of this show.

There is no evidence of Angelica being romantically attracted to Hamilton. They likely had a brother-sister kind of bond.

Now, having Angelica as the side love interest wouldn’t have been that bad if it was a real thing, but it wasn’t. LMM intentionally re-wrote a part of history to have her in it, when he could’ve kept the same storyline, and have Laurens be the side love interest. If he had given Laurens that role, he could’ve made the show more historically accurate, and it would bring to light a part of history many people try to erase. But in giving Angelica that role, he has not only completely changed a part in history but has also erased the fact that Alexander Hamilton-- nor John Laurens, for that matter-- was straight. LMM had so much power. He was writing a musical about a founding father. He could have brought so many things we didn’t know to light. And yet, we’re stuck with this.

Angelica was not the person who introduced Hamilton to Angelica. It was most likely Cathrine “Kitty” Livingston, a friend and possible love interest to Hamilton that he met before he joined the army.

Angelica had brothers. 

The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

“I’ve seen wonders great and small” *gestures down* I’m sorry sir what?

They were all married before Hamilton. 

Wait For It

This is a beautiful song and it doesn’t have much wrong with it. 

Stay Alive

Sweet lord the timeline is terrible. The battle of Monmouth happened in 1778 before Hamilton got married.

Here is a better example of the strange portrayal of Washington and Hamilton. The real Washington wouldn’t have called Hamilton “son.” He wouldn’t be as friendly with him. Their relationship was professional.

Mulligan was already in new york, so he wouldn’t have to “go back to new york and [his] apprenticeship.”

“Instead of me, he promotes Charles Lee” Hamilton did not ask for a command at Monmouth. What happened was Lee was given a command, declined, and then it was given instead to Lafayette. Later, Lee requested the command be given back to him because Lafayette was very young and didn’t have much experience. Washinton blindly trusted Lee and agreed to give it back to him.

After Lee was court-martialed, he kept running his mouth and slandering Washington. Hamilton originally wanted to duel lee, but Laurens told him not to, and to just let him say what he wants. Later, after Lee kept running his mouth and the insults got worse, Laurens decided to duel him. 

Washington didn’t know of the duel. He didn’t even know it happened until the day after.  

Ten Duel Commandments

Hamilton was not the one who was super giddy and impatient for the duel to start, he was kinda the opposite. Laurens was the one who challenged Lee and was the trigger happy one. 

Burr was not Lee’s second, Evan Edwards was.

Again, Hamilton was not as enthusiastic as shown here. He was the one who tried to call off the duel and actually prevented Laurens and Lee from firing a second time.

Meet Me Inside

Laurens was not satisfied after he shot Lee, and demanded them to shoot again.

Washington saying “these young men don’t speak for me” isn’t that far off from how he reacted, but we can’t be 100% sure because there’s not a lot that was documented about his reaction to the duel.

Washinton was more upset with Laurens for holding a duel in his honour. So he wouldn’t have lectured Hamilton as he does in this scene.

As I said before, Washington would not be calling Hamilton “son”.

I really wish LMM wrote this scene differently because it’s entirely wrong. Hamilton didn’t leave the army until March of 1781, after being so fed up with Washington continuously denying him a command. 

“Charles Lee, Thomas Conway, these men take your name and they rake it through the mud” that is true, and he’s referring to the Conway Cabal. More info on the Conway Cabal can be found here if you’re interested.

The timeline is so confusing here. “Your wife needs you alive” technically, at the time of the duel he didn’t have a wife, but by the time he left Washington’s staff he did. But in the show, I'm assuming this scene takes place in 1778, so, historically, no wife yet. But in the show, he also gets married before this scene. So I don’t know what’s going on here. 

That Would Be Enough

For the sake of simplicity and not driving myself to insanity, I’m just gonna assume this takes place in 1781. Because I don’t want to try and figure out the timeline.

Eliza was not a month pregnant yet, in fact, she wasn’t pregnant at all at the time. Hamilton went home in march 1781, and their first son Philip was born in January of the next year. Doing the math, Eliza wasn’t pregnant until May 1781.

This song is actually really sweet aww.

Guns and Ships

Ah, the timeline finally smooths out.

Lafayette wasn’t really a “secret weapon,” he was just a General

Nevermind the timeline is messed up again. “I go to France for more funds” he did that in 1779, and he went back to France on leave, apparently missing home. He ended up working with Benjamin Franklin to send more troops and ships to America.

I wish Laurens was mentioned here. He went on a diplomatic mission to France in February and convinced the french congress to gift America 6 million livres.

Lafayette was not the one to tell Washington he needed Hamilton to come back. What happened was in July after he left, Hamilton sent a letter to Washington threatening to resign his commission. Washinton panicked and sent Tench Tilghman-- a fellow Aide-de-Camp beside Hamilton-- to go to the house Hamilton rented with Eliza to tell him to come back to the army and that Washington will give him a command. 

You can see in this scene Lafayette running with a letter, but he was not the person who did that. It was Tilghman.

History Has Its Eyes On You

I can’t think of anything wrong with this song, it’s pretty spot-on and sounds beautiful.

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

“We’ll be with you when you do,” ehehe no they were not. The Americans did almost nothing to help France during the French Revolution.

“Take the bullets out your gun” was actually something Hamilton did with his battalion when they were sneaking through the trenches on their way to attack Redoubt 10.

Laurens was not in South Carolina, he was at Yorktown-- fighting under Hamilton’s command-- after just returning from his diplomatic mission to France. 

Lafayette was not “there waiting in Chesapeake bay,” he was with the other french troops attacking Redoubt 9.

Again, Mulligan would not have been in uniform.

Mulligan might have “taken their measurements, information” but he sure didn’t “smuggle it.” That was done by his slave, Cato. He and Mulligan were working with the Sons of Liberty and with Hamilton’s spy ring-- of which we do not know the name of-- and smuggled intelligence to General Washington.

The instrumentals and the choreography make me very happy. I really enjoy the short little instrumental break.

The siege of Yorktown lasted three weeks, not just one.

They act like this was the end of the war. It most certainly was not. The war didn’t officially end until 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Yorktown was the last major battle of the war, but not just the last.

What comes Next

I’m very picky about this but I don’t like the king purely because I feel like he steals the show and is the automatic favourite.

Dear Theodosia

Philip Hamilton was born a year before Theodosia Burr.

I don’t know much about Burr, but I can say that Hamilton really did love his kids and his family, and I'm upset that we don’t see that in the show. At least we see a bit of it in this song.

Laurens Interlude (Tomorrow There’ll Be More of Us)

“It’s from John Laurens. I’ll read it later.” This makes me sad because the last letter sent between these two was sent from Hamilton on August 15th (and most likely never reached Laurens before his death,) so Hamilton was probably expecting the letter Eliza brings him to be a reply.

We don’t know exactly how Hamilton learned of Laurens’ death, but we do know it was not from a letter from Henry Laurens (John Laurens’ Father.) He most likely learned of Laurens’ death from either Washington or General Greene.

I find it a bit odd that Laurens sings the line “and when our children tell our story” because he never met his daughter, he left his pregnant wife in England (she moved to France a few years later)  to sail to America to join the revolution, and never visited them (not even when he was in France for his diplomatic mission.) But I get it, it’s a reprise of “The Story of Tonight.”

The war was not over, but it was close.

“His dream of freedom for these men dies with him.” Yep. Unfortunately, he never got the black battalion he worked so hard for.

I hate how fast it moves from this emotional scene, where Hamilton learns of the death of his closest friend-- the man he loved-- to “after the war I went back to new york” like geez, LMM. give the man some time to grieve.

Non-Stop

The trial of Levi Weeks didn’t happen until 1800.

There is no record of this midnight meeting of Burr and Hamilton.

Burr didn’t actually support the constitution.

Angelica was married long before this, so I don’t know why it’s just being brought up now-- oh wait. LMM is back on his hamgelica bullcrap.

John Jay got sick after writing four, came back to write the fifth, then got sick again and ditched Hamilton and James Madison. 

Hamilton did not write all 51 essays on his own, he collaborated on a few with Madison.

Hamilton was not immediately offered the position of Treasury Secretary. It was first offered to Madison, who declined, and then it was offered to Hamilton.

Most of the time, Hamilton was upset that he had to leave his family for work and wrote them often when he was away. From this point onward in the show, Hamilton’s character and personality are getting more and more inaccurate. He was not the selfish, self-centred man we see in the show. In reality, he was a kind man who loved his family but oftentimes made bad decisions due to his bad habit of acting without thought or planning.

ACT II

What’d I Miss

Daveed Diggs is cool, but I don’t understand why so many straight girls are so obsessed with him.

“Pissed him off until we had a two-party system” that’s pretty much true and it’s stupid.

He was in Paris for 5 years. It's not that long.

The “Sally be a lamb” line makes me so upset because it is so disrespectful to Sally Hemmings. I wish LMM left her out completely.

“I am to be the secretary of state, great!” Jefferson was not very happy about being appointed to the secretary of state because he wanted to stay at Monticello and do his own thing.

“I can’t believe that we are free” it’s ironic that Jefferson of all people says that line.

Mr. Madison, that’s not very COVID friendly of you.

Jefferson knew Hamilton for a bit before he went to France, and they did get along outside of politics.

Cabinet Battle #1

I hate how cocky and self-centred Jefferson is here because 1) it’s annoying as hell, and 2) the real Thomas Jefferson was not. He was quiet and shy.

“Imagine what gon’ happen when you try to tax our whiskey.” funny you should say that, Mr. Jefferson. Neither Jefferson nor Madison were not involved with the whiskey rebellion. They were silent on the issue because they made a deal with Hamilton (which I will talk more about in a few songs.) However, Hamilton-- the guy Jefferson is talking to in this scene-- was involved in the whiskey rebellion. He doesn’t have to “Imagine what gon’ happen,” he was there. More info on the whiskey tax and rebellion can be found here.

“We almost died in a trench, while you were off getting high with the french” Jefferson wasn’t in France during the war.

I’m glad the topic of slavery is being brought up, but it could’ve done in a different way instead of just a clap back in a rap battle.

“Madison, you mad as a hatter, son take your medicine” Hamilton is such a hypocrite here. Did he forget the time he almost died of a fever when he was 10? Or when he almost died of a fever in Albany in 1778? Or the fact that on multiple occasions he overworked himself so hard that he got sick? Or his kidney problems? Or-- 

“You’re gonna need congressional approval and you don’t have the votes!” Jefferson and Madison literally helped him get the votes. (again, I’ll explain later.)

“Well, James Madison won’t talk to me.” He used to. A lot. Hamilton and Madison used to be really good friends until Jefferson returned from France and Madison drifted to his side.

Take a Break 

I don’t know how long her trip lasted, but I doubt that Angelica was with Eliza and the kids on their trip upstate. She came to visit in 1789, and the Reynolds affair started in 1791. However, I have no concrete evidence that she left before the affair started, so maybe she was there. I don’t know.

Ah yes, Alexander “I Don’t Care About My Family” Hamilton. 

“I have a sister but I want a little brother” by 1791 (when this scene takes place using Philip’s age as a reference) Phillip had 2 brothers already. 

While the Schuyler Mansion is near a park, there’s no lake. Today, at least. There’s a swimming pool though.

“I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase,” shut up shut up shut up.

“With a comma after “dearest,” you’ve written: “My dearest, Angelica”” I hate how obsessed LMM is with this stupid comma, yet doesn’t say anything about the multiple suggestive and romantic letter between Laurens and Hamilton.

Speaking of the comma situation, it was meant as a joke. What had happened was Angelica sent a letter to Hamilton with “my dearest, Alexander '' and put the comma by mistake. She just slipped up with her grammar. And in response, Hamilton wrote “my dearest, Angelica” as a joke to tease her about it. It’s not romantic. It was meant. As. A. Joke.

John Adams was vice president. I'd say that’s a real job.

Angelica, stop being all “I came all this way :((“ he doesn’t want to miss out on the trip, but he has to. If he had a choice he would definitely go with his family.

Say No To This

I hate how this song demonizes Mary Lewis (more commonly known as Maria Reynolds) like she was trying to get out of an abusive marriage??? And Hamilton was like “oof that sux wanna bang?”

The heterosexual energy in this scene overwhelms me (/j)

The first letter (that I have found) from James Reynolds to Hamilton was sent on December 15, 1791, so not “a month into this endeavour.”

I will note here that in the letter mentioned above, it sounds nothing like what we hear in the song. Which makes me question if the above letter is even the one Hamilton the musical is talking about.

Because of limited information, I cannot say whether this scene is accurate or not.

“I don’t know about any letter!” she most certainly did. Mary and Reynolds both sent letters to Hamilton concerning the affair.

The Room Where It Happens

This is the song I was talking about when I said I’d talk more about the deal between Jefferson and Madison and Hamilton.

Washington was the one who proposed that this dinner happen.

Clermont street was renamed Mercer street in 1799, the dinner table bargain (what this song is about) was in 1790. Before the Hamilton-Reynolds affair. Yet another wrinkle in the timeline.

“Now how you gonna get your debt plan through?” “I guess I’m gonna finally have to listen to you” well, Hamilton didn’t really “talk less, smile more” his way through the issue. He did-- as he usually does-- quite a lot of talking

“Well, hate the sin, love the sinner” doesn’t sit right with me because it is sometimes used as a homophobic remark.

Jefferson’s account of the bargain on the assumption and residence bills is what this scene is about.

Madison did not hate Hamilton until Jefferson returned from France.

Leslie Odom Jr. is so, so talented.

There is nothing to suggest that Burr wanted to be there. I don’t even think he knew it happened. 

Schuyler Defeated

Not much to say here, it's a short and forgettable song.

Cabinet Battle #2

I don’t like how much Jefferson says “we.” He wasn’t there. He wasn’t a soldier.

“Smells like new money, dresses like fake royalty” Hamilton was known for his colourful clothes, while Jefferson was known for dressing sloppily.

“Lafayette’s a smart man, he’ll be fine.” yeah, uh, he was imprisoned in Austria at the time… 

“You’re nothing without Washington behind you.” Hamilton was a very powerful man. One of the most powerful, next to Washington. Even with Washington gone, he still held a lot of power and was pretty well-known.

Washington On Your Side

“Thanks to Hamilton, our cabinet’s fractured into factions.” Hamilton is probably one of the biggest reasons the two-party system exists, but Jefferson did play a role as well. To put it simply, Hamilton and the federalists disagreed so much with Jefferson and the democratic-republicans that everything just got split in two.

“And dresses like the pits of fashion” look at the point from the above song.

“Somebody gives me some dirt on this vacuous mass” it really wasn’t that hard to find dirt on Hamilton. He had a controversial past, and could sometimes be a really shady guy. However, it was all for-- at least in his own head-- good reason.

Because of how close Hamilton and Washington were, Hamilton had a lot of power, and Washington backed him up quite a lot.

James Madison gets so little lines in this show, and it makes me kind of upset. Hamilton and Madison were pretty close friends for a few years, so I don’t know why LMM didn’t talk at all about that.

“This immigrant isn’t somebody we chose” yes, but Washington chose him. Don’t like him? take it up with Washington.

One Last Time

Jefferson did not step “down so he can run for president,” he stepped down to go home. To relax at his mansion, to get away from politics. He stepped down in 1793 and didn’t run for president until 1796.

This song is actually really good, and pretty accurate. And good lord Chris Jackson can sing. Gives me chills every time.

I Know Him

Adams did know King George III. and from what I have read, he was very nervous to meet him.

“That’s that little guy who spoke to me” of course he’s little to the king, the king was like 6’6”.

The Adams Administration

The Adams Pamphlet was published in 1800.

The new york post wasn’t founded until 1801, so I find it odd that they’re bringing it up in this song, in 1797.

Adams did not fire Hamilton, he stepped down on his own in 1795. 

Hamilton’s response to Adams’ taunts hurt Hamilton’s reputation a lot more than it hurt Adams’.

We Know

This takes place in 1792 before Adams was president.

Jefferson, Madison and Burr were not the people to confront Hamilton. It was James Monroe, Frederick Muhlenberg, and Abraham Venable.

The whole situation with the speculation of embezzled funds is pretty off from what we see here. What happened was James Reynolds embezzled $500 and tried to get his way out of imprisonment by saying he had dirt on Hamilton. Monroe, Muhlenberg, and Venable went to Hamilton and Hamilton explained “no, I didn’t embezzle government money, I just got my dick sucked.”

“Yes, I have reasons for shame,” yeah you think?

Hurricane

The workshop version is better, and it has Laurens in it.

The Reynolds Pamphlet

Gotta give Hamilton credit for not publishing this until after William S. Hamilton was born and then waiting for the stress of a new baby to be gone. Y’know at least he’s considerate.

Eliza was only gone for the summer of ‘91, so I don’t know why everyone’s acting like she was gone the whole time. 

Hamilton didn’t even want to be a president, and never showed any interest in the position. 

Angelica was already in America at the time, she didn’t just travel because of the affair.

The king has no reason to be here. I get that he’s the comedic relief, but this isn’t a scene where comedic relief is needed. It’s a serious situation.

“His poor wife” yeah, but have you ever stopped to think about what Mary Lewis is going through?

Burn

“You have ruined our lives.” The ‘our’ is referring to Eliza and Mary Lewis.

Blow Us All Away

George Eaker said many bad things about Hamilton in a fourth of July public speech, but Philip Hamilton didn’t meet him and challenge him to the duel until late November of 1801.

Speaking of 1801, this happens way after the Reynolds affair and the election of 1800. 

Hamilton didn’t know that the duel happened. Philip lied and told his father that it had been resolved. Hamilton later found out that it happened when John B. Church and a few others told him after it happened that Philip was shot and dying.

“Everything is legal in New Jersey.” duelling was illegal in some form or another in every state, but the punishment was less severe in New Jersey.

The guns Philip (and his father 3 years later) used in the duel belonged to John B. Church. They were not Hamilton’s guns.

Eaker didn’t shoot on 7. They both counted to 10 and stood still for an awkward minute before Philip raised his gun to fire into the air, and Eacker got scared that Philip would shoot him and shot Philip.

Stay Alive (Reprise)

When Hamilton arrived at the home of dr. David Hosack (the doctor treating Philip) he reportedly fainted from anxiety.

Eliza’s scream should have been Angelica Hamilton, as she had a mental breakdown after the death of her brother, and was arguably (out of the rest of her siblings) the most hurt by his death.

It’s Quiet Uptown

Hamilton was really hurt by the death of his son. It was probably what broke him the most out of every death he’s seen in his life-- and he’s seen a lot.

“I take the children to church on Sunday,” after Philip’s death, Hamilton and his family became a lot more religious.

“His hair has gone grey,” there is a portrait of Hamilton shortly after his son’s death, and he looks like he’s aged 10 years. He looks old and sad and in grief. It barely looks like him. 

Eliza would have forgiven Hamilton at this point. She forgave him not too long after the Reynolds pamphlet was published.

The Election of 1800

This happened before Philip’s duel, but you already knew that.

“I’m going door-to-door.” “You’re openly campaigning?” “Sure!” Burr was the first presidential candidate to openly campaign and set the standard for modern American politics.

They were tied for a stupidly long time. And when they finally got untied (by Hamilton and the federalists’ promotions and persuasion) it was by just a few votes. Not “in a landslide.”

Burr did end up being Jefferson’s vice-president. Jefferson didn’t change that.

Your Obedient Servant

This is a situation, much like the Reynolds affair, where no one is in the “right” or the “wrong.” Was it wrong for Burr to shoot Hamilton? Yes, absolutely. Was it wrong for Hamilton to say bad things about Burr and constantly keep him away from what he wanted? Yes, absolutely. But on the other side, was it wrong for Burr to be mad about what Hamilton did? No, he had every right to be angry. Was it wrong for Hamilton to speak his mind? No, freedom of speech and all that. It’s a very fuzzy situation and that’s partly why it’s unclear what exactly happened on the duelling ground.

While Burr’s loss of the elections was a reason for his duel with Hamilton, it was not the main reason. There were a bunch of little things that led up to this. A question I’ve been asked before (quite a few times, honestly) is “if Burr won the election/if Hamilton promoted Burr, would the duel still have happened?” and in my opinion, I think it still would have happened, it would have probably just happened later. Because the duel wasn’t the “breaking point” for Burr, it was just one of those little things that led to it.

Also while I’m on the topic of the election, it happened a few years before the duel. The election of 1800 was on March 4, 1801 (yes, 1801. It was tied for a very long time.) The duel was on July 11, 1804. So not directly afterward.

“Just to keep me from winning.” it is true that Hamilton did not trust Burr to be in power, and did everything he could to stop him.

The workshop version is cooler and more accurate. (if LMM had just kept the workshop version and what was in it I probably wouldn’t be writing TBH)

“I am not the reason no one trusts you,” in a way, yes, Hamilton is the reason no one trusts Burr. Hamilton had a lot of power and a lot of people listened to him. A good example of this would be his role during John Adams’ presidency. Hamilton constantly whispered into Adams’ cabinet members’ ears and basically told them what to do. And they believed him, and did what he said.

“Even if I said what you think I said, you would need to cite a more specific grievance. Here’s an itemized list of 30 years of disagreements.” Hamilton and Burr argued so much and Hamilton said so many bad things about him that when Burr asked him to admit to saying these things Hamilton essentially said “yeah well I’ve said a lot about you so you’re gonna have to be a lot more specific because I don’t know which time you’re referring to.”

Best of Wives, Best of Women

The title (and the line in the song) are a reference to this letter. 

Hamilton was not with his wife the night before the duel. He was at a house he had rented in new york city that he stayed in sometimes while away for work. A few of his older sons were with him, though, including John C. Hamilton, who was interviewed many years later and gave a retelling of what happened the night before. You can read it here.

The World Was Wide Enough

“A doctor that he knew” was David Hosak, the same doctor who treated Philip after his duel just 3 years earlier.

“Now, I didn’t know this at the time but we were near the same spot your son died,” I’m fairly sure he knew, Philip’s duel was a pretty big thing and a lot of people knew.

“My fellow soldiers tell you I’m a terrible shot.” Burr was actually a very good shot. There’s even an account of him doing target practice a few days before the duel.

“But look it up, Hamilton was wearing his glasses,” Hamilton put on his glasses because he was old, and had bad vision from his years of service in the revolution, and from how hard he worked. Fun fact, he was facing the rising sun, which meant the sun glared off his glasses, rendering him unable to see clearly. He wouldn’t have been able to shoot Burr if he tried.

“This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” Burr’s daughter, Theodosia, was 22 and married. I’m sure she would be fine. On the other hand, Hamilton’s kids were very young. The oldest, Angelica, was only 19, and the youngest, Philip II, was only 2. These kids all needed a father figure in their life, but apparently, Burr didn’t consider that.

In the lines "Laurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other side / My son is on the other side, he's with my mother on the other side / Washington is watching from the other side," it seems like they’re being listed in a very particular order but I’m not sure what it means or why they’re in that order.

Hamilton quotes Laurens’ lines right before he dies and it makes me think of a conversation I had with a friend. She was telling me about how for some time after Laurens’ death, Hamilton didn’t really speak that much in congress and such. At first, I thought “oh it’s because he’s dealing with the death of his closest friend and possible romantic partner,” but then my friend explained that that’s not why he was quiet. It’s because when Laurens was in South Carolina, trying to convince the house of representatives to give him his black battalion, he didn’t talk that much. He waited for everyone else to talk, and then he jumped in and talked. That’s why Hamilton was silent for a lot of the time. He was doing what Laurens did. He was quoting Laurens.

“They row him back across the Hudson, I get a drink.” After shooting Hamilton, Burr went to his cousin’s house as if nothing had happened.

Burr showed seemingly no regret for shooting Hamilton, and even bragged and joked about it for years after.

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

“Every other founding father’s story gets told,” it really is kinda sad how little people know about Hamilton. He’s not taught about in school. He wasn’t a president.

I do wish that the musical talked a bit more about Hamilton’s kids and their contribution to keeping Hamilton's story alive. Especially John C. who went through all of his father’s papers and wrote the first biography on him. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really wish the Laurens-Hamilton relationship was a bigger part of the show.

The actors are amazing, but the people they play have little to no character/personality, and it kinda brings the actors down.

I love Phillipa soo.

There are so many inaccuracies that could have been easily avoided, and I genuinely don’t understand why LMM did some of the things he did. Like there was no reason to make Angelica the love interest. Absolutely no reason. And yet, here we are.

Hamilton, the musical was a great way to make more people interested in history, but unfortunately because of how wrong the show is, a lot of people who gain an interest in history from it think that it’s 100% right and treat it like a documentary. I would know, I became interested in American history because of the musical and I didn’t know how many things were wrong or left out until recently. 

The workshop version was better and more accurate. 

And that’s it! I’d like to give a big thanks to my friends who helped me, especially my friend Mary. 

[problems-turn-fics]

More Hercules/Robert. Can be read as a continuation of my main fic for them (Have My Attention) or stand alone. Either way just some developing relationship nonsense [Words: 1472 | Rated T]

Mulligan curled closer and Robert turned his head for a kiss, feeling for a moment to be at perfect peace in his bed at home. After a minute, though Mulligan sighed and started to untangle himself from the sheets. “You’re going back to your room?”

Mulligan turned and took Robert’s hand, giving it a quick kiss before he stood. “Not because I want to.”

Robert just hummed. He knew, of course, that he was right. His father had been supportive, he’d pushed them together after all, but the theory of it was much different than the practice and Robert didn’t want to push. Still, he didn’t want Mulligan to go again. “The man sleeps like the dead. He won’t wake until morning. A few more minutes won’t make a difference if you’d like to stay.”

Mulligan stood at the end of the bed, clearly tempted. It was a bit fun to be the one doing the tempting for once. “If I come back to bed now, I’ll fall asleep.”

“I’ll wake you,” Robert said, adjusting the blanket. That did it and Mulligan crawled back up the bed and tucked himself against Robert’s side. Robert blew out the candle as he did and adjusted them until they were both comfortable wrapped up in each other’s arms.

“Are you going to be able to stay awake?”

“I’ll be fine.”

** Robert woke suddenly to the sound of a knock, and only had half a moment to panic before his door started to open. Mulligan was staring back at him with wide eyes and they both knew it was too late for him to hide. “Robert, can you-. Oh. I’m sorry,” Samuel said, his eyes barely seeing Mulligan before he turned around and shut the door behind him.

“Dear God,” Mulligan whispered, looking like he was about to be sick. Then he sprung out of the bed and started to redress, his fingers fumbling over the ties and buttons in his haste. “I’m so sorry, Robert.”

“No. You said you would fall asleep and I said I would wake you and I didn’t. It’s my fault,” Robert said as he got dressed as well, trying to think of an excuse that would justify why Mulligan was naked in his bed.

When he was done he looked to Mulligan who nodded. “I’ll get my things and head straight out the door. Write to me. And if you need to, come to the city. You have a place with me.”

Robert shook his head. “It won’t come to that. But I’ll write, I promise,” he said, taking Mulligan’s hand.

Mulligan kissed him quickly and then slipped out the door and into his room. He was already halfway down the stairs before Robert had managed to compose himself enough to face his father.

“Hercules,” Samuel said, brightly just as Mulligan was opening the front door. “Where are you going so soon? I’ve made you some eggs. You too, Robert. Come, eat.”

Mulligan set his bag down by the door and followed Samuel to the table and Robert followed him.

Sure enough, the table was set with bread and eggs for each of them. Robert stared at the eggs for a moment, forcing himself to grab the bread.

It felt like each moment stretched on forever. They weren’t even halfway done when Samuel clapped his hands together. “Will you two please relax? You’re spoiling breakfast.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Robert lied before taking a long drink of ale.

“So I’m imagining the tension that’s threatening to suffocate us all?”

“There’s no reason why there would be any tension,” Robert said. “Mr. Mulligan was -”

“I have a fairly good idea of why Hercules was in your room this morning.”

“Mr. Townsend-,” Mulligan started but Samuel held up his hand, silencing them both.

“Boys, you have nothing to fear here. All love comes from God which means all love that is freely given and returned, is good and right.” Robert released the breath that had been caught in his throat since he’d heard the knock and Mulligan blinked a few times, looking close to tears. “I will have to learn to be more patient when waiting for Robert to answer my knocking.”

“Thirty years and all it took was you finding a man in my bed,” Robert grumbled without really thinking about the words.

“I knew you were asleep. I could hear you snoring from the hallway,” Samuel said, rolling his eyes.

Mulligan cracked a smile but quickly looked back down to his plate.

Samuel turned to Hercules, putting a gentle hand on his arm. “And I could hardly mistreat someone who has brought my son so much joy.”

Mulligan gave a half-hearted smile but his shoulders lost some of their tension and he didn’t hide when his eyes made contact with Robert’s.

**

An hour later Robert walked out to the barn with Mulligan, he did still have to go back to the city after all. He helped him put the saddle on the horse but once there was nothing to be done except for Mulligan to ride off he grabbed his hand, not quite ready to say goodbye yet.

Mulligan seemed to understand without a word and stepped closer, kissing Robert sweetly. “I meant what I said.”

Robert’s heart jumped into his throat. “You say a great many things.”

“You’re lucky you’re handsome, otherwise you’d be truly insufferable,” Mulligan said, shaking his head even though he was smiling.

“I could say the same about you.”

“Oh, you think I’m handsome?”

“Unfortunately.”

Mulligan kissed him again. “I’m trying to be serious here.”

“No one’s stopping you.”

“When I told you that you have a place with me, I meant it. You might not need one, but you have one. Franny and Minnie love you, Franny even said she'd be willing to marry you if need be. More importantly, I love you so know that there is a place in the city for you.” Mulligan was looking at him expectantly and Robert couldn’t meet his gaze. It was too much. There was too much emotion on his face and Robert couldn’t handle all of his while also trying to sort out his own.

He tucked a bit of hair behind Mulligan’s ear. “I don't need a place in the city, as you've seen.”

Hercules signed. "I know. Clearly, you don't need to marry Franny, though her family is very wealthy so you might want to rethink that."

"You should understand that when I told you I wouldn't move back to the city I meant that," Robert said, hating himself for it. It needed to be said because he really wasn't going to move back to the city but he hated to disappoint Hercules.

Hercules grabbed his face gently, forcing Robert to look at him. "And I don't want you to. You're happy here. And your happiness is paramount." He let go of Robert's face and smiled. "I just meant that if something were to happen you have a home there. A place where you will be safe no matter what."

Robert nodded and leaned forward to kiss Hercules softly. "You have a home here as well. You, and Minnie, and Franny."

Hercules laughed brightly. "Don't let Franny find out you said that or she'll be plotting our escape from the city to your farm for the summer."

"We can always use the extra help."

"Do you remember what I said about her family being wealthy? Neither her nor Minnie would be the definition of help."

"Anyone can be taught," Robert countered.

"Is that a challenge, Mr. Townsend?"

"No, Mr. Mulligan."

Hercules laughed again, his smile bright and warm.

"Shall I visit you the weekend after next then?" Robert asked. "Once spring starts there will be no getting away from here until the harvest is done."

"Wonderful." He leaned forward and kissed Robert soundly. When he broke away Robert missed him but he was already getting up on the horse to ride home. "I'll let the girls know. And James. He misses you dearly, and has demanded that the next time you visit I invite him for dinner as well."

"We wouldn't want to disappoint James."

"I'll never hear the end of it."

They walked out of the barn together and Hercules hesitated just a moment. "I will see you the Friday after next," Robert said.

"I'll be counting the days," Hercules said. "I love you."

Robert smiled. "I love you too."

Hercules winked at him and then turned up the drive. Robert stood in the middle of their drive watching him go, longing already swelling in his chest as he watched him. When he was out of sight Robert turned around and saw his father standing on the porch watching him.

Robert sighed. “Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

[harley-sunday]

Encore [02]

Summary: The new Disney+ show ‘Encore’ brings together former castmates of a high school musical, tasking them with re-creating their original performance in a high school reunion like no other. Emotions run high as you face faded friendships, long-forgotten controversies, killer choreography, and an ex-boyfriend you haven’t seen in eighteen years.

Pairing: Chris Evans x reader [unnamed OFC, nicknamed ‘Ace’)

Warnings: Language

Word count: 8.5k

AN: As promised, here’s part 2. Hope you like it, please let me know what you think :) 

Masterlist

It’s all been pretty hectic from the moment you walked into the theater room just before five, with Adam immediately ushering you off to the cafeteria where dinner is about to be served. You end up on the other end of the table from Chris before you even had a chance to say hello to him. You keep stealing glances in his direction to try and find out if he’s as nervous about having to make out on stage in a couple of hours but he seems too caught up in whatever story Johnny’s telling him to notice. 

You’ve just finished your main course when Coy suddenly stands up and claps his hands to get your attention, “Everyone, I just wanted to take this moment to thank you for all the hard work you’ve done over the past four days.” He nods towards Adam en Kelly, “We went into this project unsure of what to expect, but you’ve proven to be a worthy cast and we have no doubt that you will put on an amazing show tonight!”

People start to clap, but he raises his hands to stop them, “We have one very special guest who will be joining us tonight, who I think deserves your applause even more.” 

The door opens and in walks Mrs Linton and all of a sudden everyone claps, you included, and then there are tears in your eyes because you didn’t think you’d ever see her again. Chris is the first to greet her and you watch him give her a hug and then smile at something she says. 

She makes her way down the table, greeting everyone with a hug and some encouraging words, and you patiently wait your turn but she now walks with a cane and so it takes a little longer. Her smile grows wider when she sees you and you carefully wrap your arms around her.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you here,” Mrs Linton says once you’ve let go of her. Someone pulls up a chair for her and she sits down next to you, her cane resting against her knee. “I honestly thought you’d never come back.” 

“You and me both,” you confess with a smile, “but I’m glad I did.” You risk a quick glance at Chris, who nods at you from across the table, making you smile, and of course Mrs Linton knows exactly what is going on.

“So I take it you two have finally made things right?” 

“We’re getting there,” 

“Well good,” she says as she pats your knee, “you know I’ve always been rooting for you two.” 

Before you have a chance to find Chris you’re told to go to make-up and wardrobe, where they transform you into Rizzo in no time. You’re sent off to the backstage area then, where most of your castmates are already waiting for some final instructions from Coy. Michael, Johnny, and Chris walk in next and you can’t help but smile when you see them in their T-Birds jackets and elephant trunk hairstyles.

Coy claps his hands to get everyone’s attention, “Listen up, everybody, we have ten minutes until showtime and I just wanted to tell you to have fun out there. You got this, you’ve worked extremely hard and we all,” he looks at Adam and Kelly, who are both nodding fervently, “have confidence in you. Break a leg!”

There are cheers and hugs and maybe some tears, and in the chaos of it all you find Chris and give him a hug, “Good luck out there.”

He pulls you even closer, “Go knock ‘em dead, Rizzo.”

“How you holding up?”

Unlike Monday, this time you do answer, “I feel like I’m about to throw up.”

“You’ll be fine,” he says from somewhere over your shoulder. He pokes your side then, “At least wait until after the break, Ace, we need to make out first, remember?”

You want to say something, really you do, a witty retort maybe, or just your regular spiel, but the promise of it all is too much and so the only thing you can do is watch him walk on stage a few seconds later, quietly shaking your head. 

Nicole joins you not much later but doesn’t say anything and you are more grateful for that than she’ll ever know. Instead, she gives you a gentle push when it’s your cue and tells you to go for it.

You find Chris on the right side of his stage, in what is supposed to be Kenickie’s car, and you join him in the made-up backseat, where he throws his arm around your shoulders immediately. It all feels oddly familiar and yet so new at the same time but there’s no time to explore that right now. You make it through the scene with ease, the banter between you two like second nature. 

He finishes his last line then and all of a sudden your mouth goes dry because you know what’s coming next. He gives you a wink right before he leans in and lets his lips brush against yours. They let Chris keep his beard, even though technically Kenickie should be clean-shaven, and so there’s a new sensation to the kiss that you haven’t experienced before. 

You want to take it slow, relish in the moment of this second first kiss for as long as possible, but then you feel his hand on your hip, giving it a gentle squeeze to let you know it’s your cue, and you remember you have a performance to give. 

Putting your hands in his hair you pull him even closer, pushing yourself against him, exaggerating your every move and you can hear the audience react, loud cheers coming from the back where you know his family is seated. You smile against his lips but keep yours closed because you want there to be a promise of something more, later, when it’s just the two of you and you’re not on a stage for the world to see.

He pulls back then, because the script says he should, but there’s a mischievous look in his eyes that tells you he’s enjoying this just as much as you are. Pushing you down, so your back hits the bench you’ve been sitting on until now, he kisses you.

You’re hardly capable of forming a coherent thought, so the fact that you remember that the script calls for you to throw your leg in the air and wrap it around him is some sort of miracle. His weight is on you now and it’s not entirely unpleasant and so you pull him down even more. It’s a good thing you’re hidden from view from the audience, you muse, the cardboard cut out of the car high enough to only show Chris’ head and back and your hands in his hair. 

There’s a beep from the side of the stage then, letting you know the curtain is about to close for intermission and so you push Chris off you, his hair messy and a hint of your lipstick on his lips. He grins and from the way he tilts his head at you, you can tell he’s back into character, “You ok there, Riz?”

You get up and out of the car, trying your best to channel Rizzo when you shrug and say, “I’ve had better.”

The audience cheers as the curtain closes for intermission and just as the stage lights turn off he comes up behind you and takes your hand, pulling you towards him in the darkness that slowly falls on you. Letting go of your hand then, he cups your face and even in the dark you can see the way he looks at you, his eyes falling to your lips, quietly asking for permission. 

You hesitate and quietly tell him, “Not here.”

He nods, letting you know he understands, and instead presses his lips against your forehead softly. 

The rest of the evening passes in a blur and before you know it the entire cast is gathered on stage to receive a standing ovation, loud cheers coming from all throughout the crowd. You’re somewhere in the middle of the line, Nicole on one side and Chris on the other, and can’t help but get a little teary-eyed when you see Mrs Linton give you a thumbs up from the front row. 

When the curtain finally falls it’s a quiet for a moment, until Michael pumps his fist in the air and yells out, “Fuck yeah! We did it!”

More cheers erupt then and Nicole pulls you in for a hug, “We did it, babe.”

You smile against her shoulder, “We sure did, Nic.” 

There are some people clapping then and when you turn around you see Coy and his team on the side of the stage, giving you another round of applause. 

“That was amazing, guys,” Coy says with a wide smile. 

“We’re very proud of all of you,” Adam agrees. He looks at Coy, who nods, before he continues, “We just wanted to let you know that your family and friends are waiting for you next door, so go, get changed, and then we’ll meet you there after.” 

There’s no one waiting for you in the music room, your parents somewhere in the Carribean on their annual cruise, and so you are feeling a little lost until you spot Mrs Linton, who waves you over.

“What a great performance,” she tells you when you join her, “maybe even better than the one you did all those years ago.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you sticking around Sudbury for a little while longer?”

You shake your head, “I’m flying back to Philadelphia on Sunday.”

“Promise me you’ll come back some day,” she raises her eyebrows at you, “so we can catch up properly?”

You’re just about to tell her you will when someone taps your shoulder and you can’t help but smile when you turn around and see Scott, Chris’ brother, standing behind you. Before you have a chance to say anything he’s pulled you in for a hug and whispers, “You came back.” 

“I did,” you agree, rubbing his back. You pull back a little and smile up at him, “It’s really good to see you again.” 

You and Scott were in the same year of high school but didn’t have any classes together until your junior year. Your shared hatred of Mr Mulligan, your math teacher, made you instant friends and it was actually at Scott’s fifteenth birthday party where you first met Chris, who was seventeen at the time. After an awkward first date at the roller skate rink exactly ten days later, because that’s how long it took him to work up the nerve to ask you out, Chris kissed you for the first time and asked you to be his girlfriend. Breaking up with Chris and leaving Sudbury so suddenly also meant you lost touch with Scott, which you’ve always regretted.

Scott lets go of you and greets Mrs Linton like they’re old friends, which seems odd until you remember he did theater in your senior year, when you had lost all interest in the art without Chris around, who by then had graduated. Mrs Linton excuses herself then, tells you it’s time for her to go home, but not until she makes you promise you’ll keep in touch this time. 

You risk a quick glance around the room once she’s left, but other than your cast mates there aren’t any other familiar faces and so you turn to Scott, “Is your mom here?” 

He shakes his head, “She had to leave right after the show.”

“Oh,” there’s nothing you can do to hide the disappointment in your voice, because you now realize you were actually looking forward to seeing her again. 

“She did want me to ask if you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night, though.”

“Oh, I’d love that,” 

“I’ll let her know,” he says with a smile. 

You try your hardest to act casual when you ask, “And Chris?”

“He’s right over there,” Scott says with a grin, eyeing you suspiciously, as he points to somewhere on his left, “I don’t why but he’s talking to that bitch Jessica Mullen-”

“Scott-” you gasp, slapping his arm.

“What?” He shrugs, grinning, “Don’t tell me you suddenly like her now?”

You just shake your head, lips pursed, not commenting on it any further. 

He gently nudges your shoulder, “Oh come on, he’s only got eyes for you anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about. Plus I think she’s very happily married to Joey Burton and his family inheritance, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know-” you try, but your voice comes out just a little too pitchy to make it believable and you can’t help but laugh. “Whatever.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he scoffs, teasing you. 

It’s then you see Chris coming towards you, so you throw Scott a look that you hope tells him to behave.

“Hey,” Chris says once he’s close enough, smiling when he looks at you. 

“Hi,” 

“Awkward,” Scott whispers in a sing-song way somewhere next to you, making sure it’s loud enough for both you and Chris to hear. 

You want to ignore it, act as if that didn’t just happen, but you can’t help yourself and so you flick Scott’s arm to let him know you’re not above kicking his ass if need be. 

“So uh,” Chris runs a hand through his hair, trying his hardest to ignore his brother, before nodding somewhere over his shoulder, “looks like everyone’s going to Hardy’s for some celebratory drinks.” He looks back at you then, “You’re coming, right?”

“I don’t know, I’d have to drive back,” you say, coming up with the excuse almost automatically. It’s not that you don’t want to go, it’s just that you don’t really see the point if you can’t have a few drinks while you’re there.

“I’ll drive,” Scott pipes up then, most likely trying to redeem himself. He grins, “Yeah. I’ll drive. We’ll drop your car off at your hotel first and then I’ll be the designated driver for the rest of the night.” He nudges you when he sees you hesitate, “Come on, it’ll be fun.” 

You look at Chris for backup, but he just stares at you with a mischievous smile, eyebrows raised, and so you can’t help but give in, “Ok. Yes. Fine. Let’s go.” 

Hardy’s is somewhat of an enigma, a pub known only to locals, and almost like a refuge for your generation. The age limit goes up every five years or so, and, as Scott tells you from over his shoulder, currently stands at thirty. The pub is located in what looks to be, from the outside at least, a normal house at the end of Whitetail Lane. There are no signs, no neon lights telling you what kind of beer is served, nothing to indicate it’s anything but the quiet suburban home it pretends to be. 

Johnny Ryan’s dad owned the pub when you were in high school and every Thursday night, after practice, you would all meet up here for some drinks. Of course Mr Ryan made sure he served non-alcoholic beverages only, not wanting to be accused of corrupting Sudbury’s finest. Still, it gave you a place to hang out, Mr Ryan always there but never judging and never ratting you out to any of your parents either.

On the car ride over Scott tells you that Johnny has taken over from his dad a few years back and that for all these years, Thursday nights have always been for the theater kids. 

Chris admits that he tries to go there whenever he’s in Sudbury, because it’s a safe place where he’s sure there’s no one taking unwanted pictures or asking him for an autograph. “They all treat me like Chris, you know, the nerdy little theater kid,” he says just as Scott pulls up to the parking lot. “It’s great.”

He waits until you get out of the car and then walks next to you as you follow Scott inside. Memories of your nights here, mostly spent making out with Chris in a dark corner somewhere, start to flood your brain and you swallow hard, trying to not let them get to you.

It’s as if Chris knows, because right before you enter the backroom, where the bar is located, he puts a hand on the small of your back, his fingers splayed out against the fabric of your top, a heat radiating from them that you are not sure can just be blamed on your imagination playing tricks on you. 

The lights are turned down low and there’s music coming from a jukebox that’s tucked away in a corner, the eighties rock almost a tribute to whatever happened here the last thirty years or so. The room is crowded and loud, lots of smiling faces and people trying to talk over each other, and it isn’t long before someone hands you a bottle of Heineken which you accept with a smile.

Chris sits down on one of the few empty bar stools, although he turns around in his seat so he can chat about the upcoming Patriots game with Michael, who has found you in the crowd easily. You end up standing next to Chris, your back leaning against the wooden bar top, your arm brushing against his whenever you take a sip of your beer. 

Scott has disappeared off to somewhere on the other side of the room, talking to a few people who were in your year at Lincoln-Sudbury but who you were never close to, and so you’re just standing there, listening to all the conversations going on around you, taking it all in. Nicole finds you not much later, standing next to Michael, clinking her beer against yours before she takes a sip, “Cheers.”

“Cheers, Nic,” you reply before taking another sip. “Keith here too?”

She nods, “Yeah, is over there somewhere,” she says as she points to the front room, “playing snooker with some of the guys.” 

“You come here often?”

Nicole lets out a laugh and it’s then you realize you just hit her with the worst pick up line ever and then you’re laughing too, having to put a hand on her arm to keep from doubling over. It takes a while before you’ve calmed down enough again that you can let go of her, but still there are tears in your eyes when you say, “That was so bad.”

“Hey,” she replies with a wink, “if you wanna go outside and make out by the old Oak, I’m up for it.” That sends both of you into another fit of laughter and once again you’re reminded of all the things you gave up when you left Sudbury so suddenly all those years ago. 

You turn around and order a couple more beers from the girl behind the bar, handing one to Nicole before you give Chris and Michael a new bottle as well. Chris winks at you and if anyone asks you’ll definitely deny it, but it does make you a little weak in the knees. You shift your focus back to Nicole, who tries to recap everything that has happened at Hardy’s over the past eighteen years for you.

You only half listen to her, because even though Chris is still talking to Michael, he somehow snuck his arm around your back, his hand now resting on your hip comfortably. It’s distracting but you don’t want him to pull away either and so you try your hardest to concentrate on whatever story Nicole tells next, all while hoping it’s dark enough to not have anyone notice what’s going on. That is until Chris sneaks his hand under your top, his fingers ghosting over your skin, and you can’t help the shiver that runs through you.

“You ok?” Nicole asks, cutting herself off mid-sentence.

“Yeah, no, fine,” you reply, your voice a little unsteady, “just a little, uh, cold, I guess.”

She eyes you suspiciously because if anything it’s almost uncomfortably warm here, with this many people inside.

You shake your head, silently asking her not to push it any further, but you see her eyes go from you to Chris, narrowing them a little before they widen shock when she sees what’s going on. She just nods and continues her story effortlessly, although she can’t keep from smiling all throughout. 

After an hour or so Nicole excuses herself to go check up on Keith and you carefully shake off Chris’ hand so you can go to the bathroom, but not before you look back at him and throw him a wink. You’re not sure what has come over you when you do, and you wonder if he even remembers the signal, but there’s no turning back now and so you make your way to the hall, your cheeks slightly burning.

You risk a quick glance in the mirror when you’re washing your hands, not entirely surprised to see something that can only be described as excitement in your eyes. When you step out into the hall you see him standing there, leaning against the door that leads you into a coat room nobody ever uses, even though it holds so many memories for you. Without saying anything you take his hand and lead the way, waiting until he’s closed the door behind before you turn around and face him. 

There’s a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling and you can see the way he licks his lips when he lets his eyes fall to your mouth. He doesn’t do anything else and you know it’s because he wants you to be the one to make the first move, allowing you to be in control of what happens next. 

Taking a tentative step forward you close the space between you and bring up your hands, letting them rest against his chest, before you look up at him and your heart flutters from the way he looks down at you through hooded lids. Your hands move up then, cupping his face, his skin warm against your fingers as you pull him towards you.

“You sure about this, Ace?” His voice is rough but his eyes are kind and you know he’s just making sure you’re not too caught up in the moment.   

“No,” you answer honestly but then brush your lips against his anyway and kiss him. And kiss him, and kiss him. No holds barred this time. Your hand sneaks into his hair and you push yourself against him, deepening the kiss because, God, it feels so good. You want to say that it’s like no time has passed, that it’s just like before, except it’s not. It’s new, and different, and exciting, and a little scary all at the same time. 

One of his hands is on your lower back, the other cupping your cheek, and then he lets his tongue run along your lower lip, silently asking for permission and it’s a good thing he’s holding you because you actually feel your knees buckle when you open your mouth and he slips in. 

There’s a knock on the door that startles you and has you pull apart almost instantly, your hands back on his chest to steady yourself while you try to catch your breath. 

“It’s been almost five minutes, guys,” a low voice tells you from the other side, followed by a chuckle that lets you know he’s enjoying this far too much. 

You roll your bottom lip between your teeth and make a face while Chris tells Scott, “Thanks, man.” 

“Oh God,” you breathe out, a little embarrassed that you still have to rely on Scott for not getting caught. You glance up at Chris, a little taken aback and a lot turned on by the way he looks at you, as if he’s ready to throw caution in the wind and just have you right then and there. You shake your head and whisper, “Not now.”

The ride back to your hotel is silent except for Scott, who’s found a seventies disco station and is quietly singing along to ABBA’s ‘Fernando’. Chris seems to be lost in thoughts in the passenger’s seat, while you let your head rest against the window sitting in the backseat behind him. Scott tried to get you and Chris into the backseat together, but after a very stern look from his older brother he cut his losses and so here you are. 

You think back to your night at Hardy’s and how lucky you were Johnny and Michael were in the middle of a pretty intense sing-off right when you came back and so it seems like nobody really noticed you were gone in the first place. With the few people left by the time the bar closed, you ended the night the same you always did, with a very passionate rendition of Meatloaf’s ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’, sung at the top of everyone’s lungs. 

All too soon Scott pulls up to your hotel and so you lean forward, kissing his cheek, “Thanks, babe,” you meet his eyes in the rearview mirror and wink.

He throws you a smile before he pretends to look something up on his phone while you turn towards Chris, who has shifted in his seat so he can face you. You scrunch up your nose, trying your hardest not to make this awkward, and so you just say, “I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow? Five o’clock, right?”

“Yeah,” he says with a smile. “You still know the address?”

“Of course I do,” you scoff as you open the door and get out of the car, “Like I could forget.” You wave at them before you start walking towards the entrance of the hotel, rummaging through your purse to find your key card so you can let yourself in. You’re almost halfway when all of a sudden you stop and turn around and find yourself walking back to the car. 

Before Chris has a chance to realize what’s going on you tap on the window and watch it as it lowers into the door at an excruciating slow pace. Still, you wait until it’s all the way down before you lean in, resting your hands on the doorframe, muttering a quiet, “I forgot something,” before you give Chris a kiss that has him smile against your lips.

“‘Night, Ace,” he says once you’ve pulled back, his voice low and a mischievous look in his eyes. 

From beside him you hear Scott groan, “Am I sixteen and third-wheeling again, or what the fuck is going on? Jesus.” 

You blow Scott a kiss and then push yourself up, giving Chris a quick wave before you run back to the hotel. 

Saturday morning finds you getting ready to go out and have brunch with Nicole, who you’ve agreed to meet at Coffee Works in ten minutes and so you grab your phone from where it’s charging on your nightstand and drop it into your purse before you head out. 

The weather is nice for the time of year and the drive over, even though it only takes a few minutes, has you admiring the way the trees have started to change colour, their leaves slowly changing to the most vibrant yellows, and oranges, and reds. 

When you pull up to Coffee Works Nicole is already waiting for you and when you meet up with her, after finding a parking spot not too far away, she’s all smiles, “Morning!”

“Hi Nic,” you say as you give her a hug before you follow her inside. You point to a table in the corner, although it isn’t very busy and only a few other tables are occupied. Still, you have a feeling there will be some questions you don’t necessarily want anyone else to hear. 

There’s some smalltalk about the weather and her kids until the waitress comes to take your order, but it isn’t until you both have your coffee that the interrogation really starts. Nicole looks at you from over her mug, a twinkle in her eyes that tells you she wants to know everything. She doesn’t say anything though and so you just raise your eyebrows at her because you sure as hell ain’t going to just confess without making her work for it. 

“Ok, fine,” she sighs as she sets her mug down. She folds her hands together and leans over, “First things first, how was it?”

“How was what,” you ask, feigning innocence by taking a sip of your coffee. 

Nicole just stares at you and shakes her head, letting you know she’s not up for playing games. 

You return the favour until you see her lips curling up into a smile and you both burst out laughing.

“I hate you,” she says in between laughs, wiping at her eyes. “Eighteen years later and you’re still making me drag it out of you.” 

You just raise your mug in reply, still laughing.

“You know what, fine,” she holds up her hands, “I’m going to ask you one question and you decide what you wanna do with it.” She sits up a little, but it’s at that time your food is being served and so she waits until you’re alone again before she continues, “What happened yesterday?”

Just before she finishes her question you take a bite of your bagel, buying yourself some extra time, trying to decide just what exactly you want her to know. Once you start talking though, the words come out easily and you find yourself telling her about the show and how nervous you were, about the kiss you and Chris shared on stage, how there was some semi-public PDA at Hardy’s that you know she caught up on, and how you’re meeting him for dinner at his mom’s house tonight. 

“So,” she draws out with a shake of her head, and you already know where this is going. “You’re just not going to tell me how it was to make out with Chris again after all these years, or-”

“How do you-”

“I saw Scott disappearing into the hallway about five minutes after I went looking for Keith,” she explains with a grin. “Funny how some things never change.”

“I don’t know what-”

“Uhu.” She leans back in her chair, “Just tell me if he’s as good as you remember.”

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks and so you bury your head in your hands, before you quietly confess, “Even better.” 

Nicole makes you promise to stay in touch once you’re back in Philadelphia, telling you that while she loves reading your letters it’d be nice to maybe call every now and then. She offers you the guest bedroom at her house whenever you want, even though, she says with a mischievous smile, you’ll probably won’t need it now that you and Chris are back on good terms.

The goodbye is bittersweet, because now that you’ve finally seen your best friend again after all these years, it’s hard to let her go. You promise to come back to Sudbury soon and she tells you she’ll call you once you’re back in Philadelphia.

There’s still some time to spare and you decide to stop at The Frugal Flower to pick out something for Chris’ mom before you head back to the hotel, where you change into something a little more dressed up for dinner. When you’re done touching up your makeup it’s time to go, the drive over only taking ten minutes, and so all too soon you find yourself pulling up in front of the house you spent so much time at when you and Chris were dating.

You spot Chris’ car in the driveway, not surprised that he’s here already, although it does absolutely nothing to calm your nerves. To ground yourself you take a few deep breaths before you carefully take the flowers from the passenger’s seat and get out of the car. The house looks exactly the same and a wave of nostalgia washes over you, remembering all the times you would just let yourself in after school, usually finding Chris in his room after first having a cup of tea with his mom. This time though, you ring the doorbell and smile when Chris opens it. 

He places a chaste kiss on your cheek before he steps aside to let you in and you follow him to the other side of the house. He leads you into the kitchen and throws a grin at you from over his shoulder before he announces to the room, “Look who I found-”

Scott’s at the other side of the room, at the stove, and turns towards you with a smile. You’re sure he greets you but you don’t hear a word he says because all of a sudden Lisa steps into view on your right, her hands clasped in front of her mouth when she sees you. You bite your lip to keep from crying, but then she reaches  out her hands and you just have time to hold out the flowers for Chris to take before she pulls you in for a hug.

“Oh, sweetheart,” is all she says, but it’s enough to make you cry for real then and you just hold onto her, letting her comfort you in the way she always did, by gently rubbing your back and telling you it’ll be ok. 

You think you hear Chris mutter something about going to check on something in the dining room, telling Scott to come with him, and you’re so grateful they allow you to have a moment alone with her. Pulling back a little you try to smile through your tears and you want to tell her it’s good to see her again, but the words seem to be stuck in your throat.

“It’s ok,” she says again, running her thumbs under your eyes to wipe away your tears, but she’s a little teary-eyed herself which in turn makes you cry again. 

It takes a while before you’re calmed down enough for her to let you go, but not before she holds you at an arm’s length so she can “Really look at you.” After a while she simply states, “Still beautiful as ever.” Her eyes grow kind when you shrug and she gives your hands a little squeeze, “I know it hasn’t been easy, sweetheart, but it’ll be ok. I know it will be.”

You just nod, still unable to say anything but thankful for her neverending support. 

“We’ll have time to catch up later, I’m sure,” she says, a quick look over her shoulder to make sure you’re still alone, “but I just want you to know I’ve missed you. And I know Chris did too.” 

“Lisa-”

“No, sweetheart,” she shakes her head and gives your hands another squeeze, “I don’t think you realize the effect you have on him. I haven’t- This week he’s been the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time.” She must understand the weight of her words and she’s quick to tell you, “I’m just happy to see you again, sweetheart.” 

You bite the inside of your cheek to keep from crying again and just nod, hoping it will tell her you feel the same way. 

You find yourself at Wholefoods not much later, Chris following you around while you try to find the right kind of leafy greens Lisa claims she forgot to get even though you think it might be a set up to give you and Chris some time alone. You decide on some endives and rucola, hoping it will go with whatever else is supposed to go into the salad Scott’s making. 

“Got it?” Chris asks from somewhere over your shoulder.

“Yep,” you nod and motion for him to follow you to the cash register. You’ve just rounded the fruit section when you bump into someone, “Shit, sorry about that.”

“It’s o- Oh,” 

Trying not to pull a face when you see it’s Fiona Warren you throw her what you hope is an apologetic smile and try to continue towards the exit.

“Well,” she draws out, a hand on your arm to keep you in place, “this is interesting.” She looks from you to Chris with a devious smile, “I didn’t know you guys were seeing each other again.”

You don’t say anything, hoping Chris will do the same, and just stare at her.

“Well, you know what I mean,” she says as she shrugs innocently and waves her hand around, “after that messy breakup.” Another fake smile directed at you then, “Good for you though, trying to get back together with him now that he’s made it big.”

“You bi-”

“Ok, that’s enough,” Chris says from somewhere behind you before he takes your hand and pulls you away. “Come on.” He leads you to the drinks aisle and after a quick search pulls a Raspberry Peach Snapple from the shelf and hands it to you, “Here, take this,” before he takes out a second bottle, this time the Orange Carrot one. 

To anyone else it might seem like he’s lost his mind, but you know exactly what he’s doing and so you squeeze his hand as you follow him to the cash register. Using one of the self scan machines means you’re outside not much later, where he takes the two bottles out of the bag and hands you yours. You open them at the same time, turning the cap over in your hand to read the message inside.

He laughs when he reads his, “Mosquitos have forty-seven teeth.” 

“Interesting.” You clear your throat and read yours, “On average a human being will spend two weeks kissing in their lifetime.”  

“Huh,” he says, taking a sip of his Snapple, a mischievous look in his eyes. He caps his bottle, sliding it back into the bag, and takes a step towards you, “Guess we better get started then.” 

You tilt your head up towards him, smiling when he presses his lips against yours, allowing yourself to get a little lost in the moment, trying to ignore the fact that you’re making out in front of a Wholefoods in the middle of Sudbury. 

When he pulls back he throws you a wink, “Twenty seconds done, Ace, still so much more to go.” 

“Can’t wait,” is all you can say, trying to distract yourself by putting the cap back on. Looking back at him you hold up your bottle and whisper a quiet, “Thank you,” to let him know that even after eighteen years this is a perfect way to distract you whenever you get upset. 

Chris takes your hand again as you walk back to his car and you’re about halfway there when you hear a low whistle behind you. As if on cue you both turn around and see Carla Hayes walking towards you, a kid on her hip and a tired looking husband behind her.

“Well, well,” she snickers, “look who it is. Sudbury’s golden couple back together again.” She looks from Chris to you and shakes her head, “God, Ace,” she all but spits out the nickname she sure as hell isn’t allowed to use, “you really think this is a good idea?” 

You don’t say anything, just turn around and tug on Chris’ hand to get him to follow.  He does, but you can tell he keeps looking over his shoulder to where Carla is still standing, “Chris, come on.”

“Why didn’t you tell her to-”

“I went through all of this once, Chris, eighteen years ago,” you scoff, “I’m not doing this again.”

“What are you talking about?”

You let go of his hand when you reach his car, rounding the hood so you can get into the passenger’s side where you try your hardest not to break down and cry. It’s all just too much, the happiness from earlier completely washed away and replaced by anger and sadness.

“Talk to me,” 

Shaking your head to let him know now is not the time you stare out of the window instead, watching as the buildings along Boston Post Road pass by in a blur. 

“Don’t do this,” his voice is soft, “don’t shut me out.”

You turn towards him and stare at him, hoping he’ll get the message to let it go.

Either he really doesn’t or he chooses to just ignore it, “They’re just jealous, Ace, don’t let them get to you.” He pulls up to his mother’s house then, but stays seated once he’s turned the engine off.

“Don’t,” is all you say when you get out of the car, not waiting to see if he follows you or not.

Scott keeps stealing glances at you and Chris during dinner, like he’s trying to figure out what happened. You hate how worried he looks and so you slip your hand under the table and gently pat his knee to let him know it will be ok. He doesn’t seem convinced. 

Most of dinner is spent catching up with Lisa, although you mainly just tell her about your week back in Sudbury. Scott occasionally joins in, but Chris is keeping awfully quiet, only answering questions Lisa or Scott directly ask him. It’s awkward and weird and not at all how you thought tonight was going to be, and you wonder if his mom notices anything. 

Lisa excuses herself then, tells you all to stay seated while she puts the finishing touches on dessert, and so here you are, sitting next to Scott and opposite to Chris, the awkward silence filling up the space between you. Trying to avoid it getting even more awkward, you’re just about to get up and excuse yourself to go to the bathroom when Scott puts his hand on your arm, keeping you in your place. 

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you two,” Scott says in a hushed whisper, eyeing the door to the kitchen to make sure Lisa hasn’t heard him, “but you better get your shit together. Mom’s going to know something’s up and then-”

“It’s nothing-”

“We ran into some people at Wholefoods,” Chris says at the same time. 

“Chris-” you throw him a look, one eyebrow raised, “It’s fine.”

“Clearly it isn’t,” he counters. “You’ve been ignoring me all night.” 

“I’m not ignoring you,” you scoff, “I’m just catching up with your mom.” 

“Oh, come on,” 

“Listen, either you work this out now,” Scott suggests, “or you better put those acting skills you both claim to have to good use because mom’s coming back in a few minutes and I swear to God, if-”

“We’ll be fine,” you tell him, looking at Chris to get him to agree.

He just shakes his head, “I can’t believe you. We are not fine.”

Scott lets out an exaggerated sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Fine.” He holds up a finger to shut both of you up and calls out to the kitchen then, “You need any help, mom?”

“No, thanks sweetie,” Lisa replies from behind the closed door, “just have to plate up and then dessert is ready.”

“Ok,” Scott looks from you to Chris, “you have about three minutes. Go.” 

“Scott-”

“We ran into Fiona Warren and Carla Hayes,” Chris says at the same time, “they made some mean comments when they saw us together, it was nothing really, but-”

“It was nothing?” 

“It was, Ace, come on. They’re just jealous.” Chris shrugs, “Why do you care so much?”

“Why do I care so much?” You let yourself fall back against your chair, “You wanna know why I care so much?” You don’t wait for a reply and instead continue, trying to keep your voice down, “It started at prom, when you weren’t there. The whispers, the ‘Oh, he must be busy with his acting career, don’t you want him to succeed?’ and the ‘Well, you already went to his prom together, can’t have it all, now can you?” 

Chris wants to say something but you hold up your hand to let him know you’re not done, “And then someone showed me those pictures and Fiona Warren of all people had the nerve to tell me that she understood why you’d much rather stay in LA.” 

You take a sip of water, your voice rough from the strained whispers, “So after they found out we’d broken up- Even though I broke up with you- The rumours started. That you had dumped me because you’d never make it big if you had something-” you shake your head and correct yourself, “Someone holding you back. That your career would take off much faster if you were single. That they never really understood how you settled for someone like me anyway.” You look at Chris, “Every single day they kept coming at me, almost relentless.”

He waits for you to continue, but you shake your head to let him know you’re done. He throws a quick glance at Scott before he looks back at you, “Ace, look at me,” he waits until you do, “I know there’s nothing I can say now to make this better-”

You nod, because no, there isn’t, but at least this is something.

“-but don’t you think maybe it’s time to let it go?” He reaches his hand out to you, “It’s been eighteen years.” 

It takes a moment for his words to sink in, but when they do it’s like he stabbed you right through your heart with a dull knife. You feel your mouth fall open but you’re at a loss for words and so you just stare at him. You hear Scott say something to you on your left, but his words don’t register at all, and it’s at that moment Lisa walks back in, holding a tray with four individual desserts on them. 

It’s like seeing her triggers you back into action and you stand up, looking down at Chris, “I should go.”

“Ace-”

“Sweetheart,” Lisa says at the same time, before she turns to Scott, “What happened?”

Scott shrugs but doesn’t say anything, a slightly panicked look on his face. Chris just shakes his head at her and all you can do is kiss her cheek, “Thank you so much Lisa, but I need to go,” before you grab your purse and head towards the front door.

Chris rushes after you and catches up with you just as you’ve put your hand on the door, “Ace, come on.” He puts his hand over yours, “We can talk about this.”

“Like you said, it’s been eighteen years,” you say, your voice cold and void of any emotions. “Maybe you're right. Maybe it is time to move on.”

His eyes darken at your words, “Why are you giving up so easily?” 

“Why am I-,” you gasp, shaking off his hand, “You wanna know why I don’t want to fight anymore? Because I have been fighting for the last eighteen fucking years!” With that you step outside and slam the door shut behind you before you hurry towards your car. Once you're inside you call the only person you know who can help you try to make sense of what just happened. 

She answers on the first ring.

“Nicole?” Your voice is unsteady, “Are you home?”

“I’m sorry,” you sniff, taking another tissue out of the box that sits on the couch between you and Nicole.

“Don’t be,” she puts her hand on your arm and gives it a gentle squeeze, “you just sit there and cry for as long as you need.”

You nod and dry your eyes with the sleeve of the sweater she lent you after you couldn’t stop shivering, although you’re struggling to find a dry patch of fabric. You’ve told her everything, in between sobs and endless cups of tea, working through all the events of this evening, one at a time. 

“You know what, it’s fine,” you say then, although you’re not sure who you’re trying to convince. “This was never about getting back together anyway. All I wanted was closure.” You scoff, “Guess I got what I came for, huh?”

“Babe,” Nicole throws you a look to let you know you’re not fooling her.

“It’s fine,” you tell her again, hoping she’ll let it go. “It was good to see him again, but after what happened today, how he acted like it was no big deal, even though this was exactly why I left Sudbury- I don’t know, maybe-”

“Ok, but you need to cut him some slack.” 

“What?” 

“You said it yourself, remember?” She raises her eyebrows at you, “‘A lot has happened, but none of it you went through together.’ He doesn’t know what you’ve been through, babe. How would he?”

“Yeah, but-”

“No.” She sits up, “You broke up with him over the phone and then you left, like what, three weeks later? So unless you’ve told him, how would he know?” She holds up her hands to let you know she comes in peace, “I’m not trying to make you the bad guy here, just-”

“Telling it like it is,” you finish the sentence for. “Yeah, I know.” 

“So why don’t you?”

“Why don’t I, what?”

“Tell him,” Nicole shrugs, as if it’s that simple. Then again, maybe it is.

You sigh, trying to weigh your options. You keep hearing Chris’ voice, when he told you it would be too little, too late to come up with any excuses now, and it’s exactly how you feel about maybe telling him what you went through eighteen years later. What good would it do? In the end you simply tell her, “I don’t know, Nic.”

It’s raining and so you’re doing a weird sort of speed walk, your purse slowly sliding down your arm but your suitcase in one hand and your carry-on in the other means there’s nothing you can do to stop it from ending up around your wrist. It doesn’t help the bad mood you’re in from having to get up early and so when your phone chimes to let you know you’ve got a new message you ignore it, at least until you make it to your car. 

Once your suitcase and carry-on are in the trunk you take your phone out of your backpocket and hurry inside where you pull up your messaging app. Your heart drops when you see it’s from Chris, and when you read the message it feels like someone punched you in the gut:

We shouldn’t leave things like this, Ace. Can we talk before you leave? 

You bite your cheek to keep yourself from crying at the unfairness of it all. Still, your reply doesn’t leave any room for interpretation, but it’s all you can do to keep your heart from breaking again:

I’m already back in Philadelphia. It was good seeing you again, Chris. Take care.