A More Perfect Union
is a Hamilton fanfiction being written by holograms on Archive of Our Own. It takes place during the same time the musical events happen, but has Alexander Hamilton survive the gunshot wound in his duel with Aaron Burr. Eventually, Alexander and Aaron begin a relationship and stumble through turning it into a polyamorous arrangement with Alexander's wife Eliza as their children, Angelica Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton Jr., and Theodosia Burr also form a polyamorous arrangement. Complicated feelings ensue.
A More Perfect Union contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: The musical's Angelica Schuyler Church possibly oversteps in letters but otherwise she never encroaches on Alexander and Eliza's marriage, and her feelings for Alexander never become a barrier between her and Eliza. It's implied she does a good job at hiding her feelings to keep her sister happy. In the fic, her feelings for Alexander are clearly visible to people who don't have access to her inner monologue, which is implied to be a source of contention between her and Eliza. She belittles Eliza, and says "that's why Alexander and I are made for each other" to Eliza's face, though it's not an intentional slight. She's also rude to Theo, though she apologizes for it and stops being rude to her.
- Adapted Out:
- Inverted in the case of Jeremy Bentham, founder of utilitarianism and critic of American political philosophy around the time of the release of the Declaration of Independence. Aaron Burr befriends him in this fanfiction.
- Aaron Burr had multiple children with his wife Theodosia, though his daughter Theodosia was the only one to live to adulthood. This fanfiction explicitly doesn't include them, having them not even exist: this fic is set after Aaron's wife has died, and "he and Theodosia didn't have more children. One was enough."
- Adaptation Expansion:
- Aaron Burr’s second in his duel with Hamilton, William P. Van Ness, is named and shows up in the Burr/Hamilton duel in the Hamilton musical, but that's it. He’s a supporting character in this fanfiction.
- Downplayed in the case of Hamilton's non-firstborn children. None besides the firstborn, Philip, get an appearance or a mention by name in the musical. All we know is that Hamilton has a daughter and multiple sons by the time of “We Know,” and still has “children,” plural, after Philip’s death. All eight of Hamilton’s real-life children are mentioned by name and the seven living ones make appearances, and his children Angelica and Alexander Jr. are major characters.
- Theodosia Burr Alston, although in this fic she never becomes an Alston and is instead just Theodosia Burr. She’s mentioned in the musical, even making it to the title of a song, but never actually appears. She‘s a major character in this fic, and a viewpoint one at that.
- Alternate Universe Fic: It's tagged with "Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence." It's specifically an alternate universe of the What If? kind: what if Alexander Hamilton survived his duel with Aaron Burr?
- Best Friend: Aaron Burr and William P. Van Ness.
- Boyfriend Bluff: Gender Inverted. Al wants Theo to pretend to be in a relationship with him so a woman stops expressing interest in him. Deconstructed Trope because although it works, a rumor that Al and Theo are engaged makes it around society and to Al’s mother Eliza, who asks Theo about this out of concern for her son. Also becomes a Discussed Trope when Theo tells her about the Girlfriend Bluff they pulled, and they talk about it: Eliza is okay with it, but also deconstructs the trope further when she warns Theo that if they don’t go through with the fake relationship, Theo might be blamed for and face negative social consequences for their “broken engagement” whereas Al won’t on account of her gender and the scrutiny on Al and Theo as children from prominent families. It’s post-Revolutionary America, after all.
- Character Title: Every chapter title counts. The chapter titles are the name of the chapter's point-of-view character followed by a Roman numeral indicating this is the xth chapter from that character's point of view. For example, Alexander IX is the 9th chapter from Alexander's point of view.
- Chastity Couple: Theo and Al are romantically paired and about to get married as of chapter, but they’re happy to not be sexually intimate with each other. Al’s a romantic asexual who really doesn’t want to engage in sexual activity, while Theo gets sexual fulfillment from her relationship with Angie (it’s a polyamorous arrangement).
- Cope by Pretending: How Angie Hamilton copes with her older brother Philip‘s death. She pretends he’s still alive, and the only reason he’s not at the Hamilton home is because he’s traveling.
- Daddy's Girl: Theo "loves her father more dearly than anything in the world," and is often said to be similar to him. Her father loves her right back, thinking of her as "his dearest daughter".
- Dead Guy Junior: The youngest Hamilton child, Philip, is named after his deceased older brother Philip.
- Duel to the Death: The Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr duel is the first chapter in the fanfiction. Fortunately, nobody dies.
- Family Eye Resemblance: Aaron Burr and his daughter Theodosia. Theodosia can also mimic her mother's gaze perfectly.
- Fan-Created Offspring: Margarita “Rita” Hamilton, the new youngest Hamilton child.
- Fictional Document: Concerning the Duel with Aaron Burr, and his Sensibilities, by Alexander Hamilton, a positive reflection on their whole relationship including the duel and aftermath, definitely didn’t exist in real life.
- Freudian Slip: Even with the Adaptational Villainy, Angelica Schuyler Church still cares about her sister Eliza, who's married to Alexander, so she probably wouldn't say "Alexander and I are made for each other" in front of her unless it was an accident. It probably was, given the Verbal Backspace she attempts right after it.
- Historical Character's Fictional Relative: Margarita Hamilton. Part of the the territory of being a Fan-Created Offspring of the real human beings Alexander and Eliza Schuyler Hamilton.
- Historical Domain Character: Part of the territory when writing fanfiction of Hamilton, whose named characters were all people who existed in real life.
- Historical In-Joke: Though Aaron didn't actually kill Alexander, true to real life, after the duel with Alexander he runs away to Europe where he has lots of sex. However, his motives are different this time around:
- Home-Early Surprise: Aaron and Alexander send Al off to run an errand, thinking this’ll get them the office to themselves so they can have a sexual encounter. Al comes back to the office early and catches them in the act.
- In-Series Nickname:
- Theodosia Burr: Theo.
- Alexander Hamilton: Alex.
- Alexander Hamilton Jr.: Al.
- Angelica Hamilton: Angie.
- Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton: “Eliza,” and less frequently, “Betsey” or “Betsy.”
- Eliza Hamilton (the child of Elizabeth and Alexander Hamilton): Lizzie.
- Margarita Hamilton: Rita.
- Philip Hamilton (the non-firstborn Philip): Phil.
- I'll Take That as a Compliment: Overlaps with Insult Backfire. Several characters comment on Theo being like her father Aaron Burr. She loves her father, and she thanks them for it, both when it’s ambiguous as to whether it was a compliment or insult, and when she knows it’s an insult, choosing to take it as a compliment anyways.
- Instant Waking Skills: Aaron tries and fails to wake Alexander. The last thing he tries is pretending to be Alexander’s commanding officer, telling him he’s late for his post in the most authoritative voice he can muster. Alexander wakes up immediately. Justified Trope since Alexander’s a Revolutionary War veteran.
- Insult Backfire: Overlaps with I'll Take That as a Compliment. Several characters insult Theo for being like her father Aaron Burr. She loves her father, and she thanks them for it, knowing it’s not a compliment but choosing to take it as one anyways.
- Interrupted Intimacy:
- Aaron walks in on Eliza and Alexander having sex in Alexander’s home office in chapter 11.
- Alexander and Eliza have been interrupted in the act by their children several times before.
- Alexander gets a suspicious Al to leave the law office so he and Aaron can kiss and grope each other. Al comes back earlier than expected and walks in on them kissing while his father holds Aaron’s penis through his breeches.
- Love-Obstructing Parents: Subverted. Eliza looks for reasons to veto Theo and Angie’s romantic relationship, but she realizes they’re in love and decides to stop trying to find a reason to obstruct their relationship.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: The Hamilton children. Following real life, there are 8 of them before the Fan-Created Offspring Margarita is born, 7 if you don’t count the deceased Philip. After she’s born, it’s 9, 8 if you don’t count the deceased Philip.
- Named by the Adaptation: The Hamilton musical mentions the Hamilton kids that aren't the firstborn Philip, but never by name. This fanfic names all 8 kids, including Philip.
- Outliving One's Offspring:
- Alexander and Eliza Hamilton outlive their firstborn son, Philip, who dies after being shot in a duel.
- John and Abigail Adams outlive their son Charles Adams, who drinks himself to death in the fic but likely didn’t die that way in real life. Unfortunately, his parents did actually outlive him in real life.
- Polyamory:
- Eliza, Alexander, and Aaron spend a good deal of the fic figuring out boundaries and how to practice polyamory in a way that works for them all.
- Al, Angie, and Theo. Angie and Theo love and have sex with each other. Theo marries Al, who loves her, with Angie’s blessing.
- Porn with Plot: Spends lots of time on plot and how characters feel about one another. Also spends lots of time on characters having sex.
- Posthumous Character: John Laurens, the firstborn Philip Hamilton, and Theodosia Prevost Burr. Their effects on the world and story are still felt, but all three have been dead before the story starts.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Alexander Hamilton, who dies in his duel with Aaron Burr in real life and in the Hamilton musical this is a fanfiction of. He doesn’t die in the duel in A More Perfect Union as part of the fic’s premise, and is still alive and kicking as of chapter 37.
- Switching P.O.V.: Generally switches between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, but occasionally switches to Eliza Hamilton or Theodosia Burr (Aaron’s daughter, not his wife of the same name).
- Title Drop: Happens in chapter 11.Alexander: Anything. Everything. But isn’t it worth it in order to form a more perfect union?
- Verbal Backspace: Angelica Schuyler Church attempts one after accidentally saying she and her sister's husband are made for each other, in front of that same sister:“All is fair in politics. I know you aren’t that well versed on the subject, Eliza, but I am, which is why Alexander and I are made for each other—”
She stutters to a stop. Everyone around the table is silent. She starts again, correcting herself, “That’s why Alexander and I get along—“ - What If?: What if Alexander didn’t tell Aaron starting a rebellion in a new territory was crazy, and went along with it instead? It’s explored here by the same author, with the same events as A More Perfect Union up until this point of divergence.
