History Recap / ItFeelsMoreLikeAMemoryChapter1MisterBurrSir

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Following the convention of naming every chapter title after a ''Hamilton'' lyric, this chapter takes its title from the line "Mister Burr, sir" from "The Room Where It Happens." In ''Hamilton'' proper, that line is meant to fit with Aaron often being addressed as "Aaron Burr, sir," which itself is a song title from ''Hamilton'', and that song gets directly quoted in the first sentence of this chapter: "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?"

* TitleDrop: The chapter title gets titledropped when Hamilton says “I’ll fight so that you can be free, Mister Burr, sir.”

* AffairLetters: Aaron exchanges love letters with Theodosia while she’s still married to a British officer.

Alexander Hamilton meets Aaron Burr, who is a well-known public figure due to his Seer status. He reluctantly shakes Alexander’s hand and sees himself shooting Alexander in a duel: when he touches someone skin-to-skin, he sees how they die. Alexander surprises him by wanting to talk about his college education instead of wanting the Seer to tell him what the future holds for him. Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, and the Marquis de Lafayette enter, they and Alexander taking issue with Aaron not taking a stand on the Revolution. Aaron storms out and Alexander follows, asking more gently why he remains neutral and pointing out a stance will be chosen for him if he waits too long. Aaron admits his desire to live as a normal citizen instead of as the Seer whose every word has weight, so Alexander promises to fight so he can be free. Aaron feels bad knowing he’ll kill Alexander, but reasons that means he won't die before then and Aaron can just choose to not shoot him.

Alexander agitates for revolution, increasing British scrutiny on Aaron. He remembers Alexander’s point about choosing before someone chooses for him, but keeps waiting until he gets a rare flash of insight that the British are coming for him to enlist in the Continental Army. He gets sent to Quebec, where he tells Montgomery he'll die in an upcoming battle. Montgomery goes ahead with it and sends Aaron back to Washington for reassignment to avoid risking his capture. The battle is lost. For the first time, he feels useless and guilty about his ability. Aaron meets Washington, thinks of gaining military intelligence by shaking soldiers’ hands to get glimpses of battles if they die in them, and doesn't share the idea and gets dismissed. He goes through with this idea, but most soldiers he shakes hands with die after the war, so he doesn't get much information. Because the Seer chose the Revolution, the revolutionaries get hope and more supporters. On the way to help Charles Lee after Lee makes a mistake, he recognizes a location from death visions, which replay repeatedly, making him collapse. John Laurens picks Alexander as his second when he challenges Lee to a Aaron tries to talk Alexander out of it, bringing up how many people have died, only to nearly throw up because he sees men dying on battlefields. Alexander thinks Lee caused that, and Aaron corrects him, telling him it's because he shook peoples' hands to see how they die to try to get military information, and that most people don't know that's what he was doing because they don't know the specifics of his power, just that he’s the Seer. (Alexander is aware of the specifics, Aaron told him.) This makes Alexander, Washington's chief aide, worry over Aaron, so he resigns from the Continental Army citing bad health to stop that, though he still contributes to the war effort. On Alexander’s side of things, the duel occurs and nobody dies, Washington sends Alexander home to Eliza, and Alexander comes back and gets a command.

Alexander Hamilton meets Aaron Burr, who is a well-known public figure due to his Seer status. He reluctantly shakes Alexander’s hand and sees himself shooting Alexander in a duel: when he touches someone skin-to-skin, he sees how they die. Alexander surprises him by wanting to talk about his college education instead of wanting the Seer to tell him what the future holds for him. Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, and the Marquis de Lafayette enter, they and Alexander taking issue with Aaron not taking a stand on the Revolution. Aaron storms out and Alexander follows, asking more gently why he remains neutral and pointing out a stance will be chosen for him if he waits too long. Aaron admits his desire to live as a normal citizen instead of as the Seer whose every word has weight, so Alexander promises to fight so he can be free. Aaron tells him he’ll live to see his Revolutionary ambitions succeed. He feels a pang at the knowledge he’ll kill Alexander, but reasons that this means he's safe from dying to anyone else and Aaron can just choose to not shoot him.

Alexander agitates for revolution, increasing British scrutiny on Aaron. He remembers Alexander’s point about choosing before someone chooses for him, but keeps waiting until he gets a rare flash of insight that the British are coming for him to enlist in the Continental Army. He sees General Montgomery dying in their upcoming attack on the British after shaking his hand, tells him this, and Montgomery goes ahead with the assault and sends Aaron back to Washington for reassignment to avoid risking his capture. For the first time, he feels useless and guilty about his ability, and the battle is lost. Aaron meets with Washington and comes up with the idea of shaking soldiers’ hands to gain military intelligence: he’ll see where they die, giving him glimpses of battles if the soldier dies in the war, but doesn't get to share the idea and gets dismissed. He goes through with this idea, shaking the hands of his men, but most of them die after the war, so he doesn't get much information. The fact the Seer chose the Revolution gives the revolutionaries hope and more supporters. On the way to help Charles Lee after Lee makes a mistake, he recognizes a location from death visions, which replay repeatedly, making him collapse. John Laurens challenges Lee to a duel, and Aaron accepts Lee’s request to tell him if he dies in the duel (no), further angering Alexander, who’s upset he used his abilities for "helping the enemy." Aaron tries to talk Alexander out of the duel, bringing up how many people have died, only to nearly double over and throw up because all he can see is men dying on battlefields. Alexander thinks Lee caused that, and Aaron corrects him, telling him it's because he shook peoples' hands to see how they die to try to get military information, and that most people don't know his power, they just know he’s the Seer. (Alexander is aware, Aaron told him when he wanted to know why Aaron wore gloves and avoided touch.) Alexander makes him promise not to do that again. By now, Washington's chief aide, Alexander, is worrying over Aaron, so he resigns from the Continental Army citing his bad health, though he continues contributing to the war effort after his resignation. On Alexander’s side of things, the duel occurs and nobody dies, Washington sends Alexander home to Eliza, and Alexander comes back and gets a command.

The war ends. Aaron and Theodosia Bartow Prevost (now Theodosia Bartow Burr) fall in love and marry, as do Alexander and Eliza Schuyler (now Eliza Hamilton). Alexander takes Aaron’s earlier advice to become a lawyer, and they confer frequently on cases. To Aaron’s delight, America is too busy riding the high of winning the war and gaining independence to want to bother him for predictions.

Alexander Hamilton meets Aaron Burr, who is a well-known public figure due to his Seer status. He reluctantly shakes Alexander’s hand and sees himself shooting Alexander in a duel: when he touches someone skin-to-skin, he sees how they die. Alexander surprises him by wanting to talk about his college education instead of wanting the Seer to tell him what the future holds for him. They converse over dinner, with Aaron suggesting Alexander become a lawyer. Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, and the Marquis de Lafayette enter. Alexander joins them in conflicting with Aaron over his equivocation and neutrality. Aaron storms out. Alexander follows, asking more gently why he remains neutral and pointing out his side in the Revolution will be chosen for him if he waits too long. Aaron admits he sides with the Revolution, and his desire to live as a normal citizen instead of as the Seer whose every word has weight, so Alexander promises to fight so he can be free. Aaron tells him he’ll live to see his Revolutionary ambitions succeed. He feels a pang at the knowledge he’ll kill Alexander, but reasons that this means he's safe from dying to anyone else and Aaron can just choose to not shoot him.

Alexander agitates for revolution, increasing British scrutiny on Aaron, who’s been taking dinner with Alexander at the Queen’s Head regularly. He remembers Alexander’s point about choosing before someone chooses for him, and waits for one of his rare “flashes of insight” before doing something. When this insight tells him the British are coming for him, he leaves to enlist in the Continental Army. He sees General Montgomery dying in their upcoming attack on the British after shaking his hand, tells him this, and Montgomery goes ahead with the assault and sends Aaron back to Washington for reassignment to avoid risking his capture. For the first time, he feels useless and guilty about his ability, and the battle is lost. Aaron meets with Washington and comes up with the idea of shaking soldiers’ hands to gain military intelligence: he’ll see where they die, giving him glimpses of battles if the soldier dies in the war. He goes through with this idea after his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, shaking the hands of his men, but most of them die after the war, so most of his commands are given without help from Seer abilities. Still, the fact the Seer chose the Revolution gives the revolutionaries hope and more supporters. On the way to help Charles Lee after Lee makes a mistake, he recognizes a location from death visions, which replay repeatedly, overwhelming him. He collapses. John Laurens challenges Lee to a duel, and Aaron accepts Lee’s request to tell him if he dies in the duel (no), further angering Alexander, who’s upset he used his abilities for something that small and for "helping the enemy." Aaron tries to talk Alexander out of the duel, bringing up how many people have died, only to nearly double over and throw up because all he can see is men dying on battlefields. Alexander thinks Lee caused that, and Aaron corrects him, telling him it's because he shook peoples' hands to see how they die to try to get military information, and that most people don't know his power, they just know he’s the Seer. (Alexander is aware, Aaron told him when he wanted to know why Aaron wore gloves and avoided touch.) Alexander makes him promise not to do that again. By now, Washington's chief aide, Alexander, is worrying over Aaron, so he resigns from the Continental Army citing his bad health, though he continues contributing to the war effort after his resignation. On Alexander’s side of things, the duel occurs and nobody dies, Washington sends Alexander home to Eliza, and Alexander comes back and gets a command.

** Very subtle, with Aaron notices Alexander's thin frame and hungry eyes and thinks "not a hunger that can ever be sated," which is reminiscent of Angelica noticing Alexander's "hunger-pang frame" and that "he will never be satisfied" in the song "Satisfied." [[spoiler:Alexander even flirts with Aaron, who loves him, but they never get together in this lifetime on account of not hurting Eliza, just like Angelica did.]]
* AdaptationalHeroism: In addition to Aaron’s new reason for equivocation (all the influence he holds as the Seer, combined with the fact nobody else can fact check him on what he says about the future), he doesn’t approach Washington with suggestions out of raw ambition. He’s motivated by having tried to save General Montgomery and failing, and by the possibility of sharing an idea (or not, he’s unsure about whether to go ahead with sharing it at this time) that he certainly did not have in ''Hamilton'' proper: shaking soldiers’ hands to see how they die, and putting together all the battle deaths to gain military information.

Aaron Burr is an extremely well-known and influential public figure because he is a Seer: he can see the future. Because of his massive influence, he's extremely cautious about voicing opinions and won't lie. The public doesn't know any more about his powers besides "can see the future," but Alexander does since Aaron confided in him: the first skin-to-skin contact he has with a person forces him to see how they die. Otherwise, this chapter closely follows the ''Hamilton'' musical events from "Aaron Burr, Sir" to "What Comes Next," and includes the beginning of "Non-Stop." It ends with the Revolution won, and Alexander and Aaron as lawyers, friends, and men married to their wives.

[[folder:Longer recap]]

* AdaptationalContextChange: Aaron doesn't understand how Alexander throws himself into things passionately and seems to "always win" "no matter how high the stakes," which is a reference to the same sentiment expressed in "Wait For It" which also uses "he keeps winning anyway... he raises the stakes." The usage here still contrasts Alexander's approach with Aaron's self-admitted tendency to wait for the perfect opportunity, which he admits to in the song and right before and after these lines in the fic, and still expresses that he can't understand why Alexander is like this. However, this is much earlier in the musical, around the time of "My Shot" at the beginning of the musical whereas "Wait For It" is in the middle of the first act, and this usage is less about resentment and jealousy towards Alexander's success with this strategy as opposed to his own and more about his concern for Alexander, where he admits Alexander using this approach instead of Aaron's more cautious one would have made him worry for Alexander's life if he didn't already know how he dies.

* MeaningfulEcho: Very subtle, with Aaron notices Alexander's thin frame and hungry eyes and thinks "not a hunger that can ever be sated," which is reminiscent of Angelica noticing Alexander's "hunger-pang frame" and that "he will never be satisfied" in the song "Satisfied." [[spoiler:Alexander even flirts with Aaron, who loves him, but they never get together in this lifetime on account of not hurting Eliza, just like Angelica did.]]

* DoubleMeaning: The last line of the chapter says Aaron "fought for ''himself'' to be free, and he was proud of it, just a little." This could refer to Aaron fighting in the Continental Army to gain freedom from British rule. It could also refer to Aaron fighting in the Continental Army to gain freedom from the expectations placed on him due to his Seer status: before he joined the army he wished the colonies would gain independence so people would stop bothering him for visions and so he could have control over his own life and live as a normal citizen.

* AdaptationalContextChange: Very subtle, with Aaron notices Alexander's thin frame and hungry eyes and thinks "not a hunger that can ever be sated," which is reminiscent of Angelica noticing Alexander's "hunger-pang frame" and that "he will never be satisfied" in the song "Satisfied." [[spoiler:Alexander even flirts with Aaron, who loves him, but they never get together in this lifetime on account of not hurting Eliza, just like Angelica did.]]

* DuelToTheDeath: Between John Laurens and Charles Lee, with Alexander Hamilton and Evan Edwards as their respective seconds.

* AdaptationalContextChange:
** The musical version of Aaron Burr was assigned to Quebec in the Revolutionary War, but not because he was a Seer who the army really didn't want captured.
** In addition to Aaron’s new reason for equivocation (all the influence he holds as the Seer, combined with the fact nobody else can fact check him on what he says about the future), he doesn’t approach Washington with suggestions out of raw ambition. He’s motivated by having tried to save General Montgomery and failing, and by the possibility of sharing an idea (or not, he’s unsure about whether to go ahead with sharing it at this time) that he certainly did not have in ''Hamilton'' proper: shaking soldiers’ hands to see how they die, and putting together all the battle deaths to gain military information.

** He also really did resign from the Continental Army due to health concerns. He did not have the health concern of collapsing or nearly throwing up because of death visions which are at least sometimes and partly because of his power to see death when he shakes peoples' hands. He also likely did not resign to stop Alexander, Washington's important aide-de-camp, from wasting time or being less effective at his job by worrying about him, but that's part of why he resigned in this fic. Doesn’t count as AdaptationalContextChange since this wasn’t included in the ''Hamilton'' musical.

** When he tries to talk Alexander out of dueling Charles Lee, since at least some of the death visions that make him nearly double over and throw up are ones he’s seen because of his power.

* FaintingSeer: Possibly when he collapses after he rushes to help Charles Lee, given what made him collapse was “memories of death.” Though that could just be regular memories of death that he witnessed in wartime, instead of ones he saw from being a Seer. However, this trope definitely applies when he tries to talk Alexander out of dueling Charles Lee, since at least some of the death visions that make him nearly double over and throw up are ones he’s seen because of his power.

* AdaptationalContextChange: In addition to Aaron’s new reason for equivocation (all the influence he holds as the Seer, combined with the fact nobody else can fact check him on what he says about the future), he doesn’t approach Washington with suggestions out of raw ambition. He’s motivated by having tried to save General Montgomery and failing, and by the possibility of sharing an idea (or not, he’s unsure about whether to go ahead with sharing it at this time) that he certainly did not have in ''Hamilton'' proper: shaking soldiers’ hands to see how they die, and putting together all the battle deaths to gain military information.

** He also really did resign from the Continental Army due to health concerns. He did not have the health concern of collapsing or nearly throwing up because of death visions which are at least sometimes and partly because of his power to see death when he shakes peoples' hands. He also likely did not resign to stop Alexander, Washington's important aide-de-camp, from wasting time or being less effective at his job by worrying about him, but that's part of why he resigned in this fic.

TL;DR: Everyone knows Aaron Burr is a Seer, not everyone knows he sees how people die when he touches them. Aaron Will Not Tell A Lie because of his massive influence as the Seer, and when he sees how Alexander dies (by Aaron's gun) he resolves not to kill him. Follows musical canon from "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?" to Aaron and Alexander settling down after winning the Revolution.

TL;DR: Everyone knows Aaron Burr is a Seer, not everyone knows he sees how people die when he touches them. Aaron Will Not Tell A Lie because of his massive Seer influence, and when he sees how Alexander dies (by Aaron's gun) he resolves not to kill him. Follows musical canon from "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?" to Aaron and Alexander settling down after winning the Revolution.

TL;DR: Everyone knows Aaron Burr is a Seer, not everyone knows he sees how people die when he touches them. Aaron resolves not to kill Alexander when he sees Alexander die by his gun. Follows musical canon from "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?" to Aaron and Alexander settling down after winning the Revolution.

Aaron Burr is an extremely well-known and influential public figure because he is a Seer: he can see the future. Because of his massive influence, he's extremely cautious about voicing opinions. The public doesn't know any more about his powers besides "can see the future," but Alexander does since Aaron confided in him: the first skin-to-skin contact he has with a person forces him to see how they die. Otherwise, this chapter closely follows the ''Hamilton'' musical events from "Aaron Burr, Sir" to "What Comes Next," and includes the beginning of "Non-Stop." It ends with the Revolution won, and Alexander and Aaron as lawyers, friends, and men married to their wives.

TL;DR: Everyone knows Aaron Burr is a Seer, not everyone knows he sees how people die when he touches them but Alexander does since he told him, and Aaron resolves not to kill Alexander when he sees Alexander die by his gun. Follows musical canon from "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?" to Aaron and Alexander settling down after winning the Revolution.

TL;DR: Aaron Burr is a Seer who sees how people die when he touches them, and resolves not to kill Alexander when he sees Alexander die by his gun. Follows musical canon from "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?" to Aaron and Alexander settling down after winning the Revolution.