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I have this silly idea where they can share and exchange their chaos energy 💙🖤✨

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They’re on a date 🙂‍↕️🖤

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quick lil sksb rkgk

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you have 13 seconds before the park fucking explodes i hope you both die

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f!cell (cellbit from fuga impossivel) and c!roier (roier from chafaland) my beloveds, simply a cannibal and a yandere lmao

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The John Laurens walking tour of London

On my recent trip to London, I took a walk through the centre of the city, retracing the steps that John Laurens would have taken while he was living and studying law there. London’s outward appearance has changed immensely over the intervening 250 years, but its underlying structure and streets are all just as they were, and a few of the historic landmarks remain.

St Mary Axe

I shall drink Tea, in St Mary Axe this afternoon, and give advice of the Bill, &ca as you desire_

John Laurens to Henry Laurens, 20 April 1775

Starting from the furthest east is the street of St Mary Axe - notable for two locations. The first is the home of the Manning family. Henry had asked William Manning to keep an eye on his sons when he left London, so John was a frequent visitor for dinner, and his brothers often stayed with the Mannings when they weren’t at school.

The other landmark on St Mary Axe is St Andrew Undershaft, the church where John and Martha got married, and where Frances was baptised.

Source

Birchin Lane

I am writing in a great hurry as you may see, in the Carolina Coffee House

John Laurens to Henry Laurens, 1 March 1775

25 Birchin Lane was the location of the Carolina Coffee House - the London meeting place, social club and administrative centre for Carolinians in London. Business and personal correspondence sent to Carolina natives living in London would usually be directed here. John spent his fair share of time here - socialising (and arguing), writing letters, and picking up or dropping off packets for posting.

Chancery Lane

how delightful is it to Sit here talking to my Son in Chancery Lane

Henry Laurens to John Laurens, 22 January 1775

Chancery Lane was - and remains - one of hubs of the legal profession in London. It leads to Lincoln’s Inn, the oldest and biggest of the four inns of court (then, as now, legal schools for the training of barristers), housed the crown rolls (records of the crown court), and was the home of many lawyers in the city. That included Charles Bicknell, the lawyer with whose family John lived for most of his time in London.

Street numbers were rarely used in the 18th century, but I think I’ve narrowed down where on the street John lived in this post here.

Middle Temple

To morrow I shall take [Harry] to the Temple Church with me, where my Bond requires me to attend

John Laurens to Henry Laurens, 5 November 1774

John was enrolled at the Middle Temple for his legal studies. To “keep term” - in other words, meet the requirements of the school and complete one of his twelve required academic terms - John had to attend a certain number of dinners at Middle Temple Hall, which dates back to Elizabethan times.

(Fun fact - Middle Temple Hall is closed to the public, but you can go there for lunch on certain days if you pre-book! Highly recommended.)

He was also required to attend church services at Temple Church, a beautiful 12th-century church built by the Knights Templar and jointly owned by the Inner and Middle Temples.

Fludyer Street and St James’s Park

these are hard lines my Son, but not too hard for us to walk on, necessity has no Law_ remember our Conversation in St James's Park

Henry Laurens to John Laurens, 8 January 1776

When Henry and his sons first arrived in London in 1771, they stayed little further west, in what was once the separate town of Westminster. The street they lived on - Fludyer Street, which ran parallel to Downing Street - no longer exists, though you can see it marked on old maps (bottom right, leading out onto St James's Park).

Fludyer Street led straight to St James’s Park, where the Laurens family frequently took walks.

Detail from Canaletto's New Horse Guards from St James’s Park (1753)

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So why do you think Laurens was less affectionate than Hamilton in their letters?

Oh, hi anon. @yr-obedt-cicero already replied with two links which you should take a look at (the point about how much correspondence is missing being crucial), but beyond that...

I don't agree with the premise of this question, myself.

Putting aside the question of how we measure degrees of affection, there's also the matter of how it's shown.

Hamilton's 'cold in my professions' letter is all over the place, blustery and long-winded, and I think his rambling, as well as his closing of that letter (where he is being more open and self-aware) is a greater testament of his affection than the almost-offended 'how dare you steal into my affections' at the start.

Laurens, meanwhile, is rarely effusive in his writing, and when he is, it's usually about negative emotions (guilt, grief or anger). His most honest correspondence is probably with his uncle James, where he expresses rawer emotions that the carefully tailored ones he shows Henry. But he's equally frank with Hamilton - sharing his doubts and fears, his conflicted feelings, asking for his advice and reassurance. He's perceptive and vulnerable and familiar, and that's as affectionate as Laurens gets.

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“In spite of Schuylers black eyes, I have still a part for the public and another for you; so your impatience to have me married is misplaced; a strange cure by the way, as if after matrimony I was to be less devoted than I am now.”

—

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, September 16, 1781

I was just re-reading this quote for the first time in a while, and realized it’s got some unique qualities that point to its integrity as a piece of evidence.

With the Laurens-Hamilton relationship, how many possible meanings a letter has is almost more important than what is said in the first place. This isn’t a quote that can be excused as humor or teasing or “how people wrote back then.” It’s a serious quote from Hamilton that talks about his relationship with Laurens, which we don’t have to many of. It’s not like the beginning of the April 1779 letter, which can be brushed off as “how people wrote.” It’s not innuendo that can be excused as “bawdy humor.” It’s a serious and non-flowery or sentimental sentence which contains many elements that point to a romance between Hamilton and Laurens. There is no other strong explanation for Laurens to be directly compared to Schuyler. (And especially the “black eyes” part– in spite of something Hamilton is attracted to about his wife, he still has a “part” for Laurens…) The rest of the quote is even more implicating– why would Laurens want Hamilton to be married so that Hamilton’s affection would wane? Why would their relationship need a cure if it was a socially acceptable friendship? 

tl, dr: Because Hamilton’s writing is so direct and clear, with so few opposing interpretations, (but many implications!) or the ability to be construed as a joke, this letter is a pretty unique piece of evidence, and one of the strongest to suggest a Laurens-Hamilton relationship. (And good for refuting criticism.)

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On partiality

A few thoughts on why 'partiality' - even more than 'love' - is an important expression in Hamilton and Laurens’ correspondence.

Partiality is a word that denotes fondness, preference or bias for one person over others, often used in sentimental writing as a synonym for love (both familial and romantic). Jane Austen uses both forms in Pride and Prejudice (1813):

Miss Bennet’s astonishment was soon lessened by the strong sisterly partiality which made any admiration of Elizabeth appear perfectly natural [...] I had often seen him in love before. […] From that moment I observed my friend’s behaviour attentively; and I could then perceive that his partiality for Miss Bennet was beyond what I had ever witnessed in him.

Hamilton himself uses partiality in the context of love in a letter to Elizabeth Schuyler:

I believe in my soul you are an inchantress; but I have tried in vain, if not to break, at least, to weaken the charm—you maintain your empire in spite of all my efforts—and after every new one, I make to withdraw myself from my allegiance my partial heart still returns and clings to you with increased attachment.

Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler, 5 October 1780

But partiality is not a direct synonym for love - the nuance comes from the fact that it is an antonym of impartiality. 

An enlightened 18th century gentleman walked a fine line to balance rationality - which elevated reason, intellect and justice (especially in the spheres of public life, such as politics and business) - with sentimentality - which expected him to display profound emotion at appropriate (usually private) moments, as a testament to his morality.

Expressing love was certainly a virtuous thing - a man could profess love for his family, spouse, country, comrades, beliefs (religious or otherwise), and so on - but when it was labelled partiality, that love was made less gentlemanly, less virtuous and noble. Partiality masked flaws, reducing the ability to make objective choices, and hinted at a weakness of character in a gentleman who was supposed to be fair, just and disinterested in his dealings. Therefore, a man who called himself partial was admitting that he allowed his feelings to affect his integrity, and was showing preference one person over others in a way that was possibly unfair or unwarranted - an intimate personal favouritism.

We see it used in this form in works spanning the century. In Alexander Pope’s 1717 poem, Eloisa to Abelard, Eloisa begs for her “partial eyes” to be turned away from her lover, Abelard, and back to pure religious love.

Yet then, to those dread altars as I drew, Not on the Cross my eyes were fix'd, but you: Not grace, or zeal, love only was my call, And if I lose thy love, I lose my all. […] Ah no! instruct me other joys to prize, With other beauties charm my partial eyes, Full in my view set all the bright abode, And make my soul quit Abelard for God.

In Charlotte Smith’s Emmeline (1778), partiality is contrasted with virtuous affection:

But for your charming friend my heart long retained its partiality; nor would it ever have felt for her that pure and disinterested friendship which is now in regard to her its only sentiment, had not the object of my present regret and anguish been thrown in my way.

In Evelina (1778), Fanny Burney shows the peril of partiality in masking flaws.

Yet perhaps I have rather reason to rejoice than to grieve, since this affair has shown me his real disposition, and removed that partiality which, covering his every imperfection, left only his virtues and good qualities exposed to view. [...] You flattered yourself that your partiality was the effect of esteem, founded upon a general love of merit, and a principle of justice; and your heart, which fell the sacrifice of your error, was totally gone ere you expected it was in danger.

We see this subtlety of meaning in Hamilton’s April 1779 letter to Laurens:

But as you have done it and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed, on condition that for my sake, if not for your own, you will always continue to merit the partiality, which you have so artfully instilled into me.

In using feigned legalese (“pardon the fraud you have committed”), Hamilton puts himself in the role of a judge, but admits that he is not an impartial one - he is acting self-awarely according to his personal bias, and the love he expresses is tinged by it. Hamilton uses partiality again in his 8 January 1780 letter, after Laurens tries to promote Hamilton as a better candidate for the diplomatic mission to the court at Versailles:

Believe me my Dr Laurens I am not insensible of the first mark of your affection in recommending me to your friends for a certain commission. However your partiality may have led you to overrate my qualifications that very partiality must endear you to me.

In other words - your affection means that you’re not being objective about me, and that’s adorable. He’s teasing, acknowledging both his own shortcomings and Laurens’ inability or unwillingness to see them. Hamilton puts it in even plainer terms in his 30 June 1780 letter, in which he discusses the possibility of Laurens being paroled early. He contrasts both the “love” the military family feels for Laurens and the fair and objective rules of war with his own subjective affection:

I have talked to the General about your exchange; but the rigid rules of impartiality oppose our wishes. I am the only one in the family who think you can be exchanged with any propriety, on the score of your relation to the Commander in Chief. We all love you sincerely; but I have more of the infirmities of human nature, than the others, and suspect my self of being byassed by my partiality for you.

In sum, Hamilton’s written correspondence expresses love for Laurens in a variety of ways beyond the obvious - the word ‘love’ itself is indeed less telling than the other phrases he uses. In the context of the period, calling both himself and Laurens partial towards each other suggests that their affection was not just the pure and rational comradeship of fellow-soldiers, but a more personal, intimate and subjective sentiment.

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Links to the Lams letters manuscripts

There are still plenty in different societies or libraries scattered throughout the country, and I only have access to the digitized microfilms on the internet—so, unfortunately the list is not long. And if anyone has found or possess pictures of the others feel free to add on to this. But this is mainly reference material for others and myself.

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [April 1779]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [14 July 1779]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [12 December 1779]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [18 December 1779]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [8 January 1780]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [30 June 1780]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [12 September 1780]

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [11 October 1780] (copy and incomplete)

Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [4 February 1781]

John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, [July 1782]

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ĒsuDūsu

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THE BEST DUO!! 🌟

A sweet little drawing I did of these two brothers, in my new style!!

I think I'm finally getting the hang of how Tumblr works, but there's still so much to learn, so gimme some time haha.

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i’m so glad earth only has one moon, if there were more i’d have to pick a favorite and that sounds too emotionally taxing to even fathom

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🛍♥♠

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Hello hello!!

Do you have some angst headcanons of Adeuyuu? They are the typa ship that is FILLED with angst potential and I LOVE crying for them, so go all out, please!! >:D

Friend did you change your blog name? I could have sworn when this was sent it was different (｡- .•)

Hmm. I don't really write extensively about poly ships, this is perhaps my one exception. When it comes to angst for them...

I don't think Adeuyuu get together without Yuu. If Yuu goes home the resentment and longing would create a rift between Ace and Deuce that keeps them from wanting to be together romantically. They repair their friendship after a while, but the romance feels like it is missing something. In a way, Yuu going home would sort of be like them dying, they can't talk to you anymore and all they have left are their memories. What's worse is that it happened at the beginning stages of the romance, every part of their lives will be haunted by you forever. Cementing that into a relationship would just be cruel.

They both think that if he had just died it would be fine. Ace dreams of you being happy with Deuce, Deuce thinks of how he would be at peace knowing you would have Ace. But if you had stayed and such a scenario had played out, the ending wouldn't be much different than it is now. You too would be so caught up in your longing that it would kill the possibility of even a bittersweet happiness.

idk just... adeuyuu underestimating how much value they have to each other... does that count?

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based off a voiceline

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The Reason is You Zine is Out!!

At long last, The Reason is You is out!!

A big thank-you to all of our contributors, from our writers to our artists to our translators to our designers. This project could not have happened without everyone involved, so please send everyone love!

We have three versions of the zine. Click on the following links to access the version of the zine you want to read!

English Version

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We here at TRYZine hope that you enjoy the zine. It's been a year since the end of Purgatory, but Guapoduo lives on forever thanks to the community. In other words:

The reason is you!!