#I love me a little 1d bait

[releaseholiday]

I guess I don’t understand why people are hung up on Louis not saying anything about Harry’s win on social media. Harry hasn’t interacted with any of the other boys on his social media since the hiatus anyways. It’s just not that important and feels more like fan service than personal. And before anyone says anything, I believe both Liam and Niall had very nice messages but they also weren’t in the same space as Harry was. I have no doubts Louis and Harry were in arm’s length of each at some point on Sunday night and probably yesterday. That’s what is important. People need to relax and realize support comes in all different forms. Not everything is proof or it didn’t happen.

100%, but tbh I don’t think anyone is looking at this like “if Louis didn’t congratulate him publicly, it means he didn’t privately either and they’re not together”. I think obviously everyone knows he showered Harry with love and support, especially since they were in the same place for once. It just would’ve been nice to see that support, not as a larry thing but just as a 1d thing in general. But the same goes for Harry bc you’re absolutely right that Harry very rarely publicly shows support to the boys as well, cheers to his image. Idk, maybe some 15 year olds see this as “oh if they don’t say anything on sm, it means they don’t care about each other” but I think most people realize that’s bs lol

[mecachrome]

loll thank u for confirming it to me re:kpoppie fan past!!! i think i remember it was you (?) who said aomething about landoscar coworkerisms and i was like EXACTLY! this is what makes them interesting to me. i get people who don’t really like 814 bc on the surface they are just teammates who have content together thus easier to ship but at the same time, that’s the beauty in them isn’t it <33 and lando’s comment about being contractually obligated to hang out together was Romance to me actually bc >coworkership.

alsooo once again i would just like 2 say i love your metas/analysis cause i think yours is such a fun pov to read from!! not sure if this is bcs of our commonality in fandom history but it’s truly like, a different perspective than if you were like on the 1d > f1 rpf pipeline or just a general sports rpf background. i’m not sure what makes kpop so unique in this ejduksdj maybe perhaps bcs we spend so much time dissecting idolsona and manufactured content or whatever 🙂 anyways! love your work and your gifs 💘💘💘 u are a godsend for the fandom!!

yesss anon coworkershipping is literally so important and real 2 me!!! ofc people are entitled to their own opinions and preferences and i will never force my silly little ships onto anyone but admittedly i am 100% the type of guy who thinks that sometimes Things that aren't romance are romance and sometimes Things that aren't sex are sex. so that's a me problem HKLSDFH

i think the ability to be self-aware about your coworkerisms and find humor in it or even show fondness for it is really sweet... like to me it's meaningful that oscar followed lando's career for so long and clearly rates him and just sincerely objectively LOVES being his teammate and is satisfied with that alone because again "i'll have you in whichever way you'll have me" is lesbianism to some. it's also interesting when they're regarded as a pr bait ship especially considering how much mclaren like... Don't bait them to us that much anymore and how simple and stripped bare the content they post nowadays is? i think there's just a general conflation of [shares hobbies off-track] + [likes each other as people] in that regard...

fandom history is definitely so interesting, i've been in 132402382834 fandoms so i reflect on this a lot !!! i got into hockey like 10 years ago so i think just wrt like, the sporting aspect of f1 then i view it through that lens primarily (and hockey is a sport that's a lot just like... less Sympathetic to individual athletes because it's very explicitly about systems which i think is why i'm less like. parasocially invested in flop careers halsdfh), but when it comes to the celebrity consumption and sheer global influence of f1 then there are genuinely a lot of parallels to k-pop, which adds an interesting dimension. the thing about many other sports/esports/etc. fandoms is that not all of them have the same tenuous 4th wall + measure of exclusivity that f1's genz marketability propels itself off, which i think is where this accusation of 1d/k-popification comes from because it's a less familiar space in quite a few sports. but there's a lot of nuance there of course...

so random but i actually had this discussion with someone earlier where i was like my "type" in k-pop is always pathetic gayboys with horrible personalities alsfdkhalksdfh but in sports i like really adjusted normie boring straightguys (my 2 favorite hockey players are also very much Polite Cats who have cute nicknames hehe :3c) so it's interesting how despite certain fandom similarities there are many cultural nuances that influence our investment.

also idk if you're familiar with bbb but i thought i'd share the hockey version my friend made of it :') it's all quite interesting to me because hockey is like, MUCH more accessible as a fandom product just because of how many players major sports leagues have and the fact that it's not as successful in north america as any other league save mls (lol) (actually idk if this is still true with messi we might fr be flops now), so you can spend $20 to go to a game in some markets and see your favorite player up close during warmups whereas that... is not possible in f1. there's just a lot of considerations for how personas are built up & managed and the space f1 occupies in that analysis !!!!!!!! but i don't want to talk your ear off too much aklsdfhldfh thank you so much for your kind words! 🥺💕

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

Hi Sea,

I apologize for the length but I have no one to talk to about this and I've found your posts to be so thoughtful. 

I found your blog after discovering Louis' solo music through the resurgence of 1D related videos on TikTok following Liam's death. I was never a fan (I'm an older millennial so wasn't the target audience) and besides the over-saturation of Harry Styles and bad press stories (Zayn and Gigi for example), I knew little about the band or the 2010-2015 time period. I knew nothing about Larry. 

This new resurgence strikes me as an obvious confluence of two things: the tragedy of Liam's death at a young age including the mystery and violence of it, his unfulfilled potential, and the sadness that he was unable to make amends or rectify his own mistakes. The second thing is the nostalgia for that time period, especially in the aftermath of the November US election. The 2010s were so full of optimism with Obama, hopeful television such as Parks and Rec, and the diverse reimagining of Hamilton. It makes sense that as we enter this dark and uncertain time, we would yearn for that. 

Watching five pretty boys dance around and sing, show affection for each other and their fans is sweet, escapist fantasy.

It's wild to see the fan made videos of Harry and Louis now, with nearly a decade having passed. I think with Larry, at most it was a complicated relationship between two boys thrown together in intense circumstances, at a time where most people are exploring who they are both sexually and otherwise. It's clear that in the beginning their relationship (whatever the true nature was) was treated with reverence by them and the other boys (who were quick to defend or distract when it was mentioned - whether that was because it was sacred or because its exposure was a threat, we'll likely never know). But it was also exploited by management, the media, fans, and for fan service, by Louis and Harry themselves. 

It's laughable to me that people believe they could be in a relationship now with their differences and lifestyles, and the obvious toxicity between them. Considering the hell Louis had gone through because of Larry, it's unconscionable that Harry wouldn't at least come to his defense following the Euphoria episode (even just as a bandmate/friend). I could go on about my dislike of Harry (which predates all of this new knowledge; the DWD drama and the queer-baiting have always rubbed me the wrong way), but I'll spare you since this is already a novel. 

I assume we'll know nothing until Harry is irrelevant and at 70 writes his autobiography detailing all the true exploits of the past (that is the washed-up pop/rock star MO, isn't it?)

As I've listen to the solo music of the 1D members out of curiosity, it strikes me that Louis' is the most introspective and broad. His music is at times deeply emotive, sad yet hopeful, and at others brimming with optimism and fun. He exhibits the most emotional depth of any of them, and despite setbacks and tragedies is, is easily the most grounded. Considering the things he's experienced and his treatment by the media/so called fans, it's impressive to see him stay true to his good nature. As someone who grew up with 90s Brit pop bands, I've greatly enjoyed listening to him. 

I could go on and on about this, but thanks again for an outlet and your lovely blog. Cheers. 

Hello friend,

Thank you for reading my blog and for your thoughtful analysis. I agree with everything here.

Whatever happens to Harry in the future, most likely I won’t live long enough to see his evensong, and it’s just as well. I have seen many iterations of HS in my lifetime. Whatever exciting things he accomplishes will be for someone else to celebrate!

Since I’ve been here for [too] long, I’ll just add that the thing I’ve watched happen over and over is that Louis puts out a good product, the music gets haphazard promotion and press coverage, fandom pressurizes to get him on the charts, and then his team is done 👐 and there’s nothing else until he goes on tour. There’s literally no move to get radioplay, to engage with streaming parties, to have special editions out for sales, nothing.

All that’s left for fans is gossip, and in Louis’ case, it’s predominantly Larry gossip.

So, over and over and over, LTHQ and Louis’ lassitude causes massive amounts of normal people to leave his fandom. 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024… fans get very excited about a new chapter, stream and talk about music like crazy, and Larries drive them out.

Now Louis has 28 Clothing, a cool and well designed line, but the business model is also haphazard and sporadic, and the excitement really doesn’t sustain in between drops. There’s not enough hype for virality. Louis would do well with a strategic collab, although I don’t think his team has it together enough.

Come back any time to chat! I enjoy it!

[loustyleshtommo]

Which songs Taylor has written do you think could be about Louis?

My god, SOOOOOO MANY. There are songs that reference Louis like a bait (tolerate it: took this dagger in me and remove it. Like Louis’s tattoo. hoax: my twisted knife like Louis wrote about in 1D’s Love You Goodbye) Songs like kindred spirits of Louis’s Habit: Come so far from Princess Park (Champagne Problem: This dorm was once a madhouse, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me: You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me. also the black dog: old habits died screaming in connection to Louis’s copy of a copy of a copy: I can hear you howling til your lungs hurt. Then there are songs about LouisandHarry as a package deal.

Lover: Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince (written to Louis from Harry’s POV), it’s nice to have a friend (oh look at the gays-in-blue wedding in you need to calm down mv. I wonder if this song was written for that particular ceremony. Leeds tent, mario cart/fifa video games, pass me a note on couple tattoos, like)

Fearless (Taylor’s Version From the Vault): That’s When (I know the OG was written way before Taylor and Louis ever met, but she said she revised the lyrics and significantly tweaked the meaning of this song, because her own perspective on needing space and time has changed. Do you protect each other’s solitude? And it’s like the perfect answer to Louis’s Always You.)

RED (From the Vault): track 28 run (ft. Ed Sheeran) #twinning: 1D’s FOUR Ready to Run

reputation: dancing with our hands tied #twinning: 1D’s Midnight Memories Little White Lie

folklore: peace, hoax

evermore: willow (a message to her Coming Out team “wait for the signal and I’ll meet you after dark”/“every bait and switch was a work of arts”) Coney Island aka duet from the other side of Out of the Woods where they didn’t make it. So I guess it’s not really about LouisandHarry but more like a comparison between Larry and swiftgron. Because Louis & Harry always, always put each other on the centerfold of their songs.

1989: Out of the Woods (written from Louis’s POV, special shoutout to my favorite line the rest of the world was black and white but we were in screaming colors), I Know Places (written from Taylor’s POV first then applied Harry’s POV (the rewinding tape sound is very much an I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending re:swiftgron sunken ship “something happened when everybody finds out”) then she tried to change the ending from Peter losing Wendy aka Taylor losing Diana by switching POV at the very end, just like Harry/1D did in Something Great, to Louis’s POV aka the new Peter) but it wouldn’t been fun if i could’ve been the 1.

TTPD: Track 28 Peter, But Daddy I Love Him

Midnight: Question…? (Started with “I remember” from Out of the Woods manipulated into male pitch. Sounded like Taylor was dealing with being almost out of the closet, so close but so far with the whole thing came crashing down. And wondering how did Louis & Harry deal with almost getting to come out, only to be shoved so much deeper into the closet. How did they make it through TOGETHER pass all that bullshit AGAIN?)

This one is purely my highest hope that it was written for LouisandHarry (given how Taylor usually released a song about two to three years after she first drafted it) and also applied to TaylorandKarlie now

1989: You Are In Love

[sapphosarchive]

She can't win. I'm a lesbian and people are calling her homophobic when she isn't lol. It's ridiculous to me as a lesbian. She's not homophobic imo. She's shown nothing but support. Accusing her of gay baiting is wrong. People project bisexuality or homosexuality onto her. She doesn't write anything saying "I'm in love with a woman." People project that. We can all relate to her music. She even said these songs are for us once she releases them to the world. But I get what she's talking about here. It's like she hangs out with men, everyone harasses her. She hangs out with women, they assume she's dating them too. And people are saying lover era was homophobic but I disagree. I feel like the "gay pride makes me, me" quote from miss americana doc is taken out of context a little. Was it clumsy allyship? Yeah maybe, but she shouldn't be burned at the stake for it imo. Actual homophobic people hate gay people and say slurs etc. If she's bi she'll say if she ever wants to say. But it's not okay to speculate imo. I'm not saying she's bi, I'm just saying if she was, she'd tell people if she wanted to. She's always clearly shown she isn't homophobic. And the line about those who saw her allyship in the prologue is not lost on me at all. I think she's trying to say she's just an ally, but of course people will ignore that. She worked with so many lgbt people for yntcd! They felt comfortable and secure with her. She treats lgbt people with respect. She's said before she's scared to make a mistake, she said it paralyses her. I understand that. Her mistakes are never forgotten, they're never let go of. People love to hate her, and women who make a mistake are harassed 10x more. But she has shown support for lgbt people pretty consistently to me. I mean was gay marriage even legal in America when welcome to New York was released? Or was it about to be legal? She showed support in that song, and it's significant given the time. Tldr: people need to stop speculating, stop harassing her when she's hanging out with a man or a woman, stop saying she's homophobic because ur mad, and just leave her alone to live her life!!

Sexualising her ans Travis, harassing her and speculating every time she's with a guy is just as bad as speculating when she's with a woman. SOMETIMES people focus on gaylors when they do the same shit gaylors do almost, think haylors for example. People need to just be normal and leave her alone. She can date who she wants, she isn't dating the whole world, and speculating about her sexuality is wrong. She doesn't "gay bait" people project shit onto her. Wearing a rainbow dress isn't baiting. It isn't a secret code. You've fallen into conspiracy thinking because the human brain loves to connect patterns etc and its why conspiracies exist. All that being said, I've realised alot of gaylors don't even like Taylor. They seem to hate her, honestly. I went on their subreddit and they just love the version of her they've created in their own head. Maybe thats true of everyone, but they don't seem to like her as an artist. They only like her so long as they're in the conspiracy. Some swifties are homophobic, but it's not inherently homophobic to call out the conspiracy theorists. And I saw someone say "her music is only good if it's gay." But that's such a sad perspective. Sure, if you as a gay person listen to "I know places' u can interpret it differently. Anyone can listen and think "oh imagine it's a same sex couple hiding etc." But listening from the perspective of "it's so hard to date as a celeb and u need to keep it private to avoid harassment" etc. She was brutalised when she dated Harry. 1d stans went insane lol. And saying her experiences are shit or not as good is just weird and sad.

[twelvedaysinaugust]

i love that i found your blog, we think the exact same 95% of the time!

i knew ppl shipped louis and harry since 2012, but i had no idea it was a full on conspiracy until i joined 1d fandom and fell down the rabbit hole at the beginning of pandemic. i remember being shocked so many times, it was so different than other fandom pairings i’d consumed during my adolescence such as camren, fack, etc. so i really dived into it for 3 months (there were just never ending content and life was uncertain at the time, lol), but i could never fully decide whether to believe it or not because it never made complete sense, so i stopped looking into it and settled for admittedly not understanding shit for a while. then, at some point in 2021, i came across an elounor body language masterpost, and, right after, those limited edition tpwk socks had blue and green hearts on it. that was it for me. larry was never real, and worse, H and L consciously mislead fans through baiting. i thought overall their relationships with their girlfriends had too many details to be untrue and there were many people close to the boys who wouldn’t have to deny larry and defend eleanor so much, especially if the closeting hurt them a lot. however, i did still admit there were many unexplainable things like, idk, the entire msg night 2, i think ultimately it was just easier to believe the public narratives and not think too much about these little things.

randomly, last month i decided to learn dan and phil’s story, what made people believe they were together and how they dealt with the speculation. i did it for two or three days, maybe, and when i finished i thought… “my God, larry’s been real all along.” 😂 listening to someone’s sexuality journey and reflecting on others that i already knew, like freddie mercury who had mary, or mick jagger and david bowie, expanded all the possibilities. maybe H and L weren’t contractually closeted, maybe they and their families were close friends with some of their public girlfriends and cared about them, maybe not everybody knew they were together, maybe not all stunts were stunts. there were so many things that could easily be the same case for larry as it was for phan, so many things that did not need to follow the main larry conspiracy narrative. the traditional belief is very romanticized, and that’s why it doesn’t work. it always puts effort into painting H and L as saints and refusing to believe they could be with other people. it always needs their public girlfriends and sony/management to be the villains, all so that they can make sad edits about how much they suffered, and have the purpose of expecting their coming out so that one day antis can all be proven wrong. since i realized all of this, things have never been clearer. i still don’t know shit, but larry evidence is still there and real life is morally grey, filled with dynamics we can’t fully grasp by watching from afar. particularly i believe they’re somehow involved to this day, but they’ve gone through difficulties/breakups enough for Louis to be a father and Hamille to have been real. L and El are good friends and as of 2023, larry is not out because they don’t want it to reach the GP, although i do think they intentionally signal to their fanbases. these are the lenses through which i watch everything that happens and it fits well enough. when i found out about “ed in manchester”, my only reaction was “this obvious???”, no surprises though. i’ve finally encountered peace. 😂

This was a ride.

[wishingicouldfly]

List of times Harry Styles has "Come Out"

Work in Progress

Over the weekend I was asked by a friend to help find some sources for a paper they were writing about the idea that Harry is queer baiting his fans. My friend was looking for instances where Harry has "come out" over the years.

Obviously, he hasn't really. He's still very much closeted with a large fan base who believes he's dated only women. It goes without saying that I believe he's been in a long term monogamous relationship with Louis Tomlinson since the early 2010s. This list is NOT about Larry though.

I thought it might be useful to someone else for me to share the sources I gave my friend of instances that H has alluded to not being straight.

It took less than an hour to pull these together. There are more.

Mario Cart Interview - https://youtu.be/xHclIjGG-0M start at 5:33 Alluding to sex as a metaphor for Mario Cart.

“Not that important” – https://youtu.be/Yi0wQPXzLoI  in reference to female being “what you look for in a lady?” question. Start at 2:10

“Don’t knock it til you try it” in response to Niall dating a man – https://youtu.be/RqmJ21-Qhjs  (I can’t find the full interview, but here’s the clip)

Harry reading a sign in 2017 (I think) saying “We’re all a little bit gay.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duxYxRl9y2Q

Article: Harry Styles Waves Pride Flag At First Show On Solo Tour (out.com)

In 2014 he wore out football star Michael Sam's jersey: Harry Styles Supports Michael Sam By Wearing His St. Louis Rams Jersey In Concert (PHOTO) | HuffPost Voices

I think this is the first time he waved a pride flag on stage: Harry Styles Wore a Gay Pride Flag as a Cape

Better Home and Gardens: Exclusive: Harry Styles Shares the Meaning Behind His New Album, 'Harry's House' (bhg.com)

Around the time of Fine Line, he faced scrutiny around his sexuality. People became incredulous that he wore dresses, waved Pride flags, and yet hadn't clarified with precision, publicly to a journalist or on social media, the specifics of who he'd slept with, how he defined. This expectation is, to him, bizarre, "outdated." "I've been really open with it with my friends, but that's my personal experience; it's mine," he said. "The whole point of where we should be heading, which is toward accepting everybody and being more open, is that it doesn't matter, and it's about not having to label everything, not having to clarify what boxes you're checking."

Harry Styles Says He Doesn't Label His Sexuality | Teen Vogue This is Teen Vogue reporting on another interview, but I can’t find the original.

In an interview with the Sun, Harry says he has never labeled his sexuality, going on to say he's never felt the need to explain that part of himself.

“No, I’ve never felt the need to really. No," Harry said when asked if he's labeled his sexuality. “I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.”

“Being in a creative field, it’s important to be ­progressive. People doing stuff like that is great," Harry said, referring to Miley Cyrus opening up about her pansexuality. “It’s weird for me — everyone should just be who they want to be. It’s tough to justify somebody having to answer to someone else about stuff like that.”

There’s some stuff in this article about him talking about gay sex in film. Not sure if it’s relevant because it’s behind a pay wall for me. How Harry Styles Became the World’s Most Wanted Man – Rolling Stone

Singing Girl Crush https://youtu.be/rroc2y9if_ 

Helping people come out at his concerts. One example: https://youtu.be/R_fgdHttTg8

But Daddy I love him

Safe Sex

It's the freedom he screams at the end; https://youtube.com/shorts/lCC13QFepI0?feature=share

Do you have any crushes on girls: "No Never. Never again." https://youtu.be/84JICVwTnb4

This has a lot of moments: https://youtu.be/RqmJ21-Qhjs

From a really early point in 1D, he used gender neutral pronouns to describe his dream date when asked “what do you look for in a girl.” Some examples:

1.     https://youtu.be/tnrRXIvSCBY

2.     https://youtu.be/Ai16adQ1mZ0 (1:17)

3.     https://youtu.be/pvm_2deGwWo

This whole SNL skit from 2019: https://youtu.be/aeoxg8hx-lc

Talking with Nick Grimshaw about getting the part in Dunkirk

Covering Wet Dream: https://youtu.be/vMAPW7ZoOLw

The banana penis necklace: Harry Styles sports a phallic symbol necklace for his 2021 Grammys performance | Daily Mail Online

Vogue: December 2020 Harry Styles on Dressing Up, Making Music, and Living in the Moment | Vogue

Pleasing: Harry Styles launches his own fine beauty line— Pleasing (lifestyleasia.com)

Gucci rainbows

The outfit he wore at the red carpet for My Policeman included a green corsage on his lapel

Harry Styles Goes Green in Gucci Suit at ‘My Policeman’ TIFF Premiere – WWD

Green flower connection: About our symbol, the green carnation - Oscar Wilde Tours

Referencing the song 1950 by King Princess. (screen shot by me from Twitter on 9/16/22)

Studying rainbows. (screen shot by me from Twitter on 9/16/22)

Instagram post from June 12, 2016. Screen shot by me on 1/1/23.

There are more. I'll as I come across things. I think for me, it's about the consistency with which he's aligned himself with the LGBTQ+ community over the years. It's not isolated to recent times. It goes back more than a decade.

On June 4, 2024 - during the first week of Pride Month, Harry stepped out in Rome wearing a pink shirt, emblazoned with the word "TOP." (4) HL Daily on X: "Harry in Rome today! 📸: alxsare https://t.co/AD4MGTJEcn" / X

Companion piece: Louis Tomlinson - LGBTQ Icon

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Do you have any podcasts or episodes on Larry that you'd recommend? I have basically listened to that one and the Reply All episode. I'd welcome any others that you thought were good.

Well, yes i have many that I could recommend. I didn’t hesitate to list them all so here you go. It’s not necessarily a list of recommendations bc I mainly listen to them for taking in different perspectives but I barley if ever agree with them. It depends on what your looking for I guess. i did comment the ones that I found the most interesting/ entertaining (yes I have a lot of time bc I’m stuck in quarantine rn🤧😷)

Who is Larry Stylinson- Pop Unmuted (seems like it’s not available anymore now but this was always my absolute fave so if anyone finds a way to still listen to it pls share! This is the academic kind of take I was talking about, Ralph, you would like it, I’m sure)

Larry Stylinson: When fandom goes too far - Name 3 Songs (they work in the media themselves, discussing boundaries and toxic fandom, discussing gay stereotypes, tend to be against the idea of it but break it down and also have their weak, sus moments in it, very very good!)

One direction Babygate - Lizard People (my fave, they aren’t in fandom at all, they spill some tea about Briana, it’s a pod about conspiracy theories, they have a lot of fun, no bad feelings, one of them fully believes it, most entertaining episode ever, I don’t take it seriously but I loved it!! listened to it so many times already just bc I’m so entertained by these two!)

The Larridox Part 1 - What I will say (more of an anti, mod is a gaylor, they are convinced of gryles and Taylor’s gay relationships, it’s an interesting take but not necessarily my cup of tea, they have some very good older episodes about the industry and closeting with someone who’s experienced it themselves)

Larry - Bait: queerbaiting podcast (they aren’t in fandom, they don’t like shipping people in general but were having a blast talking about Larry, very fun but also kinda superficial)

Larry Stylinson (Episode #7) - Callsheet! (Not in fandom, breaking it down, keeping it real, it’s fun and light, they joke around the whole time, it’s like talking about Larry with your besties in school, I found it very endearing, nice to listen to if you have to clean up your room)

Shit larries say Podcast (not a recommendation at all but I find it too fascinating to not mention it here, you gotta have some nerves for this one, an anti conspiracist, she hates larries/ Larry, has great knowledge about the workings behind conspiracy theories tho, seems a little narrow minded to me, it can be entertaining but it’s an eye roll to me for the most part, you might get frustrated)

Other ones that aren’t that good but still kinda fun:

1. Red Herrings with Sh*t larries say - I met you in LJ, 2. Larry Deep Dive - Not to be a bitch but, 3. Larry - Big Bitch Engergy, 4. Looking back at Babygate - 2 Girls 1D, 5. Larry Stylinson : We’ll just wait it out - You know what I’ve been wondering —> some of them have more than one episode! Almost all of them just discuss Larry and the timeline.

Ralph, Im not sure that you would like most of them bc personally I just really enjoy listening to different perspectives. The first one is a true gem so I’m really frustrated that it’s not available anymore. it was until a few weeks ago. The second one is very good imo although they are really biased and lean more into the anti side of fandom but I recommend it! I’d be very interested to hear what you think about that one. And you really have to listen to the bbg episode by lizard people in case you wanna have a great time. All of them are available on either Spotify or apple podcast (apart from the first one, someone send me an audio of that episode, I need it! 🙄😪I still had to mention it here just in case). The reply all episode was also on my list, originally. I haven’t listen to it in a while. I only remember that they had larries as their guests and that I was a little irritated by them. But their approach to it by having someone invited who got confused by fans as Eleanor’s brother was very interesting to me. That’s it. Sorry this is way too long. I’m just a podcast kind of person.

Thanks so much for sharing anon - this is a great list.

I've found the Pop Unmuted episode and listened to it. What a moment in time to have captured - April 2016 was such a key moment of transition. The idea that fans believed that Louis' wasn't Freddie's father had gone mainstream and suddenly everything was being talked about much wider, but in a way that ended up making these conversations much more difficult to have.

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I really enjoyed it and thought it was really interesting, although I do get very annoyed when people suggest Larrie ideas that I see as completely unsubstantial alongside ones that I think are important. (The bears are interesting enough! There's no need to shoehorn the September 28 nonsense in!)

I'm really looking forward to some of these - I'll probably stay away from the hard antis. I listen to Cam from What I Will Say quite regularly, but find her take on Larry infuriating. I do want at least some curiosity.

I've just started listening to the Lizard People episode and that seems super fun as well (and recorded around the same time).

[bluewinnerangel]

I just want your opinion on this one: you know THAT lyric from habit.. “come so far from.. heeeeeeell” lyric.. I still don’t understand why Louis put this into the song, he knew larries were gonna scream to death while singing this lyric. I watch Louis’ shows, and every time this lyric comes up, there’s a very loud crowd singing PRINCESS PARK, and unfortunately, it makes me a bit uncomfortable, because I feel like Louis might not like that we are singing Princess park so loud, i have insecurities about louis’ behaviours to larries, I know it’s so dumb, because I know he never treated badly NEVER, but I still feel that way, and I get shy singing princess park on top of our lungs. But at the same time, im like, HE KNEW this line will get larries crazy, and he put it still, just like “Larry, call a load of smoke in” lyric. Because of my insecurit, I feel cringy when I see people screaming princess park, I HOPE this feeling will go away, when I see Louis’ face lighting up while we sing those lyrics Xxx

Halfway through reading this I was about to write out well he did choose to cover a song starting with "Larry" LITERALLY but you already went there lol. Yeah I think it's his choice when to aggressively larry and I get a bit uncomfortable too when anyone who isn't them go larrying in front of them. But with singing things at a concert I don't think that's part of that, there's a lot of instances when they have reacted positively to signs and flags and all that. And sure some might make him a little insecure possibly but I also think he's been exposed to shit that could have made him insecure during 1D loads so like... he's seen some shit. Whatever gets thrown at him is mild in comparison. And singing some lyrics louder that you can totally brush off as "it's a 1D easter egg they just like the easter egg" - I know NOBODY THINKS THAT and I don't either, but still, you can, and he did, and he'll probably continue to do so, so even though we're all like WERE SINGING THIS BECAUSE WERE SUPPORTING YOU AND HARRY BITCH he can still play dumb as always and go OMG I LOVE THAT BECAUSE ITS A 1D EASTER EGG LOL like plausible deniability is his friend and here he can totally just hug him tight and it won't change anything yk.

The only thing with larries (and people in general) I think bothers him is when someone tries to bait a reaction out of him. When he's in a position where he has no choice but to respond like in a one on one conversation. There's this one clip where a dude's like I GOT THE ANCHOR TATTOO WHAT TATTOO OF YOU SHOULD I GET and he goes for the arm with the rope first right? And then the entirety of larryvile went HAAAAA HE WENT FOR THE ROPE AUTOMATICALLY. And then the next day at another signing a girl comes up to him with a camera in his face and is like WHATS YOUR FAVORITE TATTOO IS IT THE ROPE and I take his reaction as being annoyed and going for Bus 1 deliberately giving her the opposite of what he thinks she's trying to get out of him and then says "I felt like you were digging", and I might be misinterpreting that, he might say "I felt like you would dig it" or something, but like... I do think he's aware of ~~~everything~~~ and it gets uh sassy once you put him in a spot where he HAS TO respond while there's a phone in his face (or in the middle of an interview, because interviewers aren't any less annoying with the poking really), so no I don't think screaming certain lyrics louder over others or holding up signs or whatever he can choose whether to respond to is too much really. I think it's a good way of showing support directly and yet not too in his face.

idk how i managed to ramble this much about this lol but here you go.

[oldcurse]

I sincerely never knew you loved Louis so much!

Please ugh I’m sad bc I used to be so extra about it but have no record of it like I used to post on tumblr about him in 2011 and then my hs friends wanted to follow me on tumblr in 2012 so I literally went back and deleted e v e r y t h i n g I ever posted bc I was embarrassed and didn��t want them to see 😪 ugh I have regrets but seriously I owe him my life I can’t describe it like I remember when I was in high school my mom was being horrible to me like always and she was like well you don’t have any friends bc you’re annoying and have nothing to offer and then a short time later I got into 1D and I was drawn to Louis right away and it was just his little jokes and pranks and all the little funny quirky performances he would put on outside of 1D back then that just made me realize I wasn’t going to change and I just feel so grateful that he was there to show me that. I also would like to say that I was SEVERELY against Larry shipping all the way until I met Kari and she was only FINALLY taking interest in Louis bc of Larry so I baited her by pretending to be a larrie and then eventually got sucked into it for a short period of time and I remember before that I would follow these two larrie blogs ONLY bc at the time they were the only ones I could find that would talk about Louis!!!! It was like barely anything but i was getting to stay in touch with what’s going on with Louis the whole time and idk this is getting so long and rambly but I’m just trying to say that I have been unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him since 2011, I just had to calm myself down after being here all this time but he is the man of my dreams!!! I had the biggest crush on this guy I worked with at SPEEDWAY back in 2015 only because he had cheekbones and hair like Louis like this has been a continuous pattern in my life for the last 11 years, I’ve just learned to keep it to myself more bc of this one *** mutual who started following me in 2013 and constantly made fun of me for it bc she was a N**** stan and I was just dumb and wanted to impress her bc she had a popular blog BUT NO MORE!!!!!! I’m unleashing the beast finally lol and honestly I don’t have control over it anymore it’s just overflowing out of me CONSTANTLY

[wellthatwasaletdown]

I really struggle with this notion of queer-baiting vs. self-expression. I know that queer-baiting has a financial incentive, and I agree that some degree of sexual ambiguity is considered “exotic” or “intriguing” by some people (especially straight women). For that reason, Harry has profited from this ambiguous, is-he-or-isn’t-he, chameleon-like image. But I struggle to write it off as shameless baiting because I just don’t view queer-baiting or sexual ambiguity as essential to an artist’s success. He could have a completely unambiguously heterosexual image (as many people do) and still be wildly successful. So why do it? Multiple anons reacted negatively to the Dorothy costume, and I’ve seen similar comments on other platforms. Couple that with the fact that Harry seems incredibly sensitive to conflict or criticism, and I can’t argue the “all publicity is good publicity” angle, as Harry’s alleged queer baiting has attracted a lot of negative attention. I mean, he’s been making these tongue-in-cheek comments that play with sexuality since X-Factor, so it’s hard for me say it’s all a marketing technique (though it might have grown into that). But it’s kind of like the chicken and the egg, y’know? He’s no champion of LGBTQ+ issues, but I’m not sure that he has to be, if he’s just expressing himself creatively and artistically. Bottom line: I don’t know how Harry identifies - he might not know himself. There’s *something* uncomfortable about what he’s doing that’s hard to articulate. But I just don’t want to die on the queer-baiting hill. I’m happy to call him out on his actual words if they’re ignorant and offensive, like “sexuality is fun.” But regarding his fashion, “Medicine” lyrics, unwillingness to make a statement on his own sexuality… I feel like I have to give him a little bit of leeway.

I can see where you’re coming from anon and there is a fine line to walk when it comes to this topic. My biggest problem with this whole thing is that Harry has such an “I can have my cake and eat it too” attitude. He expects that everyone gives him the love and praise for expressing himself, calling him a “woke queer icon rockstar”, but not giving anything in return. Like it’s one thing to express yourself, and let your music speak for itself and let it be, but Harry and his team want to ensure that we think he is the next David Bowie. They shove this image of him down our throats with his magazine covers, “consent king” puff pieces, TPWK merch and Stevie knicks constantly reminding us that “FL is a rock album and Harry is the only member in 1D that didn’t go pop”. Like??? I have eyes and ears and I know for a fact that FL is not a rock album, and the behaviour that Harry displays is basic human decency and shouldn’t even be praised, it should be expected. Regarding his fashion and “queerbaiting”, it irritates me that Harry rides of the backs of others, who worked hard to get to the point so that someone like Harry could wear a dress, but instead of giving credit to those people, or talking about those who still suffer from expressing themselves (like the trans community), Harry goes on vogue and what not and gives vague statements and allows and expects the world to see him as some giant trailblazer. Instead of just letting people speculate about his sexuality and just giving the topic a rest, he allows people to bring it up. He allows interviewers to ask about his sexual orientation but he never allows them to specifically ask about his relationships with people like Taylor, Kendall or even Olivia?? This makes me think he allows them to ask about it, just so that he doesn’t have to answer to further feed into the narrative that he’s “private and mysterious” and the whole “is-he-isn't-he” debate. And this to me is queerbaiting. The best analogy I can use to describe harry is films like the Eternals, which kept shoving the fact that it has diversity and an indie darling director in our face so that we will like it. Meanwhile, the quality of the film was shit, and it was all virtue signalling and tokenism. Harry is like a film that keeps reminding me how amazing it is instead of just being amazing, and letting me be the judge of that. He doesn’t have to speak up on shit or confirm anything, and he can express himself all he wants. But because he advertises himself as the “kind woke queer icon rockstar”, he needs to live up to that title, and he doesn't. Harry and his team treat his fans like they’re dumb. And it got tiring because I felt like I was seeing and hearing something different to what Harry was telling me.

👆🏻

[jlf23tumble]

This one’s for @homosociallyyours and @silverfoxlouis, the former because she’s not going to listen and the latter because they’re listening as we speak! I saw a post earlier that low-key annoyed me because it either misrepresented today’s Stern interview or it skipped right over the fascinating bits, so here are the parts I enjoyed (I won’t waste my time on the shit I hated, lol):

Shrooms and the song-writing process are related to Harry’s anxiety about fucking shit up and needing to get out of his own head; related: coming from a band, if there's something you don't like, you can tell yourself that it wasn’t your choice.

The Rob Stringer talk made me SIDE EYE w/r/t the delay, like, okay, you’re a label boss who’s gonna drop a ton of money, but you’re cool with telling the artist to just relax and take all the time they need, you’ll just pick up the thread when hs2 is completely finished, lolz (I have my own theories about allllll of that, but okay!).

I love Stevie and her coven of nocturnal witches, too, but tell me more about how she hated Harry’s choice of first single (in my heart, she wanted “Golden”) and the song that she thought should have been on the album but isn’t, god, she’s such a yoda, and this entire bit was so much bigger than the coven.

I live in Harry’s soft, breathy “thank you” whenever Howard praises SOTT.

I feel like all the White Eskimo talk is a fic waiting to happen, the whole battle of the bands and them winning studio time and how Harry talks to maybe one of them and there’s a guy who IS STILL IN WHITE ESKIMO I GUESS???? WHAT?

Howard Stern hatesssssssssssss Simon Cowell, so his attempts to get Harry to talk shit were both wonderful and expertly dodged, lmao. 

My only positive comment about the discussion around Harry “putting on some timber” during his bakery (cashier at a baker) years was how much it echoed Louis’s comment about “having extra timber” during one of his recent BTS specials.

Were the guys in One Direction REALLY saying that Matt Cardle was “so fucking good” back in the day? This junior statesman!

Ralph pointed this out when we were talking about the interview, but a lot of the time, Howard just makes statements (as per usual), and Harry says, “Right,” which is a great response because it isn’t really an answer, yet it’s still participatory.

Howard is obsessed with coronavirus, so it was hella interesting to hear Harry’s thoughts about it affecting his tour, when his tour is still so far away (yet another tour is so much closer and in the direct line of fire).

Howard (like me) was pleased that Harry’s band is a mix of women and men and not just dudes (I should take a drink every time Bowie is mentioned, like around Harry’s clothes, how Harry is starting his tour in Philadelphia, the entirety of that convo making me want to see Harry’s face as much as all the xarries want to).

One of the things I hated seeing earlier today was this notion that Howard “forced” Harry to talk about the robbery because he absolutely did not, Harry went into CRAZY levels of detail about it when Howard asked, “When did this happen to you?” (and the way Harry talked about it wasn’t full of trauma or sadness, it bordered on humorous in spots but still serious; it clearly shook him up, but he wasn’t about to let it change his life of feeling free to walk around at night). 

I wanted to hear a lot more about all the musicians hanging out in the ‘70s and being competitive in terms of who was writing the best songs about a particular party vs. the competitiveness of banging out the best single today. Harry’s focus was that if you say you like a song, people think you should collaborate…if two musicians hang out, they're dating or recording (like with Adele, and case in point, Howard immediately asked if they were working on something).

I also loved the bit about acting and how nervous Harry used to be about EVERYTHING because he’s waiting three hours to do three minutes, and he focuses so much on his voice or hands shaking, but this last SNL really helped (in my heart, his “little tweaks” were on the Sara Lee sketch).

I live in the guffaw from Harry whenever Howard unexpectedly hit his funny bone (like Harry saying Anne gave him some money to buy clothes when he first moved to London, and Howard saying it was good return on investment for her, what with the house Harry eventually bought her, etc.).

I absolutely LOVED the entire bit about Ben Winston’s attic (and Ralph’s related takes on it), the fine line of the plausibility yet the doubling down; the word “cocaine” coming out of Harry’s mouth; the parts about dating and keeping your relationship normal/secret, etc., GOLD, ALL OF IT. 

Harry, like Phoenix Mendoza, writes every day, which is part of why he wasn’t really into giving up his phone to muggers because that’s his writing zone of choice for lyrics and poems (the whole robbery clapback here: “for the purposes of not getting mugged again, no, they’re on a different device”).

MITCH SPEAKS!! He was into his Nick Drake phase when Harry met him, but apparently everyone is into the open D (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) chord, so he was a shoe-in. Also, Harry met Adam in 2010??? I’d like more information.

We move back into 1D territory with Zayn’s departure, which is still shittily handled but somewhat more maturedly discussed, and yet another attempt to get Harry to talk shit about Simon, which is getting us closer to what we want/need (Harry’s very real answer to Simon being pissed that Harry didn’t consult him about going solo: “I’m in a band since I was 16, there were five of us, we had a lot of managers, lots of people at the label, and all of these decisions affect your life in a massive way, every decision I made was a group call. I didn't know who I was as an adult,” and a lot of that is paraphrased in spite of the quote marks, but just know that I am screaming LIAM).

There’s a lot of weird downspeak to Sarah and Ny (Adam and Mitch were talked at earlier), but everyone’s very much into Sarah, and rightfully so. I loved the slip up where Howard is trying to figure out if there’s anything romantic going on between Harry and the female band members, and someone says, “Mitch!” so you can hear Howard process Harry and Mitch for a hot sec, cracking the Hitch dream, before we get clarification and Harry gleefully taking us into the story of their love. (Me as the speech Howard gives Sarah and Mitch about how dangerous it is to be in a band together and to have a relationship because if you fuck it up, it’ll be terrible.)

SLEDGEHAMMER NICE.

We get a bit into the “Adore You” video because Howard’s an animal softie, and he loves it (it’s downplayed, but Howard also mentions how fans have put a lot of “thoughts” into the fish), but then we get into talk about how this song is about the girl Harry’s banging (HIS SNICKER HERE) and how the common denominator in all of Harry’s failed relationships is him, huh. All of this relationship talk here makes me want to DIE with how much I love it.

Everyone focuses on the gross talk from Howard about Harry having a lady therapist (this is a long-standing Howard trope), but some good shit disappears between those cracks, like how Harry decided to go into therapy, how he’s keeping his LA therapist instead of having two in different countries, etc., and it’s actually Robin who asks Harry about seeming weak or vulnerable in front of a female therapist, but clearly, he’s not bothered.

I’m so interested in how the shrooms tongue-biting incident cured a speech impediment I wasn’t fully aware of but that is still so impossibly endearing.

Harry himself picks out his opening acts, which we already knew but is always nice to hear confirmed. 

The drug convo in text from earlier today makes it sound like he doesn’t smoke cigs, but to me, it seems like he doesn’t like to smoke weed (an edible king, relatable).

Harry says, “you’ve said it all,” which just makes me think he’s a long-time (or recent) Stern listener, because that’s what Howard says when he’s done/interview’s over.

We think it’s all done but the shouting, and then Robin gets into Harry’s clothing, which is where it gets dicey. Howard (of course) mentions that Bowie wore a skirt and how he himself did full drag on TV (“legs shaved and everything, you should see how gorgeous I am as a woman”), but Harry keeps it very much in the realm of what he wears is what he wears because it’s fun for him, he’s not wearing a school uniform or trying to look cool for his friends, he’s a lot more comfortable with himself: “At shows, I tell people to be who they want to be, I plan on telling my kids that, so I don’t want to be a hypocrite, I’m not wearing it for shock value.” 

Howard says people will assume he’s gay or bi (like Bowie, YEAH, SIGH), but Harry says it’s not performative. This whole bit is fascinating on so many levels, he touches (without saying) on the entire queer-baiting issue, and it’s cringe-y, with Howard saying “I’m not criticizing, wear what you want, I’m a big mess, etc.”

Anyway, they pivot out of that with Howard moving beyond into asking Harry who he wants to badmouth: “Simon?” Harry: “This has been great!” and this entire bit about how Howard wants to know if Harry considers Simon a friend, and Harry saying he doesn’t talk to him gives me life. There’s a lot of gross talk about who Harry has his eye on for his next girlfriend, but I will tell you that I never in my life expected to hear the words SUSAN BOYLE thrown into this convo. 

The interview closes out with Harry getting progressively more silent about the women he should date, saying that he doesn’t talk in interviews about his love life, he talks in music (oh?????), so Taylor Swift comes up, and Harry says it’s flattering to think you’re in a Taylor song because she’s such a great songwriter, which, true, I guess?

Harry hasn’t used a dating app (duh), but Howard thinks he should create one, and…scene. 

[youreinreality]

Around the Corner.p1

a concept where harry goes back to find wren because he wants her opinion on a new song ribbon, but wren’s not there anymore??

1019 words

October 7th, 2019. 

From: Alistair Have a minute to spare? Call me. 

I haven’t heard from Alistair in a while. I talk to him every couple of weeks, just to make sure everything is still going alright; that the shop is still making money, that my replacement isn’t taking advantage of him, and that he’s getting at least seven hours of sleep each night. 

We aren’t meant to catch up for another couple of days, so I immediately feel panicked after reading his text. I collect all my stuff from the table, pass apologetic glances to those whose attention I attracted, and run out of the library. After finding an empty corridor, I plopped my bag onto the floor and reach for my phone. 

“Wren!” he chirps, immediately easing my panic. There was no way he would have greeted me like that if something terrible had happened. 

“Hey Al, everything okay?” Of course, I can’t help but continue the panic anyway. “Do you need help with something or-” 

“Breathe. darling,” he chuckles. “Can’t a boss just check in on his former employee?” 

“Since when have we done that, Al? You only call me when you need me to save you from something,” I tease. It’s been nearly four months since I left London. In the beginning, it was multiple calls throughout the day. Now, his calls for help have started to draw thin, and it’s a bittersweet feeling. 

He laughs heartily. “I’m afraid it’s not me that needs saving today, love. I got someone asking for you.” 

I raised an eyebrow. “Huh?” Surely, I’ve been gone long enough for the regulars to all know why I’m not there anymore. “That doesn’t make sense,” I tell Al. “I thought we’ve told everyone.”  

“Yeah, me too. I didn’t think we missed anyone until he came around, just now. He seems pretty disappointed that we didn’t pass on the notice to him.”  

“He…” My thoughts start to drift off as a slideshow of our male customers flash through my mind, trying to pick through who the “forgotten one” could be. 

Al decides to save me some time. “Hold on, let me just hand you over to him.” I hear some shuffling noises occur. Then, someone new grabs the phone. 

He clears his throat before speaking, assuring that there is no confusion as to who his identity was. “Lawrence Jay Bower?” he says. 

My jaw opens and my breath hitches. There is only one person in the world who would ever greet me like that. He’s been greeting me that way ever since the day I met him. 

I haven’t seen Harry in a while, but I can perfectly visualize what he looks like on the other side of the phone right now. He’s probably leaning against the wall at the back end of the shop, one hand in the pocket of his jacket, the other holding the phone. He’s wearing the signature smirk on his face, pleased to catch me off guard

“Harold Edward Styles?” His name comes out a little rusty, just because I haven’t said it in so long, nor was I expecting to say it ever again.

“Hey, Wren,” he greets me again. His tone eases, probably relieved that I finished the usual greeting. 

“Harry….I don’t know what to….You’re at the shop...with Al.” 

“And you’re not. Care to explain why you ditched Around the Corner?.” 

“Yeah um, I finally managed to get out of there. I don’t know if you remember but I was-” 

“Deciding whether or not Oxford was worth it,” he finishes. “No, I remember.” Not that I ever doubted him. I’ve only seen him a handful of times, but he manages to remember details about our interactions that pass right over my head. “Fuck..that was a while ago, wasn’t it?” 

“April of 2017,” I say, citing the last time Al and I saw him. “It was a week before the world was going to see those ribbons you made.” I throw him the bait. 

He catches it instantly. “Those ten ribbons, yeah.” It sounds like he’s talking with a smile on his face, which inevitably makes me smile as well. The inside joke lives on. “That’s why I came by actually. I was hoping to show you and Al my new ribbon.” 

“It’s finally time again?!” I hear Al say in the background.

“Yeah, it’s going out soon,” says Harry. I recognize the nervousness in his voice. “I’m just trying to make sure that I personally get to share it with some important people” 

Al must be standing next to him now because his voice sounds a lot closer. “So, you’re telling me that my opinion is just as valuable as Stevie Nicks’? 

“I’d say I value yours more, Al.” Harry easily admits. “You and Wren have been there from the beginning, and I’m never going to forget that.” 

“Ah, come here kid.” Al’s a softie, so he must have pulled him into a hug. 

A pang of jealousy unexpectedly hits me. Harry’s presence at the shop is such a rarity that it feels like I’ve missed out on such a special moment. How I wish I’m able to just snap my fingers and join them in that hug. 

The hug finishes and Harry diverts his attention back to me. “So, any chance you’re coming to London soon? To see Al?” 

“She’s due for a visit!” I hear Al yell back. “You need to check my books, Wren! Make sure that Charlie isn’t making a fool of me with my money!” 

“I don’t know, Harry,” I respond, which is the opposite of what I wanted to say. “I have an exam on Wednesday.” 

“So come Thursday,” he responds. “I just need one day, Wren.” 

“I need-” 

“You owe me,” he interrupts. “You never even told me you were leaving.” 

I sigh. “I don’t even know why I bother arguing. Looks like I’m ditching class on Thursday.” 

“Amazing. That’s okay, right Al? Thursday?” 

“Consider it booked,” Al confirms. 

“See you Around the Corner?” he directs back at me. 

“This better be a good fucking ribbon.” 

a/n: idk this concept has been in my head ever since SOTT so i’m glad i finally got it out into words. if this continues expect flashbacks so you can see where this ribbon thing came from and possibly some members of 1d wefjlskdjflsdj

[iknowimnotyouronly]

Ok so, I read someone saying something about Liam’s interview with Jonathan Ross and how it was interesting that they had never met all together since the hiatus (let’s say hiatus, lol). So my brain did this thing where Louis lures Harry to a 1d meeting using Freddie as bait, lmao.

And then I made it mails and messages cause I thought it was gonna be funnier, idk if it’s funny, but I had fun writing it.

(everything is written from the perspective of the person starting the conversation or writing the mail, that’s why Harry’s says “Me”)

↓↓↓↓

From: Tommo

To: Harold

Subject:

Harold,

I’m gonna have Freddie for the holidays, El and I hope you can come to grab a bite with us Sunday –.

We’ll be inviting Niall too

LT

___________________

From: Me

To: L Tomlinson

Subject: RE

Louis and Eleanor,

I would absolutely love to go visit you and Freddie. That day works fine for me. I hope Niall can come too.

H. xx

PS. What size is Freddie now?

______________________

(Yesterday)

Tommo: look I don’t fucking care I WILL fight him on a dark alley

Nialler: hahahahahahahahahaha

(Today)

Tommo: lad! We are having a thing home on Sunday – Invited Styles You should come too

Nialler: you invited Harry?

Tommo: yeah El and I thought it was a good idea to have the lad over so he can see Freddie

Nialler: suspiciously thoughtful of you

Tommo: 🙄 shut up and just be here

Nialler: won’t shut up, but see u there

___________________

From: Me

To: Niall H

Subject: nice to write ya

Ni, did Louis invite you Sunday – to his house?

H. xx

__________________________

From: NH

To: Harry Styles

Subject: RE You are annoying

Yeah, just talked to him, he says he wants you to hang out with the little lad

Will be seeing you there?

Also, as I’ve said before I HATE when you use mail as instant messaging, there are other apps for that

___________________________

From: Me

To: Niall H

Subject: RE RE Nice to annoy ya

Of course I’m going, I already said yes, I’m gonna buy lots of presents for Freddie 👌🏻

Love ya

H. xx

___________________________

From: Me

To: Me

Subject: Order of the day

Yoga class 8 AM

Calling Jeff to plan 11 AM

Conference call with ——– 2 PM

Going shopping for presents for Freddie 5 PM

_____________________

Tommo: then see you Sunday mate

Payno: sure thing 👍🏻 Maya is excited to meet you all bro

_______________________

From: Tommo

To: Harold

Subject: RE RE RE RE RE

H,

Please don’t bring your merch for Freddie, he will never wear it

See you sunday

LT

PS: Liam and his girlfriend are also coming!

[twelvedaysinaugust]

I think I know who you have talked to and from my understanding that person contacted a few larries to tell them similar things. I am also disillusioned by the whole thing. I am guessing that 'Larry' is the price Louis has to pay for a solo carreer and I am guessing he knows this. And that is basically throwing Freddie and Eleanor under the bus and that is pretty shitty.

If Larry was never a romantic relationship then someone, whoever that is, wanted us to believe it was. And it was probably manufactured in some meeting room back in the early 1D days. I am guessing the boys were all in on it and that is why all of them talk very carefully about Larry, except for a few outburst. The Louis 'obviously' interview was the weakest denial of Larry. "It comes across a little bit disrespectful sometimes.." and "people can believe what they want to believe" screams to me that someone has told him to not alienate a fanbase which in itself is such an insult to his loved ones when they really carried the load of Larry. Carreer and money over his loved ones. It makes me sick when I think about it that way, which also means Louis is not who I thought he was. "Cause nobody cares when you're boring"

My understanding is the same, anon. It still doesn’t sit right with me because someone is getting lied to and misled in this scenario.

I still have a difficult time believing Larry wasn’t real in the beginning given their interactions with each other, the receipts from the X-Factor era, their families’ behavior, etc. Whatever happened in the band (genuine relationship, baiting, a little bit of both), I’m willing to let it go. H/L were young and impressionable when all this started and they didn’t have a lot of freedom or input during 1D. I can forgive all that. Or at least, move past it. But if they aren’t a couple, then I’m frustrated that Larry is being carried over into the solo era. After hiatus and babygate, Larries really did drop off significantly. I know there are going to be a select few who never unlarrie, but I don’t see why Larry had to be a fixture of the solo era (if it’s not real). This current surge in Larry content is keeping the old Larries around and attracting new ones. But the longer Harry and Louis aren’t even seen in the same room together, the more I think we need to examine the baiting angle. I’m finding it difficult to believe that they’re together - even casually - if we have little to no evidence of them spending time together (even as friends). I know that’s not what most people want to hear, but I really don’t see how two people at that level of fame could keep such a famous relationship under wraps for such a long time without slipping up even once.

[thisiskatsblog]

Soup, Sex and Sun Salutations

Fixed it!

[Note: all it took was some copypasting - just the italics are mine]

“We had the chance to sit down over some miso soup with Harry Styles. We didn’t talk about his new album at all but were charmed by the way he challenges gender norms and by what he had to say about sexuality, his female fans, feminism, while male privilege, toxic masculinity, his publicity relationship stunts, and how meditation and yoga have helped him deal with it all. ”

Challenging gender norms

He’s got a white floppy hat that Diana Ross might have won from Elton in a poker game at Cher’s mansion circa 1974.

His nail polish is pink and mint green.

He’s also carrying his purse — no other word for it.

He hosted the Met Gala with Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Alessandro Michele, and Anna Wintour serving an eyebrow-raising black lace red-carpet look.

He is the official face of a designer genderless fragrance, Gucci’s Mémoire d’une Odeur.

Harry said in his speech (note: for Stevie Nicks). “She knows what you need: advice, a little wisdom, a blouse, a shawl.” He added, “She’s responsible for more running mascara — including my own — than all the bad dates in history.”

Refusing to put a label on his sexuality

Harry likes to cultivate an aura of sexual ambiguity, as overt as the pink polish on his nails. 

He’s asking questions about culture, gender, identity, new ideas about masculinity and sexuality.

He’s dated women throughout his life as a public figure, yet he has consistently refused to put any kind of label on his sexuality

On his first solo tour, he frequently waved the pride, bi, and trans flags, along with the Black Lives Matter flag. In Philly, he waved a rainbow flag he borrowed from a fan up front: “Make America Gay Again.” One of the live fan favorites: “Medicine,” a guitar jam that sounds a bit like the Grateful Dead circa Europe ’72, but with a flamboyantly pansexual hook: “The boys and girls are in/I mess around with them/And I’m OK with it.

He’s always had a flair for flourishes like this, since the 1D days. An iconic clip from November 2014: Harry and Liam are on a U.K. chat show. The host asks the oldest boy-band fan-bait question in the book: What do they look for in a date? “Female,” Liam quips. “That’s a good trait.” Harry shrugs. “Not that important.” Liam is taken aback. The host is in shock. On tour in the U.S. that year, he wore a Michael Sam football jersey, in support of the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. He’s blown up previously unknown queer artists like King Princess and Muna

His worst fears

“While I was in the band,” he says, I felt so much weight in terms of not getting things wrong. I remember when I signed my record deal and I asked my manager, ‘What happens if I get arrested? Does it mean the contract is null and void?’ ”

About Rainbow Direction 

“Now, I feel like the fans have given me an environment to be myself and grow up and create this safe space to learn and make mistakes”

“It’s a room full of accepting people.… If you’re someone who feels like an outsider, you’re not always in a big crowd like that,” he says. 

At one of his earliest solo shows, in Stockholm, he announced, “If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender — whoever you are, whoever you want to be, I support you. I love every single one of you.

What do those flags onstage mean to him? “I want to make people feel comfortable being whatever they want to be,” he says. “Maybe at a show you can have a moment of knowing that you’re not alone.”

“To me, the greatest thing about the tour was that the room became the show,” he says. “It’s not just me.” 

About vulnerability, toxic masculinity, and meditation

“I’m discovering how much better it makes me feel to be open with friends. Feeling that vulnerability, rather than holding everything in”

“I feel pretty lucky to have a group of friends who are guys who would talk about their emotions and be really open,” he says. “My friend’s dad said to me, ‘You guys are so much better at it than we are. I never had friends I could really talk to. It’s good that you guys have each other because you talk about real shit. We just didn’t.’”

“I was such a skeptic going in,” he says. “But I think meditation has helped with worrying about the future less, and the past less. I feel like I take a lot more in—things that used to pass by me because I was always rushing around. It’s part of being more open and talking with friends. It’s not always the easiest to go in a room and say, ‘I made a mistake and it made me feel like this, and then I cried a bunch.’ But that moment where you really let yourself be in that zone of being vulnerable, you reach this feeling of openness. That’s when you feel like, ‘Oh, I’m fucking living, man.’”

Doesn’t this ambiguous sexuality clash with his public image?

He’s dated [a string of high-profile] women throughout his life as a public figure, yet he has consistently refused to put any kind of label on his sexuality - [and] he never gets caught uttering any of their names in public.

We’re off to the pub,” he tells his mom. “We’re going to talk some shop.” She smiles sweetly. “Talk some shit, probably,” says Anne.

“It’s not like I’ve ever sat and done an interview and said, ‘So I was in a relationship, and this is what happened,’” he says. “Because, for me, music is where I let that cross over. It’s the only place, strangely, where it feels right to let that cross over.”

So how does he feel about the industry?

“Only a city as narcissistic as L.A. would have a street called Los Angeles Street,” he says.

About his female fans, and about feminism

He’s always had a fervent female fandom, and, admirably, he’s never felt a need to pretend he doesn’t love it that way. “They’re the most honest — especially if you’re talking about teenage girls, but older as well,” he says. “They have that bullshit detector. You want honest people as your audience. We’re so past that dumb outdated narrative of ‘Oh, these people are girls, so they don’t know what they’re talking about.’ They’re the ones who know what they’re talking about. They’re the people who listen obsessively. They fucking own this shit. They’re running it.”

“To me, the greatest thing about the tour was that the room became the show,” he says. “It’s not just me.” He sips his tea. “I’m just a boy, standing in front of a room, asking them to bear with him.”

He doesn’t have the uptightness some people have about sexual politics, or about identifying as a feminist. “I think ultimately feminism is thinking that men and women should be equal, right? People think that if you say ‘I’m a feminist,’ it means you think men should burn in hell and women should trample on their necks. No, you think women should be equal. That doesn’t feel like a crazy thing to me. I grew up with my mum and my sister — when you grow up around women, your female influence is just bigger. Of course men and women should be equal. I don’t want a lot of credit for being a feminist. It’s pretty simple. I think the ideals of feminism are pretty straightforward.”

About white male privilege

“It’s not about, ‘Oh, I get what it’s like,’ because I don’t. For example, I go walking at night before bed most of the time. I was talking about that with a female friend and she said, ‘Do you feel safe doing that?’ And I do. But when I walk, I’m more aware that I feel OK to walk at night, and some of my friends wouldn’t. I’m not saying I know what it feels like to go through that. It’s just being aware.”   

I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows. I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t. So I’m not trying to say, ‘I understand what it’s like.’ I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.”

On tour, he had an End Gun Violence sticker on his guitar; he added a Black Lives Matter sticker, as well as the flag. “It’s not about me trying to champion the cause, because I’m not the person to do that,” he says. “It’s just about not ignoring it, I guess. I was a little nervous to do that because the last thing I wanted was for it to feel like I was saying, ‘Look at me! I’m the good guy!’ I didn’t want anyone who was really involved in the movement to think, ‘What the fuck do you know?’ But then when I did it, I realized people got it. Everyone in that room is on the same page and everyone knows what I stand for. I’m not saying I understand how it feels. I’m just trying to say, ‘I see you.’”

Heartbreak and loss

As Stevie starts to sing “Landslide” — “I’ve been afraid of changing, because I built my life around youuuu” — Anne walks over to where Harry sits. She crouches down behind him, reaches her arms around him tightly. Neither of them says a word. They listen together and hold each other close to the very end of the song. Everybody in Wembley is singing along with Stevie, but these two are in a world of their own.

[Note: I doubted a bit whether to include that last part, but then I did, because this HS2 is apparently an album about sadness, and the description of that moment reminded me painfully of the real heartbreak and sadness Harry and Anne have had to deal with in recent years. So here’s a little shoutout to Anne who lost Robin, so recently still. Wishing her all the courage to continue building her life without him at the center of it. We love you.]