#and I find it far safer to not delved into the full spectrum of the tinhatted ships

[blazinginbus1]

#1: (Finding out about Larry anon again. Although I don't know if my other messages actually sent so if you didn't get it just tell me). I'm still bummed out about Larry. I genuinely thought Larry was a made-up ship that fans were obsessively delusional over and I made the mistake of watching their videos and I'm so sad, as terrible as it sounds, to see how close they were. There's a difference between regular bromances, like Ziam, or Lirry, (I wouldn't consider Zouis a bromance because they

never really play up their relationship. Actually they don’t show much of it to the public eye) and Larry. In 2011 to early 2013, they seemed REALLY close. Always touching, always staring, always having sexual innuendos. Sure, maybe that seems like nothing because the other guys do that, but there’s a difference. You can tell when the other guys do it (including Louis and Harry to other people, not each other) that they have the intention of playing around and not meaning anything. Like when Harry went over to Zayn with his candy thong and Zayn bit in right next to his crotch? A joke. 100% funny joke that they honestly would not even think about later or just think anything of it. The guys groping each other, Liam tackling Zayn on stage, the guys saying they’d date each other, kissing each other on cheeks? Hot, but a joke. Nothing serious, nothing actually holding any real meaning behind it other than the fact that it’s funny for guys to be gay with each other for some strange reason. And I just, maybe because I just love Zayn/Louis so much, but I never really took Larry seriously until watching all these non-edited moments of them and literally the majority of them were just private moments. They literally never had any platonic moments. Every moment would be used as a sexual innuendo opportunity, or little tiny winks or touches behind the table or small whispers of sexual flirtation. I just don’t get it? There’s so much I can’t even understand. There’s so many things that can’t be marked as a coincidence. And trust me, I know Larries can be extreme and sometimes make everything about Larry (though that’s usually after 2013 to now). But in 2012, I just can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t like it. Why were they so close? Why did they genuinely flirt, and I actually mean it, actual flirtation (most times actually private and not drawn attention to). Am I missing something? They were so close and suddenly they just stopped? I don’t get it? Either the fans made them uncomfortable with their whole pushing and obsessiveness which explains why they didn’t really interact at all for the next three years (unless they did act like regular and people are over-exaggerating) and they were still close off-camera or they just grew up and honestly just weren’t that close anymore? I have to ask, since I’m assuming you’ve been in the fandom for a while. Did Larry hang out a lot off work together like Zouis in later years? Or was it just in interviews and concerts that they seemed close and they actually weren’t as close as people make them out to be? Which would mean they all were fairly equal in closeness and Larry were just playing in interviews and when there were no cameras around, they weren’t actually that close? have to admit though, when Zayn and Louis were asked if they were in a relationship together, they put their arms around each other’s shoulders and had no problems saying that they were not together. No hesitations, no struggles, nothing. When Louis is questioned, he always says “fans /genuinely/ believe we’re in a relationship, and he always seems walk around the question and struggles? I don’t like the idea of them being together. don’t know. It just bums me out. But were they together? Ever? Or was it just for fun and they really have no interest in each other? I just feel strange because there honestly seemed to be something there in the beginning. But I like Zouis :/ 

I’m so sorry I haven’t responded back to you sooner, babes. However, I did receive your other messages. I’ve just been a little off my game lately, so do forgive me. I’m sorry you’ve been hit with some conflicting thoughts regarding the dynamics of Zayn, Louis, and Harry’s relationships. I really cant tell you what to think one way or another, gorgeous. It’s ultimately your call how you assess it. Just bear in mind there’s a lot more to a friendship than the stuff we see at the surface, so be conscious of that. We only see a fraction of them and how they interact, so I don’t think we could get a really fair assessment of their relationships in their entirety with the little we see or know.

Admittedly, I don’t often discuss Louis and Harry’s relationship too often on here, simply because it attracts a certain kind of attention I’m not necessarily interested in bringing on to my blog. Just to clarify, I’m not into tinhatting, simply put. Any discussions I make about the boys, I speak in metaphoricals and from a place of figuratives rather than solid fact. And I’m sure you do too. I value Louis and Harry’s friendship, as anyone would, but I think the innocence and harmlessness in it has far surpassed its boundaries. They used to be great in public, and didn’t often think too much of policing themselves, so you did see cheeky moments where they joked around and had their fun, not thinking it would be microanalyzed the way it had. They literally were roommates at one point. So of course there was an air of comfort there; there’s no denying that.

However, *I* myself have never really conformed with the idea that Louis and Harry’s interaction were somehow deeper than any of the others. I think it should be known that videos like the ones you’ve mentioned often rely on a little bit of a manipulation tactic in telling you to focus so intently on that *one* particular subject matter or that *one* particular moment, and disregard anything else other ships do similarly that would ‘disprove‘ it, so to speak. Its like putting on horse blinders, and telling you to focus on what they want you to see right ahead; don’t bother looking off the right where so-and-so are doing something as cheeky. They’ve all made comments, they’ve all had their moments of cheekiness with one another, and they’ve all built personal relationships outside of what would be considered work obligations, but there’s an odd double-standard that I myself don’t quite understand. When so-and-so do something, its almost instantly written off as ‘a joke’ or ‘a bromatic moment’, but Louis and Harry doing it is automatically branded as something more? Like I said, darling, I don’t get it. And I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer for you, but that’s just me.

Obviously I cant see the ‘Larry” that others may see, but then again, plenty of people cant see, or choose not to, see the Zouis I see either. Louis and Harry had far less to worry about being interactive and friendly in their younger days because back then, it was still being treated more as a joke, or a figurative thing, a nice concept. But somewhere along the way, the lines got blurred and things got far less innocent and playful, prominently in how the fans reacted to it. Things had to change because at that point, Larry’s interactions didn't just have an impact on them. In fans heralding Larry moments, their real partners—of whom they've publicly declared they were dating—often got harassed. Family, friends, partners, staff. I’d venture to say Louis and Harry didn't think this would be the adverse reaction to them joking with one another.

This is all over the place and I left it on a really open, ambiguous note with no right answer to tell you, because I don't think there is a solid answer here. Feel how you want to about the ships you want. I don't see Larry in a profoundly deeper way that some may want me to, but that's just my outlook and I cant explain why. Louis’ relationship with Zayn is different than Louis’ relationship with Harry, which is different than Harry’s relationship with Niall, and so on. All are valued in such unique ways, and all boys have personal connections and a certain love for one another. That’s just how they are. They were uninhibited, they were shamelessly endeared by one another, and as a dear friend of mine on here says (shoutout @alligatornyc), they're practically made in a lab. Because their big ot5 love fest is so unexplainable, but works so incredibly well. I'm sorry this answer is shit, babes, but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Continue loving Zouis. Continue appreciating Larry. Hell, maybe even check out some Narry, if that tickles your fancy. But don't feel like you need to place one ship over another; they're all different, but equally as meaningful.