#Louis queer coding

[daisiesonafield-blog]

[cheezy-whizz]

shout out to homicidal homoerotic toxic best friendships in movies, gotta be one of my favorite genders

[eggs-can-draw]

Well SOMEONE had to be Luka

[so-idialed-9]

Does he know they've got the same pose?

In reference to this

[menasimagination]

Elephant in the Room

IWTV amc short fic (~400 words)

fem Loustat, human high school AU, modern day

homoerotic friendship romcom, slow burn adjacent

rated PG / E

A likely alliance of chattering voices echoes softly into the hallway. Their conversation is an intimate symphony of feet swaying and pencils fidgeting. They strategically sit on the side of the room opposite the AC vent with inconsistent air flow. Louis and Lestat enjoy many afternoons like this together. It's well past 4pm and they're still in the art room. The art teacher has learned that they're only interested in each other's company, trusting that they'll leave the classroom how they found it despite her absence. Talk of dreams is interrupted by the voice of a vaguely familiar classmate. "Can I take a photo of you guys for the yearbook?"

The pair look at each other for confirmation before saying "sure" in a staggered unison.

Louis gets up from her seat and satirically poses with her hand on her hip in a dramatic manner, emphasizing her awkwardness. "I'm not sure how to stand, all of my pose references come from Toddlers & Tiaras" she says jokingly. Lestat chuckles beside her.

"Um..." The photographer steps back for a moment to asses the composition. The AC kicks back on, interrupting a heavy silence. She gestures at Lestat, "how about you put your arm around her?".

"Okay" Louis says hastily. Lestat cautiously reaches around Louis' shoulder, inhaling sharply. They face the camera and smile.

Click. Click.

Louis burns with embarrassment before cooling down and leaning into Lestat's frame. Lestat notices how comfortable Louis seems. She doesn't point it out for fear of the moment ending sooner. Now they are both flushed.

"Okay, now mogging version." Lestat says. She begins to smize, her eyes piercing the camera lens. "Wow, that's so... severe..." the photographer whispers under her breath. Louis is laughing heartily, struggling to suppress her smile as she mimics Lestat's facial expression.

Click.

"Alright, thanks guys, I got what I needed!" says the photographer, letting the camera hang around her neck.

"Yeah, no problem!" says Louis.

The pair sit back down in their original positions. They both shift in their seats, trying to regain comfort. The air feels fixed. "What were we talking about again?" says Lestat.

"Dreams."

"Oh yeah, you were telling me about the dream you had about an elephant."

They resume their conversation, rhythm slightly off-kilter now. Lestat feels a peripheral longing for the hallway, wondering where the yearbook photographer went. Louis pretends not to notice, convinced that she's hid her affections. It's not often that there's a witness to this intrinsic routine.

[hausofmamadas]

MURDER HUSBANDS | Wind them up and watch them go (love letter to NBC’s Hannibal)

♫ To the tune of Climbing Up the Walls by Radiohead (with overture by Bruno Battisti D’Amario) ♫

✧

Wow

So I feel like I say this every time. But Mary mother of god, this was a behemoth. By a mile the hardest vid I’ve ever made joke’s on me bc I’m the fucking crackerjack who decided to tack on an whole ass other song as an overture bc why in the name of all cocks would I decide to make anything easy like it’s funny bc I always have an impression of how easy a vid is going to come together when I get the idea, right. And this duo with this song just pbj. So ngl I thought the shit was gonna edit itself. But guess what yall? Radiohead like … makes some intricate, complex-sounding shit stunning revelation, almost as if that’s what they’re fuckinfjsbs known for

HOWMEVER, the day has come, it’s arrived and I’ve looked at this thing for so long now, I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, cannot tell if it’s good anymore. My last vid, I took a long break so by the end, I had enough time away from it to remember it was at least good. This? This could be visual gobbledygook, mush for your eyes, the equivalent of that shit brown shade you get when you mix too many water colors together.

But likehopefully it’s not and you can pls enjoy this love letter to one of the greatestqueer romances in modern media, which is a bold statement whatever fight me but I can’t think of a queer ship before this in tv/movies where the romance unfolds like any other hetero relationship and queer identity isn’t the focus, which even though I think is important, lbr there’s more to gays than being gay. Like it’s kinda visionary, despite the fact that neither character is explicitly queer, when it becomes clear that they’re in love with each other, no one, in-universe, is pearl-clutching all: EGAD! But Will’s never been with 😱a man😱 before?? How in THE DICKENS could he be in love with Hannibal when I don’t have definitive proof he’s even touched tips with another man let alone been balls deep!!!!!!!! How dare he not have this big, gay awakening for us all to gawk at applaud for!!!!” ?

No, literally every character: Jack, Alana, Bedelia, Margot, Mason, even Will’s wife god bless I cannot remember her name but she deserved better *shakes fist at Will* etc., all acknowledge the transcendent romantic bond btwn them and no one questions it. Well, no one questions it thru the lens of performed queerness. Tbf ppl had a lotta questions about the like probable impending multiple murders which validsisjwh

These are just 2 ppl who’re in love with each other to the point of being uncontrollably homicidal Which like … goals? Like I’ve really wracked my brain and can’t think of another queership that unfolds like every other hetero ass love story. That is to say, where fluidity is more the default, at least to the extent that no one talks about the orientation of either players within the show’s universe. Regardless of whether Bryan Fuller intended that from the start which tbh I don’t think he did but I also don’t think it’s fair to call it queerbaiting. I think he let the story unfold and realized kinda with the rest of us that this was a magical!realism romance and not a crime procedural and by S3 leaned tf into it doesn’t really matter bc the universe in which these two exist to truss each other up like Christmas turkeys aka foreplay symbolizes so much more to me than whatever it was initially invented to be. And if it’s not art, folks, idk what is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Ofc I mean the show is art, not the vid. Vid=potential gobbledygook

✧

✧

taglist: @tofuwildcard @narcolini @ashlingnarcos @drabbles-mc

[srldesigns6277]

Make a little conversation,

so long I've been waiting

to let go of this feeling and be alive.

So many nights I thought it over

told myself I kind of liked her

But there was something missing in her eyes.

[dungeon-master-mike]

ppl are slowly beginning to be weird abt about queer henry interpretations the same way milevens get abt queer mike interpretations

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

additional resource: Complete Larry Tattoo Timeline (last update: April 2025)

Hi! Do you know the significance of Louis’ triangle tattoo? I’ve seen someone say that it’s connected with the queer community but I don’t know how

Hi! One of the oldest symbols of solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community people is the triangle. It started in Nazi Regime with the holocaust as Nazis used it to identify the imprisoned as homosexual. The triangles were pink during that time, but later on in history the symbol was reclaimed by the community and began using it to take back their identity and pride by using it for unity in various movements. These triangles weren’t necessarily pink and were either bold black-lined (due to the LGBTQ+ women in concentration camps labeled with that triangle to distinguish them from the gay men) or just outlines of the shape.

So, it’s very common to see pink, bold-lined, and just outlined triangles as tattoos to align with the community. and it makes it even louder knowing the triangle tattoo is the only tattoo louis didn’t talk about in his GQ tattoo video. here are some examples of these tattoos:

and here is louis’ tattoo:

[todayisdeadinside]

The “Louis is homophobic” narrative is so outrageously dumb that it feels like it was manufactured in a top-secret lab that specializes in bad takes and Twitter misinformation. Like, are y’all okay? Blink twice if it has rotted your critical thinking skills.

Let’s start with the infamous “I am in fact straight ” tweet thread debacle .Yes. That one. The cursed hieroglyphic carved into the stone tablet of Larrie discourse. Do we know Louis even wrote that? No. Do we know he wasn’t pressured to tweet it? Absolutely not. That thing reads like it was drafted by an intern who smells like Axe body spray and internalized homophobia. And even if he did write it, who among us hasn’t tweeted something mid-spiral, mid-slander, or mid-pr-management-disaster? I once tweeted “I love cardio” after crying on a treadmill run. We’ve all been there.

But here’s the thing: Louis’s actual, observable behavior? Screams “deeply queer coded closeted boy who’s been suppressed for over a decade” let’s start rom the very beginning, in 1D interviews, he straight up REFUSED to entertain the weird, gross questions about male fans and them potentially being attracted to the boys bait questions. He danced around it and looked at the interviewer like they needed therapy. A homophobe doesn’t do that. A person who’s been taught to fear queerness would not dance around a bigoted opportunity served on a silver platter by British tabloid goons.

Now, let’s talk about Only the Brave. That song is so queer-coded it needs to pay rent in West Hollywood. The lyrics sound like they were stolen from a poet who stares longingly at their best friend across a candlelit pub. You think some homophobe just wakes up and writes “it’s a church of burnt romances” over sad,slow guitar strums like that’s a normal Saturday morning? Honey. That song is aching. It’s cinematic. It’s closeted gay in a war film meets Catholic guilt meets forbidden glances across a church pew. Straight men don’t write like that unless they’re trying to land a GLAAD award or overcompensating for owning five pairs of cargo shorts. Let’s also not ignore COACOAC and all along.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE GAY BARS. This man isn’t “accidentally” stumbling into queer spaces like he tripped over a curb and landed on the dance floor at Heaven. He’s comfortable there. He brings his long-term “girlfriend” there for her birthday. He’s not just vibing—he’s thriving. He’s at home. He probably knows the bartender by name. Homophobes do not take their “girlfriend” to one of the most queer friendly known places (Amsterdam) and then write about missing their lover while they’re there 🤨. And then do damage control when people figure out the line HE pointed out to make it clear it was not about his “girlfriend”. Be serious.

Also, let us not forget that this man promoted Polari. Polari. Do antis know how deep cut that is? That’s not “I saw a rainbow once and felt warm.” That’s “I researched underground queer British slang from the 1900s and wore it proudly on my literal chest.” It’s like if a straight dude casually wore a T-shirt that said “Stonewall was a riot” and then went right back to watching football. That’s not a casual choice. That’s a coded statement wrapped in giggles and subtext.

Oh and antis love to erase how Louis helped shape Harry into the fearless, gender-fluid person he is today. “Painted nails make Harry beautiful.” HE SAID THAT. Welllll before it was male fashion. That was during the era of tight skinny jeans and judgment, not Gucci gowns and Vogue covers. He was supporting Harry’s expression when people were still saying “that’s a bit much, innit?” And then there’s the “I’ve never seen you in a dress before mmmmmm” moment. The delivery? Iconic. The eyes? Full of love. The vibe? Boyfriend.

When Harry waved the pride flag for the first time and Louis was literally BEAMING at him like he’d just watched his baby take its first steps? Yeah, that wasn’t the reaction of a man who hates queerness. That was a man who was proud. That was personal. That was “I see you, and I love you” with a Donny accent and a huge smile.

Also, the way antis act like Louis would be totally fine with queer fans in person, but then immediately log onto Twitter like the Wicked Witch of Westboro Baptist Church is so laughably illogical I’m getting a six-pack from the mental gymnastics. Homophobia isn’t platform-dependent! You can’t be like “he’s a proud dad at concerts but a bigot in 280 characters or less.” That’s not how people work. That’s how satire works.

And please—please—tell me how a homophobic man would stand in front of thousands of queer fans waving pride flags and say “I feel so fucking confident, so fucking protected.” He didn’t say “appreciated.” He didn’t say “respected.” He said protected. As in, “I feel safer here than anywhere else.” If you think a homophobe says that sincerely, you need to open a book and then maybe touch grass.

But maybe I’m just a troglodyte, sitting in my little internet cave, clutching my gaydar and refusing to accept twitter takes as gospel. But what I do know is that Louis is about as homophobic as that guy who claps as he watches a drag queen get engaged. He’s queer-coded, emotionally intelligent, and more comfortable in queer environments than most straight girls at bottomless brunch.

Let’s be real. They don’t actually think he’s homophobic. They just don’t see him. They don’t listen to him. They refuse to understand him. And instead of owning up to their bias, they make it weird.

holy shit anon i am kissing you on the mouth this is beautiful and SO correct. also, hilarious. i laughed unreasonably hard at the jokes and puns. whoever you are, please get into a writing field. youll thrive there.

[eggs-can-draw]

Will exploration. Plus more

[dyingdevotion]

Larry Timeline + Are H & L signaling again?

Hey, divas. It's me again. As we all know, A LOT has been happening this year and many of us have found the current situation laughable (& sad).

Four days ago, one of @watermelonlicker 's asks sent tweets pointing out Harry wearing a watch publicly for the 1st time since mid 2015. (A Cartier Tank Louis Cartier watch). @voxina corrected the original tweets stating that he has worn it prior in March (March 8th). I made a response pointing out that March 8th was when Harry went to Sabrina Carpenter's concert, where coincidentally, Zara was also attending. I used @delicateperspective 's timeline to see if the watch maybe meant something and I quickly noticed that he wore it right before shit hit the fan. You can see the post here.

In that post, I stated that if my theory was right, then more shit was gonna happen soon. And four days later, we get our first pap pics of Louis and Zara...(Surprisingly, we didn't see Louis and Zara together at Coachella, like so many of us thought was gonna happen.)

Here is a short timeline of things in April (I am using @fookinhellcurlyyy 's timeline):

April 1st: Louis likes Zara's pic on instagram. He posts a screenshot of ‘Favourite’ by Fontaines D.C. on his story. He then posts a pic of his guitar with doodles on it. He proceeds to delete the image from his story.

April 2nd: The Sun publishes “LOTTA HISTORY Inside Louis Tomlinson’s unbreakable bond with woman who has supported him through unthinkable tragedy – & it’s not Zara." (What a headline lmao.) Briana unfollowed L on Instagram. (She unfollowed Louis 2 days after the article about her and Freddie released with pap pics of them both.)

April 3rd: Louis is active on twitter and responds to several fans. We noticed him tweeting "Always" and "You" in his replies to fans. We also found his comment about soccer aid odd. (“Need alllllll the support I can get though.”) His “English fry up — extra hash browns” tweet reminding Larries of Keep Driving (song by our beloved Harry). He also responds to a fan with “keep driving” in their username.

April 7th: Article written about Harry “feeling the sting” since Taylor Russell is with Michael B. Jordan. (Once again reminding us of his past stunts. In March, we had articles about Olivia and Taylor Swift. There was also that one article reminding us of 1D’s past relationships).

April 9th: Louis goes to Stereophonic’s show in LA. The song in the video is called “Maybe Tomorrow.” It includes the lyrics “Think I’ll walk me outside and buy a rainbow smile. But be free. They’re all free. So maybe tomorrow I’ll find my way home.” (Okay, rainbow boy.) Zara also posts about the show. No actual pics of them together pop up.

April 10th: Zara posts the breakfast pic with Louis’ arm (how subtle). This picture is posted one month after Louis and Sam were announced to be participants of Soccer Aid this year. Kanye tweets about Taylor, Harry, & Justin.

April 11th: Zara with a friend at Sunglasses Hut. Coachella Week 1, Day 1. Louis looking cute. Article written about Louis’ dating history (lol). Harry wears the Cartier Tank Louis Cartier watch again.

April 12th: Coachella Week 1, Day 2. Louis looking cute again. He is seen wearing an Amiri Resort Club shirt. Amiri is part of the international and luxury fashion group OTB - Only The Brave. As we all know, Only The Brave is a very queer-coded song from Walls.

There is also an article written about Louis at Coachella and Zara being ‘miles away.’ We see the pap pics of Harry wearing the Cartier Tank Louis Cartier watch again.

April 13th: Coachella Week 1, Day 3. Louis looking cute in his multicolored outfit (I see you, rainbow boy). Zara follows a Louie on tiktok and then unfollows. (Literally why). Article about Zara looking pretty in a pink dress after “confirming romance” with Louis. (These articles are so weird lmao). Another article comes out about Louis maybe being on the phone with Zara at Coachella. Article written about Louis “ditching” Zara to party at Coachella. (That headline is hilarious to me). Another article is written about Harry experiencing “heartache” over Taylor Russell moving on. (Again, why is there so much talk about Harry and Louis’ past ‘relationships’?)

April 14th: We get a beautiful article about Louis being the "Festival Hero" at Coachella. Sam (Zara's ex) is starting a live radio breakfast show on Saturdays. More articles about Louis and Zara's "relationship."

April 15th: SCMP publishes “Who is Roxie Nafousi, the influencer who ‘manifested’ the father of her child? She was born into wealth and used to date Harry Styles, and her book has sold more than 1 million copies.” (More reminders of Harry's past "lovers." Okay.) Harry is spotted in Berlin riding a lime bike. And, of course, he's wearing blue again. We also get these leaks of Harry’s music from 2014 & 2017. (Here and here). The first one is called "If You Want To Love (2014)." I think the lyrics are: "Cause I can't contain, I can't contain your faith. If you want to love, you want to love, baby. If you want to love." The second one is called "Her (2017)" and the lyrics from the video (from what I can tell) are: "I cried cause I love you. And I, I'd do it all over. We drank too much. You started talking about her." (Ouch.)

April 16th: We get the 1st pap pics of Louis and Zara in California. (Getting these pap pics the day after those Harry leaks is crazy af.) According to the Sun, "Zara today launched her new swim and gym-wear range, Rise by Zara McDermott, for New Look." Also, LTHQ posts about a draw to win a signed 'LIVE' vinyl for War Child UK (The timing is so funny). We also get a photo dump from Louis via instagram with no caption that contains two photos with a rainbow in the back. It probably means nothing at all but I thought it was funny since we got those pap pics of Zara today.

So to put it simply: Harry wears the Cartier Tank Louis Cartier watch for the 1st time on March 8th (day he attended Sabrina's show which Zara also attended) -> The Louis and Zara stunt truly begins & articles begin to pop up reminding us of Harry and Louis' past "relationships." We get the announcement of soccer aid on the 10th of March. On the 17th of March the Louis/Zara "relationship" is confirmed with the infamous restaurant photos. -> Harry wears the watch on April 11th and we see the pap pics of him wearing it on April 12th. -> April 11th to April 13th is Coachella. We get more articles of Louis and Zara and we are again reminded of Harry and Louis' past "romances." -> Sam is announced to be hosting a live radio morning show on Saturdays. -> We are reminded of another past "relationship" of Harry's. -> We get the Harry leaks. -> Louis and Zara pap pics. Zara launching her new swim and gym-wear range. LTHQ posting about a draw to win a signed 'LIVE' vinyl for War Child UK. Louis photo dump with a rainbow in the back of 2 pictures.

(I also couldn't help but notice that we got the pap pics of Louis and Zara almost a month exactly from the pics of them at the restaurant. The restaurant pics were released March 17 and we got the pap pics today on April 16. Louis also started following Zara on February 19 (I think it was still the 18th for me when he followed her cause hldailyupdates’ post about the follow says the 18th but they captioned it "19 February 2025"). Should we expect them being pictured together once every month around the same time? I also noticed Louis liked Zara's pictures on March 1st and April 1st. Let's see if he likes another pic of hers on May 1st. If Harry wears the watch again, let's pay close attention to the things that happen right after. The watch might be a signal of big things about to come in regards to the stunt.)

That's all for now!

Here are some posts that I think are worth reading:

@twopoppies 's reply to an ask about Harry's two blue jackets potentially being "chore jackets." I think the information shared is worth a read.

@zourrystylinson 's post sharing a GQ article written about Harry's Tank Louis Cartier watch. They add a screenshot that states a watch is the modern 15th anniversary gift. Here is the post.

@fookinhellcurlyyy 's post sharing the fact that Zara is friends with someone who knows Tom Skoglund. Tom is a manager at Full Stop Management and he was present throughout HSLOT. Here is the post.

@twopoppies receiving asks that showcase Zara's pinterest boards titled "TRIP❤️" and "Glasto."

Share your thoughts in the comments or in your tags if you reblog! I'd like to hear what you guys think. <3

[heliza24]

I want to talk a little bit about Daniel in the Interview with the Vampire show, because the new trailer material has me stuck thinking about him, and also I’ve never written about how meaningful he is as disabled character to me before.

I don’t see many people thinking about show!Daniel in these terms, but he’s a canon disabled character. And I think the way he is written is just SO good. The acerbic wit, his relationship to doctors and his medication, his rueful acceptance of the way his disability has changed him. It is all so correct!! It’s really incredibly rare to have not only a disabled character written this well but specifically a chronically ill character written this well. His illness is always present; it doesn’t get forgotten about by the story. It gives Daniel insight into the vampires (more on this in a min), but it also gives Louis and Armand leverage over him. When Louis triggers his Parkinson’s symptoms? Deeply not ok. But that’s what made it such a great scene, and really made Louis feel dangerous and threateningin that moment. Armand and Louis arranging Daniel’s meds is a sign of great care and also great power over Daniel. It’s the perfect way to communicate the complicated power dynamic in their relationship.

I also just fucking love that this show takes place in 2022 and doesn’t erase the pandemic. Covid is a very present concern for Daniel and I cannot describe how validating that is for me as someone who is clinically vulnerable to Covid and who has had to really limit my life and take a lot of precautions because everyone else has decided to stop caring whether they pass on Covid or not. The fact that Daniel gets on a plane to Dubai is a BIG DEAL. He’s risking his life to talk to Louis and Armand before he’s even in the room with them. He really wants to be there. I have to make a similar calculation every time I travel, and trust me, getting on that plane knowing getting sick could spiral you into even worse health or kill you is really hard.

I think making Daniel disabled and including the pandemic is kind of a genius level decision on a thematic level. Of course Daniel is now facing down his mortality, which gives him a whole new lens on the vampires and the fact that he once asked them to turn him. And the pandemic further highlights his fragility, and is also possibly being used as a cover for drama that’s happening in the vampire world. But I think it also really sets Daniel up as a foil to Louis.

There’s a lot of analysis of the vampire chronicles that reads vampirism as a metaphor for queerness. But I would actually propose that it’s a much neater parallel for disability and illness in a lot of ways. So many of Louis’s initial experiences after being turned resonated with me, as someone who became chronically ill in my 20s. My appetite and relationship to food completely changed, much like Louis. My relationship with the outdoors and the sun changed, because of dysautonomia and allergy reasons. I was very mad, and very depressed, and I too have missed out on birthday parties and big life events like Louis did because I was too sick to go. Hell, you can even say that the way that Louis is treated as evil by his family, that the way vampires literally can’t be a part of society during the day, is reminiscent of ableist exclusion and ugly laws. (Ugly laws were laws that forbid disabled people, especially those with visible differences, from being out in public, and they were on the books in many American municipalities until the 1970s.) You can look at Lestat being an out and proud vampire in the first few episodes on the season and imploring Louis to leave his shame behind as a queer thing, but you can also view it as a disabled thing. Disabled people are portrayed as monstrous so often (and in a way that has gone relatively unexamined compared to say, the queer coded villain trope) that sometimes it’s just easier to embrace that label: I’m the monstrous Crip, but at least I’m not ashamed of or disgusted by who I am anymore.

I do think the real strength of this adaptation is that while you can find parallels between queerness or disability or other forms of marginalization with vampirism, ultimately it’s not a one-to-one parallel. It speaks to the real world but ultimately it is a gothic horror story about supernatural monsters. So I don’t mean to say that vampirism directly equals disability, because it does not. But I do think that making Daniel disabled was an intentional choice to help draw out some of those parallels, and I think the text is richer for it.

So Louis and Daniel have had these kind of parallel experiences of uncontrollable and difficult things happening to their bodies. It sets them up perfectly as foils, and even, I would argue, as the A plot and B Plot protagonists. This is one of my favorite ways of kind of examining the structure of a TV show (or maybe it’s that most of my favorite shows seem to be structured this way?). When TV was all episodic, it would be common to refer to the A plot (mystery of the week), B plot (interpersonal drama happening as the mystery gets solved) and C plot (any overarching plot tying the season together) in an episode. Now that stuff is serialized, there’s often a main protagonist, who has the main dramatic question and the most agency, and then there is often a secondary B plot that explores similar themes and mirrors the A plot, or presents a second main character who is the ldifferent side of the same coin” to the main protagonist. (My favorite example of this is Flint and Max in Black Sails, and I’ve also made the argument that Wilhelm and Sara fit this pattern in Young Royals.) In IwtV, Louis is obviously the main protagonist of the show, especially in the A Plot, which is the stuff taking place in New Orleans/Paris. But I would argue that Daniel is the protagonist of the B Plot set in Dubai. At the very least they’re intentionally set up as mirrors of each other:

They are both unreliable narrators, who are struggling with the way memory contorts (through memory erasure, illness, deliberate obfuscations, and just the passage of time). The most recent teaser trailer, where we hear Louis saying “I don’t remember that”, with panic in his voice, further underlined this similarity between Louis and Daniel to me. I don’t know if it means that Louis has also had his memory tampered with, as I’m assuming Daniel has, but I do think it means that Louis is going to be struggling with feeling out of control of his own narrative more in season 2, a thing that was already starting for Daniel in season 1.

They are also both locked into power struggles with people more powerful than they are. The fact that Louis is under Lestat in the flashbacks and above Daniel in the Dubai scenes in terms of power/status makes it all the more interesting. And, if we want to go ahead and assume that the Devils Minion’s years have happened in the past by the time we get to Dubai— it’s possible that both Daniel and Louis are united in being the less powerful partner in their own respective fucked up gothic romances.

They’re also both the audience’s entry point into their respective stories. Louis’s narration guides us into the world of vampires. Daniel’s questioning satisfies our human curiosity in Dubai.

I think one of the things that makes the show so special is the way that these two protagonists interact. In a lot of shows the a plot and the b plot stay pretty separate. I love talking about Black Sails for this because I think it’s such a good example; Flint and Max never exchange dialogue the entire show, even though they’re so clearly affecting each other the whole time. But the way that Louis and Daniel clash in Dubai is so exciting. We see them both wrestling for control of the narrative. It’s thrilling to watch and it just hammers home the theme of how complicated and changeable stories can be.

I am SO excited to see how the Dubai scenes play out in season 2 because of it. I really can’t wait. I’m really hoping we’ll see Daniel and Louis’s relationship evolve in surprising ways, and I’m holding my breath that we’ll get a lot of Armandaniel material to work with. (I have a whole other post drafted that’s much less smart than this one and is just me waxing poetic about Devil Minion’s theories which I may post at some point. You have been warned.)

I do have two wishes for Daniel in the new season, and they’re 1: that he gets to have romance/sex, because disabled (and older!) characters are so often seen as unworthy of being desired, and I would like to see that challenged and 2: that he continues to refuse to be turned/is not offered a vampiric cure for Parkinson’s. The magic cure for a disability or chronic illness is probably my least favorite disability trope, because it serves to erase disabled characters and representation from the narrative, and I want to see my experiences continue to be reflected in Daniel’s. That means that whatever ending Daniel’s story has will probably have at least a bit of tragedy baked into it, but I’m ok with that.

[skepticalarrie]

https://www.tumblr.com/skepticalarrie/786782913741062144/why-do-you-focus-so-much-on-louis-being-gay-ill?source=share

Allie, just to understand the context better...why was Harry allowed to do all of that back then?

I always thought it was because once he met the azffs, he kind of got some support that gave him more freedom (like growing out his hair, painting his nails, publicly supporting the NFL player who came out)… But then I realized Harry started hanging out with Nick back in 2012, way before the azffs came into the picture. And even the kiss with JC happened before that too.

When it comes to the denials, I do get why that role was mostly assigned to Louis. Harry’s always had a hard time lying directly, and you could tell when he was struggling (until he became difficult to read). I think they both did what they could to push back against the closet, but Harry really had a hard time with the act of lying itself.

Do you think maybe the reason for all of it is that Louis was the more flamboyant one between the two (and better at lying), so he ended up being the one more heavily closeted?

Allowed? No. We’ve lived through so much... it’s honestly insane. That post is from 2014, right in the middle of the eye of the storm, and it’s wild how little has changed, especially when it comes to how people perceive Louis as someone queer. That said, I do think we have to keep some things in perspective. I disagree with a few points that, to me, have become a lot clearer with time. I wouldn’t say Louis was more heavily closeted... maybe more aggressively though. But I think they were closeted in different ways.

Let’s rewind to what we used to call the Big Gay War™. It’s hard to sum things up, but basically: Harry and Louis were actively fighting back against the closet. Every little rebellious move they made triggered an immediate reaction... punishment from management/label. Every action had a reaction. They were powerless… until they weren’t. Until they realised just how much power they did have, and they started fighting back. Painted nails? Punishment the next day. Happy Pride on stage? Punishment. Rainbow shirt? Punishment. Every gay-coded moment was followed by a new stunt, rumour, manufactured tweet. Every. Single. Time.

Harry was the most aggressive in these moves, I think. Because I honestly can’t imagine being 16 and having people talk about you like that—being forced to kiss random women, answer the most invasive questions. His stunts were way too aggressive, and it was all about making money. Until he was ANGRY and ready to burn it all down. He had too much on his plate since such a young age, so he was bold, he was loud. And he knew the power he held... I think a lot of what he did between 2010-2013 was just him being innocent, but then things started being intentional. His sex life was media bait from day one, so even though they worked hard to keep him straight-coded, the rumours still made them money. So I'm really not here to say Harry's closet wasn't just as hard. I'm really not. I won't be the judge of that. Also - I don't think the Azoffs showed up and magically “free” him. But I do think they helped him see how profitable he was on his own and gave him the business tools and leverage to lean into that.

With Louis, it was different. He didn’t have the same cards to play. He didn’t have Harry’s sex-symbol appeal to women, he wasn’t the tabloid darling... he was just obviously, visibly, unapologetically queer since day one. And that terrified the machine behind them. So they shut him down, again and again. The problem wasn’t just that they were gay—it was that they were gay together, in the same band. Louis’s stunts weren’t about making money. They were about making a point: “Look how straight I am.” His entire image had to scream heterosexuality at all times. That’s why his stunts always felt more aggressive, more suffocating. And yeah, his rebellious moments came with harsher consequences... for both of them. I also think Louis became better at lying, he is a natural. But at the end of the day, I think he had to. The stakes were different for him. It also makes sense that he was the one always shutting down rumours. Harry wasn’t supposed to be the one denying anything. Louis had to carry the brunt of that, because his queerness was the bigger “problem.”

Now it’s 2025, and honestly? Their closets haven’t changed that much. Harry still benefits from the ambiguity. People eat up the mystery, and it keeps him profitable. Louis? Still the “straight” family guy. Still reduced to pap walks and media narratives that try to make him fit a mold he never belonged in. Same fight. Just quieter.

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

Oh that RBB/SBB post you reblogged makes me so sad 😔 I know it’s been a long time since the start of 1D but I really hope Louis is okay. It’s almost like Louis’ campiness/flamboyance has been masked over time while Harry has fully embraced that side of himself (which I LOVE!!) but I’m still just sad about Louis. I wish we could have seen him blossom like Harry in that way.

Of course this is all just speculation. Maybe Louis’ current outward public appearance/behaviour is exactly who he is now and/or how he wants to be perceived in the world. It’s probably not just black and white.

Oh, anon, I'm extending a warm hug to you 🥺🫂💖 and huge same; it massively tore at my queer little heartstrings to read that post.

It was so incredibly insightful and well-written and these parts were so painful:

"We can’t know why consciously camp Louis shined so briefly [...]. But I believe (I think it’s a reasonably common belief) that somewhere between auditioning on X-Factor with a girlfriend and the UK media blitz of autumn 2011, Louis Tomlinson became someone who was quite comfortable with being seen as gay. I’d go further and say that part of this was embracing the conscious, coded, queerness of camp British culture. [...]

But he only got the briefest window to share that part of himself. It was one of the first things that got taken away, [...]   There’s a huge sad irony there – that this code, that was developed specifically so that gay men could be visible in a time when they were completely marginalised, was taken away from a young gay man, because it was too gay, in a supposedly more liberal time. [...] The bears' elaborate queer codes are tucked away from the stage. Because their owners cannot (yet) be visible in the way that the people they put in frames have been."

I'm not nearly as eloquent as the author of that post, @dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram, but I will try. -- To what you wrote, dear anon, I want to say you are so valid!

I think the process and inner workings over the last 14 years were very complex and we only have crumbs of puzzle pieces here and there, so that leaves room for a lot of speculation. (which can be maddening sometimes, but also good to ponder different perspectives).

The second they were put into 1D together, they were supposed to make many people a fuckton of money. I cannot even begin to fathom the immense pressure they were under; during and also post-1D. at least they had each other as support, as well as the other 3 boys and a few close friends and family, yet ultimately it was always them who were going to be the most impacted. At least they could go through it together.

(side note: can you imagine the gigantic strain all of the closeting and stunts must've been on their relationship? and they still came out on top! that's a huge testament to their communication and commitment to each other. 🥹💙💚)

I always felt it remarkable how differently the angles of closeting were approached, certainly because of Harry's and Louis' different marketed images, but perhaps also because they are different characters who come from different backgrounds and maybe also because of their relationship dynamic and slight age difference (which is always a bit more remarkable during the teenage years they were in at the beginning).

Ultimately I can only guess why exactly it was Louis who was the one to always verbally respond or make a statement about Larry; why it was only Louis' Twitter account who was used for the denials; why it was Louis who never touched a rainbow flag during a 1D show, not even after Harry had started in 2015 -- all this while Lou did and said a LOT of stuff that clearly showed who he really is, who he's in love and in a steady longtime relationship with; all this while RBB and SBB spoke to us so clearly it sometimes still feels like a fever dream.

I can only speculate, but -- when it comes to their closeting, I think the sad reality is that Harry and Louis were never truly set up to benefit from deals that were struck. While I can imagine it was even sold to them as a positive thing at first; a white lie, a protection of their privacy perhaps, etc, they were both so young when they entered into those probable agreements (even while I hope they both had some kind of legal representation!), it was still ultimately their own choice to say yes or no, but in an industry where you are still a near-nobody and you get the offer of a lifetime plus there's the career fate of three other boys on your shoulders as well, that "choice" becomes an illusion. the power-imbalances were just too great.

As written in the OP's post, in 2011 "Louis [...] became someone who was quite comfortable with being seen as gay. I’d go further and say that part of this was embracing the conscious, coded, queerness of camp British culture.", but then it "[...] was one of the first things that got taken away.", because it was still considered "too gay".

And I think if someone hasn't lived it, they can't imagine the toll it takes on an impressionable teenage mind when they are told again and again that their sexuality and relationship are a liability, a danger, something better kept under wraps, something that the public will not accept or endorse; something that might or will ultimately ruin things for them and the other boys. Maybe those things were ever said out loud or bluntly, maybe they were expressed in more cunning ways, but those things are simply everything a forced closet implies.

What was done to them was manipulation of the most sinister kind, of this I am sure. I remember Harry saying often in recent years how scared he was back then to "make a mistake" and mess things up for the other boys. (I think we can all imagine what he meant by that) And how he recounted crying in disbelief and relief when he finally signed his new contract after they announced the hiatus. Him covering up his "Things I can't" tattoo with an eagle (which is a symbol for freedom) in Dec 2015 (1 month before the start of the hiatus) feels pretty significant to me, too.

Still, it takes years to unlearn and re-learn certain conditioning and I want to make it a point to say the closet is never the fault of the closeted person. I can only speculate, but it seems to me that parts of that conditioning and a closeting mindset still live inside of the choices that are being made for their respective careers. Holivia, Elk and babygate-still-not-ended are three of the most glaring examples. Without insight, it's hard for me to gauge reasoning, though, so I will leave these topics at this.

Also Louis apparently got the short end of the stick post-1D, with him still(?) being blacklisted by the powers that be (*clenches fist* fucking SC). But I cannot say much more to that, because I haven't caught up enough on it, yet. To me personally it always felt like SC tried to keep an iron fist especially on Louis and I can only hypothesise why. Maybe Louis was always most defiant to SC verbally, behind closed doors? Maybe it's got to do with SC's own suspected closeting? Maybe Louis had to make some sort of deal with him years ago? I shudder to even think about why SC is still "allowed" to insert himself into the boys' business so much (as evidently last seen at Liam's funeral). He's such a powerful asshole.

But back to Harry and Louis -- they do (to this day) present themselves differently to the general public in regards to their sexuality and relationship -and I share your feelings, anon, of wishing that things would've gone differently for Louis. 🥺 I think this is a very valid wish to have; for the people you admire to be as free and happy and seen as possible. For them to gain their full freedom and happiness on their own terms. For them to get to be their most authentic selves (*Louis voice* "Flamboyant!"). And eventually, maybe, for them to get to come out together (because if they do, I personally don't think they'd want to do it separately), if ever / whenever they want to and ideally, with a level of publicity they chose. Their potential coming out is a very multi-facetted discussion that I'm too sleepy to get further into, though.

To conclude my too-long-answer (sorry!!) -- I am still catching up on the past 6 years of Harry and Louis, but from what I have seen of the recent years, I have a feeling Louis does feel very seen..

..and that he's responding the most that he currently can / is comfortable with 🥹🏳️‍🌈

(melting at this decor of Louis' tourbus in 2022: another bear with a Louis smiley rainbow flag 🥹🧸🏳️‍🌈) (source post)

And I feel the same way about Harry. ("Feelin' myself. 😌🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️")

Harry and Louis have both been brave -- together and individually - in so many ways over the last 14 years. It left them at different points in their public images and just like you, anon, I sometimes ask myself "Maybe Louis’ current outward public appearance/behaviour is exactly who he is now and/or how he wants to be perceived in the world." - it's not impossible. It's all a journey, for every member of our community. And Louis and Harry are still on it and have not reached the final destination, yet.

Harry's taken a more public road in 2015 than Louis was allowed to do and from the way Louis looked at Harry while he was bounding across the stage with the flags every night, he loved seeing his boy like that and likely silently cheered for him; knew Harry was doing it for him also. After all, they are a package deal est. 2010.

I'm secure in my belief that we will one day see Louis feel ready to pick up a rainbow flag on stage; that he'll raise it and lift a middle finger to everyone who ever doubted; that he'll let that flag hang from his mic stand for himself and Harry and all of us who always support him; who see him -- now and also back in the earliest days, where a 19 year old very camp Louis adopted British gay code for himself and happily sung his heart out at the G-A-Y next to the boy he's in love with.

I believe Louis when he says the last 2 years were incredibly happy for him. And despite it being an awful and tough time (for Harry, Zayn) and him right now, he's also said something he's always had and always will have is resilience. I hope he takes all the time he needs. Luckily, Harry and him have each other in this, too. Also I can imagine that Liam's sudden passing might have shifted their perspectives on a few things, as well.. so we will see.

I definitely can't wait to see Louis on tour again, when he gets to share himself exactly the way he's comfortable with 🥹

Then..

and now ✨

(gif credit 1 + gif credit 2, both by the amazing @delicatepointofview)

additional resources aka. two of my fave tags of all time to just spend time in: the Louis and rainbows and Harry and rainbows tag and this post of Louis using Polari ("a secret language gay men used popularly in the 50s to communicate with each other in England [...] commonly used until the 90s") all by the wonderful @daisiesonafield-blog

thank you for the kind message 💖 x

[delicateperspective]

Regarding The Observer (TO), I keep going back and forth about whether Louis is involved. Many of the posts are so Larry coded and in your face about L&H’s connections, so I wouldn’t think that L would risk it.

Then i started thinking more about it. There are only about 6K followers of TO on X and many of them are talking about how it’s someone playing with the fandom. Unless you are following this closely, you wouldn’t believe or understand the connections that TO is making. L could come right out and say that he and H are a couple with these clues and 99% of the public either wouldn’t care or wouldn’t believe it.

I will admit that when I first started looking into SBB and BBG, I thought the fandom was crazy. But when I really researched everything, I came to the conclusion that there is something to it all. Most of L and H’s fans won’t bother doing a deep dive. They’ll quickly glance at the posts from TO and come to the conclusion that it’s a scammer.

It could be a fan just playing with us all but I also think that Louis knows he can get away with posting a lot for the fandom without other people catching on.

Hey anon! I'm going to use your message to get some stuff out, so I hope you don't mind that this kind of flip flops and sommersaults from your main point.

I think its pretty much a right of passage to go from "nah these people are mad" to "okay maybe there is something here but not all that" to "yikes, they weren't off their rocker this stuff is pretty solid" as long as you keep researching.

Just like everything else in this, nothing is ever obvious. By definition it can't be. They did that when they were younger (my first real crush was louis tomlinson, it's confidential but we're already engaged, are you and louis dating? nods) and seemed to have paid dearly for it. They aren't that naive now. They know how to play the game.

These men are masterminds. They know how narratives work because they had to learn them from the inside out. They know that no matter how loud they get, there will always be people who pretend to be deaf.

Yesterday, a large number of people took a song Louis posted about loving someone for a long time despite all of the other changes in your life (on the three year anniversary of a song his ex-band member released about loving someone through all the other changes in your life) and made it about a girl he's known less than a month. If that isn't a prime example of people creating the narrative for him, I don't know what is.

I want to make it pretty clear that I don't think TO is necessarily L or H.

I don't even think it's someone with insider information necessarily. But I do think that L knows about it.

I don't take a coincidence like the guitar yesterday lightly.

I'm still operating, and will continue to operate, from the mindest that this is a fan as I follow along the journey. And if it gets toxic, I'll make sure that I share that information everywhere just like I am sharing the journey/connections/observations now.

But yes, I think the boys know they can be pretty loud and still get away with it now. Because antis and solos (not hating just putting a name to it) will do the rest of the work for them by twisting the narrative however they need to in order to make it fit their public perceptions of them.

I think that we sometimes are so deep in the fandom that its hard for us to see the perspective of the general population. Back in 1D the general population already assumed Louis (and most of them actually) was queer. Now, every "normal person" I talk to thinks Harry is queer. And as you said, even if I TRIED to explain TO to someone outside the fandom, they'd look at me like I grew a second head. 99% of people do not care about this.

I doubt it is a blip on the radar of anyone who hasn't been following these men closely already.