#the 1D fandom got me and that’s enough for me so I don’t have time to be in other fandoms

[twopoppies]

Hey Gina!!

Am getting married in a couple of months.. i’ve been in fandom for couple of years now and fics are my guilty pleasure.. my to be husband knows am a huge fan of 1D and mentions that he would take me to one of their concerts sometimes even if it happened in different country..but he kind of does not have an idea that am into the fandom and read fics and all.. which i do i my me time even before i met him.. this got me thinking that how did you approach the topic of being in fandom and believing in HL or reading/writing fics.. how did your husband take it initially?! I see people on twitter also mentioning how their husband support their wives by bringing them HL concert tickets.. also I’ve recently read in one of your posts about a boyfriend sending texts to his girlfriend in pit for H show, which was super cute of him..

Hi, darling. Hm. To be honest, when I first fell into the fandom i was very much a lurker for a long time, and I didn’t talk about it much, so he wasn’t super aware. He found out about fic accidentally because I left one open on my laptop. It was very funny actually, because it wasn’t even one I was reading, but it was one where Louis was obsessed with Harry’s pubic hair 🤣🤣🤣 He really was concerned about me. gdjjsdf

Anyway, it took him a while to understand that fic wasn’t “just porn” and that I didn’t only like the band because “Harry is hot” (that, and him thinking PR relationships aren’t a thing, have honestly been the most annoying conversations I’ve had to have with him). He’s not a big pop culture guy, so fandom in and of itself was a little hard to wrap his head around.

Anyway, I started as a fan artist, so he saw me drawing all the time. And he was always very supportive because he saw it made me happy. But, I don’t think he really understood why it was so important to me for a very long time.

As far as opening up about it, I think you can look at it all like a hobby. Just as if you were into learning the guitar or knitting or hiking. It’s something you can invite him to join you in. My husband goes to Harry concerts now and he really likes his music. He’s read my fic (I don’t think he’s terribly interested in reading others, though 😆), and he’s met some of the great friends I’ve made through fandom. He’s never going to be as involved as I am, but he appreciates that it’s something I love.

That post with the boyfriend texting is a favorite of mine… it’s such a display of truly knowing someone and caring enough about their interests that you enjoy sharing it even if it’s not your particular favorite thing. Perhaps that’s the best way to approach it with your finance… ❤️

[alarrytale]

You’ll disagree with me on this one and that’s ok but the general public does not pay attention to his parenting skills. The people that call him a deadbeat are Larries and Harries. Larries because they’ve been here during the whole fiasco (aka me) or have fallen down the bbg rabbit hole. Louis actually seems to be a recruiter with all these denials having the opposite effect. Harries will hate on anything Louis is about and get downright nasty about it. Louies either feed into the parenting role or don’t care. Same with the smoking and drinking. The general public sees celebs doing both of these things on a continual basis and don’t bat an eye unless you’re falling over on stage, which some have actually done. It’s normalized unfortunately. Same goes for the homophobia allegations. His performances with flags & light shows that fans have done, portray a welcoming atmosphere even if he’s not holding a flag directly. His little videos also show rainbows so that’s sort of an outdated thought too. With this promoting of donations for WarChildUK, he’s also been included in some pro-Palestine tik-toks and Twitter posts. So his biggest image problem to the general public is actually that he’s not known as a solo artist. Even with that positive press at Glasto, articles rarely mentioned his solo career. Just that he was in 1D. That’s his main issue.

I think you absolutely nailed it when you said his music choice with indie/pop is a factor. He’s too pop for indie and too indie for pop. With these festivals too, some just can’t get past his boy band history. Also his lack of radio play is a huge problem for him. I think people need to move on from that Spotify subject. They’re all losing large # of streams. This isn’t covid time anymore where all everyone did was sit at home and stream on Spotify. It was such a big deal because there were no tours or festivals. It was just streaming. There’s so many ways to listen and discover music now that it’s not the big deal people make it to be. His tour went well. It wasn’t perfect but overall with zero radio play, he did well. We’ll just have to wait and see what his next album will be. Though im secretly hoping for another mixture of pop and indie.

Hi, anon!

I agree with you on some things and disagree with you on other things. I think we sort of disagree when it comes to the public perception of Louis. I agree that the gp don't see him as a dead beat dad. They know what's been reported in the tabloids. Since it's always covered when he is with F, people may think he's an involved dad. On the other hand, fandoms know. Idk if you've seen the Bar*ry Keogh*an dead beat dad accusations, but i don't even pay attention to him and know about that. So i assume even tangent fandoms will have heard about bg, know that he hardly sees the kid, and question things.

I disagree with you, because i think people have a homophobic view of him. At least in the queer/queer supportive cohorts. I see comments on this all the time. Some think that's why he fell out with H. The rainbow lights aren't ever reported on. He's never publicly said or done anything in support of the queer community. What is reported on is the Jenn Selby debacle, let me tell you, journalists hate him (with good reason). The chicken incident was covered and it makes him look like he's still having issues with people shipping him or thinking he's with H. The only reason to keep going on and on about that, is that he's got issues with it that stems from homophobia. So fans and the gp alike think he's either super insecure or a homophobe.

He has supported WarChild, but he also got hell of a lot of backlash after being seen in Starb*cks and McD, so i think that was a bit of damage control.

I agree that his biggest issue is that people don't know him. I think people know he's a solo artist, but they haven't heard any buzz abut him (other than Glasto and Larry denials) and idk if that's enough for people to want to have a listen or check him out. If they do check out his music, it doesn’t look like he's able to keep them listening.

Like i've said before, for me it's not about finding a new audience, it's about keeping and appealing to his current one. He has 35 million followers on twitter. That means there are 35 million people who are interested keeping up with him and hearing what he's got to say. Those 35 million know he's a solo artist. He's got a large fanbase and a large fandom. Half his fans don’t listen to his music, go to shows or buy his merch, because of various reasons.

For me the biggest threat currently is the too pop for indie/too indie for pop issue. He's doing 1D covers for the 1D stans, doing solo songs to show he's a solo artist, doing indie songs to show he's not a boybander, but he's doing it to an audience who sees him as a boybander, while singing boyband songs. He's trying to unite two opposing forces. I just don't ever see this working.

[awesomefringey]

I understand your perspective on Louis' team, and I've had similar thoughts myself. The problem is, he's talked about his frustrations about being locked from radio play, and iirm he's talked about getting other people who weren't already 1D fans to give his music a chance without preconceived notions of his sound. Those are two things his team has done nothing to fix, and relying so hard on the same group of diehard fans for years is a risky strategy. I don't think he's chasing the kind of virality some people want for him, but you're going too far in the opposite direction. I think he's happy with what he's got and the quality of his music comes first without question, but he would like to expand his audience and to get more recognition because he's proud of his music.

Hi nonnie, you see “his team has done nothing to fix” is something I have trouble believing.

You assume Louis’ team was given an order, but instead they lazily leaned back and ignored what Louis requested of them and he could only accept he works with a bunch of losers.

Look, I don’t want to believe that a man who had

outnegotiated top managers since he was 20,

pulled the strings of the multi-million-dollars brand that is One Direction,

we teasingly called CEO because he always was the boss,

created his own fashion brand,

created his own festival,

can orchestrate entire fandom mazes,

works with the best musicians in the business,

has sold out a tour in 2022 and will once again sell out arenas all over the world in 2023.

BUT Louis isn’t capable of putting together a team of competent enough PR people that are nothing but laser focused on at least exceeding all of Louis’ expectations but instead they are too lazy, will only lean on Louis’ fans and can’t even get Louis a little playtime on the radio.

Maybe - and that’s just my personal opinion - the reality of a radio ban is a bit more complex than it only needing an LTHQ employee take 5 minutes out of their day to ring them up. Maybe there is only so much his team can do. Maybe Louis is happy with the fans he has and doesn’t want to get further mainstream success in order to maintain everything he has now, including low ticket prices, a close relationship to his fans and not having to drain himself on press tours.

Who knows, but to me Louis comes across as someone who measures personal success in doing good music, that means something to him and that’ll ensure us having a great time when we see him live. I’m not convinced at all, that he’s looking to be a mainstream success.

[zot3-flopped]

Sorry I’m gonna rant, I hope it’s okay

I used to be a 1D fan, I was 14 when I became a fan, in 2012. I’m a fully grown adult now and have seen almost everything go down in this fandom.

I was never a Larrie but I always had a soft spot for Louis, mostly because I’ve been through the same kind of shit he did. Dad abandoning me, growing up working class, a very young mom, who passed away when I was way too young, my brother hasn’t passed but he ODed multiple times after several stints in rehab, etc. I always felt like I was somewhat kindred with him.

Silently, I always did think that he wasn’t that talented musically. I never really thought that he was TERRIBLE or anything. There are so many untalented people making bank that it always felt like a cheap shot to come for him. Music isn’t necessarily about the quality of the voice, sometimes it comes down to vibes or personality. I still think a lot of the things you and your anons say are exaggerated. Like, I don’t blame him for what he does to his own body. He’s free to drink and smoke and snort whatever he wants. We all cope with our life the best we can, and I can’t judge someone else for the way they live their lives.

I had tickets for Red Rocks, as well as tickets for a few other shows that are coming up, and I went to see him in Cincinnati. I didn’t go to Red Rocks because something came up at work, but one of my best friends did, after what she told me, after what I’ve seen, I will no longer call myself a fan. I’ll try to sell my tickets and merch, and I’ll grieve the connection I had with him for a while, but I’m done

I can’t believe I’m writing to this blog, but I know nobody else will post me, they’re all lodged so far up his ass that they’re unable to criticize him, and what happened yesterday was a wake up call

I need to emphasize this for those who weren’t there: the amount of hail that fell over the course of the evening blanketed the entire soil, to the point it looked like it had snowed. Not all of it was hurtful but a good 20% of it was big enough to cause harm. It’s a miracle nobody was seriously injured

This blanket of hail was already there TWO HOURS before the show was canceled!! It took them TWO HOURS to cancel the show while my friend was sobbing, trying to cover herself with anything she could find because she didn’t have a car. They had to beg and scream to be allowed shelter backstage. Some of the people around my friend were hit in the head and were bleeding from their scalps, she doesn’t have confirmation of this because she chose not to go to the hospital but she thinks a good chunk of people had concussions. My friend got pelted in the back and has two giant gashes near her spine.

How in the everloving FUCK was this allowed to happen???? How is it possible that it took so long for them to cancel? Why did Louis and his team stay silent for so long? Why did people have to cry and scream for so long to get shelter??? This isn’t human!

I’ve turned a blind eye to Louis’ attitude for so long but I’m up to here. What happened yesterday opened my eyes. I’m never giving him another dime. He can’t control the weather, but it’s up to him to ask the venue to cancel the show, it’s up to him to ask the venue to give fans shelter, it’s up to him to reassure his fans after they have to go through a traumatic event and what he can come up with is that he loves fans’ PASSION? “Hope everyone is okay”??? Well, they were not Louis. They weren’t! They were hurt physically because of the hail you failed to do anything to protect them from and emotionally because their idol, the person they were there to see, acted callously and like an asshole.

I’m so so so so done. I’m sorry. I’m just done. Seeing people who weren’t there and had no one to worry about say “it’s okay! It’s not your fault!“ or “oh no he’s devastated poor Louis he wanted to play red rocks” is boiling my blood.

This level of idolization is unreal, and I will not partake anymore

Thank you for sharing this. The more I hear about the storm from people who were there, the worse it seems and it's a wonder nobody was killed. Louis' casual attitude is unbelievably callous.

[bwarkz]

hm. as someone who was in the one direction fandom and had to witness the fascinating and horrifying mindset of ‘tinhat shippers’ who would do everything possible in their power to deny reality while constantly making up excuses as to why things weren’t going their way that got wilder and more detached from reality by the second

that’s kinda the vibe klc shippers are giving me right now. except they don’t ship real people and they’re not trying to erase a baby from existence. so ig they’re not as bad in that regard??

you would think, kaeya saying with his own words that crepus is his father and diluc is his brother (including in the chinese version that these weirdos like to act is the only thing that matters) would be enough to finally put an end to this. because nothing kaeya’s saying is new information. we’ve known this for years. but instead of giving in and accepting that they were wrong, the excuses get wilder and more difficult to defend and believe.

it’s the exact same thing i witnessed with tinhat shippers in the 1d fandom like, to a scarily similar degree. the goalposts are always moved. the standards are always raised. there’s always a flaw in your argument but never in theirs.

and i know exactly why they’re so reluctant to admit they were wrong and back down. because at this point they’ve invested so much time and energy into being unapologetically wrong, that to admit they’re wrong would be absolutely devastating. they spent years being embarrassingly incorrect, harassing people, calling people racist and homophobic, invalidating the identity of any chinese person who didn’t agree with them.. for nothing. there was no reason for any of their actions. no one likes to admit they were wrong but when you’ve spent so much time and energy invested in keeping a lie alive, it can be almost impossible to wake up from that. no one else can tell them to snap out of it, they have to make that decision for themselves. but the truth is a lot of them are far too stubborn to ever dream of doing something like that.

and so they’ll continue to die on a hill that never existed in the first place.

the way fandom can absolutely destroy someone’s ability to recognize and separate fiction from reality all because of their inflated egos is fucking fascinating.

[izacore]

these “larries” are so delulu, like yall you only have 1(1!) life!!!!! you’re telling me that they shouldn’t come out because they’re going to miss a few opportunities to make money?? (tbh i truly believe they would be better off out) or have to say they’re gay every time they meet someone (no? im bi and don’t go screaming it to my coworkers? everyone already thinks they’re gay anyways) idk putting money over happiness/freedom is just dumb imo you’re money won’t matter when you’re dead but at least you could’ve had a happy life, it really is that simple (also them saying it would ruin louis’ career 💀 yall the gp don’t care about him at all, NO ONE asks me about louis NADIE

No, because I genuinely giggled when I read how 'Louis would be over'. I don't know how to tell them this but sadly, Louis is already over among the gp and he only has his fans, which one of the many proofs of can be the fact that the uk album charts numbers were made up of the fans buying fitf during the first week/in pre-orders and when those fans bought everything they had to buy, it fell off the charts. Let's not pretend we don't know Louis' fandom's dynamic because it's obvious his fans are ride or die fans and, like I spoke about already, if his team was competent enough, they could spin a narrative that would have everyone pity him, the way they always wanted.

Don't even get me started on Harry's side in this. As if he doesn't have connections. As if Elton John isn't considered an icon and a legend and touring in his 70s. Harry's fandom is big and just like Louis, he brings a lot of money so I doubt anyone would willingly NOT show him support. Like let's be real here, all the celebs, brands and randoms would be scrambling to congratulate them and show how supportive they are.

I think that what this fandom has problems with is accepting that HL are in a significantly worse situation than they were in 2015 so they are starting to talk like TPTB and Modest and roll out all the excuses why coming out would be such a disaster to their careers. Truth is, none of us knows what would happen. All the examples people are always giving, are based on bands from 80s, 90s, 00s and I think we all agree those were completely different times and a pre-social media era. There has never been a boy band as big as one direction before in the digital era and as I stated many times, I firmly believe that Larry was the main factor of the band's success.

Now, everyone lovessss saying how Harry is breaking the norms and changing the game but where there truly could be a situation that would be just that, suddenly it's... too risky? Which leads me to another thing I have noticed, which is how much Harry's galactic level of fame is something a lot of Larries love to boast about too but that's a whole other discussion.

This post already got too long so I guess what I mean is: we can't really predict how things would go with their coming out but I don't think catastrophizing about it just to justify them using a child to protect their careers is a right thing to do. 1D in itself has always been a special phenomenon with a totally unique fandom dynamics, basically taking part in creating the stan culture on social media. Which, in itself, allows me to think that we should not try to see this situation through the lens of similar older ones, because nothing like this has ever truly happened.

[thenighttrain]

I honestly think Simon really wanted to push Liam originally but Harry and Niall had more charisma and presence, Zayn had better vocals and Louis was the behind the scenes person writing songs and managing things (tho he also had more charisma in interviews). Liam kinda ended up more in the background as the "basic" one.

You can even see the shift from the first album being so Liam focused to the second one. Niall and Louis didn't even get to really sing till Take Me Home.

It was Nicole who saw the potential in Niall and Harry, because she saw the charm and presence they could bring. Liam was there to do the actual singing, once the others could also sing the part Liam wasn't as center focus because he lacked the elements the other boys had.

Honestly if Zayn didn't have such bad anxiety he could probably be as successful as Harry. But I think he's happier chilling with his family and releasing music whenever he wants without promoting it or anything, he's already rich so I don't think he needs the money anyway.

Niall had a great album with Heartbreak Weather but he stopped promo once covid hit and it was sad because the songs on that album are great. What I love the most is that while all the boys in 1D were just learning how to sing Niall immediately started picking up other music skills like the guitar, it was Niall that later started teaching Harry how to play. That's I think part of what makes Niall so great he's always trying to get better and learning from other people, and he never releases anything unless he thinks is good enough.

Louis is so talented behind the scenes. He wrote most if not all of 1Ds greatest hits, he honestly had the strongest behind the scenes presence. He isn't as comfortable singing or performing but he's such a chill lad, his concerts are like hanging out with a friend that happens to know how to sing and is on a stage. He's also such a gem in telling fans to pirate his stuff if they can't afford it and lowering ticket prices to the minimum lol. Precious boyo.

And there's Liam who has struggled a lot with wanting to be the Justin Timberlake of one direction but never got there. He was in theory the perfect one to succeed with the singing and dancing... and yet. He also has a lot of personal struggles that bleed into his professional life but that's not our business. I think specially early on he felt like he was owed the success, but he just didn't have that It thing.

Harry always had the star quality, that boy was eating the stage up since he was sixteen. He was made for the stage. They can say whatever they want but all 1D fans knew Harry was going to have the best solo career. He just has the full star package.

-

God I've been in this fandom too long. I talk about stuff like this with my friends all the time, we kinda ended up agreeing that Liam had the basic voice of 1D and all the other boys added the flavour to it. Now that they all have solo careers the other boys developed their unique flavours but Liam just feels basic and generic. I feel cruel saying it but it's how i see it.

omg i strongly agree - we know liam was simon’s favourite. but i think nicole, being a woman, was able to see who would be more popular with teenage girls (aka their target demographic).

zayn is soo talented but yeah, i don’t think he enjoys the spotlight which is fair. i am still SO heartbroken about heartbreak weather, it’s an amazing album and deserves more :( but that’s a good observation about niall- he’s always pushed himself to learn and do better. and i loove louis, he’s so grounded and down to earth, he may not have the best voice but like you said, he does a lot of behind the scenes stuff. i honestly think liam needs a break to get himself together bc he’s been a mess for years now :// and yeah we all knew harry would do the best. liam does have the most basic voice haha and there’s nothing that sets him apart which is a shame, and one of the main reasons why he hasn’t done well

[janaedonim]

3, 8, 10? From coffeewritesfiction

Sorry for taking so long and being a monster! Life etc etc 🩷 thank you for asking 🩷

3. My favorite fic that I’ve written - hmmm I think there’s three and I’m gonna say that’s fine bc what rules. For like the best writing I think I’ve done in a fic there’s a 1D rpf I did in second person that I feel like flows really well and takes you into the feeling.

For a character exploration I really love the fic I wrote about Danny Mahealani from teen wolf exploring what his storyline could (SHOULD) have been in the show + how his significance could have been related to the origins of his last name. DANNY SHOULD HAVE BECOME A MAIN CHARACTER IN SEASON TWO AND IF I EVER SEE JEFFS BITCH ON THE STREET

Anyway, third one would be a fic for The Flash where Caitlin has a Bi Awakening because of Iris because she’s literally the hottest woman on television??????????? But yall wanna act like she ain’t bc racism….okay…,.

8. Projects I’m currently working on - I’m trying to finish all my old fics in chronological order, but I actually think I want to deep dive into all my old fandoms and finish all the WIPs from each fandom one by one. Im also feeling super conflicted about rpf so I’m looking at all my 1D WIPs and trying to figure out if any of them can work as original fiction instead. A lot of them I think only work in the context of 1d lore/fandom phenomenons so idk what to do with those.

Currently actively writing something vaguely titled “silver courts the captain” which is gonna be cheesy fluffy black sails fic.

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Yeah I didn’t expect that me writing smut for the first time would have like no affect on the kind of feedback I got? I was expecting a lot of commentary on the sex but most folks are still mostly focused on the ship 😄 which I honestly love for me I’m self conscious enough as it is. The fic was Rachel x Monica friends fic btw 😅

Also!!!! The previously mentioned fic about Danny got so much kindness and love that encouraged me to keep going even tho it took me like ten years (I don’t think that an exaggeration) to finish that fic. And I didn’t expect that at all I didn’t think anyone would care. 😭 literally every person that commented on that fic ever I’m sending you wishes for peace, good health days and paid off debt 😭🩷💕🥹🥹🥹

🩷🩷🩷

[hyunjining]

I got completely turned off from HL a year ago, I just can’t be a fan of the men they have become. I also had to deal with the fact I actually never had fun during their solo careers and I stayed bc they made us feel like we had to support them. But that’s a huge UO whenever I say they used our emotional involvement to serve their own interest completely disregarding how badly we were treated. Anyway been living a great life since June and my discovery of Stray Kids. I think I’ve learned enough from my mistakes being in the hl/1d fandom so hopefully I won’t get too attached/involved with them. I do find it funny that so many larries became stays dsfkjsd

hm that’s a long time to not have been having fun. i don’t think we were being used, not for a majority of their solo careers. now, though, sometimes it does feel like our loyalty is being taken advantage of but i’m still reluctant to call it deliberately malicious on h&l’s end. i think it’s more complicated than that.

but i hope you have a better experience with stray kids. it makes me happy to hear from larries turned stays. it’s too late for me, i’m already pretty attached lol but keeping a bit of a emotional distance sounds like a good choice for you

[tendergore]

I gotta get this off of my chest while the information is still relevant in my life, it’s totally inconsequential to anyone else, but it has had a weird bearing on my fandom experience in 1D.

Okay, I literally looked through my facebook messages to find out the exact date, so on April 10, 2012 a girl I was probably in love with in high school told me that I just had to listen to this boyband from X Factor, so we could bond over the interest. I was so entirely skeptical and way too cool and #feminist to care about a stupid boyband, so even though she sent me homework in the form of a youtube playlist of video diaries and another link to youtube documentary that were sure to hook me, I didn’t watch them. 

Then at the beginning of 2013 I heard a song on the overhead speakers at school which was DJ’d by students, Shazamed the track on my first ever phone, and got back One Thing by One Direction. Say isn’t that the group Isabela sent me those videos of?

On January 29, 2013 I added the first One Direction song to my hefty and disorganized Spotify playlist, Kiss You. On February 26 I added it again, along with all my favorites of the Take Me Home album. By all accounts, objectively, this is definitely early on enough to feel like a fandom elder, but I didn’t feel like that.

Feeling self conscious that I had waited so long to delve into something I had liked so readily, I sheepishly sat down and clicked the video diaries playlist she had sent me and watched them all. Louis was my favorite (this is not what I told the fandom girlies I met, at the time it seemed to me that he was unpopular with straight girls looking back). I watched the documentary (One Direction: A Year in the Making from ITV2) she sent me as well, and cried when Harry cried about messing up his solo and hate comments. I watched it from my phone on my grandmother’s couch at a family function with headphones, and I felt so stupid for not caring about some deeply emotionally in touch and complex boys. 

Somewhere around this time I passed Isabela in the hall and said, “Hey! I watched the video diaries, oh my god!”

She said, “Barely??”

We were between classes, she laughed off what I’d said, and that was the last we spoke on the subject. It’s entirely possible that it’s the last we spoke period, as I transferred schools soon after. I wanted it to spark conversation with us, bond us like she’d hoped to do the year previous, but it was too little too late, and she’d moved on from liking them. 

I felt so late to the party! I soon found fandom on twitter for the most part, and found solace and community there, and soon after, here on tumblr as well, which I was previously using for other interests. 

But nonetheless, I counted myself as a latecomer, not a real fan, not knowing enough, just based off of this passing interaction. 

So much so that when I met my now longtime long-distance friend over facebook messenger, I deferred to her for any opinion I thought I should have on them, I lied about my favorite boy (though, funnily enough, I find she may have lied about her favorite too) and felt like I don’t have enough authority on the subject to have a valid opinion.

I still! Think! This! Way! It’s been a decade since I added those songs on Spotify, and I bet if I went through my old hard drive, I’d find that it’s been even longer since I ripped each of their songs painstakingly from youtube and added the album art manually on iTunes--something I did with all my music before I found Spotify.

I’ve essentially had imposter syndrome about being a “real” One Direction fan for ages, for absolutely no reason. Isabela probably thought nothing of the passing conversation we had in the hall, but I internalized it so badly, that I sat here voting on a Tumblr poll system that didn’t exist when I was first blogging about them on this website--Tumblr didn’t even have an APP then, I’d made it a shortcut to the mobile website on my phone!-- and think, well, I’m not a real fan, so that’s why I don’t know what the majority would vote in this poll.

Babe, huh?!?

I’ve never put words to this, and I’m a writer, so just now I thought journaling it out somewhere I could revisit the thought process someday would be productive and maybe undo some of the imposter syndrome I infected myself with in a school hallway all those years ago. 

I’m a real fan! A first or second wave fan in the very least. My tenure as a 1D stan predates Midnight Memories first single release date by almost a full year and follows the release of Take Me Home by only two months! I was singing Diana at school dance in December of 2013 with all the fervor of a baby who had no idea what was to come, and I’m still here.

This is just for me, my personal records if you will.

In a box marked: FOR MY BIOGRAPHER etc.

[berlinini]

In adavance I’m so sorry for this long ass bs I just have had so much on my mind lately and need to vent .

As someone who was recently larrie but has stepped away from that one thing I am gonna say is that not everything Louie’s say about larries is always right, one thing I will say is that there is a large portion of the larrie fandom that favours Louis, (I was one of them) hence why now I’m a solo louie it was never an aesthetic or some cute thing for me I’ve always been in Louis’ lane from 2010 when they were made a band, (I didn’t become a larrie until 2018 when I re-entered the fandom) one of the biggest flaws with the 1D fandoms, ot5/4’s is that if you are a fan of multiple of the boys you cannot have a favourite you have to support them all equally and the reality of it is for many that this is just not possible it’s one of the reasons I never called myself an ot5/4 (I also don’t trust them what with the downfall of Liam this year and people acting all cool and claiming they never streamed his music I just know some of them are fake ass liars and don’t stream Louis) purely because I knew I would never support the others like I support Louis, so I listen to some of them and their music, sure but that’s pretty much as far as that will go with relation to other boys. So that’s a huge flaw because people within ot5/4’s fandom and then even the subfandoms expect equal support which is just never gonna be given unfortunately, now I’m not making excuses I’m just trying to show that nuance and balance is never a possible thing among a fandom like this that has far too many opinions and fandoms.

So much about the larrie fandom has bothered me for years, the caring more about proving Louis and Harry are together rather than just listening to what they have to say/sing the digging around in the backgrounds of interviews to prove they were in the same location, the accusing them of lying constantly (yes they do it to both of the boys, a lot more to Louis because unfortunately he’s had the burden of denying things and having to lie over the last 12 years all while Harry has sat back and never confirm nor denied anything) oddly enough his lack of denial or confirmation somehow makes larries trust Harry and what he says more than Louis, but I took a step away from larrie Twitter and made a solo louie account recently just before FITF dropped actually I kept my larrie account cause a part of me still rooted for L&H but honestly since the whole promo for FITF (not to mention FITF has very little of any songs that link to Harry) started my viewpoint on Larry crumbled, there was so much but the biggest thing was everytime Louis dropped something or something positive happened for him boom there HSHQ were dropping another kind of bomb whether it be a new single release, a new music video or the bloody holivia breakup dropping the same day just an hour or so after Louis got his first ever solo no.1 in the UK and guess what it completely drew away the entirety of the attention of this amazing milestone for Louis and shifted the focus to Harry yet again (as I said balance is not realistic when it’s a fandom trying to balance liking and supporting 2 artists equally & his team time things just right after something with Louis happens never before not to mention Louis had like no coverage of the no.1 but guess what holivia breakup articles were everywhere funny that) and it was after that I completely lost my patience with the fandom and with Harry and his team. While I don’t think Harry directly makes these decisions to do these things he definitely doesn’t stop his team from doing them and that is enough for me to be fed up. At first I thought it was odd and would get sus when something would happen with Louis and right behind something would happen with Harry but I thought that it may have been a coincidence but something that many larries will often say is ‘there are no coincidences in this fandom’ who knew that would come back to haunt larries, so yeh after that I was like yeh there are no coincidences that being that there is a blatant effort from Harry’s team to overshadow everything Louis does. Some people may shake it off but I just can’t anymore whether it’s from Harry or not he’s ignorant (or atleast acting ignorant) towards it and I don’t like it I just lost so much respect for him lately and don’t understand how people can’t see the obvious coincidences between them. They’re promo nearly always has overlapped, Harry’s album released back in May with one single it’s not a coincidence they waited until the last quarter of the year to release a 3rd single. The difference in morals is another thing I’ve noticed, while you have Louis on one end saying things like ‘ticket prices are too high and I don’t want to bring in a certain crowd’ to Harry who blatantly again is ‘ignorant’ to the cost of his concerts you’ve also got Louis being thoughtful of fans trying to include them in everything always thanking us (he’s literally written songs for the fandom or been inspired by the fandom for songs!) and then you’ve got Harry who well, walked into oncoming traffic to escape fans 💀 (and yes I understand neither of them owes us anything I actually agree wholeheartedly sometimes I think we don’t deserve the love we get from Louis) but in the end we do get it and I feel if they truly were ‘so perfect for eachother’ their actions would reflect that and well one of them isn’t reflecting that at all.

.

[alarrytale]

L has such a serious target audience issue. The aggressive homophobic gay denials and his super hetero image completely alienate the progressive gen z tiktok crowd that loves H. As well as the more liberal millenial crowd that think they’re cool for loving H. His 1D roots alienate the indie crowd and honestly men in general because his fans are 99% women. So that leaves him with Larries, mostly queer women who don’t mind the gay denials for obvious reasons, and Louies, mostly 1D fans or former 1D fans who are loyal enough not to care. Those are both groups tied to his time in 1D and certain to dwindle as time passes, not to grow. It’s just a shame because his music is VERY good and no one outside of his bubble is aware of it. This is honestly one of the things that makes me doubt if Larry is still together because what could his team possibly have to gain by holding onto his hetero image at this point?

Hi, anon!

He does have a serious target audience issue. He's stuggling to keep and to gain in all categories, target audience or not. He tried to reach men his age and got loads of 14 year old girls (according to lisa from bmg). If they want to try to reach men his age, they need to hold on to his hetero image. They've just not realised it's futile yet and that they should change their target audience.

Also, we don’t know if he is in a position to come out, larry or not larry. I've talked about this so many times and i'm not going to repeat myself. I don't understand what Louis' fandom problems got to do with doubting larry though? Do you think he's staying closeted because he's not with Harry? They don't have much to gain on the hetero, but he's still playing daddy, whether larry is still together or not.

[aotvfilm]

Hiiiii!!!!!!!!! :D

[insert gif of Harry waving crazily and smiling broadly!]

Noooo we must give the pets all the love, right?! Thank you so much!

ESCAPADE IS LIKE--- Frick. I really love it, but it's between that and Y&B for me, and I relate to Harry in Y&B more, so that's always the one that takes the cake for me. But yes, the playlist is fantastic, and I love the ambiance and energy it adds to Dolce's wonderful writing! You have given me an idea; make playlist, then write fic, then add playlist! Ha! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh thank you so much, that's going on my phone to read late at night--- slow burn is the best. Do you have any tropes you like in fanfiction?

OH WOW Rock me, that's such a song LOL! Was Louis always your 'bias'? (Kpop term because I've forgotten the other word! No, I'm not a kpop fan anymore lol, was a while ago. What music do you enjoy?) MAN, I hope your mom loved it!! I'd cry if I saw Louis in person too lksjdfjksf. Mhmmm I really loved Take Me Home, and Made in the A.M... do you have, perhaps, a top 10 1D tracklist? :D

THAT IS A BRILLIANT INSTAGRAM NAME OH MY WORD!!!!! YOU WERE AND ARE BRILLIANT!

Honestly, I don't know how I wrote that many fics. For a bit of that time I really liked someone so I channeled it into my writing. But it didn't work out, therefore!! I wrote more, and eventually shifted into Larrie mode, thank goodness. But again, it's quality over quantity, and I think some of them aren't that good, tbh.

Hey, there's no shame in trying. Honestly, you know what I do? Automatic writing. Whatever is on your brain, dump it onto the page, and then your head is either clearer for fanfiction, or you've got a potential plot; either way, you're grounded and in the headspace for it, right? Do you have any ideas I might help with?

Congratulations on graduating, oh my goodness BECKYYYYYYY. I am so beyond proud of you! I'm going for film, which is all I'll say for now since I don't wanna give myself away. Apps are indeed kicking my butt but yes. What did you stud in undergrad?

I look forward to talking again, sorry about the time difference <3

Lots of love,

Holiday Pal.

HELLO HOLIDAY PAL <3

I have an unpopular opinion to share 👀 I never loved Y&B. I read it because it was a fandom classic but I struggled to stay engaged. I think my favorite fandom classic is Unbelievers. I might go reread that now actually 😶 I hope you enjoy the fic I shared!! x

Where do I start with favorite tropes? Obviously enemies to lovers & slow burn. Can’t get enough of that shit. I love a/b/o. I also love famous/famous where they’re not in one direction. Or just one of them is & the other is famous for something else. What are your favorite tropes?

When I first noticed the band wayyyy back when I definitely think Harry was my fav. I remember having a cardboard cutout of him lmao but I was 10 so I don’t remember joining the fandom clearly ): But by the time I went to see them in concert Louis was definitely my favorite. I can’t remember exactly when I made the switch but pretty early on. My mom loved the concert! I always tried to get her to pick a favorite and I remember her telling me she loved Louis’ blue eyes. She’s a Louis girl at heart <3

I listen to all sorts of music! Some of my fav artists are Greta Van Fleet, San Fender, & Declan McKenna. Do you use spotify? If so, who were your top artists?! I also loved Made in the A.M. but I think FOUR would be my absolute fav. Omg I’ve never written a top 10 1D track list. Tomorrow I’ll go through the albums and make one! I’d love to see yours too!!!

Aw sorry to hear it didn’t work out :( At least you channeled your feelings into something creative! And you study film!!! I’m always blown away by how some people are so creative. Thank you for your congratulations :) I’m finishing up my degree in biomedical engineering right now! I might go back to grad school in a few years once I have a better idea of what I’d like to specialize in.

Ugh I struggle so much with dumping words down. I always edit things as I go along rather than write a draft and edit it. I think that’s why I struggle so much with committing to a fic because I know how much editing and reworking will go into it. But I’m going to try! I’ve wanted to for years now and you’ve helped give me the push!!

talk soon holiday pal x :)

[itsnothesameasitwas]

🎬 10 characters 10 fandoms ? tags

my dearest @cowboylarries  @holyshit and @whaleharry  tyy for tagging me ilyy 💞 this took me so long but here it is finally!

gregory house from dr. house

elliot stabler from law & order uve

patrick jane from the mentalist

alicia florrick from the good wife

georgie cooper from young sheldon

isak valtersen from skam

william magnusson from skam

severus snape from harry potter

sheldon cooper from the big bang theory

rue bennet from euphoria

i’m tagging @cherryacoustic @harrysuits @genuineconspiracy @17greys @ozziiee @yourhabit28 @habithlarry @harry-sue and whoever who wants to or haven’t done this yet

[awesomefringey]

Hi Sabine- hope you are having a good day. I have a question about PR relationships. I’ve never really been a fully committed fan of anyone before I discovered 1D and Louis and Harry (except maybe in the early 90’s but that was pre-social media so different parameters) so I’ve never paid close enough attention to one person to follow along with them outside of regular mainstream news, and I gave up reading gossip mags about 20yrs ago when I realised they were mostly bullshit.

I’ll preface this with saying that I absolutely don’t believe Harry is in a relationship with Olivia. My question is surrounding the purpose of some of the ‘sightings’. I get the pap walks and the attendance at high media profile events like Coachella etc. as these make their way into the GP’s realm and assist with PR for both of them (and reinforce Harry’s closet) . I don’t understand the objective behind the side stage/ backstage presence and other more obscure sightings such as these? This seems like something only fans would pay attention to (sometimes the photos only come from fans in the crowd) and I don’t believe the PR is there to convince fans of anything as I don’t think either side of this fandom supports her.

Is this extra ‘togetherness’ outside of the organised for Media outlets pap stuff a normal aspect of a PR relationship? Usually I’m quite good as seeing the rationale behind general things we are shown in different aspects of the media etc. but I don’t see what purpose this serves- am I just being thick?

Hi nonnie, thank you for reaching out because I could ramble about this forever. But I think your guess would be as good as mine since we both share similar experiences around fandoms and observing PR strategies.

This is going to be long, so my apologies in advance. 💜

I think Holivia has huge issues with credibility and image. In the general public they’re far from the iconic Bennifer-fication. They are called a “strange couple” and depending on the POV people wonder why Harry is with her or the other way around.

It must be a great disappointment that even Harry's het fanbase doesn't buy into it and rejects Olivia. I think younger fans can’t identify with her because she’s so much older and Harry’s fans closer to her age are furious about her behavior while dragging her kids into it all and making a show of custody battles like it’s some trashy reality tv. (It’s not helping either that she’s got a long history of treating people poorly.) This all manifests itself in very weak Holivia UAs with like 8k followers at best, of which many only lurk to rant over what they see if we’re being honest.

My impression is that Full Stop planned to market Holivia as this woke ageism-breaking ‘newly single mum succeeding in Hollywood in a male dominated field proving 40 with kids is not the end for romance or beauty or indefinite freedom’ dating this ‘gender bending rockstar aspiring actor who sells nail polish and wears dresses and waves his ally-LGBTQ flags every night but is so so very straight and therefore an icon who ends toxic masculinity’ where brand endorsement deals can be used in double with access to two different target groups/demographics. Harry and Olivia both wear éliou pearl necklaces, Bode, Gucci, Vans, Pleasing, Harry merch. Even better when one wears what seemingly belongs to the other. So outrageous. 🙄

But what happened instead is that people only saw an odd couple with zero chemistry that got together under questionable circumstances (they were still filming DWD due to the delay from closing the set) with Harry as Olivia's subordinate, when she had JUST separated (or had she?), and Harry had only been booked for his second role… And all of it in the wake of Times Up and Me Too as if THIS were the New Hollywood... To me it was the dirtiest kick off for a Pro-mance I could have ever imagined. I hate that Harry is involved in this shit.

Maybe many don’t see it like I do, but to me who takes great pride in feminist values and has worked hard in my profession to overcome the “cute and pretty label” to be taken seriously and now being a team lead in a male dominated field myself, it triggers me to no end. A female in a position of power should never abuse it and call it feminist. Olivia Wilde doesn't bring change when she stands for the same toxic values and creates unsafe work environments that have existed all along.

Why am I pointing it out? Because that part, the beginning of it all is something they still try to make up for. The longer this lasts, the less it looks like a reckless work hook up and more like a super serious love story that needed to happen under any circumstances.

Coming back to your actual question and taking into account what I said above - Olivia hasn’t been offered any deals at all so far.

I'm not aware Olivia is in talks for any scripts to be directed by her. The documentary she planned to do was cancelled? It looks like promoting DWD is the only thing left on her agenda. She has a lot of time on her hands and she attempts to use it.

Their ‘organic sightings’ are being used for articles is the thing. Those fan pics of Harry bathing in Dublin were all over the tabloids. Random ‘Olivia at Coachella’ fan videos were used as well. Harry meeting a fan in South England made it into the press. Harry playing golf didn’t.

So pics from the back of Harry unenthusiastically holding Olivia’s hand in Dublin didn’t end up in the tabloids. So Harry kicked it up a notch and went for a swim in Dublin instead. LOL. I really believe that’s the part that’s unpredictable for their teams. They “offer” Holivia content here and there, walking and walking and walking, but what will be newsworthy is up to the tabloids. It’s an unreliable yet very cheap way of creating buzz and promotion. And Olivia looooves the attention and I’m sure she gets off on the idea that people envy her that she gets to be so close to Harry...

[tellmethisisnottumblisnextfuckup]

Gabiiii hello. I am just catching up what’s going on. Help. I don’t know where to start. Have you got a list of all the things happened because I wasn’t able to watch the show online like I always do.

Also,can I rant here for a bit in your Asks inbox because I need these out of my chest for the people who seemed to have needs proof every second and the people who seemed to have forgotten hot to look after themselves. So apparently Louis pointed into the Larry sign and every one freaked out? If there are millions of people who believe in Larry for more than a decade and never stopped talking about it, I don’t think you still need some proofs or something. Just get on with it, it’s already real. What more could you want? For them to have to have sex in front of you? Any of them doing larry thingz that are just incredibly loud should not even be surprising anymore just like the millions of times they’ve done it.

Additionally, I am all for signs. But please, just keep it Louis focus because this is his tour. He had been waiting for this for years and he shall recieved our full attention without having to do this and that if larry is real. He knows that half of the people in the venue he is in every night are Larries, the biggest drive why that Louies (and Harry’s) fandom is so welcoming and like a pride parade all the time because Larries believe in two gay men being in a relationship, so antis or whoever the fuck you are, you can go suck your own dicks.

Last thing, it is our responsibility to look after ourselves therefore HYDRATE YOURSELVES AND EAT.Louis is not your mother nor is he your father that he has to look after you all when you are old enough to be in fuckin concerts. It is very disappointing, disrespectful and egotistical on the fans part that he has to stop every show because you didn’t drink. I get that it is excitement crowding all your common senses but if you have to buy a drink, go into the side and have to get yourself together, Do it. It is your responsibility as an individual to look after yourself first and if you can’t anymore, that’s where venue staff are there for.

It is just cringe and weird how every night he has to stop his show because you all are falling like flies in the venue during concerts. Get yourselves together people, this is just madness. It disrupts the flow of the show and it ruins every thing else. There are people who paid a lot for it to have a show that does not constantly being stopped all the time. Also, it’s the staff who has to deal with delays and every thing. So let’s just get it together, yes?

Also can I add how middle fingers should be tamed unless he starts doing it or when doing photos? Because in my family, we do not do that. It is offensive and highly disrespectful. I do not get that and have never considered it as a “love language”, it is more of a “piss off” language. Seriously would never see me doing that to anyone no matter the reason; or is that just a Western culture thing that I don’t get? There are better options, probably send him some blown kisses because like that one video, he was all giggly and shy and blushing. It is much more beautiful.

❗️HYDRATE AND EAT ❗️

Let me sum it up for you, ah I miss these pizza guy-what did I miss posts haha, those good ol' 1D touring days!

It was a great show, from what I could catch the show had to be stopped as people again kept passing out, and Louis even left the stage while those fans got water to regroup.

The signs are something we'd never have control over, they existed at all 1D concerts, it's the boys' choice to react, thumb them up, alas encourage them. I'm a bit torn at what to think, on one hand he didn't seem annoyed so why should I - on another hand we're not 12 anymore. I still haven't made up my mind. But I think it would be super entitled of me to complain when he himself the artist it was directed at not only didn't seem annoyed but he thumbed it up.

So yes, we have video of this sign "Sing Walls if Larry is real" which he acknowledged with a smile. The sign was huge, it's without a doubt he could see it and read it just fine. And it was yet again his decision to acknowledge it and point to it with a smile on his face

And we also have another acknowledgement of a sign, which had 2 cute Larry pics.

And god yes, people, EAT and DRINK. Please. I get it there's no AC, I get it they're overcrowded as the venues could be overbooked, but please try to help yourself, Louis is not your target when you feel sick. Security is there to help, others are there too. Louis has enough to worry about at a show: his own health, working the crowd and keeping up the spirits, technical glitches etc. Just try to do the maximum you can before entering the venue.

And our lovely content provider already uploaded the full show on Youtube.

And that's what you missed on Glee.