Larry Stylinson

This page is dedicated to shipping practices, popularity, tropes and fanworks about the pairing. For information about theories and debates regarding the reality of the pairing, see: Larry is Real.
Larry Stylinson, a portmanteau of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, is the pairing name for the most popular ship in One Direction fandom. This ship is notorious even outside of 1D fandom for the large number of Larry shippers who believe that Harry and Louis are secret boyfriends in real life. However, the portmanteau itself is notorious for confusing non-1D fans into thinking that "Larry Stylinson" is one of the members of the band.
==Fandom==
===Ship Appeal===
Like the other slash pairings within the band, the canon basis for Larry is the camaraderie and physical affection that Harry and Louis displayed in public, often captured in photos and videos. Given that Harry is the fan favorite, it was inevitable that the most popular pairing would involve him. 
Since November 2010 Harry and Louis were also aware that fans were shipping them together, tweet by Harry Styles, 22 November 2010., video uploaded to youtube by Larry Stylinson Moments, 4 April 2014. As of 5 December 2021, this video has 68,566 views. Original video date 2012? and may have played up their friendship in the early years. (See Fanservice.) Harry said things like "My first real crush was Louis Tomlinson"., video uploaded to youtube by Larry Stylinson Moments, 21 October 2013. As of 5 December 2021, the video has 1,907,925 views. The original footage may have been from 2011. At a fan event Harry appeared to nod and smile when a fan asked him if he and Louis were dating., video uploaded to youtube by Larry Stylinson Moments, 5 January 2014. As of 5 December 2021, this video has 68,244 views. Original video from 2012? Harry and Louis also lived together at some point in 2011-2012 and would tweet to and about each other; see for example Louis' Always In My Heart tweet. (According to bulletprooflarry, they lived together from July 2011 until at least September 2012., tumblr post by bulletprooflarry, 17 May 2018. As of 5 December 2021, this tumblr post has 1792 notes.)
1D fans have commented that at that time they appeared to be the closest and most affectionate of the band members:
For larries, who believe that Harry and Louis really are dating, the appeal of the ship is that it's a canon "forbidden gay romance in a multi-million dollar pop band"."i get sad when people say they stopped shipping Larry because it became too much of a 'conspiracy' for them. Like, it’s a forbidden gay romance in a multi-million dollar pop band, the fuck did you think you were getting into?". , 15 October 2015. In addition to the canon material--photos, videos, tweets, etc.--larries' own theories have become part of their Larry canon and thus part of its appeal. For example, they find the theorized "couple tattoos" to be cute and shippy. See Larry_Is_Real/Theories#Tattoos for more details.
===Separation of H/L===
However, at some point in late 2012, fans noticed that slashy canon moments between the two had decreased compared to the others. By the time of Bullshit 1.0 in September, fans were already saying they missed Harry and Louis's friendship., onedanon, 16 September 2012.
A conversation in December on the one_direction livejournal community: 
Many fans speculated that management was to blame; other fans argued that this was the fault of fans who made too big a deal of their friendship. In an interview with the Sun in 2017, Louis explained that the shipping "took away the vibe [...] I think on both fences, a little bit more unapproachable."The Sun. "It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything, I think on both fences, a little bit more unapproachable" 21 Jul 2017 article. (See Larry is real.) In fact, Harry and Louis were very rarely seen to touch each other (or even stand next to each other) until 2015 when fans started reporting excitedly that they seemed to have relaxed slightly.1Dreport. "It's a big deal when Harry and Louis interact as they haven't really since 2012, it's not even about larry, it's about their friendship" 14 May 2015 tweet. But the disappearance of canon support never affected the popularity of the ship; Larry remains the most popular ship in the fandom, slash or otherwise.
==="Larry is real"===
Some Larry shippers, later known as Larries, believe that "Larry is real". Larries have developed the theory that One Direction's management company (Modest! Management) has pressured them to remain closeted because gay bandmembers would bring down the monetary value of a boyband in a homophobic industry. In the early years, when Louis' dating life wasn't newsworthy and fans may not have known who his girlfriends were, thinking they were in a relationship did not contradict what little fandom knew about them. But as more counter-evidence appeared, the secret-boyfriends theory became increasingly elaborate. The similarities between the relationship narrative constructed by these fans and the story promulgated by the Domlijah tinhats in Lotrips fandom in the early 2000s have led to these Larry shippers being called tinhats by other fans.For example, Aja, who wrote One Direction Fans have trouble separating their 'Larry Stylinson' fantasy from reality, The Daily Dot, posted August 22, 2012. See also Tumblr fan im-on-fire-now's post Pay attention, archived, posted June 14, 2013.
==Tropes in Fanworks==
*Roommates AU - Harry and Louis were roommates in 2011-2012, so many fics focus on them as roommates or living together.
*Punk/Flower Child - Punk!Louis was a popular trope to go alongside Flower Crown!Harry in 2013 and 2014.
*Soulmate AU - Fans sometimes write their tattoos, some of which appear complementary, as soulmate marks.
*Soccer AU - Louis is an avid soccer player and some of the most popular Harry/Louis fics are soccer AUs.
*X-Factor Era - Many fics take place during the first year of One Direction, focusing on Harry/Louis developing feelings for each other while on The X Factor.
*Fake Dating - Escapade, one of the most popular 1D fics, inspired many fake-dating AUs.
*A/B/O - Where either Harry or Louis is an Alpha or Omega. Not many seem to be written where one is a Beta though.
==Media Depictions==
An Argentina Coca-Cola commercial released in April 2015 depicted two actors who bore resemblance to (and was later confirmed to represent)Harry and Louis. It played over Clouds, a One Direction song that was considered by some fans to be related to Larry.
One fan tweeted:, tweet by CourtBeTweeting, Apr 9, 2015. Accessed 2 Sep 2019.
Pepsi later released a commercial seemingly in response, tumblr post by unintentionalarry, reblogged by larrydagger, June 15, 2015. As of 22 December 2021, this tumblr post has 2017 notes.:
In 2019, the series Euphoria revealed that one of its characters was a Larry fanfiction writer, then proceeded show an animated scene from the fanfiction where Harry Styles gives Louis Tomlinson a blowjob backstage, giving rise to widespread backlash from fans. See One Direction Fanfiction Controversy.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanart===
*AU gifset by payvne (posted December 21, 2012). Set of two gifs with fake captions (paparazzi shouting homophobic slurs). This one had 300K notes as of June 29, 2014, likely due to the fact that the bolded FICTIONAL label got lost in reblogs and many users thought it was real.
*untitled Tumblr gifset of a young Harry and Louis swaying together by ggrint (posted February 5, 2014)
*untitled Tumblr edit of Punk Louis/Flower Crown Harry by linslaylohan (posted March 22, 2013)
*"My talented, song-writting, football-playing, heart-warming, pop-rock star boyfriend" (direct link) art by karukara (posted May 27, 2014)
*h+l by eleadore on DeviantArt, on Tumblr (posted June 8, 2013)
*How They See Us (direct link) by dudebropalz, fancomic about how Modest and the rest of fandom sees Larry shippers (January 13, 2013)
* Untitled Edit of Larry with wings by oldbay-on-apples (posted March 2, 2021)
===Fanfic===
* Hiding Out in the Kitchen, fic by LittleMousling. AU where Harry is in a different boyband, and Louis works in a coffee shop. (posted 2012-06-05)
* Spin Me Like A Record, fic by zarah5. College AU where Louis poses as Harry's boyfriend sometimes. (posted 2013-12-22)
* 2012 'Verse, fic series by ashavahishta. Canon compliant series, based on the author's extensive timeline-keeping research. (first part posted 2013-7-2)
*These Inconvenient Fireworks, fic by mdasch and everydayslike. From the masterpost, "Future AU in which nobody tries out for X Factor but the boys end up finding one other eventually anyway." (posted 2012-12-10)
*things have gotten closer to the sun, fic by starseas. Future Apocalypse AU where the five members of One Direction are brought back together during their last days facing an impending solar flare. (posted 2013-03-02)
*as loud as lions, fic by likecharity. Canon compliant fic where, after an intimate photo is leaked, Harry and Louis are forced out of the closet. (posted 2012-05-19)
*Tend Me Black And Blue, fic by hostagesfic. S&M exhibitionism fic with Larry within OT5. (posted 2013-02-13)
* Relief Next to Me, fic by dolce_piccante. AU where Harry and Louis meet on Craigslist. (posted 2014-01-04)
* May You Enjoy Your New Life by aimmyarrowshigh. The X Factor-era kidfic AU. (Posted 2012-Jul - 2012-Sep)
====Most Kudos'd Fanfic====
The 10 fics under Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles with the most Kudos on Archive of Our Own as of 3/5/2021 are:
* Young & Beautiful or Y&B as it is sometimes known, fic by Velvetoscar. A College AU where Harry is the son of a Rockstar and Louis is attending the university. (Posted 2014-05-27)
* Escapade, fic by dolce_piccante. A Fake/Pretend Relationship where Louis needs a date for the wedding of his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend). (Posted 2015-05-29 to 2015-05-30)
* Baby Heaven's in your Eyes, fic by theboyfriendstagram. A High School AU where Harry and Louis are very different but theirs schools are across from each other. (Posted 2014-07-05 to 2014-09-24)
* Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can't Lose, fic by dolce_piccante. A College AU where Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty and Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football. A bet brings them together. (Posted 2016-01-24)
* Unbelievers, fic by isthatyoularry. A High school AU where Louis and Harry are co-captains of the football (soccer) team who are mortal enemies “with benefits.” (Posted 2015-03-22 to 2015-06-15)
* Relief Next To Me, fic by dolce_piccante. Alternate Universe where the reader discovers what happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more. (Posted 2014-01-04 to 2015-09-12)
* And Then a Bit, fic by infinitelymint. An almost Canon divergent AU where Louis and Harry were never together and after the band goes on a two year hiatus Louis and Harry are convinced to fake a relationship to drum up publicity as they return. (Posted 2014-04-04 to 2015-01-28)
* Wear It Like A Crown, fic by zarah5. Louis is part of a team of fixers hired to help deal with a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace. He ends up helping out Prince Harry Styles. (Posted 2014-06-20 to 2014-10-18)
* Pull Me Under, fic by zarah5. A Football(soccer) AU where as the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake. (Posted 2013-07-05 to 2013-09-29)
* Four's Company, fic by vampire_angel_z. An ABO Mpreg fic set in a Dystopian world where the alpha triplets need a mate. Louis is too perfect to be true. (Posted 2014-06-10 to 2015-05-07)
===Fanvids===
*"It just kind of happened" by freddieismyqueen
*"i have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night by JennynQa (Feb 2, 2014)
===Podfics===
* (Podfic) Sing When You're Winning, written by hazmesentir, read by RsCreighton. 9hrs (2016-10-02)
* (Podfic) Truly, Madly, Deeply (10 Things I Hate About You), written by sunsetmog, read by ofjustimagine. 5hrs (2013-11-14)
* (Podfic) Naked and Proud, written and read by kiwikero. 2hrs (2016-12-07)
* (Podfic) Let Your Heart Be Light, written by gloria_andrews, read by akikotree. 20min (2015-12-23)
==Fandom Resources==
*Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson fanworks on Archive of Our Own
*Harry/Louis podfic at Audiofic Archive
*masterposts by hisweetcheeks on Tumblr
*Top 10 Larry Fics As Voted By You! at The Larry Library on Tumblr
*Larry Fics and Rec tumblr
*Epic Larry Fic Recs tumblr, which includes lists in chronological order so new readers could experience the fandom as it happened: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
==References==
Category:Slash Pairings
Category:One Direction Relationships