Larry Is Real

Larry Is Real is the theory or belief that One Direction band members Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are romantically involved in real life. This theory originated in the RPF shipping community; a subset of fans who ship Harry/Louis aka "H/L" aka "Larry Stylinson" came to the conclusion that their ship was real.
Many Larry shippers on Tumblr and Twitter have combed through massive amounts of publicly available information (everything from interviews to candid photos to song lyrics to tattoosA rundown of the Larrie tattoo theories, as described by an antilarrie: Complementary/Matching Tattoos by 1arry-isnt-rea1, posted to tumblr 29 December 2014. archived to insider anons) to find evidence that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were, and continue to be, boyfriends in real life. According to the theory, One Direction's management company (Modest! Management) pressured them to remain closeted because gay bandmembers would bring down the monetary value of a boyband. 
In the early years, before Louis dated Eleanor and explicitly denied Larry was real, fans thinking he and Harry 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 and required the existence of an ongoing conspiracy of lies involving 1D's management, professional associates, the media, friends, and even family members, whose actions and public statements appeared to contradict the theory. Any woman that either one was seen dating was theorized to be a beard and paid by management. Other fans who recognized similarities between the relationship narrative constructed by these fans and tinhat theories in other RPF fandoms dating back to Domlijah in early 2000s Lotrips fandom started calling these Larry shippers "tinhats".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. Many of the fans in question object to the term. See #Tinhats below.
The fans who believe that Larry is real are often called "Larries", although not all believers adopt the term for themselves or identify with the community (see Larrie for more detail). The term came into common use from around 2014 onward, and prior to this, many Larries simply identified as Larry Stylinson shippers - which can be confusing when trying to distinguish other shippers from people who believe they are actually in a relationship. 
Some Larries label the vocal critics of Larrie behaviour and the Larry Is Real theory "anti-Larries" or "antis", or the less common "hets" or "het girls".tumblr post, archived, by im-on-fire-now, posted September 15, 2015. 
Other 1D ships have attracted tinhats (see Ziam is real), but Larry dominates the field.2013-08-08 comment by anon at Fail Fandomanon. See also 2014-05-17 comment thread between a former Narry tinhat and a former Gryles tinhat. For a recent example of Ziam conspiracy theorizing, see this post, archived, (February 1, 2015). 
Larry tinhatting outlasted the band itself, despite some observers predicting it would collapse after the band went on hiatus in early 2016. New Larry theories crop up and evolve to absorb and explain new developments that might contradict their theories, called stunts. #Babygate was a major post-band stunt according to larries. As of 2023, new larries are still joining the ranks of believers, and the COVID pandemic seems to have caused a surge in new converts (see r/LarryStylinson). anti-larries and others have commented anecdotally that larries seem to be the majority of fans left in 1D fandom"by now most non-tinhat fans have left so there's not many people there to push back." , anonymous comment in fail_fandomanon, 2020-10-18., though some fanfics about other ships are still being posted on AO3. 
==Catchphrase==
This Fanlore page is titled "Larry Is Real" as a matter of convenience to distinguish it from the general shipping page Larry Stylinson. However, the belief or theory that Harry and Louis are in a secret relationship in real life is most commonly referred to as simply "Larry" or "Larry Stylinson".
In One Direction fandom, shippers like to say, usually half-jokingly, that their slash ship "is real". The catchphrases "Larry is real" and "Larry Stylinson is real" are incredibly common, and it's difficult to know how many fans mean it sincerely, or rather how many fans use it to mean that they think Harry and Louis are literally in a romantic relationship in real life. At least in the early years fans could and did say "Larry is real" as a sincere expression of joy in response to ship material (fanservice or fanworks) without necessarily believing that they were actually dating.
A 2023 Twitter search shows examples of the phrase "Larry Stylinson is real" as early as September 2011., tweet by EveMaria93, 26 September 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.), tweet by lesnenuphars_, 26 September 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.) The phrase "Larry is real" is more ambiguous, but was uttered in the context of 1D as early as June 2011., tweet by HarrysHaribo, 6 June 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.)
==Origin of the Theory?==
If the theory originated with a single individual or post, the evidence is long-gone. Most likely, it was an idea that was popular from the beginning, but evolved over time as both the fandom and the band changed. Without additional context, it's very difficult to judge whether an exuberant declaration on social media is evidence of genuine belief. However, a timeline for when Larry theorizing became popular can be estimated. (Larries have developed many timelines, but these are timelines of canon events and not necessarily when fans decided on the significance of the events.)
First, the music video for One Direction's first single, "What Makes You Beautiful", was uploaded to YouTube on August 19, 2011 and may have attracted new fans who also lacked the context for fan tweets declaring that "Larry is real":
*"GUYS. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME IF THIS IS TRUE. ARE HARRY AND LOUIS GAY? FIRST ONE TO ANSWER WILL GET A SHOUTOUT." (September 7, 2011), 7 September 2011. (Accessed 15 October 2023.)
*"The awkward moment when new 1D fans think that Harry & Louis are actually a gay couple." (September 18, 2011), 18 September 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.)
*"newbie fans: ewww, are Harry and Louis gay? original fans: ITS CALLED A BROMANCE! Me; BROMANCE TO ROMANCE! PLEASE;)." (October 16, 2011), 16 October 2011. (Accessed 15 October 2023.)
A major turning point was the news reporting that Louis Tomlinson was dating Eleanor Calder. Digital Spy first reported the news on September 17, 2011One Direction's Louis Tomlinson 'dating model Eleanor Calder', 17 September 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.), leading to many tweets from fans, some distraught, some disbelieving, some curious.Twitter search: (Accessed 27 September 2023.) However, the news does not seem to have been confirmed until early October.See twitter search. (Accessed 27 September 2023.) The earliest tweets that reference the "Eleanor is a beard" theory occurred within a few days., tweet by Jenselslaus, 4 October 2011. (Accessed 28 September 2023.), tweet by Nialler4ever, 14 October 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.), tweet by lfclaura_, 21 October 2011., tweet by oooh_imdeleting, 29 October 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.) There were a few more tweets through the end of the year and into early 2012., tweet by fckvoldemort, 27 November 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2023.), tweet by EnglishJules, 30 January 2012. (Accessed 27 September 2023.), tweet by RockMafiaFIN, 5 February 2012., tweet by inshowerofcunts, 10 February 2012. (Accessed 27 September 2023.), tweet by ASVPCLAUDIA, 24 February 2012. (Accessed 27 September 2023.)
In-depth analysis and theorizing generally occurred on Tumblr, which allows long-form posts. There were posts about the "Eleanor is a beard" theory as early as March 2012: a post titled "Hazza vs. the beard" compares pictures of Louis with Harry vs. Eleanor., reblogged 19 March 2012. Another post from late May was titled "ELEANOR IS A BEARD PROOF", reblog of post by ishiplarry-, 27 May 2012. Early proof posts about Larry include this popular one from April 1, 2012: "Evidence for Larry Sylinson" by hazzalovesboo. by hazzalovesboo, 1 April 2012. As of 27 September 2023, this tumblr post has 8,343 notes. However, the earliest Larry theory posts are likely lost as many former Tumblr users have deleted their accounts over the years. A tweet from one believer in October 2011, tweet by oooh_imdeleting, 27 October 2011. (Accessed 28 September 2023.), tweet by oooh_imdeleting, 24 October 2011. (Accessed 28 September 2023.) and a Tumblr post reblogged on December 27 with the comment "This is the only proof you need 2 know that Larry Stylinson is real.", 27 December 2011. As of 29 September 2023, this tumblr post has 7968 notes. suggest that Larry theorizing was already a popular pastime on tumblr, even if masterposts had not yet become popular. Events that may have increased the popularity of these posts include 1D's first headlining tour starting in December 2011 (drawing in more fans) and Eleanor getting a twitter account in March 2012 (greater visibility creating a greater need to disprove her relationship with Louis).
==Theories==
Some of the major Larry proofs are enumerated below. However, fans who believe in Larry have also posited a large number of sub-theories to explain various developments in the band's history and its members' post-band activities that might seem to contradict Larry. Some theories are widely accepted, and others are not. See Larry Is Real/Theories for an explanation of some of the theories.
See also Harry is a Girl for a Harry Styles-specific fan theory.
===Babygate===
:Main article: Babygate
The news of Louis fathering a child in July 2015 prompted an outcry among larries that was covered extensively in mainstream media outlets. The events surrounding the announcement of Louis' fatherhood and subsequent larrie fan theories have been dubbed "Babygate". Many larries believe that the baby is fake or that Louis isn't the father. Larries have given reasons such as there being no paternity test, the child was announced in the first trimester, and Louis was almost never seen with his kid. Larries also thought it was weird that the mother constantly posted pictures of their kid.
==Why Larries Believe==
===Larrie vs. non-larrie answers===
Larries cite a number of pieces of evidence they find compelling to explain why they believe that Harry and Louis are not straight and are in a romantic relationship. See next sections for details.
For people who don't find "Larry proofs" compelling, the question of why larries believe is often a more philosophical one, that is: "why do people believe something that isn't true?" Many 1D fans who are not larries, along with fans in other fandoms, characterize the Larry Is Real theory as tinhatting or a conspiracy theory. Fans may point to the usual psychological reasons that people are drawn to conspiracy theories, or to the fact that many RPF fandoms, especially fandoms with a younger demographic, tend to develop tinhat beliefs that are fairly consistent and predictable across time. The more popular an RPF ship is, the more likely a certain percentage of fans will start believing that the couple are really together. And Larry is a massively popular ship in a massively popular fandom.
A 2021 episode of the podcast I Met You On LJ discussed some reasons larries believe and mentioned that Harry and Louis reacted to the knowledge that fans were shipping them by providing a lot of fan service in the early years in a way that seemed authentic. They also discussed how Larry was a way to (not) deal with jealousy over a celebrity crush dating someone else and that people experiencing upheaval in their personal lives and young queer fans who were not out found comfort in Larry. See ., tumblr announcement post, 2 March 2021. As of 5 December 2021, this tumblr post has 87 notes.
=== Larrie arguments for why Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson aren't straight ===
Harry Styles, who is known to have dated women, has never officially confirmed what his sexual orientation is, a fact that larries and non-larries alike will acknowledge. Instead he has stated that he does not feel the need to explain his sexuality. When he was asked about it in a 2019 interview, he replied "Who cares."Callie Ahlgrim. , Insider, Dec 16, 2019. The most information about his sexuality he has stated publicly is in a 2013 print interview with GQ Magazine; when asked if he was bisexual, he said, "I'm pretty sure I'm not.", Huffington Post, 07/30/2013. (Larries consider denials said in print to be less reliable than video interviews because management could interfere., tumblr post by hiddensymposiarch, Aug 9, 2014. It's also entirely possible he just didn't know in 2013, but him realizing it later wouldn't support the theory that he was in a relationship with Louis at the time of the interview.) When asked in a 2014 video interview about their favorite traits in a girl, Liam Payne replied, "female," to which Harry responded, "Not that important.", youtube video uploaded by Larry Stylinson Moments, Mar 20, 2015. As of 19 December 2021, this youtube video has 46,487 views., Eonline, Nov 04, 2014. And at a 2018 concert, after he read a fan's sign that said, "I'm gay and I love you," he replied, "I mean we're all a little bit gay aren't we.", youtube video uploaded by Prince Chute, Aug 16, 2018. As of 19 December 2021, this video has 2,025 views., Huffington Post, 07/16/2018.
In 2014, Louis Tomlinson tweeted "I am in fact straight", but larries believe this tweet was a lie written by management and is not credible (see Bullshit 2.0). Although it is possible that he lied in the original tweet or changed his mind since 2014, he has not given any interviews like Harry has that would leave open the possibility of queerness. Instead, larries point to more indirect evidence, such as the black line-art triangle tattoo on Louis's ankle, drawing a connection between it and the pink triangle, a well-known LGBTQ+ symbol., twitter search 19 December 2021., tumblr post by bioluminescentwaves28, Aug 4, 2021. As of 19 December 2021, this tumblr post has 184 notes. Larries also compiled instances where Louis wore rainbow shirts, tumblr post by gresstuff, December 23rd, 2017. As of 19 December 2021, this tumblr post has 5956 notes., though anti-larries have commented that some of the shirts are not actually rainbows and that larries have argued that these patterns should count because Louis was being prevented (by management) from wearing "true" rainbows."They’ve decided he can’t wear full on real rainbows, so just any colors together is his way of trying to make one." , tumblr post, Jan 6, 2018. The Vans skeleton double rainbow shirt Louis wore at the April 30, 2014 1D concert generated a lot of excitement in the fandom, twitter search 19 December 2021., tweet by bethh_has, May 1, 2014., tweet by tashax26, May 1, 2014., and larries considered it evidence of him being gay, reasoning that someone who was genuinely annoyed by "gay rumors" wouldn't wear rainbows."I’m not saying that wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it makes Louis gay, but I am saying that a guy who is frustrated, angry, upset, tired of, bemused by, irritated, or sad about rumours that he’s gay is extremely unlikely to willingly choose to wear a shirt with a rainbow on it in front of tens of thousands of fans." , May 2, 2014. As of 19 December 2021, this tumblr post has 190 notes., 28 August 2014. As of 19 December 2021, this tumblr post has 327 notes. (To be clear, "gay rumors" is what the entertainment media and larriesAnother example: In response to a journalist's question, "How did Rainbow Direction interact with or was separate from Larry shippers and Larry truthers?", thisiskatsblog answered, "Every boyband has its gay rumours, and One Direction has 'Larry' (and Ziam, and… )." , 14 June 2022. (Accessed 29 November 2022.) call the Larry conspiracy theories. For example, see this 2012 Advocate article and this 2019 Washington Blade article.) Larries considered Louis's hoodie with Robert Mapplethorpe's picture of two American flags to be evidence as well (Mapplethorpe was famous for creating homoerotic art)., tumblr post by ltfashionarchive, reblogged by louisfashionarchive, 15 August, 2018. As of 19 December 2021, this tumblr post has 1,268 notes.Example of two larrie reactions to Louis wearing the hoodie (both are referencing Rainbow Bondage Bear): , tweet by ClaraMJK, Jun 15, 2017. , tweet by unsexycardigan, Jun 15, 2017. 1D fans were very interested in 1D lyric changes during concerts and noted that Louis changed lyrics in songs from "I have loved you since we were 18" to "I have loved him since we were 18" and "'cause you've got that one thing" to "You've got that big dick". Larries believe these lyric changes are confessions and not jokes.
At least for some larries, the proposition that Harry and/or Louis might be gay is synonymous with the proposition that they are dating each other. For example, in 2022 when a history professor (who is not straight) announced on twitter that he was teaching a class on Harry Styles and celebrity culture, someone asked him if he was going to mention Larry. He said yes. Then this happened:
=== Larrie arguments for why Larry is real ===
Larries believe that Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles have been in a relationship due to their close bond and statements made by both parties.
The following sections are not comprehensive, but do enumerate some of the main pieces of evidence. First, some general notes on non-larrie views of larrie arguments.
In general non-larries (who include people who ship/shipped Larry Stylinson but do not tinhat the relationship) think larries are overinterpreting Harry and Louis' body language in video footage while simultaneously taking jokes and sarcasm literally. Anti-larries have pointed out that larries often take quotes, photos, and video clips out of context. Depending on which pairing they ship and when they entered the fandom, non-larries may not have even been exposed to all of the source material used as larrie evidence. They may not have an opinion on every piece of evidence or may have tried to avoid some of it due to disinterest in larrie theories. Anti-larries are unusual in trying to debunk larrie evidence point by point, but even they may not have bothered to write up a debunk for every point.
Various non-larries have commented that larries seem to be unfamiliar with how teenage boys behave. Commenting in 2018 on the Wellington bar video, tumblr anti-larrie lrambling said,
Other fans have also commented on the fact that a lot of larrie evidence is from the early years of the band and doesn't have any bearing on the state of their relationship in later years. A common larrie assumption is that Harry and Louis have been and remain in an exclusive, committed relationship since 2010. Anti-larrie back-to-louis commented,
====Verbal Evidence====
Occurrence 	Larrie Interpretation 	Non-Larrie Interpretation
In early 2011 Harry told a Sugarscape interviewer that "My first real crush was Louis Tomlinson." The interviewer asked how Louis felt, and he replied, "Mutual. We discussed it." Larry Stylinson Moments video clip; Original Sugarscape clip. 	Larries believe that this quote is the truth. 	Non-Larries view this quote as a joke said dryly.
A fan approached Harry at a signing and asked, "Are you and Louis dating?" Harry appears to nod and smile, possibly saying "Yeah" (too quiet for the camera). Larry Stylinson Moments video clip; Original fan video dated March 17, 2012. 	Larries interpret Harry's response as a nod and grin, which they think is confirmation that he was dating Louis.See fan reactions on twitter after the fan's video footage was posted: , twitter search 30 December 2021. 	Non-Larries think Harry was joking., 6 March 2021.
At a May 2014 concert someone asked the band to describe each other using flavors. Liam Payne then asked Louis "What flavor is Harry?" Louis replied, "salt and vinegar" and then explained his answer with, "I was trying to think of something inventive, but that was just the first flavour that came to my head." Larry Stylinson Moments video clip; Twitter Questions Croke Park 23 May video clip. 	Larries speculated that there was no way Louis could answer so quickly unless he was telling the literal truth, which meant he knew what Harry tasted like, which meant they had to be in a relationship. Some pointed out that semen had this flavor., anon ask answered by legohousedea, 17 May 2016. As of 8 January 2022, this tumblr post has 859 notes.	It's likely that Louis simply blurted out the first potato chip flavor he could think of.
On the This is Us extra clips DVD Harry said, "Louis is a great person to just, like, sit and kind of like, just admire what he's like." 	Larries interpret this statement romantically and/or sexually. 	Non-Larries interpret this statement as one about a close or best friend, but not romantically or sexually.
During a September 2011 Sugarscape interview with Niall, the other boys from One Direction were in the background talking, and at one point some people could hear a quiet exchange between Harry and Louis. The interviewer asks Niall, "What's your favorite word for boobs?", Niall turns to the others for suggestions, then somebody says something unintelligible, then Niall laughs and says "This is a serious question." LarryIsReal clip; Original Sugarscape video.	Larries hear the words "Lou can I give you a blowjob" with the response "I'd love it if you'd just wait", and view Niall's response as gentle ribbing of his friends who are in a relationship. 	Non-Larries do not hear specific words in the interaction between Harry and Louis because they are too indistinct, even in "enhanced" audio, but speculate that Harry and Louis were giving answers or making jokes about the question that Niall was given by the interviewer. They see Niall's laughter as a response to one of the terms for boobs that either Harry or Louis said. Another option is that larries did interpret the words correctly, but that the exchange was yet another example of teenage boy humor. See this tumblr discussion between anti-larries debating what they heard and what it means."Since everyone could potentially be hearing what they want to hear from that audio, and trying to make sense of it, what if that is what Harry and Louis said? What about that would indicate that they were a) not joking, b) in a relationship then (as opposed to any combination of statuses that could make that a non-joking, non-platonic comment), c) still in a relationship today? Why is it so important to debunk a couple of moments that happened years ago, in light of what we’re looking at today, which is that Louis has a child and a girlfriend and appears to be happy in his situation?" , 6 March 2021.
Harry and Louis also exchanged many tweets in 2011 that were read as flirty by Larries but may have been fan service: 
*"Always in my heart @Harry_Styles. Yours sincerely, Louis"
*Louis tweeted "@Harry_Styles miss you baby cakes" to which Harry replied "@Louis_Tomlinson I miss you too sweetcheeks ;)."
*On June 23, 2011 they had this exchange - 
**Harry: "@Louis_Tomlinson im sitting on the sofa opposite you....you look sexy." 
**Louis: "@Harry_Styles hahaha I am being slowly seduced by your curls" 
**Harry: "@Louis_Tomlinson i know..That was my plan."	Larries believe these tweets were genuine expressions of romantic feelings. 	Non-Larries believe that they were jokes or fan service, perhaps designed to drive up interest and interaction with the band.
In a September 2012 interview Liam asks Harry "are you good with your hands?" Harry replies, "I used to be quite good at wood tech." Louis chimes in with "Really good." Larry Stylinson Moments video clip 	Larries tend to interpret this as innuendo. To larries, this innuendo is an indicator of an actual sexual relationship. 	Non-Larries either think it's not innuendo, or that the innuendo is a joke typical of young adults.
In April 2012? fans were filming a drunk Louis and Harry in a Wellington bar, and Louis shouted "BOYFRIEND!" Larry Stylinson Moments clip; June 2012 video copied from facebook. 	Larries interpret this to mean that while Louis is drunk he let it slip that Harry is his boyfriend. (There also seems to be a long-running joke about the video being "filmed on a potato".) 	Non-Larries note that the only remaining videos are not good quality, which makes it difficult to confirm Louis and Harry's identities or what exactly is happening on camera. Louis may also have been shouting "Boyfriend" for some other reason. However, the main objection to the larrie interpretation is that this video doesn't show anything out of the ordinary for Harry and Louis' on-camera behavior during that time period.
====Verbal Proof (indirect)====
Occurrence 	Larrie Interpretation 	Non-Larrie Interpretation
In a May 2017 radio interview, the interviewer asked Harry if the song "Sweet Creature" was about his relationship with Louis. Harry stuttered a bit before saying he didn't want to tell other people their song interpretations were wrong but that he would "lean towards no". Larry Stylinson Moments clip. 	Larries viewed this as Harry not wanting to lie (because they thought the answer was yes) and struggling to come up with an answer that neither confirmed nor denied the question. 	Non-Larries thought he was trying to say no diplomatically. "For a guy who's said over and over that his music is open to interpretation and explained he doesn't tell fans what to think about it, the fact that he said 'I'd lean toward no' is huge.", 9 February 2018. As of 31 December 2021, this tumblr post has 19 notes.
In a March 2012 Sugarscape interview with the whole band, the interviewer asked Harry and Louis, "Who is usually in front and who gets behind, when you're playing Mario?" Louis smiled during the question, then responded, "I think we kind of share that really," and elaborated further. During Louis and Harry's answer, the other bandmembers appeared to be amused. Sugarscape video 	Larries interpreted their answer as innuendo about Harry and Louis' real sex life together., posted to tumblr by ithinkwekindofsharethatreally, 24 August 2017. As of 31 December 2021, this tumblr post has 73 notes. 	Non-Larries think it was sexual innuendo, that young men of all sexual orientations like joking about sex, and that making sexual innuendo during a video interview should not be read as a true confession about their actual sex lives.
In 2011-2012 Harry and Louis shared an apartment. The rest of the band lived in the same complex but different buildings. In a 2012 interview with VEVO LIFT, Harry said, "Me and Louis had always said we wanted to move in together." Larry Stylinson Moments clip; Video clip on 1D's official youtube channel. 	Larries interpreted this as boyfriends moving in together. 	Non-Larries think that they were just close friends sharing an apartment because since Harry was under the age of majority, he was required to live with someone over 18 who was designated a co-signer on the lease. This was confirmed in 2012 by Anne Cox-Twist, Harry's mother.
Louis said on a July 2011 livestream, "Noticed that Harry's six pack was trending. Good lad, good lad, nice little body." Larry Stylinson Moments clip. 	Larries interpreted this moment as Louis flirting/expressing admiration for Harry and that it was definitely not platonic. 	Non-Larries think that this was fan service or Louis just being amused/impressed at the attention his friend was getting.
In 2010 Harry tweeted "Louis' first ever cooking experience ;)" with a link to a photo of Louis cooking. Every time Louis is asked about cooking or the most romantic thing he has ever done for a girl, he says that he is not a good cook but the first ever meal he cooked was chicken stuffed with mozzarella wrapped in parma ham with a side of homemade mash and gravy. The Larry Meal video compilation. 	Larries believe this is evidence that Louis was in a romantic relationship with Harry. Later larries who didn't know about Hannah considered it significant that Louis didn't meet Eleanor Calder until mid-2011, so the first meal he cooked couldn't have been for her. Larries who did know were arguing that it couldn't have been for Hannah because they were in the X Factor house at the time and she tweeted in reply, "Oh man hope nobody ate it," indicating that she was not present for the meal., tumblr post by exposingelounor, 5 January 2014. As of 31 December 2021, this tumblr post has 51 notes. 	The tumblr account stopmeanpostalert posted a debunk pointing out that the photo of Louis cooking doesn't look like the meal Louis described in interviews, so it's likely not the same event. by stopmeanpostalert (wayback machine copy of a deleted page)
An Interviewer asked, "What's the last thing you do before you go on stage?" and Louis seems to look at Harry. 	Larries interpret this to mean that Harry is the last thing Louis does. 	A few options: Louis was just looking around the room and his eyes passed Harry, or Louis was looking at Harry to see if he had an answer ready.
In a March 2012 video interview Harry was asked, "when was the last time you kissed a girl?" and made a face. Liam added, "When was the last time you liked it?" Harry said, "Yesterday." The interviewer asked who, and Harry refused to say. Larry Stylinson Moments clip; Original video. 	Larries interpret this to mean that Harry has not kissed a girl in a while (because he is dating Louis) and/or that he does not like kissing girls. 	Non-Larries believe that this is Liam joking with Harry. Harry's face could indicate that it's been embarrassingly long or that he doesn't want to answer such a personal question.
In a July 2017 interviewHere's Dan tweeting his plan to ask about Larry: , tweet by danwootton, 19 July 2017., Dan Wootton asked Louis for his view on the "Larry conspiracy". Louis replied, "I've never actually been asked about it directly.... People can believe what they want to believe, but I just think it comes across sometimes as a little bit disrespectful to the ones I love, you know, like Eleanor.... It's just one of those things that people just love to buy into. But in reality obviously there's no truth to it, obviously." Larry Stylinson Moments clip; Original video	Larries think that he is lying. They find it suspicious that it takes Louis nearly 35 seconds to say that there is no truth to it and that before that he compares Larry to an iphone conspiracy; larries have pointed out that said conspiracy turned out to be true, so "iphone conspiracy" has become a larrie in-jokeFor example: , tweet by veeforever_, 30 May 2022.. Larries also find Louis' claim that he's never been asked about it directly before suspicious, arguing that he has been asked about it before: . Because he used the word "obviously" in his denial, this word has since been interpreted as a code when said by Louis."They also think Louis using the word 'obviously' is some little Larrie code word because he's used it to deny Larrie." , Feb 22, 2018. Commenting on this tumblr post by a larrie: , Feb 20, 2018. Larries have asked each other with evident confusion as to how antis could interpret the video as evidence against Larry., post by Actual-Birthday422 in r/LarryStylinson, 30 June 2023.	Non-Larries believe Louis is telling the truth. It's a very clear denial for everyone except larries, and some people seemed to think (hope?) that it would convince larries to give up., 21 July 2017. As of 1 January 2022, this tumblr post has 3239 notes. Hashtags: #bye larries #^ #210717 #lt: gifset #prince
In a 2012 concert Harry sang the words, "Cause I can love you more than Stan." Stan is Louis' best friend. Larry Stylinson Moments video clip; Original fan concert video. 	Larries interpret this to mean that Harry loves Louis more than his best friend. 	Non-Larries think 1D changed lyrics during concerts for their own or the audience's amusement and that these lyric changes are not meant to be confessions of true love.
In a March 2012? radio interview with Johnjay and Rich, the interviewers asked about Larry, and Harry replied, "Yep, it's going strong. He's in the other room." They followed up with, "Dude, what's with all these tweets I'm getting? Is there some kind of jealous thing going on with you and Louis and his girlfriend Eleanor?" Harry replied, "Well, I don't really want to talk about that, to be honest." Larry Stylinson Moments clip; longer clip uploaded by LarryWalksAmongstUs. 	Larries interpret this to mean that Harry is irritated with the Louis/Eleanor ship (because they think in reality Harry is the one who's dating Louis). 	Immediately before the Larry question, Harry's deadpan delivery confused the American interviewers into thinking a twitter fan called "Brenda Styles" was his sister, so this is likely just more Harry humor.
====Tattoos====
Harry and Louis's allegedly complementary tattoos are both a theory and a proof. That is, larries have theorized that some of Harry and Louis's tattoos were meant to complement one another--neither Harry nor Louis have confirmed that these tattoos were paired, and in all but one case the tattoos were inked weeks or months apart--and further that the tattoos were meant to be couples' tattoos. The idea that Harry and Louis got couples' tattoos is also used as proof that they are a couple. Some larries have said that the tattoos were the proof they found most convincing. Meanwhile, non-larries don't believe these tattoos are complementary and may not even be aware of all the tattoos that larries theorized about. Tumblr anti-larries think that some of the proposed matches are a stretch and that in some cases the matches are just coincidences due to being very common tattoo motifs. All of 1D except Niall have acquired many tattoos since they came of age, and in several cases they have patronized the same tattoo parlors for multiple tattoos, which may account for the thematic and stylistic similarities in their body art.
See #Tattoos for more details.
====Other====
Occurrence 	Larrie Interpretation 	Non-Larrie Interpretation
Rainbow Bondage Bear (RBB) and Sugar Baby Bear (SBB) 	Larries interpreted the bears as both a symbol of support for LGBTQ+ fans and as a means for Louis and Harry to communicate with fans about their relationship through symbols.	Non-Larries think that the bears started as a fun mascot by someone behind the scenes who may have started poking fun at the fanbase toward the end but didn't realize how seriously larries took it.
Lairport (Harry and Louis took the same flight to Australia where 1D's concert tour was scheduled to begin) 	Larries think they had sex on the plane and that is why Harry's shirt was more ripped when the plane landed than when it took off. 	Non-Larries believe Harry and Louis being on the same flight to a location where they are expected to work together is not proof of a secret relationship.
The "butt plug" interview (2012 or before?) - Louis moved his hand from his own lap to behind Harry while Zayn was speaking. Harry made a surprised face.	Larries theorize that Harry has a butt plug in and Louis is messing with it when he reaches behind Harry. They think that is the reason Harry makes such a dramatic face. 	Non-Larries believe that Harry is making a face either as a joke or because Louis is doing something inappropriate, but we can't see what. Many think larries pushing sex theories on Harry and Louis is creepy and invasive., Mar 12, 2017.
== Terminology ==
Larries have developed their own vocabulary. See #Larry Fandom Language. Meanwhile, some of the terminology used by the rest of the fandom to describe the fans who believe that Larry Is Real has been contested.
=== Tinhats ===
Tinhat is the general fannish term for RPF fans who believe that the celebrities they like are a couple in real life, but are keeping their relationship secret for some reason, usually due to pressure from management. The term was common in LiveJournal fandom and was used in One Direction LJ communitiesFor example: "Wait, _1d is against crazy tinhatters? BRB JOINING" (_1d is shorthand for ontd_1d.) , onedanon, 2012-06-17. (Accessed 27 September 2023.). The Slash Report podcast episode on One Direction fandom also used the term, dreamwidth announcement post for season 2 episode 20 of the podcast Slash Report, 12 August 2012..
However, the majority of One Direction fandom was on Twitter, where they could interact with the band members, who were also on Twitter. The rise of 1D fandom also coincided with the migration of fandom away from LiveJournal. Another factor was that, given the target demographic of boybands, most fans were likely teenagers and had not been in other RPF fandoms before. As a result, they may not have been exposed to the term "tinhat". Consequently there was no common term to differentiate shipping-as-a-fictional-ship and believe-they're-a-couple in the early years of the fandom; it was all called shipping, and many fans didn't see a distinction. Non-believing shippers may have been described as "casual" shippers, or would themselves say that they "ship it as a bromance" instead. The phenomenon itself may not have been very noticeable until the fandom became truly ubiquitous; as more fans entered the fandom, more fans could potentially believe Larry was real, and Larry theories could multiply with more theorists participating. 
In August 2012 Aja Romano used the term tinhat in a Daily Dot article titled "One Direction fans have trouble separating their 'Larry Stylinson' fantasy from reality.", by Aja Romano, The Daily Dot, 22 August 2012. The article explained the common features of "tinhatting" and described the history of tinhatting as a fringe activity among DomLijah shippers in Lotrips fandom, before moving on to declare that a "generational shift" had occurred and that in 1D fandom, the majority of Larry shippers were tinhats. (Aja has a well known habit of getting key facts wrong in their articles, so this should be taken with a grain of salt.)
A few Twitter mentions predate Aja's article, twitter search 17 January 2022., tweet by tylersneeze, 17 May 2012. (Note that this person appears to have been joking/exaggerating and didn't sincerely believe the relationship was real.), but the article may have introduced the term to 1D Twitter fandom at large. Many 1D fans reacted negatively to the article, and it was discussed all over social media.
The term tinhat became contentious, with many (though not all) larries arguing that it was insulting or offensive:
In 2017 larries quit the fandom's big bang challenge and founded their own, in part because they were outraged by the mods' use of the word tinhat. As of 2022 the larrie-run big bang is the only one still active.
An argument that the term is ableist was in circulation by late 2014Earliest tweet found mentioning "ableist": , tweet by wangbiddlebaum, Dec 4, 2014.Earliest tweet found mentioning "slur": , tweet by rubyisoverparty, 27 November 2014.. 
Larries' objection to the word tinhat may have been influenced by other words that frequently appear in the same sentence. That is, the word "tinhat" is often modified by "crazy" or "delusional":
 
Some anti-larries objected to this characterization:
But ultimately the argument seems to have had an effect. For example, the host of the podcast I Met You On LJ, a non-larrie, stated that "tinhat is an ablist term" in a 2021 episode.
 
In general, 1D fandom now usually refers to these fans as larries instead of "tinhats".
=== Conspiracy Theories ===
Tinhatting is just a fannish term to describe a particular kind of conspiracy theory. The general view among non-larries and fans in other fandoms is that the Larry Is Real theory is a conspiracy theory, because it is a theory about multiple people conspiring to keep a secret: the secret that Harry and Louis are in a relationship.
However, many larries strenuously object to their opinions being described as a conspiracy theory. For example, see this 2016 tumblr exchange between a larrie and a non-larrie:
Some larries believe that calling Larry Is Real a conspiracy theory is incorrect because they believe that their arguments for Larry being real are strong arguments, whereas anything labeled as a "conspiracy theory" is implausible. Some argue that even if Larry turns out to be factually incorrect and Harry and Louis have never been in a romantic relationship, there has been enough evidence supporting it that it still wouldn't have been an unreasonable conclusion to have come to.Fanlore edits by larries, August-September 2019.
Some larries even believe that it's homophobic to describe Larry Is Real as a conspiracy theory., tweet by idlelhl28, 8 September 2022., tweet by hoaxclosure, 8 December 2020. (Larries interpret other fans' rejection of the Larry theory as attempts to "protect" Harry and Louis from "gay rumors". Because there's nothing wrong with being gay, only homophobes would think that rumors about being gay would require protection."Larries often ended disputes by asking pointed questions about why nonbelievers felt the need to 'protect' the boys from gay rumors." Kaitlyn Tiffany, Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It (New York: MCD x FSG Originals, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022), p. 178.Shit Larries Say podcast episode 31: by anticonspiracist, 10 August 2022. (Accessed 26 November 2022.)) One larrie was interviewed for a 2016 Vox article (written by Aja) and claimed that if the same amount of evidence was available for a heterosexual pair, no one would call it a conspiracy theory:
Some Larries thus oppose the assertion that any belief in Larry is a conspiracy theory, while admitting that a number of the more complex behind-the-scenes machinations proposed within the fandom do count as conspiracy theories.
==Visibility and Harassment==
:See also: Larry Stylinson and the Fourth Wall
1D band members were aware of the Larry Stylinson ship as early as November 2010Harry Styles (harry_styles) "On the phone to my sister @GemmaAnneStyles :) she's telling me about 'Larry Stylinson' hahah!!" 22 Nov 2010, 6:34 PM. Tweet. and at first seemed to find it amusing or were at least not bothered by it.youtube clip of Harry saying, "The fans call me and Louis 'Larry Stylinson'" and gif set of the same by onedirectiones, archived, posted April 7, 2012. gifset of a video interview, archived, posted by 1dbromance to Tumblr May 31, 2012. The band was asked about it in interviews many times. For example, in a March 24, 2012, video interview at a Texas radio station, Louis Tomlinson stressed that the fans didn't just write fic about them but thought it was actually true: "Some people genuinely think that we're in a relationship. They genuinely, seriously think that we're in a relationship. It’s so funny!" (Off-camera, Liam replied, "You are, though."), posted to youtube by MafeHD, Mar 25, 2012., Mirror Online, By James Robertson, 16 May 2012. In another video interview with MuchMusic on May 31, 2012, he explained the evolution of Larry as "originally" people "making these little fanflicks... but then it turned into so many people genuinely thinking me and Harry are in a relationship.", youtube video uploaded by 1dfanyay, 1 June 2012.Larry discussion starting at timestamp 16:00 , youtube video uploaded by wandaiVIDS, 2 June 2012.
However, by September 2012 it appears Louis Tomlinson was no longer amused. On September 16, he tweeted,
@skyleridk challenged this with "funny that no matter what happens they will never deny larry", and Louis replied with what became known as "the bullshit tweet" or Bullshit 1.0, 
Non-larries have argued that his anger was in response to his girlfriend or mother getting harassed; meanwhile, Larries speculated that the tweet had been written by management (see Management Tweets).
===Harrassment by Larries===
There have been many instances where Larries have harassed One Direction members and their friends online.youhaveacoolurl's reblog June 9, 2014: a Larrie's post describing being blocked on Instagram and subsequently calling a friend of the band a douchebag. (archived) (Accessed June 10, 2014) See Nick Grimshaw's Relationship with One Direction fandom for some of the details. Larries have also turned their ire on other fans and observers who questioned their claims. When, in her capacity as a journalist, slash fan Aja wrote an article in 2012 describing the tinhat phenomenon, she was attacked in the comments.One Direction Fans have trouble separating their 'Larry Stylinson' fantasy from reality, The Daily Dot, posted August 22, 2012. See also eleveninches' August 22, 2012 LiveJournal post This is the greatest thing to ever happen to her (me) (archived).However, note that many of Aja's Daily Dot articles are controversial in fandom, and fans have criticized them as (deliberately) provocative, sensationalistic, and/or misleading. The publicity rep for One Direction, Simon Jones, tweeted a denial in 2014 and was promptly attacked.Simon Jones (hackfordjonespr). "I want to say for the record I have NEVER fabricated a relationship or date for one of my clients. It is NOT the sort of PR we do in any way". 19 Jul 2014, 9:42 AM. Tweet. See also the Tumblr reblog of the screencapped tweet. Anti-larries have set up Tumblrs specifically to debunk claims by Larries, and are also faced with abuse.See this Fail_fandomanon comment on 2014-7-25: One Direction fandom. Where you can't argue, [have] differing opinions, or debunk tinhats without being told to kill yourself. (Larries characterize the anti-larrie blogs as being set up to attack larries.) It is not totally uncommon for Ex-Larries to report that they were harassed by other Larries, both before and after they stopped being a Larrie.Instead of having their big old larrie family comforting them, they get treated like trash, get called weak and are told they aren’t needed. So they go over to the “other side” and find the support they couldn’t find on this side. , reblogged by thisisnotalarryblog 10 February 2016.Example of anonymous harassment posted to tumblr: "lol whatever, you whore. you can be a fucking bitter anti but don't you dare come crawling back to us when louis and harry come out. Wow, i actually had faith in you, you fake bitch. have fun being up antis' asses." , reblogged by realityoverconspiracy, 3 April 2016. 
The comments section of social media posts by 1D-related people are often flooded with Larry-related comments, including comments that consist solely of the word "Larry" or blue and green hearts and nothing else. Other comments explicitly reference aspects of larrie theories in ways that many fans would consider rude, even if they didn't care about the etiquette related to not breaking the fourth wall.Examples sent to Louis's mother: , 7 September 2014. , 9 September 2014. , 11 January 2016. , 18 January 2016. , 17 March 2016. After Louis confirmed his girlfriend Eleanor's twitter handle in a March 17, 2012 tweet, some fans started tweeting at her about "Larry" right away; some merely asked what her thoughts on Larry were, but other called her a beard:
*, 17 March 2012
*, 18 March 2012
*, 16 July 2012
*, 11 August 2012
Some directly accuse 1D's friends and family of lying when they mention information that contradicts Larry (such as Louis having a girlfriend or being a father). Examples of fans tweeting at Louis's mother that she's lying: 
*, 6 August 2015
*, 27 February 2016
*, 27 February 2016 
*, 27 February 2016
Some real-world incidents have been attributed to larries. In 2012 fans, including one with the email address lstylinsonlover@live.co.uk, tweet by EleanorJCalder, 6 September 2012., were bombarding Eleanor's university with emails, possibly trying to get her expelled or verify their conspiracy theories about her., anon ask answered by thelarrative-blog, 28 November 2017. As of 2 April 2022, this tumblr post has 93 notes.From a 2013 fail_fandomanon thread: "Anyway, the Larry stans keep emailing her university. Some of them want to 'verify' that she's a triplet, and some of them want her expelled for lying (because she's bearding) or for being a homophobe (which they insist she is, because she's a beard.) It's all very crazy." , 2013-10-10. Invasive behavior is also documented on the Babygate page. Various 1D members and friends and family have had their accounts hacked, in some cases allegedly by larries looking for evidence of Larry. Nonlarries have been aware of enough bad behavior caused by larries that fresh outrages are sometimes pinned on larries without evidence. For example, in 2017 fans assaulted Eleanor in an airport, and many fans assumed that larries were responsible, but the news reports didn't include enough information about motive to confirm.
To be fair, the 1D fanbase in general has a reputation for boundary violations (for example, the fan who climbed onto the balcony outside Liam Payne's Australian hotel room and stole his boxers in 2013, The Mirror, 7 October 2013.). Meanwhile, lots of fans were tweeting gendered slurs and other abuse at Louis's girlfriend for years during the period she was active on Twitter, , , , twitter search, 3 April 2022., and it's not clear how much of it is from people who are angry because they think she's a beard and how much of it is from people who are angry because they think she's dating Louis. Both nonlarries and larries have spoken out against bad behavior.
When fans send rude, obnoxious, annoying, or harassing comments to 1D and their friends and family on social media, the whole fandom can see it. From the larrie point of view, harassment is just an unfortunate part of all fandoms, there are always immature people who go around harassing people, and unfortunately some are larries.Fanlore edit by a larrie, 6 March 2021. From the anti-larrie point of view, a lot of the harassment received by 1D and friends is specifically motivated by larries' belief that Larry Is Real. Antis argue that big larries and others who theorize about Larry being real are providing the justification for others to continue the harassment:
Especially in a post-babygate 1D fandom, some antis on tumblr consider larrie harassment to be a very serious issue, going so far in one case as to try to get larries banned from the 1D fandom big bang.
Why larries send public comments about Larry to 1D has been a topic of discussion among anti-larries. Some antis have explained that at least some of the larries who do this don't believe they are actually harassing Louis's mother, for example; they think they are talking to an account controlled by 1D's management. The goal is to convince management that closeting is unnecessary and counterproductive.Anon confession at confessionsofexlarries: I used to send awful things to Eleanor because I thought that she would quit and Louis would be able to come out if she did that. 7 February 2016. Larries believe they are "supporting" Harry and Louis, helping them fight the Big Gay War so that Harry and Louis can finally come out.
Rainbow Direction, a fan project introduced in 2014, has been heavily criticized by non-larries for being a larrie project, but if understood in the context of the larrie worldview, this project may have been started as a more civilized alternative to harassing "management" into letting Harry and Louis come out. From the tumblr account that organized Rainbow Direction, in 2013:
Some Larries are aware that their actions are offensive, but believe they are justified anyway. As one says, "Do I support fans sending messages to Briana or Louis family? Of course not. But like they say 'there is no smoke without fire'. We can’t all be wrong…"reblog by louisgirlire, 18 February 2016. archived.
=== Harassment of Larries ===
 
A potentially significant piece of context is often missing from anti-larrie analysis of larrie behavior. From the time that fans knew Louis was dating Eleanor in 2011, there was a long ship war between the Larries and Elounor shippers; perhaps not coincidentally, there appears to have been a large overlap between anti-larrie blogging and Elounor shipping in the early years of the fandom.From Fail_fandomanon, 2015-01-01: Well, I almost got sucked into the Elounor group on tumblr. You know, anti-larry blogs, debunking all the larry "proof" and arguing with people."The backlash against Harry/Louis tinhatters doesn't come from other Harry/Louis shippers, the way it would in other RPF fandoms; it comes from Louis/Eleanor shippers because tinhatting and shipping are essentially the same thing in this fandom." , by Aja Romano, The Daily Dot, 22 August 2012. Toxic comments may have been flying in both directions. Larries reported being on the receiving end of abuse from Elounor shippers.In 2013 a fan commented on Deviantart, So some elounor shippers have started hacking larry shippers and telling them they should kill themselves for shipping it like #1 GET THE F*CK OVER YOURSELF. Telling people to die because you have problems with what they believe you need help. #2 hacking people and saying I hope you die if you ship them isn't going to help you. Elounor x Larry rant by Emily99723, Jun 23, 2013. On the other hand, other parts of fandom (some would say, "the rest of fandom") believe the toxic comments mostly came from Larries. 
Sorting out the truth after the fact is difficult when the tale grows in the telling. For example, grandiose claims like many larry shippers have killed themselves because of elounor shippers, 29 December 2014.Similarly: "11 of my Larry Stylinson family has died because of the hate her existence breeds, two of which committed suicide last night. I just want her to leave my family and friends and the boys I love alone." Why I Calmly And Rationally Despise Eleanor Calder, blog post by sexualsofas, 1 August 2013. Reposted to tumblr a few days later: could easily have had their origin in 2013 tumblr posts circulating among Larries like this one showing a screencap of alleged Elounor shippers on Facebook saying Larries should kill themselves, reblogged by the founder of Rainbow Direction on 18 July 2013. Originally posted on 17 July 2013 by wholelotofhislarrie.. This sense of persecution likely led to increased sensitivity, insularity, and nursing of injuries to the point where Larries might jump to conclusions if anyone so much as disagreed with the idea of Larry being real. Meanwhile, though the screencaps were instantly believable to Larries, other fans, remembering incidents of photoshopping evidence and making up stories whole cloth, were less likely to believe that the reported nastiness actually occurred. And not being believed would tend to feed into Larries' persecution complex.
Beliefs and perceptions aside, the level of hostility between the two groups is real. In response to the 2014 Larries' call for an album boycott based on the belief that Louis's tweets were written by a homophobic management, one anti-Larry responded: 
==Other Fans' Views==
:See also: Larrie#Views of Larries
Other fans' views of Larry theories are included in the descriptions of those theories: see Larry Is Real/Theories and Why Larries Believe. In short, non-larries are unconvinced by larrie arguments (or they would have become larries).
However, beyond arguments over the evidence, other fans may have strong feelings about the role that the Larry theory has played in the development of 1D fandom, and inevitably these feelings overlap with their feelings about larries themselves. Historically, the majority of the fandom tended to have a very negative view of larries (though the makeup of the fandom changed considerably after the band went on hiatus and larries may have finally become the majority of the active fanbase in the 2020s).
Some fans have commented that the belief in Larry itself is not inherently harmful: 
Not everyone would agree that the belief itself is harmless, archive.is copy. 25 October 2017. As of 14 January 2024, this Tumblr post has 24 notes., but more importantly, many have argued that Larry has had negative impacts on non-believers' fandom experience, as well as on bandmembers and their families.
Anti-larries have expressed concerns about larries' harassment of 1D and argued that this behavior has had negative real-world consequences:
(Some larries have also expressed concern about harassment toward 1D and in the fandom generally, but don't see it as a larrie-specific problem.)
Other reasons many fans are annoyed with Larries are more fandom-centric. Larry shippers who simply enjoy the pairing have expressed annoyance because other parts of fandom assume that they, too, are tinhats.Discussion on ondanon: , 2013-01-12.See checkthemargins's reblog of a reblog by glitterbootsandyellowshorts, June 4, 2014: I’ve never been in a fandom that’s shamed me so hard for shipping something before and it’s getting old. People have complained that Larrie theories require Harry and Louis to be very OOC in fanfic. Furthermore, it is widely believed among non-Larries that Harry and Louis stopped interacting publicly because of the conspiracy theories, thus depriving everyone else in the fandom of cute canon material for their ship. In a 2017 interview with The Sun, Louis Tomlinson somewhat confirmed this: 
Finally, some other fans, including former Larries, are annoyed because they feel Larries ruined their enjoyment of Larry as a ship. In 2012 after Bullshit 1.0:
In 2016:
==Maybe, Definitely, Probably==
Although the Larries may look like a mass of crazy to many in the fandom, there is or was a range of opinion regarding the likelihood of Larry being real, and at what point they were together and whether they are still together. (However, as of 2015, some Larries have started using the term "Houie" to describe fans who believe that Harry and Louis used to be in a relationship but broke up, thus signalling that in order to be a true Larrie, you must believe they are currently in a relationship and therefore subscribe to the conspiracy theory.) Plenty of fans take the idea of Larry being real seriously without harassing anybody. Furthermore, not all believers subscribe to all tinhat theories. For example, one theory that was considered fringe even among larries was the idea that Louis' girlfriend Eleanor was not only a paid beard, but actually twins or triplets who would trade off make public appearances with him. Commenting on the Eleanor twin idea in 2014, Tumblr user stylinsoncity said, 
At one end of the spectrum are fans like bulletprooflarry, who wrote in 2019:
In 2014 Cosmopolitan asked fans about their opinion on Larry for an article on adult fans of 1D. One response represents a common view of Larry as plausible and desirable, but not 100% proven:
Larries often talk about their convictions in almost religious terms (see the tumblr tag I believe in Larry), and some have said that the game of "proving" it is just a side show:
Prevailing attitudes may also vary by platform. See this popular tumblr post from 2020 characterizing larries on twitter, tumblr, instagram, reddit, tik tok, and youtube: .
== Example Fanworks ==
:See also: Larry Stylinson - Example Fanworks
The Harry and Louis ship has been the most popular One Direction ship by a large margin and has inspired many fanworks. Some speculate that Larry fan theories may also have helped inspire the large number of alternate universe works in the fandom that deal with being in the closet, coming out and dealing with homophobia. Meanwhile, some readers have complained that Larrie theories require Harry and Louis to be very OOC in fanfic.
The following works contain depictions of Larry fan theories and/or notable moments, though the creators listed below do not necessarily believe that Larry is real.
=== Fanfiction ===
* Hiding Place by alivingfire (2015-2016)
::"The canon compliant Harry and Louis love story from the very beginning, where the only difference is that the love between them is literally written on their skin, and there’s only so much they can hide."
* I Had The Life Of Ordinary, I Spat It Out by TableForThree (2013)
::"Harry Styles falls asleep a sixteen year old boy nervous about his upcoming X-Factor audition that could make or break his career. He wakes up a twenty-six year old man with a husband and two children, and no recollection of the past ten years."
* Foolishly, Completely Falling by dea_liberty (2013)
::"The one where Louis becomes a Larry shipper by accident."
* this crown of thorns by Eliane (2015)
::"If there's one thing Harry is sure of, it's that he doesn't want to forget a single thing about Louis."
* Rock Those Blue Jeans, Baby by shakespearesque (2013)
::"Louis has a hate/love relationship with the video diaries. He has a love/love relationship with Harry, though, and the video diaries don't help with that at all."
* Go Nowhere Tonight by objectlesson (2017)
::"As always, the easy nonchalance with which he treats the rumors hurts, stabs Harry in the gut, twists the knife. Because it is hard for Harry; it’s hard to know people think they should be or are together because he wants that."
* burn to ash by bethaboo (2014-2015)
::"the fic where Harry spirals out of control, the band breaks up, and then he shows back up, five years later."
* One More Time Again by rougeandtonic (2018-2019)
::"On the morning of his second sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden, Harry wakes up to find that he's sixteen years old, on The X Factor, and that he has a chance to make things right. A canon-compliant fix-it fic (sort of)."
=== Fanart ===
File:evenasyoungastheyare_nexttoyouforever.jpg|Next to you foreverfanart by evenasyoungastheyare (original, 2015)
File:two_poppies_baby_boyfriends.jpg|“To me, fair friend, you never can be old, for as you were when first your eye I eyed, such seems your beauty still.” - William Shakespeare (sonnet 104)a 3-part series of drawings by twopoppies (originals, 2016); this one is based on a very early photo of Harry and Louis together
File:two_poppies_harry_louis.jpg|based on a later photo of Harry and Louis
File:two_poppies_harry_louis_manip.jpg|based on a manip of Harry and Louis
File:two_poppies_harry_louis_walk_together.jpg|They walk together like thisfanart by twopoppies (original, 2016)
File:two_poppies_harry_louis_fitzgerald.jpg|“Two souls are sometimes created together and in love before they’re born.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgeraldpen and ink by twopoppies (original, 2018)
=== Fanvids ===
* Louis & Harry - I wanna touch you by STAS VELUM (2014)
* BORN THIS WAY! – Harry Styles by STAS VELUM (2018)
* harry + louis | it will rain by NANROCKBABY (2016)
* Harry and Louis - Secret love by Jessica S (2016)
* Harry & Louis || Another Love by GossipSmile (2013)
* Harry & Louis - Love will tear us apart by LostinParadise (2016)
* Harry & Louis || I wanna cry and I wanna love by HiitGirly (2015)
* Louis Tomlinson — "Flamboyant" by freddieismyqueen (2015)
* Harry Styles — He likes boys by freddieismyqueen (2015)
* Larry Stylinson - Home by Judy Garlarrie (2021)
* Harry + Louis || 18 by GossipSmile (2014)
* "YOU NEED TO SHIP LARRY" (STRESSED OUT) | LARRY PARODY by Queen Halo (2016)
==Fannish Resources==
Pro-Larrie
*Detailed Larry Timeline before 2012 by bulletprooflarry on Tumblr
*Larry Analysis by 1direction23flick on Tumblr
*larry is real Tumblr tag
*Larry Stylinson Analysis by hazzalovesboo on Tumblr
*1D Ship Wars #3 - Larry vs. Elounor (offline, see archived link)archived by cujoy on LiveJournal (Aug. 14th, 2014)
Anti-Larrie
*“This Is Not Your Father’s Larry” Mega Masterpost (UPDATED)archived by toobadforthefacts (February 1, 2016) and updated again on Jan 14, 2018. You can read the 2018 version 
==References==
Category:One Direction
Category:One Direction Fandom Glossary
Category:Fan Theories