I put this in the survey at the link you posted earlier, but I wanted to put it here so others can see it, too.
I’ve never really followed the group that much. I do like some of the earlier songs, and I knew about fictional shipping in various fandoms, so I just assumed that Larry was another one of those and left it at that.
However, a “suggested blog” post with a Larry video appeared on my Tumblr just after the first of the year, and after watching it, I went on a hunt. I read a bit on several blogs, but it only took a few of them and the serious evidence they presented for me to realize this wasn’t just fangirl fantasies, this was the real thing. I was absolutely ecstatic about it, and subsequently read through the entirety of several blogs, learning quite a lot about not only Larry, but also how the entertainment industry works.
I had always side-eyed a lot of the entertainment industry newspapers, gossip columns, and PR mouthpieces because I instinctively knew that a lot of what we (the public) saw was PR stunts and such. Until I began exploring the “rabbit hole” of the Larry phenomenon though, I never realized the lengths that management and record companies would go to. I also never knew how much control these companies had over the artists. Now that I do, I look at everything that’s printed about anyone in the industry with a rather jaundiced eye.
I still don’t care for a lot of 1D’s earlier music - let’s face it, it was pretty much bubblegum pop aimed at a demographic that I left 30 years ago - but since the boys themselves have gotten involved in the authorship of the songs a lot more, I”m finding that I’m really enjoying many of the songs on MM and most of those on Four.
Having said that, I still have to say that as an older gay man, I am mostly here for the love of Larry. I don’t find that either Harry or Louis are particularly or especially attractive on their own, but as a couple, I can’t imagine a more perfect pairing. They are truly my OTP, and I am in love with their love. These two young men may not fully realize the impact that they will have, but they and their love will change the world. Long may that love grow and thrive.
