One Direction’s last days before their hiatus have taken the form of a battlefield. Their enemy? Their own team. One Direction have never been respected by their team, they’ve always been exploited as much as possibile, treated as a money-making machine, they have been forced to lie, to change, and now, as their reward for all their toils, the coupe de grace: let’s destroy their image forever. “They want to leave us for a new team, looking for a better horizon? Okay, we’ll destroy you forever.”
This seems to be Simon Cowell’s policy, and his intermediary is The Sun, renowned tabloid directed by the highly respected Dan Wattpad, ops, I meant Wootton. His last articles about One Direction are a climax of bullshits and sabotage attempts. But we won’t let them win.
AU stands for “Alternative Universe”. My favourite alternative universe, the one I’d like to escape to and live in forever, is a universe where One Direction are respected. A universe where their team wants the best for them and works hard for it, where it doesn’t make its best to sully their reputation. I want to live in a universe where Louis isn’t called a “little shit without talent”, where Harry isn’t knows as the one who thinks he’s better than his bandmates, where Liam isn’t used as management’s mouthpiece, where Niall is portrayed as a guy with an actual personality.
An article from this AU? Here’s a journalist from my universe writing an article about each of the boys:
- Louis
There are so many things that should be said about Louis that even my journalist would be struggling writing the article, but they would write about positive things. Maybe they’d start writing about Louis’ many charity events, then they’d talk about his businessman abilities, and they would end the article praising Louis’ voice and songwriting skills. Then there would be minor articles, about his heart of gold and his beautiful relationship with his fans.
- Harry
My journalist would write about Harry’s role in the fight for human and animals rights. He would write about his constant support for the LGBTQ community, about his role against Seaworld. There wouldn’t be mentions of him dating every woman he’s seen with for more than ten minutes, and an article about him dating his sister wouldn’t even be contemplated. There wouldn’t be articles about him not spending time with his bandmates, because he could spend time with them and being seen doing so. There would be articles about his strong friendship with them, and about the special relationship he has with one of them.
- Liam
In my universe, Liam wouldn’t be management’s mouthpiece. He wouldn’t be the one saying “We don’t have any secrets”, he wouldn’t be the one writing homophobic comments on Twitter, he wouldn’t confirm any paternity. He wouldn’t be the escaping goat, he wouldn’t be hated by his own fans for doing things he doesn’t want to do. My journalist could describe him as the wonderful person he is, a kind and generous guy, willing to do anything for his fans.
- Niall
My journalist would have lots of things to say about Niall, things that now they wouldn’t know. What could they say about him now? That he’s always smiling and he’s friends with everyone? Niall’s personality isn’t just this, Niall is much more than this and my journalist would have pages to write about him. Pages that now would remain blank.
Do I think they’re perfect? NO. They’re humans and therefore they have flaws. But now they’re depicted as a mix of flaws and only flaws. I don’t want this in my AU, but I don’t want articles about four perfect guys either. I want articles about their flaws and their qualities. Because these guys do have qualities and we’re all waiting to see them written in a tabloid.
In my universe there is a special place for Harry and Louis. A place for these eternal lovers also knows as “mortal enemies”. In my universe Harry and Louis are free to hold hands in public, to post selfies on IG while they’re decorating their Christmas tree, or while they’re having breakfast in bed. In my universe Harry and Louis don’t have to write their story on their own skin, they can talk about it in interviews and everyone will listen. My journalist would write the sappiest articles about these two.
In my universe, fans are respected. Fans aren’t made feel guilty for acting as typical fans, for doing the things that every fan do. In my universe fans are praised for their fan-arts, in my universe they write fan-fictions without fearing to be called out in future interviews. In my universe, fans don’t have to decipher enigmatic messages from the boys, because there wouldn’t be secrets. In my universe fans don’t have to worry every time my journalist announces a new article. Being fan should be an opportunity to relax, to have fun, it shouldn’t cause anxiety and sadness.
At the moment, One Direction fans deserve an award. An award for not leaving the fandom despite everything they had the endure, despite the accuses thrown at them. But management, keep it in mind: One Direction fans are not stupid. We’re not teenagers you can fool at your please, we have a brain and we know how to use it. We can tell when we’re being lied to, we know the game you’re playing at. You can’t play with us. If we’re still here it’s not because you managed to fool us, we can see through your bullshits. If we’re still here it’s because of these four boys, because we love them and we want them to get the recognitions they deserve. But fans shouldn’t deserve an award, because they shouldn’t have anything to endure. And we’re tired. We deserve respect too.
In my universe everyone, both One Direction and their fans, are free.
So, One Direction, take a break from this war. I hope my AU is your future destination.