Rainbow Bondage Bear
| Synonyms: | Teddy Mercury |
| See also: | Larry is real, larrie, tinhat |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Rainbow Bondage Bear aka RBB is a rainbow-colored teddy bear dressed in bondage gear that was prominently displayed at many One Direction concerts in 2014 and 2015. As the story goes, a fan threw the teddy bear on stage at a 1D concert in May 2014; someone kept the bear, added the bondage gear, and set it next to various pieces of stage equipment at future concerts where it was visible to fans. In 2015, a second, smaller bear was added to the display; fans call this bear Sugar Baby Bear aka SBB. RBB and SBB's costumes became increasingly elaborate, and props and furniture were added.
The bears have been incorporated into the conspiracy theories about 1D members Harry and Louis being in a secret relationship. Conversely, it has been suggested that the 1D crew is actively trolling larries.
It is unclear who came up with the Rainbow Bondage Bear. No one on the 1D crew has publicly claimed responsibility for the bear, but a Twitter account for RBB run by someone with inside access was created in August 2014 and then deleted soon after. The account was bondagebear1d and had the title Mr Bear. Another apparently inside Twitter account, Rbbsbbofficial, was created in October 2015 with the title Mr R.B. Bear & Co.; this account was deleted in February 2016. Fans have long tried to figure out who is behind the bears, and have named multiple members of the 1D crew as suspects.[1].
RBB has been a source of fascination and glee for fandom. Many fans have photographed the bears, and spotting them at concerts has been a long-running game. RBB and friend have also inspired fanart.
Theorized Meaning
Larries have come to believe that RBB is a coded message indicating that Larry is Real. Fans have tried to decode the meaning behind the bears's various costumes and adornments.
One theory holds that one of the bear's feet has blue and green stickers. In multiple Larry theories, blue and green represent Louis and Harry because of their eye colors or the color coding on their mics. Thus they believe that the bears are signs from Harry and Louis, and indicated the status of their relationship.
As one fan posited about Larry, using the bears as proof: "The fact that the fandom was so paranoid and so many anons where saying that Louis and Harry broke up or that they don't support each other. But look at RBB ! Giving us a glimpse of their status : blue and green smiley stickers, both happy, they are alright" [2][3]
Resources
- RIP Rainbow Bondage Bear (archived) by hiddensymposiarch (August 14, 2014). Post made when fans thought they'd seen the last of RBB
- rainbow bear masterpost (archived) by rbbupdates (August 26, 2015)
- RBB and the Countdown (archived), English translation of a Spanish-language tumblr post by investigando-rbb that analyzes RBB's secret messages about Larry coming out. (October 24, 2015)
- May I ask for your thoughts on the Bears (RBB & SBB) and the intention of those behind these bears? (archived) anon ask answered by i-swear-i-used-to-hate-them (April 5, 2016)
- (RBB & SBB for Dummies) (archived) by louisandthealien (updated August 27, 2016)
- 1D's Rainbow Bondage Bear and Sugar Baby Bear - fansite for cataloging bear appearances
Fanwork Examples
- rainbow bear :D by susumzee (June 2014)
- untitled June 2014 and September 2015 art by rosketch
- utitled October 2015[1] art by lying-here-i-counting-hours
References
- ↑ untitled post by themanbehindthebear, posted to tumblr 27 August 2016. 735 notes as of 31 August 2016. archived.
- ↑ anon ask sent to idareyoutotakealook, posted 27 August 2016. archived.
- ↑ tumblr post by larry-ride-or-die, 23 November 2015. archived.
![[1]](https://40.media.tumblr.com/c2933a8edb08719fec689375c1cd584b/tumblr_nwnyjrzJFM1s6qbbko1_r1_1280.jpg){kind=link}