What On Earth Is Harry Styles' New Thigh Tattoo?

A few days ago, Chelsea Handler posted a photo of herself with Harry Styles that got everyone talking. The talk show host was sitting outside beside a smiling Styles while wearing underwear or a bikini bottom with "HARRY" emblazoned across the butt. The funny thing is, while most people were perplexed at the randomness of this celebrity pairing in a photo — one that featured silly personalized underwear, at that — One Direction fans went straight to the nitty gritty and focused on one VERY important detail: was that a new tattoo on Harry Styles' thigh?!

Leave it to the Directioners to notice, but I suppose it only makes sense when Styles and his plentiful collection of tattoos have made their own news for quite some time. We know Styles loves his body ink and doesn't seem to take his tattoos that seriously (I still have mixed feelings about that butterfly...), but I can't help but wonder what this blob on his thigh could possibly be a picture of.

Allow me to put on my detective hat and hypothesize a bit before any more Directioners beat me to the punch. In fact, there are definitely some passionate fans on the case already.

Theory #1: Tribute to Zayn Malik's hair swoop

Zayn Malik left One Direction and shaved his luscious locks so perhaps Harry Styles wanted to pay tribute to one of the most important members of 1D: Zayn Malik's "Johnny Bravo-esque" hair swoop.

Theory #2: A Blooming Flower

Styles already has a massive rose tattoo in full view on his arm, so a new flower would just keep up with his floral theme and could also signify a new stage in his life. There are those rumors of Styles eventually going solo...

Theory #3: A Hamsa Hand

One of the first things I thought of when I saw the photo was the Hamsa hand. The palm shaped amulet is meant to be used as a sign of protection and to ward off the "evil eye." Styles is no stranger to the invasive spotlight, so this would totally make sense for him since there is constant chatter about him, both positive and negative.

Theory #4: A Whale

Styles has a few animal tattoos already, including swallows and that massive butterfly, but the nautical theme seems to be very important. He has a mermaid, an anchor, and a ship on his arm, so a whale would absolutely fit in. Styles is totally cheeky and a reference to Moby Dick seems quite fitting for him if you know what I mean.

Theory #5: A Doe For His Secret Lover, Louis

Welp, Larry fans really won't let this romance go. This fan is mightily convinced that this blob of a tattoo is, in fact, the same doe that Tomlinson has, and I can kinda make it out? OK. Not really. As of right now, I think my safest bet is the whale theory.

Images: Getty Images