#another era another universe

[outromoony]

In another universe, Remus wasn’t bitten by a wolf and grew up under the light of a gentle moon.

In another universe, Sirius's parents loved him as much as Sirius loved James.

In another universe, James and Lily raised Harry in a home filled with laughter and love.

In another universe, Peter realized how much his friends truly loved him, before it was too late.

In another universe, Marlene lived to see the peace she fought so fiercely for.

In another universe, Mary never erased her memories, and the war never stole her joy.

In another universe, Regulus grew older than seventeen and lived to see the world he’d sacrificed himself for.

In another universe, Pandora's experiment didn't go wrong, and Luna didn't have to see her die, growing up with her mother's love.

In another universe, Dorcas killed Voldemort herself.

[not-rab]

us in another universe 🦌🐕‍🦺

[person25]

Barty you will always be a ravenclaw with pathetic daddy issues to me🫶

[cosmicdreamgrl]

maknae line x bst performances pt.2 for @jkvjimin

[sophaeros]

arctic monkeys for clash magazine, april 2010

ON THE ROAD WITH… ARCTIC MONKEYS

Words by Simon Harper Photos by Jason Joyce

As Britain’s favourite band headed out on the European leg of their ‘Humbug’ tour, Clash discovered that Arctic Monkeys were less sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, and more cakes, ping-pong and Coco Pops…

The city of Offenbach, about twenty minutes south of Frankfurt, was once noted for its abundant leather industry, and is currently the base of the German weather service, but such claims don’t negate the fact that it’s basically a sterile, grey, typically German suburban borough. The arrival of a fleet of trucks and buses, carrying Arctic Monkeys, their crew and stage gear, heralded the notion that for one night only, Offenbach may just come alive with suitably bustling energy.

Offenbach’s Stadthalle is the smallest venue on the Monkeys’ three-week tour of Western Europe. The band have been through Portugal, Spain and France, and know how to kill time during the day while everyone works around them, building the stage for that night’s show. And so, when Clash finds them, upstairs in the Stadthalle’s back rooms, they’re in the middle of a fierce ping-pong match – the game scores being tallied up across the tour. The table, it transpires, is the band’s own, and follows them wherever they go. A set of football goals lie waiting for action, but the small white balls prove more enticing.

It’s a cold, February Tuesday, and these back rooms are where the band will spend the whole day.

Previous encounters with Arctic Monkeys have been somewhat tough – notoriously reticent and famously press-shy, there’s a tangible wall that surrounds them, which is seemingly hard to penetrate. Suspicious stares cut through you, while succinct answers frustrate you. Today, however, they couldn’t be more accommodating.

Clash sits with the quartet in the band-only room, where their personal equipment is kept in a vertical flight case of drawers, and a small fridge is at hand for cold beers. Nick O’Malley, Jamie Cook and Matt Helders sprawl on the leather couches, while Alex Turner perches on the table, often pacing the room, then escaping in search of a lighter. We’re here to talk about life on the road. What starts as an interview eventually descends into louche conversation; daft chat punctuated by much laughter. Perhaps they’re glad to see a friendly face; perhaps the monotony of touring makes them crave any respite; perhaps there’s nothing better to do in Offenbach.

Is being on tour like real life, or does it feel like you’re detached from what real life is?

Matt: It’s probably real life. It doesn’t seem like it’s too separate or miles away.

When you go home is that normality or is it just a continuation of what you do on the road?

Matt: I don’t find it hard to settle back and switch between the two.

Nick: You feel like you’re unemployed when you go home properly.

Like you’ve got nothing to do?

Nick: Yeah, or like if you’ve got a couple of weeks off.

Matt: Like school holidays.

Alex: Does that make this school then?

Matt: Yeah, but it’s like basketball camp or something you enjoy.

How do your friendships cope with life on the road? 

Matt: It’s fine.

Nick: Yeah. We know how to not annoy each other. We’ve never really had friction, because we’ve all got a similar outlook on how not to annoy people, I suppose, so there’s never really been any problems.

Alex: (Mock nastily) That’s what you think, mate.

Nick: (Laughs) I suppose if you see the same people every day, after a while you’re bound to get a bit annoyed, but as long as you keep in your mind that it’s just because of the situation and not because you don’t like the person, then you can kind of avoid outbursts that you might not mean. It’s never really been a problem so far.

Do you notice a huge cultural difference between touring Europe and America? 

Alex: Even between places in Europe. I mean, often, to be honest, certainly at this stage that we’re at, days like today aren’t uncommon, where you’re out of town and you don’t even really see where you are, as I’m sure you’re aware. But you can really tell the difference just in the show, from the crowd. We did Madrid and Barcelona over t’weekend, and last week Portugal, and they were really excitable and there was like a frenzy going on when we were playing. Whereas I think crowds elsewhere can be a bit more reserved, can’t they, depending on where it is. I reckon one of the best crowds on this tour was a gig we did last week in Porto. We’ve never played there before. There was this real appreciation or something just from the start. You can just sort of feel it, can’t you; ‘We’re all here to have a laugh’.

Alex lives in the States now. Have any of you considered moving to somewhere you’ve visited on tour?

Matt: Yeah. It’s good that you do get to see places that you might consider moving, like Berlin. I could imagine living there.

Does living apart make you appreciate each other more when you’re back together?

Jamie: [Long pause] Mmmm…yeah.

Gone are the days when you’re living round the corner from each other.

Alex: Yeah, I suppose that’s true. You’ve got to sort of organise to be in one place. I suppose that is a bit of an inconvenient drag.

Are there any essential items that you have to pack before you come out on tour?

Jamie: One of them rolly things that gets fluff of your coat. (All laugh)

Alex: I feel like you’re a lot better equipped than the rest of us with things like that.

Yeah, you’re looking very bobble-less.

Jamie: Ah, cheers. Yeah, I did it this morning actually. A quick roll.

Matt: A skipping rope – except I forgot it this time. I’ve lost mine.

Nick: DVDs, stuff like that.

A ping-pong table?

Jamie: A ping-pong table is essential actually. I don’t think we’d go on tour without that.

Alex: Some kind of series…

Matt: A box-set.

Alex: Kinda really discovered that this last year. It was summat I’d never really got into before.

Nick: Any HBO series.

Alex: (Laughs) Yeah. I’ve really learned to appreciate that sort of continuum, because you can follow a thread.

Matt: You know what you need to do the next day.

What have you been watching?

Alex: We’ve got into Deadwood a bit on the last tour. That’s what’s been missing, I think, for me on this tour, some sort of thing like that.

Have you done The Wire?

Alex: Yeah.  I went Wire mad on that tour. I just got so greedy. I get so greedy with them things.

Matt: I couldn’t catch up.

Jamie: Yeah, he ditched everyone. I got ditched on t’second series!

Matt: Six in t’morning, I could hear him.

Jamie: You’d get up and that [theme] song would be on. It’d just be crisps all over, a bottle of…

Nick: ‘Wire Beast’s been up all night again!’

Alex: ‘Where’d you get that dressing gown from?’

Jamie: Just laying there with crumbs all over him.

Have you ever had any scares at customs? 

Nick: I got searched yesterday actually.

Matt: It was your squeaky wheels, just as I’d said. I said, ‘Them wheels are gonna attract attention.’

Nick: In Germany. A very thorough search, but luckily no glove action.

Jamie: They probably wanted to mend your wheels for you.

Matt: ‘I’ve got summat for that, some GT85.’

Nick: They were really suspicious of me. They really took everything apart and didn’t put it back as neat as I’d put it in.

Alex: At this end, yesterday?

Nick: Yeah, when we arrived in ‘Munchen’.

Alex: They’re quite, like, strict, aren’t they, Bavarian authorities.

Nick: Yeah. They had a look at me belt, everything. All me case and bag. Took everything apart. Then he were like, ‘Where have you come from?’ I went, ‘Barcelona’. He were like, ‘Have you had any contact with drugs in Barcelona?’ I went, ‘No.’ He went, ‘What do you do?’ I said, ‘I’m in a band.’ And he went, ‘Ah’, and then, like, swabbed everything.

Alex: When I got in t’car yesterday, the fella were like, [German accent] ‘If you like to do drugs, do not try and do it in Bavaria.’

American customs scare me most. 

Matt: Yeah, it’s a load of questions.

Alex: ‘What are you doing here?’

Jamie: New Zealand were quite funny. We all got pulled…

Matt: We had to sit in them chairs for a bit…

Jamie: And this guy was asking us directly the last time we ever did drugs. Then someone came over who worked for us…and he soon disappeared rather fast. We were fine. (All laugh)

Alex: I’ve come to quite enjoy the American customs people. (All laugh)

Matt: They’ve always got weird names.

Alex: They’re like, [American accent] ‘So you’re in a band, huh?’ You go, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ ‘What do you do in the band?’ ‘Oh, I’m the singer.’ ‘Yeah? You don’t look like a singer to me.’

Nick: ‘Do you sound like Coldplay?’

Alex: Yeah, ‘What kind of music do you guys play?’

Jamie: ‘Do you sound like Staind?’ I went like, ‘Staind? I know them… Fuckin’ hell!’ It took me ages. ‘Yeah, yeah, we sound a bit like Staind.’ When he said it I were like, ‘Yeah, a bit.’

You’ve said before that you wanted to try and get an album out this year. Do you get any time on the road to do any work on that?

Alex: Not really. That’s a bit of a pain in the arse, not being able to rehearse and work stuff out. I don’t think I write very good songs on t’road. They’re all a bit wonky. You get back and you’re like, ‘Hmmm’.

Does it detach you from what we were talking about earlier, ‘real life’? Does it detach you from the things that you want to be writing about?

Alex: I dunno. You can still use your imagination, but I just think, yeah, in your surroundings there’s always about to be something that’s going to happen. You can’t think. I always write wherever I am, but I dunno if the things that come out when you’re touring around always have the shelf life that the other things do.

Have you got any songs earmarked for the next album?

Alex: Yeah. I mean, there’s some ideas, but we haven’t really had the chance to get out the fine toothed comb.

‘Humbug’ was a departure in sound from your previous albums – do you think you’ll continue in that direction, maybe bring Josh Homme in again?

Alex: Not sure, really. We would like to do something with Josh again – it was terrific for us to go on that adventure – but whether or not it’s this next thing, I’m not sure. And also, like, he’s busy! (Laughs) He’s got a schedule himself, doesn’t he?

You went to record over in his place, so do you think next time you’ll have him over to...

Alex: High Green? (Laughs) Homme in High Green? I quite fancy that.

Nick: He’d look like a superhero in High Green, all the bad genetics there are in High Green. He’d look amazing.

Matt: He’d be the biggest man there.

You’ve released a couple of singles exclusively through Oxfam. What made you decide to do that? 

Jamie: Laurence and Jonny at Domino came to us with that idea – a great idea for the charity reason, and then cos Woolworths and stuff had shut down, but there were always an Oxfam.

Alex: Like, in towns where there perhaps aren’t, like, an Our Price or something.

Do you have to think of more creative ways to get your records out there?

Jamie: Yeah, rather than just sat at home.

Matt: They should think about making the journey exciting – paint paths a nice colour to the record shops.

Alex: The yellow brick road.

Matt: Something that makes people want to walk to a record shop. Even if it’s just free parking. (All laugh)

Jamie: It’s just too easy to buy music now.

How do you feel as artists about the devaluing of music? Does it annoy you that you’re working hard to make something, but people can just pick it up from their friends?

Jamie: I suppose we were never in the industry when it were big money, when people used to sell twenty million albums. Has that ever happened since we’ve been around?

Probably someone like Dido has.

Jamie: Yeah, that were probably the last.

Matt: It’s like, we wouldn’t expect anything like that to happen to us, so…

Alex: I do think there is people that always will want to go and get records.

Matt: Yeah, it won’t change everybody.

Alex: I was reading a couple of months ago about there’s an idea where you won’t even have – you know like you pull songs off iTunes or whatever – but they were saying you subscribe to a database and pay to get ’em…

Jamie: Spotify, that’s what that was.

Alex: Yeah. But you can’t get them on…

It streams the music – you can’t download them.

Alex: But you can’t do that on your phone, can you?

Matt: Yeah, you can do Spotify on your phone if you pay about £10 a month. Nokia did that thing where you can just pay a monthly thing and you can have as many as you want…

Alex: The fella had a quote, he’s like, ‘There’s nothing sexy about an MP3 on your desktop’. (Laughs) He’s like, ‘There’s nothing sexy about having a subscription to a database’. (All laugh) But then you could just sort of buy a record and stand it up against your wall. Not that that’s particularly sexy, but, you know what I mean… I like things that you can stand up.

Jamie: Like you said the other day, everyone’s just gonna have an empty house.

Matt: Yeah, there’s gonna be nothing on t’shelves. Not even books now.

Jamie: No one’s got any photos anymore, no ones’s got any CDs or records…

Matt: You’ll just have a screen and a chair.

Jamie: You’ll just go, ‘Sound. This is sound.’

Matt: With nowt on your wall.

Jamie: You can just have everything [at your fingertips]; turn your fire on, open your curtains…

Alex: You’d get in it for your bath. (All laugh)

[Alex goes into the band’s equipment drawer, pulls out a giant figure of Freddie Mercury in full-on rock pose. “See, he said he likes things that stand up,” Matt says.]

Does being on an independent label give you the freedom to experiment with your marketing or promotions? 

Matt: Yeah. They [Domino] have as many ideas as us for stuff like that, like the Oxfam thing. They tend to think on a similar level, and, at the same time, if we have a suggestion, they’re open to it. It sometimes is a good thing to have a label like Domino, cos they’re experienced in doing weird stuff, and have obviously signed things that aren’t necessarily to make any money or anything, so we’ll listen to them if they have a suggestion, and vice versa. They’d put records out on tins of beans and all sorts. (All laugh)

Jamie: I wanted to do it on a conifer. I wanted to put an MP3 out on a conifer.

Matt: Or just seeds. Christmas tree seeds.

Alex: Yeah. What did they actually do?

Matt: There’s a Jewish guy, I forgot what his name is, and they did it on a kosher chicken noodle soup or something. You buy the soup and you get the code [for the MP3]. Which is good in a way, because he’s just poo-pooing the fact that there’s not much point. It’s an incentive, but it doesn’t get it in the chart, you see. It’s a give-away. So you can sell anything and just have an MP3 code on it. You can sell a car and you’d just get one song.

Jamie: But then it doesn’t count towards t’charts?

Matt: No. The Oxfam thing don’t either, does it. Only the download bit does. You’re not allowed to give away incentives like free stuff, because that’s obviously encouraging people. See, that’s the thing – people might buy the soup and not download the song. ‘I wonder if they make good soup?’

Jamie: When you see a good cover sometimes…

Matt: Yeah, you buy it for the cover.

Alex: Perhaps the epitome of that is you buying a Lady Gaga picture disc. (Laughs)

Matt: Yeah, I did. I’ve been a fool.

Alex: It’s great, cos she’s wearing like a fuckin’ box of Coco Pops or something. (Laughs)

Matt: You could buy that Freddie Mercury thing and get a Queen album, for instance. You don’t need to put it on or owt.

Jamie: You want to make it awkward.

Matt: Buy a chair. Buy a flat pack piece of furniture and you get a code for an album.

Jamie: You have to put your furniture up and send a picture to someone, then they send you the MP3.

Alex: That would make a good video: playing in a bowl of Coco Pops. (All laugh) Remember that kids programme where they used to have to go swimming in a bowl of cereal…

Jamie: Ah yeah. Didn’t they used to do something like that on The Big Breakfast?

Matt: They did, yeah.

Jamie: It were a massive cup of tea and you used to have to get the sugar lumps…

Matt: Yeah, yeah, that was it: One Lump Or Two.

Jamie: One Lump Or Two, yeah!

Alex: It would be great: kid comes down, he’s having his breakfast – Coco Pops – and then, like, Arctic Monkeys are in his cereal. (All laugh)

Jamie: Hot milk, though.

Matt: Hot milk in t’afternoon.

Alex: (Laughs) ‘Why not try Coco Pops after school?’

Jamie: (Laughs) I love that advert!

Alex: It’s the best!

Do your fans give you CDs of their bands?

Matt: They throw them on t’stage! Imagine if you got one of them in t’eye! Fuckin’ hell! Remember in America, a kid got on stage and he had a handful [of CDs] and someone had to grab him to get him off, but he threw them. So he were getting pulled away and he threw them.

Alex: I’ve been getting less CDs though…

Matt: Now they’re throwing download cards at you!

Alex: I got a pair of underpants…

Jamie: People are chucking downloads at you. You’re like, ‘What the fuck?’

Matt: People are throwing zeroes and ones at you – it’s like the credits of The Matrix!

Jamie: You can’t get any flick on a download.

Alex: They’re chucking Spotifys at me. Maybe that’s what them pants were – some sort of code.

I think it’d be a totally different sort of code! Do you listen to the music that fans give you?

Matt: I listened to one that someone gave me the other day. It just were at home though, he just gave it me.

Alex: No more than I’d wear that pair of pants! (Laughs)

Matt: It were just convenient – I were getting in me car and there’s a CD player there.

What’s the strangest thing a fan has given you?

Matt: Just in Japan – everything you get is weird! Like, a monkey hat – it left your own face in but it’s got ears and a tail.

Jamie: And sweets.

Matt: A lot of sweets.

Jamie: We once said, ‘Oh, we like these sweets’ in an interview…

Nick: There’s someone that makes baked goods.

Matt: You got a good one, where it were like a picture of you…

Alex: Yeah, I got like a diagram of myself…

Matt: A diagram, pointing at every bit, and then asking to fill in, like, what his favourite brand of jeans were.

Alex: Hand it back, and then she’d sort of kit me out.

Matt: She’d buy it all! So, like, ‘Favourite shoes? Trainers or boots?’ It would be like that. He’d fill it in and send it back and then she’d buy it. ‘Will this do?’

Alex: Back it came with this jumper that were perfect actually. She really knew me better than I knew meself.

Nick: With baked goods, I know it’s not [spiked], but you never know… It’s probably fine – it’s more than likely fine – but it is a gamble.

Matt: It’s innocent, but someone might have seen that opportunity.

Jamie: I don’t think I’m ever gonna eat a baked good that some stranger’s made. You learn about that. There is a story there…

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after the tour is finished? 

Nick: See your friends and family that you’ve not seen.

Matt: I go and get my photos developed. That’s actually one of the first things I do.

Alex: I usually pick up me guitar. Honestly. It’s a deep breath.

Later that evening, Clash is back in the ping-pong room. The tour manager comes to break bad news to the band - the curtain at the front of the stage is broken. They won't be able to make their usual grand entrance. "Ah, we've got to do it," grins Alex. Do what? "We've been saying on this tour if ever the curtain doesn't work, we've got to go on to this song." Which song? "Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feelin’’," Alex beams. The band are giddily bouncing around, electrified by the prospect of taking the stage to the song that's soundtracked many a menopausal vodka-stained Saturday evening's preparatory gathering.

“But when do we go on?" Matt asks.

"The rap. We gotta wait for the rap," Alex asserts.

"We should wait until "Mazel tov”,” Jamie smirks.

Ten minutes later, Clash is amidst the Offenbach crowd when the lights go out and the song bursts from the PA. A wave of euphoria swells, the irony not lost, and right on cue, just as the Peas declare, "I know that we'll have a ball", the four Monkeys stride towards their instruments.

The nineteen-song set covers their three albums - with Nick Cave's 'Red Right Hand’ thrown in for good measure. The last song before their encore is 'Secret Door’ from 'Humbug’. Just as Matt cracks the snare drum that launches the song's long psychedelic outro, cannons on the roof blast out gold and silver confetti over the joyous crowd below, proving that the Monkeys aren't averse to a bit of showmanship every now and then.

The after party is a subdued affair (well, in Offenbach it's bound to be!), with just the band, some friends, crew, and Clash, diving into the beer and nibbles on offer. A fairly drunken chat with Alex about Johnny Cash, Billie Holiday and Gram Parsons rounds off our time with the band, as they retreat back to the confines of their bus, about to depart for Dusseldor and their next gig.

Such a welcome and warm atmosphere is often rare backstage, especially with a band as celebrated as this, but the Monkeys - ever changing and ever surprising - are beginning to make a habit of defying expectations. Growing up has never been such fun.

[artsy-1diot]

so i was fucking around with @hyp3rsh0ck in phighting and we were like "lmao if we win a 66.6x battle were gonna draw hypertana art" AND THEN IT FUCKING HAPPENED AND WE WERE ON OPPOSITE TEAMS SO WE WERE GUARENTEED TO WIN

[kevinsdsy]

i LOVE that these olympians are literally just being silly on tiktok because

this is literally the kind of stuff they post LMAO and its so funny to me

[atlasdoe]

i don't care if he's 17 days older REMUS LUPIN IS JAMES POTTERS LITTLE BROTHER AND I WILL HEAR NO MORE OF IT

[valeriearmani1]

adrian pimento is literally barty crouch jr in another universe

[lu-polls]

[Poll suggested by: Anonymous]

[lace4forest]

Holy crap I just figured out how Breath of the Wild fits into the Zelda Timeline and actually works without having to rewrite anything...

Like actually

It fits

Welp.

Gonna make a youtube video about it now-

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

THIS IS MY WORLD

[sadcoms]

and if i said that everything people prophesied would happen if the doctor and rose stayed together actually happened after they were separated what then

[bluelem0ns]

(rant, this is gonna be long)

Okay so I've seen a lot of people say you shouldn't ship Bellow Diamond cuz it's toxic (I can talk about that as a whole) and they usually pull up a scene from Change Your Mind so I'm gonna quickly throw in my opinion as a huge Bellow shipper.

Starting off strong with this.

That's not the face of someone who's proud and 100% with what they're doing.

(p.s. there's a part just before Steven throws his shield at her where she literally has to close her eyes. she doesn't wanna do this and it's really very obvious? 😭)

This part and the part where Blue and Yellow stand up to White is probably my favourite part of CYM.

She goes on to talk about how "this is what White Diamond expects of all of us," , to seek out and destroy everything that is flawed or shows signs of rebellion. She's balancing her devotion to the Empire and loyalty to White with her affection for Blue. (off topic a little but Yellow attacking Blue for telling her Pink is now Steven could also hint that, like White, possibly even learnt from White, Yellow is preferring to live as though everything is "back to normal"). She's very obviously conflicted.

All it took for her to snap out of the facade was Steven and Blue's lil speech, and seeing what she'd done to someone she cares about so much.

Her crying obviously came as a shock to Blue as Yellow was following the "all emotions are flaws" mantra for like, possibly all of her existence? Also, Blue going to comfort Yellow and Yellow letting and even encouraging her shows that they care about each other?? do people just ignore these scenes 😭

This episode is an honourable mention as the song, What's the Use Of Feeling, (Blue)? starts off more or less as a lecture. Yellow is questioning why Blue can't just move on and accept that Pink is gone, overall questioning her grieving process and encouraging Blue to destroy the bubbled Rose Quartzes. (This also links to Yellow's grieving process too.)

However, near the end Yellow sympathizes with Blue, saying "Don't you know I miss her too?", and proceeding to get choked up, therefore unable to finish the song. (I always wonder what would've happened next if Holly Blue hadn't walked in.)

Honourable mentions 2 and 3, we never actually see them having a conversation after CYM (I think...?) but in the first screenshot we can see they obviously still talk, presumably frequently giving how fast they were to find each other once Steven went to talk to White.

Number three, Yellow protects Blue from a cloud. An ecstasy cloud. Literally nothing bad would've happened if Blue had had the cloud shoved into her face, but Yellow protects her nonetheless.

they're so unbelievably mature and unbelievably immature

anyways thanks for coming to my Ted Talk 😭 my apologies if I worded anything wrong I'm so bad at actually putting things into words 😭

[isfjmel-phleg]

The other Titans teammate whom Grant was often paired with was Tara Markov (Terra). Not that Terra, of "Judas Contract" infamy, who of course was dead by this point. Terra II is a separate character, despite having the same appearance, powers, and name as the original Terra. She showed up after some timeline shenanigans, with no idea of her actual background and origin. The possibility of her being the original Terra somehow resurrected was teased during her time with the Titans, but this would turn out not to be the case.

Whoever she is, she seems to be about Grant's age, and the two form a friendship. Of sorts. Tara tends to be abrasive, and Grant tends to take things personally, so it often goes about as well as you would expect.

Story time!

Their first interaction, during Grant's first outing with the Titans, sets up their relationship as teasing. Tara thinks Grant is a "dweeb" (please enjoy all the mid-90s slang featured in everyone's dialogue) and gives him grief about it. Their teammate Mirage tries to call her out on embarrassing him, but Tara sees no problem with her behavior. And Grant dishes the teasing right back.

(New Titans #0)

Which leads to banter about what stock roles that they play in the group and whom they would cast as themselves in a movie (popular heartthrob 90s actors, of course!).

Soon enough they're concerned teammates.

(New Titans #116)

But the insults stick around. And it's not always Tara who initiates them.

(New Titans #117)

As the youngest members of the team, Grant, Tara, and Bart Allen form a trio. During some down time, they go exploring in New York together, and Tara shows a more compassionate side. Like Grant, having friends is new for her. She takes it a step further and identifies them as a sort of family, and Grant agrees.

(New Titans #118)

...right before she goes back to the teasing. When he tries to console her after a rejection by telling her that he thinks she's cute, she makes a big show of pretending to be disgusted. Grant is a bit crestfallen, but this seems to be Tara's love language.

The three are also seen spending Christmas together by exploring Manhattan in Green Lantern 1990 #59.

When Grant and Roy clash over Grant's wish to leave on a personal quest, Tara is flippant. Roy assumes that she and Grant have never liked each other, so shouldn't she be glad to see him go? But she makes it clear that she's fond of him ("a little dorky, but he's cute") and "giving him a hard time" is her way of expressing that.

(New Titans #119)

Unfortunately, Grant hasn't picked up on that in their interactions. When he airs his grievances with the team during a fight, he makes it clear that he resents Tara's treating him "like I'm a walking zit with a pocket protector!" She takes offense at that, but by the time he stalks off in high dudgeon, she is more shocked than upset. This is the angriest that she's ever seen him, and perhaps she's a bit remorseful at how she has come across.

(Damage #13)

Grant never overtly apologizes to the team for what he says about them--as far as we're shown. But he and Tara are working together on normal terms again not long afterward, still bantering.

(Deathstroke #48)

...but now revealing some vulnerabilities to each other too. Grant is suspicious of Deathstroke, who reminds him of the ruthless family that runs the lab that experimented on him (and perhaps also of the Emersons), and Tara is afraid of turning out to be the original Tara Markov, who had a horrifying history with Deathstroke.

At the moment, Grant finds this fact to be TMI. But when it's brought up again during his second time with the Titans, he seems to be shocked instead. Maybe he didn't quite grasp what Tara is telling him here?

She continues to give him grief, pretending to object to his talking and his explosions.

(New Titans #122)

She goes a little too far during preparations for a mission in space, and Grant retaliates by sending energy through the floor to knock her down. She threatens him, but as ever, this is in jest.

(New Titans #124)

When he (not to mention the rest of the team) is in danger later, she is immediately concerned and comes to the rescue.

When the team reconvenes after going on separate adventures, Grant eagerly shows her a flower given to him by a new alien friend, and Tara seems less than impressed.

(This is not important, it just amused me.)

(Damage #16)

When Tara tries to argue with Roy, Grant tries to redirect her focus and remind her of where their current duty is.

(New Titans #125)

And she dishes out advice to him too.

Mid-fight, she goes out of her way to compliment him...backhandedly, of course (this is pretty rude slang). He snarks right back.

But he will sincerely compliment her later.

And she seems to be incapable of returning the favor without being insulting. Grant decides to just go with it.

Her powers are in full force in this scene, and it's pretty exciting for both of them.

And Grant gets the chance to use his powers to defend her after she gets knocked out.

He's a bit carried away with admiration, and there's an implication that they might have kissed if they hadn't been interrupted.

And Tara's last interaction with Grant will be to force a kiss on him as an attempt to placate him when Roy won't let him accompany the rest of the team to take Mirage to the hospital. She promises to keep him updated on the situation. But Grant has finally had it with Roy and walks out on the team permanently as soon as the others leave.

(New Titans #127)

She never does call. Grant seems to be forgotten as soon as he leaves.

Grant and Tara sometimes show up to the same big crossover events, but they do not speak to each other or work directly together again. The closest they get is standing near each other a couple times (notice that side-eye he's giving her!).

(Titans 1999 #39 / Young Justice 1998 #49)

She is killed in action not long after Grant joins the JSA. Her last words are a characteristically fierce "You want a war!!??!! I got your war right here!!!" and she dies from a fist ripping through her chest, a fate Grant will later meet too.

If they had gotten to interact again, I would have liked to have seen more exploration of their shared background of growing up alone and without a real family. They've adopted different coping mechanisms as a result--Terra presents a front of aggression, Grant is a people-pleaser until he's pushed too far--and this has affected their ability to connect. Tara genuinely likes Grant and enjoys his company, but she can't seem to interact with him without being mean. Grant can speak her language up to a point, but his insecurities can leave him vulnerable to her abrasiveness. They don't really know how to connect--so they interpret the regard they have for each other as romantic interest because hormonally-fueled kisses are easier than being open and sincere with each other. Under different circumstances, they could have been good friends, but at this point I think neither of them quite know how to do that.

[lokh]

oh my god. a manga where everyones actually wearing masks???

edit: NEVERMIND jumped the gun here it was just for one scene cos they were at a nail salon 😭

edit 2: hmm actually. depending on how recently this manga was drawn it could just be reflective of how not everyone wears masks. the customers are wearing masks in the salon but outside usually not but Sometimes. they are

edit 3: I WAS RIGHT??