#Ta daaaaa

[rainbluealoekitten]

What Do Cars Symbolise in Arctic Monkeys' 2022 Album: The Car?

By me (hi)

The Car, Arctic Monkeys’ 2022 album, is all about nostalgia and feeling stuck in the past. The idea of a car is a staple symbol of this as the album cover, the name of the album, the title of one of the songs, and a recurring mention in other songs (There’d Better be a Mirrorball, Hello You, and The Car). This essay’s purpose is to discover exactly how the idea of a car represents the theme of the album by exploring its symbolism each time mentioned.

To begin with, let’s take a look at the album cover:

This is a picture taken from a vantage view of a lone car on a parking lot, overlooking other buildings and the road. There are so many possibilities for car pictures, so the choice to use this one must have been deliberate. First of all, it is all alone, symbolising perhaps a disconnect from other people and the busy world around us. Secondly, because of its placement, the fact that it looks over the world could further reinforce this idea, and also illustrate a feeling of being stuck, instead of in the loop, so to speak, as this car is not driving along with others. The angle the photo is taken from echoes these ideas, suggesting a theme of dissociation from the actual situation Alex Turner, who wrote this album, is going through. In addition to this, the picture resembles an urban desert. Deserts tend to be very bleak, isolated, and uncomfortable, as well as almost impossible to escape from, just as being stuck in nostalgia can be.

Secondly, in order to further understand this, it is vital to see how the car is referenced in songs, such as in the first track, There’d Better be a Mirrorball. The song’s chorus goes as such:

So if you want to walk me to the car, You oughta know I'll have a heavy heart. So can we please be absolutely sure That there's a mirrorball?

The first two lines reference the ending of a relationship, and Turner asks his ex-girlfriend to say the final goodbye before he drives away. Driving away symbolises choosing to move on from the past and getting away from it, but this idea is immediately contrasted in the next lines. A mirrorball is often viewed as the symbol of the 70s and 80s, which when referenced today, are often brought up with a theme of nostalgia and regret relating to supposedly ‘better times.’ Turner uses this to show that even if he drives away, he is not ready to completely let go and forget, asking to ensure the presence of a mirrorball, or really the presence of nostalgia and old memories to shift through later on.

In the 8th track, Hello You, this nostalgia for past relationships is brought up again with a scene in the car. The chorus shows the main idea of the song, stated as:

Hello you, still draggin' out a long goodbye? I ought to apologise for one of the last times.

The second verse continues,

As that meandering chapter reaches its end And leaves us in a thoughtful little daze This electric warrior's motorcade Shall burn no more rubber down that boulevard Read the message I left on the thank you card Overtaking the tractor Waitin' for sets of winds and bends to level out again Pickin' your moment along a country lane The kind where the harmonies feel right at home

Turner shifts perspectives, writing about a lover who is driving away this time. The pair cannot fully force themselves to say goodbye, yet the relationship continues to reach its inevitable closing. Again, the idea of driving away is seen, but remnants of the past remain, for example in the referenced thank you card. Cars in general tend to symbolise freedom and figuring out your identity, and here the ex-partner drives out into the countryside, where things are often viewed as slower and more peaceful, for example seen in the tractor that gets overtaken. Additionally, Turner states that the ex is “Waitin’ for sets of winds and bends to level out again,” showing how she drives away to escape the turbulence of her life and past relationship, seeking out peace and healing.

Finally, the other song in which cars are referenced is obviously the the sixth track, The Car. This kind of nostalgia differs from the other two, as this one is more about childhood memories. The song references a holiday and family members, but the short chorus is about a car.

But it ain't a holiday until You go to fetch somethin' from the car.

Going along with the previous explanations of what the car symbolises, it is possible to make the conclusion that Turner is essentially stating that it is not a holiday until you revisit memory lane. When having to fetch something from the boot of the car, as most people can probably guess, it means something important was forgotten before going to, for example, the beach or someone else’s house, depending on the kind of holiday. It shows that Turner is trying to enjoy his life and the present, but it is incomplete without this memory. Again, he finds it impossible to fully move on from the past.

To reiterate, The Car is an album about nostalgia, and one of the ways this is expressed is through the imagery of a car in the cover, the title, and lyrics. While cars usually represent freedom, in this album it is used to represent attempting to drive away from the past but continuing to linger regardless.

[batterygarden]

@gal-in-blue thank u for inspo gal

[cheeselovinpuffin]

Is this your card *drops every single card on the gro

[katt-sports]

Yo I made a Ferrum based blog

@gaia-channel

[soupdweller]

this song was stuck in my head so i made a little dca animation for it :D

[chai-berries]

patrols with abby were easy. you knew she had your back, being the best of the best in isaac’s eyes. you started training with her to go on missions in the first place so you both created an almost dance while on a mission. you talked, whispered, laughed. you packed your extra bags with his trash/her treasure bits and bobs you found in decrepit buildings, teetering on 2x4s like a gymnast. abby was currently obsessed with the olympics, the last one being in 2012. she found a bunch of magazines about it on her last trip and had delicately packed them in her bag, planning on reading them as soon as she got back. “did you know that…” lined your conversations for several patrols. your personal favorite fact that it was the first olympics where every nation had a woman representing.

she later admitted, when you had officially been together for just over a week, that you were the last person to still be interested in what she was talking about. even nora tapped out after an hour-long spew about the shoes track and field athletes wear. manny tapped out after 5 minutes, during which he thought abby was joking around the whole time.

the point is you guys had it down to a tee. and yet, neither of you saw it coming. one second abby is laughing at something you said, turning around to respond, and the next second she’s pointing a gun over your shoulder. you freeze, back tensed up. an arm that is neither yours nor abby’s wraps around your neck and pulls you against a chest. the breath you let out from the action is sucked back into your lungs when you feel the cold metal of the gun tap against your temple. your mind shuts down on you, your fear overshadowing all you know about self-defense. your eyes stay locked on abby’s face. if you’re going to die, you want the last thing you see to be her.

“let. her. go.” abby bites out. her hand is steady, the gun pointed at whoever had you in a chokehold. “and i’ll think about letting you live.”

the man, who you assume is a man, tugs you closer to their body. you hear them wet their lips before speaking through a smile.

“now, i don’t want to hurt either of you,” it is a man. and his nonchalant response makes your stomach turn. “i don’t hurt young ladies like yourself,” he continues lewdly. his hold tightens on you again but this time he moves you so your body is pressed tight against his. abby continues to stare him down, her finger itching to fire a shot right in his head for touching you.

you bring both hands around his arm and sneak them between it and your neck. abby clocks your shift and switches her focus to the smug son of a bitch on the other side of her gun. she barely blinks before firing one clean shot in his shoulder, causing him to jump back and let you go. you dive near abby’s feet and move to stand behind her.

the man is moaning loudly. “now why did you do that?” he cries, holding his shoulder.

“c’mon man, if i have to explain it to you, you really are better off dead.” abby steps towards the man, who scuttles away on the floor. with you behind her, abby let’s go of the breath she’d been holding. she kneels over the curled up man, the hand on his shoulder stained red.

“who are you? are you alone?”

“ya think im gonna tell you?” the man croaks out.

abby kicks the gun away. “if you want to live i’d suggest talking. you’re in wolf territory.”

he freezes at the last sentence and abby tenses up again.

you freeze as well and call for abby. “c’mon. abby, we — we should go. ab—”

“no! we heard about a group moving in. they killed austin and half their group,” she says to you, her attention still on the man. “was that you?” she asks him. when he doesn’t say anything, abby knows her answer. she thinks back to what issac told her. that anyone in that group needs to be eliminated. no matter what. and you being on patrol wasn’t an exception in anyone’s eyes but abby’s.

“step back,” she nods her head at you. you immediately comply, taking several steps back as abby stands back up.

SHE KILLS FOR YOU: she looks down at the man and fires a single shot. you squeeze your eyes shut at the sound and don’t open them until you feel abby’s hand on your cheek. you blink up at her as she scans your face. you know you probably look a mess. sweat and dirt covering your face no matter how hard you try to keep it clean.

“you okay?” she asks, brows furrowed.

you nod. “yeah. not my first time witnessing a death, unfortunately. but i’m okay.” you lean into her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. after a minute of scanning you for any tiny scratches, she lets you go and readjusts her backpack, slipping her gun into the holster.

“c’mon, let’s go back early. we need to report this to the group.”

you’re quick to follow her, taking the hand she gives to guide you over a giant fallen tree. she does it automatically, her free hand reaching to steady you if needed. the shift from laughing and joking to whispers is felt. but thankfully the love is still as loud as ever.

SHE DOESN’T KILL FOR YOU: “get up!” abby watches the man struggle to stand. he stumbles and abby uses her free hand to hold him up. when he’s stable, she steps back. “if i was alone you’d be dead by now. you’re lucky. go back to your group and tell them to stay out of this area. this is your only warning. now go!” the man stutters for a second before he staggers away. you take a step towards abby.

“abs — abby?” she keeps facing the direction the man went but doesn’t shy away from your touch. you run your hand up her arm and to the nape of her neck. “you okay?”

“yeah,” she sighs. she turns to look at you. your eyes are glassy and wide. she reaches up to wipe a tear from the corner of your eye. “c’mon we need to head back. one of the survivors said they had a big crew and isaac needs to know what happened before tomorrow’s patrol.”

you’re quick to follow her, taking the hand she gives to guide you over a giant fallen tree. she does it automatically, her free hand reaching to steady you if needed. the shift from laughing and joking to whispers is felt. but thankfully the love is still as loud as ever.

[aces-and-angels]

mcgraw byrne- ad meliora

art cred: @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

[zarvasace]

I reread my silly November project, Hyrule College of Practical Arts, and needed to draw something for it before I forgot about it again

[siiinfully]

starter for @isles-of-man’s d.racula from demetria

“Care for some company?” She smiled at the bath’s only occupant, her fingers holding on to one end of the thick belt holding her robe together. Demetria wasn’t usually bold like this, but she’d spent most of the afternoon reading a s.mutty fantasy novel with rather steamy scenes. He must have been aware of it because it had somehow appeared at the top of her TBR (to-be-read) pile. The fact that he had bothered to look for something that she might be interested in was more than most guys had done for her.

Smiling, she undid the belt and let the robe fall to the ground before stepping into the pool. She didn’t know how to swim, so she did her best to avoid the deeper ends. This led to her wading over to where he was, and she lowered herself into the water until only her eyes and the top of her head were visible. Although she knew she couldn’t sneak up on him, maybe he couldn’t see her trying to straddle his lap under the water.

[attaboy-art]

happy halloween!

[Image ID: A colored digital drawing of, from left to right, a grown up Flora Reinhold, young Katrielle and Alfendi Layton, and Hershel Layton, all in halloween costumes and walking together. Flora and Hershel are both drawn as black. Flora is dressed as a mad scientist and she is bending down to hold Katrielle's hand, who is dressed as a black cat. Alfendi is behind them, crossing his arms with a blank expression on his face, and is dressed in black formal wear with a pair of red bat wings and devil horns. Hershel walks behind them all with his hands in his pockets, dressed as a vampire. Katrielle and Alfendi are both holding jack-o-lantern shaped candy buckets. Behind them is a solid grayish purple background and a diagonal line representing the ground./.End ID.]

[writerownstory]

Julie always knew that Luke Patterson was it for her.

She didn’t need some cosmic sign from the universe, or lightning to strike. She knew it in the way he could easily pick up on a melody she was playing. She knew it when he always knew what she needed without having to ask. She knew it when he winked at her from across the room, his silent signal of reassurance…and maybe sometimes a subtle flirt.

...or 4 times Luke is there for Julie, 1 time she is there for him, and 1 time someone else notices it too.

read on AO3 here.

/

finally finished something instead of letting it live in my Notes app 🥹🥹🥹

[stingslikeabee]

@strongfuck found the high priestess

For as long as Melissa could remember, there had only been darkness; all-enveloping and overwhelming absence of light, the oppressive shadow tendrils wrapping all over her limbs, consciousness and the beating heart. The woman would be unable to say how long she was kept there, a hostage away from her people and the world she knew as 'home'.

There was just one thing that kept Melissa alive - her faith. The unwavering certainty that Rhayeon would not abandon his loyal servant and that light would return one day. Such was the content of the scriptures that had dictated the girl's every step, from the moment she was taken in by the Sisters of Light and then raised to embrace the worship of the Sun. The dedication to the holy words, the everyday miracles granted by sunshine in form of warmth, food, security - these things had kept Melissa content and happy despite a tragic past.

Such unfaltering devotion raised her to the most honored position among those serving the Sun-God: high priestess; the very same fate that caused her capture and subsequent imprisonment, but not even then she rejected Rhayeon. Melissa wore her vests proudly, clung to the gold pendant around her neck during that time of distress and prayed feverously until she no longer had any sense of self.

Until that very moment - slowly, Melissa's eyes blinked and got reacquainted with a world that had something she had so desperately missed: light. It was difficult at first, as if everything surrounding her was too bright, too luminous even if she craved that sort of brilliant shimmer. Next, her skin felt warmer - the cold, damp feeling of the caves was gone, replaced by a familiar and comforting presence of heat, seeping through flesh and clothes to reach her very own heart.

Finally - the face. Although the notions of time and space were distorted and the battle which she had been captured at felt like both millennia ago and just yesterday, the priestess would recognize these features anywhere. Melissa had gone over the sacred texts too many times, talked to the elders and those higher in the sun circles to be confused or uncertain: peering back at her was the visage of the sun god himself - Rhayeon.

Melissa had always known that being trapped in darkness wouldn't be her ending; the Sun never abandoned any of his people, but the woman had not expected the god himself to descend to her rescue. It was not unheard of - there were moments where both Rhayeon and Ravina walked among mortals, but to be the honored soul to be so close and bear witness to his powers...!

"My Lord," the woman murmured, voice coarse and sounding broken given how long it had been since it was last used; but nonetheless, the dream-like quality of one in awe of immensurable glory dripped from her speech and in the way her hands reached for his face, protocol and decorum forgotten and replaced by the sheer need of confirming that it was all real and not an illusion from the cave, "Blessed be those who walk in the sun's path - I always knew you would come. I always believed."

[polyesterpeacock-arch]

Larry's new year card is: The Three of Pentacles, reversed !!

❝ your new year might be a little rough, chief. the reversed meaning of the three of pentacles is a lack of cooperation, or problems in a team or partnership. while it usually doesn't indicate major setbacks, it's something to keep an eye on, especially when it comes to business practices. remember that when you're workin' with other people, communication is key if you want things to succeed. ❞

There was a part of Larry that still hadn't fully registered another year had passed, even as he'd watched the clock strike midnight, holding his annual New Year's Eve bash at his casino. He could blame it on all the alcohol he'd drank that night, more than enough to kill an average human. But Larry was anything but average.

And he oftentimes felt anything but human.

With the new year dawning, it dawned on Larry that about 36 years had passed since that first fateful trip to Lost Wages, to fulfill the promise he'd made to himself after losing his job, losing his home; To lose the one thing he actually wanted to lose: His virginity.

Or, failing that, taking his own life.

Dredging up the thought again made Larry sick to his stomach. He tried his best to never ruminate on that particular act of the frequently one-man play that was his life.

Larry gives Creech an incredulous look, he so wanted to write this fortune telling stuff off as a sleazy party trick, but every reading she'd given him so far had been...alarmingly on the nose, especially considering how guarded Larry preferred to keep himself.

And, Creech still wasn't privy to the whole truth about this casino, the same casino he'd now roped them into working for: The whole building was bugged, constantly being monitored by Larry's "benefactors". Those same benefactors who did... God knows what to him after he'd...

After he'd signed that contract.

Larry's mind drifts back briefly to the little fortune teller's quip about bleeding over parchment.

And he realizes, he has made a horrible, horrible mistake.

A feeling not wholly unfamiliar to him.

[dylanlila]

also love how i'm ALMOST bobdylangirl

[thirddeadlysin]

doctor: okay here's a sample of this new med, call me when you're done and we'll see if it made a difference with your leg

me: okay!

me, one day later: *falls and injures that exact leg in a way that means any progress will be obscured by the new injury*

[fvrsaeken]

-- click the heart for a starter !! please specify the muse! you can also check out my meme tag here and my opens tag here