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we-are-indeed-villains · 3 years

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Some things I wish I had known before getting sucked into the whole “dark academia” business:

I waited a very long time to start posting here because It just seemed necessary to wait a bit since DA exploded out of nowhere last year. I just couldn’t bring myself to write when I was so disgusted with the community. Now that it seems like we are out of fashion again (lol) I decided it could be worth giving this blog a try.

Also, almost everything I say here goes for pretty much any change in lifestyle, and these are just some general guidelines that I find particularly easy to follow, but do what works best for you!

1 - You DON’T have to spend all of your money to fit into this “aesthetic”.

The biggest problem with what is now called dark academia (but really, it has been a thing for such a long time) is that people put it in the same category as, for instance, VSCO girls or Indie (not that there is any problem with these aesthetics in specific, they are actually quite cute!). I know this sounds like rubbish, but DA really is a little bit more than that. The clothing/visual part of it may be important to some, but the way you choose to live your life and the hobbies you opt to engage with are crucial for everyone!

That being said, don’t spend a ridiculous amount of money on expensive linen shirts and fancy blazers. You don’t need a brand new pair of Oxfords or a 100% leather messenger bag to consider yourself DA. Start small, then make investments if you find it to be worth it. That brings us to our second point:

2 - Find your favourite aspect of the community.

I know it can be very overwhelming to adhere to any new style of living, but there are some easier ways to make a smoother transition (also, you don’t really want everyone to notice that you went from water to wine in one week, and then back to water after two more because you felt lost amidst all of those weird nerds you found on Tumblr, right?).

Begin with figuring out what part of the lifestyle you identify with the most. Is it the musical part? Classical dance? Are you into poetry? Books? History?

Once you have that done (I plan on doing posts on all of those topics and more, so stay tuned!), narrow it down until you find the very core of your interest. For example, I absolutely love literature, but what do I love about it? Is it the writing part? The reading part? Both? Do I have a favourite style? If the answer for the previous question is ‘no’, try to find one! There are so many amazing styles and eras to explore!

After determining what is/are your main interests, make sure to find time to fit them into your life. Buy more books, if possible. There are also public libraries with a great variety of literature to choose from! If you already do that, I encourage you to try getting out of your comfort zone and attempting something new. Why not experiment reading a different style of books? Or maybe getting into the more poetic part of literature?

3 - Get into it!

Have you found your main interest? Great! Now it may be time to actually get into the fashion aspect of the whole thing. Also, remember that, although it is not a requirement per say, being academically successful is something you may want to achieve, so put some effort into that as well.

I won’t get too much into the fashion rabbithole, but I may write something about it later. In the meantime, you can definitely find some great guides on different DA related blogs.

4 - Don’t adhere to all the negative habits that DA romanticizes.

We all know that mental illness and self destructive behaviors are heavily romanticised, and I will say this from the bottom of my heart: DO NOT LET YOUR MENTAL HEALTH SLIP BECAUSE OF SOME 15 YEAR OLD ON TUMBLR! Trust me, it is NOT worth it.

Cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, all-nighters, heavier drugs. All of that may seem cool and edgy from the outside (why people think that, I could not tell you), but it can also defeat the main purpose of DA and, even worse, ruin your physical and mental health for good. How are you going to stay ahead in school and go to Oxford if you are too busy partying and snorting coke? You will get a sore nose and a big hole in your pocket, that’s all.

Nihilism is another one. Note that I said “nihilism”, not "existentialism" (more on that coming in the future). If you enjoy pondering the reason for human existence and you question the religious beliefs that control our society, welcome to the club! But please, please, don’t let that get too much in your head. Existential depression is a very painful and difficult thing to deal with. It will take away any joy you may find and it is not in any way productive. If you have it, you will know what I mean. Thinking about it sometimes, writing poems, debating with friends, that’s all good, even encouraged, but don’t let it go to your head and become a problem. Not worth it.

Some extra things I would like to mention:

1 - Don’t force yourself into doing or enjoying anything. Sure, reading is good, but if it isn’t enjoyable there is no reason to become obsessed with it! DA should not be a burden.

2 - Stay away from the eurocentric ideals that come with the community. Racism is bad even if you want to live in the 1800s. There is simply no excuse to think that European culture is richer or more refined than any other. Remember that the only reason you think that is because some rich, old, white men decided to murder and opress millions of different people for pure egoism. Not really something to be proud of.

Also, if you are thinking “Yeah, whatever, but English culture is a lot nicer than Mexican, or Indian culture”, then you should probably reevaluate the reasons for your interest in DA.

3 - Don’t be mean to people just because you think it fits with your all-new pretentious and arrogant character. I don’t care if you want to be perceived as such, but it can be very bad in the long-run. Just be aware of that.

And most importantly, don’t let DA take away your personality! It’s okay to like video games and read gossip magazines every once in a while. It is also okay to be yourself. You don’t have to (and probably shouldn't) get rid of all the qualities that make you unique (yes, this is a cliche, but there is a reason why people say it all the time). Be silly, say dumb things and play minecraft with your friends all night, for godsakes!

“This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

(Hamlet - Polonius, act 1 scene 3)

-- Shakespeare, William

Memento Mori, dear villains.

#dark acadamia aesthetic #dark academia #chaotic academia #light academia #romantic academia #cottage academia #art academia #classic academia #aesthetic #guide #vintage aesthetic #literature #poetry #classic

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kyidyl · 5 years

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Twelve Questions

I was tagged by @aquatic-owl

ONE/name

Kristina

TWO/birthday

July 2, 1980

THREE/zodiac sign

Cancer, unfortunately. x.x

FOUR/height

5′9, a hair over 175 cm. My jeans only go to the floor if I buy them from old navy because I’m 2/3 leg.

FIVE/hobbies

I like to read, but pretty much most of my hobbies or former hobbies fall under the heading of visual art. I’ve in the past cake decorated, modded ponies, painted, drawn with tons of different mediums, played video games (Sims and Minecraft for the creative aspect, Assassin’s Creed for the story aspect and the stabbing, and WoW because...idk, honestly, I just enjoy it.), and...idk a wide variety of stuff I can’t really remember. I think I even got into sculpting styrofoam and assembling model cars for awhile. Currently the stuff I do the most is drawing (I finally found a way of digital painting that I actually like so at some point I’ll finish something and post it.), playing sims, and...writing. I write a lot. Oh! And photography! I have a stupid expensive camera (A Canon 80d) and I enjoy using it. Although all of this has kind of fallen by the wayside because my thesis is due in about a month.

SIX/ favourite colours

TEAL. Like the color of the water in Tahiti. I also enjoy pink, blue, purple, green, and red. Ok listen guys I love color. I dislike plain white. Plain white is a canvas waiting to happen - usually literally because I have this tendency to paint on walls. Like...an image, with acrylics. I just don’t like yellow for whatever reason. And Olive green. And brown. And Grey. Basically any color that makes me think either “mud” or “boring”.

SEVEN/favourite books

I honestly, truely have very few favorite books despite the fact that I read a lot. I love ASoIaF. I love Feed (and the rest of the series) by Mira Grant. I love to read romance novels that don’t end with kids being born.

EIGHT/last song listened to

Oh god I have no idea...I don’t listen to music much. I wanna say something by Adele.

NINE/last film watched

I watched The Red Sea Diving Resort last night. It was ok. But in theaters it was the new MIB, which is as campy and fun as the older 2 but could have done with a cheezy Will Smith anthem.

TEN/inspiration for muse

YouTube. Often, it’s YouTube. So I get up, poke around on Tumblr, get ready, take my meds with my food and watch YouTube while I eat. So when my meds kick in I usually want to do whatever I’m watching. If I’m watching some ASoIaF discussion (they’re nice and long so they are good background noise.), I want to write my fic. If I’m watching someone draw, then I wanna draw. It really just depends. Outside of that, honestly, my brain has so many freakin things in it that I can’t get them out fast enough. So many stories. It’s one of the up sides of ADHD: I’ve been playing Ye Olde Head Movie for so long that I have a lot stored up.

ELEVEN/dream job

Several, honestly. A pro photographer on Martha’s Vineyard. Someone who travels for fun. A scientist. That’s the one I’m going for. I have an anthropology degree (I started the process wanting to be a doctor, and didn’t change my mind until I started really getting into anthro classes and I took Pacific Arch, so I’ve taken all of the mess o physical science classes bc of the prereqs.), and I’m working on a bio archeology masters with the intention of moving on to a PhD. The goal is to become some kind of scientist that studies evolution and genetics without ignoring human culture and the impact of it. But, my previous career was in IT. I’ve worked for AOL, Verizon, the Naval Academy, and a few various medical/EMR companies. So I’m basically the walking embodiment of the phrase “a jack of all trades”. There is so much stuff rattling around in my head you guys. SO MUCH.

TWELVE/meaning behind your url

Ok, so in high school I was into two fandoms: X-men and Gargoyles (Fun fact: I have a piece of original Shinga art floating around on a hard drive somewhere because we did an art trade way back in the early 00′s ‘cause we both hung out in the Gargoyles chat rooms.), and I spent a lot of time making up a lot of OCs for them. You know, as you do (Fun Fact #2: my niece now shares a name with one of my former OCs.). And I loved the fae from Gargoyles. My main OC and chat persona was a fae named Shayne, so when I started signing up for email addresses and whatnot I tried to use that but it was always taken. So I went with the name of another of my fae OCs: Kyidyl. That, itself, was a purposeful misspelling of the name Cydel because I loved the name but it was the name of a friend’s dog and I didn’t want to name myself after a dog. Kyidyl is short, but it’s never taken when I sign up for stuff, so I’ve kept it for like 20 years now. Cydel is pronounced Sigh-dell. Kyidyl is pronounced similarly, with the Kyi being pronounced as sigh with a K sound. Or was, originally, but over time it kind of morphed into Kyuh-deal, said quickly. And, for your amusement, here is a rough, obviously unfinished drawing of the character in question:

And now I’m supposed to tag some people so I’m gonna go with @athewasp, @innerllamagalaxy, @napshika, @alovethathelpsmethrive b/c they’re the top 4 in my mentions, and @dxmedstudent because she likes this kinda stuff. =D

#personal #memes

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