oh-my--dais

[oh-my--dais]

You are all of the things you love. You are the cluttered bookshelf that is piled high with worn, tired books. You are that delicate tea-cup that you have to clean by hand when everything else goes in the dishwasher. You are the moon and the sun. You are the flowers speckled with rain. You are the Earth and the people that live on it, with hearts of gold and diamonds in their eyes. You are the things that make you happy, that make you smile, those moments where time stops and you are left alone in space. You are all of the things you love, and if that's so, it means you love yourself, because you are yourself.

[oh-my--dais]

“As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.” - Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist

[oh-my--dais]

thinking about Kait Rokowski writing, "nothing ever ends poetically, it ends and we turn it into poetry. all that blood was never once beautiful. it was just red." and losing it

[oh-my--dais]

okay, i have to get something off of my chest. i know this isn’t what i usually post but driving out into the sun, let the ultraviolet cover me up. went looking for a creation myth, ended up with a pair of cracked lips. windows down, scream along to some america first rap-country song; a slaughterhouse, an outlet mall, slot machines, fear of god. windows down, heater on. big bolts of lightning hanging low over the coast; everyone’s convinced it’s a government drone or an alien spaceship. either way, we’re not alone. i’ll find a new place to be from; a haunted house with a picket fence, to float around and ghost my friends. no, i’m not afraid to disappear. the billboard said ‘the end is near,’ i turned around, there was nothing there. yeah, i guess the end is here.

[oh-my--dais]

Photography by Four Seasons Garden

[oh-my--dais]

One thing I’ve learned about writing is ”give everything a face”. It’s no good to write passively that the nobility fled the city or that the toxic marshes were poisoning the animals beyond any ability to function. Make a protagonist see how a desperate woman in torn silks climbs onto a carriage and speeds off, or a two-headed deer wanders right into the camp and into the fire. Don’t just have an ambiguous flock of all-controlling oligarchy, name one or two representatives of it, and illustrate just how vile and greedy they are as people.

it’s bad to have characters who serve no purpose in the story, but giving something a face is a perfectly valid purpose.

[oh-my--dais]

the secret history by donna tartt.

[oh-my--dais]

concept playlists

feel better;  it’s been a long week, not moving from your permanently dark bedroom, your phone forgotten under the bed with a hundred missed messages, but you’re finally opening your eyes and seeing a sliver of early morning sunlight filter in behind the curtains that a mysterious breeze blew open.

daisy chains;  it’s late spring or early summer and you’re dozing with your best friends in the grass, the slow and peaceful brush of the warm breeze keeping you in that state of just waking from a pleasant dream.

songs to run away to;  you’re packing an overnight bag and taking the first bus out of the city. you’re not exactly running away, but you don’t plan on coming back. all you know is that your only goal is to keep on running.

classical jams;  it’s your fancy neighbour’s annual ball held in their gothic castle and you’re getting turnt to tchaikovsky while very deliberately disappointing your parents who wanted you to use the occasion to find an upstanding suitor.

dark academia but it slaps;  vague fuck the school system vibes, doing stupid shit with your close friends, caffeinated all-nighters, a chaotic gleam in your eye as you throw paper planes made from your essays out of the highest window in campus, not knowing if your friend really did commit murder. in this household we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

[oh-my--dais]

dear gods just imagine the stories of women in a dark academia setting. 

women with squared off shoulders that strut down the hallways as if they have the whole world at their hands. women playing the male roles in the plays. women adjusting their jacket before storming off. women gently putting on red lipstick with a bloodied hand. women with hunched shoulders and dark eyes frantically reading a book, because they cant get enough of it. women with a secret just poised on their lips if the perfect arch. women with messy hair and disheveled looks stumbling into class. women seducing everyone around them with their raspy voices. women having everyone’s attention with their soft voices. women knowing how to handle blood. women knowing how the plan things perfectly. women reciting poetry over a fresh grave. women with their arms linked running across campus, their laughs rising above the quiet of the night. women tasting like strawberry wine and the faintest hint of whisky. women helping women when things go wrong. just women in the dark academia genre where they aren’t used as the lust interest in the room. 

[oh-my--dais]

It was a fine day for me...curse the inevitable sun for burning me ever so slightly. I do not sparkle, I instead turn to dust. My skin ever peeling away slowly, painfully like that of a shedding snake. Foolish mortals believe we shine and glitter; that is only our eyes.

[oh-my--dais]

Alright pal, fill me in. What's dark academia?

Okay so Ill try my best to give you the rundown. 

A Very Brief History:

Dark academia was originally a book/movie genre. The common tropes where murder, friendships, rebellion from social norms, and social class differences.  Some of these tropes are now apart of the dark academia aesthetic as we know it today. Now here is Where things get tricky. There has been a lot of disagreements about what the dark academia community does and does not agree with. We obviously have human decency and never shame or make less of anybody but, there has been a lot of people not liking and complaining about the pretentious and dark parts of the community, so they decided to make there own academia communities. Those communities being light and grey academia. 

Now to the fun part.

The Aesthetic:

Clothes:

Anything plaid or tweed

Warm and neutral colors

WaistcoatsBlazers 

Turtlenecks

Dress shirts

Dress Pants

Oxfords 

Doc martens

Music:

I personally enjoy classical and jazz music, but if your not into that i will list some artists that i think fit into the dark academia aesthetic below (I apologize for not knowing more):

Regina Spektor

Hoizer

The Correspondents

Vampire Weekend

Lana Del Ray

Borns

Florence + the machine

Books:

The secret history

Dead Poets Society

Maurice

The Goldfinch

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Honestly anything by Oscar Wilde

Anything considered  “Classic Literature”

Poetry

Shakespeare

Movies:

Dead Poets Society

Black Swan

Maurice

Kill Your Darlings

Dorian Gray

The Look/Feeling:

Sleepless nights from studying

Multiple cups of black coffee 

Sipping tea while listening to music and reading a book

Ink stained hands

The smell of cigarette smoke on your clothes

The sound of frantic clicking of a typewriter

Dramatically draping your body over a chair

Messy hair

Crying in your bathtub thinking of your ex lover

Kisses among strangers

Wine stained lips

Staring at an art piece for much to long

Having heated discussions with friends

Rushing to class with stacks of books in your hands

I hope this is slightly helpful, feel free to ask more questions if you wish. I also apologize if this was too long of an explanation.

                                                                     Kindest regards,

                                                                                         - A.B.

[oh-my--dais]

i need a dark academia style guide my friend

Aha, my friend. I’ll try, but it’ll probably be a rant by the end!

Dark academia is elegant, nostalgic, decadent, morbid, and, most importantly, academic.

Try seeking out thrift stores, vintage shops, estate sales, and your dead relatives’ closets for elegant vintage finds. From there on, it’s preference.

In general for Dark Academia, it’s studious turtlenecks, waistcoats, and oxfords all around, but it can be so much broader than that. Self-expression and devotion to studies to an unhealthy extent is kind of the trademark, so if that means dark circles under one’s eyes, messy hair and wrinkled pants in favor of reading a goddamn encyclopedia, that’s Dark Academia fashion.

It could also be flowy white blouses, flowery perfume, perfectly straight hair, and a well-rested softness.

Do you want to be a 1980s astronomy student unsuccessfully poisoning your professor? a 1890s boarding school kid running away with a copy of Byron? Perhaps a feverish 15th century alchemist? Find your aesthetic, find your field.

Dark Academia is a genre that, for me, means engaging in the intriguing to an extent sometimes ignored by those who encourage routine and safety, go all out. Carpe diem.

[oh-my--dais]

things to do on sundays to recharge and make the upcoming week awesome

• clean ya room (just do it). also, check those pinterest boards you save for “one day” and actually go through them and draw some inspiration, even if you just end up rearranging the books on your bookshelf or putting some flowers from your garden in a mason jar on your desk. this is your home, make it feel like it is.

• do your laundry (also, don’t forget your bed sheets). if you’re in the mood, look at next week’s weather forecast and think about what you’re going to wear. go through your drawers, check the back of your closet. that hat you bought some time ago and forgot about because you didn’t dare to wear it? well… new week, new you, right? 

• call a friend/family member you haven’t talked to in a while, tell them you miss them. tell them you love them. remember and appreciate that they are a part of your life even if it doesn’t feel like it all the time.

• draw, paint, journal, write or make some music. something you know you love doing but “never find the time”. sunday is “finding-the-time day”. if you’re not feeling creative, read a book or watch your favorite show. or watch a new show. a scary show. a funny show. laugh as loud as you want. listen to music. listen to your favorite songs, or listen to new songs. even a new genre if you dare. turn the volume all the way up. take a second to consciously feel the music. you can always get up and dance. or sing. or both.

• the great, but still really effective classic: take a bath or a really long shower. if you have this special face or hair mask you’re saving up for a special occasion: congrats, you’re the special occasion today. use it. also, body lotion. we all know you’re going to be running late during the week and skip it one too many times. make yourself feel like the goddess you are. 

• sit in silence for a few moments. listen to your breath. listen to your heartbeat. for the love of god PLEASE listen to your thoughts for once in your life. don’t make them feel like they are wrong. or bothersome. they too just want to be heard once in a while. what are they trying to tell you? what could be soothing for them? be compassionate to yourself. it’s okay. you are okay. you are okay.

• think about things you can be grateful for next week. even if you feel like your life sucks atm, think about the small things you take for granted in a different way. for example: “next week, i will have access to clean water. CLEAN. WATER. 844 million people don’t have that.” or “next week, my legs will take me wherever i want to go. not everybody has two fully functioning legs, so i’m lucky in that way.” you’re allowed to feel bad about your life, but you’re also allowed to feel good about things. 

• if you’ve stayed home most of the week, go out. go for a walk. go swimming. go to a party or dinner with friends. even if you feel like you don’t need to see the outside world, chances are you’ll feel great after you do. if you feel like you’ve been running around all week, maybe you’d like to stay home today. put on your ugliest sweater, comfiest leggings, and fluffiest socks and curl up under a thousand blankets. you a sloth today and it’s okay. 

• eat. i mean honestly: eat THE THING. i don’t care if you’re on a diet. if there’s something you’ve been craving all week that has turned you into the veiny-neck-dude meme just trying to resist it: EAT IT. you deserve it. not because you worked out or ate salads or did well in school, but just because you’re a human and you love to eat and life is short and you should be allowed to eat yummy things. it’s okay. you won’t gain 5 pounds or lose your brain cells no matter how unhealthy it is, i promise.

• plan plan plan yo week. it doesn’t matter if you use a planner, bullet journal, the calendar on your phone or the notes app: write everything down you have going on next week. appointments. events. coffee-dates. when are you going to the gym? what are you going to eat? (meal prep if necessary) also, create reminders on your phone for everything. “i won’t forget it!” is a sweet thought, but oh honey you will. schedule reminders for every event. let your phone remind you that you need to buy toilet paper when the store is nearby. schedule daily reminders for your medications. (once you’ve done this it honestly feels like you just cleaned out 38GB of your brain, you simply don’t have to worry about that anymore, space for more important info, like your new favorite pun to annoy everyone with)

• most importantly: listen to what your mind and your body need today and next week. daily life is so full of “should-do”s that it’s important to find a healthy balance between the “should”s and the “need”s. you will be much more productive, healthy and happy that way. nobody knows you better than you do, take advantage of that and plan accordingly.

[oh-my--dais]

Me with my RBF. Fun fact - I have this outfit irl.

Picrew

Anyone else want to use this beautiful doll maker? Tagging @yumenouveau @weird-fangirling-persona @gooseberrybrains @remus-john-lupin @chromat1cs @ame-reflets-dans-l-eau

[oh-my--dais]

now that i’ve resigned myself to living in my parents house while i finish my degree i’ve spent the last few months trying to make my room a little more like somewhere i actually want to live and work in & i finally feel like i finished this clutterbug space last night i’m v happy  ´ ▽ ` )

[oh-my--dais]

Dream a Little Dream of Me by Mama Cass except playing from a cassette as you’re lying in bed one hot summer night, writing a love poem to the girl you like. She doesn’t know you’re a lesbian and you could never bring yourself show this to her, but it feels good to get your feelings out.

requested by @gothdog

[oh-my--dais]