types of dark academics
classic dark academic: thrifts old books, drinks coffee, writes poetry when bored, visits museums, reads a lot, loves documentaries, loves languages, the teacher’s favourite.
nature-inspired dark academic: lots of plants in their room, pressed flowers, probably vegan, has a cat, wears glasses, loves tea, obsessed with biology, has a tight group of friends.
music-obsessed dark academic: always has their earphones with them, goes to concerts a lot, studies with music on, loves wearing a T-shirt+blazer combo, plays the piano or violin.
casual dark academic: wears regular jeans most of the time, loves studying, reads a lot of reference, probably is a youtuber, into science, loves thrifting, writes essays, good at art.
what they think dark academics are: constantly studying, drinking tea while reading a good book, intellectuals, studying 10 different languages at the same time, dark.
what dark academics actually are: chaotic, procrastinating, scrolling through tumblr and instagram, looking up aesthetically pleasing pictures, looking up swear words in latin, a plant mom/dad/parent, collecting books that they never end up reading.
dark academia on a budget
(because not only rich people can be dark academics)
-thrifting with friends for old sweaters that someone’s grandfather must have worn
-getting second (or third or fourth) hand books and reading the notes that other people left in them
-making sure everything is tidy and clean, no matter what
-adopting a minimalist aesthetic
-or making your own decorations (which then makes you better at lettering and art)
-sitting in a local cafe and buying the cheapest thing so that you can study there (and making sure that you tip as much as you can)
-reading poetry online, printing your favorites, and posting them on your walls
-taking as much of your family’s clothing that they’ll let you have
-rotating the same few shirts, pants, and shoes without anyone noticing
-a lack of jewelry (because there are more important things)
-sitting outside at a park to read or write
-looking outside windows on public transport while listening to somber music
I'm majoring in a morbid longing for the picturesque and minoring in caffeine addiction
Dark Academia Playlist
a little dark, a little whimsical, tunes to make you feel like the main character in a film.
- roslyn — bon iver, st. vincent
- the secret history — the chamber orchestra of london
- les mémoires blessées — dark sanctuary
- into dust — mazzy star
- clair de lune, l. 32 — claude debussy
- show me how — men i trust
- eyes on fire — blue foundation
- over the moon — the marías
- falling asleep with a book on your chest — lullatone
- solo — five mile town
- tchaikovsky: swan lake — pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky
- altogether — slowdive
- cigar & a 78 — five mile town
- visions of gideon — sufjan stevens
- thinking of you — cosmic child
- headache — grouper
- if i’m asleep — five mile town
- dark — daffodils
concept playlists
motel terrors and subtext: there’s a boy in a motel room on his knees with a gun to his head. there’s a girl in a motel room with her finger on the trigger. a bottle breaks. that means ‘i love you’. you shut your eyes. what a pair.
get your lyres out, boys: you’re the oracle of delphi. amidst the smoke of incense and offerings of grapes and honey you witness history. the rage of achilles, the burden of atlas, the flight of icarus. time does not exist.
raging feminist: you’re a raging feminist. you’re dismantling the patriarchy and rallying. you’re discovering the power in femininity and womanhood.
all this, and love too, will ruin us: you’re in love for the first time and you feel like you’ve discovered something no one ever has. you’re consumed and can swallow the world whole.
dark academia but it’s online school
- waking up early in the morning to watch the sunrise, even though you don’t actually need to
- staying up late to read or paint because you don’t have to get up early
- handwriting assignments that should be typed and submitted digitally
- having a coffee cup with you, rather than a thermos because you don’t have to take it anywhere
- still getting ready and dressed so that you can feel focused on your work in the mornings
- emailing your teachers to see if they have any extra reading related to the topic
- turning in all of the assignments for the week earlier than the rest of your class because you wanted to finish them early
- not doing any assignments for the week because you were too interested in researching about different planets or the deep sea
Can somebody hire me to do night shifts at a museum? I’ll bring my own dinner that I made the morning of and my favourite book. I’ll wander around the place taking everything in even though I see it each night. Sometimes i’ll listen to music while admiring and sometimes i’ll listen to the silence in comfort. Can somebody make this happen?



