Latest Posts by cosmiccowboystuddies - Page 5

A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Academia

tips for the baby aesthete’s out there

academia

actually study! study the things you love, the things you like, the things you know nothing about — the pursuit of knowledge lasts a lifetime, and there is so much to learn

visit your professor’s office hours! it always helps to make yourself known to your teachers (i’ve been given grade bumps and had great conversations with my university lecturers)

avoid and check yourself for the pretension that can often accompany academia — it hurts no one to be kind and mindful

delve into the realm of philosophy (for starters: metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics) it will broaden your mind

stay late at your university library studying (if you can do so safely, preferably with a friend). university campuses feel magical in the evening

style

wear darker, muted colours

plaid coats, pants, or skirts

button-up shirts (Peter Pan collars are a bonus)

turtlenecks

tie your hair with a bow

accessorise! a vintage watch adds sophistication to any outfit. try wearing it with a ring or three

practice good posture — standing tall creates an air of elegance, confidence, and if paired with the right amount of nonchalance, mystery

media

films

dead poets society

cracks

the dreamers

thoroughbreds

breathless (à bout de souffle)

cléo from 5 to 7 (cléo de 5 à 7)

handsome devil

tv shows

gilmore girls

chilling adventures of sabrina

black mirror

the good place

the politician

books

the secret history

the picture of dorian gray

the goldfinch

the line of beauty

persuasion

the collected poems of oscar wilde 

ovid’s metamorphoses

music

listen to classical music as you sleep/read/study

you can check out this dark academia playlist for inspiration

aesthetic activities (think of this as a little checklist to get you underway as a fledgling aesthete)

make yourself tea in pretty teacups (you can find plenty in secondhand stores!)

light candles in your bedroom, and read by candlelight 

dry flowers for your room/desk

explore secondhand bookstores for old, pretty editions of novels you may or may not have heard of

give handwritten letters to your lovers/friends/yourself

wake up before the sun rises to watch dawn break

brood during a thunderstorm, and write extravagant, flowery poetry on parchment

join a secret society

exist in the real, with your books and art, and your turtlenecks and plaid coats, as a mystery. social media can give too much of you away

host an unceasing bacchanal for you and your pals

I hope this serves as a nice little guide for some of you wanting to get more into the aesthetic! There’s no real right or wrong way to go about it, these are just my suggestions from my own experience and perception of and within the community. 

Enjoy, 

Juniper x

I will succeed. Not immediately. But definitely.

little life update, got in a wreck and i haven't stopped thinking about it

5/31/24

sorry guys for the breif break, but school got out and I decided to allow myself a bit of a break. for the past two weeks I have had the luxury of being a slug, but i start my job in two days and decided to begin to acclimate myself to being a functional human. throughout my break i was proud of myself because i wrote every day, weather that was journaling or working on something publishable, and i read daily.

being home was an unwelcome change, me and my mom don't get along, and thankfully she had been working in office the past 2 weeks, but now that shes working from home I've decided to spend as little time as possible at home. my mom is generally unsupportive of anything that she doesn't seem as valuable, and sees my hobbies as a waste of time unless she can brag to her friends about it.

in other good news, i've found a new eq barn and am trying it out tomorrow, I've been drinking water consistently and i found my bracelet and necklace that i thought i loss. they belonged to my dad before i 'stole' them, and have become very important to me, despite my hatred of working retail, i am excited to have some structure in my life, i find that when i have appointments or schedules it makes me more productive so working again should be good for me, anyway here's to what i did today

whay i did today:

wahsed hair

oiled scalp

read only the brave washed and put away clothes

washed dishes

cooked

journaled

went through storage bins

drunk a crap ton of water

How fucking annoying is it when you feel so restless with creative energy but you can’t decide what to do with it and when you finally try to create something it comes out shit so you just give up and sit there being all creatively annoyed and jittery.

BUT WHO COULD LOVE ME? I AM OUT OF MY MIND // IVAN & TILL

pinterest // VIVINOS Alien Stage, "ROUND 6" (via youtube) // Anne Sexton Complete Poems of Anne Sexton, "The Papa and Mama Dance" // Fall Out Boy Hum Hallelujah // VIVINOS Alien Stage, "ROUND 6" (via youtube) // Ernest Hemingway The Garden of Eden // Florence + the Machine Grace // Elliot Wake Black Iris // The National Daughters of the Soho Riots // VIVINOS Alien Stage, "ROUND 6" (via youtube) // Mitski I Guess // Adam Silvera They Both Die at the End // Lorde Writer in the Dark // VIVINOS Alien Stage, "ROUND 6" (via youtube) // Margaret Atwood Cat's Eye // Chris Abani Dog Woman // VIVINOS Alien Stage, "ROUND 6" (via youtube) // Warsan Shire Souvenir, "Our Men Do Not Belong to Us" // VIVINOS Alien Stage, "ROUND 6" (via youtube) // Louise Glück Faithful and Virtuous Night

another tip, if you forget how to write, read your favorite book

writing tips from your friendly neighborhood author whos about to get published (yay me!)

sorry from the brag in the title but I'm very proud of myself and how much my writing has improved in the past year so i thought I would share some tips that helped me

read alot

analyize the style of authors you enjoy or want to write like (ie: story structure, diction, voice, tone, sentence structure, figurative language) i have a template i use if anyone wants

write daily ( it could be journaling, fanfiction, or even a blog post, writing daily builds a habit, and anything, any words on paper, is better than nothing at all)

if you're stuck, find a quote and write a short story around its use

your first draft is allowed to be crappy, hell it should be, it will never be perfect

it probably will be, but its only supposed to be first one, edit and revise as many times as you need to

tell what happening, show emotions

" she yanked the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring at the floor, before putting her forehead flat on the desk" sounds better than " she pulled the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring sadly at the ground."

Huh, I didn't see that coming.

- Me writing a story written and outlined by me.

writers

college tips from someone who survived their first year, and got themselves off of academic probation

study every day ( reread your notes, run through your flashcards)

it helps to avoid cramming around finals season

do assignments when you get them, it doesn't matter that its not due until the end of the semester, you will forget, you will get busy, you will get caught up with doing something else so do it when you get it, so you won't have to worry about it later

don't study in your bed, its a bad habit, it will make it harder to study and make it harder to sleep

go out at least once a month, to a party, to a club, on a late night walk

carry a knife if its legal ( not just for safety reasons)

join class group mes

go to office hours, even if you don't need to, lie and say you didn't understand something so the professor knows your name

its okay to skip a class occasionally, just never two in a row, and don't make it a habit

Sorry for wasting time on my phone, that wasn't very Rory Gilmore, straight A+, speech champion, top of the class, academic weapon, relentless writer, future IVY student, 10 AP classes, graduating early, perfect score, Honors student of me.

“This too shall pass” well can it pass a little faster jeez

writing tips from your friendly neighborhood author whos about to get published (yay me!)

sorry from the brag in the title but I'm very proud of myself and how much my writing has improved in the past year so i thought I would share some tips that helped me

read alot

analyize the style of authors you enjoy or want to write like (ie: story structure, diction, voice, tone, sentence structure, figurative language) i have a template i use if anyone wants

write daily ( it could be journaling, fanfiction, or even a blog post, writing daily builds a habit, and anything, any words on paper, is better than nothing at all)

if you're stuck, find a quote and write a short story around its use

your first draft is allowed to be crappy, hell it should be, it will never be perfect

it probably will be, but its only supposed to be first one, edit and revise as many times as you need to

tell what happening, show emotions

" she yanked the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring at the floor, before putting her forehead flat on the desk" sounds better than " she pulled the chair from underneath the desk, and sat down starring sadly at the ground."

summer reading list(2024)

the nightstand pile

The Hunger Games Trilogy If we Were Villians A Good Girls Guide To Murder Trilogy 5 Survive Bunny Dune All The Light We Cannot See The Illiad

need annotate

everything i never told you

rumblefish

taming the star runner

that was then and this was now

summer reading list

everything i never told you- finished

that was then and this was now-finished

elena vanishing- finished

hench-annotating

the hunger games- rereading series

song of achillies

a good girls guide to murder

my year of rest and felatation

the foxhole court

the sunshine court

circe

the illiad

all your twisted lies

the raven cycle series

5 survive

they both die at the end

dune

bunny

all the light we cannot see

No longer human

the girls i’ve been

all the young dudes trilogy

things have gotten worse since we've last spoke

a little life

a song of ice and fire

hope and other luxuries

anne of green gables

the idealist

dark rise

six of crows series

little fires everywhere

neon gods

red queen series

the perks of being a wallflower

This messed me up real bad

one thing about jean that fucks me up sooo bad is that he is just a kid. he's so young. he's scared of getting lost in airports. he closes his eyes on the back of a motorcycle so he doesn't have to see traffic. his favorite magnet is a little bear with a red barret.

[05.14]

Its been a weird few days, I finished my first semester, with a bang, got myself off of academic probation and rose my gpa to a 2.55, i was initally proud of myself I kept thinking about how I could have done better. today i found out i have to reapply for my job because of my leave and I am suddenly overwhelmed with the sheer amount of clutter that lives in my life. I've been trying to live more intentionally, live with less, but I chronically horde out of fear that my things, my uniquely acquired and curated things will be taken away by my mother who seems to take a sick pride in making me sad.

I woke up at 7 and took a shower, and lied in my bed with just a towel because I had the house to myself. I didn't dry off completely and tuned the fan on to the highest setting because I wanted to feel cold.

I fear I have been making my to-do list too long and overwhelming, so tomorrow I have planned for less, making the list more smaller and manageable makes me more likely to try.

sorry for being weirdly introspective, it's been a confusing few days

what i did today: ate 2 meals wrote 600 words finished everything i never told (lmk if yall want opinions) started reading that was then, this was now wash dishes unpacked 5 boxes organized sewing area organize bookshelf made jello washed hair organized desk talked to a friend

please feel free to reach out, always looking for mutuals

rip bunny corcoran you would have loved hearing carnival at a frat party

I will succeed. Not immediately. But definitely.

"And I had to explain a lot of stuff to him." It amazed me how Johnny could get more meaning out of the stuff in there than I could— I was supposed to be the deep one."

The Outsiders, SE Hinton

Every word written is a victory. No matter how shitty. No matter how painful to write. No matter if you immediately deleted them, or if you know you will delete them later.

If you wrote - if you tried - I'm proud of you.

the sunshine court notes

first things first riko needed to be brutally beaten to death, a shot was too quick

renee talked like a fortune cookie and it was pissing me off

i wish we got more of Wymack and Jean, it was very nice of him to get on the plane with Jean

jean immediately getting annoyed with basic life is really funny

jean is also really sassy and hilarious

also something weird happened in jeremeys house

my personally theory is that he had a sibling who died and his family thinks its his fault

like maybe an accident or maybe the sibling overheard something that they weren't supposed to and his sibling had to die as a result

whatever happened the butler knows about it and is trying to protect him

and whatever happened had to be bad because the act of dying his hair had his family ban him from the dinner table

neil believing his relationship with andrew as a strength his really good for his character, considering his mom was so keen on him not forming any connections

the fact that jean actually considered reaching out to his sister, only for him to learn that she was dead breaks me every time

and neil using her to force him into a belief that he doesn't deserve to belong to anyone but himself was a necessary cruelty.

i also like that Jeremey was the one who telling him about Rikos death was good

jean has no agency in the entire 1st act of the book, he is taken from the nest and basically held captive, then he is forced to go to the sunshine court, which he doesn't like but has to

the foxes all hide info from jean for his own good

and jeremey being the one to tell him is nice because jeremey is his first taste of freedom

jean talking about his abuse in such a casual manner is horrifying bc he thinks its so normal and its horrifying

" i didn't ask" broke me in so many ways because Jean doesn't particularly trust jeremey at the time, nor did it slip out while he was angry, he just said it so casually like it was normal

At first i felt bad for Lucas, but not so much anymore.

he was a sympathetic character who was trying to straddle a thin line of having faith in his captain and who he belives is a violent stranger and his brother who is not the same boy he know

but bringing Greyson to jean was soo fucking stupid it pisses me off

and the fact that jean wasn't even really fighting back, just trying to protect himself is upsetting

also the imagery of him punching the keypad over and over again just trying to get out is gutting

jean isn't a dog who bites, he's a dog who puts his foot to the fire because he believes that he is supposed to do

the water scene was sad as well because he was trying so hard to behave but physically could not

also Jeremey and really most people on the team meet his violence with unflinching kindness is really sweet

i also appreciate how jeremey doesn't force jean to talk about his trauma or even takes the notes from him, jean has had little to no control in his life since he was 15 and forcing him to talk about it when he wasn't ready would have made it worse

and jean asking jeremey to pretend was sweet and what was even sweeter when he did

jean learning to cook is nice as well because he needs life skills

theory for book 2: jeremey buys jean his freedom and jean becomes an exy coach ( more of a pipe dream i guess)

i also think Greyson will kill lucas

jeremeys saving grace being the thought of his sister deserving better is horrifying

i wish we got more of his relationship with Zane

neil is a real one because Jean compared Greyson to drake once, and Neil took care of it for him

jean being afraid of sleeping alone is so sad because he's basically been trained to sleep next to someone

and the fact that he has nighmares, but they are hardly mentioned, and jeremey is the one to bring it up is so sad

also kevin should have tried harder to reach out to jean

jean pushed away the foxes because he knew they would eventually leave him too

jean being steadfast in the idea that if he plays a good game he will have momentary peace is heartbreaking

jean holding onto his talent despite people thinking he slept his way to the top is also upsetting

i hope we get a zane and jean reunion bc i think they truly cared for each other

maybe kevin sends jean a postcard and a magnet and they can reconnect

also him realizing his very limited possesions have been destroyed made me almost cry

and the magnet scene with jeremey is very sad, but him realizing the magnets are broken make him realize that he is

kevin and jean still both being afraid of riko is telling bc riko is dead

let me know what yall thought... always willing to talk about all for the game.

reblog if you’re NOT tumblr famous, but you ARE tired and kinda gay

“the ending is always the same”

war of the foxes - richard silken / waterloo - ABBA / euripides’ medea - the little theatre / anne carson / the three fates - luca cambiaso / the oresteia - aeschylus / road to hell II - hadestown / when i met you - mira lightner / andersen’s fairy tale anthology

always go back to this qoute when i feel like my writing is bad

“Be willing and unafraid to write badly, because often the bad stuff clears the way for good.” — Jennifer Egan

hi! if you’re feeling especially depressed, or anxious during these times, or just in general, i’ve compiled a list of things that are sweet and hopeful and might help you smile!

tumblr posts

How To Feel Again by @wowanothered

make a Hot Honey Drink with @fierybluebeacon 

love is via @battlechick

little notes for when you’re sad by @flowerais

asks

Make Me Admit Stuff by @jreadhd

Lighthearted Questions by @definegodliness

Soft, Stay At Home Ask Game by @serotoninsuggestion

Let’s Get Personal by @castielwinchester83

Fantasy Asks by @spectral-ask-memes

Flower Asks by @thatsthepositivitea

videos

Some Good News with John Krasinski

Reasons To Smile by Thomas Sanders 

Homemade with Steven Lim

Ambient Worlds (a channel dedicated to the background music of different places you’ve wanted to visit, i.e- each Hogwart House common room, Disney World, etc.)

Walkthrough Disneyland

books

Tea Dragon Society: Katie O’Neill (cute graphic novel about tea, and dragons)

Extra Yarn: Mac Barnett (a cute picture book about a little girl and her magic yarn)

The Astonishing Color of After: Emily X.R Pan (YA novel about grief, and love)

All Out: Sandra Mitchell (short story collection about LGBTQIA+ characters)

Counting By Sevens: Holly Goldberg Sloan (a middle grade novel of grief and family)

The Prince and the Dressmaker: Jen Wang (an adorable YA graphic novel with a non gender conforming character, and a soft, teen love story, set in the middle ages time period, with loads of lovely dresses and magic~)

Winnie The Pooh: A.A Milne (we all know our beloved winnie the pooh)

The Hidden Life of Trees: Peter Wohlleben (a rly interesting nonfiction book about trees and how they communicate)

Bloom: Kevin Panetta (a soft, cute, gay graphic novel love story)

movies

any Studio Ghibli film

the classic, animated Winnie the Pooh 

any old, animated Disney movie

Legally Blonde, 2001 dir. Robert Luketic

Miss Congeniality, 2000 dir. Donald Petrie

High School Musical (we all know the one)

Princess Diaries, 2001 dir. Gary Marshall

Wall-E, 2008 dir. Andrew Stanton

shows

The Good Place

New Girl

Schitt’s Creek

One Day At A Time

Hilda

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

Merlin

podcasts

Welcome To Nightvale 

The Two Princes

activities

pick and press flowers

heres some basic homesteading skills that are pretty fucking cool via @martinihomestead

knit/crochet (same link as ^)

read 

(heres another link for free books and essays from @diabeticlesbian)

listen to music (links via @vivienvalentino)

bake

cook

art things with @artsyskelly

redo your room

sketch

learn a new language

lie on the floor with your window open and listen to the world

read through wikipedia articles

host an online game night/day

get ahead on schoolwork

say fuck this and go on a run

make tea

make face masks

sew

plant shit

make a discord server

generate cool mansions/cities via @mostlysignssomeportents and @vesperlionheart

yoga

water your plants

create an oc with @kannibalprinceref

paint by numbers

call someone and either talk, or watch something together, or do your own thing, still on the call, as if they were with you

clean

write letters and save the USPS

catch up on the news (but in bursts, perhaps find some good news too)

make sidewalk art

talk to your plants

play a boardgame with someone (online or with the people you’re living with)

clean out your room

make your room/house into a place you feel safe

dance

write a song

write a story

(writing prompts via @veronicabunchwrites)

call someone

learn to play DnD

paint your nails

paint someone else’s nails

go adventuring

make a youtube channel

make a podcast

talk to yourself

learn to bake bread

garden

paint your room a new color

lie on your floor

lie in bed

sleep

watch a crappy free movie on youtube and make fun of it

exercise (but stretch first)

go on a walk and take pictures of things you think your friends would like

scroll through social media and send things to your friends

cover your wall with pictures, quotes, artifacts

make lists

find a pen pal

clean shit

you dont have to be productive, babe

these are just things i’ve seen/read/thought of- so if anyone else wants to add on- pls do! 

this isnt complete! so pls add on things that help you feel good, or stuff for people to do whilst stuck in quarantine!