@juminssi (masterlist ; favorite!)

mother raised me just right. I'm exactly the type of person –the type of bomb– she expected of me.

i destroy things and i ruin people and i love all of them. i love them just in the right intensity to kill them. how stupid was i to think that i could be someone normal and good? I'm her daughter for fucks sake. we don't have any good in us and, even better, we don't get the famous "lucky try" people talk about.

Dark Academia Suggestions For Women

Books that are also movies: 

Anne of Green Gables 1-4 by LM Montgomery (BBC’s Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables: the Sequel)

Orphan Anne Shirley is adopted by bachelor Matthew Cuthbert and his spinster sister Marilla Cuthbert in edwardian Canada and must learn to reconcile her romantic and imaginative nature in this coming of age story

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women (1994) or Little Women (2019))

A coming of age story following 4 sisters and their mother while their father is off at war. The main protagonist, Jo, is an especially romantic figure

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic)

Two sister witches must cover up the murder of one of their abusive ex boyfriend while an agent is investigating his disappearance

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Hugo)

Orphan Hugo befriends Isabelle who helps him unravel the mystery of his father’s automaton

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield (Ballet Shoes)

Three orphan girls are taken in by an eccentric explorer and his niece, but once he’s gone they must take up performing arts careers to fend for themselves

Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson (Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day)

Miss Pettigrew, a governess, is accidentally sent to the wrong address by her agency and befriends a night club singer 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice (2005) or BBC’s Pride and Prejudice Mini Series)

Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters attempt to find love in Regency England, but Elizabeth and her love interest Mr Darcy make things more difficult than they need to be

Emma by Jane Austen (Emma (1995) or Emma (2020))

Emma Woodhouse fancies herself a matchmaker in Regency England, but quickly finds she knows little about love. 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility (1995)

A coming of age story for the Dashwood sisters, who have lost their home but find love in Regency England 

Other novels by Jane Austen

All of her novels have been adapted to screen. While all of her novels are good, I highlight these three because of their emphasis on female friendship and romanticism

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre has a troubling childhood but grows up to become a governess and fall in love with her benefactor in Regency England

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (The Help)

A white female journalist records the stories of two black women who work in white households during 1960′s America

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (BBC’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell mini series)

A historical fantasy following the last two magicians on earth in Napoleon-era England

Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown (Legally Blonde)

Attempting to impress her ex boyfriend, Elle Woods applies to and gets accepted to Harvard Law School where she tries to prove herself as more than just an airhead blonde. 

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (A Little Princess)

Orphaned Sara finds herself adjusting from a life of wealth to a life of poverty and abuse working at a boarding school and comforts herself by imagining she is a princess. 

Matilda by Roald Dahl (Matilda)

Young Matilda is a prodigy in an abusive household, sent to a school with an abusive headmistress. But when she discovers that she has magical abilities, she uses it to seek justice for herself and her friends. 

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events)

In an indeterminate time period, three orphans get moved from guardian to guardian as they are pursued by the villainous Count Olaf who wants their family fortune. Along the way they find themselves wrapped up in a secret society that has split into factions and gone to war with each other. 

Movies: 

The Mona Lisa Smile

When Katherine Watson takes a job as an art professor in a conservative town in the 1950′s she tries to teach her female students to become more assertive

Whisper of the Heart 

Shizuku is a Japanese student at the end of her summer break who befriends an antique shop owner and his grandson after following a cat through the city. Inspired by the events she attempts to write a novel

Shakespeare in Love 

A fictional account of a noblewoman who poses as a man in order to perform in a Shakespeare play, only to fall in love with the playwright and inspire future plays

Miss Potter 

A hyperbolic account of Beatrix’s Potters life 

Becoming Jane 

A hyperbolic account of Jane Austen’s life

Ever After 

A retelling of Cinderella set in renaissance era France and without magical elements, replacing the fairy godmother with Leonardo Da Vinci instead. 

The Bookshop 

Widowed Florence Green follows her dreams and opens a bookshop in the 1950s but unexpectedly finds herself at odds with the queen bee of the town who wanted the property for her own project. 

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Coming of age story that follows 13 year old Kiki who, according to witch tradition, goes off to live on her own for a year to practice her magic. She sets up a delivery service but learns things will be harder than she anticipated.

Books: 

*Some of which have movies that I either haven’t seen or didn’t personally like

The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier 

A fictional account of the servant girl who inspired the real life painting by Vermeer

The Awakening by Kate Chopin 

A truly bleak tale set in New Orleans at the end of the 19th century following Edna as she begins to have an awakening about feminism which affects her daily life. This is regarding as one of the first novels to primarily focus on the concept of feminism. 

Agatha Christie Mysteries 

Agatha Christie was so good at what she did that her books are still used today in toxicology classes and she largely helped define the mystery genre

Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene

Though written for children, the Nancy Drew books follow the amateur detective and her female friends as they solve mysteries in mid-20th-century America and the character has become a cultural icon. 

Gathering Blue and Son from “The Giver Quartet” by Lois Lowry

Books 2 and 4 in the Giver Quartet. While books 1 and 3 are also good, books 2 and 4 are featured here because they have female protagonists. The books are part of a series, but only loosely connected and can be read as standalone books if desired. Gathering Blue follows Kira in a dystopian future as she makes a place for herself in her village through her ability to dye cloth, a skill which helps prevent her from being cast out for being disabled. Son, meanwhile, follows Claire who is looking for her son after he was taken from her. 

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Follows Kit who moves from the Caribbean to Puritan Connecticut where she befriends an elderly spinster woman who is accused of witchcraft 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

A staple of dark academia, it tells the story of Victor Frankenstein who creates artificial life and is immediately horrified by his creation, who swiftly grows angry and vengeful towards his creator. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt 

Another staple of dark academia, follows six students who study the classics. The narrator is an adult version of one of the students reflecting on the events that led to a murder. 

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival 

Taking place in Mexico, Tita is being kept from her lover by her traditionalist mother. Tita expresses herself through her cooking which takes on magical properties. 

The Inkheart Series by Cornelia Funke (Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath)

Follows Maggie and her book-worm father after she discovers her father has the ability to bring to life any book that he reads aloud. They are quickly swept off into the narrative of a fantasy novel. 

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman 

Though part of a trilogy, the first novel is the most appropriate for dark academia, following a female protagonist (Lyra) in a historical fantasy setting as she unravels a mystery. 

Music: 

Florence Welch 

Lana Del Rey

Lorde 

Hozier 

Enya 

Alice Merton 

Regina Spektor 

Lenka 

Everybody likes a bit of gossip to some point, as long as it’s gossip with some point to it. That’s why I like history. History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.

— Gore Vidal, 1925-2012, American writer

Alanis Morissette, Sorry to Myself/Haruki Murakami,1084

POSTING THIS AGAIN!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!

Okay, so I'm kinda loving the thought of the Batfam having their signature fighting style or preferred combat system.

I can absolutely imagine Jason as a boxer; Heavy hitting, fast feet, quick movements, very deeply rooted in his street fighting? Yes, yes, just yes; Jason is a big guy, but he's fast like a mouse and punches like ten men. He learned to box from Catherine

I feel like Dick wanted to put his agility and acrobatic training to good use when he first started as Robin, so the best fighting style foe that would be Muay Thai; It's a precision based boxing style in Thailand. Lots of leg, arms, elbows, oh my! I think Hapkido would fit him well too

Gonna say Kung Fu for Tim simply because it's so inclusive that everyone can learn it, and I feel like maybe he felt a bit insecure about his height at first? But Alfred doesn't polish to be clean, he polishes to Sparkle. Cue Kung Fu Panda montage

Gotta go with Krav Maga for Damian; It's practically one big potluck of kicking ass techniques. It's also the first style he PICKS by himself, and it's very special to him

BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU FOR CASS. HANDS DOWN. ABSOLUTE UNIT. also best fighter in the family. Fight me. Most advantaged, too. Girl is a human Xerox

a growing realisation that you aren’t going to change the world after all

The years from late middle age onward are also marked by a steady erosion of ambition. The cause isn’t so much a loss of drive as a growing realisation that you aren’t going to change the world after all. You’re just going to die and be forgotten, like almost everyone else. The knowledge that your existence doesn’t really matter is sobering, but also sort of a relief. It’s certainly changed my approach to paperwork.

— Tim Dowling, from “I’m nearly 60. Here’s what I’ve learned about growing old so far.” (The Guardian, June 8, 2022)

reasons why y’all should read scarecrow:year one

dick grayson is tiny

look at him. he’s so darn teeny next to bruce

watch as teeny bopper dick grayson gets booped on the nose

he is in fact so small that bruce just. grabs him and hauls him up by the scruff of his jacket

(also, the plot is incredible, as is the characterization and back story of scarecrow. the dynamic between robin and batman is nostalgically endearing. it’s nice to see the original dynamic duo in action again. plus, there’s a  thoughtful character study of bruce)

but i’m serious about dick grayson being small. like. look at this. look at it. i’m gonna die from a gi tatio n

good movie to think about

- Fernando Pessoa, from ' The Book Of Disquiet'