#melancholymood

I'm a restaurant owner who everybody loves to come to. They eat, they chit-chat, they're having a good time with me. There were tables full of my friends, colleagues, colleagues who became best friends, family, and even myself but in different versions. They all look so happy. Some new people come, some old people leave, sometimes they come and go. But it doesn't matter because the restaurant is still full, alive, and people are happy.

Each table calls me to have a chit-chat with them. We shared laughs, cries, secrets, and they invited me to come to their restaurant. It's me dancing from one table to another. They're calling my name. I was so full of happiness. Even the table with other versions of myself mesmerizes me. They look fat haha, but they look happy and alive, with so much passion in their eyes.

That restaurant might be full of smiles, but they blind me. I don't realize that while I'm dancing here and there, behind my back, the visitors at each table are leaving the restaurant. Without me realizing it, they are gone. Alone, or someone has picked them up. For a while, I don't care. Whispering to myself, "hey, it's okay. People change. You still got a table with your people."

And one day, the restaurant has never been so quiet. I see the door sign—it says "OPEN," but no one comes. I look inside. There are only a few people left, tidying up their things, about to leave the restaurant. Even the people I once gave the best table with the best view. I’m begging them to stay. But the people who pick them up are stronger than me. Maybe they have a nicer restaurant, I think to myself.

Not long after, the restaurant is empty. Oh wait—the other version of me is still in the corner. I come to them, but they slowly disappear. But I don't care. I just watch them go. The "DOMMM" sound shocks me. It's part of the ceiling in my restaurant, which suddenly turns into an abandoned restaurant.

The tables are overturned, the decorations broken. No more light days, no more dancing from table to table, no more people calling my name to share stories, sadness, and secrets. Of course, the lamps are turning off.

I try to see outside from the window, screaming to invite people to come to my restaurant. But no one comes. It's just me, and the small TV that’s still on, trying to distract me from my sadness.

Yet, it's not a distraction.

On the screen, I can see my people, getting their lives moving forward. One gets married, one has kids, one gets engaged, one gets a promotion, one gets a new house—they all look so happy. I walk backward to the table that still hasn’t broken yet. Getting comfy in the corner.

In 2025, while AI-generated content dominates online feeds and digital escapism thrives, a romantic, nostalgic subculture has quietly resurfaced: Dark Academia.

Once a Tumblr-favorite aesthetic in the 2010s, Dark Academia is back in full force, and this time, it’s evolved from just an Instagram look to a complete lifestyle movement.

From dusty secondhand bookshops to moody playlists and vintage tweed blazers, people everywhere are yearning for an offline world of poetry, candlelit libraries, and melancholic autumn afternoons.

Let’s explore why Dark Academia is trending again and how you can live this broody, beautiful aesthetic in 2025.

What Is Dark Academia?

At its core, Dark Academia celebrates:

Classical literature, philosophy, and art

Vintage, autumn-toned fashion (think: cardigans, pleated skirts, leather-bound books)

Old university aesthetics: ivy-covered walls, ancient libraries, dimly lit cafés

Introspective, sometimes melancholic themes, death, longing, and romance

It’s a lifestyle for people who romanticize rainy days, old journals, and the scent of old paper.

Why It’s Back and Trending Now

AI Fatigue: As AI culture accelerates, people crave analog, sensory experiences.

Gen Z Nostalgia: Younger audiences romanticize vintage university life, inspired by films like Dead Poets Society and The Secret History.

Tumblr Revival: The aesthetic is thriving again on Tumblr through moodboards, essays, and playlists.

Mental Health Focus: Slower living, journaling, and nature walks align with modern self-care trends.

How to Live the Dark Academia Life in 2025

Curate a bookshelf of classics: Wilde, Plath, Camus, and Shelley Create an autumn playlist with melancholic strings and lo-fi beats Dress in muted browns, blacks, and forest greens with vintage finds Light a candle while journaling your introspections Visit museums, old libraries, or cozy local cafés Keep a physical diary, handwriting is romantic rebellion in a digital age

Final Thought

In a hyper-digital world, Dark Academia feels like a comforting escape - a reminder to slow down, romanticize the mundane, and immerse yourself in stories older than yourself.

2025 isn’t just about smart gadgets and AI feeds. It’s about vintage typewriters, worn poetry books, and the lingering scent of a candle-lit study.

Деновиве занемев, буквално занемев, не знаев што да кажам, а во себе вриштев. Колективна траума и непребол… Се возев низ улиците на Скопје, шетав, не можев ни да слушам музика. Занемен и тажен.

Додека тркалата на точакот нежно брмчеа низ свежиот пролетен воздух (замисли, имаше воздух), бев обвиткан во горчлива прегратка на надеж и тага. Живописните цвеќиња диво цветаа, испреплетувајќи се со рамката на точакот, нивните ливчиња пукаа од живот и боја – сведоштво за обновување и раст. Но, среде таа експлозија на убавина, тагата беше тука, тивка и упорна, како сенка што не се трга.

Пролетта носи ветувања – шанса за нов почеток – но истовремено потсетува на она што е изгубено. Цветовите се симбол на издржливост, туркаат низ пукнатините на очајот за да процветаат. Нивните светли нијанси контрастираа со пригушените тонови на мојата облека, како светот да ме поттикнува повторно да ја најдам радоста. Но тие цветови се обвиткуваа околу мене како спомени – истовремено утешни и ограничувачки.

When you left, you left behind parts of you scattered everywhere. In my home, my bed, even in my playlist. Pieces of you left in pieces of me.