Tweed ~ Does your clothing style follow an aesthetic? // I wish, I wish… If I could just imagine an aesthetic I would like to follow it's some kind of Old Money meets Goth kinda thing. But honestly, I just don't got the right size to follow any aesthetic. I'm just happy to find some clothes that fit me without making me look even chubbier. But for the very unlikely case that I'd shrink some sizes, I'd definetily rock some all black Old Money aesthetic (if that deskribtion even makes sense to anymore).

Yearning ~ A song you like in a language you don’t speak? // That might be cheating, but I really love the Swedish version of "Carolus Rex" by Sabaton. Cheating, because I actually did study Swedish for some semesters at universty, but I never got past A1 or A2. So, does that count as a language I don't speak? I'd say so. ;)

Pocket Watch ~ Do you own any antiques? // Not in terms of furniture, but I own old pieces of decoration that my grandmother got while living in Indonesia as a diplomat in the late 60s and early 70s. My favourite piece is a painting by a local Indonesian artist of a young indigenious woman. It has been a part of my grandmother's interior for decades and when she died I took it, giving it a new home in my apartment. It really means a lot to me and I couldn't imagine giving it away voluntarily.

Hourglass ~ Are you superstitious? Do you believe in ghosts? // I definitely do not believe in ghost whatsoever, but I do become a little superstitious at times. As a student, for example, I would always listen to the very same song before every exam for good luck. It's not that I really did believe in that song helping me, but superstition can be kind of irrationally comforting at times, I guess.

Library ~ Which books are you currently reading? // I'm currently reading some science fiction novel called "The Fossil" by Joshua Calvert. It's - by no means - any kind of high literature, but it has been quite entertaining so far. I've also started a new audiobook today, but I cannot remember the name right now. Some kind of Canadian thriller, I think.

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Dark Academia Asks

the goonies: what was the last thing to make you laugh? | That might have been something someone wrote to me on WhatsApp today. But the last really specific thing I remember was at work yesterday where my co-worker and I received a mail with some really odd phrasing that completely changed the meaning of the statement in a way not intended by the sender. Nothing problematic, nothing mean - it was just really funny to us and we couldn't stop laughing about the changed meaning.

pretty in pink: what’s your signature ‘look’? | I don't think I have much of a signature look, after all. I wear dark colours quite a lot, thought, and I got a rather recognisable hair colour (bright blonde in its natural way and pastell purple when I dye it). So these two things might serve as the most signature-like features about my looks, I guess.

drugstore cowboy: which historical figure most spikes your interest? | I have such a soft spot for Roger Casement in my historian heart. He was an Irish nationalist, who tried to forge an alliance with the German Kaiserreich during World War I to make them support what was later to be known as the Easter Rising with weapons and soldiers. His plans failed miserably, Casement got arrested and executed by the Brits for High Treason. For my own research on that topic I read a lot of his personal thoughts in his diaries and letters, which really put him somewhat close to my heart on a personal level (which might not be very professional for a historian, but who gives a damn, after all).

better off dead: why did you last laugh so hard it reduced you to tears? | See what I wrote for the first question. It might not have been the funniest thing ever, but it was enough to reduce me to tears laughing.

st. elmo’s fire: what’s one piece advice you would give to someone two years younger than yourself? | Two years younger? That'd make them 34. I don't think I'm in any kind of position to offer life advice to a 34 year old person. But I can tell them that their back will hurt even more once they are 36. :D

rumble fish: who do you look to for guidance in times of need? | I guess that heavily depends on the topic. There are different trusted people for different problems I need to solve. For example, when it comes to relationships of any kind, I often look to you or my friend N. Regarding job issues, I often talk to my brother. General life advice might be provided by my parents. In regards of Academia I'd talk to my friend J. or my two PhD-wielding cousins. Of course, my therapist is a great source of guidance and help, too, in any kind of topic. I have to say that I feel very, very fortunate to have some kind and supportive people I can always look to in times of need. That shouldn't be taken for granted, at all!

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⚡ 80s movie asks