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Dark Academia otter

@acerbicotter.bsky.social

2K followers 480 following 86K posts

In the War on Empathy, I am choosing to fight on the side of empathy. Opinions are my own & definitely do not reflect those of my workplace. Given the bad faith actors on here, unless I know you or we share a mutual, I will probably block you. Sorry.

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 5d

display name does not necessarily imply endorsement in case you're that kind of person going to @ me about how it's classist and eurocentric.

I am an academic, and my mood is frequently dark now, so....

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 1m

.....surprised he didn't say "female" instead of 'woman"....

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 2m

deer kink.

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 6m

Oh.

*puts head down on desk and cries a little*

Nathan Kalmoe (he/him) @nathankalmoe.bsky.social · 4h

apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 14m

Not beating the accusations of "he's got a broken pecker, too" here

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 25m

I feel like I'm insane for continuing to go to work like things are normal, but what else can I do?

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 26m

Re-upping that story my colleague the ornithologist told about getting back a little late to the mist nets he set up to (supposedly-live) trap birds, and finding a deer walking along, munching on bird heads.....

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 30m

PhArt?

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 31m

thanks I hate it

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 2h

this is the way.

Molly Ploofkins @mollyploofkins.bsky.social · 4h

Oregon National Guard general said that if they were deployed, his troops would be instructed to protect the protesters, not ICE.

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 2h

that said? Group projects are an excellent taste of what being a modern American adult is: you either are the one doing EVERYTHING or you somehow have the privilege of doing nothing, getting a good grade, and bragging about having done so

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 2h

1. Ethan will own those blank slides, as well he should

2. I hated group projects in school with a passion because the teacher thought I could somehow convince the "Ethans" to pull their weight. I wound up doing all the work because we all got the same grade and "lol you care about your grade"

Hal 10000 @hal10000.bsky.social · 2h

This is why, when I teach, I don't give out group assignments. Too many Ethans out there and not enough people willing to let you know that Ethan didn't pull his weight.

Startling Lady of Gore @postnatodepression.bsky.social · 18h

I have a group project due in tomorrow and everyone’s done their part except for Ethan, who has three blank powerpoint slides in the middle

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 2h

if we have history books in the future, and if the thugs don't totally win, this photo will be in them.

it also has almost the feel of an old masters painting, some Biblical subject

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 16h

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Reposted by Dark Academia otter

Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 4h

This morning I turned on my phone only to find that it had changed my user name to Shirley, and when I tried to enter a simple Google query it came out as "Do you like gladiator movies?"

Then I realised it was in Airplane! mode.

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 2h

there are basically two vocal groups of Americans now:

1. "I should be allowed to have and keep slaves to do everything for me"
2. "Going to a restaurant where a waiter is paid to take your order and you leave them a tip means you're a slaver"

(Bsky is overrepresented in type 2)

William Carruthers @williamcarruthers.bsky.social · 3h

The subtext of ‘we should be more like Dubai’, beyond the obvious racism, is ‘I should have a servant’.

Reposted by Dark Academia otter

Cheryl Lynn Eaton @cheryllynneaton.bsky.social · 12h

Not to be whiny, but I would really like for something good to happen. On a personal level. On a national level. On a global level. One of all three.

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 3h

"yet another bear attack in a Japanese supermarket"

wait what? 'yet another'?

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 3h

"oh no what did he/she do NOW" should never be something we have to think about Cabinet officials

Reposted by Dark Academia otter

Foxes In Love @foxes-in-love.bsky.social · 3h

A comic of two foxes, one of whom is blue, the other is green. In this one, Blue looks curiously at a pie which Green has placed on a plate on the table, while Green looks at him with joy and pride.
Green: I have made a sidequest pie!

Blue listens patiently as Green goes on.
Green: Flour from the mill we visited once, mushrooms that we gathered with your mom, homegrown parsley and basil... Almost all ingredients were things we've made or gathered on adventures!

Both foxes turn back to look at the pie.
Blue: How does it taste?
Green: Bad.

16 450 2.4K

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 3h

they also apparently don't have a good understanding of what the phrase "the elephant in the room" means

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 3h

I have a long memory

www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-oz-e...

Dr.Oz-endorsed diet pill study was bogus, researchers admit

Green coffee bean extract got high-profile promotion, but now the study behind its weight-loss claims has been retracted

www.cbsnews.com

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 3h

F you Dr Oz. F you. You don't understand anything about medicine, actually.

are you gonna tell us to buy your green coffee bean raspberry extract snake oil about it?

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 9h

Excuse me? www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

MEDPAGETODAY®
Public Health & Policy > Health Policy
Many With Obesity 'Don't Respect the Temple of Their
Soul,' Dr. Oz Says
— "The only thing they think they control in their life is the fork at the end of their arm"
by Joyce Frieden, Washington Editor, MedPage Today
October 7, 2025 • 5 min read

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 3h

if we're not allowed to videotape what they're doing, they can do whatever they want with no limitations on it, could just start up killing people in the streets.

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 4h

New from me at The Dispatch: DHS says it's illegal to videotape ICE agents. That's not what the courts say. @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 4h

I hate sounding like a cynic but I had a relative like that, who would report another relative as being at death's door when in fact the other relative had something minor and treatable...

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 4h

Hm. So could her sister have been......seeking a little attention?

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

Dolly Parton ‘going to be just fine’, singer’s sister says as she calls for prayers amid health problems

Freida Parton says she has been ‘up all night praying’ but later clarifies comments, saying ‘I didn’t mean to scare anyone’

www.theguardian.com

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Dark Academia otter @acerbicotter.bsky.social · 4h

you're telling me a devil ed these eggs?