Title card for the Tales from the Mischief comic Cancel Anytime: a cream coloured roof rat hangs head down over the edge of a woven seagrass hammock strung with coloured plastic links.

Cancel Anytime

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Tales from the Mischief presents

Cancel Anytime

A blonde roof rat sitting up, facing the cameraGood evening. The humans no longer own anything. They rent their films, their dinners, and the heated seats of their own cars. Monthly. The mischief will now explain ownership. Sit down. This is a masterclass.
A blonde roof rat, alert, ears upI own EVERYTHING I have ever touched. The wire. The lid. The corner of the sofa you still think is yours. One payment, made with teeth. PAID IN FULL.
An agouti roof rat with a calm, unbothered expressionNow, we are not against subscriptions. Far from it. Which is why I am delighted to announce Mischief Premium. One cracker a week. And what do you get? You get to keep your other crackers. Lovely doing business.
An agouti roof rat gripping an electric toothbrushThis toothbrush charges a monthly fee to spin at full speed. A speed it already has. Inside it. Where it lives. I have unlocked the premium tier with my teeth. No charge. Craftsmanship.
Two black roof rats side by side, one looking at the cameraThey put the CHEESE behind a paywall. The cheese. My birthright. Behind a PAYWALL. I shall never recover, and I am recovering beautifully.The cheese has not gone. It has simply moved to our Founders tier. Your loyalty means everything to us. It is also non-refundable.
A close-up of an agouti roof rat looking at the cameraCancel anytime, they say. Anytime. We say the same thing about this cage. Nobody has cancelled yet. We find that flattering.
A blonde roof rat looking calmly at the cameraHave you HEARD? The humans pay for fourteen film channels and watch none of them. None. They scroll for forty minutes and go to bed upset. I told the hammock. The hammock already knew.
A black roof rat peering from a shadowed gapAnd if you forget to cancel the free trial, don’t call it a mistake. Call it a lifestyle. Smile for the renewal.
A blonde roof rat looking pleasedThe mischief accepts crackers, corners of toast, and unconditional applause. There is no annual plan. There is only forever.
Tales from the Mischief. A new sketch on Sundays. Free forever, because nobody here can work the payment buttons. Your snacks auto-renew.
Rats really do carry food off rather than eat it where they find it: filmed in Puerto Rican rain forest, black rats took away nearly a third of the seeds they touched. How big the stash gets at home, and how fiercely it is guarded, is what keepers watch. Ownership, made with teeth.[1]

References

  • [1] Shiels AB, Ramírez de Arellano GE. “Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rain forest, Puerto Rico.” Biotropica 2019;51(3):378-386. DOI.