I haven’t personally verified this as I’m not at a computer, but multiple people in multiple places are saying the same thing. This is fucking insane. First the endless war on UBlock, then the Chromium changes to shut out some blocker functionalities entirely next year, now this?
Something is deeply rotten in recent Google/YouTube policy. I can’t imagine that this is legal - how is this not anticompetitive? Google needs to get mega fucked in the press and the courts sooner rather than later.
And I need to switch to Firefox as soon as I get home.
It’s really wild to me how little fireflies have been studied, with how charismatic they are. I can barely find photos online or any information at all on most species, and videos? Forget it.
They barely even get any attention from conservation public outreach.
Y'all don’t like lightning bug?💡Blink blonk?
A staggering number of people who grew up without them actually don’t know that they’re real. I don’t know why on earth they think media set in real life just completely invents glow in the dark insects, I guess maybe they just don’t even stop and question how weird that would be??
But even among the average person who is familiar with fireflies, relatively few know the basics of what they are, that they’re beetles, that they’re carnivorous and that the larvae depend on a diet of snails.
I literally grew up holding fireflies in my hands (no for real, you can scoop them right off the grass and they’ll just sit on your hand like “blink blink blink blink we’re here now I guess blink blink blink blink”), and I was today years old when I found out they don’t eat leaves. I have always been told they ate leaves.
The female Photuris fireflies imitate the flash pattern of females of other firefly species, attracting males looking for a mate. When the male flies in to try to mate with her, she eats him.
As a lesbian, it’s happened twice already that one “guy” stands out to me and I think “huh maybe they’re kinda cute and interesting, I wanna get to know them” and then I get to know them better and it’s a closeted trans girl who I somehow sniffed with my little nonbinary lesbian nose
IT JUST HAPPENED FOR A THIRD TIME!!!!
You guys will never believe what just happened to me
What does it mean if every “man” I’ve been attracted to was actually a trans woman? Idk what this says about my sexual orientation but it does mean I have astounding egg-dar
Gays being able to detect trans people of our preferred gender and being able to feel preemptive attraction to them is a phenomenon I was not aware extended to people beyond me
People with most mainstream tastes imaginable should not open their mouth on how anti piracy they are btw. Yea no shit you can depend on legal sources to watch Marvel and listen to tswift and Maroon 5. Thank you so much for signing the petition to close that platform that was the only one i could download this 2008 romanian dungeon synth ep from
Cheryl Dunye’s directorial debut, The Watermelon Woman, was out of print between 2000 and 2018. Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace was only available to watch on a pirate channel on YouTube until last year. There is still no way to watch the X-Files spinoff, The Lone Gunmen except to own a dvd box set that has been out of print since 2005. Or to pirate it. It’s on YouTube.
Piracy is incredibly important to keep media that’s weird, or out there or just embarrassing to someone in power, alive. We need piracy and we need to stop being snitches when someone pirates stuff.
The devil clops up to the register, red eyes sliding from the cartoonish picture of Grimace, to the Coca Cola drying in the grout, to the ketchup stain on your pale blue button down.
“What can I get started for you today,” you prod when he continues to stare.
“Uh,” he says. “I came for your soul?”
Your smile slips for a moment before you can pin it back in place. Thank goodness your manager is on their lunch. “We don’t sell that, I’m sorry. Have you tried a Big Mac?”
“I know McDonald’s doesn’t sell souls,” the devil says. “Your parents sold your soul. Before you were born.”
“Oh,” you say. That would explain…a lot, actually. “Well. I’m at work, so…can you collect later?”
“I’m owed your soul on your 18th birthday,” he says.
“It’s my birthday today?” You glance at the register. “Wow. I forgot.”
“That is so fucking sad,” the devil says. He punched the bridge if his nose. “When is your shift over?”
“3am.”
“Jesus,” the devil says. He turns on his hoof. “I’m going to go buy you a cake or something.”
“Wow,” you say. You press a hand over your heart. “That—that actually would make my week.”
“And that’s sad,” the devil calls over his shoulder. “See you at 3!”
Now you have a reason to look forward to getting off work.
2:30 am rolled in at such a snails pace, but you kept that plastered mask on the whole night.
You had to deal with a rainbow of people all day. From rich kids looking down on you to that poor homeless guy that comes by asking for your stale fries.
Your boss had watched over you and your coworkers and have scolded you a few dozen times for not upselling, or even appeasing the Karen at max volume.
But now you were doing the one thing no one in a McDonald’s would dare do. You cleaned the mc flurry machine. A rare sight to see and probably the only working one in town.
You hear the chime, the chime of dread, your stomach drops, and you fix that mask turning to face the next customer.
Only to internally sigh in relief. Oh good, its just the Devil.
He walks in with what appears to be a medium sized box. He still looked as disgruntled as before. Maybe even more so as he looks around the dingy Mc Donald’s.
“Welcome back! You’re early!”
“Is… that.. a working mc flurry mechine?” He answers instead looking over you. You nod with perhaps a hint of pride.
“Yes Sir! Just cleaned it. Would you like one?” You can see him staring into your soul. Which, you suppose is his soul now.
“No. Just.. be done already.”
You nod to him watching him clop over to a table setting the box down. Huh… your soul is now his? You didn’t have time to think about that.
Your manager pops their head out from the back. “Hey. Josh said he’s gonna be late. Need you to….” you glance over to see your manager staring at the gargantuan devil sitting there. He looks back causing your manager to freeze in horror. You never seen them so pale.
“Your employee quits as of this moment. Figure out your own issues. Leave.” He said with menacing eyes that flash. Your manager turns around and books it to the back, possibly to pray for forgiveness.
You take that as your cue to clock out. You offer a goodbye to your boss but they won’t have any of it.
The devil watches you slip from out behind the counter now with even more distain. Your pants look… questionable.
“How often do you even do laundry?”
“If I can have a day off that doesn’t involve driving my younger siblings to and from their music classes and tutors.”
The devil stares in disgust now understanding what your parents did.
They sold their first born and invested in the younger siblings.
And they say the devil is the worst..
“Just… damnit just sit down.”
You do as he sets out two golden plates opening up the box to reveal a professionally made cake with a black marble icing and gold flakes. Set on top are black candles that’s wax looks to shimmer like a dark rainbow. The flames flicker and crackle shifting from one color to another. Its beautiful.
You don’t know what you were expecting. You almost expected a cheap sheet cake from the store down the street.
“… happy birthday… make a wish I guess… blow out your candle…”
You smile, you make the same wish you made every year. “I wish for a pet.” You don’t say it out loud. It was out of habit even though you know it won’t come true. Least you now understand why.
You blow out the candle and it gives off a sigh like a ghost had escaped your lips.
You watch this soft glowing whisp floats around you while the devil cuts you a piece of cake. You only look back when you hear your fork be set next to your plate.
“Thank you.. its a lovely cake.”
He brushes it off. “Just.. eat.”
You enjoy your cake as he watches. After a moment he speaks.
“Your parents sold your soul to me.”
“Mmhmm..”
“Meaning you belong to me.”
“Mmm”
“In hell.”
When you clear your mouth you reply. “So, what will I be? Burning punished for all eternity? Slave labor? Dealing with karens?”
He stares at you not sure if he should feel impressed or bothered by the fact you just don’t seem that fazed.
“Souls sold to me become whatever I feel like them being. You…” he stares at you as you enjoy more of your cake.
“Your not even fazed by the fact your going to hell.”
You shake your head. Simply enjoying the sinfully delicious cake.
“You could be tasked with cleaning up hell hound shit.”
“Oh! This mean I can see hells good bois??”
“…… you could be handing out toys for orgys…?”
“Sounds like they be having fun.”
“Cleaning up torture chambers?”
“Have you seen the bathrooms?”
The devil takes a breath to compose himself. Mortals these days… whats the point of hell when theres a worse one on earth?
When your full he closes the box, the plate and fork vanish.
“Come with me”
You oblige following him out of the McDonald’s.
He doesn’t even bother asking about if you have a car. He already knew that answer.
“Your going to be one of my messengers to the other realms.”
You blink looking up at him.
“Really? Nothing nasty like the ones you mentioned?”
“Look kid, if you can keep a straight face serving me, practically live like your in hell, and still be the only few willing to keep a mc flurry working.. I’d rather you go deliver things to and from hell to like… I dont know anubis or Hades.”
You follow along your little whisp still dancing around you.
“Okay… one more question…”
He sighs “what?”
“Can I pet a hell hound?”
“……. yes…. yes you can pet a hell hound.”
Anyone who has worked in food service deserves a pet hell hound.
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