#giant roman

[ashs-random-writing]

Time from Inside the Clock

Ao3

REBLOGS>>>>LIKES

--

Virgil woke up that morning like usual, except the human found him. He wished for the day to start over so he could live without being found. It worked, and now things would be perfect if the human would just stop finding him every day.

--

When Virgil woke up, it was with a gasp. He couldn’t remember what dream had elicited this reaction, but he was still freaked out. 

He ventured out of his bedroom, and through his tunnel system towards the large grandfather clock in the human’s house. He could get inside the clock with the tunnels, and he would rather do that to check the time than venture out into the open.

The clock was taller than even the human himself, but Virgil knew how to climb quickly. He looked at the numbers in their mirrored state, and read that it was 3:13 am

The human usually woke up at seven, so he could do a borrowing run if he wanted. He would need to that day anyway; he was running low on food, and he knew he wouldn’t get a chance for the next few days at least. He exited the clock and walked towards the kitchen.

His human was loud, loved bright colours, art, was impulsive and was just about the exact opposite of Virgil. He had painted his kitchen different shades of red, with patterns on most cabinets. Some had rainbows, some had flowers, and other patterns that were far too bright when Virgil had just woken up.

It was an old house, so a lot of walls had texture to them, and so did a lot of furniture. It was perfect for borrowing, even the tunnels were a lot more practical than the newer ones. Though, that wasn’t blaming the borrowers that built newer tunnels, it was blaming the humans that were making their walls so thin nowadays

His tunnels were amazing; one passageway even led out to the garden for quick escapes. His only problem with them was the fact that the main portion of the tunnels (like the storage rooms and bedroom) were underneath the floorboards. And, with how loud the human was, this really disrupted Virgil’s sleep. Virgil almost wished that just once he could tell the human to shut up, to walk lighter for once, to not walk like an elephant.

He knew the human wasn’t doing it on purpose, but it was still majorly annoying and gave Virgil frequent migraines. He threw his hook onto the kitchen counter, and climbed. The food that would stay good for a while was in the cabinet with the flowers, so he threw his hook again

He shoved food into his bag, and slung it back onto his shoulders. When he was climbing down, he started to hear footsteps. His heart started racing, and his thoughts ran at a mile a minute. It was nowhere near seven o’clock yet, what was he doing awake?

Virgil was still very much out in the open, and there was no way he’d be able to climb down in enough time to hide or get back into his tunnels. He clung to his string and braced himself for whatever horrors awaited him when the human inevitably saw him.

He heard the human yawn and the light flickered on. He held his breath and prayed that he wouldn’t be seen. But, he knew it was pointless. The human gasped, and suddenly he was being grabbed in hands that were too big and too tight.

He yelped. One of his arms was restrained, but the other was outside of the grip. It was very uncomfortable, and very terrifying. He struggled, trying to figure out what to do. 

“What are you? Why are you in my kitchen? What are you doing? What’s your name? Do you have a name? If not I could name you, I suppose... I’m Roman” The human trailed off, and Virgil tried to ignore his discomfort at the idea of being named

He refused to answer the human’s questions, so he didn’t give away any sensitive information that could put other borrowers in danger. He was still struggling in the grip, and the human seemed amused at that. His captor started walking towards his bedroom, likely for something to contain him (assuming Virgil’s conclusion that he wanted to keep him to be correct)

Virgil didn’t like the feeling of being moved against his will. The human deposited him onto a shelf that (unfortunately) wasn’t connected to any tunnels and was too high up for him to jump down with his hook and string still in the kitchen. He shook, watching the human rummage through boxes until he found one with high enough walls that he wouldn’t be able to escape

He tried to calm his breathing down, and tried to think of a way out. Roman was still looking for a suitable box, so he had an undetermined amount of time to think

He had left most things in the tunnels, so he didn’t even have his needle, or his spare hook, or anything but his bag. He rummaged through his bag for something, anything, that could help. Nothing. Nothing but food that he had stashed earlier. Roman was walking back to him, box in hand. Virgil panicked, and threw a cracker at the human

Roman was only momentarily puzzled, before looking back at the borrower with a more annoyed expression. Virgil’s heart raced, and his brain was screaming to run.

“That wasn’t very nice” The human was still loud. Even more loud than usual, since Virgil was actually in the same room as him for once.

Virgil could barely hear him over the blood rushing in his ears and his brain’s screaming to run, to hide, to do anything except be out in the open. Roman reached out to grab at him, and he hissed.

Roman paused, a confused expression on his face. It didn’t last long and soon, he was back in that hand that was too tight.

He didn’t think. This was the thing he’d been training his entire life to avoid, all he could do was panic. He bit down on the finger closest to him as he was moved throughout the air

Suddenly he was falling. Straight into the box. He landed at an awkward angle on his arm, and couldn’t help the scream or sobs that forced their way out. He could make out Roman’s face above the box’s opening, looking concerned

Virgil didn’t care. He grasped at the arm that he was a hundred percent sure was probably broken. He could hear Roman frantically apologising above him, but all he could think about was pain

Why did he have to be so stupid, to borrow whilst the human was still in the house? It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but everything went wrong so quickly. Roman was reaching into the box saying something about patching him up. Virgil scrambled away from the hand, which then lingered there for a simple moment

When the hand retreated, Virgil had curled up in a corner of the box and was desperately clutching at his arm as though he could magically stop the pain

Roman had left the room, so Virgil was alone with his thoughts. He knew it was still early morning, still long before the human would usually wake up. He let his eyes slip shut for a while, waiting until the human came back in. Virgil’s eyes opened when the door did, and he listened to the human, who was on the phone with someone. Virgil froze, was Roman telling people about him?

He tried to listen to the words being said

“Please come over as soon as you can, I accidentally dropped it -them?- and I think their arm is hurt and I don’t know if they can understand me or not but I think they’re scared, just please come over” A pause as the person on the other end responded 

“Okay, thanks Logan” The call ended

Virgil thought that name over in his mind. Logan, that was one of the humans friends, right? The smart one, he was pretty sure. Virgil tried to move his arm, only to bite his tongue to stop making noise. Roman went closer to the box, looking down at Virgil with a mix of pity and concern

Virgil stared back up, and Roman started speaking again, but softer and quieter this time

“I am super sorry about your arm, little guy, I didn’t mean to drop you. I don’t know if you can understand me, but I think you’re too scared of me to let me help you, so I’ve got my friend to help, okay? He���ll be here soon” Virgil just stared blankly

A while later, the human’s friend did show up, looking annoyed at having to wake up before five am for this. Virgil winced; annoyed humans were almost as bad as angry humans

Virgil didn’t let himself be picked up. He was still panicking, still running on his fight or flight responses. Logan sighed above him, sounded even more annoyed. Even more reason to not let himself get picked up. 

He had been running from the hand, every time it attempted to grab him. The hand retracted, and Virgil collapsed onto his knees. 

He had never seen a human this close up before, and now there was two. It was... overwhelming, to say the least.

The humans were quiet above him, before a hushed whisper started between them

“I fear we may have overwhelmed them”

“What do you mean ‘we’? You’re the one who was trying to grab them over and over”

Virgil ignored them. How did humans deal with constant interaction with others? The rest of the day went by in a blur of panic, crying and pain. He had fallen asleep at some point, pure exhaustion made from the overwhelmingness of the day catching up to him. That was probably why he didn’t wake up when the humans bandaged up his arm

He felt incredibly uneasy knowing that the humans had held him whilst he was asleep. He had stared at the sling his arm was in for a solid minute, and he had felt a lump growing in his throat.

Roman hadn’t gone to work that day, instead, he chose to marvel at Virgil’s existence the entire day. Virgil just wanted to go home. Roman had given him food, which was a relief, but Virgil would still much rather be in bed, or roaming through the tunnels. Or doing literally anything except sitting in a box. He wished he could start the day over again so he wouldn’t get caught

He let out a small sob, how was it that borrowers had been so unheard of for years and years, and then Virgil had to ruin it, like an idiot.

He sat there for hours, as the humans did their things around the house. The box was ‘carefully’ moved into the living room (it didn’t feel very careful to Virgil)

Logan left the house to go back to his own, and Roman said goodnight and went to bed. It was dark again now. Virgil went to sleep.

-

When Virgil woke up, it was with a gasp. He looked around the room, his room, not a box. Was that a dream...? He usually forgot his dreams by now, but that was just as present in his memory as it would’ve been if it had happened yesterday. His arm didn’t hurt anymore, so it couldn’t have been real, right?

He started to walk towards the clock, wanting to know the time and it it was worth it to go back to sleep. When he was climbing to the top, he made himself ignore the memories from his dream. He stared at the numbers on the clock, starting to wonder what was going on

3:13.

Probably just a coincidence, but maybe he would wait for Roman to go to work to do the borrowing. Just in case. His emotions were still running high from that (dream? Vision?) so he just waited inside the clock. The hands seemed to tick at a minute per second, and everything that Virgil did made him more tense, more nervous 

About twenty minutes later, he saw the human’s silhouette pass by the clock, he heard a yawn and a light switch turning on

He shuddered, that was when he was found. The human seemed to just have come down for a drink or something. Virgil climbed down from the clock, and into the walls. He didn’t know what was happening

His first thought was that maybe he had become a psychic, and could see the future, but he hoped not. That sounded like a horrible power to have with anxiety; never knowing when you’re panicking about nothing or if it’s actually something? No thanks.

He knew the human probably wasn’t gonna wake up again until his alarm went off, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He could still remember the pain that shot up his arm and had stayed there.

He climbed his way to near where Roman’s bedroom was. The human was back to being asleep.

Virgil didn’t know what was happening, almost didn’t want to know, but he did know that he had been given a second chance at the worst day of his life, and he wasn’t going to ruin it

He climbed back down to the floorboards, and back into bed. He had double checked that he had turned off all of the lights in the tunnels, particularly the light in the most obvious entrance in the kitchen

It was a mouse-hole type entrance in the corner of the kitchen, but he had put some borrowed fairy lights in there for when he wanted to see a little bit

He waited until he heard the loud footsteps directly above him (and he was developing another migraine, great) and the front door. He waited an extra few minutes, just in case, before going towards the mouse hole. He had brought his spare hook, his needle, and some other tools. He wouldn’t be as unprepared as he had been

The food wasn’t exactly where it had been the first time, but Roman had been in the kitchen before him this time, so that was to be expected. He shoved a few crackers in his bag, and started moving towards the next cabinet. This cabinet held sweet foods, like chocolate. Most of the packets had already been opened, and the human wasn’t going to notice three or four pieces missing.

Those went in his bag too. He started climbing back down to his tunnels, but, as if by magic, the front door opened. Virgil could feel the déjà vu overwhelm him as he clung to his string once again. Hopefully, he wouldn’t break his arm this time.

He wondered how he had been managed to be found twice, on two separate occasions that would usually be safe. Roman gasped behind him. Virgil didn’t need to listen to his rambling ball of questions to know it would be the same as the first time.

This time, however the questions came before the grabbing. When he did get grabbed, it was more gentle than the half asleep Roman had managed, though now both of his arms were restrained

Roman did the same thing of taking him to a different room (though, this time it was the living room) and placing him in a high place.

Virgil waited until the human was distracted, before getting out his spare hook, and climbing down. Roman chose that moment to have found a suitable place for Virgil to be kept, and looked up

He and Virgil made eye contact and the human jumped up, and practically ran up to where the borrower was swinging

Virgil squeezed his eyes shut, and Roman’s grip (tighter than it had been either of the times Roman had found him) enveloped him

It was painful, and he let out a small noise as all of the air in his chest was forced out. The human looked angry that he was trying to escape. He was talking to Virgil, but Virgil couldn’t make himself listen to the voice that was just a little bit too loud and he tried to move in the grip that was just too tight

Roman’s grip loosened a little while later, and Virgil took a deep breath of air. He doubted the human even realised how tight he had held the borrower.

Roman was still talking, but softer, and he sounded more concerned. Virgil tried to focus on what was being said

“-re you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

Virgil made a small noise, neither confirming or denying the human’s question

He was placed in a box (similar height to the other one, but it was smaller in width and length). Virgil assumed that it was meant to be gently.

He retreated to the corner, almost thankful that he had no broken bones. He was definitely bruised where the human’s hands had been, but he was still in one piece; that meant that Roman wouldn’t have to call any friends, right?

Roman was watching him, and Virgil was still feeling every part of his body dissolve into panic. He looked back up to the human with a look he hoped didn’t look too helpless

Roman was holding his phone over the box now, and Virgil realised just a little too late that he was taking a photo. Virgil didn’t think that he would be able to bring himself to speak at all, even if he wanted to.

Roman seemed amused by him, in fact, this was probably the longest time he’d seen the human focus on any one thing. He hated that. He looked away from the human’s gaze. Roman didn’t even seem to notice how intimidating he was, how terrifying he was to Virgil

He was about fifteen times Virgil’s size, and was a lot louder, and not as attentive to detail, and so it was easier for Virgil to get hurt in his hands than it would be if someone with more of an attention span was handling him. He’d rather have no one handling him, to be fair, but Roman wasn’t the best option

He let out a humourless laugh, just quiet enough that the human didn’t notice. What had he done to deserve this? 

It turned out that Roman had messaged the picture to a group chat of friends, who each turned up within an hour. Logan was there first, then Patton, then Janus. 

They each wanted to see him immediately. They were loud. Logan wanted to know everything he could about Virgil, though didn’t pick him up or get too close, as to not overwhelm him. He seemed more interested than he did the day before, though that could be due to the fact he wasn’t woken up in the early morning this time

Patton squealed at first, though quietened himself down after Virgil covered his ears. Patton kept rambling about how cute he was, and reaching out to pet his head and ruffle his hair. Virgil tried to run from these interactions. After the first few failed attempts, Patton seemed to get the message and didn’t touch him. 

Janus simply stared at him with that silent, questioning gaze. He was somehow more intimidating than any of them. 

There were too many people, too many humans, and he couldn’t bear it. He started crying, retreating into his corner and bringing his knees to his chest. The humans seemed concerned for him, making small comments, and speaking in hushed whispers between them all

By the time they’d all left, Virgil just wanted to sleep. He wanted to go home, he wanted to have a nap, he wanted to never see another human ever again

He fell asleep.

-

When Virgil woke up, it was with a gasp. Home again. He remembered that on the first iteration of the day he had wished to do the day over again so he wouldn’t be found, maybe all he had to do was not get found?

It turned out that that was easier said than done. He knew that the human would be home from work early, so that might disrupt his plans, but he could try borrowing in between Roman waking up the first time and the second. 

His human was a heavy sleeper most of the time, and he didn’t wake up during that time last time...

He waited until he heard the footsteps above him go into the kitchen, and he waited until they retreated. 

He borrowed the same way he had the past two times. And this time, he made it without Roman making an unexpected appearance. He restocked his storage room, and he climbed up into the walls, and into a vent and he watched the human sleep. Virgil wondered just how much the human ever thought about his actions.

Virgil leant against the vent cover with a sigh. It made a creaking noise, and suddenly opened against his weight. Virgil tripped out, luckily landing on a blanket. Unluckily, that blanket was on Roman’s bed

Roman had woken up from the noise and his eyes landed on Virgil almost immediately. A startled sound made it out of Virgil’s mouth, and he tried to run away from the giant hand.

The uneven surface of the bed made him trip almost immediately. The hand closed around him, loosely this time and Virgil’s main worry became being dropped, rather than being squeezed too tight. 

When he managed to look at Roman’s face, he abruptly realised that the human hadn’t fully woken up yet. Roman was bad enough when he was awake, but a version of him that was even less aware of his surroundings? Virgil would rather not

Roman looked at him through eyes that were still half closed.

“Are you... real?” He slurred out, and Virgil, once again stayed quiet. Roman was starting to drift off back to sleep, still holding the borrower.

Virgil hoped that once he was asleep, he could slip away unnoticed and get his appearance written off as a peculiar dream. However, the grip tightened around him, and he was brought closer to Roman’s chest, as though he was one of those soft toys he often slept close to. 

Virgil squirmed, for the first time hating that his human was a heavy sleeper. 

Roman mumbled something nonsensical above him, and Virgil squirmed even more desperately. He looked at the digital alarm clock next to the bed. 6:27. He had just over half an hour to free himself from this mess before the human woke up 

He took a deep breath, and tried freeing his arms first. The grip was too tight by the smallest margin. He resigned himself to his fate. Hopefully, the day would reset again later. 

Suddenly, he was moved through the air again, as Roman moved his hand onto the pillow and Virgil was practically squished against the giant’s face. He squirmed again, but he had no luck. He couldn’t see the alarm clock from where he was held, but he hoped Roman would wake up soon, if only to get him out of this uncomfortable situation

When the alarm went off, Roman groaned, and (luckily with the hand Virgil wasn’t in) violently hit a button on the clock. He opened his eyes drowsily, before seeing Virgil

He stared for a few moments before seeming to remember his half-asleep kidnapping. He seemed to become excited

Virgil just waited to be put down.

“What are you? Who are you? What’s your name?” He paused, as if to let Virgil answer, and when the borrower stayed silent, he carried on speaking

“Do you not have one? I can give you a name if you want, but I will have to get back to you on that. Now, where to put you...” He started looking around the room, his eyes eventually landing on the pocket on his pyjama shirt. Virgil was placed in there the same way he had seen Roman do with interesting new objects. 

He could hear Roman rummaging through things, presumably boxes.

The pocket was uncomfortable, but Virgil endured it. He was pulled out a little while later, but he was placed in the same box he was the first time

This time it had a blanket inside.

The day progressed much like the previous two.

Roman seemed more confused about his existence this time, however, and he kept asking the questions over and over. Virgil still didn’t answer.

He was picked up again about half way through the day, and Roman grabbed his arm and started moving it, as though marvelling at how small Virgil was. . Virgil held his breath and tried to take his hand away

He was placed back into the box, and Roman started to ramble to him, not really talking about anything in particular. Virgil zoned out.

He went to sleep after that.

-

When Virgil woke up, it was with a gasp. This was the twentieth loop.

He was getting sick of the same things over and over. No matter what he did, Roman would find him.

So far, Virgil had been found by:

-Borrowing at 3 am

-Falling out of a vent

-Borrowing when the human was at work

-Staying inside the clock (Roman seemed to decide he wanted to know how it worked, very spontaneously)

-He went into the garden, only for Roman to decide a bit of spontaneous gardening

-He tripped over and fell out of a different vent

-and many more stupid ways that he was found.

The universe was obviously messing with him. What were the odds that every time he dodged previous findings, he was found in an increasingly stupid way?

He had sustained injuries from a few timelines. Namely, breaking his arm the first time, a lot of bruises from Roman holding him too tight, he broke his leg after falling out of the second vent, he gained a large cut on his arm from a rose thorn when Roman found him in the garden

He had hurt his foot trying to run in one of the timelines.

It was decided. The universe simply hated him. 

He would have stayed in bed all day, and stayed unfound that way, however, it was no good to escape a time loop if it meant he’d starve to death because he didn’t get food when he had even a small chance. Besides, with his luck, Roman would probably start taking the floorboards for impulsive art or something

Virgil groaned, hearing the human walk loudly above him. He wanted to tell him to shut up. Wait. He was in a time loop, there were no long-lasting consequences and Roman would probably find him anyway. He could take maybe a day’s break off of trying to escape the loop...

He got out of bed and climbed through the tunnels until he got to the kitchen. He glared at the human, who was suddenly staring at him

“What-” 

Virgil cut off his line of questioning that he had heard all too many times

“Hello. I know what you’re going to ask, so... I’m Virgil,” He smiled in a way that he hoped conveyed that he wasn’t happy to be meeting the human “I’m here just to ask you, if, for once in your life, you could walk quietly? You really disrupt my sleep when you walk as though you weigh as much as an elephant” He crossed his arms 

Roman’s shocked expression quickly changed to one of offense. 

“I don’t walk that loudly, how dare you? Besides, why are you even in my house? It’s,” He checked the time on his phone “It’s three thirty in the morning, aka far too early to be arguing with a probably imaginary tiny person in my kitchen” 

Virgil rolled his eyes “Oh yeah, real mature. Calling me imaginary rather than admitting that you are incredibly loud at everything you do”

The argument lasted a little while longer, and Virgil figured out how freeing it felt to finally voice all of his complaints. Roman surprisingly didn’t pick him up at all

Even when he tried, he, very surprisingly, listened when Virgil told him not to. Eventually, Roman went back to bed, and Virgil got his food and went back to his house

He was unsure whether Roman thought him to be dream or not after he woke up, but he did notice that he was walking quieter. That day was strange, but Virgil would probably do it again at some point if he had the chance

He got into bed

-

When Virgil woke up, it was with a gasp. By now, it was the thirtieth loop, at least. Something that Virgil had found out in the last few was that the loops went smoother and with less injuries and less migraines if he talked.

Roman even let him go in a few, even listened when Virgil asked to be kept secret. Virgil would never admit so to another borrower, but he would probably claim Roman as one of the few good humans.

Today, he had to keep away from Roman at all costs, he wanted to break the loop. 

First, he waited for the human to get up and back to bed, then he had to do a borrowing run, and then he had to go to the clock, because when Roman got home from work in the timeline that Virgil was awake under the floorboards, he started hearing noise under there and decided to check it out, and then he had to leave the clock before Roman decided he needed to know what was inside.

Then, he had to watch the human’s gardening to make sure he had the right timeframe to get something from his bedroom (he needed some paperclips)

Once he had the paperclips, he waited for Roman to start making food, and walked towards the living room’s tunnels and into the room-

Caught. Again, because why wouldn’t he be?

Roman reached out to grab him, but Virgil moved backwards slightly

“Don’t touch me,” He snapped, causing the hand to falter mid-air. 

Roman looked down at him, with an almost confused expression

“Why not?” He asked

Virgil rolled his eyes and started listing reasons

“You’re big, clumsy, you break things all the time, you’ll probably accidentally hurt me..” 

Roman seemed upset, in a way, but did respect Virgil’s space

“What’s your name?”

Virgil looked up at the human and mentally debated telling him his name. It had gone fine in the other timelines, but he was getting attached to the human. He said his name after a while of silence, Roman said his as well

He let out a soft smile.

Roman sat on the floor and just stared at him. Virgil sat down as well. It was almost the end of the day, it would reset soon.

“What are you? Are you some kind of fairy?” Roman asked quietly

Virgil snorted “Nope, nothing magical about me I’m afraid. As for what I am, if you find me again tomorrow, I might tell you,” 

He knew that this wouldn’t be the end of the loop. Roman wouldn’t remember that promise, but Virgil would. And if the next loop wasn’t the end, then he’d tell Roman then (did tomorrow count as tomorrow if tomorrow was today again?)

Soon, they both went back to their respective bedrooms and fell asleep

-

When Virgil woke up, it was with a gasp. Loop 62. Virgil would’ve liked to say that he was the same as how he was when the loops started, and that he wasn’t getting increasingly attached to the dangerous human, but that would ultimately be a lie.

True to his word, he did tell Roman he was a borrower in loop 31. 

Virgil had only got caught at the very end of the day yesterday, so he figured he could probably figure out how to avoid the human for the entire day this time.

He waited for the footsteps to go into and out of the kitchen, and  he borrowed his necessities. He walked to the clock, and hung out there for a while. The first part of the avoidance was like second nature to him now

He left the clock after a while, retreating to the walls to watch Roman take apart the clock. Once Roman got bored with that, he went out to the garden. Virgil watched for a moment, before going to get paper clips. Roman started making food, Virgil waited for him to finish doing that, and stayed in the wall.

After a while, Roman started playing games on his computer. Virgil had gotten caught last time when he wanted a slightly closer look at the game (it was just a bunch of blocks?)

He stayed in the wall. Roman would be playing for hours, Virgil had only been caught at eleven o’clock in the evening, and Roman only noticed him as he was going to bed, so Virgil just had to stay in the walls until Roman went to sleep, right?

He watched the human on his block game for awhile, and then went to his house. He lied in his bed with his thoughts. 

He had tried to stay awake in other loops, but he always fell asleep before midnight, like magic. He would wait for himself to either fall asleep or the clock to chime midnight

If the loop didn’t break this time, he didn’t know what he’d do. He’d evaded the human, he’d done what he needed, and if he was stuck waking up to the same day over and over, he wouldn’t let himself do anything

The clock chimed. He smiled. He went to sleep.

-

When Virgil woke up, it was to the sound of the human making breakfast. Virgil grinned, an uncharacteristic expression on his face. It was a new day. 

Every time he went borrowing after that, he wondered just why that day was so hard to evade the human; he had been doing it for twenty years with no problems. He wondered why he wanted to be found again

He wondered why he missed talking to someone, or even just being close enough to someone to touch their face. He even missed being held, somewhat. It occurred to him that this was the only contact he had had with another person in years. 

For the next few weeks, he was reckless in his borrowing. So what if he ‘accidentally’ left his hook on he kitchen counter, he had a spare, it didn’t matter. So what if he left a light on? The human probably wouldn’t notice...

He would never admit that he did these things on purpose, because he was doing things that shouldn’t be done. He shouldn’t let himself forget anything, but maybe, just maybe, he wanted Roman to find him. 

Maybe, they could be friends? He hoped so.

---

Taglist: @a-chilly-pepper​

[canisalbus]

So i remember an ask mentioning your mortal enemy, Felis Atra and their cats, and i thought it'd be fun to draw what Felis Atra's version of your italian dogs would be.

I think they would be called Butter Knife and Flamengo! Butter Knife is not his real name, it's an nickname given by his peers because of how harmless he is. I choose Flamengo because that's the name of Vasco's rival football team here in Brazil, so i thought that was the perfect name :)

Cat Machete was slightly inspired by the Oriental Shorthair cat because of their long noses and thin head shape.

Cat Vasco was inspired by the Scottish Fold cat, because FLOPPY EARS. I gave Flamengo longer ears and orange fur to make him more like his look-alike.

The last doodle is a reference to this ask (https://canisalbus.tumblr.com/post/728923918314946560/me-i-am-machete-ear-fan-number-1-those-ears) and contains the tumblr ask stand-in dog, whose cat version was inspired by the American Curl cat! They have round ears that are slightly floppy outwards.

Final notes: I know cardinal clothes don't come in vibrant blue, but i was ADAMANT on switching Machete's and Vasco's clothing color patterns. I would draw the rest of Butter Knife's and Flamengo's clothes, but i suck at designing cool outfits.

Speaking of outfits, for Machete's iconic void outfit, i figured it would be fun to make it more baggy for Butter Knife, in contrast to Machete's, that looks very tight-fitted. I think it's cute, it kinda looks like a sweater. Also i can't imagine a Machete doppelganger without high heels boots, so those HAD to stay.

Oh, and just to be clear, i'm not like, claiming ownership of these guys or anything. I just thought it would be a fun exercise. Hope you like them!! I love your art and your characters.

.

[halloweeneva]

Poem by @narcissistcookbook

(Skull design borrowed from their profile pic)

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (Dutch, 1562-1638) The Fall of the Titans, ca.1589

[short-wooloo]

Godzilla really said "if I fits I sits"

"Now I am become sits, because I fits"

[jeysbaby]

I won't deny it, I've been imagining things for a while looking at this photo

[madcat-world]

Rest - Roman Avseyenko

[hiroeghjj]

Move Tomas it's my turn

[slushiebrain]

since i did traditional art last year and since i've started studying again and so have less free time, this year i'm doing pale gamkar week a little differently than my usual art (in the hopes it'll save me some time ; -- ;) i'm aiming for a little more cartoony and a whole lot sillier! i didn't have time to draw yesterday so today i'm posting both day 1 and day 2 of @pale-gamkar-week 2024 prompts: laughter and bath!

i might do full colours for these at some point but this is as good as it gets for now lol

[why-not-a-tickle-blog]

Dwindling Creativity

Thomas groaned, putting his head in his hands. He’d been brainstorming and writing and editing and erasing and rewriting and researching and writing again.

“I feel like I’ve used up all the creativity I have,” Thomas grumbled, shoving aside his laptop.

This pause, reluctant as it was, was instigated by Janus. Patton took over from there, leading Thomas to flop on the couch with reruns of the Office to give his mind a chance to rest.

- - -

Roman did not stop working when Thomas did. This was Important to Thomas, and Roman had to get it right.

Thomas’s statement about using up his creativity was very nearly correct. As they had worked, Roman had dwindled away gradually, until now the quill he was holding was nearly as tall as he was. He had to hold it in a two-handed grip, kneeling on the parchment and balancing the unwieldy feather against his shoulder. At least he had a magic quill that didn’t run out of ink, so he didn’t have to keep getting up and down to re-dip it.

He ignored the click as the door to his room opened, but moments later the quill was snatched out of his grasp.

“Hey! Give that back, you- you ruffian!”

Deceit raised an eyebrow. “Ruffian? I would’ve expected a more… creative insult.”

Roman glared at him, more tired and grumpy than truly angry. “Well—! Well…” his mind went blank.

Deceit let him flounder for a retort, twirling the quill in his gloved fingers.

All at once, his inability to come up with a properly applicable insult, a good rhyme, even a solid sentence, slammed into Roman. He crumpled onto the desk. “Just leave me alone, I’m useless.”

Deceit sat down in Roman’s chair. Roman wasn’t looking at him, and was surprised to be lifted by the back of his shirt. He let out a squeak, then decided he was too tired to flail or protest, and merely went limp.

“Useless?” Deceit drawled, his voice dripping with something like sympathy. Knowing him though, it could well be anything, or nothing. “My dear prince, you and I both know that’s far from the truth.”

He draped Roman over his other hand, resting on the table. Roman was laying on his stomach, across Deceit’s palm, his arms flopped over his pointer finger.

“I am useless.” Roman asserted. “I can’t even make a song. I’m supposed to be great at songs!”

Deceit stroked the feather over Roman’s back, the smooth, gentle pressure a pleasant sensation. “Or perhaps, you’re holding yourself to too high a standard considering the circumstances.”

Roman’s muscles loosened further as the feather continued stroking over his shirt. “It’s for Thomas’s mother’s birthday, if I can’t make something perfect for this, when else could it matter?”

“I’m sure you will make something perfect,” Deceit replied. “But it may take more time. Time which we have, the birthday is in three weeks.”

Roman dropped his head onto Deceit’s glove. It was cool, rather than warm as he might have expected a hand to be. The feather traced patterns over his shirt, almost like a back rub, melting away his protests.

“You need rest now. Distraction, to get your mind off of the song and give you time to return to your full strength.”

As Deceit said the word Distraction, the edge of the feather brushed over a small strip on skin on Roman’s side, where his shirt had ridden up. Tingles spread from that spot, making him shiver. It felt nice, nearly tickly.

Roman shifted to dispel the tingles, inconspicuously doing so in a way that made his shirt ride up slightly higher.

For a few moments, Deceit must not have noticed, still stroking the feather over his shirt, but then the tip of the feather was drawn across his lower back, crossing from his shirt to his bare skin. Roman muffled a small giggle, enjoying as tingly sensations ran over him again.

Deceit was saying something else, but Roman was becoming lost in the moment, relishing the soft, gentle strokes and the occasional sparks of tickles.

At some point, he had relaxed so thoroughly as to forget he was hiding his giggles, and let one fully slip out.

“Oh, so I have a ticklish little prince?” Deceit said fondly, smiling down at him with a glint in his eyes.

Roman’s first impulse was to protest, especially as Deceit was sure to grow condescendingly teasing, but his enjoyment of his situation battled that impulse, leaving him speechless and blushing.

His internal battle was interrupted by the feather slipping up the back of his shirt, wiggling over his whole back. Roman fell into giggles, kicking his feet gently. The stiff quill feather wasn’t the most effective tool for causing tickles at his current size, but his embarrassment had made him more sensitive than usual.

“Awwww,” Deceit cooed. “Enjoying yourself?”

Roman didn’t respond other than to blush a bit pinker, though he made no move to block the feather.

Deceit twirled the feather. The strange sensation of the spinning feather under his shirt startled a laugh out of Roman.

“It seems I’ve found quite a good distraction, haven’t I?” Deceit said smugly. “Take all your thoughts away and leave only giggles~”

Roman rolled over, trapping the feather underneath his back as he giggled. Deceit easily pulled it free and teased it over Roman’s front. Here his shirt was better covering him, but the feather coming at him, fluttering at his sides or his stomach or neck, and constantly changing spots had him caught in giggles. He batted at the feather playfully when it came within reach of his hands. Indeed, all his previous difficult thoughts had fled.

“A happy little darling,” Deceit murmured, his voice overwhelmingly fond.

Roman was sure his face was still pink, but he was losing the embarrassment, caught up in the fun and the non-judgemental affection. He shucked his shirt off, clicking his fingers to change the quill in Deceit’s hand to a longer feather with droopy, dangly vanes.

Deceit shook the feather over Roman, the little tips flickering over his skin. Roman curled up into a giggly ball, rolling back and forth in Deceit’s hand. So many little tickly points all over him. It was like being out in a summer rain, if every drop left tingles in its wake.

Roman soaked in the attention, the sensations, the love. His body filled with warmth and joy, releasing the excess with every laugh. His giggles were infectious, and Deceit chuckled at the adorable sight in his hand.

When Roman got breathless, he grabbed at the trailing ends of the feather to stop them. Deceit obligingly switched tactics to long slow strokes of the feather up and down over Roman. It was hardly tickly at all, returning to a relaxing massage-like experience, but Roman couldn’t seem to fully stop the remaining giggles.

Slowly, gradually, he melted into Deceit’s palm. After such a height of joy, tiredness draped over him like a blanket. His eyes slipped closed, and the giggles came further and further apart.

Roman didn’t notice the ever so gradual shift of the feather into a miniature fringed blanket. He barely noticed when it stopped moving and instead tucked around him. And by the time Deceit gently transferred him into his bed he was sound asleep.

[ponchaka]

The fathers of Puroresu

Rikidozan, Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki

[baka-monarch]

Heeeyyyy I'm doing voretober this year!!! (Or at least I'm gonna try to) and here's the first one!

Ao3 link

Space

Gem had a meeting. She had a deal with this guy who wanted to hire her for some bounty work. It was supposed to pay well, but he was sketchy and she wasn't sure if she trusted him- especially with where he asked to meet.

Chrysos was a gambling moon, once a wasteland turned into miles of casinos, bars, and other things made for either getting rich, wasted, or both. Everywhere felt sketchy as she walked through the streets of one of the cheaper towns- Taboonan. She was heading to a bar in a small alley, her trusty trident on her back and at the ready. Anything could happen, and for all she knew this deal was actually an ambush.

Gem took a breath through her gills before she entered the building, going straight for the bar as she kept her head low. She ordered a drink, just some water with some small fish to snack on as she waited. There weren't many people here, only a few at a table laughing and a couple in a corner whispering to each other, otherwise it was just her and the bartender. She noted that she was one of the larger species here, the only other of her stature being the bartender and his scales were reptilian, differing from her blue and orange ones meant for the water. Otherwise majority of the other patrons were furry, not much of a surprise since most fishfolk like her didn't get off planet much- it wasn't like everyone with gills could breath air.

Gem was taking a sip as she thought, chewing and swallowing a minnow as someone sat by her. A Gordon, another reptile but this one she knew from when he'd contacted her and her crew. She nodded to him and he smiled.

“Well it's good to see you showed up.” The naga spoke and Gem rolled her eyes.

“Of course I did, I don't go back on things.” Gem let out a huff and crossed her arms. She was a reputable bounty hunter after all.

He raised his hands in surrender, “Of course of course.” He nodded then motioned for the bartender, “I see you already got started on a drink, but lemme get you something from the area before we talk business.” He turned to the other reptile, “Two terran shots please.” Gem raised a brow as the bartender hurried through a door.

“So, while we wait, mind giving me those classified details?” She sipped on her water, there was only one fish left, swimming at the bottom.

The naga nodded, “Of course.” He smiled to her as if he was relaxed- he was still a foot shorter than her and definitely more skinny, it was obvious he'd be at the disadvantage if anything went wrong. “There's this guy calls himself X or whatever- he's in charge of this company that builds ships, lots of planning- well my employer would be very happy if they were to hear he just y'know… befell a deadly accident.” Gem knew who the naga was talking about, Xisuma. She'd done a few jobs from him before and he was always more than happy to fix her ship and help her crew out- she already knew she wouldn't take the deal, but was careful to control her face. She needed to know of this employer.

Gem opened her mouth to ask more, but as she did the bartender returned, setting two shot glasses in front of the two. “Thanks.” The naga nodded and slid a credit over- Gem wasn't paying attention though as she looked at the small glasses. They looked different than normal shots, lidded and void of any alcohol- but that wasn't the part she was focused on. Inside each was one tiny person, cramped and struggling to push the lid off. They didn't look like any alien she knew, but she could hear them talking, panicking about how to get out. The one in front of her hit on the side of their glass, their hair brown with green streaks and stubble- and she could tell he was shorter than the other.

Gem felt pale, this definition wasn't legal, for a multitude of reasons. “Sooooo….” She licked her dry lips, forcing herself to keep up the facade, needing the name of that employer. “What are these little guys?” She smiled playfully as she picked up the shot, the tiny person yelping as he got shaken around. She felt guilty, but if she could get through this she could get him out of here.

The naga smiled and picked up his own shot, “Humans,” He answered as he gave the glass a shake, the one in his hitting the sides a painful amount of times. “They're from that Earth planet, y'know the one with low oxygen mak'n everything tiny.” She held back a frown as the naga teased his human by licking the glass. “Taste pretty good apparently, and feel even better going down~”

“I see…” Was all Gem could mutter out as she looked down at her tiny human. He was glaring at her and held up a middle finger as soon as he noticed her staring- she snorted, yeah that was fair.

“You got a feisty one I see, those are always the best.” She looked back at the naga as he pulled the lid off his glass. She wanted to snatch it away from him as the human tried to climb out- but they weren't fast enough as he threw them back and swallowed almost immediately. “Aaahh…” He sighed and rubbed as the wiggling lump that soon disappeared into him. “Trust me, you'll love it~”

“I’m sure I will.” Gem forced a smile as she continued just holding her glass, avoiding eating the human if she could. “So about that employer-” She started, trying to get on topic.

“Lady, I don't like talking business until my associates join me, so c’mon try the little fella then I'll give the other details.” He smiled and something in Gem boiled. It was like he knew she was avoiding it.

“And I don't like taking jobs unless I know who I'm working for.” She growled, trying to intimidate the other- it didn't work as he smiled and shrugged.

“Guess we'll hire someone else then.” And that's exactly what she was afraid of- if she didn't know the name of this guy then they'd just hire someone else to kill X. The naga started to stand and she panicked.

“Well if a shot's all it takes to get the job.” Gem forced a sly smile, glad when the naga sat back down. She looked down at the human who'd pushed himself against the back of the glass, looking up at her nervously. She took a breath through her gills to stay calm as she started pulling the lid off.

●●●

Joel looked up at the alien fearfully but was trying desperately to hide it as her giant claws and webbed hand pulled the top off of the massive glass he was in. He didn't waste any time though, he'd spent too long watching these giant aliens and knowing they planned to eat him, as soon as the lid was off he pulled himself out and jumped off the alien's scales hand. He didn't get far though as he heard her make a shocked sound from above and soon another scales hand was in front of him and snatching him up.

“NO-” Joel squirmed and pushed at the hand around him, but it didn't budge at all as he felt it move. Soon light returned as the hand opened and he found himself closer to her mouth, staring into her green eyes. She looked different than most aliens that came, she had blue scales for starters, and no nose, orange fins that looked similar to hair and ears- and the thing he noticed most though, was her mouth full of very very sharp teeth. “Just put me down-” He shouted out, kicking errands fingers desperately.

In response though what he got was the alien opening her mouth, her tongue poking out as her hand moved closer. He tried to kick her mouth to get away but it didn't do much as he got thrown in, landing on the back of her tongue in a heap. Joel pushed himself up quickly and hurried back towards the front of her mouth, slipping and stumbling, but it made no difference as the opening soon closed and he was left in darkness. He took some deep breaths, trying to stay calm… until the tongue under him moved and he was suddenly squished into the top of the mouth. He groaned and squirmed, pushing down on the tongue but it only started moving him around and covering him in saliva. He felt gross as he tried to scoot forward- but soon the tongue started pushing him back and he felt the sucking before he heard it.

Gulk.

The alien swallowed and Joel yelled out as he got sucked down into her throat. It was tight and slimey, squishing and pulling him down at a constant rate until soon enough he was forced through a tight spot before falling into a larger area. Joel gasped and pushed himself up as soon as he landed and ran over to the wall, pushing and hitting at it. “Let me out blummin asshole!” He yelled, trying to hide his fear but his high pitch gave things away. He kept kicking and hitting at the fleshy, groaning wall, hoping to give the alien a stomach ache- instead the wall pressed in as she belched above him.

“Oh excuse me.” He heard the alien say and felt the stomach vibrate with her voice. “So about that employer-” There was more talking after that but he didn't pay any attention. He was trapped, going to be digested by some giant alien monster and there was nothing he could do.

Joel sat down and curled up. Maybe it'd be fast at least…

●●●

Gem felt sick as she walked out of the bar, having learned what she needed but having traumatized a human in the process. At least she had a storage stomach so he was safe, but he didn't know that… She sighed through her gills. She knew the employer, evil X, and now she could get the human home. That's what mattered.

She rubbed her belly and looked down as she walked through the streets back to where her ship and crew were waiting. “You doing okay in there?” She said quietly.

Things were silent for a while before the little guy answered, “What do you think.” He practically snarled back and Gem frowned.

“Sorry, I wasn't sure what else to do.” Her main stomach gurgled and she felt the human jump. She bit her lip, feeling guilty, “Don't worry you're safe in there-”

“Blummin Hell am I safe! I'm in you're fuckin’ stomach!” The human growled.

“No no no-” Gem hurried to say, “Not my main one. That one doesn't digest anything, perfectly safe!”

The human scoffed, “And why should I believe you?”

“Well- are you burning at all? In agony? Dead?” The human was quiet for a moment.

“No….” He answered quietly.

“Exactly.” She smiled, “You can trust me little guy and as soon as we're on my ship I'll spit ya up and Impulse can figure out how to get you home.”

“Impulse?”

“Yeah he's part of my crew- or team, we work together on bounties and stuff. Trust me you'll love em!” Gem's smile grew and she started walking a bit quicker to get back.

The human sighed, “Fine, as long as nobody else eats me.”

“I promise they won't!”

[alexloldog]

succession fnaf au

[hootnhoney]

Some of my takes on the alien designs in @delimeful’s incredible fanfic, wibar

If you haven’t read it yet you’re 100% missing out. All of lime’s fics are top tier but this au specifically lives in my head rent free.

[shivblogger]

It’s been one year since the end of my dear, dear world of a tv show, and I wanted to try and reflect a little bit on why I love it so much. I’m sure all of this has been said before but I love my little tv show and I love discussing it with all of you and I will be talking about it until I die! 

I’ve turned succession over in my mind so much that I don’t even know where to begin. There is so much being discussed at once. Corporate greed, American politics, extreme wealth and its consequences, generational trauma, familial inheritance, the death of old media. How power and status become all that matter when money is something that never even passes through your mind. How tying your personal identity to capitalist structures so closely makes your humanity become a weakness, a roadblock to be trampled over as thoroughly as possible on your way up. 

Of course, the siblings are the true heart of the show. The weight of Waystar being put on Kendall’s shoulders at age seven, only to be shrugged off by Logan in adulthood. Roman, forever the weaker dog, playing the fool to avoid fighting for something he didn’t want. Shiv’s stubborn insistence that she can be seen on the same level as her brothers despite endless evidence to the contrary. The icy, wealth insulated bubble they were raised in; never having to live as real people, but only knowing abuse, isolation, and mistreatment from their family. Their complete disregard for how their own power and wealth affects people, and their endless ability to fail with no repercussions. Clawing to their goals with everything at their disposal and nothing to lose, but still losing anyway. Learning from childhood that loving their siblings means tearing them apart and spending the rest of their lives fighting that endless uphill battle because it’s all they’ve ever known. 

Does it even matter that the love is there, when all that love means to you is knowing what soft spots will hurt the most when you hit them as hard as you can?

And the worst part is, they’re fighting for nothing, they’re bearing their teeth while everyone else laughs on the sidelines because they’re a complete fucking joke. They’re unqualified children fighting for the throne of a dying empire that can only be won by gaining approval of a man who despises them for the upbringing that he brought upon them.

There are very few pieces of media that are able to depict tragedy in the true sense of greek or shakespearean classics. Where the events and actions are framed in such a calculated, gutting, beautiful way. It physically pains me seeing Succession framed as “the business show” when the humanity and tragedy of the roy siblings is written and developed so thoroughly well that I know I’ll never be able to find something comparable to it again. The characters are so fully formed that you can see their mistakes and losses coming from a mile away. Every decision made is informed by countless layers of development and backstory. Every line of dialogue matters and even seemingly throwaway lines make you reinterpret characters’ actions from episodes or seasons ago. “Dad’s view was, yours aren’t real.” One line in the last ten minutes of the series finale, completely reframing kendall as a character.

I could go on about the writing, directing, production and costume design, cinematography, blocking, the choice to shoot on film, the absolutely perfect casting… but this has already reached an insufferable length, so, another time.

There’s lots of speculation on what happened post finale, if they could ever come back from that board room. I don’t think there’s any way through life for the siblings other than hand in unlovable hand. What’s crawling back to each other one more time, after all of the hurt and betrayal that you’ve already let pass? “He never saw anything he loved that he didn't want to kick, just to see if it would still come back.” It’s the only love they have. It’s all they’ve ever known. 

[so-very-small]

We've heard of gladiator giant

What about gladiator tiny