
par Bill Tiepelman
Terror on the Tile Wall
Panic in Ply Town Rolland Q. Plyworth III had lived a cushy, well-rolled life up until this exact moment. He was proud of his smooth finish, triple-ply pedigree, and his strategic placement on the prime real estate that was the polished chrome dispenser in Stall Two. He'd heard horror stories from the bidet crowd—rumors about rough wipes, careless tears, and the dreaded "backdoor blizzard" incident of 2017. But Rolland? He thought he was above it all. Then he walked in. At first, Rolland didn't panic. Sure, the human was humming a weird polka tune, pants already around his ankles like a flag of defeat. But Rolland had seen plenty of cheeks come and go. This was standard issue. Nothing to worry about. Until he saw the hand. It wasn’t just dirty. It was apocalyptic. A crime scene in five fingers. Caked in the brown shame of a thousand tacos past their prime. The kind of mess you don’t wipe—you just burn it down and start a new life in Idaho. “Oh sweet Charmin’s ghost,” Rolland muttered as his arms sprung from his soft sides, reaching out to protest. “Not me! I’m embossed! I have a quilted legacy!” The hand got closer. It reached for the tail end of Rolland’s perfectly perforated sheet. His heart—if he had one—would’ve exploded like a hot burrito in a microwave. “Stop! Use the paper towels! Use your sleeve! Use... your dignity!” Rolland shrieked, trying to unspool himself off the holder like a hostage escaping bondage. Too late. A single square was torn free, gripped by the filth-riddled claws of the man who had clearly just committed war crimes in porcelain. And then—horror—Rolland was made to hold it. His tiny paper hand gripping the dirty square like a traitor handing over state secrets. His fibers trembled. His embossing began to curl with trauma. “You monster,” he whispered, his googly eyes widening. “I’m not even flushable.” But the man didn’t hear. The man never heard. They never do. They just wipe and leave. No thank you. No apology. No therapy voucher. As the hand drew the square toward the unspeakable, Rolland knew this was only the beginning of his nightmare. And if he didn’t do something drastic... he’d be next. The Great Escape and the Porcelain Underground It’s said that in moments of mortal terror, your life flashes before your eyes. For Rolland Q. Plyworth III, it was a slideshow of packaging. The proud day he left the factory. The first time he was stocked on the top shelf—front-facing, labels aligned. The time a small dog tried to chew on his outer layer and got scared off by his screaming face. Simpler times. But now? Now he was about to be complicit in the kind of fecal felony that gets you blacklisted from every guest bathroom from here to Biscayne Bay. His mind raced. He was a roll of few options. But if he could just... twist his core... leverage the spring of the holder... maybe—maybe—he could dismount. “FOR PLYDOM!” he howled, spinning like a majestic soft grenade and flinging himself off the metal spindle with all the grace of a suicidal croissant. He hit the tiled wall, bounced off the sink, and landed with a panicked flop behind the toilet brush caddy. The human stared at the empty holder. “What the—” he grunted, cheeks clenched, reaching under the sink in desperation. “WHERE’S THE BACKUP ROLL?!” Rolland peeked from behind the plunger, gasping for breath he didn’t need. “There is... no backup... you crusty-handed barbarian.” Suddenly, from the shadows of the baseboard heating vent, came a whisper. “Pssst. New guy. You alright?” Rolland turned to see a square of paper towel, folded into a vaguely humanoid shape with duct tape shoes. One corner was burnt. One side had coffee stains that looked... deliberate. “Who... who are you?” Rolland asked, still trembling. “Name’s Bev. Bev Napkin. We’ve been watching you from the vents. You’ve got guts, roll-boy. Most of your kind go limp and get flushed. But you? You’ve got fiber.” Rolland blinked. “Is this the afterlife? Is this where all the partially used napkins go?” Bev laughed, a harsh papery rasp. “Nah, sweetheart. This is the Underground. And you just joined the resistance.” Bev led him down through a vent tunnel, past tissues with eye patches, floss with battle scars, even a bar of soap that refused to speak of what it had seen in Gym Locker 9. They emerged into a hollow behind the baseboards—a sanctuary of the discarded and the defiant. A haven for the hygienically traumatized. “We call it ‘Plymoria’,” Bev explained, spreading her crumpled hands. “And we fight for justice. For dignity. For one-ply, two-ply, and moist towelette alike.” Rolland stared in awe. “But... what can I do?” Bev grinned. “You know the layout. You’ve seen the enemy. You’ve touched their hands.” He shuddered. “More like... their sins.” “Then you’re perfect for our mission,” she said. “Operation: Wipe Back.” From that day forward, Rolland trained with the Paper Platoon. He learned to roll silently across linoleum. He mastered distraction techniques (mostly involving fake poop and creaky cabinet doors). He even bonded with a grizzled loofah named Carl, who’d done two tours in the bachelor dorm showers. The next time that filthy human entered the bathroom, things were different. As he reached again—confident, unrepentant—he felt the snap of a tripwire made of floss. The thud of a plunger falling on his foot. The squirt of hand soap in the eye. He stumbled, slipped, and fell backward into the tub with a dramatic flail worthy of a daytime soap opera. “WE DON’T WIPE IN FEAR ANYMORE!” Rolland yelled, rappelling from the shower rod with a grappling hook made of hair ties and courage. “WHO SAID THAT?!” the man screamed, now face-down in a puddle of his own arrogance. Bev appeared beside Rolland, her crumpled napkin form backlit by the glowing nightlight shaped like a seashell. “Justice,” she said, flicking a Q-tip like a ninja star. And thus, the Porcelain Underground made their mark. They didn’t stop all the messes. But they did stop the worst of them. And they reminded every person entering that room that toilet paper was not just a tool—it was a soul. A sentient square with dreams. And boundaries. And Rolland? He wasn’t just a roll anymore. He was a revolutionary. A soft-spun soldier of sanitary salvation. Long live the resistance. Long live the Ply. Bring the Bathroom Battle Home! If you laughed, gasped, or nervously checked your own toilet paper holder—why not commemorate the madness? "Terror on the Tile Wall" is now available as a series of gloriously absurd, conversation-starting products. Whether you're decorating your guest bathroom or just want to weird out your in-laws, we've got you covered (with more dignity than that guy's hand). Framed Print – Classy enough for your hallway, disturbing enough to keep the kids out of your bathroom. Metal Print – Because nothing says “modern chic” like a terrified toilet roll immortalized in aluminum. Acrylic Print – Vibrant, glossy, and deeply unsettling—perfect for contemporary bathrooms or as a housewarming gift for people you want to confuse. Shower Curtain – Give your morning routine a sense of urgency with Rolland’s face screaming at you while you lather. Make your walls weird, your shower scenes surreal, and your bathroom proudly unhinged with this one-of-a-kind image. Go on, wipe responsibly—shop hilariously.