#The Temple of Testing

[oldschoolfrp]

The vampire rises; do you have the crucifix from entry #2? (Jon Glentoran, from A Arkle's Fighting Fantasy adventure "The Temple of Testing" in Warlock 7, December 1985/January 1986)

#Warlock magazine #Jon Glentoran #vampire #Fighting Fantasy #undead #dungeon #coffin #crypt #The Temple of Testing #A Arkle #skulls #bones

[strawberrypinky]

basically a shower thought BUT:

When Gortash speaks to Durge about the Temple of Bhaal, he says he does not know where it is located. However, the Temple of Bhaal is basically right next to the same boat which takes the player & party to the Morphic Pool of the Elder Brain.

Does Gortash teleport to the Morphic Pool of the Elder Brain? Are there multiple entrances from which he can access it? Because if not & he takes the same old boat Tav/Durge take to reach it —

How did he miss the Temple of Bhaal?? It is literally next door???

#bg3 #Baldur’s gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #enver gortash #enver flymm #lord gortash #dark urge #durgetash #baldurs gate gortash #gortav #bhaal #temple of Bhaal #elder brain #dungeons and dragons #dnd #maybe i’m just stupid and overthinking this but #my man Gortash is legit one of the smartest guys ever #there is just no way he’d miss that?? #I literally took care of Orin last night and found the boat again and you can LITERALLY see the temple of Bhaal from there #he must teleport or sum bc I refuse to believe Gortash is that stupid or that blind #or maybe he just wants to test Durge #but either way he ain’t that stupid if he takes that very same boat #just ain’t no way

[dragonbma]

The power of many headcanons in the palm of my hand… (Schrodinger’s hair color-)

+Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll! ^^ I’m always curious when it comes to headcanons- [Poll Results:]

#figured it was finally time to make an updated hair test #now in temple technicolor #mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm vos #bermuda brainrot hours #scriptscratches #sea temple saturday

[allieinarden]

“Numbers 5:11–31 has instructions for how to perform an abortion!” Okay, perfect, we’ll compromise. You can perform abortions but you have to use that exact procedure.

#in case you haven’t read it a woman accused of adultery is tested by ceremonially drinking a mixture of the following: #holy water dust from the temple floor and whatever ink or chalk is suitable for writing curses on a scroll #This seems to me like a slam dunk and I can’t imagine why it isn’t standard medical procedure all over the United States

[wildmelon]

i said forever ago i was gonna romance karlach as a dwarven forge cleric of moradin but i had a new character idea and now idk what to do 😭

#ive been so torn on this for like weeks atp #i had to delete all my saves and start fresh after patch 6 so ive been putting it off by making new saves w all my ocs #anyway my new idea is a half-orc girlie from baldurs gate who had a shitty home life and wanted to escape so bad #she's a rogue bc she had to sneak around her father and navigate the city after dark #and she was hoping sm her violent tendencies would fade once she got away from her awful family #so once her dad died she went to the open hand temple and wanted to be a paladin of ilmater #but she failed the ilmateri mind reading initiation test bc of her dark urges 💔 #so then i dont have the details but she was basically like fml and dark urges took over and she became bhaal's chosen etc #but postgame she & karlach can fix the engine then return to baldur's gate and make a new home there with happy memories and a family #and she can be accepted into ilmater's church and protect the weak like she wanted to now that she's free of bhaal's influence 🥹 #now that i typed it all out i think i have to go w her... #lush.talk

[blueteller]

I really love your theories so I have a question for you, what do you the sealed tests were ?

Reading it, I felt like they had way to much informations and stuff happening in it to not be a real world somewhere and then Raon kinda said he sorta remember Dodam so it can't really be another earth because I feel like Raon would not be feeling Dodam either so maybe another timeline ?

Do you think they'll come back at some point ?

That's an excellent question! I've given it a lot of thought, myself.

Personally, I think the twist is that instead of all tests being illusions, each one worked on completely different mechanics: it was to fool the people undertaking the tests to make them stuck for as long as possible, if not indefinitely, and absorb their despair at being trapped.

The first test was an extra one: unofficially called "test of despair", courtesy of Clopeh.

This test was an "illusion of conditionally alternative reality". The world itself was fake, however, the God of Despair had limited influence over it, due to it being heavily based on the TCF reality. I imagine the God of Despair used up a lot of his power for that one.

That reality was altered in two key ways: one, Cale Henituse did not exist. As in, he wasn’t a member of the Henituse family and was never born there. Two, the White Star was replaced by an avatar of the God of Despair, who made himself look like Cale Henituse. It was to trick Cale's group into fighting an "evil Cale", then display the footage in the real world and present it as "Cale's group betraying him". This scheme ultimately failed, because of the God of Death's cintamani. I am not sure what the passing requirement actually was in that test – because the Sealed God himself destroyed that test before it was finished. He probably figured he had a better chance of tricking Cale into using Embrace on him and using it to control him, somehow. Another scheme failed because of the God of Death – who had Cale use his Divine Item to seal him.

The rest of the tests followed the "standard format" of the Sealed God's temple: sadness, sloth, failure, indignity, and wrath.

The test of sadness was based on a person's memory. That was all there was to it. No alternations, no changes. Pretty simple. To pass it, you needed to "accept your sadness" – the same way Cale had to "accept the despair yet to come" in his test back on Earth 2.

The next test was a lot trickier. It was still based on memory, but it had specific properties: indulgence and numbness. It made the person gradually forget that they're in a test at all. It might seem simple on the surface, but in my opinion, it was the most dangerous test of all. Because once you forget you're in danger at all, how can you defend yourself? Luckily, it seems all of Cale's friends managed to pass that one somehow, even thought the passing requirement was never quite made clear to me. I suppose you just needed to "let go of indulgence" and move forward to face the difficulties of the real life.

The test of failure is where things get interesting. It was intended as an "impossible task" kind of test. As Choi Han's case with Harris Village had shown, it was a test where you experienced a failure of your past in a continuous loop. Try as hard as you can to correct your failure, it was an illusion where reality was actively against you. Choi Han should have no problem returning to Harris Village on time, knowing there was an attack coming. And yet the test made him fail over and over. Choi Han was implied to eventually out-stubborn the test, which is truly impressive, as Clopeh believed such a thing was not possible, and the solution was to "accept failure" in order to proceed.

The test of indignity is the strangest of them all; because all signs show that it was the only one where an Actual Alternate Reality was involved.

From what we know about Single-Lifers, such as Choi Han, they’re the only ones who are able to travel between dimensions in their own bodies without issues – of course in Part Two (slight spoiler alert!) we are introduced to Cale's mirror, another Divine Item from the God of Death. However, even with the mirror or the Hunters, they're all required to pay a price for such travel. Even during their travel to the murim world, Cale and his group needed to change appearance in order to "fit in".

That's because regular people are not meant to dimension-travel. Such things seem to be usually only for Gods, Wanderers or other divine beings. For Variables, such as transmigrators, it's necessary to change bodies to "native" ones when they change dimensions.

It is no coincidence that while Choi Han just got dropped into the TCF universe out of nowhere, Cale's soul was placed in the body of a local. That's because he couldn't be simply transported in his own Korean body. Notice how in each test, except the indignity one, Cale and the others were in their own bodies. Only in this one they were all temporarily transmigrated into someone else – although with how 20-year-old Kim Rok Soo was still inside Cale during the Sealed God's test, it's clear that the God of Despair doesn't switch souls, but temporarily places a second soul in another person's body.

That's why I'm 100% sure the indignity test was the only one with a real other universe involved. There were also differences Cale noticed, such as the absence of the Super Rock in the villa. It wasn't an illusion world based on his memories. It was a different world entirely. But it was still similar enough for the Sealed God to choose it his test target, as the same thing happened with Earth 2.

And finally, we got the last test: wrath.

While the extra test was an illusion of an alternate reality, sadness was a memory, sloth was a mind-numbing trap, the failure was a time loop, and indignity was another world… wrath is the only one which is 100% fiction.

It is a world crafted by a sneaky temple AI for one purpose only: to piss you off.

The thing is, if Cale hadn't thought that nonsense of how "kids complaining about food" et cetera are things that "make him angry", his test would probably be a little different. Because, let's be clear here: if the White Star truly had won over Cale, he would never let him live peacefully with the kids. Especially not comfortably enough for them to complain about such mundane thing as food.

The temple took Cale's absurd suggestions and meshed them all with the vision of what truly pissed Cale off: the White Star winning and doing whatever the hell he wanted. If the White Star had won, he wouldn't leave a single one of Cale's allies alive. …Especially not Raon, whom that bastard threatened to cut his heart out of and feed it to Cale.

The point is: logically, the wrath test made no sense. There wasn't any internal consistency to it – even illusion!Eruhaben himself pointed out it did not make any sense. Clopeh's version of the wrath test was seeing Cale and his group in jail and awaiting a trial, as if that would ever happen! If Cale got caught, they would have tortured and killed him, not involving any legal procedures. What would even be the point?

From my observation, the only way to pass this test is to cool off – so unless you're able to defeat whatever it is that "makes you angry", you'd be stuck. Which, honestly, doesn't seem like a very effective trap to me… but I suppose making someone pissed off enough makes them reckless (as seen by Cale bleeding and all over the place and beating up the White Star with a rock like there's no tomorrow…), which is quite dangerous in itself. And if a person manages to pass all the previous tests without issues, it would make sense that anger could be their final weakness.

To answer your final question - do I think Dodam!verse will come back at some point?

Yes. Absolutely.

So yeah - that's my take on the Sealed God's temple tests. I hope you enjoyed it!

#tcf #trash of the count's family #lcf #lout of the count’s family #tcf meta #tcf theory #analysis #sealed god's temple #sealed god's tests #despair test #sadness test #sloth test #failure test #indignity test #wrath test #q&a #replies

[werewolfhooligan]

heyyyy matt, who's your friend? he, haha, seems kinda familiar

#my art #idk do i want to tag this? lmfao #im experimenting w giving frank some tasteful grey hair. i dont think symmetrical is the way to go #my tests so far have come out looking like xmen villains and water type pokemon gym leaders respectively #i like the patch in the beard in theory but not in practice. the temples are a given but im reconsidering the forehead #fratt #if u squiiiint they r just standing here bro #no character tags! some shame!

[stupidlyqueer]

i have a question about that panel in the azula comic, the one where she burns the turtleduck toy.

what's that supposed to be?

one: when they discover she's a firebender?

two: when she bends a substantial amount of fire for the first time?

three: it's a memory, so, the first time she registers that ursa doesn't quite like that she's a firebender but ozai does?

i didn't read the comics, but if i have to guess, i think the option three makes more sense.

i mean...

how old is she there? five, six, seven? not really a toddler. and she's a prodigy, would it take that long for her to firebend like that? because the other firebending prodigy we see as a child is korra and she's already doing a lot as a 4-year-old. sure, avatars are different. but still. or azula isn't that much of a prodigy, just a very, very dedicated person (she can be both, that's not the point i'm making), or korra is a lot more special than what we give her credit for.

also, if that's the first time she bends that much, how fast she progresses?

now, why i think that it being when they discover she's a firebender makes absolute no sense: it's so easy to test if someone's a firebender that they do it in newborns.

if the comics are canon, so are the books.

spoilers for the rise of kyoshi: when they suspect kyoshi is the actual avatar, the first thing they do it test if she can also firebend. now, it can be because fire is the next in the cycle? sure. hei-ran is right there, she's a master firebender, she literally trained the firelord, she was the headmistress for the fire academy for girls or whatever that's called. still, it's such an easy thing to do since all you have to do is breath around.

she kinda says that they do it in newborns. which makes sense, if firebenders can at least heat up a lot as tiny little miniatures of a human being, they're a fire hazard from the day they're born.

meaning: they absolute already know azula is a firebender. because why would they stop testing newborns? especially royal-born ones? especially descendents from the last fire avatar?

so i like to think it's just the first time she registers the difference in the way her parents see her bending, not the first time she actually bends.

#azula in the spirit temple #atla azula #a pet peeve i have in fanfic is “oh they've known she's a firebender since she's x year-old!” #no #they know she's a firebender since birth because they test newborns #y'know #so you don't leave them unsupervised and they set fire to the nursery because they can't control their bending

[aftermyownart]

And then... Well I liked it a lot and wanted to play with it... So I gave her some stuff. and a GLOW up. (geddit? geddit?)

I don't know that I like it MORE than the other one, but I did enjoy putting together the arch and the braziers... It was a fun go.

#amoa #art diary #sketchbook #digital art #digital drawing #clip studio paint #csp #figure drawing #temple #worship #rendering practise #rendering test #glow #dancer #character illustration #character art #original character #character design #original art

[midnight-moth]

I’m so eepy. I just came here to say that it’s super weird that my therapist’s office is in a church. Like I walk across the alter stage thingy and past the pews to get to the room. And today I was wearing one of my most satanic ghost shirts. Idk if they’re affiliated with the church? They’ve certainly never mentioned it. And they’re non-binary/queer so like I’m not worried? It’s just strange is all.

#I feel like I already said this #if I did no I didn’t #but my memory is terrible so idk #i think I should wear my most satanic shirt next time twin temple with baphy and blood and pentagrams #just to see #litmus test or something

[swordmaid]

tav shri’iia is THE canon for me obvi but I also really like the idea of tav wren with yves still being part of the dead three as bhaal’s chosen. the thing with wren is that he was yves’ childhood friend who was pursuing his bard career and severely flopping. one night when he was supposed to escort yves home from the graveyard he chose to perform in some tavern instead, and that night is when the bhaalists came and killed her. for him, one of his closest friends just went missing the night he was supposed to look after her, and when she returns 2 weeks later all beaten up and bloody with no memory of herself ofc he felt guilty….! and he couldn’t even bear to look at her because it’s all his fault u know … if only he didn’t ditched her maybe this wouldn’t have happened so one night he just decides to leave bc he couldn’t take it anymore. it’s always been his dream to be a travelling bard anyway and maybe his career will pick up in some other city than baldur’s gate, so he leaves her and his home and sets out to salvage what he can of his career. and in the most part he was mildly successful. he also ends up making a pact with some fae and they help with his bard career too lol but the guilt of yves is still in his mind- he just got better at ignoring it.

SO. imagine his surprise when he gets tadpoled and goes to moonrise to find a cure and he sees his friend - the girl that’s been haunting his dreams and the source of his guilt and shame - a part of the evil cult that’s been enslaving people with parasites. and now he’s meant to kill her? but how could he when he’s the one who left her behind and maybe it’s his fault that she turned out like this … but anyway I love the idea of wren being like noooo that’s NOT yves she would never do that!! and they’re just like girl ur delusional ur friend is literally chopping people up forcing us to find the parts like some treasure hunt

#but durge era yves is so similar to glados to me where she is so mild about everything and instead of forcing you to test #she forces you to figure out the murder mysteries around the lower city and present ur case in the murder tribunal #like as she says. the only thing better than murder is getting away with it and what’s more fun than to watch someone figure out the puzzle #you set for them u kno 🤭🤭 #and her proposition to ally w her is that she wants u to figure out the whole absolute ploy and how it started and what role she plays #and the only way to get those answers is to break in gortash’s place which betrays his trust … so it’s like a fun whodunit for her..!! #also i think wren finds out what actually happens to her that night .. learning that his real friend died and got replaced with this other o #other one who’s essentially just wearing her skin … reconciling with the truth that if he was with her she would’ve lived … killing this #yves for his friend so she can have some peace finally .. etc etc. it’s really about ween #wren*s survivor’s guilt bc I like to imagine they had another friend who he left with to look after yves #and when he finally returned after how many years he learns that friend has been dead (bc yves killed him) and allegedly yves’ mental #health went downhill when their friend died so she had to be sent away #which in truth she just left for the bhaal temple lol #anyway just thinking abt this three.. def wanna do a wren playthrough one day ..!! #also their other friend’s name is pan (full name xaphan) and they’re a tiefling but idk abt their appearance yet #making them a tiefling so yves’ first kill post lobotomy links back to her og friends where - if #it’s alfira she’s a bard like wren and tiefling like pan … but honestly pan could be Dragonborn too if she ends up killing quill lol #shut up about bg3. #bg3

[jahiera]

Astarion & Emrys have the funniest flirt to roast ratio in which he both flirts and roasts and she's like "are you saying that because you've never been held?" in the most deadpan, dry voice and he's like shut the fuck UP kill yourself die. and then they kiss.

#just replayed the Test of Love with the dryad again with all the full honest answers that get you disapproval #at the end he's like 'I GUESS YOU DO KNOW ME (begrudging)' #which I'm keeping this time #she doesn't really flirt she just kind of stares in vague unimpressed silence and then hits him with 100 damage of being Known #her socially blunted gruffly honest but warm demeanor are impossible to navigate in a slinky way #get you a girl who doesn't bother with show or finesse or social slinking and cuts right to the bone of the problem #she's not particularly sweetie about it either / isn't hmmm... egregiously tender by nature. so there's not pity or weeping #solidity... rock-like.... sturdy... but they connect all the time on morbid humor and #he draws out a hidden penchant for bullshit she has DEEPLY repressed since having it beaten out of her #raised in a tyrran temple (when she was a furious little child and impossible to wrangle) #something something making her more free in his own way #oc. emrys #bg3 spoilers

[rongzhi]

are u mixed

Nope! Just Chinese!

#text #answered ask #I mean I’d like to do ancestry testing someday but aside from personal data mining I’m skeptical of the ability of geneology testing #to parse non-European ancestry with any decent precision #also my dad’s side has one of those family temple scrolls so it’s not that big of a mystery there #in terms of the patrilineal tree anyway

[sw5w]

A Speeder

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:30:03

#Star Wars #Episode I #The Phantom Menace #Coruscant #Galactic City #Temple Precinct #Jedi Temple #Jedi High Council Chamber #Yarael Poof #Anakin Skywalker #Tower of Reconciliation #Adi Gallia #unidentified moon #Jedi testing screen #Seraph-class landspeeder #Mace Windu

[hahahax30]

Zoroastrians have become my roman empire

#listen they're eligible for religious persecution visas #they have one (1) temple in iran and they can't use it #one of the few cemeteries they had was taken over by the islamic regime as a trainings ground so surprise surprise they can't bury their #dead anymore #for once they haven't been able to bury their dead as zoroastrianism dictates for a VERY long time #their schools are lead by muslims #and they can't access university because the university entrance exams tests them on their knowledge of islam #and! what's! worse! their culture is being appropriated and rebranded as ✨️iranian culture✨️

[egopocalypse]

Little Poor Me (Part One)

Whumptober Days 3, 30: Gun to Temple, Hair Grabbing, Manhandling

It was already a shitty day.

Nightmares of red lights, gentle touches, and bloody hands kept him up half the night, glaring at the camera hanging over his head. The red blinking light to the side of the lens haunted his waking thoughts (isn’t it supposed to be green?), and by the time his “morning” meal slid through the chute, the weight of stubborn, waking fatigue pulled at the corners of his lids and sagged under his eyes.

It was already a shitty day. IRIS finally paying attention to him would only make it worse.

“Why are you making this so complicated, Chase?”

Chase pushes the thin blanket away from his face and raises his chin. The researcher (Dr. Hopkins, he remembers) stands in the corner with a clipboard clutched to his chest, blocking the door as it seals from the outside. The familiar hiss filters through the tiny cell as Chase leans back against the chipped concrete wall and crosses his arms.

“Oh, so I don’t even get a hello now when you barge in?” he says before settling into a mockery of Hopkins’ voice. “‘Hi, Chase. How’s it going, Chase? Do anything fun today, Chase?’”

Hopkins’ lips purse. “How are you, Chase?”

“I’m doing great, thanks for asking,” Chase drawls. “The answer is no, by the way. I haven’t done anything fun. Your zoo doesn’t provide any enrichment to its animals.”

“You have a tennis ball,” Hopkins says, unfazed. “Would you prefer we take it away?”

Chase scoffs. “Please, leave me with even less to do. That’s exactly what I want.”

“I’ll be sure to mark down your request.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.” Chase crosses his ankles under the scratchy sheets. “So what do you want? Obviously it has to be important if you finally remembered I exist.”

Hopkins eyes Chase, then motions to the metal table welded down in the middle of the cell.

“That’s something I’d like to discuss in a more professional format, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Chase huffs and waves at the camera targeted at him in the corner. “You lot already have me under constant surveillance. What’s the use in moving a meter or two when it doesn’t even matter?”

“The equipment on the table is more specialized and is the standard for all our interviews with our subjects,” Hopkins says. “However, if you refuse to cooperate, I’ll have to let my superiors know to rethink releasing you.”

Bitter hope rises in Chase’s throat like molasses. He swallows.

“You’re not going to let me go unless it’s to hand me over to the cops,” he says. “I know how you work by now.”

Hopkins shrugs. “If that’s what you choose to believe, I can’t stop you. However, I will say that the inconclusive nature of all our tests suggests you’re exactly as you claim: completely human.”

“So when I tell you that, you don’t believe me, but when your tests do, suddenly you pretend you never doubted me?” Chase says.

“I have to rely on science, not subject testimonials. You know as well as I do how unreliable those can be.” Hopkins sits in the chair closest to the door and arranges his papers on the table. “I can tell you about it in more detail if you join me.”

Chase chews on the inside of his busted cheek. If there’s really a chance he’s getting released, he can’t afford to fuck it up. As long as “release” isn’t code for “taken out back and shot”, he should be able to survive whatever comes next. And even then, he survived a fucking bullet to the head before. There’s no guarantee he’d die this time, either.

“Fine.” Chase drags himself over to the chair opposite Hopkins and leans into the mic, splaying his hands on the table. “Now what’s this about release?”

Before Hopkins can answer, the door hisses, and a team of guards sweep in. Three rush to restrain Chase’s chest and arms to the chair’s back, while a fourth shoves a rifle into his temple.

“Don’t move!” the guard barks. “I have orders to shoot!”

Flames flicker in Chase’s chest. Of course he should’ve expected this. He knew this was a fucking trap, and yet he walked into it willingly all the same. He couldn’t have avoided it if he tried.

Still, he turns to Hopkins and yells, “What the fuck is going on?”

Hopkins pulls a pen out of lab coat and clicks it. “I wasn’t lying about releasing you, Chase,” he says. “We just have one last test we want to try before we do.”

As the guards finish tying his wrists, one grabs his hair and yanks his head to the side, showing off his jugular. Chase struggles against their grip, but the guard with the gun waves the weapon in his face.

“Freeze!” they order again. “I will shoot!”

“Then fucking do it already!” Chase snaps. “What the fuck are you waiting for?”

“Stand down, Johnson,” Hopkins says. “The subject’s been secured. Wait for me or Dr. Adams to give you further instructions.”

Chase’s eyes swing back toward Hopkins. “Who?”

As if summoned, a blonde scientist rolls a cart into the cell and parks it next to Chase. Her lab coat, somehow, is more pristine than Hopkins, as if she wrapped ironed and wrapped it in plastic to avoid even the smallest crease every night. The face shield covering her head doesn’t hide her severe, distasteful gaze as she pulls on a set of gloves.

“Is everything ready for the test, Dr. Hopkins?” she says.

“The subject still needs to be prepped.” Hopkins flips to a certain sheet on his clipboard. “Dr. Adams, are you sure it’s necessary for the subject to be awake? I highly doubt the results will change if he’s sedated.”

“Then you didn’t read the report I sent you,” Adams says. “The nature of this formula would be lethal if mixed with a sedative. Unless you wish to explain to the Director why the subject terminated, I advise you let me do my job.”

Panic blooms in Chase’s heart. He thrashes against the ropes in the blind hope they’d loosen, but the guards grab his limbs and chin, manhandling him as they hold him in place against his will.

Dr. Adams clicks her tongue. “Come now, ALTR 1013, enough of that. Aren’t you the one constantly insisting you’re civilized?”

Something cold and wet rubs on Chase’s neck; he grits his teeth.

“Are you sure you are? Civilized people don’t treat others like fucking lab rats or plastic toys.”

“Hmm, this one has quite the mouth on it, doesn’t it, Dr. Hopkins?” Adams says. “I didn’t know you were so lax with your subjects.”

“When I requested your assistance with this test, I didn’t request a study of my own practices along with it, Dr. Adams,” Hopkins replies. “You focus on your work; I’ll focus on mine.”

Adams hums. “Suit yourself. I only wished to impart some advice on how to handle tricky subjects. It won’t be my fault if you never get the results you desire because you never discipline the unruly ones.”

The flames in Chase’s chest roar into a wildfire. Who do these people think they are to talk about him like that? He isn’t subhuman for fuck’s sake! He deserves some basic fucking respect!

As he opens his mouth to curse them out, a guard shoves a leather belt past his teeth and straps it behind his head. The leather presses down his tongue, the stale taste twisting his face as he grimaces with as much control as he can muster.

Adams lifts a large needle from the cart and raps her fingers against the glass. She catches Chase’s glance and smiles.

“Don’t worry, ALTR 1013,” she says. “You won’t feel a thing.”

Oh, that’s a fucking lie if he’s ever heard one. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the chance to call her out, as she immediately plunges the needle into his neck and drains it into his veins.

Fire burns in his blood. Beads of sweat break out on his brow, and he screams until he’s out of breath, choking on the leather gag in his mouth.

“See, isn’t that better?” Adams says. “You should be grateful for that belt, you know. Without it, you’d bite off your own tongue, or worse! Nothing so civilized about that now, is there?”

Chase’s racing heart throbs in his ears, competing with his muffled screams for his attention. As the pain rises to an agonizing degree, lighting every nerve in fury, a red sheen colors his vision, coating the world in blood-like shadows. He shuts his eyes and yanks at his binds, but his pleas for help are ignored as everyone in the claustrophobic cell just watches.

A hand settles on his shoulder and squeezes it. Chase flinches as a familiar, amused chuckle echoes in his ear.

“Surely you realize there are easier ways to summon me, don’t you?” the nightmare croons. “Close your eyes, Brody. I’ll wake you soon.”

The fatigue tugs at his consciousness, drawing him toward the encroaching darkness, and though he fights, he fails to resists its pull and succumbs to slumber’s painless relief—

Succumbs to the sound of screams.

#whumptober2022 #no.3 #gun to temple #no.30 #hair grabbing #manhandling #jacksepticeye #writersofjack #needles tw #dehumanization tw #River's Writing #Reposting rather than reblogging as a test