Darkest Timeline AU Flashback Meme

[faderifting]

DARKEST TIMELINE AU FLASHBACK MEME
Did you work out something for your character's darkest timeline AU that you love so much it would be an absolute crime not to be able to write it out for real? WHAT LUCK! This meme is here for all your flashback-from-the-future needs. It's also the place to display sad single-character vignettes, letters that were never sent to dead friends, and anything else your dastardly little heart desires. Go forth and suffer.

The contents of this meme do not count for AC. For AC, you must participate in the real logs for the event, which will take place in Cloudreach 9:48, or else continue your normal non-event RP in the present (Guardian 9:43). However, you can count log threads in this meme toward your rewards points for the month.

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[byblow]

"An assignment," Alistair repeats. He's into repeating things today. But this time he doesn't just leave the words there for her to explain. "Working for them. While they try to kill everyone I care about."

He settles back against the wall, legs bent up, and lets his forearms cross and dangle over the tops of his knees, blood-smeared over bruised--and he laughs, sort of. One of the single-syllable, breathy has that signals a pessimist unhappily proven right.

"He told me you needed help. I didn't really believe it, but what kind of person would I have been if I'd said so?"

[arlathvhen]

She has the grace to look abashed at that, tensing and biting her lip. But this is important, this is vital. She can't let Alistair die, not like this. "Alistair, if you get out of here, if you let me help you, then you can help other people, too. Just like I'm trying to do for you. If someone else comes in here that you want to save, you'll be able to." She stares at him while she speaks, voice imploring. Surely, he wants to save his other friends. Or that...woman.

His next words, however, throw her off balance. She stares at him, baffled, and quietly whispers, "You came to help me...?" This...was her fault, too? Just like Cade--

Cade.

Cade had been gone for days. Then he comes back with news that Alistair's here. Alistair, who was baited with the possibility of helping Beleth.

Slowly, Beleth turns to look at her guard. Her friend. Surely--surely he wouldn't have used her, let her dangle unknowingly in front of someone that they had both cared so much about. And then trapped him in a cage.

"Cade."

[onlyhymns]

Yeah, he gets that look a lot these days.
Cade looks back at her, and gives no excuses or explanations. He just nods once, dully, and then looks away again. The cat's out of the bag, not that it was tied very tightly to begin with.

[byblow]

If Alistair spent any time trying to imagine the looks on the faces of the people he has left to save—Sabine, Kaisa, little Gwenaëlle all grown up and murderous, any of them—if he walked down to their cells and offered them a place within the Imperium, he might genuinely laugh. But he doesn't spend time on that. He's too busy looking at Beleth that way himself, like she's asked him to personally lie down prostrate in front of the Archon and apologize for being bad and disobedient. And also like she's grown a second head. A second head with extra eyes. A second head with extra eyes that has whispered fuck you and everything you believe in.

So that's a no.

She turns on Cade, next, and that's fine with him. He leans his head back and closes his eyes. "Cade," he mimics childishly. He's tired, he's hurt, and he isn't in the mood to give anyone the benefit of the doubt right now. He doesn't care if she wasn't complicit in this teeny tiny thing. "Can you two take this somewhere else? I'm busy."

[arlathvhen]

Beleth turns from Alistair, to Cade, then Alistair again. She's seen other people pass through here, people that she once knew, people that wouldn't take the help she offered either, who stared at her with that hatred. She's learned to not let it bother her.

But Alistair makes it hurt again, fresh and jarring. And that Cade used her, lied to Alistair about her in order to bring him in--

She can feel her eyes watering, but she doesn't want to give Alistair the pleasure of seeing it, so she spins around, marching towards the door. She does bother to stop next to Cade, spending a moment staring at him with hurt, angry eyes that are still tearing up. And she does the worst thing she can think of to him.

"I'll get someone else to escort me home." Then she turns, leaving the dungeon in a huff. Wasn't that fun.

[onlyhymns]

It doesn't seem possible, but Cade deflates a little further, watching Beleth go with a look that is both hurt and unsurprised. It's been a long, long time since he made anyone happy, it seems, and the most he can do these days is stay out of the way. Avoid making them angry. But apparently even that is beyond his capabilities!
He stands there awkwardly for several moments after Beleth goes, then looks back at Alistair with a similar expression: I know you hate me, but you're still all I have.

He comes forward a few steps to look into the cell, frowning. Is there even anything worth saying?
"I'm sorry," is all that comes out, in a barely audible mumble. "...just...." He pauses for a while, trying to think of something else to say. "...don't take the lyrium, if you can avoid it."

[byblow]

"No?" Alistair says without moving. The only thing about Beleth's exit that he regrets is that she left Cade behind. The first word is sharp enough to cut, but the more he goes on the more he just sounds resigned. (He's going to die—he refuses to do anything for them but die. He should have said good bye. He should have left something behind—) "I've always wanted to turn into a mindless rock monster, secret dream of mine. But I'll take your advice under consideration."

[onlyhymns]

The answer gives Cade pause, and he holds his tongue for several moments while Alistair gets the snarky answer out of his system. It hurts to hear, but isn't unwarranted. Even in this awful, resentful way, he's missed talking to his friend, and will take what he can get.

"You won't be mindless," he says, his voice low and dismal, "...though... that could be nice." Like Tranquility. Most people wouldn't want it, but he isn't most people. "If..."
He trails off, realizing there's no universe in which Alistair would want to hear this, but proceeds anyway, "...if you're forced, don't... don't fight it. It'll be easier." His shoulders hunch. "Maybe they won't force you. You're not a Templar."

[byblow]

Eyes shut, Alistair half-considers, with the part of his brain that isn't busy with regrets, a few different answers. He could pull his first ever do you know who I am?—do you really think they're going to waste me on just another half-mad lyrium monster. That might be fun. He's nearly surly enough.

But not quite.

"I'm not interested in easy, Cade," he says, and grins with too many teeth. Kind of. Grin is generous. "If they try it, maybe you can come hold me down for them."

[onlyhymns]

If Cade were quicker on his feet, perhaps he'd have some kind of snappy comeback for this, a way to counteract the barbs shooting from Alistair with every sentence. But he isn't, and he doesn't, so he just stands there quietly, watching him.
"I'd rather be dead," he murmurs after a moment, so low that perhaps it wasn't even meant for Alistair to hear. His gaze is distant and desolate, his posture defeated.
Several seconds pass, and Cade realizes he's being weird, so he focuses on Alistair again. "She is in trouble," he says quietly, "...when you get out of here, take her with you." He turns to go toward the door, head down, not waiting for a response.

[byblow]

That would have been a nice conclusion for Cade to come to sometime before Alistair was in a cell, Alistair does not say, but he does give Cade a contemptuous silent look-over that makes it fairly clear he would rather Cade die, too. And not just to avoid further assisting in Alistair's demise. In general.

He's tired, and he can't let any panic or despair show until everyone leaves him alone, so he doesn't say it. And he doesn't say that he won't be getting out and certainly wouldn't be taking Beleth with him if he did, after what happened when the Dalish tried. And he doesn't ask any favors. He wants to, desperately, because he didn't explain before he left, he knew it was stupid and he knew she would tell him so, and he didn't say goodbye the way he should have if he wasn't coming back—

But he wants even more desperately to not owe Cade a damn thing, so he says, "Sure," tone somewhere vague between flippant agreement and sneering sarcasm, and lets him leave.