they live inside us

[thememening]

FIGHTING YOUR INNER DEMONS

Everybody has them. Some are louder than others. Some are stronger. Some are overwhelming, and sooner or later you just give up fighting. But there are other people around you who want to help you - maybe they're suffering too, either because of your inner monster or their own. Or maybe they're one of the lucky ones with demons that don't howl so much.

You can help each other. It's better than the alternative.

• Leave top levels with your character name and info.
  
• Specify what you're running from, or if you're running at all, or if you just want to help.
  
• Details may be useful, but are certainly not necessary.
  
• Tag around for great drama and profit.

Warning: responses to this meme could potentially contain triggering material.

Comments

Rhys the Company Man | Borderlands | OTA

[10milliondollars]

(I'd love to thread something set post-TFTBL. It'd be perfect to play out with a Vaughn, but I'm open to other canonmates, since I'm not aiming for a shippy thread. For obvious reasons, I won't play this one out with a Jack. Post-canon Rhys has a lot to run from. If there's a Fiona, we could even hash out what went down in the vault.)

Starter for angelic_phale

[10milliondollars]

After everything that had happened to him, a trip to Eden-V was just what Rhys needed. There, it was easy enough to pretend that Pandora just didn't exist, that he'd never worked for Hyperion, that all those people--yeah, that's where he stops himself. He can't think about that.

Here, the only people that ask about his life are his parents. And the main thing they'd asked about was how he and Vaughn were doing.

It's no wonder that, as occupied as he is, Rhys bumps into a stranger on the sidewalk. Back at Hyperion, he'd respond with a snide remark and maybe threaten the other man. But he wasn't at Hyperion anymore. He'd destroyed Hyperion, overloaded Helios's power core, and sent the station hurtling towards the sun-baked desert of Pandora. Eden-V is a civilized planet.

"Uh...S-sorry, pal," he says, straightening his clothes and brushing his fingers through his hair. "You all right?"

[angelic_phale]

There's a soft splash as the paper bag Aziraphale had been carrying fell to the ground. He winces as the water soaks in, and hurriedly bends to retrieve it.

"Goodness..." he says, because as an angel, he doesn't curse (barring the one or two times during THAT time, but nobody speaks of that now.). He pulls out the book to make sure it's unharmed. And it's dripping, but he quickly miracles away any moisture that touched the pages. Not *this* book, blast it... He's been slowly stocking back up on his collection of the Infamous Bibles, and couldn't believe his luck when he found one of them, ironically, on Eden V.

Goodness, humans have a lot of gaul, naming such a place like that...

He turns to the human, feathers a bit ruffled (not that anyone can see his wings right now) but simmering down. "Oh, um. I'm fine, thank you," he says, seeming irritated and distracted. But he puts his best customer service smile on, regardless. He knows the man didn't mean to. 'Pal', indeed...

[10milliondollars]

Rhys doesn't miss that splash. Oh, that can't be good...He tries to make himself seem smaller, but gets ready to run should the stranger react violently. Running was something he was used to, now. Though, his hand also reflexively reaches for the handle of his stun baton. "I, um...I can pay for that," he offers as the man pulls the book out. He sees it dripping, then sees it suddenly dry off.

"Hey! How did you do that?" he asks, stunned. "Your book was soaked! It couldn't have just dried up suddenly like that."

[angelic_phale]

"Wh--no, of course it's not."

Ohh, bugger. He can't just hypnotize the man like Crowley -- he's bad at it, for starters. He should have been more subtle.

"Er. Not soaked, I mean. New technology." He isn't sure what technology, he can't keep up with the time. He slipped the Bible into his pocket, flustering a bit at his lie. He really shouldn't, as an angel--

Oh, whatever, he's protecting a secret.

[10milliondollars]

"Uh...huh. Well, no harm, no foul, right?" He gives a weak chuckle, clapping the blonde on the shoulder. The smile doesn't quite reach Rhys's eyes, but he's gotten great at pretending. "The advances we've made with technology are pretty great."

He doesn't want to stick around this man for longer than he needs to.

"If you're okay, I guess I'll be going now. I'm a little late for coffee with a friend," he lies.

[angelic_phale]

"Yes, goodbye," Aziraphale says, more than happy to let the other man go. He turns and gets three steps before the Guilt starts eating at him, and he swears he can feel a judging stare down the back of his neck.

Oh, well. Crowley isn't due on planet for another while, at least, and who knows how long that will be...

"Erm, here, good fellow, I forgot to mention," he says, turning back around. He fishes a wallet out of his pocket that hadn't been there before, brown and square, and if Rhys is any kind of observant about it he'll notice that it...doesn't look...real. Not really there. Like someone hurriedly drew it into place. It's there, it's in the other man's hands...but something's off about it.

He draws a business card out of the wallet and puts the brown square away, and then hands it over to Rhys. The card is white with a comforting, dark typeface, that says--

Andrew Fell
Rare Book Proprietor

--with the address of his little bookshop below it.

"If you need anything, dear," he says, trying to be subtle.

Upon meeting Aziraphale for the first time, people often make three assumptions: that he's English, that he's intelligent, and that he's gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. Only one of these is true.

[10milliondollars]

Good fellow? What an odd guy. Rhys takes the card, looking it over. It seems real enough, even if the wallet hadn't. "Uh, thanks," he says as he slips the card into his pocket. Rather than offering his name or business card in return, Rhys simply turns and continues on his way to the cafe.

While he enjoys his coffee, this Andrew Fell occupies his mind. The man isn't unattractive, though he is a little weird. And it's a lot better than obsessing over everything that had recently happened.

By the time his cup is empty, Rhys has made up his mind to go check out the little bookshop. If nothing else, he'll pick up reading material that isn't a quarterly report or too much unnecessary data to comb over for a crumb of evidence against a rival.

He makes his way to the shop and walks in cautiously. He's still wary enough that he keeps his hand on his stun baton as he looks around.

[angelic_phale]

A bell chimes over the door that sounds like it's trying to sound like a friendly welcome bell, but it isn't trying very hard. He will immediately notice several odd things about this shop; it is out of place in several ways, not saturated with tech and screens, in the first place.

The bookshop can absolutely be described as musty. There are about six shelves of books in the shop, along with several shelves lining the walls, and most of them seem to be...children's books? The carpet is threadbare, and depending on where he stands he'll notice damp smells, odd lighting, and the prices are rather hard to find. He won't have heard of any of these books, either. And he'll find that he won't even remember the hours on the outside of the shop. He can look again, but they'll become an after thought as soon as he looks away.

Aziraphale hears the bell chime and steps out from the back room. Now that Rhys is paying attention, he'll notice that the man dresses from a bygone era. He can't be more than mid-thirties, but he's wearing a tweed vest over a button-up shirt, khaki slacks, and white tennis shoes. He adjusts his glasses (which he doesn't need) and smiles.

"Ah, welcome in, sir."

[10milliondollars]

As he steps through the door, Rhys feels as though he's stepped back in time. Back to when humans only lived on Earth. Even the ancient Eridian vaults had had more technology than this! The place smells the way he remembers his grandparents' house smelling.

Old.

He sneers at the carpet in disgust, too busy wondering if this man had any capital to start the bookstore to peruse the actual books. He brushes dust off his jacket sleeve, almost as if he's offended. What was a place like this doing on Eden-V? Did anyone actually ever shop here? He couldn't even imagine it.

The moment this Andrew steps out from the back, Rhys's attention is on him. The man definitely doesn't dress like anyone from Eden-V. He doesn't dress like anyone from any of the Edens, or even from this galaxy. Despite this, Rhys tries to soften his face so that he doesn't offend the shop owner.

"What kind of shop is this, anyways? How are you still in business?" As if Rhys has any right to ask. "I can't imagine anyone stays very long, not after they see how disgusting this place is."

[angelic_phale]

"Disgusting? Oh, a little dust never hurt anyone. Anyway, I'm not much of a fan of how technology's progressed. Nothing is real anymore. Everything is so sterile, so planned, so...so fabricated, isn't it, that honestly sometimes I crave a bit of dust to brush away. But, well, I suppose that's all a matter of opinion."

[10milliondollars]

...What a weird thing to say. Rhys tilts his head and furrows his brow. "Well, yeah, things have to be made. Computers don't just grow on trees, you know. Same goes for robots, weapons...all that stuff." Does this guy not know who he's talking to?

"Where are you from, Andrew? Pandora? You seem like you'd fit in around there."

[angelic_phale]

Aziraphale has no idea who he's talking to, no. He smiles and leans against his desk, thinking quickly. "Actually, I spent my younger years in Eden," he says, technically not lying... "And, well...I spent a time on Earth, old Earth, after that, and now here I am."

He crosses his arms, the easy smile still on his face, no lie there.

"Are you from Pandora?"

[10milliondollars]

"I'm from Eden-V, but I live on Pandora now. I run the Atlas Corporation." Rhys is still clearly not interested in giving out his name, or any details other than what will serve to make him seem more important that he really is. He picks up a book to thumb through, curious about what types of books this man is selling.

"If you're really from the Edens, you'd know that no self-respecting person from Eden-V would set foot in this place." He drops the book (rather carelessly) back onto its shelf.

[angelic_phale]

Aziraphale doesn't react to the news of his running Atlas, but...it does give him something of an idea of what the man might be troubled about. In his and Crowley's world, Rhys is nothing more than a very useful tool in something their respective sides consider "fated".

But their respective sides weren't at all sure what to think, now. The development of life on other planets, in other galaxies had thrown everything they had known into question. Did other gods or Gods rule these new planets? What was their territory? But, angels and demons were creatures of habit, so they'd just continued doing what they'd been made to do.

Aziraphale and Crowley had done so as well, sinking ever more comfortably into their human identities. And it was for this reason that Aziraphale just chuckles and says, "Well of course not. These books are my collection."

He admitted it to himself a long time ago. There's little reason to feel guilty about it now. Oh, sure, every now and then, someone would buy one of his books and he'd ship it off, but people rarely bother him these days. Just as he likes it.

[10milliondollars]

"Collection..? Like...Like a library?" Rhys asks, raising a brow. "You know, it might be easier if you cataloged them digitally. You'd get less of this...moldy smell. Though that might just be this ugly carpet you've got..."

For all his complaining, Rhys is still standing in the shop. He tries not to think about that. He feels better trying to figure out what this man's really up to.

"So tell me...Why do you collect kids' books?"

[angelic_phale]

"Oh. Just an old joke... You see, a long time ago, my shop had actually burnt down, and all my rarest books with it. He gave me another collection to try and sell -- all children's books. These are the ones I'm more willing to part with, hence why they're on display. The ones I'm loathe to let go of are in the back room," he explains, still no dishonesty to his actions. He sighs and picks up the book he'd been holding earlier.

"Have you ever read a book? One like this, in the physical, pages and all?"

[10milliondollars]

That sounds like a bummer. But Andrew doesn't seem all that old, and Rhys is more curious about who this "he" is.

"Nah, most everything's digital," he says with a dismissive wave. "Just how long ago did your old shop burn? Was it on Earth? That would explain why you still had access to books, but..." he trails off with a shrug, stepping closer to another shelf to look through more books. He is somewhat fascinated. It doesn't explain how Andrew traveled lightyears away. "And who, exactly, gave you this collection?"

[angelic_phale]

"His name was Adam Young," Aziraphale says, and tilts his head to the side a bit. "But I don't think that you came back here just to ask me questions."

[10milliondollars]

This man grows more odd the more he talks, and that's a great distraction. Still, Rhys isn't volunteering anything. Andrew will have to ask the right questions and push the right buttons if he wants anything out of Rhys.

"I'm home on vacation. You handed me a business card, and I've got nothing better to do today, so I came to check this place out."

[angelic_phale]

"If you say so, dear boy."

It's hard to tell whether "Andrew" is flirting with him or not. His words and tone could be interpreted one way, but he's not trying to make any advances... He picks up a book and opens it to the marker, glancing down to read it.

"Though I'm not sure anything I have out front will interest you."

[10milliondollars]

"What's in the back? Is that where you keep all the tech? Or are you trying to lure me back there just to kill me?" As he says this, Rhys whips his stun baton out, wielding it threateningly. This guy looks easy enough to take down, and Rhys likes to think that he's...made some improvements in his fighting skills.

[angelic_phale]

Aziraphale looks up at that last sentence, looking insulted, his cheeks darkening.

"Excuse me. There's nothing in the back but old books and wine, put that away." He sounds like a scolding mother, but doesn't look particularly threatened at first; no, it's not until the last sentence that he even flinches back, setting the book on his desk.

[10milliondollars]

"I'll put it away when you swear to me this isn't some kind of bandit trap," Rhys grits out. It feels wrong to accuse this man of being a bandit, especially in true civilization like the Edens. Still, he can't be too careful. Not after the last time he misplaced his trust...

[angelic_phale]

"...bandit...trap," he says slowly. Alright. Clearly the man is on edge. Something happened...something deeper than Aziraphale thought. He doesn't need to be able to at this point, but he can feel the fear and paranoia deep within the man.

Aziraphale sighs and raises his hands. "This is no trap. Look, I gave you my card because it seemed to me that you needed someone to talk to. You're carrying something heavy on your shoulders."