Long Nights at the Lab

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HailfireAlicorn
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:09 pm
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Long Nights at the Lab

Post: # 11810Post HailfireAlicorn »

((Private RP please do not post here))

For the first time since Riley could remember, the elevator ride down to the lab didn't terrify him. Normally, the enclosed space and rumbling clanking noises would be enough to push him to the edge of a panic attack. But after the events of the day, the ride seemed incredibly tame.

Riley slunk into his usual seat in the corner of the lab, letting out a weary sigh. As if dealing with the ridiculous, irrational, mob-loving average citizens of Toro wasn't bad enough, there'd also been that... misunderstanding... with Ellie. All in all he'd had a pretty rough day, even if it had some upsides. After the day he'd had, he didn't feel much like working on anything, so instead he figured he might as well start the journal he'd been meaning to start. After letting out the Pixelmon he could trust to behave themselves—which ended up being Jolteon, Zorua, and Riolu, he opened up a blank journal and began to write.
Winter 1, 1038,

I have finally begun the task of keeping a journal of my scientific endeavors. After reading a large variety of personal memoirs from great scientists and other influential scholars, I could reach no other conclusion than that it is necessary that I myself keep one, to be edited and published at a later date. The following text is a record of both my actual research and findings, and the personal events which shape my world views as they occur, so that future historians will understand the context of my work and my own perspective and motivations.
Riley paused for a moment as he felt Snarly jump up onto his lap. He smiled down at the now quite large Jolteon, glad that nothing had changed since he evolved. Using one hand to lightly pet his static-charged fur and one hand to hold a pen, he resumed his writing on a fresh paragraph.
Today I observed a confrontation between the citizens of Toro and a small group of individuals calling themselves "Rhyhorn Riders". As is the norm for Toro citizens, they crowded together in a mob and threatened the leader of the Riders, believing him to be suspicious on sight. I would bemoan this further if it weren't for the fact that they seemed to have judged the Riders correctly.

I would comment further on this confrontation, except I was distracted from it by a rather curious young woman who struck up a conversation with me on the outskirts of the action. She introduced herself to me as Ellie; with striking icy white hair and a similar fashion sense to my own, it's no surprise that I found her more intriguing than the petty trifles of the rest of the population. Not that there was anything untoward in my intrigue of course; it was purely an academic interest, as she soon revealed herself to be a fellow college student.

Still, I'd be lying if I said I had no personal interest at all, just not of the sort you may attempt to accuse me of. While at first she seemed a shy, quiet girl, after a bit of conversation I found that she is actually quite bold, holding many strong convictions and a deep intellect that line up well with my own. She even indulged a great many secrets to me, but alas, as they were told to me in absolute confidence, I can't disclose them here. I can assure you however that they were at once both shocking and and very promising. I hope this fragile friendship we've begun remains intact, but at the very least I must ensure that she remains an ally.
Riley let out a yawn as he finished the paragraph. He meant to write a conclusion to the first entry, but the words blurred in front of his eyes and the warm weight of his Pixelmon on his lap pulled him towards sleep. He closed the book with great effort and rested his head on it; it wasn't the first time he'd used a book as a pillow, and unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last. The machines buzzing and water lapping against the glass walls together formed an impromptu lullaby, and he drifted off to sleep.
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HailfireAlicorn
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:09 pm
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Re: Long Nights at the Lab

Post: # 11874Post HailfireAlicorn »

Riley trudged across the lab to his chair, tired from a long day at the Festival of Lights. As he pulled the Jolteon mask off his face and set it down on a nearby chair, he glanced over at the stack of textbooks on the counter. Loose sheets of paper jutted out of them at all angles, reminding Riley of all the homework he still had to finish. After the events of the last few days, the last thing he wanted to do was more homework.

The journal lying nearby proved to be a suitable substitute. Between the festival activities and his classes, he'd had no time to write another entry in it, let alone make any real progress on his independent research that the journal was intended to record. Despite the lack of scientific notes to make, he figured enough had happened personally to warrant a new entry.
Spring 4, 1039,

Tonight marked the end of the Festival of Lights. I spent the whole of my free time there, successfully juggling my studies and desire to attend. The only fault in this endeavor was the lack of time to devote to my independent work, and thus I've made little to no progress since my last entry. I wish I could say that the events which occurred during the festival made it worth that price, but in hindsight I'm not certain I made the right decision. My festival experience was not quite what I'd expected; I just thought if I went, then perhaps...
Riley paused, letting out a deep sigh. He had no idea how to finish that sentence; he wasn't even sure himself what he was hoping for. There wasn't any good explanation for the vague sense of longing that had driven him to spend so much precious time at some silly festival, at least not one that made any logical sense.

He shook his head violently to clear away the dense, painful fog settling down in the dark corners of his mind. He began the next paragraph abruptly, determined to keep it away completely.
I had another run in with Ellie earlier in the festival, as well as seeing an old acquaintance whom I hadn't seen in quite some time, his young offspring tagging along with him. I soon discovered my distaste for it was apparently not mutual; it seemed to be interested in interacting with me in some way. This development was displeasing, to say the least.

This unfortunate circumstance was the least of my troubles though. My conversation with Ellie was quite distressing despite its friendly beginnings. In the course of our talk I revealed some rather sensitive information to her, information that I haven't shared with anyone, not in a long time any way. I can't even bring myself to share it here in my own journal, yet I so casually divulged it to her! I cannot even fathom what unknown force led me to do so, but I find myself constantly ruminating on it with the utmost embarrassment.
Riley groaned and buried his face in his arms at this, temporarily abandoning the journal to stew in said embarrassment. He banged his head softly against the desk repeatedly in time with his own repetitive self-deprecating thoughts. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid-! He couldn't believe he'd said something so completely, entirely, utterly stupid! In the context of a fruit metaphor, no less. Such a complex subject that had tormented him for most of his life, reduced to a single sentence that completely oversimplified it! Riley was mortified to think of all the assumptions Ellie would make from it.

Still, making it a joke took out some of the tension, and accurately summing up his feelings wouldn't have made nearly as catchy of a metaphor. "Oh you know, I prefer bananas but I don't actually like eating fruit I just think bananas are the best fruit aesthetically and if I had to pick a favorite fruit I'd pick bananas!" he muttered hysterically to himself at an imaginary Ellie. Riley sighed and picked his head back up off the desk, resigning himself to the fact that the self-imposed embarrassment from the conversation would haunt him for years. Pushing it aside to deal with later, he picked up his pen again to write the rest of the journal entry.
As if these particular situations weren't sufficient to cast doubt on the rationality of going to the festival, the general mood it has left me in certainly confirms that my constant attendance was foolish. Seeing all the lights and decorations strung among the さくら brought back far too many memories, yet in a strangely distant way. The whole festival had quality of unreality; it was like looking into that blasted golden chain.

Though the festival appeared on the surface to be accurate to the festivals I had known back in the カントー地方, the details were wrong in ways that left me feeling out of place, like I was lost in time. People wore きもの and ゆかた interchangeably, and though I'm certainly no expert on the proper ways to tie either of those, many of the errors were simply glaring. The most disconcerting one though was the loud clamor of Unovan; while normally it wouldn't seem unusual to me at all, it was difficult to reconcile what I was seeing to what I was hearing. This contributed to most to my feelings of disassociation, the absence of カントー語 when my other senses were telling me I should be hearing it. When I did hear it, it was all too often from other がいこくじん who's pronunciation was more butchered than my own. At this point, I've spent enough time in Toro to not even be surprised by this behavior from it's citizens.

This festival has been most effective at recalling to my mind memories which I would have preferred to stay buried. I wrote down a wish, signing it with a name I hadn't used in years, feeling the ghosts of my past grasping at my hand with every stroke. My wish, while still definitely a true one, was not the one which was dearest to my heart in that moment; though the temptation was strong to write that wish instead, I had seen first hand that this tradition was a pointless one, that no matter how fervently you wished for something it would never come true. Still, that secret wish remains, weighing down my heart and filling my head with that dark haze which has haunted me for far too long.

It's my birthday today. There were fireworks again.
The final sentence was decorated with twin tear stains as Riley's vision blurred and a choked sob escaped his mouth. He shut the journal quickly with one hand and clamped the other over his mouth, as if it stopping the sound would stop the rising flood of emotions. He pushed the journal away from himself and buried his head in his arms again. As he shook quietly, he was faced with the fact that regardless of all the inconsistent details, the festival had felt so wrong because someone was missing. As much as he'd wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of a region he'd once considered his new home, he'd nearly forgotten that he'd left for a reason, that all those memories were inextricably linked to someone who was no longer here with him.

Slowly but surely the sobs subsided as Riley rested his head on his arms and stared out into nothing. The deep emotions from before vanished completely, leaving him numb to the world. As he laid there silently, his mind left him, traveling to a time long ago in another land. He could almost feel the weight of an arm casually slung across his shoulder, and a cheerful voice cutting through the sound of fireworks booming overhead. Look, everyone's celebrating your birthday! They even got you fireworks!

"They can keep 'em... I don't want 'em..." Riley muttered out loud as if in a trance, following along with the script of the past. He sighed deeply, relaxing into the reassuring weight of the old ghost conjured up by his imagination. A contented numbness overcame him, and he fell asleep at last, dreaming of fireworks of a different kind.
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