Imagination Valley was, if you didn't mind indulging in marketing terms, a dazzling landscape full of promises of the bright future ahead.
Whatever Sadness had heard of the place came from largely unreliable sources: either the occasional visitor from Console Maintenance or a pamphlet left behind by them. Needless to say, she was unprepared to be caught by the allure, and momentarily, even forgot about all her troubles at Piano Field just behind herself, instead looking in all directions around herself. This mildly worried Bing Bong, but by this point, he knew that his friend was quite the quirky and temperamental one, even disregarding her status as an emotion, and so, he looked past it.
Imagination Valley was partly unique because, even before Riley's move to Shanghai, it had already adopted the glass-and-steel skyscraper aesthetic, making it stand out from quite medieval-looking Memory Lanes, which were furthermore perched on top of — or just below — these floating islands. To this end, it was a popular destination for visiting Mind Workers — who, with any luck, would be a lot smarter than those in Piano Field, meaning that Sadness and Bing Bong had to carefully watch what they were saying.
Yet, where Imagination Valley really shone was in the variety of businesses. Some, like rolling ladders, were primarily intended for Librarians; yet, most of them were devices that Riley must've thought up one day, thinking it would be cool to have, and then, forgotten by the next day.
Yet, the mind forgot much less frequently than Headquarters, and Imagination Valley was a living reminder — a hub of high-tech goodness that anyone, not just Riley, would wish to be brought to reality, and do everything in their power to make it so.
"It's beautiful." Sadness finally uttered; it would seem she was stripped of all but the most banal words to describe the place.
"Let's not get distracted, shall we? You still have the... the broken thing to get fixed!" Bing Bong only responded. "Now, where's that shop... man, if only shops had some sort of symbol to let you know which one it is instead of just this... writing..."
"Oh, I can read it out for you... if you don't mind..."
"Please do, otherwise I'll be trapped here for days, just looking for the same thing, over and over again..."
That was weird — Sadness didn't even think it was possible for someone to get trapped searching for something in particular for days on end, especially if sleep was taken into account. If such a thing happened to Riley, she would learn to make do with whatever she had, the next time she woke up, at the very latest.
Yet, the best she could do is continue to understand — the way she wanted to be understood. "Yeah... that is the worst... I know all too well. Searching for a purpose in life, only to be told you literally don't have one."
"But you do have a purpose, right? You..." Careful — Bing Bong really didn't want to say anything about emotions here. "You have friends, up there, and one of them even told me I can join, too!"
"Up there...?" Instinctively, Sadness looked up, but saw nothing but the Consciousness Grid — and the Stream, zooming past at speeds barely comprehensible to a thought form's eye.
Yet, the Stream made her realize something. While it often took off to various places, it primarily hung over either Headquarters, where most of the Riley-related action was, or over Imagination Valley, where she and Bing Bong were. The other places just didn't matter to Riley currently — and if they didn't matter, then any thought was wasteful.
"...and if any thought is wasteful, then a thought form literally blanks out."
"...um, English, please?" Bing Bong asked.
YOU ARE READING
Inside Out reImagined
FanfictionSmack dab in the middle of puberty, Riley Andersen often feels as though she can't control herself. To one's surprise, though, five emotions inside her mind think very much the same; they just can't pull their girl's strings like they used to. As lu...
