Monochromatic Ties

Indie Pokémon OC blog (All Regions) Sideblog to pinekaboo Please read Rules and About before interacting

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian​:

“…Ah. Yes, of course,” said Amelie, trying not to let her disappointment show. In everything that had happened today, she had forgotten the reason she was heading back to the library in the first place.  She seemed to deflate a little in disappointment - she didn’t want to leave so soon!  Right as they got to the library too - she could have sworn it was further away than that…

She seemed to perk up again, though, at Erica’s suggestion.

“Ah!  Yes, of course, that’s clever!” she said eagerly.  “Let’s see, I am free, next…um…” She closed her eyes and knit her brow in thought as she tried to recall her schedule before opening them again after a moment. 

“I think I have another free day a few days from now!  I would love to hang out with you then!

It occurred to her that this might have been Erica’s way of asking her on a date.  She thought it best not to draw attention to it, though - otherwise she might change her mind, or something.  (Plus she didn’t know how much of that thought was wishful thinking.)

The disappointment faded and was replaced with anticipation as they exchanged phone numbers and parted ways outside the library.  She might have spent the entire rest of the day with a bit of a spring in her step.

With their goodbyes said, the duo separated. With Amelie heading back to work, it seemed as though Erica would have to see to her own amusement for the rest of the day.

Or perhaps not, as she heard the skittering steps of a certain feline companion of hers, as Tabitha gracefully hopped down from the adjacent wall in front of her.

“I’d been wondering where you’d run off to.” she said, as the Purrloin stood up on her hind legs and took something out of her mouth, offering it to her taller friend. “What’cha got there, huh?”

It took only a moment’s investigation before Erica burst into laughter, causing a broad smile to form on the little cat’s face. “Oh you wretched little bastard! Is this that guy’s wallet?” The Purrloin merely smiled up at her trainer proudly in response. “Oh my god, when did you even take this, I never saw you for a second!”

It seemed entertaining herself for the afternoon was suddenly going to be a whole lot easier.

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian​:

It took a minute for her to realize what Erica had just said, and that was around the point where she burst into a fit of giggles.  The joke seemed obvious in hindsight, but perhaps it was because she was already having a good time that made it so easy to laugh.

She took a second to wipe a tear of mirth from her eye before pushing her glasses back up her nose and looking to Erica again.  “That was a good one!” she said with another smile.  “I honestly hadn’t really heard that one before.” She really hadn’t - the people that went to the library weren’t really in the business of telling library-related jokes.

“My parents will like you, I think!  If you like, you could stay at the library for a little bit and I could introduce you to them!”  It didn’t occur to her that there was anything odd about this suggestion at all - she was just showing them that she made a friend!

That friend happened to be very very pretty, but still!

Meet her parents? After their first meeting? She hadn’t even met the parents of the guys she’d dated, let alone those of a brand new friend. Could she even do that?

“Oh, I wouldn’t wanna intrude. You needed to get back to work right now, right?” she answered, hoping she wasn’t disappointing Amelie too much by turning her down.

“But tell you what... When are you free? How about we hang out then, I can ‘accidentally’ show up a little early and you’d have an excuse to introduce me to them then!”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Honestly, Amelie wouldn’t have been surprised if Erica had said no.  She probably was used to being asked for her number by a lot of different people, and they had only just met a little while ago.  Still, it would have been nice had she said yes; she would have liked to keep up their correspondence past this conversation.

So it was with great relief and a not-inconsiderable amount of happiness when Erica made her proposition of giving said number to her while she walked her back.  

“I would like that very much!” she said, smiling as she took the offered hand in her own.  Erica’s hand felt rather soft and very nice, actually - not terribly surprising, but welcome all the same.  “It’ll be a good opportunity to show you where the Lumiose Library is, where I work.”  It occurred to her that she’d been so interested in where Erica was from, that she’d neglected to mention anything about herself.  

“I, er…might have forgotten to mention that part.  I-It shouldn’t be that far though!” She didn’t want to inconvenience Erica, after all (despite the fact that it was Erica herself that offered to walk her back).

So Amelie was a librarian. That certainly made sense to Erica, given what she had learned about her personality and interests over the course of their conversation.

“Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. I’ve had way worse requests before than to escort a pretty girl around Lumiose. You might need to lead the way to the library though, ‘cause I don’t think I’ve had a chance to check it out.”

There it was. The single worst joke she had ever told in her life.

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Amelie nodded along with Erica’s words.  Castelia sounded like such a colourful place!  She opened her mouth to ask about this “Tabitha” when a noise from her phone got her attention.  

“Er, one moment please,” she said to Erica as she unlocked her phone to read the text she received.

“Amelie, où es-tu?  Tu es toujours en pause?” (Amelie, where are you?  Are you still on your break?) - Maman

She quickly glanced at the time and realized in a panic that she had been going quite overtime - she was supposed to have been back fifteen minutes ago! She hastily typed out a reply:

“Je suis désolé, Maman, je suis sur le chemin du retour à la bibliothèque maintenant!” (I’m sorry Mother, I’m heading back to the library now!) - Amelie

She hit send before looking apologetically at Erica.  “I have to head back to work, I hadn’t realized what time it was.”  She was about to pack her phone back into her bag when she had a thought, and looked at Erica again with a blush on her face.

“Could I, um…could I maybe get your number? I would like to talk some more, if that’s alright.”

Something had obviously cut their conversation short, as Amelie’s attention turned to her phone. It was unfortunate, as she had actually enjoyed the chance to talk about her home a little. She didn’t exactly miss it, as Lumiose City had so much of what it had to offer while being full of new people to meet, but the conversation had certainly given Erica reason to look at it from the eyes of a non-native, and that came with a certain level of appreciation.

“Oh, that’s okay!” she replied to Amelie’s implied apology.

She had been about to point out that she had only sat down here to talk in case the man from before had kept an eye on them, to maintain the illusion of knowing each other and keeping the cockblock up, but Amelie’s request took her a little by surprise.

Yes, she was used to being asked for her number. But by such a sweet little thing as Amelie? It was surprising that she had it in her to be so forward. And moreover, Erica found herself wanting to say yes, even despite the lack of any agenda.

“Why don’t I give it to you while I walk you back?” she offered, standing up and offering the other girl a hand up from her seat. “I hope that doesn’t sound too forward of me. I wouldn’t want that guy to show up and bother you again as soon as I’m gone, after all.”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Amelie’s head perked up as Erica posited the idea of being her guide to Unova.  She’d not really been to museums with other people very often, and while she enjoyed the art she’d seen here, Nacrene seemed like a whole other experience.  

“I think I’d like that very much, actually,” she said, her face still a little pink but a smile on her face.  “Having you as my guide sounds like it would be a lot of fun!”

Her eyebrows raised as she described Burgh’s Gym - an entire gym dedicated to being an art exhibit?  

“That sounds exciting and…kind of messy, truth be told,” she said with a laugh.  “I can’t imagine Trainers would have enjoyed trudging through walls of honey.  This Burgh person sounds like quite the individual, though!”

She wondered for a moment what other kind of aesthetic Burgh would go with - there were only so many Bug-themed visuals, if the pattern held…

“What other kinds of places are there in Castelia?” she asked curiously.  “I-If you don’t mind talking about it, I mean,” she added hastily.  She didn’t want to overstep, of course, but while she didn’t like the idea of the crowds such a city would bring, she was still interested in the locales there.  

And she quite liked the idea of seeing such places with this girl, if she was being perfectly honest with herself.

“Well, there’s nice views of the sea from any of the five piers, though Thumb Pier is right next to the sewer entrance, which... it’s well-maintained, but it’s sewers - there’s only so much you can do until you get Grimer in a place like that.”

“There’s the art gallery, like I mentioned. There’s the Caestliacone stand, which might not sound too exciting but it’s in the exact spot where the recipe was first made. You really don’t get Casteliacones quite like them anywhere else. There’s Café Sonata, which is kinda like this place. Castelia Park, which is a cute little place, not much to do but there’s always wild Pokémon living their lives there -- that’s where I met my Tabitha, actually. And -- well, there’s a lot, it’s pretty much the center of Unova, there’s way too much to just list it all off, but if you care about something, there’s probably something neat to see related to it there.”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Pictures!  She had pictures of the museum!  Amelie tried not to look too eager as she took the proffered phone and examined the relevant photos of the gallery.  The bouncing leg continued, however, as she tried to get a good look at the exhibits.  Even through photos they looked ancient, but there was a certain beauty to that, and it became that much harder to contain her excitement.

Her eyes seemed to twinkle as Erica talked about the library that was adjacent to the museum, and about Nacrene’s conversion over time to an artistic city.

“That sounds amazing!” she said happily.  “Imagine the stories that are behind these pieces, behind those studios!  The kinds of lives the people there lived, or the places the fossils have been since their discovery!  Ooh, or even the lives the fossils lived back when they were alive!  And I wonder what the library’s collection looks like-?”  

It took her a moment to realize that, in her excitement, she’d started rambling, and she could feel her face start to heat up.  Blushing furiously, she handed the phone back to Erica, staring pointedly at her own knees.  “J-Je suis désolé,” she muttered sheepishly.

She couldn’t help but laugh a little at the girl’s excitement. It was clear that Amelie’s interests leaned mostly towards the intellectual side of things, and her enthusiasm for the subject was honestly a little contagious.

“Maybe I should take you myself one day! I’d probably be a whole lot more receptive to it if I had somebody with your interest along for the ride.” she teased, taking her phone back from the now-blushing girl.

“But hey, you don’t need to apologise for your passions. What you love is what you love, and that’s a good thing!”

She wasn’t exactly fluent in Kalosian - yet another piece of evidence as to how much of a whim coming here was - but she could read a mood, and it was clear that her companion was embarrassed or felt she’d overstepped.

“You know, if it’s art you’re interested in, I’m pretty sure there’s an art gallery in Castelia too. It’s a lot livelier a city, like I said, but you never get that kind of bustle once you’re off the streets. Oh! And there’s also Burgh’s gym, which I have visited one time. Not to battle, mind, but it’s basically his personal art display. He’s always redecorating it, I hear. Once it was a beehive theme with these weird honey walls, another time it was a tower of insect silk with his personal studio at the top. I’ve not been in a while, but who knows how it is now.”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Amelie nodded along with her words, her chin resting on the back of her own clasped hands while trying to ignore the slight burning of her ears at Erica’s initial quip. Unova sounded like such a colorful place, from how Erica spoke of it.  Castelia didn’t sound too terribly different from Lumiose, though if the crowds were anything like how Erica described, then she might not like that quite as much.  There was a good reason she normally picked Cafe Introversion as her go-to, after all.

Her expression brightened when she mentioned Nacrene, and she straightened her glasses before she spoke.  “The city of art, you say?” she asked.  “Is there an art museum there?  Or perhaps a performance hall?”  She tried to learn from earlier and ease up on her eagerness, but it was a little difficult to contain, if her bouncing knee was any indicator.

“There’s a museum, but just the natural history kind. I’ve been there once or twice myself, since entry is free.”

And because it was a fairly decent dating spot, but Erica wasn’t about to bring that up right now.

“There’s a number of exhibits, like fossils, ancient tablets... the kind of thing that goes a little over my head, honestly. But a little further in and there’s a library too, run by a former Gym Leader, I think. It’s a little strange to me that one building would be both a museum and a library, but it works.”

She took out her phone and brought up the gallery, where she still had a large number of photos from Unova stored. Erica wasn’t the type to store anything unsafe for public viewing where it could be easily found, so it was with the utmost confidence she handed her phone over to Amelie, a photo of part of the inside of Nacrene Museum taking up the full display.

“But, ah, if I remember my history right, it’s called the city of art because the entire place used to be some kind of train storage place or whatever you’d call that. When they stopped using it for that a bunch of artists started moving into the old warehouses to use them as studios because it was so quiet out there.”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Amelie waited politely for Erica to answer - she is certain she’s got her reasons and they probably require some thought and articulation. At the mention of Castelia, however, her eyes seemed to light up, and she leaned forward excitedly.

“Ooooh, you’re from Unova!” she said brightly, a smile on her face.  “What is it like there?  Is it particularly warm, or cool, or somewhere in the middle?  And what about the - “ She paused, as if catching herself, before clearing her throat, a tinge of pink on her cheeks.  

“Er…Je suis désolé. I mean…Could you tell me more about it?  If you don’t mind, I mean…” she said sheepishly, her smile now one of embarrassment.  

The sudden enthusiasm took Erica aback, but it was far from unwelcome. It was quite nice to not have to figure out a direction to steer the conversation herself. And she had to admit that the girl opposite her had just too cute a look on her face to disappoint.

“Oh, no, please, ask anything you like! For you I’d be happy to spill all of my juicy little secrets.”

“Kidding ♥ ! Still, if it’s about Unova, I haven’t exactly seen everything the region has to offer, but if it’s about everyday life over there, I’m your girl! Now then...”

She looked off to the side for a moment, and briefly watch a young couple disappear down the path to Route 4 as she thought.

“Well, in summer it’s definitely warmer over there than here, but around this time of year I’d say they’re about the same. But there’s a lot fewer spots to enjoy it, at least in Castelia, since there’s way more people - the city centre might be the only outdoor spot where you can sit down by the fountain and take everything in. There is a little cafe down this one alley, but it’s all indoors. Oh! But if you cross the bridge and head over to Nacrene, now that’s a quiet place to be. Everyone there is either an artist or a musician. Apparently they call it the city of art! It’s a long travel from Castelia, but if you want peace and quite, there really is nowhere better.”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

Amelie raised an eyebrow at the implication of what this girl - Erica, she’s said - did for a living, but didn’t press the subject.  It wasn’t her business to pry about it, seeing as they’d just met about five minutes ago.

“Oui, Lumiose is usually a very welcoming place,” she said, marking her place in her book before closing it and setting it down on the table in front of her.  “It’s quite nice - at least, most of the time, anyway.”  The thought occurred to her that wherever Erica was from, it must be drastically different from Kalos if she were to notice the atmosphere - sometimes Amelie grew so used to it she didn’t really notice.

“I’m Amelie, and the feeling is mutual,” she said, returning Erica’s infectious smile with one of her own. She was definitely a welcome improvement over Mr. Pushy from earlier.  

“So what brings you to Kalos, if you don’t mind my asking?”

That was a tough question. The honest truth of it was that she had done so on a whim and nobody had told her not to, but that didn’t make for good conversation. She thought about it for a brief moment, changing the question in her mind from “What brought you here” to “What wasn’t there back home to keep you”, and it quickly became much easier to answer.

“Mostly I just needed a change of scenery. Castelia and Lumiose might not be that different, but if you want a break from the city your options are a desert, a several-mile-long bridge, or leaving the mainland. Even then, the desert is a route that leads to another bustling city, and while Skyarrow Bridge does lead into a forest, there’s a school right by it. There’s just nowhere to quietly relax away from it all, you know?”

[monochromefacade]

fairytalelibrarian‌:

On any normal day, Amelie Coeur would have loved to take a few moments to read a book outside Cafe Introversion with a good book in her hand.  It was a good way to get away from her librarian work.  Not that she didn’t enjoy said work, mind you, but she still needed a break every so often.

Unfortunately, this occasionally led to some man passing by taking her solitude as an excuse to vie for her attention.  Usually if she just ignored them they ran off, disappointed.  This one, however, was…particularly persistent, doing intrusive things like craning his head so he was in her view no matter where she looked, or pushing her book down to get her attention.

She was weighing her options between walking away or Dazzling Gleam-ing his face until he went blind when the man was interrupted mid-sentence by a rather pretty blonde girl who sat down across from her and started talking as if they’d known each other for ages.  No….as if they were dating?

“Er- No no, ma chérie, I was not waiting too terribly long,” said Amelie, cottoning on to the act and trying not to make it seem like it was an act.  “I’m glad that book I lent you was so good!  I can certainly bring more books from him next time - I wasn’t sure if you would like his work so I didn’t really come prepared…”

Before long, the man left with a huff, disappointed that his mark was supposedly already taken.  She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder to see if he’d truly left - if he was still there, it might give the act away and he might try again.

So she let out a sigh of relief when the girl across from her asked for her well-being.

“That was good!” She said, smiling as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.  “I truly appreciate you doing that for me - he simply would not leave me alone.”  She chanced a glance over her shoulder - the man appeared to be gone, but…

“I would not mind you staying a little longer in case he comes back, however,” she said, turning back to face the girl.  “Some of the men in Lumiose can be rather….stubborn.”  That, and this girl actually seemed like pleasant company, though she wasn’t sure whether she should say that part out loud.

The girl seemed relieved, proving that she hadn’t overstepped her bounds with her little act, which was good. She hadn’t really considered it going in, but the people who favoured Cafe Introversion were not generally the type who wanted such attention, and perhaps if she had given this same performance to somebody else, they wouldn’t have so easily recognised that she was just trying to help.

“Well, I certainly know the type. You meet a lot of them when you make a living like I do.” she said, placing her bag under the table in indication of her intention to stay.

...had she accidentally implied something untoward there? Not the greatest of first impressions, but she wasn’t going to bring it up if this girl didn’t. “A lot less since I got here, though. So many people in this region are friendly, I just love the atmosphere, especially here in Lumiose. It really makes a girl feel welcome.”

It was certainly true; everywhere you went in Kalos, the people were open and friendly, always greeting each other with smiles. A far cry from the streets of Castelia, where people barely saw each other in the crowded streets, always on their cells and too engrossed in their own lives to notice the hundreds they shared the city with. And she certainly didn’t get to sit down with a pretty girl like this one very often in Castelia, either.

“I’m Erica, by the way.” she introduced herself, with another beaming smile. “I was just thinking about finding somewhere to sit and have a drink, anyway. I certainly can’t fault the company.”

[monochromefacade]

@fairytalelibrarian

It would perhaps never be clear how Erica had ended up in Lumiose City. Of course, the romantic atmosphere and the bright city lights had attracted her, but to end up in the capital city of Kalos despite being from Unova and only having one Pokémon was unusual, to say the least.

However one thing was clear, and it was that Lumiose City in Kalos was exactly where she was. And being the type of girl she was, she was positively thriving. People were more than happy to spend money on the charming and pretty foreign girl making eyes at them from across the various cafes the city had.

Cafe Introversion wasn’t her usual spot, and frankly it didn’t seem the right place for a bright, extroverted girl looking to catch a stranger’s eye anyway, so ordinarily she would have walked straight past the place without giving it a second glance. Today would no doubt have played out exactly that way, were it not for the rather obnoxious man talking rather loudly by one of the outdoor tables, apparently hitting on the young woman sat there, who had apparently just been trying to read a book by herself.

Erica knew what a girl who wanted attention looked like. It looked rather like the person she saw in the mirror every morning. It did not look like an uncomfortable bookish girl avoiding eye contact with her suitor with a nervous expression.

She turned on the spot and approached the table herself from behind the guy, offering the girl sitting there her brightest smile, as though everything was perfectly normal.

“Hey babe, did I keep you waiting long?” She chimed, cutting whatever the guy was saying off without a second thought. Just as it seemed that he was about to say something to Erica herself, she sat down opposite the girl and continued, completely ignoring anything he wanted to say. “I just couldn’t get my nose out of that book you lent me last time, and before I knew it I was running late! You just have to show me some more of that author some time.”

With a loud sound of annoyance, the man backed off, glancing back at them a couple of times as he walked away, apparently put off by the idea of being so completely unimportant as to be ignored.

“How was that? You gonna be okay now, or do you want me to stick around a little longer just in case?”

[monochromefacade]

how are you earning money lately? have you had to change up your lifestyle, or have you got plenty enough to keep you happy?

“One advantage of a Meowth is that if I need some quick cash I can just have him use Pay Day. Doesn’t matter what on, the money’s still good.”

When he decides to cooperate, that is.

“And of course the people I meet are always very charitable. My purse rarely finds itself running dry.”

[melamemea]

This blog is accepting development anons!

Bug my character about their past! Ask them about the things you wonder about! Give them scenarios to get their brain going! Today is all about bringing out the growth hiding within my character.

[monochromefacade]

would you ever consider getting a second cat

“Sure. Tabitha’s great and all, but it could be nice to have something bigger and meaner to scare assholes away too. Like a Luxray. Or Tyranitar.”

This just in; Tyranitar are apparently cats now.

[monochromefacade]

how much do you Fuck

“Not so much that I couldn’t fit you in, if you're asking.”

[monochromefacade]

are your eyes naturally those colours?

“I get that a lot. Yeah, they are. They only look weird because the colours are paired together. They look pretty normal if you look at ‘em separate.”

[onlyrpmemes]

Hey, you. Yes, you. Send me anons. Make it about whatever you want. Just send one.

No really. Send one. Or two. Or three. Whatever.