羽根を焦がす無数の鳥が (open!)

[grice]

Who: falco grice & you!
When: march & april!
Where: gestures
What: post-surgical trauma, regains, flying (and crashing), snooping, and just general prompts to keep busy with during our pause! i’ll be adding more investigation oriented prompts later as well! absolutely free to tag in super late or backtag forever until may! hmu at liberos if you’d like to plot something specific and i’d adore to write a fresh starter for us!
Warnings: body horror, traumatic surgical descriptions, torture, aot spoilers, mentions of war imagery, will update as things happen!


top levels in the comments!

🐤 MARCH 1 - 4: general prompts with falco still carrying the worst of his living island mutilation; locations include library, diners, groceries or honeybees!
🐤 MARCH 5: open to housemates, neighbors or passerbys; falco gets his jaw implants removed and seems pretty normal. maybe just a little tense about the how.
🐤 MARCH 6: open for sightings or interactions! falco uses his titan form to survey the city and check his limits.
🐤 MARCH 10 - FORWARD: includes prompts for spring cleaning and topsy turvy, as seen on the tdm! 

Comments

[peninhand]

[ Monika had turned around to go on her way, when the boy tugged at her sleeve and handed her the slip. Couldn't he talk...? ]

Austen? Jane Austen?

[ That was weird... No talking and asking for an actual decent author? That wasn't like the usual Robbies she had to deal with at all. They would usually talk in their boring voice and then ask for the trashiest, worst of all authors. Someone asking for actual literature was a breath of fresh air, even if it was a kid. He had to be one of them, right?

She smiled down at him. ]

I know where they are, follow me.

[grice]

[ at least her kindness seems genuine enough that he too, would smile back if he wasn't covering it up with his scarf. feeling confident enough to say something short and sweet, his throat rumbles up the voice to do so with a quiet, muffled and weirdly pronounced: ]

Thank you, Miss.

[ all as he follows behind her. ]

[peninhand]

Ehe, you're welcome. [She did notice the voice, but... Probably just a cold or something, right?] Here we are!

[ Upon arriving, she looked at the books at their disposal and took one of them. Ah, Persuasion, doubtlessly her favorite from this author. But she figured the child was probably after Pride and Prejudice, seeing how it is Austen's most famous work. Is it wise though? Learning about Mr Darcy at such a young age, that's setting yourself up for severe disappointment upon realizing there are literally no men like him in the real world.

Regardless, she picked it up too and then turned back to Falco. ]

Which one did you want? Or are you just discovering this author?

[grice]

[ a soft ah comes from behind the boy’s scarf, and instead of speaking up again, he signs:

books, all romance?

he hopes she understands, but would gladly make an effort to speak if she didn’t. ]

[peninhand]

[ Eh...? Does he have difficulties speaking? She won't question him, that'd be rude. Maybe what had happened last month had traumatized him, seeing all those adults disappear and then so many others try to save them. Thank god she had a basic understanding of sign language, so she nodded to him. ]

Hm-mm! There's a bit of comedy in them, too.

[ She placed Persuasion back on the shelf then got on a knee, to be at eye level with Falco. She sounded pretty enthusiast talking about this. Kinda like a teacher, except she didn't sound like she did this for a paycheck. ]

A the time she wrote those, it satirized established romantic tropes. Nowadays it feels a bit cliche, even cheesy depending on your sensibilities... [Not her favorite author, but still a good one really.] But it's like how King Arthur's tales may feel cliche! It's because it was such a popular thing, everything afterward got inspired by it.

[ She then handed Pride and Prejudice over to him. ]

It's the easiest one to start with. Just don't go expecting to find someone like Mr Darcy in the real world afterward, ahaha!

[grice]

[ falco pays her enthusiasm with the respect and attention it deserves, especially when she was taking the time to explain a little more, in better detail for him specifically because he asked. pride and prejudice is now wrapped neatly by his fingers into a careful hold, and at her final comment, his throat scratches. a chuckle! the signing that comes afterward is done only with a single hand:

have, girl, home, perfect

was that understandable? the tips of his ears that are poking out from the scarf's wrappings are bright red. ]

[peninhand]

[ What'd he say... Oh, got someone back at home. Then all's good! Wait. Wait wait wait. You mean to tell her that this kid got a girlfriend? He barely looks ten, maybe twelve...!

And she's still alone? A kid already knows love and she, who's been desperately trying for god knows how long, still hasn't seen the color of it?

Sighs. ]

Ah... Ahaha, well that's perfect then! Oh, I'm Monika by the way.

[ She's smiling as usual, she's not gonna show she's envious of a kid having somehow reached her goal. She's not that pathetic, yet. ]

[grice]

[ he’d object to calling her his girlfriend yet, but, his intentions are as clear as day when a twelve year old straight up tells u he wants to get married. the young woman’s name gets falco’s eyes to widen, with recognition, and quickly he retorts with spelling out his own:

F-A-L-C-O

he almost looks like he could speak, and excitedly past the nasty inflammation: ]

Radio—

[peninhand]

[ Falc-something? When he says radio, immediately she realizes. Yes of course, she's the boy she talked to. ]

Oh! [She beamed.] I was actually on my way to find a book for you. That's a pretty neat coincidence, ahaha!

[ She could tell trying to speak was painful for him... She didn't know the reason, but she brought a finger to her mouth as if to tell him not to speak. ]

Don't force yourself to speak, okay? I'm gonna try getting you something that may help, but it may take a couple days.

[grice]

[ neat, truly. and she was nice, on top of everything. even falco's cheeks sting, and the corners of his mouth where the bolts tighten the mandible are feeling pushed to a limit from how much he feels like smiling. signing:

Wish could talk more. Thank you. I will tell thoughts, Book Club. And poem.

he holds his new book up for emphasis. ]

[peninhand]

[ She could tell he was in pain just from smiling and that was when it hit her. Had he... Been in the bunker last month? Like Sayori? Her face shifted to much more serious features as the thought crossed her mind, but she then forced herself to smile anew.

She'd have to check Daylight's files and see if her hunch was correct. ]

Don't you worry about it. You go home and rest, alright? I'll handle the library stuff.

[ Working there had its advantage. She could fill in the sheets for borrowed books and extend deadline however needed. ]

[grice]

[ he didn't have to actually sign to convey this next gesture— a wave, content, nodding (fixing his scarf, because it nearly drops, and what's under there isn't anything pretty) and hugging the book close to his chest before making a getaway from the library to his temporary home.

he can't wait to show erwin and cassandra, even carmilla who had been the one to recommend it to him. ]