#thyme tag | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

skyward-floored · 5 months ago

Note

I’ve been in a Sky mood lately lol. So for prompts maybe something angsty with him? Like him getting used to life after being trapped on the island for years? Or one of the boys trying to reassure themselves that he’s actually back?

I saw this prompt and went HEHEHE I do enjoy me my angst. Especially Incredibles au Sky angst (sorry Sky bdhdbdbdhd)

I sort of mixed your two prompts together? It’s mostly the first one, but there’s hints of the second. And also a different thing entirely XD Enjoy!

(Also warning for a character getting a flashback. It’s seen from an outside perspective, but here’s your warning just in case.)

————————————————————

Sometimes Warriors still couldn’t believe Sky was back.

After over a year of trying to come to terms with his disappearance, wrestling with hope and denial and grief, going to his funeral for Hylia’s sake— having him suddenly come back was… earth-shattering. In a good way, of course, but sometimes Warriors caught himself falling into the pattern of endless questions on what had happened, and had to remind himself that he knew now.

Sky had been tricked, lured away, fought for survival while being hunted within an inch of his life, and then finally made it home alive. Though… not without scars.

Ones that sometimes caught Warriors off guard.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with unseen scars, ones that plagued the mind rather than just the body. He had several himself, and it was rare a week went by that he didn’t have at least one nightmare.

But Sky... Sky had been gone for over a year.

And despite how he tried to hide it, he wasn’t okay.

The specific afternoon it happened, Warriors had stopped at Sky’s to drop off some things he’d borrowed, and ended up staying and talking much longer than he’d intended. He was hardly complaining though. After thinking he’d never get moments like this again, he’d spend every waking hour with his brother he could, even if it meant he’d be late coming home.

“…So then Aryll told me she made a new friend, and asked me if I wanted to meet her, and of course I said yes. I should’ve known better, because five seconds later she whistles, and this huge vulture lands in front of me,” Sky said with a wave of his hand, and Warriors laughed. “I know! Where did she even meet a vulture?!”

“Probably the same place she met those geese that one time,” Warriors said with a grin, and Sky joined his laughter that time.

“Oh I’m sure. She has plenty of bird connections,” he chuckled, leaning back with his wings stretched out on either side of himself. “I’m sure she’ll have quite the message system worked out when she’s older.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Warriors smirked. “Heck you won’t even need the mail service if she keeps up like this, just ask her to send letters via pigeon.”

“Hm that’s true… I’d never have to buy stamps again,” Sky said thoughtfully.

“Hey now, don’t forget those stamps help pay my salary,” Warriors grinned, and Sky laughed again. A truck outside beeped as it backed up, and Warriors glanced out the window before looking back inside. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were trying… Sky?”

Sky had completely frozen in place, his glass of water slipping from his hand.

Warriors quickly waved a hand as it hit the floor, freezing the puddle before it could spread, then got off his chair and hurried to Sky’s side. The cup hadn’t broken so he left it where it was, and he looked worriedly at his brother.

“Sky? Are you okay?” he asked urgently, and a tremor wracked through Sky, his eyes glazing over. He’d been fine mere moments ago, what was wrong? “…Sky?”

“We need to hide,” Sky whispered, his voice hoarse.

Warriors blinked. “What?”

Sky swallowed, shaking as he stared into the middle distance. “We need to hide, they’re coming,” he stressed in a croak, his breathing starting to pick up. “Guardians, they’re close.”

“Sky… there are no guardians here,” Warriors said in confusion, and Sky shook his head, ears twitching.

“There’s one right over there,” he gasped, his breath trembling. “We need to hide, it’s going to—”

“Sky, no there isn’t,” Warriors said slowly, sitting down beside his brother. “There’s nothing there.”

“B-but—” Sky stuttered, twisting his head around to look at the wall. A bead of sweat trailed down his brow. “Yes it is. It is, it’s coming, we need to hide now.”

Sky pulled his wings in close to his body, feathers puffing up, and Warriors looked at him in dismay, unsure of what to do. He knew enough to recognize Sky was having some sort of flashback, but he didn’t know how to help him out of it.

The truck outside beeped again, and Sky violently flinched, nearly falling off the couch as his feathers puffed out even more. Warriors looked between him and the window, then carefully stood and walked over to it, closing it and blocking out the sound. Sky didn’t visibly react to the quiet, and Warriors went back over to him, watching as he trembled in place.

“Sky, we’re not on the island,” Warriors began carefully as he sat back down. “You haven’t been there for weeks now. And I wasn’t ever on the island, how can I be here with you if we’re there?”

“I-I...” Sky stammered, his voice faltering. Then he suddenly snatched Warriors’ wrists, eyes huge. “Wars they got you too, you shouldn’t have come, it’s going to be like everyone else,” he choked out, still shaking. “We have to hide!”

Sky began tugging at his wrists, but Warriors resisted the movement, staying where he was. “Sky, there’s no danger.”

“Yes there is! I have a base right over there, we can get to it if we hurry, we can’t let him—”

“Sky, we’re not on the island,” Warriors repeated, slipping his wrists out of Sky’s hold and taking his hands instead. His skin felt clammy. “I promise you we’re not. We’re in your house. We’re safe.”

Sky kept shaking, but he didn’t argue the point, and Warriors felt a flicker of encouragement when he didn’t keep tugging on his hands.

“You’re not back there,” Warriors repeated, and Sky squeezed his eyes shut, another bead of sweat trailing down his brow. “You’re in your house, on the couch in your living room. Sun is at work, and Aryll is taking a nap. Nobody is in any danger.”

Sky trembled in his seat, his eyes still closed tight, and Warriors lightly squeezed his hands, waiting for him to come back. His eyes reopened, still looking frantic, but less so than before.

“Come on Link,” Warriors whispered, looking into Sky’s eyes. “You’re safe here, I promise. Nothing is trying to hurt you.”

Sky swallowed, and Warriors stayed beside him, watching as his feathers slowly began to smooth. Warriors repeated the reassurance that they weren’t on the island, and he kept it up as Sky’s frantic breathing started to even out, and his eyes gradually cleared.

It felt like a long time before Sky’s shoulders slumped, his wings falling limp as he took in a shaky breath. He was still trembling, but much more lightly, and Warriors studied his face.

“You back?” Warriors asked carefully, and Sky looked at his lap, shame coloring his face.

“I... I think so. Sorry,” Sky whispered.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Warriors said easily, but Sky kept looking at his lap, ears red.

Warriors looked at him worriedly, then lightly squeezed his hands, pulling back so he could deal with the frozen puddle on the floor. He easily pried it up and shaped it into a small ball, then set it on the table, looking back at Sky again.

“Hey. I mean it,” Warriors said when he saw his expression, lightly touching Sky’s shoulder, light enough that he could pull away if he wanted. Sky didn’t, and so Warriors held it a bit tighter. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault.”

“I was the one stupid enough to go there,” Sky muttered under his breath, and Warriors frowned.

“Sky, you were tricked. You thought you were doing something good, it’s not your fault,” Warriors repeated, and Sky didn’t meet his eyes. Warriors sighed. “That looked pretty rough. Do you want some water?”

“I’d appreciate that,” Sky said quietly.

Warriors nodded and stood, giving his shoulder a squeeze before he grabbed Sky’s glass and headed to the kitchen to refill it. It only took him a moment, and when he returned, Sky hadn’t moved, still staring at his lap, faintly trembling, wings lightly wrapped around himself.

Warriors passed him the cup, and Sky silently took it, sipping without a word.

“You need anything else?” Warriors asked, and Sky shook his head. Warriors hummed in reply, then paused as he thought of something. It wasn’t Warriors’ go-to, but Sky usually appreciated physical contact much more than him, especially since he’d been back. “...maybe a hug?”

Sky finally looked up, still shaky and pale, and gave a tiny nod.

Warriors gave him a sad smile, then leaned in, wrapping his arms around his brother.

Sky was stiff for a moment, then practically melted into the touch, a wavering sigh coming from him. He pressed his face against Warriors’ shoulder, and Warriors lightly rubbed his back, feeling equally reassured by the touch. He knew Sky had been through a lot, but the blatant show of it had been a bit frightening.

Oh Sky.

“I’m such a disaster,” Sky said in a wobbly voice, and Warriors sighed.

“Anyone would be. Truth be told, I think most of us became disasters while you were gone, so you’re in good company.”

Sky let out a wet snort, and Warriors squeezed him, Sky still shaking just a little.

“Has this happened before?” Warriors asked after a minute, pulling back so he could see Sky’s face, and Sky shrugged.

“Not... to that extent,” he admitted quietly. “There’ve been... things, but not...”

He trailed off weakly, and Warriors nodded. That was about what he’d figured.

“Okay. Well... we’ll figure this out. Just like old times, huh?” Warriors said with a faint smile, and Sky huffed.

“Yeah. Can’t say I miss that side of things,” he mumbled, and Warriors squeezed his arm again.

“I’ll stay until Sun comes back,” he reassured quietly, and Sky nodded, silently resting his head against Warriors’ shoulder again.

Neither of them said much else after that, and Warriors idly played with the piece of ice on the table, Sky watching him quietly as he shaped it into a small bird. Warriors added some ice to it, and worked on shaping it into a slightly bigger one, the kind Sky especially liked.

Sky stayed silent as he leaned against him, and Warriors tried not to stare, worry clenching in his stomach. Nightmares were common enough between them, though they’d gotten better as the years had gone on. Warriors had practice with those, and panic attacks, and a small list of the other crap they all dealt with after their superhero careers, but this… felt way out of his league.

We’ll figure this out, he promised silently, adding small feathers to the bird he was shaping in his palms. Sky breathed out a weary sigh, and Warriors swallowed.

We will. We’ll figure it out.

#answers from the floor #lovely adrift in thyme #Incredibles au #Incredibles au fic #IAU sky #IAU Warriors #fic #tw flashback #ask to tag #angst #writing from the floor #Sky is not! having a good time!!#but he’s got lots of support so he’ll be okay

49 notes · View notes

yepthatsacowalright · 1 month ago

Text

I've been digging a little into some of the songs used in Sinners and I have THOUGHTS (which shall be put under a cut for now because of spoilers):

So one of the most interesting scenes to me is Remmick asking to be invited into the juke joint. I've only seen the movie once so far, but from my memory of it and the bits and pieces the internet has posted of it, I love how you see everyone's varied reactions to him, and how their feelings about him change as he tries different tactics to get in. "We've got money to spend!" has gotta be a classic for vampires in America at this point, and (again, from what i remember) seems to intrigue a few people at the door, but not all. The messages of equality and community are also pretty standard, but - as every person at the door damn well knows - anyone can say they're for those things. It does not mean their actions will reflect that. So Remmick suggests they play a song, to demonstrate their skills, to prove they're good enough to play in the juke joint, and the song they choose is 'Pick Poor Robin Clean'. The lyrics of which could be interpreted as: - Literally picking apart a bird to eat, but not eating the body because it doesn't taste good. The most vampire-friendly interpretation. Also makes the "having a family" part super creepy relevant. - Tricking someone into giving you all their money and possessions, in a card or dice game, or maybe just straight up scamming them. This interpretation speaks more to people like Smoke and Stack, who've spent their whole lives lying and cheating people to steal their goods. Possibly part of why Remmick chose the song, in the hopes it would appeal to them. The "Lord, did that jaybird laugh when I picked poor Robin clean" is also interesting. The suggestion there's something separate from both the bird/person being attacked and the bird/person doing the attacking, sitting back and laughing at it all, is very relevant to this being the Jim Crow South, with the KKK looming. BUT ALSO This is a Blues song, that originated in the Black community. And Remmick decides to perform it, with his two former-KKK vamp-buddies, in this weirdly too perfect way, syncing up their instrument movements and everything. That is when everyone decides they need to leave. Remmick, still ignorant, has no idea why they didn't like it. He tries to guilt trip them about how hard they practiced and "that was damn near perfect!" You played a Blues song that isn't yours in the most heartless, soulless way, sir. No. This is clearly not the place for you. AND THEN Mary goes out there to talk with them later, and they're playing "Wild Mountain Thyme." A Scottish/Irish folk song, with lyrics that are not vampiric or sinister at all. It's just a little bittersweet and beautiful. Like...why didn't you play that at the door if you wanted in?? He was still playing the rules of a white-supremacy-style game. Blend in. Pretend you're no different than everyone else. Assimilate. And it honestly makes sense, as someone who's been oppressed themselves. Proving you can erase your individuality to fit in is usually the most effective tactic to get people to accept you into the group. Also, this might be me having incorrect info, but when I looked up "Wild Mountain Thyme", the origins of it are old, like 1800s, but the version they sing in the movie actually wasn't made until the 1950s? Which would then imply that Remmick has his own ability to connect with past/present/future through music as well? Which is very interesting!

#apologies followers/mutuals the ol brain rewiring thing appears to be happening again!#gonna tag the song names below as well so people-avoiding-spoilers-of-all-kinds LOOK AWAY NOW #pick poor robin clean #will ye go lassie go?#wild mountain thyme #sinners #sinners movie

12 notes · View notes