#Light Usher

[coatl-cuddles]

Sorry no real art -- here's bed time doodles of Mama Stargazer cause she lives in my head rent free

[pathological-runaway]

“Isle? But it’s so… empty.” You spend the next three hours wandering aimlessly across the sand dunes looking for anything that could make anyone prefer Isle to Prairie or Valley or even Wasteland. You get liking a place for its beauty or for its charm, and you almost understand enjoying it because of danger. But liking something that’s so empty, just sand and broken boats? It’s beyond your comprehension. The mystery of loving Isle of Dawn doesn’t leave your mind for days, yet, despite all your efforts, you don’t see what’s so special about the lifeless desert.

read the fic here or below the cut

“You alright?” they ask, sitting down on a bench. It’s nice to finally have a chance to talk to them.

“Yeah. Thanks for helping me.”

“You’re welcome!”

A pause. You should say something. You really should. But what?

“What’s your favourite realm?” you ask because you don't know any other way to keep a conversation going.

“Isle of Dawn.”

You’re confused.

“Isle? But it’s so… empty.”

They shrug.

“A little. But it’s nice.”

You spend the next three hours wandering aimlessly across the sand dunes looking for anything that could make anyone prefer Isle to Prairie or Valley or even Wasteland. You get liking a place for its beauty or for its charm, and you almost understand enjoying it because of danger. But liking something that’s so empty, just sand and broken boats? It’s beyond your comprehension.

Sure, the sunrise looks nice, but there’s not much to it, especially after you’ve seen it a couple of times.

You return to the village, confused.

***

The mystery of loving Isle of Dawn doesn’t leave your mind for days, yet, despite all your efforts, you don’t see what’s so special about the lifeless desert.

***

“What’s up, little one? You seem down. Is everything alright?”

You sip your juice sadly.

“Thanks, Candlemaker, I’m fine. I’m just thinking.”

The spirit sits down next to you, a radiant smile on their face. They’re kind and warm and it makes you a little sad for some reason. It would be nice to have someone this kind by your side all the time. But they’re a spirit, they stay in Aviary and never travel anywhere other than the starry sky. They have a family there, you recall. A partner and a child.

Their child is lucky to have a parent like them.

“Anything I can help you with?” they ask.

“I don’t know. About a week ago, someone told me their favourite place was Isle, but I don’t understand why. There’s nothing there but sand.”

Pointing Candlemaker thinks for a while, tapping their fingers on the counter.

“Well, Isle hasn’t always been like this, you know.”

For some reason, you've never thought of this. It’s easy to picture Prairie with all the buildings intact, or Valley in its past glory. Even Wasteland keeps traces of what was there before the world ended.

But Isle?

“It wasn’t?” you ask incredulously.

Candlemaker shifts in their seat to get more comfortable.

“Oh, you would’ve loved what it looked like before…” they start, and it seems that they’re never going to stop.

You listen to them carefully for an entire hour until you fall asleep to the rhythm of their voice.

You dream of starry nights and flowers and lying in soft grass.

***

You visit Isle again the day after. It's still empty, but if you look closely, your imagination paints a picture over the empty hills.

You see grass, just like that growing near the Temple. You see flowers — they’re neither big nor very bright, but their soft hues are beautiful, and you never expected this beauty to be hidden right here. You feel a cool summer breeze coming from the endless sea and hear a tinkle of bells in the distance.

You still think Isle is empty, but it’s good to know there’s more to it than you previously thought.

***

You’re lying in the grass on the roof of the Nesting shop, trying to discern a constellation in the sky. It’s tricky.

“Looking at the stars?” you hear a voice and sit up.

“Yeah…” you reply shyly.

“Is it alright if I join?” they ask, their eyes shining.

“It is. But, uhm… I think I’m bad at this,” you confess, fidgeting with your hands, “I haven’t found a single constellation yet.”

“Oh, it’s OK! I could show you if you want! It took me a while to learn to notice them, too.”

The smile on their face is so big you start smiling as well.

“Thank you. It would be great.”

You both lie down and study the stars. After some time, you ask:

“Stargazer, can you tell me about Isle?”

And they do.

You listen attentively and when you return to your nest, you think of vast seas and shooting stars and sitting quietly at the shore.

***

You go to Isle again and sit down on a stone, contemplating the ocean. When you close your eyes, you can picture a landscape so pretty you wish you could stay there forever.

You see waves kissing the sand on the coast. You hear birds singing nearby and a child laughing by your side. You imagine them playing with small rocks and building a tower. You feel a chilly wind coming from behind you as the sun goes down.

When you open your eyes, Isle is so painfully empty you consider never returning.

***

“Wow, that looks heavy! Mind if I help?”

You nod, and the spirit takes half of the boxes.

“Thanks, Voyager,” you breathe out.

“No problems, mate. Where are you taking all this stuff?”

“Harmony Hall. Frantic Stagehand asked me to collect all the instruments from the Concert Hall to get them checked. I guess I overestimated my muscles,” you add as your whole body screams at you.

“No worries kid, it happens. Let’s get going before you get arthritis or something.”

You start arguing that it isn’t actually how you get arthritis and that you’re too young anyway, and they laugh.

“I know, I know. Just kidding. Don't take it too seriously. Come on, no dawdling!”

When all the boxes are in their place, you don’t want to say goodbye just yet.

“Voyager, do you have anything nice to tell me about Isle of Dawn?”

They do. You sit down on the bench in the hall and listen to them talk, while some younger kids practice music clumsily in the background.

As you teach a little mothling how to hold the guitar correctly, you ponder on flying boats and birds and believing in a brighter future.

***

You come to Isle once again when you have time. You fly all the way to the Temple and look down at the desert. If you look closely, you notice things you’ve never paid attention to.

You see flying boats, big and majestic, carrying people to where you’re standing. You see kids playing, adults chatting, happy and enthusiastic and looking forward to arriving wherever they’re going. You hear birds chirping happily and guiding the travellers. The wind is rising. You see mantas flying — funny how you didn’t even know there were mantas in Isle.

There are no more.

A tear runs down your face. Isle is so empty now. So, so empty.

***

You sit by the bonfire with Passage Guide, Tumbling Troublemaker and a few mothlings. The marshmallows are tasty and the stories everyone’s telling are fun.

Oddball Outcast accidentally throws their ball into the fire, and everyone’s laughing while Passage Guide is indignant. You know they’re not actually angry.

You’re laughing along as you realise Isle has never been empty. You just couldn’t see it.

***

“I always get lost in these dunes,” your mothling says, frustrated.

“Don’t worry, you’ll memorise the path one day,” you pat them on the shoulder.

Have kids always been so small?

“I hope so. Thanks for guiding me.”

You smile at them.

“Oh, no problem! I like helping people out! The next one’s on the ledge.”

You land near the light and wait for the mothling to collect it.

“Do we have to do this every time?”

“Yes. It gets easier after a few tries though.”

They don’t look encouraged.

“Hey,” you say, getting down on one knee to look them in the face, “everyone moves at their own pace. It’s alright to learn things slowly. Stars, you can’t even imagine how lost I was at the beginning. I refused to leave Forest because I’d seen a red shard behind the Temple and though it was what Valley was like!”

You laugh, and the kid smiles.

“That’s silly.”

“Yeah. But it’s more fun this way, isn’t it?”

They think for some time.

“I suppose it is.”

And then,

“What’s your favourite realm?”

You can’t help but laugh again. Oh, what a mothling thing to ask!

They remind you of yourself, in a way. Young, innocent, and having no idea how to keep a conversation going.

“Isle of Dawn,” you reply after a bit.

They frown.

“Isle? But it’s so… empty.”

You smile and close your eyes.

“A little. But it’s nice.”

___

if you enjoyed this one, don't hesitate to drop a kudos or a comment here or check out my other fics. thanks for reading and have an amazing day!

[themuseinmuseum]

just gimme the (blue) light

[aisdsstuds76]

I just started my first AU I think?

I draw some of sky spirits as dust-bugs (AU maybe?)

Bugs list:

Performance guide (Perfomance)

Franctic stagehand (Perfomance)

Mellow musician (Perfomance)

Modest dancer (Perfomance)

Forgetful storyteller (Perfomance)

Anxious angler (Abyss)

Cackling cannoneer (Abyss)

Compassionate cellist (Duets)

Pointing candlemaker (Isle)

Ushering stargazer (Isle)

Rejected voyager (Isle)

[skykidsam]

[notachanterelle]

posting this for Asher—look at his pathetic ass

[sykloni2]

[pathologicalrunaway]

some more incorrect sky quotes because they keep getting more ridiculous

all of them live in different places so they can't meet but this is literally what their group chat would look like

stewie isn't paid enough to deal with the village's residents

OMG THIS ONE IS SO TRUE 😭😭😭

next door shop war episode #238

pov: you boyfriend boss is performance guide

stewie testing performance troupe's iq (mission failed)

poor stewie is, apparently, the only reasonable person in the village

prophecy is so in character it's unsettling /j

spirits from isle don't know what sand is

pov: moth is going to eden

[miroana]

When you’re losing an impossible fight and you glance around in panic with your blood roaring in your ears and suddenly get skyrocketed onto the path to inner peace by Cassius looking cute af

I wish I was joking. This is legit:

[deadbeatescape]

[coatl-cuddles]

Skytober Day #2: Ancestor

Mama Stargazer time, because I love her.... so much........

[fremontroll]

when a show is color-coded you know it’s gonna be good

[wheretheresawyll]

missing her (the stained glass lighting at gortash's ceremony that they never implemented for the full release)

[themuseinmuseum]

just gimme the (green) light

[nonbinarylesbianherb]

warning - flashing

The fall of the house of usher edit !

[skykidsam]

Ushering Stargazer

Ushering Stargazer, formerly called Ushering Migrant, can be found under the ramp leading toward the Isle Temple.

Reliving their memory, we see them walk alongside another ancestor spirit (which appears to be Rejecting Voyager) as Stargazer suddenly spots what appears to be a falling star hurdling toward the sand.

Running to the scene and beckoning their companion to come look, they find that the fallen star is, in fact, a child.

In the final cutscene, we see the child begin to stir as Stargazer and their friend stand over them, seemingly trying to decide what to do.