#sky cotl troupe juggler

[wanderingskychild]

It’s wholesome seeing spirits for different seasons interacting with each other.

[aisdsstuds76]

Yippee special visits day I have a desktop background to use, it's free to use btw

[theabyssalsoul]

Giggling, saw this one meme and immediately thought of them. I know some spirits / spirit groups would also fit this but my brainrot focus to Rhythm troupe...

[marmaladeinlemonade]

Event tickets in sky were never going to work anyway.

It's way too good to be true; a currency that cannot be transferred across events or into candles/hearts for the sole purpose of making event cosmetics easier to obtain, that is collected by participating in the event itself? Thats already fishy enough by tgc's standards.

Thatgamecompany has a habit of making short term solutions for long term problems because of the sheer amount of content they make yearly, leaving less room to optimize regular gameplay. ET has probably been the most apparent example of this. (MAAAAJOR YAP SESSION AHEAD!)

When event tickets were first released, I was ecstatic. I was already struggling to keep up with Days of Bloom and Mischief since I have taken many breaks from sky, but I couldn't begin to fathom how the prices may feel to a new player. I also hated picking and choosing between what items to buy simply because i didn't dedicate the past two weeks so candlerunning alone. Hopefully this new addition of ET would take off that load and i can enjoy the following events to it's fullest, and well, I did.

For the first year that is. These cosmetics that costed ET were damn near free for me. Yet, in the back of my head i always wondered what would happen the following year once these ET cosmetics came back, alongside the new ones that were to be released. Would they cost just as much ET as last year's items? Then collecting ET would only get more stressful and inflate its value. Would the past items go away? That is unfair to new players and pushes FOMO to get everything every year.

Maybe the total price could stay the same but older items depreciate each year as newer ones release, making the oldest ones the cheapest.

And to my great surprise as i look at beta logs for this year's days of summer, not a single item from the year before is under 90 candles! How could this possibly be fair to new players who are trying to enjoy sky for what it is and get items? I've seen some people argue that the player has the choice to not get all cosmetics, which is true, but I'd like to show you what thought process is implied with this system. Think:

"We know you don't fully know your way around sky's economy, or don't have the time to grind everyday, but for this year only these new items are free just by participating in the event! And if you don't, for any reason, the price of the items will be worth 3-6 hours of candlerunning on top of MORE cosmetics! But it's all up to you!"

This isn't to say us as a playerbase have zero autonomy, but i hope you can see how FOMO is enforced when you add a currency with zero value outside of an annual 2 week event that gives players a "now or never" mindset. This is great in the moment, it pushes people to participate! Yet, this ruthlessly punishes players who aren't available for any reason, even those who weren't aware of sky before joining.

Sky is still a new game. Event tickets were only introduced a year ago, but if tgc keeps going down this economic pattern then imagine the amount of cosmetics locked away from new players, or players who took breaks, because of this exponential increase in pricing!

This is a more subjective opinion- but let me be honest; these cosmetics are not worth their candle/heart prices.

I was lucky enough to get all the days of style and days of summer items from last year for ET and i barely wore them, i can only imagine ONE item from each event being rewearable. I didn't mind though because i knew the towel capes and silly glasses were nice starter items for moths, but it's not even moth friendly anymore?! In the past only items that were in high demand were priced outrageously like rhythm and lightseeker TS, and now I'm spending extra for a purple top hat that doesn't even match any of the other purples in this game☠️☠️ you're getting less bang for your buck with a 110 candle towel cape bro

And lastly, there are other issues I've seen in sky that i would say are parallel to this whole event ticket situation. The time gaps between seasons have grown significantly smaller, and each seasonal update has been saturated with glitches and disappointment. Season of the Nine-Colored Deer is another very apparent example of this for me. The castle and crescent lake is done beautifully and the quests are decent, but no one is returning to the area. The rest of the town is empty and awkward, and half the map is in a canyon where you spawn so it's already a good 2-3 minutes getting out of that area alone. The place is just rushed. Its inconvenient.

Ill be posting a poll right after this post, but me personally i would not mind having 3 seasons a year if it meant higher quality content and more breaks from events. More spirits that are well thought out, detailed seasonal quests that arent cleanups or scavenger hunts, less quantity but higher quality cosmetics and emotes, and elder appearances! It's clear that tgc has a more complex world design outside of Sky: cotl when we look at The Two Embers, but that the energy it takes to make it in game is placed elsewhere.

Thatgamecompany is pushing out more content than they ever have before and I think their work is starting to crumble under the weight.

If you made it here THANK YOU!!! you're a lifesaver, theres so much that i want to say and i really hope a lot of skids see this post so that we can get a cohesive discussion going❤️

[g004]

Doodles

[thatskylynn]

spirit reqs from discord

[pain-del-doge]

Last full render comic of the year ;w;

This took a lot outta me and im a lil disatisfied w some parts, but I am overall rly happy w how this turned out

And now, back to my usual programming... after the next post :3

[aricoatl]

Balls

[melted-mercury]

possessed you say... but by who

[daily-purple-character]

day 260!

troupe juggler! (sky:cotl)

[cyndellw]

Small Creatures: Chapter 9

Previous Part Read on AO3

“So one of the major things to consider when making personalized outfits for someone is your choice of colors.” Radiance explained to Stagehand as she finished draping a piece of fabric over a mannequin. “You need to take into consideration their hair, their complexion, their eyes, their mask, stuff like that. Sometimes you can design a mask to go with the outfit, but since we’re not doing that today we have to consider the mask of the model to make sure everything looks put together. Hell, even their personality is important to consider.” Stagehand nodded, taking notes as she spoke. She paused, giving him a moment to catch up before she continued. “For example, with this one we’re designing for…” She looked at her binder. “Respectful Pianist.” She looked up at Stagehand. “What would you do with him?”

“Um…” Stagehand pondered. He hadn’t actually expected to be asked his opinion. He wasn’t ready. “He seems like a really serious guy. He has a dry sense of humor and it’s hard to tell sometimes if he’s joking or not. He’s also from the Golden Sands and that heritage is pretty important to him. I think I’d dress him in dark colors, mostly black with some deep green or gold accents.” Radiance nodded at him to keep going. “I also think I’d fashion him in flowy fabrics. I’d design it like a traditional Sands outfit.”

“Excellent.” Radiance said. “You have a good brain for creative work, hun.” Stagehand felt his heart glow with pride under the seamstress’s compliment. She pulled out some pins and began pinning the outfit along the sides. “I agree with you on the outfit design choice. However, if you’re using both the gold and the green I’d go light on the gold accents otherwise it’s going to clash too much.”

“Right.” Stagehand said. “I should’ve thought of that.”

“Why?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Why should you have thought of that? I’ve been doing this for 20 years, damn near as long as you’ve been alive, that’s why I thought of it. You’re practically a baby in this field.”

“I um…” Stagehand stammered. “I don’t know, I guess.”

“What in the world is wrong with you!” His mother pushed his hands away from the bowl. He’d cracked one of the eggs just a little too hard, creating a mess. “Resh’s name Stagehand this isn’t that hard! And now look! You’ve created such a mess!”

“Sorry.” He said quickly, grabbing a towel and moving to clean. 

“Just give me the rag.” His mother snapped, ripping it from his hand. “I don’t want you messing up the kitchen even more.”

“Well, give yourself some credit.” Radiance said. “You’ve only been doing this for a few days, and you’re doing a good job at learning.”

“Thank you.” Stagehand said. 

“Anyways, I’ll be working on these outfits today, but you should head along now.”

“You sure? I’d love to stay and help.”

“I’m sure you would but you need to spend some time outside this place, and then by the time you come back I’ll have something new for you to work on.” She looked over at him, hands on her hips. “Every day you’ve either been working on that play Director gave y’all or you’ve been in here helping me. Go see if anyone is going into town. Have some fun, don’t spend your entire vacation workin’.”

“Oh, um…okay.” Stagehand nodded, stepping out of the room. He didn’t actually know how to go about doing this. Should he approach someone and ask if they were going into the city? Or should he ask if they wanted to go into the city? What if they just said yes and actually it was a major inconvenience and then they hated him for it and then they told everyone and then everyone would hate him-

“Hey Stagehand!” A voice broke him out of his spiral, and he turned to see Spin Dancer standing at the other end of the hallway waving at him. “What’re you up to?”

“Nothing really.” Stagehand said, walking over to the other man. “I just finished looking at some designs with Radiance.”

“Oh, cool, I remember you mentioning that at dinner. A couple of us are heading to the city. I was just on my way to the gate to meet them. You want to come with us?” Spin Dancer offered. Stagehand brightened, straightening his posture. 

“Oh, yeah!” He said. Spin Dancer waved for him to follow, and the two of them made their way to the gate. “Who’s all coming?”

“Well, you and me, and Juggler.” Spin Dancer started, putting up his fingers as he began counting off. “Also the twins. It’s been a long time since the two of them have been to Cloud City. Not that Juggler and I have been recently.”

“You two are from here, right?”

“Yep! We’re going to check out the square and see what’s changed. Probably the market too.”

It didn’t take them long to arrive at the gate. Juggler was sitting on a nearby rock, kicking his legs against it as he and Rhythm went back and forth about the foods they were excited to eat, Performance occasionally chiming in from his spot next to his brother. When the other men arrived, Performance looked up, and his eyes brightened. 

“Oh, Stagehand! You’re coming too?” He asked, excitement dancing at the edge of his words. Stagehand felt his heart flutter a little bit. Performance seemed genuinely happy for him to go with them. To see him . 

No. 

He was overthinking it.

Performance was just really nice. There was no way he was eager for Stagehand specifically to come with them. He would probably be happier if it was Mellow. After all, they were best friends! Stagehand was just some guy. There was no way he was actually excited; he was just nice. 

“I thought about asking you, but I figured you might be with Radiance until rehearsal tonight.” Performance said. “You’ve never been to Cloud City, right?”

“No.” Stagehand shook his head. 

Wait.

Performance had thought about asking him!

No. 

No. 

He was just being nice . 

“Awesome!” Performance said, clapping his hands together. “This will be even more fun then! See, now we have to go to the market.” Performance looked over at Rhythm, who made a show of rolling his eyes. 

“ Fiiiiine. ” The older twin said. Performance pumped his fist. 

“Yes!” He said. “I win!” 

“Congratulations.”

“What in the world did these two get into while I was gone?” Spin Dancer laughed, looking over at Juggler.

“No clue.” The boy said. “I zoned out about 3 lines into the conversation.”

“Y’know, that’s fair.” Spin Dancer nodded. “I should really start doing that. It sounds a lot better than listening to them.”

“Please, you’re just jealous.” Rhythm said, flicking his ponytail.

“Jealous~ jealous~ jealous~.” Performance repeated in a sing-song voice, giving a little spin. 

“What would I have to be jealous of?” Spin Dancer teased. 

“Our luxurious hair and shining personalities.” Rhythm stated, flicking his ponytail in the opposite direction. 

“Oh yes, how could I ever forget.” Spin Dancer deadpanned. There was a moment of silence before he reached out and grabbed Rhythm, pulling him under his arm and twisting his knuckles into his hair, messing up the carefully styled smooth appearance. Rhythm squawked, attempting to twist away. “That’s what I think of your luxurious hair, loser.”

“Fight fight fight fight!” Juggler cheered, jumping up to stand on the rock. Performance giggled, stepping away from the “brawl” as Rhythm twisted out of the hold, quickly backing away and fixing his hair. Spin Dancer looked over at Performance and squatted down, running at the younger man. Performance shrieked and laughed, running away.

“Peace! Peace!” Performance yelled, putting up his hands. Stagehand spotted Rhythm moving into a closer distance, the older twin’s eyes locked on his friend with warning. Spin Dancer stopped his pursuit right before he reached Performance, huffing and dusting himself off.

“Fine, fine.” Spin Dancer said. “Peace. For now .” He turned towards the gate, pushing it open and leading them out. They made their way down the path and stopped when they reached the boatstop, waiting for the street boat. 

“Have you been to Cloud City many times?” Stagehand asked, looking up at Performance. 

“Once.” Performance nodded. “Not a lot. Every so often we go with Director when he has to go to a meeting, but usually that’s just to Citadel.”

“Do you like it?” Stagehand cocked his head. 

“Well enough. I’ll admit I don’t always know what to do with myself in large cities.” Performance explained. “Not that Cloud City is comparable to Eden, I assume. But it’s definitely a lot larger than Village of Dreams.”

“Okay but you’d need a shovel to dig that bar out of the snow.” Rhythm chimed in. 

“Well, yeah, but still.” Performance shrugged. The street boat approached and the five of them climbed on, Stagehand settling in next to Spin Dancer and Juggler across from the twins. 

“We should get ice cream while we’re there.” Juggler said. “I really hope that ice cream place we used to go to is still open.”

“You mean the one that imported fruits from Forest?” Spin Dancer asked. 

“Yes! That one!” Juggler nodded enthusiastically. “That and the um…that stall that sold really good pierogies.”

“I remember the one you’re talking about.” Spin Dancer nodded. “We’ll see if it’s still there. It was pretty popular so I don’t see why not.”

“It’s also been a few years.” Rhythm remarked. 

“Well, yeah, but there’s still a chance.” Spin Dancer shrugged. 

“I’m going to get one with sweet cheese and apples.” Juggler said, nodding to himself. 

“Have you had proper pierogies yet?” Performance asked, looking at Stagehand. 

“Yeah, I used to get them in Eden. I haven’t had a chance to try one here yet though.” Stagehand said. 

“Then no, you haven’t had a proper pierogi.” Rhythm said, shaking his head. 

“Hey, there’s plenty of Valley people in Eden.” Stagehand defended. He would not allow slander to come to his favorite food cart. “I happened to go to the not touristy food cart and they had very proper pierogies.”

“Yeah, like the ones stuffed with spaghetti?” Rhythm teased.

“No, the ones with meat and cabbage.” Stagehand said. Rhythm didn’t need to know that his favorite one he’d ever had was actually a macaroni and cheese pierogi, but that still felt pretty proper in his opinion. 

“I’ll have to make you pierogi sometime.” Performance commented. “I usually make it with leftover stew meat. It’s not as good as a food cart or a restaurant or anything but-“

“No, it’s way better.” Rhythm shook his head, and then looked over at Stagehand. “You will have to fight me for them.”

“I’ll just make enough for both of you.” Performance laughed. 

“Nope. Never enough.” Rhythm shook his head again. “You can make an infinite amount and I will still eat all of them.”

“All of them?” Performance questioned.

“All. Of. Them.”

When they had initially arrived in Cloud City, Stagehand hadn’t had a chance to really process what was happening around him. The streets hadn’t been particularly busy due to how early it was, and he’d been a little wrapped up in listening to Radiance. Looking around now, he realized how large everything he’d seen in the distance from the manor was. This place was nowhere near on par with Eden but it was a large city in its own right, towering buildings several stories high built of beautiful blue bricks, gold ornamentation glittering in the sun. The street boat zipped along in a dedicated lane, crowds walking on either side, occasionally stopping to let passengers on and off. People walked in and out of shops, stopping to talk to each other and moving about their day. It had been so long since Stagehand had been in a proper city that he’d forgotten how small Village of Dreams was. 

“Oh, this is our stop coming up.” Spin Dancer said, tapping a piece of dark crystal. The street boat slowed until it came to a halt at a flagpole, letting them off. They stepped away as it lifted again, beginning its route once more as the group walked to a short staircase leading into a plaza. Spin Dancer looked around and then pointed out a cart. “Alright, pierogies first, that way we’re all fed, and then we can start walking around. I’ll go buy them if you guys want to find a place to sit.”

“I’ll come with!” Juggler said, trotting after the dancer as he walked away. The twins immediately began looking around. 

“There’s some benches next to the fountain.” Rhythm said, pointing. Without waiting for a word in otherwise, he walked over and sat down. Performance briefly looked over in another direction and then followed his brother, sitting next to him and pulling his knees up to his chest. Stagehand followed where the other’s gaze had gone, spotting a table next to some snowberry bushes. He frowned, and then went and sat on the bench closest to Performance.

“Alright!” Spin Dancer announced as he walked over with Juggler, holding five small paper bags between them, each one marked with a little bit of grease. “They’re hot and they’re ready! If you wanted better than that, suck it up I guess.”

“Hot and ready, hot and ready, hot and ready.” Juggler chanted, lifting his bags in time. They passed out the bags and sat together on the bench next to Rhythm. Juggler immediately bit into his pierogi, wincing. “Aaah hot hot hot.”

“And ready.” Rhythm added. He took a bite out of the corner of his pierogi and paused waiting for it to cool. Stagehand watched as Performance and Spin Dancer did the same, and then followed suit. He waited for them all to bite, and then took one himself, his mouth feeling with pork, hot cheese, and cabbage. He caught Rhythm side eyeing him and squinted, shoving another bite into his mouth. Megabird, it was delicious. He saw the corner of Rhythm’s eye crinkle with delight and a little smugness, and said nothing, refusing to grant him the satisfaction of being acknowledged as correct. 

“So what’s the plan after we eat?” Performance asked. “I know we want to go to the market.”

“Well, we’re already in the town square, so that kind of knocks that off the list.” Rhythm said, crossing one leg over the other and looking up ponderously. “What else is there to do…”

“We can go see if there’s any manta races today.” Spin Dancer suggested. Juggler had stood up, stopping his stretching to nod eagerly at the idea. “It’s not the right time of year for the Snowpoint marathon, but there might be some smaller ones.”

“Sure.” Rhythm shrugged. “I’m down.”

 Stagehand furrowed his brow and looked quizzically over at Performance. 

“The Snowpoint marathon is a big race from the citadel all the way down to the coliseum that Snowpoint is built around. A large part of the cloud track passes through Cloud City.” Performance explained. “It’s one of the longest manta races in the world. Citadel has its own races but those are much smaller.” Stagehand nodded. He’d seen manta races before, in Eden. His father was an avid gambler at the racetrack, to the point where some of the bookies had been able to recognize him by name. He’d taken Stagehand and a few of his siblings with him until Stagehand was able to come up with a convincing enough excuse to not be there. Performance looked at him and cocked his head. “You okay?”

“O-Oh, yeah I’m fine!” Stagehand said. He hadn’t realized he’d tensed up so much. “Just, um, I'm not really a gambler.”

“Oh, me neither.” Performance shook his head. “I actually don’t think any of us are. I know Rhythm isn’t.” The other twin shook his head.

“Yeah I didn’t bring any spare money for that. Just some shopping money.” Spin Dancer nodded. 

“I’m not really interested in it either.” Juggler shook his head. “But I like watching the races! Plus you don’t have to place a bet to get in!”

“I…suppose that’s true.” Stagehand nodded.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Performance said. “There’s plenty else to do.”

“No, we can go check out the track.” Stagehand insisted. “I mean, if we aren’t gambling I don’t really mind going. Not that I would want to stop anyone from enjoying themselves, I mean. I just-”

“Hey, you’re good.” Rhythm said, patting Stagehand on the shoulder. “You don’t need to explain yourself. The track is a pretty short way from here, let’s get going.” Stagehand nodded. Rhythm motioned for Juggler to take the lead, and the boy led them down a series of side streets, insisting on taking an array of shortcuts that Stagehand felt may have been taking them on a more convoluted and possibly longer path.

When they reached the track, there was a small crowd in the building. A majority of it was around the betting area, though there were people moving in and out of the stands. Juggler went up to a window and paid their entry fee, leading them away and over to a few seats. Based on the board the next race, a small one with three riders. They’d gotten spots along the beginning of the track, a straightway with the goal of getting from point A to B while avoiding a variety of obstacles such as pillars and archways. 

“I’ve never actually been to a manta race before.” Performance admitted, sitting between Rhythm and Stagehand.

“Oh, that’s right.” Juggler commented from his spot down below them. “I forgot that you left with Director last time you guys were all up here. Spin Dancer and I took Rhythm to a race the day after you left.”

“I remember that.” Rhythm nodded. “I remember one of the racers almost ran into the stands.”

“Oh yeah that’s right.” Spin Dancer said, shuddering. “Damn near saw my life flash before my eyes. I swear to you I made eye contact with the manta. If I didn’t know any better it was actively trying to drive itself and the racer into the stands.”

“Huh…” Performance said. “I’ll admit I feel bad for the mantas. Don’t they capture them wild and keep them in cages in Citadel?”

“Who told you that?” Rhythm asked.

“Dancing Performer.” Performance answered. Rhythm stared at him for a moment, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

“I thought they were bred for racing.” Stagehand added, furrowing his brow. “Whenever we went to races in Eden they had pamphlets explaining the breeding history for the mantas so the betters could use it to help them place their bets.”

“It might be worth looking into.” Rhythm said. “Though, if they’re wild caught I’m not sure if I can go to another race.” He looked back over at Performance. “Wait, Perf, why did you agree to come here if you feel bad for the mantas?”

“Well…everyone else seemed kind of on board?” Performance said. He pushed a piece of hair behind his ear, pointedly not looking at his brother.

“I mean it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal.” Rhythm squinted at his brother. “We could’ve done something else.”

“Do you guys want to leave then…?” Spin Dancer asked awkwardly, moving to stand up.

“No, let’s just drop it.” Performance said, snapping slightly as he looked back at Rhythm. His gaze softened when he looked over at Spin Dancer. “We’re already here, let’s just enjoy ourselves. I don’t even know if that’s true. I’ll look into it, and if I get any answers we’ll know whether or not to come back to one of these.”

“...Okay.” Spin Dancer nodded, settling back into his seat. Stagehand patted his lap awkwardly as an uncomfortable silence settled over the group, trying to find something to say to save himself from the tension. Fortunately, they were all rescued by the sound of a horn and the roar of the crowd, announcing the opening of the doors.

The manta racers shot out of the doors, flying down the track at a blinding speed. These racers seemed different than the ones Stagehand was used to seeing in Eden. Eden races valued a combination of speed and tight control. Not that these racers weren’t showing that, of course. They were incredibly fast, and the riders clearly had firm control of their mounts. However, they were also doing flips, spins, chasing each other around the poles and using the momentum to sling shot themselves. These racers weren’t just racing, they were performing. As with everything Stagehand had seen in Valley, no matter what it was, everything was also about the art.

“That was awesome !” Juggler announced as they walked out, pumping his fist in the air. He turned to Stagehand, having been left with only him for company when Spin Dancer and the twins had gone to the restroom, and continued on excitedly. “Did you see how close the racers came to crashing into the pole? I swear they missed it by barely a moment!”

“Yeah, that was pretty cool.” Stagehand agreed, nodding. It was cool, definitely. It was also terrifying. “I’m not used to obstacles being a part of the races.”

“Do they not do obstacles in Eden?” Juggler asked. Stagehand shook his head. “Oh, well that’s kind of boring.”

“I suppose.” Stagehand shrugged. “It’s more about speed and…stability, I guess? It’s all about control.”

“Oh, okay, I get that.” Juggler nodded. “I guess that would be kind of cool to see-”

“Troupe Juggler? Hi!” A voice cut him off as two girls ran up to them. Juggler immediately turned to face them and opened his arms, allowing the two of them to come in and hug him.

“Knife Thrower! Fire Dancer!” He greeted them excitedly. They pulled away, giggling as he ruffled their hair. Juggler turned to acknowledge Stagehand, who was standing off to the side awkwardly. “Stagehand! This is Excitable Knife Thrower and Graceful Fire Dancer. Girls, this is Frantic Stagehand. He’s one of the stagehands in my current troupe.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Stagehand.” Fire Dancer greeted shyly, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear and putting her hand out. Stagehand reached out and shook her hand before offering his to Knife Thrower, who shook it with much more fervor than the other girl.

“Nice to meet you both as well.” Stagehand said.

“You’re in a new troupe?” Knife Thrower asked, looking back over at Juggler. “We were wondering where you’d gone!”

“Yeah, we were just told that you’d left.” Fire Dancer nodded. “We tried to ask for more details but everyone kept being really vague about it until we gave up.”

“Eh, felt that wanderlust.” Juggler said with a shrug. “Gotta live life! Experience everything, you know?” Knife Thrower nodded fervently at the same time that Fire Dancer shrugged. “So what have you girls been up to?”

“Not much.” Knife Thrower responded, putting a hand on her hip. “We’ve been rehearsing for a tour we’re going to be doing in Daylight Prairie. Fire Dancer is actually the headliner for that one! She’s been practicing the fire juggling you taught her!”

“Good for you!” Juggler cheered, putting out a hand to high five the girl. Fire Dancer giggled, lightly tapping his hand. “You’re going to do an awesome job.”

“Thank you.” She nodded, pushing back another loose piece of hair as she looked away and then back at Juggler.

“Hey, who’d you guys run into?” Another voice joined them as a tall man came up. Stagehand noticed Juggler’s eyes turn harsher. “Hey, Juggler! Long time no see!”

“Hey.” Juggler greeted. Stagehand waited for an introduction.

“So…how have you been?” The man asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“Fine.”

“Yeah. How’s the new troupe situation?”

“Good.”

“Good. That’s good. …Who’s your friend?”

“We should be going.” Juggler said. He turned, grabbing onto Stagehand’s arm.

“Huh? Wait, we told the others to meet us here.” Stagehand protested, flailing as Juggler pulled him with enough force to knock him off balance. The girls looked at Juggler and then between each other, clearly confused.

“They’ll catch up.” Juggler said.

“Hey, everything good?” Stagehand saw Juggler freeze at the sound of Spin Dancer’s voice. The three missing group members approached the situation, looking at Juggler and then over to the girls and their friend. Stagehand saw Spin Dancer stiffen slightly at the sight of the tall man. “Oh, hey.”

“Oh, hi.” The man said. “Um…Spinning Fan Dancer, right?”

“Festival Spin Dancer.” The dancer corrected curtly.

“Right, right, sorry.” The man nodded. “I’ll admit I tend to forget a lot of the interns. They come and go so quickly, you know?” He looked down at the girls for validation, both of whom nodded, albeit hesitantly.

“Except he wasn’t an intern.” Juggler snapped back. “You guys just decided to treat him like one after he passed his audition.” The girls cocked their heads in tandem, looking at Juggler and then over to the man.

“Wait, was he not one of the interns?” Fire Dancer asked.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t we see him at auditions?” Knife Thrower added.

“Well, he happened to get accepted at the same time we needed an intern, so we figured we’d kill two birds with one stone. We told him there was an opening, and if he happened to be making coffee more than performing, then, oh well!” The man explained, putting his hands up. He looked over at Spin Dancer. “Listen, I-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Spin Dancer shook his head, turning to leave. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” The man said, attempting to follow. Juggler quickly moved in his way, Performance pulling Stagehand back to stand away from the man. “What?”

“He said he didn’t want to hear it.” Juggler snapped. “Maybe he was a little too nice about it. How about you don’t fucking talk to him.” He turned to look at the girls. “It was awesome to see you both. If either of you girls find yourself in Village of Dreams, you should come check out our theater.” He looked back up at the man. “If I see you there it’s going to be a problem.”

“What, are you going to make it a problem, shrimp?” The man scoffed. Juggler narrowed his eyes, and the man poked his forehead. “Itty bitty Juggler is going to fight me?”

“Hey.” Rhythm said, walking up and stepping between them. He put a hand on the man’s chest, walking and pushing the man backwards. Performance quickly reached over and grabbed Juggler, pulling him away.

“You two run ahead and check on Spin Dancer please.” Performance said. “I’ll wait for them.”

“You sure?” Stagehand asked. Performance nodded quickly, and Stagehand quickly followed Juggler, who had been walking away since the moment Performance released him. He turned to see Rhythm sticking a finger in the man’s face, beginning to yell something, and Performance moving to grab his brother’s shoulder. He didn’t stick around to find out what happened next.

It didn’t take him too long to find Spin Dancer and Juggler. They were sitting on a bench together a few blocks away, Juggler fidgeting with a pair of balls and Spin Dancer staring ahead, bent over with the bottom part of his mask covered by his hands. Stagehand walked over, standing next to him. He moved his hand slightly to pat his shoulder, and then pulled back, thinking against it. After another moment of deliberation he changed his mind again, and placed a hand on Spin Dancer’s shoulder.

“You okay?” He asked. Spin Dancer nodded. “I think the twins are back there talking to him.”

“No, Rhythm is back there telling him off.” The dancer said. “Performance is back there making sure his brother doesn’t get arrested.” 

“Yeah, probably.” Stagehand nodded. “Um…can I ask what that was all about?”

“...Yeah.” Spin Dancer nodded. “I um…I was with a troupe before this one. Same with Juggler. That’s actually how we met. I auditioned for the troupe while I was working at a barbershop and I didn’t hear anything for a long time. Obviously, I decided to move on, and then I got a message in my mailbox telling me to come to the theater, because they found an opening for me. Bear in mind, this troupe works pretty closely with Cloud University and does internship partnerships, and apparently one of their interns dropped the program and they didn’t want to lose the labor.” He leaned back and huffed. “Not that they told me this. I thought I was coming to be a dancer.”

“They didn’t tell most of us either.” Juggler grumbled. “They told us he was an intern, and to let him know if we needed anything.”

“ I thought it was a ‘bottom of the ladder’ situation.” Spin Dancer huffed, crossing his arms. “Turns out they just never dropped the intern’s contract and had me sign it without giving me much time to read it, and I was too young and stupid to realize how bad of a sign that was, though I really should have figured it out based on how bad the pay was.”

“So when did you find out?” Stagehand asked, leaning on the wall behind him.

“Well, Thoughtful Director happened to be visiting the theater with the twins. I don’t remember why he was in the city but he decided to stop by the theater with them to show them what other set ups might look like, since at that point the village theater was their only exposure, or something.” Spin Dancer waved his hand. “That’s not the point. Anyways, a few of us were there. We were setting up aerials and I decided to test the weight while Juggler was practicing on the ones we’d set up the day before. I decided to test the weight on one and apparently Director and the stagemanager, the man we just had the displeasure of running into, spoke about it. I guess the stagemanager mentioned I was an intern, because Director came up and asked me about the program, to which I obviously explained that I wasn’t an intern, I was a performer. He asked me to show him some moves.” The dancer chuckled. “I will never forget this. He looked back at the stagemanager and asked him if he was confused, because I wasn’t an intern and was obviously too skilled for the level he’d placed me at.”

“I remember that!” Juggler said. “That caught me so off guard that I fell!”

“I was about ready to punch him, if I’m being honest.” Spin Dancer said. “But Director ended up telling him, very politely mind you, that he was full of shit. It was actually Rhythm who suggested recruiting me right after that. From what he said a bunch of performers had just left, so we were looking for more.”

“And I didn’t want to be involved with a bunch of liars.” Juggler said, sticking his nose up in the air as he caught the ball he’d thrown up into the air. “So I asked if they were looking for more than one.”

“Director ended up buying out our contracts, not that mine was very expensive.” Spin Dancer explained. “If I remember correctly, the troupe leader tried to argue with Juggler about staying.” He looked over at the other for confirmation.

“Yep!” Juggler nodded. “I told him he’s lucky Director offered him anything at all, cause I was planning on walking. So either take the money or get nothing and lose me either way!”

“Director and Performance went back the next day to get some paperwork worked out for us.” Spin Dancer continued. “Rhythm stayed back for a few days and helped us move, and then we stayed in Director’s guest room together until we found an apartment.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s not really relevant, but oh well.”

“No, thank you for telling me.” Stagehand insisted. “It’s kind of nice to know how you got involved with the theater and everything. And, I mean, it’s a crazy story. If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I would either.” Spin Dancer nodded.

“Sorry about the wait.” Rhythm said, walking up with Performance while rubbing his knuckles. His mask looked like it had been scuffed a bit, and his hair was messy. “That took a little longer than I thought.”

“What, did you get in a fight?” Spin Dancer chuckled.

“Well.” Rhythm started. “Originally I was just giving him a piece of my mind, as he deserved for talking to my friend like that.” He shot Spin Dancer a finger gun. “Then Performance tried to pull me away since some people were starting to collect, and the fucking guy had yelled at him to ‘stay out of it’ and shoved him away.” Stagehand looked at Performance. The man looked shaken up, and was pointedly not looking at any of them. “So obviously he needed to know that was a mistake.”

“Someone called a city guard, but I guess one of the bystanders vouched for us.” Performance explained. “So we got let off with a warning.”

“Anyways, you good?” Rhythm asked Spin Dancer, who nodded. “Cool, let’s get the hell out of here.” The dancer nodded, standing up, and Rhythm led the way down the street. Stagehand hung back a moment, waiting for Performance to begin moving and then falling in step next to him.

“You okay?” He asked, looking up at him.

“Hm? Oh, yes, I’m fine.” Performance insisted. “Thank you though. I think the fight just threw me off a little bit.” Stagehand nodded.

“Understandable, it sounds like the guy kind of got in your face out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, kind of. It’s fine, though. It’s settled.” Performance nodded. “Anyways, it looks like we’re headed to the market. Let’s catch up.” The two of them quickened their pace, falling into step with the others as they made their way through a garden and out into the street.

The market, as it turns out, was a bustling street market with a variety of vendors selling all types of goods. There was food on every corner; jewelry, artwork, masks, clothing. It was as exciting as it was overstimulating. Perhaps Stagehand had allowed himself to get too used to small village life. This was normal. This had always been his normal, his entire life, up until now. He’d been to markets like this with his mother dozens of times, and as soon as he was old enough he’d been hundreds of times on his own. Why were this many people and this many stalls suddenly overwhelming?

“Hey.” Performance’s voice took him out of his head, and he looked up to see the other’s eyes gazing down at him kindly. “You okay?”

“Yeah!” He nodded, perhaps a bit too hard. “I’m good!”

“Okay. We’re going to go look at some of the stands. Do you want to come with us, or do you want to wander off on your own?”

“I’ll go with you guys.” Stagehand said, stepping closer to Performance. “Sorry. I’m used to this type of stuff, I promise. I mean, I grew up in Eden, so…”

“It’s okay!” Performance picked up a bracelet to look at it. Next to him Rhythm and Juggler were comparing necklace charms while Spin Dancer chatted with the vendor. “I get it. It’s a very different type of busy and crowded than Eden, I would imagine. Besides, this is a touristy market, so there’s a lot happening. That and I think everyone is trying to beat the rush for Giving Day.”

“Giving Day? Does Valley not do the Mischief festival?”

“Oh no, we do. But people try to get all their closest people gifts early, and then you put that on top of tourists looking for souvenirs, and suddenly it gets very crowded very quickly.”

“Wait, if everyone tries to beat the rush doesn't this become the rush?” Stagehand furrowed his brow.

“Yeah, you’d think, but imagine how bad it gets when it’s actually the rush.” He giggled, setting down the bracelet he’d been inspecting. He looked over at another stand and his eyes lit up. “Oh!” He tapped his brother on the shoulder. “Rhy! I’ll be right back. I'm going to go look at another stall.”

“Hm? Wait, give me a moment and I’ll come with you.” Rhythm turned to face his brother. Performance shook his head. 

“It’ll be fine! Stagehand is coming with me!” He quickly took Stagehand’s hand. “See?” Stagehand was suddenly much more aware of the temperature of his palm and the overall tightness of his fingers. Oh megabird what if he was squeezing Performance. What if he suddenly developed super strength and crushed his hand. What his hand spontaneously combusted and-

“You sure?” Rhythm asked, briefly looking between the two of them and squinting.

“Yep.” Stagehand nodded, suddenly feeling much more sure of himself in the face of what felt like someone else’s doubt. “He’ll be safe with me, don’t you worry.” He looked at Rhythm very pointedly. 

“Yes, see, exactly!” Performance nodded. “Anyways we’re going now bye bye!” Without allowing Rhythm a word in edgewise he left, pulling Stagehand after him. 

“Is your brother always like that?” The shorter man grumbled. 

“He means well, I promise.” Performance stopped in front of a clothing stand. “He’s just a little protective. Anyways, here we are.” Performance let go of his hand to reach out and touch a piece of fabric, and Stagehand’s hand felt much more empty than before he’d even taken it to begin with. He looked down at it, flexing his fingers slightly where the other man’s were a moment before, and then looked over at what Performance was admiring. It was a beautiful deep blue coat with a yellow inside and trim. The sleeves flowed out to the side and in the back of it was a long tail split down the middle. Performance was gently moving the fabric between his fingers. “Soft…”

“Oh, you like it?” The vendor asked. Performance jumped slightly, having apparently gotten lost in his focus. The vendor chuckled. “Here, why don’t you try putting it on. It’s a lovely piece, one of a kind really. You can wear it draped across your shoulders like a cape or put your arms through the sleeves.”

“Oh, thank you.” Performance said. He pulled the coat off its hanger gently and draped it over his shoulders, admiring the way it cascaded over his body. Stagehand wasn’t sure he’d ever seen someone look so perfect. Performance put his arms out and did a quick spin, admiring the coat. “It’s an amazing piece.”

“You like it?” The vendor asked again.

“I love it.” Performance nodded. “It’s wonderful.”

“It’s one of my more expensive coats, but I think you’ll find it well worth it.” The vendor nodded. She looked down at a piece of paper, listing the price, and Stagehand couldn’t help but notice Performance droop a little bit.

“I’ll um…I’ll think about it.” Performance said, pulling off the coat and rehanging it. “Thank you for letting me try it, genuinely.”

“Of course!” The vendor nodded. “How about I hold onto it for you till the end of the day, hm? That way you can come back for it.”

“Thank you.” Performance nodded, stepping away from the coat. Stagehand watched as the actor gave it a short, longing look before stepping away, moving onto the next stall. Stagehand looked at the coat, and then followed. 

“Why didn’t you buy it?” He asked Performance, who was looking down at an apple, albeit halfheartedly. 

“I um…” Stagehand was suddenly very aware that he may have just overstepped, his heart faltering at Performance’s pause. Fortunately, the actor continued, accepting the question without malice. “Rhythm and I don’t have a whole lot of money, even with him working as much as we do. Most of my money goes towards groceries and house repairs, and we split the property tax. A decent amount of his money goes towards…well, it’s towards getting a lawyer, if I’m being honest. That and we’re sending money to a family member as much as we can. Even if I were to haggle her down, I can’t justify spending that much.” Stagehand pursed his lips, nodding. Performance sighed, putting down the apple. “It’s fine. It’s just a coat, and it’s a little bit too big. I don’t have money to get it tailored. But that’s also why Spin Dancer and Juggler paid for us today, they’re kind. And they’re good friends.”

“Do you want me to buy you something…?” Stagehand asked.

“No, thank you. I appreciate it. It’s already really nice to be hanging out with you, you know?” Performance looked at Stagehand, who nodded. The shorter man hesitated, and then reached out to take the other’s hand. 

“You want to go back to the others?” He squeezes his hand gently. “Or do you want to look at apples a bit longer.” Performance set the apple down, giggling. 

“No, let’s go back to the others.” He said. Stagehand nodded, leading him back to the rest of their group. 

“There you are.” Rhythm said. They were standing at a stall selling various hats. “I was about to come looking for you.” In a fraction of a moment Stagehand caught the older twin looking down at their interlocked hands, then squinting at Stagehand, then looking at his brother as though none of that had happened, seeming to shrug it off . “Find anything?”

“Nope, just looked around a little.” Performance shook his head. 

“I actually am going to go back for something really quick.” Stagehand said, releasing Performance’s hand. “I think I saw something I want to get for Dancer. Don’t worry about waiting for me, I’ll find you guys.” Without waiting for an answer Stagehand set off into the crowd. It took him a minute, but he found the stall with the deep blue coat, now positioned behind the vendor. She was working on a piece of fabric, humming to herself. 

“Oh hey, you’re back.” She looked up at Stagehand. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“I-He- He’s not my-“ Stagehand stammered, caught off guard. She giggled and he shook his head quickly. “That’s not the point.”

“Right, what can I do for you?”

“He’s not going to buy that coat for himself, so I will. Let’s talk price.”

The next day, after everyone was done being fitted for their final outfits, Stagehand approached Radiance, a small bundle in hand. He unfolded it, showing her a deep blue coat. 

“You buy it for yourself?” She asked. 

“No.” He shook his head. “I bought it for someone else. …Performance.” He flushed, looking down. “Since we have his measurements, would you be willing to walk me through tailoring it?” He breathed deep, waiting for her answer. Waiting for her to say no.

“Absolutely.” She said. He looked up, noticing a glimmer in her eye. “Let’s do it.”

[wanderingskychild]

Season of the Blue Bird quest #3

The theater concept reminds me of both the Performance & Aurora quests, only slightly. At least I got a chance to wear things I could never own for previous seasons, the audience also gets larger with each costume addition. Including some returning spirits who fittingly also are performers in their own right.

You know these quests seem to slip by quickly, I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

[plutonium-sky]

I asked my friends to give me a spirit to draw and they said juggler

[corallocean]

*faints*

Ok, no but seriously

incoming oc rant (ignore the fact i never talked about them before)

Both sisters need a winter coat, and more colourful colours would rather suit Maltala, however i missed my chance with the thingy collector's cape for Memotha. I could technically buy it for both, but you never know what could happen.

I guess purple would be a nice colour for Memotha as a way to show a different side of her - the less big sister side of her and more the big sister side of her. Idk what it is about purple it seems so comforting for little Maltala💗.

I already decided that the mischief boots are needed for Maltala - they look so cute on her - but the outfit too and and essentially the pumpkin is a necessity for her (did you see her in the 4th anniversary hat?)

Also Memotha is getting every item from mischief as well, so i guess it's fair they both get a nice cozy winter coat 😊.

[g004]

[thatskylynn]

jugg doodle dump