I think my own view on the universe deeply resonates with your Island Universe Model. I even describe cosmological redshift mostly in the same terms (as a "tired light" wavefront that gets a bit delayed each time it pass undetected by a material particle).

https://quantumwormholes.medium.com/the-universe-explained-7df2cf8ced90

I explain time, gravity and entanglement in simple terms using just light-cone diagrams.

Hope you like it.