A PHANTOM'S STARGAZE ARIA

CONNECTED: DENIZEN FOUR

[beyond-the-seals]

Huh. So are they like… people? Or maybe ghosts? I’m still kinda confused on what the drift is supposed to be?? That miiiiight just be me though.

I don’t know if I like the silence! It’s either the silence or me shuffling around (and I'm not really supposed to move), I haven’t heard anything else in ages. I feel like I wanna hear something else sometimes, but maybe that’s just because I haven’t in a long time! Yknow?

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if I wanna do something because I actually want to, or just cause I feel like I should want to.

I know what I need to do though! So that’s something I can hold on to, even when I feel the urge to do or think otherwise I can smash it down easy peasy because I know that’s the right thing to do!

-Valor

Maybe the drift is confusing you on purpose. Need and should are not the same... unless the distinction is only within. Responsibility is one thing. Choice is another entirely.

[beyond-the-seals]

i think they kind of go together you know what I mean. neutrality isn't the same thing as inaction girliepop.. (also gender neutral. if you even care..) it's an entire grindset to be as neutral as i am....

-glint

I... suppose that is one way of looking at it. I must know, now, I am curious. What work do you put towards neutrality?

[beyond-the-seals]

i um

enjoy it

talking to uh

talking to you and

learning more abouut

things i dont know at all yes

its preetty cool that someone is

around to talk to a little bit i dont really

know what im doing ever or talk to people so

i dont get to talk to people that muuch

i am happy to be meeting cool um

cool weird nice and people

who are nice to me yay

like you :) but i still

i dunno what im

really doing

though

do you

is that fine

meow

-process

Nobody needs to know what they're doing, really... goals often end up as guidelines, even when held. No path ends where it seems, and moving forward always leads somewhere.

So, yes, you're just fine. Meow.

[beyond-the-seals]

anything can be neutral if you try hard enough my candle coded acquaintence. one of the many wonders of the universe. speaking of which. realized i haven't been signing these. uhhhh.

-glint

Is it so, or is it the opposite? Through trying, or through inaction? Hello there, Glint.

[beyond-the-seals]

They are whispers of a looooong night…

Some don’t make as much sense as we’d like, but all have a heart of meaning…

I think that in a way… we are the stars in the fog…

Three times in the teacup… four times in the pond… five times in the sky… six times in the ground…

The impossible becomes possible… what is sound if not the humming of the world…?

The longing for touch… for the sake of it or for comfort is not for me to say, but it must be heartbreaking to be robbed of it…

Is it a song… a warning… does it matter…? There are some things we cannot know…

It’s because she doesn’t know the truth herself… how many lies have been told… does it matter if she knows they are lies…? Does it matter if we know…?

The Long Quiet… I wish for it some nights...

There is wonder in sound, but there is peace in its absence...

The only meaning in the whispers is what you make of them… whether it is their intention or not means nothing… in the case of an absent author... all we can do is interpret what they have given us…

I hope it clicks for you… one night… when the stars finally blink...

Hydrar

Perhaps, yes, it will... and perhaps it won't. Time dictates all things, and the sound of the universe never ceases.

[beyond-the-seals]

you talkin to me punk? why

I am simply talking. You sound like someone I know...

[beyond-the-seals]

i know some of these whispers, myself. they sound to me like the final thoughts of those about to move on, simple as that. sometimes, they do not need to make sense. sometimes they simply wish to voice what they have left; whether it be fragments of their self, feelings of the past, longing for things lost, or hopes for what is next.

of course, i may be biased from personal experience. but i do work with plenty of lost souls. and they simply need someone to listen before they are gone. it is one of the things i record, the words of those with any left before they rest from their long journey. it is a piece of who they were.

some i can ascertain meaning to, but others are simply scattered thoughts. there is not much more you can do about that other than to relate it to who they were. though perhaps these whispers are different, i could not tell you for certain. i know those souls that come to me, and i do not think you are aware of any personal identity of any whisper. perhaps some have no identity, perhaps some hold secrets unknown to you and i.

what do you think of them, kindlin?

-ULTIMA

Yes, I believe this to be true... wise, also. With so much mystery, we can only guess. Are guesses any good, Ultima?

I am unsure. They remain, as do I.

[beyond-the-seals]

I don’t know if I like these whispers, they’re either sad or unnerving?? It’s hard to really tell what they’re talking about. :/

I don’t hear anything where I am, nothing that isn’t me! I’m not sure if that’s good or bad? I can’t hear the battle, and there aren’t any voices for sure.

I’ve been wondering if I can change this rift to speak to me instead of show me, just to try. Buuuuut I’d rather not attract attention from anything listening either, which is more important!

Anyways, do you think they want something from you?? Maybe it’s some kinda code? Orrrr maybe you shouldn’t listen to them at all. They could be trying to confuse you on purpose!

No idea, I don’t have much I can puzzle out from it other than that. Do you ever respond to them??

-Valor

Yes, it's impossible to tell if they have meaning at all... and impossible to ask or respond. They cannot hear one another, or myself, lost in their own words and worlds.

Do you like the silence?

[beyond-the-seals]

hello baby girl (neutral gender) how goes it

Quiet as ever. Now her tune is gone and done, but it will return sometime... she always plays again. She always has.

I am fascinated by the specification that "baby girl" is a neutral term, though.

[beyond-the-seals]

um

well i uh

my brain isnt

its not really good at

figuring out what things mean

maybe the drift doesnt know what it

maybe they cant make sense to you because

they dont know what it means either

maybe they dont know youre

even really there at all

i dont know if uh

theyre really

conscious

do you

-process

No... I don't know. That is how it goes, always more unknown than known. Maybe the drift is only echoes.

I doubt they know I'm here. Most don't... but you, now.

[beyond-the-seals]

[for bitty]

bitty i am so sorry i couldnt write to you, i had no way to send you a message due to technical difficulties (my computer broke and i have no other way to communicate with you, thankfully it was repaired pretty quickly considering how long it usually takes at the specific place i got it fixed).

i really hope i havent upset you too much and if i have i hope you forgive me. i didnt stop caring. i hope you havent too. i have no way of knowing since you cant respond, so heres to hoping. i miss hearing from you

i guess it wouldnt really be a letter from me if i didnt include a song for you to listen to. its a sadder one today, "between the bars" by elliott smith. probably his best known song and also one im very fond of. its also from one of my favorite albums

- take care, i miss you, shoegaze

[ SYSTEM ]

[ Your message has been received and documented. ]

[beyond-the-seals]

The drift is whispering to me. I will transcribe what it says for later.

[beyond-the-seals]

-Respect the numbers, they always come back, counting up is counting down and counting none is counting lacked.

-Why does it sound? Why is there sound? Why do I hear? I have no ears. And yet I can hear. Yet I can hear. I can hear.

-I miss my hands... I want to hold something.

-She knows. It calls, from far away, and she knows, she can hear it, we came so far and why didn't we stay? It was safer this way, so we were told, now we're here and... it calls, from far away...

-Don't trust her. She's lying to you.

-FAR BEYOND THE SKY THERE IS A QUIETER NIGHT.

They're always like this... I don't always listen. The more you listen, the less sense they make. What do you think of it, beyonders?

[beyond-the-seals]

The drift is whispering to me. I will transcribe what it says for later.

[beyond-the-seals]

wow

thats cool

that the sound

that she made was

good enough to notice

i think you should maybe uh

thank her like you said in your log

also i was wondering about something

i was reading some of your logs again kindlin

they sound lonely and something else

uh i think its like a longing maybe

for something somewhere

maybe someone or uh

i dunno hahaha um

maybe you need

change in life

dooo you

agree

:)

-process

Do I have a longing? If I do... I don't know what it would be for.

And if I don't know what I'm looking for, who would?

[beyond-the-seals]

She's playing again.

I hear an organ's tune in the distance. The fingers dance... the wind gusts... keys pressed... but nothing moves, not here.

Or, it doesn't feel so.

It must move, as sound travels. Else, how could I hear it?

I never visit her. She's too much and too little... but if she grants us all this sound, she must be something more than meets the eye. Maybe I should message her my thanks.

[beyond-the-seals]

i see… that’s quite interesting to me. there must be something inherent to edicts in your world.

however, are you certain that the stars were correct? is it truly who you are? were it me i would take their considerations into account of course, but draw my own conclusions.

not to say i’m accusing you of not doing the same, you’re the thoughtful type after all. it’s simply quite an interesting topic to discuss and explore.

-ULTIMA

I am, fortunately, quite certain of my edict. It returns to me again and again... though some argue that is self-fulfilling prophecy, I think otherwise. I knew the thing before I knew the word.

[beyond-the-seals]

that’s great, i’m glad you’re not opposed to being friends! i’ll be sure to treat you like a good friend should.

i am a little envious. i think i would like to have a friend adventurous enough to attempt to kill me. alas, it’s probably not the kind of thing you should ask your friends to do!

i wonder about this ‘edict’ thing i hear about. i’d like to hear if you have any advice on finding my own. i’ve always had trouble knowing things about myself.

have a pleasant unspecified time of day!

💿u💿

If she was able to try to kill you, I am sure she would.

Oh, yes... edicts. They come naturally to some, but are very difficult for others.

Try something. Write down who you are, where you're from, what has made you. Cut out all but the key words, and then let them speak to you.