shellphones | Whale Man Tries to Turn Around And Walk Back Into the Rift

You must have only recently arrived. My apologies, but returning to your own star is complicated and, at present, random.

It is said travel is maintained by a relic many here seek in order to control the event, but it has thus far proven elusive. In the meantime, you are among a great number who share your sentiment.

Well-met. I am Dion.

Unfortunately, that is not something that is in any of our control.

That doesn't mean you can't, as some people have and returned to tell the tale. It's just that we have no say on when the rifts decide to work in our favor.

Yeah, good luck with that.

I don't think any progress has been made on that front.

You may call me a Hunter.

[ He isn't keen on giving out his name to people, but they do need something to refer to him. ]

Direct me to the hub for coordinating information and efforts towards locating this relic.

I request all data on these returns. A pattern may be discovered.

[She suspects this guy could throw in a please or two in his request, but Jill feels like this isn't the time for a lecture on manners.]

There is no rhyme nor reason to it. Some people remember being here, others don't. The closest experience I've had to it was someone who went to sleep at night as per usual and woke up no longer here.

That's not to say there aren't people working to discover the workings behind the rifts. I just want you to be aware that they haven't quite found much in the way of anything. If there was, it would certainly be found posted for all and sundry to see as soon as possible.

Or not enough effort has been made.

[ Someone will have to lecture Ulpianus on manners one day. Maybe today, actually. ]

Then I need to know who is working on this and how to contact them. As well as where the information on the rifts is collated.

[Give her a minute or two. Jill's patience is not finite.]

Perhaps it would be better for them to speak up on their own here rather than have me give you their contact information. Some don't work well with others, others may rather keep the information close in order to not start a burgeoning rumor mill when nothing is for certain.

[That and Founder knows she isn't about to send someone who makes such demands in this manner to people she actually likes.]

That said, you could take some time to get settled temporarily as you wait? Have you had something to eat yet? A drink? Found your belongings?

[ (I'm so sorry Jill he is... like this............. ) ]

I see humanity is plagued by disunity on every planet it sets foot on.

[ You can't really convey tone through text, but that's definitely a disappointed kind of text. ]

I have no need for sustenance or accommodations. Returning takes priority.

People are people. You cannot expect everyone to be willing to work together towards a common cause, especially when they have good cause not to. More specifically, when you have neither introduced yourself nor said please.

[Humanity? It might be text, but Jill's still getting the idea there's a hint of disdain in that phrasing. Odd for that to seemingly be there when he's asking that same humanity for assistance, but what does she know?]

Everyone has a need for both. I assure you that you will not be receiving the answers you seek in one day. Maybe not even a week. Unless you've discovered a method in which you can go days without food or drink that you are not sharing with the rest of us...

You can refer to me as Hunter. And you are right, I have discovered such a method. And I am not sharing it with you.

[ Maybe that part hit home for him, or maybe he just wants to brag?.. What goes unsaid is that his "method" is injecting himself with Seaborn cells, which has a very high occurrence rate of such side effects as "turning into a monster" and "dying".

(Life would be a lot easier on everyone involved if Ulpianus was ever inclined to properly explain himself.) ]

I was informed there were many who sought return. What "good cause" do they have for not working together?

Very well. You're allowed to keep your secrets. Just be aware you cannot demand others share theirs where the situation is so unbalanced.

[Sir, she is telling you to be nicer! Flies and honey! That's all it takes!

Also good luck on finding those cells out here. You might have to just deal with a sandwich, Hunter.]

There are many causes. I had mentioned one: fear of panic-induced rumors. Another one is that they simply do not enjoy one another's company.

[Somehow, she can see this guy falling into the second category. Just a little.]

[ Just a little. ]

So they would rather sabotage themselves out of pettiness than find their answers. Expected, but no less disappointing.

[ Unfortunately, he is... not good at being nice. Even when he does try, which he isn't right now, but even if he did he would still fail to use words like 'please'. Could manage a 'thank you', though, probably. ]

[Perhaps this man could do well with a couple of the etiquette classes she had to sit through as a young girl. Granted, that was to teach her more how to be the perfect marriage candidate than anything else, but at least it also taught Jill the art of talking to strangers.]

I'm sure those kinds of people hold no care towards what you do and don't find disappointing. However, it would be remiss of me, being familiar with some of those people, to not advise you that attitude is everything when it comes to asking for their assistance.

Edited 2026-01-07 04:04 (UTC)

[ That gives him some pause, observable by the time that passes between the message being read ~~I'm gonna assume shellphones have the "Read" function~~ and his answer. ]

Then I would ask you for the names of those people and what attitude they expect to see. Rituals of humility appear to differ drastically between landwalker nations.

[She assumes her last reply didn't go over well, so Jill shrugs it off and sets her shellphone aside to busy herself with some random chores. Hunter wouldn't be the first person she couldn't get through to.

It's when the phone beeps again with a notification, she can't lie and say she's not mildly surprised that there's an answer. That's enough to get her to put the broom down and take a moment to answer, though she still doesn't like how this guy speaks. Maybe it's that she can't hear tone through text, but it still rubs her wrong.]

A little humility can take one a long way. Begin by saying please and thank you.

[Though there's a second text that follows through a beat afterwards:]

Landwalker?

Please and thank you.

[ ... Well, that IS all she told him to say so far! And oh, looks like he can reply to different texts separately. ]

A collective descriptor for races and cultures that inhabit the land.

[ Even when he is actually answering questions he manages to be... not helpful. ]

[It's a start, but still!]

Not to me. To them. To anybody else you want information from.

Something tells me you don't consider yourself a Landwalker.

[So what could he be, she wonders. Seawalker? Skywalker? (Heh.) Spacewalker? Maybe a Turian like Garrus? No, probably not on the last one. Even Garrus eats food, unlike what Hunter claims.]

[ Jill. Jill no. He IS going to start conversations like that now. ]

Understood. Thank you for the advice.

[ But look, he's doing it! ]

Capitalization is unnecessary.
I have walked the land, but I am not of it.

[ (Also fun fact, there IS an Arknights character who tries to give herself the codename 'Skyriftwalker'.) ]

[Honestly? It's better than nothing.]

You are very welcome.

[See? Now was that so hard?]

Perhaps so, but I may be what you consider a landwalker. I did not want to be rude to my own kind. You are of the sea?

[Just a guess. It was next on the list.]

[ It was hard before he knew what it's for. Now it's another tool in his arsenal. But hey, as long as he uses it, right? ]

Yes.

[ ... no further information seems to be forthcoming. Not without additional prompting. ]

[Well, that's certainly an answer to her question. Too bad for him, she's learned to lean into her curiosity (read: she's begun to be nosy.)]

You're a fish?

No.

[ You can do it, Jill. You got through the kind-of-an-asshole stage, now you get the ask-the-right-questions stage. ]

[Now here's the difficult part: for as long as she's been here, Jill hasn't quite gotten too familiar in what makes up sealife. It takes a moment without a reply as she thinks of something else.]

Octopus?

Whale Man Tries to Turn Around And Walk Back Into the Rift

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