Blue Lacuna — 149 of 467

Chapter - Beachfront Ambience

Table of Beachfront ambience

The real-whale is set dressing. Understand "whale" as real-whale. The printed name is "whale". The description is "He's already vanished below the surface, leaving only a distant patch of churning bubbles behind.".

To say rayfishambience:

if a random chance of 1 in 2 succeeds, say "Out in the lagoon, [if we have examined the rayfish]the glowing blue [rayfish][otherwise]strange pale [o]lights[x][end if] bob and weave under the water.";

otherwise say "[if we have examined the rayfish]The glowing blue glows of the [rayfish][otherwise]Dozens of ghostly blue [o]lights[x][end if] circle slowly under the waters of the lagoon.".

Table of High Tide ambience

Table of Tide ambience

A small crustacean carapace is set dressing.

The seaweed is a backdrop in Beachfront. Understand "sea weed" as seaweed. The description is "It's a long clump of seaweed. Green nodules full of air are spaced along its length, along with graceful filaments and tendrils of leaves.". Check taking seaweed: say "You'd rather not carry that around." instead.

A crab is an undescribed animal. The description is "About the size of your hand, this curious creature scuttles sideways along the sand quite nimbly, holding pincers above him and darting eyes on long stalks every way it can." Instead of taking or touching a crab: say "[one of]You reach out your hand for one of the creatures, but it dashes away in a panic before you can grab it, tiny legs pumping furiously[or]You reach down to grab it, but in a snap it nips you with a pincer and darts away. Ouch! You rub your finger gingerly[or]You sidle cautiously towards the crab, then reach down in a flash. You got him! He snaps pincers and waves his legs fiercely as you study his fine carapace and detailed underbelly. Finally, you set him back down. He snaps once more, indignantly, before beating a hasty retreat down the beach[at random]."; remove the crab from play. Check attacking a crab: remove the crab from play; say "You aim a kick at one of the little creatures, but it scuttles out of the way with better reflexes than you gave it credit for, and quickly hurries out of sight." instead. Check tasting a crab: say "You don't really have the right culinary equipment for that." instead. Understand "crabs" as crab.

Every turn when night and distant-rayfish are not enclosed by location and player is awake and Tsunami Sequence is not happening and ( location is in Beachfront or location is Lower Beach or location is Ocean Waters or location is Tidepools or location is Among the Boulders or location is Rise ) : move distant-rayfish to location; move rayfish to Ocean Waters. Every turn when distant-rayfish are on-stage and not night: remove distant-rayfish from play; remove rayfish from play.

Sighting-The-Rayfish is a scene. Sighting-The-Rayfish begins when distant-rayfish are in location. When Sighting-The-Rayfish begins: if we-are-landmark-going is true begin; tidy landmark-go; clean up landmark-go; end if; say "Far out in the lagoon, bobbing and weaving slowly just under the surface of the water, are dozens of pale [o]lights[x], glowing eerily in the [if moonup]moonlight[otherwise]darkness[end if].". Sighting-The-Rayfish ends when Sighting-The-Rayfish begins.

The distant-rayfish are a minor setpiece. Understand "pale" or "light" or "lights" or "rayfish" or "manta" or "ray" or "rays" or "mantas" as distant-rayfish. The printed name are "distant [if rayfish are named and we have examined rayfish]rayfish[otherwise if we have examined rayfish]manta creatures[otherwise]lights[end if]". The description is "[if we have not examined distant-rayfish and we have not examined rayfish]Spread out all across the lagoon, under the surface of the water, are dozens of faint, pale glows, bobbing and weaving slowly across the bay. From here on the land, you're too far away to tell what they are[otherwise if we have not examined rayfish]The pale lights continue to slowly weave through the waters of the bay, mysterious and silent[otherwise][The rayfish] are only pale glows from here on the beach[end if].". The provoke message of distant-rayfish is "They're too far away, out in the ocean. Maybe if you got closer.". Does the player mean doing anything to the distant-rayfish: it is unlikely. [prefer the real ones.]

The rayfish is an undescribed animal. Understand "pale" or "light" or "lights" or "rayfish" or "manta" or "ray" or "rays" or "mantas" or "glow" or "backs" or "wingtip" or "wingtips" as rayfish. The printed name is "[if named][o]rayfish[x][otherwise][o]manta[x] rays[end if]". After going to Ocean Waters: if night, move the rayfish to the location; continue the action. After going in Ocean Waters: remove the rayfish from play; continue the action. The description is "[if we have not examined rayfish]Your breath catches in your throat as you realize what the lights are: huge, glowing [rayfish] gliding gracefully above the submerged sand at your feet. Their great broad backs give off a faint but steady phosphorescent glow, stronger at their wingtips[otherwise]The ghostly [rayfish] glide silently through the waters of the lagoon, each longer than you are tall[end if]." Instead of touching rayfish: say "Carefully, you reach down into the water as one of the great glowing creatures swims past. Velvet-smooth skin glides across your hand for a moment; then the creature suddenly darts away, leaving behind a cloud of jet-black [o]ink[x]."; move manta ink to the location; rule succeeds. Instead of attacking rayfish: say "You move to strike at one of the great glowing creatures, but instantly it jerks away and accelerates out of range, phosphorescence fading, and leaves behind a cloud of jet-black ink in its wake."; move manta ink to the location; rule succeeds. Understand the command "pet" as "touch".

Some jet-black manta ink is set dressing. Understand "jet" or "black" or "dense" or "cloud" or "pitch" as ink. The description is "The cloud of ink, though rapidly dispersing into the waters of the bay, is dense and seems pitch black[inkhint]." Instead of taking or touching ink, say "You move your hand through the cloud and lift it above the water; some of the black residue clings to your fingers." Check tasting ink: say "It's salty and fishy and warm, and not that tasty." instead. To say inkhint: if ( time for excitement or story mode ) and Back Room is visited and Jumble is unvisited, say ".[paragraph break]You notice that the ink is the precise shade of the black band painted on the back room door of the cabin on the beach".

A giant sea turtle is set dressing. The description of the turtle is "[if location is regionally in Beachfront]Its great rounded shell is mottled brownish-black, and it pulls itself along with powerful front flippers. Shrewd eyes gaze out at the world from a leathery face[otherwise]The turtle manages to seem both graceful and ridiculous as it paddles through the water, just under the surface[end if].". The initial appearance is "A giant sea turtle lumbers around the rounded edge of a boulder and swishes through the sand, taking no notice of you at all." Check taking giant sea turtle: say "He probably weighs a ton!" instead. Instead of touching or hugging giant sea turtle, say "You approach him cautiously and run your hands over his great, mottled shell, still wet with the surf. The turtle pulls his head cautiously back into his shell, but then slowly pokes it out again after a few moments to look at you skeptically.". Instead of attacking or pushing or climbing or entering giant sea turtle: say "You move towards the creature, but it flees with a speed you wouldn't have thought possible on its stubby legs, diving into the ocean and swimming to safety before you can reach it."; remove giant sea turtle from play. Check going when giant sea turtle is enclosed by location: remove giant sea turtle from play.

A seagull is an undescribed minor animal with provoke message "The [one of]bird[or]gull[or]seagull[in random order] [one of]squawks angrily[or]leaps into the air with a raucous call[or]dodges away and flaps its wings angrily[in random order], flapping up in a broad spiral to join its fellows[removeseagullfromplay].". Understand "seagulls" or "gull" or "gulls" or "bird/indigo/beak/beaks" as seagull. The description is "These seem larger and more streamlined than most you've seen, and their long yellow beaks are tipped with a vivid indigo rather than red. But their cries sound just as you'd expect.". To say removeseagullfromplay: remove seagull from play.

Some distant gulls are a minor set dressing. Understand "gull" or "seagull/seagulls" or "bird/birds" as distant gulls. The description is "They flap through the air, more sleek and graceful than most birds of their type, weaving complex patterns as the flock constantly swells and shrinks." The provoke message of distant gulls is "They're too far away."

The cluster of gulls is a backdrop in Beachfront. The description is "Flocks of seagulls and other birds make wide circles around the lagoon, occasionally diving down to snatch something from the warm blue water." Understand "seagulls" as the cluster of gulls.

Table of Crab ambience

Table of Seagull ambience

Table of Seagull Air ambience