Blue Lacuna — 157 of 467
Aaron A. Reed
Chapter - Ocean Waters
The prose name of Ocean Waters is "the lagoon". The description of Ocean Waters is "[oceanwdesc].". To say oceanwdesc:
say "[A sentence about the ocean swells]. [A sentence about the lagoon]. [paragraph break][exits]".
The exits text of Ocean Waters is "Short of swimming out to the ocean, the only real places to go are back [if dir][east] [end if]to the [dr]beach[x], or scrambling up towards the rounded [dr]boulders[x][if dir] [south][end if]". Understand "beach" as east when location is Ocean Waters. Understand "boulder/boulders" as south when location is Ocean Waters.
OceanWaters-stuff is stuff in Ocean Waters. Understand "water/ocean/sea/seawater/swell/swells" as OceanWaters-stuff when location is Ocean Waters.
Check sleeping in Ocean Waters: say "With water up to your [waistankles], you'll probably find that rather difficult.[sleepsuggest]" instead.
To say a sentence about the ocean swells:
if raining begin; say "Rain falls, waves surge around your [waistankles], and thousands of tiny raindrop splashes surround you, ensuring a thorough soaking. At least it's warm water";
otherwise if night; say "The warm water of the lagoon laps quietly at your [waistankles], [if moonup]reflecting broken sparkles of shimmering silver-pink moonlight up at you[otherwise]faint twinkles of the stars and galaxy above mingling with hints of foam[end if]. Caught between rolling black velvet and the arching black sky, you feel strange and unreal";
otherwise; say "Warm seawater [if evening or sunset]sparkles brilliantly and [end if][if twilight]still glows under the failing light and [end if]surges about your [waistankles] as you wade through the [if night]blackened [end if]lagoon, the sand like wet velvet under your feet";
end if.
To say waistankles: say "[if location is Ocean Waters]waist[else]ankles".
Check vague swimming when location is in Tiderooms or location is Lower Beach or location is Beachfront:
pass 15 minutes of time;
say "You[if location is in Tiderooms] [otherwise] wade out into the surf and [end if]dive forward[if raining], feeling the liquid contrast between the warmer waters of the lagoon and the cool rain[end if]. ";
if night, say "The glowing mantas beneath you and the great galaxy [if galaxy is named]Capalla [end if]above make this seem like a dream, but it feels real when your muscles begin to complain.[paragraph break]At one point, you accidentally brush against one of the majestic creatures. It tenses, then squirts a cloud of jet-black [o]ink[x] at you before darting away";
otherwise say "[one of]Paralleling the shore, you do a few strokes under the [light-source][or]Eagerly, you swim out a bit and then back in, enjoying the scenery[in random order]. [if wounded]You have to swim carefully because of your injured leg, but it still feels good to stretch your muscles[else if not raining]It feels good to stretch your muscles a bit, and the water is warm and refreshing[otherwise]The exercise does you some good, though you are beginning to feel rather waterlogged[end if]";
if night, move manta ink to the location;
say ".[paragraph break]After a few laps you [if location is in Tiderooms]stand back up[otherwise]wade back onto shore[end if][if sunup and not raining], the tropical heat quickly baking you dry[end if]." instead.
The ambience table of Tiderooms is the Table of Tiderooms ambience.
Table of Tiderooms ambience
| freq | start time | end time | text | table | trigger | flag |
| common | rising uptide | falling uptide | "A clump of seaweed drifts by, bobbing gently in the surf." | |||
| frequent | night | dawn | -- | Table of Manta Ray ambience | ||
| frequent | dawn | twilight | -- | Table of Fish ambience | ||
| uncommon | -- | -- | "A big swell surges past, momentarily wetting you to your chest." | |||
| rare | -- | -- | -- | Table of Jellyfish ambience | ||
| rare | dawn | twilight | -- | Table of Sea Turtle ambience |
Table of Fish ambience
| freq | text | table | trigger | flag |
| frequent | "A school of reddish-silver [o]fish[x] dart past your knees." | -- | generic-fish | |
| frequent | "A silvery [o]fish[x] shoots by at high speed like some undersea arrow." | -- | generic-fish | |
| common | "A corn-yellow [o]puffer[x] fish drifts by, tiny fins straining against its bulky mass and the swirling waters of the lagoon." | -- | puffer-fish | |
| common | "A large crimson [o]fish[x] darts in from nowhere to snap up a tiny silver one, as the others in its school scatter in all directions." | -- | generic-fish | |
| common | "A long skinny [o]fish[x], its scales a fluorescent green sheen in the [light-source], circles playfully around you a few times before darting off." | -- | generic-fish |
Table of Jellyfish ambience
| freq | text | table | trigger | flag |
| frequent | "Moving gracefully, a silver-white [o]jellyfish[x] with hundreds of delicate arms trailing behind it jets slowly past you." | -- | jellyfish | |
| uncommon | "A large crimson fish darts for a silver-white [o]jellyfish[x], but the jellyfish snares the attacker in its tendrils; after a frantic moment, the fish squirms free and races away." | -- | jellyfish |
A jellyfish is set dressing. The description is "The translucent creature is almost invisible against the backdrop of the water.". Instead of attacking or taking or tasting or touching jellyfish, say "It jets away when you move too close to it.".
A generic-fish is set dressing. Understand "school/fish/silver/silvery/large/red/skinny/green/fluorescent" as generic-fish. The printed name is "fish". The description is "The fish dart so quickly through the water that you can only catch glimpses.". Instead of attacking or taking or tasting generic-fish, say "You'd be hard pressed to catch any of these creatures with your bare hands.". Check touching generic-fish: say "You hold out a hand, but the fish skitter away." instead.
A puffer-fish is set dressing. Understand "puffer fish" or "puffer" as puffer-fish. The printed name is "puffer fish". The description is "This fat fish has an almost human expression as he struggles to keep up with a school of small silver fish who continually dart away from him.". Instead of attacking or taking or tasting or touching puffer-fish, say "The puffer fish suddenly swells to the size of a balloon, then, when this doesn't scare you off, splashes speedily away.".
Table of Sea Turtle ambience
| freq | text | table | trigger | flag |
| frequent | "A sea [o]turtle[x] swims past you, surprisingly graceful, its scaled legs kicking and shell bobbing along, just touching the surface." |
Table of Manta Ray ambience
| freq | text | table | trigger | flag |
| frequent | "A huge glowing [rayfish] swims past you, a great dark ghost." | |||
| frequent | "The [rayfish] shimmer and as they glide with grace through the water around you." | |||
| common | "A glowing [rayfish] whispers past your feet, momentarily brushing them with silken-smooth wings." |
Report going from Ocean Waters: say "You slosh your way towards the shore, push past the breakpoint where the gentle swells tumble over themselves into knee-high waves, and finally step back onto the sand.".
Report going to Ocean Waters: say "You wade out into the surf. The lagoon is shallow enough that you walk quite far before the water climbs past your knees.".
Check going west in Tiderooms: try vague swimming instead.