The Hermaphrodite (#1499)(an instance of Generic Room with Seats made by Kalessin)The tent flaps creak and hiss as you push through them into this space. Murmurs whisper through the outer tent fabric from the phantasmal crowds outside, and it takes a while for your attention to focus on the stage. Faded, dirty carnival signs proclaim various bargains for your buck, centered around this freakish resident's androgynous attributes. The stage holds a stool with a sign on it, depicting what looks like a half black and half white person on it. It's difficult to tell without a closer look. A single, yellowish spotlight pierces the murky tent filtered light, illumniating the sign. About two dozen folding chairs are arranged in a small semi-circle around the stage, and it looks like these chairs would put you at a perfect height to peer under someone's skirt, were such a person seated on the stool. You sit on the stool, feeling tingly and courageous. It is no small thing, sitting on this stool. í You are holding Newborn. You notice some details: The stool is medium height, made from old, dark stained, white paint splattered, cracked and taped wood. It looks creaky and unstable. There's a sign taped to it. The sign on the stool depicts an artist's conception of a formally dressed hermaphrodite about to marry eirself. One side of this person is dressed as a bridegroom, including tails and top hat, a single lensed pair of spectacles, and an elegant curled mustache. The other side is dressed as a virginal bride, including laced veil, flowers, modest lipstick and a huge billowing skirt. The details of the interface between the two are suitably obscured and uneventful. The single couple is shown dancing a waltz with eirself. Who can tell who's leading and who's not? The posters hanging on the tent walls are old, faded and weather-stained. They look like they barely survived a downpour in a dusty field. Perhaps they did. The signs hawk the experience of seeing the hermaphrodite and hint at seeing the very thing that indicates eir nebulous gender - its genitalia. Though you know the vice squad would be here in a second if that were true, you can't help but wonder and hope. The chairs look about as stable as the stool. Perhaps you'd better stand. You see half-page, half-page, Coat Rack and Kalessin here. EXITS: [ west ] The House of Freaks. You push through the flaps to the west. This place has a certain ambiance... Crackling, the murmur outside gets steadily louder. The murmur outside cracks a little, then gets quieter. The murmur ceases, with a crackle, leaving the tent sounding hollow and too loud. A fly bothers your ear. You hear someone scuffling around outside. A cat meows, then there's an insane crackle and a hiss, mechanical. A dog barks, seemingly far away and underground. You hear glass clanking or smashing at some indeterminate distance. A distorted scream rings far away. You hear the hiss of a tape recording and then a crowd cheering, faintly. A metallic shot rings out, like in a movie. A train whistles in the distance, hissy and distorted. You hear hysterical laughter somewhere nearby. The air cracks, pops and hisses, like a bad tape recording. A sound hisses into silence, just in time for you to notice. VERB SOURCE CODE: peek peer:
wearer = #2022.location;
wearname = #2022.location.name;
peerer = player;
peername = player.name;
looked = iobjstr;
if (looked in #2022.aliases)
if (#2022 in #2022.location.worn)
if (#1499.sitting[1])
if (#1499.sitting[1][1] == #2022.location)
if (#1499.sitting[2])
if (peerer in #1499.sitting[2])
player:tell("Yay!!! You can look up the dress!!!");
else
player:tell("Nope, yer not sitting in the chairs. Close,
but no cigar, Jack. Nyah nyah.");
endif
else
peerer:tell(((("Try as you might, you can't seem to get the right
angle to look up " + wearname) + "'s ") + looked) + ". Maybe you need a different
perspective.");
wearer:tell(((("You notice " + peername) + " trying to look up
your ") + looked) + ", but it doesn't seem so rude now that you have that warm spotlight
on you.");
endif
else
wearer:tell($string_utils:pronoun_sub(((peername + " just tried to
look up your ") + looked) + "!!! You slap %o silly."));
peerer:tell($string_utils:pronoun_sub(((wearname + " caught you trying
to sneak a look up %p ") + looked) + "! You didn't escape unharmed. Many of %p
slaps smacked you soundly.", wearer));
this:announce_all_but({peerer, wearer}, $string_utils:pronoun_sub(((((wearname
+ " just caught ") + peername) + " trying to look up %p ") + looked) + "! Several
forceful smacks strike their marks.", wearer));
endif
else
wearer:tell($string_utils:pronoun_sub(((peername + " just tried to look
up your ") + looked) + "!!! How rude! You slap %o away."));
peerer:tell($string_utils:pronoun_sub(((wearname + " just caught you
trying to look up %p ") + looked) + "!!! %S seems a little miffed. Maybe that slap
mark will fade later.", wearer));
this:announce_all_but({peerer, wearer}, $string_utils:pronoun_sub(((((wearname
+ " just caught ") + peername) + " trying to look up %p ") + looked) + "! A loud
slap resounds in the room.", wearer));
endif
else
if (#2022.location == #1499)
player:tell(("The " + looked) + " is lying on the stage. Do you really
think the view would be very interesting?");
else
if (#2022.location == player)
player:tell("You're carrying the dress. Try look, instead.");
else
player:tell($string_utils:pronoun_sub(((#2022.location.name + " isn't
wearing the ") + looked) + ". Ask %o to wear it for you.", #2022.location));
endif
endif
endif
else
player:tell("Try peering under something else. There's a hint in the room description.");
endif
.
test: #2033:dispense_item(); . PROPERTY DATA: worn |