Alabaster — 57 of 123
John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, Kazuki Mishima, Sarah Morayati, Mark Musante, Emily Short, Adam Thornton, and Ziv Wities
Section 2 - Prying apart words
[And here because Snow looks longingly at the heart, we might imagine trying to give it to her:]
Understand the command "feed" as something new. Understand "feed [something preferably held] to [someone]" as feeding it to. Feeding it to is an action applying to one carried thing and one thing.
Check feeding something to the player:
try consuming the second noun instead.
Check feeding something to someone:
say "You rather doubt that [the second noun] would appreciate that." instead.
[And because violence is so essential to the game:]
Understand "poison [something]" as a mistake ("[if the noun is inanimate][The noun] lack[s] digestion; it follows that poisoning is impossible.[otherwise][one of]The Queen has assassins; you are not among them[or]There are probably poisonous toadstools in these woods, but it would be a trifle obvious to go hunting for one now[at random].[end if]").
Understand "drown [something]" as a mistake ("[if the noun is inanimate][The noun] do[es] not breathe to begin with.[otherwise]You are lacking the requisite equipment, viz. a millpond, a cesspool, or a butt of malmsey.[end if]").
Definition: a thing is inanimate if it is not a person.
Understand the command "punch" as something new. Understand the command "hit" as something new.
Understand "smack [something]" as bullying. bullying is an action applying to one thing.
Understand the commands "punch" or "hit" or "slap" or "strangle" or "choke" or "suffocate" or "smother" as "smack".
Understand "step on [something]" as bullying.
Check bullying the player:
say "And wouldn't you just look fit for tying up, then?" instead.
Check bullying someone:
say "Your training is to fight with weapons. [one of]Anything less shows contempt for your opponent, as your father used to say.[or][scolding][stopping]" instead.
To say scolding:
repeat through the Table of Disgraceful Behavior:
if the player's command includes topic entry:
say "[reason-why-not entry][line break]";
stop.
Table of Disgraceful Behavior
| topic | reason-why-not |
| "punch/hit" | "Fist-fights are for taverns." |
| "slap/smack" | "Only women hit with an open hand." |
| "kick" | "Kicking is suitable to children who haven't yet learned to hold their water." |
| "strangle/choke" | "Strangulation is an assassin's trick." |
| "suffocate/smother" | "Your father said suffocation was best used only on those who were already dying in pain. Nonetheless he himself did not accept this form of mercy, if mercy it is." |
| "step on" | "Step on nothing larger than an insect, your father always said; anything larger might bite your heel." |
Check bullying a body part:
let owner be a random person who incorporates the noun;
try bullying the owner instead.
Check bullying:
say "[The noun] [has-have] done nothing to you." instead.
Understand "kick [something]" as kicking. Kicking is an action applying to one thing.
Check kicking the player:
say "Metaphorically, no doubt." instead.
Check kicking something which is part of the player:
say "You lack the flexibility." instead.
Check kicking something which is part of Snow White:
say "You can't kick higher than a dwarrow's head, as the old saying goes." instead. [1]
Check kicking:
try bullying the noun instead. [if we fall through to this point we just want to convert the action.]
Understand the command "hug" as something new. Understand "hug [someone]" as hugging. Hugging is an action applying to one thing.
Check hugging the player:
say "That doesn't warm you up for long." instead.
Check hugging the corpse:
say "But the corpse is... leaking." instead.
Check hugging Snow White:
if Snow White is warm:
say "It's true she seems more than usually approachable, and yet that is only a relative measure." instead;
otherwise:
say "The time you spent half-carrying her through the woods was embrace enough and more." instead.
Report hugging someone: [2]
say "You put your arms around [the noun] for a [comforting] moment."