The desert. It's hot. It's sandy. It's filled with creepy monsters and things. But mostly it's hot and sandy and there's a whole lot of nothing. You appear and wonder "why am I here? What is there to do here? Is that a cow skull? Do cows live out here in this desert? How can cows live in the desert? Maybe it's a horse?" These are all very complicated questions with equally complicated answers but there's no one to provide them no matter where you look. Instead, you're given the option of walking. Forwards, backwards, to your right, to your left, any direction is yours to take. Try not to die from dehydration or something, that would be a sad ViViD death and the cow-horse skull might start laughing at you. I mean, you'll just start over from the beginning anyway but still.
Welcome to ViViD's new line of Vacation Spotlights: Desert Edition.
Moo-Neigh.
 One wish, that's all you get.
Make it snappy, I don't have all day.
Actually, I have eternity but I just don't want to spend it with you.
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] So.
There's sand.
In fact, there's so much sand that there's probably already sand in your shoes and your shorts and all sorts of other places that aren't fun to have sand in. It stretches for miles and miles, in large dunes and deep dips, and above it all there are three suns that beat down upon everyone's backs. Why three? Because why not, that's why. Enjoy the sunshine and try not to get sunburnt.
You've got a long ways to travel before you find anything but sand, but thankfully you're not alone -- there are a bunch of unfortunate stragglers who are out with you, so it's time to make some friends as you travel. You've got pleeeeenty of time. No water though. Or food. Or... anything but human interaction.
Thankfully, it's only a matter of time before you stumble across your hot new ride. Thankfully, it seats two, so you and your new friend can enjoy a cramped road trip. You, this relative stranger, and the great... sandy... unknown! Good luck!
PHASE II [ 645 ] If you prefer to not take your ride, you're going to wish that you did soon enough. Every desert level has to have desert monsters, after all. You're walking through the sand, trying to make it to somewhere that isn't sand, and then suddenly, the sand worms appear.
Or.
Well.
They try.
Unfortunately, they're little more than 5 or 6 inches tall apiece, and they'll mostly try to eat your shoes and socks. How scary.
Alternatively, if you have actually taken that sweet ride of yours on an adventure through the desert, you're going to hit something at one point. It makes a rather pitiful scream and there's a small bump underneath your tire before your car comes to a stop. You just ran over a sand worm.
Anyone who is intrepid enough to kill a sand worm though will find one interesting thing about them. They're filled with water, and you are very, very thirsty. Ew.
PHASE III [ 1000 ] It sure is hot.
And unless you've devoured one of those poor, sad, screaming sand worms, there's no water to be found. It feels as though you've been wandering in circles for ages, so perhaps it's really no surprise that the heat starts to get to you. First come the headaches, and the thirst. Then the dizziness and vertigo.
And finally, the mirages.
What you see is a waterfall cascading into a crystal pool, beautiful and pristine and painfully cool. It's just begging for you to come enjoy it, and -- wait, there's one more thing. Standing in front of that pool is either someone you care about immensely or someone you hate immensely.
And either way, the things they say or do will be the same. First they reach for you, beckoning, and they they start to detail all of the things they'd like to do to you. NSFW, SFW, loving or cruel or so many things in between, all that's honestly consistent is that it's pretty shocking.
Oh, and awkwardly, it seems as though anyone with you can see and hear that hallucination too. That's embarrassing.
PHASE IV [ 1215 ] Eventually, though, you'll find your destination. Or... at least, it seems like it should be the destination. The tiny temple is at least a change from the endless sand, and in the middle of it, there's a lamp. That sure looks familiar.
If you rub the lamp, of course, you'll release the genie, and he'll glance at you, and inspect his fingernails as though you're hardly worth his time, and offer you one, single wish.
As soon as you make it, well... You'll get the opposite of what you wish for with a sudden apology note in your hand. The card will read "Sorry, this level isn't entirely finished yet - Mosley" before immediately disappearing. Your wish will only apply in ViViD, of course, but hopefully you didn't wish for anything too crazy, or you might have made the level Much Harder for everyone around you.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] One second you're walking along the desert sand, enjoying the eternally same view, and the next there's a sudden pinch on your ankle, and a scorpion monster scuttles away quickly. Whoops, looks like you've been stung.
But it's not poison, it would seem. Aside from feeling a little odd and having a mild fever, you're fine.
More importantly, you've now found yourself in possession of some... new powers (a la Spider-man), and they're...
Well, they're useless.
Maybe you can summon water now, but... only sulfur water. Perhaps you can now make pretty light shows and that's about all. You can see the future but only the next three seconds. The possibilities are endless, but what's for certain is that they're all completely and utterly useless to you.
What the fuck, ViViD.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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bonus!
It... seems I was.
[ Whether he recognizes this snappy woman or not is in the air, totally. Blame the heat or what may be a concussion. He gives her a small forgiving smile, and picks up the ice chunk curiously... is that red on the ice? ]
Did you create this? It's fascinating- melting much more slowly than it should in this climate. That would it's probably useless for refreshment if a solute is involved, but the coldness is still welcome.
[ Unlike other things. Like his face. ]
no subject
Spare me your false flattery, Von Hohenheim.
[ she spits his name, as if she can't stand to say it. it's a name that she'd once called with fondness and admiration, after all, and she remembers the days where he would smile at her, just like that.
it sickens her. how dare he? ]
Only a fool would choose to show themselves to me after what you did.
And I know that you are no fool.
no subject
"It wasn't false, you are as talented as you back then. That's wonderful, my child."
but he holds his tongue with an expression that looks like pain for a second before it's something stoic. Warmer than how Misaya looks at him, but his smile's faded away. ]
I might as well consider myself one. Do you believe... I could do worse to you than what I've already done?
[ He shakes his head. Both to say he isn't out to place another curse on her, and that he can't think of a worse thing than his betrayal. ]
You are free to disregard my words... but you have the symptoms of mild dehydration. If you summon that ice in proximity to those worms, the high amount of water in their bodies will freeze. You'll then have drinkable water that won't evaporate in this heat.
i'm sorry that she is the way she is....
[ he may have spent the rest of his life atoning for his sins, even in the grand orders, but that's not something that misaya knows. all she knows is his betrayal that had stung worse than any physical wound she can possibly imagine. but it's as if everything she's ever wanted to say to him comes flooding out at once, and while for the most part, she does hold her tongue, there's one line that she enunciates clearly. ]
Ask me to be your friend again, and I will cut your tongue off. [ as if sensing her hostility, the dogs next to her release a low growl, teeth bared in his direction. they seem to be in a far better state than she is, although it's not as if misaya will admit that she'd been far more worried about procuring water for her dogs than for herself.
nonetheless, it's been this way even when she was a child — it's impossible to hide anything from him, and so she lets out a sigh at being caught... semi-dehydrated. so she glares at him, stubbornly. ]
Then, why don't you do it for me yourself? It isn't such a great task for the famed alchemist, Paracelsus von Hohenheim. Unless he truly felt no regret in ruining my family, he should be able to carry out my every wish and command without complaint.
(′︿‵｡) well it's like 92% his fault she's like this anyway
I'd spare you the effort and bite my own tongue off, were those words to dare slip from my mouth.
[ Choking on his blood would be much preferable over this conversation, or perhaps getting ripped apart by her hounds. Those are just delusions of a remorseful man however, and he knows they wouldn't mean enough for the person who deserves that sort of satisfaction of watching him suffer. ]
Of course... Lady Reiroukan.
[ Someone's going to be borrowing your weird!ice, Misaya. He doesn't have the same power she does unfortunately, it's something stupid that only ViViD could come up with, like turning worms into rock-shelled coconuts. They're still coconuts on the inside... but D-Rank Strength here. Thankfully is is where the hard and really cold ice comes into play; man, this is not what Paracelsus Von Hoenheim was made for at all.
But at the end of this laborious process, he has two broken shells with cold-ish worm water in them: one for her, and one for her dogs to try and share. If or whenever she takes his offering, he'll simply kneel down on the ground, as if he's waiting for whatever comes next. ]
that's true... shakes caster why did you wrong her this way?
Sparing me the effort? And just who gave you the right to make that assumption? It won't mean anything if I don't do it myself.
[ after all, this is the girl who claims that the best way to hunt someone down is to play them into her hand, slowly torture them to death, and listen to their screams... and of course, if it's paracelsus, then this isn't nearly enough — she has to make him suffer agonizingly, just as much as she's suffered as a result of him.
nonetheless, given these climate conditions, now is not the time. she looks on curiously, observing as the round cups fill with drinkable water — and it does inflate her ego to see him kneeling before her, but before she can accept his offer... ]
First, take a small sip from both bowls. But do not be greedy.
[ and, to cynically explain herself — ] The man that would curse a child in her sleep would certainly take an opportunity to poison her in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't he?
wronging people is the Fate/etc MO forever lbr here
... Paracelsus not optimistic, about whether she'd believe anything he'd say, about atoning, about how he doesn't wish to hurt her again, so he's going to keep quiet as he takes a sip of the water from each of the bowls. It's not that bad, it's water and he knows to cherish the fact he's spared from dehydration.
But, he also knows something Misaya might want out of him, and that's a good reason to hurt him back. Him standing in front of her is one already, but a smile should do it, the awful gentle one that's supposed to be a thank you for letting him have some water.
Have at it, Misaya. ]