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.
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no subject
Now we're not longer strangers, Matsuno-san.
[ she'll announce it with every bit of peep and feeling that she can muster. kururu's honestly feeling a little proud of herself for all of this, even though it's was probably a little pushy... though now that was all out of the way, she holds up the lamp again and gently offers it to him. ]
Are you sure you don't want to make a wish? We'll probably need to do something with this to exit this place.
no subject
his eyes flick down to the lamp, and he inhales deeply before letting out a sigh. he looks up at Kururu again, searching her eyes and he can only find goodness in them. geez, what a weird encounter. but look at her smile. and she referred to him respectfully.
after what seems like a long while, he finally gives her a grin] I guess it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.
no subject
she definitely liked this a lot better than how he was previously. it might be weird to hear someone be so formal but you best get used to it mister. kururu won't stop just because of his awkwardness. ]
Then would you like to summon the genie? [ the lamp is still held out towards him to take and rub himself. he was the one who wanted it originally, after all. granted, whether he was going to make the wish that she was talking about or not...
well, this was just a game anyway. maybe there were multiple ways to win. ]
no subject
Okay, I'm ready to make my wish! [the genie spins his hand, as though he wants Osomatsu to hurry. rude] I wish to get out of this desert!
[the genie shrugs and begins to focus. suddenly, the ground beneath them trembles, debris crumbling off from the walls and roof of the temple]
Hang on! [to what, Osomatsu? there is nothing safe in this temple right now. he braces himself, ready to be deposited elsewhere. somewhere, anywhere but the desert, please! hopefully near an exit]
no subject
Sorry, this level isn't entirely finished yet - Mosley
ah.
the note had fluttered into kururu's hand after the genie disappeared depositing them...back into the desert. they didn't even have their car anymore and quite honestly, after the entire show that kururu made previously she feels honestly terrible. surely osomatsu might feel cheated once again, right?
this was just like another kick in the teeth for him...
when she thinks about that, she can't help but forget the note and quickly run up and grab his hand with both of her's. ]
I, it'll be okay Matsuno-san! Don't worry... We... We'll figure this out. Maybe this is a short-cut in reality.
no subject
he's about to shout in anger when Kururu takes his hand. and... that is new? a girl who is touching him on purpose? and it's not a punch? he's so shocked by this action that his anger melts away for the time being. and he stares at her, a light blush creeping on his cheeks]
Uh. [give him a moment. he doesn't know what to say to her. he tears his eyes from their joined hands and clears his throat] Y-yeah... maybe...?
no subject
and kururu's going to be rather oblivious to the whole blush things; physical connections has always been something she was taught and encouraged to do...with the right people of course and for the right circumstances.
still yet she'll give his hand a bit of a squeeze hoping to keep his spirits high before looking around and seeing if there's nothing around them that she can use to better help their situation. was this really the start? there's no way, right? surely all of that progress wouldn't have been undone..?! ]
This is a video game, right? Don't video games have special secrets and short-cuts that bypass all of the other stuff? [ she doesn't have too much experience with video games, honestly but she does remember a few things from what her cousin has told her and shown her. ]
Maybe...there's something like that around here!
no subject
[NO ONE UNDERSTANDS.
oh, he should probably stop standing there like an idiot and say something. carefully, he takes back his hand, because it's easier to focus when she is not holding it]
Yeah... Yeah! There has to be a secret shortcut. What about up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right?
[nothing]
Maybe there's a hidden pipe around here?
[he hasn't played a video game in a while]