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
( walking closer towards the hole, she glances down as if searching for something. her blade ready to attack whatever may come from out of it but all she can see is darkness inside. looking back towards him and a brow raises in curiosity. )
Be on your guard, we don't have any idea what else could be here! ( hopefully there wont be anything coming out that hole to attack nero while she's focused on the other.. or.. will it. )
no subject
[ It's not like he's just a giant beacon with a sign that says "Hey, my luck sucks, come and remind me!" Except maybe he does? Argh.
She takes a step closer, but Yosuke hangs back. It looks like he's not actually unarmed, however, as he reveals a pair of fighting knives and holds them at the ready. What pops out of the hole, though...is actually just several little sandworms just like the first. They're all screeching. It's really annoying. ]
That's not much in terms of reinforcements.
[ But don't worry! They are nothing compared to their angry mother. Who most certainly does cause the ground to shift behind them before popping out of the ground. ]
What the--
[ Yosuke jumps at attention as he turns towards the larger creature. ]
We've got company!
no subject
Now! This is what I've waited for! Grant us a show, such a barbaric creature, living a grotesque life and not knowing any beauty. Even I wouldn't exist if that had been the case so because of that, we should put it out it's misery. Death is beautiful, but also cruel.
( the slobber that falls to the ground from it's razor sharp fangs seem to turn within it's mouth. the little legs that move sporadically with violent intent and the ground even shakes with the tail that slithers under to throw off both yosuke and nero's balance. quickly jumping back from the area she had been standing at, she's not positioned towards the other's side. her blade facing forward towards the monster and the smaller ones play smart in order to surround their prey, it seems that these two will be their feast. they haven't ate in so long yet the smell of blood is thick within the air as the mother breathes and the creatures sound out their calls. the constant growling and purring from these creatures is annoying. )
I'll give you that. I might as well ask, will you cover my back? Fighting with me will be such an honor for many, so I will back you up as long as you do the same.
no subject
Definitely crazy.
Not that Yosuke hasn't taken part in his fair share of crazy things. Sure, he can be ready to go to fight a Shadow when he's in the TV world, but this is decidedly not a Shadow. He knows how to deal with those. A natural reaction to a giant megaworm--sandworm? If we're hailing back to Dune, here--is a mix of WTF and time-to-go. She has neither. She wants to fight it.
Well...shit. ]
What in the--...
[ Luckily, Agility is one of the stats that he does pretty well at. At her cue, he jumps back as well to avoid getting sucked in or stumble due to the uneasy earth. This is not a good situation. The fact that the babies are getting some sort of sick enjoyment out of it doesn't help. Yosuke grits his teeth, instinctively assuming a more defensive pose, but ready to move.
At her request, though, he doesn't hesitate. ]
I guess there's no turning back now, huh? You got it!
[ For all that's said and done, he's got a feeling that she knows how to handle that sword of hers. He shifts so that they're more or less standing back to back, already bouncing onto the balls of his feet. ]
Let's go!
no subject
it's a sneaky move, breaking the sand so that more of the smaller creatures can be thrown up and rain down towards nero's vicinity. a way to block her attention on yosuke for the moment so the mother can move her way towards him. what is nero to this giant monster but another meal for her kids, but yosuke.. ah yes.. him.. he's going to be the main course for big mama.
a raise of her blade and she begins to quickly turn it like the blades of a helicopter to defend herself from the ones in the sky that only burst at the slice of her blade. water rain down onto her clothes and skin once again, drenched in their death but the sandworms in the ground have set up a trap and seems to have sunk nero's feet into the ground so that she can't move. )
I've always hated such disgusting creatures!
( stabbing her blade into the ground and water soaking the sand is evident that she's killed one that could have been coming towards her in an attempt to bite through her armor, she quickly looks over to yosuke to check his status. )
Don't allow it to hide beneath the ground! Keep it above if you can! ( of course, nero is trying her best to pull her feet from the ground but little does she know these worms are trying to weigh her down. )