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
He can't help but think it, as pointless as it is. Even as he moves to step up beside Yosuke, his eyes are locked on the vision of himself, still beseeching. It looks very real. It's like staring into a mirror. Yu swallows, and finds very suddenly that his jaw is clenched. One of his hands is occupied with holding his sword, but the other is lifted by his side, and this one curls and uncurls into a fist so tight that the cords of his arm stand out. It's rage, he realizes. A senseless, pointless rage sweeping through him, boiling up from his chest and sparking through all his nerves, making him want to rip his fingers through a tarot card and blow this whole vision away as violently as possible.
Which has no purpose. And probably won't work. And isn't like him.
But it isn't fair. His heart feels sick. The person he loves is gone and he really did kiss the boy standing next to him once--
Breathe.
Through some miracle of will Yu keeps his shit together and shakes his head. ]
No. Look at its eyes.
[ They're silver, like his. ]
We're in a virtual reality game called ViViD. None of this is real. Whatever that is, it's just the game messing with us.
[ Whatever parameters ViViD chose to make that particular ... vision come to life, he doesn't know. He doesn't really want to think about it.
Finally, his gaze slides to Yosuke's face, his expression softening just a touch. ]
... you don't remember this, do you?
no subject
Was he just so eager to see Yu again that he didn't bother to question it? Yeah. He'll give himself that out. This is one weird dream. ]
Yeah...I guess so. But, man, he sure looks and sounds just like you! Er--except for all the, ya know...
[ Everything else. Heh. ]
"ViViD"?
[ He repeats the word, turning to meet his partner's gaze. There's weight on his brow as it pulls his face into a frown. Is he supposed to know what that means? Dreams usually toss around weird terms that should just be taken as understood. Maybe it'll make sense when he wakes up. Were they going to be promoting any new games at Junes? ]
Right...
[ Yeah, he's clearly just going along with it. Maybe it will make the weird other Yu go away. ]
Oh. Am I supposed to?
no subject
[ Says the vision, and tension threads itself through the real Yu's shoulders like the finest steel thread. He ignores it, somehow, he ignores it, but he feels angry and sick and a little like he wishes he could tear down the entirety of ViViD with his bare hands.
Instead he watches Yosuke, trying to judge his friend's reactions. It's true, then... Yosuke doesn't remember being here at all. Won't remember what happened in the jungle, the fighting, the dying. Won't remember what happened during the library, when Yu led him home and glitching code convinced them to fall into each other's arms. Won't remember the apartment they shared together, how empty it was, just their mattresses, but it'd been fun, that kind of strange freedom. Letting Dipper move in, turning that empty space into something more like a home. Won't remember prom, won't remember dancing, won't remember what happened after when Yu had needed to make a choice.
Won't remember.
... it's for the best. It'll be easier, this way.
Yu shakes his head, his expression shifting. It's softer still, but somehow, he isn't quite smiling. ]
You were here before. In fact, you and I showed up at the same time. You left just about a month ago. [ ... to get sacrificed, brutalized, tortured--
don't think about that ]
It can vary whether or not people remember when they leave and return. Don't worry about it, alright?
no subject
Yosuke supposes that, if anyone, they're not the ones who should freak out over seeing double. But it just isn't the kind of thing he expects Yu to say, Shadow or otherwise. Somehow, even with the double that he continues to glance uneasily at, his attention mainly focuses on the real Yu.
Yeah, you know...when he really looks at it, the Other is just missing a lot of the subtleties in Yu's movements--the way his jaw sets and slowly relaxes, he's clearly thinking about something...Yeah. He should have figured it out from the start. ]
"Don't worry about it"? When you put it like that...
[ Of course there would be one Yu who knows how to unsettle him and another who just...explains everything so simply. As if any of this is supposed to make sense? Yosuke sighs, rubbing the back of his neck and mussing his hair a little in the process. ]
Man, I've had some weird dreams lately, but this is kind of taking the cake. You should've seen the car I ran into earlier.