[Twitch - Live Stream]
Swanning
Dawn of Warcraft
Swanning is smiling, appearing very relaxed as she gives viewers her customary wave. She seems especially lively today in a cozy white knit sweatshirt and the front section of her hair parted, braided off to the side. Viewers who have watched her for a long time can recognize the simple happiness in her green eyes.
"Hey, everyone! As you can see," she starts, leaning back and gesturing to the familiar white backdrop with rainbow constellations behind her. "I'm back at the dorm now, which officially means time outside of class has no meaning. My classes are already just…I mean, mistakes have been made. I'm not sure what I was thinking."
"You liar," comes a voice from off-camera, the tone both acerbic and amused. "You're an overachiever. You knew exactly what you were doing."
"Don't listen to her," Swanning says swiftly. "My sister has no idea what she's talking about because if she did, that would make her a hypocrite."
"I'm okay with that," says her sister. "If the price is exposing the truth to your loyal followers-"
"Weren't you supposed to be going to some group study thing?" Swanning interrupts, raising her brows pointedly.
"I see how it is. Don't worry, gaming people. I'll just hack into her Twitter and dish all her secrets to you later! Ah, hey, don't look at me like that. I'm going, I'm going."
Swanning, her eyes still narrowed at the person off-screen, just says, "Bring me back a milkshake please."
"Yeah, yeah."
There is the sound of a door closing and immediately Swanning lunges for something just off the side of her computer. It turns out to be her cellphone, which she unlocks and taps at with a vaguely stressed expression. "Hold on," she tells them. "I just need to change my password. She knows too much."
/deardirt/ I wanna know what sis knows
/KLR/ you are not alone
/ultrontron/ is it sexy secrets?
/deardirt/ don't be a creep
/KLR/ yeah dude, please see the Twitch anti-harassment rules to refresh your memory
/ultrontron/ jfc I was kidding
/KLR/ sure you were
/deardirt/ he can keep dreaming, Swanning already has a bf
By the time Swanning pays any attention to the chatbox, the comments have been swallowed up by other viewers, many of them asking what today's stream would be about. Swanning brightens right back up, more than ready to dive into a demonstration of her own choosing.
"So, I recently came across this quest. It's from one of the last patches, maybe back in May? Have you guys heard about the Northern Temple quest?"
/vern/ I've heard its brutal
/pedro/ doesn't it have a huge respawn rate?
Swanning nods, a smile flirting about her lips. "I saw something about it on the main forum the other day. Another player was frustrated by the first half of the quest and was asking for tips or even a cheat to get past it. But," Swanning says with a playful tone. "I don't like cheats. I went to check it out myself and I think I managed to figure out the best way to beat this quest. Are you ready?"
There is a general consensus in the chat that Swanning takes as permission to continue. Her energy is palpable even through the screen as she switches the view to have the desktop image of her avatar at the forefront, the map quickly pulled up and dragged around to the north-eastern corner. Swanning's avatar is taken right to the base of a singular tall mountain, resembling more of a tall, rocky beanstalk than anything else. Swanning walks her avatar around as she explains.
"This rock formation is the base of the Northern Temple, which was supposedly abandoned by its people hundreds of years ago. As you can see," she says, directing the camera view to look up, up into the sky, into the clouds, right at the shadowed outline of a building. "The temple is way up there, which means getting that high without killing yourself is half the difficulty of the quest. There are ways around it, of course. Certain spirit forms, like the eagle, can simply fly up. But for everyone else, it's a climb."
Swanning pauses, smiling wryly at the camera. "Does anyone know why the climb is so hard? Serious answers only."
/pedro/ you've got me I have no idea
/ultrontron/ not high enough hp?
/deardirt/ it's the climb feature
A smile lights up Swanning's face and she nods rapidly, guiding her avatar around the base of the rock formation.
"That's right. The trouble with the climbing feature is that it requires constant scrolling and toggling at a set pace, which means if you falter for a second or lose your rhythm, you'll end up falling and having to start all over again. In any other quest, starting from a respawn wouldn't be a big deal, but this quest logs how many tries you have, which affects the loot you'll get when you beat the, er, boss. In other words, your goal is to not die from the climb. Daunting, right?" Here, Swanning stops, and wiggles happily in her seat. "Lucky for you, I think I found a work-around that is easier than a straight climb. Here, I'll show you."
Swanning starts up the rock formation, climbing three or so paces before kicking off and floating into her signature walk-on-air move, easily rising to through the next several lengths before having to latch onto the rock formation again. As she does, she talks to the viewers. "The walk-on-air movement is so useful. You remember the tutorial from a while back? You don't have to be a total master at this function, but having some skill will make this easier."
/ultrontron/ SOME skill?
/q_ed/ that's more than just some skill
/KLR/ not to agree with these two
/KLR/ but I don't think a lot of people could do this?
Swanning's eyes dart between the chat and the screen. She frowns. "Hey, now. Don't sell yourself short. The walk-on-air is easier than it looks, it just takes some practice. And it's really useful!"
/vern/ very useful and very niche
/pedro/ I'd be willing to give it a shot…I think…
/deardirt/ where's your bravery men?
/deardirt/ I'll give it a shot
/deardirt/ I heard this quest has a loot I need anyway
"That's the spirit, deardirt," Swanning says proudly. On the screen, her avatar continues to push off, float up, latch on, and repeat. "Here's how it's done. What you want to do is alternate between jumps, walk-on-air, and straight climbs. It's best if you can be strategic about it. Like, it's much easier to do straight climbs on these small stretches of flat rock, but as soon as you get to a cliff, you can jump and propel yourself into the walk-on-air…like so…" Swanning demonstrates again with her avatar, waiting for the walk-on-air to start losing speed before switching it up again. "And then when you lose momentum, if you're near another cliff, launch off again, or latch onto the rock for a straight climb. I found this was easier than just going up and a lot faster too. If you're not great at the walk-on-air movement, then it's fine to just use jumps and climbs. It works just as well."
/ultrontron/ think I'm gonna opt for the jump strat
/vern/ yeah this one looks too risky swanning
"Well, yeah, you would think that it would be riskier than a straight climb. But there are parts of the rock that have no holds, and they come out of nowhere, which means when you pass over it, you're just going to end up slipping down. If you're lucky, you land on one of the little cliffs. If you're not, then you end up on the ground. For this quest, it pays to stay flexible," she tells them.
Swanning eventually makes it to the top of the rock formation, flipping up over the last cliff and landing in a crouch at the foot of a dilapidated temple. There are signs of beautiful architecture that has been destroyed by time and, by the looks of it, some kind of war, with burn marks and bloodstains on the white stone.
"It looks pretty empty, right?" Swanning asks, indeed showing just how empty the temple appears to be as she squeezes through a door hanging by one hinge and enters the temple proper, which is only populated by ivy that grows across the floors. Swanning heaves a sigh. "Well, looks are deceiving for this quest. There are certain unavoidable booby traps that you will end up stumbling across, and from there…It's easier to show you. Let me see if I can find one."
/q_ed/ there she goes, finding traps on purpose
/KLR/ for our benefit too
/deardirt/ what an icon
Soon enough, Swanning does cross a booby trap, one of the floor tiles sinking down beneath her foot. Immediately, there is a shrieking sound and the screen erupts to life with skeletons garbed in golden robes that close in on Swanning with terrifying speed.
Swanning jumps back, brandishing her weapon with expert ease, even as she explains why doing so is actually a waste of time.
"Okay, so, these skeletons are the cursed remnants of the temple, and because they're cursed, they are absolutely unkillable. Don't bother trying to kill any of them. They don't have any HP to take down and you'll only end up wasting your own energy. Do not, and I truly mean this, use any of your rechargable skills on these things, because you won't have time later to wait for them to circulate again." Here Swanning pauses, an amused quirk to her lips. "You know, at first I thought these skeletons were a barrier between me and the boss. But really, you'll notice that they start herding you in a specific direction. I mean, they are definitely trying to kill you, but they also seem to want to kill you in a specific place. So…"
Swanning spins around and by the virtue of having already completed this quest once, heads directly to where the skeletons are trying to get her to go, which is a grand room in the center of the temple that is mostly untouched. Once Swanning passes the threshold of the room, the skeletons stop and sway in place, groaning lowly as Swanning eases to the center of the room. At the center, there is a glowing golden orb that pulses in time with a now-audible heartbeat.
/KLR/ k I can admit it
/KLR/ I'm lost
/q_ed/ now wtf is this
/vern/ wheres the boss?
Swanning circles around the orb, just shy of touching it, to let everyone get a good look. "This," she says with an air of importance. "Is the Orb of a Thousand Stolen Souls. The souls in question, of course, are those skeletons outside. See, a long time ago, the orb made its way into the temple and slowly started stealing the souls of the monks who lived there. When the monks tried to destroy it, they ended up killing each other and the orb got the souls of everyone here. Our objective for this quest is to finish the monks work."
/deardirt/ ooooh, a twist
/ultrontron/ so the boss is the orb?
"Yes and no," Swanning answers. "Look. The second I touch the orb, it's going to…explode more or less and the trapped souls are going to become the boss….Watch…"
Swanning does as she says, touching the orb and immediately leaping back when it rapidly expands, the golden light taking over the entire room until it shrinks back into the gargantuan form of a golden figure with no face.
"For this boss, I recommend using any magic you have access to. Physical hits will take off blood points, but magic is usually best fought with magic, so…"
Swanning twirls through the confrontation, demonstrating how to rotate through arcane skills and keep the orb-figure in constant motion because "staying still will make it think it can take your soul". Even by Swanning's standards, this boss is a difficult one. She spends several minutes blasting through the boss' health points, the sound of her keyboard, and the clicking of her mouse audible through the battle. But because she is Swanning, she wins soon enough, the orb-figure losing it's golden glow to become a colorless husk that collapses on itself, shrinking to the size of a pearl that drops to the temple floor and crumbles into dust.
"And now that the orb is destroyed," Swanning says leadingly, shifting the view so that everyone can see the way the skeletons fall, one by one, wisps of golden light rising and twinkling out of existence. As the very last of the golden light fades, a prize for killing the boss appears before Swanning. She opens it and makes an appreciative noise. "A golden mirror. This has many uses, from finding hidden entries to being forged into armor that partially reflects an opponent's attack back onto them. The first time I completed this quest, I got an even better prize."
/KLR/ I want some golden mirror armor!
/q_ed/ alright yeah the loot is pretty cool
/ultrontron/ forget about the loot! Can we talk about what a mindfuck this quest was?
/deardirt/ where are any of your priorities
/vern/ what do you mean
/deardirt/ she hasn't told us how we GET DOWN
/KLR/ shit youre right
/pedro/ well swanning how do you get down?
Swanning laughs at the chat and she looks like she's maybe about to answer, but then there is a sound off-camera, an opening of a door, and then an exasperated sigh.
"You're still streaming?"
Swanning raises her brows. "You're back already?"
"I've been gone for, like, an hour and half."
Swanning blinks, completely ignoring the screen. "Then where is my milkshake?"
"Milkshakes are for people who end their streams on time. Don't you have projects to complete?"
Swanning pouts and the chat erupts into exclamations about how her pouting should be illegal and how her sister must be stone cold to resist such a pathetic expression.
There is another sigh, and many views can imagine an eye roll accompanying it. "Fine, here. I didn't forget your precious milkshake. It's an abomination, just the way you like it."
Swanning reaches for the milkshake when it is handed to her, happily smiling at the camera. "Don't listen to her. Again. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a peanut butter cookie dough milkshake."
"Except for the disgusting amount of whipped cream on it!" her sister argues.
Swanning sticks out her tongue, then takes a sip of the milkshake. She looks totally blissed out at the treat. "So good," she mumbles. Swanning straightens up and waves at the camera. "Alright, folks. It's been fun, but I obviously have other business to attend to. So -"
Several dings of the chat draw her attention. There are a lot of frantic questions about how to get down from the temple and Swanning just laughs again.
"You'll figure it out," she tells the views. "Until next time, this is Swanning signing off!"
The live stream ends.
A/N: Ah, milkshakes. I too could use a milkshake. Although, I think I have a new favorite B&J flavor - Netflix and Chilled is ridiculously good if you can find it.
Also, if anyone got that this quest was inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, I'll love you forever. If you haven't seen ATLA, then it's on Netflix and so much more than just a cartoon. It's terrific, totally worth your time. Netflix is also creating a live action adaptation made with the original ATLA characters and they have publically confirmed that they will cast culturally appropriate characters - so while we all love Jackson Rathbone, we don't be having that awful movie that none of us ever talk about, ever.
As always, be brutally honest. I can take it. Stay safe, stay inside, and stay smart. Keep wearing your masks, too!
Also, start thinking about what you're going to do with your kids when it's time for school to start. Until we have a viable vaccine, online learning is the best way to protect the children, the teachers, the families, the janitors, the lunchladies, the bus drivers, and everyone else who is involved in brick-and-mortar education. More likely than not, you are in a state that has a contract with an online charter school, such as K12 (it operates in 29 states, plus DC), which has state-approved curriculum curated for all grades, with guided video teaching, online ebooks, weekly assignments and tests, and study materials; as far as I know, K12 also supplies free-of-charge laptops to all students. Provided you have a stable internet connection (and there are low-cost internet solutions from dozens of internet service providers, some of them with a free waiver for low-income families) there is no reason why your kids actually have to attend physical school this fall. Online charter schools means that parents don't have to become teachers, so it's worth looking into. Aside from that, also start advocating to your local school district about online learning from the district itself. Teachers and students don't need to be risking their lives and spreading the virus when we have technology and other options. While the research suggests that children don't get as sick and can't transmit as much, there is still a very real possibility that their developing bodies could suffer long-term health deficits from virus exposure, which is in-line with the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and renal damage for those who have survived the virus. Being flexible is an asset; there are always options, you just have to look for them. The REALLY GREAT NEWS is that Moderna, a pharmaceutical company developing a COVID vaccine, just had a successful phase one trial where all 45 participants developed antibodies; Moderna is now moving into larger trials and monitoring the health of the participants. Experts think that if Moderna's vaccine is viable it will be available to the public in about 1 year, which means we *possibly* have a light at the end of the tunnel.
~Rae
