[Ungodly Cravings] #2: World of Warcraft

This is the second installment in my Ungodly Cravings series, and it will reveal a few aspects of my life that I had originally intended to keep quiet about when I started this blog. In any case, something I will admit I was addicted to for a year was the ridiculously popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft.

The release of the Cataclysm expansion pushed back my scheduled quit date.

I started playing in January 2010 after I obtained my BA in Journalism that past December. I had impulsively decided to pursue a second BA and was taking only two classes that semester, so I was bored and found some interest in WoW when my boyfriend left his character screen pulled up on his laptop while he was in class.

At the time, nearly everyone in my circle of friends played WoW and went on raids in the same guild. My roommate (the one I mentioned in my 4th of July post) had also just gotten lured into the game, and she and I ended up starting characters together. We played the Alliance side (although I also played Horde) and had a lot of fun questing and leveling while the guys continued to trespass Ice Crown Citadel in repeated attempts to kill the Lich King. (Arthas should have just filed a restraining order against them).

Something I've gotten used to seeing is real life males playing female characters. My friends are all guys who played female toons, including my boyfriend. To counter that, I decided that my main character would be a male Night Elf Druid named Orifiel.

Here is a picture of Orifiel when he was level 80, circa spring of 2010:

"Ah, yes, my photo op by the Dalaran fountain in my outdated Tier 9 gear."

My boyfriend played a transsexual Draenei Shaman. Named Orchead. (Orchead used to be a male Orc with apparent aspirations to become pretty). Ironically, my friends couldn't fathom why I would play a male character, so I told them it was the same reason they all played female characters. But to this day, I honestly think they still don't get it. Bloody double standards.

So I went around masquerading as a guy in-game, and no one other than my friends had any inkling that I was a girl. I tend to communicate in a gender-neutral fashion online, which got Orifiel hit on several times by other female gamers. Awkward.

I picked the Druid class because I wanted to try out the tank, DPS, and healer positions without having to create another character. I soon discovered that I panic too much to be a decent healer, and my tanking skills were roughly equivalent to a 9-year-old dragging his face across the keyboard. Feral DPS it was.

Once I hit level 80, I joined my boyfriend's guild, where everyone referred to us as the gender-confused couple. I liked to make snarky comments in Guild Chat about being the one who wore the pants in the relationship. Even though my character's Tier 9 wardrobe included a skirt.

Here is a loving photo of my big, beefy Night Elf (in full Druid skirt ensemble) with my boyfriend's curvaceous, sexy Draenei (wearing the Tier 10 moose skull--er, Shaman helm), circa summer of 2010:

"Our love defies the boundaries of gender!"

By fall of 2010, nearly everyone in our group had graduated college and/or stopped playing WoW. My boyfriend and I were the only ones left, and while he remained loyal to the guild, I was in the middle of transferring to a PVE server since I had been ganked enough times to despise PVP. It got to the point where it just wasn't much fun playing on a server by myself, so I prepared to quit, too.

However, once Cataclysm came out, I stuck around to create a Worgen character and played it from level 1-85 in a month. She eventually became my main. My final character roster includes an 85 Worgen Balance/Restoration Druid, an 80 Night Elf Holy/Shadow Priest, an 80 Night Elf Feral DPS/Feral Tank Druid (Orifiel), and an assortment of lesser regarded alts.

And then I stopped playing in January 2011.

I really didn't have any inclination to play again until these past few weeks when I started watching The Guild. If you're not an MMO player, you probably won't understand it very much, but it's a comedy web series about a group of people who play an MMO together and how their gaming affects their lives and relationships.

This is a music video the cast released during the third season:

So now I'm having strong urges to start my WoW subscription again, especially since my boyfriend finally left our old, dying server and has joined a new guild on a lively one. I've managed to hold back, though, mainly because I haven't had a desktop computer set up since we moved to Destin. I don't even have a desk anymore to set it up on.

This is probably a good thing since I should be partaking in more productive activities, such as working on my writing career, continuing the impossible job search, and stalking my undergraduate professors for grad school recommendation letters. And I get distracted enough as it is by Xbox games (Fable III held my attention for nearly two weeks straight).

In conclusion, I'm proud to announce that this is one craving I haven't given into.

For now.

-J. S. Blancarte

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The protagonist's gender has been decided!

After several days of equal votes for both genders, one last-minute vote (procrastinate much?) broke the tie! Whiskey Tea Cafe's protagonist will be...

 ...Male!

Last week it seemed like most people were dead set on a female protagonist, and I went, "What? No one wants to read about some dude pouring tea and baking cakes?" However, male votes managed to catch up and both genders were tied until the poll ended today.

I was beginning to wonder whether I'd have to create another poll, come up with a tie-breaker, or draw depictions of both genders dueling each other for the right to be the protagonist.

...Which I did, anyway.

Well, that was my announcement for the day. I've already been writing up the character profiles and plot outline, so the first chapter should debut soon on one (or all) of the fiction websites. My motivation has been waxing and waning since I'm torn between working on my writing career and continuing my futile job search, but I promise you that this story will happen.

-J. S. Blancarte

And the brainstorming begins

Let's get on to business, shall we? Whiskey Tea Cafe will debut in the very near future, after we get some basics down. First, I would like to know what gender my readers prefer the protagonist to be. I have a poll running until June 7 so please cast your vote before it ends. I should mention that the story will differ greatly depending on which gender is chosen.

The plot will involve the protagonist opening a tea cafe in the beautiful Emerald Coast of Florida (an illustration can't do it justice).

Whiskey tea will be the cafe's specialty drink.

Whiskey tea with chocolate chip biscotti

But other than that, everything is up in the air. I will be working on the first chapter while reclining on the white sandy beach with crystal blue-green waters five minutes away from my apartment. The tourist season is currently at its peak here, so I've been somewhat reluctant to venture outside my apartment complex except to purchase food and supplies. Yes, I know, I'm fairly reclusive.

I will also be perfecting my whiskey tea recipe (tea picture above was taken in my home), which means possible incoherent blog posts this next week since my alcohol tolerance post-college has plummeted to the negatives. You have been forewarned.

Right then...if you have any questions, please ask them by commenting or send me an email at jsblancarte[at]gmail[dot]com.

-J. S. Blancarte