An Arioch by any other name…

would still pwn as much.

I’m in the process of catching up on a blog that will be added very shortly to my blog roll (remember, I have to read the entirety of a blog’s archives before I add them to my feedreader, I have issues).

This blog moved up the ladder several notches when I started seriously looking at what I needed to do to function as a holy priest. Miss Medicina came highly recommended and so far I am not disappointed in the least.

(To the other gabillion blogs on the list, I will get to you, I swear.)

Anyway, one of her posts and the resulting comments got me thinking about names – in-game and in real life. And now commences the rambling.

In my guild, we have a group of people that know each other from the midwest to the east coast.

We have a second group that knows each other on the west coast.

And then we’ve got a bunch of filler that we’ve pulled from every other corner of the map.

The East Coast group often use real first names when communicating.

The West Coast group uses character names.

Somehow my real name was learned, I’m blaming Tel, but never entered common usage.

This could have something to do with the fact that it is very easy to mangle both in pronunciation and spelling.

We did have some fun at another player’s expense when he became unnaturally curious about my name. We turned it into a game over the course of an Ulduar run, giving him clues regarding actors and movies related to the TV show my name is from.

But I’m still Arioch.

I’m Arioch in the game.

I’m Arioch when I write a post for this blog.

I’m Arioch when I’m scouring EJ for a useful tidbit of current, relevant information in what is now 138 pages of a mathematical pissing contest in the Arcane Mage thread.

I’m Arioch when I’m posting on the guild forums or the Inside Azeroth forums.

If I were to be interviewed on a podcast or another blog, I would be Arioch.

Then I log on to my priest.

Now I’m him, but I’m still Arioch.

(That’s the part that really gets people, I’m him (several characters over), but I’m a her… brain fuses fry, very amusing.)

I’ll respond to any character name without thinking about it.

Or my real name. Although that usually catches me off guard.

When I’m talking to my friends outside of the game, sometimes it’s a struggle to remember that I can use their real names, that there is no curtain to be kept drawn.

Although, what can one really do with a first name in WoW?

ZOMG that tank’s name is Fred!

When I learn someone’s real name is “David” after I’ve known them as “Gnomekiller,” I’m still more likely to refer to them as their character name.

I’ve already built an association to the avatar, their class, spec, raiding habits, running jokes in guild chat.

Adding their real name doesn’t replace their character name, in fact, I’m very likely to forget the real name and continue to refer to them as their character. I might not have a real face to match to that name or voice in vent, but I still have a picture of who they are made of all the information I have about them.

If I met Euripedes or Jong in real life, I don’t know that I would use their real names even if they were offered. I know them as I know them. Adding a name to them does not make them any more real to me.

I think part of it has to do with my dislike of my own name.

I’ve never been fond of it and I can’t get rid of it without paperwork.

And then there’s the difficulty of picking the new name. What if I turn out to hate the new name as well? What if friends and family just don’t care and keep calling me by my original name?

Bah. Too much trouble.

But a name that someone picks for their character (hopefully with a little more thought than Gnomekiller), those names mean something to me.

There’s a ton of Mikes and Davids and Brians and Stevens and Jennifers and Sarahs and Julies and Carols.

Not a whole lot of Ariochs (although it’s apparently a Hewbrew name meaning fierce lion, rawr) or Darkdalamars or Zarigars or Zambras.

I probably look too deep at it, but I’m able to assign more meaning to a chosen name over a given name.

I know there are people that just hit the randomizer and take the first thing that comes up that is available.

I can’t do that.

Either my names are from sources that mean something to me or they are names I find enjoyable.

I’ll sometimes start with the randomizer, but I don’t take the name until I’ve played with it, moved a letter or 5 around, mulled over in my head how the name will sound, how it will look in chat, what nicknames people are going to shorten it to.

When I started Arioch, I honestly wasn’t expecting to get this far with him. I figured the guild would fall apart or I would suck really bad at playing a mage and give up, running back to the safety of a plate class.

But my guild stayed strong and we merged with another to take on even more content. Arioch developed a life of his own.

Most days, I’m referred to as Arioch more than my real name.

Matter of fact, I think my real name has been uttered in my presence only maybe 3 times in the last week.

And it doesn’t bother me at all.

Anyone else have a strong attachment to a name or persona like that?