Here is Marcella’s description of her experiences leading up to our crazy recruitment weekend. If you haven’t already, check out the Episode 2 to get to know more about her.

Wide-Eyed Sleeplessness

For a couple years now, meeting fellow female gamers has become a normal activity in my life. Between attending conventions and lining up for tournaments, I have met and gamed with a lot of really cool gamers. But nothing could have prepared me for this next journey. Ubisoft’s Frag Dolls cast a net into an ocean of female gamers and caught eight wonderful women to try out for their coveted team.

I have such a passion for traveling that I usually don’t sleep the night before my big trips. Naturally, the excitement and energy kept me up all night. I wasn’t so much nervous about meeting the Frag Dolls, as I’ve hung out with most of them at different events. In fact, I used to live with Valkyrie, the loudest and most flamboyant of them all. I also knew half the contestants as well. PerfectDark, Calistah, and Ang3l are dedicated members of PMS Clan. I couldn’t wait to get to California!

My flight lands and I rush to baggage claim. According to our itinerary, a few of the girls should have already arrived and been on their way to the hotel. However, as I wait for my luggage, I see very familiar faces in the distance. It’s PerfectDark, Calistah, and The Don Wan! What were they doing here!? As they pass, I tip-toe behind them and poke them on the shoulders: “Boo!” Ah! This is where the excitement doubles. Gypsy and Moe join us shortly after; Gypsy in her tie-died shirt and Moe in her stylish Mod sunglasses. We hop in the van and talk, laugh and scream the entire way to the hotel.

We find Ang3l in our hotel room doodling on her DS. (She was also running on no sleep, so we both had that crazy look in our eyes.) Nint9yNin9 slyly creeps through our door and slips into our conversation before we even recognize her! (Sneaky!) We talked and laughed as if we’d all known each other for years. This weekend was intended to be a competition, but to be pitted against such wonderful women was to ignore all of their best qualities.

Not a single tournament or dilemma in my past could have prepared me for this competition. This was unlike any feeling I have had when going to hang out with other gamers. (We’ll leave out the possibility of sleep deprivation factoring in.) I had to prove myself better than the best. I normally play and party with the best, not compete against them. This was surreal…