Brian's friend, David (The Savage Experience - see below), created some amazing art to grace our home. He made a perler of Brian a while back, and when we moved in together, he created one of me so Brian and I could hang out together perler style.
When I went to Magfest last year with Brian and his friends, I saw perler art everywhere. Apparently, in the gaming community, perler is wildly popular. What's funny is that I remember perler art from when I was a little girl. I have vivid memories of being downstairs in the laundry room with my mom, ironing my little star and heart perler patterns, excitement bubbling as the smell of heated plastic oozed off of the iron as my mom pressed it firmly into some wax or parchment paper. This memory reminds me that Brian's and my world are bound together in interesting and unexpected ways.
There are the obvious links - My cousin would force me to watch him play Nintendo and Sega for hours on end. I would play Nintendo in my room - remember that Duck Tales game??) and later, I found myself listening to the new Hanson CD on my disc player while I rocked back and forth in my gaming chair playing Mario or Diddy Kong racing on N64. (Yes, that's right, I said Hanson...I loved them then, I love them now, deal with it.) When my mom and aunt still owned the hair salon, I used to pack my Gameboy case and sit quietly in their shop, gaming for hours. As a child, I found a simple joy in those solitary hours. Never much of a thrill seeker or adventurer, I found satisfaction in the kind of at-home adventuring and exploring these games could allow me. I found pleasure in the routine of the games, in the patterns. I knew what to expect in those worlds, I knew how they functioned.
But the game playing is only one way our worlds are connected. Something as small and seemingly insignificant as my experience with this kind of art as a child makes me feel a little bit more in touch with his world. Although I felt wildly out of place wandering through the game room at Magfest, I had to chuckle to myself when I saw perlers everywhere. Yeah, mine were crappy, they were haphazardly thrown together in a way that suggested a child's care and reckless abandon all at the same time. Sure, it was years and years ago that I engaged in this activity, but somehow, knowing that these creations were a part of my past, no matter how small, made me feel less inferior to the gamers strutting past me in their elaborate cosplay outfits.
There are the obvious links - My cousin would force me to watch him play Nintendo and Sega for hours on end. I would play Nintendo in my room - remember that Duck Tales game??) and later, I found myself listening to the new Hanson CD on my disc player while I rocked back and forth in my gaming chair playing Mario or Diddy Kong racing on N64. (Yes, that's right, I said Hanson...I loved them then, I love them now, deal with it.) When my mom and aunt still owned the hair salon, I used to pack my Gameboy case and sit quietly in their shop, gaming for hours. As a child, I found a simple joy in those solitary hours. Never much of a thrill seeker or adventurer, I found satisfaction in the kind of at-home adventuring and exploring these games could allow me. I found pleasure in the routine of the games, in the patterns. I knew what to expect in those worlds, I knew how they functioned.
But the game playing is only one way our worlds are connected. Something as small and seemingly insignificant as my experience with this kind of art as a child makes me feel a little bit more in touch with his world. Although I felt wildly out of place wandering through the game room at Magfest, I had to chuckle to myself when I saw perlers everywhere. Yeah, mine were crappy, they were haphazardly thrown together in a way that suggested a child's care and reckless abandon all at the same time. Sure, it was years and years ago that I engaged in this activity, but somehow, knowing that these creations were a part of my past, no matter how small, made me feel less inferior to the gamers strutting past me in their elaborate cosplay outfits.
My favorite part about these two perlers is that they really encapsulate our personalities and they fit so well together. Sometimes, it takes me by surprise when I remember that Brian and I haven't even been dating for a full year. Like these perlers, we just seem to fit together.
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