Tags
companion, console, gaming, mate, MMO, oh god he's right next to me what do, partner, player two, second person
This past Monday has seen my living situation change pretty dramatically with the arrival of my partner, Jamie, from Wales UK. While this has provided me with someone to hug and kiss that isn’t my cat, this has also surprisingly made things in my routine suddenly adjust. I’m now left with the mindset that I have to sort of adapt in order to make him feel comfortable with not only living with me and my quirks, but living in an entirely different country.
This should help.
We’ve known each other at distance for going on two years now, and have already visited each other physically one time, so there’s compatibility there. We’re sure we can make this work and he’s very obviously made it clear that he wants to, what with him landing on our shores, when his prior idea of travel went no further than Cardiff. Still, logistics aside, there’s lots of little things I’m now thinking about when it comes to sharing my nerdy life with another.
We both have a deep love of game, sci-fi, comics, anime and internet things. As a matter of fact, while I type this, he’s perusing his Tumblr feed and talking to the cat. Who is no doubt delighted that her role as snuggle toy has been replaced.
“You don’t know the horrors I’ve been through…”
Still, it seems a bit weird to have someone sitting immediately to your right while you indulge in things that normally would be done solo. Writing a blog isn’t precisely a spectator sport…and…well it isn’t because he’s looking at Tumblr. But anyway, despite the fact that he’s not actively watching me, his presence is still there. It’s jarring but welcome. For once, I can do these sorts of nerdball things without having to worry about being judged or hiding what I’m doing from my boss when I should be working.
And then there’s the gaming part. Naturally, I have a player two now, which will be wonderful once we’ve got games to play with or against each other on. However, we both have different MMO likes. I primarily play Final Fantasy XIV, he’s more in to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Neither of us are terribly wiling to give the other game a deeper shot because…well…they just don’t speak to the other as much. And that’s fine.
Still, it’s gonna be interesting to adapt to playing something I usually am alone doing with another person doing the same thing.
The reality never fits the expectation.
So bearing that in mind, I’m personally coming to grips with the idea that we’re having a shared experience even if we’re not sharing the precise same title. We’re both right now doing internet-related things and, as far as I know, we’re both completely content in doing so. I imagine that it will be much the same thing with us in regards to MMO time or other gaming things.
Sure, there will be shared events between us, and I might see some of my usual gaming habits shift in order to accommodate those kinds of events…but overall it would seem like just being near each other and enjoying what we like is absolutely idyllic.
That’s kinda nice that you don’t have to force yourself into some mold of interaction.
We’d rather just buy a big-ass bag of gummi bears than trade these goofy-ass things.
Shifting over to a life with someone else is a challenge when you’ve been alone for as long as I have…but it’s nice that the immediate moments we have are enjoyable in their mundane-ness. We’re just hanging out. Chatting once in a while. Perhaps slightly bored, but content regardless.
It’s nice. It’s still weird, but it’s nice. I’m looking forward to seeing where this all goes, and I hope that he will as well.
I’m also looking forward to kicking his ass in Smash Brothers.
Through Wolfy's Eyes 