Wednesday Warriors

 Wednesdays have been associated with one of my favorite pastimes ever. I've striven for a weekly dose of reflection and personal connection every Wednesday and it seems to have made me into a much more tolerant and open person. It's not therapy, but it could be, because I'm talking about Dungeons and Dragons. Every week, every Wednesday, a bunch of friends and I get together and play through an adventure. Currently, we're playing through Rime of the Frost Maiden and I'm playing a Tortle Clockwork Sorcerer (who is hiding a deep secret about who he really is) that is on the spectrum a bit.

 

Now, D&D allows me the escape that I cannot get from my job as a teacher. It allows me to de-stress, decompress, and I can create a character who can do and be and say all the things I want to but can't. In fact, the only drawback to Wednesdays is that when we do get together and play, it is most typically after I've had a long day at school, dealing with a department meeting during my conference period, I have a ton of stuff to do, oh, and typically my brother decides he wants to clean the house an hour before people arrive. Joy of joys, elation abound (read previous sentence with EXCESSIVE sarcasm).

 

Even with the stress of work, the stress of life, the mad dash to show a clean living to our guests, and the difficulties of living with Depression, D&D creates a safe harbor that allows me to enjoy myself as I pretend to be something different. Every Wednesday, I can become Ehyu the Tortle Clockwork Sorcerer, Almacanter the Firbolg Druid, Devlin Dandybrook the Halfling Bard, Cloudpaw the Tabaxi Sea Sorcerer, Mirala Galesong the Elven Cleric, Snigbat the Goblin Illusion Wizard, or even Captain Yortle the Tortle Pirate Fighter (I make terrible jokes, can't you tell?). All of these characters are my refuge and my solitude and each one of them has a special place in my heart.

 

One of my favorite adventures was playing as Captain Yortle, I joined a group after they had been locked away in a dungeon and their memory of the past few days had been wiped. I, as a Tortle Pirate, had been mutinied and marooned in the middle of the desert. This is where I met and grew to be friends with the adventurers, often acting as their driving force through the story as I did my best to keep the party from growing complacent. From there, we met a Storm Giant, recaptured my pirate ship which I revealed to my comrades was actually an airship, and saved a King from imprisonment. All the while, fighting to keep the party's moral compass in a somewhat good standing.

 

The fact that I can go from grading papers during the day to slaying dragons in the evening is an awesome way to spend a rather mediocre day. Some of my best friends I've made from Table Top RPGs, and I will treasure those friends more than anything.