diary (June 2021)

june 22, 2021

Finished the first season of Fantasy High. I loved it for the absurdity and joy which was obviously so important to those playing and the story they were telling. The rest of my day has been pretty chill, watched "Man Up" with S.

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"Rituals... necessitate and solidify communal bonds; they both demand and sustain a deep faith in our communities to mutualistically show up for each other no matter what...

In these and other ways, our rituals at once prepare us for freedom and set us free, even if only in pockets of time. They are pre-condition for and the condition of freedom."

-Cindy Milstein, introduction to "There is nothing so whole as a broken heart: Mending the world as Jewish Anarchists".

june 21, 2021

It's hard to pin down thoughts right now. A couple of weeks ago I visited my parents and took everything I needed/wanted from my childhood bedroom. The visit overall went well, the only issue being that my allergies were terrible for the first 3-4 days. On the last day I was there I got a call from S. who was in the hospital after having an accident on her bike. Her clavicle had been fractured in two places. All was generally alright though.

Maybe the second day I was back, S. was standing at the kitchen sink when out of nowhere her clavicle finished breaking. She luckily had a doctor's appointment later that day so it was checked out and a surgery was scheduled for the following Monday. Surgery went well, and she's 2 weeks into her 6 week recovery schedule. It's been a bummer, obviously, because she had so many plans for this summer like working on the van and visiting friends. We've been playing/watching video games together-- our current obsession is Spiritfarer. I finished the main story yesterday and I'm still processing some of my emotions about it.

Earlier in the day yesterday our friend Bri stopped by on her way back to Indiana where she currently lives. She's moving to Minneapolis next month, hopefully we'll be able to visit her sometime when the van is done. It's always fun to catch up with her-- there have apparently been a lot of weddings of Truman acquaintances in the past month, plus we got news of a friend who is living in some type of alternative community in southern MO. I'm slightly concerned for that friend but I don't think it's right for me to talk about that here.

Currently watching Dimension 20's Fantasy High campaign, really enjoying it! It's a nice breath of fresh air after dedicating so much time to Critical Role, but I will go back to C2 because I want to finish it now that it's all wrapped up. Fantasy High is more my speed because of it's comedic tone and more contemporary issues-- high fantasy tends to rub me the wrong way sometimes (which is something weird to say as someone who is playing in two DnD campaigns, but it's true). I think it's because you can tell with certain fantasy writers that they put more work into the world than they did into the characters. TTRPGs kinda "correct" this issue for me because I play with groups that are roleplay heavy and more interested in character arcs.

Listening to: "Sweet Hibiscus Tea"-Penelope Scott, "A Night in the Woods" by World/Inferno Friendship Society.