#anyway. tag rant oval

[viewmonster-deactivated20230122]

that article so eloquently illustrates the problem with online neurodivergent communities and the way neurodivergencies are talked about on the internet. tiktok and twitter are diseases that need to be purged from cyberspace so that autistics and people with adhd can be sane again

#i think there is also something to be said about how much of a spotlight adhd gets put on it #and how its basically become the most ''palatable'' neurodivergency one can have or talk about having #autism is also ''palatable'' depending on the person but dont expect anyone with support needs higher than level 1.5 to get attention #but anything other than that? forget it #ive always sort of personally felt a disillusionment (?) toward the online adhd community bc of that. because of how much they push autism #aside in favor of adhd even when they are talking about symptoms comorbid between adhd and autism #or even when they are straight up talking about autism symptoms they will claim they are adhd symptoms/traits #it drives me up the fucking WALL #anyway. tag rant oval #transmission

[salt-baby]

You mentioned in one of your posts personalized knee braces, may I ask what you did to them? I need ideas to spice up my braces

absolutely! thanks so much for the ask! 

most of my gear is customized in some way or another, and a lot of it is either visible mending or visible-mending inspired

my knee braces are the bodyprox hinged knee brace, which are available over-the-counter and have served me pretty well! They've lasted about a year but I would probably recommend replacing them around six months

anyway the first signs of wear and tear were on the covers for the metal hinges on the side, so I took some embroidery floss and added some little decorative patches wherever it tore through and that held really well. this part of the brace doesn't have any effect on functionality, it just protects the hinges from scratching things, so I felt pretty safe repairing it. These could also be removed pretty easily to work on.

[Image ID: two black knee braces on a striped blue bedspread. The knee braces have covered hinges on each side, and the covers are worn through in multiple places. There are three embroidered spots on the covers: a sunflower, a smiley face, and a rainbow flag. / .End ID.]

eventually it was wearing through too much to keep up with. Most of the wear came from the inside, from the friction of the metal against the padded fabric, so when I eventually went to replace them entirely, I knew the most durable layer should be the innermost one.

inspired by this post, i ordered some eye-pattern quilters cotton and used some thrifted black denim to make new covers. They’re sewn (with a whip stitch, specifically) around the edges and seams with black dental floss. I’d also recommend upholstery or heavy-duty thread, since that holds pretty well, comes in a lot of colors, and is cheap. I added two layers of the cotton since I figured it would tear quickly and it did. heres when it was new:

[Image ID: a person wearing grey compression tights and black knee braces in front of a white background. The knee braces have been modified, so that the hinge covers are made out of an eyeball-pattern fabric with visible black stitching. / .End ID]\

the quilters cotton basically tore immediately, but I honestly think that it looks cool as it is. The denim has held up remarkably well! no tears or thin spots or anything! I used a thick, no stretch denim for it (honestly I think I destroyed a pair of Levi Jeans for it...)

there’s some spots in the back which have gotten all torn up from the velcro, and I would patch or darn those areas, but I’m about to get shiny new prescription knee braces, so it didn’t seem worth the trouble.

some other things i’ve thought about doing but didn’t was to whipstitch around the edges in a colorful thread or embroidery floss, modify the tag somehow or paint the little velcro tabs. Because of the little plastic loops, you could probably also add a chain if the clasp was big enough, like one of those shoe chains? you’d have to try and see! I think theres a whole world of possibility for self-expression using braces. 

if you do end up customizing your knee braces, I’d love to see them! If youre comfortable feel free to tag me in a post or dm me pictures!

I’ve also modified my wrist braces and my oval-8 ring splints, so if you (or anyone else) are curious about those, send me another ask and I’ll happily go into it! I just didn’t want to rant too much on one post.

#thanks so much for the ask! #these braces are the ones that were complimented #although im not sure if they complimented the embroidery version or the eyes version #disability #ehlers danlos syndrome #hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome #hypermobility #just in case i am unaffiliated with the links i shared #salt baby answers

[pencilscratchins]

the way u draw faces is so lovely & distinctive!! especially the blushes... do u have any tips to share? :D

so i change my process for when i use a reference vs when i dont-- (more)

using reference- so with my iroh, i still need practice drawing older, wider faces so i rely on a reference (this case, being paul sun-hyung lee) i know a lot of people don’t like using references bc they feel it weakens artist integrity and i get that! but as someone who does this for free i find it super helpful when i have characters that challenge me, bc i rather use a reference and have iroh look like paul sun-hyung lee than not, and have iroh look skinny, ya feel? eventually, when i’ve drawn the character enough, i begin to move farther and farther away from the reference and incorporate more of my own design.

anyway, rant over: i begin by breaking down the shapes, starting with the forehead and working down. the forehead here is a pointed pentagon, that goes into a thick brow line. i separate the brow line from the eye line (i know not everyone does) because of how much i rely on brows for expression. i mark the beginning, the point of the arch, and the end. then i rough out the cage for the nose (see here) and use that as a point of reference for the cheeks. paul has round cheeks, so i sketch those in circles-- the bottom of which marks the beginning of the beard.

from those shapes, i define the features - eyes, lips, nostrils -- i do this all on the existing sketch. THEN, i start a new layer and draw those final lines from scratch, using that 1st sketch as a guide. 

not using references is a much easier process for me. again, i begin with shapes but far, far fewer. i use an oval to determine the width of the skull and the height of the forehead. the bottom of that oval is the beginning of the eye rectangle, and then i determine the bottom with another line. i also sketch the length of the nose with a simple square and define the cheekbones. ive been drawing for so long and i draw pretty fast, that i’ve found these are the only lines i need to sculpt out a face. then, i can draw the rest of the features in loosely.

the biggest difference is also, i do not use a new layer for my final lines. i like how messy and story book my style is, so i usually don’t do a new sketch layer for the lines-- instead, i clean that first sketch up. again, i know this isn’t for everyone, but what works for me and i love it! 

(for how i do blush, i have a coloring tutorial that is not that old! i also have a tutorial tag for some other tips)

i hope this made sense -- ive never been an artist with a well defined process, so its always hard for me when i have to put it into words lmaoo i mostly just trust where my hand takes me, which sounds pretentious lmao

#tutorial #this is super super super quick so im sorry! #i will do a more defined face tutorial later #im working on one #but here's a bare bones description bc i get asked this a lot! #ask #anon #not art #long post #read more #art response

[natasharomanoffismywife]

I Never Forgot you- Chapter 2 (Natasha x Y/n)

Tag List: @natasha-danvers​ @lesbian-x-blackwidow​ @xxxtwilightaxelxxx​ @disneykid125​ @summergeezburr​ @nowthisisliving27​ @subject7creed @sighsam​

Y/n Pov

Natalie Rushman. I’m not stupid, I can put together the description of Natasha Romanoff, this so called hotel employee is the one of the most dangerous people in the world. Natalie Rushman is the Black Widow, you can see the coldness deep in those green eyes the type of coldness years of killing will do.

“Nice to meet you Miss Rushman, I’ll keep that in mind. Is there anything else I can do for you?” I ask her, playing along to what ever game she is playing, what better way to find out information on the Red Room than from the Black Widow herself.

“You make sure do that, I’m always on hand for whatever needs you have. I wanted to give you a tip for some nice restaurants since it’s your first night here, I’d say visit Baraka, you can’t beat those flavours” The redhead winks at me, I smirk back at her, she is good. Very good.

“Well thank you for the suggestion miss Rushman, I’ll be sure to try their flavours” I respond, instantly feeling the rush of playing the flirting game with my prey. She smirks at me before grabbing my hand bringing it up to her lips, smoothly pressing a soft kiss to the back of it before dropping it sending me a cheeky wink.

“Make sure you do, oh and please call me Natalie” She gets out before turning around and walking back down the corridor, leaving me in her wake. I lock the door before making my way over to my phone, I quickly dial the mobile waiting for my dumbass of a partner to pick up.

“Fury isn’t happy that you spent $75 on a burger L/n, you’ve been at that hotel for a few hours and you’ve already pissed him off” I hear my partner in crime amusingly state across the phone to me, I shake my head smirking, already picturing the ranting Fury finding out about the overpriced burger.

“A woman’s got to eat Barton, anyway I’ve called for a reason. I need you to send me across as much information on ‘Natasha Romanoff’ as you can. That’s Romanoff, R-O-M-A-N-O-F-F” I state to Clint, I need to know exactly what who I am up against.

“I won’t be able to get my hands on too much but I’ll do what I can. Why do you need those reports though Y/n? This is just collecting intel mission right?” He asks, a lot softer now. I smile at his concern, we had been partnered together for the past 2 years and he has become my older brother. 

We normally go on our missions together but since this was meant to be a zero hostile mission I had been sent on my own, much to Clint’s annoyance, he always hated when he was left behind they always made him train the new recruits when that happens.

“Turns out my hotel is the hangout for our Black Widow” I respond to him, I can hear him let out a sigh before the sound of movement on his end of the phone indicates that he is trying to get into a more private place for this call.

“Shit Y/n, do you think you are compromised? Do you think they sent her after you after getting wind of the mission?” He rushes out quietly, I understand why he is so stressed about that possibility. If they caught wind of the mission that could indicate to a rat in our system, a double agent we would have to deal with.

“I don’t think so, if that was the case she would’ve taken me out already. I think she’s on a different mission, I’m not sure though so I’ll keep you updated. Until I can be sure of the reason for this event don’t inform anyone, if we do have a rat we don’t want them to get any more advantages over us” I softly say, wanting to keep my voice low incase someone is trying to listen in.

“Ok will do, I’ll send you the reports I can pull up right away. Check in with me nightly L/n, I need to know what is going on in case I need to hunt down a rat. Stay safe Y/n” Clint orders, I smile at his words as I hear the softness in his voice.

“Of course, you know me Barton I am hard to kill” I respond back cockily, we bid farewells before we end the call. I stand up from the bed getting a bit warm in the muggy room, I go to take off my jumper but I feel something odd hit my arm as I drag the soft fabric over my arms.

I pick up my jumper turning it inside out, instantly noticing a small black button placed in my arm hole. A button that didn’t come with the jumper, I rip off the button bringing it to the lamp lighting it up, letting me get a better look at the foreign object.

 It was a small black oval button, very smooth to the touch. After a few seconds inspecting it I instantly knew what it was, it was a bug. Romanoff had bugged me, more importantly she heard my phone call to Clint. This is not going to be a fun time at all, this is going to be a battle.

#I never forgot you #chapter 2 #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow x reader #slow burn #avengers fanfiction #fanfic

[ineffable-snowman]

Day 12 & 13: Carolling & Wrapping Paper

combining two prompts again to catch up

***

There were two rolls of wrapping papers in Brother Francis’s little garden hut: a silver one with little angels and a tartan one.

The two harmless objects upset Crowley so much that she stormed out of the hut without getting the woollen coat as intended (who needed a coat anyway, it wasn’t that cold, coats were for wimps, not for demons!). She stormed through the garden, kicking a bush who had dared to grow out of line (who Aziraphale had let grow out of line). Out of spite, she set fire to the fairy lights, thus effectively shutting down the whole building’s electricity. There was confused shouting from the dark mansion but that was not her problem anymore, she had the weekend off.

Time to get drunk in a bar. You see, in 2000 years Crowley had never gotten a Christmas present from Aziraphale, even though she gave one to Aziraphale most years when they were in the same area. It was alright, she understood why Aziraphale did not give her anything. Because a present would be physical proof of not only a working but also a personal relationship. She knew that Aziraphale, if he were free from Heaven, would gladly give her presents. Aziraphale liked giving presents: giving the humans his flaming sword, bestowing blessings, putting food outside for a hedgehog, giving money to a beggar… But Heaven did not always allow him to give as much as he wanted.

It used to be alright. And Crowley did get something in return: a grateful and happy smile and an invitation into the bookshop for a drink or two. It was enough, more than enough. Just – seeing the wrapping paper had thrown Crowley for a loop. Imagining Aziraphale thoughtfully selecting Christmas presents and wrapping them for some random people – for whom? Warlock, that was okay, Crowley herself had bought the little Antichrist a spooky musical box with a skeleton on top of it. But also for Mrs. Dowling and her idiot husband? Maybe for the cook and the cleaning staff, too? Humans Aziraphale had barely known for a few years? It felt stupid. Crowley felt stupid. She didn’t even like Christmas. And anything Aziraphale would give her would probably only clutter up her flat and not go with her style at all. She didn’t need soppy Christmas presents, a glass of Whiskey would do just fine. But…imagining Aziraphale carefully wrapping something for her, putting a bow on top, adding a name tag…

Well, look who was soppy now.

Next Monday, she told Mrs. Dowling that she would be fine to stay for the holidays.

“Oh really?” She looked immensely relieved. Christmas usually put humans through a lot of stress (some of which Crowley was responsible for). “I thought you wanted to go home to celebrate Christmas with…um…?”

“I don’t have family. Or anyone else to celebrate Christmas with.”

Aziraphale chose that precise moment to come into the hall. Crowley quickly looked away.

“Then you are very welcome to stay with us, of course,” said Mrs. Dowling. She then went off to work.

Aziraphale cleared his throat. “I take it you’re not coming over to the bookshop then? On Christmas, that is?”

“No time,” Crowley said.

“Well. I’m sure Warlock will be delighted to have you here with him.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“I suppose there’s really no reason for the gardener to stay for Christmas, is there?”

Crowley averted her eyes because she hated to see Aziraphale looking so sad. She realised that Aziraphale did not have anyone to celebrate Christmas with either. “It’s not like we do anything special for Christmas when we meet. I mean, we eat, drink, talk – same things we always do, right?”

“Yes, of course. Anyway. I’ll get to work.”

Crowley snorted. “Sure.” As if Aziraphale ever did any work in the garden aside from feeding the birds and talking to slugs.

***

Christmas with the Dowlings wasn’t exactly a fun affair. On the 25th they were hosting a huge dinner party but as Mr. Dowling was on an important Christmas party every day and every night, all the preparations were left to Mrs. Dowling (and in turn to the overworked staff). Warlock was keyed up because he could not wait to finally get his presents. The atmosphere could not really be described as festive. Crowley tried to teach Warlock how a clock and a calendar worked and how to tell the time so he would stop pestering everyone by asking when it was finally time to unbox his presents.

Christmas morning was still tolerable. Warlock enjoyed most of his presents (even the boring storybook wrapped in tartan paper) and only threw a minor tantrum when he did not get the right Star Wars action figure. The Dowlings gave Crowley a completely useless gift voucher for a spa treatment. Warlock also had something for her, and it was wrapped in tartan paper, making Crowley’s hands shake a little when she unwrapped it. It was a hastily drawn picture that was labelled in a familiar handwriting: it said “Warlock” next to the biggest stick figure, “Nanny” next to a slightly smaller and black stick figure, “sun” next to a yellow oval and “birds” next to a blue…well, scribble.

“Ah, very minimalist, very abstract, I like it.” Crowley tousled Warlock’s hair and swallowed down the lump in her throat. Then she carefully rolled the paper up and safely put it away.

By midday, the Dowling’s were having an argument again and the cook was close to a mental breakdown (Crowley smuggled the gift voucher for the spa treatment into her bag). Warlock stayed with Crowley when his parents were shouting in the living room, and that meant Crowley could not even get drunk on the eggnog in peace. There was a loud bang from the front door, than the crunching of the gravel as a car sped away. Warlock was trying to behead his action figure. It was ridiculous, what was Crowley even doing here? The world was about to end in a few years and she moped and Aziraphale was lonely in his bookshop and the humans argued over wrong presents and dinner parties that they did not even enjoy, and the present for Aziraphale was in the Bentley’s glove compartment.

“How do you feel about going outside?” Crowley suggested.

Warlock nodded in relief.

When they ran across Mrs. Dowling in the hall, she quickly wiped her tears away and put on a brave smile.

“Do you mind if Warlock and I head out for a bit?” Crowley asked.

“That’s a good idea, thank you, Miss Ashtoreth. What are you going to do?”

“Er, sleighing,” Crowley said the first thing that came to her mind but of course there was no snow in London, “I mean, carolling.” Or whatever it was humans usually did on Christmas.

“Oh, that sounds lovely.” Then she lowered her voice so only Crowley could hear her. “It’d probably be better if you stayed away for a bit longer until, you know, things are back under control here.”

“No problem.”

Mrs. Dowling exhaled in relief. “You really are a godsend, Miss Ashtoreth.”

Crowley winced but managed to control herself.

“What’s carolling?” Warlock asked later from the backseat of the Bentley.

“Eh, we go to some houses and sing Christmas songs very badly and only stop if they give us money or sweets.”

Warlock was all for it and they spent the drive changing the lyrics of several Christmas songs to make them more interesting.

It was fun, standing primly and serenely next to Warlock while he sang the most outrageous lyrics with his cute face. Most people were so out of their depth that they just didn’t say anything but simply gave him sweets and threw Crowley somewhat nervous looks.

When Warlock grew bored and cold, Crowley suggested they go and see Brother Francis. Aziraphale was thoroughly taken aback when they knocked on his door and Warlock was pretty confused, too.

“What happened to your eyebrows, Brother Francis?”

“Oh, I – I trimmed them. For the holiday.”

“And your teeth?”

“Hm?” Aziraphale quickly turned aside and then turned back with his large front teeth miracled back on. “Whatever do you mean, Master Warlock?”

“You look different!”

“Why don’t you come inside?”

“We must carolling first!”

“Carolling, how lovely! What are you going to sing, young Warlock?”

“Jingle hell.”

“Oh dear.”

Nevertheless, Aziraphale listened through the whole song (but sometimes winced slightly). “I believe we have to practise the lyrics a bit”, he said afterwards. “It seems like Nanny mixed up a few things.”

Warlock giggled. “I’m not stupid, Brother Francis. I know that’s not the real song. We changed it.”

“Well. Ahem. What would you say to some hot cocoa?”

Warlock was all for it, and Crowley could not believe she was spending Christmas with her hereditary enemy and the Antichrist drinking hot cocoa that did not even have alcohol in it. It was ridiculous but not nearly as ridiculous as the morning at the Dowlings’.

Aziraphale asked Warlock about his presents and the boy went on another rant about the wrong action figure he had gotten. A few minutes and a gentle lecture from Aziraphale later, Warlock gladly handed Aziraphale the action figure, who planned to give it to some poor kid who had not gotten anything for Christmas. Crowley supposed it was only fair if Aziraphale was allowed to do some influencing towards the good after she had taught Warlock rude carols, so she let Aziraphale do his angelic job now.

Then Warlock went to explore the bookshop, which had Aziraphale on edge. He hovered behind Warlock and shooed him away whenever he got too close to any of his books. “Ah, Master Warlock, these books are really not for young children. They are very old, very boring, you wouldn’t like them. I could –” he frantically looked around until he found what he was looking for “– I could read this to you.” He brandished a first edition of Winnie-the-Pooh.

It was ridiculous enough that there was no alcohol in her hot cocoa but now Crowley was even listening to Aziraphale reading Winnie-the-Pooh, enthusiastically doing all the voices.

“This is boring,” she hissed, “there isn’t even anyone dying.”

“It’s not boring,” Warlock protested. “Come on, Brother Francis, read!”

Aziraphale gave Crowley a smug smile. Crowley didn’t really mind. She just had to, you know, protest for the sake of it – like Aziraphale had to protest against rude carols.

It did not take long for Warlock to fall asleep on the couch. Crowley would have liked to stay but it was already getting late.

“Suppose we should head back,” she said softly.

“Ah, yes. His parents might worry.” Aziraphale wrapped Warlock up in a tartan blanket and Crowley picked him up. “Thank you for coming over,” Aziraphale whispered. “It was nice having you here.”

Crowley did not really know what to say to that, so she just sneered in return and hoped it did not look too nice. She had unobtrusively left the present for Aziraphale in the kitchen when she had gotten them more hot cocoa while Aziraphale had been reading to Warlock. She really wanted to stay.

“So what are you up to now?” Aziraphale asked.

“Get the little hellspawn into bed, see if there’s any decent food from the party left, tempt a few of the politicians there – the usual stuff. You?”

“I’m going to bring a few presents to the children in the neighbourhood who didn’t get anything.” Aziraphale nodded towards the huge bag with presents, to which he had added Warlock’s action figure.

“Ah. Good deeds.” Crowley tried to sneer again. She was not sure if she succeeded. She never wanted it all to end, not even Christmas, hot cocoa, Winnie-the-Pooh and Aziraphale’s good deeds. She also didn’t mind chaotic Christmas parties and rude carols but she really liked all of this, this crazy, exciting little planet and all the humans and the angel on it. “So, er, merry Christmas or whatever.”

“And happy holidays to you, too. Oh, and thank you for the present.”

So he had already noticed. Crowley could feel herself blushing. “Shut up.”

#31 days of ineffables #good omens #ineffable advent calendar #crowley #aziraphale #nanny ashtoreth #brother francis #ineffable partners #fanfic

[bucketorandomness]

Let’s talk about my impressions after the Debate

For anyone who doesn’t want political stuffage on their dash, I will now be tagging everything I think is directly related to elections and such “#political shenanigans” so please, use the filter function if you don’t want to see my political views. Social issues will still be using the “#serious ones” tag, though if you want me to separate those, too, jus let me know, kay? You’re totally valid. Go curate your experience and keep it good.

Anyway. Onto the essay/rant/vent/thing.

I currently live in a pro-Trump house and--before y’all get upset with me please wait--let’s just say the Debate the other night didn’t thrill me. As part of becoming an adult, I’m starting to form my own opinions. One of those opinions is who I’d like to vote into office. I’m not completely sold on Biden, yet, but I can confidently say I don’t think I can support Trump with a good conscience.

I tried to get others to watch the Debate with me that night, but even his own Supporters didn’t want to watch him. Not sure what you think about that, but that just gives me weird vibes. Like, they didn’t watch to support Trump, their chosen candidate. Is that... Is that what others do? It makes sense to me that if you want to elect someone to lead the nation, you try to hear their opinions on important issues, and that was the whole purpose of the Debate.

At some point in the Debate, the topic was Covid and the candidates’ responses to it. Mainly, Trump held large rallies, “Because people want to hear what I have to say.” There are plenty of ways to do that without gathering in person. Heck, if you think about it, there’s a possibility he could reach more people with a digital rally. My local church has, for instance, and we’re not even a globally known name. Biden, on the other hand, has been holding small scale meetings, and as soon as he mentioned that, Trump immediately interrupts with something along the lines of “because nobody wants to go.” Like, yes I understand the Presidentials are basically he biggest popularity contest in the country. However, this is the future of the entire nation we’re talking about here, and that comment struck me as really childish. When mentioned to the local Supporters, I got a good-natured, “Well, that only to be expected.” I’m not sure I like having a President who makes childish comments and is basically expected to make them. A leader with a lack of maturity is not going to make the best decisions, especially with an office as large as the Oval. I get it: politics is about making your opponent look like the worst possible choice, and attacking them is the fastest way to do that. Doesn’t mean I think that’s the right way to go about gathering support. Like, yeah, you don’t like your opponent. It’d be kinda weird if you did. Why don’t we try to stay civil, though? Personal attacks come when you don’t have anything constructive to add to the conversation. If you value tearing down your opponent over an informative debate, I think your priorities are a little different from mine.

Towards the end of the Debate, as well as a significant portion in the middle, Trump straight up attacks Biden’s sons. Listen, I like a good family man, and I feel horrid for all the mud the media slung at Melania Trump these past four years, but that does not give Trump the right to attack another man’s family. The first one was about one son receiving a supposed monetary gift from abroad. Trump spent a considerable amount of time asking Biden questions and then not allowing him to answer. The worst, I think, was “What did he do to deserve [large sum I no longer remember]?!” As if Biden’s son had no worth. As if it was completely ludicrous that Biden’s son could earn a gift like that based on his own merits. Biden was good natured and tried to brush it off with simple answers Trump barreled right through until the moderator helped get the Debate back on track. The second time really hurt, though. Maybe I’m just too empathetic, but I actually winced while listening to the Debate. Biden was talking about his son’s military service and Trump immediately started dragging down both this veteran and another son from the service. I don’t know if any of those accusations were true, but that is where Biden got riled up enough to lash back, and I don’t blame him. How could he stand by while Trump interrupted his proud story to drag both sons through the dirt for the sake of politics? Trump may claim to be a family man, but the way he treats other fathers is not something he should be proud of! I can understand attacking Biden, the opponent, but attacking Biden’s kids is underhanded and not something I want to see the President doing. Trump’s opponent isn’t the moderator, and it definitely isn’t Biden’s sons. Attacking the family is something you do when you can’t make an outright attack on the target. Trump should know this! It’s what happened when he got elected! And what’s he doing? He’s trying to get the media to chew up Biden’s family just as much as it chewed up his. I’m no interested in Biden’s family. I’m interested in Biden. Is that such a weird thing to ask for?

I tried mentioning how terrible Trump’s whole attitude was to the local Supporters: he asked questions he didn’t allow answers for, he insulted and attacked everyone within range--including the moderator--, and he didn’t always answer the questions asked of him. Their response? “He [Trump] is a good President, he’s just not a good orator.” If I tried to pull his attitude during class, I doubt I’d get a passing grade! “He speaks American.” As an American I can tell you I didn’t understand most of what came out of his mouth. If Trump “speaks American” it’s only to a certain kind of American, and there’s more than one of us in the US. “He wasn’t raised to debate; he’s used to walking into a room and taking control. He monologues.” I don’t know about you, but that sounds kind of like a spoilt child to me? Trump doesn’t consider the other people in the room; if they don’t agree with him and what he wants, they’re wrong. He’s used to getting what he wants when he wants it. I don’t think that’s a good quality to have in a leader at this time.

Yes, there are times when a commanding presence is needed, but I think, for this coming term, what we need more is someone who can compromise. Having someone as stiff as Trump in office has polarized the country. I keep hearing rumors of terrible things and thinking to this one prediction a friend made four years ago: “We’re going to have a second Civil War.” It won’t be about slavery. It won’t be North versus South. This time, it’ll be Republicans versus Democrats, and God help the Independents in the middle. America is being pulled in so many directions right now, something’s going to give. Someone willing to ease up on their tugging and mend the tears showing up will do more good, I think, than standing firm and making those tears worse. At the moment, I don’t know if Biden’s the one to do that, but I do know Trump is not.

Trump may “get things done” like the Supporters say, but I don’t think I can agree with his code of ethics. For me, the journey is just as important as the destination. How we accomplish our goals is just as important as the outcome. I don’t think I can support someone with ethics so wildly different from my own. The President represents America. The President’s code of ethics is America’s code of ethics. If those ethics aren’t something I agree with, then how can I in good conscience elect Trump to represent me on a global stage?

Trump had some good points. Mainly, that if Biden was promising to do what he was promising, why hadn’t he done it already as a member of the government for the past couple decades? You can go ahead and support anyone you want to. That’s your right as an American voter, and even more as a human being with personal opinions. Just because we don’t agree doesn’t necessarily mean one of us is wrong.

I know neither of the candidates really answered the last question of the Debate, but please, stay calm. Talk like the adults we are. Don’t engage in civil unrest over this election.

#political shenanigans