#there are some iffy elements but where else do you find the daughter of the head of practical jokes being roomies with a dragon

[specterofyou]

The real puzzle of TMJ is finding out which of them are Skilful, Wilful, Captious or Queer-- nevermind Justice is Queer:

[that-was-anticlimactic]

Ninjago OC: Enok Tristan Iverson

My new child, Enok Tristan Iverson!! I’m super proud of him and I hope you all like him!

(Side note: I spent a looooong time trying to find a power and I’ve settled on this... I tried finding something not OP or overused, and I don’t think it is, but please let me know if it is or I should change it!!)... also sorry I wrote a lot...

ALSO!! I meant to save as draft and then post this in the morning like at noon but at two a.m. my time but I accidentally pressed post... so I might reblog this in the morning because I made some changes from my doc to here... idk I’m excited and I don’t want people to not see him because I posted it too early haha

~~~~

~picture in the process~

Elemental Power: Wood

Wood Generation- can create wood / branches / trunks / roots

Wood Attack: can use / release wood to fight others, like a weapon. Can project wood towards someone, release it with hands…

Wood Pillar Projection- related to above, can project woods pillars from the ground

Manipulation of Properties- can move and lift wood, also can do…

Wood Absorption- can absorb wood that they did not create, encasing themselves in wood for armour of sorts or just to block themselves for being hurt— kind of draining, only used in big emergencies

Assimilation Shield- goes along with above: can create a shield that can absorb anything to protect themselves. Can’t perform with wood they made. Very big action, more of a true potential mode vs. any time he wants because he’s not OP

Matter Surfing- can take wood from the ground (sticks and such… or just create I suppose) and can use it to move with, kind of like moving the ground ish

Weapon: Halberd

Color: a reddish brown color, I think

Ethnicity: Danish!

Appearance:

Sandy / super light brown hair, medium length

Bright blue eyes, long lashes

He has glasses, not big hipster ones but smaller ones, he has small eyes

NOSE AND LIP FRECKLES… also probably has a big nose

Not tall, not short… actually, surprisingly, basically the same height as his boyf, Cole. He is 5’7, but Cole is 5’7 ½ and Tristan is 5/7 ¾ so…

Not super skinny, but not super big either. In the middle weight wise.

Personality:

Goes by his middle name, Tristan, when he moves to Ninjago because it’s just easier to pronounce. Though after awhile, the team kind of goes back and forth. Cole likes calling him by his first name.

Has mild autism and ADHD-- it’s not bad, but it’s there and affects his life

Paces back and forth a lot and repeats words a lot. He also repeats things people say to him to help him comprehend what he heard!

He talks to plants and trees a lot because his power makes him feel connected with nature! Like, it’s a one sided thing because they don’t talk back, but it’s like he can feel them listening and caring and helping / encouraging him.

Tends to be more happy, a very positive person, like Jay on steroids, also super trusting

When he is really mad or regular mad, he doesn’t always know how to react so he throws things a lot. Not important things, just like shoes and stuff because he doesn’t know how to handle anger all the time since he’s not an angry person. He trains about when he’s angry.

Literally obsessed with Hygge-- always has candles

When I say always has candles, I mean always. Literally always. Gets everyone a candle for their birthday / Christmas as a part of their gift— Tristan knows not everyone likes them as much as him so he always get them something else

Also received like a candle from everyone for Christmas and Birthday. Like Tristan loves his Hygge traditions and fully believes in it.

Likes doing dishes for the repetitiveness and finds it relaxing

He feels super aimless in life, struggles to find a purpose in life, really happy when he meets Cole and joins the team

He also always has “old lady” candies on him, like mints and caramels. They make him happy because his mom did that and he misses her, so he does it!

Kind of squeamish, you know? Does not like blood

Also slightly indecisive because he wants to be good and doesn’t want to make bad decisions

This boy be Pansexual

Casual flirt- tucks Cole’s hair behind his ear, making eye contact then quickly breaking it, adjusts collar. Also loves just watching / observing Cole in a not stalkish or creepy way.

History / Backstory:

Lived in Denmark, or Ninjago’s version of Denmark, for the first fifteen years of his life, then moved to Ninjago once he learned he had powers.

His grandfather had the wood powers before him, but skipped a generation and were transferred to Tristan. His grandfather, Einar Schou (name chosen because it means *he who fights alone* and I thought that was cool) moved to Ninjago after his daughter, Katrine Schou, got married (married Mads- pronounced Mes- Iversen) because he was needed in Serpentine Wars because they needed all the help they can get (he was like ‘are you sure you want me? I’m just wood’ and they were like ‘yes! Every elemental power is great and amazing!’) and stuff and his wife had died so he said to heck with it and stayed in Ninjago.

Tristan was sent by his mother to Einar because he could teach him how to harness his powers and such, as he had them before.

How he joined the team:

So, he kind of stumbled upon the team, I suppose. This was during season one. His grandfather sent him to the Monastery to train, unaware that Wu was back in business and training and Tristan explained everything and he was just kind of like, friends with the team. He didn:t really join the team until season four. Before then, he was kind of like Darreth, there is they needed him, happy to help. (Age 16, now)

Once season four hits with the tournament, and he is 17 ½ his grandfather encourages him to go. That’s around… four years after he meets the team. He still isn’t super adjusted to distrust and unhappiness that NInjago harbers, as Denmark is a rather happy place, so he is iffy. No one particularly wants to be friends and such, and that’s what he’s best at. He goes anyways and gets out in the first few rounds because he does not really believe in what they are doing.

He ends up meeting Cole down in the noodle factory, and is shocked that he’s out. When they have some down time, he talks to Cole about what happened, and Cole isn’t too like… why are you talking to me new person ahh because he knows Tristan a little bit. So he opens up a bit about how dumb it all is with the Jay and Nya thing and like absentmindely slips up and is like “yeah I’m gay so I don’t even know why I did that” and then freaks because he just came out for the first time.

He and Cole end up hanging out and he helps Cole escape and stuff and talks to Cole more once he found Zane because Tristan kind of knew him and that’s more than everyone else. They end up still talking after all the Chen stuff is over and Wu sees how well they get along and what he can do and how his personality fits with the team and invite him to join.

Relationships with team:

Cole: boyfriend !!! He loves Cole with his whole entire heart and would do just about anything for him! He realizes he likes Cole in Possession when Kai convinces Cole to try Airjitzu on their way to The Cloud Kingdom. He asks Cole out after Skybound, Cole freaks out and says no at first because ahh he’s not ready and he’s scared and stuff. Tristan is cool with it and is like “I’m so sorry, I never meant to make things awkward...” and nothing ends up being awkward between the two. Cole ends up kissing Tristan (and simultaneously coming out) after the events of Hunted, becsuse Tristan was with Nya and Lloyd. Best friends to Boyfriends trope✌🏼

Lloyd: best friend aside from Cole! He really likes Lloyd. Lloyd can read Tristan super well and definitely just found out he liked Cole by watching. They can easily talk to each other, and Tristan introduces Lloyd to the practice and state of Hygge and helps him cope with the events of Possession. Just really good friends.

Nya: another good friend. They both struggle with direction and purpose in life (Nya has the whole water ninja v. samurai thing) and they bonded over that in Possession, actually. They both appreciate each other’s company and can definitely calm each other down at their worst. Also they are both super supportive of each other always !!

Jay: complicated. Tristan loves Jay— he loves him like the brother he is... so that’s one reason why they butt heads so often. Jay is both one of the most optimistic yet pessimistic people at the same time and tends to freak out at little things a lot and that’s just confuses Tristan so much. Jay confuses him. Tristan grew up somewhere where people viewed thugs differently and Jay is always changing his view points and outlooks. They still love each other like brothers, but they butt heads sometimes! Like, Jay likes candles the most out of the rest of the team and loves going candle shopping like these boys could smell candles for hours!

Zane: there isn’t much to say, good friends, brothers, they go grocery shopping together a lot, they’re just... they’re just good friends! There isn’t much more I feel like I can say to that:/ they just have a normal brotherly teammate relationship!

Kai: Kai’s is a lot like Zane’s relationship with Tristan. Good friends, brothers, care about each other a lot... I suppose other than Lloyd and Nya, Kai is the biggest shipper of Cole and Tristan once he finds out (becsuse the team finds out Tristan likes Cole I’m DotD when they realized Cole was gone). Definitely gives him terrible flirting advice!

Some personality stuff:

Tristan’s biggest personality flaws are that he lacks direction and feels aimless, and he is super indecisive. Asking Cole out was one of the strangest moments of his life because he just didn’t think. But a lot of what gets to him is what he’s meant to do in life. He doesn’t always feel like he’s a part of the team because he came later, he doesn’t always feel like he’s doing what he should be doing… heck, his true potential occured when he like, figured out his purpose. That’s what was holding him back. I’m not sure of the details yet, but it happens after March of the Oni in what would probably be a Tristan season.

His indecisiveness is also a problem, it’s one of his biggest flaws when in battle. He strives to be a good person, he was brought up that way and Denmark is a happy, caring place. So he over analyzes things a lot in hopes of making the right decision.

He also really struggles with his powers sometimes. Like, he loves being the master of wood, but he feels like an off brand version of Bolobo (which he kind of is, in a way… also they’re probably related in some way), and that freaks him out a lot. It takes a lot of training for him to be good at creating wood with his powers, and he felt so useless then. Especially since they don’t always fight in places with a lot of wood, so he has to try extra hard to make sure he can make wood and concentrate a lot. It becomes easier with time, but hey, that’s why he went to train with his grandfather. So he gets better. He knows he’s not as powerful as the other ninja, and after awhile he kind of learns that that’s okay. I mean, he is on a team with the green ninja and the four main elemental powers. And Nya who is insanely talented and amazing.

((also feel free to send asks or stuff about him?? I’m always bored unless I’m at work haha... but idk I’m still trying to figure him out and people usually add send asks at the end of these so like I suppose that’s why ?? I feel weird saying that haha))

[amuseoffyre]

What are your thoughts on the umbrella academy? Vanya looks to be an amalgamation if sailors Saturn, Neptune and uranus

Alas, this analogy passes me by because I have never once seen Sailor Moon in any incarnation.

However, regarding academy, I have thoughts.

I love a well-built storyline, especially one that throws you straight in the deep end, when you see the kids coming back together and all you know is that they are pretty much all estranged but now, they’re back together because their dad is dead. It gives such delicious teasers about all the different factions and fall-outs that slowly build up through the series. Every dynamic makes so much sense once you see it all in context.

Also, I love the fact they manage to portray accurate sibling dynamics, which vary between brother/sister, sister/sister and brother/brother. Of course there are going to be difference and of course, that’s going to affect how one sibling sees another (ie. Allison versus Luther’s approach to Vanya in the final episode)

I’m so intrigued/bemused by the father fella. I was half asleep when I watched the finale at 5am, so Imma have to rewatch and make my brain understand some stuff a bit better. The backstory, the implication, there was a lot there that went unsaid and I didn’t have the braincells to compute. I have a weekend. I will make use of it.

Now, characters:

Klaus - I. love. him. From the moment he crashed in, his wryness and brokeness and snark made me go “yes. This one”. And then when you find out about why there’s the brokeness, I wanted to punch the old man in the teeth. That scene in the crypt was… yeah. No. Klaus is my precious baby and I love him. (I also love the fact that he plays Cha-cha and Hazel so smoothly, despite being in mad withdrawal, having been tortured into bits, and still manages to do it with a smirk. And the fact some of his ghost people high-fived in the background)

Vanya - Vanya is the postergirl for the damage emotional abuse can do to a kid. Assuming you’re ordinary in a world where everyone is ordinary is fine. Being telepathically forced to believe you’re ordinary - when you’re not - in a narrow world where everyone you know is extraordinary is Not Good.

I was a bit iffy about how quickly she fell in with ‘Leonard’, but when you’ve been as horribly neglected and socially isolated as she was for her whole childhood, it makes sense she would cling to the one person who actively sought her out and told her she was special. I am a bit… eh…. about the little voice telling her to unleash hell, though. I get bored of people who have that as an explanation for why they’ve killed a bunch of people. They used it for every frigging villain in the old Spiderman films and I am Done with it.

Five - amazing. I love him. I love that he was a stubborn little git when he accidentally screwed up his life and that only intensified with age. Also, the love story with Dolores was sweet but so sad. The kid playing old-man Five is brilliant and I can’t wait to see where they go with him.

Allison - oh sweetheart. So many things done with the best of intentions and all going horribly, horribly wrong. No one raised in that environment was ever going to be run-of-the-mill parent material and then when you find out that she’d been instructed to use her powers on family members before, like it was totally normal, no wonder she screwed up so badly with her daughter. And the fact she forgave Vanya immediately and wanted to protect her and keep her safe says everything about her.

Diego - he took a little while to grow on me, but when it hit me, it hit hard. I do find it interesting that he was the one always snarling about their dad being a monster when no one else would really say it and now, I wonder if it was less about what their father was doing to him and more what he was doing to everyone else in the family, because Diego pretends not to care, but I honestly think he cares more than anyone in the whole academy. The way he looked after Grace and Klaus especially made me so happy. Oh and the way he kept on showing up around the detective the same way Catra does in She-Ra. “Hey Eudora” :D :D :D

Ben - I know we don’t have much of him yet, but what we have, I absolutely adore. The fact he’s literally the angel on Klaus’s shoulder - an eye-rolling, snarking angel - is a delight, despite the fact he’s there because he ded.

Luther - Out of all of the characters, this fella frustrates me so much. I understand his obsession with “I’m number one”, which is so childish - and understandably so - compared to the rest of the gang, since he’s the only one who never really grew up into a mostly-functional adult. It’s the fact that he keeps making bloody stupid calls, especially when anyone else tries to take point or have ideas.

Oh and his behaviour towards Vanya is… ARGLE. Find out your sister was tortured and emotionally manipulated by your father for fear of her powers? Why, now she’s older and knows about those powers again and is sobbing and scared in your arms, why don’t you do exactly the same thing your father did instead of HELPING her and stop all your other siblings from helping her too? Well done, dumbass. You helped trigger the apocalypse.

I get that he was reacting emotionally because of what had happened to Allison, but he literally learned your father and the chimp lied about huge elements of their lives multiple times in the past week and now, he listens to what they say?

Apart from them, I adored Hazel and Agnes. They were so frigging sweet. And Cha-cha was awesome, but completely terrifying in a kind of terminator way.

Otherwise, I have a bunch alternate universes rolling around in my head, where one thing changed and the ripples it would have. Here are a few:

Leonard/Harold is not a frigging moron. Instead of lying to her about the book and her powers and things, he is open and honest with her from the word go, unlike everyon else in her life. “My dad hurt me so I made him stop” would ring a lot of bells for someone raised in the Umbrella Academy. He lies about where he got the book, of course, because stalking her brother would be awkward. But he could just say that a junkie was trying to sell stuff and the book seemed important, so he looked her up as the author of the book about the academy, in case it was important. And so, she trusts him completely and he gently, gently, gently manipulates her into turning on her family.

Allison breaking her hold on Vanya much earlier by telling her about the room and what happened in it

Luther actually trusting his siblings over the father who turned him part-primate and when Vanya comes to be forgiveness and ask for help, he helps her

Klaus accidentally bringing David back from Vietnam with him and the awkwardness of trying to explain to everyone that woops, I stumbled into the Vietnam war and found love

In conclusion, me likey :)

[omcik-blog]

New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/how-to-get-a-jump-on-saving-for-retirement-in-your-20s/

How to get a jump on saving for retirement in your 20s

My 23-year-old daughter works part-time and plans to go to graduate school in the near future. I want her to get an early start on saving for retirement, so I’m suggesting she open a Roth IRA account. Is this a good idea? And if she opens a Roth, how should she invest the money? — M.L.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When it comes to financial matters, moms tend to offer good advice.

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And that appears to be true in this case. Let’s start with your wish that your daughter get an early start on saving for retirement. That makes perfect sense, as the sooner she starts putting money away, the more time it will have to benefit from the power of compounding investment returns and the larger her nest egg will be at retirement. Indeed, starting to save in one’s 20s instead of 30s can translate to hundreds of thousands of dollars more in savings over the course of a long career.

As for your suggestion that your daughter open a Roth IRA, one can certainly argue whether someone is better off doing a Roth or traditional deductible IRA. But given your daughter’s situation, a Roth IRA would seem a reasonable way to go.

Why? Well, traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs are essentially mirror images of each other. When you contribute to a traditional deductible IRA, you get a tax deduction today, but you’ll owe income tax on your contributions and investment earnings when you withdraw the money. Contribute to a Roth IRA, on the other hand, and you forgo a deduction, but withdrawals from your account are income-tax free.

(This assumes you meet the rules for contributing to and withdrawing funds from a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, which are laid out in IRS Publication 590-A and 590-B.)

Related: How many funds do you really need to diversify?

The difference in the timing of these tax benefits means that you’re generally better off doing a Roth IRA if you think you’ll face a higher tax rate when you withdraw your money than when you put it in, as you’ll have paid tax at lower rate when you contributed your dough and avoided a higher rate when you pulled it out. If, on the other hand, you expect you’ll pay tax at a lower rate at withdrawal than when you contribute the funds, the traditional deductible IRA can be the better deal, as you’ll be avoiding a higher tax rate today and paying tax at the lower future rate. (That said, there are some nuances that can make the traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA decision more complicated than I’ve described here.)

Of course, predicting future tax rates is an iffy business. Still, the fact that your daughter is just starting out and working only part-time suggests she’ll probably be in a lower tax bracket today than in the future, which argues in favor of the Roth IRA.

This much is certain, though: If your daughter follows your advice and sticks with it over the years, she should be able to build an impressive retirement savings stash. For example, if she contributes the current IRA maximum of $5,500 a year starting now and continues to sock away that amount annually, she would end up with an income tax-free Roth IRA balance of roughly $1 million at age 65, assuming a 6% annual return. In fact, even if she contributes $5,500 a year to a Roth IRA for just the next 10 years and doesn’t add another cent after that, she would still end up with an account worth almost $500,000 at 65.

Related: A good way to boost retirement income

It’s also worth noting that, unlike with a traditional IRA, you can withdraw your Roth IRA contributions (although not investment earnings) at any time without tax or penalties. Not that I recommend your daughter think of her Roth IRA stash as money she should tap before retirement — she shouldn’t. Rather, she should have a few months’ living expenses in a savings account for emergencies and such. Nonetheless, her original Roth contributions would be available to her in a real pinch.

Chances are, however, that a Roth IRA won’t be your daughter’s primary retirement savings vehicle. Once she gets out of school and launches her career, she’ll probably end up doing most of her retirement savings in a 401(k) or similar workplace retirement plan. Still, any money she manages to put in her Roth IRA in the meantime—or contribute on top of what she saves in her 401(k)—can end up being a significant part of her eventual nest egg and make for a more comfortable and secure retirement.

As for how your daughter should invest her Roth funds, I’d recommend keeping it simple. For example, by divvying up her money between just two low-cost index funds — a total U.S. stock market index fund and the rest in a total bond market index fund — your daughter can have a broadly diversified portfolio that will allow her to participate in the long-term growth of the U.S. economy and financial markets.

Related: How to become financially independent in five years

Or she can make things even easier on herself and invest in a target-date retirement fund, a type of fund that starts with mix of stocks and bonds appropriate for your age and gradually becomes more conservative as you near retirement. For more on where to find low-cost index funds and target-date portfolios, check out this article on how to build a simple-but-effective retirement portfolio.

One final nutsy-boltsy issue: Although IRA rules allow for a maximum contribution this year of $5,500, your daughter must have earned income of at least $5,500 to contribute that amount. If her part-time gig pays her, say, only $4,000 for the year, then the most she can contribute is four grand. That said, as long as your daughter earns enough to contribute to the account, the actual money going into the IRA doesn’t necessarily have to come from her. For example, if your daughter earns enough to make a contribution, but doesn’t have enough cash left after living expenses to fund the account, you could always give (or lend) her the money she needs to do so.

So, all things considered, I think you encourage, entice, cajole, sweet-talk…do whatever it takes to get your daughter to begin saving for her retirement. But whether she does that with a Roth IRA or traditional deductible one, an early start will significantly improve her prospects for a secure post-career life.

CNNMoney (New York) First published July 6, 2017: 9:18 AM ET