#c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

OC questionnaire time!

The lovely @the-golden-comet tagged me thank you <3

These questions will get the best answers out of Khalid Abandonato, from "A Living Machine." He's twelve until the next chapter drops, so that's the energy I'm hitting you with.

1) Do you own any pets?

No. "Animals are a distraction." I "don't have time for a pet." "You'd have to clean the turtle tank, Khalid, wait, it generates too much Paradox to make an entirely self-cleaning aquarium, oh you mean you came up with a design that doesn't require Science well that's a waste of time you should be studying Etheric Chemistry, Khalid." [huff] Reptiles are cool. [pause] They're literally cool. I'd have to print a heat lamp. ... it makes sense why the dorm super won't let me have a turtle. They thought I would use Energetic Physics to negate the cost of the electricity. Adults are dumb. That's what solar power is for. Did you know you can still store solar power even if it's cloudy? A lot of people still think you can't.

2) What is your favorite season, and why?

This answer is going to be foreshadowing, isn't it? I can tell by the way the Storyteller is looking at me. I… prefer… winter. There's less sunlight, and it's cold, so the other students don't look at me like I have two heads when I say I didn't go outside all day. Nobody's going outside. In the summertime I have to close my blinds a lot more. I like being able to look out the window when I'm working. It's like I'm not alone, seeing other people's lights on. And then when all the lights go out, I stop looking, and it doesn't matter if I'm alone or not. Yeah, winter's my favorite.

3) Have you committed a crime?

One time I broke into a storage facility. And then I broke into a couple storage units and took a couple things that didn't belong to me. I'm sure I commit little crimes all the time. My department Chair says I think the rules don't apply to me, which isn't true. I'm bound by the same laws of Reality as everyone else. I can't negate Paradox yet. I do something super illegal when I'm older, but I'm not sure what that is. I don't get to retain temporal orientation unless I'm talking to the Storyteller for some reason. Oh. Right. They say it's a condition of the Board letting me keep my free will. Well, I know I break a lot of rules when I'm an adult. That's going to be awesome.

//

tag! @astramachina @autism-purgatory @borisyvain @cowboybrunch @deanwax

@finickyfelix @leahnardo-da-veggie @noblebs @taranorma @touloserlautrec

Khalid wants to know:

1) What is something you want to do more than anything else in the world, but can't, and why?

2) Say you have to move to another planet. Which one are you moving to and why?(Note: It can be fictional. He likes fictional planets.)

3) How do you make grilled cheese?

#oc questionnaire #tag game #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

for the ask game!!!

🛰 Satellite - Do you have a character who is very dependent on another character? Is it healthy or unhealthy?

☀️ Sun - Who is your most cheerful and positive character? Why are they like that?

Sav!! Hello lovely!

From the Space Ask Game!

🛰: This won't shock anyone LOL.

Royston cannot function without Sullivan. The way his brain works, he became obsessed with him rather than harmlessly infatuated. They had to do serious work so Royston sees Sullivan as a human being rather than an object, and Royston believes Sullivan (with a decent amount of supporting evidence) to be the only decent man to ever see him, let alone understand him. But when Sullivan isn't around, Royston goes into a dopamine slump and annoys the shit out of everyone around him.

Thank you, Book 1 Events, for at least helping him develop empathy. For Sullivan. Only Sullivan.

By Book 2, Sullivan has become Royston's Morality Chain. The only reason making more morally "gray" decisions is even a little important to Royston is because it's important to Sullivan. That isn't even a little healthy, but since The Point I'm trying to make with these two is that relationships take work and vilifying someone because of something they have no control over (how they're wired) is bullshit [not the same as letting them off the hook/not holding them accountable!] I hope it comes off as more They Shouldn't Work But For Each Other They Do and not... all the other ways it can come off LOL.

Sullivan is rehabilitative for Royston, but their relationship is never going to be considered "healthy" for anyone but the two of them. There is no one else either one of them could have ended up with who would understand them and treat them with the respect and patience they both need in order to be in a long-term relationship.

I'm normal about them. Yeah.

☀️: I want to say Sullivan but we all know that's not true.

It's Son of Ether child prodigy Khalid.

This guy (kid, at the current moment in time) does not let ANYTHING I do to him kill his love of adventure, his curiosity, his desire to share things with other people, or his belief that he has control over his future. He gets the absolute shit kicked out of him, eats so much Aggravated damage that he shouldn't have a corporeal form anymore, and eventually has to hide from the Technocracy (Khalid belongs to the Traditions, which the Technocratic Union is trying to wipe out) while he's conducting a completely unethical reproductive experiment using his own body as a laboratory.

He is such a menace in a future timeline that his Tradition is keeping him, as a child, imprisoned in his dorm room so they can keep control over what he learns when.

Maybe it's the fact that he eventually loses what's left of his (joke; this isn't a mechanic in World of Darkness) Sanity Points and becomes a Mad Scientist, but once he's grown, his personality retains those upbeat, curious, wanting-to-share-everything qualities and he's a ridiculously good dad I have to stop talking about him before I write an essay.

#ask game #cowboybrunch #c: arthur royston #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

OC interview part 2!

@the-golden-comet tagged me for the OC interview, thank you so much <3

Last time, @deanwax tagged me, and Khalid from A Living Machine got as far as drawing a lovely picture of a giraffe before running off. So I'm dragging him back to finish the interview. It really does take a village to raise a child~

Any special talents?

Yes! ... wait. I need parameters. Mundane talents, or Awakened? I don't suppose it matters. Want to see the program I made last night? It looks at the homework my professors give me, measures how much brain activity the problems inspire, then makes them harder so I actually learn something. Wicked, right?

Where were you born?

Unknown. Attempting to access autobiographical information causes ocular migraines. I suspect it's classical conditioning. It's... embarrassingly effective.

Do you have any pets?

[huge sigh] No. As far as items I'm allowed to have in my room besides my personal effects and toiletries, I have a computer, a replicator, and a radio. The radio is incoming only but I'm glad it's here. It's not as cool as an iguana, or a turtle. But I don't think I'd rather have an iguana than a radio. ... that's not a good comparison. Drat. Is it weird if I say the radio? It's really fussy. It's almost like having a pet, except it doesn't poop.

What sort of sports do you play?

... I'm sorry, sports?

How tall are you?

I am 154.9 centimeters tall. Luz is taller than me right now. I grow almost twenty-six centimeters in the next six years, though! They start adding something to my replicator's coffee formula when I'm thirteen and I never figure out how to override it. [ST note: They start adding nutritional supplements because someone keeps forgetting to eat.]

What was your favourite subject in school?

I'm in school now! I just completed my Bachelor of Science in Biology. I already had one in Physics. They let me into the biophysics program at Oxford, and Doctor Horta convinced the Council to allow me to attend in person after I've concluded my business with the research team. As long as he keeps an eye on me, that is. I'm getting off topic. How much do you know about quantum biophysics?

What is your dream job?

Double agent. [beat] What? My dreams are cool. I already know when I grow up I become a Mad Scientist, that means I get to do whatever I want when I'm daydreaming.

Are you not sick of me yet? Open tag :D

#oc interview #c: khalid abandonato #open tag #this fucking guy #he's twelve

[fortunatetragedy]

dr. khalid abandonato: character intro!

Because I should be doing other things, but I'm giving him his own novella.

I thought it would be fun to write a prelude for our friend the Scientist from "Among the Elements," a former Mage: the Ascension NPC who has broken containment and leveled up to OC status.

Meet Khalid Abandonato, Doctor of Physics!

Look at him with Arete 2 + hair over half his stupid face :3 + the white shock of hair of stress lol

Our timefluid friend will tell us about his backstory in the first chapter, but I've mentioned in other posts he had an early Awakening, was a child prodigy and a precocious learner, and became a father at 19. IDK what any of those tropes are or what tropes I'm going to mess with, other than the first cabal is one of my favorite sources of Mage character development.

Khalid's Intelligence score is maxed out and he has high Wits and Stamina; he is also, to start out--being as he's 10 or 12 years old (time isn't an arrow) and doesn't go outside unless he absolutely has to--low in Perception, Social stats, and Dexterity.

Without caffeine and sugar, he gets nothing done.

Since he's an NPC in his daughter's backstory the entire arc of the thing is already done for me, so that's kind of nice for everyone.

Things that might will happen:

aroace enemies-to-friends situation with a Technocratic New World Order Operative who falls in "I want to be friends with him" with him

cyberpunk shenanigans with a midpoint tragedy literally every midpoint

the author forgets words for things despite having written in this ttrpg system since the year 2006 & passes it off as "technobabble"

blatant fourth wall abuse

complete disregard for conventional plot structure

Uhhhh I guess a song? Yeah he has a song. Chapter 1 Khalid only has dots in Forces/Life/Matter this is appropriate.

That's him! That's my little lightning rod. Here to deflect my inability to shut up about my current wip~

#c: khalid abandonato #ocs #self indulgent mage the ascension nonsense #i know he looks adorable w/ glasses but they're for eye protection not his vision #safety first then science #Spotify

[fortunatetragedy]

oc interview

@deanwax tagged me for this yay! <33333

Last time I interviewed Royston and Sullivan from Doom Metal Love Story, the Weird Western trilogy I'm hoping to tradpub out of spite.

This time I'm interviewing Khalid from "A Living Machine," my ao3 wip.

Are you named after anyone? [thinks] Not to my knowledge. It's my understanding there was an adult male in the 7th century named Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra al-Makhzūmī who was an important military commander. But that's all I know about him, is that he existed and we share a name.

When was the last time you cried? I don't cry. I'm not a baby.*

*He's twelve.

Do you have kids? Not yet. My daughter won't be born until I'm nineteen.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don't think so. I usually rely on science for my sick burns.

What’s the first thing you notice about people? That they're around. Hahaha. Um… the second thing I notice is they don't like when I stare at them. It causes shifty body language and an increase in respiration and heart rate.

What’s your eye colour? Brown. Hazel? They change color sometimes. But mostly they're brown. You know what, I'll ask Neil when I meet him, he spends more time looking at them the first week we know each other than I do my entire life.

Scary stories or happy endings? Oh, man, scary stories are the best! I don't like living the scary story, though. If I have to live the story I want a happy ending. The Storyteller keeps telling me my story has a happy ending, but it's going to be scary first. Here, I'll draw you a Punnett square to show you which combination maximizes my own personal enjoyment…

He's not crying green he has a leaf stuck on his face because he's a messy eater. And those are anti-gravity boots. In case his neck isn't long enough. He's not an adult giraffe.

We've lost him. He's drawing another picture showing the evolutionary advantage giraffes have over other ruminants in an ecological reclamation situation. I can't convince him to come back to the interview.

I went tag happy last night so this one is open. If you decide to play along, under the cut are all of the interview questions, not just the ones Khalid answered before running off.

Are you named after anyone?

When was the last time you cried?

Do you have kids?

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

What’s your eye colour?

Scary stories or happy endings?

Any special talents?

Where were you born?

Do you have any pets?

What sort of sports do you play?

How tall are you?

What was your favourite subject in school?

What is your dream job?

#deanwax #tag game #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

OC voice tag

@dyrewrites left an open tag on a character voice game. Surprise!

Rules: See these words? Make your OC say them, then write new words for those you tag to make theirs say.

This is an open tag! Your words, my lovely friends, are:

Who left the door open again?

My words are No, I'm sorry, but no.

You're getting Khalid this morning, because he's going to annoy the shit out of me until I post Chapter 5. I'm being bullied by a fictional 12-year-old and I deserve it.

"What? No, that's inefficient. Let me try something real quick."

#oc voice tag #tag game #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

OC in Fifteen

I was tagged by @taranorma (thank you <3 I love William btw.)

Rules: share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

I'm going for bonus points, Tumblr.

Consider this a liberally open tag. If this is on your dash, I have tagged you. I want to see OCs!

Today I have for you fifteen lines of dialogue from my Son of Ether/future Mad Scientist Khalid ("A Living Machine.")

Here's his little face so you get the full effect:

I didn't have to answer the door when You knocked.

Feels as if you're nerfing me.

She's as alive now as she ever will be.

I'd do it again, right now, if you'd care to start the story there.

You don't have to subject me to horrors beyond my comprehension in order for me to grasp the secrets of the universe.

I have finals next week.

Great. I love that.

… if I exhibit frustration they're just going to say it's "cute" when I'm "angry."

I have a forcefield.

No, I'm able to augment my own neurocognitive capacity with Noetic Science, which allows me to condense how much I absorb at once.

… are you SERIOUS?

Put the hole back.

I'm ready.

Can I melt the lock real quick?

Groovy.

#tag game #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

*casually waltzes in here* which oc? any one you wish to talk about! (will enthusiastically gobble it up)

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

18. Do you prefer to give your ocs specific labels, or keep it unspecified? Why? If applicable, do you change their labels depending on circumstance?

OMG IT'S MITCH *acts casual*

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

I'm going to hit Khalid with this question.

Khalid belongs to a Mage: the Ascension Tradition called the Sons of Ether. They value Science over everything else. (There are nine Spheres in M:tA. Etherites focus on Matter, but Khalid has chosen to focus on Forces.) He's in a Near Future setting where human reproduction is heavily regulated.

Because of what Khalid does when he becomes an adult, the members of the Tradition who are capable of foresight (they have high levels of Correspondence and Time) are like "No keep him under control we can't see his destiny but we know he breaks an entire universe with Causality Science when he's an adult." They try to control what he learns when, and it doesn't leave him any room to think about his own identity.

Culturally, he fits in. Khalid is aro/ace, so hypothetically he shouldn't be focused on anything but Science. But he misses out on socializing during his formative years and loses more and more of his sanity as he ages. Aro/ace doesn't mean asocial. His identity sounds like it would be a protective factor on paper, but he's an extrovert and he gets lonelier the older he gets.

18. Do you prefer to give your ocs specific labels, or keep it unspecified? Why? If applicable, do you change their labels depending on circumstance?

Generally, I don't specify their labels unless it's applicable to the story. Like Khalid's being aro/ace informs how his relationship with a character who shows up in Part 2 goes, and there would be no DMLS if Sullivan and Royston weren't both specifically homosexual.

In the nautical horror story I'm drafting, there is a sapphic couple, but IDK if they're homosexual or bisexual or what bc it doesn't matter. The Deep will eat u no matter who u love~

#ask game #astramachina #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

13, 14, 15, and 16 for pride oc asks

Hey Kimi! Thanks for stopping by! <3

13. Would your oc be open to a poly relationship? Why or why not?

The only character I could see being open to a poly relationship is Royston in his twenties, and he would be the weakest link.

14. Do you have ocs on the aro or ace spectrum?

I sure do! Khalid Abandonato is both aromantic and asexual.

15. Do any of your ocs use neopronouns? Which ones?

Not at the moment! That might change in the future.

16. Did you ever change an oc's identity when they were already established? Why?

Oh yeah. Not of the crew I have now, but in the past I've rewritten straight characters to be bisexual. Khalid was a question mark for a while but now he's firmly in the aro/ace camp. My characters are usually pretty secure in their identities by the time they show up at the writing desk though.

#ask game #thelittlestspider #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

Khalid vs. the Storyteller.

#wip: a living machine #c: khalid abandonato #source image is from andrew blucha idk who made the meme #shit my roommate shows me

[fortunatetragedy]

#c: khalid abandonato #shit my roommate shows me

[fortunatetragedy]

🛌

OMG hi!! Thanks for the ask!

Sullivan is at the start of Doom Metal Love Story a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army Cavalry who has become pretty depersonalized. He's also autistic. He's used to sleeping in unideal conditions, and he's used to not getting enough sleep

Then he meets Royston, who nobody in their right mind would ever share a bed with and who also cannot, prior to meeting Sullivan, wrap his head around the idea of trusting one's partner enough to sleep in the same room as them. He works alone, has a reputation for killing both business and romantic partners, and has ADHD, so his circadian rhythm is a bit borked, too.

They do not care if it is a bed, a hammock, the ground, etc. As long as Royston can lay on top of Sullivan they're vibing. He's like a human weighted blanket. So now Sullivan prefers that to sleeping alone.

TLDR prior to meeting each other they were both strictly solo sleepers and now they don't like sleeping without the other one.

Khalid meanwhile is twelve (as of rn in the story) and hates sleeping at all. He only does it when he hits the limit of how much Science and caffeine one can abuse in order to overcome biology. Future Khalid says "screw biology," becomes a father at 19, and ensures the monogamous relationship he'd been enjoying with his bed is rekt.

#ask game #zackprincebooks #c: cole sullivan #c: arthur royston #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

💫 for the OC ask game?

💫 What is your favourite fact about this character and why?

I couldn't decide which character to answer this for so you get three fun facts about three fun dudes:

Sullivan: When he swears an oath, he will not break it. Example: the fact his (undiagnosed, 1800s) autism hamstringed his career gets lost in the sauce. The excuse his commanding officers have given is "You don't have the education or political connections to qualify for a commission" (why he never earned a field commission during the Civil War even though he's more than qualified based on competence and badassery) or "We need you out in the field there aren't enough competent first sergeants" (why he never earned his final promotion to Sergeant Major) even though he's been in for 22 years in 1872 when we meet him. The man takes vows seriously.

Royston: When he was in his late twenties/early thirties he went through his Knife Dueling era. He developed a reputation in the St. Louis area for only using a knife to fight and dudes started challenging him like he had nothing better to do. He's 46 in 1874 and has both never fired a gun and never lost a fight in his entire life. He thinks that means he's hot shit.

Khalid: His favorite thing to do during study breaks is download movies into his brain. His study breaks are only like five minutes long and his upload speed isn't very fast, so it takes him a while to digest an entire movie. He's on a noir kick rn and has decided he doesn't like downer endings. He's twelve, he doesn't know anything about anything.

#ask game #thank you <3 #c: cole sullivan #c: arthur royston #c: khalid abandonato

[fortunatetragedy]

I've decided Dr. Abandonato's NWO Operative enemy-to-friend is named Neil

My roommate and I have manifested Neil as a 5'5" fresh out of his psych program soft-hearted little geek who cannot even be the Good Cop in an interrogation. All he's good for at the start of his story is surveillance. He's assigned to keep an eye on Dr. Abandonato when our Etherite friend is 18-9 and growing his daughter in his kitchenette laboratory.

You're caught up.

Last night my roommate was listening to me ramble about who knew what and out of nowhere I said "You know what Neil and Khalid's queerplatonic love song is?"

Tumblr, she almost fell out of her chair laughing when I put it on the kitchen speaker.

#wip: a living machine #c: neil the nwo operative #c: khalid abandonato #like it's perfect i can't