Umm. So. I drew a picture. Then invented backstory for it. And now, since I'm lazy, here is H E You's and mine gmail chat conversation. I might fix this later:
H. E. You: what kind of a setting would the White Bishop be in?
Sent at 8:21 PM on Friday
me: I honestly haven't given it much thought.
H. E. You: would there be magic?
or just a normal world?
would she be connected at all with chessboards?
what about dimensions - time and everything - could she have something unique in that respect?
or is she just a normal assassin with an intriguing name?
when the country is falling apart, does she care?
did she ever care about any of it?
me: just imagine a supposed-to-be utopia, super-advanced technology, especially in terms of metal, robotics, and prosthetics, with enourmous class divisions and little government control (on purpose).
H. E. You: o
WHOA
me: They use the tough enviroment like on-the-job training for the future soldiers.
H. E. You: so...it all revolves around war?
me: They have more than enough power to really kick society in the ass if they wanted to.
They just don't.
H. E. You: lol
so, who's "they"?
does the white bishop oppose them?
or fight for them?
and not care?
me: Yes, ther is magic, mostly, however, on the other side.
H. E. You: other side?
the govt?
me: the black peices.
H. E. You: omg
that would be amazing
so how would that work
in the new world?
me: they're Not So Different (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotSoDifferent)
If the White have any magic, it is through having amazing computers.
btw, this is in no way an allegory for racial differences.
The White Bishop is insane.
H. E. You: lollll
wait
insane??
insane, as in, um, mad?
as in, um, crazy? loopy?
but
buuuuut
but then
me: Maybe she didn't wasn't always, but by the time of the picture, she is not a nice person.
H. E. You: well
that is ok
mean is fine
but not insane
you can't have a good storyline with a mad narrative
me: She is a specialized government cyborg, a killing machine.
H. E. You: she's got to be clever, if cruel
oh
they made her?
they - they made her?
me: She is efficient, selfish, and ruthless.
Sent at 8:29 PM on Friday
me: No, she used the money she earned as an assasin to replace body parts-- bones, mostly, and at least one hand and eye each, and a bit of the brain that does speed-- she can think a lot faster than she can move.
You didn't think her eye was that color naturally?
H. E. You: ok, so let me get something straight! stop! stop! stop!
1. Is the entire world like a chess set - split up into blacks and whites - not just the White Bishop? If so, are there still the same number of pieces, or like a million pawns or something?
2. Does the black and the white live in the same society?
3. If she made herself basically cyborg, and she's all cruel and ruthless, could she maybe someday encounter a really touching scene that eventually makes her feel again? please? please?
4. I like her eye color. and I was going to ask if her bangs' shape was natural too. lucky her.
5. How did she come to work for the government?
6. (Most intriguing, to me) Who's the other white bishop?
6b. Is she the white bishop who goes on the black diagonals, or the one on the white diagonals?
take your time
Sent at 8:32 PM on Friday
H. E. You: Noria Gray?
Sent at 8:33 PM on Friday
me: 1. I don't know. Mostly because i know crap about chess and I'm reluctant to try and make a real-life version. In terms of peices-- the officers and specialized soldiers are like the ones on a chess set, and there are, yes, a million pawns, considereing society
's at large really low opinion of human life.
Knowing thousands are out on the battlefield, every day, many dying, is at this point natural.
2. Nope. Two entirely different cultures, but by the time of the picture they are more alike than they would ever admit.
H. E. You: and they wage war with each other
i see
me: 3. Sorry, no. She started out just trying to get out of the hellhole, but... she wasn't very stable to begin with and at this point it is impossible. Her personal story, much like the kingdom's, is a tragedy.
H. E. You:
noooo
nooooooooo
coudn't she have a not DEPRESSING kind of tragedy?
like, she could die rlly horribly!
but not be INSANE?
me: 4. Yep. before the war was so all-consuming and there was a bigger middle class, some genetic modification was the norm, and the funky genes still turn up. The eye, however, is a robotic mod.
(and with any luck, she will die a horrible death. but she has gotten really, really, really good at not dyng.)
H. E. You:
poop.
Sent at 8:40 PM on Friday
me: 5. Her life: born into extreme poverty and survived in a gang of children. took a job to kill an opposing gang leader when she was about ten-- she found out she was good at it. starts a black-market assasination business with the hope of using the money to leave this horrible country. turns out she likes killing with finesse and skill in a way that makes her uncomfortable. starts purchasing robotics. starts taking bigger jobs. gets cornered into a deal with the government (they'd been keeping an eye on her). starts killing military officers. starts taking separate contracts from the rich to kill commanders on the white side that they don't approve of. trades in her delicate knives for the much more efficient dual axe-spear and gets that brain mod.
Sent at 8:44 PM on Friday
me: (most of the brain-mod surgeons are bribed by the government to modify a few extras (like the emotional center, whatever it is) for their benefit.
H. E. You: wow.
ouch.
noooo.
that SUCKS
but
that is an INGENIOUS idea
Sent at 8:47 PM on Friday
me: 6. i don't know yet. some guy she'll never meet, hear rumors about, but dissaprove of. (pity-- if they'd ever met, she'd have fallen in love and possibly redeemed herself). He goes on white diagonals; she's the white ones.
Sent at 8:48 PM on Friday
me: Currently two options for him-- her gang leader, or the elder brother of the one she first killed.
Sent at 8:50 PM on Friday
me: (in both cases, she'll never meet them as the Bishop. If she did-- well. She held both boys in high esteem as a kid, two people who were actually trying to help people. She'd notice immediately exactly how bad things've gotten if she ever properly remembered her past.) (I think the government is aware of this.)
H. E. YOU! are you there?
H. E. You: yes
that
is
amazing
PLEEEASElet them fall in love
PLEEEEEASSSSE
it would be so amazing
me: sorry, i wish i could, but-
t
r
a
H. E. You: but/
me: g
e
H. E. You: ?
me: d
y
.
H. E. You: r agedy.?
oh, tragedy.
psh
it can be a LIKEABLE type of tragedy.
not a type that gets ppl depressed.
like, she could die for him. supposedly, even Romeo and Juliet is considered a tragedy.
me: nope. they live in a total Crapsack World.
(http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrapsackWorld)
H. E. You: humph
I am not so sure I like this White Bishop
it is such a perfect chance for love!
White Bishop and White Bishop
me: Umm, you aren't supposed to.
H. E. You: huuuuumph
btw, you said, "He goes on the white diagonals; she goes on the white ones." which one is black?
up in number 6
me: She's supposed to be a flat, blatantly-evil character at first, who then turns out to have a full, deep backstory full of oh-so-close what-could-have-beens.
oops. ^__^;;
She's the black ones.
sorry.
H. E. You: oh
so
it still COULD be a rlly
TOUCHING kinda tragedy
even if she never redeems.
that will be fun
all the what ifs
me: please elaborate.
Sent at 8:58 PM on Friday
H. E. You: you know, all those wasted chances.
you could describe them in such heartrending detail.
you could add in the emotions, except in a chronology type of way, so that time IS an extremely important dimension, just not a magical one.
and through her adventures, and the demise of her humanity, you could show - anything, rlly. motifs, themes, morals, idc rlly. what matters is that you could make it so that she was once a good person, somewhere inside, that she once had happy memories. You have a knack for building up complex backstories. this is ttly your thing. Things that could have been, except she doesn't realize it. Beautiful despite the fact that she's unfeeling, star-crossed despite the fact that she had a lot of potential. Everyone thinks about that kinda stuff - "what if".
and then ppl would actually cry.
you could even highlight some philosophy while you're at it.
and it would be so much fun, thinking of all the different paths winding together into an eternal figure eight.
me: oh.
H. E. You: yes?
me: she also has a calculator in her brain.
that mod is pretty common.
H. E. You: lol
i see
how old is she?
me: In the picture, I think late teens.
H. E. You: awesome
me: She serves as a soldier at least into her thirties, though.
H. E. You: ohhhhh, one last question. this one's a big one.
me: shoot.
H. E. You: can I help?
me:
sure.
H. E. You: YES!!!!!!
Viola.
