One of the very first times I saw the name Chess, as in the unpublished musical by Tim Rice and Bjorn Ulvaeus, was a low-resolution thumbnail of a drawing I assume I once downloaded from Velan Central Archive and drawn by  RGibson a very long time ago of the Russian and the American I could see clearly within, stylized as an erect, brachiate anthroform bear and red fox, respectively.

At the time I didn't know that the original story was not of Roz's design or devision, nor that it was terribly famous. I found out entirely by accident a few weeks ago on Twitter through a friend of hers that the singer who handled the original duties for the song prior to Murray Head is a native Montrealer and a good friend of my uncle's family there, which I thought was rather brill.

The Twitter response-post was a bit on the assive side, which was disappointing coming from both a Mutual of mine and someone who's worked in Star Trek film and television; I haven't spoken to them since but that is mostly out of expedition and frugality of effort, not deliberate avoidance. I don't particularly care what they think; was surprised they followed me back at all before. Frugality and use of concentrated resource, perhaps? I really don't care. If you shoot off a response like one in the tone they chose after responding with valid enthusiasm in mine I am not likely to take it well. Assume the worst if I barely know you and you decide to bluff. I am not a monster but I am not keen to be spat on for the trouble of my kindness, and will respond appropriately.

Somehow that much I understood about Chess, and a lot of other things. You know my tale well enough, Jenora, and by that the transitions over time I have withstood and therein borne, for you have been wedded by choice to my tale as friend, wise-woman and confidant to this wolf for the last thirty years. I don't think I need ask you what you think of my resultant person, because you don't hide those things from me, but I hope you'll forgive my doubt in myself.

The doubt is my reference point, like Huntress', and like both of ours our pain is the firepoint at the edge of our knacker's hook: we know it's there and what it is, we do not fear it nor meet its business with disrespect, because we can't get too close; it's an abyss, a temptation, the Absence and Abscess. We need to pick at it and understand it because that is our nature, simply because we haven't given up; the fluxile paradox we understand but never wholly makes sense.

I think every man and woman who's ever lived has this thing inside of them, but it takes being struck it in the face repeatedly and unexpectedly with its rusted steel and purpose to know it and take on the importance it bears. It isn't a coward's fortune to not know it, it's just fortunacy, and I don't begrudge its ignorance of or by anyone. It changes you, doesn't put you to decess, like the worst horrors do. You know that and you know yours well enough, as I do mine.

-2Paw.

The first time I heard about Chess was when a friend of mine who was involved in the early 'FurryMech' semi-shared world that Lynx on FurryMUCK was writing. (Basically we all got to put our MUCK characters in as characters, but he did most of the writing.) This friend used the song 'Where I Want To Be' as his character's theme song, as he was playing pretty much an honourable villain's leiutenant getting undermined by others and despairing that the people he worked for were just letting it happen.

Honestly, I think 'Nobody's on Nobody's Side' is the song which makes it the most obvious that half the people involved with ABBA were writing the music. It could easily be done as a purely ABBA song.

Sadly Chess is one of those things that only really made a relatively short term splash and got a bit of a cult following, and never really had a full tour production, so it was certainly possible to miss it if you weren't hanging out with people who already knew about it.

As for the response... yeah. There's a reason I like the xkcd comic Ten Thousand... that's really the better way to deal with someone who doesn't know something 'obvious'. Not a dismissive comment about the fact that you don't know, but more an 'oooh, do I have something to show you!' Celebrate learning new things!

I asked Mevrea last Storytime at Owlhaven, this past Tuesday; first one back since the 11-day-fugue of severed function for my wrist ended and the splint came off, if I could add something to the night's reading. I've been going on and off for the last few months since Melkor popped off a MUCK-wide P.A. note, and summoned my interest and invited my person there.

The selection I had first preferred and gave syntactic preview to suss by our group company was dark, although I don't think it's really that much so as Trek goes and I know it's met the bone worse- you've seen Wrath of Khan I'm sure, and you know how rough the chaotic terrain can get when the Trek hits the fan, Jen- it really wasn't suited for the tone of the night, which as a guest I was beholden to respect. I picked something a little lighter, which had also been one of my Thursday Prompts from a few weeks ago. Honestly, it didn't go well. I know Vixxy didn't do it to hurt me or infantilize me, but responding to a romantic interlude I'm proud of by going "Awwwwww......" is a compliment, I suppose, but it's unconstructive, it doesn't tell me anything.

Cohost is already a colossal fucking echo chamber for me because nobody sees what I post, and the few who can don't Retoot (which shows those posts to others they follow) nor do they comment, just repeat Favourites which encompiled is as nothing more than a participation prize, a pat on the head and dismissal of breadth and depth. Jenora, you know Twopaw 2023 as well as Twopaw 1992, and the journey I've taken, and you've walked with me for all of it.

I'm a human being, for God's sake, hell, you helped show me how to be one. I have feelings and even if I don't always reckon them appropriately, I can feel them as well and I swear I can more intimately than a lot of people do, and that's why it hurts so much! If someone wants to see my work, I'd like to share it with them. I don't and won't beg it of them. But don't lie to me, say you're interested and then ignore the link or faircopy I send your way!

I mean, is my confidence intimidating? Do my dreams offend everyone else now because I've found a voice to work them through as medium and manner? I've been wondering if I had it all wrong the whole time, that either I set the bar too high or didn't know where to put it. I've tried to grok the rules but aside from maybe you and a few other people, my Starcat, I never got shown the path.

I don't know what it even looks like. I just assume it's there, first in fear of falling and now confidence of footfall, because this is what I want and what I choose. What I don't understand is the shape and the form, and why I don't get to sit with everyone. And nobody tells me anything, not that I can go on acoustics or format.

I want to know someone sees me here in the first place, that I'm not scaring anybody, that I was here the whole time. I'm not perfect and that hypothetical perfection is incidental and bulk noise-to-signal, because nobody's perfect. It's like relation-reference or zero point. It's useful and it's meant that way, but nobody lives there and it should neither be crux of function nor excuse of handsel.

Jenora, I don't know what I've been doing wrong, if I have, nor what I've been doing right. I just want to keep writing and drawing because this is what I know and it's the matrix of what make me feel whole and purposeful, not riven slivers but a heart of organic stone. If that goes away...well, it did, as you know now that I'll told you. 11 Days In Gaol. And it was almost the end of me.

And the worst horror I have to face is that the whole time I was calm and reasoned. Goddamned casual.

I can do this, I know I can. I'd just like to know the audience is listening, if I've one in the first place. I have no other proof to give.

This is the story I was going to put up stood at the dais-and-kirk at Storyhaven. I debated adding it to the Prompt but it might just be beyond the remit of our goodstuff. I wanted it to share it with someone, anyway, and as you've helped taught me to be, you're a good listener, Jenora Feuer.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/owg9c8btke8oq4sa2zryv/MIGHTY-FEARFUL-ENTERPRISE-2023-8-26-2023-001.pdf?rlkey=3ow9hpumydoylfmsu3028d01w&dl=0

-2Paw.

That was strange; I had done an edit to my prior comment, saved it in but then the edit reset to prior default; the edit timer had also not finished counting down and the edit button was then locked out. I see.

An interesting look into what happens after something occurs, and how people tend to be more selfish than they look, even with good deeds, they still have an ulterior motive, although that doesn't take away from doing something good. Well done :)

Yeah, everybody has reasons for doing things, even if they don't understand those reasons themselves. And frankly most people don't examine their own thoughts and intentions enough to be good at understanding.

(Why yes, I have done some study of psychology.)

now this was really really good, well written, and enjoyable... made my breakfast that much sweeter...

Vix

Thanks!

I really do need to finish cleanup on the novel that Huntress is from. Gah.

A very nice story! One of the reasons I like C J Cherryh's Chanur series is because of the political analysis of alien races and their motivations. I do enjoy Huntress' observation that you have to start with the way the world is before effecting change. Thank you for sharing!

Cherryh was good at that, yes, and not just in the Chanur books. (My introduction to Cherryh was actually Gate of Ivrel.) Everybody has motivations, and those motivations usually make sense, even if only to the person with them... consistency is the key point.

Damn, those are some great ending paragraphs. Striking social commentary there. That's what Cyberpunk is all about, and you really captured that well.

Thanks! Yeah, a lot of people don't pay enough attention to the 'punk' part of cyberpunk... punk has always been about rebellion against the entrenched power structures, even if all you can do is make yourself stand out and draw attention to the way those power structures try to press everybody into mediocrity. Neuromancer was always a warning, and William Gibson was never happy with the way people thought it was 'cool'.

And Huntress has seen some of that from both sides, disenchanted with her more corporate family and striking out on her own. She wants to make a difference, but knows full well she's unlikely to be able to. Trying to hold back the avalanche isn't exactly safe, but it's how she lives with herself.

Pi is of the same opinion - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/46348706/

Good story and definitely captures that cyberpunk aesthetic.

Heh, I remember that picture, yes. And have held that opinion for a while.

(*checks* Yes, I even commented on that picture at the time.)

Of course, there is also a reason why the same artist who created Pi is responsible for a number of my pictures of Huntress.

Ah excellent, and yes he does really nice art!