plasticasshole | Aefenglom IC Inbox

[It's not exactly Connor's fault. Honestly. the thing that majorly pushed Rich away wasn't Connor at all... but that's something that Rich will deal with later. For now, he has to keep up appearances however he can.

He moves along the display section with a thoughtful look.]

Well, it depends on what you're looking for. Less money, more compact, better sound... all of those things are important, but it depends on the person which is the highest priority. So what's yours?

Well, I'd like it to sound nice. I don't mind investing a little more for a better quality violin now if it means I don't have to buy another one later on.

[It makes sense, after all. Plus, he's very sensitive to how things sound.]

Makes sense... well, this is one of the newer models.

[He gestures to a sleek wooden one in a display case, with a charming engraving that almost looks like waves.]

I'm not as good with this as I am with guitar obviously, but the strings are strong, and it has a nice, clear sound with someone knows what they're doing with it.

[He likes the way it looks, at least. But the important test would be to play it.]

Can I try it?

[He doesn’t want to just pick it up and start going for it without asking first.]

I mean, go for it. That's the only way to know if it's good, right?

[Rich could always demonstrate, but he's not at all talented, and just knows the instrument from the brief explanation they gave. He'd much rather hear Connor try it, so he picks the violin out of it's little case and holds it out.]

[Connor takes it, and after a moment of deciding he starts to play a song. He tries to be less stiff as he plays, and although he can hit the notes perfectly he still seems slightly frustrated after the little bit he performs. Elliot doesn't want him to play like an android, he wants him to play like a human. He still doesn't feel like he gets that, though.

Well, the violin itself sounds nice. And that was the whole point of this... not to beat himself up over not feeling like he's performing as well as Elliot expects of him.]

What do you think? Personally, I like it.

[Rich's eyes go wide and he whistles lowly after Connor performs, clearly impressed. It does sound good... almost too good, though, and Rich isn't quite sure what that's about. Maybe it's best not to worry about it.]

Wow, I thought you were just starting to learn. That sounded perfect.

Thanks.

[He seems pleased with the compliment.]

I haven’t been learning for very long, but Elliot is a good teacher.

[And being an android, he can play almost anything he wants once he’s been shown how. He just really likes the violin.]

I’m going to continue to study under him until I can make my music sound more... well, less like a machine is playing it.

[Which is hard for a machine. He’s trying, though.]

He does seem it. Maybe I will have to go to him for music lessons, I guess.

[Oh, that explains a bit of Rich's original complaint, and he's grateful for that. He offers a bit of a sideways grin.]

I think what you're missing is the emotion in it. With creative stuff, you have to worry less about perfection and just... let the feelings move you where they will.

[Rich actually wiggles a bit in his spot. Dance is definitely one of those emotional outlets for him, along with music.

I’m not really sure how to apply emotion to a task like music. It’s true that I feel it when playing, but...

[He bites his lip.]

It might sound silly, but I’m afraid of messing up. I don’t want to forget myself and hit the wrong note. So I guess I try to suppress them so that they don’t distract me from performing properly.

It's not silly at all. I think that's how a lot of less experienced players are when they first start out. It's something you have to train yourself to worry about less.

I mean, maybe you could try improvizing a song? Start with a scale and just play around with notes? I think that would be a good way to start training that worry out of you.

[It’s actually a relief to hear that it’s normal. It makes him feel less stupid for admitting it. He knows he has a problem with failure, but at least this can’t all be credited to that fear. It can get better.]

How exactly do you improvise a song?

[He seems intrigued, but confused... he’d never considered it before. How can he just play when there are no notes to follow?]

Uh... it might be easier to show you actually. Come on, I'll show you what I mean.

[He gestures for Connor to follow him back to where he had been sitting before Connor had interrupted, picking up his guitar and strumming a few chords.]

Come on, sit down. You probably know the standard scales, right?

[Connor sits, with his soon-to-be new violin in his hands.]

Of course.

[He eyes the guitar, curious to see Rich play. He sits his violin on his shoulder and awaits further instruction.]

You won’t get into trouble for doing this with me, will you?

No, of course not! I'm helping you pick out an instrument. That's part of my job!

[Mainly, his job is to tune the instruments... but he can help a customer on the side.]

Anyways. Let's start with a minor pentatonic.

[He strums a note until Connor matches it, then slowly moves up and down the scale.]

[Connor follows Rich's lead, satisfied that he's not going to get into trouble for it.]

These instruments would sound good together, don't you think?

Yeah, well, they're both string instruments, so I'm not surprised. Lots of instruments work well together, though. That's kind of the beauty of music.

[Once they move up and down the scales a few times, Rich starts strumming out chords in an even tone.]

Okay, so now I want you to try playing random notes and rhythms in that scale, just... go wild. Try long notes, or short ones, whatever you want!

[Connor's LED whirls yellow and blinks as he considers what he wants to do, before he starts playing. It's obviously taking a lot of concentration to do this. The result is pretty, if not oddly melancholy, and when he stops he looks to Rich.]

How was that?

[Concentration is good. It means he's thinking harder about what he's playing, which means he might at least slightly be thinking about how the music feels. Rich gives a more genuine smile.]

Yeah! That's more like it! How did it feel, coming up with something off the cuff?

It feels good knowing that I can do it.

[And he thinks he did feel the music there, too. It moved him as he played.]

Can I hear you play?

Oh, sure... I wouldn't mind showing off a little. I play a lot of rock, though. I hope you don't mind.

[He strums his guitar a few times, looking over Connor with a smile.]

I haven't heard much rock, but I think I'd like it.

[He seems to like pretty much every other type of music.]

Is rock your favourite?

Pretty much. I love a lot of punk rock, fuck the man type shit... a lot of stuff like that.

[But he decides that might be a little heavy, plus swearing on the job might be frowned upon... so instead, he starts playing a little love song.]

[Connor smiles warmly at the song, and though he finds he relates to the words he's not sure he wants to talk about it here, with Rich, when some of those feelings are based on the SQUIP.]

I like your singing voice. And that song is sweet.

[He wonders if Rich thought of someone while singing it, too.]

O-Oh... uh, thanks? I'm really not that good, I mean, I'm still working on the lyrics...

[He must be thinking of someone if he's trying to actually write a song, rather than just play one that already exists. Not that Rich is exactly comfortable talking about it yet.]

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