Voicemail (IC Contact Post) OLD - at capcha

[abrightboy]

 This is Bright. Leave a message.

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[conning]

Neal lightens his grip a little so Malcolm can take more of a lead on correcting the next dribble. "Describe what you mean."

[abrightboy]

“I mean… it looks… right. Like. …Real, I guess. Not like the table. Something is wrong with the perspective or… the proportions or something,” he observes. “It doesn’t look right.”

[conning]

"Six of one, half a dozen of the other," Neal says, tone still even and calm. Painting relaxes him. It always has. "The proportions are what help establish the perspective."

He nudges the brush along, helping flesh one side of the table out with a little of the extra paint built up there.

[abrightboy]

“Did you paint something else because you knew you’d end up having to paint my painting of this?” Malcolm asks with a wry but not unhappy smile.

[conning]

He grins, again not answering the question. “What do you know about perspective in art? About how we visually construct space and distance?”

Malcolm smells nice, Neal thinks absently. Whatever soap he uses, whatever aftershave it is or the Admiral recreates for him, it’s nice. Earthy. Sharp underneath. It suits him.

[abrightboy]

“Um. I know geometry… oh, that is better,” he notes of Neal’s change to the shape of the table. “I remember an exercise in art class at school where we had to draw the horizon and then choose a point on the horizon and draw two lines coming from that point towards the near edge of the page at… particular… angles…..”

tlv; voice

[ukan]

Malcolm, my name is Lark Tennant. I wanted to talk to you about something that happened recently. A robbery.

voice

[abrightboy]

…Do you mean Misty’s robberies?

Re: voice

[ukan]

Yeah, those are the ones.

I was away when they happened, I only learned about them a little while ago.

[conning]

Neal expounds on the visual theories behind that particular exercise. Viewpoints, horizons, vanishing lines, the illusion of scale. The idea of linear perspective in Western art and shifting perspective and metaphysical use of depicted space in Eastern traditions. He’s tangented off down a track about the idea of “host” and “guest” image focus in Chinese painting when he realizes… they’ve run out of image to paint.

“Nicely done.” He gently lets go and takes a step back, resisting the urge to keep his hands at Malcolm’s waist. “I was barely doing anything by the end.”

[abrightboy]

What can I tell you?

[ukan]

What did they take? When did you find out who did it?

[abrightboy]

They took some of my medication and a decanter of scotch. I found out who it was pretty quickly. Her Warden must have caught her right afterwards.

[ukan]

How do you feel about how it was handled?

[abrightboy]

Do you mean her punishment?

[ukan]

Yeah.

[abrightboy]

I kind of know her, so I gave her my own assignment on empathy.

[ukan]

[That's...intriguing.]

What do you mean?

[abrightboy]

There are a lot of things she does impulsively, without any regard for how they affect other people. I asked her to put herself in the shoes of each of the people she robbed and think about how she would feel in their place.

[ukan]

Was she able to do it? Or do you think she will? She...wasn't exactly empathetic when I spoke to her.

[But the idea of empathy being something one can learn is exciting to Lark who, well, struggles with genuine empathy.]

[abrightboy]

She wants my approval, so she'll at least try, which is the point. I'll let you know when she gets back to me that she's finished.

[ukan]

Yeah? I appreciate that.

Do you do this sort of thing at home? Help people who, ah, lack for good choices?

[abrightboy]

I hunt murderers, actually. Not, like, with a gun. I’m sort of a detective. I do consulting for the police.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looks over his shoulder at Neal, then at the painting, his expression a little dubious.

“Are you sure?”

[conning]

"More than I'll be doing next time, maybe, but less than I started out helping with." It's a little teasing, but mostly sincere.