conflictresolution

[she hums sweetly while her padded fingertips trace along his scars. when she reaches near the end of them, she tugs her hand away then flings her attention to their table — the plate of food, and both of their beverages long forgotten until now. cream of her drink melted and mixed with the cookie smoothie, and his coffee, probably cooled.]

Heh, do you ever run out of goals?

[just a light jab of how her father always have something cooked up despite having one task meeting its demands.]

[He had all but forgotten about food since she had settled into his lap, and that was all too typical of him. He would, of course, finish his coffee since she had gone out of her way to make it for him and show off her skills for the upcoming cafe.]

No, why would I? Everything I do is for your future.

What else is there to do with this place?

[she turns to look at him again, then settles her head back on his chest before reaching over to grab a braid to fiddle her ends with.]

You owe almost everything, and there's barely any trouble around here.

No, not everything. Not even close to 'almost', but with enough time, effort and resources, I expect we can change that for our own benefit.

[It was about control, after all. He tipped his chin towards his chest after a moment to watch her play with her hair.]

We don't have control of the system itself, nor fully understand how it works the way that it does.

I don't... think it's something we can control, Silco. The AI is almost like the gemstone. The crystal's been its own thing lately, and I can't really make it behave the way I want it to.

[maybe if she sat down and really think hard enough, she can come up with something to get a hold of the system. but they've already tried blowing up the place, and it's not leaving any marks like when ragna did it the first time.]

So I've been putting it in time out for the last few months.

There are avenues that we haven't tried, and until our exploration of this place and its mechanizations are explored, we cannot lose sight of what control could mean. This is a simulation, so control may come simply by understanding what it is trying to achieve.

[Silco was always forward looking, had been since he had been old enough to understand being seen as lesser, denied even the basics of survival, and since the first idea of Zaun had come to fruition all those years ago. This wasn't Zaun, but it was the next best thing, so he would never stop seeking control of this system which would be his state of permanence for as long as it lasted.

He lightly tugged at the base of one of Jinx's braids.]

And this place hasn't been putting you in time out for some months as well.

[she leaves his first little ramble to hang in the atmosphere, not having too much to say on the manner. jinx wants their new home to be better, and compared to where she's from, it's definitely a million times better. it has its hiccups, sure, but the people in it are decent enough. although, she has yet to see how anyone can control something that doesn't have a physical being.]

Heh, yeah. What gives, huh? Maaaaaybe it's busy with bigger fish.

[with her father tugging airily at her braids, she squeaks out a sound — but not out of discomfort or shock. just because she simply can.]

[This was the last home that they would likely have, so it was best to make the most of it as far as he was concerned. It was unclear if people aged normally and if aging would result in end of life. There were diseases and ailments that people came with, but without death being permanent, it was difficult to conjecture what the long-term future would hold. He wanted to know.

He shrugged his shoulders, stroking his hand down some of her braid after her obvious theatrics.]

Maybe they are back to spreading out the punishments. Jerry clearly has retired.

[That was a change that he didn't care for one way or another.]

Well, I've been on my best behavior.

[in fact, she can't necessarily remember a time she hurt someone just to get her point across, or out of sheer wrath. she spits out threats, sure, her mouth tends to run for the hills before her brain can halt her tongue, but when was the very last time she shot at someone that wasn't self-defense?

jinx peers at her father and briefly taps his nose with her index.]

And whaaaaat about Mister Dangerous over here? — Remember, no candy if you've been rotten.

I know, but you should only be on your best behavior because you want to.

[Things had been going somewhat calm if one ignored the whole world ending and reset business and the monsters and the artificial intelligence. Of course, Jerry had been missing for some months now. Jinx had been making more friends and allies, staring a business. Things had been going well for her all things considered.

He glanced at her for the tap to the nose, giving her braid another light tug in response.]

I don't like candy, so I should survive. Though perhaps I need to be rotten so you can be good.

[even with the light tug of her braid, jinx forces out a weak chuckle at his statement, a strain smile to keep up the humor, but it's faltering.]

Heh, hey, that's not funny. Don't go do something stupid over me.

[his daughter shakes her head gently, then lets it drop heavy against his chest again. she should really hop off his lap soon, yet she wants to stay like this with him. ... which leads to a question, but she'll pop it a little later.]

Just... keep living how you've been. And I'll stay good.

Hmpt, I leave the stupid to your sister.

[However, if push came to shove, Silco had been considering what he would do - what he was willing to do - to allow his daughter whatever she wanted. He had built this new empire for her, to give her anything and everything she might want, not particularly considering that his goals might not align with what she actually wanted. There would come a time when he wouldn't be here anymore, and he still had so much knowledge, advice and support to pass on until that time.

His hand rose and cupped the back of her head again. It wasn't often that they remained like this for so long. Normally Jinx was too energetic to want to remain this close for this long unless she was extremely sleepy, which this case was not.]

Indeed. This city will be yours in the next year or two. [Spoken like a promise.]

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