conflictresolution

[ right as she opens her mouth to speak, the barkeep returns to them with their requested drinks. and as promised, a glass of whiskey for him and a big fishbowl-like glass of some fruity drink for her. at the sight, jinx slams both of her palms onto the bar counter, then gasps with exaggeration. the poor man startles at her sudden excitement and even stumbles back a bit before regaining his footing again. ]

This... looks... amazing!!

[ with a high pitch squeal, she does a small jig in her seat in celebration while reaching something in her back pocket. is she going to give him a tip? at least, that's what he is hoping for. the night's been pretty rough on his end, and he could use some good fortune. but luck won't be on his side tonight as she fishes out some lint and drops it onto the table. the bartender blinks once, twice, then peers up at the girl in extreme confusion. and jinx holds the gaze back, meeting the same expression. ]

What? You can do a lot with cotton lint. Like making fire when you're out of matches. Trust me, you'll thank me when you're stranded.

[ and with that, the teenager dives in her drink -- sipping the juice so fast through the straw. as for the man, he looks extremely depressed as he stretches over to take the offer... ]

[Silco's reaction was the usual sedate one, though he watched his daughter put on overly enthusiatic show for the barkeep. He would have to keep an eye on her for the night on how she interacted with them man and perhaps make a job offer in the future if Jinx taken a keen liking to tormenting him in her usual way. She needed a barkeep to make her drinks and be absolutely obtuse about how to handle her antics.

He picked up his drink and swirled the amber liquid unnecessarily as he watched Jinx hand over some pocket lint. The corner of his lip twitched in amusement, and he left it for the barkeep to take the lint as if it was some kind of offering.

In true dichotomy fashion, he set down enough currency to pay for both of their drinks and a healthy tip for the man.]

An order of calamari as well. [He turned to Jinx sucking away at her massive drink.] Come, Jinx, pick a game tables and we shall enjoy ourselves.

[ the man's spirit lifts at the currency on the table, looking over at silco with gratitude twinkling in his eye. maybe when it's just the two of them, he will express how much this amount actually means to him during his tiring times. but for now, he nods to him obediently and hurries off to put in the order.

meanwhile with jinx, the hastily sips immediately sting to her temples -- a new spark wave of alcoholic buzz to recloud her already hazy mind. her good influence friends would advise her to slow down, and to take it easy. but this is a "i want to forget" kind of night, to dull all of her heartaches and insecurities until she can't recall why she was so upset in the first place. when silco regains her attention again, jinx nods in agreement and scoops the enormous drinking glass with both hands. there's no way she is leaving this baby behind. the girl skids off the stool in a light fumble before cocking her head to one side at the empty pool table nearby. ]

Mmm, that one!

[ and without any delay, jinx scurries on over -- nearly bumping into a stranger in which she rudely blares out,"hey, move it!!" then continues on. the man eyes the teenager, but says nothing -- returning to converse with his other drinking buddies. so far, so good with the "no causing trouble" department. ]

[Silco knew that look, and he was not above capitalizing on it either. It wasn't stealing the competition if he could just plain offer better and seal that loyalty to remain with him in the future as well. This was just the start, and he would see what this one was really made of if nothing better came his way once he 'prayed' to the 'gods' about getting his own little taste of home back. He'd been thinking about it for a month or so, and now that he was established, he could consider expansion.

For now though, he pushed off of leaning on the bar to follow his daughter away to one of the games tables of her choice. He had promised to school her in the ways of games, even though she too had been raised in a bar and probably had many exposures to such things. Her drunkenness would either make it easier or harder for him, and that remained to be seen once she had decided on a table.

He moved pass the one that Jinx had ordered to move it and said nothing as he followed his daughter over to a pool table. He examined it like it might be rigged before setting down his drink on the side of it and shrugging out of his coat. That's when one knew he was going to take things seriously.]

This is your choice? Set the table then, and pick your pole, Jinx.

[He and Vander had played a lot of pool in their youth during the off hours. It was fitting he reframed such memories with those of his daughter. After all, he didn't spend a lot of time on games when there was an Undercity to force together, so this was even a novelty for him after working so many hours in Aldrip.]

[ she sing-songs a hum as a reply, and places the beverage on a nearby table. her gaze drifts off to the pole selection, with her head cock curiously to one side. are they all the same, or does a stick make a difference in a game? maybe so, but with her mind being as sloshed as it is, there's no telling so she'll stick to choosing one at random. the girl tucks the pole underneath her arm and makes her way back to the table, grabbing what she needs to set all the balls in its trangler rack. however when she glances down at the set, her expression warps into confusion. ]

Wait, does the order matter? Like... the colors and numbers and stuff?

[He waited and took another sip from his tumbler as he waited for Jinx to select the pole that she would initially play with. Hopefully neither of them decided to break one or two over the course of the game. He wasn’t expecting that this game would be anything more than a laugh for them while everyone else might just have to endure watching the pain of it.

He approached and picked his own cue, touching the tip to see how rounded it was and making certain it wasn’t angled much on any one side. He returned to the table and regarded her puzzlement.]

Black eight-ball in the middle of the set. White ball remains out as that is the cue ball that we hit. The first person to knock in a ball will have to sink all of those – stripes or solids. The last ball to sink is the eight ball, as that decides the game winner.

Eight-ball in the middle....

[ she mumbles out the instructions to herself as she rearranges the set. and once she believes she has it correctly, jinx peers up at her father with a slight doe-like twinkle in her eyes — waiting for an approval or dissatisfaction over how she laid out their game.

if she wasn't intoxicated, the rules of the game would be extremely easy to grasp, especially when she had seen it being played a few times during her youth. but the memories on how the game is meant to be played is a haze to her now, and she'll be looking for father in hope he will guide her halfway there. ]

[Silco nodded when she had rearranged the eight ball where it should be, resting the butt of his pool cue on the floor. He gestured with a hand at her from the opposite end of the table where she was standing.]

Now roll the set to the middle dot at your end of the table. We will shoot from where I am down the table at it after you remove the triangle. We will use the cue ball from one of the points at my side of the table to start the game officially.

[He waited for her to remove the triangle so that the balls could move when struck. It had been some time for him, but he made certain to keep up with many of the games of his youth but also that could be used for gambling outlets.]

Also, if you sink the eight ball before all of your colours have been sunk, you will remove it from one of the net pouches along with one of your balls to put back into play.

[ still following his instructions, jinx rolls the set and centered it where it needed to be. but somewhere during the middle of her father's explanation of the game, an uncomfortable shiver prickles at the back of her neck. suddenly, she feels as if the entire bar is glued to them and her movements, evaluating her closely just to see how well she can grasp the game's rules with her plastered mind. anxiously, she peeks over her shoulder — seeing mylo, claggor, and several orphans from the undercity standing with folded arms and impatient stares. a giggle chimes to her left ear, and she snaps her attention to it — not seeing anyone there, but... the ridicule is thickening their atmosphere by the second.

outside of her hallucination episode, though, the patrons are paying no mind to the pair — maybe a glance or two, but nothing that screamed of judgmental behavior or trouble. jinx steadily gazes back to the set on the table and her trembling fingers, carefully removing the triangle barrier to reveal the nicely shaped set. and once she puts it away, she makes her way to her father with the stick still underneath her armpit. ]

Uhm, you wanna do the honors?

[ she offers apprehensively, and doing all but look to the direction of the dead and the orphans on the other side of the table. ]

[Silco knew that look when it overcame her expression, the little glances to images that didn't exist and likely voices to follow. He continued to explain the rules anyway, keeping things calm and on track as he knew she would never want a scene in the middle of a public bar like this. She despised the idea of being seen as weak after all, so he wouldn't put her in the position to do so. However, he was watching in case the episode became overwhelming and he did have to intervene.

Her trembling fingers lifting the triangle and then she was coming over to him. He watched her even as he reached for the blue chalk and rubbed it over the cue tip. He offered it to her as a distraction.]

This is just for fun, Jinx. No stakes. Besides, you learn most subjects quickly.

[Then he stepped away from her to set the cue ball in the middle and leaned over the table to line up his shot. A quick snap of the cue shot the white ball forward and into triangle of them, breaking the formation and sending balls everywhere around the table. None of them entered the pockets this round, and he didn't mind in the least. He rose and returned to his daughter and his drink, taking a moment to survey the table as he sipped his whiskey. Then he gestured with the tumbler.]

It's all about angles. I would suggest sinking a ball in close proximity to the cue to get a feel for the table and the strength needed. Trick shots come later.

Just... for fun.

[ she repeats his words more to herself than to him out loud. he is right, this is just a carefree game between father and daughter where no one dies at the end, or the results conclude to humiliation. but she still tightens her lips when her deadly onlookers refuse to leave the premises so she can focus clearly. jinx's pinks dart away again, and uses all of her concentration solely on silco to study his form.

when it's her turn, she swells her lungs with air and takes a step forward — examining the table before her, and for which ball to strike first given the cue's position. his daughter parrots him by rubbing the chalk at the tip of her stick, and then arranging herself over the table. the teenager teeths on her lower lip with concentration, her eyes squinting as she takes the shot. like his previous move, the ball didn't go in and bounces off to the opposite side... but now edging dangerously at a hole nearby. ]

[Silco stood nearby as Jinx set herself up for a shot, resting the butt of the pool cue on the floor with both of his hands holding onto it. He made certain to exude an air of patient calmness, and he had no skin in this game in the least. He was a man who liked to win in set circumstances, but he wasn't above admitting where he didn't have strengths either and then surrounded himself with people who could do the things that he couldn't.

Evolution was learning, was loyalty to the idea that they all had something to give (even if it was their deaths).

He made a noise when she knocked around the balls around the table, and he only then moved around the table to have a good angle to the cue ball. He might not be competitive in this instance, but neither was he going to throw the game to cheapen her own efforts. That's not how he operated, especially with Jinx.

He bent over the table, lining up a shot and knocking in a solid orange ball into the corner basket. He stood and gestured at the table.]

I will be aiming for solid colours, which means you will have to knock in all the ones with stripes. For every ball that you knock into a basket on a turn, you get another shot until you either knock them all in or you don't sink one then the turn passes back to you. Understand?

[He was already moving around the table and line up a second shot, and he knocked the cue ball into a cluster of three balls, none of which entered the baskets but separated them for easier shots in the future.]

Your turn.

[ her mood sours just a touch when silco scores, but not enough to throw a fit or call for a redo. the game just started, after all, and it's not like she's playing against the boy savior who she swears cheats to some capacity. regardless, she understood the direction except for one thing... ]

How come I have to knock off the stripe ones? [ using her stick, she points at a random solid color ball] What's wrong with me hitting those?

Edited 2024-05-19 22:42 (UTC)

Because if you knock in the solids, you'll be pushing me closer to the win.

[If it was one thing that he knew, it was that Jinx was highly competitive and would hate to lose to him even if it was 'for fun'. Already, he could see her displeasure that he had sunk a ball before her. He leaned against the table with his hip.]

And you wouldn't want to give me the win, would you?

Noooo, but why do you get to claim the solids? You better not say it's 'cause you're older and you say so.

[ despite her argument, she maneuvers around the table to a cue and takes another gander over her options. there is one stripe that would be able to make in if she lines things up just right. so carefully, she leans forward again -- setting the stick between her index and middle with one eye closed. ]

I'm gonna catch up to you, y'know.

Edited 2024-05-20 02:23 (UTC)

Because the first ball that I sunk into the basket was solid. That means I will play solids to the end of the game, and you will play stripes.

[If she wanted to play solids, he would not stand in her way. Neither would he pick off stripes either. He nodded his head at her assurances that she would be catching up, making certain to take a sip from his whiskey.]

Oh yes, I have faith. Your move, Jinx.

[ the blueberry haired girl wets her lips carefully as she concentrates with her body motionless. maybe if she views this whole game from a different angle, it'll click. like silco says, it's all about angles. the tip of the pole is the edge of the barrel and the ball, being the target — a bottle, a bird,... an enforcer?

it's a little difficult to imagine a law enforcement when the ball is nowhere near shaped like a human head, but maybe she can make due with it... somehow. jinx's specialty is improvising under any circumstances, so this shouldn't be any unusual. swallowing a deep breath, she takes her shot and the stripe ball speeds rapidly into the hole with a loud thud. his daughter beams at her first victory goal, and she stands up right with a light pep in her step to move around the table. ]

Now I go again, right?

Edited 2024-05-22 04:16 (UTC)

[He wondered if she would get into the game or be resistant to the rules and just knock balls around the table to disrupt everything. He wouldn't mind if she did as long as she was distracted from the other woes of her life for some time. That didn't happen, and she settled into the game.

From where he was standing, she was lining up the shot well. He expected she would have success as long as she didn't hit the cue too hard or too softly. He made a noise of triumph when a stripped ball went into the basket, nodding his head.]

You do, yes. You go until you don't knock in any stripped balls into a basket.

[He noted that the barkeep was coming around with a plate of calamari for them. He rested his hands on his play stick.]

Our meal arrives.

[ jinx was on her way to line up another shot, but the sight and the light aroma of calamari tugged her away from their game. grinning like a kid in a toy store, she places the stick on the pool table and maneuvers quickly to their meal. and as usual, the teenager show no proper manners to the barkeep as she jerks the plate out of his hands — no bit of a "thank you", either.

the barman frowns over the etiquette and a sigh leaves his chest once again in defeat. what a thankless job this is, all so he can keep himself and his family off the streets. with silco's meal, he extends it out for him to take -- expecting the same attitude, and his body language tightens as he braces himself for a snatch or some sort of rude gesture like his daughter. meanwhile with jinx, she takes a quick spoon full of her meal, then washes it down with her almost forgotten drink. ]

MMm, this is the best date!

[ she compliments with her mouth still stuffed. but his daughter then reflects over her own words for a moment; redirecting her statement: ]

... Actually, this is the only date I've ever been on. Quentin never took me out.

Edited 2024-05-25 21:13 (UTC)

[Silco said nothing of Jinx's rudeness, not caring in the least. However, he looked at the barkeep and made a show of sighing a little, shrugging his shoulders as if to indicate 'kids, right? as he moved over with his cue in hand and then offered the man a few extra coins for the trouble to hand off before he took his own meal. "Your service is appreciated," he said.

He set his own plate down on the edge of the pool table and ate far more delicately. He would lose interest in food soon enough, which meant there would be plenty for Jinx to steal from his plate over the course of the night. He couldn't have her passing out drunk, after all. He would carry her, but it would be far more exasperated than the last time.]

You know me. I always provide you with the best.

[He kept the frown off his face at the mention of Quentin. Good riddance.]

You simply have to find that special someone who values your company to be out on the town. [And Silco would try not to have them murdered. Maybe.]

[ she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and lightly staggers her way to the pool table again. ] — But I'm not really pretty.

[ normally, jinx wouldn't admit this so casually or this openly, but the liquor is allowing her tongue to be loose and free. hopefully, her sober self will not remember this particular exchange — it'd be way too embarrassing. ]

Aaannnd I don't think I'm a lotta people's types.

[ clearing her throat and aiming to get her head back in the game, the teenager leans forward to the table again to line up her shot. ]

Maybe for a lay or something, but so not girlfriend material.

Is that so?

[He raised his eyebrow at the suggestion of beauty. He was not one to play into ideas of attractiveness, as he couldn't throw stones. After all, half of his face was blemish of a scar, so he was winning no awards. His opinion was that his daughter was attractive, and she sold herself short on that front.

He took a bite of the meal and chewed slowly, carefully as he observed her.]

We are both acquired tastes, and that isn't an insult. You have found people here who have accepted you as you are, and that should lend credence to your attractiveness.

[He moved his plate to a nearby table so that there was less likelihood he might lose it with a stray ball from the table. Jinx might become enthusiastic with her shooting after all.]

Does that notion bother you?

[ while her eyes are tensely focused on the ball in front of her, she is also listening to his words very attentively. he is right about her finding people here, locals and chosen, who have accepted her, despite the beast that burrows within her if pushed in the wrong way. but a voice hisses at the side of her ear with a question that often keeps her awake at night. 'if so, how come i'm not getting a happy ending like all the other couples here'

so far, everyone met their suitors at first sight and living on their days without one crack rippling in their paradise. jinx, on the other hand, had a boyfriend for one solid month until an avalanche erupted. what was she doing that was so wrong that caused her relationship with quentin to fall apart so quickly? he mentioned being angry with her for not being there during the rescue mission, but he wasn't there when the city was under attack. it sounded pretty even-stevens to her, but... he made her feel she was the blame of everything.

there is ethan who is loosely in her life too, and she's enjoying the little moments they share — but deep down, she knows he is nothing more but ones, zeros, and gargling codes. his daughter shrugs thoughtlessly at his latest question, her expression hardening and becoming a little difficult to read. ]

Sex is sex.

[ she states a little clumsily; the talk of lovemaking is not exactly something she should talk with her father about. maybe with a mother, sure, but... dads are well... dads. ]

If it happens, it's whatever. Or. Something.

[ eventually, the teenager fires her shot and the ball bounces off a corner and completely off the mark. she straightens her spine again, then makes her way to her beverage — definitely need a big gulp. ]

— Couldn't hurt to be... a little... more. I guess.

Edited 2024-05-26 04:46 (UTC)

[Silco had put the idea of a romantic relationship - boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever - well over a decade ago. He had ignored the craving for connection for many years, so he was limited on how he could connect to his daughter on such a subject. It required the kind of reach and trust that he didn't believe he was capable of beyond Jinx herself, but they were family. He let her close, let her in where others hadn't been able to, and he was satisfied with that.

Some small part of him was concerned by her distress over not able to find a boyfriend to fill whatever void she had. It was the natural order of things, wanting to be wanted, wanting what they likely were never allowed to have for long.]

Sex is pleasure and connection, even for some fleeting moments. Assuming it's worth it of course.

[He might not engage in it these days, but that didn't mean he hadn't in the past. He knew what it was like, and while it was not a subject they ventured to aside from 'be safe about it' in an offhand conversation, he wouldn't stop her from discussing it with him.]

Or something.

[He watched her shot go off the rails, and he moved away from food to take up his cue again as he moved around the table to line up a shot for himself.]

If you want a boyfriend or girlfriend or just friends, don't stop on my account. Don't let anyone stand in your way of finding that person which gives you the pleasure you're seeking, in or out of sex.

[ her father's heart is in the right place, she knows it, but she can't help but to snort like an obnoxious little piggy over his encouragement. with a hand holding onto her stick and shoveling the calamari with the other, she muffles out a reminder: ]

Yeah? — And you wanted to bury my last boyfriend becaaauuuuuse.....♪?

[ because if what he is saying holds true, there wouldn't have been such a scuffle between the three of them. ]

Edited 2024-05-26 05:30 (UTC)

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cw: light voices and hallucinations

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cw: somewhat talk of sex. oopsie

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