conflictresolution

Jeepers, aren't we nosey tonight?

[ and she moves on to the secondary topic, knowing very well they will return to it. jinx can attempt to make a roller coaster of conversations as per usual when she wants someone to get lost and whiplash, but silco is a witty man, and he's learned how to hang on to the handle bars. while some scream, vomit, and cry to never want to step foot in a roundabout talk with her again, silco can sit through the entire ride unfazed and with a straight face. ]

I'm starting to pick up a pattern here, Pops. Jinxie is thinking you are avoiding him. Did you two get into a fight or something? Are you on the couch? Figuratively speaking, since you two aren't even doing that right now.

You didn't answer the question either. I'll take your silence on that matter as confirmation.

[He had dealt with Jinx pin-balling all over the place to avoid being pinned down in conversation. He preferred to be direct with her unless it was a matter of himself then he might skirt it for a time. Self-awareness of his own actions and antics were not his strong suit.

He flipped the frying fish onto a plate for her and added some chips before setting it on the counter for her. It allowed him opportunity to turn and provide her a withering look.]

We did not fight, no. He's providing me space to be settle you back in after your absence. You and I have never been apart that long after all. And we are both busy.

[once the meal is set on the table, jinx spins around to sit properly, but scrunches up her face towards his scornful expression. she understands the reasoning, definitely. but it's been... two months, give or take. and jinx feels she has gotten back to the swings of things. sure, she still... weeps over isha and vander at night in solitude, but beyond that, jinx believes she's doing okay.]

Yeah, but. I think I've got the hang of things, so you can start seeing him. If you don't, what if he thinks you don't care for him anymore? I don't want the two of you to break up just because I'm back in town.

[ the minute that sentence leaves her lips, a guilty sensation plummets down to her gut, and she frowns to herself as this seems like a parallel fear she has with vi and caitlyn. the couple seem fine now, but only because she is keeping vi at arm's length. will she have to do the same with silco too? in order for him to get what he truly wants? her pinks lock tight in her meal, picking up the fish with her hands before tears them into smaller pieces. all this growing up and she still doesn't use utensils. ]

... What about him having you for the weekend? You two can catch up.

Edited 2025-02-13 18:15 (UTC)

[He set a few dinner items on a second plate for himself, though the portion was half of what he provided to Jinx. He turned off the appliances, picked up the plate and made his way over, noting that she didn't fight his previous claim for confirmation. He knew she had engaged as he had accused, and it was easier to try to tip the tables on him.

He knew his daughter was not fully settled back in, that there were people and places that still tugged at her. He was keenly aware of her attachment to the dead kid and the dead father figure, but he kept his resentment buried deeply. After all, he had been punished for his own death here, and it was a repeat that he wished to experience again with her already pulled back from the status quo chaos he was used to.

He took his seat, setting his plate in front of in the spot Jinx had prepared. He crossed one leg over the other and picked up the glass of wine, swirling it as if he could fake caring about the body and fragrance of the liquid.]

We see each other when our schedules align. I'm not concerned about a break up, and neither should you. We've tolerated each other this long.

[In his mind, that settled any argument on the matter. It was no where close to revealing the complicated and layered nuance that was his relationship with Richard. Neither of them were soft men, and their triggers and baggage was many. That they hadn't killed one another was likely a miracle of some sort.]

I'm working, and I'm spending the weekend with you.

[ with the fish in pieces, she blows on it to cool off the steam, then pops in her mouth carefully. she doesn't look convinced by his words, but she nods nevertheless and chews. ]

Okay. As long as I don't... "jinx" things. I've been doing a lot of that lately.

[ although, jinx does flash him a real smile (even though it's miniature) to turn this whole dinner night around. ]

This is delicious. I don't think I'll ever get tired of your cooking.

[Silco preferred to nurse his wine at this point, and as usual, conversation was one way of deterring him from actually eating. It was such a chore, and his interest was clearly on other matters. He watched his daughter over the rim of his glass, even as he mentally continued to convince himself that everything was as it should be between himself, his lover and his daughter.]

Have you? You know I don't believe in such things. You're doing exactly as you're supposed to be doing, nothing more, nothing less. You should worry less about my relationship. Let's consider the one you're formulating with the boy.

[He smoothly switched back to the topic they had started on that she had tried to avoid. Two could play her game after all, and he was nimble as he sipped his wine and nodded at her compliment. He hated cooking, but he had to muster some kind of parental aspirations, didn't he?]

No doubt those I pay could and will do better.

[she pauses in mid-chew when, once again, ekko climbs to the top of their topic. his daughter flickers a cut-eye look at him, but says nothing. instead, she weaves around the subject for the second (or is this the third?) time, and adds more weight into his cuisine.]

Are you kidding me? Nothing can beat homemade cooking. Trust me! The knock-offs try their best, but there's a thing called, "masterpiece" and they can't grasp it.

Edited 2025-02-15 18:43 (UTC)

Such flattery won't blind me to the topic at hand, Jinx.

[However, he was willing to let her eat. He supposed that they had a 'deal' in a way, but it was not nearly as satisfying as trying to stamp out this budding... whatever it was. He was convinced everyone would simply hurt her over and over again, and history had not dissuaded him from that notion. If anything, he was fair more stuck into that idea.]

Though yes, homemade is better. I never enjoyed cooking much.

How do you know, huh? Did you even try or put in a solid effort to be blind to it? You're gonna hurt the topic's feelings if you keep addressing to it like that. What if it's shy?

[ she pops another piece into her mouth, then reaches for her cup to wash it down with her cooling of the juice. and while she gulps, she grips onto a fry with her free hand and uses it as a pointer to lecture him with directly. jinx keeps the position for a few seconds until the mug is back in place on the counter. ]

I get it, it's a lotta work, buuuuut worth it when it stands between life and death. Then it gets extra juicy.

Edited 2025-02-15 19:11 (UTC)

Considering I'm half blind anyway... [He made a vague gesture at his left eye. It wasn't true, of course; he worked years, suffered many treatments to regain some sight in the left eye. Without Shimmer, it would fade away.] Shyness has no place at this table. So, is the boy a fling or more than that?

[Silco already knew or at least convinced himself that he knew, and it made him uncomfortable that he was powerless to stop this without creating a war. He didn't have the same resources because he was keeping his machinations subtle this time around. Perhaps it had been a misstep on his part, but it remained one that he could rectify easily.

How hard would it be to bring about all the necessary ingredients for a Shimmer refinery? Not much, not with his knowledge and resources.]

It's less about work and more about it being worthless to cook for one and one of my appetite. [Read: he ate because he had to not because he had a desire to.]

[her face twitch at his question, and she lowered the fry towards her lips to munch on. it's to buy her time as she contemplates her options. jinx isn't afraid to voice what they are, speaking her mind is something she is good at (sometimes too good) besides her gadgetry. it's more so how will silco take the news that the duo decided to become more than a fling without uttering clarification of words.

with her mouth empty, his daughter rolls her tongue behind her lips, tracing along her teeth like she's ensuring they're all still in place — even her two buck ones. but then the crow blows away her loose bangs from her vision, yet the purple streak still catches her eye. ]

Does it really matter? — If we're this or that, here or there. We're just... two crazy kids doing crazy stuff!

Edited 2025-02-15 21:22 (UTC)

[If Silco was two decades younger, he would have bothered himself to roll his eyes at the ridiculousness of her statement. The fact that she wasn't speaking her mind with him - which was happening more and more these days - meant to him that she was trying to find the right words so he wouldn't explode in a temper. It was rare as he had a firm grasp of his anger normally, but a threat against his daughter was something that easily triggered him.

He set his wine glass down on the table, making a point of crossing one leg over the other as he watched his daughter appraisingly.]

No, I suppose the end result will be the same. [He expected the boy favoured his fingers over his toes, so the choice was simple on his end.]

[ there's a tiny sigh that leaves squeaks pass her lips, stretching for her cup again, as jinx feels maybe she should be serious. just this once. ]

I did mention being in love, right? And he's in love, too. That last time I've checked. So, I think... you can put it all together just by that alone.

[ she won't say it in so many words, but that should be enough, she thinks, and she takes another swig from her juice. the juice is almost half-full when his daughter finishes, and she returns it to the table with her gaze on his glass.]

Want a refill?

[There it was again, that word, and it created a visible twitch across Silco's shoulders. She was so open and free about her feelings, always had been, whereas he cursed and spat and chewed on his own emotional state as it was safer. He preferred to ruminate that his capacity for such emotional depth had long since been burnt out of him, washing off of him when he allowed that weak man to die.]

Indeed.

[One word, dripping with disapproval. Not for her, of course. Jinx was perfect and that she continually put her heart out there for people was an admirable trait. The boy though... no, no, he didn't believe it. Just two teenagers thinking they knew what love was, and it would tear them apart.

It was a weakness. He knew what it felt like, to be burned by it so badly he'd prefer to never, ever experience that again.]

Be careful who you give your heart to, Jinx. I don't wish to see you hurt, and I will make anyone that spoils your love wish they were dead.

[He looked at his nearly empty wine glass and sighed.]

No, there isn't enough wine in the house to make it through this type of night.

[He still picked it up and drained off the last of it. He desired to see Richard, to rest his forehead on the back of the other's neck and just... exist for a few seconds. Not tonight, of course. Perhaps soon.]

I know, and I'm being careful, I promise.

[ she smiles fondly over her father's threat. to anyone else, it would be highly concerning and alarming, but she knows he is only saying so because he loves her so much. and while she is fully mindful that silco will definitely do exactly what he says, it's still coming from the heart. ]

But I think you don't have to worry about something bad happening between us. Besides the dumb arguments we might get into. Ekko is a pretty swell, laid back guy. A little like you, ya know? — I mean, he might lose his patience here and there, but... you've gotta reeeaaally be plucking his wings to get him going.

It's never you I'm concerned about.

[His threats were very real; he was known to carry them out to instill loyalty and fear. This boy was a threat to everything he had with Jinx, and he did not enjoy her spreading her wings. Gone were the days where she would tinker for days in her workshop or flounce around the city he owned mostly on her own. She didn't have many friends in Zaun, but here? She was flourishing.

He shot her a narrow-eyed look, disgusted.] Do not compare the two of us. We are nothing alike. I don't trust him either.

[ she winces at his remark, and gradually slouches in her seat to shrink away. his tone isn't loud or that aggressive, but it holds power as it does, and that alone can be intimating under the right circumstances. jinx isn't fearful, but she evidently said the wrong thing here, and she pitches her gaze down to her plate. ]

I-I mean, you both... calm me. That's what I mean...

[ she mutters, not sure if that will make it any better with clarification, but it couldn't hurt to give it an attempt. ]

Ragna, too.

[ maybe adding ragna to the mix will dilute this conversation, and she holds her tongue with tallying her sister because that definitely won't help. except things are still... complicated with her sibling. ]

Hmm.

[Silco relented and while still annoyed by the comparison, he withdrew his sharpness in the face of her explanation. He didn't like it, not one bit. That was a void that he filled, and he did not enjoy someone else encroaching on his territory. He calmed her; it was his job, one he took absolute pride in.

He nodded his head, forcing himself to lean forward and take a bite of his meal now that it had cooled. He chewed mechanically.]

Your circle of confidents grows. To be expected, I assume.

And that's good, right?

[' so why are you upset?' — is the question that lingers and threatens to leave her tongue, but shoves it down her throat with the piece of fish. jinx would expect silco would want her to grow up and learn how the world works on her own, yet maybe he believes the simulation world isn't a good example? she can only speculate. ]

Indeed, your confidence can lead you many different places and forming different alliances.

[He was aware of the unspoken question and side-stepped it. He knew it was petty and vulnerable to speak on such things, the real issues that neither of them could particularly swallow. Just as Jinx had stormed repeatedly against him for having an unnamed lover, he was returning the favour in his own way. That's the way they were; he valued it because it made them them.]

You will always be my daughter though. No one can take that from me.

[Except that one person she had gone off looking for as some beast of a man. That would remain an undercurrent of a threat.]

Of course, I always will be. [ jinx prods her half-eaten meal to the left of her for now, and bends forward with her arms folded over the counter.] Level with me here, Dad, is that what all of this is really about?

[ there's a brief pause that she purposely let dawdling in their air before stacking on the finishing touches. ]

Are you afraid because I have other people in my life, it means I won't be your daughter anymore?

Edited 2025-02-22 23:41 (UTC)

[The call out was perhaps expected as they had been toing around the subject for months. If it wasn't her prodding him or vice versa, it wasn't a day of them trying to navigate their possessive tendencies exacerbated by abandonment issues. He made a point of cutting off another bit of fish and putting it in his mouth to buy himself a moment to consider how he might answer her request.]

You'll leave. [Normally, he left such bluntness to Jinx.] I am your family; I took you in, but everyone from back there wants to pull us apart. Your sister, the boy. I trust you, but I don't trust them. They've made their positions clear.

[It was complicated and yet painfully simple. He couldn't, wouldn't lose her. He would burn this place down. Yet, it was a touch more complicated as he was becoming plainly clear that her willingness to follow in his footsteps were no longer a priority. And if she did... would it be with the boy?]

[ she sits in front of him silently, being extremely attentive and not half-listening for once. her heart sharpens and jitters when it comes to be her hypothesis was proven correct after all. and for a moment, his daughter stays still, not breaking eye contact as the cogs in her mind whirls. but soon, she scoots herself away from the table, then makes her way around so she can stand by his side. her head cocks very subtly to one side, then reaches a gentle hand to rest fondly against his scarred cheek. ]

Nothing can ever pull me apart from you.

[ jinx coos, her thumb brushing and tracing along one of his harden marks. she ponders back to how her days in runeterra had been without him. and maybe if she describes what it was like, he will worry less? it's hard to say, but there's no harm into it saying i. ]

Vi and Ekko... I do love them. They're important to me, like you are. But I'm always going to need you. Just because I know how to... wake up and go through my days okay, doesn't mean I won't miss you at all, or think about you, or... — or I won't need your parental talk in some way.

I wanted you to — [ a brief pause, trying to think of a good phrase. ] "come out" so bad when I was home. I missed hearing you... and seeing you. I kept... wondering if you were proud of me or... whatever I was doing was okay in your eyes. You're my dad, [vander too.] and no one is gonna fill in those shoes.

[She was everything to him, especially since his death. She was his last piece of Zaun as it should be: chaotic, vulnerable, violent, brilliant, artistic and free. If he lost her, it would be similar to losing what little was left of Zaun, stripped away by those who sought to make her different, to unearth the scared crying small girl who had no confidence and needed people's shadows to disappear into.

His mismatched eyes tracked her as she rose from her seat and moved over to his side. He remained exactly as he was, practically rooted in his chair with one leg crossed over the other. He did, however, lean his face into her touch subtly, closing his blue eye now that she was here next to him.] They'll try to change you, and you're not that girl anymore.

[His eye opened again, looking at her as she explained about her attempts to draw him out. She had said that he had come to her, offered advice. She failed to mention that there had been several attempts before that point.]

So are you saying that I was absent until you needed me most, hmm?

[ the smile, once warm, and still is, now growing shorter and maybe even a little stiff. and although her expression sinks into something else entirely, she doesn't cease soothing him with caressing his damaged cheek with her thumb. jinx works her lips for a moment before confessing — her voice almost as low as a whisper: ]

I... don't know who I am right now. [ this must be painful for silco to hear, but she has to be truthful to herself and him. ] — I thought I got rid of Powder, but then... I learned through Isha that... that Powder wasn't so bad, after all. So I killed Jinx.

[ a small beat as she sighs, bending forward to plant a kiss to his forehead. ]

But then after a while, I found out... being just Powder didn't feel right, either. Not at all the way. So I dunno. I'm calling myself "Jinx" 'cause that's what I'm used to, and what everyone calls me. But... am I Jinx? Or Powder? ... Maybe. Maybe I'm both.

But... yeah. You came to me when I wanted to waste away forever. [ she huffs out a chuckle while her hand skates off his cheek, then down to his hand. ] I, uh, never did thanked you for stopping by.

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