Headcanon/random thought/mini story of silco and jinx during the timeskip
Jinx is a teen around 15 and shes really forming into her creative side, her artwork IS her. An extension of herself and shes fully figuring this out. Jinx has always used art as a mode of creativity, even as a small child but now shes fully recognising it as part of her identity. Her art skills improved and a signature style is solidified.
Well, silco also knows this and decides as a treat to give her money to explore and buy her own art supplies since up until this point shes just been using her old Crayons from when she was powder.
Basically hes giving her some cash for a solo shopping trip.
Since silco rules the undercity and regularly has shipment trades money is not such a tight thing for him like it is for most zaunites. (Granted he is not rich or well off like the average piltie, but enough so that he can leisurely spend money on others without much or any heavy impact on his financial situation).
So, he hands her a Satchel of coins like we see him hand markus in the show and sends her on her way. She looks at him then the bag of coins dumbfounded and quickly smiles wide and hugs him, taking the Satchel with her and tying it to her belt.
Jinx is a little confused at first since randomised gestures of kindness like this is perplexing behaviour for a man like silco.
She overthinks and ruminates if shes being fobbed off because of a recent previous mishap, questioning if silco actually believes in her capabilities, or if this really is just a genuine act of generosity.
I dont think current jinx would question it so much, shes a little more comfortable in silcos love for her. She understands it a little better and realises his actions as genuine.
But at this point jinx is around 14-15 and while she is aware and comfortable with the fact that silco sees her as his daughter and loves her greatly, she still wonders about the extent to which silco thinks she is "good enough". So here she is wandering through market halls and trinket shops worrying if this is his way of keeping her away from the important grownup stuff...
Shes also surpised to know she is allowed to leave whenever, go wherever and for however long she wants to. Silco has a different parenting style to vander, he keeps her close with his controlling words rather than commands and rules. A more passive approach, but one where he ultimately still 'controls' her in the sense that she feels like she cannot leave because then she will have no one. Silco knows that and so is more comfortable being passive in allowing her to roam and do what she wants; he knows she will come back to him eventually. A relationship clearly lacking in boundaries and discipline. A child of the undercity ideally should not be roaming the lanes late into the night alone, but yet she can if she wishes. Vander disapproved of things like that, solely for the reason of keeping her safe and protected. If powder wasnt allowed to do something it implied that the thing she wanted to do was bad or could harm her, making the danger seem more real to her. The lack of rules silco put in place made her desensitised to certain situations as they weren't fully actualised as potential threats or dangerous situations in her mind.
The undercity knows not to mess with her too, she is silco's daughter and number 1. Stall hosts and shopkeepers are especially nice and nervous around her, trying slightly more to appease her by remaining a gentle tone and offering discounts. They know a dismissive or rude side glance or passive comment is not worth their life. There are some younglings around her age who do not fully realise the severity and extent to how much messing with jinx will cost them and circle her like sharks in hopes to steal her treasure, until older people quickly make them known. Their faces go white with horror and quickly run away from her without ever laying a finger. She did tell silco about the potential robberies however, to which he ordered henchmen to escort her to where she wanted until she got older and could handle herself. She would play pranks on the henchmen in an attempt to ditch them. Silco didnt seem to mind. Well, he never punished or criticised her for it.
She has fun on her little shopping trip, and begins to sense how oddly nice people will treat her. She begins to wonder how much she can test the limits, wreak havoc, do what she pleases without trouble coming her way. Over the years, her levels of empathy and ability to repress impulsive desires diminish as she sees there are no consequences or punishments to her actions. The thought that her actions could hurt others lost its meaning when she killed her family as those voices still come back to haunt her, like they never really stayed dead. Its not a concept she could really process or take into account. Silco didn't necessarily help in those matters, her natural lead towards chaos was encouraged. By the time jinx's chaos caused destruction to his own plans, it was too late to try and reprimand her for it. It went in one ear and out the other. Her chaotic nature was so encouraged, why should she listen to when it is being condemned? She couldn't take it very seriously. It is a part of her now and silco thinks its perfect to a detriment.
On her trip she spared no expense and spent every last penny on art supplies galore. New paintbrushes of all sizes, paints of all colours, dyes, crayons, chalk, spray cans, sketchpad and blueprint paper. The lot. Her mind was brimming with new ideas and weapons to make. Her heart almost burst from the excitement upon entering the shop. Shopkeepers found her excitement for purchasing joyous bright stickers and coloured plasters endearing.
Teenagers and other zaunite children that passed her seethed with jealousy watching her spend her money so quickly and messily, raiding both the children's and adults art supply sections. they were not afforded that luxury. She could spend her money on top branded paints while they were lucky enough to afford a weeks worth of meal plans.
She even dabbled in some face paint and eyemakeup. Sparkly eye shimmer of magenta hues.
On her way home she went rummaging and exploring for mechanical parts like a sewage rat scurrying for food. Somehow after her lavish spending she still results to her roots of scrounging for scraps in heap bins and abandoned warehouses. Nuts, screws, bolts, metal scraps and wires she could mould to her will. She could've used her money to buy weapons and craftsmen supplies, but whats so wrong with spending it all on colours and vibrancy this time? Scrounging for scraps is something that proved sufficient enough before, she doesnt see the tradition changing any time soon.
She was excited to show silco her goods. She hadn't just spent her money on art supplies and thought that subversion would make a more interesting haul.
Hair clips and hair ties, pendants for jewelry making and a snazzy new pair of boots with laces she replaced to match her cool coloured aesthetic.
But also something else, a gift. Sure it was with his money but it would go appreciated nonetheless.
The result of her shopping: a mug she had bought and subsequently decorated in her iconic monkey design, along with little doodles scattered around the sides and below. Small words of affirmations, others nonsensical and hard to make out.
It was something silco treasured despite not telling anyone that fact. It was clear enough by how he used it the majority of days and kept it perched on his desk for everyone to see. Almost like a proud display, 'this is what my daughter made me'. It had been a millennium since he'd received a present, and one of such thought. Jinx's art was her, its like she had given him a piece of herself to keep forever. The fact he drinks from it, a basic human need completed thanks to Jinx. He liked to place her on an unnecessarily high pedestal. Jinx found it awkward sometimes, other times she thought it was funny when any of her misdeeds or criticism flown her way was instantly defended by him. It did mean she felt like it was something she had to live up to, something she had to continually prove. She didnt feel that way with Vi, not until the first time she ever abandoned her and discarded her from the mission to save vander. That was how jinx saw it, she desperately wanted to prove her sister wrong after that.
He found her excitement around her other goods she'd bought amusing. Watching her in her hideout using her mirror, attempting to apply makeup for the first time.
"Apply, dab and then blend, like you do for your watercolours" he'd say softly.
The lighting was abysmal, she could barely see herself. Its when she had the idea to create her own forever night lights, glowing orb rocks found deep in mines that dangle from string above her mirror, giving the rest of the space (and her) a magnificent cozy glow.
Since the trip, the rest of her hideout was adorned in more colour. The floors were covered in graffiti, neon fairy lights strung from wherever the raft would hold them, her mirror plastered with childish stickers of hearts and smiling rays of sun, pictures she'd drawn taped with plasters above her work desk and blueprints of designs sprawled all over. Some art supplies remained less visible, like her diary and personal sketchpad.
She'd write in her diary after a particularly harsh hallucination of mylos exaggerated cruel words, or whenever painful conflicting feelings towards her sister would arise.
Her sketchpad contained all sorts. Some still life, wacky doodles, random words and phrases, silly commentaries and portraits of silco and vi. Her portraits were noticeably softer in tone than the rest of her other artwork, there was something intimate and vulnerable about them. Like she had captured a real moment in time rather than her perceived distorted idea of it.
She had shown silco a portrait of him once after a night of laying on the sofa in his office while watching him work. His fascination with her work was strewn all over his face, he needn't say a word. Jinx still needs reassurance, which silco makes sure to give her.
Dont get him wrong, he loved all of jinx's work, crude or sophisticated. But the portraits jinx drew of him reminded him of his own past times of when he was young. He used to draw and write passively while listening to the personal ramblings of vander and felicia, art and speeches about his dreams of a free nation. A united utopia. Then with the occasional chime of his two scents or a quirky sarcastic quip. Those reminders remained bittersweet, a time where he was weaker and naive, but happy and hopeful. He kept that art of jinx close to him, hidden away in his drawers. No one must know how vulnerable his mind becomes at times. No one but jinx. Even then he must remain somewhat strong and resilient, he has a duty for zaun to fulfill and a daughter he must help so she can overcome her pain.
— Thats my rambling over. I just love these two and thinking about the more simple and vulnerable times with them. I understand why we didn't really see it in the show as the writers wanted to show how abnormal their relationship was. They were father and daughter yet hardly if it all shared any normal father and daughter activities together, because neither knew how. Whenever they talked it was about their trauma and work. But one can still imagine. We know there must be *some* off screen father daughter moments between the two thanks to the amazing animators. Like for example, silcos ashtray is decorated by jinx, he gave jinx his bracelet (now her choker) and his gloves from when he was working in the mines. These imply there were some gentle and simple father and daughter interactions between the two in the show, but we never get to see it. I imagine if they do share simple father daughter moments, something about it always feels off from an outsiders perspective, like its about to be cut short at any moment.
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