Hello all, let me dump some info / headcanons about cain && jian’s relationship. For it’s kind of complex so like, writing it out will help me ( && hopefully others ) understand the context && info && other cool jazz to these two, different people.
So, as we know or as I hope we all know, jian was bought by cain when he was 9. as one can assume, life in a human smuggling ring was not pleasant. jian went through some serious shit ( which will have it’s own headcanon page ), && it has affected him significantly. though the effects of it were much more prevalent when he was younger.
younger jian never spoke ( mostly because he didn’t know english, though he picked a few key phrases while imprisoned like ‘FUCK’, ya know. the important words ). he was both emotionally && mentally closed off, especially when he was first purchased by cain. he did not enjoy human touch && refused to eat, as most of the foods fed to him while imprisoned were laced with either drugs or just so poorly prepared he ended up throwing half of what he ate anyways.
so, for cain, who at the age of 10 showed signs of GREAT INTELLIGENCE but also great sadism, found that BREAKING JIAN IN was a challenge. jian was different, cain could already tell. && when things were different or interesting to cain, a boy who’s mind ran on formulas && SCIENCE && equations, he wanted nothing more than to crack the code that was jian.
so cain’s demeanor towards jian was that of a friend. a FRIENDLY MASTER, so to speak. he treated jian like the boy he never got to experience. invited him to play. took him to the theatre && bought him everything he could imagine. jian, confused by this affection && love, was at first INCREDIBLY HESITANT && barely responded to cain’s provocations.
cain, who enjoys things going his way, was becoming incredibly frustrated with the lack of impact. so he changed tactics. he let jian come to him. left subtle hints that the door was always opened for him to come to. that the food they prepared was both cain && jian’s. && cain realized that the subtle approach was the best approach, for jian slowly warmed up to him after that.
their relationship was a steady, complex && well-fabricated development at the hand of cain. CAIN ALWAYS made sure there was an air of authority. && JIAN always knew where he stood: as cain’s pet. his toy. his servant. HIS WEAPON. && he was okay with that. he’s STILL OKAY WITH THAT, because cain saved him from the pits of hell. so why would he not do everything in his power to repay him ??
cain && jian are unhealthily dependent on each other. for cain, jian is someone who is not of his world but BROUGHT INTO IT. someone he considers an equal for jian was always the first to call him out on his bullshit, but also the first person to see him as someone other than the boss of the most powerful mob family in chicago. jian is very much aware of cain’s maniuplative personality. how every action he does has a consequence && reason behind it. how, at the end of the day, he’s cain’s FAVORITE TEST SUBJECT && favorite play thing, but he relishes that connection like no other.
although there’s an obvious difference in power, the two get along fairly well. they GREW UP TOGETHER. they’ve gotten in trouble together ( although jian would always get the punishments ). they know each other’s dislikes && likes. jian has seen cain at his lows ( though those are rare ) && cain has always been there when BEAST crashed && jian was spiraling into severe withdrawal.
like in conclusion i see them as a very unbalanced relationship of severe dependency on one another but also cain is v obsessive over jian && jian is v loyal to cain but they also rib on each other but are also good friends && somehow it just WORKS.
