#elena v. vanstein

[eve6262]

now vs then

OT 2 SPOILERS // Throne and Father-centric, not ship (hopefully obviously).

Sometimes it’s hard to read Father.

Mother is obvious. She doesn’t bother hiding her emotions, because why should she? She’s the one with the whip, the one who makes the plans; her obvious glee makes her all the more frightening. Mother doesn’t care about that sort of thing.

But with Father, it’s harder.

The two of them are in one of the upper rooms of the den. Most Blacksnakes aren’t allowed up here, having rooms in other buildings across the New Delsta backstreets or something in the basement, but Father said she was special because of how young she joined them, so she lives in the den. The killing and crime she could do without, but a fluffy bed and pretty pictures are nice to come home to.

Father sits at the desk, though he’s turned around the chair so he can watch her practice her knife work. Every now and again he gives a pointer- “A little more momentum, less force-” and she complies. There’s a smile on his face.

His eyes are...harder to read.

There’s something that she thinks is supposed to be pride, in there. It’s probably to do with his own knife skills- second to none and killer of the most well-guarded targets, he’s certainly got reason to be proud of that. She’s gotten well enough into her own skills to understand how hard it is to fully master so many different blades and wield them as well as he does.

But something else is completely foreign to her. It’s not like the way his eyes glitter when he describes the fresh scent of blood, or the thrill of the kill. It’s not like the way his eyes haze over a little when he’s had one too many glasses of whiskey, and his voice gets a little raspier. It doesn’t even look like the time she mentioned that she liked talking to Pirro because he was nice to her, and he knelt down on her level and said, “If he ever tries something on you, you come tell me, okay?”

She, of course, said, “Why would I need to do that?”

And he laughed. And then looked her dead in the eyes and made her promise. Maybe it’s a personal thing.

It’s always a personal thing with the Blacksnakes.

Not for Throné, though. She likes Pirro, is friends with Scaracci and Donnie, but she doesn’t go out of her way to hate other people. Nobody’s ever done something so mean to her she wanted to hurt them. It’s never been personal. Maybe that comes with being barely twelve years old, maybe that comes with hating the smell of blood. She isn’t sure.

Not a lot of things are concrete aside from her collar. The way Mother’s temper flares at the slightest disgrace; what was courtesy yesterday is disrespect today. The whip marks may never truly heal from her skin, especially from that one incident with the blood.

She hated that.

But Father’s eyes had been something special.

That’s what it is now, she realizes. The second thing in his eyes. Whatever it was, it’s the same thing as when he bandaged her back after Mother whipped it bloody. She was only ten at the time, and her own eyes held tears she was trying furiously to hold back, but they simply wouldn’t have it. It’s been more than a year since then, and now she knows better. The tears will be stayed, or else Mother’s wrath gets worse.

It also gets worse when she doesn’t see tears, to be fair. There’s no winning in this house unless you’re Mother or Father. Or maybe one of the dealers at the poker tables.

Father makes a noise in her throat and she stops on instinct. Looks up to him- even sitting down he’s so tall- and walks over to her in that strange gait she’s heard Pirro call a ‘stalk’. “Good job, Throné.”

He pats her head. She closes her eyes and pouts, because now her hair is all messed up, and he laughs. But she does miss the warmth of his hand when he pulls it away. Still, she fixes the part around her eye, now out of place and hard to see through properly.

“Come on, then. I have some work to do. Do you wanna come with me?”

“...Okay,” she says, because accompanying Father on his work is better than staying in the den with just Mother. Even if there’s the smell of blood.

“I hoped you’d say that,” he says with a familiar glint in his eye, and beckons her along.

---

It took a while for her to figure out what that look in his eye meant.

She didn’t think about it even after he died. Even after the word “dad” spilt from her lips like the blood from his stomach, the life leaving him even as he held her hand and wanted nothing anymore but the love from a daughter he’d thought he’d lost. He had it, in the end. Claude didn’t get what he wanted, and neither did her true mother, and neither did Mother-

But maybe at least Father is happy in whatever hell he’s in. Happy that he got his daughter.

It took a long, long while. But she finally saw it again.

In Osvald’s eyes.

Elena has apparently discovered some huge conspiracy within whatever organization controls the labeling of soulstones. Naturally, Osvald agreed to accompany her, and Throné was bored, so she decided to tag along. In secret, because Elena is a nice girl and Osvald’s daughter shouldn’t be caught mingling with thieves.

He’s probably noticed her by now, though.

She’s ranting about something or other. It sounds remarkably less like the man himself and more like Partitio rambling about whatever new invention he’s discovered, excited almost more than Ochette catching a whiff of good meat. The look in her eyes is soft but determined, a combination she’s never seen before but wants to associate with pure-hearted children.

Osvald is of course proud of his daughter. It’s in his eyes- pride, and what she can now safely define as affection.

It’s almost unfathomable to think it was in Father’s eyes.

Almost.

Because wasn’t that what it was all about? Mother cared for nothing, Claude dispassionate, Pirro setting aside whatever reservations he had in search of luxury. But Father was nothing like any of them. He told her where to go, gave her a warning but knew she’d follow because he never cared about this game. None of it- not the garden, not the tests, nothing.

He wanted a daughter. And Claude took that away from him. So he hid, and bid his time, and knew that the only thing that could get him his daughter was his skills with a blade, and so he used them. And then, when he had her, he realized:

What did he have to give her?

The answer wasn’t much. A life of crime. Of death. That she didn’t enjoy, he must’ve realized. That fateful day, when he asked if she liked the smell of blood, and she asked for the raspberry jam she loved back home. He’d given her some, but looked contemplative as he stared out a window. Perhaps he forgot, in all his quest for the things he wanted, that not everyone was as bloodthirsty as he was.

And yet he tried anyway. He did, in the end, give her the one thing she wanted- her freedom. With Father alive, there could be no freedom, even if he had simply handed over the key. He knew the truth- the spiraling, awful, toxic truth. He knew the Lostseed tale and the man who presided over a fallen kingdom.

It was a gift to him, too. A chance to finally leave the hell of a cesspit that was life for him- a wife taken, his daughter raised into this awful cycle, having to deal with Mother as a cohort.

“Father. Wherever you are...”

She starts down the path, realizing that Elena and Osvald are gone. She’ll catch up. She always does.

“I hope you’re happy.”

--

this is pretty short and really only has me as the target demographic so I thought I'd post it on tumblr instead of ao3 if you want me to post it on ao3, leave a comment and I'll post it though, I get not wanting to read your fanfiction on tumblr lmao

~Eve6262

[octopath-traveler-tourney]

[givemeallyourpenny]

Finally sorted all these posts I’ve collected so there’s nothing to save you now

Octopath as text posts

I need to replay it and take more screenshots because I had to take that last one from the wiki and it sucks

[unparalleledfocus]

Post-Chapter 5 and Post-Final Chapter wizard dad <3

[ghostwithateacup]

Chapters: 12/12 Fandom: Octopath Traveler II (Video Game) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Throné Anguis/Castti Florenz, Ochette (Octopath Traveler) & Everyone, Castti Florenz & Everyone, Throné Anguis & Everyone, Throné Anguis & Pirro, Osvald V. Vanstein & Everyone, Elena Vanstein & Osvald V. Vanstein, Partitio Yellowil & Everyone, Agnea Bristarni & Everyone, Temenos Mistral & Everyone, Hikari Ku & Everyone, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Hikari Ku/Partitio Yellowil, (Just a little but it's there) - Relationship, Castti Florenz/Malaya, (formerly) - Relationship Characters: Ochette (Octopath Traveler), Castti Florenz, Throné Anguis, Osvald V. Vanstein, Partitio Yellowil, Agnea Bristarni, Temenos Mistral, Hikari Ku, Pirro (Octopath Traveler), Elena Vanstein Additional Tags: Injury Recovery, Violence, Amnesia, Flashbacks, Near Death Experiences, no magic, Disabled Character, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, Rating May Change, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tags Are Hard, Alternate Universe, Mutual Pining, Post-World War I European inspired setting, Kissing, Flowers, Confessions, Introspection, Recovered Memories, Demisexual Throné Anguis, I am erring on the side of caution and marking it as mature, (though I am admittedly not certain), Not Beta Read Summary:

" Searing pain overcame Castti’s senses. Her limbs went limp, her eyes drifted closed, and tears streamed down her face. A distant, agonized shriek echoed through the alleyway, dissolving in the darkness of New Delsta’s streets. "

Following a near-fatal injury, Castti is left with only a vague impression of her identity and past. Unfortunately, some truths can be difficult to parse. [This is an alternate-universe set in a Post-WWI inspired version of Solistia.]

[broomballkraken]

Title: Like Fathers, Like Daughter

Fandom: Octopath Traveler 2

Pairing: Osvald/Partitio

Word count: 1856

Warnings: Osvald story spoilers

Summary: On the cusp of graduating, Elena stays after school one day to study and prepare for her final exams. On the way home after dark, she is set upon by thugs aiming to abduct her, but she will not go without a fight. She is her fathers’ daughter, after all.

“Oh shoot, it’s late…”

Elena frowned when she stepped onto the street outside the Clockbank Academy, pausing to adjust the weight of the bag on her back, which contained all of her textbooks. She had been so focused on studying for her final exams that she hadn’t even noticed how dark it had gotten outside.

“I need to get home fast…Don’t want to worry Papa and Pops,” she muttered to herself, and she quickly set off towards home. It had been eight years since Elena and her father had moved here to Clockbank with Partitio, and it seemed like time had flown by. She had flourished at school, aiming to become a scholar like her father, but she had also been curious about Partitio’s work as a merchant. He had been all-too-eager to teach her everything that he knew, and Elena had really grown to appreciate that Partitio had come into her father’s life, and in turn, hers.

She didn’t like to think about it too much, but after she had been rescued from the man she had been falsely calling Papa, it had taken some time to work on her memory loss and reconnecting with her real Papa. She had been suspicious about Partitio’s true relationship with her father when they first met, and when those suspicions were later confirmed, he was quick to tell her that he wasn’t replacing her mother or anything of the sort.

However, Elena had never thought that even slightly. Partitio had shown himself to be a kind-hearted, funny, compassionate person with so much love to give to everyone. No, he didn’t replace her Mama, he had become like a second father - her bonus Papa - and she was so thankful that he had helped her Papa learn to love again.

Mama was a kind soul, and Elena knew that wherever she was now, she was looking down on her and her fathers with nothing but love and the kindest of blessings. The thought brought a tear to Elena’s eyes, and she smiled as she wiped them away.

Elena looked up at the sky and placed a hand over her heart. “I hope I’m making you proud, Mama.” With a spring in her step, she continued making her way home, but she suddenly stopped when a foreboding feeling washed over her. She was being followed.

Her whole body tensed up and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and with her heartbeat roaring in her ears, she quickened her pace. Unfortunately, her suspicions were confirmed when three men stepped out from behind the lamp post ahead of her.

“A little late for you to be out all by yourself, eh girl?” one of them sneered, and Elena grit her teeth as she glanced over her shoulder, seeing four more men approaching from behind.

“Hmm, I think she’ll fetch a fine price, don’t you think, boss?” another said with a dark chuckle. The ‘boss’ cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, and the way that he licked his lips made Elena’s blood run cold.

“Oh she certainly will, now come along nice and easy-” the boss started, but he was interrupted when Elena suddenly charged at him and kicked him hard between the legs. He crumpled to the ground, and Elena took advantage of the stunned reactions of the rest of the men to take off running.

‘Thanks, Pops…’ Elena clenched her jaw and quickened her pace when she heard the men finally give chase. Partitio had told her that if she ever got into any trouble with men, the quickest way to deal with them was to kick them right where it hurt the most. She just wished that she had seven extra legs…

“Where do you think you’re going, missy?” Two men appeared in front of her, but Elena didn’t stop to listen. Instead, she thrust her hand out before her, and a cold chill filled the air.

“Pierce them, cold snap!” she shouted, and the mens’ legs suddenly became encased in ice. Something she did have at her disposal, luckily, was magic. Elena shot past them and continued running, sweat soaking her clothes and her throat burning with every breath that she took. Gods, was home always so far away?

“C’mere!”

Elena gasped when someone roughly grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her back. The ‘boss’ seemed to have recovered from her low-blow, and her face paled when he pulled a knife from within his coat.

“That hurt, bitch. Better cut out that tongue of yours so you can’t mouth any more of those piss-annoying spells.” Elena struggled against his hold as he and his men laughed, and tears filled her eyes as the knife slowly got closer…

But it never got close enough, for something slammed hard into the boss, and he released his hold on Elena and she was knocked to the ground. Elena quickly shot back to her feet, and she beamed when she saw what had saved her.

“Coffee!” Elena watched as the Saint Bernard bit down harder on the boss’s arm, and she wisely let go when another man approached her with an ax. She growled and barked as she stood protectively in front of Elena as the men slowly closed in on them; they were severely outnumbered. But, if Coffee was here, then that must mean-

“Howdy there, friend.”

The man that was closest to Elena was suddenly punched square in the nose. A sickening crack pierced the air, and she winced when the man was sent flying off of his feet with the sheer force of the punch. He landed hard on the ground, and he did not get back up.

“Pops…” Relief washed over Elena as Partitio stood before her and Coffee, looking angrier than she had ever seen him. The rage in his eyes faded briefly when he glanced back at her and winked.

“You alright, Elena?” he asked, and he turned back to the thugs when she nodded, cracking his knuckles, “Glad to hear it. Now, what in tarnation do y’all think you’re doing?”

“This doesn’t concern you,” the boss growled, and he gestured to his six remaining men, “And you’re outnumbered, punk.”

“Ah see, now there’s your second mistake,” Partitio said, and Elena noted how his tone was laced with anger, “Thinkin’ that sheer numbers are gonna save you.”

“Your first mistake was pickin’ on my favorite chickadee.” Partitio chuckled and flicked up the brim of his hat before pointing at something behind the thug boss.

“And your third - and final, and fatal - mistake was angerin’ the most dangerous papa bear ‘round these parts.” The thugs looked between each other, confused, and Elena’s eyes widened when she felt every hair on her head stand on end.

“What’re you-”

“Tonitrus Canere!”

The thugs never knew what hit them, and the series of lightning bolts that rained down from above took them out in one strike. As they collapsed to the ground, Elena’s eyes lit up when she saw her Papa, who had a snarl on his face and his hands were still sparking dangerously.

“Papa!” Elena smiled, thankful that he was here, but the smile quickly fell from her face when she saw the last thug standing trying to sneak up on him from behind. She narrowed her eyes and quickly thrust her hand out.

“Fire, burn ‘im up!” she yelled, and a large fireball shot fourth, hitting the thug right in the chest. As he yelped and tried to put out his flaming clothes, Osvald turned and delivered a nasty punch to his gut, and he crumpled to the ground to join the rest of his scummy companions.

“Heh, like father, like daughter,” Partitio said, chuckling as he pulled some rope out of his coat pocket, “I knew keepin’ this on me would come in handy…” Elena let out a giggle, and she let out a surprised gasp when Osvald suddenly hugged her tightly.

“Oh, Elena,” Osvald said, and Elena’s heart sank when she heard him sob, “My dear, are you alright? They didn’t hurt you?”

“I’m okay, Papa.”

“Thank the gods…” Osvald sniffed as he pulled away and gave her a once-over. “What happened? Why were you out so late?”

Elena cast her gaze to the ground, a wave of guilt passing through her. “I’m sorry. I wanted to get some more studying in before my exams, and I lost track of time…And then those men found me…”

“Looks like they’re not from around here. Which explains a lot, since the streets are usually not too dangerous at night here.” Partitio came up to them, gesturing over his shoulder with his head. Elena saw that the town guard had shown up and they were busy rounding up the hog-tied, incapacitated thugs. He smiled and ruffled Elena’s hair. “Some of ‘em looked like they had minor frostbite. Was that you’re doing, chickadee?”

Elena nodded, and she recounted what had happened before her Papas and Coffee had shown up. Osvald let out a sigh of relief, and Partitio laughed as he slapped his knee.

“Shee-oot, I didn’t think you’d remember the advice I gave ya, but I’m sure glad you did!”

“Even so…Please be more careful, Elena,” Osvald said, his voice quiet as he averted his gaze, “I lost your mother, I don't know what I would do if I lost you too…”

“Oh, Papa…” Elena teared up as she hugged him, and she felt Partitio wrap an arm around her as he embraced both of them. “I’m so sorry for worrying you, and you too, Pops. I’ll be more careful, I promise.”

“All’s well that ends well, eh?” Partitio said with a wink, “But, if you’re gonna stay out late again, just make sure that you at least bring Coffee with ya.” Elena giggled when Coffee barked before jumping on her and licking her face.

Osvald chuckled and scratched behind Coffee’s ears. “Yes, she does make a good guard dog. She was the one who noticed that something was amiss.”

“Really?”

“Yep!” Partitio placed a hand on his hip and flicked up the brim of his hat. “She just started barkin’ and barkin’ and wouldn’t stop, and when I opened the door to take her for a walk, she just shot off like a steam train! Had to work my legs overtime to keep her in my sights!”

“We’ll have to give her some extra treats tonight, won’t we?” Osvald said, and Elena nodded as she gave Coffee a big hug.

“Thank you for saving me, Coffee. And you two, Papa, Pops.” Elena took one of their hands each and smiled. “I love you.”

“Love you too, chickadee.”

“I love you, my dear.”

Elena’s heart swelled with happiness as they all headed home, her hands clasped in her fathers’ and Coffee protectively leading the way. This had been a terrifying experience, but she was so, so thankful that she had such amazing fathers. She would be more careful in the future, but she knew that she was prepared if danger ever found her again. She was her fathers’ daughter, after all.

[nightmaresghost]

God knows what Harvey is planning to do with Elena but it won't be good.

[beantothemax]

breaking news: biggest fucking clown bullshits way through osvald v. vanstein angst

As Osvald laid in his bed at the inn, memories came to him in the form of- guess what?- nightmares.

But then again, what else was new? Every one of the travellers had them by now. Even Partitio and Agnea had nightmares. And Osvald couldn’t say he blamed them. They had seen things that the people in their country hometowns wouldn’t dream of. Matricide, patricide, lost gods, possession-

Warped experiments meant to tear flesh from bone, to shatter marrow and bruise and bleed-

Riches driving people to the brink of madness, resorting to violence and bloodshed to gain their means-

Osvald sighed as he sat up. Of course those two would be at the forefront of his nightmares. Why wouldn’t they? Rita, his lovely wife... He shook his head. He had promised Rita long ago that should something happen to her, he wouldn’t spend his days seeking revenge and his nights weeping for her. So, he spent his days seemi g revenge and his nights having nightmares that woke him up in a cold sweat, tears pricking his eyes with her name positioned at the tip of his tongue.

Elena wasn’t as persistent, but she still sometimes visited him, hugging him and insisting she take his bag for him.

He couldn’t help the lingering thought that she’d most likely be strong enough by now to do that.

Tonight was odd, however. He hadn’t dreamt of Rita herself, with the pretty brown hair he loved to play with while they cuddled, her kind smile that always seemed to wash his stress away, and her gentle voice, coaxing him to bed after a long night of research.

Instead, he had dreamt of Harvey’s golem, with its agonized whispering, its pained shuffle, its desperate attempts to avoid fighting. He remembered the cruel sound of Harvey’s laughter, the sound of screaming and bone crunching.

Sometimes, he wished he couldn’t remember.

OW. GOD. gonna go play Osvald’s chapter 5 and beat the shit out of Harvey again hold on

[these-detestable-hands]

can’t believe you’ve finally completed your transformation into osvald v vanstein…

Thank you, I couldn't have done it without the rage of a thousand suns and my love for Elena <3

[fictionkinfessions]

Hey MPC, can you post this version of the Harvey kinfession? Thankee kindly and sorry for the trouble!

Anyway, kinfession below:

Harvey. You are a fucking piece of shit, do you know that? Well if you didn't before, you do now.

You murdered my wife. You used her blood for your experiments. You abducted my daughter, altered her mind, and tried to use her for your damned ritual!!

At least Kaldena had a sympathetic reason to do what she did, and yes the shit she did was still inexcusable, and yes I still am fucking terrified of her, but at least I understand why she did the things she did!!

But YOU! YOU!! You, on the other hand, were a selfish, jealous, hateful piece of human-shaped garbage who only did what he did to further his own success! You knew nothing of love! Of what it means to have a family! You didn't care about any of that! You had no appreciation, NO CARE for human life!

And the fact that you were anywhere near Elena... makes my blood boil. You kidnapped her, altered her mind, and treated her like shit! How fucking dare you treat her that way? How fucking dare you?

I'm glad you're nowhere near her now. You were a monster, Harvey.

And I will never understand you.

- Osvald V. Vanstein / Crick Wellsley (#⚜️⚔️lightintheknight✨🛡🌙)

[broomballkraken]

Title: Chickadees of a Feather

Fandom: Octopath Traveler 2

Pairing: Osvald/Partitio, Partitio & Elena

Word count: 1686

Warnings: Osvald story spoilers

Summary: Partitio comes home from work to find Elena and Osvald arguing. When she runs off, Partitio goes after her in place of a distressed Osvald, and they bond over their shared trauma.

“Hoo-eey! What a day…”

Partitio yawned as he stretched his arms over his head, and he rest his hands behind his head as he made his way home. His workday had been filled with meeting after meeting after meeting , and he was ready to spend a nice, relaxing night with his two favorite people…or so he thought.

“Elena, wait!”

Partitio paused as he reached for the doorknob, and his eyes went wide when the door flung open on its own. Elena suddenly rushed past him and looked briefly back, her eyes narrowed into a glare that he hadn’t seen cross her face before.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled, before turning around and sprinting down the street. Partitio’s jaw hung open as he turned to the door, finding a distraught Osvald standing in the doorway.

“Uh, sweetheart? What in tarnation was that all about?” Partitio asked, reaching out to take Osvald’s shaking hands in his. This was certainly a first; Partitio had never seen Elena so much as raise her voice at Osvald before, so seeing her full-on yelling at him was quite a shock.

“Elena, she…came home from school with a black eye.” Osvald’s gaze fell to the ground, and Partitio cupped his cheek as a few tears rolled down his face. “I-I asked her what happened, but she wouldn’t tell me. I panicked and pressed her about it, and well…”

Partitio let out a whistle and flicked up the brim of his hat. “Well shoot, didn’t take her for the scrappin’ type…must take after her papa, huh?” He chuckled, but it trailed off when Osvald didn’t laugh.

“Eh, sorry…Just tryin’ to lighten the mood…” Partitio leaned up to place a light kiss on Osvald’s cheek. “You want me to try and talk to her? Let you take some time to calm down?”

“Ah, yes, that seems logical,” Osvald said, adjusting his glasses so that he could wipe his eyes. “I don’t think she wants to speak to me right now anyway…”

“Don’t worry, darlin’! I’ll bring her back safe and sound!”

“Thank you, my dear.” Osvald pulled Partitio into a tight hug. “And I think I might know where she went…”

Partitio bid him farewell, and he set off to find Elena. He made a small detour to the flower shop, and soon enough, he and his bouquet were walking among the headstones in the graveyard.

A small smile crossed his face when he spotted Elena kneeling in front of one headstone in particular, but that smile quickly retreated when he heard her crying softly as he approached. He knelt down beside her, placing the bouquet in front of the grave before he took off his hat and held it against his chest, his eyes closing as he said a silent prayer.

There had been no remains of Rita to bury, so Osvald - in addition to her grave in Conning Creek - had decided to make a grave for her here in Clockbank after they had moved. Partitio thought it was a great idea, as it allowed both he and Elena to visit whenever they wanted to.

Partitio patiently sat with Elena in silence, and eventually her crying subsided and she wiped the tears from her face before acknowledging him.

“Why are you here, Partitio?” she asked, her voice quiet and her eyes fixed on the gravestone before them. He gave her a small smile as he sat back on his behind, propping a leg up and resting his arm over his knee.

“Well, your papa’s worried about you after you just ran off like that. And, well, I am too.” Partitio examined her face when she finally looked at him, and sure enough, her right eye was black and blue and swollen. “Can you tell me what happened, chickadee?”

Elena frowned and hugged her legs to her chest, pressing her face against her knees. “I…got in a fight. After school,” she mumbled, and after a pause, she sighed deeply and started drawing circles in the dirt with her finger.

“There’s this boy who’s really mean to everyone…and he…” Elena sniffed as more tears fell down her face. “He…made fun of me for not…having a mom.”

Partitio bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to suppress the immense amount of rage that had suddenly welled up within him, and he clenched his fists so tightly that they turned white. He knew that kids could be pretty brutal, but this? This was truly rotten behavior.

“It made me so mad, and really sad, a-and I couldn’t control myself,” Elena continued, crying softly as she rubbed at her eyes, “I…lit his pants on fire…”

Partitio had to turn his head away and bite his fist hard to keep himself from barking out a laugh at that; this was a serious matter and was not funny in the slightest, he told himself. He cleared his throat before turning back to her, and he gently rubbed her back as she pursed her lips and shook her head.

“Then he punched me and cried for help, so I just…ran home…” Elena looked at Partitio with her red, watery eyes and swallowed thickly. “I…didn’t want to tell Papa…He’s so big and strong, and I didn’t want him to hurt anyone…”

Partitio decided against telling Elena that it was taking all of his self control not to go find this punk kid himself to teach him a lesson, and he instead placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“That was downright rotten of him, chickadee. I’m glad you’re okay, well, besides that shiner of yours.”

“Yeah…” Elena placed a hand on the edge of Rita’s headstone, fresh tears falling down her face. “Will I…grow up to be a bad person if I don’t have a mama, Partitio?”

Partitio’s heart hurt at those words, and he shook his head as he glanced up at the sky. “Of course not. What that punk said…it’s all a buncha bullsh-, er, hogwash.”

“...I don’t really like to talk about it, but let me tell you something, Elena,” Partitio said, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair, “I lost my ma when I was just a little chickadee too.”

“You…did?” Elena’s eyes went wide and her jaw hung open slightly. Partitio nodded, his chest tightening as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

“Yep. Sickness took her from us.” Partitio closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “One day…she suddenly collapsed, and by the end of the week…she was gone.”

“Partitio…” Elena placed her small hand in his, and Partitio smiled softly as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I reckon it was the worst time of my life, even after all these years. Broke both my pops and me. We…fought a lot back then.” Partitio shook his head as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “I didn’t know how to process all the emotions I was feelin’: the overwhelming sadness of losing my ma, the anger that she was taken from us, the helplessness of not being able to do anything to save her…and with the general grief on top of it all, it was too much for little ol’ me to handle.”

“I know I snapped at Pops a lot when it got to be too much, and he said things he didn’t mean too. It was hard, but we always managed to sit down and talk through it.”

“Talk through it…” Elena mumbled, and Partitio smiled and gave her back a pat.

“Yep! Your papa loves you so much, Elena. And I know your mama’s watchin’ over you, just like mine is.” Partitio stole another glance up at the sky with a big grin on his face. “Don’t be afraid to talk to him about anything, especially your mama. And I’m always here to help the both of you out too!”

“Thanks, Partitio.” Elena moved to sit in Partitio's lap and gave him a big hug. “I’m glad you and Papa met.”

“Me too, chickadee, me too,” Partitio said with a laugh, “You know, my pops also had someone to help him take care of me. Look at us, huh? We’re like two birds of a feather!”

“Hehe, two chickadees, you mean.” Elena giggled, and Partitio smiled brightly as he ruffled her hair.

“You’ve got that right, Elena!”

They hugged again and spent a bit more time with Rita, before Partitio stood up and held his hand out to her.

“Well, Elena, we should get back to your papa. He’s probably still mighty worried about ya.”

“Yeah, I know…” Elena sighed as she took Partitio’s hand and he helped her to her feet. “I should talk to him, and probably let him take care of my eye too…”

“About that…what’d you say this kid’s name was again?”

“...I didn’t say his name.” Elena raised an eyebrow at him. “Why do you need it?”

Partitio let out a not-so-innocent whistle and placed his hat back on his head. “Oh, no reason at all, forget about it!” Even if she didn’t tell him, Partitio was sure that he could figure it out, at least so that he could pay a visit to this punk kid’s parents…

“Um, thank you, Partitio. I love you,” Elena said, smiling as she gave him a hug, “And, I’m sorry that you lost your mama too…”

“Heh, you’re a mighty swell kid, Elena,” Partitio’s eyes took on a watery sheen, but he managed to blink away his tears as he gave her hand a squeeze, “I love you too.”

Elena beamed at him and they made their way back home, hand-in-hand as she told him about what she learned at school that day. Knowing himself how hard it was to lose a parent, Partitio was going to make damn sure that he would be there for Elena and her papa whenever they needed him, because chickadees of a feather flock together, after all.

[these-detestable-hands]

A rant about Osvald V. Vanstein and my dad

I think it's strange Osvald didn't just indulge Rita and say he'd love her forever. Obviously yeah, no one can truly comprehend the concept of infinity but dude come on, why would you marry her if you could even imagine the possibility of not loving her? JUST, FOR FIVE MINUTES, THINK WITH YOUR HEART AND NOT YOUR MATHMATICIAN BRAIN YOU STUPID ASSHOLE. TELL YOUR WIFE YOU LOVE HER. TELL YOUR DAUGHTER YOU LOVE HER. ACTUALLY CARE FOR YOUR DAUGHTER YOU STUPID BITCH.

I think my opinions on Osvald are clouded by my daddy issues. I often feel like my dad doesn't care much for me and is even neglectful sometimes. Seeing a character who neglects his daughter as well, and having it be presented as a good and/or normal thing to do is upsetting.

Elena just got out of an abusive home and needs love and care more than anything else. She's a ten year old kid. All humans need love and care, especially ten year olds and especially ten year olds with brain damage and trauma from the death of her mother, watching her house burn, having her mind artificially altered, being experimented on and almost being killed by someone she genuinely believed was her father.

It doesn't matter at all what Osvald thinks or wants, he chose to have a child, he's in the wrong for abandoning her. Even if she doesn't want to see him, he can't know because he didn't even try to talk to her.

He didn't even try say hello and he didn't see her cry or smile or scream when she saw him, he just left without a word.

Osvald is a very selfish character. He only wanted to avenge the life he lost, not the people lost.

I told my dad about Osvald's story and he said Osvald is very selfish, basically that he only loves Elena as long as she can love him back.

Conclusion?

I wish my dad could be consistently good and caring. I hate the way Osvald's story ended.