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wickmitz · 2 months ago

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SEDGEWICK SABLE & MITZI MAY : an overall study, part two . part one .

discussing their individual characters, their relationship, their respective scenes, and a plethora of details found in-between.

now that we’re here at the second part of this analysis, we’ve finally reached wick once again in the narrative! in grindstone there are a few things to note, like wick’s haggard state, tired from the events of last night and curing his hangover with more giggle water -- working away on finances he needs to present to the investors before the start of the week. lacy is also there at his house, slaving away on a variety of things we hear more about in sneakthief. it’s noted today is potentially one of her days off, but the workload is potentially a little behind and big enough that she’s decided to lend an extra pair of hands even when she shouldn’t have to. they are busy at work in grindstone, hence the title! there is hardly any time for extra activities that don’t involve wick chained to his desk and slaving away, with him already in poor working condition ; he claims he can’t see a thing he’s writing despite having his reading glasses on, and not only disrupts his time but lacy’s in an attempt to ‘find’ them. he’s very much out of it and whatever work he’s doing will probably need some revisions at best, yet wick’s job is put on hold again when lacy asks if he’s expecting company, a comment which spurs him into hurriedly changing and telling her to stall mitzi at the door. again, we have wick confirming that him and mitzi indeed made ‘last minute plans’ to meet up today, even though he and lacy acknowledge that he has no real time for this. despite that, wick greets her warmly after he’s dressed, also adorned with a fond smile while hovering a hand over the small of her back when ushering her into the foyer so he may fetch the car for their outing. nothing seems too amiss here, though things begin changing come balderdash, where wick noticeably begins crumbling as a character for the first time.

to start off, i think people are rather generous with wick’s character overall. his flaws are limited to readers, to where the most common ‘bad’ traits talked about when referring to his character is : alcoholic ( not a trait ), hypocrite ( accurate! ), and he’s too kind or oblivious. while the latter two can still be something the character can have too much of or lead to genuinely bad traits, this is still an extremely small inspection overall, one that almost shies away from a harsher read. this can be attributed to how little we see of wick, but there are things we can infer via his scenes with mitzi as well as church’s words all the way back in caveat … words which come into play here. during the comic page balderdash, rocky is desperately trying to ward off wick from his beloved miss m, getting rather physical in the meantime -- he’s still seething after the events of last night and in his attempts to thwart wick from helping mitzi further, he decides to lean into the public shared narrative that this widow is dangerous and got her husband killed. we see how strong wick’s faith in mitzi is during this page ever so briefly, looking almost amused at rocky’s words while maintaining an aura of confidence when dismissing these rumors. he says, “i’ve known her a while, rocky. whether out of class or kindness, she wouldn’t harm a fly.” what wick clearly hasn’t considered, however, is what rocky implies next, which is the idea that wick’s paramour could’ve hired someone else to do the dirty work for her … an idea that very quickly disturbs him and shakes his view on mitzi and, perhaps, the lackadaisy, even when he tries verbally dismissing all this as a joke.

despite his dismissal, it’s rather obvious that rocky’s words stay with wick. throughout the date, wick is stuck in a state of doubting things that he’s never entertained before, with no way of discerning what’s appropriate to fret about and what’s not, and this is in no small part because of the verbiage rocky was using. wick thinks he’s doubting mitzi, that he potentially doesn’t know her as well as he thought or that he has a reason to be afraid of her, due to rocky’s claim that she’s dangerous and his insistence on throwing the carnage and consequences of rumrunning onto mitzi as a person. however, his true feelings are rather far from that. while it’s true that wick is riddled with doubt after rocky’s attempt at driving him and mitzi apart, i find it prudent to clarify here that his love for mitzi outweighs those doubts in large measure. wick’s sudden and unfounded fear doesn’t drive him to isolate himself from mitzi, and thus some part of him does still believe that she isn’t a cruel person and that she wouldn’t try to harm him. there’s no reason why he would think otherwise apart from rocky’s unsettling and instigating threats. wick’s fears are both similar and dissimilar to the ones zib voices in blood-money. while zib is worried about the corrupting influence of the life mitzi is leading, wick is more so afraid of the life itself. wick still views mitzi as every bit the charming, funny, and impeccably elegant woman he fell for, but he is now forced to wonder if he would ever be harmed because of her presence in his life. in essence, rather than questioning mitzi as a person, he is worried about the danger inherent in the life she leads and how that danger might directly impact him. unfortunately, though wick seems to at least subconsciously trust mitzi, his doubts stick around like intrusive thoughts, presenting a constant what-if that wick can’t shake, and it’s these very thoughts that continue to make the business-meeting-turned-date as awkward as it is.

now, it’s rather interesting how much the notion of mitzi hiring rocky to kill her husband shakes wick up due to how normal this sort of method is within gangster lifestyles ; with us even seeing atlas absent or abstaining from mordecai and viktor’s violent work ethic, his hands physically clean despite how its his order causing all this destruction and death. asa does the same! they have workers for a reason, ‘faithful operatives’ as rocky so lovingly calls them, and these men are utilized with complete efficiency. it’s not insane to think that mitzi hired another to kill atlas, and besides rocky’s bumbling incompetence, it’s not strange to consider him a likely man for such a job due to his utmost loyalty to miss m over anyone else, including atlas. yet wick acts as though this hasn’t ever crossed his mind, wholeheartedly believing that mitzi would have to kill atlas herself in order to get the job done, something he’s sure she doesn’t have the heart nor the guts to do. he is visibly shaken the rest of the date, one more distraction piled on his plate high, so suddenly paranoid through the haze of perpetual tiredness that he even snaps at mitzi over something as simple as the word bunny. for the first time, i believe wick is thoroughly beginning to question his part in all of this and is starting to reexamine these once harmless aspects now that the inherent danger has been shoved in his face so earnestly. while a part of this is naivety ( he’s far away from the criminal underbelly after all, as rich and comfortable as he is, a lackadaisy patron and nothing more ) i’d also point out that another aspect of it is a sense of subconscious invincibility. perhaps he is too content in his status and wealth and how well he’s been doing to even consider he’s hardly exempt from consequences, much less the side effects of hanging around criminals or dangerous establishments.

it seems rather strange and far-fetched of a claim, but think of church’s warning to him back at the start of the comic ; “you’ve done well lately … but don’t imagine it means you and your reputation are invincible.” it’s easy to dismiss church’s words due to how mean he often is, how overly critical, but he arguably knows wick better than the readers do, so i think it’s pertinent to take his words and to consider them. he’s also not wrong. everything church says in caveat is the god’s honest truth and wick, to some degree, knows this! it’s why he’ll practically regurgitate church’s advice in mephistopheles when rejecting mitzi and explaining why he must reject her proposal. so then why wouldn’t church’s read on wick be somewhat accurate as well? i think wick’s biggest flaw is that he’s too easily caught up in emotional throes while also struggling to think of every tiny detail, an issue that may or may not have to do with how excessive exposure to alcohol has affected his short term memory. he doesn’t bat an eye at the ruffians or violent gangsters who hang around the lackadaisy because they aren’t currently threatening wick himself, and he won’t dwell on it too hard that these men have to procure their hooch somehow, and that it’s said to be a bad business. if it’s not affecting wick and his enjoyment of the establishment ( or the woman he’s eyeing ) then it is not something he concerns himself with or feels the active threat of. has a simple mindset that sort of functions like : well, mitzi wouldn’t be able to kill someone with her bare hands! she’d loathe to get blood on her lavish garments, doesn’t have the coldness inside to see the life leave a man’s eyes! much less her husband’s! it’s ludicrous. imagine knowing the lady and thinking her capable of that, when she looks and acts as she does! …

again, it’s a rather closed-minded view of the whole thing. how could you not consider she has guns for hire? that the men she surrounds herself with are indeed dangerous individuals who are more than willing to watch the life leave another’s eyes for her? he sees viktor at the bar and in the pilot even appears intimidated by his stature and scarred face, yet doesn’t think twice about what a man like that is doing there on mitzi’s paycheck? even thinks it normal to take viktor to the hospital after hearing that viktor’s been shot at the lackadaisy, not at all considering that police and doctors would pry. wick is extremely privileged and short sighted here, a little full of himself and what he can get away with -- this is the very same man who actively showed interest in a man’s wife, for crying out loud, and didn’t at all consider that someone like atlas would’ve killed him had he known wick’s intentions. this is more than just being blind or oblivious. while i love wick for his kindness and loyalty, i can also admit that he’s still a capitalist at the end of the day, and a successful one at that. him getting too big for his britches and throwing himself into scenarios without considering how this will affect him is extremely likely for his character, and is exactly what he did when agreeing to meet with mitzi the first night in lackadaisy. i believe wick was too caught up in the passion and euphoria of finally getting what he wanted, and started making promises and plans he couldn’t necessarily deliver on, not thinking at all about the logistics or the next day and instead focused on some whimsical future. he loves the lackadaisy and he adores mitzi, so why not invest in it? sure, they can discuss the details tomorrow, he has time just for her … and then reality hit him like a train twice over, leaving wick scrambling around aimlessly. he knows what he has to do but doesn’t want to actually do it, which instead makes him seem completely disinterested and wishy-washy instead.

( i also want it on record that the potential of harm or danger really scares wick when he’s made aware of its presence, at least in certain scenarios. while he can brush off the pig farmers raiding the lackadaisy and viktor’s injuries, he can’t ignore rocky’s threat or its implications because this is shoved directly into wick’s face rather unsubtly. what wick gets from the lackadaisy is mitzi, it’s some strange sense of belonging, and a break from his stressful normal life -- it’s not the awful booze he’s interested in, it’s not the thrill of being in the center of danger, it’s the mindless company and vague sense of ‘i have a seat here, right here, around all these people who don’t seem forever irritated by my presence.’ it’s also the rocks but that’s less poetic. point is, wick’s horrific loneliness and ridicule from his peers is what has him drinking at the lackadaisy instead of in the wine cellar he has at home, which means him being perfectly blind to the danger the workers there face is all the more heartbreaking. he won’t ever truly be one of them until he’s actually breached their criminal lifestyle in its entirety. he may pose with them in pictures, but he’s still an outsider in title. he can’t choose them over his business because he needs and wants his business and, clearly, the lackadaisy needs that too. he can’t sacrifice his safety but he doesn’t want to sit idly by and allow mitzi and her employees to suffer because he is still a very kind man. it all exists in extremes and is what makes wick’s arc fascinating in my eyes … his character also becomes more interesting with this in mind, more human, and that’s exactly why i adore him and mitzi ( and their relationship ) as much as i do )

though here we are, finally done with the detours and event recapping to discuss the original question : what is wick’s and mitzi’s mindset during their date? we have all the tools available and any further information i may give later should be extra elaboration at this point rather than anything new. after all, in order to understand why the date went the way it did we had to understand wick and mitzi’s individual characters and what they feel towards each other, what they think they feel, as well as how their relationship has functioned so far. and with a multitude of misconceptions cleared up too, this section hopefully seems a bit more straightforward, though i suppose we’ll wait and see. now, we’ll be discussing the pages doublet, drollery, veracity, photomajig, briar-patch, and mephistopheles … plus some of the date’s aftermath much, much later!

at the start of doublet ( and carrying into drollery ) mitzi and wick are seated in a rowboat, with wick doing the rowing while she’s situated comfortably on a pillow and enjoying the view ; typical of their gender roles during that time. wick looks almost quizzical in the first panel we see of him, though some of that tenseness appears to leave his face by the time mitzi turns to look at him … only for such a look to return when she says, ‘let’s talk business, wick.’

throughout this page and the others it becomes obvious wick very much doesn’t want to discuss business with mitzi, despite that being the purpose of their little meetup at all. he’s extremely quiet when she begins rambling on about how wrong her approach had been last night, how she should’ve just sought wick out to begin with ( an interesting thing for her to say given how reluctant she was to use him initially ). there is a wave of compliments and flattery here from mitzi, an almost buttering up, and it’s worth saying that what works a genuine smile out of wick here is mitzi saying something as simple and as romantic as liking his face. it’s undoubtedly an earnest expression, still tired but softened considerably, and wick will continue to show that what he’s most receptive to are mitzi’s advances, her small flirty remarks and gestures. but once again, when she decides to come out and say what she’s trying to discuss with wick, ‘i’d like you to be my business partner’, he quickly shuts down. his expression falls and he becomes even more quiet than before, enough so to prompt mitzi ( who’s now rowing with him ) to ask if he’s lost interest overnight. all wick can muster in response is some hesitantly worded excuses, like how he’s a little tired and that this proposal is a lot to think about. i say these are excuses because i think wick knew from the start that he was going to reject mitzi’s deal, whatever it was, because now that reality has set in he’s come to understand church’s warning as pure facts. there was never a moment during the outing where wick was even thinking about mitzi’s offer, and he does everything he can to avoid discussing it because he knows his answer.

mitzi, similarly, only wishes to discuss business with wick here -- it’s what she came over for, after all, and she’s at the end of her rope after last night’s and today’s events. she needs this deal and wick’s money, to the point where she remains almost purposefully stereotypical throughout their entire outing. gone is the more genuine bond between them that we saw in rendezvous, because now every time mitzi does a romantic action ( or a sexual one ) it’s wooden and rather fake ; it’s her feeling as though there’s no other choice and being desperate enough to stoop so low if it means wick won’t reject her business. their wants and desires are complete opposites at this point, with wick wanting this to be a date and to be with mitzi while the woman in question is avoidant of any lovesick antics until she feels like she’s losing wick. there’s definitely some manipulation happening on mitzi’s end just as much as there’s some purposeful misleading on wick’s, with both of their behaviors rubbing the other party the wrong way ; wick is still on edge due to rocky’s comment and is prone to getting upset whenever mitzi so much as jokes about it, and then we have mitzi, who’s already dealt with a similar situation today with asa, someone who dragged her to an outing she didn’t ask for and then avoided the conversation she wanted to have with him. for perhaps the first time, neither wick nor mitzi are really seeing each other anymore, they’re instead doubting one another where there had once been ironclad resolve and are too blinded by their desires to have an honest conversation about any of this. add this on top of how exhausted and stressed they both are, it’s no wonder their ‘date’ was doomed from the start.

i also want it on record that mitzi is being extremely open and upfront here about what she wants from wick from the first page. she didn’t waste any time before making her intentions with him clear! this isn’t me dismissing her more manipulative behavior during the date, but she certainly doesn’t use wick to the extent some people act like she does. rather than asking him to be an investor, she tells wick she wants him to be her business partner who would get 40% of the revenue and a 40% say in her decisions regarding the lackadaisy. it doesn’t seem like much, but given how little wick actually needs this money back, it’s a rather generous offer all around, with it almost being half and half. while she’s still undoubtedly using him, there is still a level of respect here, i think, some kind of : well, if i have to use wick, let me at least make the terms as good as they can be. some fans act as though mitzi deceived wick from the start when i’ve more than proved she’s mostly been completely transparent with him outside of a few select situations, which happen to be moments where her desperation turns her impulsive and wholly selfish, as seen briefly in rendezvous and whenever she flirts with wick during their outing. an impulsive instinct that will only worsen come sneakthief, when mitzi is utterly humiliated, angry, and at the very end of her already thinned rope. to me, it’s important to understand that her reasons for her actions during this arc are understandable and, perhaps, a bit sympathetic -- but that and the fact that what she does is wrong can coexist. wick is in a similar boat, where i mostly want to present him through a neutral lens so we can understand that he’s also done some wrong himself and is hardly a perfect victim, but that these wrongdoings still don’t dismiss the fact he shouldn’t have been stolen from or had his affections used. but i’ve gotten a little ahead of myself, so let’s dive back into doublet and drollery.

doublet ends with mitzi cooing at wick in an almost teasing but fond tone, calling him a ‘poor bunny,’ a comment so unremarkable that she’s not at all anticipating wick to react rather aggressively. he’s sort of accusatory and defensive, as though bristling from the mere title alone. we quickly find out in the next page ( and from his mumbling before his outburst ) that he’s still unable to shake rocky’s threats from balderdash, to the point of internalizing the confusing metaphor he was given, which wick hardly understands but is still reactive towards. he’s tired and stressed and on top of that he’s suddenly nervous for his life, it’s little wonder why he’s so jumpy. mitzi, in turn, expresses utter confusion at his question and, when wick explains that rocky insinuated he killed atlas because she wanted him to, she begins making light of the situation … much to wick’s dismay. to her, it’s just not something to take seriously! and she repeatedly pokes fun at the mere idea, going back and forth between ‘i’m kidding!’s and ‘or am i?’s until relenting entirely, going on to tease wick for believing she’d do something so awful and for taking rocky’s words as something to be worried about. drollery is a deceptively important page, as it’s a great demonstration of how little wick and mitzi are understanding each other. it makes complete sense for mitzi to make light of the situation and to be unable to understand why wick is so afraid, considering that rocky idolizes her and therefore has never threatened her or even done so much as to appear annoyed around her. in stark contrast, wick’s emotional state here is frazzled and fraught, and he’s in desperate need of some sort of comfort. he seems to get that comfort when mitzi teases him about believing rocky, only for fear to take over once again when mitzi casually mentions, ‘rocky’s name is definitely not on my murderers-for-hire roster,’ implying that she still has one even if rocky himself isn’t on it. wick is noticeably so shocked or frightened that he stops rowing, and then there’s a brief timeskip before we see the pair again in veracity.

what i find most prudent to talk about during this page is the discussion of atlas may between the pair, with wick asking two rather wise questions ; if the talk about mitzi’s part in her husband’s death is false and, if so, why not speak up on it? her answer is rather similar both times, saying she didn’t kill atlas because she loved him, and that she doesn’t like discussing the circumstances surrounding his death due to how fresh it all still is. she begins fiddling with her necklace, a telltale sign that her late husband is on her mind, before offering something rather interesting.

as we know it, mitzi is a rather reserved and private person, and that goes tenfold for anything involving atlas post mortem, an aspect of her character that’s even referenced in this very page! so for this to even be offered, albeit hesitantly, is fascinating on many levels and can be read through two lenses. either this is a genuine offer from mitzi or a fake one in an attempt to garner wick into her corner, with the promise of a solved mystery in his pocket. both are completely valid interpretations of this scene given where mitzi’s currently at, and i won’t dismiss either one. however, i personally view her words here as an honest invitation, one she’s extremely reluctant to give but is willing to let it be out there regardless. she’s not promising that wick will get this information, it’s merely a possibility ; if such a question truly weighs on him so heavily, then perhaps she can find it in herself to someday tell him about atlas. i think mitzi is more than willing to give wick that sort of honesty in return if he decides to help her out -- which, in a way, is a blend of the two options i brought up earlier. i just don’t see why she’d bring this rather sensitive and personal wound up to wick at all unless she was serious about it, given how avoidant she usually is with this subject.

one aspect of lackadaisy that i rarely see brought up is the tangible theme of grief. mitzi is often interpreted without her grief being a factor, or her grief being a small obstacle that she simply needs to ‘get over’. this is hardly how grief works, especially not when a loss is sudden and violent, as atlas’ death unquestionably was. this is to say nothing of the horrific circumstances that followed mitzi afterwards -- while previously, she was a wealthy socialite, sheltered from harm and the particularly gruesome details of her husband’s work, she is now forced to wear shoes that are far too big and bloody for her to fill. i find it prudent to digress and harp on this a bit, as it’s hardly ever mentioned in the lackadaisy fandom that it can be incredibly difficult for a grieving person to hear the name of their lost loved one, especially when you’re someone as reluctant to share your feelings as mitzi is. hell, mordecai just hearing atlas’ name once was enough for him to flee the luncheon and squirrel himself away in mitzi’s car. and not only has atlas been brought up twice today already, he’s been used as a tool to threaten mitzi’s life. while wick could hardly know that his discussion of the rumors surrounding atlas’ death might have a serious impact on mitzi considering the context of what happened that day, he certainly belatedly realizes that his words have the very real capacity for hurting mitzi -- he just doesn’t realize how much. with this in mind, there is undoubtedly something to be said about how mitzi offers to talk to wick about atlas at all, with us being able to read into this as a testament to their previous closeness or miss may’s rising and almost animalistic desperation. wick’s response to this is rather telling too, with him immediately rejecting her offer due to mitzi not ‘owing’ him such an explanation and apologizing for bringing atlas’s death up at all, as well as expressing that he’s duly ashamed of himself for it. while this puts a damper on their outing ( and gives wick another excuse to try and avoid mitzi’s desired topic by ending things early ) there’s no denying that even when they’re on relatively strained terms, a glimmer of respect and care for each other keeps shining through. it’s either that or wick just has impeccable manners and an innate understanding that bringing up a widow’s murdered husband during what’s supposed to be a date isn’t a wise move. or, like always, it’s probably a mix of the two. this fondness and affection towards one another, as subconscious as it may be, is highlighted once again in photomajig! a page which i won’t talk about too much, but one that’s integral nonetheless.

realizing things aren’t going the way she wants them to go, mitzi spies an opportunity to prolong and ‘fix’ things when seeing a photo booth, one which she drags a curious wick to with a renewed smile upon her face. for the first three-ish photos, wick seems rather apprehensive about this situation, likely still feeling their earlier talk in its awful entirety ; only for mitzi to physically tug and pull at him in an attempt to help him loosen up, going as far as to pinch his cheeks into a poor facsimile of a smile for the camera. after this, wick gives more of an attempt during the next two pictures, mimicking mitzi’s pose both times and seeming to find himself having fun despite circumstances. there’s a noticeable shift in the photos where the two not only appear to be enjoying themselves, but are actively enjoying one another’s company. for a couple shots it’s almost like the current despairing state surrounding them disappears entirely as they silently fawn over each other and indulge in some harmless fun, with these three specific pictures being prime examples of this.

there’s no denying that wick is visibly smitten with mitzi here once he loosens up, burdened with an overwhelming attraction his face can barely hide once the date begins feeling like an actual date. mitzi’s more subtle, though there’s a lightness to her expressions that feel less forced and sad, actively engaging in ridiculous poses and naturally falling into more loving gestures without much orchestrated affections on her end. you can see what they could perhaps be like as a genuine couple if they could allow themselves such a future ; happy and silly and capturing memories to always keep … and this brief insight makes what happens at the end much more devastating, where we see mitzi ( who has, maybe, remembered herself and her goal ) throw this away to force herself onto wick again with a bruising force, attempting to take advantage of his good mood so they can talk about her business proposal again. just like that the moments are gone, as are their more honest feelings, and although wick still dodges the topic yet again ( which, as previously stated, he shouldn’t be doing given the true purpose of this outing ) he retains a more playful attitude than before. joking that he was planning on running away from mitzi until he begins looking rather smug and adoring while teasing her ‘ruthless’ strategy, and how it doesn’t leave him in an advantageous negotiating position. the page ends with them realizing they’ve cultivated an audience with their antics as wick laments he’d hate to disrupt them with business talk -- a sarcastic remark undoubtedly, but further drives my previous points home nonetheless.

now we approach the last stretch of this analysis, centering around wick’s rejection of mitzi and then briefly touching upon her stealing his money. briar-patch is an intricate dance between two exhausted parties, but this exhaustion is exactly what makes it so easy for them to fall into their normal styles of talking. the next time we see the pair, they’ve left the park and have since returned to wick’s home ; holed up in his wine cellar and enjoying some quality wine. it’s very interesting that wick has an entire underground room full of illicit beverages when he so often frequents the lackadaisy, though i digress. still sporting his improved mood, wick behaves rather coyly during most of briar-patch, rambling about the bottle of wine mitzi asks him about and implying he’s too socially awkward to properly entertain a lady … this is an obvious lie, and it’s one mitzi doesn’t hesitate to call out, but this doesn’t dampen his spirits any. once again looking smitten at the woman sitting in his lap, his tail seeming to curl slightly around her outstretched leg. it all paints a rather fond and romantic picture, in spite of its context.

just like mitzi with his earlier fabrication, wick sees through her attempts at getting him drunk until he acquiesces to her proposal, though doesn’t visually appear mad at mitzi for this. naturally, she denies the claim -- a little tipsy and not at all a good liar, instead resorting to a minor guilt trip -- ‘i’m starting to worry you’re leading me on,’ -- as another way to nudge wick into her desired direction. i’m sure wick knows what mitzi is getting at when she claims he’s leading her on, but he chooses to ignore her true meaning by saying that he couldn’t be leading her on because he’s been eyeing mitzi since she was married to atlas. and mitzi admits to knowing about his interest … making a slight remark that she’s surprised atlas didn’t have him killed for it. we see more evidence of wick’s avoidance towards the topic of murderers for hire in his very clear statement of ‘…that’s comforting. anyway’. wick goes on to immediately dismiss the very real danger he was in and confess that he ‘couldn’t help’ being attracted to mitzi. this highlights one of wick’s other flaws ; his belief that he is unable to resist his impulses and that this somehow absolves him of the consequences of his actions. he could very easily have gotten over his initial attraction to mitzi instead of constantly mooning over her and feeding his interest. he could also have thought through mitzi’s invitation and decided against sacrificing his investors and their reputations for his own gain. this flaw can be tied into his alcoholism as well, where we see that wick has poor impulse control yet again when, after just being scolded by his secretary for drinking, he then pours hooch into his coffee when her back is turned, not even waiting for her to leave the room. all of this is to say that wick has a penchant for ignoring the consequences of his impulsive decisions and struggles heavily with the awkwardness involved in taking accountability for them.

we then move onto the next page where lacy interrupts the two, asking if wick could drive her home since bix, wick’s driver, isn’t outside anymore. wick, who admits to essentially forgetting about her presence, promises he’ll be up in a second to take her home -- and it’s that scene which marks the end of the date. wick was more than content to drag this on as long as possible, having been all but relaxed and cozy earlier, in a manner of undress with mitzi ( who had taken her heels off ) and filling the air with meaningless conversation. these aren’t the actions of a man who is eager to push the lady out the door, but rather someone who enjoys this reality too much to do the right thing and end it ; to save them both the now wasted time because they both have businesses to run, and can’t afford pleasantries like dates that last hours … or, in mitzi’s case, this was never what she wanted at all with this meeting, and wick knew that deep down and purposefully withheld from addressing the topic until the end was near, and then there wasn’t much else he could do except finally come clean. his face falls and scrunches, initially turned away from his company before he begins to let her down, fidgeting by scrubbing his neck and avoiding her gaze again by looking into his wine glass. i think paying attention to wick’s body language is always important, because his tone and how he speaks is rather glib in nature.

wick is a character who doesn’t really speak emotionally with his voice ; perpetually stuck in a stuffy but charming sort of tone as seen in the pilot ( even when he’s noticeably angry at rocky’s implications of dynamite and machinery ) as well as here, where his words are so casual sounding that it’s hard not to view them as apathetic. starting his rejection with a polite but seemingly uncaring, “uh, i was saying … i’d love for this to work out … but, uh …” he sounds like he’s talking to a stranger, almost, someone who came up to him on the street with a business proposition rather than with a girl who he cares for and selfishly kept the entire evening once he could manage it. even his verbal hesitation can be viewed as indifference. he carries this normal air afterwards too, able to seem unfazed during sneakthief and chauffeur ; propped with a casualness to him and his words that make it hard to comprehend that the situation is as bad as it is. as mentioned above, wick is rather short-sighted and tends not to think through the finer points of things. he has a notable talent for dismissing schools of thought that aren’t immediately pertinent, and i’d argue that he has a penchant for self-soothing, burying his problems in fine wines and expensive toys. it’s not outside the realm of possibility that wick would immediately fall back into his glib, carefree tone, trying to soothe himself with the normalcy of bantering with lacy. it’s probably fairly easy to write wick off as never being too interested in mitzi because of this, but given the rest of his character ( along with the brief faltering we see in his expression here and there ) that’s likely not at all true. honestly, i believe he’s even less likely to consider the true consequences of what’s transpired, considering that he a.) completely dismisses lacy’s assertion that mitzi had been rifling through her things and threatening her with dismemberment, b.) is so tired he is hallucinating a duck and therefore can’t drive straight, and c.) is definitely drunk, having seemingly polished off two bottles with mitzi over the course of the date.

sedgewick sable, for all intents and purposes, is a businessman and a capitalist after all. and while he’s leagues better than his peers in terms of kindness, passion, and humbleness, there’s still no denying that he’s still a man made of money who has to spend hours of his day rubbing elbows with blue blood types. he may be an outlier, but he’s secured investors for a reason and isn’t new to the social games that are a part of that environment. can’t be, when he can act so confident and ‘better than’ when such displays are needed from him. i understand the narrative of wick being ‘socially inept’ or ‘socially awkward’, because he is to a degree, though i think some people have the habit of erasing him of any competency entirely. during quarryman, caveat, and quacksalver, wick does well when holding his own and is able to keep an almost smug look about him even when faced with ridicule or critique from his wealthy peers ; never letting their insults or boredom stick, and behaving as if he’s amused by their comments at best.

i don’t think wick truly feels unbothered by these events nor do i believe his constant pleasant tone is always genuine. there’s a case to be made here about masking : the practice of concealing or suppressing aspects of one's ( potentially ) neurodivergent traits or conditions, in order to fit in with the norms of the workplace or society. it may be a ruse, but it’s a damn good one, to the point where it’s potentially taken over how he speaks entirely. and it’d make sense given the themes surrounding wick’s character already, but i’ll just leave that there for now. what matters in the context of him rejecting mitzi and his behavior thereafter is that wick has a really bad habit of coming across as uncaring on occasion, something not only the reader could be fooled by, but mitzi as well ; in her already sensitive state, still angry and hurting from asa’s imposed lunch as well as last night’s many humiliating events. despite this, the actual wording of wick’s confession, as distant as it may seem, is rather purposeful in my eyes, because he says : “i’d love for this to work out, but, uh … not if it’s contingent on a business partnership.” here, wick makes it clear that he’s not rejecting a romantic relationship with mitzi, merely the business proposal itself. if she wanted to date him without the business part, than wick would be more than willing to indulge her -- and even during the rejection itself, he never comes across as mad or angry at her in particular, expressions-wise. just rather saddened about things, a little shameful, but he seems to hold little issue with mitzi even though he’s still uncertain of her motives.

it’s also worth noting that despite wick’s feelings for mitzi being ‘obvious’, it’s very likely mitzi has no clue what those feelings really are in nature. to her, it could be a physical interest and nothing more, and given how she acts around wick ( as in, being extremely touchy physically ) i think her views of his attraction veer towards more shallow waters than sickly sweet romance. something that adds further insult to injury here, and makes her rather aggressive reaction, where she essentially says this :

all the more understandable, and honestly a rather human reaction all around. people love to dismiss everything mitzi says as ‘manipulative’ or ‘fake’, but tracy herself has essentially called wick a hypocrite before too … so there’s more truth to her words here than fans are comfortable to admit. while cruel, there’s honesty to what she’s saying. wick is indeed, by definition, a hypocrite. he also has, undoubtedly, led her on throughout this entire date and did so on purpose. she has every reason to lash out at him here and to continue doing so afterwards, torn between being angry at him as well as desperately needing him in turn ; still throwing herself at wick in a last ditch attempt to save things, even though we know she regrets and loathes such actions. her shallow view of wick’s affections isn’t exactly helped when, in response to her still biting words, he calls her mephistopheles and draws attention to her curves. if you don’t know, mephistopheles is a demon who corrupts the souls of men, and in some interpretations is said to take on desirable and pleasing forms. while a rather mean remark ( something mitzi even points out ) wick’s lips are in a tiny smile, eyebrows raised as he stares at mitzi with lidded eyes … it reads more like a tease, an action that the two engage in often when talking to each other ( as can be seen here, and other such instances ), rather than being a scathing review of character like mitzi’s words previously.

still, despite mitzi’s tempting offer of the more sexual implication, wick holds his ground and stays true to his rejection. a rejection that was practically just church’s words to him word-for-word, might i add. the date ends here and they separate. but i’d be remiss to not even briefly discuss sneakthief and other events afterwards, since they’re rather major in nature. though i will only talk about these events briefly, since they’re an entirely other can of worms and this analysis is long enough as it is.

as we’ve thoroughly covered thus far, mitzi stealing a blank check from wick’s checkbook wasn’t her plan all along, nor was it even a malicious action on her end. it was pure desperation that drove her to steal, just like it was pure desperation that drove her to play the condescending, evil crime boss gig to lacy … a gig she’s scarily good at, and one she’ll probably utilize more in the future. and no, this doesn’t dismiss how awful these actions are, it merely explains them. mitzi is not some evil manipulative mastermind, she literally heard about the checkbook in lacy’s bag and instantly ( foolishly! ) stole it immediately thereafter, basically getting caught as well. mitzi doesn’t even seem to think about what she’s doing before she moves to do it, a side effect of her all consuming obsession and, again, her desperation. these are hardly the actions of a woman who’s thinking reasonably or with any level of coldness, even if her actions here are extremely selfish. still, there’s no excusing it, though mitzi tries to find some justifications for her actions in an obvious attempt to soothe her own mind and, perhaps, to make her actions more palpable to even herself. you see this in backalley, where she briefly touches upon her actions in a way she won’t ever do again.

she’s rationalizing it to herself, thinking wholeheartedly that she’ll pay it all back eventually, and that she isn’t intending to take this money without giving any of it back. this is rather shortsighted of her, since a.) she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to make this money back, enough so to be able to give it to wick, and b.) that’s hardly the issue here, when the real betrayal lies within the fact she’s done this to wick at all. like most things, mitzi’s clouded view isn’t allowing her to realize the extent of what she’s done … i don’t even think she’s understanding that by doing this, she has potentially lost wick as a friend forever. or if she has realized this, it hasn’t begun weighing on her yet -- which is understandable, given her fight with zib and his disappearance right after the fact, as well as her beloved necklace being broken. there are just other things on her mind besides wick sable! and that’s the tragedy, isn’t it? there’s no room for her to really evaluate her feelings about him or him at all when she’s so obsessed with the abstraction of her late husband and all he represents ; down to the pearls she wears of him and the bad reputation he kept. it’s still easy to justify things in this state, to talk in circles about how wick is too nice to be mad at her or send her to jail and how she’ll eventually pay him back, when there’s no clarity for her. mitzi knows what she’s doing is reprehensible but she doesn’t know how bad it all is yet, something tracy has, again, said about her before. the last we see of mitzi in the comic currently is her saying this, which isn’t the expression nor the words of someone who is feeling anything but awful, though has found company and comfort in it despite the pain :

and we’ve now reached the end of this analysis! i want to give an immense thank you to anyone who’s sat through and read all of this from beginning to end given its length! and i also want to say that i understand some of the things covered here are a bit vague when compared to other parts, so if anyone has further questions or wishes to discuss this further, please feel free to do so! i view this project as an overall analysis rather than one that’s extremely specific to certain topics, so because of that ( and for your sanity and mine ) there were things i was curt with on purpose. trust me when i say that there’s not one aspect of these characters or their relationship that i haven’t given immense thought to, or analyzed. similarly, to reiterate my earlier disclaimers, everything i’ve said here is said with neutral evaluation at best and with some bias at worst, a bias that pertains to both wick and mitzi. i adore them both equally and i don’t want my words here to be twisted as me saying one of them deserves ‘better’ than the other, because frankly i care very little for that argument. at the end of the day, they’re two extremely human characters : flawed and intense and existing in multiple extremes, good and bad, and that’s exactly why their relationship fascinates me. i’m not here to play the moral police on fictional characters who are actively in a morally ambiguous work, i’m here to merely observe them and hopefully give them justice in my readings of their dynamic and respective complex characters … especially since i don’t think the fandom has done a good job of that for either of them!

though this is still just my opinion and analysis of the text that’s been given to us, so to each their own. i feel like i have so much more to say or elaborate upon, but this is a nice little place to leave it for now, so again, thank you all … and thank you tracy butler for squeezing my brain for thousands of words worth of braincells that has went into studying her comic like the bible <3 and then actually writing those thoughts down like some insane person!

#my posts.#lackadaisy analysis.#lackadaisy #mitzi may #sedgewick sable #character analysis #tracy j butler #major credit goes to user @churchwick btw! they helped edit these monsters so be sure to check them out as well!#also wow this beast is done. oh my god. i’ve spent an entire month on this !! like. STRAIGHT #if i reblog this ten times over the course of this month no one said anything this is my new baby and you will see it eventually!!!#but in all seriousness again i cannot thank anyone reading this enough! you’re some real ones if you’ve made it this far!!#uh. i don’t know what else to say??? so im gonna leave it at that but. yeah!! wow. i hope everyone enjoys this feast #love you wick and mitzi respectively!! here’s 15k words of love for YOU!

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i-did-not-mean-to · 4 months ago

Text

Week 3 - Feast

And this is the ending of this story as well...

Thank you for reading!

Prompt: Feast

Pairing: Maedhros x Fingon, Fingon & Finrod, Sons of Fëanor

Words: 3 060

Warnings: Nudity, sadness, loss, anger, betrayal, danger

Findek��no stared at the stacks of papers in confusion and dismay; as soon as he’d entered the abandoned study, he’d been overcome by a strange, uncomfortable feeling of urgency, but he was unable to put his finger on its source or sense.

Something wanted to be found—the gnawing, tingling sensation reminded him of his school days when he’d been working on a particularly difficult problem for hours on end, and the solution was teasingly grazing his consciousness without ever letting itself be grasped firmly.

Vanquishing his last scruples, he approached the littered desk, rifling through the documents aimlessly.

Then, as if called by an unseen power, he looked up sharply from the mountains of yellowed paper and gasped.

There, drowned in the dense shadow of the far wall, hung a masterfully crafted painting which spanned most of that side of the room.

“I know you,” he whispered, stepping around the now-forgotten furniture, and lifted his fingers to touch the tall, red-haired man standing at the right side of a slightly older, imperious-looking stranger.

In his single-minded haste, he’d disturbed a precariously heaped stack of notebooks, but he paid no heed to the avalanche of rustling paper as his eyes were riveted on the disturbingly like-like portraits.

Recognition was far less instantaneous than it should have been, but the sight of the broad, strong-featured woman on the other side of the compellingly intense patriarch made Findekáno’s eyes widen, and his mouth fall open.

Even though his gracious host had been a life-altering surprise, the young Prince was only too familiar with the dignified couple at the heart of the purposefully forgotten artwork.

“Where have you gone?” he whispered, overcome with dread and hope alike. He’d only ever seen King Fëanáro and his beautiful, talented wife depicted in banned history books, and yet he was absolutely certain that the people in the painting were indeed that doomed pair which had vanished without a trace so many years ago.

Together, they’d created many marvels that still adorned the palace in which Findekáno had grown up.

“And sons,” he murmured. “You had many sons, fabled to have been beautiful, smart, and exceedingly talented in the art of music and of war. They’ve…disappeared along with you.”

“You must leave,” a cold voice came from the door. “You’re no longer welcome here.”

Whirling around and thereby dislodging another landslide of books and notes, Findekáno discovered his host, now clad in a light dressing gown made of worn silk, standing on the threshold.

Nelyafinwë’s mouth was curled up in a moue of wild anger, but his eyes were dull and dark with grief at the discovery of Findekáno’s abject betrayal of his trust.

“I needed to know,” Findekáno croaked, lifting his hands pleadingly. The mere thought of being banished from a place he’d originally never even wanted to enter was unbearable to him, and—at that moment—he would have done anything not to be cast out.

“You must go,” Nelyafinwë repeated tonelessly. “I shan’t have our sanctuary torn apart by your indecent curiosity and the foolish bravery of your ilk. Leave now and never come back.”

Injured pride and something else—darker and far more painful—stirred within Findekáno’s chest, and he set his jaw stubbornly. “No.”

At once, the pale ghost of a lost line changed strategies in the face of Findekáno’s defiant refusal.

“You cannot stay here—think of your father, of your siblings, of your realm!” Nelyafinwë pleaded in the same forcibly level voice. “You have a life somewhere, far from this accursed ruin, and you must return to it.”

“My realm?” Findekáno exclaimed, letting the conflicting, confusing feelings within him melt in the merciless, purifying forges of his ire. “Don’t you mean our realm?”

Flinching back as if struck, Nelyafinwë stared at him for a long moment, open despair writ plain across his comely features.

“I will not add your misery to the list of my crimes,” he then whispered, waving a despondent hand at the hated mural. “You now know who I am, and certainly, you must agree that it would be better if we were confined to these lonely halls for all the ages to come.”

“I hold no such thoughts,” Findekáno barked and bent down to retrieve a handful of pages, covered in tight, neat script. To avoid detection, he’d not brought a taper, so he had to hold the paper up to the pale moonlight to decipher the writing.

“The answer is not there,” Nelyafinwë said in a warm voice that reeked of pity.

“Tell me then, oh beauteous guardian of an ancient curse. Clearly, you know!” Before Nelyafinwë could refuse him once more, he stepped forward to grab those broad shoulders and give the wilfully secretive man a good shake.

“Share the secret of your curse with me,” he purred into a visibly blushing ear. “And your own wish shall be granted—I will leave.”

As once before, Findekáno braced for the onset of crushing culpability as the lie passed his lips—he would indeed walk away from the castle, but his plan was to seek out whatever was needed to break the malediction and return posthaste.

“Forgiveness,” Nelyafinwë confessed in heart-wrenchingly forlorn accents. “We would have to earn and be granted forgiveness to be freed. It’s a hopeless endeavour—even you cannot deny that. Now, I’ve honoured my end of the bargain. Will you flee this prison?”

Inclining his head, Findekáno decided that he had nought to lose and everything to gain, so he pushed himself up on the tips of his toes and pressed a tender kiss onto that grim mouth which had just handed him the key to his happiness.

Nothing was clear or decided in this world, he knew, but he was convinced that—if only he could deliver this living, breathing phantom—he could obtain bliss beyond his wildest dreams.

“In the morn’”, he murmured against Nelyafinwë’s lips. “Grant me this one night to be with you before you force us to part ways.”

He could see how much the other wanted to deny his request, but—in the end—he found himself nestled against Nelyafinwë’s bare chest in the bed he’d been allotted so generously, absent-mindedly counting the freckles speckling his warm, smooth skin.

“I forgive you,” Findekáno whispered, unsure whether his host had fallen asleep or if he was still contemplating their imminent farewells. “Meeting you was worth being cold, scared, and tired. I pardon you for your gruff manner, your bad tea, and your overdrawn anger.”

He could feel more than hear the mirthless chuckle rumbling through Nelyafinwë, so he changed his tactic, embroidering his nascent affection and unwavering faith onto that pristine flesh with fervent kisses.

“I forgive you,” he breathed, “for following your father’s folly to your ultimate doom; I forgive you for disappearing and leaving the realm in disarray; I forgive you the crimes for which you still castigate yourself.”

When his mouth brushed against a sharp hipbone, he looked up. “Can you forgive yourself? Can you pardon your brothers for the part they’ve played?”

“They deserve no blame,” Nelyafinwë repeated the lie he’d told himself a thousand times.

“Yes, they do,” Findekáno objected kindly. “But they also deserve forgiveness. When I’m gone, please try to extend the same grace to yourself you’re so eager to bestow upon your siblings. And…learn to make a better cup of tea, all right?”

The night faded too fast—it always did.

“You must away,” Nelyafinwë whispered urgently.

Dark shadows lay beneath his beautiful eyes as if all the tears he had refused to cry had pooled in lakes of black ink atop his chiselled cheeks.

“You turn back when the sun comes up,” Findekáno whispered, extending a trusting hand. “I’d see it if you’d let me!”

Before his very eyes, the charming, alluring youth in whose strong, lean arms he’d spent an excitingly sleepless night morphed into a hulking creature, covered in reddish fur and poised to tear any foe to shreds.

“I recognise your eyes,” Findekáno gasped, awe-struck and undaunted, as he let his fingers comb through the long, shaggy pelage of the beast. “And your hair. I bet you wish one of your brothers had been turned into a brush, huh?”

Nelyafinwë threw back his massive head and uttered a vicious, resonating snarl that Findekáno only understood as laughter when tiny tears dropped from the corners of those eerily human eyes.

“Despite my unlawful intrusion yesterday, I’m a man of honour, so I shall keep the word I’ve given. Goodbye, dear Nelyafinwë. Think of my words!”

Unable to resist, he leaned forward one last time to bury his face, hot and tight with unshed tears and unspoken confessions, in that luscious fur and kissed the top of a fearsomely fanged snout lovingly.

Then, without daring a last lingering look for fear that he’d change his mind, he left the castle unimpeded.

Driven by the visceral scream of agony churning in his throat, Findekáno almost ran through the fray he’d hewn and only broke out of his delirious flight when he heard the approaching sound of hooves.

“Halt! Who goes there?” he called, lifting his sword laboriously. His arms were shaking, and his breath was short, but he was ready to defend his secret lover against all who’d seek to harm him.

“Finno? Is it really you? How have you escaped?” Not even taking the time to rein in his horse, Findaráto vaulted off the animal’s back with the grace of an acrobat to embrace his cousin. “We were prepared to slay a thousand fearsome enemies in your name.”

“No,” Findekáno roared, extricating himself almost violently. “No, you shall not harm a single hair on his head.”

“Finno? Are you quite well? You look fevered,” his cousin said in a softer tone, peering into his flushed, bloated face with alarm. “Have you been crying? What have they done to you?”

“You don’t understand,” Findekáno gasped, collapsing against the other’s chest with sudden weakness.

At that, Findaráto held up a staying hand, signalling thus to his hunting party that they’d settle down under cover of the nearby forest for a short halt. “Tell me everything.”

And so, Findekáno did. Warring shame and decorum made his account choppy and incoherent at times, but his cousin had known him for too long not to follow his disjointed narration easily.

“Do you believe Fëanáro to be…dead?” Findaráto finally asked, tapping a slender finger against his full lips pensively. As the oldest son of the minor family branch who never expected to ascend the throne and preferred it that way, he did not waste any time pondering the inevitable changes to things like the succession and the crown. “He was a dangerous individual.”

“He’s gone, one way or another,” Findekáno sighed. “Can you help me?”

“I am your father’s representative,” Findaráto chirped with a shrug. “And you are his heir. When we speak, we speak with the voice of the King in the name of the realm. Do you want us to go back and extend a royal pardon?”

Even though he was doubtful that such a negligible gesture would be anywhere near enough, Findekáno couldn’t think of a better idea, so he nodded tentatively.

“Ah, the colour is returning to your face, cousin, I take that to be a good sign. You must understand that we were on a daring rescue mission rather than a diplomatic one, so we shall have to make a few minor adjustments…”

Findaráto gave him one of his mischievous, lopsided grins. “After all, I wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on the young man who’s managed to capture your heart.”

“My…what?” Suddenly aghast by how open and unguarded he’d been, Findekáno blanched.

“Worry not, your secret is safe with me. Onwards then, brave men and women. We have a potential suitor to convince of our beloved kingdom!” Findaráto said with a confidential wink and stalked away to retrieve his runaway horse.

“I’m not sure you’ll get a warm welcome,” Findekáno moaned.

“Nonsense, I restore his true love to the man—also, unlike many of our kin, I am irresistibly charming. Leave it to me! He’ll adore me!”

Nelyafinwë was wrenched out of his dark, self-pitying musings by the frantic clacking of metal and the dissonant scream of a harp.

“What now? Has someone come to fell us at last?”

Turning his cumbersome frame in a room too small for it, Nelyafinwë joined his brothers at the small, narrow kitchen window, only to espy the telltale cloud of dust heralding a group of quickly approaching horses.

Had he not gained a new appreciation for seemingly inanimate objects, Nelyafinwë might well have dropped the saucer he’d been polishing for the small feast he was presently preparing.

Even though his siblings would not be able to join him in the simple pleasure of eating, they’d all agreed with Findekáno’s assessment when Nelyafinwë had told them about what had transpired during the night.

The idea of having a family dinner once more, truncated and perverted as it might be, had lifted everyone’s spirits, and so Nelyafinwë had tried to ply his uncooperative bestial form as best he could to perform the menial tasks that were required to have such a humble banquet.

As far as he could tell, he’d made good progress, but now, all his efforts would turn out to have been in vain. How cruelly fitting!

The screeching of the harp reached a tremulous crescendo—Nelyafinwë was tempted to swat it from the windowsill, but he refrained, knowing that his fearful hope would turn him into the monster he refused to become. He wouldn’t give in to his basest instincts!

“Why would he come back? I’ve told him there was nought but death and desolation here,” he answered the question echoing through the room as much as through his own racing heart. “He promised.”

Of course, Nelyafinwë remembered that Findekáno had deceived him once before in the pursuit of what he’d deemed to be the “greater good”, and he’d only ever vowed to leave and had never sworn not to return, but that much had been implied, hadn’t it?

As the thundering cloud drew nearer, he could discern the flashing gold braided into the thick, gleaming hair of their recently lost and yet already bitterly regretted visitor.

“No,” Nelyafinwë gasped, and—heedless of his grisly shape—rushed to the door to intercept the interlopers before their wrath could endanger any of his beloved brothers.

Roaring and growling, he burst forth.

“Dear,” Findekáno cried and threw himself off the horse and into his unwilling host's long, twisted arms. “My kin have come to deliver me, but—as I’m already free—we’ve changed plans and shall now free you instead.”

A thousand thoughts and contradicting emotions flashed through Nelyafinwë’s mind—gratitude and disbelief making him freeze protectively around Findekáno’s solid warmth—and he stared at the visibly drawn, exhausted face of his sweetest dream in wordless confusion for a long moment.

“Good day,” Findaráto interrupted their strange and fragile intimacy with cheerful bonhomie. “My cousin tells me you’re in need of forgiveness.”

His gaze—sharp and perspicacious despite his air of good-humoured shallowness—fell on the incongruous heap of miscellaneous tools and instruments by the door, and he bowed courteously.

“You’ve done me no grievous harm, so there’s not much to pardon,” he then went on with a lopsided shrug. “Nevertheless, as Finno here insists, I forgive you for imprisoning my uncle and my cousin. The first is alive and well, and the second couldn’t get back here fast enough, so I dare say that there was no harm done.”

More men dismounted and, under the pressure of their Princes’ demanding expressions, they did their best to conjure up offences and crimes they could forgive.

When nothing immediately changed, Findekáno’s face fell.

“It’s not that easy,” Nelyafinwë hummed comfortingly into his ear. “But I’ve taken your advice—I was just preparing everything for a little feast tonight. Would your party care to join us? It won’t be as grand as what you’re used to in the palace, but it’s the best we can do out here.”

“I’d love to,” Findekáno exclaimed, nuzzling closer to the broad, bare chest of a mystery on which he hadn’t given up yet. “The others can have the room you gave me yesterday; I can spend the night by your side and watch over you.”

He remembered the dark shadows marring Nelyafinwë’s delicate skin only too well. “You need to rest, dear, and I can make sure that your beauty doesn’t go unnoticed.”

“You’d defend and protect me? Your jailor? A walking nightmare?” Nelyafinwë sputtered. It became increasingly difficult to shut out the jubilant clacking of his siblings throwing themselves bodily into the air in a weird display of exuberant joy and characteristic impatience, so he turned to carry Findekáno into the castle.

“Be my guests,” he called over his shoulder, shuddering at the thought of the supplementary teacups and plates he’d now have to wash.

“Yes, make yourselves comfortable,” Findekáno added merrily. “On account of having two hands, I’ll help with the preparations.”

“So will we,” Findaráto interjected suavely and followed the lumbering beast as if he’d not even noticed its terrifying girth.

When, not much later, the table was laid and the candles were lit, Findekáno raised his polished goblet solemnly. “To our gracious hosts and their future.”

“We have no—”

“He’s set his mind on it,” Findaráto cut in when Nelyafinwë tried to curb his guest’s enthusiasm. “He rarely fails once that is done.”

As he watched his siblings, Nelyafinwë felt his heart mellow. Yes, they’d stop struggling—they’d even actively help Findekáno find that healing forgiveness that would restore them to life.

Perhaps, it was time. Mayhap, they deserved to be saved after all.

And, at that very moment, as the light shone bright and a long-lost sense of comfort settled over the party, a flash of lightning cut through the scene.

When everyone blinked dazedly, the various tools—propped up on soft pillows—had been replaced by beautiful, young men who stared at their own hands in amazement.

Outside, the afternoon sun sparkled like a ruby, but when Findekáno turned to his host, Nelyafinwë sat beside him in his precious human form, eyes wide and entirely, gloriously naked.

@fellowshipofthefics This is the end of the third week for me!

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