I've been thinking more about Lackadaisy ships as my fic progresses. I want it to be a multi-ship story, so there will be spinoff fics and special chapters dedicated to certain ones. And then I remembered I had that whole choice-paralysis breakdown a while ago, over whether or not to do selfship or hellerby. But as of recent, I've come to think of it more deeply, and as much as Hellerby might be my favourite ship overall... Vikdecai has a special place in my heart, and that's why it's the go-to Morde-ship in Lavender Dance.
I love me some doomed yaoi. Hellerby lends itself to more fluffy stuff,more of that mutual healing, which Cecyl and Rocky will also play off of.
But Vikdecai? Omfg they're so ruined for eachother. They're bordering on toxic, cause they drag eachother down and enter a sort of "together in misery" state where they don't heal, but they also don't die. Their issues blend into a cocktail of nightmares, and at the gloomy bottom, they find one another and decide to not swim up to the surface; they'd rather die down there together.
Their drama and tension is intoxicating. Maybe down the line they could achieve some measure of happiness, but to do that they can't cling to each other like they usually do. To grow closer, they will need to first grow apart. And that... that is *just juicy*.
Because they 100% have soft sides they only show to the other, and only in the most dire fucked up circumstances; through immense pressure and with a whole lot of pushing to get past their own boundaries.
To anyone who doesn't know them super well they appear as reluctant grumpy colleagues, or maybe even friends. But in reality, they're in tatters over one-another and what goes on behind closed doors is best described like a tragic opera performance with real guns and real stakes than sex or romance.
Hellerby is cute. Lots of people have done that ship well.
But MY GOD does Vikdecai make for a better story - if you want angst and drama.
Anyway I may or may not be sneaking in a glimpse of this in chapter 6 who knows
I lament the never-ending agony of having a fandom ship which includes 2 canon characters which you whole-heartedly support and want to make real, but then at the same time one of them has you completely head over heels so now you also want your OC to date that guy.
And on top of that
Monogamy
So you can't just have both at once.
Gjghhssfgddyjfssghssdhgdah
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Mordecai Heller and Rocky Rickaby is such a beautiful idea. They mesh in the most incredible way possible, and at first it seems so unlikely but when delved into... it clicks! And you often don't need to make out of pocket changes to them or assume anything ludicrous about their inner machinations. Based on what we know of them, their facades could hide true selves that may mesh absolutely perfectly. What's fun about making something like this happen is figuring out how those facades are broken or bypassed, and there are lots of fun ways to do so. No two fics are the same either; every time I read a new one I see a new take on the characters and their dynamic and every time I am completely on board. It's the perfect example of what an actual opposites attract type relationship should look like, and since they're clearly both equally broken people, it becomes mutually healing instead of "I can fix him".
I am absolutely down bad for those two
And yet... Rocky... there is just something enigmatic and wondrous, specifically about him... I genuinely think he may be my first actual fictional crush. So...
*sighs*
I want BOTH hellerby and rickawater (Cecyl x Rocky) to be canon simultaneously - like in a superposition, quantum physics way. No cloning, not polyamory, no triangle drama where the only outcomes are unsatisfactory, not parallell timelines or anything like that. 2 truths that by thei very nature oppose the others' existence that yet somehow coexist in a quantum waveform until observed.
But it's not possible... and no I won't be writing hellerby here - I think there are already great writers who have made that ship sail far and wide with a steady course. I'll stick to OC x Canon for myself and oogle the two gay boys from across the boundaries of a separate reality.
So I just realised I've made a potentially massive misstep in my fic...
It takes place in 1925 atm, that leaves about 2 years until the canon starts. Sounds ok right? Well, wrong. The way the story is going, Cecyl and Rocky are gonna end up all "buddy-buddy" come like, winter 1925/26. That leaves nearly a whole extra year of stuff to happen which I will need to come up with, revolving partially around Atlas' death which happens towards the end of it. That would, at a glance, be nothing more than a significant undertaking worth sinking my teeth into, if it weren't for my plans...
Tl;Dr: My original plans for the plot won't fit with how things are progressing, so should I change my approach to the fic or not?
(Minor spoilers ahead, if you wanna stay blind reading this fic then skip to the poll or don't read further)
I want their relationship to just about start to take shape when Lackadaisy canon hits, and like a freight train hitting a redwood tree on the tracks at 90mph their world is thrown upside down after Rocky's accident and all that with the Marigold gang goes on, after they had already tried to deal with the Lackadaisy's decline - and that is what eventually finally cements their relationship, but in a far more tumultous way either of them could have imagined.
Because I like the canon, I wanna see it preserved as much as possible. My goal with the fic is to expand and deepen the canon, not tear it apart and rework it. Recently I have realised that the way the fic's going it's going to be hard to justify Rocky's behaviour in the comic, and that I'd have to nearly completely rethink canon in that case; If Cecyl has been in Rocky's life for almost 2 years already, he's not gonna behave quite the same, cause he'll already have taken the first few steps towards healing - I love the comic for the way it breaks him down, cause it sets up such a good arc for healing, but right now I'm not just seeding the potential for healing, I am on the verge of beginning it over a year early.
So, what does this all mean then? Well, here I am considering a big ol' retcon; Rocky joins the Lackadaisy in 1926 instead of 25, and the whole story as is takes place a year later than rn. I am unable to decide on this on my own, so I'm hoping that I have enough of a following to help me.
Should I quickly and without fanfare change it to take place in 1926 and not 1925 - this won't alter the story itself in any way and allows me to proceed with my plans, but it means Atlas death happens at the end of act 1 (Lavender Dance) and then the next act begins after canon.
Alternatively, I stick with my current approach and essentially take a crack at reworking a large chunk of the canon to fit this new version of Rocky, which means I'll likely have to actually write out most of my version of the canon. This also leaves me with nearly all of 1926 to fill out with, well, stuff.
The last option is that I come up with a (likely contrived) way to slow the relationship story down so that I can fit it to my plans, and I don't have to retcon anything but it may leave the current story feeling a bit robbed of what it's building towards cause there won't be any kind of proper climax, but instead a whimper as I essentially freeze the plot until act 2 (post-canon).
What should I do about the timeline?
Stick to your current path - No retcons! Charge ahead, rewrite canon
Quick and harmless retcon - accelerates the timeline to fit; no changes to canon
Fit to your plans without retconning - figure out a timeskip, freeze the plot
In case anyone didn't notice, I changed my pfp and banner recently.
That's because my wonderful friend @gadjetomyart drew this absolutely gorgeous piece of me, for me!
For the first time fully rendered, in HD, with 100% accuracy, I present to you...
✨️🌸Ivory🌸✨️
The Dragon-Cat
So yeah for those who haven't read my pinned, I'm a therian, and this is me, as I should look. My body. My true self. A dragon with fur and cat-like appearances.
In my pinned there is a ref sheet for me, as I would be, in a high fantasy setting. This here is more like what I'd be in a world similar to ours.
But I am a planar traveller, and I wield magic that isn't avaliable here. Hence the magical forest.
Looking at this gives me species euphoria. It's the first time anyone captures me as thuroughly as possible. This makes me want to spread my wings, stretch on all fours, and fly off into the distance. I know the feel of my tail swinging behind me, I know the itch wings get at the base where they transition into shoulder blades.
In another world, in another time, that's what I am.
Thank you so unbelievably much, Gadjet. You might never understand how much this does for me. But it's genuinely making me ecstatic. I owe you one
Ok I got a little more progress done on chapter 6, but I've hit a mental snag. Ik I don't get many comments on here but if anyone who's read my fic sees this I'd love to hear your thoughts, cause uh...
How... how do I... uhm. How do I actually write Rocky and Cecyl's relationship? In fact, how do I make them have chemistry; I'm too autistic, idak what social "chemistry" looks like.
Do they have chemistry already? I find I struggle to write what I perceive to be "natural" interactions, and that makes it seem like they don't have any set... "vibe"?
The basic plan for what connects them is sort of "they match each other's crazy" as well as "Rocky helps Cecyl lighten up and soften, and Cecyl helps Rocky moderate and control himself" but so far I feel like I've not only struggled to apply that dynamic when it comes to a given situation, but I also feel like I have yet to come up with a good situation that shows it off?
I think part of it is how I made their whole thing unusually complicated by throwing in that first night incident; I end up needing to write Cecyl fight between conflicting feelings and I get the sense that by doing so I write her very inconsistently and fail to get her character across. She's meant to be quite practical, a little terse, loving and caring but rarely in a super soft way, more of a dry sort of sarcastic way. But she does have a true soft side, and it isn't too hard to bring it out. Rocky is simply the first one to do that repeatedly. Cecyl is full of empathy for others, which has repeatedly ended up her weakness so she tries - and fails - to suppress it, and she is appalled at the lack of empathy and understanding others seem to show Rocky. So in that sense her mesh with Rocky is similar to Mordecai hellerby scenarios, but with far less successful suppression on her part.
Oh and Cecyl is autistic as hell
Has any of this been apparent in the fic so far? Do you think Rocky and Cecyl have natural interactions (as "natural" as an ADHD and an autistic person can be) and do they have chemistry?
Please please actually respond I need feedback, I need to know. I'm losing confidence in the main plot point of my work halp
Nothing's been happening that belongs here, other than perhaps that my friends just got a cat!
Her name's Ellie, she's 10 and used to be the family cat of one of the friends - his parents can't take care of her anymore so she's just moved in to his place and is a little on edge. But I got some great shots!
Oh and the rework of Chapter 1-5 is gonna start soon, I have gone through and looked at what each chapter needs and...
Turns out I'm essentially gonna have to rewrite 1 and 2 from the ground up 🙃
Anyway enjoy the cat pics! School's being intense and I just moved as well, as such, everything else has to take a backseat atm. So I'll see ya'll when anything tumblr-y happens!
Seriously contemplating making an urban fantasy Lackadaisy AU version of Lavender Dance. Or maybe even convert the existing one to a fantasy fic. If nothing else, I like imagining it as a concept.
One wonky aspect of doing this... my fantasy book I plan to write is a very similar concept already, just much higher fantasy and also steampunk, oh and not set on our earth or with our history. I have a penchant for urban fantasy I suppose. Either way, what should I do with this? Detailed explanation of the idea under the cut.
What should I do with this AU idea?
Write a separate story set in it
Convert Lavender Dance into it
Let this be an idea, your fanfic is best as is
When is chapter 6/bald/see results
Voting ended onAug 30, 2025
Subtle magic and rare mythical creatures living hidden in society, indistinguishable from normal cats... maybe it's a world that forgot its magical past, and what's left of it is slowly fading in the face of modern technology, destined to eventually cease altogether. Say most mythology and folklore was all real - to an extent - just embellished or warped through myth, overdramatised as well as shunned, and these days it's hidden amongst the natural world only visible if you fall through the cracks.
History is unchanged - well, save for everyone being anthro-cats aswell.
But history happened the way it did because of supernatural influence.
In this low urban fantasy AU, where folklore and myth hides in crevices and gently seeps into the world unseen, Rocky is a fading fae-creature. Descendant from what one would call leprechauns. He has unnaturally bad luck because of his family line's faltering magic inverting, and he is desperate to maintain what little he can of the old world through his music, his violin the only thing that still brings him close to his heritage.
Cecyl is a pagan witch. She heralds - unbeknownst to her - from powerful norse witches. She hears abd sees spirits, can sense and manipulate auras, and is able to gently and subtly shift fate to her will. She however doesn't really enjoy these natural gifts and avoids anything to do with them at first. She prefers technology and the stable reliable knowledge of physical reality. But spirits don't let her be, and old knowledge of Witchcraft seems to surround her and naturally be drawn to her presence.
Rocky is the first true supernatural enigma Cecyl sees and can't let go off. His unnatural charm abd luck is warped - it has an almost opposite effect on most normal beings, who resent him because of it. But Cecyl, gifted with innate truesight sees him for what he is meant to be. And she falls in love.
At first she is convinced it is simply his magical influence, and avoids him. To no avail of course, because he has seen her too.
In dating Rocky, Cecyl discovers a new path. Technology and industry does not have to replace magic, and magic does not have to halt technology. The hidden world of the supernatural can adapt, change, grow - if everyone would just stop being stubborn. Her Witchcraft abilities soon become an asset as she begins experimenting with them together with her mechanic skills.
The Lackadaisy is a speakeasy for everyone, including any supernatural beings. Most normal folks don't know about it unless they themselves are part of the supernatural world in some way. And thus, when Atlas dies, the Occult magic he used to uphold the speakeasy's status ceased, and suddenly it wasn't as much of a safehaven for the supernatural anymore, causing its decline.
Atlas was a powerful demon operating in the shadows, using prohibition as a means to acquire control over the underworld. Marrying Mitzi was part of a contract she signed for power and eternal happiness - she is just a normal person otherwise.
Mordecai is a werewolf. He fled New York from a gang of werewolf gangsters who were also the ones to convert him, and he does his utmost to never let that side of him return to the surface, and wants nothing but to find a cure. Viktor is a vampire and died in WW1 but came back after he was converted by a covert group of vampires within the military, and ultimately decided to betray them in favour of keeping his family safe - but found he could no longer be around them or risk his hunger taking over and killing them in bloodlust, potentially damning them to his own fate.
The band are normal people except Zib who is secretly a siren. He has them charmed since a long time ago, as well as used to have Mitzi under his influence too but lost her to Atlas. Now he has given up on charming anyone new and he doesn't even know if his magic influences his band members or not anymore.
Freckle is of course also part leprechaun, but he has long since given up trying to maintain his connections to it. Nina is not part leprechaun and is doing everything in her power to keep Freckle and Rocky away from what she considers a dangerous and unholy part of the world. His gun-related madness is a consequence of his luck getting corrupted and inverted. Ivy is normal but knows about the world and practises herbology magic, using ut to soothe Freckle and help him deal with his heritage.
Horatio is a tamed and calmed poltergeist, now obsessed with cleaning and service.
Wick's also a normal person but is very much into crystal magic and knows the powers of earth and minerals and wields them to his advantage at times.
The Marigolds are actually a normal gang, but they specialise in squashing the supernatural in favour of business and technology. Serafine and Nico practice their voudou magic but what they do is, well, real. The pale gator is real. The seal on Mordecai's chest is real. And yes, Atlas helping Mordecai was partly due to Maitré Carefeur.
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That's all I can think if for now. Let's see how the poll does before I give an update.
Chapter 6 is still in the works as is regardless. I am aware that there are lots of urban fantasy AUs of Lackadaisy out there but idk I like doing things others have but like, do it my way. Main problem is of course if I want to essentially write my original fantasy book idea but within Lackadaisy, and if that might kill my future hype for doing my own actual world-building? Or maybe it's the other way around and this is good practice for my future work? Idk. Worth contemplating.
