WMG / Lackadaisy

As a WMG subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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Atlas' Death

Mitzi had Mordecai kill Atlas.

Oh, come on, this has pretty much been but all but confirmed. Just because a recent strip has shown that Mitzi did feel something for Atlas doesn't mean she couldn't have still had him killed.

• Unless, of course, Mordecai killed Atlas of his own volition. Asa Sweet might have offered him a better job in return for killing his rival; the flashback scene where Mordecai gave Mitzi his gun in front of the cafe might have been him saying "I killed your husband. Consider this as my resignation." It'd be a cold, bastardly thing to do and that's right up Mordecai's alley.
  • Or or or! Atlas wasn't really a, let's say protagonist, and Mordecai had a good reason for killing him. He stayed mum about his reasons to protect the Lackadaisy and Mitzi et al, and resigned because of it.
• But didn't Rocky state that he lied about Mitzi having Atlas killed?
  • What does Rocky really know about it? He was the Lackadaisy's fiddler until things got bad.
  • There's an even amount of "for" and "against" for this one.
• "Lackadaisy Confession" comes very close to jossing it. Mordecai seems to actually be looking into the cause of Atlas's death, which he suspects Marigold of being involved with. Of course, he could really just be trying to cover up his own crime, but it doesn't seem likely.

Atlas committed suicide.

Perhaps Lackadaisy was already spiraling into decline by the time of his death. Perhaps he felt it was Better to Die than Be Killed or arrested. Perhaps he was not as strong as the image he projected in public. Whatever the reason, Atlas May killed himself. Mordecai was the one who discovered the body and informed Mitzi; she asked him not to tell anyone so the reputation he built up wouldn't be shattered. Besides, even if the truth were told, it wouldn't fully dispel the rumors — for who would believe such a powerful person could ever be Driven to Suicide?

• However, if this was the case, why wouldn't the series say that he committed suicide in the beginning of the comic? The story deliberately gives Atlas's death, an air of mystery.
• Alternately: Atlas' death was staged to look like a suicide, complete with note, (forged or written under duress on pain of killing his loved ones?) such that it convinced both Mordecai and Mitzi of its validity, stoking Mordecai's resentment and Mitzi's shame that Mitzi didn't see it coming, or that her alienation was its proximal, or explicitly detailed cause. Hence Mordecai's messy departure and her sincere, regret-fueled redevotion to Atlas' legacy. The era's suicide stigma and their shared grief would explain their mutual evasiveness. Mordecai already treated Mitzi rather like a disfavoured stepmother, so the loss of Atlas with her as the ostensible cause would be Mordecai's breaking point.

Zib killed Atlas.

Unlikely, considering Zib's status as the Only Sane Man, stubborn moral compass and general lack of murderous tendencies. However, he doesn't seem to have liked Atlas very much judging from his conversation with Mitzi during the whole incident with the pearls. With Tracy recently confirming that Zib and Mitzi were previously in a relationship, Zib may have harbored some animosity or even jealousy depending on the circumstances surrounding the end of his relationship with Mitzi and the beginning of her relationship with Atlas.

• It is true that Zib holds some degree of distain towards Atlas for knowing he'd stay to work at Lackadaisy just because Mitzi was there.

Mitzi herself killed Atlas.

A slight variation of the first WMG. We all know that one of the strips show Mordecai with a gun in his hand, and a solemn looking Mitzi before him. He wasn't passing the gun after he killed Atlas, he was passing it before Atlas died. Mitzi was the one who did all the dirty work. Since she was his wife, she would've had ample opportunities to get close and personal with him. Maybe she had asked Mordecai for the best instrument to kill Atlas. Mordecai probably would've asked for the reason, but didn't feel the need to interfere with Mitzi's plans since she was technically his employer too.

• Jossed. In "Lackadaisy Confessional" Mordecai tells Gracie that Mitzi wasn't living with Atlas at the time of his death, and that she didn't shoot him.

Mitzi didn't kill Atlas.

Too obvious.

• Maybe not but, however, some bits and pieces hint that she had a hand in it, if not just aware of any key points about it.
• Confirmed. In "Lackadaisy Confessional", Mordecai reveals that Mitzi was living apart from Atlas at the time of his death, and that she did not pull the trigger.

Atlas’ death:

• Everyone has a theory on who did it, but very few on why. Possibilities:
  • Atlas was killed because he knew too much.
    • Possibly having to do with the above Wild Mass Guess.
  • Atlas is Faking the Dead: the crime scene photo is obscured and the only other image we see is a closed casket. He does have contacts in the mortuary world (the Arbogasts).
    • Mordecai was the “killer”; A case of if you’re so evil, kill your boss, helping him to become The Mole.
    • Mitzi feels guilty because she feels she is the reason Atlas went out that night, an argument or something similar.
  • It was a Thanatos Gambit by Atlas. The Faking the Dead theories still apply.
  • It was an accident.
  • It was a mercy kill. We don't know much about Atlas, but we do know that he was getting up in years before his death (at least significantly older than his wife). Maybe he was sick or some such?
• Atlas was killed by someone else (who is for other theories) but Mordecai killed his killer. Mordecai considers his debt to Atlas repaid in this fashion, and so leaves for more gainful employment elsewhere. Whoever the killer was, it was someone close to him, and Mitzi feels that revealing whoever it was would finish Lackadaisy's demise.

Zib killed Atlas.

It's been becoming more and more obvious that Atlas wasn't quite the Father to His Men Mitzi makes him out to be, as noted by Zib. Atlas may have "saved" his employees, but he also tied them to an incredibly dangerous, violent life of crime because they were in his debt. Perhaps Zib decided enough was enough, and did what he felt had to be done. (Not enough information has been revealed yet to decide whether or not Zib was in the right - though he could simply be A Lighter Shade of Black.) And to those of you saying Zib isn't the killing type: that's just what Tracy wants you to think. Who would suspect the smooth, snarky saxophone player?

The true mastermind behind Atlas's murder was...

Mrs. Bapka

The Maitre Carrefour cult killed Atlas.

The cult was active in the St. Louis area before the events of the comic. The Savoys pressured Atlas into joining their organization, and when he refused, they assassinated him. When Mordecai discovers that the cult killed his mentor, he'll carry out a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.

Atlas was killed because he discovered something that put everyone in danger.

Maybe it's just a gut feeling, but the way Mitzi, Mordecai, and Asa talk about Atlas's death, specifically the talk about warnings and the like makes me wonder if Atlas stumbled across something that could threaten the entire bootlegging industry in St. Louis if it got out, and had to be silenced to keep it hidden.

Mordecai was going to kill Atlas...

But someone else beat him too it. Now he wants to know who did it to find out if they knew about his reasons for wanting to kill Atlas, whatever the hell they may be.

Asa was the mastermind behind Atlas's death.

Asa has been portrayed as the Big Bad of the series, with Marigold being the rival club to Lackadaisy. It would make absolute sense that he would be behind the plot to kill Atlas. Asa would assign a hitman to take Atlas out, which would conveniently give Asa an alibi.

Atlas's killer will be somebody who we've least suspected...

• Rocky. He has had an unrequited romance with Mitzi, and would view Atlas as his rival. With Rocky being a Cloudcuckoolander, he may not even realize what he actually did. In addition, his behavior to Wick, his romantic rival, comes across as deadly.
• Calvin. He is a Marigold Mole, and was tasked to infiltrate Lackadaisy.

If Calvin was hired as a hitman to assassinate Atlas, it would explain why he has guilt episodes during the comic. He's not afraid of becoming a monster, he's worried he will be caught by Lackadaisy.

Atlas sent Mitzi away to protect her:

• Their relationship only appeared to be on the rocks to outsiders. Atlas knew someone was gunning for him and sent Mitzi away to keep her out of the line of fire. Mordecai gave Mitzi a gun for self-defense.

Al Capone ordered Atlas' death:

• Marigold and Lackadaisy had problems with some "Sicilians" as mentioned in flashback. I wouldn't be surprised if Al Capone is trying to muscle in on their territory. They are the ones who have Asa so spooked that he's cleaning up loose ends.

Rocky Leaving Home

Freckle had something to do with Rocky getting kicked out of Nina's house.

That much isn't too big of a guess, but more specifically, I think Nina specifically asked Freckle, and gave him the final call. He implied some sort of guilt as a driving force, when it came to accepting Rocky's job offer, and the fact that he saved all of Rocky's letters reinforces this.

• I think that Rocky convinced Freckle to join him in some shenanigans and Rocky got busted by Aunt Nina because of something Freckle did (or didn't) do. Freckle didn't make the call, he just was the direct cause - which Rocky never discovered.
• When he's talking to Ivy after being injured, Rocky basically says he admitted to something that he didn't do - something bloody - so that Freckle could continue being the Good Son. I think that Freckle's Axe-Crazy tendencies got somebody killed or seriously hurt, and Rocky took the blame for it.
  • I'm not so sure; the way Rocky phrased it, he said the incident had an author, but that he signed his name, specifically avoiding confirming nor denying if he was truly responsible. Perhaps he was partially responsible, but he stepped up and took full blame to make sure Freckle got none.

The incident that got Rocky kicked out of the house involved the death of Calvin's father.

The two incidents happened too close together to be a mere coincidence. My theory is that Calvin and Rocky somehow instigated something that left Calvin's father dead, but Rocky stepped up and took the blame, so not to implicate Calvin and allow him to finish schooling.

• Actually, that would be Jossed, as Tracy said Calvin's dad of "something mundane".
  • Do be fair, though, what counts as "mundane" in a city of gangsters and bootleggers?
• Prolly disease or accident, after all, back then wasn't known for its workplace, housing, or road safety and some diseases weren't treatable until the 40s (Rocky's mama, Sophie, died of TB).

Rocky's Father

Rocky's father will make an appearance.

He'll be a loanshark for Asa Sweet. He will be an abusive asshole who berates his son every chance he gets. Killing him will be Rocky's Start of Darkness.

Rocky's father Ransom is in prison.

Rocky mentions his dad as "working on the railroad" and some of his letters to Calvin implies that at least for a while, Rocky and his father had some sort of correspondence before the replies stopped coming. Chain gangs were occasionally used as cheap labor to lay railroads, and the fact that Rocky, at least for a while, was able to send letters to his dad implies that Rocky knew where he was, such as if Ransom were in prison. The fact that he stopped responding to Rocky's letters could mean he died, stopped caring to write...or escaped, which means he may turn up at some point in the series.....besides, with a name like Ransom, how can he NOT be a hardened criminal?

The Maitre Carrefour Cult

Mordecai will undermine Serafine's Voodoo ritual

Word of God is that Serafine is a poseur rather than an authentic Voodoo practitioner. Mordecai will find ways to poke holes in the rituals she uses to captivate her devotees, such as provoking a chwal to show that s/he isn't really possessed by Maitre Carrefour, or providing evidence that the Savoys have abused the devotee's trust. Mordecai will have his revenge when the devotees turn on the Savoys.

• Naw, that was Jossed, actually, he seemed terrified during the whole ritual.

All Maitre Carrefour devotees receive a scar as an initiation rite.

When Serafine forcibly lacerated Mordecai's chest, it wasn't because he refused to join her cult. All Maitre Carrefour devotees receive a scar in the shape of a wheel with eight spokes, willingly or unwillingly.

Zulie is secretly in charge of the Maitre Carrefour cult.

Zulie created the cult so that she could control a lucrative criminal enterprise through superstition and religious devotion. She passes herself off as an ordinary devotee of the cult to deflect attention away from herself. Behind the scenes, she's calling the shots. She employs Serafine to masquerade as the cult's leader because Serafine's theatrical skill and familiarity with Voodoo are perfect for attracting followers ... and so that Serafine, not she, will be the chief target if enemies attack the cult.

Serafine and Nico lied about their backstory.

Serafine and Nico were never orphaned as children, never sent to a Catholic orphanage, and never adopted by Maman Eulalie after running away from the orphanage. They concocted the story to gain sympathy from their followers and provide Voodoo credentials for the Maitre Carrefour cult. In reality, they were raised by their biological parents, with whom they still keep in touch. Someone will undermine the Maitre Carrefour cult by alerting devotees to the fact that the Savoy's parents are still alive.

The Maitre Carrefour cult is involved in the drug trade.

The Maitre Carrefour cult sustains itself by selling drugs and is seeking a new market in St. Louis. Archie was silently staring into space for the entirety of the fete scene because he was high on one of the cult's products. At the end of volume 2, Mordecai was groggy because the cult used one of the drugs at its disposal to incapacitate him during his involuntary scarification. Serafine might consume a hallucinogen or deliriant when she wishes to channel Maitre Carrefour.

The Maitre Carrefour cult is about to take over the Marigold club.

The Savoys plan on using their cult to murder the old guard of the Marigold gang, including Asa Sweet, and take over the speakeasy. Serafine wants to recruit Mordecai into the cult so that they can use him to undermine the Marigold gang from within.

Fish is a member of the cult.

Fish is a member of the Maitre Carrefour cult, and his girlfriend is one of the young women who attended the Savoy's fete. Fish's submissive, fearful personality would make him very easy for the cult to control. The cult arranged for such an incompetent man to infiltrate the Marigold gang so as to weaken it from within. Fish is one of several weak links installed in the organization so as to weaken it and make it easier to conquer.

Zulie is Viktor's estranged daughter.

Viktor's estranged wife and daughter are never named. What if Zulie was his estranged daughter? The story could be leading to a heartbreaking reunion between the two.

• Jossed. Viktor's daughter is named Alena, and she bears no resemblance to Zulie.

The Criminal Underworld

Calvin and Mordecai will have a showdown

They're each the trump card for the Lackadaisy and Marigold gang. They're both psychotic when handling a weapon. And who would suspect a little cutie like Calvin could take down Mordecai? Eventually they will wind up fighting each other, and Calvin will probably win.

• Tracy practically confirmed this this on her Tumblr, saying "Odds that they will cross paths are very good odds."

Wick will unknowingly join Asa's crew

Wick seems to be a perfect victim for the chopping block, but what if instead of being killed, he is tricked by Asa into funding his speakeasy without knowing, such as Asa not telling him what the money is really for. Wick does seem the naive type who wouldn't suspect anything wrong.

• His secretary Lacey, however, is not...which could put her on the chopping block as well, if she comes to know too much.

The Marigold is involved in something bigger than just bootlegging (and the illicit activities related to it).

• On this page, Mordecai tells us about the Marigold acting like there’s a thorn in their side despite the lack of competition in town. It also shows us a flashback where the guy that Mordecai killed with the hatchet is attempting to escape. Serafine calls him a mouthpiece, which is old time slang for a criminal lawyer. Now, why would a speakeasy go after a lawyer, especially one that has no idea what it was he did wrong?
• On this page, Dom Drago, who works with the Treasury Department, asks Zib if he is on the Marigold’s payroll, then states that he’s not going to bust Zib because he has “bigger fish to fry”. It is implied that he works for the Bureau of Prohibition (which was part of the Department of the Treasury) but never actually stated.
  • For those unaware, the Department of the Treasury collects taxes, supervises national banks and thrift institutions and investigates and prosecutes tax evasion.
  • Dom even states that he is going to "pretend for now that [Zib is] a good little tax payer not a sax player".
• On this page, Bobby Bastion notes that the Marigold, now their exclusive buyer, has been doing “some aggressive spring cleaning” and keeping an eye on the Arbogasts more than usual. Indeed, you see them skulking around not more than a few pages later.
• On a historical sidenote: Al Capone (notorious gangster and bootlegger) was arrested, not for homicide but for tax evasion. This succeeded, in part, by the investigation by the US Department of the Treasury (including the Treasury's Bureau of Internal Revenue [IRS] and the Bureau of Prohibition).

The Marigold is rooting out traitors.

Dom Drago's notes mention a "G.G.", which strongly implies that he was in contact with Gracie. Gracie was providing information on the Marigold gang to law enforcement, but he wasn't the only member of the criminal underground to do so. What if the Marigold's "aggressive spring cleaning" involves killing stool pigeons who could get the whole operation in trouble with the law?

For added drama, what if the Maitre Carrefour cult has an informant among their ranks? Now that Serafine and Nico are working for the Marigold gang, and now that Serafine is forcing Mordecai to join the cult, an informant could help law enforcement make a case connecting the cult to Marigold. Both groups could go down in flames if the traitors aren't discovered.

Something big is about to draw the major players to Chicago ... again.

Many of the character's backstories involve Chicago. The return address on Alena's letters is in Chicago, suggesting that Viktor's previous home was in Chicago. According to Bobby, Mordecai was "riding a getaway train toward Chicago or Detroit" when he first encountered Atlas. The fact that Atlas encountered both men in or near Chicago suggests that he was conducting business there in the years before his death.

The story is leading up to a major event or an encounter with a crime syndicate in Chicago, which may have had something to do with Atlas' death.

Character Deaths

Either Wick, Mordecai or Viktor are going to be killed in the future.

Tracy recently confirmed on her forum that one of the main characters is going to die, so here are some possible victims (Feel free to add some more):

• Viktor: A retired badass who has been wounded several times and has a heartwarming relationship with the local Genki Girl? He might as well have a bullseye on his back.
  • But does it really seem likely to have the handicapped badass who physically suffers the most killed?
• Mordecai: Yes, we know he is one of the most skillful killers in the whole comic, but that's exactly the point. No one would expect him to die.
  • He does seem to be discovering something curious, even ominous.
• Wick: The guy is just too darn nice to live.
  • Or the events of October 1929 would only give him one choice.
• Zib: The guy is way too smooth. Plus, his dying would have a major effect on fellow characters, leading to loads of Character Development.
  • I agree. His death would lead to a load of repercussions, and I could see him dying as a way to move the plot forward.
  • I would disagree. His dying would serve little to no plot purpose on its own. Perhaps it would be a symptom of a greater abandonment of Lackadaisy's past, but frankly, I think it's unlikely that Zib would be the victim of Tracy's pen.
    • Little to no plot purpose...yet.
  • Given his recent development and focus, including his realizing that they're circling the drain and it's a matter of going down with the ship or not... yeeeeah, I'm worried for him too.
• Aunt Nina: Not necessarily through violence, but losing her would hit poor Freckle hard.
  • Strongly disagree. I mean, can you really see this happening?
  • Also, didn't Tracy say one of the main characters would die? Aunt Nina isn't a main character at all.
• Ivy: God, I hope not, but... killing this cutie would break the hell out of Calvin, not to mention just about everyone else.
• Rocky: You talk about somebody nobody expects to die? How about the Crazy Enough to Work master of the Indy Ploy? The guy we've been following from the start? The one who gets in waaaaayyyy over his head time after time, yet always seems to weasel his way out?
• Mitzi. She seems to be slipping somewhat, mental-health-wise, and her attempts to keep the speakeasy running are starting to border on obsession. She even scares Zib with the lengths she is willing to go to just to keep a necklace her husband gave her. My bet is that she's going to die a tragic death, and that will be the end of the Lackadaisy.
  • Nah. It doesn't seem likely both the Lackadaisy spouses (Atlas and Mitzi) would end up dead.
  • That's why it would make such an impact. Plus, something like this would catapult either Ivy or Rocky into a potential leadership role in the business, much like Mitzi herself was forced to step up when Atlas died. Both of these characters are developing in interesting ways recently...they might be being build up for the catastrophe that would be Mitzi somehow being incapacitated.
• Lacey. It's a perfect business strategy; Wick wouldn't be able to financially function without her. Killing her off would probably enable somebody to get their paws on his money without his even knowing about it, possibly bankrupting him in the process. Let's just hope that the person potentially killing her is not involved with the Lackadaisy crew.

Whoever killed Atlas will be the one to die

Possibly by way of being murdered themselves. The story would go full-circle, it'd implement poetic justice, and maybe it'd end on a light note, at least.

Rocky will beat Mordecai to death with a shovel.

In a recent picture, Rocky's wearing Mordecai's suit, and blood stains are on the shovel he is holding.

• Link?
• http://www.lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=424

Rocky will beat Wes to death with a shovel

Supplemental art has shown Rocky holding a bloody shovel. In addition to the Lackadaisy card mentioned above, "Lackadaisy Moonshine" shows Rocky holding a shovel and sitting on a gravestone. Marigolds emanate from the grave, suggesting that Rocky killed a Marigold thug. Since volume 3 of the comic seems to be leading up to a confrontation between Wes, Rocky, and Freckle, what if these art pieces are foreshadowing Rocky's murder of Wes?

Serafine and Nicodeme will kill Asa.

Serafine and Nicodeme will decide that there's more money to be made in running the Marigold than in working as thugs, so they'll kill Asa Sweet and assume control of his business. The Marigold's old guard will be killed en masse and replaced with the criminals who make up the Maitre Carrefour cult. Mordecai will either (1) assist them in this endeavor, (2) reluctantly join them once the deed is done, or (3) refuse to participate and go on the run.

Mordecai will kill Nicodeme to get revenge on Serafine.

After the ordeal he endured at the Maitre Carrefour cult gathering, Mordecai will seek revenge on Serafine. Mordecai will not target Serafine directly. Rather, he will kill Nicodeme because he knows that nothing he could do to Serafine could traumatize her as much as losing her brother.

Nicodeme and Serafine will die side by side.

They will be in their current job until it kills them, but when they die, they will die like they lived: together.

Romance

Serafine and Mordecai will have some UST between each other

From what I have seen so far from each other is that Mordecai can't stand working with his new partners and I have a feeling that Serafine would tease him and tell him what a killjoy he is.

• Nothing like a little one-sided tension between colleagues, eh?
  • At one point Nicodeme blows a kiss to Mordecai to mess with him, so it seems neither sibling is above doing this since Mordecai is so straight laced they'd naturally find him fun to mess with.

Viktor and Elsa are…close friends

Any perceived innuendo for the term “close friends” is intentional. Yes it’s implied that she’s married to Bobby, but so far it stands as just that, an implication, it’s not out right confirmed. She seems awfully interested when Ivy mentions Viktor, and both of them served in the war (him a soldier, her a nurse). Yes, I am indeed stretching thin anything even resembling logic, but that’s what WMG’s are for.

• When Elsa tells Ivy about how Viktor protected her family, we see a flashback of Viktor loading a shotgun on the Arborgast's front porch, as Elsa looks on intently. It's not difficult to interpret Elsa's gaze as romantic.
• OP here, and Elsa and Bobby are officially married, so if there is anything going on, its not exactly kosher.

Elsa and Viktor do have history together, but...

It's ancient history: pre-war and pre-Bobby. She is the one that got away.

• They also have some Unresolved Sexual Tension going on.
  • It’s said that Viktor turned against his own country to fight for the good old U.S of A, maybe Elsa had something to do with that?

Mitzi really did love Atlas...

• ...But he didn't really love her. He only married her because he needed her for something (a spy, a coverup, a worker, something like that). It'd make her devotion to him all the more tragic.
  • This would fit nicely with a pattern it was implied Atlas had in the past - he would help people in dire straits to make them indebted to him and then employ them in the speakeasy in some capacity since they already feel indebted to him.

The Savoys Will have Incest Subtext.

• Because why the fuck not?

Mordecai and Zulie will become romantically involved.

• Word of God states that Mordecai's asexuality is either his natural orientation or self-imposed. If the latter is the case, Mordecai may be capable of feeling attraction, but he suppresses it in favor of celibacy. When the Savoys introduced Mordecai to the Maitre Carrefour devotees, Zulie seemed very fond of him. What if her charms could convince him to reconsider his celibate lifestyle?
  • Alternatively, Zulie was deliberately asked by Serafine or Nicodeme to try and seduce Mordecai to get him into the cult more easily. It's hard to tell what her real opinions of him are - she can be seen fiercely glaring at him in one panel when he disparages the cult, so she could be acting up her flirtation towards him for pragmatic reasons.

the next guy Ivy dates will be named "Hobbes."

• Don't look at me that way, you were all thinking it.
  • Nah. Her last four boyfriends have had names starting with "C".
  • Maybe his real name will begin with C, and he'll just have Hobbes as a nickname. Or vice-versa, like Calvin's nickname is Freckle.
• Are you serious.
  • Why the hell not.

Mordecai and Atlas were having an affair before his death.

• In "Lackadaisy Confessional", readers learn that Mitzi and Atlas' marriage had "visibly deteriorated", and that she was living apart from him at the time of his death. Mordecai is clearly in mourning for Atlas and tells Gracie, "I worked closely with him." Gracie remarks that Mordecai is "not really the cake eater type". What if Atlas' marriage fell apart because Mitzi learned that he was romantically involved with Mordecai, who still mourns for his paramour?

Miscellaneous

Ivy, especially Post-Pilot Movie, is overdue for a sitdown to explain that The Presents Were Never from Santa

As a finishing touch after her lectures and warnings from Viktor and the Arbogast-Bastians, Ivy will be puzzled to be told her accountant has stopped by and let himself in. Wondering what Rocky's up to now, Ivy will get a rude awakening when said accountant explains that her father's bootlegging money didn't launder itself, and if she wants to be a jazz princess with a knight in shining armor, she should stay in Academia's ivory tower, and he's going to kill her two new friends. Wait, "Or." He definitely meant "Or" there. Heaven help Rocky if the very ace, emotionally illiterate, baby sister loving Mordecai were to misinterpret evidence blurted by Ivy or her dorm-mates that Rocky had been in her room. If Mordercai is getting more labile and his emotions less sublimated, Viktor's treatment of Chad might look like child's play by comparison. Attempted garroting via violin strings, perhaps?

Zib starts crossdressing when drunk.

Don't know how canon the mini comics may be, but in one he was wearing heels off-page. In another, he had lipstick smeared on his face, and when he asks, Mitzi says he put it on himself. Both comics seem to have taken place after he was intoxicated.

Mordecai wasn't always a sociopath.

Various sketches of Mordecai as a child (kitten?), plus Word of God, show that he had a tenement upbringing, but showed no signs of abnormality. Something happened to him — or more likely, to his family — that changed him from a quiet, nerdy neat freak into the cold-hearted killer we know and love and are secretly a little afraid of.

• Not really sure if this applies, but in the recent pages we learn that apparently Mordecai wasn't much older (if not the same age) as Ivy is now when he started working with Victor.
  • No, that totally applies. He got mixed up in the underworld at a young age (prolly to help support his family, or after he suddenly found himself without them somehow). However, there was probably a defining incident/series of incidents that pushed him over the edge. (Bobby also mentions the theory that he has a bullet fragment in his brain, which would fit.)
  • Alternately, Bobby was half-right. Mordecai had himself a "wonky streak" (Acquired Brain Injury) carved in his already OCD, slightly crime-hardened brain by fever and encephalitis courtesy of the 1918 flu pandemic, at 19, (a critical neurodevelopmental period even for an older teen) which not only resulted in what the author terms the "traumatic excision of his interpersonal skills" (already meagre to start) but also probably exacerbated any alexithymia that caused them, and I'm guessing, left one or more of his beloved sisters dead. I can't help but notice his childhood picture with an infant that would be Ivy's age by now, especially after the events of the Pilot Movie.
  • Well, from what we see in flashbacks, he was a little odd but not by much and, according to Tracy, he was first got involved in the underworld when he was 13.
  • Somewhat Jossed. He was with his family, though, his family wasn't well off. As far as how he was as a kid, Tracy puts it, Mordecai was "nerdy, sullen and desperately in need of personal space, but not profoundly maladjusted". Tracy never said why/how he got a job in the criminal underworld.

Mitzi's necklace wasn't actually made of pearls

The way Zib looks at the one he picks up may just be him reflecting on the predicament, but that expression and the description of how Mitzi got those "marbles" make one wonder...

• Well, there were imitation jewels back then, so it's plausible

The entire comic will take place over the course of one week.

Tracy's going for the slow story. No time skips whatsoever. In about eight year we will have made it through seven really hectic days.

• Jossed. Tracy's said the story will have a time skip between Volume Two and Three, and that the comic will end "before Prohibition ends, but after The Great Depression begins."

Wick, heavily invested in the stock market, will be bled dry by The Great Depression.

Assuming the comic follows this early sketch (lower left corner), he'll lose everything.

Rocky can't use his right arm after the accident.

Look carefully at this picture, particularly at the ones where Rocky is making a call. Why can't he use both his hands? Also, the last image is of him holding a violin—and it's intentionally old looking. An era passed, perhaps?

• Pretty much Jossed. He's seen using both hands in the finished page.

If there was a Crossover between Lackadaisy and Dreamkeepers it would both make sense...

And be extremely awesome!

Rocky's mental state will deteriorate.

After receiving a head injury at Arbogast farm, Rocky's mental state is fragile. His mental health will rapidly deteriorate until he becomes too violent and delusional to employ at the Lackadaisy. If he doesn't end up in a prison cell or a psyche ward, someone in the criminal underworld will be forced to put him down.

• Alternatively, it actually makes him more competent, to the point that he becomes a highly efficient, if still slightly-off-his-rocker enforcer with an effectiveness rivaling Mordecai. This of course makes him a threat to Marigold and he becomes their number one target, while also causing further drama as his newfound sociopathic tendencies threaten to further alienate him from his friends at Lackadaisy.

Rocky's scar will evoke some sort of reaction out of Serafine when they bump into each other.

She'll either think it something similar to the "protective" rune she scarred onto Mordecai, or believe him possessed by something in a similar vein she sees herself possessed by Maitre Carrefour. Either way, it'll evoke a reaction from her. Judging by the way the scar and resulting crack on Rocky's noggin has been highlighted so far, it will definitely play some sort of part in the future other than contributing to Rocky's Sanity Slippage.

Rocky Came Back Wrong.

There's no denying that the bonk on the noggin messed Rocky up pretty bad and did more than just give him a scar on his forehead, but there's something....off about the post-Haymaker Rocky, as if he isn't even the same person any more. Given the severity of the injury and the emotional baggage the poor guy is lugging around it isn't surprising, but only time will tell how much the injury affected poor Rocky...

Rocky Has a Serious Cranial Bleed

Rocky's behavior post-Haymaker (confusion, erratic behavior, weakness, apathy) is consistent with a subdural hematoma. Which means Rocky is a ticking time bomb as the pressure builds on his brain and a serious liability for the team being so far away from anyone that can and would be willing to help him.

• Possibly confirmed going by the symptoms but he seemed to be okay when he made that phone call.

One of Mordecai's sisters will become part of the story.

And maybe even be on the opposing side. Also, why not draw a parallel between the Heller siblings and the Savoy siblings?

"Lacrimosa" telegraphs the fates of some of the major characters.

A long shot, but it might happen:

• Freckle is spiritually broken for the rest of his life under the weight of a tortured conscience, a kind of living death.
• Ivy ends up arrested/in jail, bringing shame on her family and putting a black stain on the rest of her life.
• Mitzi scrapes through with/without the speakeasy, but spends the rest of her days mourning Atlas.
• Wick's time "runs out".
• Mordechai comes apart (nervous breakdown?)
• Viktor survives but continues to disintegrate physically.
• Zib disappears into the either.
• Rocky drowns in the Mississippi, either by his hand or somebody else's.

The characters are actually humans, and are viewed as "metaphorical cats".

The series will eventually reveal, that the characters were not actually cats, but just regular humans. The characters just appear as cats as an analogy to the illicit days of prohibition. Series Creator, Tracy Butler, has previously referred to the use of cats in the series as a writing device. In Universe, Rocky (who is known for being a Cloudcuckoolander) may be the character who views everybody as "metaphorical cats".

• To add to this theory, Butler has also designed 'human versions' of nearly every main character in the comic.

Wick will go through withdrawal at some point.

The events of the comic will lead to him being cut off from a source of alcohol at some point and he will start to detox. I don't know if he'll go through the full-on D Ts but it will certainly be rough.

A train will be stolen at some point.

I don't know why, but a shootout on a stolen train seems like a perfect scene for this series. State lines might also be crossed.