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Yashy's Birthday

2026-07-29T10:03:18Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c19.1p1f8.png
| major_characters = [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Blur]], [[Chirpy]], [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Lily]]
| locations = [[Lucy's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
It's September 1, and [[Yashy]] is certain the whole household remembers what that means. [[Blur]] and [[Chirpy]] are too busy sobbing over the start of school to notice, and [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] won't even look up from their books. Has everyone really forgotten her?

== Synopsis ==
[[Yashy]] wakes up at [[Lucy's house]] in a wonderful mood and hints to [[Blur]] and [[Chirpy]] that there's just something in the air today. The two burst into tears instead, because September means school, no more [[Mike]], and no more "Girl-Kitty".<ref name=":c19.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19.1/p1}}</ref> She tries Lucy and Mike next, but the pair are kneeling over their books, cramming their summer reading, and neither so much as looks up.<ref name=":c19.1p1" />

All this snubbing sends Yashy into full mourning, and against a darkened background she laments being ignored and forgotten on the fifth anniversary of her birth, cursing September for it all.<ref name=":c19.1p1" /> The gloom lasts exactly one panel before [[Lucy]] and Mike hold up a cake topped with a number-five candle, [[Lily]], Chirpy and Blur beam beside them, and everyone shouts "'''HAPPY BIRTHDAY!'''" as Yashy flops flat onto the ground.<ref name=":c19.1p1" />
[[File:c19.1_p1_panel13.png|alt=Lucy and Mike hold up a birthday cake with a number-5 candle while Lily, Chirpy and Blur smile and everyone shouts "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"|thumb|The cursed month of September comes through after all.]]

== Trivia & observations ==
* Yashy turns five in this strip. The candle on her cake is shaped like the number five, and she calls the day "the fifth anniversary of my birth."<ref name=":c19.1p1" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, the page was drawn in advance and released "just in time" for September 1, 2006, Yashy's fictional hatching date. She picked the date because September 1 had long been "the signal for school's return" to her, even though school rarely starts exactly then.<ref name=":c19.1p1" />
* Veronica later confirmed on Tumblr that most of the cast's birthdates were random, "except for Yashy and Lucy. Yashy was born on the day Lucy went back to school (September 1st)".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/165987582360/did-you-guys-choose-the-characters-birth-dates|title=Did you guys choose the character's birth dates for any specific reason?|date=2017-10-03}}</ref>
* All the pet nicknames on display here are long-running ones: Yashy has called Mike "Flea" since [[Gaming Rivalry]] and Lucy "Mom" since at least [[The Burden of Parenthood]], and Chirpy has called Lucy "Girl-Kitty" since [[Simple Pleasures]].<ref name=":c19.1p1" /><ref name=":c2p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c2/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c5p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p1}}</ref>
* Veronica signs the commentary off with "HAPPY FICTIONAL BIRTHDAY, YOU GREEN THING", an echo of Daisy's old name for Yashy in [[Prom Preparation]] ("this weird green thing").<ref name=":c19.1p1" /><ref name=":c7p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c7/p2}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Mike's Birthday]]''': The intermission directly before this one, and the strip that started the format. Veronica's commentary here calls Yashy's page "a continuation of the birthday comics."<ref name=":c18.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18.1/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c19.1p1" />
* '''[[Blurry Memories]]''': The chapter that sets up the pets' sobbing. Blur moved in with Mike at its end, which is why his particular dread is "no Mike" while Chirpy fears losing "Girl-Kitty".<ref name=":c19p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p6}}</ref>
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': This chapter shows where Yashy's story began, with Lucy stumbling across her egg at the end of the Sandy summer in elementary school. That's where the five years on the candle started counting.<ref name=":c26p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p5}}</ref>
* '''[[Lucy's Birthday]]''': The birthday-comic series carries on with Lucy later in the archive, complete with the same nickname register. Chirpy signs off with "Happy birthday Girl-Kitty!"<ref name=":c27.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27.1/p3}}</ref>
* '''[[Table for One]]''': Years later, this chapter opens on summer-reading worries at the start of a school year and closes with Mike alone at the tree, thinking "Happy birthday." with no name attached. Yashy's September 1 birthday, established here, makes her the strongest candidate.<ref name=":c92p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c92/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c92p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c92/p20}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Wardrobe Malfunction

2026-07-29T10:03:15Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c24p3f9.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Paulo]], [[Lucy]], [[Daisy]]
| minor_characters = [[Tess]], [[Sue]], [[David]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]], [[Katie]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
It takes [[Paulo]] a whole week to notice [[Mike]] has stopped wearing his scarf, mostly because he's used to wiping his nose on it. The story of where it went involves an angry mob, raw eggs, and some very guilty friends.

== Synopsis ==
Gym class finds [[Paulo]] sick and sneezing through warm-ups. He reaches absentmindedly to wipe his nose on [[Mike]]'s scarf and grabs nothing but air — Mike hasn't worn the thing all week. Mike starts to explain what happened to it, then works out the truth mid-sentence: "So you've been using it to '''WIPE YOUR SNOT?!'''"<ref name=":c24p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c24/p1}}</ref>

A flashback shows where the scarf went. An angry mob once beat and egged Mike over having "messed around with two girls by mistake". He dumped the egg-soaked scarf in his locker and simply never took it home.<ref name=":c24p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c24/p2}}</ref>

Back in the present, Mike refuses to go fetch it for Paulo's nose. [[Tess]] leans in with a tissue and a flirty offer instead, giving him a spurting nosebleed. Caked in blood and snot, Paulo shambles zombie-style after a horrified [[Daisy]].<ref name=":c24p2" /> She begs [[Lucy]] to stop him, and Lucy obliges with a single punch that puts him out cold.<ref name=":c24p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c24/p3}}</ref> Paulo, as it happens, was not the only culprit. [[David]] confesses eagerly, [[Sue]] admits she used the scarf on sticky cafeteria food, and Daisy sheepishly owns up to loving how soft it feels on her nose.<ref name=":c24p3" />

Flashback "cases" lay out the rest of the evidence. The worst is David's, who once burned his hand on a spilled beaker in science class and wiped the smoking thing clean on Mike's scarf. The fumes knocked Mike out on the spot.<ref name=":c24p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c24/p4}}</ref>
[[File:c24_p4_panel9.png|alt=David grins and holds up his smoking, fur-stripped hand, shouting "GOOD AS NEW!!", while Mike lies collapsed on the table foaming at the mouth.|thumb|David's approach to chemical burns leaves a little to be desired.]]

Back in the gym, Mike learns that the lab incident actually landed him in the hospital. He snaps with an "'''I HATE YOU ALL!!'''" and storms off to run his laps. Tess remarks that she wouldn't be surprised if Mike kills them all one day.<ref name=":c24p4" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Paulo's spurting nosebleed at Tess's flirting is a deliberate anime nod. Veronica's commentary crows, "LOOK AT THAT NOSEBLEED JUST LIKE IN ONE OF MY JAPANESE ANIMES".<ref name=":c24p2" />
* The chapter as presented is a redraw of the original pages. Veronica's commentary on the punch page recalls that in the original run, the blood and snot kept jumping between Lucy's left and right hand, forcing several rounds of editing and rescanning.<ref name=":c24p3" />
* Mike's "I HATE YOU ALL!!" is word-for-word what Lucy said to the group back in [[Enter High School]].<ref name=":c24p4" /><ref name=":c21p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p2}}</ref>
* This is only the second appearance of the gym teacher, who debuted running the dodgeball class in [[A Difficult Choice]].<ref name=":c22p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c22/p5}}</ref>
* The original artwork of the chapter's first page was later sold through the BCB store as part of the "Best Buds" original-pages pack, paired with the first page of [[Buddy System]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/121311960916/how-popular-are-the-original-pages-packs-in-the|title=Oliver on original page pack sales|date=2015-06-12}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[A Difficult Choice]]''': The flashback restages the cheater mob from this chapter, where Paulo turned the whole school against Mike over the Sandy reveal, baseball bat and all.<ref name=":c22p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c22/p4}}</ref>
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': Mike's scarfless streak ends here, when Tess gives him a new orange-and-yellow scarf. Paulo marks the occasion by summoning the cheater mob all over again.<ref name=":c26p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p6}}</ref>
* '''[[Unrequited]]''': The abandoned scarf turns up again much later, still sitting dirty in Mike's locker. It's even drawn in its original blue, standing apart from the chapter's coloring.<ref name=":c51p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c51/p2}}</ref>
* '''[[Feline Filibuster]]''': Lucy revives this chapter's central gag by loudly blowing her nose on Mike's scarf at the lunch table.<ref name=":c60p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p2}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Unfulfilled Fantasy

2026-07-29T10:03:11Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c17p5f17.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Sandy]], [[Lily]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Chirpy]], [[Blur]], [[David]], [[Daisy]]
| locations = [[Mike's house]], [[Lucy's house]], [[Roseville Elementary School]], [[Park]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A letter covered in little hearts slips out of [[Mike]]'s mail, right in front of [[Lucy]]. The whole [[Sandy]] backstory comes out at last: first crush, salmon lunches, a tearful goodbye, and a promise Mike has never quite let go of.

== Synopsis ==
[[Lucy]] is walking [[Mike]] home, his leg in a cast from [[Field Day]], when a letter covered in little hearts slips out of his mail.<ref name=":c16p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c17p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p1}}</ref> She recognizes the sender and teases Mike about their prom date that Friday, but her smile at her pets afterward is far less convincing.<ref name=":c17p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p2}}</ref> At home, [[Lily]] needles Mike about the envelope until he finally gives up the name: [[Sandy]].<ref name=":c17p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p3}}</ref>

Sandy, he explains, was his first childhood friend and his first crush back in third grade, the girl who pronounced his name "Maishul".<ref name=":c17p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p4}}</ref> He tutored her through her homework,<ref name=":c17p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p6}}</ref> and by summer the two were in puppy love while Lucy was brushed aside all year.<ref name=":c17p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p8}}</ref> Then Sandy's father took a promotion out of town, and with a promise to write she was gone.<ref name=":c17p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p9}}</ref>

[[File:c17_p8_panel10.png|alt=Young Mike melts into a puddle as Sandy hugs him and giggles "You're so cute!!".|thumb|Third grade agreed with Mike, structural integrity aside.]]
Mike admits he never got over her, torn between the Lucy he sees daily and each new letter from Rickter.<ref name=":c17p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p10}}</ref> When Lily asks [[Yashy]] whether she'd trade Lucy for her birth mother, Yashy refuses flatly — "I'm not gonna spend time crying about something else that coulda happened."<ref name=":c17p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p11}}</ref> If Mike wants a resolution, Lily tells him, he'll have to speak to Sandy.<ref name=":c17p11" />

Prom night finds Mike alone in the [[Park|park]], rereading Sandy's letter under the trees where they used to sit.<ref name=":c17p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p12}}</ref> He remembers crying there after she left, until Lucy began showing up in her place.<ref name=":c17p12" /> When she realized he kept picturing Sandy instead, she fled in tears with a final "I'll '''NEVER''' be like her and I '''NEVER''' want to be!"<ref name=":c17p12" /> Mike chased her down and teased her rage into a game until they were friends again.<ref name=":c17p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p13}}</ref> He decides his love for Sandy belonged to a life that didn't happen, and lets the fantasy go.<ref name=":c17p13" />

Later that night, Lucy opens her door to a teary Mike, who lunges into a hug and apologizes for how he treated her over Sandy.<ref name=":c17p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p14}}</ref> She chases him around with his own cane before softening, forgiving him, and kicking him out with a blushing "Idiot."<ref name=":c17p14" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Sandy:''' Four years of letters have kept a third-grade "I love you" alive, and Mike starts the chapter still sure they'd be a couple if she'd never moved.<ref name=":c17p10" /> Lily's questioning and Yashy's speech pry the fantasy loose, and by prom night he has decided their love belonged to a life that didn't happen, and that the two of them can let go.<ref name=":c17p13" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' The year Mike spent ignoring her has gone unmentioned between them ever since Lucy picked their friendship back up without ever hearing an apology.<ref name=":c17p13" /> This chapter finally settles that debt. Prompted by Lily, Mike says he's sorry outright, and Lucy tells him "you know I forgive you, right?" before the two part smiling.<ref name=":c17p14" /> It's the first time the old wound is acknowledged on-panel.

== Trivia & observations ==
* This is Sandy's first on-panel appearance in the series, flashback or otherwise, and the first time anyone calls Mike "Maishul".<ref name=":c17p4" /> Veronica has said Sandy was originally brought up in the comic's very first chapter, before it was replaced by [[Simple Pleasures]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/165846868555/where-sandy-was-mentioned-at-first-i-tried|title=Where Sandy was first mentioned in the comic|date=2017-09-29}}</ref>
* The ending was reworked before publication. Oliver hated the original version and pushed for a redo, and some of the scrapped pages were reused to make the following page. Per Veronica's commentary, the rewrites happened while the authors were still deciding whether Sandy would be "a continual problem in this series" or just background information.<ref name=":c17p9" />
* Veronica has since explained why Mike calls Sandy his "first childhood friend" despite knowing Lucy longer. Lucy "was a nightmare to him during the first few years," she says, so Sandy was "the first truly close person who didn't come with any strings attached, to him."<ref name=":c17p4" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/800505616991911936/i-was-recently-rereading-the-comic-and-a-line-made|title=Ask response on Mike considering Lucy a friend|date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* [[David]]'s little song during the tutoring montage, "You teach me and I'll teach you!", is a Pokémon theme reference.<ref name=":c17p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p7}}</ref>
* Chirpy's cluelessness about prom is a swapped personality trait. According to Veronica's commentary, in her pre-BCB comics Yashy was the gullible one and Chirpy the smarter one who rolled her eyes at her.<ref name=":c17p14" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Prom Preparation]]''': The prom Mike skips here is the eighth-grade farewell dance [[Daisy]] was planning back then, already angling for Mike as her date.
* '''[[Confrontation]]''': The "altercation with Alejandro" Mike recalls in the park took place in this chapter, and the memory of Lucy shielding him is what seals his decision to let Sandy go.
* '''[[Field Day]]''': Mike's cast and cane come straight from the previous chapter, where he broke his leg tripping over a turtle mid-race against Lucy.
* '''[[Farewell, Middle School]]''': The next chapter picks up on the following Monday. Daisy demands to know why Mike wasn't at prom, and Lucy starts wielding "Maishul" as a tease of her own.
* '''[[Hot Pursuit]]''': Mike's hope that a letter will one day announce Sandy's return gets a bittersweet answer in this chapter, when she visits and he misses her entirely.
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': A later chapter retells the third-grade flashback from Lucy's side, covering the year she spent alone while Mike orbited Sandy.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Under Pressure

2026-07-29T10:03:07Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c35p4f10.png
| major_characters = [[Daisy]], [[Mike]], [[Paulo]], [[Abbey]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Yashy]], [[David]], [[Sue]], [[Katie]], [[Amaya]], [[Three Weird Girls]], [[Augustus]], [[Jessica]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Swim class ends with a nosebleed, a rescue, and some startlingly forward flirting from [[Daisy]]. Then things turn serious in the Junior hallway, where [[Tess]]'s past catches up with her and [[Abbey]] shows a side of himself nobody expected.

== Synopsis ==
At lunch, [[Yashy]] garbles one of [[Mike]]'s muttered complaints into a rude claim about [[Lucy]], who smacks him across the face with a blushing "OBJECTION!!"<ref name=":c35p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p1}}</ref> The two scramble to throw Yashy off with a hasty cover story about airplane-powered racecars, and Veronica's commentary confirms the secret they're protecting is [[Sandy]]'s existence.

Over at the pool, Daisy, wishing she could do something to catch Mike's eye, swims face-first into the pool deck.<ref name=":c35p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p3}}</ref> Mike dives in and pulls her up, and Daisy makes the most of the rescue, nuzzling his hand, calling him her hero and hinting she wouldn't mind more.<ref name=":c35p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p4}}</ref> [[Paulo]] storms in before Mike can answer and accuses him of toying with her.

Abbey is waiting when Daisy leaves the nurse's office, and he asks outright whether an older kid put her up to the stunt with Mike.<ref name=":c35p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p6}}</ref> Daisy screams that he knows nothing about who she is and storms off, leaving Abbey convinced that someone is setting her up for something.

Paulo, meanwhile, walks away with a prom date. When Tess admits nobody has asked her to the upcoming prom, he drops to one knee, rose in his mouth, and offers to escort her to the ball.<ref name=":c35p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p7}}</ref> Tess laughs herself breathless before saying yes — just as friends, though.

On her way out of school, Tess is cornered in an empty hallway by Noah, an older student who grabs her hair and brings up "you and Roger in gym class last year".<ref name=":c35p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p8}}</ref> With the teachers all in meetings, all she can do is scream for help.

Abbey comes running and flattens Noah with a single punch.<ref name=":c35p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p9}}</ref> Noah threatens to have him expelled, but Abbey couldn't care less, and a nasty smile sends him running. The fury drains away the moment Abbey turns to a shaken Tess.

[[File:c35_p9_panel3.png|alt=Abbey lunges down the hallway and punches Noah hard in the face, knocking him off his feet.|thumb|Abbey makes his introduction to the junior class.]]
On the walk off campus, Tess admits that she and [[Roger]] made Noah's life miserable, and with Roger now out of the picture, she figures the school's anger is no less than she deserves.<ref name=":c35p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p10}}</ref> Abbey wheels on her, furious. "Nobody deserves to have that horrified, helpless look in their eyes.. Ever." He urges her to tell the others what she told him, and Tess, wondering aloud what Abbey himself is hiding, calls Paulo.

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Paulo and Tess:''' Flirty teasing is their default setting, and this chapter finally puts a date on the calendar. Tess accepts the rose-in-mouth proposal on strictly friendly terms, and when the worst afternoon of her school year is over, Paulo is still the one she calls.<ref name=":c35p7" /><ref name=":c35p10" /> Veronica's commentary sums up why this pairing works where Paulo's pursuit of Lucy stalls: "Tess flirts back!"<ref name=":c35p7" />
* '''Abbey and Tess:''' Before the Junior hallway they were barely more than acquaintances. Abbey rescues her without wanting to hear a word of the history behind it, then rejects her self-blame just as forcefully on the walk home.<ref name=":c35p9" /> By the end she trusts him with her worst secret, and she's paying close enough attention to spot that he has one of his own.<ref name=":c35p10" />
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' Abbey was already the only one at the table who noticed Daisy's lunchtime absences.<ref name=":c34p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p1}}</ref> Here his worry becomes a confrontation, and it goes about as badly as it could. Daisy screams at him to leave her alone and storms off shaking, while Abbey comes away convinced an older boy is setting her up for something.<ref name=":c35p6" />
* '''Daisy and Mike:''' Daisy's pining is old news, but acting on it is brand new. The rescue hands her an opening and she pushes it well past her usual shyness, while Mike stays flustered and non-committal.<ref name=":c35p4" /> Nothing between them actually changes, though the boldness itself is what alarms Abbey.

== Trivia & observations ==
* David's dazed "I'm not a rat, I'm a hedgehog!" mid-race is a nod to ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'', which Veronica's commentary confirms outright.<ref name=":c35p3" />
* The [[Three Weird Girls]]' poolside chatter follows speech rules dating back to Veronica's pre-BCB comics: one only asks questions, one only exclaims, and one trails off flirtatiously.<ref name=":c35p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p2}}</ref> Her commentary admits the rules made the page a chore to write.
* Per Veronica's commentary, Mike is missing his swim trunks in one panel of the rescue — a slip that survived even the chapter's redraw.<ref name=":c35p4" /> Oliver adds that mistakes like it are inevitable across tens of thousands of drawings.
* Noah's ambush ends on a fully black panel carrying nothing but Tess's scream of "'''HELP!!'''"<ref name=":c35p8" />
* Years later, Veronica pointed to this chapter when ranking the cast's fighters, calling Abbey's style enraged, mindless brute force.<ref name="tumblr-fight">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/142763176391/i-have-been-reading-bcb-for-a-while-and-i-just|title=Veronica ranks the cast's fighting abilities|date=2016-04-13}}</ref>
* David's birthday story is the plot of [[Onwards to Adventure]].<ref name=":c33p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p1}}</ref> Two chapters on, he is still dining out on the day he skipped school.<ref name=":c35p1" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Bonding]]''': The chapter immediately before this one shows the offer Abbey is so worried about. Augustus corners Daisy and promises to make her feel like the most desirable girl in the world, and Abbey all but quotes it back to her here.
* '''[[Follow Me]]''': Both of this chapter's secrets start here. Mike and Lucy make their pact to hide Sandy from Yashy under the lunch table, and Rachel's confrontation with Tess gives the first hint of the school's grudge against her.
* '''[[A Different Side]]''': Tess does what Abbey urged her to and faces the school's anger in the open. At the pep rally, Paulo stands up for her and asks whatever happened to second chances.
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': Paulo makes good on the rose and takes Tess to prom, corsage and all. The "just as friends" arrangement even gets borrowed, with Mike throwing the exact phrase at Daisy during the carnival.
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': A long flashback eventually shows the Tess-and-Roger era in full, including exactly why Jessica was happy to smirk and walk away.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Turning Tides

2026-07-29T10:03:03Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c48p1f3.png
| major_characters = [[Paulo]], [[Lucy]], [[David]], [[Daisy]]
| minor_characters = [[Mike]], [[Abbey]]
| locations = [[Park]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Starting Over|Volume Two]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Paulo]] declares a water gun fight in the [[Park|park]], with a hidden agenda involving [[Lucy]] and her famous fear of water. [[Daisy]] flees the scene entirely, [[David]] takes a little convincing, and Lucy herself turns out to be completely unbothered by water pistols, a lesson Paulo learns with a gun in his mouth.

== Synopsis ==
Paulo brandishes a water pistol in the [[Park|park]] and declares a water gun fight, claiming [[David]] for his team. [[Daisy]] wants no part of it, and the moment Paulo starts counting to ten she bolts, screaming, until she spots [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] walking by and latches onto Mike with a desperate "JOIN MY TEAM!!"<ref name=":c48p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c48/p1}}</ref>

Paulo cheerfully assigns them both to Daisy's team, then leans in to share the real plan with David. Lucy is famously terrified of water, which should make her an easy target, and besides, "a wet Lucy would be pretty hot." That settles it, and David is a true believer.<ref name=":c48p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c48/p2}}</ref>

The ambush starts perfectly, with Paulo stalking through the trees, calling out Lucy's name and blasting her point-blank in the face, grinning. Then, for a long moment, nothing happens at all, as Paulo stays frozen mid-grin and Lucy stands drenched with her eyes clenched shut, until eventually he manages a weak ".. You're okay with this?"<ref name=":c48p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c48/p3}}</ref>

Lucy answers by grabbing Paulo by the mouth with a "CRUNCH", poking the water gun into it and firing, which leaves Paulo flat on his back with his eyes glazed over. David could not be happier with the outcome, since as far as he can tell, "She's cured!"<ref name=":c48p3" />

[[File:c48_p3_panel7.png|alt=A drenched Lucy grabs Paulo by the mouth with a "CRUNCH" as his eyes go extremely wide.|thumb|Paulo finds out exactly what Lucy's fear of water does and doesn't cover.]]

== Trivia & observations ==
* Per the commentary under the first page, the chapter originally belonged to Volume Three and was drawn in colour. During the Omnibus revamp the authors decided it fit Volume Two better, so it was redone in monochrome to match that volume's look.<ref name=":c48p1" />
* Paulo's whispered "Poor little hydrophobic Lucy.." pitch reaches back to [[Troubled Waters]], where Mike told [[Tess]] that Lucy is "deathly afraid of the water" while Lucy sat out of swim class. Paulo was there for that conversation.<ref name=":c48p2" /><ref name=":c30p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p1}}</ref>
* The commentary under the final page pokes fun at Paulo's grasp of that fear: "Does he seriously think she faints when she's in the shower? Did he assume all this time Lucy never showered????"<ref name=":c48p3" />
* Daisy's screaming exit has lore behind it too. Her curls, as she complains in [[Carry On]], "frizz up as soon as they touch the water!", and she was mortified when Mike saw her rain-frizzed back in [[Helping Hands]].<ref name=":c48p1" /><ref name=":c31p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c8p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c8/p5}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Pick Me Up]]''': Mike and Lucy are only strolling together here because Paulo spent the previous chapter coaxing them back onto speaking terms after a fight. That chapter also runs the same joke as this one, with Paulo delivering a crude come-on and taking Lucy's kick to the throat for it, much like the gun-in-the-mouth treatment he earns here.
* '''[[Troubled Waters]]''': This is where Lucy's fear of water comes from. She sits out of swim class while Mike admits she has been "deathly afraid of the water" ever since something he did long ago.
* '''[[New Beginnings]]''': Abbey and Daisy became a couple two chapters before this one, which is why Abbey takes it for granted that the two of them are a team.
* '''[[A Distance Apart]]''': Paulo tries the water teasing again two chapters later, miming an ocean wave at a miserable Lucy. It goes about as well for him as it does here.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume Two]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Troubled Waters

2026-07-29T10:02:59Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c30p7f9.png
| major_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Mike]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[David]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Tess]], [[Sue]], [[Abbey]], [[Sir Poodles of Noodles]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Park]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Gym class hits the pool, and everyone has to get in. Everyone, that is, except [[Lucy]]. The reason is a story [[Mike]] would rather not tell, and one Lucy relives in painful detail from the quiet of Room 104.

== Synopsis ==
A new marking period sends the gym class swimming, and only Lucy is excused, packed off to Room 104 while her classmates wonder why.<ref name=":c30p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p1}}</ref> Poolside, Mike wearily admits she's deathly afraid of the water because of something he did long ago, and [[Tess]] reaches the worst available conclusion: "You tried to '''DROWN LUCY?!?!'''"<ref name=":c30p1" />

Alone in the detention room with only her homework, Lucy puts her head down and lets the memory come.<ref name=":c30p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p2}}</ref>

Her memory goes back to the summer before sixth grade, when [[Paulo]] challenged Mike to a tree-to-tree race.<ref name=":c30p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p3}}</ref> Midway through, Mike swerves to avoid a bird in its nest, slams into the trunk, and drops into the river below.<ref name=":c30p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p4}}</ref> Lucy, who can't swim, holds out a branch, but slips in the mud and loses her grip, and the current drags Mike away unconscious.<ref name=":c30p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p6}}</ref> When he surfaces face-down downstream, Lucy hesitates for only a moment. "'''IT DOESN'T MATTER!! I NEED TO TRY!!'''" She dives in and reaches him, but she can't keep either of them afloat, and both are going under when Paulo pulls everyone to the surface.<ref name=":c30p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p7}}</ref><ref name=":c30p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p8}}</ref> On the bank, Lucy shakes Mike and presses on his chest, begging him not to leave her, until he jolts awake coughing up river water.<ref name=":c30p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p9}}</ref>

When a bandaged Mike later greets her like nothing happened, Lucy erupts, screaming that he almost killed her and she nearly drowned.<ref name=":c30p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p10}}</ref> Her fury collapses into tears, and Mike pulls her into a hug. "I promise.. Never again.. I never want you to risk yourself like that again.."<ref name=":c30p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p11}}</ref>

Awake at her desk, Lucy stops Paulo and finally gives him the thank-you she never managed after the river, hugging him and assuring him this one is a freebie.<ref name=":c30p11" /><ref name=":c30p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p12}}</ref> Paulo admits to a stunned Mike that he never mentioned the rescue because he didn't want Mike feeling indebted.<ref name=":c30p12" /> The next day, Mike tears through the pool for a new school record, telling Paulo he's "been motivated by someone very important to me" and leaving it at that.<ref name=":c30p12" />
[[File:c30_p12_panel5.png|alt=Lucy pulls a blushing, wide-eyed Paulo into a hug and says "T-thank you, Paulo..".|thumb|For once, hugging Lucy doesn't end with anybody getting hit.]]

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Lucy and Paulo:''' Paulo was Lucy's first crush, something the flashback quietly backs up every time kid Lucy blushes at his arrival.<ref name=":c27p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c30p3" /> Her present-day affection usually arrives as a punch,<ref name=":c1p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p4}}</ref> which is what makes the ending stand out. Reliving the rescue moves her to hug him voluntarily and thank him outright for saving her life. Paulo, after years of pining, can hardly believe it. "So this is what it feels like to hug you, huh?"<ref name=":c30p12" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' The childhood accident is where their bond as we know it was forged. It left Lucy with her deathly fear of water,<ref name=":c30p1" /> and it gave Mike a promise to keep. Her grief-driven outburst at him collapsed into the hug where he swore never to let her risk herself like that again.<ref name=":c30p10" /><ref name=":c30p11" /> The memory still weighs on her in the present, where she goes forlorn at the sight of the embracing couple and wakes murmuring "I'm sorry.."<ref name=":c30p2" /><ref name=":c30p11" />
* '''Mike and Paulo:''' These two are athletic rivals before anything else, and this chapter doesn't change that. What it adds is an unexpectedly noble side of Paulo: he was the one who pulled Mike from the river, and he kept quiet for years so Mike would never feel he owed him. Mike is genuinely impressed, but the truce lasts about a minute before the rivalry reignites. The chapter closes on Mike's pool record and Paulo's defeated "I just can't win.."<ref name=":c30p12" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the first page notes this chapter exists in at least three versions: an old drawn version that was never posted, the 2010 web release, and the Omnibus-era rewrite that stands today.<ref name=":c30p1" />
* In the original version, Mike was headed over a waterfall. Veronica rewrote it with Mike battered against rocks instead, calling the waterfall clichéd and unrealistic for a public park.<ref name=":c30p6" />
* Veronica originally planned for Lucy to save Mike single-handedly, but changed it. Sudden swimming ability would've been unrealistic, and a successful rescue would have undercut Lucy's fear of water. As written, Paulo's rescue confirms her fear was well founded.<ref name=":c30p8" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, the two hugging seniors who set off Lucy's flashback are based on Bill and Briana, class-bully characters from her old series who were "madly in love with eachother."<ref name=":c30p2" />
* Veronica's commentary mentions Oliver suggested it would've been funnier if Mike coughed the water up onto Lucy. She agreed, but kept the scene serious.<ref name=":c30p9" />
* Lucy's fear of the water was visible long before it was explained here. She winces at the sight of a river as far back as [[Simple Pleasures]].<ref name=":c1p4" /><ref name=":c30p1" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Carry On]]''': The swimming unit continues right where this chapter leaves off, with Lucy still excused and still stuck in her quiet classroom.<ref name=":c31p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p1}}</ref> It adds a second flashback about her fear of the water, and Lucy sourly rejects Mike's promise at the river's edge ("I don't need his promises").<ref name=":c31p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p6}}</ref> It also introduces [[Augustus]] at the pool.<ref name=":c31p1" />
* '''[[Gone Fishing]]''': This middle-school aquarium trip shows the promise being honored between the flashback and the present day. Mike reminds a frightened Lucy, "I gave you my promise.. A promise I fully intend to keep!"<ref name=":c10p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p4}}</ref>
* '''[[Under Pressure]]''': The swimming unit is still running a few chapters later, and the gym teacher names Mike, Paulo, and David the best in the class.<ref name=":c35p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p3}}</ref> Mike also dives in after a sinking Daisy, the rescuer this time instead of the one going under.<ref name=":c35p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p4}}</ref>
* '''[[Intervention]]''': Years later, the roles reverse. After Mike falls into the water saving Lucy during [[Search and Rescue]], she strikes him and screams "'''I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO DIE TRYING!!'''", mirroring her own outburst at the park in this chapter.<ref name=":c44p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p1}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Tread Carefully

2026-07-29T10:02:56Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c29.1p1f3.png
| major_characters = [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[David]]
| minor_characters =
| locations = [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Paulo]] is barely awake, but [[Daisy]] has a game for him: step only on the crosswalk's white lines and you get to make a wish. Easy enough, surely, unless [[David]] has appointed himself the obstacle.

== Synopsis ==
It's early in the morning when Paulo and Daisy arrive at a crosswalk, and Daisy brightly proposes a game — she's heard that if you only step on the white lines while crossing, you get to make a wish.<ref name=":c29.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29.1/p1}}</ref>

Paulo accepts with a confident "Piece o' cake!" and hops from line to line, but he barely gets his wish started before he notices a pair of feet planted squarely on the line ahead of him.<ref name=":c29.1p1" />

The feet belong to David, who drops into a fighting stance and announces himself as "'''I AM WISHING GAME HARD MODE'''". He advances on a horrified Paulo while Daisy strolls right past the pair of them and finishes her crossing with a smile, entirely untroubled.<ref name=":c29.1p1" />
[[File:c29.1_p1_panel7.png|alt=David drops into a fighting stance and declares "I AM WISHING GAME HARD MODE".|thumb|Every wishing game needs a final boss.]]

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the page says the gag was inspired by a strip in ''Azumanga Daioh'', combined with her own childhood habit of making wishes or setting goals when crossing zebra crossings. Finding the same superstition in a manga came as a bit of a relief. In her words, "Wow, I'm not the only one!"<ref name=":c29.1p1" />
* The same commentary explains why these two got the gag. Daisy is "the type to encourage that kind of play", and Paulo is "absolutely eager to impress".<ref name=":c29.1p1" />
* This isn't the first decimal-numbered interstitial to squeeze in between full chapters. Single-page shorts like [[Catty Remarks]] had been slotting into the gaps since much earlier in the series.<ref name=":c12.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12.1/p1}}</ref>
* "Piece o' cake!" is a well-worn boast for Paulo, who once sized up his middle school teachers as "a piece of cake" too.<ref name=":c29.1p1" /><ref name=":c11p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p4}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Carry Me]]''': Paulo plays the wishing game again years later, this time at a crosswalk while carrying a deathly ill [[Lucy]] on his back. He tells himself not to play, plays anyway, and is congratulating himself on a "Perfect run" when a turtle trips him up.
* '''[[Unspoken Rule]]''': David revives his self-appointed-obstacle routine during the dodgeball standoff between [[Mike]] and Lucy, declaring "Dodgeball Hard Mode!"
* '''[[Helping Hands]]''': An earlier chapter that also sends Paulo and Daisy off on a walk together.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

The Burden of Parenthood

2026-07-29T10:02:51Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c5p5f3.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[Yashy]], [[Sex-Ed Teacher]]
| minor_characters = [[David]], [[Katie]], [[Stacy]]
| locations = [[Roseville Middle School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Sex education arrives at [[Roseville Middle School]], complete with an unhinged teacher, mechanical babies, and detention "forever" for [[Mike]]. [[Paulo]] just wanted to play house with [[Lucy]]. Nobody warned him he'd fall in love with a screaming doll named Alegria.

== Synopsis ==
The [[Sex-Ed Teacher|sex-ed teacher]] opens class with a lecture that is less health class and more hellfire sermon, ending on the conclusion that there will be no sex until marriage.<ref name=":c5p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p1}}</ref> [[Yashy]], understanding none of it, loudly asks a mortified Mike whether he's been making "Mom" abort every day.<ref name=":c5p1" />

The teacher then wheels in a cart of mechanical babies and pairs the class off to parent them over the weekend, with a log due Monday.<ref name=":c5p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p2}}</ref> Mike is assigned [[Daisy]], a pairing Yashy greets with a screamed "'''WHORE!!!'''", while Lucy is assigned Paulo, who wastes no time shoving Mike out of the seat next to her.<ref name=":c5p2" />

The dolls all have unique faces, and Daisy's is frozen in a permanent scream. She lovingly names him Alegria anyway.<ref name=":c5p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p3}}</ref>

[[File:c5_p3_panel6.png|alt=Daisy holds up Alegria, a baby doll with a permanently screaming face, against a background reading "DOOM".|thumb|Daisy's little bundle of joy, screaming as always.]]
Lucy tells a doting Paulo she wants a divorce, full custody, and his child support on time.<ref name=":c5p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p4}}</ref> Daisy later tries to make Mike cradle Alegria, and when he refuses she plants the baby in Paulo's hands instead.<ref name=":c5p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p5}}</ref> Paulo trails off mid-protest, gazing down at Alegria amid flowers and sparkles, and Mike and Lucy quietly ditch their partners.<ref name=":c5p5" />

Come Monday, Lucy has faked the log as if she'd stayed with Paulo.<ref name=":c5p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p6}}</ref> Paulo himself is a changed cat, telling [[David]] that his baby "looked at me like he UNDERSTOOD me…".<ref name=":c5p6" /> The teacher confiscates Alegria, checks him over, and declares him the best result of the class.<ref name=":c5p6" />

She does wonder why Paulo is raising Michael's child, but Mike improvises a divorce-and-remarriage story convincing enough to earn extra credit.<ref name=":c5p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p7}}</ref> Filing out past the doll cart, Paulo spots Alegria sitting among the others with tears running down his face, and chokes out a farewell to his "'''SON'''…" while Lucy, right behind him, pronounces him a wuss.<ref name=":c5p7" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Paulo and Daisy:''' Before this chapter the two barely interact one-on-one, and they aren't even assigned to each other here. Daisy is the one who puts Alegria in Paulo's hands, and his hidden soft side does the rest. By Monday they've finished the assignment together, and she's calling him "my hero".<ref name=":c5p5" /><ref name=":c5p7" /> The pairing only lasts a weekend, but Paulo's soft spot for babies follows him into [[Helping Hands]].<ref name=":c8p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c8/p4}}</ref>

== Trivia & observations ==
* The chapter is a redraw of one of the comic's earliest chapters, made in 2010 during Volume One's production and edited again for the Omnibus. Veronica calls the original "one of my most popular chapters back in the day."<ref name=":c5p1" />
* The redrawn chapter was also printed as a convention minicomic, alongside [[Helping Hands]] and the aquarium chapter, to promote the comic around Volume One's release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/120812636053/floweramon-replied-to-your-post-you-call-that-a|title=Reply on the Volume One promotional minicomics|date=2015-06-06}}</ref>
* The confiscation scene is autobiographical. Veronica recalls her own teacher taking her robot baby away when she was sixteen, even though she'd hoped to keep it. "Anyway, I feel you Paulo."<ref name=":c5p6" />
* Yashy's counter-suggestion "diarrhea" rhymes with Alegria on purpose, per Veronica.<ref name=":c5p3" />
* This is the first appearance of the sex-ed teacher, who never does get a name, and of both [[Katie]] and [[Stacy]].<ref name=":c5p1" /><ref name=":c5p3" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Flying Lessons]]''': Right after this chapter, parenthood goes from a joke to the real thing. Yashy, so far mostly a heckler, becomes an adoptive mother herself when [[Chirpy]] comes along.<ref name=":c6p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p2}}</ref>
* '''[[Helping Hands]]''': Paulo and Daisy team up again to nurture something small and fragile, this time an injured bird. Daisy embarrasses him by mentioning his skill at caring for babies.<ref name=":c8p4" />
* '''[[Unrequited]]''': Alegria gets named on panel again years later. Daisy tells [[Tess]] about Paulo's tender side and has to clarify that Alegria was her baby, not an ex-girlfriend.<ref name=":c51p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c51/p7}}</ref>
* '''[[Pep Rally]]''': The sex-ed teacher's paranoia resurfaces here. She misreads Mike and Lucy's banter and lunges at them through the volleyball net.<ref name=":c11p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p4}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Search and Rescue

2026-07-29T10:02:47Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c43p10f12.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Tess]], [[Sue]], [[Zachary]], [[Lily]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Alec McCain]], [[Amaya]], [[Blur]], [[Chirpy]], [[Catherine]]
| locations = [[Silvershore Islands]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A tropical hike goes very wrong when a rock bridge crumbles under [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]]. He throws her to safety and drops alone into the river below, leaving his friends hunting for a body and Lucy quietly falling to pieces.

== Synopsis ==
The chapter opens at night in the boys' hotel room, where [[Paulo]] and Mike pack their bags, Mike bandaged on his head and waist.<ref name=":c43p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p1}}</ref> From there the story rewinds to that morning and the group's hike up the tropical mountainside.<ref name=":c43p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p2}}</ref>

The trail ends at a high natural rock bridge spanning the valley.<ref name=":c43p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c43p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p4}}</ref> Mike peeks over the edge, sees the river far below, and freezes. To keep Lucy from spotting the water she fears, he bets her he can "last the longest without looking down", and she furiously takes the bait.<ref name=":c43p4" /> On the span, Paulo and [[David]]'s chest-slamming game cracks the rock, and the bridge crumbles right out from under Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c43p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p5}}</ref>

Mike catches the ledge one-handed and swings the dangling Lucy up to grip his waist.<ref name=":c43p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p8}}</ref> When she looks down at the river below, she faints and slips backward off him.<ref name=":c43p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p9}}</ref> Mike grabs the ledge with both hands, springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches her in mid-air, and hurls her up to the others before plummeting alone toward the river, marked at the last only by his scarf.<ref name=":c43p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p10}}</ref>

[[File:c43_p10_panel4.png|alt=Silhouetted against the sky, Mike springboards off the underside of the broken bridge and catches the unconscious Lucy in mid-air.|thumb|Just a cool thing Mike did, okay.]]
Up top, [[Lily]] has nearly talked everyone into composure when [[Yashy]] wails "'''JESUS CHRIST WE KILLED HIM!!'''" and restarts the crying wholesale.<ref name=":c43p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p11}}</ref> Once Lucy comes to and asks where Mike is, [[Alec McCain|McCain]] bluntly tells her that he fell, and she crumples, clinging to Paulo.<ref name=":c43p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p14}}</ref> On the trail afterward she insists flatly that Mike drowned, then slides into a giggling, sobbing breakdown.<ref name=":c43p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p15}}</ref>

Help arrives in the shape of [[Zachary]], hauled up the mountain by [[Blur]] and [[Chirpy]], with mixed news: a perfectly safe rope bridge crosses the valley nearby, and as for the missing Mike, he blurts out "Well he's probably dead." before hastily offering to help find the body.<ref name=":c43p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p16}}</ref> He guides the group down to the riverbank.<ref name=":c43p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p17}}</ref> There his clumsy attempt to reassure the water-shy Lucy knocks her out cold.<ref name=":c43p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p20}}</ref>

David dives in after a large-eyebrowed fish and grabs its tail just as it bites a baited hook; the fisherman who reels him ashore is Mike, bruised and entirely alive, having calmly fished while he waited to be found.<ref name=":c43p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p21}}</ref> [[Sue]] hurls herself onto him in tears, and the relief lasts until Paulo presents the once-again-unconscious Lucy with the announcement, "Hey guys? We lost another one."<ref name=":c43p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p22}}</ref>

That evening the group settles around a large campfire back in town.<ref name=":c43p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p24}}</ref> When Lucy quietly excuses herself for the bathroom, Mike stands up with an "I'll walk you."<ref name=":c43p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p26}}</ref> Heading for the same restroom a little later, Zachary hears crying, and through the window he sees Lucy sobbing into Mike's chest while Mike holds her and looks away in resentment.<ref name=":c43p28">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p28}}</ref>

== Critical moments ==
* At the rock bridge, Mike glimpses the river far below and invents a contest about not looking down, purely so Lucy never sees the water.<ref name=":c43p4" />
* David's "KAPOW!!" landing cracks the narrow span, and the bridge gives way under Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c43p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p7}}</ref>
* While Mike hangs from the ledge with Lucy gripping his waist, McCain points out that the fall is deadlier than the water. Lucy looks down and faints from sheer terror.<ref name=":c43p9" />
* Mike springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches the falling Lucy in mid-air, and throws her to safety before dropping alone into the river.<ref name=":c43p10" />
* Lucy wakes to the news that Mike fell. She collapses into Paulo's arms, and later breaks down completely, insisting he drowned.<ref name=":c43p14" /><ref name=":c43p15" />
* Diving the river in search of a body, David is reeled in on a fishing line held by a bruised, very alive Mike.<ref name=":c43p21" />
* In the wordless final pages, Zachary peers out the restroom window and sees Lucy crying into Mike's chest while Mike stares away in resentment.<ref name=":c43p28" />

== Character dynamics ==
[[File:c43_p28_panel11.png|alt=Seen through the restroom window, Lucy clings to Mike's waist and cries into his chest while Mike looks off to the side.|thumb|Lucy finally gets her reunion. Mike's face says how much he's enjoying it.]]
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Their bond usually runs on competition, and the bridge shows the protective streak underneath it — the no-looking-down "game" exists only so Lucy never sees the water.<ref name=":c43p4" /> Back in [[Troubled Waters]], Mike promised her he never wanted her risking herself for him again, and falling alone is that promise kept to the letter.<ref name=":c30p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c43p10" /> Believing him drowned breaks Lucy so thoroughly that Lily sums the whole spectacle up for a baffled Zachary as "Oh, young love~".<ref name=":c43p20" /> By nightfall Mike walks her to the bathroom and lets her cry into his chest, but the look on his face leaves the two of them closer and more strained at once.<ref name=":c43p26" /><ref name=":c43p28" />
* '''Sue and Mike:''' Nothing changes between these two, but the day lays bare how deep the friendship goes. Sue takes his apparent death harder than almost anyone, sobbing at the bridge, and when he turns up alive she's the one who hurls herself onto him in tears.<ref name=":c43p11" /><ref name=":c43p22" />
* '''Zachary and the group:''' Zachary is a near-stranger the group leans on and mocks in the same breath. He only met these kids the previous chapter,<ref name=":c42p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p18}}</ref> yet he lets the birds drag him up a mountain and guides the whole search while being branded "Pedo" and "Creep" for his trouble.<ref name=":c43p16" /><ref name=":c43p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p19}}</ref> By nightfall he's awkwardly folded into their circle, sitting at the campfire with Catherine — and the only one who saw how the day really ended.<ref name=":c43p24" /><ref name=":c43p28" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Mike's scarf is missing in the opening hotel scene. Veronica's canonical explanation is that he took it off while getting ready for bed, though she admits she still missed the error while revising the Omnibus.<ref name=":c43p1" />
* Mike and Lucy literally break through the panel borders as they fall. Oliver notes the Summer Vacation arc is when Veronica began experimenting with panel layouts for narrative effect, and that straightening those unruled lines in later production was "a nightmare".<ref name=":c43p7" />
* Veronica calls the mid-air rescue one of the toughest pages she'd made, and answered complaints about its physics with "THIS IS JUST A COOL THING MIKE DID, OKAY. BADASS!!!!!"<ref name=":c43p10" />
* The beast in the bushes is never identified and never appears again. Veronica's commentary wonders whether it was a bear before concluding "THE LESS WE KNOW, THE BETTER."<ref name=":c43p17" />
* After the cliff tumble, all the cats land neatly on their feet, while David and McCain, the group's two dogs, land flat on their backs.<ref name=":c43p19" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Intervention]]''': The next chapter opens on this exact alley scene, with Lucy sobbing that she didn't want Mike to die trying and Zachary still watching from the window. The rest of the night unpacks what he saw.<ref name=":c44p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p1}}</ref>
* '''[[Arrival]]''': The previous chapter brings the group to the [[Silvershore Islands]] and introduces both Zachary and Catherine. It also sets up Lucy's fear of the water with her panic in the surf.<ref name=":c42p18" /><ref name=":c42p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p26}}</ref>
* '''[[Troubled Waters]]''': This is the chapter Mike remembers when he refuses David's rescue offer at the ledge, since David's last heroic leap cost Mike his handhold and nearly drowned everyone involved. It's also where Mike made the promise about Lucy never risking herself for him that the bridge fall makes good on.<ref name=":c30p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p5}}</ref><ref name=":c30p11" />
* '''[[Return]]''': The arc's closing chapter, where Zachary carries what he learned into a beach-side talk confronting Lucy about her attachment to Mike.<ref name=":c45p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p2}}</ref>
* '''Another Rescue''' (side story): An alternate-timeline replay of this chapter's bridge collapse, right down to the KAPOW game and the spreading crack. This time it's Paulo, not Mike, who falls.<ref name=":anotherrescuep1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/anotherrescue/p1}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Roseville Middle School

2026-07-29T10:02:44Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox location
| name = Roseville Middle School
| image = location_rosevillemiddleschool.png
| first = [[Unfit for Education]], [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p1 page 1] ''May 12, 2006''
| characters = [[Lucy]], [[Mike]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[David]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Stacy]], [[Katie]], [[Sex-Ed Teacher]], [[Yashy]]
}}
'''Roseville Middle School''' is the school attended by [[Mike]], [[Lucy]] and the rest of the main cast during the comic's first two volumes. The group graduates in [[Farewell, Middle School]] and moves on to [[Roseville High School]] after that. Despite all the time the comic spends there, the school is only named on panel once, when [[Daisy]] introduces its cheerleading squad at the [[Pep Rally]].<ref name=":c11p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p3}}</ref>

== Description ==
The comic never says where in town the school sits, only that the cast can walk there from home.<ref name=":c3p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c3/p4}}</ref> From the outside there is a school sign,<ref name=":c11p3" /> along with a set of front double doors that the whole student body pours out of on the last day of the year.<ref name=":c18p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p5}}</ref> The athletic grounds are big enough to host a full day of races, archery, ring toss and basketball.<ref name=":c16p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p1}}</ref>

Inside, the classrooms hold rows of individual wooden desks with attached seats,<ref name=":c4p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p1}}</ref> a chalkboard that serves math equations and the [[Sex-Ed Teacher]]'s diagrams alike,<ref name=":c15p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c15/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c5p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p1}}</ref> and, in one room, a caged class hamster named Hamtaro.<ref name=":c4p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p2}}</ref> The halls are lined with combination lockers, one of which takes Mike a good three minutes to open.<ref name=":c13p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p1}}</ref> There is a gymnasium with bleachers for rallies and volleyball games,<ref name=":c11p3" /> plus a school nurse on hand for emergencies.<ref name=":c31p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p4}}</ref> From the cast's seventh-grade spring onward, there is also a renovated pool with solar heating and a bumpy anti-slip strip around the rim.<ref name=":c31p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p3}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Loc Roseville Middle School c26 p5 panel13.png|thumb|Lucy in the hallway on her first day of middle school.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p5}}</ref>]]
[[File:Loc Roseville Middle School c31 p2 panel15.png|thumb|Students gather at the edge of the newly renovated pool.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p2}}</ref>]]
[[File:Loc Roseville Middle School c14 p27 panel2.png|thumb|Class applauds after a group presentation.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p27}}</ref>]]
The comic's first trip to the school comes at the end of [[Merry Snow Day]]. Lucy's show-off ice skating lands her at the feet of the class's poodle teacher, [[Sir Poodles of Noodles]], and a hastily faked ankle injury earns her nothing but a curt "My classroom. NOW."<ref name=":c3p4" /> The classroom itself appears in [[Unfit for Education]], where [[Yashy]] demands to be educated alongside Lucy, gets turned away for being a pet, and stages a sit-in with Hamtaro instead.<ref name=":c4p2" /> [[Sue]] spends the rest of that chapter running a polar-bear-themed psychology experiment on her unsuspecting classmates.<ref name=":c4p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p4}}</ref>

[[The Burden of Parenthood]] introduces the Sex-Ed Teacher, whose lesson plan boils down to "Sex equals babies.. .. and you don't want babies", along with a mechanical baby-doll project.<ref name=":c5p1" /> [[Paulo]], of all people, grows tearfully attached to his doll Alegria and walks away with the best result in the class.<ref name=":c5p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p7}}</ref> Class time in [[Prom Preparation]] goes about as smoothly, with a round of music suggestions for the Spring Dance dissolving into the girls fighting over Mike.<ref name=":c7p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c7/p1}}</ref>

The fullest tour of the building comes in Pep Rally, which opens with Mike's failed escape attempt through the halls.<ref name=":c11p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p2}}</ref> The chapter takes in a gym rally complete with marching band and confetti, then a students-versus-teachers volleyball match that Mike wins at considerable personal cost.<ref name=":c11p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p4}}</ref> The hallways get their turn in [[Puppy Love]], when Mike's locker spills an avalanche of love letters and Lucy gleefully reads one aloud. His ensuing meltdown at his admirers earns him the nickname "Homo McWhiskers".<ref name=":c13p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p2}}</ref>

A few quieter scenes land here too. Daisy makes her tearful apology to Mike after a class bacteria presentation in [[Confrontation]],<ref name=":c14p27">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p27}}</ref> and the awkward days after Mike and Lucy's kiss play out across the school's hallway, classes and recess in [[Aftermath]].<ref name=":c15p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c15/p2}}</ref> The athletic grounds host the year's last [[Field Day]], with Sir Poodles officiating a slate of three-legged races, wheelbarrow races and dead-even archery and basketball duels between Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c16p1" /> Mike ends the day walking with a cane.<ref name=":c16p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p8}}</ref>

The last day of school arrives in Farewell, Middle School. [[David]] celebrates by flooding a hallway with chocolate ice cream, and the placement sheets put Mike into Honors English.<ref name=":c18p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p3}}</ref> The school janitor, who introduces himself with "'''HI I AM JANITOR I CLEAN STUFF'''", whacks Mike into the ice cream river for angsting too much.<ref name=":c18p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p4}}</ref>

The teachers get their goodbyes on the way out. Sir Poodles is the only one genuinely sad to see the class go.<ref name=":c18p3" /> The pug teacher, by contrast, hopes the high school teachers will beat the kids, "because we're not allowed to."<ref name=":c18p4" /> The school's time as a present-day setting ends at the front doors, with the students bursting out into summer vacation.<ref name=":c18p5" /> The chapter's commentary confirms that Roseville High is an entirely different school, and that none of the middle school staff would be seen again.<ref name=":c18p3" />

Every appearance after that is a flashback, and the flashbacks paint a much darker picture of the place than its gag chapters ever did. One shows Lucy's first day of middle school, when other students sexually harass her in the hallway. She walks away with a resolution: "Next time I'll be ready for those creeps." The comic presents this as the moment her hardened, combative persona took root.<ref name=":c26p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p5}}</ref>

[[Flirting with Disaster]] reaches back to the start of sixth grade, when a shy Paulo practiced his flirting at these lockers until an eighth grader named Alexa praised him for treating her "like a princess". The apprenticeship ends badly with Lucy, who answers his attempt to ask her out with a punch to the face and storms off in tears.<ref name=":c27p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p5}}</ref>

Another flashback, set in the spring of seventh grade, covers the first class at the newly renovated pool.<ref name=":c31p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p2}}</ref> It goes very badly for Lucy. Confronted with the water, she suffers a panic attack full of memories of drowning, faints at the pool's edge, and has to be seen by the school nurse.<ref name=":c31p4" />

Mostly, though, the school comes up as shared nostalgia among the cast. Years later, the baby-doll project gets retold to an incredulous [[Tess]], and Daisy dates the whole affair in two words: "Middle school."<ref name=":c51p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c51/p8}}</ref>

== Staff ==
Four teachers see the class through to graduation, with wildly varying levels of affection.
* '''The poodle teacher''' — the cast's main classroom teacher, handling everything from the science fair to math class.<ref name=":c4p2" /><ref name=":c15p3" /> He officiates field day, and he's the only teacher genuinely sad to see the class go.<ref name=":c16p8" /><ref name=":c18p3" />
* '''The [[Sex-Ed Teacher]]''' — delivers abstinence terror lectures and runs the mechanical-baby project.<ref name=":c5p1" /> She once gave Mike "detention.. 'forever'".<ref name=":c5p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c5/p2}}</ref>
* '''The pug teacher''' — guards the doors against escapees during the pep rally, and plays on the teachers' volleyball team.<ref name=":c11p2" /><ref name=":c11p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p5}}</ref>
* '''The cat teacher''' — also catches would-be escapees on rally day.<ref name=":c11p2" /> Her farewell to the graduating class is a puzzled "Do I even know you kids?"<ref name=":c18p4" />

== Trivia ==
* The school's first appearance is a bit fuzzy. Sir Poodles orders Lucy to class at the end of Merry Snow Day, but no part of the building is actually visible on panel until Unfit for Education.<ref name=":c3p4" /><ref name=":c4p1" />
* Veronica settled on the cast being eighth graders at the start of the series, admitting in her commentary that the grade "was kind of irrelevant" at that point.<ref name=":c4p1" />
* The middle school was also the setting of the pre-BCB comics, in which the cast "never ended up going to high school". According to the commentary, that made Farewell, Middle School the first time its teachers ever needed a goodbye.<ref name=":c18p3" />
* Sue's polar-bear experiment was drawn while Veronica was studying for a psychology final, and was taken "more or less" from a real exercise used for OCD.<ref name=":c4p4" />

== See also ==
* [[Farewell, Middle School]]
* [[Roseville High School]]
* [[Sex-Ed Teacher]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Locations}}
[[Category:Locations]]

Roseville High Hornets

2026-07-29T10:02:40Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox location
| image =
| first = [[Track Meet]], [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p11 page 11] ''{{Start date|2022|06|01}}''
| type = School sports teams
| located_in = [[Roseville High School]]
| characters = [[Mike]], [[Daisy]], [[Felix]], [[Paulo]]
}}
The '''Roseville High Hornets''' are the school sports teams of [[Roseville High School]]: a track team and a cheerleading squad, both dressed in the school's blue. The track team recruited [[Mike]] in [[Track Meet]], and [[Daisy]] has been cheering on the squad since her freshman year.

== Description ==
[[File:Loc Roseville High Hornets c115 p11 panel1.png|thumb|Mike dons the Hornets jersey featuring the flexing hornet mascot.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p11}}</ref>]]
The Hornets uniform is a light blue sleeveless jersey with "HORNETS" printed in white above the school mascot, a grinning hornet flexing its bicep.<ref name=":c115p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p11}}</ref> That jersey is pretty much the name's whole footprint in the comic. The only character to actually say "Hornets" out loud is Daisy, who explains her presence at the boys' practice with "I am but a humble cheerleader cheering for the Hornets."<ref name=":c115p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p12}}</ref> Practices happen in the school gymnasium and out on the track, and the track team answers to an unnamed coach, a brown and white dog in a blue tracksuit and glasses.<ref name=":c115p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p19}}</ref>

On the track side, the regulars are [[James]], [[Darwin]], [[Felix]], [[Finn]], [[Lucas]] and [[Max]]. Mike joins their ranks in Track Meet, and [[David]] follows a few chapters later.<ref name=":c115p11" /><ref name=":c124p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p2}}</ref> Practice means group stretches and timed sprints.<ref name=":c115p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p13}}</ref><ref name=":c124p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p14}}</ref> Daisy leads the cheer squad, with [[Katie]], [[Stacy]], [[Jessica]], [[Rachel]] and a couple of unnamed girls filling out the roster.<ref name=":c109p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c109/p12}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Loc Roseville High Hornets c109 p10 panel4.png|thumb|Sue poses in Daisy's old cheerleading uniform, moments before her jump goes wrong.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c109/p10}}</ref>]]
The cheer squad is the older institution by a long way. It performs at the freshman-year pep rally in [[A Different Side]], where the principal declares that the squad always brings the school together. Daisy caps the pyramid finale by slipping off the top and flashing the stands, and plays it off with a cheery "Silly me. I must have slipped".<ref name=":c37p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37/p11}}</ref> Junior year finds the squad in uniform again in [[Total Recall]], grumbling about teachers using cheerleaders as a cleanup crew, and Daisy uses the waiting squad as her exit line when [[Augustus]] corners her in the gym.<ref name=":c85p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c85/p7}}</ref>

In [[Popularity Contest]], Daisy runs practice ahead of a big game while Katie shoves her way toward the leadership, and [[Sue]] borrows Daisy's old uniform to prove that being popular takes no real effort.<ref name=":c109p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c109/p9}}</ref><ref name=":c109p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c109/p10}}</ref> Sue's cheerleading career lasts exactly one move — her leg crumples under her on her very first jump, and she's next seen in a leg cast.<ref name=":c109p12" />

The "Hornets" name itself arrives with the track team in Track Meet. James recruits Mike over lunch, cheerfully admitting the team's plan was "to stalk you for four months", and Mike pulls on the jersey and reflects that this is how he became a jock.<ref name=":c115p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115/p10}}</ref><ref name=":c115p11" /> His first practice draws an audience. Daisy cheers from the sidelines with blue pom-poms, and [[Paulo]] watches from the bleachers.<ref name=":c115p12" /> The side chapter [[One-Track Mind]] backs the stalking claim up, slotting scenes of the team scouting Mike into three earlier chapters.<ref name=":c1151p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c115.1/p1}}</ref>

For a while, the team is the best thing in Mike's life. In [[Link Play]], James, Felix, Lucas and Finn drag him along on a mall, arcade and pizza outing, and the chapter closes on Mike falling asleep to the thought of his six smiling teammates and his folded jersey.<ref name=":c116p32">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c116/p32}}</ref> James keeps recruiting in the meantime, begging David to join after an informal street race.<ref name=":c118p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p19}}</ref> [[Seeing Stars]] shows David, Mike and James squeezing extra training runs into recess on the outdoor track.<ref name=":c120p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c120/p14}}</ref>

[[Second String]] is where things sour. David is now on the roster and outrunning Mike at practice. James's heartbreak over Paulo and Daisy plays out in front of the whole team, and Mike ends the session running alone.<ref name=":c124p2" /><ref name=":c124p14" /> The rest of the team stays friendly. In [[First-Degree Burn]], Finn invites the abandoned Mike over to their lunch table, telling him, "Forget about stinky ol' James."<ref name=":c125p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c125/p16}}</ref>

James, though, is done with him. In [[Line in the Sand]] he challenges [[Lucy]] to an after-school race from the team's lunch table and coldly hands Mike off to Finn and the others.<ref name=":c127p40">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p40}}</ref> By the following chapter Mike has drifted out of the team routine entirely, training alone at recess while Paulo wonders aloud, "Isn't that what the track team is for?"<ref name=":c128p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128/p5}}</ref>

== Trivia ==
* For all the practices, drills and pep rallies on-panel, the Hornets have never been shown actually competing at anything. Track Meet contains no track meet, and the big game the cheer squad drilled for in Popularity Contest happens entirely off-panel.<ref name=":c109p9" />
* The cheer squad predates the team name by some fifteen publication years. It first performed in A Different Side back in 2007, and the "Hornets" name didn't appear until Track Meet in 2022.<ref name=":c37p11" /><ref name=":c115p11" />
* Under the page where Mike first wears the jersey, the author commentary jokes, "Time to stuff some nerds into lockers."<ref name=":c115p11" />

== See also ==
* [[Track Meet]]
* [[Mike]]
* [[James]]
* [[Daisy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Locations}}
[[Category:Locations]]

Rising Temperature

2026-07-29T10:02:37Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c38p8f12.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]], [[Paulo]], [[Augustus]]
| minor_characters = [[Tess]], [[Lucy]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Katie]], [[Stacy]], [[Kevin]], [[Janet]], [[Molly]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Abbey's house]], [[Park]], [[Daisy's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Paulo]]'s forgotten essay lands the boys at [[Abbey]]'s house, where [[Mike]] gets a crash course in his classmate's home life and very nearly a fistfight. Meanwhile, [[Daisy]]'s awful afternoon ends with someone holding her hand, and a very bad idea taking shape.

== Synopsis ==
At lunch, [[Paulo]] realizes he never started the English essay due tomorrow, and [[Abbey]] grudgingly agrees to tutor him at his house once [[Mike]] offers to come along.<ref name=":c38p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p1}}</ref>

After school, [[Daisy]] hunts down [[Katie]], convinced their Easter-break outings made them friends. Katie publicly sets her straight, sneering that Daisy is "not exactly in my, like, league", and Abbey witnesses the whole thing.<ref name=":c38p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p3}}</ref>

At [[Abbey's house]], the boys discover that Abbey's parents are a cat, [[Kevin]], and a dog, [[Janet]]. Paulo is still doing the arithmetic on that pairing when Mike snaps "'''HE'S ADOPTED YOU IDIOT'''".<ref name=":c38p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p5}}</ref>

Mike stays behind after Paulo leaves, and the evening sours fast. When Mike defends Paulo, Abbey rounds on him — Mike only pays attention to girls he has a crush on, and doesn't even know Daisy was in tears today.<ref name=":c38p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p8}}</ref> The argument turns physical when Abbey throws a punch, and Mike's resentment of Lucy's dependence spills out: "You think I wouldn't cut her off if I could?!"<ref name=":c38p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p9}}</ref> It takes Abbey's little sister [[Molly]], in tears between them, to stop the fight, pleading that if Abbey goes to the hospital he might not come back.<ref name=":c38p9" />

Daisy, meanwhile, drifts through a crowded plaza, feeling like the only one without weekend plans, until a hand closes around hers.<ref name=":c38p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p10}}</ref> It belongs to [[Augustus]], half-hidden behind a pillar.<ref name=":c38p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p11}}</ref> He talks her past every objection, and her resentment pours out — [[Sandy]] was her own best friend before Mike came along. Then Daisy declares that "Sandy doesn't deserve him", and for a moment even Augustus looks unsettled.<ref name=":c38p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p12}}</ref>
[[File:c38_p11_panel1.png|alt=Augustus, half-hidden behind a pillar, holds Daisy's hand while she looks back at him in surprise.|thumb|Augustus turns up exactly when Daisy is at her loneliest.]]

That evening, Mike apologizes when Daisy passes him in the [[Park|park]] and walks her home.<ref name=":c38p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p13}}</ref> Outside [[Daisy's house]], she asks him to the carnival's couples-only night, insisting it doesn't have to mean anything. Mike squirms, then agrees. Once he's gone, Daisy pumps her fist in triumph, and Augustus watches from afar as she thinks, "It'll be a night you'll never forget.. .. my love"<ref name=":c38p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p14}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Abbey:''' Before today they were barely more than classmates, and Mike didn't even know Abbey was adopted.<ref name=":c38p5" /> The essay session gives Mike his first look at Abbey's family, and the fight shows each boy the other's rawest nerve: Abbey's protectiveness of Daisy, and Mike's exhaustion with carrying Lucy.<ref name=":c38p9" /> They part on mutual apologies, and Mike spends the walk home ashamed of how little he ever noticed about Abbey's life.<ref name=":c38p10" /> Veronica's commentary is careful to take neither side, noting Mike "isn't a horrible person.. nor is Abbey."<ref name=":c38p13" />
* '''Mike and Daisy:''' This friendship has been quietly failing for weeks, with Daisy skipping lunch and feeling abandoned while Mike never once wondered where she'd gone. Abbey was the only one who noticed.<ref name=":c34p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p1}}</ref> Abbey's tirade is what finally makes Mike look. He seeks Daisy out, apologizes, and walks her home, and just like that the friendship is patched up.<ref name=":c38p13" /> It's compromised from its first minute, though, because Daisy sells the carnival as "just as friends" while privately planning something rather different.<ref name=":c38p14" />
* '''Daisy and Augustus:''' Back in [[Bonding]], Augustus offered to make Daisy feel like the most desirable girl in the world, and she fled, unable to let go of Mike.<ref name=":c34p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p4}}</ref> This time he steers her toward Mike instead, patiently dismantling every scruple she raises. He gets rather more than he bargained for, though. Her cold verdict on Sandy visibly worries him.<ref name=":c38p12" />
* '''Daisy and Katie:''' The friendship only ever existed on Daisy's side. Katie could barely remember her name when the older girls recruited her.<ref name=":c37p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37/p15}}</ref> Katie ends the illusion publicly and cruelly, and the humiliation is what sends Daisy drifting into Augustus's reach.<ref name=":c38p3" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the final page notes readers "don't have to wait a week for it" and calls the chapter a lead-in to "a season finale of sorts."<ref name=":c38p14" />
* Kevin and Janet were originally written as Abbey's foster parents. Veronica later rewrote it so that, four years on, Abbey is fully adopted: "They're his parents!"<ref name=":c38p5" />
* Paulo's confusion establishes that cats and dogs can't have children together in the BCB universe. Veronica's commentary confirms it's "just a matter of what kind of ANIMAL you are" and notes the roadblock will matter for one relationship down the line.<ref name=":c38p5" /><ref name=":c38p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p6}}</ref>
* This chapter is the first appearance of Kevin, Janet and Molly, and the first time the comic confirms Abbey is adopted.<ref name=":c38p5" /><ref name=":c38p9" />
* Katie's "ugly duckling" jab is recycled material. She aimed the same insult at Lucy back in [[Catty Remarks]].<ref name=":c38p3" /><ref name=":c13p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p3}}</ref>
* Daisy's outburst that Mike took Sandy "when she was '''MY''' best friend" is the first time the comic mentions the two were ever close.<ref name=":c38p12" /> The authors have confirmed on Tumblr that Daisy and Sandy really were childhood friends.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/187766177286/hey-what-is-your-opinion-on-the-whole-daisy-and|title=Daisy and Sandy's childhood friendship explained|date=2019-09-17}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[A Different Side]]''': This is where Katie and the older girls took Daisy in over Easter break, creating the "friendship" that Katie disowns here.
* '''[[Bonding]]''': Augustus's "I've told you what you can do" points back to this chapter, where his offer scared Daisy off over her feelings for Mike.
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': Published immediately afterwards, it covers Paulo and Tess at prom and the Mike and Daisy carnival date, where Mike ends up quoting Daisy's own "just as friends" line back at her.
* '''[[Moving On]]''': The opening page reveals who Augustus answers to. He reports to [[Toby]] and [[Alejandro]], and he isn't happy that Daisy got pulled into it.
* '''[[At Loose Ends]]''': The family history behind Molly's fear finally surfaces here. The children's mother [[Charlotte]] went into the hospital and never came back, and the kids were never told the truth.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Return

2026-07-29T10:02:33Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c45p3f7.png
| major_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Zachary]], [[Mike]], [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Catherine]]
| minor_characters = [[Tess]], [[Daisy]], [[Abbey]], [[Yashy]], [[Lily]], [[Chirpy]], [[Blur]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Alec McCain]]
| locations = [[Silvershore Islands]], [[Airport]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
It's the last night in the [[Silvershore Islands]], and [[Zachary]] has something [[Lucy]] needs to hear about [[Mike]]. By the time the plane touches down at home, she's said the words out loud, [[Paulo]] has been caught red-handed, and [[Daisy]] has news of her own.

== Synopsis ==
[[Lucy]] spends her last night of the trip alone on the beach rocks, and [[Zachary]], passing by on his walk home, asks to sit with her.<ref name=":c45p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p1}}</ref> He asks whether [[Mike]] is really good for her, reminds her that Mike already has someone else, and when she furiously denies having any feelings for the boy, he blurts out the rest of it: Mike "kind of.. hates you?"<ref name=":c45p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p4}}</ref> In his telling, Mike sees her as a chore, her attachment is a one-way obsession, and someday Mike will leave with his girlfriend.<ref name=":c45p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p5}}</ref><ref name=":c45p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p6}}</ref>

Lucy fights him for as long as she can until the dam breaks and, sobbing, she finally admits "Dammit, Zach, I love him.."<ref name=":c45p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p7}}</ref> Zachary does his best to catch her on the way down — she has friends who understand her, things do get better, and if anything ever happens to her, he'll be there somehow.<ref name=":c45p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p8}}</ref>

Back at the hotel, Lucy opens her room door on [[Paulo]] and [[Tess]] in each other's arms.<ref name=":c45p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p9}}</ref> She informs Mike next door that the two are having sex and that she'll be crashing in his room for the night.<ref name=":c45p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p10}}</ref>

Later that night, while Mike shivers on the floor under a single blanket, Lucy slips out of bed, wraps her arms around his shoulders, and kisses him on the forehead.<ref name=":c45p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p11}}</ref> Mike smiles and nestles closer in his sleep, and Lucy rests her head against him.<ref name=":c45p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p12}}</ref>

[[File:c45_p12_panel5.png|alt=In silhouette, Lucy kneels beside the sleeping Mike and kisses his forehead, a small heart floating above them.|thumb|Mike sleeps right through the biggest moment of the trip.]]
The next morning, the group trades goodbyes outside the terminal.<ref name=":c45p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p13}}</ref> Once the kids are inside, [[Catherine]] confesses her love to Zachary, and the two embrace as the sun comes up over the ocean.<ref name=":c45p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p14}}</ref>

On the flight home, [[Lily]] reveals she woke Lucy before Mike could catch the two of them cuddling, and urges her to tell him how she feels; Lucy will only commit to a maybe.<ref name=":c45p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p15}}</ref> Across the aisle, Paulo grumbles to [[David]] that he got cold feet with Tess because he couldn't get [[Daisy]] out of his head.<ref name=":c45p15" />

Daisy is, in fact, waiting at the [[Airport|airport]] — hand in hand with [[Abbey]].<ref name=":c45p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p16}}</ref> Paulo blurts out the least delicate version of the question imaginable, and the couple confirm they're dating.<ref name=":c45p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p17}}</ref> It takes Paulo a long, blank moment to work out what this means for his recent daydreams; then he gags in disgust and chases David down for brainwashing him.<ref name=":c45p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p18}}</ref>

== Critical moments ==
[[File:c45_p9_panel5.png|alt=Lucy shoves her hotel room door open and stares blankly ahead while Paulo and Tess freeze mid-embrace, eyes enormous.|thumb|Ten seconds later, Lucy needs a new room for the night.]]
* On the beach rocks, Zachary asks Lucy whether Mike is really good for her, then tells her that, as far as he can see, Mike "kind of.. hates you?"<ref name=":c45p4" />
* Pushed past every denial she has, Lucy admits her love for Mike aloud for the first time: "Dammit, Zach, I love him.."<ref name=":c45p7" />
* Back at the hotel, Lucy walks in on Paulo and Tess in her room, and moves herself into Mike's for the night.<ref name=":c45p9" />
* While Mike sleeps on the floor, Lucy embraces him and kisses his forehead. He never wakes.<ref name=":c45p12" />
* Outside the terminal, Catherine confesses her love to Zachary, and the two embrace at sunrise.<ref name=":c45p14" />
* Daisy and Abbey greet the returning group hand in hand, revealing they're now a couple. Paulo needs a long moment to process the news.<ref name=":c45p16" /><ref name=":c45p18" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Lucy and Mike:''' Lucy opens the chapter still loudly denying she has any sort of thing for Mike.<ref name=":c45p4" /> Zachary's warning tears that cover off, and his read comes straight from Mike himself, who told him the night before that Lucy "needs" him and that's where it begins and ends.<ref name=":c44p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p5}}</ref> By the flight home, Lucy has admitted her love out loud, kissed Mike in his sleep, and started weighing Lily's advice to confess.<ref name=":c45p12" /><ref name=":c45p15" /> Mike sleeps through the kiss and hears none of the rest, so the whole shift is on Lucy's side.
* '''Paulo and Daisy:''' Paulo took Daisy's friendship for granted right up until this trip, and only now that she's out of sight has he found he can't get her out of his head.<ref name=":c44p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p17}}</ref> It bothered him badly enough to wreck his night with Tess, as he admits on the plane home.<ref name=":c45p15" /> All the same, he's a week too late. Daisy comes home on Abbey's arm, and Paulo copes by gagging at his own daydreams and blaming the lot on David's brainwashing.<ref name=":c45p18" />
* '''Zachary and Catherine:''' The fondness was already there, and the awkwardness was the sticking point. Watching the teenagers fumble their crushes all week is what finally moves Catherine to be "frank about my love", and the pair end the chapter embracing at sunrise.<ref name=":c45p14" />
* '''Daisy and Abbey:''' The two became a couple during the week the group was away, a story [[New Beginnings]] tells in full.<ref name=":c46p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p10}}</ref> Here the secret goes public, with Abbey admitting he'd hoped not to make it too obvious.<ref name=":c45p17" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the final page calls this the close of "what might have been the longest arc in Bittersweet historyyyyy," and notes that Lucy "has opened up a whole new storyline."<ref name=":c45p18" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, the panel of Lucy thumbing toward the hallway unintentionally resembles the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 logo.<ref name=":c45p10" />
* Working on the beach conversation made Veronica notice a recurring drawing flaw she calls "cone heads" — Lucy sprouting a huge forehead whenever her ears go down — and resolve to fix it.<ref name=":c45p6" />
* David's "Cute couple wants to battle!" is a Pokémon nod, borrowing the games' "Cute Couple" double-battle trainer class.<ref name=":c45p17" />
* The nighttime bedside scene plays out almost wordlessly over two pages, much of it in silhouette. Lucy's only utterance is a heart.<ref name=":c45p11" /><ref name=":c45p12" />
* This is the last main-continuity appearance for both Zachary and Catherine. Zachary returns afterward only in Lucy's memories.<ref name=":c45p15" /><ref name=":c52p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c52/p4}}</ref>
* Lucy flies home still owing Zachary a song. Back in [[Arrival]] he paid her $100 to sing, and the goodbye comes and goes without a note of it.<ref name=":c42p30">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p30}}</ref><ref name=":c45p13" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Intervention]]''': Mike's boardwalk conversation with Zachary in the previous chapter is the source of everything Zachary tells Lucy on the rocks. It's also where David's fairytale cast Daisy as a princess, the same "princess crap" Paulo complains about on the plane.
* '''[[Arrival]]''': The island stretch of the vacation arc begins here, with Zachary pulling Lucy out of the surf and Catherine debuting to defend him.
* '''[[New Beginnings]]''': The story Daisy starts telling at the airport is told in full here, in flashback, covering how she and Abbey got together while everyone else was away.
* '''[[A Distance Apart]]''': Lucy finally takes Lily's advice from the plane in this chapter, working up the nerve to confess her love to Mike.
* '''[[Unrequited]]''': Zachary's warning catches up with Lucy here. Faced with proof of Mike's girlfriend, she sobs Zach's name through her tears.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Puppy Love

2026-07-29T10:02:29Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c13p1f6.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[David]]
| minor_characters = [[Katie]], [[Daisy]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Stacy]], [[Three Weird Girls]], [[John]]
| locations = [[Roseville Middle School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Mike]]'s locker is stuffed with love letters, and somehow that's the worst thing to happen to him all week. Between [[Lucy]]'s dramatic readings, [[Katie]]'s pouncing, and [[Paulo]]'s theories about his love life, being adored has rarely looked so miserable.

== Synopsis ==
[[Mike]] finally wrestles his locker open and a pile of love letters spills out at his feet. He insists letters like these are private and their writers' feelings fragile, so [[Lucy]] swipes one and treats the hallway to a dramatic reading of "My dear prince." Around the corner, [[Stacy]], the letter's actual author, hears every word of it and starts to tear up.<ref name=":c13p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p1}}</ref>

Mike grumbles that the letter was genuinely sweet, but he'd only have to reject its writer anyway. Then [[Paulo]] and [[David]] wander over, and Paulo takes the letter pile as fresh proof of his pet theory that Mike is gay. Mike's defense does him no favors: "I'm not interested in girls."<ref name=":c13p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p2}}</ref>

[[File:c13_p2_panel4.png|alt=Lucy laughs "Mike's too sexy for his scarf!" while a mortified Mike looks back at her.|thumb|A dramatic reading nobody asked for, least of all Mike.]]
One letter asks Mike to the dance, and his sarcastic acceptance backfires when [[Katie]] leaps onto his back. She crows that she's the most popular girl in school and much prettier than "the ugly duckling" standing next to him. Lucy answers the insult with a hose she produces out of nowhere, drenching Katie until her mascara runs. When Paulo announces to the hallway that Mike prefers boys, a crowd of hopeful boys closes in on him instead.<ref name=":c13p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p3}}</ref>

Paulo caps it all off by congratulating Mike on having more hoes than any pimp he's ever seen, and that taunt finally tips Mike over the edge. He explodes that a real sleazeball would accept all these advances, but he's rejected every single one of them. He rants at the assembled girls to quit bothering him, which leaves Stacy weeping in the background. David sends him off with a brand-new nickname, "Homo McWhiskers." Lucy, for once, just gives him a gentle pat on the back.<ref name=":c13p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c13/p4}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Stacy:''' The admiration runs entirely one way, and Mike doesn't even know whose it is. Stacy comes into the chapter as his anonymous letter-writer and leaves it the same way, just considerably sadder. She listens in while Lucy ridicules her letter, then catches the full blast of Mike's rant at the end, weeping "So cruel.." Mike never finds out who wrote the letters, though he did think they were sweet.<ref name=":c13p1" /><ref name=":c13p4" />
* '''Lucy and Katie:''' This chapter is their first on-panel clash, and the hostility is instant and mutual. Katie's side runs on vanity: she writes Lucy off as the ugly duckling next to her own popular-girl looks. Lucy answers in kind, with a soaking and the retort "I thought swans had natural beauty, miss mascara!"<ref name=":c13p3" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary notes that Katie "only really likes Mike because that's a popular thing to do," and adds that she doesn't think Katie is capable of genuine emotion.<ref name=":c13p3" />
* Per Veronica's commentary under the final page, Mike's rant comes from her own dislike of the idea that a boy liked by lots of girls is a "pimp." As far as she was concerned, a pimp was someone who went around controlling girls.<ref name=":c13p4" />
* Veronica also remarks in the first page's commentary that she doesn't think Lucy "would ever be caught dead writing a sappy letter like that."<ref name=":c13p1" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Prom Preparation]]''': The dance in the letters is the Spring Dance that Daisy was put in charge of planning here. Sue and Amaya already made a joint play for a dance with Mike in this chapter, which is why he shuts Sue down before she can even finish her pitch.
* '''[[Confrontation]]''': The teasing gives way to real drama in the very next chapter, where Daisy accuses Mike of having actual feelings for Lucy.
* '''[[Farewell, Middle School]]''': The dance everyone is angling for happens off-panel here, and Mike skips it entirely.
* '''[[Rising Temperature]]''': Katie recycles her signature insult on a new target, telling Daisy she might not "be, like, the ugly duckling forever."
* '''[[Local Area]]''': Years down the line, Mike admits to Stacy that he kept the letters and thought they were "really sweet." He also reckons, looking back, that "Lucy was just being jealous back then."

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Pick Me Up

2026-07-29T10:02:26Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c47p9f10.png
| major_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Mike]], [[Paulo]]
| minor_characters =
| locations = [[Park]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]], [[Lucy's house]], [[Silvershore Islands]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Starting Over|Volume Two]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Lucy]] finally works up the nerve to tell [[Mike]] everything, and picks a screaming match with him instead. Luckily, [[Paulo]] happens along to survey the wreckage, armed with a fresh-picked flower and one truly terrible follow-up line.

== Synopsis ==
Lucy combs the [[Park|park]] for Mike, resolving to tell him everything once she finds him.<ref name=":c47p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p1}}</ref> When she does, her nerve fails her; she accuses him of glaring at her, and within seconds the two are screaming at each other.<ref name=":c47p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p2}}</ref> Mike calls her selfish and unfair, backed up by flashbacks of years spent absorbing her punches. He tells her she's lucky they still hang out at all, then walks off with a parting "Please just take a hint and leave me alone."<ref name=":c47p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p3}}</ref>

Lucy winds up crying alone on a low brick wall until Paulo happens by. She tells him to go away; he plants himself beside her instead. "Make me."<ref name=":c47p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p4}}</ref> He offers her a fresh-picked flower and the promise of a comforting shoulder. Lucy is genuinely moved, right up until he adds that afterward he gets to ram her. She considers it for a second, then kicks him in the throat.<ref name=":c47p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p5}}</ref>

[[File:c47_p5_panel14.png|alt=Lucy furiously kicks Paulo in the throat, shouting "SHUT UP!!", while Paulo smiles and holds up his hands.|thumb|The flower routine was going great, right up until the fine print.]]
Paulo walks her home and pries until the truth comes out.<ref name=":c47p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p6}}</ref> It's never Mike's fault, she admits; she picked the fight so he wouldn't notice how nervous she was, and now she feels like nothing but a burden.<ref name=":c47p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p7}}</ref> Paulo calls her a drama queen, but his actual advice is sound — Mike just wants some recognition, so she should apologize.<ref name=":c47p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p8}}</ref> Relieved, Lucy throws her arms around him, and Paulo is blushing and hugging her back when Mike's voice cuts in.<ref name=":c47p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p9}}</ref>

Mike walks up to find them in each other's arms outside [[Lucy's house]]. Paulo excuses himself breezily, and the pair blurt out simultaneous apologies. They talk over each other until Lucy lands on ".. Michael. Thank you for everything.." — stunning Mike into a bashful you're-welcome.<ref name=":c47p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p10}}</ref>

Inside, the two are soon back to normal over video games. Lucy starts what sounds like a serious confession, only to crow that she was distracting Mike to win the round. Outside, Paulo takes one last look at the lit window and strolls off. "She'll have the guts one day.."<ref name=":c47p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c47/p11}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' The pattern Mike describes mid-fight, with Lucy dishing out abuse while he quietly takes it, goes back to their kindergarten days in [[Left Behind]].<ref name=":c26p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c47p3" /> This is the first time he cashes that resentment in on-panel. The reconciliation puts the friendship back on its warm footing, and Lucy's thank-you is precisely the recognition Paulo said Mike was after. Still, Mike's warning that his tolerance has a limit is now on the record, and the confession Lucy came to make never happens.<ref name=":c47p10" /><ref name=":c47p11" />
* '''Paulo and Lucy:''' The flirt-and-kick banter is business as usual, but underneath it Paulo gets promoted to genuine confidant. Lucy tells him the truth about why she picks fights with Mike, something she's told nobody else, and she physically stops him from settling the score for her.<ref name=":c47p7" /> Paulo, now fully aware of where her heart is, coaches her toward the apology and steps aside without ever being asked. It helps that his clinching argument is true: he really did save Lucy from the river in [[Troubled Waters]] without asking for a thing.<ref name=":c30p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p8}}</ref><ref name=":c47p9" />
* '''Mike and Paulo:''' Nothing changes on the surface, and they part with the usual needling. But Paulo has quietly done Mike a favor by sending Lucy back to apologize, and Mike never learns of it, much like the river rescue Paulo once kept quiet so nobody would feel indebted.<ref name=":c30p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p12}}</ref><ref name=":c47p11" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary reveals the chapter was originally drawn as a side story, never meant to be published online. Once she decided to make it canon, she drew the first two pages to show how the argument started.<ref name=":c47p3" /> That ready-made backlog fits neatly with all eleven pages going up across just two days.
* Page 1 had a rough life behind the scenes. Oliver's commentary explains the full-resolution file was accidentally saved over, so thousands of printed books carried the upscaled shading before the page was finally reshaded at 600dpi for the omnibus.<ref name=":c47p1" />
* Per Veronica's commentary under the final page, Paulo was originally going to fill [[Zachary]]'s role as the unbiased observer of Mike and Lucy's conflict in the Summer Vacation arc, before Zachary existed.<ref name=":c47p11" />
* Lucy didn't entirely imagine that opening glare. Veronica notes Mike "REALLY wasn't happy to see her," even if the reaction it earned was a bit much.<ref name=":c47p2" />
* Veronica's commentary on the flower scene singles out the one contest Paulo wins over Mike, being completely unthreatened by Lucy: "He's probably the most at ease with her. And it drives her CRAZY."<ref name=":c47p5" />
* The chapter is a strict three-hander, with nobody but Lucy, Mike and Paulo on-panel for all eleven pages. Even [[Sandy]] only rates a mention as "his imaginary girlfriend," a dig Paulo has been using since [[Flirting with Disaster]].<ref name=":c47p9" /><ref name=":c27p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p6}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Troubled Waters]]''': The stream rescue Paulo invokes happened here, when he dove in and pulled a drowning Lucy out of the river.<ref name=":c30p8" /> This chapter's gratitude hug even re-stages that one's thank-you hug almost move for move.<ref name=":c30p12" />
* '''[[Search and Rescue]]''': Mike's cliff flashback comes from this chapter, where he holds a broken land bridge one-handed at the Silvershore Islands while Lucy clings around his waist.<ref name=":c43p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p8}}</ref>
* '''[[Wonderland]]''': Two chapters later, Lucy still hasn't recovered her nerve. Her recurring nightmare here ends with her vowing "I HAVE to tell him this time."<ref name=":c49p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c49/p6}}</ref>
* '''[[A Distance Apart]]''': Three chapters later, Lucy does have the guts, just as Paulo said she would. She tells Mike she loves him, and he turns her down.<ref name=":c50p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c50/p11}}</ref>
* '''[[Another Shoulder]]''': After that rejection, Lucy once again brings her Mike troubles straight to Paulo, who leans into the role he takes up here by reminding her that she's "talking to ME, not Mike."<ref name=":c52p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c52/p15}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume Two]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Pep Rally

2026-07-29T10:02:21Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c11p3f10.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Daisy]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Katie]], [[Sex-Ed Teacher]], [[Flower Girl]]
| locations = [[Roseville Middle School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
It's pep rally day at [[Roseville Middle School]], and [[Mike]] would do almost anything to get out of it. Between a botched escape attempt and a students-versus-teachers volleyball game, the day finally reveals why he dreads these things so much.

== Synopsis ==
[[Mike]] notices the cheerleaders wearing their uniforms in the hallway, and [[Lucy]] breaks the bad news that today is the pep rally. He begs her to help him escape, but she warns him it won't be as easy as last year and stays put, so he bolts on his own.<ref name=":c11p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p1}}</ref>

Mike's grand exit does not go well, since the staff are on high alert this year. His graceful dive through the double doors lands him in the arms of a waiting Pug teacher, who deposits him back in the bleachers beside Lucy and [[Yashy]].<ref name=":c11p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p2}}</ref>

Yashy asks why pep rallies are such a big deal to him, and the band answers for her — the moment the music hits, the noise physically hurts Mike. He clings to Lucy and screams "'''MAKE IT STOOOOOOP!!'''" while Yashy, hearing nothing wrong at all, just yells back at him.<ref name=":c11p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p3}}</ref>

The final event is a students-versus-teachers volleyball match, and [[Daisy]] drags the protesting Mike onto the court by his scarf. Lucy declines to join him, so Mike aims for her competitive streak instead, claiming he'll put her to shame out there anyway. It works instantly: "'''YOU WISH, ASSHOLE!!'''"<ref name=":c11p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p4}}</ref>

Mike spends the early rallies as a dazed, face-shaped backboard, until he snaps awake and slams a spike into the Pug teacher's face, to Lucy's poorly hidden awe.<ref name=":c11p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p5}}</ref> Once he learns the first team to ten points wins, he smashes out every remaining point single-handedly, landing right next to a blushing Lucy. His reward is a deafening victory fanfare from the band. Lucy then fixes everything by simply asking the musicians to turn it down a little, and they cheerfully oblige. She drags the flattened champion off by his scarf, while he wonders "why.. didn't.. you ask them sooner.."<ref name=":c11p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p6}}</ref>

[[File:c11_p6_panel17.png|alt=Lucy drags a flattened, exhausted Mike across the gym floor by his scarf, telling him "That was some luck out there, jerkface."|thumb|Mike leaves the court the same way he arrived: by the scarf.]]

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Best friends whose affection travels almost entirely through competition and insults, and this chapter lays the whole arrangement out. A single taunt about putting her to shame is enough to get Lucy on the volleyball court,<ref name=":c11p4" /> and her genuine awe at his play ("w-wow") lasts about one panel before she rules it a lucky shot.<ref name=":c11p5" /> The care underneath is just as real, though: she's the one who notices how much pain the noise is causing him, and it's her quiet word with the band that finally rescues him.<ref name=":c11p4" /><ref name=":c11p6" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Yashy's little tune in the bleachers, "Too fast for the naked eye~", is a lyric from the theme song of the 1990s ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' cartoon.<ref name=":c11p2" />
* David's "Taste the rainbow" is the Skittles advertising slogan, repurposed as a dig at Mike.<ref name=":c11p1" />
* Veronica's commentary hails "the debut of the mysterious and wonderful flower girl", and this is indeed [[Flower Girl]]'s first appearance in the series. David develops a rather intense interest in her come prom season.<ref name=":c11p2" /><ref name=":c18p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p1}}</ref>
* In the original version of the chapter, Lucy was the one who asked Mike what was wrong in the gym. Veronica's commentary explains the rewrite: Lucy has known Mike for years and, being deaf in one ear, would already know about his hearing, so Yashy "gets to be the reader stand-in for now."<ref name=":c11p3" />
* Veronica's commentary on the first volleyball page notes its bold, scribbly look originally came from chalky pencils, a texture she made a point of recreating in the digital remaster.<ref name=":c11p5" />
* Per Veronica's commentary under the final page, the ten-point rampage shows "how bloody good of an athlete" Mike is: "No wonder Lucy always wants to compete and beat him!"<ref name=":c11p6" />
* On Tumblr years later, Veronica named Pep Rally as the chapter she thinks of for Mike and Lucy's "extremely natural intimacy" ("God they're so damn TOUCHY!!!!"), and said she loved how low-key their hanging out is here.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/814632472040128513/i-first-started-reading-bcb-almost-10-years-ago|title=Veronica recommends classic Mike and Lucy chapters|date=2026-04-22}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[The Burden of Parenthood]]''': This is the Sex-Ed Teacher's debut chapter, where her unhinged sex-panic persona was established. Her lunging at the volleyball net here assumes you've already met her.
* '''[[Show and Tell]]''': Lucy's partial deafness gets spelled out in this one ("deafness runs in the family"). It's the flip side of Mike's oversensitive ears, and the detail Veronica cites when explaining the gym-scene rewrite.
* '''[[Off to the Movies]]''': The chapter right after this one picks the brand-new noise problem straight back up, with Mike wincing "Oww.. too loud.." at Daisy's shriek.
* '''[[A Different Side]]''': The high-school pep rally that mirrors this one. Mike's friends taunt him about pep rallies again, he suffers in the stands beside Lucy again, and Daisy cheerleads again.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

PDA

2026-07-29T10:02:16Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c99p4f5.png
| major_characters = [[Madison]], [[Jessica]], [[Lucy]]
| minor_characters =
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Seven|Volume Seven]]
}}
[[Madison]] finally catches [[Lucy]] alone in a hallway and unloads every grievance she's been saving up, threats and all. It's a shame nobody warned her about Lucy's ears. Luckily, [[Jessica]] knows just how to patch up a bruised ego.

== Synopsis ==
[[Madison]] starts the day in a lovely mood, humming her way to her locker.<ref name=":c99p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c99/p1}}</ref> Then [[Lucy]] walks past, and the smile snaps into a glare. Madison points at her back and screams "'''YOU!!!'''" — but Lucy just keeps walking.<ref name=":c99p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c99/p2}}</ref>

The tirade starts collapsing almost immediately. Madison warns Lucy to stay away from [[Jessica]], who is spoken for and very happy. "I.. um.. hope, anyway." From there she spirals into a breathless speech about how Jessica is honestly too good for her, then catches herself and scolds herself out loud for tearing herself down yet again.<ref name=":c99p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c99/p3}}</ref>

Madison does find her footing for a sincere finish. She loves Jessica, she tries her hardest to make her happy, and she's sure Lucy made Jessica sad by flirting with some boy. Hurt Jessica again, she warns, and Lucy will be answering to her. Lucy walks off without so much as a glance, and Jessica pipes up from behind: "I don't think she heard a word of that."<ref name=":c99p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c99/p4}}</ref>

Jessica, losing her fight against laughter, explains that Lucy is half-deaf. She tuned Madison out completely.<ref name=":c99p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c99/p5}}</ref>

Jessica has a sweeter remedy in mind. She calls Madison over and takes one careful look around the hallway. Then she kisses her on the lips. "I love you. You're '''adorable!'''" Jessica tells her, adding that she runs circles around Lucy anyway. The two head off arm in arm.<ref name=":c99p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c99/p6}}</ref>

[[File:c99_p6_panel5.png|alt=Jessica closes her eyes and kisses a blushing, wide-eyed Madison on the lips in the school hallway.|thumb|One quick check of the hallway first, naturally.]]

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Madison and Jessica:''' The two have been a couple since their debut in [[Golden Hour]], but Madison has privately feared she's just a stand-in for Lucy ever since [[David]] suggested exactly that.<ref name=":c90p31">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p31}}</ref> This chapter puts that fear on full display, and Jessica happens to be watching every second of it. Instead of teasing, she answers with a kiss and a spoken "I love you", both of them on-panel firsts for the couple.<ref name=":c99p6" /> In fact, this is the first chapter to show the relationship directly rather than secondhand.<ref name=":c90p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p9}}</ref>
* '''Madison and Lucy:''' Until now the grudge has run entirely one way, and always from a distance. Madison blew up over a mistaken name in [[Table for One]], then greeted Lucy's return with a profane outburst in [[Love Again]].<ref name=":c92p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c92/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c95p27">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p27}}</ref> This is her first real attempt at a confrontation, and Lucy misses every word of it. From Lucy's side, the feud still doesn't exist. All Madison comes away with is a fresh vow of revenge.<ref name=":c99p5" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* The publicly unlocked "Page Deconstruction" post for this chapter reveals two discarded scripts. In one, Lucy yells back in confusion, which was dropped as "not very.. interesting". In the other, Lucy jokingly flirts with Madison to fluster her, which the authors rejected as "a terrible idea". The scene was originally conceived to show Lucy's maturity in not lashing out.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/185840017570/as-a-sample-of-the-behind-the-scenes-posts|title=Behind-the-scenes look at the PDA page script|date=2019-06-25}}</ref>
* Lucy has no dialogue and never once turns around in the whole chapter. Her deaf left ear got its full explanation back in [[Show and Tell]], which also ran the original version of this gag: [[Yashy]] chattering away at a Lucy she believed couldn't hear her.<ref name=":c99p5" /><ref name=":c9p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p1}}</ref>
* The "'''IDIOT SOMALI BOY'''" is [[Paulo]], and "the Korat" is [[Mike]] — Madison just isn't sure which of the two she means. Both breed labels were established in Show and Tell.<ref name=":c99p4" /><ref name=":c9p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c9p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p4}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Golden Hour]]''': Madison's debut and the reveal that she and Jessica are a couple. It's also where David planted the Lucy-replacement fear that this whole rant is running on.
* '''[[Love Again]]''': The direct setup. Lucy returns to school, and the mere sight of her sets Madison's grudge boiling again.
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': The backstory behind Jessica having "gone through a LOT". The chapter shows [[Craig]] coercing her, [[Tess]] running a rumor campaign against her, and her original brawl with Lucy.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume Seven]]

Out of the Frame

2026-07-29T10:02:13Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c36.1p2f13.png
| major_characters = [[Sue]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Katie]], [[Lucy]]
| minor_characters = [[Stacy]], [[Three Weird Girls]], [[David]], [[John]], [[Lily]], [[Yashy]], [[Daisy]], [[Tess]], [[Abbey]], [[Augustus]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Within a single meeting, [[Sue]]'s support group for the comic's forgotten background characters produces an angry mob, some very unwelcome sparkles, and a seat for her at [[Lucy]]'s lunch table. Not bad for what she herself admits was a bad idea.

== Synopsis ==
[[Sue]] bangs a gavel and declares open "the first meeting of Roseville High's Neglected Club!", a support group for characters who tend to stay in the background or get forgotten entirely, with [[Katie]], [[Stacy]], [[John]] and the [[Three Weird Girls]] filling out the attendance.<ref name=":c36.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36.1/p1}}</ref>

[[Alec McCain|McCain]] doesn't see the point of a club formed to protest a more popular group, and suggests the members simply try asking that group instead, only to be jeered back into his seat.<ref name=":c36.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36.1/p2}}</ref> The panel's focus then refuses to leave the deflated McCain, and Sue seizes on it as a teaching moment for a club that embraces the spotlight, treating him to confetti and cheers that leave him blushing at the table. Katie decides the whole thing is stupid after all, and she and Stacy grin their way to a better plan: an angry mob.<ref name=":c36.1p2" />

[[File:c36.1_p2_panel13.png|alt=McCain stands stiffly at the center of the panel as confetti explodes around him and everyone shouts "SPOTLIGHT!!".|thumb|McCain gets his moment in the spotlight, like it or not.]]
The mob marches out over Sue's protests.<ref name=":c36.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36.1/p3}}</ref> Left behind, Sue admits the club was a bad idea born of her own jealousy, and mid-vent she calls McCain "Alec". He realizes she's just used his first name, and both of them freeze up blushing amid sparkles before a flustered Sue excuses herself.<ref name=":c36.1p3" />

Meanwhile, the mob swarms [[Lucy]] outside, everyone demanding her friendship at once.<ref name=":c36.1p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36.1/p4}}</ref> Sue catches up and confesses everything, from her jealousy of Lucy's lunchtime group to the club spiraling out of hand. Lucy can't believe that was ever a problem, since nobody cares if Sue wants to sit at their table. Thrilled, Sue abandons her clubmates on the spot, and the final panel has her sipping a juice box at the lunch table while the word "DRAMA" fills every inch of air around her.<ref name=":c36.1p4" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Sue and Alec McCain:''' The two barely know each other going in. McCain debuted only four chapters earlier as the group's resident deadpan pedant, the one everyone tells to shut up.<ref name=":c32p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p1}}</ref> Sue is the one person at the meeting who defends his right to be heard, and when she absentmindedly calls him "Alec", the pair of them dissolve into mutual blushing.<ref name=":c36.1p3" /> It's the first on-panel use of his first name, and it becomes Sue's habit alone from here on. Veronica's commentary confirms she remains the only person who calls him that.<ref name=":c36.1p3" /><ref name=":c42p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p3}}</ref>
* '''Sue and Lucy:''' Sue has been quietly jealous of Lucy's lunchtime crowd, enough to found an entire club about it. One panting apology later, Lucy waves the whole crisis off and tells her nobody cares if she wants to sit with them.<ref name=":c36.1p4" /> Sue had hovered near the group before, but this chapter is the story of how she became a fixture of their table.<ref name=":c36.1p4" /><ref name=":c37p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37/p1}}</ref>
* '''Sue and the Neglected Club:''' The club was only ever a vehicle for Sue's own grievance, and its members find that out the hard way. Her leadership lasts about half a meeting before Katie's mob takes over, and once Lucy gives her what she actually wanted, she drops her clubmates without a second thought.<ref name=":c36.1p4" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Fourth-wall gags are the engine of the whole chapter. Characters treat panel focus, series-regular status and "the spotlight" as everyday school concepts, and the camera itself misbehaves twice, first refusing to leave McCain and later wandering off after Lily.<ref name=":c36.1p2" /><ref name=":c36.1p3" />
* The current version is a substantial remaster. Veronica's commentary explains that the original chapter highlighted fan characters from her DeviantArt days, and the redraw replaced them with Katie, Stacy and the Three Weird Girls. She kept the chapter for the Sue and McCain development, and reckoned the original was "a little more mean-spirited" than she cared to preserve.<ref name=":c36.1p1" /> The 2007 publication date belongs to that original version.
* Aqua, the tearful cat who delivers a single line on page 2, never turns up in the main comic again.<ref name=":c36.1p2" /> Veronica has confirmed on Tumblr that she's a mock version of Lucy from an old, never-published anime-style side comic, and Oliver's advice on the matter was simply "don't read it".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/134090121705/the-character-in-panel-five-is-meant-to-be-a-mock|title=Confirming Aqua was originally an altered Lucy|date=2015-11-28}}</ref>
* Stacy's "Shut it, McCain!" continues a gag that began on McCain's very first page in [[Follow Me]].<ref name=":c36.1p2" /><ref name=":c32p1" /> That said, Veronica's commentary notes the remaster plays her line as genuine annoyance, since the running gag wasn't yet established at this point in the timeline.<ref name=":c36.1p2" />
* Yashy's out-of-nowhere observation that Lucy's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard quotes Kelis's 2003 song "Milkshake".<ref name=":c36.1p4" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Follow Me]]''': McCain made his debut in this chapter, and the "Shut it, McCain" gag started on his very first page there. It's also where the lunch-table drama Sue envies gets properly underway, with Augustus isolating Daisy and threatening Tess.
* '''[[Show and Tell]]''': The "insecure Khao Manees or oblivious Korats" Sue promises won't steal anyone's spotlight are Lucy and [[Mike]], who claimed those breeds for themselves in this early chapter.<ref name=":c9p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c9p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p3}}</ref>
* '''[[A Different Side]]''': The following chapter picks up with Sue already embedded in the group at lunch, gym and the pep rally, and [[Paulo]] carries the "Shut it, McCain" gag forward.
* '''[[Feline Filibuster]]''': After Sue loses the student council election, McCain is the one who sits with her, hand on her shoulder, and she answers him with an affectionate "Sh.. Shut it, McCain".
* '''[[Rising Temperature]]''': Katie's "loser among the losers, hon" edge is a warm-up for this chapter, where she picks Daisy apart over her looks while Abbey watches.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Onwards to Adventure

2026-07-29T10:02:09Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c33p2f4.png
| major_characters = [[David]], [[Justin]]
| minor_characters = [[Lucy]], [[David's mom]], [[Paulo]], [[Mike]], [[Flower Girl]]
| locations = [[David's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
All [[David]] wants for his birthday is a day off school, a trusty sidekick, and the girl of his dreams. What he gets is a hospitalized seven-year-old, a restraining order, and a starring spot on national television. Happy birthday, David.

== Synopsis ==
A rooster crows [[David]] awake on February 22nd, his birthday, but his mom dashes any hope of a day off and shoos him off to school.<ref name=":c33p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p1}}</ref>

Outside school, [[Lucy]] goads him into skipping, and David eagerly invites her along: "C'mon, be a hooker with me!!"<ref name=":c33p1" /><ref name=":c33p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p2}}</ref> A mortified Lucy corrects him and chases him off with a threat.<ref name=":c33p2" />

David recruits a passing seven-year-old as his sidekick with a story about being a secret agent.<ref name=":c33p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p3}}</ref> He dubs himself Sergeant Rainpop, guesses the boy's name is [[Justin]], and declares their mission is rescuing a goddess he saw in a vision.<ref name=":c33p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p4}}</ref>

From the bushes they spy the goddess, [[Flower Girl]], watering a garden.<ref name=":c33p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p5}}</ref> When she wanders out of sight, David concludes kidnappers got to her, throttles Justin "Spirit Stone" Johnson over it, and sets out to climb a building for a better view.<ref name=":c33p5" />

Storefront TVs along the way air a bulletin about the kidnapping of a boy in blue goggles; Justin realizes the victim is him, while David hears only his darling described.<ref name=":c33p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p6}}</ref> One fourth-wall-breaking "SUPERRR PANELLL TELEPORT!!" later, David is greeting the camera crew and police squadron waiting on the roof, guns pointed up at him.<ref name=":c33p6" />
[[File:c33_p6_panel11.png|alt=David, grinning wildly, charges up a ball of energy while yelling "SUPERRR PANELLL TELEPORT!!".|thumb|Who needs stairs when you know where the panel borders are?]]

His mom brings him home in disgrace; David tearfully insists he never meant to kidnap that boy, and he'll be apologizing to Justin in the hospital once the restraining order expires.<ref name=":c33p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p7}}</ref> When Lucy, [[Paulo]] and [[Mike]] drop by, David mourns his true love as gone forever, until Lucy works out he means the flower girl, who merely transferred to the private school up the road.<ref name=":c33p7" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''David and Justin:''' This is Justin's series debut, and the whole relationship is David's invention.<ref name=":c33p2" /> He casts the seven-year-old as his "secret sidekick" without ever asking whether the kid wants the job, and stays cheerfully oblivious to how frightened his new recruit is getting all day long.<ref name=":c33p3" /> Whatever bond David imagined between them ends with Justin in the hospital and a restraining order in place, though David does intend to apologize once it expires.<ref name=":c33p7" />
* '''David and Flower Girl:''' The obsession isn't new. Lucy calls her "that flower girl you've obsessed with", and the crush goes back to the middle-school prom in [[Farewell, Middle School]].<ref name=":c33p7" /><ref name=":c18p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p1}}</ref> This chapter promotes her to "goddess" and builds a whole rescue mission around her, all without her ever noticing she has an audience.<ref name=":c33p5" /> By the end David believes her lost forever, at least until Lucy mentions the transfer.<ref name=":c33p7" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* The opening caption establishes David's birthday as February 22nd. Per Veronica's commentary, birthday comics are normally just one page, which makes David's full-length chapter quite the privilege when Lucy's birthday "only got a measly three pages".<ref name=":c33p1" />
* The rooster crows "Ki kiri kiriiiiiiii~!", the Spanish onomatopoeia for a rooster's crow. Veronica explains she always thought the Spanish version beat "cockle-doodle-doo".<ref name=":c33p1" />
* Per Oliver's commentary, page 1 was the sample page he and Veronica used to test their production methods for remaking the early chapters: "You walked so the Omnibus could run."<ref name=":c33p1" />
* David's spy patter is wall-to-wall video game references. Blinx the Time Cat, Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth, and Grandia II's Melfice all get name-dropped, his "Hold it!" is delivered in Phoenix Wright fashion, and Justin "Spirit Stone" Johnson nods to Grandia.<ref name=":c33p4" /><ref name=":c33p5" />
* Veronica admits she can't remember whether Justin's camera got dropped because she didn't want to keep drawing it or because it could give away his identity, "which will be useful for the future!"<ref name=":c33p3" />
* The kidnapping bulletin interrupts a program called "Football Scene Placeholders Caught On Tape".<ref name=":c33p6" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Follow Me]]''': The chapter right before this one. David's spy rambling about a "super scary punk" his team recently encountered is aimed at Augustus, who had only just started hanging around the group. In fact, Follow Me ends with him drawing Daisy away from her friends.
* '''[[Bonding]]''': The next chapter. Mike's remark that he hasn't seen much of Daisy and Abbey lately points straight at the ongoing Augustus arc, which Bonding picks back up.
* '''[[Farewell, Middle School]]''': Where David's Flower Girl fixation began. He first noticed her at the middle-school prom, with his head submerged in a punch bowl.
* '''[[Pep Rally]]''': Flower Girl actually debuted way back here, when Mike accidentally lifted her dress.
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': Justin's next appearance. He turns up at the prom clutching a camera again, and after his day with David, he decides against offering to take anyone's picture.
* '''[[Witch Hunt]]''': David is still calling Augustus "Final Fantasy Cat" years later, and here he even greets him as "brother Melfice", dusting off the Grandia II comparison he first coined on his birthday adventure.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Off to the Movies

2026-07-29T10:02:06Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c12p2f8.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]]
| minor_characters = [[David]], [[Yashy]], [[Amaya]]
| locations = [[Roseville cinema]], [[Lucy's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Lucy]] wanted a quiet movie with [[Mike]] and got the whole gang instead, plus a horror-romance-comedy-drama about a heroine who confesses her love too late. On the walk home, that ending starts to feel a lot less fictional.

== Synopsis ==
At the [[Roseville cinema]], [[Daisy]] arrives with [[Paulo]] and [[David]] and invites [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] to join them, and Mike agrees without checking with Lucy first.<ref name=":c12p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p2}}</ref> Lucy starts to admit she'd been hoping to watch something alone with him, but Paulo interrupts to caress her back and turn on the charm. One panel later he's lying inside the popcorn machine while Lucy dusts off her fists.<ref name=":c12p2" />

Inside the auditorium, David erupts into barking at Paulo, leaving him shaken and teary-eyed.<ref name=":c12p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p3}}</ref> During the climax, the dying heroine confesses that she only acted like a jerk because of her feelings, and that she left it too late. Lucy watches intently, then looks down, shaking.<ref name=":c12p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p4}}</ref>

Once the credits roll, Lucy quietly wipes her eyes, and Daisy catches Paulo fighting back tears too.<ref name=":c12p4" /> He eventually admits that childhood bullies once barked him right out of a park.<ref name=":c12p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p5}}</ref> When Daisy praises his openness as strength, he spends the rest of the outing volunteering ever-flimsier confessions.<ref name=":c12p5" /><ref name=":c12p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p6}}</ref>

On the walk home, Mike and Lucy's movie talk turns transparently personal. Lucy says the girl should have confessed her feelings sooner, and only acted like a jerk out of fear of rejection. Mike agrees that trusting someone is hard, but sometimes the risk is worth it, and that everyone could see the couple were meant for each other but them.<ref name=":c12p6" /> He softly brushes her cheek and asks if there's a lesson in that. Lucy blushes, then dives into [[Lucy's house|her house]], declares the movie was stupid after all, and slams the door.<ref name=":c12p6" /> Mike is left alone, wailing "'''THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN'''".<ref name=":c12p6" />
[[File:c12_p6_panel18.png|alt=Mike stands alone in the street, wailing "THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN" after Lucy slams her front door.|thumb|Turns out the risk isn't always worth it.]]

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Until now, Lucy has swatted down Mike's smaller advances, like the hand-holding in [[Gone Fishing]] that got him told off for saying "corny stuff".<ref name=":c10p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p6}}</ref> This chapter has both of them pining at once. She wanted the movie to be just the two of them, and Maria's too-late confession leaves her shaking in her seat.<ref name=":c12p2" /><ref name=":c12p4" /> The walk home is Mike's first sustained overture, filtered through movie talk, and Lucy's fear of rejection wins out at the door. Nothing has visibly changed by the end, but the obstacle between them is now plainly fear rather than indifference.<ref name=":c12p6" />
* '''Paulo and Daisy:''' Daisy has a real soft spot for Paulo's tender side, and Paulo, as it turns out, will happily manufacture one once he learns it wins her admiration. After she coaxes out the story behind his bark phobia and declares that opening up proves his strength, he spends the rest of the outing performing vulnerability for her, one invented tragedy at a time.<ref name=":c12p5" /><ref name=":c12p6" /> Veronica's commentary under the final page backs this up, noting that Daisy "seems to like when Paulo is a polite, nice sensitive person".<ref name=":c12p6" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Yashy's opening line is a phonetic rendering of Knuckles' theme from ''Sonic Adventure''. Veronica's commentary admits she built the whole chapter around Yashy reciting those lyrics, with no idea where the story would go afterwards: "Even the more important stories can start from a goofy meme."<ref name=":c12p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p1}}</ref>
* Veronica also describes the scene she almost wrote instead. Had Mike refused Daisy's invitation, Paulo would have teased the two about wanting to be alone, and Lucy would probably have "kicked Mike in the face and rushed off in embarrassment". She notes Lucy is feeling particularly vulnerable here.<ref name=":c12p2" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, the four bullies in Paulo's flashback were originally meant to return and considerably affect the cast's lives. The chapter was rewritten so they stay one-off bullies who never see Paulo again.<ref name=":c12p5" />
* This is Amaya's first appearance anywhere but school, working the cinema's concession stand. The connection runs in the family, since [[Featured Attraction]] later reveals her father manages the theater.<ref name=":c12p2" /><ref name=":c113p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c113/p14}}</ref>
* Veronica has pointed to this as her go-to chapter for the era "where Lucy was finally becoming more vulnerable about her feelings for Mike", after chapters of rebuffing his advances.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/814632472040128513/i-first-started-reading-bcb-almost-10-years-ago|title=Veronica recommends classic Mike and Lucy chapters|date=2026-04-22}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Catty Remarks]]''': The interlude directly after this chapter opens on Mike sleepless, exhausted, and blushing at Lucy at every turn. The movie night never comes up by name, but it reads like the morning after that door slam.
* '''[[Confrontation]]''': Two chapters later, Toby pins Paulo down and barks in his face, and the phobia introduced here stops being funny in a hurry. In the same chapter, Lucy kisses Mike while insisting she's only "repaying" him, which is as close as she gets to the confession she fled at her front door.
* '''[[Gone Fishing]]''': Where Mike's last attempt at affection earned him a telling-off for "corny stuff" — the cheek-brush here is a considerable escalation.
* '''[[A Distance Apart]]''': Paulo's phobia is remembered long into high school, when Lucy of all people bares her teeth and barks him into a cringe. She was one of the mock-barkers in this chapter, so she knows exactly what she's doing.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

New Beginnings

2026-07-29T10:02:03Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c46p5f1.png
| major_characters = [[Daisy]], [[Abbey]], [[Lucy]]
| minor_characters = [[Jessica]], [[Rachel]], [[Molly]], [[Abraham]]
| locations = [[Daisy's house]], [[Psychiatrist's office]], [[Park]], [[Abbey's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Why did everyone come home to find [[Daisy]] and [[Abbey]] holding hands? [[Lucy]] gets the full story: a therapy appointment, a birthday picnic, one badly timed confession, and the most aggressively announced first kiss in the comic.

== Synopsis ==
[[Lucy]] and [[Daisy]] sit in Daisy's bedroom, where Lucy asks whether Daisy really took [[Abbey]] to his "appointment with the shrink" herself. Daisy knew Abbey had problems with his old family, but the night at the carnival showed her how bad it was, so she wanted to make sure he got proper help.<ref name=":c46p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p1}}</ref>

On the walk to the [[Psychiatrist's office|psychiatric office]], Abbey relives a memory of his younger self running crying toward his father's car.<ref name=":c46p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p2}}</ref> In the memory, [[Abraham]] urges a woman named Cynthia to pack, telling her "[[Charlotte]] knows," while she demands to know what he did to her.<ref name=":c46p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p3}}</ref> The session leaves Abbey wrung out, and he stands motionless while Daisy hugs him.<ref name=":c46p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p4}}</ref>

Daisy has the afternoon planned too, starting with a birthday picnic in [[Park|the park]].<ref name=":c46p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p5}}</ref> Abbey's mood lifts until [[Jessica]] and [[Rachel]] wander over and he coldly identifies them as the sophomores who abandoned Daisy.<ref name=":c46p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p6}}</ref> The girls never liked [[Katie]], and it was Daisy they wanted around all along.<ref name=":c46p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p7}}</ref> Their teasing over whether Abbey likes Daisy gives his crush away, and they knowingly excuse themselves.<ref name=":c46p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p8}}</ref>

Once they're alone, Abbey admits he never said anything because he didn't want to trouble her, given her feelings for [[Mike|Michael]]. Halfway through her guilty apology, he takes her by the shoulders and tells her, "Daisy. I love you."<ref name=":c46p8" />

The walk back to [[Abbey's house]] is an excruciating stretch of blank stares.<ref name=":c46p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p9}}</ref> Daisy asks whether he really meant it, and when Abbey hedges that it's hard to truly know, she demands he be selfish for once and announces that she is going to kiss him.<ref name=":c46p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p10}}</ref> The two psych each other up like prizefighters, freeze, and then Abbey shyly cups her cheek and kisses her.<ref name=":c46p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p11}}</ref> He really, really loves her, and Daisy can't say it back yet, but she really, really likes him, which he calls a pretty good start.<ref name=":c46p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p12}}</ref>

[[File:c46_p11_panel6.png|alt=Daisy shuts her eyes and shouts "CUZ HERE I COME!!", drawn with thickened line art.|thumb|Sweeping a boy off his feet, the Daisy way.]]
Back in the present, Daisy says she'll always really like Mikie but can live with the idea it would never work out. Lucy turns stern: "He's a good kid. Don't use him."<ref name=":c46p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p13}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' They went into this week as close friends with one lopsided secret. Abbey had been sitting on his feelings for a long while, unwilling to trouble Daisy given how she felt about Michael.<ref name=":c46p8" /> Jessica and Rachel's teasing forces the issue, and his blurted confession makes everything more awkward before it makes anything better. It takes Daisy demanding a wholehearted, selfish confession to bridge the gap. They come out of it a couple on honest if uneven terms — he loves her, she isn't ready to say it back yet, and both are content to call that "a pretty good start."<ref name=":c46p12" /> By the frame story, everyone from Lucy to Molly is treating them as a settled item.<ref name=":c46p13" />
* '''Daisy and Jessica/Rachel:''' Daisy spent months convinced the older girls had dropped her along with Katie, ever since Katie's "total mess" brush-off.<ref name=":c38p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p3}}</ref> In reality they can't stand Katie, and it was Daisy they liked all along. A few minutes of picnic conversation reopens the friendship on the spot, after a full nine chapters without an appearance from either of them.<ref name=":c37p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37/p16}}</ref><ref name=":c46p7" />
* '''Daisy and Mike:''' Daisy has been chasing Mike since the comic's earliest chapters.<ref name=":c1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p3}}</ref> She'll always really like Mikie, she tells Lucy, but she can live with the idea it would never work out, and it's the first time she has said anything of the sort.<ref name=":c46p13" />
* '''Lucy and Daisy:''' The friendship runs on blunt candor, and Lucy's way of looking out for Daisy is a warning rather than a hug. She hears the whole giddy story out, allows that Abbey is a good kid, then flatly tells Daisy not to use him. Daisy is hurt that Lucy would even think it of her.<ref name=":c46p13" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the first page marks this chapter as the official start of the "Volume Two" art style, traditional lineart with digital colouring, and notes that Oliver recoloured every page of the chapter.<ref name=":c46p1" />
* The title is a quote. Daisy ended [[Love My Way]] musing that "Sometimes you find new beginnings in what first seem like conclusions..", and this chapter takes her up on it.<ref name=":c39p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p22}}</ref>
* Veronica called page 2 "Probably one of the hardest pages I had to draw" and said Abbey's flashback scene is "oddly personal" to her, declining to elaborate. Throughout the sequence, young Abbey's colouring deliberately frays outside his own lines.<ref name=":c46p2" />
* Page 3 is the first on-panel appearance of both Abraham and Cynthia, and the first time the name Charlotte is spoken anywhere in the comic. Abraham himself had been named on-panel long before he was ever drawn.<ref name=":c46p3" /><ref name=":c25p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c25/p3}}</ref>
* Lucy pointing at her deaf ear while Daisy backpedals revives a gag from the comic's very first chapter, where Daisy also forgot ("It's like you're deafer than I am.").<ref name=":c46p1" /><ref name=":c1p3" />
* Oliver singled out Rachel's "bunny boy" line as a favorite of his. It also caps a runner from carnival night, where Daisy cooed over Abbey's cute bunny ears.<ref name=":c46p7" /><ref name=":c39p22" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': The "night at the carnival" Daisy cites on the first page. [[Augustus]]'s assault on Daisy, Abbey's breakdown, and Daisy first hearing about his family history all happen there.
* '''[[Moving On]]''': Where the therapy plan begins. Abbey tells Daisy he's going to try seeing a counselor over the break, and this chapter shows him following through.
* '''[[Invitation]]''': Explains both why the pair had Roseville to themselves and where the birthday debt came from. Abbey's friends threw him an early birthday celebration before the flight, and Daisy stayed behind with him.
* '''[[Return]]''': The chapter this one is answering. The travelers come home to find Daisy and Abbey together at the airport, and Lucy's questions here pick up directly from that reveal.
* '''[[At Loose Ends]]''': Replays and greatly expands the memory from this chapter's therapy walk, showing the same confrontation from young Abbey's full perspective and finally explaining who Charlotte and Cynthia are.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Moving On

2026-07-29T10:01:59Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c40p5f14.png
| major_characters = [[Augustus]], [[Alejandro]], [[Mike]], [[Daisy]], [[Tess]], [[Abbey]]
| minor_characters = [[Toby]], [[Lucy]], [[David]], [[Paulo]], [[Yashy]], [[Katie]], [[Sir Poodles of Noodles]], [[Roger]], [[Janet]], [[Sue]], [[John]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Abbey's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Freshman year wraps up with report cards, a corny toast, and a couple of long-overdue apologies. Meanwhile, in a back alley somewhere, [[Augustus]] has been taking notes on the whole group, and [[Alejandro]] has plans for them.

== Synopsis ==
The chapter opens in a dim alley, where it turns out [[Augustus]] has been playing informant, handing [[Alejandro]] a list of the group's classes and after-school hangouts and getting orders to corner and humiliate them. He silently apologizes to [[Daisy]] for failing to keep her out of this, and [[Toby]] gleefully exposes his crush to the boss. The scene fades out on Alejandro's threat: "Green eyes'll hear from me soon enough.. him and his little girlfriend."<ref name=":c40p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p1}}</ref>

With finals over, Daisy works up the nerve to catch [[Mike]] and apologize for the carnival date from [[Love My Way]], only to learn he spent the whole week thinking she was mad at him.<ref name=":c40p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c39p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p1}}</ref> Mike apologizes for yelling in turn and asks to go back to the way they were, "'''WAY''' back," and Daisy tackle-hugs him on the spot.<ref name=":c40p2" />

At the group's last lunch as freshmen, [[Tess]] announces there's something she needs to deal with before the day is out, "a chapter I need to close."<ref name=":c40p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p4}}</ref>

Once the final bell rings, she slips off alone and finds [[Roger]] in the deserted halls, chatting up a girl with an '07 graduation tassel. Tess doesn't confront him. She watches for a moment, smiles as a leftover prom poster slips off the wall, and walks away with a quiet "Goodbye, Roger."<ref name=":c40p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p5}}</ref>

[[File:c40_p5_panel15.png|alt=Tess smiles fondly as the "Senior Prom '07" poster flutters to the floor of the empty hallway.|thumb|The "Senior Prom '07" poster picks a fine moment to give up.]]
On the walk home, [[Abbey]] tells Daisy he's decided to try seeing a counselor over the break, suspecting the way he acts has to do with his father and everything that happened. Daisy promises to have his back all summer long. At home, Abbey nervously opens up to [[Janet]], and she pulls him into an embrace. Daisy watches the hug through the window and heads home as the street lights come on.<ref name=":c40p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p6}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Daisy:''' Neither of them copes well with being on the outs with the other. The carnival blowup turned into a whole week of mutual avoidance, with each of them quietly convinced the other was the angry one.<ref name=":c40p2" /><ref name=":c39p1" /> Mike, for his part, forgives easily — Daisy's apology attempt runs straight into his own, and what he wants is to roll the friendship back to well before the drama, admitting he hasn't been a good friend lately. Daisy agrees on the spot.<ref name=":c40p2" />
* '''Tess and Roger:''' He was her boyfriend back in her bully days, and he's been out of her life for a while, leaving her to face their old victims alone.<ref name=":c34p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c35p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p10}}</ref> Here she finally decides what he means to her now, which turns out to be nothing much. She sees him flirting with someone new, feels no urge to interrupt, and walks off feeling pretty good about it.<ref name=":c40p5" />
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' In [[Love My Way]] she became the first person Abbey ever told about his family, and she urged him then that talking can help.<ref name=":c39p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p22}}</ref> Now he acts on that advice, and she pledges to be there every step of the way.<ref name=":c40p6" />
* '''Abbey and Janet:''' Janet has had a standing offer to listen whenever Abbey was ready, and as of Love My Way he still hadn't told his adoptive parents a thing.<ref name=":c39p22" /> His shaky opener in the living room is the first time he takes her up on it, and she answers with a hug.<ref name=":c40p6" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary explains that this chapter was originally meant to be the final page of Love My Way, split off when that chapter grew too long. She compares its role to [[Aftermath]] following [[Confrontation]].<ref name=":c40p1" />
* Oliver signs off the final page with "Sayonara, grid comics," making this the last chapter drawn in the comic's grid format.<ref name=":c40p6" />
* The alley conversation plays out partly over completely black panels carrying nothing but dialogue.<ref name=":c40p1" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, Lucy's pose in the lunch scene's final panel is an exact Franziska von Karma pose from ''Ace Attorney'', though not an intentional one.<ref name=":c40p4" />
* Lucy's "If I wanted a fruitcake, I'd talk to Mike" turns Paulo's own favorite insult for Mike back on him.<ref name=":c40p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c23p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c23/p2}}</ref>
* This is Roger's first time on-panel. Until this chapter, he had only ever been talked about.<ref name=":c40p5" /><ref name=":c34p3" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': The chapter this one was split from, and the source of all three threads resolved here. It contains Mike and Daisy's blowup, Augustus's abandoned "big night" for Daisy, and the conversation that convinces Abbey talking can help.
* '''[[Invitation]]''': The next chapter picks the counseling thread straight up. Abbey turns down Tess's summer trip because he refuses to miss the appointment he commits to here.
* '''[[Confrontation]]''': The source of Alejandro's grudge. He coined the "green eyes" nickname for Mike there, and the bar fight ended with Mike and Lucy beating him. Toby was there too, so this chapter ends a 26-chapter absence for both thugs.
* '''[[Bonding]]''': Where Tess's history with Roger was first laid out. Augustus tells Daisy there that Tess used to run with the school bully, terrorizing freshmen at his side.
* '''[[Trapped]]''': Shows the alley arrangement still running much later, and fills in how Augustus fell in with Alejandro and Toby in the first place.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Midterm Time

2026-07-29T10:01:56Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c29p1f14.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Daisy]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Abbey]], [[Math Teacher]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Daisy's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Midterms loom at [[Roseville High School|Roseville High]], and stress levels are through the roof! [[Daisy]] takes it upon herself to whip [[Tess]] into academic shape, but her tough-love tutoring is a far cry from the gentle treatment her beloved [[Mike|"Mikie"]] gets. Will Daisy's hard work be enough, or is this one test she can't ace?

== Synopsis ==
[[Tess]] is dreading midterms, and when [[Daisy]] offers to tutor her, she is skeptical that a student two years younger could even handle her classes.<ref name=":c29p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29/p1}}</ref> [[Lucy]] settles the question by handing over Daisy's report card, which shows straight A+ grades alongside a heart-topped doodle of [[Mike|Mike's]] face, much to Daisy's mortification.<ref name=":c29p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29/p2}}</ref> When Lucy starts filling an oblivious Mike in on the doodle, a crazed, blushing Daisy rushes over and punches her square in the face.<ref name=":c29p2" />

Daisy turns out to be a drill sergeant of a tutor, rapping rulers over wrong answers and even making Tess jog while quizzing her on U.S. presidents.<ref name=":c29p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29/p3}}</ref> Mike's dreamy raving about what a sweet, patient tutor Daisy is has Tess rounding on her for favoritism, but Daisy sees nothing unfair about it, since "Mikie" only needed a little English revision while Tess needed five whole classes re-taught.<ref name=":c29p3" />
[[File:c29_p3_panel9.png|alt=Mike says "She bakes you treats, never raises her voice, and is endlessly patient even in your worst moments".|thumb|Daisy's tutoring service is rather different when you're Mikie.]]

In math class, meanwhile, [[David]] scoffs that nobody uses math in real life, then answers his despairing teacher's question about his career plans with a vacant "An astronaut."<ref name=":c29p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29/p4}}</ref> Mike ends up physically holding the enraged teacher back.<ref name=":c29p4" />

On midterm day, Tess opens her booklet and is stunned to realize she knows all of it, the questions even easier than Daisy's practice tests.<ref name=":c29p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29/p5}}</ref> One room over, Daisy opens her own booklet and freezes, having forgotten to study for her own exam, and her over-tutored brain can only produce chemistry terms.<ref name=":c29p5" /> After the exam, an ecstatic Tess runs off to thank her tutor, only for a frazzled, frizz-furred Daisy to loom up behind her and choke her with a low "'''You ruined me..'''", while Lucy snickers.<ref name=":c29p5" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Tess and Daisy:''' The two barely knew each other before this chapter, and Tess's opinion of the "brainiac" skipped into her junior math class was not exactly glowing.<ref name=":c21p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p5}}</ref> Daisy's tutoring closes that gap the hard way. She is far tougher on Tess than she ever is on Mike, a double standard Tess calls out as unfair.<ref name=":c29p3" /> The dedication behind it is real, though, and by exam morning there's genuine warmth between them, sealed with a pep talk and a high five.<ref name=":c29p4" /> Hopefully the strangulation in the final panel doesn't leave a mark.
* '''Daisy and Mike:''' The heart-topped doodle on Daisy's report card says plenty about her feelings,<ref name=":c29p2" /> and she would sooner punch Lucy in the face than let Mike hear about it. Mike remains blissfully oblivious, praising Daisy to Tess as "the sweetest tutor ever".<ref name=":c29p3" /> Apparently, she even bakes him treats!
* '''Mike, Paulo and [[Abbey]]:''' Paulo doesn't need a reason to be down on Mike, and good news out of Mike's mouth is provocation enough. Making honor roll earns him nothing but a curt "Loser."<ref name=":c29p1" /> Abbey plays the counterweight, congratulating Mike warmly and needling Paulo over how easily Mike gets under his skin.<ref name=":c29p1" />
* '''Daisy and Lucy:''' Lucy spends the chapter treating Daisy's secrets as public property, from handing Tess the report card to very nearly telling Mike about the doodle. For that, Daisy punches her in the face — the first time anyone in the friend group has ever hit Lucy.<ref name=":c29p2" /> There are no hard feelings, if the ending is anything to go by. Lucy is back to snickering "Pff." at Daisy's misfortune by the last page.<ref name=":c29p5" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica says the whole chapter began with a reader complaining that Tess was "too perfect", pointing to her generous tip to the carollers in [[Feline Festivities]].<ref name=":c28p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p9}}</ref><ref name=":c29p1" /> The idea that Tess is unimpressive at school snowballed from there.<ref name=":c29p1" />
* "Lebensraum", which Daisy drills into Tess mid-meditation, is a real Nazi-era concept meaning "living space", used to justify German territorial expansion.<ref name=":c29p3" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebensraum |title=Lebensraum |website=Wikipedia |access-date=2024-06-03}}</ref>
* Tess jogging in a tracksuit while being drilled on U.S. presidents is a clear shout-out to Rocky's iconic training montage.<ref name=":c29p3" /><ref>{{cite web | title=Training Montage - Rocky |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1tza4BxVfA |website=youtube.com |language=en |format=video}}</ref>
* Veronica has said "Algeom" is based on a real remedial class at her own high school, for students who couldn't get into regular Algebra.<ref name=":c29p4" />
* Daisy's fur frizzing up under stress is her "half Selkirk Rex gene" at work, per Veronica, who promises the trait will be back ("Rain and stress — Daisy's worst enemies").<ref name=":c29p5" /> Her curls previously frizzed up in the rain in [[Helping Hands]].<ref name=":c8p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c8/p5}}</ref>
* Daisy's lovestruck doodle has a mirror in [[Unfulfilled Fantasy]], where Mike doodles [[Sandy]] on his own schoolwork.<ref name=":c29p2" /><ref name=":c17p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p4}}</ref>
* On Tumblr, Veronica has named Midterm Time as a chapter that captures "Daisy's unintentional bluntness.. she says what she thinks a lot of the time".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/816089535791431680/i-too-have-heard-that-you-like-hearing-peoples|title=Ask response on Daisy having autism headcanon |website=Tumblr |date=2026-05-08}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Feline Festivities]]''': The chapter immediately before this one, in which Tess tips the Christmas carollers fifty dollars. Lucy witnessed that tip, and she clearly still has it in mind when she advises slipping the teacher a fifty.
* '''[[Enter High School]]''': The math teacher makes his debut there, vowing to get every one of his students into calculus. It's also where Daisy is skipped into Tess's junior-year math class, which she brings up when offering to tutor.
* '''[[Bonding]]''': Daisy remembers this chapter's tutoring in a flashback, ruler smack and all, noting that Tess "passed those midterms.. eventually!"
* '''[[Safe Boundaries]]''': Years down the line, Daisy tutors Tess through another round of midterms, and Tess once again thanks her for all the help.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Lucy's Birthday

2026-07-29T10:01:52Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c27.1p3f9-10.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]]
| minor_characters = [[Tess]], [[David]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]], [[Lily]], [[Yashy]], [[Chirpy]]
| locations =
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Lucy]] has never once been caught off guard on her birthday, and [[Mike]] has officially given up trying. [[Paulo]] hasn't, and he's got balloons, a cake, and an ulterior motive. Somebody's wrist is not coming out of this chapter intact.

== Synopsis ==
It's Lucy's birthday, and [[Mike]] has long since given up on surprising her. [[Lucy]] has caught him crouching in a thorn bush and hanging upside-down from the ceiling, each time before he could finish the word "surprise," and he's run dry on ideas. [[Paulo]] volunteers himself and [[David]] to throw a party so awesome she'll lose her mind, with the small ulterior hope of a reward once everyone else goes home.<ref name=":c27.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27.1/p1}}</ref>

The party itself goes about as well as Mike predicted. Lucy is already standing behind the decorators before anyone can spring anything, entirely unsurprised. Undeterred, Paulo pivots to his plan B and extends a flirtatious hand her way. Lucy grabs his wrist instead, and something cracks loudly. "'''GOD SHE BROKE IT!!'''"<ref name=":c27.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27.1/p2}}</ref>

On the walk home, gift bag in hand, Lucy lets her guard down a little, thinking it's sweet that her friends try every year and wondering whether she deserves it. Mike steps out from behind a tree. Blushing and avoiding her eyes, he holds out a heart-shaped box of chocolates and tells her there are no surprises this year, just something he's been meaning to share now that they're being a little more honest with their feelings. Lucy is visibly touched.<ref name=":c27.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27.1/p3}}</ref>

[[File:c27.1_p3_panel5.png|alt=Mike blushes and shyly holds out a heart-shaped box of chocolates, saying "H-here."|thumb|Mike's most heartfelt gift yet, up until someone reads the label.]]
Then she reads the label, where the name "Paulo" is written across the middle in fancy cursive. Mike bursts out laughing and teases that she has pretty bad taste, which earns him a karate chop to the head. He grins right through it as Lucy yells at him to get over himself.<ref name=":c27.1p3" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Best friends whose newfound honesty comes with a teasing streak, and for once the teasing runs both ways. Lucy has always had material on Mike — she once flustered him completely just by calling him "Maishul," Sandy's pet name for him.<ref name=":c18p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p4}}</ref> After [[Flirting with Disaster]], though, Mike has material of his own, having watched Lucy get forced to admit Paulo was her first crush.<ref name=":c27p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c27p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p2}}</ref> The prank gift is what he does with it, dressing the payback up as sincerity right until Lucy reads Paulo's name on the box.<ref name=":c27.1p3" /> Nothing between them actually changes, but the candor they arrived at last chapter is now a game two can play.

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the final page frames the prank as deliberate payback: "If Lucy can tease Mike about Sandy, surely Mike can tease Lucy about Paulo!" She also calls Mike a bit salty over the whole affair.<ref name=":c27.1p3" />
* Veronica's commentary on the first page points out the irony that Lucy, half-deaf, still detects every one of Mike's surprise attempts before they start.<ref name=":c27.1p1" />
* David's "Double owned!" escalates a live running gag. Yashy scored the first "Owned!" when Lucy shoved Paulo off her, and David delivered one himself at the end of Flirting with Disaster, just one chapter earlier.<ref name=":c26p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c27p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c27.1p2" />
* Yashy has been calling Mike "Flea" since almost the very beginning of the comic, and rarely as a compliment, so the real joke in her closing line is Yashy approving of Mike at all.<ref name=":c2p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c2/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c27.1p3" />
* For all the screaming, Paulo's wrist heals off-panel. The injury is never mentioned again, and he's in perfectly good shape by the next chapter.<ref name=":c27.1p2" /><ref name=":c28p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p6}}</ref>
* The chapter was originally posted as one single update. Oliver later split it into three pages and forgot to update the page count in the process, a slip he owned up to in the comments after a reader caught it.<ref name=":c27.1p1" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Flirting with Disaster]]''': The immediately preceding chapter, and the direct setup for this one. Lucy's Truth-or-Dare confession that Paulo was her first crush is exactly what Mike's chocolate box teases her about, and David's closing "Owned!" there gets its "Double owned!" sequel here.
* '''[[A New Leaf]]''': Sandy makes her relationship with Mike official over the phone in this chapter, which is what gives Lily's crack about calling him "unfaithful" its bite.
* '''[[Mike's Birthday]]''': One of the earlier pocket-sized birthday interludes, alongside [[Daisy's Birthday]]. Lucy's Birthday follows the same decimal-numbered format, just with a couple of extra pages.
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': Lucy's next birthday chapter, for anyone tracing the birthday thread.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Love My Way

2026-07-29T10:01:48Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c39p4f14.png
| major_characters = [[Paulo]], [[Tess]], [[Mike]], [[Daisy]], [[Augustus]], [[Abbey]]
| minor_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Blur]], [[Sandy]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Mina]], [[Cassidy]], [[Craig]], [[Courtney]], [[Justin]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Mike's house]], [[Paulo's house]], [[Prom Venue]], [[Carnival]], [[Park]], [[Daisy's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Two "friend dates" unfold side by side: [[Paulo]] takes [[Tess]] to prom while [[Mike]] takes [[Daisy]] to the carnival. One night ends in a tearful kiss, and the other ends with [[Augustus]] finally showing his true colors, with [[Abbey]] caught in the blast.

== Synopsis ==
The trouble starts before either date does. At the school lunch table, [[Lucy]] mentions to [[Abbey]] that she saw Daisy at the mall talking with "that weird older kid", and the thought leaves him frozen in horror.<ref name=":c39p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p1}}</ref>

At the [[Prom Venue|prom]], Paulo blurts out "Dammit, I love you!" at their quiet table for two.<ref name=":c39p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p7}}</ref> Tess turns him down, and not softly. To her he's still just a kid, and all she wanted was one night of good memories as friends.<ref name=":c39p7" />

A slow song turns the night around. Tess pulls the miserable Paulo onto the dance floor, where he proves hopeless at slow dancing, declares the whole thing stupid, and does the robot instead, which finally cracks Tess up.<ref name=":c39p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p8}}</ref> The mood warms until Paulo bitterly calls the evening a few hours of pretend, and that breaks her.<ref name=":c39p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p9}}</ref> Tess confesses she has fallen for him too, which is exactly why it hurts that they can't be together.<ref name=":c39p9" /> The two share a long, tearful kiss in the middle of the dance floor.<ref name=":c39p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p10}}</ref>

[[File:c39_p10_panel1.png|alt=Paulo and Tess kiss on the dance floor, surrounded by silhouetted couples under strobing lights.|thumb|One dance, one kiss, and that's the whole romance.]]
Mike and Daisy's [[Carnival|carnival]] evening, meanwhile, is slowly going sour. Daisy grows friskier ride by ride while Mike keeps slipping out of her hugs.<ref name=":c39p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p11}}</ref> When she throws herself at him during the fireworks, he shoves her off and storms away.<ref name=":c39p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p13}}</ref>

In the darkened [[Park|park]] outside, Daisy demands a chance, and Mike's whole answer is [[Sandy]]'s name.<ref name=":c39p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p14}}</ref> She finally forces a kiss on him.<ref name=":c39p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p15}}</ref> Mike shoves her back, tells her "You.. disgust me." and says she isn't the Daisy he knows.<ref name=":c39p15" />

[[File:c39_p15_panel10.png|alt=Mike holds his palm up toward a stunned Daisy and says "You.. disgust me."|thumb|Mike, at the absolute end of his patience.]]
Daisy flees sobbing into the trees, where [[Augustus]] finds her, and he's finished pretending. The whole plan was his idea, and while Mike will never love this side of her, he will.<ref name=":c39p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p16}}</ref> He backs Daisy against a tree and forces himself on her until a furious Abbey hauls him off.<ref name=":c39p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p17}}</ref> Augustus doesn't fight back. Instead he goads Abbey about his father's abuse, daring him to keep swinging, "Just like Daddy!"<ref name=":c39p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p18}}</ref><ref name=":c39p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p19}}</ref> Abbey freezes mid-punch and collapses into sobs.<ref name=":c39p19" />

When Augustus cackles about how easy Abbey was to break, Daisy slaps him hard enough to knock him down, and the fall reveals a scar hidden under his hair.<ref name=":c39p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p20}}</ref> Between the scar and his earlier "green eyes" slip she's seen enough, and she orders him gone.<ref name=":c39p20" /> Then she holds the sobbing Abbey together and asks what happened to his family.<ref name=":c39p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p21}}</ref> His answer stays behind a black panel.<ref name=":c39p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p22}}</ref> The two spend Daisy's last ride tickets back at the carnival, and her closing narration wonders whether new beginnings sometimes hide in what first look like conclusions.<ref name=":c39p22" />

== Critical moments ==
* At a quiet table away from the prom crowd, Paulo blurts out "Dammit, I love you!" and Tess refuses him. The refusal doesn't survive the slow dance, though — she admits she has fallen for him too, and the pair share a tearful kiss before parting as friends.<ref name=":c39p7" /><ref name=":c39p9" /><ref name=":c39p10" />
* In the park after the fireworks, Daisy forces a kiss on Mike. He shoves her away, tells her she disgusts him, and says she isn't the Daisy he knows.<ref name=":c39p15" />
* Augustus admits the whole "big impression" plan was his, then traps Daisy against a tree and forces himself on her. Abbey arrives just in time to pull him off.<ref name=":c39p16" /><ref name=":c39p17" />
* Augustus goads Abbey with his father's history of abuse and dares him to strike, "Just like Daddy!" Abbey freezes mid-punch and breaks down sobbing rather than hit him again.<ref name=":c39p19" />
* Daisy's slap knocks Augustus down and uncovers a scar beneath his hair. Together with "green eyes", the nickname [[Alejandro]]'s gang used for Mike in the alley, it tells her exactly who she's been confiding in, and she sends him away.<ref name=":c39p20" /><ref name=":c14p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p5}}</ref>
* Abbey tells Daisy what happened to his family, something he has never told anyone, not even his adoptive parents.<ref name=":c39p22" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Paulo and Tess:''' Their prom date was pitched as a friends-only night out, the latest turn in a long flirtation between the older girl and the freshman.<ref name=":c38p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p13}}</ref> Tess answers Paulo's confession in both directions at once, admitting she's fallen for him too while refusing to date a boy who has only just started high school.<ref name=":c39p9" /> They get their one kiss and deliberately close the romance off.<ref name=":c39p10" /><ref name=":c39p22" />
* '''Mike and Daisy:''' An old friendship with a lopsided undercurrent, since Daisy has been infatuated for ages while Mike's heart belongs entirely to Sandy.<ref name=":c39p14" /> He only agreed to the evening because he felt he owed her for being a lousy friend lately.<ref name=":c38p13" /> The forced kiss burns through the last of his patience, and by the last page Daisy has stopped pretending she can change his mind.<ref name=":c39p15" /><ref name=":c39p22" />
* '''Daisy and Augustus:''' Daisy's trusted confidant turns out to have been running her the whole time. She had leaned on him as her secret adviser ever since he sold her the plan at the plaza,<ref name=":c38p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p10}}</ref> and tonight he admits the manipulation to her face before assaulting her.<ref name=":c39p16" /> The scar she glimpses afterward tells her he was never who he claimed to be, and she cuts him off with two words: "Just go."<ref name=":c39p20" />
* '''Daisy and Abbey:''' His devotion had gone right over her head, something she apologizes for while holding him together in the park.<ref name=":c39p21" /> Abbey trusts her with his family's history for the first time ever, and the two finish the night screaming happily on the roller coaster.<ref name=":c39p22" />
* '''Abbey and Augustus:''' The two had never met on-panel before tonight, though Abbey admits he had been looking for him over his influence on Daisy.<ref name=":c39p18" /> Augustus walks into the fight already armed with Abbey's worst secret, and how he learned it is never explained. They leave the park as open, personal enemies.<ref name=":c39p19" />

== Trivia & observations ==
[[File:Tumblr bittersweetcandybowl 179226225626 0.jpg|thumb|Veronica's pencil designs for Daisy's carnival outfit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/179226225626/veronica-when-i-was-trying-to-design-daisys-love|title=Original Daisy Love My Way outfit design sketch|date=2018-10-19}}</ref>]]
* Veronica treats this as the true finale of Volume One, calling the Summer Vacation arc that follows "some sorta OVA after a season finale."<ref name=":c39p1" />
* The prom is dotted with Parappa the Rapper 2 cameos, with PJ Berri running the DJ booth. Veronica asks readers to excuse all her Parappa references.<ref name=":c39p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p4}}</ref>
* Tess's ballgown was designed by Lily, Tess's original creator. Veronica notes that Tess arrived as a guest character with her backstory, Roger included, already written.<ref name=":c39p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c39p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p5}}</ref>
* Per Veronica's commentary, Augustus's scar "has always been there.. even when Final Fantasy Cat was a side character hitting on Daisy." It wasn't drawn in for the reveal.<ref name=":c39p20" />
* The roller coaster cameos are the first appearances of [[Mina]], [[Cassidy]], [[Craig]] and [[Courtney]].<ref name=":c39p11" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Rising Temperature]]''': The chapter right before this one, where both dates get arranged. Mike accepts Daisy's couples-only carnival ticket because he feels he owes her, and Augustus talks her into her big plan behind a plaza column.
* '''[[Moving On]]''': The next chapter picks things up right away. Augustus reports back to Alejandro's gang, Mike and Daisy make peace at school, and Abbey resolves to see a counselor.
* '''[[Confrontation]]''': This is where the "green eyes" nickname comes from. Alejandro uses it for Mike all through the alley attack, which is why Daisy recognizes it here.
* '''[[New Beginnings]]''': The bond Daisy and Abbey form here grows into a relationship, and Abbey starts the therapy that begins unpacking his history on-panel.
* '''[[At Loose Ends]]''': Abbey's family history, the whole story behind this chapter's black panel, is finally depicted in full.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Love Again

2026-07-29T10:01:44Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c95p8f3.png
| major_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Augustus]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[Abbey]], [[Mike]], [[Madison]]
| minor_characters = [[Sue]], [[David]], [[Amaya]], [[Jasmine]], [[Haley]], [[Mina]], [[Cassidy]], [[Courtney]], [[Jessica]], [[Rachel]], [[Matt]], [[Sam]], [[Jordan]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Lucy's house]], [[Northern Highway]], [[Abandoned warehouse rooftop]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Six|Volume Six]]
}}
[[Lucy]] walks back into [[Roseville High School]] at last, [[Abbey]] and [[Daisy]] fall apart in the middle of the cafeteria, and the comic finally shows what happened the night Lucy disappeared. So who is "the boy who saved my life"?

== Synopsis ==
On the walk to school, [[Daisy]] gushes that she's turning sixteen on Saturday.<ref name=":c95p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p1}}</ref> Her attempt to invite [[Paulo]] goes nowhere, as he leaps away mid-sentence to flirt with [[Courtney]] at the lockers.<ref name=":c95p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p2}}</ref>

The real shock waits in the classroom, where [[Mike]] freezes face to face with [[Lucy]] in a private-school uniform.<ref name=":c95p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p6}}</ref> The rest of the class mobs her joyfully, and a comment from Paulo about her chest earns him a kick into the ceiling.<ref name=":c95p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p7}}</ref> When the bell rings, Mike reaches out to her in the crowd, loses his nerve, and says nothing.<ref name=":c95p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p11}}</ref>

[[File:c95_p6_panel3.png|alt=Mike stands frozen in the classroom doorway, face to face with Lucy, who wears a private-school uniform.|thumb|Lucy's first day back, and Mike is the welcoming committee.]]
At lunch, Lucy would rather take a walk alone than sit with the group.<ref name=":c95p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p12}}</ref> Back at the table, a wounded Paulo yanks Mike around by his scarf and blames him for Lucy keeping her distance.<ref name=":c95p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p14}}</ref> When [[Abbey]] demands he apologize for screaming Daisy down, Paulo retaliates by revealing that Abbey choked him at the con.<ref name=":c95p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p15}}</ref> Daisy, horrified, asks how badly Abbey hurt Paulo, and Abbey decides she is taking Paulo's side yet again.<ref name=":c95p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p16}}</ref> He ends the relationship in front of the entire cafeteria: "You can '''HAVE''' him, then!! ... We're '''DONE!!'''"<ref name=":c95p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p17}}</ref>

Lucy's walk leads her straight to [[Augustus]], lying in the grass by the track.<ref name=":c95p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p20}}</ref> She bursts into tears and leaps into his arms, then slaps him, furious that the absentee policy has held him back a year.<ref name=":c95p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p22}}</ref> [[Toby]] is pressuring him to drop out, but Lucy won't hear of it, vowing "This year, I'm gonna fight for you!"<ref name=":c95p23">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p23}}</ref>

After school, Lucy brings Augustus home, where her family reacts with alarm.<ref name=":c95p29">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p29}}</ref> She settles the room with a single sentence. "He's the boy who saved my life."<ref name=":c95p30">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p30}}</ref>

From there the comic flashes back to the night she disappeared. Alone in a heavy snowstorm after the school play, Lucy spirals into despair, telling herself that "Everything will be better without me."<ref name=":c95p35">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p35}}</ref> She climbs to the roof of an old furniture building and jumps.<ref name=":c95p36">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p36}}</ref> Augustus finds her lying badly hurt in the snow.<ref name=":c95p38">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p38}}</ref> When he flips open his phone, she begs him not to call the man who controls him, and blacks out mid-plea.<ref name=":c95p39">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p39}}</ref> His fading dialogue reveals that he is calling an ambulance.<ref name=":c95p41">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p41}}</ref>

Back in the present, Lucy's mother wraps a stunned Augustus in a tearful hug.<ref name=":c95p42">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p42}}</ref> Her dad offers him the guest room until graduation.<ref name=":c95p45">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p45}}</ref> Augustus protests that the offer must be a prank, then accepts.<ref name=":c95p46">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p46}}</ref> On the stairs, Lucy sets her terms — no more skipped school days, and Daisy stays off-limits.<ref name=":c95p48">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p48}}</ref> Alone at last, Augustus flops onto his plush new bed and smiles.<ref name=":c95p49">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p49}}</ref>

== Critical moments ==
* Mike walks into the classroom and comes face to face with Lucy, back at school after her long absence.<ref name=":c95p6" />
* Pressed by Abbey to apologize to Daisy at lunch, Paulo fires back "Gonna teach me another lesson?!" and reveals that Abbey choked him at a convention.<ref name=":c95p15" /><ref name=":c95p16" />
* Daisy condemns the assault, and Abbey dumps her in front of the whole cafeteria with a shouted "We're '''DONE!!'''"<ref name=":c95p17" />
* Lucy introduces Augustus to her family as "the boy who saved my life," and the chapter drops into a flashback of the night she disappeared.<ref name=":c95p30" />
* In the flashback, Lucy jumps from the roof of an abandoned building in a snowstorm. Augustus finds her, and the phone call she takes for a betrayal turns out to be him calling an ambulance.<ref name=":c95p36" /><ref name=":c95p41" />
* Lucy's dad offers Augustus the guest room until graduation. Augustus insists the offer must be a prank, then accepts.<ref name=":c95p45" /><ref name=":c95p46" /><ref name=":c95p47">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p47}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
[[File:c95_p49_panel6.png|alt=Augustus lies sprawled on his new bed, smiling blissfully at the ceiling.|thumb|Chicken lasagna, clean laundry, and a bed of his own: Augustus is doing alright.]]
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' The two of them walked into this chapter as a couple on shaky ground. Their fight over Paulo in [[Golden Hour]] never really healed.<ref name=":c90p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p20}}</ref> Once the con secret is out, Daisy's sympathy goes straight to Paulo, and Abbey reads that as betrayal.<ref name=":c95p16" /> He dumps her publicly, and by the end of the period he is sitting at Jasmine's table instead.<ref name=":c95p17" /><ref name=":c95p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p18}}</ref>
* '''Lucy and Augustus:''' Their friendship had been a secret from everyone in Lucy's life, and this chapter is where it stops being one. At the track, she learns he is stuck and being pushed to drop out, and he learns she means to fight for him.<ref name=":c95p22" /><ref name=":c95p23" /> By nightfall he is living in her family's guest room, on her conditions: full attendance until graduation, and "Daisy's '''STILL''' off-limits."<ref name=":c95p48" />
* '''Augustus and Lucy's family:''' Augustus can barely process ordinary kindness, and Lucy's family hands him more of it in one evening than he knows what to do with. They meet him as a total stranger — [[Sam]]'s greeting is "Who's the creep"<ref name=":c95p29" /> — but once Lucy tells them he saved her life, they treat him like one of their own.<ref name=":c95p30" /> By bedtime her dad has given him the guest room until graduation, and Jordan has decided his sister's savior might as well tutor him for the SATs too.<ref name=":c95p45" /><ref name=":c95p50">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p50}}</ref>

== Trivia & observations ==
* Per Oliver's commentary, Lucy's return came a little under four years after her departure in real time.<ref name=":c95p7" />
* Lucy punting Paulo into the ceiling repeats her signature move from his very first day of high school.<ref name=":c95p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p9}}</ref><ref name=":c21p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p3}}</ref>
* Lucy's dad makes his first in-person appearance here. Up to now he had only been seen on TV, winning a race qualifier in [[Dinner Time]].<ref name=":c95p29" /><ref name=":c65p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c65/p19}}</ref>
* Veronica deliberately kept Augustus in the background before this chapter so that revealing him as Lucy's savior would come as a big surprise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/806218240887062528|title=Veronica discusses Augustus and Rachel's off-screen dynamic|date=2026-01-20}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Ten Seconds to Midnight]]''': On New Year's Eve, Augustus pulled Lucy back from a rooftop ledge. This chapter's flashback is the night that scene was building toward, and this time he saves her life for real.
* '''[[Breaking Up]]''': The aftermath of the flashback from everyone else's side. Lucy's room turns up empty, the story moves to the hospital, and Mike is told she isn't coming back.
* '''[[December]]''': Mike's "I hate you" confrontation is the wound behind Lucy's flashback self-talk, which echoes his words almost exactly.
* '''[[Guest of Honor]]''': The chapter where Abbey cornered Paulo in a convention restroom. That assault is the secret Paulo makes public at lunch here.
* '''[[Golden Hour]]''': The source of the phone call Daisy regrets, and of Madison's grudge against Paulo.
* '''[[Trapped]]''': Augustus's backstory in full. It covers Alejandro, Toby's blackmail, and the "circumstances" Lucy passes on to her parents.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume Six]]

Left Behind

2026-07-29T10:01:40Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c26p2f4.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Tess]], [[Paulo]]
| minor_characters = [[Yashy]], [[Sandy]], [[Flower Girl]]
| locations = [[Tess's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Why is [[Lucy]] the way she is? [[Tess]] wants to know, and [[Mike]] is willing to tell her everything for the price of a warm house and some cocoa. A childhood's worth of history later, Mike walks home with a brand new scarf.

== Synopsis ==
On a cold autumn walk, [[Lucy]] smacks [[Paulo]] flat for hitting on her, and [[Tess]] wonders whether something happened to make her this way.<ref name=":c26p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p1}}</ref> [[Mike]] offers to tell Tess everything if she takes him home out of the cold.<ref name=":c26p1" /> Soon he's settled at [[Tess's house]] in a borrowed scarf and begins the story of Lucy.<ref name=":c26p1" />

Mike's story starts in preschool, where Lucy only ever wanted to play with his toys.<ref name=":c26p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p2}}</ref> Kindergarten split them into different classes, and a ribbon-wearing girl invited Lucy to play Pretty Princess Adventure.<ref name=":c26p2" /> Lucy drove a toy car over the dolls and got banished from the group.<ref name=":c26p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p3}}</ref> Rejected by the boys too, she spent playtime alone.<ref name=":c26p3" />

[[File:c26_p3_panel4.png|alt=Lucy's toy car drives over the princess dolls as she shouts "Taxi's here!"|thumb|Lucy's taxi service charges ten bucks a ride to the castle.]]
First grade put them back together, and though Mike wanted his clingy rival gone, he always gave in.<ref name=":c26p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p4}}</ref> At lunch one day Lucy said she wasn't lonely anymore — "We're friends, right?" — the first time Mike really saw her smile.<ref name=":c26p4" /> Then [[Sandy]] arrived, Mike fell head over heels, and Lucy spent the whole year isolated, resolving not to need anyone.<ref name=":c26p4" /> On her first day of middle school, older strangers cornered her with catcalls.<ref name=":c26p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p5}}</ref> Badly shaken, she refused Mike's help and cracked her knuckles, the beginning, Mike says, of the Lucy Tess knows.<ref name=":c26p5" />

Back in the present, Tess calls young Mike a real jerk but tells him to keep the scarf.<ref name=":c26p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p6}}</ref> Walking home, Mike finds Paulo still lying where Lucy left him.<ref name=":c26p6" /> Paulo puts two and two together and radios, "Calling all girls. We got a cheater on the premises. Over."<ref name=":c26p6" /> A mob of furious girls chases Mike off as Paulo cackles that this never gets old.<ref name=":c26p6" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Tess:''' Tess is still fairly new to the group and can't get Lucy to say a word about herself, so Mike becomes her way in.<ref name=":c26p1" /> He trades the whole history for shelter from the cold, and she repays him with cocoa, a bean bag chair, and eventually the scarf itself, upgraded from a loan to an outright gift. By the end of the visit the two are proper confidants.<ref name=":c26p6" />
* '''Tess and Lucy:''' Tess starts the day with no way to find out what made Lucy so guarded, and ends it knowing more of her history than anyone else in the newer crowd.<ref name=":c26p1" /> The shift is entirely one-sided, though, since Lucy herself has no idea anything changed.<ref name=":c26p6" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Nothing changes between them in the present. What the chapter does instead is lay out their whole shared history for the first time, from preschool rivalry to first friendship to the Sandy-era rift and back.<ref name=":c26p2" /> Mike's own summary is a generous one: "She has other friends now, even if she wouldn't ever admit to it."<ref name=":c26p6" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary under the first page says Tess threatening to kick Paulo's ass was inspired by a Pchat with Lily, which she used to develop Tess's personality.<ref name=":c26p1" />
* The scarf has a long life ahead of it. Mike wears it to Tess's Christmas party in [[Feline Festivities]], keeps it until Sandy swaps it out for a blue one in [[Just Beautiful]], and years later Tess teases him for no longer wearing the present she picked out.<ref name=":c26p6" /><ref name=":c28p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c71p25">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p25}}</ref><ref name=":c77p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c77/p12}}</ref> The commentary under the final page frames the gift hopefully, wondering whether "the orange and yellow scarf can make him.. happy? Maybe?"<ref name=":c26p6" />
* This is the only time Yashy's origin is shown on-panel. Veronica has said the pets were inspired by wanting Lucy to hold cute little animals, like Misty's Togepi in Pokémon and the baby Yoshis in Super Mario World.<ref name=":c26p5" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/643684785814994944/hi-why-did-you-get-rid-of-the-pets-in-the-comic|title=Why the pets were removed from the comic|date=2021-02-21}}</ref>
* [[Flower Girl]] has a background cameo in the kindergarten flashback, chronologically her earliest in-story appearance, though her publication debut came in [[Pep Rally]].<ref name=":c26p2" /><ref name=":c11p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p2}}</ref>
* Per Veronica's commentary under the second page, the original version of the chapter spelled "Kindergarten" as "Kindergarden", a mistake editors later corrected.<ref name=":c26p2" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Flirting with Disaster]]''': The very next chapter is this one's companion piece, with another childhood flashback filling in Lucy and Paulo's history, including his arrival as a new student in fifth grade. That puts Paulo around for about a year before the middle-school turn Mike describes here.
* '''[[Feline Festivities]]''': Mike returns to Tess's house for her Christmas party wearing the scarf she gave him in this chapter, and admits he was too cold to pay attention on his first visit. It's also Lucy and Yashy's first look at the mansion.
* '''[[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]''': The third-grade Sandy era gets a full chapter of its own here, told from Mike's side, right down to the goodbye that this chapter covers in half a sentence.
* '''[[A Difficult Choice]]''': The girl-mob cheater gag got its start in this chapter, with Paulo whipping up a crowd against Mike. By this chapter's final page it's an acknowledged running bit.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Invitation

2026-07-29T10:01:37Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c41p1f4.png
| major_characters = [[Tess]], [[Lucy]], [[Mike]], [[Lily]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]]
| minor_characters = [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Sue]], [[Molly]], [[Janet]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Amaya]], [[Yashy]], [[Blur]], [[Chirpy]]
| locations = [[Tess's house]], [[David's house]], [[Paulo's house]], [[Daisy's house]], [[Mike's house]], [[Abbey's house]], [[Lucy's house]], [[Airport]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Tess]] invites the whole gang on a fully paid week at the [[Silvershore Islands]], and when [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] turn her down, she stuffs them both into a car trunk until they reconsider. [[Daisy]], meanwhile, has plans of her own entirely.

== Synopsis ==
[[Tess]] writes to the whole gang: her parents are paying for a weeklong vacation to the [[Silvershore Islands]] as her senior-year gift.<ref name=":c41p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p1}}</ref> The letter warns that anyone who can't come had "better have a '''damn''' good reason!"<ref name=":c41p1" /> [[Abbey]] declines, saying he can't miss his appointment.<ref name=":c41p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p2}}</ref> [[Mike]] turns the trip down too, figuring [[Sandy]] would find it strange if he flew somewhere with a bunch of girls instead of visiting her.<ref name=":c41p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p4}}</ref> [[Lucy]] calls Tess to decline as well, and minutes later a hand shoots through her own front door and yanks her bodily outside.<ref name=":c41p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p5}}</ref>

Lucy and Mike wake up tied together in the trunk of a car.<ref name=":c41p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p6}}</ref> The kidnapper turns out to be Tess herself, who winks and shuts the lid, while [[Lily]]'s attempted rescue only gets her recruited to the scheme.<ref name=":c41p6" /> Out in a grass field, Tess explains this was the only way to get them talking, and her prisoners answer in unison, "YOU KIDNAPPED US FOR '''THAT?!?!'''"<ref name=":c41p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p7}}</ref>
[[File:c41_p6_panel5.png|alt=Tess grins and winks, saying "Watch your head" as she shuts the car trunk on Mike and Lucy.|thumb|Tess handles RSVPs a little differently than most hosts.]]

Lily needles Lucy about being free all summer until a badly timed blush gives her real reason away.<ref name=":c41p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p8}}</ref> Mike gets an offer he can't refuse, a flight out to Rickter to visit Sandy instead, and joyfully borrows Tess's phone to call her.<ref name=":c41p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p9}}</ref> Lucy is less gracious once her ropes come off, punching Tess in the face and twisting her arm with an audible SNAP.<ref name=":c41p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p12}}</ref>

Then Mike turns around from his call shaking and teary-eyed, wailing that Sandy is going to Europe on business and won't be around all summer.<ref name=":c41p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p13}}</ref> Tess grabs him by the head and shakes him — "'''BE SELFISH!! IDIOT!!'''" — until he relents and agrees to ask his mom.<ref name=":c41p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p14}}</ref> Lucy saves face by deciding that Tess simply can't get over her and might as well be humored.<ref name=":c41p14" />

Five days later, [[Daisy]] drags Abbey to the airfield to see everyone off.<ref name=":c41p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p15}}</ref> The trip will cover his birthday, so the whole gang surprises him with a pushcart full of presents,<ref name=":c41p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p16}}</ref> and Mike assures the bashful newcomer he's one of them now.<ref name=":c41p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p17}}</ref> Then Daisy reveals she isn't coming either. She made a promise to be there for Abbey, and she's keeping it.<ref name=":c41p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p18}}</ref> Once the plane is a speck in the sky, Daisy asks Abbey to a movie, and the two run off hand in hand.<ref name=":c41p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p20}}</ref>

== Critical moments ==
* Tess's letter invites the whole group on a fully paid week at the Silvershore Islands, with a warning that anyone declining had better have a good reason.<ref name=":c41p1" />
* Abbey turns the trip down to keep his mysterious appointment, telling Janet he wants to stick to the plan they set up, "no excuses."<ref name=":c41p2" />
* The kidnapper who snatched Mike and Lucy is revealed as Tess, who closes the trunk on them with a wink and a "Watch your head".<ref name=":c41p6" />
* Mid-phone-call in the field, Mike learns Sandy will spend the whole summer in Europe on business, killing the visit he'd turned the trip down for.<ref name=":c41p13" />
* Tess shakes the sulking Mike by the head, yelling "'''BE SELFISH!! IDIOT!!'''", and he agrees to come. Lucy caves right after, on the theory that Tess just can't get over her.<ref name=":c41p14" />
* At the airfield, the group surprises Abbey with an early birthday and a cart of presents, and Mike declares him one of them.<ref name=":c41p16" /><ref name=":c41p17" />
* Daisy reveals she's staying behind: "I made a promise to be there for you, remember? Well, I'm keeping it!" Once the plane leaves, she asks Abbey to a movie, and they head off hand in hand.<ref name=":c41p18" /><ref name=":c41p20" />

[[File:c41_p20_panel8.png|alt=Abbey and Daisy run off hand in hand, grinning at each other, while Abbey pulls a wagon full of birthday presents.|thumb|Who needs a tropical island, anyway?]]

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' Back in [[Moving On]], Daisy promised to be there for Abbey "every step of the way" while he tried counseling over the break.<ref name=":c40p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p6}}</ref> This chapter is where she makes good on it at real personal cost, passing up a free island vacation to spend the week with him instead. By the final page she has asked him to a movie and the two are running off grinning, hand in hand, the closest the pair have ever looked to a couple.<ref name=":c41p18" /><ref name=":c41p20" />
* '''Abbey and the friend group:''' Abbey still thinks of himself as the outsider here, a boy who hasn't "even known you guys for very long". The surprise early birthday is the group telling him otherwise, and Mike puts it in so many words: he's one of them now.<ref name=":c41p16" /><ref name=":c41p17" />
* '''Mike and Sandy:''' Mike planned his whole summer around finally visiting Sandy in Rickter, and turned down a tropical vacation for her sake.<ref name=":c41p4" /> Her Europe trip puts that visit off indefinitely, and he doesn't get to make it for a long while yet.<ref name=":c71p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p10}}</ref>
* '''Lucy and Tess:''' Tess wants Lucy's friendship far more than Lucy wants hers, and she's prepared to take a beating for it. Lucy answers her overtures with a kick, a punch, and an arm-snap, and Tess absorbs all of it without ever withdrawing the invitation.<ref name=":c41p12" /> Her persistence wins a yes in the end, though strictly on Lucy's face-saving terms rather than out of any real warmth.<ref name=":c41p14" />
* '''Lucy and Mike:''' Nothing shifts between the two of them directly, since Mike stays happily oblivious from the trunk to the tarmac. What changes is who knows. Lily and Tess both work out exactly why Lucy won't go anywhere without him.<ref name=":c41p8" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* This chapter opens the Summer Vacation arc, and Veronica calls it a turning point in her process. For the first time she planned the story ahead, made character reference sheets, and canned or rewrote ideas along the way.<ref name=":c41p1" />
* It's also the end of the grid-comic era. Per Veronica, "say goodbye to the grid-comic format! Proper panels are here to stay!"<ref name=":c41p1" />
* The destination was originally Acapulco. Oliver's commentary explains the omnibus renamed it the Silvershore Islands to stay consistent with fictional place names to come.<ref name=":c41p13" />
* Abbey was heavily redesigned just before this arc. Veronica has said she "really hated his original design" and rebuilt him to fit in with the cast.<ref name=":c41p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c41/p3}}</ref>
* Sandy's "Europe on business" excuse is meant to raise eyebrows. Veronica's commentary asks "What is she DOING?", with Oliver adding "We shall see!"<ref name=":c41p13" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Moving On]]''': The chapter just before this one sets up both of the tarmac threads. Abbey's mysterious "appointment" is the counselor plan he made there, and Daisy's promise to be there for him is made almost word for word.<ref name=":c40p6" />
* '''[[Arrival]]''': The trip itself begins here, with the flight over and the first days on the Silvershore Islands. McCain, dragged aboard by Sue in this chapter, spends the flight seated next to her and complaining about it.<ref name=":c42p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p3}}</ref>
* '''[[New Beginnings]]''': The week this chapter carves out for Abbey and Daisy plays out here, appointment included. Lucy calls it "Abbey's appointment with the shrink".<ref name=":c46p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c46/p1}}</ref>
* '''[[Feline Festivities]]''': Tess's last big hosted event, and the precedent for Lucy hitting her. That time it was a karate chop, for trying to make Lucy sing.<ref name=":c28p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p9}}</ref>
* '''[[Rising Temperature]]''': Introduces Abbey's family, Janet and Molly included, and contains the fight Molly frets about here — the boy she yelled at was Mike.<ref name=":c38p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p9}}</ref> Molly debuted mid-fight on that page, making her cookie-cart scene in this chapter only her second appearance.<ref name=":c41p3" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Intervention

2026-07-29T10:01:33Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c44p1f13.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Tess]], [[Zachary]]
| minor_characters = [[Sue]], [[Yashy]], [[Catherine]], [[Amaya]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]], [[Katie]], [[Molly]], [[Blur]]
| locations = [[Silvershore Islands]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
The [[Silvershore Islands|Silvershore]] trip winds down with [[Mike]] saying some genuinely chilling things about [[Lucy]], [[Tess]] and [[Paulo]] screaming at each other over a campfire, and [[David]] playing matchmaker with a fairy tale, a kidnapping, and one impossible choice.

== Synopsis ==
The chapter opens in the alley behind the public restroom, moments after [[Mike]]'s brush with death. Bandaged up, he holds [[Lucy]] while she sobs, answering everything she says with a flat "sorry"; his face, hidden from her, shows irritation rather than sympathy.<ref name=":c44p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p1}}</ref> [[Zachary]] has been watching through the restroom window, and when Mike catches him frozen mid-escape, the startled Zachary jumps straight down into the toilet bowl.<ref name=":c44p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p2}}</ref>

On the walk back, Zachary means it kindly when he tells Mike that Lucy really loves him.<ref name=":c44p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p4}}</ref> Mike scoffs at the very idea. He tells Zachary that Lucy only cares about herself and simply "needs" him, then walks off and leaves Zachary stunned under the streetlights.<ref name=":c44p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p5}}</ref>

Back at the campfire, the truth-or-dare game takes a sharp turn when [[Sue]] asks [[Tess]] who she would have preferred to take her virginity.<ref name=":c44p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p6}}</ref> Her answer is [[Paulo]], but the mood sours when she questions how she could ever expect him to be faithful.<ref name=":c44p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p7}}</ref> Paulo erupts that they aren't even a couple and storms off screaming about girls.<ref name=":c44p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p8}}</ref> The rest of the group glares [[David]] into going after him.<ref name=":c44p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p9}}</ref>

David sniffs Paulo out in his hotel room, sulking in the gap behind the bed's headboard.<ref name=":c44p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p10}}</ref> Paulo admits that Tess infuriates him, but he loves her anyway.<ref name=":c44p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p13}}</ref> Then David suggests [[Daisy]], and Paulo hits the roof — she's a kid and practically his sister.<ref name=":c44p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p15}}</ref> David responds by announcing a "'''HYPOCRITICAL SITUATION!'''"<ref name=":c44p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p16}}</ref>

David spins a fairy tale of two kingdoms, with Daisy as the Princess of Peace and Tess as the Queen of War.<ref name=":c44p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p17}}</ref> Paulo himself plays a caped wandering hero.<ref name=":c44p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p18}}</ref> Both monarchs are kidnapped, and at a fork in the forest road [[Abbey]] appears to lay out the dilemma.<ref name=":c44p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p19}}</ref> One path leads to each lady, and whichever one Paulo doesn't reach will be executed.<ref name=":c44p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p21}}</ref>

[[File:c44_p18_panel2.png|alt=Paulo, dressed in a dramatic cape and pointy glasses with a huge sword balanced on his shoulder, smiles heroically.|thumb|Paulo, recast as a caped wandering hero.]]
Cornered, Paulo finally blurts it out: "Daisy, '''OKAY'''?!"<ref name=":c44p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p22}}</ref> David makes him explain why. Paulo really does love Tess, but Daisy was the first person who ever wanted to be his friend, and all he's ever done is take her for granted. David just grins and tells him he likes her. Paulo is still lost in thought when Mike's voice snaps him back to the present, asking from beside his half-packed suitcase whether he's alright.<ref name=":c44p23">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p23}}</ref>

Paulo deflects and heads into the hallway for a walk, but Tess is there, nervous and asking to talk. He scowls, says "Oh, it's ''you''.", and turns his back on her as the chapter ends.<ref name=":c44p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p24}}</ref>

== Critical moments ==
[[File:c44_p22_panel10.png|alt=Paulo, red-faced with his eyes shut and tail puffed out, yells "Daisy, OKAY?!" while David grins and says "Attaboy!!"|thumb|The hypocritical situation gets results.]]
* After watching Lucy break down over Mike's near-death, Zachary tells Mike she really loves him. Mike answers that Lucy only cares about herself and merely "needs" him — the first plain statement of his resentment.<ref name=":c44p5" />
* At the campfire, Sue asks Tess who she would have preferred to take her virginity, and Tess answers "Paulo." The flirting that follows collapses into a screaming fight, and Paulo storms off insisting they aren't "a '''GODDAMN COUPLE'''".<ref name=":c44p7" /><ref name=":c44p8" />
* Alone with Paulo in the hotel room, David floats Daisy as a candidate. Paulo protests rather too loudly that she's a kid and "''LIKE'' a sister".<ref name=":c44p15" />
* David's fairy-tale hypothetical ends at Abbey's fork in the road: one path leads to the Queen, one to the Princess, and whichever lady Paulo doesn't choose will be executed.<ref name=":c44p21" />
* Paulo cracks and names Daisy as the one he'd save, then explains why. David's verdict comes in three words: "You like her."<ref name=":c44p22" /><ref name=":c44p23" />
* Tess comes to the hallway to make peace, and Paulo turns his back on her with a cold "Oh, it's ''you''." as the chapter closes.<ref name=":c44p24" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Paulo and Daisy:''' Daisy was the first person who ever wanted to be Paulo's friend, and she stuck by him even through his womanizing phase — loyalty he admits he has repaid by taking her for granted. He's only ever thought of her as a kid and practically a sister,<ref name=":c44p15" /> and it takes David's forced choice to drag out the rest: she's the one he'd save, and he never does manage to deny David's "You like her."<ref name=":c44p23" /> Daisy herself isn't even on the island, appearing only in David's story and Paulo's visions.<ref name=":c44p17" />
* '''Paulo and Tess:''' They come into the evening with the attraction already admitted and already refused, since Tess turned down Paulo's confession at prom in [[Love My Way]].<ref name=":c39p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c39/p7}}</ref> Here Tess publicly names him as her preferred first, then wrecks the moment by doubting his faithfulness.<ref name=":c44p7" /> The mess is that the love survives the fight. Paulo tells David minutes later that nobody could take Tess's spot,<ref name=":c44p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p14}}</ref> yet when she comes to make peace, he snubs her cold.<ref name=":c44p24" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Mike risked his life for Lucy in [[Search and Rescue]], and to her face he's still the patient best friend.<ref name=":c44p1" /><ref name=":c43p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p7}}</ref> Away from her eyes, the mask slips. His "sorry"s come with hidden scowls, and on the boardwalk he calls her selfish outright and reduces their whole history to her needing him.<ref name=":c44p5" /> The resentment isn't new so much as finally said out loud.

== Trivia & observations ==
* Per Veronica's commentary under the final page, this chapter and [[Return]] were originally one chapter, split because it was getting too long, with the hallway cliffhanger as "the only place where a 'to be continued' would be appropriate".<ref name=":c44p24" />
* In the original script, Paulo called Tess a bitch in the final panel. Oliver vetoed it, and Veronica agrees that "The silent treatment is effective as it is."<ref name=":c44p24" />
* Abbey's mock-medieval dialogue was written with help from a reader's relative who had studied medieval-era language, whom Oliver sought out. Veronica adds that Abbey "wishes he could actually sound like this".<ref name=":c44p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p20}}</ref>
* Paulo's hero costume is Kamina from ''Gurren Lagann'', cape and pointy glasses included, though the name sails right past Paulo himself. Veronica jokes in the commentary that "Paulo doesn't watch anime. That's why he's cool."<ref name=":c44p18" />
* Veronica's commentary clarifies that Zachary's "Yer real lucky, man" wasn't wishful thinking about Lucy. He envies that kind of love in general and wouldn't want it from her at all.<ref name=":c44p4" />
* In a 2026 Tumblr post, Veronica held this chapter up as the benchmark for early David, back when he was more of a "remarker in the background" than a chaos agent: "We are past the days of Intervention.."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/819079280099295232/i-kinda-hate-david-sorry-just-hes-not-a-good|title=Ask response on David's escalating chaos|date=2026-06-10}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Search and Rescue]]''': The direct setup, on the same night. Mike's bandages come from the fall that nearly killed him there, and the truth-or-dare game Sue is running here started at the end of that chapter.<ref name=":c43p25">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p25}}</ref>
* '''[[Return]]''': Originally the other half of this chapter, and it pays the intervention off almost immediately. Paulo can't get Daisy out of his head while making out with Tess and accuses David of having "''BRAINWASHED''" him.<ref name=":c45p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p15}}</ref><ref name=":c45p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p18}}</ref> Zachary, meanwhile, relays Mike's view of Lucy to her as "a chore".<ref name=":c45p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p6}}</ref>
* '''[[Arrival]]''': Zachary's first appearance, and the source of the beach memory the campfire fight dredges up. Tess really did spike a volleyball into Paulo's face while he was flirting with two beachgoers.<ref name=":c42p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p18}}</ref><ref name=":c42p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p19}}</ref>
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': The chapter Tess's "You know my reasons.." points back to. At prom, she turned Paulo down over the age gap and her coming graduation, asking to keep their memories as friends.<ref name=":c39p7" />
* '''[[Another Shoulder]]''': The long tail of Mike's boardwalk speech. Lucy's memory in that chapter replays being called "a chore" and Zachary's warning that Mike "'''IS''' going to leave you some day".<ref name=":c52p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c52/p4}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Humble Approach

2026-07-29T10:01:30Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c25p2f1.png
| major_characters = [[Daisy]], [[Abbey]], [[Paulo]], [[David]]
| minor_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Tess]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]], [[John]], [[Katie]], [[Stacy]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Daisy]] is having the gloomiest school day of her young life, until a turtle sends her face-first into the grass and a polite stranger offers her a hand. [[Abbey]] makes his series debut here, and [[Paulo]] wastes no time making an enemy of him.

== Synopsis ==
Daisy drags herself through a whole day at [[Roseville High School]] depressed and alone.<ref name=":c25p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c25/p1}}</ref> Out at gym class, [[Paulo]] and [[Mike]] both notice something is wrong, but she forces a smile and insists she'll be fine. Privately, though, she's thinking "Maybe I should give up.." Then she trips over a [[Turtle|turtle]] and slams into the ground, and a hand reaches down to her.<ref name=":c25p1" />

The hand belongs to [[Abbey]], an Abyssinian cat from Daisy's English class, who helps her up, introduces himself, and gently offers an ear.<ref name=":c25p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c25/p2}}</ref> When Paulo insists no guy ever approaches a girl without sex on his mind, Abbey erupts. He declares that "a fair maiden like Daisy ought to be treated with dignity and respect", which Paulo finds hilariously medieval.<ref name=":c25p2" />

Lunchtime the next day finds Daisy confessing to [[Tess]] that she's had a crush on Mike since fifth grade.<ref name=":c25p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c25/p3}}</ref> She talks herself into getting over him, only to wilt seconds later when Mike wanders over to ask for math help. Abbey joins the table, explains he was named after his father Abraham, and [[David]] promptly dubs him "Mr. Lincoln".<ref name=":c25p3" />

Abbey then turns his kindness on [[Lucy]], pressing her on whether she's really okay and patting her on the head.<ref name=":c25p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c25/p4}}</ref> For one flustered moment she seems about to open up, and then she flattens him with a "Don't friggin' touch me."<ref name=":c25p4" />

[[File:c25_p4_panel9.png|alt=Lucy smacks Abbey across the face, scowling and saying "Don't friggin' touch me."|thumb|Abbey learns the local policy on head-pats.]]
Deflated, Abbey mutters that there's no point, until he hears Daisy laughing.<ref name=":c25p4" /> She tells him that's just how Lucy is, and she thanks him for all his concern as the two share a smile. When Abbey roars at David to go away, he answers with more finger guns and "But I'm John Wilkes Booth, Mr. President! With a laser gun!"<ref name=":c25p4" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' They begin the chapter as strangers, more or less. Daisy doesn't quite remember his name, while Abbey has been quietly admiring her "chipper" classroom energy from across English class.<ref name=":c25p2" /> One helping hand, one offer to listen, and one very loud defense of her dignity later, Daisy is smiling again and thanking him for his concern.<ref name=":c25p4" /> Their first meeting could hardly have gone better, turtle notwithstanding.
* '''Abbey and Paulo:''' There was no relationship to speak of before this chapter, and Paulo fixes that in about a page. He decides Abbey's kindness is nothing but a bid to "bone her" and mocks his chivalry as something out of the middle ages,<ref name=":c25p2" /> then picks at his name for good measure.<ref name=":c25p3" /> Abbey tries very hard to be a gentle soul, but Paulo has him erupting in fury before their first conversation is even over.<ref name=":c25p2" />
* '''Daisy and Mike:''' The crush finally gets dated, and fifth grade is a long time to be pining. Still reeling from [[A New Leaf]], where Mike made things official with Sandy,<ref name=":c23p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c23/p3}}</ref> Daisy resolves out loud to find happiness without him.<ref name=":c25p3" /> The resolution holds right up until he asks her for math help.<ref name=":c25p3" />
* '''Abbey and David:''' David is a nuisance Abbey can neither argue down nor shake off, and both of them figure that out within minutes of meeting. David takes the Abraham story and runs with it, dubbing Abbey "Mr. Lincoln" and appointing himself assassin, while Abbey resigns himself with a weary "I doubt I have a choice in the matter".<ref name=":c25p3" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* This chapter is Abbey's series debut. He appears nowhere in the comic before it, and Veronica greets him in the commentary under the second page with "Welcome Abbey to the comic! Hello, Abbey!"<ref name=":c25p2" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, the name came before the backstory. Abbey is an Abyssinian cat, so "Abby" started out as her internal filler name for him. Once the name stuck, she invented his father Abraham, along with Abbey's dislike of his full name, to justify it.<ref name=":c25p3" />
* Lucy is a Khao Manee, a Thai breed, and Veronica notes that patting someone on the head is considered very disrespectful in Thai custom. She says she only noticed the coincidence after the fact, since Lucy hits anyone who touches her regardless.<ref name=":c25p4" />
* Veronica's commentary also insists David's "laser gun" line was not a reference to the webcomic ''Girly''. She only spotted the resemblance after finishing the page.<ref name=":c25p4" />
* The grinning turtle that fells Daisy is on its third victim. Paulo's skateboard hit it back in [[Simple Pleasures]], and it tripped Mike mid-race in [[Field Day]].<ref name=":c25p1" /><ref name=":c1p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p5}}</ref><ref name=":c16p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p11}}</ref>
* Paulo's "fruitcake" recycles the insult he first aimed at Mike in A New Leaf, and it goes on to become his signature jab at Abbey in later chapters.<ref name=":c25p2" /><ref name=":c23p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c23/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c38p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p7}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': The very next chapter picks up the Lucy thread directly. Paulo touches her shoulder and meets exactly the fate Abbey did here, and Tess's questions about why Lucy is so guarded lead Mike to tell her whole backstory.
* '''[[A New Leaf]]''': The source of Daisy's gloom. Mike announces that Sandy is officially his girlfriend, and Daisy breaks down at the table with Tess looking on, which is the scene behind Tess's remark at lunch here.
* '''[[Field Day]]''': The turtle's previous outing. It trips Mike in the middle of a race against Lucy, so Daisy is at least in good company.
* '''[[Rising Temperature]]''': The Abbey and Paulo feud is alive and well here. Paulo milks Abbey for essay help while mockingly calling him "Abraham", the full name Abbey admits to disliking in this chapter.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Hot Pursuit

2026-07-29T10:01:25Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c20p5f2.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Sandy]]
| minor_characters = [[Lily]], [[Yashy]], [[Blur]], [[Ellen]]
| locations = [[Mike's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]], [[Maraschino City]], [[Maraschino mall]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
One glimpse of a parade broadcast convinces [[Mike]] that [[Sandy]] is in [[Maraschino City|Maraschino]] for the day, and he tears off to find her with a stubborn [[Lucy]] in tow. Between bad directions, a persistent con artist and a lookalike, the search goes nowhere. The real Sandy, as it turns out, spent the afternoon somewhere Mike never thought to look: his own house.

== Synopsis ==
On the last weekend before school, a news broadcast from a parade in Maraschino shows Mike a black-haired girl he is certain is Sandy, due to fly home that night.<ref name=":c20p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p1}}</ref> He brushes off [[Lily]]'s warning that it might be time to move on, and when the wind rips his scarf away he abandons it rather than lose time.<ref name=":c20p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p2}}</ref> Lucy refuses to be blown off and invites herself along.<ref name=":c20p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p3}}</ref> On the bus, Mike dreams of a tearful reunion, while the real Sandy waits for hours in the city, hoping he might come.<ref name=":c20p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p4}}</ref>

In Maraschino, bad directions strand the pair on an empty dock,<ref name=":c20p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p5}}</ref> and the directions Lucy kicks out of a pushy con artist lead straight back to it. Mike screams "'''I HATE THIS DOCK!!'''", and a duck in the water takes credit.<ref name=":c20p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p6}}</ref>
[[File:c20_p6_panel17.png|alt=Mike throws his hands up and screams "I HATE THIS DOCK!!" while a duck in the water raises a wing and replies "Thassa meee!".|thumb|Two visits in, the dock is winning.]]

Mike finds the parade but no sign of Sandy,<ref name=":c20p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p7}}</ref> until he spots a girl with black hair and a bow and bolts after her, leaving Lucy in his dust.<ref name=":c20p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p8}}</ref> The chase tears through a [[Maraschino mall|huge mall]]<ref name=":c20p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p9}}</ref> and ends at a fountain, where a perfect stranger turns around.<ref name=":c20p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p10}}</ref> The trip back lands him on the dock a third time, where Lucy has waited all day, shaking. On the night bus home, she whimpers in her sleep, "I dun.. wanna drown.. Dun let me drown.."<ref name=":c20p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p11}}</ref>

Back at [[Mike's house]], [[Ellen|his mom]] reveals that a dark-haired girl stopped by two hours earlier on her way to the airport. Sandy was there the entire time, and the bonsai tree she left recalls the one they sat under in third grade. Mike breaks down crying in his mom's arms.<ref name=":c20p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p12}}</ref>

It is Lucy who talks him down, reminding him that Sandy clearly still cares, though she trails behind on the way home looking sad.<ref name=":c20p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p13}}</ref> That night, a shadow outside Mike's window sets off one last false alarm, but it is only his lost scarf tangled in the tree. He tosses it onto his desk and wishes the figurines under the bonsai "Goodnight, Sandy."<ref name=":c20p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p14}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Sandy:''' Before this chapter, the long-distance romance had thinned to the point where even Mike admitted the two were living separate lives.<ref name=":c20p2" /> One wasted day in Maraschino later, he learns Sandy found her way to his front door, and the bonsai she left proves she remembers her side of the childhood promise, tree and all.<ref name=":c20p12" /> Mike recommits on the spot, vowing to keep trying "even if takes another four years".<ref name=":c20p13" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Lucy puts far more into this friendship than Mike ever seems to notice, and this trip makes that plain. She invites herself along without knowing what it's even for,<ref name=":c20p3" /> and only hears the name "Sandy" when Mike leaves her in the dust at the parade.<ref name=":c20p8" /> Even so, she spends the day waiting beside water she plainly dreads, then consoles Mike over her own rival.<ref name=":c20p11" /><ref name=":c20p13" /> What the day changes is where Lucy sees herself standing: she walks home looking sad, and Veronica's commentary supports reading her as coming away feeling "like a second prize".<ref name=":c20p13" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary explains that Maraschino is deliberately "totally NOT New York". She gave it a made-up name to match "Rickter", the town Sandy moved to, which she calls "pre-BCB canon LORE".<ref name=":c20p1" />
* Per Veronica, the toy store Mike races through was modeled on the famous F.A.O. Schwarz store, which has since closed.<ref name=":c20p8" /> Readers also spotted a tribute to Jackie Lesnick's webcomic ''Girly'' hidden on its shelves.<ref name=":c20p9" />
* Veronica notes the Sandy lookalike was originally designed to be "a bit.. ugly", but she scrapped the idea on the grounds that black hair simply isn't rare.<ref name=":c20p10" />
* Mike's mom, Ellen, makes her first appearance in the series here. Her cameo prompted Veronica to address the near-total absence of parents in the comic with a flat "WE ARE NOT IN AN ANIME."<ref name=":c20p12" />
* Lucy shaking at the dock and dreaming of drowning is deliberate long-game setup. Per Veronica's commentary, readers at this point still had no idea why water is such a big deal to her.<ref name=":c20p5" /><ref name=":c20p11" />
* Years later, the authors weighed in on Sandy's side of this era. Endorsing a fan theory, they wrote that "Sandy's attachment to Mike is of a reminder of happier times before the mantle of responsibility was thrown upon her" — her modeling career being a real source of stress at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/177533605284/my-question-is-about-sandy-13-you-have-been|title=Ask response about Sandy|website=Bittersweet Candy Bowl Tumblr|date=2018-08-29}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]''': This is the chapter everything here builds on. It shows the third-grade goodbye and the promise Lily worries about, introduces Rickter as Sandy's new home, and depicts the tree memory the bonsai recalls. The conversation Lily accuses Mike of forgetting happened there too.
* '''[[Enter High School]]''': The school Monday this whole weekend has been counting down to.
* '''[[A New Leaf]]''': Mike makes good on his vow to keep trying. He tracks down Sandy's phone number and calls her, and she becomes his girlfriend.
* '''[[Troubled Waters]]''': The chapter that finally explains Lucy's drowning nightmare and her dread of the water.
* '''[[Feline Festivities]]''': The Sandy-lookalike fake-out gets staged all over again at Christmas, when a black-haired caroler gets Mike's hopes up.
* '''[[Just Beautiful]]''': Mike finally meets Sandy in person at her fashion show, years down the line. The scarf thread gets its send-off there too, with Sandy taking his old scarf and giving him a new blue one.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Haley

2026-07-29T10:01:21Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox character
| image = character_haley.png
| gender = Female
| species = Cat
| breed = Korat
| birthday = August 9, 1993 (Leo)
| age = 15
| grade = Sophomore as of [[Table for One]]
| family = * [[Mike's dad]] (Father)
* [[Ellen]] (Mother)
* [[Mike]] (Brother)
* [[Chris]] (Brother)
| occupation = Student
| affiliation = [[Sophomore table]]
| residence = [[Mike's house]]
| first = [[December]], [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c68/p14 page 14] ''{{Start date|2011|11|02}}''}}
'''Haley''' is [[Mike|Mike's]] younger sister, a sophomore at [[Roseville High School]] and the middle child of her family. At home she splits her time between teasing her brother and hauling around their baby brother [[Chris]], often at the same time. According to Veronica, "Haley doesn't hate Mike! She just resents him a little! There's a very big difference!"<ref name=":tumblr818623">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/818623798944432128|title=bittersweetcandybowl on Tumblr|date=2026-06-05}}</ref>

== Personality ==
Making fun of Mike is pretty much Haley's default setting. Her parting shot at her own introduction is to ask [[Lucy]] to "fix that stick up his ass that appears whenever he isn't on the phone with ~Sandy~".<ref name=":c68p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c68/p14}}</ref> In the years since, she has thrown the mail directly into his face<ref name=":c107p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c107/p9}}</ref> and announced his friends' arrival with "Sue's downstairs. With all those other losers."<ref name=":c120.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c120.1/p3}}</ref>

She is also rather invested in her own image. Mike's mornings involve waiting on the bathroom while she confidently brushes her hair.<ref name=":c51p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c51/p1}}</ref> When he finally gets a makeover, her review is "Finally! My friends'll stop asking me why my brother doesn't go to Hogwarts."<ref name=":c71p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p26}}</ref> She calls people dorks so reliably that [[Jasmine]] teases her about it, and Haley's defense is that her dorky brother at least has "impeccably dorky taste."<ref name=":c95p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p19}}</ref>

She has a sly streak too, and it gets a full airing the moment her parents leave her and Mike to babysit: she drops her house robe to reveal a party dress underneath and heads out for the night.<ref name=":c69.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c69.1/p2}}</ref> By midnight she's back in bed faking sleep, happy to pocket the credit for babysitting she never did.<ref name=":c69.1p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c69.1/p8}}</ref>

What ties all of this together is confidence. Haley runs her corner of the household on her own terms, and whether the audience is her friends, her mother, or Mike, she always knows exactly which face to show them. It usually works out in her favor, too.

== Appearance ==
[[File:Tumblr bittersweetcandybowl 817443542210330624 0.png|thumb|A Volume 3-era colored panel of Haley and her brothers, from [[Adult Supervision]].<ref name=":tumblr817443">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/817443542210330624|title=bittersweetcandybowl on Tumblr|date=2026-05-23}}</ref>]]
Haley is a grey Korat cat, with the green eyes that run in her family.<ref name=":c68p34">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c68/p34}}</ref> Her signature accessory is a yellow bow, worn low under her ear,<ref name=":c69.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c69.1/p1}}</ref> and her hair is longer than the comic's other ribbon-wearing girls'. Around the house she lounges in a pink robe. She dresses up properly when it counts, though. Her night out in [[Adult Supervision]] involves a trendy purple belted dress, silver ball stud earrings, mascara and lipstick.<ref name=":c69.1p2" />

That longer hair was a deliberate choice on Veronica's part. She first trialed it on [[Stacy]], then handed it to Haley so the two would "stop being so similar to each other as girls with a ribbon on the right side of their head".<ref name=":tumblr816537">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/816537490662014976|title=bittersweetcandybowl on Tumblr|date=2026-05-13}}</ref> Her coloring has shifted a bit over the years as well. In the Volume 3 era she, Chris and their father leaned a greenish grey against their mother's purple-grey, a palette Veronica later simplified.<ref name=":tumblr817443" />

== Significant events ==
Haley spent her first years in the comic on the edges of Mike's home life, and her proper introduction only came in [[December]]. She answers the door with Chris in her arms and greets Lucy warmly. Then she sends her brother off with the stick-up-his-ass jab.<ref name=":c68p14" />

Her spotlight chapter is [[Adult Supervision]], where the second the parents leave, she dumps Chris into Mike's arms and heads out to meet friends. His protest that he's never watched the baby before in his life gets a flat "Time to learn."<ref name=":c69.1p2" /> By midnight she's back in bed pretending to sleep, still in her makeup. Only after their mom's grateful goodnight kiss does she wipe off the lipstick with a relieved "whew.."<ref name=":c69.1p8" />

The rest of her freshman-year appearances keep her firmly in Mike's orbit. [[Just Beautiful]] has her riding along to Sandy's fashion show, where she groans theatrically at his hour of fretting and performs a full impersonation of him in his own scarf.<ref name=":c71p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c71p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p2}}</ref> In [[Local Area]] she fells him with a single muttered "Weirdo.",<ref name=":c82p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c82/p10}}</ref> and in [[Boy Toy]] she's back on baby duty, proudly reporting that Chris "Ate everything by himself!"<ref name=":c87p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c87/p19}}</ref>

Her sophomore year opens with Sandy's visit in [[Model Girlfriend]]. From the couch, she grumbles "But I wanna embarrass him NOW!!"<ref name=":c94p36">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c94/p36}}</ref> Later she bursts into Mike's room and catches the couple mid-embrace. His scarf is off, and she laughs behind her hand at his bare neck.<ref name=":c94p42">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c94/p42}}</ref> [[Love Again]] finally shows her at school, sitting at Jasmine's cafeteria table.<ref name=":c95p19" /> In [[Unwanted Gift]] she pelts a moping Mike with the mail and strolls off cackling.<ref name=":c107p9" />

Her one genuinely heavy moment comes in [[Eternal Flame]], right after Mike's sobbing, room-trashing breakdown. Haley knocks softly and asks, "Mike? Everything okay in there?"<ref name=":c110p33">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c110/p33}}</ref> He bolts past her yelling "I need some SPACE!" She reaches after him with an unfinished "What happened!? Is it about..", but the door slams. She's left staring into his wrecked room.<ref name=":c110p34">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c110/p34}}</ref>

The most recent chapters have turned toward the family itself. One intermission has her claiming the computer for the day and shutting the door on Mike's whole guild.<ref name=":c120.1p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c120.1/p6}}</ref> By [[Second String]], [[Ellen]] can't reach her to babysit Chris anymore,<ref name=":c124p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p18}}</ref> and Mike overhears their mother's phone fight about the arrangement: "You think I like putting this on her? She's not his parent, YOU are!"<ref name=":c124p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p17}}</ref> A later chapter finds Haley glaring silently from the kitchen as Ellen pays and praises Mike for the very chore Haley has done for years.<ref name=":c129p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c129/p6}}</ref>

== Major relationships ==
=== [[Mike]] ===
[[File:Rel haleymike c71 p2.png|thumb|right|Haley impersonates Mike in his own scarf in [[Just Beautiful]].]]
On the surface, this is one long roast. Haley has been needling Mike since the day she was introduced,<ref name=":c68p14" /> and she never seems to run out of material. In [[Blood Lust]] she spends an entire Halloween special trolling a vampire Mike by acting as his missing reflection.

Underneath it, though, there is love in there somewhere. Her worry in Eternal Flame is real,<ref name=":c110p34" /> and Veronica has confirmed it was genuine while warning it was "a once-in-a-lifetime event". In the same post, she teases: "Haley does love Mike at the end of the day! I wonder why that feeling didn't stay that way…"<ref name=":tumblr813273">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/813273479194525696|title=bittersweetcandybowl on Tumblr|date=2026-04-07}}</ref>

The resentment, meanwhile, has a pretty concrete source. Haley carries the childcare while Mike collects the parental praise and, lately, the money.<ref name=":c124p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p19}}</ref><ref name=":c129p6" /> [[Merry Christmas, Roseville!]] shows a world where Mike was never born, and that version of Haley doesn't recognize him at all: "I only have a younger brother."

=== [[Ellen]] ===
For a long while this was a sweet, low-stakes relationship. Ellen pats Haley's head at breakfast,<ref name=":c51p1" /> and it's her trusting goodnight kiss that lets the Adult Supervision con work at all.<ref name=":c69.1p8" />

The arrangement starts to look a lot sadder in Second String. Ellen knows leaning on Haley as Chris's default sitter is unfair, and says so in that overheard phone fight.<ref name=":c124p17" /> Yet in the same chapter she ranks her children out loud, telling Mike "Haley doesn't ace her exams... But you never ask for anything. Michael. My diamond."<ref name=":c124p19" /> Haley's answer is to go quiet, dodging her mother's texts and letting the glares do the talking.<ref name=":c124p18" /><ref name=":c129p6" />

=== [[Chris]] ===
[[File:Rel haleychris c69.1 p1.png|thumb|left|Haley hands Chris off the moment the parents leave in [[Adult Supervision]].]]
More her charge than her playmate, Chris is in her arms at her debut,<ref name=":c68p14" /> handed off the instant she can escape,<ref name=":c69.1p1" /> and competently fed and managed the rest of the time.<ref name=":c87p19" /> Veronica confirms Haley is "the one usually in charge of Chris", with a sympathetic "Middle child struggles, am I right?"<ref name=":c69.1p2" />

And she's genuinely good at the job: by Second String she has a whole routine down, one Chris can happily recite as "Panda movie an' oranges!"<ref name=":c124p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p20}}</ref> For all her grumbling about the arrangement, none of the resentment ever lands on Chris himself.

== Minor relationships ==
=== [[Jasmine]] and the sophomore table ===
Haley's school world is Jasmine's cafeteria table, alongside [[Mina]], [[Cassidy]] and an unnamed dog boy. Jasmine ribs her as the resident cynic, telling her "you think everyone's a dork", and Haley sulks into a juice box about it.<ref name=":c95p19" /> She looks right at home there all the same, happily chattering through lunch in [[Fuel Economy]].<ref name=":c112p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c112/p8}}</ref>

=== [[Lucy]] ===
Haley is genuinely warm toward her brother's estranged friend, greeting her in December with "It's been a while! Are you finally getting sick of my stupid brother?"<ref name=":c68p14" />

=== [[Sandy]] ===
Sandy is less a relationship than premium teasing material, from the "~Sandy~" jab at Haley's introduction<ref name=":c68p14" /> to the "Darling Sandy" impersonation.<ref name=":c71p2" /> Haley's way of finally meeting her in Model Girlfriend is to burst in on her and Mike, and the scene ends with all three of them laughing.<ref name=":c94p42" />

=== [[Abbey]] ===
Her "Ugh, isn't he one of my brother's dorky-ass friends?" lands squarely on Abbey in Love Again,<ref name=":c95p19" /> though by Fuel Economy he's a routine fixture at her lunch table.<ref name=":c112p8" /> In [[Door to Door]], she cheerfully profits from his cookie-box shakedown of Mike, declaring it "Restitution for emotional damage!"

=== [[Paulo]] ===
As far as Haley is concerned, Paulo is entertainment more than anything else. When he dives into Mike's closet to hide from Sue, her verdict is "Okay, this is pretty funny now."<ref name=":c120.1p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c120.1/p5}}</ref>

== Quotes ==
{{Quote
| See if you can fix that stick up his ass that appears whenever he isn't on the phone with ~Sandy~
| speaker = Haley
| context = offering Lucy a project at the front door in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c68/p14 ''December'']
}}
{{Quote
| '''Darling Sandy..''' I do regret that our affair must come to an end for I am, sadly, a girl. As a parting gift, may I humbly request your entire wardrobe...
| speaker = Haley
| context = impersonating Mike in his own scarf in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p2 ''Just Beautiful'']
}}
{{Quote
| I'm going out tonight, dingus.
| speaker = Haley
| context = dumping Chris into Mike's arms in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c69.1/p2 ''Adult Supervision'']
}}
{{Quote
| I'll have you know my dorky brother has impeccably dorky taste.
| speaker = Haley
| context = insulting and defending Mike in one breath in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c95/p19 ''Love Again'']
}}
{{Quote
| Mike? Everything okay in there?
| speaker = Haley
| context = outside Mike's door in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c110/p33 ''Eternal Flame'']
}}

== Gallery ==

== Trivia ==
* Haley dates back to Veronica's childhood original series. Her commentary on Haley's introduction notes that Mike's original baby ''sister'' was gender-flipped into Chris for BCB.<ref name=":c68p14" />
* Her formal, named introduction came in December in 2011, but she'd been on-panel since a silent dinner-table cameo in [[A Distance Apart]] two years earlier.<ref name=":c50p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c50/p14}}</ref><ref name=":c68p14" />
* Veronica's commentary on Model Girlfriend reveals Haley was standing outside Mike's door the entire time Sandy was over, until her mother called dinner.<ref name=":c94p42" />
* When Haley was added to the site's About page, Veronica confirmed "She's appearing a little more in future chapters."<ref name=":tumblr818535">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/818535665327292416|title=bittersweetcandybowl on Tumblr|date=2026-06-04}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Mike]]
* [[Chris]]
* [[Ellen]]
* [[Jasmine]]
* [[Mike's house]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]

Gone Fishing

2026-07-29T10:01:18Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c10p4f11.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]]
| minor_characters = [[Yashy]], [[David]]
| locations = [[Aquarium]], [[Roseville Middle School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A class trip to the [[Aquarium|aquarium]] would be great fun if [[Lucy]] weren't quietly terrified of the whole place. [[Mike]] is the one who notices, and an old promise gets dusted off in the process. [[Paulo]], meanwhile, learns the hard way that seals don't appreciate being teased.

== Synopsis ==
The class field trip to the aquarium starts badly for [[Lucy]], who stares uneasily up at the shark tank while [[Paulo]] amuses himself by tapping on the glass.<ref name=":c10p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p1}}</ref> When she hauls him away he answers with an uninvited hug, and she kicks him head-first into the tank.<ref name=":c10p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p2}}</ref>

At the seal show Lucy goes stiff and silent, her breathing growing heavier, until [[Mike]] realizes he's forgotten all about her fear and quietly takes her hand.<ref name=":c10p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p3}}</ref> He invokes an old vow, "a promise I fully intend to keep", and Lucy blushes before smacking him upside the head for breaking his other promise, the one about never touching her.<ref name=":c10p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p4}}</ref> [[Daisy]] glares at the pair jealously from behind her clipboard.<ref name=":c10p3" />

[[File:c10_p3_panel11.png|alt=Mike clutches Lucy's hand and smiles at her kindly; both of them are blushing while Daisy glares from behind her clipboard.|thumb|One hand-hold, three very different reactions.]]
Paulo, who begged his way into volunteering at the show, taunts the seal with a fish fake-out and gets knocked into the pool by its tail.<ref name=":c10p4" /> A terrified Lucy ends up clinging to Mike's arm.<ref name=":c10p4" />

On the bus home, Lucy declares the trip the worst experience of her life.<ref name=":c10p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p5}}</ref> When Daisy pops up to lecture her about field trips broadening the mind, Lucy asks what staying home would really cost her beyond the chance to ".. Repeatedly fail at flirting with some jerk who barely even likes you?" — with Mike sitting right there.<ref name=":c10p5" />

Back at school, the teacher announces that nobody leaves without a completed worksheet, and Paulo shoves Mike to the ground while begging Daisy for help.<ref name=":c10p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c10/p6}}</ref> A slightly embarrassed Lucy offers the flattened Mike a hand up, and when he muses that everyone deserves a little help sometimes, she plants her foot in his face and laughs at him for being corny.<ref name=":c10p6" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' They come into this chapter as squabbling childhood best friends, complete with a standing rule that Mike isn't allowed to touch her.<ref name=":c10p4" /> He breaks it anyway when her panic peaks, and the promise he invokes earns a genuine blush before the usual smack lands.<ref name=":c10p3" /><ref name=":c10p4" /> The ending plays the same tune, with Lucy offering him a sincere hand up and then answering his gratitude with a foot to the face, so the old equilibrium survives more or less intact.<ref name=":c10p6" />
* '''Lucy and Daisy:''' Daisy spends the seal show glaring at the hand-holding from behind her clipboard, and on the bus Lucy stops leaving the rivalry unspoken.<ref name=":c10p3" /><ref name=":c10p5" /> The jab about Daisy's flirting is cruel enough that Mike takes her aside afterward to soften it.<ref name=":c10p6" /> Veronica's commentary calls it Lucy "hitting her where it hurts", physically and mentally alike.<ref name=":c10p5" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* "Gone Fishing" started out as a bonus chapter exclusive to the first book. Veronica's commentary under the opening page notes it "has now made its way to the website".<ref name=":c10p1" />
* Per Veronica's commentary under the second page, the rewrite deliberately toned Paulo down so that he reads as "a prick that needs to get better at boundaries, rather than irredeemable". Oliver adds that the extreme anime-style gags stopped making sense once the cast was fleshed out.<ref name=":c10p2" />
* Oliver remembers the third page as a headache from converting the comic to vertical Webtoon format. Lucy's face in its first panel sits behind a speech bubble and was never inked, so "there's NO face behind that bubble."<ref name=":c10p3" />
* Veronica describes the chapter as exploring "some of Lucy's lesser-talked-about traumas", with foreshadowing whose answers only come much later.<ref name=":c10p1" /><ref name=":c10p3" />
* The poodle teacher who spoils Paulo's early dismissal is the middle school's regular homeroom teacher, on the job since [[Merry Snow Day]].<ref name=":c10p6" /><ref name=":c3p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c3/p4}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Troubled Waters]]''': Its flashback shows the near-drowning that left Lucy terrified of water, along with the promise Mike makes her afterward and invokes at the seal show.<ref name=":c30p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p10}}</ref><ref name=":c30p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p11}}</ref>
* '''[[Carry On]]''': Lucy's fear resurfaces at the school swimming pool, with the seal-show staging reversed. This time it's Lucy who grabs Mike's hand in a panic, right before she faints into his arms.<ref name=":c31p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c31p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p4}}</ref>
* '''[[Turning Tides]]''': Paulo's teasing gets meaner with age. Years down the line he taunts Lucy as "Poor little hydrophobic Lucy..", throwing the exact fear on display here right back in her face.<ref name=":c48p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c48/p2}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Follow Me

2026-07-29T10:01:14Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c32p3f12.png
| major_characters = [[Daisy]], [[Augustus]], [[Tess]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Mike]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Abbey]], [[David]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Jessica]], [[Rachel]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]], [[Amaya]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Prom talk at lunch nearly outs Sandy's name, [[Lucy]] launches a cover-up under the table, a charming stranger keeps telling [[Daisy]] exactly what she wants to hear, and [[Tess]]'s hidden past finally corners her in the freshman hallway.

== Synopsis ==
[[Yashy]] insists at lunch that Lucy is [[Mike]]'s obvious prom date. Mike starts to name someone else before Lucy's juice box bounces off his head.<ref name=":c32p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p1}}</ref> Under the table, Lucy pleads with him not to mention [[Sandy]] around Yashy. The pair are nearly nose to nose when Yashy pops up, asking if it isn't "a little old-fashioned to indulge yourselves under the dining table?"<ref name=":c32p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p2}}</ref>

Daisy, watching, murmurs that it's not fair. Behind her, a stranger named [[Augustus]] whispers that Mike isn't the only one out there. When Tess challenges him, a pointed jab about "honesty, Tessa" frightens her into silence. [[Paulo]] tells him to get lost.<ref name=":c32p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p3}}</ref>

Daisy storms outside in tears and sulks alone on a grassy hill. Being sweet, innocent "Little Miss Perfect" is the problem, she decides — she'd get noticed if she were taller, bustier and sexier.<ref name=":c32p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p4}}</ref>

Augustus doesn't let up at gym class, either. At the pool, he beats [[Abbey]] to Daisy's side and offers to see her after school. When Tess confronts him over pestering Daisy, he hints that she's the one hiding a "little secret", and Paulo steps in a second time.<ref name=":c32p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p5}}</ref>

After the bell, Lucy catches up to Daisy and warns her to "be really careful with who you trust". Daisy thanks her, but privately writes the advice off out of envy. She meets Augustus after school anyway. He takes her hand and assures her she made the right decision.<ref name=":c32p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p6}}</ref>

[[File:c32_p6_panel18.png|alt=Augustus takes Daisy's hand and says "Well, Daisy, you made the right decision."|thumb|Daisy takes the nice stranger up on his offer.]]

Tess has an ambush of her own waiting. [[Jessica]] and [[Rachel]] corner her in the freshman hallway, sneering that it's her turn to feel hunted. Tess tries to apologize. Rachel slaps her across the face, screaming that her brother still can't play soccer after what Tess and [[Roger]] did. She is left crumpled against a locker in tears.<ref name=":c32p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p7}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Daisy and Augustus:''' Augustus's whole method is telling Daisy exactly what she wants to hear, and it works because she is aching to be noticed. She knows perfectly well he's "a complete stranger", having met him exactly once before, when he flirted with her in [[Carry On]],<ref name=":c31p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c31/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c32p3" /> but his flattery lands squarely on her jealousy and her sense of being invisible. Neither her friends' open distrust nor Lucy's warning slows her down, and by the end of the chapter she has met him alone and taken his hand.<ref name=":c32p6" />
* '''Tess, Jessica and Rachel:''' Tess used to be their tormentor, and all three of them know it. Jessica and Rachel were on the receiving end of whatever she and Roger did last year, and Tess has been hiding from her past among the oblivious freshmen.<ref name=":c32p7" /> Augustus already knows enough to needle her about "honesty" and a "little secret",<ref name=":c32p3" /><ref name=":c32p5" /> and when the two finally corner her, Tess doesn't defend herself for a moment.<ref name=":c32p7" />
* '''Paulo and Tess:''' Paulo appoints himself Tess's defender, telling Augustus off at lunch and again at the pool, then offering to walk her to her bus stop.<ref name=":c32p3" /><ref name=":c32p5" /><ref name=":c32p7" /> Veronica's commentary confirms he "is getting a lot more protective of Tess" and is "beginning to feel things".<ref name=":c32p5" /> Tess's last words of the chapter are an apology to an absent Paulo, dreading the day he hears what she used to be.<ref name=":c32p7" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Sandy has been Mike's official girlfriend since the phone call in [[A New Leaf]], and ordinary lunch-table conversation besides.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c23/p3}}</ref> Mike nearly says her name in front of everyone here.<ref name=":c32p1" /> Lucy's under-the-table plea creates a standing arrangement: Sandy is not to be mentioned around Yashy.<ref name=":c32p2" /> Lucy sells it as protecting Yashy's feelings, and Mike walks away apologetic and complicit.

== Trivia & observations ==
[[File:Tumblr bittersweetcandybowl 167679758207 0.png|thumb|The original lined-paper draft of page 5, shared by the authors in 2017 when a reader asked whether Paulo even knows who Augustus is.<ref name="tumblr2017">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/167679758207/does-paulo-even-know-who-augustus-is-i-cant|title=Does Paulo even know who Augustus is?|date=2017-11-20}}</ref>]]
* This is the first appearance of Alec McCain, a character created by T. Ashley Jenkins, creator of the puzzle game ''Petal Crash''. Veronica describes him as "David except opposite in personality" and warns readers not to expect him around regularly.<ref name=":c32p1" />
* The chapter is a remake of an older version. Veronica says the original hill scene had Daisy "really mopey and sad", and she rewrote it to show Daisy's "bitter side" instead.<ref name=":c32p4" />
* Veronica's page 2 commentary fills in why Lucy panics. Yashy once heard girlfriend rumors about Mike and Lucy dismissed them, and news of a girlfriend who isn't Lucy would go down "very VERY badly".<ref name=":c32p2" />
* Lucy's hallway advice comes with an official warning label. Oliver's commentary under page 6 tells readers to "take Lucy's words with a grain of salt, here. Nothing's quite so simple."<ref name=":c32p6" />
* It is also the first appearance of Jessica and Rachel. Veronica's commentary thanks Tess "for inspiring me to make Jessica and Rachel!!!", and she has since said the pair were initially created as victims of Tess, with their later development helping drive the comic's shift toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity.<ref name=":c32p7" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/800420040497364992/when-you-decide-to-go-in-a-more-lgbtq-positive|title=Veronica on the shift toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity|date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* The lined-paper draft the authors posted in 2017 shows this chapter's pool confrontation already existed before the remaster, with different dialogue.<ref name="tumblr2017" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Carry On]]''': Augustus's introduction chapter. He flirts with Daisy at the pool there, so the whisper behind her here is his second approach, not his first.<ref name=":c31p1" />
* '''[[Bonding]]''': Two chapters later, the lunch table learns Daisy has been "hanging with that older kid", and Augustus starts working on her opinion of Tess.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p2}}</ref>
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': A flashback finally shows the history behind page 7: Rachel's brother Aaron in the hospital with his broken arm, Roger's attack on him, and Tess's own bullying of Jessica.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p34}}</ref>
* '''[[Just Beautiful]]''': The under-the-table secrecy arrangement finally collapses here. Yashy learns Mike has had a girlfriend for a year, and she does not take it well.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p32}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Flirting with Disaster

2026-07-29T10:01:10Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c27p5f5.png
| major_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Mike]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[David]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Roseville Elementary School]], [[Roseville Middle School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A game of truth or dare corners [[Lucy]] into naming her first crush, and the answer isn't the boy anyone was betting on. Two flashbacks later, the whole table knows exactly how [[Paulo]] learned to flirt, and why Lucy hits him for it.

== Synopsis ==
Lunch turns into a game of truth or dare, and [[Tess]] asks [[Lucy]] who her first crush was.<ref name=":c27p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p1}}</ref> [[Mike]] scoffs "Oh '''C'MON!''' You already know what she's gonna say!" Lucy blushes and confirms it.<ref name=":c27p1" />

The answer, to everyone's shock, is [[Paulo]]. Lucy takes the table back to fifth grade, when Paulo arrived as a transfer student and she spent the whole morning hiding her bright-red face.<ref name=":c27p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p2}}</ref> When he finally came face to face with her on the playground, both of them blushed and turned away, and then he abruptly bolted, leaving young Lucy convinced something was wrong with her.<ref name=":c27p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p3}}</ref> In the present she shrugs it off, figuring she dodged a bullet since he only became more of a jerk afterwards.<ref name=":c27p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p4}}</ref>

Paulo is devastated and insists on telling his own side. He wasn't rejecting her — she was "the prettiest girl I'd ever seen", and he simply panicked.<ref name=":c27p4" /> A year later he stumbled into flirting by imitating a slick high schooler at the mall, and soon had girls all over school swooning.<ref name=":c27p4" /> Then he tried his new confidence on the one girl he had built it for, and Lucy punched him in the head, screamed that he was just like all the rest, and stormed off in tears.<ref name=":c27p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p5}}</ref>

Lucy softens once the whole story is out, telling him he had nothing to be ashamed of because "the real you is always inside." Paulo is touched for all of a moment, then caresses her cheek with a fresh pickup line and gets flattened by an instant uppercut.<ref name=":c27p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27/p6}}</ref>
[[File:c27_p6_panel10.png|alt=Lucy uppercuts Paulo, knocking him flat on his back with his feet sticking up in the air, as she says "I've seen enough of him."|thumb|Lucy has seen enough of flirt-Paulo, thanks.]]

Even flat on the floor, Paulo consoles himself by needling Mike that Lucy would clearly take him first, and the two are soon brawling again.<ref name=":c27p6" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Lucy and Paulo:''' Their whole routine up to now has been Paulo flirting and Lucy hitting him for it.<ref name=":c26p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p1}}</ref> This chapter finally unearths the history underneath. It turns out to be a mutual fifth-grade crush, a panicked flight Lucy read as rejection, and years of silence kept up out of hurt on her side and pride on his.<ref name=":c27p2" /> Hearing his side softens Lucy considerably. She offers him genuine comfort, and the uppercut that follows only means flirt-Paulo is still unwelcome. The surface routine carries on, but both of them finally know the truth.<ref name=":c27p6" />
* '''Mike and Paulo:''' The two have a standing rivalry, and Lucy's attention is what most of it runs on. Paulo comes out of this chapter with rare bragging rights — by his reading, her confession proves she'd take him before Mike, and Tess and Daisy deadpan their agreement.<ref name=":c27p6" /> Beyond that, the rivalry stays exactly where it was. Paulo takes a jab at Mike's "imaginary girlfriend", and the two end the chapter in their usual brawl.

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary reveals that everything from Paulo's flashback onward was rewritten for the Omnibus. The original version tied his flirty turn to the villains of [[Confrontation]], a storyline link she came to find "embarrassing and cringy", so she replaced it with the current, more grounded version.<ref name=":c27p4" />
* Per Veronica, Lucy whispered her answer in the hope that nobody would catch it. "Mike just has ridiculous hearing."<ref name=":c27p1" />
* Veronica's commentary under the playground page notes that Paulo transferred in at the beginning of winter, which is why he and Daisy wear coats while cold-sensitive Mike goes without. She also points out that Daisy's fifth-grade crush on Mike, confessed in [[Humble Approach]], can be seen sprouting in that very scene.<ref name=":c27p3" /><ref name=":c25p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c25/p3}}</ref>
* Paulo mentions he came from a city called "Marashino", a rare bit of his pre-transfer background. [[Maraschino City]] turns up under both spellings across the series, and one later page manages to use both at once.<ref name=":c27p3" /><ref name=":c119p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c119/p8}}</ref>
* Present-day David wanders into the middle of Lucy's flashback to give her childhood misery a thumbs up and an "Owned!"<ref name=":c27p3" />
* Paulo's parting shot coins the "imaginary girlfriend" jab at Mike. He keeps it in rotation for years afterwards.<ref name=":c27p6" /><ref name=":c51p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c51/p10}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': This is the companion backstory chapter, told from the same lunch table one release earlier. Its final scene shows the older creeps harassing Lucy on her first day of middle school, which is exactly who she means when she screams that young Paulo is "just like '''ALL''' the rest!"<ref name=":c26p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p5}}</ref>
* '''[[Lucy's Birthday]]''': The very next chapter, and one of the series' short ".1" birthday intermissions. David's "Owned!" carries right along into it.
* '''[[Feline Festivities]]''': David tries the exact same truth-or-dare trap on Lucy again. This time she isn't falling for it, and says so.<ref name=":c28p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p9}}</ref>
* '''[[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]''': The mirror chapter. Mike named Sandy as his own first crush there, and this chapter is Lucy's counterpart reveal.<ref name=":c17p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p4}}</ref>
* '''[[Happy Hour]]''': The who-would-Lucy-pick argument gets restaged years later at [[Rachel]]'s party, drunk and with even less dignity.<ref name=":c80p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c80/p20}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Field Day

2026-07-29T10:01:06Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c17p4f11.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Katie]], [[David]], [[Paulo]]
| minor_characters = [[Yashy]], [[Daisy]], [[Sue]], [[Blur]], [[Amaya]], [[Chirpy]], [[Turtle]]
| locations = [[Roseville Middle School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
It's field day, and [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] intend to settle once and for all which of them is the better athlete. Meanwhile, [[Katie]] would give anything to learn the secret behind [[David]]'s impossibly shiny fur.

== Synopsis ==
Mike talks himself into a war with [[Lucy]] before the first event starts. He reassures her that their races have always been close, then claims he always wins them and only lost their famous fourth-grade sprint because he walked the whole way. When [[Yashy]] pipes up with a crude question about their romance, the two blast her flat with a joint laser-eyed "'''AYU BEEM!!'''"<ref name=":c16p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p1}}</ref>

[[Katie]] arrives with a plan to charm a prom invitation out of the hottest boy, then spots [[David]] and his impossibly shiny fur. Asked what kind of product he uses, David beams "Ovaries" and wanders off.<ref name=":c16p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p2}}</ref>

[[File:c16_p2_panel14.png|alt=David, surrounded by sparkles, smiles blankly and answers "Ovaries" when Katie asks what product he uses.|thumb|Some exotic new brand, presumably.]]
The partner races both end in dead ties, mostly at Katie's expense. Lucy drags her in as a partner and simply sprints for the line, and her flushed gloating leaves Mike blushing and [[Paulo]] declaring "'''I AM SO TURNED ON'''".<ref name=":c16p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c16p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p5}}</ref> In the rematch Mike snaps at a taunt from Lucy and plows his bandaged partner Katie face-first through the dirt to tear the ribbon alongside her.<ref name=":c16p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p6}}</ref>

With partners abandoned, Mike and Lucy go head-to-head at the game stations and tie on everything, from archery to identically missed basketball shots.<ref name=":c16p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p9}}</ref> When a stray arrow from Katie nearly hits Lucy, Mike shoves her out of its path and holds her face for a long moment.<ref name=":c16p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p10}}</ref>

The deciding footrace ends with Mike on the ground and the rivalry forgotten. He pulls far ahead, softens at the sight of Lucy straining after him, and genuinely considers letting her have this one, then trips over a grinning [[Turtle|turtle]] and hurts his leg for real. It's Lucy who runs back, wiping a tear off his face with a "Watch where you're going next time, idiot" and shouting for the medics.<ref name=":c16p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p11}}</ref>

David wins the race, then helps the collapsed Katie to her feet and shares his secret, a good roll in the dirt three times a day. Katie trots off after her new "beauty guru", hearts in her eye. Mike, now sporting a cast and cane, watches with Lucy, who writes the day off as giving him a pity win.<ref name=":c16p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p12}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Best friends and standing rivals, and this chapter runs on both at once. Mike's boast about the fourth-grade race turns a pep talk into a day-long war, and the two prove so evenly matched that every single event ends in a tie.<ref name=":c16p1" /> It takes a real injury to break the deadlock. The moment Mike is actually hurt, Lucy drops the rivalry on the spot and tends to him.<ref name=":c16p11" /> Veronica has said the chapter shows how similar the two are, and that Mike "gets a lot out of proving himself to her".<ref name="tumblr-mucy">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/814632472040128513/i-first-started-reading-bcb-almost-10-years-ago|title=Veronica recommends classic Mike and Lucy chapters|date=2026-04-22}}</ref>
* '''Katie and David:''' A connection built from nothing in a single afternoon, with Katie doing all the wanting. She spends the day worshipping David's fur from afar,<ref name=":c16p2" /> while David stays blissfully unaware he has an admirer at all. When he finally helps her up and shares his dirt-rolling secret, Katie is won over completely: she leaves the field a devoted disciple of her new "beauty guru", something Mike and Lucy even remark on.<ref name=":c16p12" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* The arrow through Katie's head near the end is only a daydream, playing out inside Mike's thought bubble. Plenty of first-time readers were fooled, and Veronica's commentary spells it out: the scene "looks like it ACTUALLY HAPPENED, but it didn't."<ref name=":c16p10" />
* Mike's fall, on the other hand, is completely real. Veronica stresses that he isn't pretending to hand Lucy the win, and notes the irony that he was considering exactly that when he tripped.<ref name=":c16p11" /> Her commentary on the final page marks this as the start of the Injured Mike arc, with the damage "probably just a sprained ankle or something".<ref name=":c16p12" />
* "AYU BEEM" is a Di Gi Charat reference. Veronica notes she "used to make a lot of references to Di Gi Charat" in this era.<ref name=":c16p1" />
* The flag the teacher raises to declare the first race a tie bears a picture of a necktie.<ref name=":c16p5" />
* The grinning turtle has done this sort of thing before. Its first appearance was in [[Simple Pleasures]], where Paulo's skateboard hit it.<ref name=":c16p11" /><ref name=":c1p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p5}}</ref>
* Oliver's commentary singles out [[Blur]]'s "It's been over!!" as a favorite silly line he "had to preserve" from the chapter's original version.<ref name=":c16p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p7}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]''': Mike is still hobbling around on the new cane when the next chapter opens, and Lucy ends up chasing him with it once he ditches it. The quieter mood after the rivalry also gives that chapter room to open up the [[Sandy]] backstory.
* '''[[Pep Rally]]''': The earlier school-athletics chapter this one builds on, which Veronica describes as Field Day's "older sister".<ref name=":c16p1" /> Katie's cheerleading credentials were established there, and David's "'''ZERO SERVING ZERO!'''" is him parroting the teacher's volleyball call from that chapter.
* '''[[Farewell, Middle School]]''': The cane makes its last appearance here, when Lucy kicks it out from under Mike. The prom Katie was scheming toward also turns up in that chapter's flashbacks, and Katie makes it there, though not on David's arm.
* '''[[Confrontation]]''': Two chapters before Field Day, this one ends with Lucy kissing Mike. The all-day rivalry here runs on the tension that kiss left behind.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Feline Filibuster

2026-07-29T10:01:03Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c60p6f9.png
| major_characters = [[Sue]], [[Paulo]], [[Jasmine]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[David]], [[Rachel]], [[Amaya]], [[Katie]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Three|Volume Three]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Election season hits Roseville High. [[Sue]] runs on real, achievable outcomes, [[Jasmine]]'s ticket promises candy bars and a ban on detention, and [[Abbey]] runs on expelling every bully in the building. So naturally, the winner is [[Daisy]], who only joined the race halfway through the debate.

== Synopsis ==
The race begins in the [[Roseville High School]] computer lab, where [[Paulo]] prints off a thick stack of campaign posters for [[Jasmine]].<ref name=":c60p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p1}}</ref> At lunch, [[Sue]] slams into the cafeteria to announce her own run for student council secretary.<ref name=":c60p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p2}}</ref> Paulo and Jasmine burst in moments later as the rival ticket.<ref name=":c60p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p3}}</ref>

Sue then drops a bomb on the rival ticket — only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman. Paulo is the one who typed every last poster, and Jasmine lets him know it with a shriek of "IT'S ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!! 300 sheets of '''WRONG''', Paulo!!"<ref name=":c60p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p6}}</ref>

[[File:c60_p6_panel11.png|alt=Jasmine flails her arms so fast she appears to have four of them, screaming "300 sheets of WRONG, Paulo!!" at a cringing Paulo.|thumb|Paulo remembers what grade his girlfriend is in, 300 sheets too late.]]
[[Abbey]] disagrees with most of Sue's policies and enters the race against her instead of joining her ticket.<ref name=":c60p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p9}}</ref> The secretaries' debate is where the race turns ugly. Asked about the rise in school bullying, Abbey answers with a single word, expulsion.<ref name=":c60p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p10}}</ref> Sue accuses him of scare tactics and brands his whole platform a fascist dictatorship.<ref name=":c60p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p12}}</ref> "Fascist" is the word that finally breaks him. Abbey slams his fists down and screams "BULLIES SHOULD '''ROT IN HELL!!'''" The room falls silent, apart from Paulo helpfully yelling for Abbey to hit her.<ref name=":c60p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p13}}</ref> Daisy calms him with a reminder about his counselor and takes his place at the podium as a strictly temporary substitute.<ref name=":c60p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p14}}</ref>

The speech does quieter damage out in the audience. Back at lunch, [[Lucy]] had blown her nose on [[Mike]]'s scarf without asking, business as usual for those two.<ref name=":c60p2" /> As Abbey rails on about bullies and abuse, Mike turns a judgmental frown on Lucy. She goes white and refuses to look at him.<ref name=":c60p12" />

In the end Daisy wins, and Sue collapses under the caption DEFEATED.<ref name=":c60p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p15}}</ref> A "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED" flashback reveals that Paulo spent the campaign grimly ordering student after student to vote for her.<ref name=":c60p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p16}}</ref> Daisy then hands the job away, reasoning that it was Abbey's campaign all along and that she has eighteen other extracurriculars anyway. Abbey takes the news with an unsettling amount of satisfaction: "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan.."<ref name=":c60p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p17}}</ref>

Secretary Abbey wastes no time, declaring a lunchtime trash-pickup day for orange cats that lands squarely on Paulo.<ref name=":c60p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p18}}</ref> Jasmine, who won the treasurer's race, gets him back on Paulo's behalf by converting the bake sale money into thousands of pennies and having them delivered straight into Abbey's locker.<ref name=":c60p18" />

== Critical moments ==
[[File:c60_p17_panel7.png|alt=Abbey smiles thinly against a green background, saying "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan..".|thumb|Roseville High's incoming secretary, everybody.]]
* Sue reveals that only sophomores can run for secretary, voiding Jasmine's freshman campaign and all 300 of Paulo's posters. Jasmine switches to the treasurer's race instead.<ref name=":c60p6" /><ref name=":c60p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p7}}</ref>
* Sue brands Abbey's anti-bullying platform a fascist dictatorship, and his temper snaps mid-debate. He screams that bullies should rot in hell, and Daisy has to defuse him with a stress ball.<ref name=":c60p13" /><ref name=":c60p14" />
* Abbey's speech about bullies and abuse lands somewhere he never aimed it. Mike turns a judgmental frown on Lucy, who goes white and looks away.<ref name=":c60p12" />
* Daisy wins the election, thanks to Paulo strong-arming voters one at a time, and promptly hands the seat to Abbey. He calls it "Just according to plan.."<ref name=":c60p16" /><ref name=":c60p17" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Lucy's rough treatment of Mike has always passed as normal between them, and blowing her nose on his scarf at lunch is just the latest example.<ref name=":c60p2" /> Abbey's tirade recasts that habit as something much uglier. Mike frowns at her across the auditorium, and Lucy can't bring herself to meet his eyes.<ref name=":c60p12" /> Not a word is exchanged, and the very next chapter, [[Pillow Talk]], has Mike ignoring her on her own birthday.<ref name=":c61p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p3}}</ref>
* '''Sue and Abbey:''' Before this chapter the two barely had a relationship at all, just fellow members of the friend group. The election turns them into open political rivals. Sue greets Abbey as an assumed campaign ally and gets an opponent instead,<ref name=":c60p9" /> and by mid-debate she's branding his platform fascist while he screams at her from the stage.<ref name=":c60p12" /><ref name=":c60p13" /> The rivalry outlasts the vote, too. Sue insists she got over the loss, but watching Abbey land the seat anyway horrifies her all over again.<ref name=":c60p16" /><ref name=":c60p17" />
* '''Daisy and Abbey:''' The couple becomes a political unit here, with Daisy acting as much like Abbey's campaign staff as his girlfriend. She hands him his speech and talks his temper down on stage,<ref name=":c60p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c60p14" /> then runs in his place, wins, and gives him the seat. On the evidence, she is the more electable half of the couple.<ref name=":c60p17" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* The chapter title was a beta-title from Oliver, who scripted the first six or so pages. Veronica's own working title was "Elections".<ref name=":c60p1" />
* A post on the authors' Tumblr sets the chapter in late 2007, between Halloween and Lucy's birthday — hence [[David]]'s "running for Obama?" crack.<ref name=":c60p3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/158720061474|title=Ask response on David knowing about Obama early|date=2017-03-22}}</ref>
* Lucy using Mike's scarf as a tissue revives the running gag from [[Wardrobe Malfunction]], a chapter the group spends wiping all manner of things on that poor scarf. Veronica's commentary greets the return with "How nostalgic!"<ref name=":c60p2" /><ref name=":c24p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c24/p1}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': The very next chapter is Lucy's birthday, and Mike spends it ignoring her while happily greeting everyone else.
* '''[[Under Pressure]]''': The source of Abbey's debate flashbacks. Noah pins Tess against a wall in this chapter, and it's Abbey who drives him off.
* '''[[A Different Side]]''': The history behind "THE SCHOOL HATES ME". At the pep rally, Tess was forced on stage and booed by the whole school.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume Three]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Feline Festivities

2026-07-29T10:00:59Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c28p16f9.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Tess]], [[Paulo]], [[David]], [[Chirpy]]
| minor_characters = [[Daisy]], [[Abbey]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Yashy]], [[Blur]], [[Lily]], [[Sandy]], [[Katie]], [[Stacy]], [[John]]
| locations = [[Mike's house]], [[Roseville High School]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]], [[Tess's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Tess]] invites the whole gang to her Christmas party, mansion included. [[Mike]] spends the night waiting for a dream to come true, [[Paulo]] rigs mistletoe to a Santa hat, and little [[Chirpy]] ends up carrying the heaviest heart in the room.

== Synopsis ==
The last day before winter break starts with [[Mike]] waking from a dream in which [[Sandy]] promised that this Christmas might not be without her after all.<ref name=":c28p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p1}}</ref> At lunch, [[Tess]] hands out invitations to her Christmas party, and when [[Paulo]] flirts with [[Lucy]], she whispers something unheard in his ear that leaves him blushing and remarkably obedient.<ref name=":c28p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p2}}</ref>

On Christmas Eve, Mike and Lucy trudge through the snow with [[Yashy]] and Chirpy, and the printed directions lead them to a pillared mansion.<ref name=":c28p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p4}}</ref> Chirpy chases after the other birds at the party, loses them, and winds up watching the moms with their kids instead, looking pretty forlorn.<ref name=":c28p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p5}}</ref>

[[File:c28_p5_panel1.png|alt=An extravagant house with massive pillars and a decorative arch, a chandelier visible through the window.|thumb|Tess never did mention living in a mansion.]]
When carolers arrive outside and the partygoers coo over a girl whose "fur's as white as snow", Mike rushes to the window, certain that Sandy has come after all.<ref name=":c28p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p8}}</ref> The girl is a stranger, and [[David]] cheerfully confirms it.<ref name=":c28p8" />

Chirpy finds Mike standing alone on the balcony and asks if he is okay.<ref name=":c28p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p10}}</ref> He snaps at her and unloads the whole Sandy mess — being forgotten, never knowing whether someone will actually come through, clinging to a hope he himself calls pathetic.<ref name=":c28p10" /> Chirpy, in tears, answers with "My mommy.. She never came back.."<ref name=":c28p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p11}}</ref> She flies off blindly before Mike can finish apologizing, smacks into the back of Lucy's head, and drops out cold.<ref name=":c28p11" />

While Chirpy sleeps it off in Lucy's arms, Lucy admits that Chirpy has always wondered about her real mother, and blames herself for not being one.<ref name=":c28p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p13}}</ref> "You can long for someone else but still find comfort in the people in your life who love you," Mike tells her.<ref name=":c28p13" /> Both of them end up blushing, and they head back inside on notably warm terms.<ref name=":c28p13" />

Back inside, David has spiked the punch in the most literal sense available, with thorns, and [[Katie]] finds out face-first.<ref name=":c28p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p12}}</ref> Tess then makes good on her lunchtime promise and kisses Paulo until he collapses, tail wagging.<ref name=":c28p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p14}}</ref>

Near midnight, Tess gathers everyone for gifts, only for the group to find Lucy back on the balcony, singing her sleepy pets the Spanish lullaby "Arroz con leche".<ref name=":c28p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p15}}</ref> As the party winds down, a half-asleep Chirpy thanks Lucy for taking care of her.<ref name=":c28p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p16}}</ref> Mike gets one last surprise on his own doorstep: a present with "Sandy" on the tag.<ref name=":c28p16" />

== Critical moments ==
* Dream-Sandy sends Mike into the holidays with "Keep wishing, Maishul.. Your dreams can come true.." He takes it literally, and spends the whole party half-expecting her to appear.<ref name=":c28p1" /><ref name=":c28p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p7}}</ref>
* Partygoers gush over a caroler with snow-white fur, and Mike rushes to the window sure it must be Sandy at last. The girl turns out to be a total stranger.<ref name=":c28p8" />
* Alone on the balcony, Mike vents years of Sandy anguish at Chirpy after calling her too much of a baby to understand. Her answer stops him cold: her own mother never came back for her. She flies off in tears and knocks herself out against the back of Lucy's head.<ref name=":c28p10" /><ref name=":c28p11" />
* Tess delivers the reward she whispered about at lunch. The kiss leaves Paulo flat on the floor and, by his own account, in love.<ref name=":c28p14" />
* Mike arrives home to a present tagged "Sandy" waiting on his doorstep, the one piece of his Christmas hope that turns out to be real.<ref name=":c28p16" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Tess and Paulo:''' Tess is the older girl who polices Paulo's flirting, and the party opens with her doing just that, scolding him for crowding Lucy.<ref name=":c28p2" /> This time the policing comes with a reward attached: her whispered promise buys his best behavior for the whole night, and the kiss that pays it off puts the two on a genuinely new, flirtatious footing.<ref name=":c28p14" />
* '''Mike and Sandy:''' The long-distance relationship runs almost entirely on Mike's hope, and it doesn't take much to inflate or puncture it. One dream convinces him Sandy might physically turn up.<ref name=":c28p1" /> One white-furred caroler crushes the idea, and by his own admission he has been counting on "some pathetic kind of hope".<ref name=":c28p10" /> The present on his doorstep swaps the fantasy for something he can actually hold.<ref name=":c28p16" />
* '''Mike and Chirpy:''' Chirpy has called Mike "Boy-Kitty" since she hatched, and his outburst here is the first time he genuinely hurts her.<ref name=":c6p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c28p10" /> He comes away chastened, admitting he shouldn't underestimate little birds like her.<ref name=":c28p13" />
* '''Lucy and Chirpy:''' Lucy has been Chirpy's caretaker since the bird was very young, but the party forces her to face how much Chirpy still longs for her real mother. "Some caretaker I turned out to be," she concludes.<ref name=":c28p13" /> By the end of the night the bond is back on solid ground, with Chirpy's sleepy thank-you and Lucy naming her pets the ones she trusts without a doubt.<ref name=":c28p16" />

[[File:c28_p15_panel9.png|alt=Lucy sings on the snowy balcony while Yashy and Chirpy sleep in her arms.|thumb|Lucy sings after all, just not on Tess's karaoke stage.]]
== Trivia & observations ==
* Per Veronica's commentary, the original version of this chapter's first page was the first comic ever posted to the earliest version of the BCB website, back when every earlier chapter lived only on DeviantArt. The chapter was later entirely redrawn for the current site.<ref name=":c28p1" />
* Veronica credits the mansion's design to Tess's creator, a fan named Lily, who "scribbled up a plan for it in paint".<ref name=":c28p5" />
* Lucy's lullaby is the real children's song "Arroz con leche", sung in Spanish on the page. Veronica says it was inspired by a song she used to sing to a baby she babysat in college.<ref name=":c28p15" />
* Chirpy's ".. I love you, Girl-Kitty.." repeats, word for word, a line from her babyhood flashback in [[Blurry Memories]].<ref name=":c28p16" /><ref name=":c19p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p2}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': Mike's first visit to [[Tess's house]] happens in this chapter, where he traded Lucy's backstory for a chance to warm up and came away with his scarf.<ref name=":c26p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c26/p6}}</ref> His line on the walk over about being "too cold to pay attention" points back to that evening.<ref name=":c28p4" />
* '''[[Flying Lessons]]''': Chirpy hatched here, from an egg Yashy rescued after the mother bird fled and was never found.<ref name=":c6p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p2}}</ref> That abandonment is exactly what Chirpy sobs about on the balcony, and her "Boy-Kitty" naming habit started there too.<ref name=":c6p4" />
* '''[[Hot Pursuit]]''': Mike's evening follows the same shape as this earlier chapter, where he chased a Sandy look-alike through the mall convinced it was really her.<ref name=":c20p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p8}}</ref> Both chapters end with him receiving a gift from the absent Sandy anyway.<ref name=":c20p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c20/p14}}</ref>
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': The Tess and Paulo flirtation that starts at this party carries on to junior prom. Tess accepts Paulo's invitation "just as friends", and the two attend together.<ref name=":c35p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p7}}</ref><ref name=":c38p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c38/p14}}</ref>
* '''[[Witch Hunt]]''': Years down the line, Lucy mentions that Chirpy's mom was eventually found.<ref name=":c105p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p7}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Farewell, Middle School

2026-07-29T10:00:55Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c18p6f14.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[David]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Flower Girl]], [[Katie]], [[Stacy]], [[John]], [[Sue]], [[Amaya]], [[Sex-Ed Teacher]]
| locations = [[Roseville Middle School]], [[Prom Venue]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Middle school goes out in style. [[David]] floods the hallway with chocolate ice cream, the teachers deliver some memorable goodbyes, and [[Mike]] gets placed into Honors English whether he likes it or not. A summer time skip at the end carries the whole cast toward high school.

== Synopsis ==
The Monday after prom, [[David]] wanders in bandaged and black-eyed after finally dancing with his crush, [[Flower Girl]], who got dizzy and accidentally threw him through a window.<ref name=":c18p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p1}}</ref> His own review of the evening is "I think I got laid."<ref name=":c18p1" /> [[Paulo]] fared worse, chased off in tears when David caught him making a move on Flower Girl.<ref name=":c18p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p2}}</ref> As the bell rings, [[Mike]] lingers behind, musing that maybe he really should sit back and enjoy what he has here.<ref name=":c18p2" />

The last day of school opens on David's senior prank, a river of chocolate ice cream through the hallway that [[Yashy]] floats blissfully down.<ref name=":c18p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p3}}</ref> Next year's placements put Mike into Honors English without being asked, right alongside a delighted [[Daisy]].<ref name=":c18p3" /> [[Lucy]] teasingly congratulates "Maishul" on the news, borrowing the pet name [[Sandy]] coined in [[Unfulfilled Fantasy]], and the janitor mops the flustered Mike straight into the ice cream.<ref name=":c18p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c17p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p4}}</ref>

[[File:c18_p3_panel2.png|alt=Yashy floats on her back down a river of chocolate ice cream flowing through the school hallway.|thumb|David's farewell gift to the school suits Yashy just fine.]]
At the final bell, Mike and Lucy move in for a hug, but Lucy kicks his cane out from under him instead, telling him "It's unfair to your girlfriend."<ref name=":c18p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p5}}</ref>

Calendar pages flip past June and July, and Mike, his leg healed, dozes under a tree over his Honors reading of ''1984''.<ref name=":c18p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p6}}</ref> Lucy sits down to needle him, with Daisy, Paulo and David trailing in behind her.<ref name=":c18p6" /> For once, Mike catches himself thinking he's never been so happy to have these guys around.<ref name=":c18p6" /> Lucy gets the chapter's last word: "I THOUGHT THE POINT OF SUMMER VACATION WAS TO GET A BREAK FROM THESE '''IDIOTS'''"<ref name=":c18p6" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''David and Flower Girl:''' Until now, David's crush was strictly a background gag, and the two had shared exactly one scene, an accidental run-in back in [[Pep Rally]].<ref name=":c11p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p2}}</ref> At prom he finally gets his dance, she happily plays along, and he defends her from Paulo with a single growl.<ref name=":c18p1" /><ref name=":c18p2" /> Nothing comes of it on-page afterwards, but Veronica's commentary teases that "Perhaps David's crush is not truly random.."<ref name=":c18p1" />
* '''Mike and the friend group:''' Mike starts the chapter merely tolerating his friends, resolving on Monday morning to sit back and enjoy what he's got. By the summer he actually means it — an afternoon of being stalked, teased and lectured under a tree leaves him genuinely content.<ref name=":c18p2" /><ref name=":c18p6" />
* '''Yashy and Daisy:''' Yashy's campaign against Daisy is a long-running one. She's been calling her a whore since the dance-planning days of [[Prom Preparation]].<ref name=":c7p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c7/p1}}</ref> This chapter escalates things to mutual locker threats, and the news that Daisy will share Honors English with Mike does nothing to improve Yashy's mood.<ref name=":c18p2" /><ref name=":c18p3" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Per Veronica's commentary, the chapter was built out of pages scrapped from the end of [[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]. She loved the day-after-prom page too much to throw away, Oliver felt the original ending was too abrupt, and page five was closely based on a canned page as well.<ref name=":c18p1" /><ref name=":c18p5" />
* Veronica drew David's lovestruck expression in the prom flashback from memory, aiming for "that onion-headed guy from Di Gi Charat".<ref name=":c18p1" />
* Paulo's handsy crowd-work revives a gag from the pre-BCB comics, where Mike was the one doing it. Per Veronica's commentary, Paulo didn't exist yet, so Mike "had to encapsulate any and all 'male' traits".<ref name=":c18p2" />
* The teacher farewells are genuine send-offs. This is the last appearance of the poodle teacher, whom Veronica calls a fixture of the old series, as well as the sex-ed teacher and the middle school janitor.<ref name=":c18p3" /><ref name=":c18p4" /> Her commentary also notes that in the pre-BCB comics, Mike and Lucy never actually made it to high school.<ref name=":c18p3" />
* Yashy gets progressively coated in chocolate over the course of the chapter, from a smeared mouth in homeroom to total submersion by the final bell. Veronica's commentary cheerfully labels this "CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT".<ref name=":c18p4" />
* Years later, Veronica described Yashy as representing "Lucy's mean intrusive thoughts a lot of the time" while advocating for Lucy "when she couldn't", which goes some way toward explaining her treatment of Daisy in this chapter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/819708455271219200/hello-i-heard-you-like-hearing-headcanons-here|title=Ask response on pets being non-literal characters|date=2026-06-17}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]''': The immediate predecessor, and the source of much of this chapter's material. Prom happens offscreen during it, and Sandy coins "Maishul" there by mispronouncing Mike's name.<ref name=":c17p4" />
* '''[[Field Day]]''': This is where Mike broke his leg, tripping over a turtle in the final race. The cast and cane he carries through this chapter both come from there.<ref name=":c16p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p11}}</ref>
* '''[[Off to the Movies]]''': Paulo's fear of barking is first revealed here. It's the exact weakness David exploits twice, first with the growl at prom and again with a single "woof" on the last day.<ref name=":c12p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p5}}</ref><ref name=":c18p2" /><ref name=":c18p5" />
* '''[[Enter High School]]''': Mike's new placement catches up with him almost immediately. The Honors English teacher opens the first class by asking whether everyone has read their assigned novels, and Mike panics.<ref name=":c21p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p5}}</ref>
* '''[[Onwards to Adventure]]''': The David and Flower Girl thread gets its ending there. David spots her again, and Lucy reveals she transferred to a private school.<ref name=":c33p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p5}}</ref><ref name=":c33p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p7}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Enter High School

2026-07-29T10:00:50Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c21p5f6.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[David]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Sue]], [[Yashy]], [[Blur]], [[Katie]], [[Stacy]], [[Sir Poodles of Noodles]], [[Lani Amalu]]
| locations = [[Mike's house]], [[Lucy's house]], [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Freshman year opens with [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] screaming in perfect unison. Between a surprise essay, a poodle in a suit, and a certain junior named [[Tess]], Roseville High makes quite a first impression on the gang.

== Synopsis ==
The chapter opens without a single line of dialogue. Alternating panels follow [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]] through identical morning routines, from alarm clock to scarf and bow, until the two come face to face outside the school.<ref name=":c21p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p1}}</ref> One long stare later, a murmured "School." has swelled into a wailed "'''SCHOOOOOL!!'''"<ref name=":c21p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p2}}</ref> Once the schedules come out, the gang discovers they all share one homeroom.<ref name=":c21p2" />

Homeroom brings the first new face of the year in [[Tess]], a junior, since homerooms here aren't split by grade.<ref name=":c21p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p3}}</ref> [[Paulo]] starts hitting on her right away, so Lucy punches him, then punts him clean into the ceiling, to Tess's open admiration.<ref name=":c21p3" />

[[File:c21_p1_panel17.png|alt=Mike and Lucy face the viewer with gritted teeth, wailing "SCHOOOOOL!!" in unison.|thumb|Two best friends greet freshman year the only sensible way.]]
After the bell, the class tracks start pulling the group apart. Lucy is in CP English while Mike is in Honors, so Paulo happily claims her as his new classmate, and [[Daisy]] tugs a scowling Mike off toward advanced learning.<ref name=":c21p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p4}}</ref> Math separates Mike from Lucy as well, and he admits it feels really weird without her.<ref name=":c21p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p5}}</ref> A few rooms over, Daisy learns she's been skipped up to a junior math class.<ref name=":c21p5" />

Lunch brings everyone back together at one big table, and Tess asks to join them.<ref name=":c21p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p6}}</ref> Mike mentions the group has been sitting together since around fifth grade, which earns a blush and a downward glance from Lucy. Then he realizes nobody has actually asked the new girl her name. "Thought you'd never ask! Name's Tess!"<ref name=":c21p6" /> Tess figures this will be an interesting year.<ref name=":c21p6" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Tess and the gang:''' Total strangers in the morning, lunch-table company by noon. This is Tess's first appearance in the series, and she spends most of it quietly looking after the freshmen, pointing Lucy and Paulo to the right classroom and warning Paulo that the cute seniors will only milk him for worksheets.<ref name=":c21p3" /><ref name=":c21p6" /> By the last page she's given the group her name and decided the year will be interesting.
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' The two have been in the same classes for years. High school's academic tracks split them up for the first time, with Lucy landing in CP English and a more advanced math class.<ref name=":c21p4" /> Mike takes it poorly. He growls when Paulo pairs off with her, and admits outright that math feels really weird without her.<ref name=":c21p5" />
* '''Paulo and Lucy:''' The old flirt-and-get-hit routine, escalated for a new school. Paulo opens the year by declaring Lucy his crush and later proposes they skip class together, and Lucy's retaliation scales up to match, peaking with the ceiling punt.<ref name=":c21p2" /><ref name=":c21p3" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary notes this chapter began a brand-new sketchbook after her old notebook ran out of pages — she calls the fresh start "a fitting beginning" for the high-school era.<ref name=":c21p1" />
* Tess wasn't Veronica's own creation. Her friend Lily made the character and gave her to Veronica as a gift. Veronica admits she initially had no idea what to do with her, but says Tess became "a vital character" whose hair is a challenge to draw next to the "bald and simple" cats.<ref name=":c21p3" />
* Both English teachers are drawn from life, per Veronica. The surprise-essay Honors teacher parodies her senior-year Honors English teacher, and the CP teacher is based on her young, bubbly junior-year one, who once nominated her for Student of the Month.<ref name=":c21p5" />
* The laughter at "Hi, I'm Daisy!" is a Mario Kart: Double Dash reference, one Veronica says was made "a lot more in the older comics before they were edited". Lucy was already teasing Daisy with the line back in [[Merry Snow Day]].<ref name=":c21p6" /><ref name=":c3p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c3/p3}}</ref>
* Mike's flinch at the bell being "even '''LOUDER'''" than before continues the noise sensitivity he showed in [[Pep Rally]], where the marching band left him screaming.<ref name=":c21p4" /><ref name=":c11p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c11/p3}}</ref>
* Oliver has confirmed on Tumblr that the comic begins with the cast in eighth grade, which makes this chapter their entrance into ninth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/617049352904540160/hello-i-feel-like-this-has-been-asked-before-but|title=Oliver explains US school grade terminology and cast ages|date=2020-05-03}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Farewell, Middle School]]''': The class placements that scatter everyone here were handed out on the last day of middle school, where Mike learns he's made Honors English, much to Lucy's horror.
* '''[[A Difficult Choice]]''': Picks up the same week. Mike's essay is still looming, and Lucy accuses him of hiding a girlfriend, which kicks the Sandy drama into gear.
* '''[[Midterm Time]]''': Thanks to her junior math placement, Daisy shares a class with Tess, and that's how she ends up becoming her tutor.
* '''[[Humble Approach]]''': Abbey, the last of the freshman-year regulars, is nowhere to be seen on day one. He joins the group in that chapter, where David recycles his nickname-request bit with "Can I call you 'Mr. Lincoln'?"
* '''[[A Distance Apart]]''': The sophomore-year answer to this chapter. Mr. Noodles greets his first-day homeroom all over again, David interruption included, and Mike and Lucy are back to discussing Honors English on the walk in.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

David

2026-07-29T10:00:45Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox character
| image = character_david.png
| gender = Male
| species = Dog
| breed = Labrador Retriever
| birthday = February 22, 1993 (Pisces)
| age = 15
| grade = Junior as of [[Table for One]]
| family = [[David's mom]] (Mother)
| occupation = Student
| affiliation = [[Track team]], [[Junior friend group]]
| residence = [[David's house]]
| first = [[Simple Pleasures]], [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p4 page 4] ''{{Start date|2009|11|02}}''}}
Loud, sunny, and nearly impossible to discourage, '''David''' is a chocolate Labrador Retriever and [[Paulo]]'s best friend since grade school. He is the friend group's resident agent of chaos, the sort of dog who celebrates his fourteenth birthday by accidentally becoming a televised kidnapper. Every so often, though, he turns out to be the sharpest observer at the lunch table.

== Personality ==
No amount of reality has ever managed to dent David's cheerfulness. He starts his birthday morning by frying eggs still in their shells,<ref name=":c33p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p1}}</ref> and when he learns his face is on the national news, his takeaway is "Wow, my birthday's THAT important?"<ref name=":c33p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p7}}</ref> His very first appearance set the tone, with David carrying Paulo away from imaginary park bears while wailing "'''THEY KNOW OUR FACES!!'''"<ref name=":c1p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p6}}</ref> Even his sad moments are hard to read. When he lets out a full-page scream in [[Second String]], [[James]] admits he can't tell whether David is heartbroken or elated, and [[Mike]] has to translate. "Oh, he's elated, all right."<ref name=":c124p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p10}}</ref>

He also lives about half his life inside a genre fantasy. His fourteenth birthday became a full secret-agent mission, complete with a code name (Sergeant Rainpop), a seven-year-old sidekick, and a quest for a "goddess."<ref name=":c33p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c33p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p4}}</ref> He decided on sight that [[Augustus]] must be a video game character, trying out "Sephiroth" and "Melfice" before settling on "Final Fantasy Cat."<ref name=":c33p4" /><ref name=":c33p7" /> His athletic career runs on the same engine, since his working knowledge of track comes, in his own words, from "my sports animes."<ref name=":c118p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p21}}</ref>

The nonsense doesn't mean he's oblivious, though. David is regularly the most astute person in the room. He is the one who first works out that Paulo has feelings for [[Daisy]], and he corners him about it with patient, airtight logic in [[Intervention]].<ref name=":c44p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p14}}</ref><ref name=":c44p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p15}}</ref> Years later, he is the one who figures out how to get [[Lucy]] back to the lunch table, a plan she rates with a genuine "You've outdone yourself."<ref name=":c127p32">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p32}}</ref> The trouble is that the insight comes with no filter attached. When [[Sue]] grieves that Lucy left without saying goodbye, David corrects her with a flat "She hated them,"<ref name=":c80p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c80/p16}}</ref> and a couple of pages later he offers "I heard she died." The glares baffle him, since he thought they were comparing rumors.<ref name=":c80p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c80/p18}}</ref>

Underneath it all sits a devotion that runs deeper than anyone expects, and an equally deep fear of being left behind. David will abandon a fight he personally started the second he spots Paulo crying,<ref name=":c90p32">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p32}}</ref> and his worst meltdowns come when the people he loves change or keep things from him. He screamed "'''YOU RUINED HIM!'''" at [[Tess]] for taming Paulo,<ref name=":c42p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p14}}</ref> and his first wounded question on learning Paulo and Daisy had hidden their relationship was "They don't trust me?"<ref name=":c124p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p12}}</ref> Junior year has also given him a sharper edge, most visibly in his cheerful engineering of Mike's exile from the lunch table. Veronica has confirmed the shift is deliberate, saying David is now "causing actual chaos that affects people" and that "We are past the days of Intervention."<ref name="tumblr-chaos">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/819079280099295232|title=Ask about David causing real chaos now|website=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2026-06-10}}</ref>

In practice it all runs at once. The same dog who turned his fourteenth birthday into a police standoff is the one who saw Paulo's feelings for Daisy before Paulo could say them out loud. The clowning also stops cold the moment someone he loves is genuinely hurting. About the only thing David can't shrug off is being left out of his friends' lives.

== Appearance ==
David is a tall brown dog with rather a lot of leg. Mike, losing a footrace to him, complains that "Your legs are longer than my torso!"<ref name=":c118p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p19}}</ref> His fur is shiny enough that [[Katie]] became obsessed with it in [[Field Day]]; David credited the shine to "Ovaries," and later to rolling in dirt.<ref name=":c16p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c16p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p12}}</ref>

Like most of the cast he usually wears nothing at all, a policy he takes a bit further than his friends; he once ran to an Acapulco beach naked and could not fathom why swim trunks were expected.<ref name=":c42p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p17}}</ref> When he does dress up, though, he commits. His record includes a lobster suit for [[Mike's Birthday]]<ref name=":c18.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18.1/p1}}</ref> and a bedsheet ghost costume in [[Mischief Night]], which he later refashioned into a billowing scarf to mock Mike.<ref name=":c57p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c57/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c57p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c57/p9}}</ref> For [[Madison]]'s bowling party in [[Fair Game]] he built a Sonic the Hedgehog outfit out of the rental shoes, white gloves and bunched-up socks ("Gotta speed, keed").<ref name=":c104p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c104/p3}}</ref> The following Halloween he went as Batman.<ref name=":c105p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p14}}</ref> The side story ''[[Magic Tricks]]'' adds a star-covered cape and top hat to the pile.<ref>{{Cite BCI page|slug=magictricks|page=1|title=Magic Tricks}}</ref>

== Significant events ==

=== Middle school ===
David debuted in [[Simple Pleasures]], wobbling past Lucy on a skateboard and, two pages later, carrying Paulo away from the park bears.<ref name=":c1p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c1p6" /> The middle school chapters kept him busy in much the same way. He staged a one-dog protest against school in [[Merry Snow Day]] and invited Lucy along hoping for romance, only for her to turn him down flat.<ref name=":c3p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c3/p2}}</ref> He crashed Mike and Lucy's date in [[Off to the Movies]] and started a popcorn uproar by barking at Paulo.<ref name=":c12p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p2}}</ref> For the last day of school in [[Farewell, Middle School]] he flooded a hallway with chocolate ice cream, and he later admitted that he and Paulo spent the whole summer stalking Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c18p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c18p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p6}}</ref>

=== Freshman year ===
The move up to high school changed very little about him. He greeted [[Enter High School]] with some crude flirting at Tess,<ref name=":c21p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c21/p3}}</ref> spiked the punch at the Christmas party with thorns rather than anything alcoholic,<ref name=":c28p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p12}}</ref> and "rescued" a drowning Mike in [[Troubled Waters]] by stomping on his hand.<ref name=":c30p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p5}}</ref>

His flagship chapter is [[Onwards to Adventure]], the story of his fourteenth birthday. Lucy talked him into playing hookey, a word he misheard memorably, and he set off on a secret-agent mission with seven-year-old [[Justin]] as his sidekick.<ref name=":c33p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c33p3" /> Under the name Sergeant Rainpop, he quested after his "goddess," [[Flower Girl]], and somehow ended the day as a televised kidnapper, standing on a rooftop with police guns pointed at him.<ref name=":c33p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p5}}</ref><ref name=":c33p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p6}}</ref> The fallout landed at home: a restraining order, a hospital apology to schedule, and the news that Flower Girl had transferred schools. [[David's mom|His mother]] put a sparkler in his hot dogs anyway.<ref name=":c33p7" /> He closed the year on a genuine high, testing up into CP English II and gloating at his old English teacher.<ref name=":c40p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p3}}</ref>

The summer trip to Acapulco, starting in [[Arrival]], brought out both his best and his worst. At breakfast he exploded at Tess for turning Paulo into a lapdog, then went off to sob in his room. Paulo eventually promised him beach fun, and David swung all the way back around to "'''THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!'''"<ref name=":c42p14" /><ref name=":c42p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p16}}</ref> In [[Search and Rescue]], his and Paulo's roughhousing cracked the rock bridge that dropped Mike and Lucy into the river below. David threw himself into the rescue. He carried the unconscious Lucy out like a prize, and later found Mike by diving into the river and getting reeled in on his fishing line.<ref name=":c43p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p7}}</ref><ref name=":c43p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p12}}</ref><ref name=":c43p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p21}}</ref> Then, in Intervention, he produced his masterwork. Sent to fix a sulking Paulo, he worked through every girl Paulo knew before dropping the bomb: "Well, how about Daisy~?"<ref name=":c44p14" /> He dismantled every objection with patient logic, and a closing fairytale about two kingdoms finally forced Paulo to blurt out the truth.<ref name=":c44p15" /><ref name=":c44p23">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c44/p23}}</ref> Once Daisy turned out to be holding hands with [[Abbey]], Paulo chased him down, accusing David of brainwashing him.<ref name=":c45p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p17}}</ref><ref name=":c45p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p18}}</ref>

=== Sophomore year ===
For much of sophomore year, David was Paulo's love-life pit crew. In [[Back and Forth]] he pulled Paulo aside with the immortal excuse "I'm menstruating," grilled him about turning down both Lucy and Tess, and eventually shoved him bodily at the freshmen, which is how Paulo met [[Jasmine]].<ref name=":c54p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c54p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p20}}</ref> He then leapt out of the bushes demanding details.<ref name=":c54p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p26}}</ref>

The year's heavier turn came when Lucy left the school in [[Breaking Up]].<ref name=":c75p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c75/p4}}</ref> David processed it in his own way. [[Rachel]]'s party in [[Happy Hour]] doubled as his fifteenth birthday at his own suggestion, and while the rest of the group grieved, he swapped rumors and then went back to running pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.<ref name=":c80p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c80/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c80p18" /><ref name=":c80p39">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c80/p39}}</ref> He also spent an afternoon terrorizing an art gallery with Paulo in [[Critical Hit]], dramatically "dying" at a Euthanasia exhibit before quietly handing over his ticket and leaving Paulo behind.<ref name=":c79p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c79/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c79p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c79/p14}}</ref>

=== Junior year ===
Junior year opened at the beach in [[Golden Hour]], where David picked a fight with Madison by calling her "Maddie-baby" and comparing her to "my Lucy-baby… God rest her beautiful soul."<ref name=":c90p31">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p31}}</ref> The instant he spotted Paulo crying, he abandoned the wreckage.<ref name=":c90p32" /> What came next was the sincerest anyone had ever seen him. He consoled Paulo about Daisy, scooped him up and twirled him, and told him he loves him. When Paulo asked when he was ever going to be serious, David answered, "I've never been more serious in all my life," and Paulo fled into the night.<ref name=":c90p34">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p34}}</ref><ref name=":c90p36">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p36}}</ref><ref name=":c90p37">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p37}}</ref> Paulo tried to raise the subject in [[Ice Block]], but David steamrolled the conversation with an ice cream truck, and the matter was left unresolved.<ref name=":c90.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90.1/p2}}</ref>

David found a whole new arena in [[Date Night]]. Spotting Mike holding hands with James, he declared the "James Bowl" and ordered Paulo to race Mike for James's heart.<ref name=":c118p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p15}}</ref><ref name=":c118p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p16}}</ref> Mid-race, he stopped to inform Mike he was running "The race to be the WORST CHARACTER ON EARTH."<ref name=":c118p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p17}}</ref> James, watching all of this unfold, fell for David on the spot and begged him to join the track team instead.<ref name=":c118p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p18}}</ref><ref name=":c118p19" /> David accepted, deduced that the team requirement was falling in love with Mike, and volunteered "If I MUST."<ref name=":c118p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p20}}</ref><ref name=":c118p21" />

At the party in [[New Year's Resolution]], he stayed close to Paulo through a rough night about Paulo's absent mother, tackling him with "AIIIBOU!! Happy new year!!!" and following up with a quiet, sincere "You okay, Paulo?"<ref name=":c119p37">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c119/p37}}</ref><ref name=":c119p38">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c119/p38}}</ref> Then Second String delivered the news that Paulo and Daisy were secretly dating. His reaction ran from a frozen blank face to a full-page scream to outrage that nobody had told the future best man at their wedding.<ref name=":c124p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p8}}</ref><ref name=":c124p10" /><ref name=":c124p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c124p12" /> Once Mike explained that the secrecy protected Abbey, David understood immediately and vowed silence. Then he erupted with joy about their love anyway.<ref name=":c124p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p13}}</ref> He also managed to wound Sue in [[Participation Trophy]] by publicly praising [[Jessica]]'s play after having trashed hers.<ref name=":c126p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c126/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c126p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c126/p6}}</ref>

[[Line in the Sand]] is where his schemes started carrying real weight. When Augustus menaced Mike outside the school, David broke up the standoff himself and redrew the entire seating map. He wooed Lucy back to the lunch table with some well-aimed flattery and sent Augustus inside to Rachel's table. Mike, he ruled, could stay outside and "make a man out of himself."<ref name=":c127p29">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p29}}</ref><ref name=":c127p30">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p30}}</ref><ref name=":c127p31">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p31}}</ref> Lucy later admitted she had wanted him to spend time with his other friends for months.<ref name=":c127p32" /><ref name=":c127p39">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p39}}</ref> Soon after, David gave Paulo a cheery recap of the whole affair, summing up Mike's exile as "And so.. I killed him!" and pronouncing the situation "completely optimal!" while Paulo squirmed.<ref name=":c128.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128.1/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c128.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128.1/p3}}</ref> David, for his part, is pleased as punch with his own work. "I just come up with this stuff!"<ref name=":c127p33">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p33}}</ref>

== Major relationships ==

=== [[Paulo]] ===
[[File:Rel davidpaulo c58 p7.png|thumb|right|David meets Paulo in [[Mother's Day]].]]
They met as little kids, in a flashback shown in [[Mother's Day]]. David pestered a crying Paulo up a tree, fell out of it himself, and wound up beside him outside the principal's office.<ref name=":c58p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c58/p7}}</ref><ref name=":c58p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c58/p9}}</ref> When Paulo blurted out that his parents were separated, David's entire response was "'''COOL'''", followed by the cheerful news that he had no dad at all and an even better mom.<ref name=":c58p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c58/p10}}</ref> He offered his mom's spare baking tray so Paulo and his father would have something for the bake sale, and informed the teacher, "Oh, it's okay! We're best friends now!"<ref name=":c58p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c58/p11}}</ref>

David has been Paulo's hype man, wingman and occasional therapist ever since. He engineered the Jasmine relationship by literally shoving Paulo at the freshmen,<ref name=":c54p20" /> and his Intervention fairytale surfaced Paulo's feelings for Daisy long before Paulo could say them out loud.<ref name=":c44p14" /> He calls Paulo "Aibou," Japanese for partner.<ref name=":c90p35">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p35}}</ref> The flip side is that nothing rattles David like Paulo changing; the Acapulco breakfast meltdown was all about losing the Paulo who "used to be my '''ROLE MODEL!!'''"<ref name=":c42p14" />

His beach confession in Golden Hour, delivered mid-twirl and completely serious, sent Paulo running into the night.<ref name=":c90p36" /><ref name=":c90p37" /> David has never once used it against him. These days the love is simply part of the furniture. At New Year's he signed off with "I love you, Aibou", to which Paulo could only wail, "Why do people keep SAYING this to me tonight!"<ref name=":c119p38" /> In a Tumblr ask, Veronica explained that David didn't initially recognize his crush as a crush, and that his early freak-outs over Paulo possibly being gay were homophobia David had absorbed from Paulo himself. She adds that he hated Paulo dating Tess far more than any thought of Paulo with Mike, because it turned Paulo into a groveler.<ref name="tumblr-crush">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/820616928396754944|title=Ask about David's feelings for Paulo|website=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2026-06-27}}</ref>

=== [[Lucy]] ===
She has been "Lucy-baby" since his second page in the comic.<ref name=":c1p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p5}}</ref> Lucy treats him with a mix of exasperation and real fondness. She coached him through skipping school on his birthday and broke the Flower Girl news to him gently, and his disastrous day ended with her ".. Yes, David. Happy birthday."<ref name=":c33p1" /><ref name=":c33p7" /> After she vanished from school, he became the deadpan source of the recurring rumor that she died.<ref name=":c80p18" /><ref name=":c92p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c92/p12}}</ref>

When she finally returned, David met her with his most uncomplicated warmth, leading her birthday celebration in [[Unwanted Gift]] by carrying her around on his shoulders and insisting she was too good for the floor.<ref name=":c107p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c107/p2}}</ref> And it was his "best babe" pitch in Line in the Sand that finally ended her lunchtime self-exile.<ref name=":c127p30" /> She punches him when he deserves it, and keeps him around anyway.<ref name=":c96p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c96/p19}}</ref>

=== [[Mike]] ===
For most of the comic, David and Mike ran on low-stakes mischief. In [[Call Waiting]], David texted him crude messages in class until an explicit image landed Mike's buzzing phone with the teacher.<ref name=":c62p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c62/p6}}</ref><ref name=":c62p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c62/p7}}</ref> He sculpted Mike a fish out of candy corn for Halloween in [[Witch Hunt]],<ref name=":c105p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p15}}</ref> and folded him into the big three-way hug at New Year's.<ref name=":c119p38" />

Things turned adversarial once James entered the picture, and David demoted Mike to "just SHORT."<ref name=":c118p15" /> He lectured him mid-race about being the worst character on Earth,<ref name=":c118p17" /> and then engineered his exclusion from the lunch table entirely.<ref name=":c127p31" /> His recap to Paulo framed the whole thing as a successful assassination, delivered with total cheer.<ref name=":c128.1p2" /> Paulo, for the record, would very much like everyone to stop talking about killing Mike.<ref name=":c128.1p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128.1/p4}}</ref>

=== [[James]] ===
[[File:Rel davidjames c118 p18.png|thumb|left|James lays eyes on David in [[Date Night]].]]
James came to Date Night to recruit Mike for the track team and left besotted with someone else entirely. Watching David rant, framed in roses, James could only ask "Who is HE?", and moments later he was begging David to join the team.<ref name=":c118p18" /><ref name=":c118p19" /> David accepted, "so I can give this 'running' thing a shot."<ref name=":c118p20" /> He then patted James on the head with a reassuring "I'd be picking you first, got it?"<ref name=":c118p21" />

James has orbited him ever since, promising "I'll go wherever you go, David!" and following him into the cafeteria even when it strands Mike outside.<ref name=":c127p32" /> David, blissfully unaware or possibly not, spent Second String trying to matchmake James with Paulo, offering to find him "an energetic boyfriend."<ref name=":c124p8" /> In the meantime, the two stretch together and trade magazine banter at track practice.<ref name=":c127p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p6}}</ref>

== Minor relationships ==

=== [[Daisy]] ===
Their history goes back to childhood rescue games, in which David cast Daisy as the damsel and was, by all accounts, unbeatably strong.<ref name=":c89p28">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c89/p28}}</ref> These days he functions mostly as her chaos multiplier; his goading her into taking the rock-hopping to the extreme in [[Scenic Route]] came moments before her ankle cracked on the rocks.<ref name=":c84p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c84/p9}}</ref> He is also the loudest supporter of her and Paulo. At her sixteenth birthday picnic in [[Moments Apart]] he demanded the two make out, right in front of a seething Abbey, and suggested they get married.<ref name=":c98p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c98/p24}}</ref> In the side story ''[[Everyday Life]]'' he declares himself "all about tragic, unrequited love!" and vows to cheerlead the two of them until they sort out their feelings.<ref>{{Cite BCI page|slug=everydaylife|page=22|title=Everyday Life}}</ref> He has also wrecked one of her would-be dates, riding along to the movies in [[Featured Attraction]] and beaming obliviously from the back seat.<ref name=":c113p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c113/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c113p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c113/p4}}</ref>

=== [[Sue]] ===
David and Sue have been bickering with each other for years now. When she grabbed him at the art gallery, he calmly pointed out their height difference.<ref name=":c79p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c79/p1}}</ref> Things got personal in Participation Trophy, where David publicly gushed over Jessica's play after having trashed Sue's own.<ref name=":c126p6" /> His apology involved a fictional birdie, invented to protect [[Amaya]], that tore into him "With their beak. Because they're a bird," and then he fled.<ref name=":c126p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c126/p15}}</ref> The chapter closed with Paulo and James teasing Sue about having a crush on him, so this one is far from settled.<ref name=":c126p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c126/p19}}</ref>

=== [[David's mom]] ===
David is a proud mama's boy, and with reason. She sends him off with "Be sure to get to school on time! I love you, bye!", and she salvaged his fourteenth birthday with hot dogs and a sparkler.<ref name=":c33p1" /><ref name=":c33p7" /> As he once explained to young Paulo, "Why miss him when I got a mom so awesome?"<ref name=":c58p10" /> He raided her secret cupboard for an iPhone and got away with it clean.<ref name=":c62p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c62/p3}}</ref> She and Paulo's dad were spotted flirting at the New Year's party, but Veronica has confirmed the two are just friends.<ref name=":c119p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c119/p5}}</ref><ref name="tumblr-parents">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/808030185578528768|title=Ask about Paulo's dad and David's mom|website=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2026-02-09}}</ref>

=== [[Flower Girl]] ===
His middle school "goddess." He growled Paulo away from her at prom,<ref name=":c18p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p1}}</ref> and his fourteenth birthday quest was built entirely around finding her, complete with a bellowed "'''DON'T YOU LOOK AT MY WOMAN!!'''"<ref name=":c33p5" /> By the end of that day, she had transferred schools.<ref name=":c33p7" /> The shipping-gag side story ''[[Ships Ahoy, Season Six]]'' revisits her wishing he had "come up and said hello instead of leaving forever."<ref>{{Cite BCI page|slug=shipsahoys6|page=9|title=Ships Ahoy, Season Six}}</ref>

=== [[Augustus]] ===
[[File:Rel davidaugustus c105 p16.png|thumb|right|David greets his Final Fantasy Cat in [[Witch Hunt]].]]
David has been enchanted with Augustus since the day he dubbed him "Final Fantasy Cat."<ref name=":c33p4" /><ref name=":c33p7" /> The peak came on Halloween, when David sprinted across a street to ask where his horns were, addressed him as "brother Melfice," and answered an outright threat with a starry-eyed "You're like MAGIC."<ref name=":c105p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p16}}</ref><ref name=":c105p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p17}}</ref> None of this stopped David from shooing him off to Rachel's table when it suited his seating plan.<ref name=":c127p31" /> According to Veronica, David finds Augustus captivating but never actually hangs out with him.<ref name="tumblr-augustus">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/819985233407557632|title=Ask about David and Augustus|website=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2026-06-20}}</ref>

== Quotes ==

{{Quote
| C'mon, be a hooker with me!! It'll be so exciting!!
| speaker = David
| context = inviting Lucy to play hookey in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p2 ''Onwards to Adventure'']
}}

{{Quote
| He's such a pathetic lapdog now! All 'cuz of you!!
| speaker = David
| context = holding Tess personally responsible for the new Paulo in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p14 ''Arrival'']
}}

{{Quote
| And that's why I love you.
| speaker = David
| context = coming clean to Paulo on the beach in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p36 ''Golden Hour'']
}}

{{Quote
| Paulo wins. I'm Paulo now.
| speaker = David
| context = settling the James Bowl by fiat in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c118/p19 ''Date Night'']
}}

{{Quote
| '''WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL ME!!! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST MAN AT THEIR WEDDING!!'''
| speaker = David
| context = learning about Paulo and Daisy in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c124/p11 ''Second String'']
}}

{{Quote
| You know you'll always be my best babe! My feisty li'l senorita!
| speaker = David
| context = luring Lucy back to the lunch table in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c127/p30 ''Line in the Sand'']
}}

== Gallery ==

{{For|a complete gallery|Gallery:David}}

=== Appearances by volume ===
<gallery>
File:David onwardstoadventure.PNG|David schemes with Justin in [[Onwards to Adventure]].
File:David searchandrescue.PNG|David takes action in [[Search and Rescue]].
File:David backandforth.PNG|David finds himself disappointed in Paulo in [[Back and Forth]].
File:David carryme.PNG|David listens to Paulo vent in [[Carry Me]].
File:David criticalhit.png|David moments before betraying Paulo in [[Critical Hit]].
File:David scenicroute.PNG|David encourages Daisy to move it move it in [[Scenic Route]].
File:David goldenhour.PNG|David is serious in [[Golden Hour]].
File:David momentsapart.PNG|David chatting with Jasmine in [[Moments Apart]].
File:David featuredattraction.PNG|David is sure not to leave without the goods in [[Featured Attraction]].
File:David datenight.PNG|David acting natural with the tomodachis in [[Date Night]].
</gallery>

=== Outfits ===
<gallery>
File:David lobster.PNG|David dressed as a lobster for [[Mike's Birthday|Mike's Birthday.]]
File:David felinefestivities.PNG|David in a party hat in [[Feline Festivities]].
File:David mischiefnight1.PNG|David dressed as a "zombie table quilt" in [[Mischief Night]].
File:David mischiefnight2.PNG|David refashioning his costume into a billowing scarf to resemble Mike in [[Mischief Night]].
File:David fairgame.PNG|David in bowling shoes paired with white gloves to mimic Sonic the Hedgehog in [[Fair Game]].
File:David witchhunt.PNG|David dressed as Batman in [[Witch Hunt]].
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
* Onwards to Adventure is a full-length chapter devoted entirely to David's birthday. Veronica jokes in its commentary that "David might as well be the main character of BCB, huh? Even Lucy only got a measly three pages!"<ref name=":c33p1" />
* The first page of that same chapter was the sample page Veronica and Oliver used to test their production methods for remaking the early chapters. Oliver's commentary salutes it with "You walked so the Omnibus could run."<ref name=":c33p1" />
* Asked which cast member would be best at Fortnite, Veronica picked David.<ref name="tumblr-fortnite">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/821253591268474880|title=Ask about which cast member would be best at Fortnite|website=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2026-07-04}}</ref>
* The local ice cream man knows David by name.<ref name=":c90.1p2" />

== See also ==
* [[Paulo]]
* [[Lucy]]
* [[Mike]]
* [[James]]
* [[David's mom]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}
{{Characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]

Crash and Burn

2026-07-29T10:00:40Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c36p2f7.png
| major_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Yashy]], [[Chirpy]]
| minor_characters = [[Lily]], [[Carol]], [[Mike]]
| locations = [[Lucy's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A mysterious chat message, one careless click, and suddenly [[Lucy]]'s computer is playing something she would rather die than let her pets see. Can she shut it down before [[Yashy]] and [[Chirpy]] wander in?

== Synopsis ==
[[Lucy]] is checking her email when a chat window pops up from an unknown "huzzla8410", pushing a video link. She clicks it and wanders off to the kitchen while it downloads.<ref name=":c36p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36/p1}}</ref>

When she gets back, the download has finished, and what's playing on her screen leaves nothing to the imagination. "'''THAT'S.. A PORN VIDEO!!'''" Worse, the computer has frozen up completely, and Ctrl-Alt-Delete does nothing.<ref name=":c36p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36/p2}}</ref> She hears [[Yashy]] and [[Chirpy]] chatting their way toward her door, and in the middle of the panic she even catches herself actually watching for a second, to her own immediate horror.<ref name=":c36p2" /> Yanking the power cord out of the wall ought to end it, but the video keeps right on playing.<ref name=":c36p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36/p3}}</ref>

Yashy makes her grand entrance to find Lucy perched on the desk, blocking the screen with her whole body.<ref name=":c36p3" /> When Yashy gets suspicious, Lucy hoists the entire computer over her head, snapping the cord, and announces she's "Taking the computer for a walk!" The screen finally goes black.<ref name=":c36p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36/p4}}</ref>

Lucy barely finishes celebrating before the printer whirs to life, and when the cancel button gets her nowhere she smashes the whole thing on the floor. One printed sheet slips free of the wreckage anyway. Yashy grabs it, goes bright red, and demands, "Where the hell is he putting '''that''' thing?!" Lucy can only curl up into a ball.<ref name=":c36p4" />

[[File:c36_p4_panel17.png|alt=Yashy, bright red, holds up a printed page and asks "Where the hell is he putting that thing?!" while Lucy curls into a trembling ball.|thumb|Yashy's education takes a sudden leap forward.]]
The next day, out walking with [[Mike]], Yashy is clearly still chewing it over. With no context whatsoever, she asks him, "Have you ever tried that on her, Flea?" Lucy stares at the ground and begs him not to ask.<ref name=":c36p4" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Lucy and Yashy & Chirpy''' — Lucy has always kept her pets carefully in the dark about anything adult. Just one chapter earlier, she and Mike were shouting "Airplanes!" to convince Yashy that a lunch conversation wasn't about "Mom's private parts".<ref name=":c35p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p1}}</ref> This chapter puts that habit under the worst pressure it has ever faced, and Lucy loses. Yashy walks away scandalized enough to spend the whole next day mulling the printout over and grilling Mike about it, while Lucy is left too mortified to explain anything.<ref name=":c36p4" /> It's all played for laughs, though, and the "Ma"-and-kids dynamic comes out intact.

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary notes that this chapter is a remade version of a comic she drew before Bittersweet Candy Bowl existed.<ref name=":c36p1" />
* Coocoo Charms is one of Veronica's long-running fictional brands. Her commentary on the same page mentions another, the soda [[Blasto]], which hadn't shown up in BCB at the time but eventually turns up on-panel in Paulo's hands.<ref name=":c36p1" /><ref name=":c53p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c53/p2}}</ref>
* The malicious message arrives over AIM. Oliver's commentary calls the page "iChat nostalgia. Or AIM nostalgia, pick your flavour!"<ref name=":c36p1" />
* Per Veronica, the laundry flashback is [[Carol]]'s second appearance ever, and like her first (way back in [[Gaming Rivalry]]) it's a flashback. As of this chapter, in fact, she had never appeared any other way: "She's not dead, I swear!" She still wears her pearl necklace, which Veronica jokes is "cramping [[Daisy]]'s style".<ref name=":c36p3" /><ref name=":c2p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c2/p2}}</ref>
* Veronica's commentary on the panic page says the chapter shows Lucy isn't as stoic as she's been trying to be lately: "She can still be an anxious, emotional mess. Just like any ol' teenager!"<ref name=":c36p2" />
* The final gag, per Veronica, has always amused her because Yashy asks her question with "ZERO context, absolutely NO information". She adds, "Poor Mike, once he knows context he'd probably grab Yashy and fling her across a stadium."<ref name=":c36p4" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Under Pressure]]''': Just one chapter earlier, Yashy loudly scolds Mike at lunch over how he's been talking about "Mom's private parts", and Lucy and Mike scramble to convince her they were really discussing airplanes. It's the same cover-up job Lucy is doing here, pushed a good deal further.
* '''[[The Burden of Parenthood]]''': Yashy's habit of lobbing blunt questions at Mike starts in this chapter, where she asks whether he's been making "Mom" abort every day. Her closing question here is that gag still going strong.
* '''[[Birthday Double-Team]]''': The pets-versus-porn joke soon gets a rerun from the other side, when Chirpy accidentally opens a misplaced adult magazine and innocently asks, "Is he hurting her?"
* '''[[Out of the Frame]]''': The side story that follows this chapter. Lily keeps up her knowing streak there, smugly informing the assembled cast that they're "the side characters nobody cares about".
* '''[[Gaming Rivalry]]''': Yashy first calls Mike "Flea" in this early chapter, and its childhood flashback is the only place Lucy's mom had appeared before now.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Confrontation

2026-07-29T10:00:36Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c14p2f12.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Paulo]], [[Daisy]], [[Sue]], [[Alejandro]], [[Toby]]
| minor_characters = [[Sue's mom]], [[David]], [[Katie]]
| locations = [[Cinder Station area]], [[Park]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A missed bus, a bowl of liqueur chocolates, and a dead-end alley add up to the most dangerous night of [[Mike]] and [[Lucy]]'s young lives, and once the dust settles, to a moment neither of them will forget.

== Synopsis ==
Mike's idea to take the train after a missed bus has left the group lost, and he and Lucy scream at each other the whole ride.<ref name=":c14p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p1}}</ref> [[Sue]] marches everyone off at the next stop, [[Cinder Station area|Cinder Station]].<ref name=":c14p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p2}}</ref> On the walk through the boarded-up streets, Mike shoves [[Daisy]] away for needling him about his feelings for Lucy.<ref name=":c14p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p3}}</ref> "You don't know all of her," Mike tells them when he catches her and [[Paulo]] mocking Lucy behind her back. The last panel reveals Lucy has been in earshot the whole time.<ref name=":c14p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p4}}</ref>

In the only bar still open, a scarred stranger bets Mike twenty dollars that he can't finish a bowl of chocolates in a minute.<ref name=":c14p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p5}}</ref> The chocolates are liqueur-filled, and Mike wins his money hopelessly drunk.<ref name=":c14p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p6}}</ref> Outside, he chases phantom ice-cream-truck music into a dead-end alley and smashes the planted radio producing it.<ref name=":c14p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p8}}</ref>

The stranger, [[Alejandro]], strolls in after them with a dog named [[Toby]], demanding two hundred dollars for the smashed radio.<ref name=":c14p8" /><ref name=":c14p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p9}}</ref> Toby's furious barking triggers a paralyzing phobia in Paulo, who collapses in tears.<ref name=":c14p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p10}}</ref> Mike lands one drunken elbow before Alejandro stomps him unconscious.<ref name=":c14p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p12}}</ref><ref name=":c14p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p13}}</ref>

Lucy walks up calmly, taps Toby on the shoulder, and kicks him in the crotch.<ref name=":c14p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p14}}</ref> She gives the leering Alejandro the same treatment and beats him down.<ref name=":c14p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p18}}</ref> But Lucy is half-deaf, and she never hears him get back up. He drags her down and beats her.<ref name=":c14p18" /> She plants herself over the unconscious Mike anyway, telling Alejandro to do what he likes with her so long as he leaves Mike alone.<ref name=":c14p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p19}}</ref> He kicks her aside, rakes his claws across her face, gropes her, and strangles her while her friends look on, frozen.<ref name=":c14p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p20}}</ref><ref name=":c14p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p21}}</ref>

[[File:c14_p14_panel13.png|alt=Lucy and Alejandro stand facing each other as silhouettes in the dark alley.|thumb|Lucy takes over negotiations.]]
Mike comes to just in time, still very drunk, and flying-kicks Alejandro face-first into the pavement.<ref name=":c14p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p22}}</ref> Lucy joins the beatdown to declare that hurting her best friend is the meanest of all.<ref name=":c14p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p24}}</ref> Alejandro finally flees, with Mike bellowing "'''COME BACK!! WE JUSH WANNA KILL YOU!!'''" after him. Once the adrenaline runs out, Lucy cries into Mike's chest, admitting how scared she was.<ref name=":c14p25">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p25}}</ref>

On the ride home, Daisy tearfully admits she was wrong about Lucy, who stepped up while she herself only cowered.<ref name=":c14p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p26}}</ref>

In the [[Park|park]] the next day, Mike works up the nerve to ask whether he's really Lucy's best friend. She asks why she'd be best friends with such a jerkface, but she's blushing when she says it.<ref name=":c14p28">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p28}}</ref> Mike thanks her for what she did in that alley.<ref name=":c14p29">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p29}}</ref> Lucy answers by standing on her toes and kissing him on the lips.<ref name=":c14p29" /> She pulls away and insists it's strictly repayment: "That's for what '''you''' did last night. Now we're even." Then she runs off — and alone, touches her lip and smiles to herself.<ref name=":c14p30">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p30}}</ref>

== Critical moments ==
* Alejandro, a scarred stranger who tricked Mike into getting drunk on liqueur chocolates at the bar, and his dog partner Toby corner the group in a dead-end alley and demand two hundred dollars.<ref name=":c14p6" /><ref name=":c14p9" /> They put Paulo, Sue and Mike on the ground one by one.<ref name=":c14p10" /><ref name=":c14p13" />
* Lucy takes both thugs on alone, and very nearly wins. Being half-deaf, she never hears Alejandro get back up behind her.<ref name=":c14p14" /><ref name=":c14p18" />
* Beaten and bleeding, Lucy shields the unconscious Mike with her own body. Alejandro claws her face, gropes her, and strangles her to the edge of consciousness.<ref name=":c14p19" /><ref name=":c14p20" /><ref name=":c14p21" />
* Mike comes to and flying-kicks Alejandro into the pavement mid-strangling. Together, he and Lucy drive the thug off for good.<ref name=":c14p22" /><ref name=":c14p25" />
* In the park the next day, Mike thanks Lucy for what she did, and she kisses him on the lips, insisting they're simply "even" now.<ref name=":c14p29" /><ref name=":c14p30" />

== Character dynamics ==
[[File:c14_p29_panel11.png|alt=Lucy stands on her toes and kisses a wide-eyed Mike on the lips.|thumb|Strictly repayment, she insists.]]
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Until now they've been inseparable friends who show it mostly through insults, and the chapter opens on exactly that note.<ref name=":c14p1" /> Then Lucy takes a savage beating shielding an unconscious Mike, and he saves her life in return. After that the walls come down. She calls him her best friend out loud, cries in his arms, and finally kisses him.<ref name=":c14p24" /><ref name=":c14p29" /> She frames the kiss as strictly repayment, though her private smile afterward suggests otherwise.<ref name=":c14p30" /> Veronica calls this "the chapter that changes the dynamic of everything".<ref name=":c14p1" />
* '''Daisy and Lucy:''' The friction between these two runs on Mike, and here it has curdled into contempt: Daisy spends the early pages insisting Lucy doesn't care about anyone, some of it within Lucy's earshot.<ref name=":c14p4" /> Watching Lucy fight for everyone while she herself froze changes how Daisy sees her, and she tearfully takes it all back in the van.<ref name=":c14p26" /> The reappraisal only goes so far, though. Her on-panel apology the next day goes to Mike rather than to Lucy.<ref name=":c14p27">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p27}}</ref>
* '''Paulo and Daisy:''' They start the night bonding over shared mockery of Lucy and end it bonding for real.<ref name=":c14p4" /> Paulo, freshly humiliated by his own phobia, comforts a guilt-stricken Daisy with a gentle "We're all strong in different ways, right?"<ref name=":c14p26" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* This chapter is a full remake of an earlier, grid-format "Confrontation" about half the length, swapped in before Volume One went to print.<ref name=":c14p8" /> Among the changes, the opening argument became Mike's fault rather than Daisy's, "to make their fight more fair".<ref name=":c14p1" />
* Alejandro and Toby were originally going to be the bullies from Paulo's childhood, an idea Veronica scrapped as "absolutely ridiculous". In the finished chapter, Toby hits Paulo's genuine phobia without ever having met him.<ref name=":c14p10" />
* Veronica has said on Tumblr that she planned a literal "Confrontation 2" back in 2006, with hints seeded through the story, and that she may one day revive the idea as a branching-path BCI story.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/818346950343688192/will-we-see-alejandro-againwill-there-be-a|title=Ask response on the scrapped Confrontation 2 storyline|date=2026-06-02}}</ref>
* Lucy genuinely can't hear Alejandro rise behind her because she's half-deaf,<ref name=":c14p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c14/p16}}</ref> a trait on the books since the comic's very first chapter, [[Simple Pleasures]].<ref name=":c1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p3}}</ref>
* The park kiss is Mike and Lucy's first, though not Mike's first ever. As a much later sleepover conversation reveals, [[Sandy]] claimed that one back in third grade.<ref name=":c14p29" /><ref name=":c61p38">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p38}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Aftermath]]''': Picks up the instant this chapter ends, replaying Lucy's kiss line word for word on its first page. Mike can't stop thinking about the kiss, and punches David for offering him chocolate "Kisses" — a jab at both sore spots at once.
* '''[[Off to the Movies]]''': Paulo's fear of barking first surfaces in this earlier chapter, when David lets loose a volley of barks and nearly sends him out of his fur. What plays as a gag there becomes a weapon in Toby's hands.
* '''[[Moving On]]''': Alejandro and Toby resurface in a Cinder-area alley, taking the friends' class schedules from [[Augustus]]. Alejandro makes it plain he hasn't forgotten "green eyes" or his "little girlfriend".
* '''[[Trapped]]''': Alejandro's scar story is settled years later in this chapter's flashbacks, which show him young and unscarred and reveal that the ex who wounded him was a girl named [[Melanie]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Chirpy

2026-07-29T10:00:32Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox character
| image = character_chirpy.png
| gender = Female
| species = Bird
| birthday = April 7, 2004 (Aries)
| age = 4
| family = [[Lucy]] (Owner)
| first = [[Simple Pleasures]], [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p1 page 1] ''{{Start date|2009|11|02}}''}}
'''Chirpy''' is the baby of [[Lucy]]'s little household of pets: a tiny pink bird hatched from an abandoned egg by [[Yashy]], who she has called "Mommy" ever since.<ref name=":c6p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p3}}</ref> Sweet-natured and endlessly trusting, she addresses everyone around her by nicknames like "Girl-Kitty", and she has always quietly wondered why her real mother never came back for her.<ref name=":c28p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p13}}</ref>

== Personality ==
Chirpy is about as innocent as characters in this comic get, and the writing gets a lot of mileage out of it. She mishears "genetic" as "generic" in [[Show and Tell]],<ref name=":c9p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p2}}</ref> spends all of [[Unfulfilled Fantasy]] demanding to know "'''What is proooom!!'''",<ref name=":c17p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p14}}</ref> and concludes of Lucy's suspiciously mobile computer in [[Crash and Burn]] that "If I didn't know better, I'd say computers don't take walks.."<ref name=":c36p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36/p4}}</ref>

She is also relentlessly affectionate. She tells Lucy "I love you, Girl-Kitty" as a baby in [[Blurry Memories]] and again, half-asleep, at Christmas.<ref name=":c19p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c28p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p16}}</ref> When the other pets crow about catching [[Paulo]] and [[Tess]] together, her contribution is "It was only a kissie.. Meany-Kitty and Pink-Kitty love each otha!"<ref name=":c45p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p10}}</ref>

Even so, she rather hates being treated like a baby. She scolds Yashy for mocking [[Mike]]'s broken leg ("That's not nice, Mommy! How would you feel if you broke your leg?"),<ref name=":c17p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c17/p1}}</ref> and when Mike calls her one in [[Feline Festivities]], she protests "I am not!"<ref name=":c28p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p10}}</ref> That chapter also uncovers the wound she carries around. Her mother abandoned her egg, and she has never stopped wondering why.<ref name=":c28p13" /> Veronica's commentary says it plainly: "She really feels like she's missing out on something, even though Yashy is right there."<ref name=":c28p10" /> In the comic's later, darker stretches she settles into the role of quiet comforter. She keeps watch over a grieving Yashy in the snow in [[Just Beautiful]], and lets her lean on her at the [[Hospital]].<ref name=":c71p33">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p33}}</ref><ref name=":c75p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c75/p21}}</ref>

All of that makes her a funny fit for the household. Chirpy misunderstands half of what goes on around her, but she never misses how anyone is feeling, and by the end of the comic the family's designated baby is the one everyone leans on.

== Appearance ==
Chirpy is a small pink bird, tiny enough to perch on Lucy's head or nap on her pillow.<ref name=":c65p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c65/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c45p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p11}}</ref> She hatched on-panel as a cheeping chick in [[Flying Lessons]],<ref name=":c6p3" /> and she learned to fly from [[Blur]], since the wingless Yashy was never going to manage the lessons herself.<ref name=":c19p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p7}}</ref> The family resemblance runs in the feathers, too. Her mother is a salmon-colored bird with a bandana on her head, and her twin brother is a smaller red bird.<ref name=":c105p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p7}}</ref>

She has no everyday accessory, but she does dress for occasions. There's a party hat in [[Lucy's Birthday]],<ref name=":c27.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27.1/p3}}</ref> a red scarf in the winter chapters,<ref name=":c71p29">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c71/p29}}</ref> and a black-cat costume for Halloween in [[Mischief Night]], complete with perky ears and a little bell.<ref name=":c57p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c57/p3}}</ref>

== Significant events ==
Chirpy's first line in the comic is a panicked "Girl-Kitty!! She broke a bone!!", shouted over Yashy's failed attempt at flight in [[Simple Pleasures]].<ref name=":c1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p1}}</ref> Flying Lessons tells her origin. Two years earlier, a snake raided a nest and the mother bird fled, leaving a single egg behind. Yashy saved the egg, sat on it until it hatched, and named the result Chirpy.<ref name=":c6p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c6p3" /> The same chapter has Mike telling her that Blur is her "daddy", a claim she repeats with great enthusiasm and Yashy never quite lives down.<ref name=":c6p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p4}}</ref>

Through the middle-school chapters she is mostly comic relief, twice turning to the reader herself with asides like "Long comic is looooooong!"<ref name=":c12.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12.1/p2}}</ref><ref name=":c16p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c16/p11}}</ref>

Her biggest chapter is Feline Festivities, where she is separated from Yashy at Tess's Christmas party. Alone in the crowd, she finds Mike sulking on the balcony and tries to cheer him up.<ref name=":c28p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p9}}</ref><ref name=":c28p10" /> He snaps that she's "just a baby" who couldn't understand his problems, and hits a nerve nobody knew was exposed: "My mommy.. She never came back.."<ref name=":c28p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p11}}</ref> She flees in tears, knocks herself out against Lucy's head, and sleeps through the long talk about her adoption that follows.<ref name=":c28p11" /><ref name=":c28p13" /> Lucy sings her a Spanish lullaby, and Chirpy closes the chapter with a drowsy thank-you.<ref name=":c28p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p15}}</ref><ref name=":c28p16" />

Freshman year keeps her busy, starting with the surprise party she shares with Paulo in [[Birthday Double-Team]].<ref name=":c37.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37.1/p1}}</ref> She accidentally receives [[David]]'s adult magazine there, and innocently shows it to Lucy, dooming Paulo on the spot.<ref name=":c37.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37.1/p2}}</ref> Then comes the beach trip of [[Arrival]]. When the group goes missing in [[Search and Rescue]], [[Lily]] sends Chirpy and Blur out for help. They haul [[Zachary]] in off the street and burst through the door with "'''Pink-Kittyyyy!!!'''"<ref name=":c43p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p12}}</ref><ref name=":c43p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p16}}</ref> Fleeing the beast afterwards, the two birds slam into the group and knock everybody off a cliff, but their hearts were in the right place.<ref name=":c43p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p18}}</ref>

As Lucy's life darkens, Chirpy's appearances turn quiet, and she is locked out of Lucy's room in tears during [[Dinner Time]].<ref name=":c65p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c65/p3}}</ref> She sits beside the sobbing Yashy in the snow on the final page of Just Beautiful.<ref name=":c71p33" /> After Lucy is hospitalized at the end of [[Breaking Up]], Chirpy is at the hospital with the other pets, supporting Yashy as she tells Mike "G'bye, Mike."<ref name=":c75p21" /> It is her last appearance on the main timeline.

Her ending arrives secondhand in [[Witch Hunt]], where Lucy explains that the pets went to live with her aunt, and that the family found Chirpy's mother and a twin brother. A single wistful memory panel shows the tearful reunion.<ref name=":c105p7" /><ref name=":c105p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c105/p8}}</ref>

== Major relationships ==
=== [[Yashy]] ===
[[File:Rel chirpyyashyadoptivemother c6 p2.png|thumb|right|Yashy rescues Chirpy's egg in [[Flying Lessons]].]]
Yashy hatched Chirpy herself, declaring "My.. baby!" the moment the chick appeared, and by her own account has "tried to be a good mom".<ref name=":c6p3" /> A baby raising a baby has its limits, though. Yashy would rather play video games than peek-a-boo,<ref name=":c19p2" /> and Veronica's commentary admits she is "probably not the best mother material right now, being a baby herself".<ref name=":c28p10" /> Chirpy adores her anyway.<ref name=":c6p4" />

Chirpy has always known Yashy isn't her real mother, and calls her "Mommy" without hesitation regardless.<ref name=":c28p13" /> Over the years the roles quietly swap. Chirpy becomes the one scolding Yashy's meanness,<ref name=":c17p1" /> and the shoulder Yashy cries on in the snow and at the hospital.<ref name=":c71p33" /><ref name=":c75p21" /> When Yashy refused to return to Roseville, the pets stayed together at Lucy's aunt's house.<ref name=":c105p8" />

=== [[Lucy]] ===
Lucy raised Chirpy alongside Yashy from the egg onward, playing peek-a-boo and reassuring the worried chick with "Cheer up, Chirpy! You got me too, y'know!"<ref name=":c19p2" /> The Christmas crisis is where the bond gets said out loud. Lucy blames herself ("Some caretaker I turned out to be… I'm not her MOTHER, Mike..") and sings her to sleep, and Chirpy answers with a sleepy "Thank you for taking care of me.."<ref name=":c28p13" /><ref name=":c28p15" /><ref name=":c28p16" />

Chirpy returns the care during Lucy's worst year, perching worriedly on her head while she withdraws from everyone else.<ref name=":c65p4" /> The relationship ends in separation once the pets move to Lucy's aunt's. Asked in Witch Hunt whether she misses them, Lucy answers, "Of course. Every day. But I understand."<ref name=":c105p8" />

=== [[Mike]] ===
[[File:Rel chirpymikeboy c28 p10.png|thumb|left|Chirpy tries to cheer Mike up in [[Feline Festivities]].]]
"Boy-Kitty" has been family-adjacent since the start, and the whole "Blur is your daddy" business was his idea.<ref name=":c6p4" /> Their defining scene is the Feline Festivities balcony, where a miserable Mike explodes at her attempts to comfort him. "What's the point?! You're just a baby!… Could you even begin to understand ANY of that?!"<ref name=":c28p10" /> He accidentally detonates her deepest grief and is horrified at once.<ref name=":c28p11" /> By the end of the night he has learned his lesson: "Shouldn't underestimate little birds like her, huh?"<ref name=":c28p13" /> Lucy's verdict was that he really should have vented at someone else.<ref name=":c28p13" />

Chirpy holds no grudge, and her concern for his broken leg predates the party by a good while.<ref name=":c17p1" /> All the same, the household's final word on Mike is Yashy's hospital "G'bye, Mike", with Chirpy right beside her.<ref name=":c75p21" />

=== [[Blur]] ===
Blur is the one who actually taught Chirpy to fly.<ref name=":c19p7" /> Thanks to Mike, she also calls him "Daddy", which flusters Blur and infuriates Yashy in equal measure.<ref name=":c6p4" /> The noncanon gag strip "Ships Ahoy! #65: Blur x Chirpy" plays one of their rounds of fly tag as a mock romance, ending in a tackle-hug.<ref>{{Cite BCI page|slug=shipsahoys5|page=12|title=Ships Ahoy, Season Five}}</ref>

=== Her birth mother and twin brother ===
[[File:Rel chirpyherbirthmotherandtwinbrother c105 p7.png|thumb|right|Chirpy's reunion with her mother, remembered in [[Witch Hunt]].]]
Chirpy's mother fled the snake attack and left a single egg behind. As Yashy tells Mike, "We still haven't found her mom. Maybe one day she'll fly back."<ref name=":c6p2" /><ref name=":c6p3" /> That absence powers Chirpy's one dramatic arc, from her baby-era "Does Mommy hate me?" to the balcony breakdown at Christmas.<ref name=":c19p2" /><ref name=":c28p11" /> The reunion itself happens entirely off-panel, reported by Lucy years later alongside a single tearful memory panel.<ref name=":c105p7" />

== Minor relationships ==
=== [[Paulo]] ===
"Meanie-Kitty" and Chirpy are April birthday twins, and Veronica's commentary confirms hers falls a few days before his, which is how they ended up sharing one surprise party.<ref name=":c37.1p1" /> Chirpy repaid the honor by showing his adult magazine to Lucy,<ref name=":c37.1p2" /> though she was later the lone voice defending his fling with Tess as true love.<ref name=":c45p10" />

== Quotes ==
{{Quote
| My mommy.. She never came back..
| speaker = Chirpy
| context = breaking down in front of Mike in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p11 ''Feline Festivities'']
}}
{{Quote
| .. I love you, Girl-Kitty.. Thank you for taking care of me..
| speaker = Chirpy
| context = half-asleep in Lucy's arms in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c28/p16 ''Feline Festivities'']
}}
{{Quote
| Did you see how far Mommy FLIED??
| speaker = Chirpy
| context = starry-eyed while Yashy pummels Mike in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p4 ''Flying Lessons'']
}}
{{Quote
| Meow! I'm tryin' to curse ya!
| speaker = Chirpy
| context = flying circles around Lucy in a black-cat costume in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c57/p3 ''Mischief Night'']
}}
{{Quote
| MOMMY I'LL GIVE YOU MY EARS!!
| speaker = Chirpy
| context = offering to fix Yashy's entirely imaginary deafness in [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c9/p2 ''Show and Tell'']
}}

== Gallery ==

== Trivia ==
* ''Flying Lessons'' is a remake of the DeviantArt-era chapter "Chirpy's Introduction", which was cut from the 2011 Volume One and restored later. Veronica's commentary notes the remake stripped out Yashy's Yoshi-derived behaviors around the egg.<ref name=":c6p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p1}}</ref><ref name=":c6p2" />
* The pets exist because Veronica "wanted Lucy to hold little cute animals like Misty was holding Togepi from Pokemon", with the baby Yoshis of Super Mario World as the other inspiration.<ref name="tumblr-togepi">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/643684785814994944|title=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2021-02-21}}</ref>
* In the original 2000s comics, Chirpy also eventually left the group after finding her mother and brother; the modern comic repeats that ending off-panel, revealed in ''Witch Hunt''.<ref name="tumblr-togepi" /><ref name=":c105p7" />
* She has a descriptor nickname for everybody: Girl-Kitty (Lucy), Boy-Kitty (Mike, and Zachary too), Meanie-Kitty (Paulo), Boy-Doggie (David), Pink-Kitty (Tess), and Boy-Birdie (Blur).<ref name=":c1p1" /><ref name=":c28p10" /><ref name=":c43p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p17}}</ref><ref name=":c37.1p1" /><ref name=":c37.1p2" /><ref name=":c43p16" /><ref name=":c6p4" />
* Veronica has described the pets as "permanent children", created to be ageless.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/810385703332675584|title=Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr|date=2026-03-07}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Yashy]]
* [[Blur]]
* [[Lily]]
* [[Lucy]]
* [[Lucy's house]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]

Catty Remarks

2026-07-29T10:00:28Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c12.1p2f12.png
| major_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Yashy]], [[Paulo]], [[David]]
| minor_characters = [[Lily]], [[Chirpy]], [[Blur]]
| locations = [[Lucy's house]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Mike]] just wants a quick nap after a sleepless night. What he gets is a stowaway in [[Lucy]]'s bag, two soaking-wet friends at the door, and a household determined to speak entirely in cat and dog idioms.

== Synopsis ==
Mike, exhausted after a sleepless night, settles down for a nap, only for [[Lucy]] to shout him awake with "WAKE UP!! No time for a catnap!!"<ref name=":c12.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12.1/p1}}</ref> Her bag starts moving, and [[Yashy]] bursts out of it in a shower of candy.<ref name=":c12.1p1" />

Mike catches himself blushing at Lucy and shyly deflects when she notices him staring. [[David]] bursts through the door, soaking wet and wailing that it's raining cats and dogs.<ref name=":c12.1p1" /> [[Paulo]] trails in just as soaked, and his flirting gets shut down flat.<ref name=":c12.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12.1/p2}}</ref>

[[File:c12.1_p1_panel8.png|alt=Yashy bursts out of Lucy's bag in a shower of candy, shouting "The cat's out of the bag!" while Lucy yelps.|thumb|Lucy's bag turns out to have a stowaway, and the stowaway has candy.]]
Lucy puts two and two together and smacks Mike and Paulo with a shout of "Quit the catty remarks!"<ref name=":c12.1p2" /> The idioms only pile up from there, until Paulo pushes one taunt too far and takes a fist from Mike.<ref name=":c12.1p2" /> [[Chirpy]] gets the last word, telling the reader the whole situation is bird-brained.<ref name=":c12.1p2" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Practically every line of dialogue is a cat or dog idiom, well over two dozen of them across just two pages. A few even happen literally on-panel: Yashy really is the cat out of the bag, and it really is raining cats and dogs outside.<ref name=":c12.1p1" />
* Lucy delivers the chapter's title herself, mid-smack.<ref name=":c12.1p2" />
* Oliver's commentary introduces the decimal-numbered chapters as "cute little mostly-comedic stories" between the main ones, and warns readers not to skip them, since "you'll miss out on puns like these!" This is the first such intermission in the series.<ref name=":c12.1p1" />
* Veronica's commentary recalls that readers thought Paulo looked "different" when the chapter first ran. The culprit was the rain: his whiskers hang down under the weight of the water droplets. She credits the reaction with pushing her to make his whiskers stick out more afterward, and notes the pages have since been redrawn.<ref name=":c12.1p2" />
* Chirpy's closer is the only idiom in the chapter that isn't about cats or dogs. It's also far from her first line, as she's been chattering since [[Simple Pleasures]].<ref name=":c12.1p2" /><ref name=":c1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p1}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Off to the Movies]]''': The chapter immediately before this one ends with Mike brushing Lucy's cheek and Lucy panicking and slamming her door in his face.<ref name=":c12p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c12/p6}}</ref> That might well be why Mike couldn't sleep all night, though the comic never actually says so.
* '''[[Gaming Rivalry]]''': An earlier round of pet-filled comedy at Lucy's house, and the chapter where Yashy first calls Lucy "Mommy".<ref name=":c2p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c2/p1}}</ref> She keeps the habit up here with "You don't gotta have kittens, Mom."<ref name=":c12.1p2" />
* '''[[Blurry Memories]]''': The chapter where Blur, the bird behind this chapter's "cat on a hot tin roof" line,<ref name=":c12.1p2" /> finally gets a name.<ref name=":c19p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p7}}</ref> Yashy is the one who names him, and the name is not a compliment.
* '''[[Puppy Love]]''': The next chapter keeps the animal puns going in its title, but that's the only thing it carries over. Its story is its own, with Mike suddenly buried in love letters.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Burger-Tron

2026-07-29T10:00:24Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox location
| image = Location_burgertron.png
| first = [[Small Fry]], [https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c83/p5 page 5] ''May 23, 2014''
| characters = [[Paulo]], [[James]], [[Miranda]], [[Lauren]], [[Daisy]], [[Mike]], [[Tess]], [[David]], [[Lucy]], [[Ellen]], [[Chris]]
}}
'''Burger-Tron''' is a space-themed fast-food restaurant in Roseville and [[Paulo]]'s part-time workplace from [[Small Fry]] onward. Paulo delivers the pitch himself on panel: "Welcome to Burger-Tron, home of the Astro-Burger Deluxe."<ref name=":c83p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c83/p6}}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Loc Burger-Tron c106 p13 panel1.png|thumb|Exterior of the Burger-Tron restaurant building.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p13}}</ref>]]
[[File:Loc Burger-Tron c122 p7 panel6.png|thumb|Paulo serving a customer at the Burger-Tron counter.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p7}}</ref>]]
Burger-Tron is a standalone single-story brick building with its own parking lot, within walking distance of [[Roseville High School]].<ref name=":c106p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p13}}</ref><ref name=":c83p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c83/p5}}</ref> A dark purple fascia carries the name in big yellow letters beside a round burger logo, and yellow-and-red striped trim runs along the roofline.<ref name=":c106p13" /> Customers come in through glass double doors, and a brick alley with an overflowing dumpster sits behind the building.<ref name=":c122p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p7}}</ref><ref name=":c83p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c83/p10}}</ref>

Inside, cash registers line a long counter beneath the menu board, and booths with green cushions and pale yellow tables fill out a red tiled floor.<ref name=":c122p7" /><ref name=":c106p13" /> The back of house has a meat slicer and a dish-washing station with a high-pressure spray nozzle,<ref name=":c117p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c117/p1}}</ref> plus the mop, yellow rubber gloves and "CAUTION WET FLOOR" sign that make up a rather large share of Paulo's working life.<ref name=":c83p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c83/p9}}</ref><ref name=":c106p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p16}}</ref> Staff wear a striped shirt, an apron and a dark cap with the burger logo.<ref name=":c83p6" /> [[Miranda]] manages the place, and the roster over the years has included [[James]] and Lauren, who dreads the graveyard shift.<ref name=":c106p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p17}}</ref><ref name=":c117p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c117/p5}}</ref> The restaurant is part of a chain, and a second outlet operates inside the [[Convention center]].<ref name=":c89p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c89/p16}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Loc Burger-Tron c117 p1 panel1.png|thumb|James in uniform in the Burger-Tron kitchen.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c117/p1}}</ref>]]
The gang discovers Paulo's job in [[Small Fry]]. [[Daisy]], [[Mike]] and [[Tess]] wander in after a study session and find him behind the counter in full uniform, playing the perfect greeter.<ref name=":c83p5" /><ref name=":c83p6" /> The shine wears off pretty quickly. Over the course of the visit he flirts a discount at Tess, weathers a customer's ketchup-packet tirade, and ends up mopping in yellow gloves behind a vomiting child, grumbling, "This is the third time I've cleaned up puke today!"<ref name=":c83p9" /> Out in the back alley afterward, he asks Tess for driving lessons and gets thoroughly shouted down.<ref name=":c83p10" />

The chain's convention outlet gets its moment in [[Guest of Honor]]. Paulo puts his 20% employee discount to use and surprises Daisy with a milkshake, and the resulting round of wiping ice cream off each other's faces leaves them both blushing.<ref name=":c89p16" /><ref name=":c89p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c89/p17}}</ref>

The main restaurant also hosted one of the worst days of [[Abbey]] and Daisy's relationship, shown in flashback in [[Golden Hour]]. Paulo, on shift at the time, quietly fixed the milkshake order Abbey had gotten wrong for Daisy, then couldn't resist taunting him about it.<ref name=":c90p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p21}}</ref> The argument that followed spiraled well past milkshakes. Abbey declared himself "too much of a '''FUCKING BURDEN'''" and accused Daisy of always taking Paulo's side.<ref name=":c90p23">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p23}}</ref> Daisy slapped him, and Abbey walked out of the restaurant alone.<ref name=":c90p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p24}}</ref><ref name=":c90p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c90/p26}}</ref>

[[College Material]] brings Daisy, [[Lucy]], [[Jordan]] and [[Augustus]] in for post-SAT milkshakes, on Daisy's insistence.<ref name=":c106p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p12}}</ref> Paulo serves them but waves off Daisy's offers of tutoring, telling her, "You got cancers to cure. Not hopeless cases like me."<ref name=":c106p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p14}}</ref> The visit ends better than it starts. While Paulo mops the empty floor, Miranda mentions that her dad's company will be taking resumes over the summer, and that he could hang up the mop and put those people skills to real use.<ref name=":c106p17" />

By [[Good Enough]], James has joined the staff. The chapter opens on the two of them mid-shift. James, lovestruck, serves Mike, [[Ellen]] and [[Chris]] and arranges a group trip to the movies, while Paulo quietly deflates.<ref name=":c117p1" /><ref name=":c117p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c117/p2}}</ref> After close, Paulo hands Daisy a milkshake and admits to her, in a booth, both his crush on James and how worthless he has been feeling.<ref name=":c117p5" /> The heart-to-heart lasts right up until [[David]] pops out of nowhere to pitch a horror movie night.<ref name=":c117p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c117/p13}}</ref>

Burger-Tron's biggest scene comes in [[Rain Check]]. Lucy marches Daisy across the parking lot and up to the counter to make her face Paulo, milkshake pretext and all.<ref name=":c122p7" /> It does not go smoothly. Daisy orders "the usual," retreats to a booth, and breaks down over the fact that she loves Paulo and can't even look at him.<ref name=":c122p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p9}}</ref><ref name=":c122p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p12}}</ref> When she bolts out into the rain, Paulo drops his mop and gloves and runs after her.<ref name=":c122p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p18}}</ref> The confession itself happens out on the rainy streets, away from the building, but afterward the brand-new couple walks back into the restaurant together, past a very pleased Lucy.<ref name=":c122p38">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p38}}</ref> Veronica has pointed to Lucy's ambush here as an example of her benevolent manipulation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/814818674321063936|title=Ask response on Lucy's manipulative tendencies|date=2026-04-24}}</ref>

Paulo and Daisy's first official date, a double date with Jordan and [[Tiff]], brings them straight back.<ref name=":c128p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128/p19}}</ref> Paulo jokes about the venue, and Daisy insists it's actually pretty romantic.<ref name=":c128p19" /> By the time they reach the queue, he is fully on board: "This is where we fell in love~!"<ref name=":c128p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128/p21}}</ref> The rest of the evening is spent in a booth, where Jordan's night with Tiff falls apart and Paulo dispenses relationship advice.<ref name=":c128p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c128/p22}}</ref>

== Trivia ==
[[File:Loc Burger-Tron c106 p16 panel1.png|thumb|Paulo mopping the tiled floor near the counter.<ref>{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c106/p16}}</ref>]]
* The menu keeps to the space theme, from the Astro-Burger Deluxe<ref name=":c83p6" /> and a drink called a [[Blasto]]<ref name=":c122p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c122/p8}}</ref> to the new Stardust burger that packs the place out during Paulo and Daisy's date.<ref name=":c128p21" /> Daisy's beloved shakes, on the other hand, aren't on the menu at all.<ref name=":c106p12" />
* In the debut chapter's commentary, Paulo's job is described as "Five years in the making," and an early version of the idea had employee Paulo pestering Lucy at the counter rather than Tess.<ref name=":c83p6" />
* Not every Burger-Tron employee attends Roseville High. The staff mix is modeled on Veronica's own time working at Subway, and James was deliberately placed at a private school so Paulo would have somewhere to hide his crush.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/798961679956410368|title=Ask response on James and the track team's origins|date=2025-10-31}}</ref>
* For all the name-drops in between, the restaurant itself goes unseen for four publication years, between [[College Material]] in 2019 and [[Good Enough]] in 2022.<ref name=":c106p13" /><ref name=":c117p1" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Locations}}
[[Category:Locations]]

Bonding

2026-07-29T10:00:20Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c34p3f3.png
| major_characters = [[Daisy]], [[Augustus]], [[Abbey]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Paulo]], [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Alec McCain]], [[David]], [[Roger]], [[Rachel]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
[[Abbey]] is the only one who notices that [[Daisy]] keeps disappearing at lunch, and [[Lucy]] knows why. Up on a sunny hill, [[Augustus]] tells Daisy all about the old [[Tess]], then leans in for something more. Will she let him?

== Synopsis ==
[[Abbey]] is the only one at the lunch table worried that [[Daisy]] is missing again, and [[Mike]]'s guess that she has extra work satisfies nobody. Abbey's frustration boils over into a shouting match with [[Paulo]], complete with a mocking impression of Paulo's apathy.<ref name=":c34p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p1}}</ref>

It's [[Lucy]] who knows where Daisy actually is, hanging around with an older kid in a coat, and [[Tess]] admits, "I just worry he's going to use her."<ref name=":c34p1" />

[[File:c34_p1_panel7.png|alt=Abbey raises his hands dramatically, doing a mock impression of Paulo and saying "You just.. don't give a damn about that hoe!"|thumb|Abbey demonstrates his fluency in Paulo.]]
Daisy is indeed spending her lunch on a sunny hill with that very kid. Their small talk sours when Tess's name comes up, and [[Augustus]] tells Daisy what Tess was like last year as "Roger's girlfriend".<ref name=":c34p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p2}}</ref> By his account, [[Roger]], now a Senior, made a game of taunting, stealing from and bullying freshmen, and Tess backed him up every day.<ref name=":c34p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p3}}</ref>

Daisy is horrified, but she reasons that Tess has changed and must feel terribly alone now. When Augustus warns her against trusting people so readily, she disarms him by pointing out that she ignored her friends to give him a chance. His hand finds hers, he asks whether she might be jealous of what Tess is, and he pulls her into an embrace.<ref name=":c34p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p4}}</ref>

Augustus tells Daisy he really likes her and offers to make her feel like the most desirable girl in the world, safe from all the others. Daisy closes her eyes for the kiss, then thinks of someone else and shoves him away. She flees at the bell, running past a confused Mike in the hallway, while Augustus watches her go and thinks, "This isn't going to be easy.."<ref name=":c34p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c34/p5}}</ref>

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Daisy and Augustus:''' Daisy is the one person who gave him a chance over her friends' warnings, and she has been sneaking off to spend her lunches with him since [[Follow Me]].<ref name=":c32p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p6}}</ref> After this chapter, the relationship is openly romantic on his side and conflicted on hers. He presses on her insecurities about Tess and pulls her into a near-kiss, and she comes close to returning it before shoving him away for the sake of an unnamed "him".<ref name=":c34p4" /><ref name=":c34p5" /> His parting thought makes it plain that winning her over is a project he intends to keep working at.<ref name=":c34p5" />
* '''Daisy and Tess:''' Daisy tutored Tess through her midterms in [[Midterm Time]],<ref name=":c29p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c29/p1}}</ref> but she has quietly resented the older girl's place at their table ever since Tess joined the group.<ref name=":c34p3" /> Augustus's story gives her every reason to turn on Tess, and she refuses to take it. Whatever Tess was in the Roger days, Daisy decides, she deserves compassion now, even if the jealousy question leaves her squirming.<ref name=":c34p4" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary mentions an earlier version of this dialogue in which Daisy was flustered at the very idea of Tess having had a boyfriend, admitting that "a lot of old dialogue was definitely written from the eyes of a total conservative" (in romance, she clarifies, not politics).<ref name=":c34p3" />
* Per Veronica's commentary under the last page, Daisy "was genuinely considering reciprocating his advances, but nope, too thirsty for Mike", which confirms who the unnamed "him" is.<ref name=":c34p5" />
* Nobody in the chapter says Augustus's name. The lunch table only knows him as "that older kid" and "the guy in the coat".<ref name=":c34p1" /> He goes unnamed on-panel until Toby calls him "Gussie" in [[Moving On]],<ref name=":c40p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c40/p1}}</ref> and his real name isn't spoken until [[Pillow Talk]].<ref name=":c61p55">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p55}}</ref>
* Augustus only ever calls Tess "Tessa", a name nobody at the main table uses. It's the same needling habit he showed her in Follow Me.<ref name=":c34p3" /><ref name=":c32p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p3}}</ref>
* The crying boy clutching his arm in the flashback is never named here, but he's Rachel's brother [[Aaron]]. Rachel blames Tess and Roger for his broken arm in Follow Me, and Pillow Talk later shows the incident itself.<ref name=":c34p3" /><ref name=":c32p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c32/p7}}</ref><ref name=":c61p29">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p29}}</ref>
* Veronica's commentary on the opening page notes that Abbey has shown a short fuse in earlier chapters, "but now it's getting a little scary."<ref name=":c34p1" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Follow Me]]''': Daisy first started slipping away from the lunch table here, and she took Augustus's hand over her friends' warnings. It's also where Augustus frightened Tess into silence over her "little secret", and where Rachel first dropped Roger's name.
* '''[[Under Pressure]]''': The Roger history Augustus sketches here boils over immediately. In the following chapter, Noah goes after Tess over what she and Roger did in gym class last year.
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': The hill scene gets a much darker echo at the carnival. After Mike turns Daisy down, Augustus corners her against a tree, and this time she slaps him and tells him to leave.
* '''[[Moving On]]''': Augustus turns out to have been working for [[Alejandro]]'s gang the whole time he was courting Daisy, which makes his "This isn't going to be easy.." read a lot colder. [[Toby]] also mocks "Gussie" for having genuine feelings for her.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Blurry Memories

2026-07-29T10:00:17Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c19p6f7.png
| major_characters = [[Blur]], [[Lily]], [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[Yashy]]
| minor_characters = [[Chirpy]]
| locations = [[Lucy's house]], [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
Ever wondered where [[Blur]] and [[Lily]] came from? Blur certainly can't tell you. Two years after the fact, the pets look back on the stormy night that gave [[Mike]] a pet, [[Lucy]] a lodger, and Blur his much-hated name.

== Synopsis ==
In the present day, [[Mike]] is hard at work on his summer reading while [[Lucy]] hasn't started hers and doesn't intend to.<ref name=":c19p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p1}}</ref> When [[Lily]] teases [[Blur]] about his ignorance, he protests that he's just hazy about things and still remembers some stuff, and the story slips two years into the past.<ref name=":c19p1" />

At [[Lucy's house]], Mike admires how tenderly Lucy comforts an infant [[Chirpy]], and gets an uppercut and a trip through the front door for it.<ref name=":c19p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p2}}</ref> Caught in a downpour on the walk home, he shelters under a tree until lightning sets a nearby one ablaze.<ref name=":c19p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p3}}</ref> Beside the burning tree, a hedgehog is straining to drag an unconscious bird from the flames, and she orders Mike to help; soon he stands drenched in Lucy's doorway with the bird in his arms, pleading "Lucy.. please help him.."<ref name=":c19p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p4}}</ref>

The bird wakes bandaged, terrified, and ready to bolt, but Lucy refuses to let him fly back to his charred branch, while the hedgehog introduces herself as Lily, a self-styled traveler who doesn't actually know the patient.<ref name=":c19p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p5}}</ref> Mike learns the bird remembers nothing about who he is, and promises him a home and a place where he belongs. Lily asks for a pit stop, Lucy shrugs her assent, and Mike declares that if Lucy's keeping the hedgehog, he'll be keeping the bird.<ref name=":c19p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p6}}</ref>

Once the bird has recovered enough to fly over for a visit, [[Yashy]] welcomes him with a hurled controller and demands his name mid-assault. All he can tell her is that his mind is "all a blur," and as far as Yashy is concerned, that settles it — however loudly he objects.<ref name=":c19p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p7}}</ref>
[[File:c19_p7_panel18.png|alt=A furious Blur shouts "MY NAME IS NOT BLUR!!" while Yashy smugly says "Poor Blur." and Chirpy asks "How do I fly?".|thumb|Yashy's christening goes over about as well as her controller did.]]

Back in the present, Lily takes back her earlier teasing, conceding that Blur has made some memories and certainly made a home.<ref name=":c19p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19/p8}}</ref> She admits she only stuck around town herself because Mike and Lucy are far too entertaining to leave behind, and Blur, though he'd still like his memories back, is happy with what he has now.<ref name=":c19p8" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Blur and Mike:''' Their whole owner-and-pet bond rests on one act of kindness. Mike is the one who carried the unconscious bird out of the rain,<ref name=":c19p4" /> and once the amnesia came to light, the one who promised him a home: "You don't ever have to feel like you don't have a place to belong."<ref name=":c19p6" /> Two years on, Blur would still like his memories back, but he's settled enough with Mike to say he's happy with what he has.<ref name=":c19p8" />
* '''Lily and Lucy:''' Lily's stay at Lucy's was only ever supposed to be a brief rest stop, and it quietly became permanent instead.<ref name=":c19p6" /> By her own account she considered moving on, but stayed because Mike and Lucy are "a walking teenage melodrama" and endlessly entertaining.<ref name=":c19p8" />
* '''Blur and Yashy:''' Yashy's brand of affection is rough treatment with loyalty underneath. She's the one who saddled Blur with a name he furiously rejected,<ref name=":c19p7" /> yet two years later the two are card partners, and she's the first to snap at Lily for teasing him.<ref name=":c19p1" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* The book Mike is reading is ''Things Fall Apart''. Veronica's commentary notes she asked around about what ninth-graders actually read, and a friend entering ninth grade had it assigned. Veronica herself was assigned it in senior-year Honours English.<ref name=":c19p1" />
* Per Veronica's commentary, Chirpy was found near the end of 6th grade, and the fire happened at the beginning of 7th grade, around October. That fits the flashback's "Two years ago" caption.<ref name=":c19p2" />
* In the pre-BCB comics, Mike's house was infested with termites and he lived at Lucy's for about two years, sleeping in the living room back when the characters slept in boxes "a la Garfield." Veronica's commentary offers this as the reason Mike is at Lucy's house so much.<ref name=":c19p3" />
* Blur went unnamed for a very long time in the pre-BCB comics, acting as though he knew his name and simply wouldn't tell it. Veronica originally named him after an artist she admired at the time.<ref name=":c19p7" /> When a 2025 ask wondered whether "Blur" is a Sonic reference, she said she doesn't remember, but "probably was Sonic-brained" when she named him.<ref name="tumblr-sonic">{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/800057670355894272/something-just-occurred-to-me-is-blur-a-sonic|title=Ask response on whether Blur references Sonic|date=2025-11-13}}</ref>
* Per Veronica's commentary, fly tag was a common game among the flying pets of the pre-BCB comics, at one point including a Togetic from Pokémon.<ref name=":c19p7" />

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Flying Lessons]]''': Chirpy gets her own origin story there, from egg rescue to hatching. Its present-day scenes also show Blur running the flying lessons he promises her here.
* '''[[Farewell, Middle School]]''': The chapter right before this one hands out the class placements Mike is studying for, and puts a delighted Daisy in his Honors English class. That's the nerve Lucy pokes with her "Daisy" taunt.
* '''[[Gaming Rivalry]]''': Blur's actual first appearance in publication order. He had been part of the cast for years before this chapter got around to explaining where he came from.
* '''[[Yashy's Birthday]]''': The immediate follow-up keeps the whole pet household on stage, with Blur and Chirpy fretting over the humans going back to school.
* '''[[Leaving Home]]''': Mike's promise of a place to belong gets a sad echo years down the line. A flashback in that chapter shows Blur leaving Mike's household.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Birthday Double-Team

2026-07-29T10:00:13Z

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{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c37.1p1f19-20.png
| major_characters = [[Paulo]], [[Chirpy]], [[David]], [[Lucy]]
| minor_characters = [[Sue]]
| locations =
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
It's a joint surprise party for the comic's two April birthdays, and [[David]] has a gift [[Paulo]] will never forget. Unfortunately, he also bought one for [[Chirpy]], and he's not entirely sure which box ended up in which wrapping paper.

== Synopsis ==
Paulo and Chirpy get a shared surprise birthday party, confetti and all.<ref name=":c37.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37.1/p1}}</ref> Chirpy is over the moon about it, having assumed everyone forgot her birthday entirely.<ref name=":c37.1p1" />

David hypes Paulo's gift with an actual flash of lightning behind him, promising something that'll "rock your world~".<ref name=":c37.1p1" /> Paulo tears into the wrapping in a frenzy, then stares blankly at a box of "Fluffy Love Chocolates".<ref name=":c37.1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c37.1/p2}}</ref>

It turns out David mixed up the presents, since the chocolates were meant for Chirpy and Paulo's actual gift was a magazine.<ref name=":c37.1p2" /> Paulo bolts across the room, but Chirpy is already holding up a centerfold and asking, in complete innocence, "Is he hurting her?"<ref name=":c37.1p2" />

[[File:c37.1_p2_panel13.png|alt=Chirpy holds up a magazine centerfold with big worried eyes and asks "Is he hurting her?"|thumb|Chirpy's pressie comes with some follow-up questions.]]
Lucy arrives with the birthday cake just in time to see Paulo yanking the magazine out of Chirpy's wings.<ref name=":c37.1p2" /> She drops her half of the cake and looms in for an explanation, and Paulo is already out the door.<ref name=":c37.1p2" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary explains why the parties got combined: Paulo and Chirpy both have April birthdays, with Chirpy's falling a few days before Paulo's, so she folded the two celebrations into one chapter rather than drawing two. That's also why poor Chirpy assumed everyone forgot.<ref name=":c37.1p1" />
* The same commentary starts to say the last birthday chapter was Lucy's, then remembers that David already has an entire chapter dedicated to his February birthday, [[Onwards to Adventure]].<ref name=":c37.1p1" /><ref name=":c33p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c33/p1}}</ref>
* Under the second page, Veronica mock-scolds David about the gift and insists "The spreads are of women holding hands, OKAY? >8(".<ref name=":c37.1p2" />
* The chapter debuts two of Chirpy's nicknames: "Meanie-Kitty" for Paulo and "Boy-Doggie" for David.<ref name=":c37.1p1" /> The Paulo one returns, respelled "Meany-Kitty", in [[Return]].<ref name=":c45p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c45/p10}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Lucy's Birthday]]''': The previous birthday intermission, in which Paulo and David threw the surprise party for Lucy instead. That one also ended with chocolates at Paulo's expense, when Mike handed Lucy a heart-shaped box labeled "Paulo".<ref name=":c27.1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c27.1/p3}}</ref>
* '''[[Crash and Burn]]''': Only one full chapter earlier, Lucy was frantically hiding a porn video from Yashy and Chirpy.<ref name=":c36p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c36/p2}}</ref> This chapter runs the same gag again, and this time the pet sees everything.
* '''[[Yashy's Birthday]]''': Lucy's other pet got the same treatment in her own intermission. Yashy spent that morning moping that her birthday was "Ignored, forgotten, cast aside.." right before the surprise cake came out.<ref name=":c19.1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c19.1/p1}}</ref>
* '''[[Flying Lessons]]''': Chirpy's origin story, where Yashy rescues an abandoned egg and raises the hatchling in Lucy's household.<ref name=":c6p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c6/p2}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume One]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]

Back and Forth

2026-07-29T10:00:09Z

Alegria: Replace with Fable-generated candidate page

{{Notice LLM raw}}
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c54p32f9.png
| major_characters = [[Paulo]], [[Lucy]], [[Jessica]], [[Rachel]], [[Jasmine]], [[David]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Mike]], [[Daisy]], [[Abbey]], [[Amaya]], [[Mina]], [[Sue]], [[Augustus]], [[Stacy]], [[Katie]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Lani Amalu]], [[Gym Teacher (High School)]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]], [[Paulo's house]], [[Rachel's house]], [[Drive-in theater]], [[Roseville cinema]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Starting Over|Volume Two]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
A dented ego sends [[Paulo]] chasing two juniors and a freshman in quick succession. The spree costs him his virginity, most of his dignity, and very nearly his hide once [[Lucy]] and [[Tess]] catch up with him.

== Synopsis ==
Lucy has been awfully warm toward Paulo lately, and the two are laughing together at lunch when [[David]] pulls him aside.<ref name=":c54p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p1}}</ref> Paulo admits they fooled around but that he turned her down, and David mocks his restraint mercilessly.<ref name=":c54p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p3}}</ref> Nursing his pride, Paulo vows to honor eighth grade Paulo and "bag as many chicks as I can muster!!"<ref name=":c54p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p5}}</ref>

[[Jessica]] ends up first, her interest in Paulo's apology date only sparking once he claims [[Tess]] would be jealous.<ref name=":c54p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p6}}</ref> She sneaks him into a 21+ club with a fake ID and gets him drunk.<ref name=":c54p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p8}}</ref> The night ends in the club's out-of-order restroom, where Paulo loses his virginity.<ref name=":c54p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p10}}</ref> Afterward, Jessica mentions that her friend [[Rachel]] has a crush on him.<ref name=":c54p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p12}}</ref>

Rachel says yes the very next morning, and Lucy is around the corner to see it. She marches up and slaps Paulo across the face.<ref name=":c54p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p13}}</ref>

[[File:c54_p13_panel10.png|alt=Lucy slaps Paulo across the face hard enough to make his tail crinkle.|thumb|Lucy shares her thoughts on the Rachel development.]]
That night, Paulo flees straight into Rachel's arms.<ref name=":c54p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p14}}</ref> She takes him to an empty [[Drive-in theater|drive-in]] showing of ''Casablanca'', and real warmth builds before she lures him into the backseat.<ref name=":c54p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p15}}</ref> Afterward she giggles that "It's just been a while since I bagged a virgin!", and Paulo is wrecked all over again.<ref name=":c54p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p17}}</ref> He confesses his misery to David, whose booming advice is to go younger.<ref name=":c54p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p18}}</ref>

David steers him toward three passing freshman girls, and Paulo picks [[Jasmine]].<ref name=":c54p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p19}}</ref> [[Amaya]]'s thumbs-up gets them into an R-rated gorefest, which terrifies Jasmine until an absurd splatter noise sends them both into fits of laughter.<ref name=":c54p23">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p23}}</ref> The goodnight on her porch is sweet, awkward and kiss-free.<ref name=":c54p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p26}}</ref>

The next morning, Jessica and Rachel corner Tess at her locker to announce "'''WE BANGED HIM'''" — the whole affair was revenge on her.<ref name=":c54p27">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p27}}</ref> Tess storms off, collides with an equally furious Lucy, and the two race each other to find Paulo.<ref name=":c54p28">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p28}}</ref>

They find him at his locker and descend in unison, screaming "'''PAULO YOU MAN WHORE!!'''"<ref name=":c54p29">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p29}}</ref>

Then Lucy cuts through everything with a devastated near-confession: "You rejected me.. But you slept with.. .. these random.. '''What AM I to you?!'''"<ref name=":c54p30">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p30}}</ref> When Jessica and Rachel arrive to gloat, Lucy punches Jessica square in the face.<ref name=":c54p31">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p31}}</ref> Paulo spots [[Daisy]] in the crowd, troubled, with [[Abbey]]'s arm around her — and that's when Jasmine glomps him from behind.<ref name=":c54p31" /> Her friend [[Mina]] bursts in playing stern chaperone, and Jasmine loads Paulo up with her books and strolls him out of the wreckage.<ref name=":c54p32">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p32}}</ref>

Down the hall, Jasmine takes her books back and reveals the whole act was a plan to get him clear of the mess.<ref name=":c54p33">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p33}}</ref> An awed Paulo relaxes, and Jasmine gently notes they're not even official yet.<ref name=":c54p33" /> He holds out his hand. "Here. Let me carry those books."<ref name=":c54p33" />

== Critical moments ==
[[File:c54_p27_panel13.png|alt=Jessica and Rachel face Tess with middle fingers raised, declaring "WE BANGED HIM".|thumb|Jessica and Rachel break the news to Tess as gently as they know how.]]
* Mocked by David for turning down both Tess and Lucy, Paulo vows to honor "eighth grade Paulo" and bag as many girls as he can.<ref name=":c54p5" />
* Paulo loses his virginity to Jessica in a club restroom, then learns she took him out knowing her friend Rachel liked him.<ref name=":c54p10" /><ref name=":c54p12" />
* After their drive-in date, Rachel giggles that she "bagged a virgin", and a crushed Paulo takes David's advice to try someone younger.<ref name=":c54p17" /><ref name=":c54p18" />
* Jessica and Rachel reveal to Tess that they both slept with Paulo, and that the whole scheme was revenge on her.<ref name=":c54p27" />
* In front of half the school, Lucy blurts out "What AM I to you?!", laying bare how much she had invested in Paulo.<ref name=":c54p30" />
* Jasmine's surprise glomp and Mina's chaperone act pull Paulo out of the brawl, a rescue Jasmine later reveals was planned.<ref name=":c54p31" /><ref name=":c54p33" />

== Character dynamics ==
* '''Paulo and Lucy:''' The chapter opens with the two closer than ever. Lucy had come to Paulo in pieces after [[Mike]] rejected her, and he refused to take advantage<ref name=":c52p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c52/p10}}</ref> — the exact restraint David mocks him for here.<ref name=":c54p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p4}}</ref> Learning he then slept with two juniors turns all that warmth into public devastation, and they end the chapter openly hostile.<ref name=":c54p30" />
* '''Paulo and Jasmine:''' Strangers at the start, unofficial-but-together by the end. Their one date is built on shared laughter, and her cool-headed rescue from the brawl wins Paulo over completely.<ref name=":c54p25">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p25}}</ref><ref name=":c54p33" /> It's the only relationship in the chapter that ends better than it started.
* '''Paulo and Jessica:''' For Jessica, none of this was ever really about Paulo. Her interest in him only exists as a way of getting at Tess, and their whole night out is a move in a grudge he knows nothing about.<ref name=":c54p6" /><ref name=":c54p27" /> Once the scheme comes to light, there's nothing left between the two of them but indifference.
* '''Paulo and Daisy:''' Daisy barely says a word all chapter, but she's in Paulo's head anyway. The flashback shows thoughts of her giving him cold feet with Tess,<ref name=":c54p4" /> and during the brawl it's her troubled look from the crowd that sends him into a panic.<ref name=":c54p31" />

== Trivia & observations ==
* Veronica's commentary calls this her most challenging chapter to draw since [[Search and Rescue]], while Oliver calls it "a beloved chapter by many, including me."<ref name=":c54p1" />
* Rachel's design was revised for this chapter. Per Veronica's commentary, this is where she gained her "iconic swirl" hairstyle.<ref name=":c54p13" />
* Jessica's "You're a cat" brush-off is this arc's first on-page statement of the cat-and-dog dating barrier. Veronica's commentary under the page adds that, like [[Janet]] and [[Kevin]], Paulo and Jasmine are set up as a cat/dog relationship "that doesn't really have a future."<ref name=":c54p12" />
* This is the first appearance of both Jasmine and Mina, and the first time Amaya's job at the theater is shown.<ref name=":c54p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c54/p21}}</ref><ref name=":c54p23" />
* Amaya never speaks on panel here, but when the question of whether she and Sue talk came up later, Veronica cited this chapter: "it's been established they talked as early as Back and Forth."<ref name=":c54p25" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/806580644348067840|title=Veronica on Tumblr|website=Tumblr|date=2026-01-24}}</ref>

== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Another Shoulder]]''': This chapter shows the night Paulo turned down a sobbing Lucy on his bed, the event replayed in his flashbacks and thrown back at her during the brawl.
* '''[[Return]]''': The other flashback comes from here, where thoughts of Daisy gave Paulo cold feet with Tess.
* '''[[Love My Way]]''': Tess rejected Paulo's prom confession for his own good, then kissed him anyway. That's the mixed signal he finally rails against in the hallway.
* '''[[Up to Bat]]''': The Paulo and Jasmine relationship begun here gets a date chapter of its own shortly afterward.
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': Jessica's grudge against Tess is finally explained in full there, and she and Paulo make their peace.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BCB chapters}}
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume Two]]
[[Category:Omnibus 1]]