Unfit for Education: Difference between revisions
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{{Notice | {{Notice LLM raw}} | ||
{{Infobox chapter | {{Infobox chapter | ||
| image = c4p4f18.png | | image = c4p4f18.png | ||
| major_characters = | | major_characters = [[Yashy]], [[Lucy]], [[Mike]], [[Sue]] | ||
| minor_characters = | | minor_characters = [[David]], [[Amaya]], [[Daisy]], [[Paulo]] | ||
| locations = | | locations = [[Roseville Middle School]] | ||
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]] | | collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume One|Volume One]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]] | ||
}} | }} | ||
School never ends, [[Yashy]] wants an education of her own, and [[Sue]]'s science fair project asks its volunteers only one thing: don't think of a polar bear. That's harder than it sounds when, like [[Mike]], your head is full of [[Lucy]]'s pretty blue eyes. | |||
== Synopsis == | |||
[[Lucy]] groans that school is never going to end, which prompts [[Yashy]] to pop up beside her and ask whether she ought to be in preschool by now. [[Mike]] wonders whether she'd need a brain first, then dubs her a "Yoshi-lookin' blob". Lucy isn't much of a defense, admitting she was nine when she named Yashy and that it wasn't her most imaginative idea. Yashy spends the rest of the page waving her arms and screaming "'''I AM NOT A YOSHI!!'''" while Mike cracks up.<ref name=":c4p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p1}}</ref> | |||
The teacher, a poodle, arrives and announces that today is for preparing science fair projects. Yashy raises her hand, gets ignored, and settles the matter by pegging the teacher in the head with an eraser, which Lucy is promptly blamed for. Once Yashy finally gets to ask about "cool preschool programs", the teacher waves the question off with a blunt "'Sides, you're just a pet." A devastated Yashy declares she'll sit with her own kind, and folds her arms in solidarity beside the class hamster.<ref name=":c4p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p2}}</ref> | |||
By presentation time, [[Sue]] is calling for test subjects. Nearby, [[David]] has a project of his own going: "My hypothesis is that all high schoolers go through puberty." He announces he'll prove it hands-on and gets smacked mid-sentence by [[Amaya]], leaving Lucy to wonder how that one got approved. Lucy, Mike, [[Daisy]] and [[Paulo]] sign up for Sue's experiment, and Yashy asks whether she can join or whether it's only for superior species. Sue counts her in. That delights Yashy for about one panel before she goes back to muttering about persecution.<ref name=":c4p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p3}}</ref> | |||
[[File:c4_p4_panel9.png|alt=Mike's imagined Lucy transforms into a bear wearing a pink bow.|thumb|Mike's daydream runs into some trouble at the word "fur".]] | |||
Sue's project turns out to be a thought-suppression exercise about obsessive-compulsive disorder. Blocking out a "bad" thought, she explains, only makes it more intrusive. So, "Whatever you do, '''DON'T''' think of a polar bear!" Anyone who does has to say "bear" out loud. Lucy and Daisy strain through with the occasional slip, while Yashy caves in seconds and can't stop chanting.<ref name=":c4p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c4/p4}}</ref> | |||
Mike lasts longer than anybody, mostly because his mind is elsewhere. He sneaks a glance at Lucy and drifts into an adoring inventory of her soft, pretty blue eyes and her cute pink button nose. Then he gets to "Delicate, beautiful white.. fur", and his imagined Lucy turns into a bear wearing a pink bow. A defeated ".. bear." slips out of him. Sue wraps up the test, but Yashy still can't stop chanting. One smug remark too many from Mike about her one-track mind earns him a tackle and a thorough slapping. Lucy cheerfully points out that the attack has finally stopped the chanting, and Yashy has to agree.<ref name=":c4p4" /> | |||
== Character dynamics == | |||
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Nothing actually changes between these two, since Lucy never finds out what Mike spent the experiment thinking about. All the same, this is the first time the comic goes inside Mike's head about her. While everyone else wrestles with polar bears, his thoughts wander straight to Lucy's eyes, nose, and fur.<ref name=":c4p4" /> [[Gaming Rivalry]] had him swooning over one of her fake-sweet hugs, and this goes a fair bit further.<ref name=":c2p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c2/p4}}</ref> | |||
== Trivia & observations == | |||
* Veronica drew this chapter while studying for her psychology final, and Sue's polar bear exercise came "more or less like this" from her reading on obsessive-compulsive disorder.<ref name=":c4p4" /> She later confirmed the influence on Tumblr, adding that she "wanted to develop the characters into more than just flanderisations, which is how they started".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/112268158444/tae-you-said-you-took-some-psychology-classes|title=Ask response on psychology classes|date=2015-02-28}}</ref> | |||
* This chapter is the first appearance of both Sue and Amaya.<ref name=":c4p3" /> | |||
* Per Veronica's commentary, she had trouble deciding the cast's grade when the series began, eventually settling on eighth grade. The same ambiguity caused confusion about Yashy's age, which she resolved with a blunt "SHE'S FOUR."<ref name=":c4p1" /> | |||
* David's hypothesis covers "all high schoolers", even though the commentary places the cast in eighth grade. The series later confirms the middle school setting outright in [[Farewell, Middle School]].<ref name=":c4p3" /><ref name=":c18p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c18/p3}}</ref> | |||
* The class hamster packs two pop-culture nods into one exchange. Yashy addresses him as "Hamtaro", and his reply is a near-quote of the Wonder Pets theme song.<ref name=":c4p2" /> | |||
== Related chapters == | |||
* '''[[The Burden of Parenthood]]''': The chapter right after this one continues the family joke. Yashy keeps treating Lucy as her mom, and a sex-ed baby project gives her a whole new reason to rage when Daisy gets paired with Mike. | |||
* '''[[Prom Preparation]]''': The nearest payoff of Mike's daydream. Yashy attacks girls who flirt with Mike in defense of his crush on Lucy, saying out loud what this chapter only showed inside his head. | |||
* '''[[Left Behind]]''': Lucy mentions here that she was nine when she named Yashy. This chapter's flashback shows that era, with young Lucy finding the egg Yashy hatched from. | |||
* '''[[Unfulfilled Fantasy]]''': The chapter that introduces Sandy and her history with Mike. At this point in the series there's no Sandy context at all, so the daydream reads as a straightforward crush reveal. | |||
== References == | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
{{BCB chapters}} | {{BCB chapters}} | ||
[[Category:Chapters]] | [[Category:Chapters]] | ||
[[Category:Volume One]] | [[Category:Volume One]] | ||
[[Category:Omnibus 1]] | [[Category:Omnibus 1]] | ||
Revision as of 15:14, 16 July 2026
 | This page is pretty raw LLM output. |
| Unfit for Education | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chapter | 4 of 127 (list of chapters) |
| Published | May 12, 2006 |
| Page count | 4 |
| Major characters | Yashy, Lucy, Mike, Sue |
| Minor characters | David, Amaya, Daisy, Paulo |
| Locations | Roseville Middle School |
| Collected in | Volume One, Omnibus 1 |
| Chapter navigation | |
| ← Merry Snow Day | The Burden of Parenthood → |
| Read chapter | |
School never ends, Yashy wants an education of her own, and Sue's science fair project asks its volunteers only one thing: don't think of a polar bear. That's harder than it sounds when, like Mike, your head is full of Lucy's pretty blue eyes.
Synopsis
Lucy groans that school is never going to end, which prompts Yashy to pop up beside her and ask whether she ought to be in preschool by now. Mike wonders whether she'd need a brain first, then dubs her a "Yoshi-lookin' blob". Lucy isn't much of a defense, admitting she was nine when she named Yashy and that it wasn't her most imaginative idea. Yashy spends the rest of the page waving her arms and screaming "I AM NOT A YOSHI!!" while Mike cracks up.[1]
The teacher, a poodle, arrives and announces that today is for preparing science fair projects. Yashy raises her hand, gets ignored, and settles the matter by pegging the teacher in the head with an eraser, which Lucy is promptly blamed for. Once Yashy finally gets to ask about "cool preschool programs", the teacher waves the question off with a blunt "'Sides, you're just a pet." A devastated Yashy declares she'll sit with her own kind, and folds her arms in solidarity beside the class hamster.[2]
By presentation time, Sue is calling for test subjects. Nearby, David has a project of his own going: "My hypothesis is that all high schoolers go through puberty." He announces he'll prove it hands-on and gets smacked mid-sentence by Amaya, leaving Lucy to wonder how that one got approved. Lucy, Mike, Daisy and Paulo sign up for Sue's experiment, and Yashy asks whether she can join or whether it's only for superior species. Sue counts her in. That delights Yashy for about one panel before she goes back to muttering about persecution.[3]
Sue's project turns out to be a thought-suppression exercise about obsessive-compulsive disorder. Blocking out a "bad" thought, she explains, only makes it more intrusive. So, "Whatever you do, DON'T think of a polar bear!" Anyone who does has to say "bear" out loud. Lucy and Daisy strain through with the occasional slip, while Yashy caves in seconds and can't stop chanting.[4]
Mike lasts longer than anybody, mostly because his mind is elsewhere. He sneaks a glance at Lucy and drifts into an adoring inventory of her soft, pretty blue eyes and her cute pink button nose. Then he gets to "Delicate, beautiful white.. fur", and his imagined Lucy turns into a bear wearing a pink bow. A defeated ".. bear." slips out of him. Sue wraps up the test, but Yashy still can't stop chanting. One smug remark too many from Mike about her one-track mind earns him a tackle and a thorough slapping. Lucy cheerfully points out that the attack has finally stopped the chanting, and Yashy has to agree.[4]
Character dynamics
- Mike and Lucy: Nothing actually changes between these two, since Lucy never finds out what Mike spent the experiment thinking about. All the same, this is the first time the comic goes inside Mike's head about her. While everyone else wrestles with polar bears, his thoughts wander straight to Lucy's eyes, nose, and fur.[4] Gaming Rivalry had him swooning over one of her fake-sweet hugs, and this goes a fair bit further.[5]
Trivia & observations
- Veronica drew this chapter while studying for her psychology final, and Sue's polar bear exercise came "more or less like this" from her reading on obsessive-compulsive disorder.[4] She later confirmed the influence on Tumblr, adding that she "wanted to develop the characters into more than just flanderisations, which is how they started".[6]
- This chapter is the first appearance of both Sue and Amaya.[3]
- Per Veronica's commentary, she had trouble deciding the cast's grade when the series began, eventually settling on eighth grade. The same ambiguity caused confusion about Yashy's age, which she resolved with a blunt "SHE'S FOUR."[1]
- David's hypothesis covers "all high schoolers", even though the commentary places the cast in eighth grade. The series later confirms the middle school setting outright in Farewell, Middle School.[3][7]
- The class hamster packs two pop-culture nods into one exchange. Yashy addresses him as "Hamtaro", and his reply is a near-quote of the Wonder Pets theme song.[2]
Related chapters
- The Burden of Parenthood: The chapter right after this one continues the family joke. Yashy keeps treating Lucy as her mom, and a sex-ed baby project gives her a whole new reason to rage when Daisy gets paired with Mike.
- Prom Preparation: The nearest payoff of Mike's daydream. Yashy attacks girls who flirt with Mike in defense of his crush on Lucy, saying out loud what this chapter only showed inside his head.
- Left Behind: Lucy mentions here that she was nine when she named Yashy. This chapter's flashback shows that era, with young Lucy finding the egg Yashy hatched from.
- Unfulfilled Fantasy: The chapter that introduces Sandy and her history with Mike. At this point in the series there's no Sandy context at all, so the daydream reads as a straightforward crush reveal.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 4: Unfit for Education, page 1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 4: Unfit for Education, page 2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chapter 4: Unfit for Education, page 3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chapter 4: Unfit for Education, page 4
- ↑ Chapter 2: Gaming Rivalry, page 4
- ↑ "Ask response on psychology classes". 2015-02-28.
- ↑ Chapter 18: Farewell, Middle School, page 3