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{{Infobox chapter
{{Infobox chapter
| image = c60p6f9.png
| image = c60p6f9.png
| major_characters = [[Sue]], [[Abbey]], [[Paulo]], [[Jasmine]], [[Daisy]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Tess]]
| major_characters = [[Sue]], [[Paulo]], [[Jasmine]], [[Abbey]], [[Daisy]], [[Alec McCain]], [[Tess]]
| minor_characters = [[Lucy]], [[Mike]], [[David]], [[Rachel]], [[Amaya]], [[Katie]]
| minor_characters = [[Mike]], [[Lucy]], [[David]], [[Rachel]], [[Amaya]], [[Katie]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| locations = [[Roseville High School]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Three|Volume Three]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
| collected_in = [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Three|Volume Three]], [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Omnibus 1|Omnibus 1]]
}}
}}
Election fever hits Roseville High: [[Sue]] wants real change, [[Jasmine]] is in the wrong grade, and [[Abbey]] thinks bullies should rot in hell. Somehow, the seat ends up with the one candidate who never meant to run.
Election season hits Roseville High. [[Sue]] runs on real, achievable outcomes, [[Jasmine]]'s ticket promises to ban detention, and [[Abbey]] runs on expelling every bully in the building. So naturally, the winner is [[Daisy]], who only joined halfway through the debate.


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
Election season opens in the [[Roseville High School]] computer lab, where [[Jasmine]] and [[Paulo]] print three hundred posters for her council run.<ref name=":c60p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p1}}</ref> At lunch, [[Sue]] makes a dramatic entrance of her own, campaigning for student-council secretary with [[Alec McCain|McCain]] in tow.<ref name=":c60p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p2}}</ref>
The race starts 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 with [[Alec McCain|McCain]] in tow 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>


The trouble is, both campaigns want the same job. Paulo and Jasmine promise candy bars and no detention;<ref name=":c60p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p3}}</ref> Sue counters with realistic policies, and the crowd scatters.<ref name=":c60p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p5}}</ref> Then she drops the real bomb: only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman. Jasmine rounds on the boy who typed all 300 posters: "IT'S ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!! 300 sheets of '''WRONG''', Paulo!!"<ref name=":c60p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p6}}</ref>
Neither campaign gets through lunch intact. Paulo's promises of candy bars and banned detention wilt under McCain's fact-checking,<ref name=":c60p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p4}}</ref> and Sue's modest, achievable platform empties the room.<ref name=":c60p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p5}}</ref> Then Sue drops the real bomb: only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman. Paulo typed every poster, and Jasmine lets him know it: "IT'S ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!! 300 sheets of '''WRONG''', Paulo!!"<ref name=":c60p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p6}}</ref>


Sue's recovery plan runs headlong into Abbey. She pitches a slate with herself as secretary, McCain as vice, Jasmine as treasurer, and some willing senior as president.<ref name=":c60p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p7}}</ref> [[Tess]] refuses the top job.<ref name=":c60p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p8}}</ref> [[Abbey]] refuses the alliance. He disagrees with Sue's platform and enters the race himself.<ref name=":c60p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p9}}</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.]]
While Paulo hand-corrects every poster to "TREASURY", Sue lets [[Lucy]] in on her bigger plan: a puppet council with herself as secretary and a senior as figurehead president.<ref name=":c60p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p7}}</ref> Her pick for president, [[Tess]], refuses flat out: "THE SCHOOL HATES ME."<ref name=":c60p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p8}}</ref> Worse, [[Abbey]] enters the race against Sue rather than beside her.<ref name=":c60p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p9}}</ref>


[[File:c60_p11_panel5.png|alt=Sue winces and holds up the corner of Abbey's enormous speech balloon to keep it from squashing her.|thumb|Sue gets crushed by the weight of Abbey's argument.]]
The secretaries' debate is where the race gets ugly. Asked about school bullying, Abbey answers with one word: expulsion.<ref name=":c60p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p10}}</ref> He reads a broken-windows speech off a sheet [[Daisy]] hands him, while flashbacks show a bully named Noah shoving Tess into the lockers.<ref name=":c60p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p11}}</ref> Sue brands the whole platform a fascist dictatorship.<ref name=":c60p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p12}}</ref>
The secretaries' debate is where the wheels come off. Asked about rising bullying, Abbey answers in a single word: "Expulsion."<ref name=":c60p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p10}}</ref> His follow-up broken-windows speech has a word balloon so big it literally squashes Sue at her podium.<ref name=":c60p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p11}}</ref>


Sue pounces, accusing him of scare tactics and fascism.<ref name=":c60p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p12}}</ref> Abbey loses control entirely: "BULLIES SHOULD '''ROT IN HELL!!'''"<ref name=":c60p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p13}}</ref> His debate aide, [[Daisy]], talks him down with a stress ball and a reminder about the counselor, then steps up to the podium in his place.<ref name=":c60p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p14}}</ref>
That word is one insult too many. Abbey slams his fists down and screams "BULLIES SHOULD '''ROT IN HELL!!'''" The room falls silent, apart from Paulo's helpful "Hit her!"<ref name=":c60p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p13}}</ref> Daisy calms him with a stress ball and takes over his podium, "temporarily".<ref name=":c60p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p14}}</ref>


Daisy is a debate natural, and she wins in a landslide, baby-kissing and all. McCain consoles the defeated Sue that she would not have had the power to change anything anyway.<ref name=":c60p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p15}}</ref> A "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED" montage explains the mystery win: Paulo spent the election threatening half the student body into voting for Daisy.<ref name=":c60p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p16}}</ref>
The speech does quieter damage in the audience. Lucy had blown her nose on [[Mike]]'s scarf at lunch, business as usual for those two.<ref name=":c60p2" /> As Abbey rails on about bullies and abuse, Mike turns a judgmental frown on her. Lucy goes white and won't look at him.<ref name=":c60p12" />


Daisy's first order of business as secretary is giving the job away: it was Abbey's campaign, and she has eighteen other clubs. Alone in the hall, Abbey smiles: "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan.."<ref name=":c60p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p17}}</ref> Jasmine wins treasurer, thanks Paulo with a hug, and leaves Abbey the PTA bake-sale money in several thousand pennies.<ref name=":c60p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p18}}</ref>
In the end, Daisy wins in a landslide, leaving Sue face-down under the caption DEFEATED.<ref name=":c60p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p15}}</ref> The "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED" flashback shows Paulo, grimly ordering student after student to vote for her.<ref name=":c60p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p16}}</ref> Then Daisy gives the job away to Abbey, citing her eighteen other extracurriculars. He smiles thinly: "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan.."<ref name=":c60p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p17}}</ref>


[[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 new secretary takes the news suspiciously well.]]
As secretary, Abbey declares a lunchtime trash-pickup day for orange cats, which lands squarely on Paulo.<ref name=":c60p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c60/p18}}</ref> Treasurer-elect Jasmine gets him back: she converts the bake sale money into thousands of pennies and delivers them to Abbey's locker.<ref name=":c60p18" />


== Critical moments ==
== Critical moments ==
* Jasmine's candidacy dies on a technicality: only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman.<ref name=":c60p6" />
[[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.]]
* Rather than back Sue, Abbey enters the race against her, disagreeing with most of her platform.<ref name=":c60p9" />
* Sue reveals that only sophomores can run for secretary, voiding Jasmine's campaign and all 300 of Paulo's posters. Jasmine switches to the treasurer's race.<ref name=":c60p6" /><ref name=":c60p7" />
* At the debate, Sue's "fascist Roseville dictatorship" jab sends Abbey into a screaming breakdown over bullies.<ref name=":c60p12" /><ref name=":c60p13" /> Daisy calms him and takes his podium.<ref name=":c60p14" />
* Sue's "fascist" jab breaks Abbey's temper 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" />
* Daisy sweeps the election after Paulo threatens students into voting for her.<ref name=":c60p15" /><ref name=":c60p16" />
* Mid-debate, Abbey's speech about abuse lands somewhere unintended: Mike turns a judgmental frown on Lucy, who goes white and looks away.<ref name=":c60p12" />
* Daisy hands the secretaryship to Abbey, since it was his campaign in the first place.<ref name=":c60p17" />
* Daisy wins the election (Paulo strong-armed voters one at a time) and hands the seat to Abbey, who calls it "Just according to plan.."<ref name=":c60p16" /><ref name=":c60p17" />


== Character dynamics ==
== Character dynamics ==
* '''Sue and Abbey:''' Sue treats Abbey like an obvious teammate until he becomes her opponent.<ref name=":c60p9" /> The debate exposes the difference between their instincts. Sue argues policy and public image; Abbey speaks from a raw, punitive place that Daisy has to manage in real time.<ref name=":c60p12" /><ref name=":c60p13" /><ref name=":c60p14" /> Sue can laugh off losing. Abbey cannot laugh off why he wanted the seat.
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Lucy's rough treatment of Mike, scarf-as-handkerchief included, passes as normal between them.<ref name=":c60p2" /> Abbey's tirade recasts it as something uglier: Mike frowns at her across the auditorium, and she can't meet his eyes.<ref name=":c60p12" /> The chill carries straight into [[Pillow Talk]], where he ignores her on her own birthday.<ref name=":c61p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c61/p3}}</ref>
* '''Abbey and Daisy:''' Daisy begins the debate as Abbey's aide and ends it as the candidate everyone trusts.<ref name=":c60p14" /><ref name=":c60p15" /> Her win is not a grab for power. She hands the office back because it was his campaign, which leaves Abbey both indebted to her and exactly where he wanted to be.<ref name=":c60p17" />
* '''Sue and Abbey:''' Sue greets Abbey as an assumed campaign ally and gets a rival instead.<ref name=":c60p9" /> By mid-debate she's calling his platform fascist and he's screaming at her.<ref name=":c60p12" /><ref name=":c60p13" /> Watching him land the seat anyway horrifies her all over again.<ref name=":c60p17" />
* '''Paulo and Jasmine:''' Paulo botches Jasmine's first campaign, then spends the day correcting it by hand and running a second, secret campaign for Daisy.<ref name=":c60p6" /><ref name=":c60p16" /> Jasmine still wins treasurer and still thanks him. Their partnership is messy, practical, and already comfortable enough for her to tease him after cleaning up his damage.<ref name=":c60p18" />


== Trivia & observations ==
== Trivia & observations ==
* Per Veronica's commentary, "Feline Filibuster" was a beta-title of Oliver's; her own working title had simply been "Elections".<ref name=":c60p1" />
* The title was a beta-title from Oliver, who scripted the first six or so pages; Veronica's 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|date=2017-03-22}}</ref>
* Lucy using Mike's scarf as a tissue revives the running gag from [[Wardrobe Malfunction]] ("How nostalgic!", per Veronica).<ref name=":c60p2" /><ref name=":c24p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c24/p1}}</ref>


== Related chapters ==
== Related chapters ==
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': The very next chapter. Jasmine's packed schedule sparks a fight with Paulo, and its flashbacks explain Rachel's grudge against Tess.
* '''[[Pillow Talk]]''': the direct payoff, in the very next chapter: Mike openly ignores Lucy on her birthday.
* '''[[Under Pressure]]''': The source of Abbey's debate flashback: Noah pins Tess, and Abbey punches him.
* '''[[Under Pressure]]''': the source of Abbey's debate flashback; Noah corners Tess and Abbey drives him off.
* '''[[New Beginnings]]''': Where Abbey and Daisy got together and his counseling began.
* '''[[A Different Side]]''': the pep rally where the school booed Tess on stage, context for "THE SCHOOL HATES ME."


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 06:54, 12 July 2026

Feline Filibuster
Chapter60 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedNovember 24, 2010 (2010-11-24)
Page count18
Major charactersSue, Paulo, Jasmine, Abbey, Daisy, Alec McCain, Tess
Minor charactersMike, Lucy, David, Rachel, Amaya, Katie
LocationsRoseville High School
Collected inVolume Three, Omnibus 1
Chapter navigation
← RehearsalPillow Talk →
Read chapter

Election season hits Roseville High. Sue runs on real, achievable outcomes, Jasmine's ticket promises to ban detention, and Abbey runs on expelling every bully in the building. So naturally, the winner is Daisy, who only joined halfway through the debate.

Synopsis

The race starts in the Roseville High School computer lab, where Paulo prints off a thick stack of campaign posters for Jasmine.[1] At lunch, Sue slams into the cafeteria with McCain in tow to announce her own run for student council secretary.[2] Paulo and Jasmine burst in moments later as the rival ticket.[3]

Neither campaign gets through lunch intact. Paulo's promises of candy bars and banned detention wilt under McCain's fact-checking,[4] and Sue's modest, achievable platform empties the room.[5] Then Sue drops the real bomb: only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman. Paulo typed every poster, and Jasmine lets him know it: "IT'S ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!! 300 sheets of WRONG, Paulo!!"[6]

Jasmine flails her arms so fast she appears to have four of them, screaming "300 sheets of WRONG, Paulo!!" at a cringing Paulo.
Paulo remembers what grade his girlfriend is in, 300 sheets too late.

While Paulo hand-corrects every poster to "TREASURY", Sue lets Lucy in on her bigger plan: a puppet council with herself as secretary and a senior as figurehead president.[7] Her pick for president, Tess, refuses flat out: "THE SCHOOL HATES ME."[8] Worse, Abbey enters the race against Sue rather than beside her.[9]

The secretaries' debate is where the race gets ugly. Asked about school bullying, Abbey answers with one word: expulsion.[10] He reads a broken-windows speech off a sheet Daisy hands him, while flashbacks show a bully named Noah shoving Tess into the lockers.[11] Sue brands the whole platform a fascist dictatorship.[12]

That word is one insult too many. Abbey slams his fists down and screams "BULLIES SHOULD ROT IN HELL!!" The room falls silent, apart from Paulo's helpful "Hit her!"[13] Daisy calms him with a stress ball and takes over his podium, "temporarily".[14]

The speech does quieter damage in the audience. Lucy had blown her nose on Mike's scarf at lunch, business as usual for those two.[2] As Abbey rails on about bullies and abuse, Mike turns a judgmental frown on her. Lucy goes white and won't look at him.[12]

In the end, Daisy wins in a landslide, leaving Sue face-down under the caption DEFEATED.[15] The "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED" flashback shows Paulo, grimly ordering student after student to vote for her.[16] Then Daisy gives the job away to Abbey, citing her eighteen other extracurriculars. He smiles thinly: "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan.."[17]

As secretary, Abbey declares a lunchtime trash-pickup day for orange cats, which lands squarely on Paulo.[18] Treasurer-elect Jasmine gets him back: she converts the bake sale money into thousands of pennies and delivers them to Abbey's locker.[18]

Critical moments

Abbey smiles thinly against a green background, saying "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan..".
Roseville High's incoming secretary, everybody.
  • Sue reveals that only sophomores can run for secretary, voiding Jasmine's campaign and all 300 of Paulo's posters. Jasmine switches to the treasurer's race.[6][7]
  • Sue's "fascist" jab breaks Abbey's temper mid-debate: he screams that bullies should rot in hell, and Daisy has to defuse him with a stress ball.[13][14]
  • Mid-debate, Abbey's speech about abuse lands somewhere unintended: Mike turns a judgmental frown on Lucy, who goes white and looks away.[12]
  • Daisy wins the election (Paulo strong-armed voters one at a time) and hands the seat to Abbey, who calls it "Just according to plan.."[16][17]

Character dynamics

  • Mike and Lucy: Lucy's rough treatment of Mike, scarf-as-handkerchief included, passes as normal between them.[2] Abbey's tirade recasts it as something uglier: Mike frowns at her across the auditorium, and she can't meet his eyes.[12] The chill carries straight into Pillow Talk, where he ignores her on her own birthday.[19]
  • Sue and Abbey: Sue greets Abbey as an assumed campaign ally and gets a rival instead.[9] By mid-debate she's calling his platform fascist and he's screaming at her.[12][13] Watching him land the seat anyway horrifies her all over again.[17]

Trivia & observations

  • The title was a beta-title from Oliver, who scripted the first six or so pages; Veronica's working title was "Elections".[1]
  • 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.[3][20]
  • Lucy using Mike's scarf as a tissue revives the running gag from Wardrobe Malfunction ("How nostalgic!", per Veronica).[2][21]

Related chapters

  • Pillow Talk: the direct payoff, in the very next chapter: Mike openly ignores Lucy on her birthday.
  • Under Pressure: the source of Abbey's debate flashback; Noah corners Tess and Abbey drives him off.
  • A Different Side: the pep rally where the school booed Tess on stage, context for "THE SCHOOL HATES ME."

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 2
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 3
  4. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 4
  5. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 5
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 6
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 7
  8. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 8
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 9
  10. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 10
  11. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 11
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 12
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 13
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 14
  15. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 15
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 16
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 17
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 18
  19. ↑ Chapter 61: Pillow Talk, page 3
  20. ↑ . 2017-03-22 https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/158720061474. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ Chapter 24: Wardrobe Malfunction, page 1
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