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== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
The radio announces a lovely sunny Saturday headed for 89°, and [[Lucy]] answers by hiding under her pillow. [[Yashy]], her pet lizard, has other plans. Goggles on and a plank "wing" in each hand, she leaps off the bed with the floor fan for a tailwind, stalls in midair, and hits the ground with a crack. [[Chirpy]] tearfully cries that "Mommy" broke a bone, but the real damage is underneath her. Yashy has landed on two framed photos, and while the one of Lucy with her pets is fine, the one of [[Mike]] and Lucy is cracked. Lucy frowns at it. "Nah, she broke something else."<ref name=":c1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p1}}</ref>
[[Lucy]] spends her sunny Saturday hiding under her pillow, while [[Yashy]], her pet lizard, straps on goggles and plank wings for a flight off the bed. The stunt ends in a crash landing on two framed photos. The one of Lucy with her pets is fine, but the one of [[Mike]] and Lucy is cracked. Lucy frowns at it. "Nah, she broke something else."<ref name=":c1p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p1}}</ref>


Lucy ties on her pink ribbon and heads out of [[Lucy's house|the house]], leaving [[Lily]]'s cheery question about a date unanswered while Yashy clings to her thoroughly annoyed brother [[Jordan]].<ref name=":c1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p2}}</ref> Out on the [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets|sidewalk]], [[Daisy]] calls after her and gets nowhere, so she grabs Lucy's tail and takes a reflexive kick to the face for her trouble. Lucy points at her bad ear by way of apology, since she keeps telling Daisy about it and Daisy keeps forgetting. Daisy only wanted to return Mikie's workbook anyway. Her "you guys are still fighting?" gets snapped at, and off she skips to find Mike.<ref name=":c1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p3}}</ref>
Lucy ties on her pink ribbon and heads out.<ref name=":c1p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p2}}</ref> On the [[Neighborhood sidewalks and streets|sidewalk]], [[Daisy]] grabs her tail from behind and takes a reflexive kick to the face, since Daisy keeps forgetting about Lucy's bad ear. She only wanted to return Mikie's workbook anyway, and her question about whether Lucy and Mike are still fighting gets snapped at before she skips off.<ref name=":c1p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p3}}</ref>


[[File:c1_p1_panel10.png|alt=Lucy frowns at a cracked picture frame holding a photo of herself and Mike, saying "Nah, she broke something else."|thumb|Yashy's crash landing leaves the pets' photo untouched, and the Mike one rather less so.]]
[[File:c1_p1_panel10.png|alt=Lucy frowns at a cracked picture frame holding a photo of herself and Mike, saying "Nah, she broke something else."|thumb|Yashy's crash landing leaves the pets' photo untouched, and the Mike one rather less so.]]
Lucy's route runs past a stream, which gets a nervous glance, and then past [[Paulo]], who announces himself by slapping her on the butt from a moving skateboard. She is furious, and since [[David]] can barely keep his own board upright, Paulo can't pin it on him this time. A grin and a dose of boyish charm win her over regardless. Soon Paulo is cradling a blushing Lucy down the sidewalk, promising "♥ Paulo's got you ♥", right up until his skateboard hits a dopey-looking [[Turtle|turtle]]. Paulo lands face-first, and Lucy goes flying.<ref name=":c1p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c1p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p5}}</ref>
Lucy gives a passing stream a nervous glance, and then [[Paulo]] announces himself by slapping her on the butt from a moving skateboard. Her fury doesn't survive his grin and boyish charm, and soon he is cradling a blushing Lucy down the sidewalk. The ride ends when his board hits a dopey-looking [[Turtle|turtle]], and Lucy goes flying.<ref name=":c1p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p4}}</ref><ref name=":c1p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p5}}</ref> She lands squarely in the arms of Mike, a grey cat in a blue scarf.<ref name=":c1p5" />


She comes down squarely in the arms of Mike, a grey cat in a blue scarf, who sets her upright and asks if she's okay.<ref name=":c1p5" /> He also informs Paulo that skateboarding isn't allowed in the [[Park|park]], which sends David spiraling about park rangers and, inevitably, park bears: "'''THEY KNOW OUR FACES!!'''" David flees the scene carrying a loudly protesting Paulo.<ref name=":c1p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p6}}</ref>
Mike informs Paulo that skateboarding isn't allowed in the [[Park|park]], which sends [[David]] spiraling about park rangers and, inevitably, park bears — "'''THEY KNOW OUR FACES!!'''" — before he flees carrying a protesting Paulo.<ref name=":c1p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c1/p6}}</ref>


With the boys gone, Lucy notices the workbook already back in Mike's hands. Daisy found him first. Mike asks whether he missed anything, and Lucy decides that he didn't. The art slips into a monochrome grid as he invites her along to the ice cream place, which opens early today. Lucy watches the wind blow by and smiles to herself. "Nah. That's exactly what I wanted."<ref name=":c1p6" />
Lucy notices the workbook already back in Mike's hands. Mike asks whether he missed anything, and Lucy decides that he didn't. He invites her out for ice cream, and Lucy smiles to herself. "Nah. That's exactly what I wanted."<ref name=":c1p6" />


== Character dynamics ==
== Character dynamics ==

Revision as of 13:10, 21 July 2026

Simple Pleasures
Chapter1 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedNovember 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
Page count6
Major charactersLucy, Daisy, Paulo
Minor charactersJordan, Yashy
LocationsLucy's house
Collected inVolume One, Omnibus 1
Chapter navigation
← PreviousGaming Rivalry →
Read chapter

The very first chapter of Bittersweet Candy Bowl serves up a sunny Saturday, a cracked picture frame, and one badly placed turtle. Lucy heads out for a walk, and thanks to Paulo's skateboard it ends with her flying into Mike's arms.

Synopsis

Lucy spends her sunny Saturday hiding under her pillow, while Yashy, her pet lizard, straps on goggles and plank wings for a flight off the bed. The stunt ends in a crash landing on two framed photos. The one of Lucy with her pets is fine, but the one of Mike and Lucy is cracked. Lucy frowns at it. "Nah, she broke something else."[1]

Lucy ties on her pink ribbon and heads out.[2] On the sidewalk, Daisy grabs her tail from behind and takes a reflexive kick to the face, since Daisy keeps forgetting about Lucy's bad ear. She only wanted to return Mikie's workbook anyway, and her question about whether Lucy and Mike are still fighting gets snapped at before she skips off.[3]

Lucy frowns at a cracked picture frame holding a photo of herself and Mike, saying "Nah, she broke something else."
Yashy's crash landing leaves the pets' photo untouched, and the Mike one rather less so.

Lucy gives a passing stream a nervous glance, and then Paulo announces himself by slapping her on the butt from a moving skateboard. Her fury doesn't survive his grin and boyish charm, and soon he is cradling a blushing Lucy down the sidewalk. The ride ends when his board hits a dopey-looking turtle, and Lucy goes flying.[4][5] She lands squarely in the arms of Mike, a grey cat in a blue scarf.[5]

Mike informs Paulo that skateboarding isn't allowed in the park, which sends David spiraling about park rangers and, inevitably, park bears — "THEY KNOW OUR FACES!!" — before he flees carrying a protesting Paulo.[6]

Lucy notices the workbook already back in Mike's hands. Mike asks whether he missed anything, and Lucy decides that he didn't. He invites her out for ice cream, and Lucy smiles to herself. "Nah. That's exactly what I wanted."[6]

Character dynamics

  • Mike and Lucy: Best friends since grade school,[7] the two start the chapter in a rough patch the comic never explains — their photo lies cracked on Lucy's floor, and Daisy's "still fighting?" question gets snapped at.[1][3] By the last page Mike has caught her out of midair and invited her out for ice cream, and Lucy privately counts the day as exactly what she wanted.[6]

Trivia & observations

Page 1 as it looked in 2009, shared by Oliver while explaining where "Lovely Sunny, LLC" got its name.[8]
  • The pages on the site today are the 2020 versions. Veronica's commentary explains that the comic's first 850 pages were given edits, redraws and recolourings for the Bittersweet Candy Bowl Omnibus, keeping "the simplicity and charm of the old art but a whole lot less scribbly".[1]
  • The monochrome grid panels on the final page are a nod to the comic's beginnings. Per Veronica's commentary there, the original early chapters were drawn in pencil on lined paper in that same grid format, and she kept the ending "nostalgic and simple".[6]
  • The authors' company, Lovely Sunny, LLC, takes its name from the chapter's opening radio line, "Welcome to a lovely sunny Saturday, America!" Oliver has said they "wanted a nice name that wasn't necessarily bound to Bittersweet Candy Bowl", and credits a fan for the suggestion.[1][8]
  • An author-drawn timeline chart places the chapter in July 2005, with Lucy and Daisy both twelve years old.[9]
  • The dopey-looking turtle that fells Paulo makes its first appearance here and goes on to become a running gag. It later trips Mike in the middle of a race, and takes Paulo down a second time while he's carrying Lucy.[5][10][11]

Related chapters

  • Gaming Rivalry: The very next chapter carries on the household antics of Lucy, Yashy and company. A childhood flashback there also reveals where Lucy's pink ribbon came from.
  • Show and Tell: The explanation for the ear Lucy points to on the sidewalk. Mike reveals that her left ear is deaf, and Lucy adds that it's genetic.
  • Left Behind: A flashback chapter that tells how Mike and Lucy became friends in the first place, from kindergarten separation to their first-grade reunion.
  • Troubled Waters: The reason Lucy winces at that stream. This flashback chapter covers Mike's childhood near-drowning and reveals that Lucy can't swim.
  • December: Many volumes down the line, this is where Mike and Lucy's friendship finally breaks. It casts the cracked photo on Lucy's floor in a rather different light.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 1
  2. ↑ Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 2
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 3
  4. ↑ Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 4
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 5
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 6
  7. ↑ Chapter 26: Left Behind, page 2
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Oliver (2016-10-13). "Where did the name Lovely Sunny, LLC come from?". Tumblr.
  9. ↑ "BCB timeline chart". Tumblr. 2015-01-30.
  10. ↑ Chapter 16: Field Day, page 11
  11. ↑ Chapter 64: Carry Me, page 13
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