Quite possibly the ultimateWill They or Won't They?, Bittersweet Candy Bowl is a webcomic by Taeshi. It follows a group of friends through middle and high school, focusing primarily on a pretty, white-coloredTsundere called Lucy, and her ongoing crush/rivalry with Nice Guy Mike. Also featured are Love Triangles (actually, a developing Love Dodecahedron) among the resident Jerk with a Heart of Gold Paulo, cheeryTeen Genius Daisy, Token Older Girl Tessa, Cloud Cuckoolander David, and Abbey, Daisy's now boyfriend with a troubled past. And now there are three new girls added to the cast. They are Jessica, a strong-willed cheerleader who has a fancy for Lucy and hates/dislikes Tess, Rachel, a cheerful girl who's also a cheerleader and also holds a grudge against Tess, and Jasmine, Paulo's new girlfriend.A deep sufferer of Cerebus Syndrome, Bittersweet Candy Bowl started off almost entirely lighthearted but delved into heavy drama as the characters moved to high school — there are still jokes, though they are increasinglyrare.The series makes use of anthropomorphic cats, dogs, and birds, but these are derived more from the Funny Animals trope than any serious links to whatever classifies as a true Furry Comic. The characters were developed when the author was young and presumably unaware of the Furry Fandom. The comic is an ongoing serial, and is published three times a week.Often in a Top Webcomics vote drive. The comics used as incentives can be seen in their entirety by joining BCI (Bittersweet Club International).Be warned: this comic has been known to cause an unreasonable amount of tears for insufficiently understood reasons.Also check out the comic's Tumblr account.
Abuse Is Okay When It's Female On Male: Played painfully straight for chapters upon chapters. THEN HAS THE LIVING BEJESUS DECONSTRUCTED OUT OF IT. Mike, after ten years of constant emotional and physical battering by Lucy, snaps, and finally chews her the hell out!
All Just a Dream: The chapter "Wonderland". Lucy "wakes up" at the beginning of the chapter and the chapter before it was an April Fool's comic, making it all just a dream as well.
Chapter 59 was All Just A Daydream. Paulo's. Best. Daydream. Ever.
All Love Is Unrequited: BCB has a chronic case of this. Almost every character in the cast suffers from this trope at some point.
Alternate Universe: According to the commentary, the chapter "Another Path" was originally intended to be set in an alternate universe where Paulo had sex with Lucy during her mental breakdown in "Another Shoulder". The final version has it as a daydream of Paulo's.
The incentives "Magic Tricks," "Disaster Dominoes," and "Another Chance" are all based in alternative timelines of varying similarity to the canon one. "Disaster Dominoes" was easily the most different.
AmbiguouslyBi: David adores Abbey according to the chart. And this◊ or this makes it seem that David likes touching Abbey while having fun.
Now according to the new chart, he also adores Augustus.
Anchored Ship: One way to see Mike and Lucy ever getting together.
Considering he had cannabis in a clearly-marked box in his basement, though...
There are fans, or trolls, who complain about the drama in the comic.
Attempted Rape: The mugger on Lucy in the Confrontation arc.
Final Fantasy Cat looked like he was about to do this to Daisy, but Abbey intervened, though it turns out he most-likely wouldn't have gone through with it. If that was the plan at all.
Ax Crazy: Non-canon incentive arc Disaster Dominoes' Kizuna was this.
Bastard Boyfriend: Abbey in Disaster Dominoes. Type 2, based on how things were.
Jessica hates it when called out about how she bullies Tess, which led to another button being pressed... Tess pretty much just takes it.
Beta Couple: Abbey and Daisy's more or less drama-free relationship, which tends to take a backseat to the drama-filled relationships of other primary characters.
Daisy has 18 extra-curricular activities. While being an "A" student with a schedule of Honors courses. And still has time for her boyfriend and other friends.
Lucy in Disaster Dominoes, to a dead Mike: "Ha ha ha ha... Sandy can't have you anymore... I'm willing to join you without a doubt... without a doubt... I love you, Mike... I'll keep smiling for you..." Followed by jumping to her death. All the while, smiling and crying...
Call On Me: Mike jolts to Lucy's rescue as she's being assaulted in "Confrontation".
The Cameo: Many fancharacters given to the author have either become regular cast or served as background filler.
Liam, a fan-made character, even had an entire intermission chapter dedicated to his relationship with Lucy. It has since been taken down and is only available to BCI members.
Can't Stand Them, Can't Live Without Them: Mike and Lucy. Originally, at least. As of "Pillow Talk", Michael acts like he can't stand Lucy, while Lucy seems to not be able to live without him.
In the chapter "Return", it's revealed that Paulo now thinks of Daisy as more of a sister anyway, and doesn't mind her going out with another guy.
However, it is hinted at in "Back and Forth" that he still doesn't want to be seen as a sexual deviant in her eyes, as he immediately notices her and seems worried about her opinion of him when Tess and Lucy start some drama because of his sleeping around and being a man-whore in general.
Cassandra Truth: Many. Mentioning that Augustus might not be a jerk and planned rapist. Or that Paulo's nice enough. Or that Sandy knows little of the long-distance relationship causing Lucy trouble. Or that Lucy actually was a jerk. But the emotional turmoil Mike is putting Lucy through isn't justified. Pick one. Somebody will be ignoring the detail. Yay.
Cat Fight: Punnily common. Possibly, this is the only played straight example currently.
To demonstrate, compare this page with this page. Beware of spoilers!
It is safe to say that the comic has essentially fallen into this similar to Looking for Group. What was once a comedic sitcom has become a drama full of tragedy, despair and trauma, and the only "humor" to be found is solely spouted by the resident psychopath.
Jessica and Rachel were initially your typical high school bullies with little reason for singling out Tess aside from her being an easy target. As time went on, though, hints were gradually dropped that there was a deeper reason as to why they bullied Tess specifically, a reason that was fully revealed in "Pillow Talk".
Actually, they've always had their reason, as shown on this page. At least they did as far as Rachel's backstory was concerned.
The Charmer: Used on Daisy and attempted unsuccessfully on Lucy. Both Augustus.
Chivalrous Pervert: When the well-being of Daisy or Lucy is in danger, Paulo tends to forget his perversion in favor of helping them or, at least, trying to. He also reacted this way when Sue got hurt in Confrontation.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Lucy, though she tries not to appear that way. Unfortunately for Mike, her MO when it comes to covering this up is to be as bitchy as possible.
Combat Sadomasochist: Alejandro took two of Lucy's kicks, had his teeth smashed into each other hard enough to chip one and draw blood, and was still okay enough to beat Lucy senseless before Mike came back, smashing his face into an alley floor and still not stopping him. It took Mike and Lucy together to start the example in No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. And he beat Mike before all this happened.
Completely Missing the Point: Functionally, most of the older students to Tess. Especially Jessica and Rachel, since the lot of them bullying her is a bit hypocritical at best.
Cute Bruiser/Badass Adorable: Lucy can kick a whole lot more ass than is apparent. She's also one of the shortest characters.
Let's be honest here: Lucy IS this trope. Seriously, this is the girl who took on three grown men at age 13. AND WON. It does NOT get more badass than that. Yes, she needed to call on Mike for the last one, but COME ON. It's STILL amazing.
Quite arguably Tess, since she was the girlfriend of the leader of the bullies and someone who was hinted to have drugged and raped her. He was a senior, she a freshman.
Despair Event Horizon: Lucy when she thought Mike died and shortly after, when she finally confessed her love for him and he rejected her. The first one came with Dissonant Laughter.
Chapter 63 is getting sadder and Lucy looks about at the horizon here.She was okay, then Mike ignored her existence. Now... Oh good. She's okay. Or acting okay.
Mike, when he hunted for Sandy at a parade. Of course, this backfired spectacularly. Turns out, Sandy went to Mike's house right after the parade was over, causing Mike to miss her. Don't worry Mike, it's only been five years! What's a few more between friends?
Paulo in Disaster Dominoes. He was going to school with a bloodstream full of drugs and STDs.
Diabolus ex Machina: Perhaps everything in Confrontation until the end when things started getting better.
Also, for having a not-yet-confirmed relationship long distance with Sandy, Mike was brutally beaten by Paulo and the Female Student Body for his friendship and UST with Lucy in chapter 20. Twice. Played for Laughs.
That particular gag even continued into the next 10 or so chapters. Quite a few fans considered it to be very unfunny.
Dogged Nice Guy: Mike. Arguably, much less so in recent chapters.
Domestic Abuse: Abbey's father toward his wife Charlotte.
The site has a canceled chapter◊ that shows the extent of his abuse. It was canceled because the author couldn't stand to continue writing it. Yes, it's that horrible.
Everyone Calls Him Barkeep: "Final Fantasy Cat" was coined by readers for an initially nameless character.
Word Of God finally announced his name is Augustus, but still refers to him as Final Fantasy Cat, even within the comic!
Word Of God has also given a name to another character commonly referred to by a nickname, "Rapecat" for his attempted rape of Lucy or "Confrontation Cat" after the story arc he appeared in, now has the name "Alejandro".
The aforementioned history teacher is consistently referred to as Noodles by fans (and the author), since his real name isn't known.
During a daydream chapter, a bunch of posters, who apparently could not read the comic properly, decided that it was actually a flashback, leading to the husband of the creator putting a message up with a flashing red light next to it to tell people that no, this was, in fact, a daydream.
The Lucy fanatics who view Lucy as a blameless innocent, and who see Mike's rage and hatred towards her as completely unjustified, despite the years of physical and mental battering at her hands, and encourage Lucy "to get back" at Mike with yet more physical violence.
Fantastic Racism: A LOT of it, from many of the characters including Lucy's pets. The terms "cracka" and "white people" can be seen.
Flanderization: David was never really that weird, he just became so over time.
And to an extent, Abbey. He started off as a polite and chivalrous character, only showing a slight dislike for the actions of Paulo and other characters. However, he has started veering into JerkAss territory, going to extreme lengths to keep ne'er do wells in detention.
Freudian Excuse: Fridge Logic suggests that the reason Tess refuses to get close to Paulo is due to her similar past experiences with older students. She was hurt and doesn't want Paulo to be. The memories of what she went through will keep her avoiding the idea of trying it because she can't help but think she'll just hurt him if she does. Her moments of trying to be close to Paulo may be less likely in the future than we know.
Lucy was ostracized by boys and girls at a young age. She became less cheerful and got Yashy to love, as a coping mechanism. She's not so much unwilling to open up to others as unable to at this point. There's a lot of social trauma to work through before she begins to smile even half of the time. Hence, why her pets see her differently than everyone — she opens up to them.
Paulo's fear of barking and growling came from a somewhat-traumatic childhood experience based on them. His jerk-ish habits came from a jerk teaching him how to be "cool" as a child.
Abbey acting violent or particularly angry makes him break down at realizing he's acting like his father. Justified, in that his father was a wife-beater. Also why he took Abbey, rather than Abe, as his nickname. His father went by Abe.
The chapter "Pillow Talk" delves into why Jessica is so dead-set on making Tess miserable: Tess's then-boyfriend broke the arm of Rachel's little brother. When Jess tried to find a way to get back at Roger, Tess twisted her abortive first attempt to paint Jess as a slut.
Paulo's confident and somewhat unaffected-emotionally personality has issues of confidence after Jessica and Rachel lie just to hurt Tess, is aware of how he spent most of his relationship with Jasmine playing second to most of her life, and, earlier still, him becoming the way he is now to impress Lucy after being too shy to even talk to her.
Based on the most "popular" opinion of him, Paulo is not obviously a good guy so often.
Homage: There are two chapters solely dedicated to Pokémon, and one based around Feel The Magic. There's many more within the story itself, usually referenced by David.
Also David's analogy of Paulo's situation during the summer arc repeatedly referencing "Gurren Lagann".
I Just Want to Be Special: Daisy is particularly jealous of all the male attention Tessa and Lucy receive, and assumes it's because of her unremarkable body.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Lucy's issues started when she was ostracized by everyone in preschool. Also part of why she's so clingy at times.
As a small set of examples, Katie has flirted with Mike, Paulo has had flings with girl dogs (particularly Rachel), and David hits on Lucy a lot. Oh, and David may have a thing for Mike earlier and Abbey now.
Irony: A semi-common occurrence, but Lucy's refusal to get closer to Mike before and the end of Mike's hunt for Sandy may be the biggest two. Dramatic Irony, perhaps.
The incentive chapter "Disaster Dominoes" was even more full of it. At least in the prior example, it was just two (later one) mugger(s) completely overpowering the main cast. Disaster Dominoes mixed things up so that everyone's lives were complete shit.
Lucy's situation with Mike just gets worse in recent time after she confesses her love for Michael.
In Disaster Dominoes, Lucy says Mike is too good for her.
She may also be holding the same view now that he's ignoring her.
Jerk Ass: Augustus and Roger, Tessa's ex-boyfriend. As well as Alejandro, often called "Rapecat"/"Confrontation Cat", who Augustus (Final Fantasy Cat) knows, with potential dark foreshadowing for the future.
Alejandro makes a good candidate for Complete Monster; the only thing keeping him out of there is that he might have a soft spot for his henchmen Toby and Augustus.
Karmic Death/Death by Irony: Possibly, Disaster Dominoes Kizuna. The death part. She murdered four known people, and drank/played in their blood. Her murdering, as well as drinking the blood of, the OD'd Paulo, who had any number of STDs, was not wise.
Kick Chick: Lucy can slap and punch hard, but it's her kicks that hurt most. Also see Groin Attack.
Like Brother and Sister: Mike and Lucy used to be this way. Paulo and Daisy are, according to Paulo himself. The Love Chart says this is how Mike sees Daisy.
Lovable Coward: Paulo's complete inability to cope with snarling and barking. He has an excuse. For those. Thesetwo, not so much. Jasmine makes fun accordingly. The last link even has Abbey call him a coward.
Lovable Sex Maniac: Arguably Paulo. The lovable part, not the rest. Since chapter 55, he's been better.
Malicious Slander: One of Jessica's favorite weapons. One that was used on her by Tess in the past, to devastating effect.
Man, I Feel Like a Woman : In Janurary 7 of 2011's incentive comic when, somehow, Paulo and Lucy trade bodies. Paulo's hands take notice rather quickly.
Tess really REALLY likes Paulo, but refuses to let herself get close to him, since she's two years ahead of him and will end up leaving soon. Cue drama. For an in-depth reasoning, see Freudian Excuse.
Near Rape Experience: Alejandro pretty clearly planned to rape and maybe murder Lucy. It's up to interpretation, but Augustus came off as planning this near the conclusion of his last meeting with Daisy.
Never Live It Down: In-Universe. Lucy to Mike, Tess to the school, Jessica to the school, though she did nothing, Augustus to a large enough portion of fans.
The Nicknamer: Daisy (Mikie, Davie, Tessie) and Chirpy (girl-kitty, boy-kitty, curly-kitty, messy-kitty, meanie-kitty, boy-doggie), etc...
Yashy (Lucy/Mom) (Chirpy/Chirps) (Mike/Flea/Fleabag) (especially Daisy/Whore) (???/Blur), and Lily likes to add "-dear" to names.
Random people seem to call Mike "green eyes" and Lucy "blue eyes" in-comic. Most recent example is in chapter 61. Some readers consider it an ominous reference to a much earlier chapter.
No Yay: In-Universe. David trying to ship Paulo with Daisy consistently squicked him. Probably the Incest Subtext. Though, as David brought up, they're Not Blood Siblings. Jasmine agrees with the ship. At least teasingly.
Rant Inducing Slight: When Daisy tells Jess to lighten up about Tess, Jess basically explodes and gives a tirade that amounts to, "You know what? You weren't there, you have no idea what I went through because of her so SHUT UP!!" Naturally, Daisy didn't take it well.
Rape as Drama: Alejandro intended to do this to Lucy. Augustus intended it for Daisy after breaking her down. The latter one was mentioned here later.
Reformed, But Rejected: "Pillow Talk" reveals the old Tess was quite the nasty piece of work. Small wonder she's had trouble getting others to accept her...
Relationship Reboot: Mike had minimal contact with Sandy for years. Abbey and Daisy were classmates, friends, and True Companions before becoming a couple.
Relationship Upgrade: Subverted: More like a relationship downgrade in Lucy's case...
Played straight for Mike and Sandy. As well as Abbey and Daisy.
Final Fantasy Cat has a scar he tries to cover up with his hair.
Kizuna has one on her left arm. She begins to explain, but then David cuts her off and we never hear how she got it. *
It's been explained on the forums that she got it from a Yakuza hitman attempting to kill her after offing her parents.
Out of Focus, but Alejandro got a scar from his old girlfriend. It's one of his defining appearance details.
Senseless Sacrifice: Mike ended up drunk and multiple others and Mike took a beating over the money Mike won, which the main cast believed they'd need to get a ride home. Then Sue's mom drove them home.
She Cleans Up Nicely: While already pretty, the prom/carnival night Daisy and Tess were gorgeous.
She Is Not My Girlfriend: Mike toward Lucy around the start of the comic. Paulo and Tessa as well.
Ship Tease: Sue's example in Doesn't Know Her Own Strength, post crushing Mike, looks rather sweet.
David wants Paulo and Daisy to end up together, whereas Tessa and Abbey question Mike's relationship with Sandy when they would prefer him to be with Lucy.
Also the pets, who continually make allusions to the attraction between Lucy and Mike, are actively belligerent to anyone else who likes Mike (at least, Yashy is), and, well... this.
Abbey only likes Daisy, unlike everyone else who have various crushes and attractions. Abbey and Augustus can't stand each other, but both are the same way over the same girl.
For Augustus, may' be jossed eventually, based on this hint at future events.
Squee: Abbey's stress ball, though his facial expression is anything-but. Actually, going by page comments, panel 7 makes some people want to love him. And others just find it hilarious.
Stalker with a Crush: Carter (to Lucy), Kizuna (to David), David (to the flower girl).
Debatably, Daisy used to be this to Mike. She, seemingly like David and Paulo, who said they were stalking Lucy, would pop up for no adequately explained reason constantly. Even so, she was usually not annoying about it.
Teen Genius: Daisy, to the point that she tutored Tessa, who is two years above her.
Sue, as Paulo said, is "...too smart for me. The annoying kind of smart...", suggesting she is probably one too. That gets mentioned in Confrontation, too. She is smart, but may be outclassed by Daisy. Chapter 62 has more on this.
What Lucy's bow originally was. It's not necessary anymore, but it's her bow.
Eyelashes
Third Option Love Interest: As Lucy and Tess struggle over their feelings for Paulo, he finally chooses... the freshman Jasmine, introduced completely out of nowhere!
True Companions: Lucy, Mike, Paulo, David, and Daisy made the original five before Tessa and Abbey showed up in high school. Shortly after most of the main cast's Sophomore year begins, Jasmine comes into the picture. She is working towards potentially being a member.
Turn Out Like His Father: Augustus (Final Fantasy Cat) beat Abbey by implying this, but then lost since he couldn't hope to be close to Daisy afterward.
Disaster Dominoes' Abbey was a less than good boyfriend...
T-Word Euphemism: After Kizuna was inelegantly booted from the comic, the forum's swear filter was used in reverse on her name, to discourage further discussion of the character. When she has to be mentioned, it's usually as K-Dog.
Trying to post her name on the actual forums gets it changed to "getting fucked in the ass". Yes, really.
Two-Teacher School: There are several "repeat teachers" since high school.
The Unfair Sex: When Mike first revealed he had a longtime crush on Sandy, he was immediately accused of 'cheating' on Lucy and suffered several Amusing Injuries at the hands of 'angry feminists'. This happened again at the end of "Left Behind", with Paulo teasing Mike about — GASP! — talking to Tess and calling a 'crazy feminist SWAT team' down on him. Has since been deconstructed in that the utter Lack of Empathy Mike has gotten from his friends after rejecting Lucy's confession because he was already in a Long Distance Relationship with Sandy only seems to be hardening his heart further.
Weaksauce Weakness: Lucy's pretty tough, but reasonably deep water or the idea of trying to swim can freak her out easily. Paulo can be reduced to cowering by mean growling and most barking. Both have childhood trauma justifying it.
Webcomic Time: The Summer Vacation arc took practically a year, lampshaded in a Christmas comic◊: Once Mike realised they're still in Acapulco, the wintry scene changed to a beach.
So far, the comic is still in the 2007-2008 school year from the looks of it.
Wham Episode: Chapter 51, where Lucy finally works up the courage to tell Mike she loves him... only for him to reject her on account of him already having a girlfriend. Possibly WORSE is Chapter 52, where Mike finally gets sick of Lucy's awful behavior towards him, leaving her nearly broken inside. Keep in mind that nearly the entire comic had been built upon Mike's friendship with Lucy, and his willingness to look past her attitude to see who she really was. Yeah. WHAM.
"Pillow Talk" just has to be one of the wham chapters so far. First, Mike ignores Lucy on her birthday, breaking her more, which then reveals that he's been ignoring her since the debate in "Feline Filibusters". Then, The Reveal on why Jess hates Tess (see Freudian Excuse). And then Lucy's flashback to when she had her real first kiss and Mike gave her a chance to have a relationship with him. But then, she pushes away that chance due to them being twelve at the time. When it ended, Lucy then realizes that her chances with Mike now are gone. Yeah...
What If?: "Disaster Dominoes" (thankfully noncanon) asks "What if one of the characters suddenly became an Ax Crazy mass murderer? The answer? Very unpleasent stuff happens.
Another Path asks, What if Paulo had sex with Lucy during her Mental Breakdown in "Another Shoulder"? Answer: Paulo and Lucy get together and the strip would end with both Lucy and Mike happy with their respective loves.
Another Chance asks, What if Abbey didn't show up in "Love My Way"? Answer: Augustus would've just kissed Daisy, and she still would be talking to him. Oh, and Abbey and Daisy would not get together.
When She Smiles: Lucy, oh so much. We, as the viewers, see a lot more smiles than other characters.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Interesting in the case of all the characters being a realistic cat/dog color scheme. Then Jessica is introduced, who is pinkish-purple.
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