Bittersweet Candy Bowl

yeah mike that’ll definitely win her back over!! good shit!!!!!

Temper Tantrums with Mike part 261

OH DANG, Selfish Mike was NOT the Mike I expected to make an appearance

Hooooly moly, is this where we’ll finally see Mike vent out the frustrations that have been annihilating his friendships??

Oh no, here comes the crash and burn…

I seriously can’t blame the kid for being upset or even for yelling, but…..yeah. You’re about to not be her boyfriend, buddy.

I mean…he does have a point

I mean…yeah. Sandy should just say what she means instead of hiding behind “I love you”s

While this is not the most agreeable method, all his emotions are coming out at once. I see your point there Mike but the explosion maybe not the best way to go about it

Mike, calm down and say something you’ll regret.

I mean - this isn’t going to get her back, but he’s allowed to vent I think.

Damnit taeshi, I did not expect myself to root for Mike again after all his - stuff

Gosh this really isn’t a good way for Mike to be expressing himself, but all I am feeling is immense sadness for him. I’ve disliked Mike for a long time now, but this whole situation really sucks.

Just thinking about when Sue said he was “so unpleasant now”

I’m just thinking about Lucy saying “so a girl and thousand miles away means more to you than me?”

I mean yeah, it’s not fair to him that it she’s not considering his feelings (the fact that he had to call her and get it out of her rather than her telling him on her own says a lot) but at this rate she’s going to hang up on him due to being yelled at and he’s not gonna get closure.

This is going so well

I think this situation completely deserves a temperamental and yelling Mike. Really, it’s probably the only situation where we needed him like this and I’m glad he’s finally expressing himself as he should. But also… no going back from here, my friend.

I’ve never liked Mike but like… I mean true this isn’t exactly fair to him. She should’ve broken up with him months ago. It’s really gross of her to even mention what’s fair to the guy shed been seeing on the side lol.

Also to add, he’s turning from a nice guy to an abusive asshole right now. Downright a shell of his former self.

And now, Sandy is getting to see one of Mike’s blow ups. It hurts, but he’s a kid, and wants to hold onto that idea he had of his perfect girlfriend that never changed. Yet that is how life is, life changes, people changes. And this blow up… who else is at home to hear it, someone there to help him like his mom hopefully?

But looking at it, stages of grief. IN three pages and few lines he’s went from Shock and denial, to Pain and Guilt, to Bargaining and anger.

So to keep going at this the next stages would be: Depression, The upward turn, Reconstruction and working through, Acceptance and hope. The thing is working through this step and the next as quickly as possible. But with his world revolving around his Pedestal to Sandy, the blind glorifying it to the point that he pushed so many way… His world view is collapsing here, so Anger & Bargaining and Depression will likely be his longest and hardest steps.

I guess I’ll be the first person to say that *I* think Mike has every reason to yell. Because he’s NOT wrong. And Sandy is being really shitty right now.

Fair to Francis?? Precisely how much did he do? What did she do? Lead him on? Because there’s lots of talk as though she’s obligated to return Francis’ affections here.

She’s just not being honest. I don’t think she’s made many choices for herself, and is having a hard time weighing what she wants. This thing with Francis will probably be just a temporary distraction too. Regardless, if she wants to break up she should just say it.

But at the same time, what he’s doing will have the opposite effect, shattering that “You’re too nice” view of him that she held onto. So pushing her more towards Francis. Though I kind of wonder if she didn“t do something more than she’s letting on with Francis. Looking back on pages of Model Girlfriend, crying after that Kiss… I’m thinking there she realized “I don’t feel anything special” here. Now either outgrew that relationship and strung him along… or had she and Francis had something happen and had more feeling there? *Speculation is evil*

The only thing not fair is that she didn’t tell him earlier. It’s perfectly fair for her to not want to keep the fake play-date relationship with Mike going anymore, he doesn’t get to stake a permanent claim to her just because he met her first and texts her the most emojis. The schadenfreude is delicious right now

Mike………..

Hell yeah! I’m here for this!

Oh hes swan diving right into the crazy

Aaaaaaand now we’re hitting anger in the stages of Breaking up

I resent that I have to agree with Mike while he’s being ugly and temperamental, but….he’s right. Sandy shouldn’t say she wants to date Francis out of some sense of obligation to *him.* That’s stupid and dishonest. If she wants to date him and move on from a childhood crush she should just say so.

But the least Mike could do for himself is not lose his shit and make her feel like she’s in the right to suddenly ditch him.

Felix Rodriguez

Ok, asshole put the phone down. Time to grow up and learn.

The sad thing is this is showing Sandy that she was right that Mike is too immature. To her she’s not getting the reaction she got from Francis, a calm “adult” reaction. To he, she really doesn’t know how others react to certain things she just assumes and yeah, Mike yelling isn’t the smartest thing to do, but finding out the girl you thought you loved and knew telling you that she no longer has feelings for you, and has feelings for someone else just because they were their for them, makes him upset, he wanted to be Francis he wanted to be there when she needed someone to talk to, he wanted to know she was talking the way she is about this guy to her friends just like he was to his.

But if we do remember when we saw things from her perspective, she never once mentioned Mike to anyone but probably has mentioned Francis.

Things like that can break a person whose defended, loved and made every excuse for them, and for them to go around and not just shatter your world view and to make them feel like they had no real reason to be doing it without really talking to them and having an actual “adult” conversation with them and to expect them to act mature about it, is kinda selfish.

Honestly, this isn’t fair to either of them. While yes, Sandy certainly could have handled things differently, if she found someone more compatible who is physically present, she deserves to have that choice. The poor girl has needs too, and working in such a high-stress environment from a young age warrants some substantial emotional needs that a long distance relationship can’t really support.

It is great that Mike’s finally letting his own needs be known, though!

In the end though, I hope these poor kids make it out of this okay. They’ve been through so much, and deserve a shot at happiness— even if its not with each other…

Really feel bad for Mike at this point, Sandy is being completely honest and vulnerable with him but sheesh, could you salvage his heart a LITTLE ?

Thank you.

Thanks!!

It wasn’t a problem when Francis was just her hairdresser and friend, and when she was invested in her relationship with Mike. Now she has made it clear which relationship she has been prioritizing, WITHOUT telling Mike, and yeah, it HURTS. Yow.

Its like Mike doesn’t matter to her as in his feelings because he isn’t where she is. But Francis is. Out of sight out of mind.

Long Distance can work if both sides put in the work and communicate.

Currently am in one. My mom is trying to get me to see other people even though I just started the long distance and just moved.

So for Sandy there might be other factors playing for her here in this situation that us readers might not know.

Mike has every reason to be upset. His feelings are valid and needs to let it out.

Edit:

I believe both are abusers

Sandy to Mike (emotionally)

Mike to his friends (verbally)

Anyway this page is oozing from the delicious irony of Mike’s question here. “So a girl hundreds of miles away means more than me?”

Oh snap!!! If she makes a comment like “he was here and more important” I would die!

Woooowwww, Sandy really said it wouldn’t be fair for Francis…. just shows how little priority she really ever gave Mike… he has always been secondary or lower to everything in her life, while he has always given her the number one spot to the point that he has ruined his social life. It’s so sad that he had to learn this lesson this way.

He isn’t going to convince Sandy to stay with him by yelling at her, but he deserves to be upset. I hope he takes better care of himself moving forward and gets rid of the toxic behaviors he has gained over the last couple of years.

No more obsessing over girls and putting them on pedestals ??

Agreed! I’d love to see him move on and heal from all of this! Even though he’s pushed them away, Mike has some great friends who’ll likely forgive and support him, if he gives a full, sincere apology.

Sure their relationships may not be the same, there’s a very real chance that the change in dynamics could be /better/! For everyone!

God this page hurts, I’ve been in Mike’s shoes here, and I know what he’s feeling, because I’ve felt it. I can’t justify the yelling but I understand his pain and anger

Yes keep it up, because yelling at people always works out for you Mike. Maybe he should shut up for once and actually listen to the people he screams at. I actually feel sympathy for her, especially after reading Becca’s post.

I mean, she should have done this after her last visit… Her crying during that kiss was the moment she realized she doesn’t have those same feeling for Mike anymore. There’s just no chemistry. There really isn’t anything he can do.. He needs to take a page out of Augustus’ book! It’s time to let go and let her be happy with someone else. I hope he finds closure..

Honestly him yelling at her and forcing her to finally admit how she is feeling is probably the best way to get this to finally end. Should he be yelling? No, but should she have left him in the dark and out of contact for weeks at a time despite knowing about all of this for months? No. They both need this to end so that they can both finally move on and growing up. It’ll be a good learning experience for them both.

Becca’s post?

Def agree Sean. Both sides handled this situation very poorly but it definitely would be easier for Sandy to cut ties with Mike now that she’s seen that he’s not “so nice” as she thought.

And this is why codependency is a bad thing, children!

Mike is right what he says this isn’t fair to him. Sandy made a bit of a misstep when she mentioned fairness to Francis, because it is a slight misdirection from the fact that this is what SHE wants.

The thing is though, she is allowed to be selfish and unfair when it comes to who she dates. She is allowed to not want to be in a relationship anymore even if Mike still loves her. She is a kid, they don’t have a shared house, bank account, marriage etc. Either party in a relationship can change their mind for any reason.

I think she’s afraid to say that directly to Mike, that she still cares for him but wants to explore dating someone else. Afraid to say her truth and hurt him that deeply, but I think the mistruth festers. Sometimes real kindness is a quick, clean and honest break even if it feels more brutal at the time. I think it makes way for cleaner healing.

How has his family not noticed any of these outbursts yet?

Especially this one?

The only person who sucks more than Mike is Sandy.

Why am I now imagining a scene of The Room with Mike instead. The whole “You’re Tearing me apart, Sandy!” scene :P

This would be great fanart

He’s not wrong lol I mean he probably isn’t gonna win her over by screaming at her but she’s been literally ignoring him for so long, and she expects him to be ok..? Plus she screamed at him just for being playful. She deserves it. Idk.

You are a Teen! This is your first love you little prick! First loves rarely Last forever, Especially ones like yours. GET OVER YOURSELF AND MOVE ON!!!

yeah he’s a teen, but he doesn’t know this yet, I’m sure he’ll be learning all of that in time, for now, like you said, a teen, so he’s going to act like one.

Sandy. Stop hiding behind what would be fair to someone you’ve been gaining feelings for and just SAY it’s what you want. Use your words. Say “I don’t want us to be dating anymore” the why isn’t gonna gain any points but just say what YOU want. Goodness sakes.

how has his mom not stomped into his room and told him to stfu yet with all the yelling he did tonight lol

That house must have some thick walls, the boy’s screaming at someone else every other day.

now that I’m thinking about it, the family was probably so used to Lucy being over and them arguing they just ignore yelling ?

Mike should be angry, he has been neglected and is emotionally drained from this relationship. Mike is dedicated but Sandy doesn’t put in much; she’s always busy and their different lifestyles have inconvenienced them to the point where Sandy falls in love with someone who is familiar with her lifestyle. Goes to show how long-distance relationships break at such inconveniences. Falling in love for the first time becomes a distant memory and they’re somewhat naïve about how feelings change depending on the circumstances. The circumstance that they’re in proves how her feelings changed.

I hope this makes Mike understand that your significant other shouldn’t be your EVERYTHING.

Ahhhh this is too relatable, it hurts but I applaud how well it’s portrayed!!! He has every right to be upset but from previous experience, blowing up is not how to achieve a proper conversation. Especially when it’s like, 4AM for Sandy, oof.

Mike’s family hearing this from outside his room like ?️??️

Honestly though!! Wonder what they’re thinking?

Also I find it very interesting that with all the recent phone calls with Sandy we don’t get any panels of her face. Like we got that back in the December chapter and previous chapters but now we don’t see her at all and it adds an air of mystery about her. I wonder if this’ll be build up for another To the Top chapter for Sandy

Yeah, we have always seen Sandy via Mike. So it is telling how little we actually know about her, it shows how little Mike actually knows about her as a person.

Geez, now he’s screaming at Sandy. Who’s next on his screaming list?

Mommy or sister dearest since theyre the ones in closest proximity.

Sandy deserves this though. She’s an emotionally abusive piece of garbage and she deserves to hear it from Mike.

Everyone who is treating Mike so badly for his reaction to this are so… so dense. Maybe it’s because I recently got out of a long-distance relationship that ended because she wouldn’t talk to me and even when I confronted her about it wouldn’t acknowledge it as an issue or deflect, and admitted to feelings for a closer friend, but It seriously can’t be that hard to understand how fucked up this is. this shit ruins you. finding out that you don’t mean as much to your partner and that they care about someone else is genuinely heartbreaking. my relationships will NEVER be the same.

This isn’t about first loves failing, because plenty of first loves last. This isn’t about teens being teens, because believe it or not but teens are capable of common sense and healthy relationships. this is about two people in a relationship that failed because ONE person wasn’t willing to put in the effort when effort was all they had. Mike’s response is so reasonable and awkwardly relatable.

Imagine judging Mike right now. I genuinely can’t imagine seeing him in any light other than pitiful and empathetic. y’all (half the fandom) suck rn for real. get a grip.

I agree people are being unreasonably harsh on this poor kid. He’s justified in being so hurt, and his anger at Sandy for this situation and her statement here is totally understandable. I honestly think much of the reason many people have low empathy for Mike at the moment, however, is that this feels like the first time in A LONG time narratively where mike screaming and getting upset is actually justified. He’s been treating everyone around him so poorly for such a long time (many Many real-life years) that now—when he finally has a real, devastating reason to get angry and deserve our sympathy? I think a lot of the readership is burnt out on Mike, ironically mirroring the situation he’s put himself within the narrative as well when it comes to his friends. Mike will desperately need support and help from someone right now…but who is going to be able to be there for him, after the way he’s treated those around him? Very tragic.

Sorry for the mini novel. I’m Not at all saying he doesn’t deserve our empathy right now to be clear, and I think that we as readers (and as patreon supporters I assume all adults?) need to be able to look honestly at the tragic situation he’s been put in….but it’s just a theory I have as to why people are being SO harsh, lol.

Ok, seriously guys? What Sandy has been doing is ABUSIVE. She is an abusive piece of sentient garbage. She’s a coward who couldn’t be bothered to do what needed to be done for the sake of the guy who she KNOWS is madly in love with her all because she can’t handle the idea of not being everyone’s perfect little angel. She’s a spoiled, monster of a person and her mother is entirely responsible for this. Leave Mike alone, this is HEALTHY for him to get these feelings out. Stop expecting him to be a doormat for Sandy, it’s really creepy.

Mike is in one of those unique situations where many people hate him (Myself included, he directly caused one of the most interesting characters in my opinion to vanish from the comic for literal years.) but we feel sympathy for him because of the situation. Many people have gone through a breakup at least once or twice and stuff like this hurts.

But even as just a reader, I can’t exactly get behind feeling sorry for the guy, he genuinely made many people feel the way he’s feeling right now. Betrayed, lost, and generally like the other person is a jerk. I do feel for the guy but yeesh, I genuinely don’t blame people for not feeling sorry for him.

EDIT: And yes, Sandy is a jerk, but she also seems developmentally stunted, especially when it comes to empathy. She probably didn’t even think anything was wrong until confronted. Whether that makes it better or worse is up to you.

You’re letting Sandy off way too easy. She’s an abusive monster, and excusing that really isn’t a good look lol.

Love how you can tell from these comments who actually has personal experience with an abusive relationship lol

Sandy is NOT abusive. If she is it’s *very* minor abuse. I even just looked up emotional abuse and what it entails and Sandy is not in anyway abusive asides from just being a bit rude (The comments in Model Girlfriend for example about him being childish; Not abusive, just rude.) The biggest fault Sandy has is trying to make Mike the villain in this situation (and the obvious lack of communication that’s led up to this.) I’m not saying she’s in the right but saying she’s abusing him to the extent you’ve been saying to everyone else is just straight out wrong.

She’s not an ‘abusive monster’. She’s a kid thrown into an adult world that’s handled things in the wrong way. She’s shown some toxic traits that hopefully she can grow out of but she’s NOT the monster you keep telling everyone she is. She’s a 17 year old girl who’s struggled to keep a flame alive with someone she thought she loved in THIRD GRADE. She did wrong, and maybe has shown some concerning things but she’s not at all this person you’re making her out to be.

Good to see you’ve never been in an abusive relationship ?

I have been but thanks for assuming. It looks good on you ?

Good to see you learned nothing from your experience then ?

It’s so sad to see Mike this way :c I’m also ashamed of myself that I haven’t noticed the signs of Codependency until now. I really hope that he can recover his bonds with his friends from this.

If you shout at everyone, then sooner or later you will be right. Right, Mike?