Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Lucy has honestly grown so much. I'm incredibly proud of her, even in this moment, for keeping herself and her emotional needs at the forefront. Which means "do not engage" as the prime goal

hmmmm I like that their outfits are nearly exact opposite colors 😳

Aw Lucy baby. She's come so far from her days of punching Mike

Good. For both of them.

Breakdown part 2: Electric boogaloo

Lucy: *smart, beautiful, my daughter* imma head out lol

mike: *stinky stupid fool* HOLD ON

Best possible page. Can’t wait for mike to do Some Bullshit next update

GOOD FOR YOU, LUCY, DAMN

such a QUEEN 🤩 YA GO GIRL

The page won't load for me :/

Even if she doesn't know, she can see that he wants a place to himself to sort his thoughts.

I love Lucy. 😭 That’s all I really have to say!! I hope this scene doesn’t end up with her being hurt in some way by Mike again!! He, uh, doesn’t look like he’s in a good head space to talk...

I kinda expect Mike to be an asshole and stop her just to whine to her about his recent breakup, perhaps even go as far as hugging her. What I reaaaaally want to see is her reaction to whatever he decides to do. Lucy has truly matured from all of this, is his time to mature as well.

He's already gone through the phase of demanding that Lucy must hate him. He's already gone through the phase of trying to engage her in conversation. They have nothing to say to each other. Lucy already knows it... except we don't know yet why she's there, and Mike ought to just keep his civil distance. Ugh, I just thought of the worst ending.

I don't know what I find more upsetting, this sad storyline or the fact that some viewers don't believe in character redemption.

ywah don’t get me wrong i love lucy but people are so much more willing to accept her personal character growth rather than accept mikes. we all have to remember mike is a teenager going through a lotta shit rn, if anything i feel just as sympathetic

for mike as i did lucy (sorry pressed reply way too soon)

admittedly, i feel like lucy has always done bad things, but mike kind of swung way too low in december. its comeuppance for literally telling someone that nobody would miss them if they were gone.. and i’m sure this kind of treatment struck a lot of personal chords for people so it’s understandable why everyone is quite happy it’s all coming full circle

i’m sure everyone would be a tad more forgiving if mike was making a conscious effort to make up for his awful behavior but he really.. isn’t.

I'll believe in Mike's redemption when he does something redeeming

You know, it really is an interesting point of contention, because if people recall, Mike DID attempt to make amends with Lucy in "Curtain Call." He completely owned up and acknowledged the things he said were awful, and offered Lucy the chance to work things out. Now, he isn't OWED a second chance in any respect, as that was entirely Lucy's decision and, considering her decision immediately following that scene, clearly didn't want to give him one. Can you imagine someone who would rather die than give you a chance to make up for having wronged them?

Since then, Mike has basically been getting a full year of karma from the root cause of him saying those awful things to Lucy in the first place. So not only has he been rejected in the most dramatic way by one of his dearest childhood friends, but now he's been ghosted by the only other potential avenue he sees for romantic interest, which is only worsened by the fact that Mike considers himself committed to Sandy now that he has chosen her over Lucy. Then that all falls apart when he realizes Sandy wasn't nearly as committed to him, something he's known for a long while finally brought to a head through the most recent confrontation. People haven't liked Mike for a while, and for good reason, as he's been an awful friend to almost everyone around him. But really stop to consider everything that happened between "December" and this, and is it really so hard to understand why?

Honestly, this chapter might be the biggest turning point for Mike SINCE December, fittingly enough. He's no longer being strung along by Sandy, and no matter what happens in the upcoming pages with Lucy, he's likely to get some sort of closure. There's now no more pretense he can attribute to his friends caring about him, and this is his best shot to start pulling his mess of a life back together, one piece at a time.

Personally? I think we are due a mend to Mike and Lucy's friendship in the coming pages. The biggest obstacle to that just basically took herself out of the picture, and despite her declaration that she, "doesn't f***ing like him anymore," it seems Lucy at least still cares somewhat about Mike's well-being from her looks of concern, one of which featured earlier this chapter. I don't see them getting into a relationship of any sort, at least not for a long while after they've sorted everything out and talked things over a LOT more. But this might be the best chance of them at least getting back on speaking terms with each-other.

Mike just say Sorry and move on with your life. Don't start another drama, leave Lucy alone.

Mike's last remaining shred of pride got just decimated by Lucy even wearing a scarf better than he does

Since there was no one there in the previous page, I feel like Lucy isn't actually there and Mike's just imagining her because he just always expects Lucy to be there when he needs her. The footprints in the snow indicate that she really is there though. I hope Lucy can handle this well, whatever happens :( While I do hope Mike grows up from all this, it's not fair for him to try to latch onto Lucy after everything and expect things to go back to the way they were either

Owch.

GOOD. Lucy doesn't need drama and she still does what he asked for. Mike is pretty much putting that shoe in his mouth. However he's still fresh from a heartbreak, he realizes that he doesn't have a shoulder to cry on anymore.

Every time one of these wants to talk or apologize the other is emotionally distant or angry. How will it go this time? I'm sure Mike will at least make an attempt to talk to Lucy here, but is Lucy done with him for good? The suspense.... it's killing me!

Considering Lucy's line of, "Does what I say even matter?" earlier this chapter, it seems like she might not be as emotionally distant as the front she initially put up when she initially came back. Might be reading into things too much, but it seems more like this page is her expecting Mike to be the distant one here, especially after his outburst towards her earlier that day, and just leaving to avoid what she would reasonably expect to be a fight with Mike. Lucy has no way of knowing Sandy basically just broke up with Mike, so her expectations of Mike's current emotional state is likely gonna be thrown for a loop in the coming pages. Certainly gonna be interesting to see how Lucy reacts, that's for sure. Call me an optimist, but it SEEMS like Lucy might still care enough about Mike to not just leave him in a dark place, regardless of whether or not he deserves it.

Mm Mike, just let her go. I can’t see anything good coming from an interaction right this instant.

I'm gonna be the odd one out and hope that they DO talk. He never properly apologized to Lucy, and this is the time to once and for all, bury the hatchet for those two. Yes, Mike's getting what he deserved for what he said, and I risk sounding like a contrarian, but I sincerely hope these two finally have a long, lasting conversation. They were friends since childhood, and Mike ruined that, he cut himself away, refusing to see the real problem and lashing out.

But because they were friends, you...don't just utterly and completely forget that bond, even if it was messed up. But Mike's mind got warped by what his own ideals for Sandy not being fulfilled, latching onto her words like gospel, and after this breakup, he's crushed.

Lucy and Mike need this talk. Yes, he DID cut her out in the worst way possible with his words, but things aren't resolved yet. Lucy's grown, yeah...but that doesn't mean that she has to utterly leave Mike in the dust if he's genuinely feeling remorse for everything he's said and done. Mike HAS to reach out. He has to let her know, and eventually, everyone else, that he's sorry.

I don't expect things to just patch up just like that, no. But it has to begin somewhere.

I agree with you

very well said!!

Same here! And I mentioned this a bit more in-depth in another comment above, but Mike actually DID attempt to apologize. Twice. The first was during Curtain Call, right before Lucy made the attempt on her own life. It wasn't the best apology all things considered, and he didn't even actually say sorry, but he acknowledged what he said was out of line and offered Lucy a chance to work it out if she wanted. Then, after Lucy came back, he tried again only to get shut down by Lucy. That second time, Lucy had the impression Mike was perfectly happy with Sandy and didn't need Lucy in his life, but by this point Lucy has seen that's far from the case. I somehow have the feeling that if Mike apologizes right now, this time is just might stick enough for them to, at the very least, be on speaking terms again.

so 10/1 odds Mike somehow finds a way to blame Lucy for this? since shes here so she "must" have planned it...

he's blamed every other problem he's ever had on her, afterall, why stop now...

I'll play the part of the optimistic fool and take you up on those odds.

I think he needs to struggle a bit for his development. He needs to process what he’s done and how he’s hurt the people who love him so deeply. This isn’t an instant thing.

Feels like he's been struggling for almost a year now in-universe. I agree that he's going to need to work hard if he wants a chance at mending the friendships he's hurt by lashing out, but he's suffered a lot of karmic retribution since the events of December, forcing him down a path of frustration, guilt, desperation, and despair. So I wouldn't say he needs to struggle more, just that he needs to get to work, because he has a lot of work ahead of him.

I'm sure this will end well

I don't think he's going to apologize, he's still pretty focused on his current problem which is raw and fresh. I think he'll go into confide mode. As Lucy walks away ".... she dumped me". Very curious to see Lucy's reaction! She has developed so much and so mature compared to many of the others. We don't actually get to see a lot of her inner dialogue about her feelings for Mike (I mean, she probably spends most her time trying not to think about him).

Mike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlW-mJusq0g

Hmmmm one interesting thought. Looking at Mike's expression at first is what I'd almost say is Disbelief maybe mixed with desperation in frames 2 and 3, That "you're not going to leave me too?" sort of look, while in the final panel is almost a reaction to the twist of the knife there.

But really, after all he had put Lucy through, all the words in December, and getting what he thought he wanted (Well more what he thought he wanted with his worship of Sandy), why would she? I mean she appears to still have some feelings, but after that hurt, there is now more of a gap, and with how Mike has behaved, I don't think someone who has had to go through all that will be quick to change their mind or be quick to trust. After all, She has had a chance to see the veil lifted, so all those times he went to her about sandy was more really about him and sandy, as Sandy always came #1.

Also, Granted, Mike has tried to apologize before, But considering how far he went over the line, and the first attempt was pretty much *only* because Sandy prompted it. And really, that means that apology was more about Him and Sandy. I mean if you look, even with Sandy trying to say that Lucy sounded sorry in those texts, that he should try and help her, and his reaction was effectively "So I'm the bad guy again?" and "Easier if she just died," (Showing his prideful self image streak). But then the Hospital, That was probably more a realization of things there, even stronger bit of guilt for him there for having such thoughts before? But then the second apology attempt, Really was more to assuage his own guilt he had been harboring since then, and reawakened with seeing her again. But I can't blame her to not be ready to forgive, or else want to keep as much distance as she could from the source of her own pain that led to that low point in her life. So who knows, maybe she's still recovering from that and still wants distance, or she has grown up enough that she isn't interested in an apology that is more Mike being self centered and trying to make himself feel better (Or like the first that was more about keeping Sandy happy) than actually apologizing about the pain that he inflicted on her and admitting he was wrong to do that without the strings attached, aka the true heartfelt apology. And with that sort of apology does leave it to her to decide if she is willing to accept it or not.

So a bit of a ramble, but hopefully some of it makes sense.

Lucy looks like she's about to cry.

Lucy looks gorgeous in that outfit and this setting. This is the time of year that was very dark for her last year and I am hoping she can have more positive experiences this winter....as long as Mike doesn't cuck it up.