Bittersweet Candy Bowl

I’m torn between “he predicted Mike would get violent, he’s willing to let himself get hurt if it means proving a point” and “even he couldn’t predict this outcome, he thought Mike would pitifully take the jabs like he usually does, and he’s now shocked that Mike has gotten confrontational”. Augustus is a really difficult character to figure out but that’s what makes him one of the most interesting.

I wouldn’t be suprise if it’s the latter, cause all his confrontation so far with Mike ends with him emotionally and mentally backing off

I don’t think he’s ever seen what happens on the physical side once push to his limit

Yeah, I agree. Augustus is taller than Mike, combine that with him not really having seen Mike’s spine, I can see how he thought he could get away with shitting on him without consequences. This is on Augustus. He’s about to get the shit beaten out of him if Mike isn’t stopped or if he doesn’t back down and that’s completely his fault.

Plus, compared the two, mike is more battle prowess than August is.

Cause again, he and Lucy literally take karate or akido, or some kind of self defense class.

Not to mention Mike from what I heard gave his old gang a run for their money

Yeah he’s about to get his shit rocked. David is minding his business as he should.

same!!!!!!! I never side with Mike but I’d do the same thing lol

I wouldn’t be suprise if Mike fire back and call August out on his past actions he try to do to Daisy and at one point Lucy before he changed, as a way to point out his hypocrisy as a person

yeah, there was no winning here. Mike picked a terrible option, but stack everything up and it really is the inevitable outcome

It’s wild because I have almost the entirely opposite view. I don’t hate Mike as a character, and think he has a lot of good qualities when he’s at his best. But that doesn’t excuse his actions and faults, and this is definitely one of them. I understand WHY Mike did this, and Augustus certainly provoked him, but that doesn’t make it okay at all. Mike is getting way too comfortable with physical abuse when conversations make him upset.

It’s a monkey paw situation. On the one hand, good on him for not being everybody’s doormat anymore and having the spine to fight back when people begin to cross him. On the other hand, he only seems to stand up for himself at the worst possible moment (which always seems to be when Lucy is thrown into the mix) and his method of standing up for himself usually involves him being physically confrontational, the exact same thing he gave Lucy shit for back in the earliest stages of the comic.

Dude badly needs to see an anger management therapist or confide with Abbey who could give him some good pointers on how to healthily manage his anger.

Idk, I feel like a lot of people are forgetting the fact that he said he’d leave her alone and then broke his word just hours later. Mike isn’t being victimized and attacked and bullied here in my eyes, because Augustus probably wouldn’t be doing this so boldly/aggressively if Mike hadn’t said one thing, then gone behind his back to do another. Augustus was actually relatively calm/“respectful” (outside of saying he didn’t care about Mike’s problems lol) when asking him to give Lucy space, which was their last interaction before this day.

Augustus pressured him into accepting a completely unreasonable demand. Mike was well within his rights to not listen to someone who tried to bully him into not hanging out with his friends.

But it wasn’t just asking to give her space, Mike was already doing that. Augustus decided to demand that now Mike doesn’t go outside and see his friends, which is a lot less reasonable. It wasn’t really an ask, it was a demand. And Mike, being Mike, folded. I also want to note that it wasn’t Mike that started the interaction that spiraled into this shitshow, it was Augustus. Mike had been keeping to himself with his two buddies, it was Augustus that decided to intrude on their conversation and start subtly taking jabs at Mike. What would you call that if not harassment?

Augustus looked sad and worried for lucy he didnt care about mike or his problems and rushed through the conversation now I’ll admit OBVIOUSLY hes caring for lucy but he was also not really asking it was just worded as so and rn hes enforcing it and got punished this entire interaction was flawed from the jump it didnt even seem like lucy found mike being outside to be the problem she just HAD problems on her mind (and in her nightmares) attacking someone else for what you perceive to be the reason is almost as bad as provoking a guy with a history of violently lashing out at people

If he did it to paulo someone he considers his close friend, why wouldn’t he do worse with Augustus, someone who made unrealistic requests and is actively attacking him for it

famous last words before things somehow get significantly worse

🥺

Yyyep I noticed that too. His expressions barely changed.

Yeah this is mild for Auggy.. He’s felt worse.

mother vero feeds us bickering children. everyone say thank you mother

The hell man, this is wrong as much as Augustus going too strong on him. It just shows how prone to violent outbursts Mike became, and this does nothing to help him with James or defending himself. This will just backfire on him.

So Mike should let himself be bullied?

Or the fact August literally got Lucy involved when she didn’t want to be, or the fact he outed her medical history IN PUBLIC.

I’m sorry but August is in the wrong as much as Mike is

These Lucy fans like to shit on Mike so much they ignore the fact that he’s technically the victim. His friends are assholes. They aren’t really friends to him for the most part. Part of that is his fault. He let people walk all over him, but they made the steps in the first place.

Obviously not. But we shouldn’t act like physical violence was the only solution here. He could have reported the incident to the school admin with David and/or James, for starters. He could have stonewalled Augustus and preempted his attempts to control the narrative by telling James the truth and emphasizing his remorse for his actions. Hell, he could have just walked away, talked with the rest of the track team inside about the situation, and asked them for help if the adults weren’t going to do anything about it. There were SO many alternatives to dealing with Augustus here beyond capitulation. But Mike CHOSE violence. Regardless of whether or not it was provoked, that is an escalation of the situation in this instance, and Mike is responsible for those actions.

^

Augustus may have been poking the bear, but it’s still the bear’s choice whether or not to get physical. They’re both in the wrong, but Mike more so now.

That’s a lot to ask a teenager that’s going through a mental health crisis and who has up until recently been walked over by a lot of the people around him

I don’t suppose the people debated the ethics of cartoon cat on cat violence could take the conversation to place where I don’t keep getting notifications? Ty

I half expect him to bear hug Mike from behind if Mike continues. Someone has to stop Mike.. And I really don’t want it to be Lucy

Let’s be honest I very much think its going to be and I hate it so much

Ah yeah. David can lift these cats like nobody’s business

Devil’s advocate, but I don’t think people are saying they wanted to see Mike physically assault Augustus, just that it’s a consequence for harassing someone and backing them into a corner. Augustus thought Mike would just lie down and take it, so he kept provoking Mike. I don’t think he knew about Mike assaulting Paulo when emotions ran high in the past. This is a consequence of Augustus’ actions. I almost wonder if that was part of the reason Lucy tried to stop Augustus at first, because she knew Mike’s anger was unpredictable and that Augustus was poking the bear.

Of course, at the end of the day, Mike’s actions are not something I encourage or approve of. Mike deeeeefinitely needs therapy, and yeah, Abbey would likely be a huge help if he were to reach out. As someone who does want Mike to get a happy resolution, he really does need to be sat down and confront his darker tendencies and really come to terms with the fact that the way he treats people when his own emotions flare up isn’t acceptable. There were so many other ways to deal with Augustus verbally harassing him, and Mike was the one that chose assault.

I did see some comments eager for Mike to shut up Augustus in a “take him down, Mike” way. And I meant more for the last 2 pages comments, the ones who are cheering on this and want it to continue.

(Doesn’t want James to see a bad side of him) (Also does this)

yeah oh my god from james’ perspective this whole situation must make mike look like a cartoon villain. mike is self-sabotaging so hard right now

Especially considering James tried to ask him about to validity of everything Multiple times and got ignored 😭 Their friendship is fuuuuucked

I hate the fact that Mike did this, but I really do hope there’s a silver lining of adults finally getting involved. Mike needs HELP help.

Eh. Augustus was talking strong and constantly bothering Mike with unrealistic and unreasonable demands. Mike hasn’t really done much wrong recently, even here he’s not the biggest one at fault. Talk shit, get hit.

Definitely the most high profile lashing out Mike’s ever had. He never faced anything from assaulting Paulo, but this? This isn’t just between friends, no one involved should have any reservations reporting this to the adults. I just hope the fallout isn’t as bad for Augustus as I think if adults do get involved…

Kinda wondering if they will call his parents parents.

Worried if Alejandro and the gang are keeping tabs on his folks to find out where August dissapeared to

Toby definitely would be at the very least, I’d imagine. The only reason Alejandro would is if Toby made good on his blackmail threats. If so, and Augustus gets sent home on suspension… Extremely worried for Augustus in that scenario. Augustus might have been in the wrong in this chapter too, but… the concequences from this are so potentially disproportionate for his actions here…

Maybe? But do you get suspended for one fight? I’m not from the US. I can see his mom being called, but suspension sounds too harsh for one fight.

zero-tolerance violence policies are a thing, are incredibly stupid, and was something Abbey wanted implemented when he was running for office

I see, thanks. Ironic for Abby though (past Abby)

It depends on the circumstances. One fight? No. If they get called into the principal’s office and Augustus complains about his neck hurting? There were three other kids saying Mike was the aggressor? School is throwing that kid out in order to avoid the legal smoke. But that’s like jumping to conclusions big time on my part. I just know this is how things go because it is a lived experience of mine.

Don’t forget that in situations like this, both people involved in a fight often get sent to the administration and have their parents called, even if it was a one-sided fight. In fact, we KNOW that’s how this school is run, because the exact same thing happened when Paulo hit Abbey with a ball during gym. So odds of Augustus getting in bigger trouble here are pretty high…

in the US they suspend you for something like this. Actually the school I went to suspends both parties even if one of the two didn’t start it or try to fight at all. It’s kind of unfair for people who are severely bullied 😬 (I personally experienced this.. As a bullied kid)

I’m wondering if that was his plan. Like, if he can’t keep Mike away from Lucy by asking, he’ll provoke Mike into getting himself suspended. That feels like something he would do

I don’t think he planned for Mike to attack him, Augustus seems pretty surprised by this given his expression

Yeah i don’t think he knows mike as well as he thinks I do think he was gonna take advantage of mikes insecurities to make him leave but I dont think he understand mike will lash out violently if he feels backed into a corner

When I was a kid I got expelled for being in a fight when I didn’t start it. Schools don’t play about zero tolerance policy. That being said, it really depends on the district and even the school.

I kinda feel like this was necessary, though. Like, it sucks to air everything out like this, but it finally gives his friends a more accurate picture of his mental state. They might not choose to help him, but it wasn’t really possible to help him while he was still maintaning a degree of equilibrium.

this wins for “comment that made me ugly laugh out loud” this week

he’s finally been allowed to crash into the twenty car pileup that he himself caused

Tbf it’s been a while since ol’ Jason boy has been allowed to stab a camper so i would cheer for it

It’s so cruel to put this out on a Friday. I’m gonna be thinking about this all weekend

This was always in the cards as a possibility. Remember, Mike slammed Paulo’s head into a cafeteria table for taking away Mike’s phone and trying to get Mike to talk to the rest of his friends instead of obsessing over Sandy’s texts, or lack therof at the time. Between that and Mike throwing his phone against the wall when Sandy broke up with him… yeah, his aggresive tendencies have been building, and he lacks any real anger management skills to deal with them. Not saying this was inevitable, but definitely not surprising considering Mike’s track record at this point.

Mike responds terribly to situations like this always has it takes you intentionally or unintentionally pressing that one sensitive button to get him to lash out at you and too many at once gets this

I thought this was expected we have seen prior how badly Mike gets when he bottles his emotions and gets pressed. Honestly though I’m still not sure if this was Augustus plan to in someway finally bring attention to mikes issues, although it was done the worst possible way to bring it to light

I dunno, Augustus seems kinda surprised here. Don’t think he expected Mike to throw hands

Maybe initially, but he isn’t above taking a loss to further his goals. He COULD have fought back, but in this situation, it looks more damming to Mike if he plays victim.

Agreed, I wouldn’t put it past him to let Mike overplay his hand. I was just saying that he seemed caught off guard

I thought it was stated he can’t actually win in a physical fight?

If anything I think he wasn’t expecting Mike to actually fight back considering his last few encounters with him and how he is mentally and emotionally

It really does lol

Agreed.

“He can’t walk away.” He… could, though? It’s not like Augustus was backing him into a corner with the threat of physical violence. The only threat Augustus was making here was… telling James the truth? Like, sure, not his place, but… what, when you can’t stop someone from talking, you physically assault them? Sorry, vehemently disagree there. Mike could have asked James to leave so he could explain without Augustus in the picture, gone to administration, or gone to LITERALLY ANY OF HIS OTHER FRIENDS to come back out and help him deal with Augustus. Hell, imagine he went and asked Paulo and Daisy for help here, two people who still care about him and would be more than willing to back Mike up against Augustus. Mike had options outside of assault, but lacked the anger management skills to keep his cool, instead defaulting to the quickest and easiest solution that, in turn, paints him in the worst light and gets him in the most trouble. Bear in mind, Mike standing up for himself was always something I want to see. But yeah, this was an unnecessary escalation, and did nothing to actually solve the situation he was in. Like, he got Augustus to stop telling James the awful things he said to Lucy. Cool. Now James knows that Mike is prone to physically lashing out while angry. That’s a much better image to have… >_>

Mike could have absolutely stood up for himself without throwing hands. He didn’t even try to push back against Augustus’ narrative, express remorse for his past mistakes, or set the record straight. All he did was tell Augustus it was ‘none of his business’ and then charge him when Augustus kept poking. There was absolutely space to handle this without assaulting Augustus.

Edit: seconding what Alec said. Though, I don’t think Mike felt like he could have walked away. The whole conflict between the two is that Mike wants to stay while Augustus previously made it clear that he WILL harass Mike until Mike goes inside.

And augustus was definitely embellishing the narrative. Mike was keeping his distance from Lucy, but asking Mike to simply not exist in a space that Lucy is, especially outside, is just wrong. We get what Mike did was bad… But Augustus is taking it way too far.

Lucy isnt really his friend rn and I mean idk how James could respond to this he did initially try to defend him tho when he noticed but this is so.. strange how would he approach this he hasn’t even known mike that long in terms of friendship and David is neutral

Yeah leaving is what Augustus wants thats like saying just submit to your bully and your problem will go away and he also doesn’t care about mikes problems he pretty told him that right before this and thats not his first time saying that. Idk hes kinda got a point from outside yeah this is a bad situation and a bad choice but man IN the moment you kinda just want them to stop and probably feels like a caged animal in terms of helplessness

what the dog doin?

Been waiting to see what he is thinking. This is all pretty dour, so he might just be in shock. I worry about the escalation and who else might get hurt.

Preparing his special attack

I like to think hes reading that movie review now or whatever that was about THIS is the time

I would like to believe that’s what should happen or at least into detention. That way his parents can finally see what’s been going on to their son and finally have the conversation that is needed about mikes troubles and to finally seek the help that is needed

PUSHED HIM WHEN HE WAS ‘ALREADY FALLING’ BRO WHAT?

bruh he grabbed his face

“Pushed him when he was already falling” that’s the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard

Augustus Injured in Mike-involved Falling

Yeah cmon man I like mike but it was definitely push first then loss of footing plus his momentum slamming him down

Are we Sure that Augustus being on the ground wasn’t a pre-existing condition.

Another PSA, from an adult to the actual kiddos, talk shit, get hit. Don’t let your mouth sign checks that your fists can’t cash.

Youre an adult threatening children? Fucked up, do not interact pls thx.

Yeah i dont think he meant it like hes gonna beat them up i hes saying dont instigate a fight then play the victim when it happens lol

But he didn’t instigate a fight tho, Mike did. It was Mike’s choice to get violent when there were other options

I think it’s more a matter of cause and effect. Confrontation -> Angry -> Engage lizard brain -> Fight or Flight? History of violent outbursts says: Fight. I think what he means is that regardless of morality, sometimes cause and effect produces fights. That makes it a good idea to be smart about what you say during a confrontation.

I mean you can’t keep insulting someone after you came up to them in the middle of their friends pointed out their flaws and have them agree with you then say I’m not stopping till he leaves and expect the person to do nothing he did instigate that just didnt know fully what hed instigate

Lol. Nice try dumbass. You were condescending to the Mike fans, so one was condescending back. Seems much like your idols, you also can’t take what you spew back.

Hey, maybe don’t tell actual children that verbal provocation justifies physical violence? Even when discussing fictional characters, messaging like ‘talk shit, get hit’ teaches kids that assault is an acceptable response to words.

These are teens in a webcomic working through conflict. Walking away, getting help, or using words back are always better options than throwing punches - fictional or otherwise.

We can discuss character choices without endorsing violence as conflict resolution for the actual young people reading these comments.

If someone was bullying your friend and your friend knocked them on their ass, would you say your friend instigated the fight?

You aren’t slick. You know what I meant. Also, some words are definitely something that should be met with violence. Slurs and threats for one.

You’re clearly trying to stir the pot here, so I won’t engage further, but just so everyone is aware - that’s not how the legal system works (at least from my experience in the US). Judges don’t view ‘but they said mean things’ as justification for assault, even when those words are truly awful. They see an injury and will likely charge you accordingly.

Teens *might* get lighter consequences because they’re expected to learn impulse control by adulthood - which is exactly why it’s crucial to develop these skills now. If someone threatens you, contact authorities. If someone uses slurs, note it and stay away from them. They’re often trying to provoke you into a fight because they know they’re more likely to get away with it than you are.

You can absolutely ruin your life by responding with violence, no matter how heinous the words were. Always try other avenues first. Sorry to be so intense, buuuut I have very young family members who get influenced by randos online all the time. It wouldn’t sit right with me not to say something.

Lol. Alright. Apparently bullying you and implied threats are cool to be said to you. Slurs too.

Another PSA to the kiddos reading this, what you are seeing above my message is something called the straw man argument. It’s when you take a (usually) reasonable position (ie, “the law doesn’t care if an assaulter was verbally provoked by the assaulted, it’s still assault and you’ll get charged accordingly”) and distort it into something unreasonable (“oh, so you’re saying it’s ok to be bullied and have slurs used against you??”). It’s typically used in bad faith by someone because it’s harder to refute the actual argument being made. Don’t fall for tricks like this!

It’s not a strawman because you don’t like it.

These people are gonna be in for a shock if they ever put their hands on a coworker, no matter how justified or valid they feel. The law is very clear: you can say words but you cannot put your hands on the person. Even people attempting to stop shoplifters can be considered assaulting them in the eyes of the law simply because they touched the shoplifter! I had it drilled into me when working retail to never ever place my hands on someone, in a hostile manner or not, because the legal system can easily be used against you. Does it make sense all the time? No. But that’s just how the world works.

I think he meant like verbal lashing out i dont think he heard about him slamming Paulo’s face but he definitely knows December comes out when he starts hearing insults to one of the worst characters in this comic

I’d consider it pretty violent if someone grabbed me by the face and shoved me to the ground but different strokes for different folks I guess lol

I was expecting an actual punch to the face, this is very tame in comparison

Getting hit does hurt more but it happens fast. There’s something about getting grabbed in a vulnerable area that’s a lot more frightening and invasive in personal experience. To be fair though my personal experience is coming from perspective of a petite woman, it could be less rattling if it was someone my own size like Mike vs Augustus.

Redacted cause I was being a dick, sorry.

I’m unsure of how the size would translate to real life, but I’m sure it is very startling. However I am taking the stance that these characters have been wanting to fight for a while (even subconsciously) and its… not really happening here? Grabbed and pushed is not punched and able to punch back.

This is also hardly the worst violence we’ve seen, hence my initial sarcasm

Discussed and taken care of! Everything cool now!

Dude he like face grabbed him and slammed him to the ground thats kind of impressive also idk man I dont think mike is gonna stop i think Augustus is about to get the guilty special

I disagree I dont think mike wanted to fight and we kind know Augustus can’t hes kind of a grade A manipulative but terrible instigator because he always pushes the one person who would take that fight (like abbey)

Yeah thats wild wth lol

I think he wanted to argue type of fight, not physical. It just turned out that way

August facial expression says it all too.

He was NOT prepared for Mike to start throwing hands once his limit was reached

I think Mike might try to off himself if that happens, the disappointment of a parent can be a huge strain on a people-pleaser like Mike

As someone who actually does generally like Mike more than I dislike him… yup. This is just going to result in more problems for Mike. The way this webcomic repeats its themes to really highlight the nuance and contrast between these conflicts is really well done, considering how controversial these situations can be within the fandom. I just hope that, based on the themes of redemption and fresh starts taken with Tess, we eventually get to see the best version of Mike break this cycle by the end of the comic. Though, odds of things getting worse before they get better for this kid are extremely high atm, espeically after this…

Mike fumbled the ball most the mike fans are saying it but if we are comparing it to lucy most lucy fans almost never admit when she fumbles the ball thats the big difference but I digress this is a casual mike L mike takes this exact kind of L so often its kind of his specialty now only other person I can see taking L’s like this is abbey pre change

It’s reasonable to see Lucy in a lighter way, her infractions were from middle school. She was a child and has already improved. She’s now just trying to vibe and finish highschool with her mental health intact. Mike hasn’t improved, in fact he’s getting worse as a person because no one until now called him out.

I wholeheartedly agree that Mike’s physical outburst was out of line, but I don’t think it’s fair to characterize the hallway convo as relatively respectful especially when Augustus stated, as you mentioned, that he didn’t care about what Mike wanted. (Edit: ack, sent too soon. I have more to say, another message will follow)

Augustus basically steamrolled Mike in their last interaction. He gave Mike little room to speak, and kept interrupting him before Mike could finish what he was saying. Mike was clearly pressured into acquiescing to an unreasonable demand. And now that Mike went back on his word (because he has the right to go outside if he wants to) , Augustus goes out of his way to invade Mike’s space, guilt trip him over his biggest mistake, and also drag out private information involving his best friend, all to inflict punishment on Mike. Augustus was definitely out of line (still doesn’t justify getting physical, of course).

I definitely agree with the fact that Mike was steamrolled a bit during that conversation, and how that definitely could have added to his compliance in it, but I do think it’s fair to point out that he was going to start venting about his problems to him in the middle of Augustus calmly making an ask of him (“you probably don’t care, but-”). It might seem harsh to us as the viewers, who can see where Mike is struggling and why (and it is harsh!), but Augustus has no legitimate reason to care about his issues. He’s listened to him vent about stuff before, in their conversation prior to that, and he doesn’t have to let that be a common occurrence when they weren’t friends in the first place. But also, yes, Augustus did come out here with the intention to sling (verbal) mud around to humiliate Mike, which isn’t very productive to his goal of helping Lucy

@Arthur I agree. Augustus has zero reason to care about Mike’s feelings and I can’t blame him for that, though there’s something about the previous interaction that just doesn’t sit right with me. I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out why, but I got nothing. Best I can do is lament how things could have turned out much better if Augustus had been willing to listen to Mike in that convo. But alas

@Washington BC I totally agree!! I think that no matter what the outcome of that situation was going to be, Augustus was gonna start laying it on pretty thick the further from a “yes” Mike got, which seems to be what happened. I think he was fine to have a calm conversation with him initially, but as soon as Mike faltered in agreeing to go inside, he started putting more pressure on him.

Also Yikes, Augustus… He had a scar on that side of his face too, didn’t he?? I hope that doesn’t hurt Too bad 😬