Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Wouldn’t you 😭😭things got too real James is just getting to have a boyfriend

Yeah! Say something guys!! I love how these pages are framed so Mike seems so alone. But he’s not.

They really said “allllright im over this now…”

I hope James doesn’t leave Mike, I hope they talk things out.

Yeah, I am starting to feel like Augustus really wants Mike to suffer and to really dwell on how badly he screwed up. Mike already has clear signs of deep depressions and guilt. Lucy also has a lot of emotions that she clearly wants to let out. But I understand why Augustus wouldn’t want them to try to talk to each other as he doesn’t want to risk Lucy’s wellbeing to spiral further although this whole scenario already is a spiral because of him to begin with 😭

If I’m being honest, I think he’s saving face cause Lucy family is relying on him so much of keeping her ok and safe. And a place that is over his head and free meals and not living a crappy life anymore

I think he’s desperately fighting to keep that control

I mean, actually they do have many options to just move on as individuals. More often than not, you don’t get to talk things out until you’re through it, and it certainly isn’t the be-all-end-all avenue for healing. I feel like a big lesson here is NOT hinging everything about yourself on one person and their choices.

They actually don’t need to talk to each other. They could do what Lucy asked him to do in the first place; ignore each other.

You don’t have to talk things out to move on. You can just move on.

That’s what Mike was trying to do though, he promised he’d leave Lucy alone and did just that. But Augustus dragged both of them into this fiasco, and rather than grant them an opportunity to hash it out, he’s just using it to make Mike feel worse

Augustus has improved himself by leaps and bounds but he’s still got that Alejandro influence in him. He’s defending Lucy, sure, but she’s clearly not taking as much pleasure in this as he is.

and The Comment That Made Me Ugly Laugh Out Loud Award™️ this week goes to….

One problem, Augustus id in the way and making it difficult for any real growth.

Clock it

I get it. We feel bad for Mike here, and Augustus looks mean and scary, but Mike doesn’t need to drag anyone else into his orbit to distract him from his actual problem: being in a miserable relationship with Sandy. There is nothing to be talked about until he deals with that.

I agree on that

But I also disagree on August

He’s being rightfully disgusting right now

And I hate it people are cheering this on in the comments

He’s acting no different than Alejandro imo.

He needs his ass called out and equalize the playing field of his Bullshittery

I wouldn’t say he’s being as bad as the attempted rapist right now, but he’s definitely being a real piece of work

Been saying it. But if you point that out to others, they’ll act like you’re crazy and gaslight you.

Yeah if I’m being honest, his behavior in this chapter feels more motivated by spite towards Mike vs protectiveness towards Lucy. Might have started out as the latter, but it’s the former that’s rearing its head more and more

Plus

Are the characters going to gloss over the fact HE JUST OUTED LUCY SCUICIDE AND MEDICAL HISTORY IN PUBLIC?

how is that protecting her!?

That’s the main reason why I suspected this, you wouldn’t do something like that if you wanted to be considerate

Just because Paulo forgave Mike for that doesn’t mean David has to 😤

I want him to atone and take responsibility, I do

But not like this and how August took control this whole situation

He was in the wrong for how this played out.

And Lucy is not taking any victory or enjoyment over this, it’s just wounds being reopened and possibly festuring worse

Oh I absolutely agree; As much as I think Augustus does care for Lucy and wants her to recover and be okay, he’s absolutely prioritizing making Mike feel smaller than being there for Lucy in this moment; this page is a pretty good example of that in itself! Lucy is right there crying to herself, and Augustus is more concerned with being smug towards Mike.

Wonder if the title is metaphorical for August too on what’s he’s doing

He’s crossing the line in the sand in what he’s doing too

Personally I’m choosing to see it as a lot of different lines for a lot of different situations. The biggest being Mike’s behavior and insistence on being outside (that’s it’s own can of worms but yknow), Lucy already running herself ragged dealing with her nightmares on top of the situation this chapter (I imagine she’s just Tired of it all in general), Augustus literally crossing the line and involving both himself and Lucy with Mike despite her not wanting anything to do with him, etc etc.. I could even see this applying to Mike and James’ friendship considering Mike was trying to string him along as well, but that’s to be determined.

I…don’t think he’s going to let Mike say anything here, pause or not.

I hope Lucy doesn’t hug August

He was outright a disgusting prick this whole chapter

If anything I hope Lucy doesn’t hold back and call HIM out too

“Take some time” meaning hours or some days. 😐

How about a whole few weeks or months?

How are you still defending him if he basically outted her suicide and medical history IN public with strangers. This is basically opposite of protecting her.

Sure, your opinion is yours. I think that by now you understand that you and me view Augustus in two completely different lights. I don’t mind her scolding him, but I still think that he should give her a hug (or try) because she obviously needs one right now. and despite his fuck ups, I still see him as the best friend she ever had.

I absolutely agree. As nice as it would be for the two of them to talk it out, nearly every opportunity they’ve had to do so, Mike has somehow messed it up. From following Lucy home from school, to following her home from taekwondo, to following her around on Halloween, blowing up at or glaring at her for daring to be cold towards him or ignore him, the Entirety of Eternal Flame… Ever since she came back, she’s been trying to avoid him and leave him alone, for the good of BOTH of them, and every time, he has been the one to approach her.

As much as I understand the complicated feelings on both sides of this, the best option for the two of them from the start would have been giving each other space for a Long while. And after Eternal Flame, I think it’s completely fair to say that if they’re ever going to make up, it’s gotta be after they move on on their own terms first

Got really wordy with that oops LOL. I think a lot of folks have the idea that the two of them NEED to repair their relationship, and it’s just like…. Well realistically, no, they do not. Obviously we as the audience want and expect them to, but if we’re being real about this, two people who only ever seem to make the other miserable do not actually have to “fix” their relationship. They could just stop talking to each other, and have that be it. Sometimes cutting someone out of your life is a good thing, even if it hurts!! (I say this as someone who has seen this irl Over and Over again)

The frustration from others (myself included) might be more over the fact that while yes, moving on is the best move, this situation has forced them together. It looked like an opportunity for them to hash it out, but Augustus has stepped in before that could happen. And for what?

Oh for sure!! I have a lot of thoughts regarding Augustus’ behavior in this chapter. It’s one thing for him to stick up for Lucy, it’s another to start an entire interaction and then interrupt it when Mike might explain himself. Though, to play devil’s advocate for a second, I could see a reasonable explanation for him stopping Mike from speaking: Mike DOES have a tendency to try and deflect his actions or explain himself away, which makes himself not look bad (I mean this in an objective way, not a malicious one, I like Mike). Whether that’s actually why he stopped him or not has yet to be seen though. (And I absolutely wouldn’t be surprised if Augustus was just being spiteful)

You’re right, Mike has had a habit of deflecting blame, but Augustus didn’t even give him a chance to respond. He could have at least give Mike a second to try to say something before and shutting him up when it was clear that Mike wasn’t going to engage. And I do want to address one other thing you said, assuming that by “interaction” you meant the one between Mike and Lucy right now. As much as I think Augustus is being a dick here and that Mike has a right to respond to Lucy, it still was technically Mike who dragged Lucy into this. He was the one who made a rather frivolous accusation towards her.

That’s a fair point actually! Poor wording on my part, Mike definitely is the one to directly drag Lucy into this. I do wish Mike had maybe been given just a little more of a chance to respond, I totally agree with the idea that Augustus could have seen if he was gonna own up to his actions first.

I know the situation is more complex than this, of course. Mike’s subsequent violent outburst was wrong, and his sudden inclusion of Lucy into this spat was uncalled for. But hoo-wee, Augustus seems hellbent on making this worse for everyone involved.

I seriously hope lucy of all people call August out of what he’s doing when this is over or when they are alone….

Isn’t going to happen while Mike is still playing victim anyway

TRUE !!

August just made things worse imo

While I want Mike to recognize and grow

This is just disgusting how it was went Bout.

My biggest issue of all is he dragged Lucy into it when she wanted no part of it

And the fact her suicide and medical history were outed in public and with strangers.

How is this even ok or justified?

Absolutely none of its okay, my only condolence is that the drama cats aren’t real and don’t actually feel pain.

Gonna be interesting, because while he may not care if he looks like an asshole other people will notice the sadism of it. The gleeful look while Lucy/Mike are clearly upset. This random troll starting shit out of nowhere, openly and obviously manipulating people. It will undermine everything he is trying to do. They flat out weren’t talking, he made this happen, tons of people saw this start

I don’t think Augustus really understands what he’s doing. I don’t think he’s protecting Lucy or attacking Mike. I think he’s re-living his trauma with Melanie and is trying to use Lucy to assure himself that he can protect someone

🎯🎯🎯

EEEEXACTLY!!

ok but I don’t think Mike was going to say anything helpful to his cause and that’s why I want Augustus to allow it

Mike should get to say his piece; it would be really dramatic. It might even make Augustus verbally giga karate chop him.

Or maybe Augustus should’ve never approached Mike about coming outside in the first place after he kept the 1st promise. Only to air out Lucy’s trauma to a stranger, just so he could back Mike into a corner over an assumption.

Which it was, because Augustus doesn’t know what’s been bothering Lucy recently. Or if her current nightmare sequences are even related to Mike at all. None of us know yet!

However, Augustus purposely put them both in a position of proximity. While claiming to be protecting Lucy. Yet how is smirking in Mike’s face while Lucy is crying and shaking over what just happened protection? Simple answer, it’s not. A protector doesn’t do things like this.

Then he had the nerve to stop Mike from speaking when he put both of them in this situation. Is a crap ton of audacity. When Mike would’ve never attempted to speak to Lucy if it wasn’t for Augustus.

So let’s keep it real. This situation may have been a product of Lucy and Mike’s past. Yet it was completely orchestrated by Augustus who didn’t care about anyone else, just his own self-gratification.

please read this while imagining me as charlie from it’s always sunny in front of the pepe silvia red string board

Although the theory sounds kinda plausible. I doubt Augustus would jeopardize himself to meet with Alejandro knowing he doesn’t want to be found by him. Along with him turning Mike in to Alejandro I don’t think Augustus is that insane to do something that borderline crazy. On top of that, August probably doesn’t even know the interaction that happened between Mike and his friends with Alejandro so imagine if Lucy found out what Augustus did….. yeah in a way the plot would go borderline insanity.

aug does have some knowledge on the interaction alej had with The Crew because he was supposed to help lead alej to them/help find them and then got distracted by daisy. there’s been multiple references to the fact alej wants to find them (particularly mike and lucy) and augustus is aware of it. he did choose to help lucy when she was bleeding out rather than call alej to her (which lucy even thought he might! its why she freaked out when augustus pulled out his phone and made the comment about making things easy for him, iirc). i also think augustus could totally stage something to lead alej to mike without risking himself! i do agree that the main things keeping him from it is the risk factor, his hatred of alejandro, and knowing that lucy would almost certainly Not Approve. but if pushed far enough into this weird guard dog complex he has going on… i’m just saying HEAR ME OUT.

the plot would definitely go sideways though LOL but i feel alejandro is definitely gonna come back around in some way. he has been haunting the narrative all this time so i feel like something is likely to happen with him even if it isn’t as nutso as i’m dreaming it might be

Oh for sure, I agree there’s definitely going to be a 2nd encounter with Alejandro, I mean I’m sure Alejandro hasn’t gotten over the fact Augustus left him and if Toby was to snitch him out 100% Alejandro will be more willing to find him. I definitely see Alejandro as some antagonist of this comic since he is definitely had some negative impacts to some of the characters in this comic and still have some plot left about him wanting to get some sort of revenge.

I also think, Augustus is someone who could definitely back track and do something as to lure Alejandro to Mike based on the events that are happening in this chapter. If Augustus is willing to go this far to burn these cats further apart, I’m sure he is willing to make the decision to sacrifice Mike to save Lucy and although some have a good reason to applause this from Augustus because he is trying to protect Lucy when he couldn’t do the same for his ex-love. I’m sure later on the road if that was to happen he will deeply regret it as every action has a consequence

That’s what I also think. Agustus is so defensive because there’s already one friend (ex lover) that he couldn’t protect. I also agree on the Mike part. For once he should take time to reflect better.

But what he said is true. It wasn’t simple. If things had been simple they both would’ve admitted their feelings for each other from the very beginning and would’ve been a healthy couple right off the bat.

Yet the fact of the matter is, due to their own insecurities it was never going to be simple. You may not think the conversation might’ve been productive. However, let’s not get it twisted. What we are witnessing right now. Isn’t Mike or Lucy’s fault.

This is a product of Augustus’s actions and he didn’t care who got hurt. Airing out Lucy’s trauma to a stranger, backing Mike into an unnecessary corner based on his own speculations, then gloating after hurting two people who are already vulnerable. One of which he says he’s protecting.

Yet how did any of this protect Lucy? All I see is a young man who overstepped and is now gloating about the damage he caused to everyone around him. Because smirking in Mike’s face while Lucy is off to the side shaking and crying because of the wounds he reopened over a hunch. Isn’t and will never be the actions of a protector.

Then again, this isn’t the first time that Augustus has gone too far. So I guess Mike and Lucy aren’t the only one’s who still have much growing to do.

Mike assaulted Augustus that wasn’t just a push down. Augustus was hurt and in a daze. Saying it was just a push is brushing off physical violence. Lucy only resorted to physical violence to get Mike to back off from hurting Augustus further. It was self-defense and she immediately backed off when it wasn’t needed anymore. If you’re talking about her previous episodes of physical violence, then nobody is saying that it was okay. She’s given more grace b/c unlike Mike she makes a conscious effort to change.

I think Augustus did the right thing b/c for once Lucy got to express her feelings and sadness instead of throwing the usual scorn. Also, she hasn’t been ‘healing’ she’s been getting worse enough for Augustus to notice. That’s why he asked for space from Mike (which Mike just casually ignored after agreeing to it). Mike hasn’t grown at all even now he is just downplaying his actions to make himself look better.

I diaagree. His body language reads more as being startled and having a PTSD reaction from past abuse. He seemed scared not hurt but even so, I advise you to look back at those pages. Mike approaches, grabs his face and shoved him down. He was already mostly to the ground when he did it too. You can tell by how hunched over Mike is before he shoved him fully. He doesn’t act like he’s going to do anything else. Observe the distance between them when he starts yelling and the smirk on augustis’s face. He was fine. Lucy kicks him because he starts to say she strung him along.

This is what I mean when I say people give Lucy a pass. It’s exactly how she treated him before everything went down. She would lash out when her emotions got high. This is a backslide for her using violence because her emotions are difficult to manage. I think she realizes this too when we see her observe how much she hurt him in that moment.

Both of them performed assault here.

Augustus did not do the right thing in my eyes. She could have at any point she wanted aired these feelings with Mike but did not want to. Augustus is forcing her to be in a situation she did not ask for because it’s satisfying for him to bully what he perceives as another bully. He outted Lucy’s personal information to a stranger to make Mike twist in the wind. IDK about you, but I think it’s really shitty to tell an absolute stranger about a very personal and traumatic exerience without talking to you first. He wasn’t thinking of Lucy first in this. He was reveling in a feeling of power over someone he deemed lesser.

Lucy is a strong girl, she doesn’t have a problem speaking her mind, and instead of having this confrontation she wanted to just try to move on. It’s clear in every other interaction she’s had with the past friend group. This wasn’t what she wanted or what was good for her. She gave Paulo more space to talk and he sexual harassed her for years. Again something people just glaze over because they like Paolo.

Also, Mike is allowed to talk about his perspective as well. Despite how everyone seems to feel. They were both bad to each other but no one will let Mike actually talk about anything. His POV is constantly shut down. People cannot grow or move on if they can’t work through those feelings. Saying that Mike needs to just shut up and deal is really not helpful for anyone.

They both hurt each other in different ways, but only Lucy gets to be hurt by their shared experience. That’s why I say it feels very uneven in whom has been given grace.

Preach

THANK YOU!

Finally! Someone who actually understands and see the real problem here so much

And above all, not everyone here is in the right for what’s all happening through our this whole thing

And like you said, August isn’t protecting or helping, he just reopen personal wounds and threw Lucy into a situation she did not wanted to be in again

That’s exactly why I can’t wrap my head around.

Why are people defending or justifying August when he basically outed Lucy medical history and suicide attempt IN PUBLIC and in front of people she doesn’t know? On top of it all, drag her in a situation related to Mike she doesn’t want anything to do or deal with at all when she wants to move on.

Like how is that defending or protecting her at all??

As you said, August could have likely hinder or damage her healing process, cause he basically reopened trauma and wounds for her, just to drag Mike through the mud and get him to feel how Lucy feels

None of this is ok at all for any side

I really hope the writers got something good planned for this end ch cause I’m honestly scared it’s just gonna be August wins with no consequences, or any consequences on either side and it all falls on Mike.