Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Does David piss me off. EDIT: OH NO HE DOESNT LMAOOOOO MIKE defenders might not be happy tho…

Oh man that one cut deep

That’s so sweet of him. Mike catching strays tho lol.

oh my god David is going to guarantee a crash out

Well that took a turn.

Okay that definitely didn’t go the way I saw it going. David you are such a good boy <3<3

I mean he’s not really wrong. even for people that like him, Mike was pretty miserable to be around for a while, and as he started getting better he also started shutting himself off from everyone except James. so a lot of people probably would prefer Lucy to him right now

oooooh lucy needed to hear that, for certain. BUT MIKE DIDNT OOF

Oof David is cutting deep here- hopefully he’s not Mike’s “13th reason” 😭Still it’s nice Lucy gets a chance to see how loved she is

It keeps giving me a patreon api error 😭

I’m speechless.

Get those hands off her shoulders!!

Ah, geez…It’s what I expected but somehow also bad.

i doubt lucy will accept the offer but it’s nice for her to get reminded that she’s loved and cared for by other people. mike’s sanity will continue to degrade after this though lol

This won’t end well

I’m glad Lucy got to hear that! That’s so sweet! …Big OUCH for Mike though. damn what a horrible day for him LOL

He literally ALWAYS surprises

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

something that might also be important - Augustus, for all he’s been trying to “help”, is not exempt from Lucy’s trauma. he has links to Alejandro, which has caused negative responses in some interactions with him in the past, and in December he also had some real harsh words for her

David? he was kind of shitty to Lucy a couple times early on but for the most part he’s been one of the most respectful friends Lucy’s ever had (Sue is more so, but she’s got Confrontation links). and he has no links to Confrontation or December at all. of anyone, he might be the person in the best position to actually get through to her

…which is a strange thing to say about the guy who usually disappears when something important happens, wow

David was apperently not informed that Paulo/Daisy and Lucy aren’t on best terms right now.

Paulo especially not going to be happy when Augustus also shows up and sits with him and Lucy is not going to leave him behind.

As it stands now half the table would choose Mike, and for good reason

Ouch Mike, well that definitely is going to burn Mike more but in another perspective I love how David is telling Lucy how much she is truly cared for by the others and I think Lucy needs to somewhat hear this that she is still loved and others want to help. As for Mike, damn me boy just don’t get any breaks, but I still am optimistic for his ultimate kick back of redemption cmon Mike! Lock in!

Mike catching strays from David

This also works!

I hope Lucy goes back to the table. David tells everyone what he heard. SOMEONE calls an intervention or group discussion so they can get all of this out in the open and the healing can start. 🤞🏽🤞🏽 And Mike PLEASE tell someone about Sandy. You can defend her all you want but I need someone to tell you that you deserve more than an emotionally absent, long distance girlfriend!

my jaw just hit the floor…ouch

Oh god damn. Now if Lucy goes back inside, David follows, and odds are good James goes with him. And Mike not only loses James, he’s now in an even worse position, as not only can he REALLY not go back to the table with the rest of his friends without breaking serious boundaries with Lucy, but even going to the track team’s table means being in direct line of sight of Lucy at all times. Considering how much he fought to stay outside, that’s really not gonna fly. This is something Lucy needed to hear ever since Mike said this shit in the first place, but woof, this resolusion would put Mike in the most isolated position to date, and it really is a bed of his own making. He seems to barely talk to family about this stuff, and he’s not even talking with Sandy when she calls. This really is only going to get worse for Mike before it gets better at this point.

Ouch i actually do feel bad for mike having to hear that. I know david isn’t saying it to be malicious, as he thinks it he says it. At the same time though im happy for lucy, i think she really needed to hear that. This feels like a roller coaster ride and im waiting for the drop the is surely coming.

I really hope this is a turning point for Mike. Now that what he predicted for Lucy is happening for him, maybe he can make some real progress.

Edit: Adding more.

Mike’s been pissing me off, and the shit he said in “December” is beyond cruel, and pretty much everything else since then is pretty crappy, and he deserves scorn, but I do want him to get better, and I do want him and Lucy to reconcile. Whatever side one takes, it doesn’t change the fact that their story is absolutely heartbreaking.

yk what, hell yeah David. HELL YEAH

David’s got a pretty solid batting average for his ideas setting people up for disappointment, so Lucy’s probably cruising for a bruising if she says yes.

the karmic return of this page from december is juicy af

Hey well now that Lucy is invited back to the table and James isn’t going to hang out with him anymore Mike will have even MORE time to sit on his phone with Sandy, it’s a win win for everyone!!

lmao David really heard the readers saying Augustus was unnecessarily harsh with Mike and went “That’s nothing, watch this B)”

Ogh look how touched Lucy is because she knows David doesn’t pull his punches, and Mike…. also knows this… How awful it’s gotta be, being haunted by such a cruel and careless prediction he threw at Lucy, the karma

I think it says something that even David, who is probably one of the most easygoing and good natured characters in the comic, who abstains from all the drama involving the other characters, voices some level of dislike for Mike’s company. I wonder how Mike would feel hearing that from anyone else. What does it say when David, the one character at the table that Mike has virtually no beef with, no complex history, doesn’t even want him around? I know this is going to sting a lot for Mike, but I kind of hope this is his wakeup call for how truly isolated he’s become from everyone. Both he and Lucy need to hear this for different reasons.

Ouchhhh for Mike. But it is sweet seeing Lucy seem genuinely surprised and flattered. She is loved and missed!! What Mike said to her was not true!!!

While David is a more “neutral” person when it comes to their conflict, I still think he’s pretty obviously always preferred her over Mike. I don’t fully agree that EVERYONE would prefer her to him; Daisy would probably still stick by Mike, and depending on how mad he is at Lucy, Paulo might too.

Unfortunately, Mike has been lashing out at and pushing away his friends for a while. Daisy and Paulo being together is making him feel some kind of way; while they obviously still love him as a friend, he had a Complex about them liking him and may not be able to accept their support right now.

Ultimately, this chapter puts into focus one of Mike’s worst flaws: he *likes* having people pine for him, even when he knows he will never return their feelings. It validates him and makes him feel good about himself, and people moving on and losing their crushes on him makes him feel abandoned and alone. He wants people to keep pining for him because it boosts his self esteem. It’s a nasty impulse, but a very understandable teenage flaw to have.

Mike has always been the sweet golden boy that everyone loves (sometimes very literally), and that’s what he’s built his self esteem on. But what happens when that paradigm shifts? He needs to find a new way to value himself, and understand that platonic affection and love is still just as meaningful.

Aw David but also DAMN DAVID

Get wrecked, Mike

Mike is in a bottomless pit at this point

OK OK I have a weird theory for what is to come- of course none of us really know exactly what direction Vero is going to take it since they always throw curve balls at us 😂 BUT- my theory is:

After this, Mike will spiral similar to Lucy. And how Auggy found Lucy and saved her, LUCY is going to find Mike and save him despite everything because she understands and that is when they both start seeing on the same level. I have a feeling Lucy despite everything will be the one to somehow pull Mike out of his hole he has dug himself and he will start his journey to bettering himself like Lucy did when Augustus found her and helped her start her journey.

However this is only my personal theory/future guess but I’m sure it’s gonna be a crazy outcome no one really saw coming like normal 😅 but that would be wild if that happened!!! Idk I’m just daydreaming at this point 😂

David is a champion.

mega oof- david that’s a little too honest lol I do actually feel bad for mike hearing that

I wasn’t expecting such a heartwarming outburst from David! I doubt Lucy will be fully swayed but she might give a couple old friends a chance to be in her life again. And Mike…. well… he might be quite lonely outside now

Maybe the funniest outcome there could’ve been. I thought for sure he was going to stand up for Mike but this just makes more sense. Seeing all her old friends again could be a huge trigger for Lucy given her nightmares or maybe the support she needs to heal.

David being the karmic lynchpin that helps Lucy feel appreciated and also sends Mike into his (hopefully ultimately redemptive) spiral would be so amazing

I gasped

I think this kind of confirms that even though some people have attempted to suggest otherwise, Lucy has thus far believed she was not wanted back at the lunch table or inside in general and that being outside was probably for the better. Which, to be fair, was probably true for a good while while Mike was there. It makes sense with her dreams. Mike is a huge part of her pain but he’s not the only part. He’s the one that told her that no one really cared for her and everyone would gladly see her gone in favor of him, but the thing is that everyone had said things that made that easy to believe. I think Lucy struggles to know how exactly to be kind and tends towards bluntness and struggling to pull her punches or filter thoughts, much like David but also with some anger issues that have complicated things further. (Another reason why this page has made me think it might be great for those two to talk more.) I think rather than shunning her old friends out of anger she genuinely struggles to believe everyone’s not better off without her there. I mean only Paulo really objected to her lunch arrangements and honestly more on the basis of the company she was keeping out there

Damn Mike is taking hits from all angles

I’ll take things I didn’t expect at all for five hundred, Alex.

fr tho, last page had me DREADING this one. I was sure David would miss the point entirely here, but… this is shockingly raw of him. but it also feels very in character!!!

I actually really love this development. David saying it like this stays true to his happy go lucky and a little spacey nature, but also his honest care for the people he holds close. davids a silly little guy, yeah, but he CARES!!!

is it harsh on Mike? yeah, of course, but David being unintentionally mean is very in character of him, and, well…. Mike’s sort of dug his own hole here. he’s been snippy at best and downright CRUEL at worst to all his friends. slamming Paulo’s head into the table, the Halloween incident, Whatever The Fuck The Daisy thing was, the hallway talk with sue…..

like, Mike has just been unpleasant and awful to be around lately. and his friends have all TRIED to reach out and offer support, but he’s only ever responded with anger and shifting the blame onto THEM or Lucy.

play stupid games win stupid prizes, Mike. your actions have consequences. People are finally getting tired of being your self pity and misery drain target.

it’s an unsettling parallel that Lucy’s felt the boy’s in her life have only stayed with her because they want her sexually, and now Mike’s feeling like people only stuck around HIM because they liked him romantically. the truth being somewhere in the middle, of course.

but yeah. I’m actually really happy with this turn of events! it was unexpected but makes perfect sense for davids character, and it’s a stroke of writing genius. I hope this starts a trend of David being more than just a comic relief character tbh. especially given how he’s always been chill with Augustus. it’d be really nice for him to have a new friend to confide in and hang out with besides Lucy, and for Lucy to also hang out with!!

tldr; David best character. I will not be taking feedback at this time

People are hoping that this will lead to make changing for the better, but I really don’t think it will? A major part of Mike’s insecurities right now is fearing his friends picking Lucy over him. Even if Lucy rejects David’s offer to return to the table, what David is saying here will just confirm Mike’s fears. And, if Lucy does accept, Mike can’t sit with the table to uphold his boundary of avoiding Lucy. He probably won’t be interested in returning to track because of the fallout with James, so he’ll internalize this as all of his friends choosing to leave him. This won’t inspire any growth, only regression.

I like that when Paulo asks Lucy to come sit at their table, she’s like “naw”, but when David does it she’s like “omggggg <3”

Lucy: No!

David: Okay.

#TEAM MIKE ( Ngl though very valid points against Mike but still he my day 1)

Oh my GOD this is much more wholesome than I expected?????? MY HEART even if she does not agree to it, this must be so healing to hear for Lucy????? (Yeah the kick in the balls for Mike is YEOOOUCH but honestly I //love// seeing him eat his awfulawfulcruel words he said in December, also considering his behaviour at the table… yeah sorry Mike I fear you earned that one wholly by yourself…..) that all said I do worry for Mike’s increasingly growing downward spiral holy shit OTL

It’s very satisfying to have David say this while Mike is right there after he told Lucy that everyone in the group would leave her in favor of him. Thank you Taeshi

Man this is a roller coaster. While I love that Lucy got to hear this from David. I hate that Mike had to be there for it. We’re finally getting to see it all come full circle.

David being the best as always, just realized he must have been around when Paulo got his head slammed into the table by Mike, David’s keeping score

oh my god david 😭😭😭😭

Oof, you like going for the kill yourself, do ya? You’re one sick puppy, David.

That said, surprised as I am, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense for David to pick Lucy over Mike (for reasons other people have already mentioned). I don’t think David is saying this obliviously. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but in the panel where he says, “Is he kidding?!” his expression makes it seem like he knows exactly what he’s saying and means it especially since he was the one who pointed out the context of the earlier conversation with Augustus. Honestly, if Mike’s little kissy-kiss with Daisy somehow gets revealed here, then I can kinda see that being the final nail in the coffin with James. I also don’t see Lucy going back inside if Augustus can’t go with her, since she clearly still needs him for support. Hopefully though this eases her nightmares.

Ah see. David was cooking. Not only did he just take whatever self confidence from Mike right there throwing that “they’d take me over you” crap right back at his face he did it while reminding Lucy that she actually does have people who care about her. And then on top of that he did this all infront of James. Who’s likely just as interested in David as before.

David… I love you

Gotta admit, I did not see this coming from David.

David coming in with the steel chair DANG

@Spaghetti Sandwich how about now, Benson?

Hahahahaha, David twisting that knife in. There’s absolutely no way Paulo is going to let Augustus even come close to the table.

I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what the next couple pages entails ommgggg

I wonder how paulo is going to react to all this, eventually, James is probably going to tell him what he heard about Mike from August and it’s going going to be pi$$3d that not only did he told half of the truth to sabotage the new fresh start that Mike was working on, but also reveal all of Lucy’s baggage and medical information without her permission.

Paulo is going to lash out at August and maybe call him out on his bullshit.

Paulo might also give James more context on Mike and Lucy’s complicated relationship, so that James can understand why things between the two got so bad, so that james can properly judge whether or not to forgive him or be friends with him.

I agree David whiney mike over feisty diva Lucy who would ever want that