Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Either he invites her along to watch as friends or it’s a two page spread “lmao gottem” smug face no inbetween /joking

Next Paulo is nice and then sue crashes tf out

Unrelated note and major plot point, but is Lucy supposed to be wrong about Mike always being a manipulator who hurts others in the same way Mike is supposed to be wrong about Lucy in December? Not trying to be disrespectful.

I like for how expressive David typically is, he seems to rarely changes expressions during tense/uncomfortable moments like this

Volumes 1-4 Paulo would absolutely rub salt in the wound, so I’m praying that current day Paulo will actually take his character development to heart and be mature about it. If he starts acting smug, then he’s essentially proving she was right to have ignorant mindset about him.

David, sensing the upcoming opportunity as the tribunal favor shifts to Paulo, manifests a tie for his movie date with Paulo. Gotta class it up a bit for his best boy

James is just learning how much of a meds this group is

Ya this is going to be very humbling for Sue most likely. Either that or Paulo is going to act like a jerk to make her “right” and then forfeit the tickets. But that would be so… Tropey? Like that’s the kind of thing writers do to extend the plot and add tension, but it’s also the stupid kind of shit a teenager might think to do. >_o

I love Sue, but this is deeply satisfying and necessary.

Now I feel sorry for Sue. Maybe Paulo will comfort her, or put on a stupid act that makes her feel superior.

I still hate you James, but good call out on Sue.

They’re not wrong but I also feel for Sue so much. Paulo has always put her down, often dismissing her as an uptight nerd and implying the things she cares about don’t matter. And finally she had the opportunity to use those kinds of knowledge he often dismissed to stick it to a guy she still clearly sees as a bully who looks down on her for having them. It must hurt to be shown up by him in those very things. She’s still in their crutches too, her last humiliation trying to prove herself physically worthy of respect wasn’t too long ago. And now she feels she’s lost in the mental arena too, and to the very guy who’s mocked her for being good at that. She is always trying so hard to prove herself and falling painfully short. I think in this, her and Paulo have more in common than they think, and I wish they could find a way to bond and empathize over that honestly. These two could be good for each other as friends.

I love the character growth shown here. In the past Paulo would have gloated over every single victory but now he instead calmly explained how he knew some answers

I know that “to show growth” Paulo should offer her the tickets. Really drive home that hes changed over the years and is pretty much just matching Sue’s energy when they interact. But I also don’t want him to have to take the high road. Let him ask if she actually wants the tickets or if she just doesnt want him to have them. Let him suggest trivia about the book!Hell, let him do a word for word reenactment of the Museum trip!! Anything other than him just giving them to her.

Probably a weird thing to think about in this moment, but in the parable of two parents doing a tug of war on a child to determine who loves the child more, it really is coming across how Sue would win the tug of war… because Paulo would be the one to let go once he realized it was hurting the child. Sue’s insecurities have had a vice grip on her for so long, and has yet to really experience the deeply empathetic side of Paulo. Seems she’s about to get firsthand experience with that side.

I hope Paulo takes the high road, he doesn’t need to be super nice about it or anything, but it would show people they can’t judge him the same way they used to.