Webcomic / Bittersweet Candy Bowl

A bowl full of cats and dogs

Bittersweet Candy Bowl is a Teen Dramedy webcomic by Veronica Vera. It follows a group of feline and canine friends through middle and high school, focusing primarily on a pretty, white-colored Tsundere called Lucy and her ongoing crush/rivalry with Nice Guy Mike. Also featured are Love Triangles (actually, a developing Love Dodecahedron) among Jerk with a Heart of Gold Paulo, cheery Teen Genius Daisy, Cloudcuckoolander David, and Abbey, Daisy's new boyfriend with a troubled past. There's also Jessica, a strong-willed cheerleader who has a fancy for Lucy and hates/dislikes Tess, Rachel, a cheerful cheerleader, and Jasmine, Paulo's new girlfriend.

An example of Cerebus Syndrome, Bittersweet Candy Bowl started off almost entirely lighthearted but delved into heavy drama pretty early on — there are still jokes, though they are increasingly rare.

While the series makes use of anthropomorphic cats, dogs, and birds, these are derived more from the Funny Animals trope than any serious links to whatever classifies as a true furry comic. The characters were developed when the author was young and presumably unaware of the Furry Fandom.

The comic is an ongoing serial and is published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, alongside an occasional Ask Blog on Tumblr. Be warned: this comic has an enormous amount of teen angst melodrama.

You can also take a look at the Webtoon release, which starts from the beginning with updated art and dialog.

It's been running since 2006.

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Bittersweet Candy Bowl contains examples of:

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder:
  • Mike does not appreciate being told this by his friends when they try to get him to accept Lucy's confession despite already being in a Long-Distance Relationship.
  • In "Eternal Flame" Sandy admits this is the case with her, having developed feelings for her hairdresser and ultimately breaking things off with Mike - only to immediately regret it and get Mike to take her back...right after he had a rebound kiss with Lucy.
• All Just a Dream:
  • The chapter "Wonderland". Lucy "wakes up" at the beginning of the chapter and the chapter before it was an April Fool's comic, making it all just a dream as well.
  • Chapter 59 was All Just A Daydream. Paulo's. Best. Daydream. Ever.
• Alternate Universe:
  • According to the commentary, the chapter "Another Path" was originally intended to be set in an alternate universe where Paulo had sex with Lucy during her mental breakdown in "Another Shoulder". The final version has it as a daydream of Paulo's. Paulo does daydream about the events of that chapter, yes, but Word of God says they would have happened exactly like they did if Paulo and Lucy had sex that night.
  • The incentives "Magic Tricks," "Disaster Dominoes," and "Another Chance" are all based in alternative timelines of varying similarity to the canon one. "Disaster Dominoes" was easily the most different.
• Ambiguous Syntax: Paulo and Daisy have a heart-to-heart about his feelings for James, and in the middle of the conversation, the former goes on a tangent about how he's jealous but probably not in love with him since he has feelings for someone else. When Daisy suggests that it's (still) Lucy, Paulo then tells her how hard it is to be in love with a great girl, but having to sit on his feelings since he's not sure if she still wants to be friends and thinks he doesn't deserve her affection. He says all of this while looking directly at Daisy.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Lucy's rejected confession of love to Michael in "A Distance Apart".
• Animesque: While the story leans heavily on Western-style funny animal people, the artwork still has a very noticeable anime/manga presence with the existence of chibis, the exaggerated expressions resembling typical anime, and how the eyes are drawn.
• Archive Trawl: One of the more effective ways to confirm details in any situation. The chapter descriptions can help when hunting down a page.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Chapter 100 has Paulo and Lucy having a fight after he discovers her friendship with Augustus. When he tells her that his actions are hurting him and that she needs to think of her former friends, Lucy says that she doesn't care about them anymore. In the heat of the moment, Paulo blurts out "So why did you even come back [to Roseville High]?!" It's the only time her "I've moved on" mask had cracked, and she couldn't even give him a straight answer.
• Art Evolution: The comic started off on lined paper in a simple grid style to ensure proper paneling with toning and everything. Since then, the series has gone through a transition to digital (with a brief stint in watercolors for Volume 5), and the characters given more standardized bodies. Though sometimes during Intermissions, such as "Everyday Life", the notebook format will briefly return.
• Art Shift: During "Escape Route", Lucy starts remembering the events of "Confrontation" in a monochrome, inked and hatched art style reminiscent of the early art at the time of the chapter's revamped release.
• Attempted Rape:
  • The mugger on Lucy in the Confrontation arc.
  • Final Fantasy Cat looked like he was about to do this to Daisy, but Abbey intervened, though it turns out he most-likely wouldn't have gone through with it. If that was the plan at all.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • Paulo and Mike, despite usually skirting the line between Vitriolic Best Buds and With Friends Like These..., have a nice moment after Paulo's car accident, where Mike tells Paulo that he's one of his oldest friends and that he's glad he's okay. After some teasing, Paulo ultimately thanks him sincerely.
  • Mike and Lucy also have several of these, at least until things between them go to hell in "December".
• Ax-Crazy: Non-canon incentive arc Disaster Dominoes' Kizuna was this.
• Beach Episode: The summer vacation arc, where Lucy and Mike's feelings for each other are put to the test.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: During his Breaking Speech to Lucy, Mike taunts her with the idea that she'll be isolated from their friend group while he's still among them. Come her return, and she's made peace with that fact, while Mike is in knee-deep shit with his increasingly complicated group of friends.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't abuse/insult a girl in front of Abbey, unless you want a face full of fists.
    • If the Confrontation chapter was any indication, Mike can be this way.
  • Don't be too flirty about Mike near Lucy. Or too flirty with Lucy, for that mattter. And expect violence from her if you've hit her.
  • This could be a bad sign.
  • Jessica hates it when called out about how she bullies Tess, which led to another button being pressed... Tess pretty much just takes it.
  • Mike would get another button in his long- distance relationship with Sandy. He gave out verbal thrashings to Sue and Daisy on separate occasions.
• Berserker Tears:
  • Mike, when he snaps at Lucy.
  • And again in "Eternal Flame" when Mike trashes his room after Sandy breaks up with him.
• Beta Couple: Abbey and Daisy's more or less drama-free relationship, which took a backseat to the drama-filled relationships of other primary characters.
• Beyond the Impossible: David wanted a way to climb a cliff without actually climbing. So he shouted "SUPERRRR PANELLLL TELEPORT!" and was suddenly on top of the cliff. He was surprised it worked.
• Big Bad: Most certainly Alejandro. His manipulations led to Paulo's jerk mentality, Paulo's phobia of barking, Confrontation in general, and he's being worked for by Augustus. He also remembers his grudge against Mike and Lucy.
• Big Fancy House: Tessa lives in one. Mike and Lucy are suitably impressed.
• Bittersweet Ending: "Grave Concern's" timeline ends with Mike married with child with Sandy, but in a long distance relationship and always having to make compromises. However, Lucy is actually well and truly dead; but even that's okay since she and Mike made amends in her posthumous state and she eventually became godmother to Mike's daughter.
• A Birthday, Not a Break: "Happy Hour" takes place during Rachel's birthday party. Rather than focus on her, everyone just gets wasted and airs out their dirty laundry.
• Black-and-Grey Morality: There's an obvious moral no-no in this world (Abbey's abusive father, Alejandro and his crew), but the rest of the main cast aren't above getting petty, vindictive, or resorting to violence for what they think is right, and there are some in the cast with less than pleasant views on others. However, the story doesn't treat them like monsters for it; it's all just part of their struggle.
• Blank White Eyes: Everyone has done it at least once. David may as well have it as his default expression.
• Break the Cutie:
  • Lucy got this in preschool, hence her lack of interest in socializing.
  • Lucy in Disaster Dominoes. After Mike finally got her to smile, he got run down.
  • Jessica got this from a lot of the school and Tess as a freshman.
  • The ENTIRE main cast in Confrontation. ...seriously.
• Breaking the Fellowship:
  • Starting with Mike rejecting Lucy's Love Confession in chapter 51, the main characters' group ("The Table" as they call it In-Universe) gradually begins to corrode and break apart, both out of frustration with Michael regarding his behavior toward Lucy and for other personal and inter-personal problems.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • There's a chapter, "Out of the Frame", dedicated to all the minor characters creating a "neglected club".
  • David winks at the screen and tries to get Paulo to address the audience.
  • Right before the example in Moment Killer, courtesy of Mike.
• Breather Episode: Several in between many of the more turbulent chapters, most of being intermissions. These are a few regular chapter examples:
  • “Crash and Burn” is about Lucy trying to keep her pets from seeing a naughty email. This happens while Daisy grapples with her self confidence, Abbey blows off some steam, and Tess’ past reputation starts slipping through the cracks.
  • “PDA” is about Madison being angry over being compared to Lucy, only to learn that Lucy is deaf in one ear. This takes place before “High Expectations”, where Mike explodes at his friends due to Sandy’s neglect.
  • “Popularity Contest” is about Sue trying out for cheerleaders when Stacy is embarrassed to hang out with her. This happens after Paulo and Abbey stop being enemies.
  • “Fuel Economy” and “Featured Attraction” are Paulo-centered chapters that take place after “Broken Bridges”, where Mike is called out by Augustus for getting Lucy’s hopes up. However, “Featured Attraction” still has a Downer Ending where weeaboos get away with demanding the subtitled version of My Endless Sunshower, much to the dismay of a dyslexic girl (and also Paulo).
• Broken Bird: Lucy after the events of December. She makes a gradual recovery near the beginning of junior year, but it doesn’t last very long.
• Broken Pedestal: Daisy’s crush on Mike has pretty much fizzled out after he verbally lashed out at her in “Witch Hunt” over Sandy.
• Broken Smile:
  • Lucy has one while her first Despair Event Horizon happens at times.
  • Lucy in Disaster Dominoes, to a dead Mike: "Ha ha ha ha... Sandy can't have you anymore... I'm willing to join you without a doubt... without a doubt... I love you, Mike... I'll keep smiling for you..." Followed by jumping to her death. All the while, smiling and crying...
• But Not Too Bi: Despite having almost two chapters dedicated to exploring it. Paulo being bisexual is rarely touched upon in the comic. While he does occasionally blush over a few boys and it's implied that he has a crush on Mike, his main romantic stories still mainly involve female love interests. Finally Subverted as the years go on, since Paulo discovering and accepting he also likes boys becomes a big part of his character arc, and he's later given a chapter exclusively focused on the fact that he has a crush on one of his guy friends.
• Butt-Monkey:
  • Kizuna is very clumsy. She loves David. David likes sports and forgets her constantly. You see where this is going.
  • Katie takes Kizuna’s place in the revised chapters. She’s pretty much humiliated in the “Field Day” revision.
  • Paulo had some butt monkey time randomly if Lucy (and sometimes Yashy) was nearby until high school. And then...
  • Tess has minor butt monkey time around Jessica and Rachel, and Rachel has had some in chapter 63.
• Calling Your Attacks: "AYUUU BEEEEEM", "SUPAHHH CHOP"
• Call on Me: Mike jolts to Lucy's rescue as she's being assaulted in "Confrontation".
• The Cameo: Many fancharacters given to the author have either become regular cast members or served as background filler.
  • Liam, a fan-made character, even had an entire intermission chapter dedicated to his relationship with Lucy. It has since been taken down and is only available to BCI members.
  • See the example for Breaking the Fourth Wall above.
• Cannot Spit It Out: "Maybe I should just dance around the subject and give everyone headaches. There, problem solved, the Lucy way." And then she did. It didn't help.
• Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Paulo is particularly protective of Daisy, and immediately shapes up when she's watching. In the chapter "Return", it's revealed that Paulo now thinks of Daisy as more of a sister anyway, and doesn't mind her going out with another guy. However, it is hinted at in "Back and Forth" that he still doesn't want to be seen as a sexual deviant in her eyes, as he immediately notices her and seems worried about her opinion of him when Tess and Lucy start some drama because of his sleeping around and being a man-whore in general.
• Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: Mike and Lucy. Originally, at least. As of "Pillow Talk", Michael acts like he can't stand Lucy, while Lucy seems to not be able to live without him. Now, no longer the case for either as of "Unspoken Rule". At least until "Eternal Flame", where Sandy breaks up with Mike, and he and Lucy seem to make up and even share a kiss...before Mike gets back together with Sandy, leaving Lucy heartbroken and Mike feeling exceedingly guilty.
• Catchphrase:
  • Lucy's "jerkface", Mike's "guh!", Yashy's "whore!!", and to a degree Paulo's abuse of the word "AWESOME".
  • David also tends to come out of nowhere with an "AWKWARD" announcement.
  • Pretty much every time McCain opens his mouth, the rest of the characters yell, "Shut it McCain!"
• Cats Hate Water: Lucy became hydrophobic after Mike almost drowned when they were younger.
• Cerebus Retcon: As it turns out, the difference between Amusing Injuries and an abusive relationship is all a matter of perspective.
• Characterization Marches On: Even if fan opinions don't change, characters will.
  • Jessica and Rachel were initially your typical high school bullies with little reason for singling out Tess aside from her being an easy target. As time went on, though, hints were gradually dropped that there was a deeper reason as to why they bullied Tess specifically, a reason that was fully revealed in "Pillow Talk".
    • Actually, they've always had their reason, as shown on this page. At least they did as far as Rachel's backstory was concerned.
• The Charmer: Used on Daisy and attempted unsuccessfully on Lucy. Both Augustus.
• Chivalrous Pervert: When the well-being of Daisy or Lucy is in danger, Paulo tends to forget his perversion in favor of helping them or, at least, trying to. He also reacted this way when Sue got hurt in Confrontation. In general, he can't stand it when people are actually jerks to the girls in serious ways. He has been willing to confront Mike for making Lucy upset (stopped because Lucy told him not to) and he more recently smacked Abbey in the back of the head with a volleyball for implying he would use Daisy then abandon her. He is loyal in his relationships and is more respectful to girls younger than him like Jasmine. His perversion as faded as he has matured.
• Clingy Jealous Girl:
  • Daisy. Frequently in early comics she tries to cling to Mike and force his attention on her, while he is only interesting in Lucy and Sandy. Mike doesn't appreciate it.
  • Averted with Lucy, she never expresses unreasonable jealousy or become more clingy because of it. She is clingy due to fear of abandonment but Daisy and Lucy would have had a much more antagonistic relationship instead of it being as one-sided as it often was. It was also Lucy that initially encouraged Mike with Sandy and comforted him when he was afraid of her never coming back.
• Combat Sadomasochist: Alejandro took two of Lucy's kicks, had his teeth smashed into each other hard enough to chip one and draw blood, and was still okay enough to beat Lucy senseless before Mike came back, smashing his face into an alley floor and still not stopping him. It took Mike and Lucy together to start the example in No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. And he beat Mike before all this happened.
• Comic-Book Time: The comic initially progressed at the rate of one year per real life year.Now the cast has been in the 2007/2008 school year for seven years.
• Comically Missing the Point: Functionally, most of the older students to Tess. Especially Jessica and Rachel, since the lot of them bullying her is a bit hypocritical at best.
• Compilation Re Release: While Books 1-3 are sold separately, 2020 saw to funding a compilation of all three books in an onmibus, featuring updated art for the earliest comics and rearranging some chapters and events, as well as adding a few BCI comics to properly characterize characters who needed it.
• Continuity Nod: Lucy's reaction to Augustus in 63 involves his past actions in 40.
• Corrupt the Cutie: Augustus' influence on Daisy during Awakening had this effect. Due to insecurity, she isn't fully 'over' him as she enjoyed the feeling of having his attention, even if she knows she can't be the one to help him.
• Covert Pervert:
  • Blur shows tendencies. Note the nosebleed on the second example.
  • Daisy of all people.
  • Played with when it comes to Paulo as he always tries to hide it in front of Daisy but he has been open with it with Lucy and other friends. While flirty still, he is much more respectful in more recent comics.
• Cute Bruiser: Lucy can kick a whole lot more ass than is apparent. She's also one of the shortest characters. However, while she is the strongest girl, she still isn't as strong as most of the boys. It is revealed later on that Mike and Lucy both take Taekwondo, which explains why they are the most capable fighters.
• Cute Mute: Amaya never talks for us. Apparently, she can talk, though. Still cute.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Lucy. Most kids excluded her so she didn't have any friends at first. Her only childhood friend eventually was Mike, who abandoned her for Sandy then viewed her as a Sandy substitute for a time once she moved away. She almost drowned trying to save him despite being unable to swim herself and became terrified of deep water as a result, fainting at the sight of it. The first time boys started to pay attention to her body made her so scared that she became more aggressive to scare them off and keep them at arm's length. Within her earshot Daisy and Paulo both made comments early on that validated her fears that guys only wanted her for her looks, and other people were just pretending to care, further justifying her overreliance on Mike.
  • Paulo. Poor and raised by a single father. Poverty alone can be traumatic in its own ways, but in a recent chapter it was revealed that his mother completely abandoned him. There is an earlier chapter that acknowledges his parents argued, that she would sometimes stay out all night, but this chapter addresses that and how it actually seriously affects him. Word of God in her comic comment also points this as why Paulo can be such a forgiving person and lets a lot of things be water under the bridge.
  • Abbey. His father was cheating on his mother and violent and abusive. His father blamed him while being arrested for ruining everything. When he tries to find out what happened to his mother, it turns out that she likely died in the hospital or some time soon afterwards. This shaped so much of his world view, that he could not accept that Paulo was less than evil incarnate for quite a long time.
  • Tess, since she was the girlfriend of the leader of the bullies and someone who was hinted to have drugged and raped her. He was a senior, she a freshman.
  • Augustus. He had neglectful parents and had to steal to look after himself. He joined Alejandro's gang at a young age. Alejandro's girlfriend is implied to have had sex with him while he is underage. Toby knows and blackmails him, so Augustus hasn't been able to leave them even though he wants to.
• Darker and Edgier: The webcomic gradually becomes more of this over the course of the story, especially after chapter 68.
• Date Rape Averted: Abbey stops Final Fantasy Cat from assaulting Daisy.
• Deconstructed Trope: The Tsundere trope, and other tropes associated with it are deconstructed via Lucy. At first, her being a Tsundere was played straight, but over time those tendencies were shown to be a result of emotional dependence and deep psychological issues, and due to her being a Master of the Mixed Message, Mike just straight up moves on and dates someone else who doesn't waffle between her emotions. It also takes Slap-Slap-Kiss and Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male to their logical conclusion in that the target of her affections gets really freaking tired of dealing with it, culminating in Chapter 68.
• Destructive Romance: Abbey at one point breaks up with Daisy since he realizes the she's somehow still thinking of Mike after all they've been through. But since Paulo cares more about Daisy than Abbey, he essentially bullies him into taking her back. And it would get worse from there.
• Despair Event Horizon:
  • Lucy when she thought Mike died and shortly after, when she finally confessed her love for him and he rejected her. The first one came with Dissonant Laughter.
  • invokedChapter 63 is getting sadder and Lucy looks about at the horizon here. She was okay, then Mike ignored her existence. Now... Oh good. She's okay. Or acting okay.
• Diabolus ex Machina: Perhaps everything in Confrontation until the end when things started getting better.
• Disaster Dominoes: To the point that there was an incentive called "Disaster Dominoes." A very fun incentive.
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Abbey's anti-bullying goals and measures in chapter 62 were... extreme.
  • Also, for having a not-yet-confirmed relationship long distance with Sandy, Mike was brutally beaten by Paulo and the Female Student Body for his friendship and UST with Lucy in chapter 20. Twice. Played for Laughs. That particular gag even continued into the next 10 or so chapters. Quite a few fans considered it to be very unfunny.
• Dissonant Laughter: "Barking... barking... endless barking. Hahaha"
• Distinctive Appearances: With their accessories included, every single character has a different silhouette.
• Domestic Abuser: Abbey's father toward his wife Charlotte. The web comic has a canceled chapter◊ that shows the extent of his abuse. It was canceled because the author couldn't stand to continue writing it. Yes, it's that horrible.
• Drowning My Sorrows: What "Happy Hour" turned into, since they brought up Lucy. Even Abbey when Daisy inadvertently revealed she still had feelings for Mike needed a drink despite heavily protesting to anyone doing so.
• Easily Forgiven: An unusual example in "Unspoken Rule" - Daisy forgives Paulo despite his actions day prior. Said actions being ignoring Daisy on purpose after she called him out, choking Mike with his own scarf over Lucy sitting somewhere else, hurting Daisy's feelings, and playing a part in her and Abbey breaking up (for the second time). However, Paulo felt remorse for what he did.
• Embarrassing First Name: Katherine Katie hates it when not called Katie.
• Embarrassing Nickname: David calls his history teacher in high school "Mr. Poodle of Noodles".
• Even the Guys Want Him: When Paulo announces that Mike "plays for the other team", a bunch of guys leap in to show their interest.
• Everything's Better with Sparkles: Sparkles tend to accompany love bubbles, though Jazzie was getting too into it.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep":
  • "Final Fantasy Cat" was coined by readers for Augustus, back when he was a nameless character in his first appearances. He's still called "Final Fantasy Cat" though, even within the comic!
  • Vera has also given a name to another character commonly referred to by a nickname; "Rapecat" (for his attempted rape of Lucy) or "Confrontation Cat" (after the story arc he appeared in), now has the name "Alejandro".
  • The aforementioned history teacher is consistently referred to as Noodles by fans (and the author), since his real name isn't known.
  • Also, the "Flower Girl" that David stalks.
• Everyone Can See It:
  • Mike and Lucy just don't listen!
  • Abbey's crush on Daisy. Her crush on Mike distracted her to the point that she was the only member of the True Companions not aware of it.
• Extreme Doormat: More-or-less a valid description of Tess resisting others bullying her. Ironic, since they're doing the thing they hate her for.
• First Kiss: Lucy's kiss with Mike, though Mike's first kiss was with Sandy.
• Flanderization: Abbey, to an extent,. He started off as a polite and chivalrous character, only showing a slight dislike for the actions of Paulo and other characters. However, he has started veering into Jerkass territory, going to extreme lengths to keep ne'er do wells in detention. However, he also started to get more screen time, more friends, and more power, and he has some pretty severe mental issues.
• Foregone Conclusion: In "Confrontation", Alejandro mentions that his ex-girlfriend is the one who gave him the scar on his eye, and that he got "even with her" afterwards. Later in Chapter 86, "Trapped", Augustus is having a flashback to when he met Alejandro, and Alejandro was dating a girl named Melanie. Melanie had never appeared before this flashback, and Alejandro had no scar in that chapter yet. In a slight twist, while he does mess her up pretty badly, this leads to her being able to move away to live with her grandmother.
• Friend Versus Lover: A very large part of the plot revolves around Lucy (the friend, who had a huge un-admittable crush on him) and Sandy (the lover) competing for Mike's attention and affections, feeling that they can't both have him at the same time. Very much justified on both ends: Sandy pointed out to him how toxic and abusive his friendship with Lucy was and Lucy pointed out how he always abandoned her (albeit mostly unknowingly and unintentionally) once Sandy and Mike started hanging out together. Deconstructed later on in the comic as it causes the end of Mike and Lucy's friendship; Lucy herself Lampshades it in "Unspoken Rule" when Mike tries (and fails) to apologize and reconcile with her.
• Freudian Excuse:
  • Fridge Logic suggests that the reason Tess refuses to get close to Paulo is due to her similar past experiences with older students. She was hurt and doesn't want Paulo to be. The memories of what she went through will keep her avoiding the idea of trying it because she can't help but think she'll just hurt him if she does. Her moments of trying to be close to Paulo may be less likely in the future than we know.
  • Lucy was ostracized by boys and girls at a young age. She became less cheerful and got Yashy to love, as a coping mechanism. She's not so much unwilling to open up to others as unable to at this point. There's a lot of social trauma to work through before she begins to smile even half of the time. Hence, why her pets see her differently than everyone — she opens up to them.
  • Paulo's fear of barking and growling came from a somewhat-traumatic childhood experience based on them. His jerk-ish habits came from a jerk teaching him how to be "cool" as a child.
  • Abbey acting violent or particularly angry makes him break down at realizing he's acting like his father. Justified, in that his father was a wife-beater. Also why he took Abbey, rather than Abe, as his nickname. His father went by Abe.
  • The chapter "Pillow Talk" delves into why Jessica is so dead-set on making Tess miserable: Tess's then-boyfriend broke the arm of Rachel's little brother. When Jess tried to find a way to get back at Roger, Tess twisted her abortive first attempt to paint Jess as a slut.
• From Bad to Worse: Confrontation was full of it.
  • The incentive chapter "Disaster Dominoes" was even more full of it. At least in the prior example, it was just two (later one) mugger(s) completely overpowering the main cast. Disaster Dominoes mixed things up so that everyone's lives were complete shit.
  • Lucy's situation with Mike just gets worse in recent time after she confesses her love for him. And then December cemented it.
• Funny Animal: The cast are cats and dogs.
• Funny Drug User: Any time Mike is under the influence of something, he's hilariously random. Subverted in Happy Hour, where Mike finally confesses what he said to Lucy.
• Furry Reminder: Claws have been bared occasionally in the whole series.
• Gilligan Cut: In an effort to show Stacy that she can openly enjoy her geeky hobbies and be seen as a cool and popular girl, Sue tries out for the cheerleading squad. One cry of "Watch me!" later, and she's in the hospital with a broken leg, because a girl who doesn't do much athletic activity was never going to keep up with the rest.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: David and Paulo are very expressive with their hands, and find themselves pointing tons.
• Good Adultery, Bad Adultery:
  • Sandy is treated, for the most part, as a Sympathetic Adulterer, following the reveal that she cheated on Mike with her hairdresser Francis. While she initially breaks up with him over it, she expresses deep regret and begs him to give her another chance almost immediately after, explaining that she was just confused about her feelings due to the loneliness caused by her Long-Distance Relationship with Mike and insisting that Mike is the only one she loves. She also makes a sincere and concerted effort to repair the All Give And No Take nature of her and Mike's relationship. It also helps that she seems to have mostly had an emotional affair with Francis. All of which makes Mike feel extremely guilty for, despite agreeing to get back together with her, not quite being able to forgive her.
  • Mike himself also falls on the Sympathetic Adulterer side of things. He appears to experience a resurgence of his feelings for Lucy as his relationship with Sandy deteriorates, and even kisses Lucy within the extremely brief period (that is, less than a single night) during which he and Sandy were broken up. While he considers this infidelity on his part, telling Daisy in "Double Down" that he feels Sandy developing feelings for Francis was Laser-Guided Karma for his own wandering eye, he remains fairly sympathetic by having similar reasons for cheating as Sandy herself, who had also been treating him somewhat poorly.
• Hidden Depths: Paulo's confident and somewhat unaffected-emotionally personality has issues of confidence after Jessica and Rachel lie just to hurt Tess, is aware of how he spent most of his relationship with Jasmine playing second to most of her life, and, earlier still, him becoming the way he is now to impress Lucy after being too shy to even talk to her.
• Hit Me, Dammit!: After Lucy returns, Mike expects her to lay one on him during a school dodge ball game, and gets frustrated with her because she won't. She doesn't give him the satisfaction and simply catches his ball instead.
• Homage:
  • There were two chapters solely dedicated to Pokémon, and one based around Feel The Magic. There's many more within the story itself, usually referenced by David.
  • Also David's analogy of Paulo's situation during the summer arc repeatedly referencing "Gurren Lagann".
• The Hyena: Rachel is prone to fits of laughing while taking part in teasing.
• I Just Want to Be Beautiful: Daisy is particularly jealous of all the male attention Tessa and Lucy receive, and assumes it's because of her "unremarkable" body.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Sandy seems far less attached to modeling than her mother.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Lucy's issues started when she was ostracized by everyone in preschool. Also part of why she's so clingy at times.
• Incompatible Orientation:
  • Paulo begins getting jealous of Rachel's friend Matt in chapter 81, thinking that she's flirting with yet another guy. The end of the chapter reveals that although Rachel did indeed attempt to woo him, Matt is gay, and has an apparent crush on Lucy's brother, Jordan.
  • There's also Jess's crush on Lucy, although it's never really discussed.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Daisy, outside of incentives, seems like the good girl no matter what. Her dreams...
• Inelegant Blubbering: After having a nightmare about all her friends admitting their grievances towards her, Lucy cries for the first time in a long time, showing that she really does still care about them all.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Abbey and Molly's foster parents Kevin (cat) and Janet (dog).
  • As a small set of examples, Katie has flirted with Mike, Paulo has had flings with girl dogs (particularly Rachel), and David hits on Lucy a lot. Oh, and David may have a thing for Mike earlier and Abbey now.
  • Sue and McCain. Kinda.
    • Not to mention she's the only one who calls him by his first name and never almost never tells him to shut it.
  • It seems like Roger might be in one, or at least might've been in one in chapter 41 "Moving On".
• Irony: A semi-common occurrence, but Lucy's refusal to get closer to Mike before and the end of Mike's hunt for Sandy may be the biggest two. Dramatic Irony, perhaps.
• It's a Wonderful Plot: One of the subscriber-only stories puts Mike in one of these, getting to see what Roseville would be like if he had never been born. David plays the role of the guardian angel.
• It Doesn't Mean Anything: Lucy kissing Mike at the end of Confrontation.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Disaster Dominoes, Lucy says Mike is too good for her. She may also be holding the same view now that he's ignoring her.
• Jerkass:
  • Augustus and Roger, Tessa's ex-boyfriend. As well as Alejandro, often called "Rapecat"/"Confrontation Cat", who Augustus (Final Fantasy Cat) knows, with potential dark foreshadowing for the future.
  • Alejandro; the only thing good thing about him is that he might have a soft spot for his henchmen Toby and Augustus.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Paulo and Tessa; interesting in Tessa's case because she's trying to make up for her years of being a Jerkass.
• Kick Chick: Lucy can slap and punch hard, but it's her kicks that hurt most. Also see Groin Attack.
• Kick Them While They Are Down:
  • After breaking Abbey psychologically, Augustus starts making fun of him.
  • If Lucy hadn't stalled him, Alejandro would have crushed Mike's skull while down.
• Killed Off for Real: Kizuna's artist said not to use her, so she's gone. Also, Carson's gone too. As is Carter. In fact, the only fancharacters left are Tess and McCain; all of the others who weren't Killed Off for Real have been Put on a Bus, never to return.
• Last-Name Basis: Alec "McCain" McCain.
• Like Brother and Sister: Mike and Lucy used to be this way. Paulo and Daisy are, according to Paulo himself. The Love Chart says this is how Mike sees Daisy.
• Limited Wardrobe:
  • Many of the characters don't wear clothes or wear them at special occasions or specific places e.g. at Halloween, during the play, at batting cages.
  • Taeshi has a low opinion of her clothes-drawing skills but also doesn't want to field a lot of questions about why they do or don't wear clothes, so it is easiest if without is the norm. Background, minor or fashion interested characters are more likely to be drawn with outfits.
• Loners Are Freaks: Lucy's loner preference comes from how she couldn't find acceptance for who she was.
• Long-Distance Relationship: Mike and Sandy.
• Lovable Coward: Paulo's complete inability to cope with snarling and barking. He has an excuse for those. These two, not so much. Jasmine makes fun accordingly. The last link even has Abbey call him a coward.
• Love Bubbles: Paulo and Alegria. Lampshaded with McCain getting a headache from the bubbles as he stares at Sue.
• Love Chart
  • Official chart as of Chapter 50 here. Beware spoilers. Also in color.
  • And, an update was done. This is as of mid-63.
• Love Confession: Provides the trope image, even.
  • Abbey to Daisy It succeeded.
  • Lucy to Mike. It failed. Horribly.
• Love Dodecahedron: Though he showed minimal interest, Mike had an Unwanted Harem in middle school. Paulo had feelings for Lucy and Daisy along with other girls he's had flings with, Daisy has complicated feelings for Augustus, Mike, and Abbey, and Rachel has lingering feelings for Paulo. That's not even getting into the secondary or supporting cast here.
• Loving a Shadow: Lucy had a genuine concern about this in regards to Mike's feelings, especially as he sometimes called her Sandy, pretended she was Sandy after Sandy left, and when out of it, has mistaken her for Sandy. However, it has been shown many times that he had genuine feelings for Lucy. When he reveals his hatred for her and how he never saw her as a friend, Lucy may have taken it that he only had a crush on her due to both superficial reasons (i.e. looks, proximity to him) and seeing her more as a Replacement Goldfish rather than a true Second Love. However, his conflicting with his feelings in early comics, his own admission that he once really loved her and his desire to reconcile once she returned, show this is not the truth. His desire to be loyal to Sandy and learning his treatment wasn't okay, made him resentful and even say he wanted her dead, but when she did almost die, he was horrified and his bad memories gave away to the sweet ones again.
• Malicious Slander: One of Jessica's favorite weapons. One that was used on her by Tess in the past, to devastating effect.
• Man, I Feel Like a Woman: In Janurary 7 of 2011's incentive comic when, somehow, Paulo and Lucy trade bodies. Paulo's hands take notice rather quickly.
• Master of the Mixed Message: Tess also shows... tendencies... She really REALLY likes Paulo, but refuses to let herself get close to him, since she's two years ahead of him and will end up leaving soon. Cue drama.
• Megaton Punch: Lucy can be a bit violent. She usually isn't so often these days.
• Meta Guy: David is the most prone to Breaking the Fourth Wall and shout outs.
• Mirror Character: Mike and Lucy, surprisingly. As of late, both of them have been having some similar outbursts with their friends for similar reasons: Mike is angry that none of them care about his increasingly hurtful relationship with Sandy even though he pushed them away by becoming a jerk. Lucy is angry because she thinks none of them can help her, despite the fact that she goes out of her way to avoid them now. This is emphasized further by having the same character calling them out on this.
• Motor Mouth: Rachel is prone to blabbing secrets and saying tactless things when excited/amused. See Dope Slap.
• Narm: In-Universe example. Not the comic itself, but the movie Paulo and Jasmine go to see is apparently rife with it.
• Never Gets Drunk: Averted with Mike. He's a lightweight.
• Never My Fault: Abbey's father tore his family apart with his Domestic Abuse, but when the consequences caught up to him? He blamed Abbey.
• The Nicknamer:
  • Daisy (Mikie, Davie, Tessie) and Chirpy (girl-kitty, boy-kitty, curly-kitty, messy-kitty, meanie-kitty, boy-doggie), etc...
  • Yashy (Lucy/Mom) (Chirpy/Chirps) (Mike/Flea/Fleabag) (especially Daisy/Whore) (???/Blur), and Lily likes to add "-dear" to names.
  • Random people seem to call Mike "green eyes" and Lucy "blue eyes" in-comic. Most recent example is in chapter 61. Some readers consider it an ominous reference to a much earlier chapter.
• Nightmare Sequence: Chapter 91 (Dial Tone) is this, whilst also mixing in several Cerebus Retcons.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In "Happy Hour", a drunk Daisy apologizes to a drunk Mike over the latter's torment, only to admit her jealousy of Lucy in front of a sober Abbey. This causes Abbey to be insecure and break things off with Daisy.
• No Name Given: The characters' last names are a mystery, except Tessa because she's originally a fan character. Also, Blur. Amnesia does that.
• No Yay: In-Universe. David trying to ship Paulo with Daisy consistently squicked him. Since their vibe was Like Brother and Sister at the time, it's certainly understandable. Though, as David brought up, they're Not Blood Siblings. Jasmine agrees with the ship. At least teasingly.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: The rest of the school subjects Jessica and Tess to this treatment, even though (Jessica is not actually a slut, and Tess regrets the bullying she did).
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Alec^note McCain, Augustus^note Final Fantasy Cat, and Alejandro^note Rapecat are not often referred to by name.
• Opposites Attract:
  • Lucy, a textbook case for Tsundere, with Mike, a textbook mousy loser.
  • Mike again with Sandy, especially since he's a normal guy who's constantly cracking under emotional pressure and she's a celebrity who seems to have her life in order.
• Pantsless Males, Fully-Dressed Females: Generally as a rule most people avert this, but when time comes for a special occasion, all of the girls actually bother to wear clothes over their fur, but the main boys will usually remain naked save for an accessory.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Sort of. At the start, Lucy has her bow and Mike's scarf is blue. Mike gets another when he restarts his relationship with Sandy.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Lucy should get the phrase tattooed on her forehead, no matter how much she tries to hide it.
• Plot-Based Photograph Obfuscation: The very first page has Lucy holding up a picture frame with a crack obscuring Mike's face after Yashy accidentally breaks it. The crack would foreshadow Lucy and Mike's complicated relationship.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: "You hurt Mike. That's the meanest of all."
• Properly Paranoid: Possibly Justin's reaction to meeting David again.
• Rage Breaking Point:
  • When Daisy tells Jess to lighten up about Tess, Jess basically explodes and gives a tirade that amounts to, "You know what? You weren't there, you have no idea what I went through because of her so SHUT UP!!" Naturally, Daisy didn't take it well.
  • In "Happy Hour", a very inebriated Mike snaps after revealing how he drove Lucy to her Despair Event Horizon, slamming his friends for never standing up for him against Lucy's physical abuse towards him and thus adding to his overall resentment of her.
• Rape as Drama: Alejandro intended to do this to Lucy. Augustus intended it for Daisy after breaking her down. The latter one was mentioned here later.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: While the cast has done morally questionable acts to each other throughout the story, just about the only character who remains unsympathetic is Alejandro. He goes above and beyond some of the other jerks in the story (including Abbey's Father) by outright sexually abusing one of his girlfriends and nearly raping Lucy, who is still traumatized by the events of the Confrontation arc.
• Really Gets Around: Popularly believed to be Jessica. Averted, though, by Pillow Talk. Rachel,on the other hand...
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • In "December", Mike nastily picks apart how he perceives Lucy's character.
  • Paulo gets this too, from Jasmine. After he has broken up with her for Lucy, when Lucy is gone she walks into Daisy's study party and finds Rachel all over him. After the party, she picks him apart with a short speech.
  • Mike gets several from many different characters after laying into Lucy in "December" and her suicide attempt, but the one that stung the most was Lucy herself essentially cutting off all branches with him when he poorly attempts to apologize for his behavior.
  • In the 111th chapter, Burnt Bridges, Augustus gives Mike one in regards to giving Lucy hopes that the two of them are finally an item after a Big Damn Kiss and then immediately reconciling with Sandy afterwards, breaking her heart the next day.
    "You owed Lucy something after that night. Instead you undid every bit of good she did for herself. Every bit of growth she's shown. Now she's back at square one. All for something SHE predicted. Something she KNEW you were going to do. And the only reason she fell for your bullshit again was because she can't stand seeing you suffer. So please just leave her the fuck alone for once. I'd tell you to go fix it, but I know you can only make things worse..."
• Recap Episode: The first chapter of Book Two serves as this for all of the developments in the first few years of the comic, and Chapter 97 serves as a refresher for everything that happened since Lucy's suicide attempt and school transfer.
• Reformed, but Rejected:
  • "Pillow Talk" reveals the old Tess was quite the nasty piece of work. Small wonder she's had trouble getting others to accept her...The bonus comic after Chapter 97 shows that Tess' influence is still felt by those she hurt by spreading rumors, but at the very least Jasmine is on speaking terms with her. She reflected on her actions and even learned about part of the experience when she discovers she's bisexual, but that doesn't mean that they're willing to forgive her just yet.
  • Augustus proves to be the least toxic of Alejandro's cronies, even earning Lucy's trust by calling for medical attention when discovered her post-suicide attempt and properly attending school with Lucy and her family's help. The other cats, particularly Paulo, are still not too keen on him because of how he acted with Daisy.
• Remember the New Guy?: Let's face it, people: Suddenly introducing Sam, Lucy's brother SIXTY-THREE chapters in was a bit jarring... Which is to say nothing of Haley, Mike's sister, who was introduced five chapters after that!
• Retcon: As stated in its commentary, this page was supposed to foreshadow the appearance of Alejandro and Toby in Confrontation, as well as explain why Paulo has a phobia of barking but it was then changed to be random bullies and Toby just happens to trigger the phobia without knowing.
• Rule of Drama: Often in effect and a driving force of the comic, along with Character Development.
• Scars Are Forever:
  • Final Fantasy Cat has a scar he tries to cover up with his hair.
  • Kizuna has one on her left arm. She begins to explain, but then David cuts her off and we never hear how she got it. ^note It's been explained on the forums that she got it from a Yakuza hitman attempting to kill her after offing her parents.
  • Out of Focus, but Alejandro got a scar from his old girlfriend. It's one of his defining appearance details.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: While already pretty, the prom/carnival night Daisy and Tess were gorgeous.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Mike toward Lucy around the start of the comic. Paulo and Tessa as well.
• Ship Sinking:
  • Any possibility of Mike/Lucy, after Lucy cuts off all ties with him in Chapter 96.
  • Paulo/Lucy tanks hard when Lucy tells Paulo that he never had a chance in Chapter 97.
  • At this point, almost the entire BCB ship fleet is sunk at this moment. The only ones who are still stable are Jessica X Madison and Mike X Sandy (with the latter in real danger of suffering the same fate). Other than that, the only heterosexual ship that even has a remote chance at becoming canon is Paulo X Daisy.
  • As of "Eternal Flame" Mike X Sandy has finally sunk.
• Ship Tease:
  • Sue's example in Doesn't Know Her Own Strength, post crushing Mike, looks rather sweet.
  • In "Moments Apart", Abbey finds himself staring at Jasmine during Daisy's birthday party. He insists that she's just a good, supportive friend, but he's blushing the whole time he says it.
  • "Date Night", has James blushing over Mike. The two momentarily hold hands in the theater.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • David wants Paulo and Daisy to end up together, whereas Tessa and Abbey question Mike's relationship with Sandy when they would prefer him to be with Lucy.
  • Also the pets, who continually make allusions to the attraction between Lucy and Mike, are actively belligerent to anyone else who likes Mike (at least, Yashy is), and, well... this.
  • I say this shows they were right.
  • David in chapter 45 for Paulo.
  • The artist did the appropriately named Shipper On Deck. This may well explain where Liam popping up came from.
  • Sue got Lucy and Mike into the lead roles of her play, making them have to be near each other...
• Sex Is Evil: The main teacher from middle school was some kind of Sex Knight Templar.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Besides David (mostly) being absent from any major drama, when Lucy's pets leave with her and Blur runs away, you know dark times are ahead.
• Shout-Out:
  • Pokémon, Di Gi Charat, and Ace Attorney'' references are scattered all throughout the comic.
  • David apparently watches Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
    • Apparently, Taeshi reads Lackadaisy.
• Significant Birth Date:
  • Sandy was born on March 14th, known as White Day in Japan.
  • The Flower Girl was born on March 27, when Yukio Ozaki donated cherry trees to Washington D.C.
  • Molly was born on Children's Day in Japan.
  • Augustus was born on October 1st, which is the day 4chan was founded.
• Single-Target Sexuality:
  • Abbey only likes Daisy, unlike everyone else who have various crushes and attractions. Abbey and Augustus can't stand each other, but both are the same way over the same girl.
    • For Augustus, may' be disproved eventually, based on this hint at future events.
  • Kizuna only showed romantic interest in David.
• Squee: Abbey's stress ball, though his facial expression is anything-but. Actually, going by page comments, panel 7 makes some people want to love him. And others just find it hilarious.
• Stage Mom: Sandy's mom wants her to be a model.
• Status Quo Is God: 'Shake things up with Sue' campaign was being troubled by people wanting unrealistic things, rather than Sue and Alec's realistic goals. The point of the idea was to not just get some random popular kid in office. Silly Sue, realistic policies? Nobody is gonna vote for those!
• Stealth Pun: What David sees most innuendo as.
• Stock Phrases: "Oh, Carson! What'll I ever do with you!" He answered.
• Stupid Sexy Paulo: Mike's dream during the vacation. He was less than happy. He also looks really good in clothes.
• Stupid Sexy Friend: Both Mike and Lucy had this going for one another in earlier chapters.
• invokedSubbing Versus Dubbing: One chapter has this as its central conflict. Paulo, Daisy, David, and some other friends go off to watch an anime movie, but they all ended up at the dub showing instead of the sub. The trope is discussed at length by all of the characters, but the worst of the extremists play the antagonist role— they mistakenly came to the dub showing just like Daisy and crew, but instead of just dealing with it stop the movie wholesale and force the theatre to play the sub version instead. While most of the room cheers, one character is visibly upset because they like dubs and can't keep up with reading subtitles.
• Tears of Remorse: Paulo sheds a few in "Unspoken Rule" after listening to Daisy's apology.
• Teen Genius:
  • Daisy, to the point that she tutored Tessa, who is two years above her.
  • Sue, as Paulo said, is "...too smart for me. The annoying kind of smart...", suggesting she is probably one too. That gets mentioned in Confrontation, too. She is smart, but may be outclassed by Daisy. Chapter 62 has more on this.
• Tertiary Sexual Characteristics:What Lucy's bow originally was. It's not necessary anymore, but it's her bow. The real difference between girl and boy animals? In the absence of breasts, the girls have eyelashes, and the boys do not.
• Third-Option Love Interest: As Lucy and Tess struggle over their feelings for Paulo, he finally chooses... the freshman Jasmine, introduced completely out of nowhere! However, he still harbors interest in Lucy, and ultimately breaks up with Jasmine for her. Not that he counted on her moving away, of course. He gets a fourth option, Rachel, some time afterwards. The outcome of it all was that none of these girls get/stay with him. His real, continuous love interest was Daisy, given that their relationship takes the most turns and they receive a lot of Ship Tease in the later parts of the story.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Paulo goes through a variant of this from "Golden Hour" to "Unspoken Rule" after Daisy literally calls him out for his treatment of Abbey.
• Title Drop: Parodied in "Like a Bittersweet Candy Bowl". As the opening chapter of the original edition of Volume 1, the chapter acted as a character reintroduction for new readers. When Mike notices and contemplates how their character introductions show their positive and negative interactions, Lucy chimes in by not at all subtly asking if it's "like a Bitter Sweet Candy Bowl" in the title font.
• Together in Death: In Disaster Dominoes, shortly after Mike is killed, Lucy jumps from the roof of the school to join him.
• Tomboy: So much so that Lucy didn't get along well with girls in elementary school and only wanted to play with cars.
• Took a Level in Badass: Mike temporarily during the Confrontation chapter while he was drunk. But not for long.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Some view Mike as this after Lucy confessed her love to him. Chapter 68, for example, was just one of many moments where his bitterness got the better of him. Eventually he tones it down and realizes how awful he was being, at least. And then ramps it back when his relationship with Sandy starts to deteriorate, becoming so unpleasant to be around that he starts driving away his friends. This actually coincides with many of them rekindling their relationships with Lucy, which is ironic, given that Mike, during his "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Lucy, predicted their friends would abandon her in his favor.
• Tsundere:
  • Lucy is the premier example. This tendency doesn't go too far, or at least, isn't often narratively rewarded. Lucy, while occasionally sweet, is more often than not rude, condescending, and violent. Mike, the main object of both her abusive and dependent tendencies, finally gets sick of her BS, and even though he handles the situation less than well, quite rightfully points out that his friends always make him out to be the "bad guy" despite being all but trapped in a toxic friendship since before elementary school.
  • Madison takes over this role after Lucy's suicide attempt, being a mostly bratty but well-meaning person. She only lets out her dere when she's either with her girlfriend or she starts warming up to others.
• True Companions: Lucy, Mike, Paulo, David, and Daisy made the original five before Tessa and Abbey showed up in high school. Shortly after most of the main cast's Sophomore year begins, Jasmine comes into the picture. She is working towards potentially being a member.
• T-Word Euphemism: After Kizuna was inelegantly booted from the comic, the forum's swear filter was used in reverse on her name, to discourage further discussion of the character. When she has to be mentioned, it's usually as K-Dog.
• Two-Teacher School: There are several "repeat teachers" since high school.
• The Unfair Sex: When Mike first revealed he had a longtime crush on Sandy, he was immediately accused of 'cheating' on Lucy and suffered several Amusing Injuries at the hands of 'angry feminists'. This happened again at the end of "Left Behind", with Paulo teasing Mike about — Gasp! — talking to Tess and calling a 'crazy feminist SWAT team' down on him. Has since been deconstructed in that the utter Lack of Empathy Mike has gotten from his friends after rejecting Lucy's confession because he was already in a Long-Distance Relationship with Sandy only seems to be hardening his heart further.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: Paulo ultimately acts as this to Lucy, and Daisy is this to Mike. Lucy used to be this following Mike's dating Sandy, but her situation is complicated especially given the relationship troubles Sandy and Mike eventually have once she's revealed to have cheated on him.
• Unrequited Love Switcheroo: And how! First we have Mike crushing on Lucy, and Lucy's Tsundere reactions. Then we get Lucy toning down the bullshit and looking at Mike more romantically...after said Tsundere antics drive him away. And then Lucy moves on from the experience and cuts off her ties with Mike, and Mike's stuck wanting to apologize but can't since he wanted those ties gone in the first place, but a tumultous relationship fumble with Sandy leads to him desperately kissing (and getting kissed back by) Lucy despite everything.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Mike and Lucy, the series' primary couple. It is seemingly resolved when Lucy admits she resents Mike for his part in her suicidal depression, but we later learn it's just a front and both parties still have untreated feelings for each other. Lampshaded in the FAQ page, where for a while, the last question was "Will Mike and Lucy end up together (or something alike)?" The answer would actually blink alternately between Yes and No. Some people took it seriously, and it was eventually removed.
• Valley Girl: Katie and Stacy. Subverted with Stacy, since she's very skilled with the written word in spite of how she talks.
• Vignette Episode: "Everyday Life", the intermission chapter after 97, showcases various characters' lives and actions after certain events.
• Vomit Discretion Shot:
  • Lucy's reaction to Mike's "The Reason You Suck" Speech and subsequent proclamation of hatred towards her in "December".
  • One of Paulo's benefits at his job at a local Burger Joint is getting to clean up kid vomit.
  • Jess eats some bad oysters at a school dance and has to stay behind to, er detoxify while Paulo and two others head on home. This ends up saving her from a car crash; and adding salt into the wound she's the one to mock Paulo's beat-up face at the hospital later
  • In "Happy Hour", Sue, Paulo, and as we later find out, Daisy end up drinking themselves sick at Rachel's party. Notably, Paulo's vomiting arguably mirrors Lucy's Stress Vomit at the end of "December".
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Lucy again in "Carry Me" (Note that unlike December above, this scene was Played for Laughs).
• Waterfall Puke: In "Happy Hour" a drunken Sue does this partially offscreen.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Lucy's pretty tough, but reasonably deep water or the idea of trying to swim can freak her out easily. Paulo can be reduced to cowering by mean growling and most barking. Both have childhood trauma justifying it.
• Webcomic Time:
  • The Summer Vacation arc took practically a year, lampshaded in a Christmas comic◊: Once Mike realised they're still in Acapulco, the wintry scene changed to a beach.
  • So far, the comic is still in the 2007-2008 school year from the looks of it.
• We Used to Be Friends: Lucy's abusive Tsundere behavior towards Mike eventually results in a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech from him, which effectively destroys their friendship, and leads Lucy to attempt suicide and move away. Then, once she returns to Roseville High, she makes it clear to Mike that she has no interest in his stuttering attempts at reconciliation. This even extends to rest of their friendship group, as Lucy firmly distances herself from them as well...at least, until she gets back to school, where she amicably talks to them sometimes.
• Wham Episode:
  • "Confrontation" is the first example of this, where the friend group gets attacked by muggers, and after all that is over, Lucy gives Mike a kiss.
  • The entire Acapulco arc. Tess brings everyone on a trip to Acapulco, but Daisy and Abbey stay behind. During the trip, Mike falls off a bridge and almost dies, leaving Lucy a complete wreck. After this incident, Mike declares that nothing is going to happen between him and Lucy. And when everyone returns home from the trip, they learn that Daisy and Abbey have gotten together.
  • Chapter 51, where Lucy finally works up the courage to tell Mike she loves him... only for him to reject her on account of him already having a girlfriend. Possibly WORSE is Chapter 52, where Mike finally gets sick of Lucy's awful behavior towards him, leaving her nearly broken inside. Keep in mind that nearly the entire comic had been built upon Mike's friendship with Lucy, and his willingness to look past her attitude to see who she really was. Yeah. WHAM.
  • "Pillow Talk" just has to be one of the craziest chapters so far. First, Mike ignores Lucy on her birthday, breaking her more, which then reveals that he's been ignoring her since the debate in "Feline Filibuster". Then, The Reveal on why Jess hates Tess (see Freudian Excuse). And then Lucy's flashback to when she had her real first kiss and Mike gave her a chance to have a relationship with him. But then, she pushes away that chance due to them being twelve at the time. When it ended, Lucy then realizes that her chances with Mike now are gone. Yeah...
  • "December". After it seems like the two are finally somewhat reconciling, Mike is reminded why he's been avoiding Lucy for so long. Mike then DESTROYS whatever is left of his friendship with Lucy, leaving the already emotionally wrecked latter in even worse condition. Merry Christmas everyone!
  • "Breaking Up". Lucy gets Put on a Bus, Paulo begins to break down, and Mike finally begins to realize how horribly he'd acted in the past few months.
  • "Happy Hour". Mike tells everyone about the events of December, Paulo breaks down in front of Rachel, and Daisy blurts out her feelings for Mike in front of Abbey.
  • Chapters 95 and 96 are a twofer. Lucy returns, Abbey and Daisy break up, Augustus moves in with Lucy, Paulo and Rachel break up, and Lucy announces that she wants nothing to do with Mike anymore.
  • "Eternal Flame": After learning Sandy likes someone else and was potentially cheating on him, Mike vents to Lucy, who he ends up kissing. However, back home, Mike gets another call from Sandy who apologizes and claims to have cut ties with that person. Mike accepts Sandy's apology and gets back together with her, leaving Lucy emotionally wrecked once again and destroying any possible hope that they could become friends again.
• Wham Line:
  • "What am I supposed to do?!"
  • "I HATE YOU."
  • "Breaking Up" boasts several.
    Ms. Amalu: Lucy will no longer be attending this school.
    Paulo: You don't fucking GET IT! (In response to Daisy trying to calm him down when trying to learn what happened to Lucy)
    Yashy: G'bye, Mike.^note Up until this point, Yashy had only called Mike either "Flea" or "Fleabag".
  • "Happy Hour" also had one from Daisy to Mike.
    Daisy: What made [Lucy] better than me?
  • "Model Girlfriend"
    Sandy: Why don't you just GROW UP?!
  • "Love Again" has more than one.
    Lucy: And I'll have you know, [Augustus] is the boy who saved my life.
    Lucy: (After surviving an attempted suicide by jumping off a rooftop.) What just...It hurts...it...it hurts...what did I...
  • "Unspoken Rule"
    Lucy: I don't fucking like you anymore, okay?
  • "It's All In The Mind"
    Daisy: Well, at least you got Sandy, right?
    Mike: Haha, I wish. It's been weeks.
  • "Witch Hunt"
    Daisy: Maybe it's not all about you all the time, okay? (Calling Mike out for constantly insulting Lucy)
    Paulo: Yeah, figures I'd get the answering machine. (Later revealed to be him using Mike's phone to leave a harsh message for Sandy)
  • "Eternal Flame"
    Sandy: I think... I like... Someone else.
• Wham Shot:
  • Dial Tone episode 2: Mike turns the corner in school and runs smack dab into Lucy.
  • "High Expectations": Mike angrily slams Paulo's face onto the table.
• What If?: Many of these spin off from specific chapters in the series, and with the exception of a handful, are given the collective name of "Another [X]":
  • "Disaster Dominoes" (thankfully noncanon) asks "What if one of the characters suddenly became an Ax-Crazy mass murderer? The answer? Very unpleasent stuff happens.
  • Another Path asks, What if Paulo had sex with Lucy during her mental breakdown in "Another Shoulder"? Answer: Paulo and Lucy get together and the strip would end with both Lucy and Mike happy with their respective loves.
  • "Another Chance" asks What if Abbey didn't show up in "Love My Way"? Answer: Augustus would've just kissed Daisy, and she still would be talking to him. Oh, and Abbey and Daisy would not get together.
  • "Grave Concern" explores what would have happened if Lucy succeeded in killing herself. Not much changes honestly, but now Lucy haunts Mike and comments on the happenings.
  • "Another Flame" looks at what would happen if Mike decided not to take Sandy back after her fling with Francis. He and Lucy also have a much healthier interaction and decide to patch things up and start over as friends.
  • "Date Night" gets two offshoot comics, each where James gets with either Mike (in "Another Direction") or Paulo (in "Another Date").
  • "Another Choice" explores what would have happened if Mike had simply accepted Lucy's feelings in "A Distance Apart".
• When She Smiles: Lucy, oh so much. We, as the viewers, see a lot more smiles than other characters.
• Whole Episode Flashback: "Troubled Waters", "Misunderstanding and Change".
• Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Alejandro as he beat and brutalized Lucy.
• With Friends Like These...:
  • Paulo and Mike were "friends" since the fifth grade but only truly started to get along well during the time that Lucy was away as Paulo matured into being more open with his kindness. In the early comics especially Paulo invoked violence against Mike and hit him multiple times on different occasions. However, in the time Lucy has been gone, Paulo has become the one most likely to ask if he is okay, to reminder him his feelings matter and to express genuine care to him. On the other hand, Mike slammed his face into a table for trying to help him and snaps at him for his concern when it comes to Sandy.
  • Mike and Lucy. They were vitriolic best friends for much of the early comics, and Mike got very aggressive with anyone criticising Lucy despite her frequent physical violence. Mike got meaner after he decided he didn't deserve it and wouldn't accept Lucy getting nicer.
  • Daisy and Lucy. Daisy's jealousy, envy, and crush on Mike meant she would side with Mike, disregard Lucy's actual feelings, and criticised Lucy within earshot in Confrontation cruelly. It was only in It's All In The Mind that this was finally confronted with Daisy going on and on due to envy. This led to Lucy finally snapping and crying, briefly showing how vulnerable she really felt when receiving unwanted attention and how much she really cared for protecting Daisy. This outburst finally makes Daisy see sense and in Witch Hunt and Unwanted Gift, she starts to defend Lucy, offer her some of the same protectiveness back and call out Mike's unfair behaviour.
  • Mike and Daisy. Mike has often been blunt to Daisy, shutting her out, ignoring her, and being cold and uncaring when she gets on his nerves. Daisy can be pushy, especially early on, but rarely does she do anything cruel. When too caught up in his dramas with love interests, he fails to notice anything is wrong with Daisy even when she is absent from the table, which Abbey calls him out on. When it comes to Sandy, he also gets so wrapped up in his feelings, he never notices or cares how much Daisy ends up hurt. In Witch Hunt he purposefully uses her sensitivity about the fact Sandy forgot her to hurt her after she makes a passive-aggressive comment about Sandy. Why would Daisy need an enemy when she has Mike to lower her self-esteem and always care more about someone else's feelings?
  • Augustus lampshades this in Witch Hunt by asking how any of these people are friends. There are many occasions where they would have been justified in ending these friendships.

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