Draft:Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Bittersweet Candy Bowl
Author(s)	Veronica Vera (Taeshi)
Website	https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/
Current status/schedule	Ongoing Updates three pages per week
Launch date	2006
Genre(s)	Romantic drama Xenofiction
Original language	English

Bittersweet Candy Bowl is a romantic drama webcomic written by Veronica Vera (Taeshi). Set in a version of Earth inhabited by anthropomorphic dogs and cats, in addition to a few other animals, it follows the lives and romantic entanglements of various students of Roseville High School from 2006 to 2009. Initially adopting a slapstick comedic theme, it transitions to a mature and emotionally heavy arc after Volume 1. It also undergoes various art style changes and rewrites, going from a simplistic hand drawn style to more realistically proportioned characters in Volume 4, and finally a chibi art style from Volumes 5-7. The comic debuted in 2006 on Deviantart before being moved to a website in 2009, created with the help of Vera's husband Oliver Bareham (Suitcase) who co-created the website, moderates the official Discord server, and the fan art archive Candybooru.

Synopsis

Lucy is a short tempered tsundere khao manee whose dependencies, distrust, and insecurities leads to her becoming dependant on her childhood friend Mike, a kind and understanding korat. They're accompanied by sweet and caring selkirk ragamuffin rex Daisy, a troublemaking and womanizing somali Paulo, and the chipper and airheaded chocolate labrador David. The characters work together to combat the obstacles of their personal and school lives, often exhibiting flaws and taking out their frustrations on each other, but manage to see the best in each other and rekindle just as often, strengthening their bonds. When they transition from junior high to high school, they meet more characters who get involved in their lives, tasked with working to solidify a meaningful friend group and preventing it from falling apart.

Plot

Volume 1

In the American city of Roseville during 2006, Lucy lives a normal life with her pets and family, and is in a frenemy relationship with Mike, upon whom she takes out her anger by teasing, belittling, and hitting him. Mike, who has had a crush on her for years, accepts this as her means of coping. Lucy has the same feelings, but feels ashamed and insecure for crushing on the friend whom she depends on. Mike's kindness and academic record has led him to become a popular student among his grade with various girls including Daisy crushing on him. Daisy also condemns how Lucy takes out her anger on Mike, citing that Lucy gathers unwanted attention from boys due to looking more attractive despite her attitude, which Daisy envies. Paulo also has feelings for Lucy, which he immaturely expresses by hitting on her. Mike also rejects Paulo's proposal to just date all the girls in the grade but Mike insists on loyalty and waiting for Lucy's approval. He expresses that part of his desire to be romantic with Lucy is due to missing his childhood crush Sandy, who distanced herself from Daisy at the time and Mike did the same to Lucy, upsetting her and Daisy. Part of the reason is because Sandy has always been sweet with Mike as opposed to violent like Lucy. Sandy later moves away, subsequentially leading to Daisy having a crush on Mike for his kindness and envying Lucy. Her contempt towards Lucy is slightly aleviated however when the group is confronted by two robbers in an alley after getting lost in another town, despite violently beating Lucy, Mike, and Paulo, the former two retaliate and fend them off, showing that Lucy's concern for Mike's preservation is real. Despite their difficulties, Lucy's pets Yashy, Lily, Blur, and Chirpy encourage the two best friends to be in a romantic relationship. David also encourages Paulo and Daisy letting go of their one sided crushes in favor of dating each other, which they deny believing they're better as friends.

The friends enter high school where they meet students who affect them individually, including the junior student and ex bully Tessa who has to cope with going to school alongside the students who hate her for her past abuse. Paulo develops genuine feelings for her after initially lusting over her appearance, but she rejects him out of fear of their age difference and due to her past failed relationships. Daisy also meets freshman Abbey and sophmore Augustus, both being attracted to Daisy's positivity and kindness. Abbey gently befriends Daisy but comes to detest Paulo, believing that his womanizing nature and sarcasm makes him selfish and untrustworthy. Daisy, having grown up with Paulo for years and knowing his kinder side doesn't accept this and chooses not to stand up to Paulo when he teases Abbey. Tessa rejects Paulo, but also kisses him as a sign that she's sorry she doesn't want to pursue a relationship with him. Around this time, Mike recovers a phone number Sandy had given him, and after talking and confessing feelings to each other they agree to form a long distance relationship. An envious Daisy is manipulating by Augustus who encourages her to seduce Mike, which pushes Mike away. Augustus finds her, explaining that he wanted Mike to be pushed away so that he could have Daisy, and that Daisy can be herself without any worry of her appearance when she's around her. He forcefully kisses Daisy believing that she'll reciprocate but they're interrupted by a defensive Abbey who punches him. Augustus taunts Abbey for his past, claiming that Abbey's abusive father influenced his own temper, causing Abbey to break down and Daisy to angrily reject Augustus, which he respects.

Daisy offers to help Abbey control his anger and come to terms with his past, supporting him as he undergoes counseling. In the meantime, Tessa invites the friend group to a vacation to the Silvershore Island resort, during which Tessa comdemns Paulo for not trying harder to win her over despite her earlier rejection. Paulo and Tessa come to terms with the fact that they messed up their chance to be together. The group also meets aspiring musician Zachary and his best friend Cathrine, who help the group find Mike after he falls into a river on a hike. Mike saves Lucy from near death as he falls. Lucy, out of concern, still angrily argues that she never wanted him to risk his life for her. Zach talks to the two individually, learning that Mike has had enough of Lucy's dependencies and believes that any concern she has for him is fake. Zach also conveys to Lucy that Mike is being pushed away and that if she doesn't control her temper, he'll leave her for good. Lucy realizes that despite her denial she genuinelly loves Mike for having put up with and caring for her for several years, beginning to feel remorseful for how she treated him. The group returns home to find Abbey and Daisy together as a couple after bonding.

Volume 2

The characters move into sophmore year in 2007, and although Lucy has acknowledged that Mike dislikes the way she treats him, she still finds herself unable to relinquish her temper. She knowingly picks a fight with him, opting to do that over risking being rejected or mocked from confessing, and continues to physically lash out at him, causing Mike to completely alienate her out of concern for his own wellbeing. Paulo also becomes envious of Mike, angered at the fact that he has two girls all over him but that even after him controlling his lust he still isn't able to keep a relationship with either of the women he loved (Lucy and Tessa). Since David idolized Paulo for being a player, Paulo regresses and competetivelly tries to bag as many girls as he can. He has two one night stands, the first with sophmore Jessica who gets him drunk at a pub and coerces him into sex in the restroom, and the second with Jessica's friend Rachel who not only has a crush on him but also sleeps with him at a drive in theater. It's revealed that the primary motive behind this was to upset Tessa, who still has feelings for Paulo, as an act of revenge since Jessica and Rachel were both bullied by her. This also upsets Lucy, who begged Paulo for sex to cope with the fact that Mike is alienating her, which Paulo rejects out of respect for Lucy, opting not to dehumanize the girl he loves. Paulo also forms a relationship with hard working and studious freshman Jasmine, whom he decides is too pure and innocent to selfishly seduce. He's infatuated with her but still retains stronger feelings towards Lucy. Mike also briefly becomes upset with his friends for disrespecting his relationship with Sandy, claiming that he should be with the girl who lashes out at him instead. But since they weren't at the end of her violence like Mike was they don't relate to his struggle as strongly.

Volume 3

Noticing Mike falling out with Lucy, the studious member of the friend group Sue writes a fantasy play that she forces the two to act in, hoping that them having to rehearse together will make them get along. Mike continues to distance himself from Lucy after Abbey's student council speech reminds him that he doesn't have to take Lucy's abuse. Lucy expresses her immense guilt at mistreating Mike at a birthday sleepover Daisy arranges, wishing that she never rejected him after kissing him following the alley confrontation. She also becomes concerned for Daisy after finding out that she enjoyed Augustus kissing her, giving her the kind of attention she never thought she'd get from boys. The freshmen girls also learn that during Jessica's freshmen year, Tessa and her boyfriend Roger (who made Tessa a bully) attacked Rachel's brother, causing Jessica to attempt to seduce bully Craig for compromising information on Roger, but Tessa finds out and twists this into Jessica simply seeking sex, spreading rumors to the school that she's a slut. Tessa expresses regret and Lucy apologizes for wrongfully judging Jessica, whom Paulo later forgives her for coercing him into sex.

Lucy also formally meets Augustus but doesn't fall for his friendly demeanor. She ends up spending more time with him where she finds that he had genuine feelings for Daisy which he was unable to express, and also learns about his home life in which he lives with drug addicted parents in a run down town. Lucy sympathizes with him after learning about this, and after he comes to understand her regrets and abrasiveness. In December, Lucy is partnered with Mike for an assignment and games with him, making an effort to prove herself capable of being a better friend, but Mike gets a text that Sandy's going to visit him. Citing that Sandy convinced him not to take Lucy's abuse, Mike lashes out, insulting her and screaming that he and every one of her friends actually hate her. Abbey also finds that his mother Charlotte died in the hospital as a result of her injuries from being abused by his father Abraham Sr, but not before asking a nurse to move Abbey and his younger sister Molly to their current foster parents.

Volume 4

In the weeks following Lucy undergoes depression and isolates herself, taking Mike's words seriously and convinced she's worthless. When Sandy visits she convinces Mike to rekindle with Lucy, having only wanted her to treat Mike better, but due to the damage already done it comes to nothing. After Sue's play, Lucy stops attending school and it's found that she's been hospitalized for a week and in a coma after attempting suicide, with her family having made plans to move her out of town, worried about what bothered her. Mike becomes sorrowful when reflecting on memories of Lucy's kinder and more helpful side along with her abrasive side, with her having tried to rekindle their friendship before he put her down. He breaks down in tears and the others grieve with Sue and Paulo wondering if they did something to upset Lucy. When the group gets drunk at Rachel's birthday party, Mike confesses what he said, making Paulo angry, but he remarks that Lucy took out her anger on him for years and none of them stood up for him. Daisy admits that she should have defended Mike and declares that she still loves him, making a sober Abbey insecure. Mike privately grieves and Paulo, sympathizing with his regret, comforts him.

Volume 5

Following Lucy's departure, Paulo forms a friends with benefits relationship with Rachel, unable to let go of his feelings for Lucy especially since they briefly had sex in the dressing room at school. Tessa also graduates, and Rachel and Jessica among many other students acknowledge her change and agree to put her actions in the past. Due to Abbey questioning Daisy's loyalty, he briefly breaks up with her before being convinced to get back with her by Paulo. Despite this Paulo repeatedly chooses to tease and mock Abbey, although meaning no harm Abbey comes to despise this, paranoid that Paulo will do something to hurt Daisy whom he's supposed to protect.

Volume 6

Abbey assaults Paulo by choking him at a comic-con, threatening him to stay away from Daisy. He also eavesdrops on Daisy ranting to the group about how frustrated she is with Paulo's stubbornness, further influencing him distancing himself from Daisy. Mike also suffers a traumatic nightmare resulting from weeks of Sandy not calling him, reminding him of his anger towards Lucy. It's also revealed why Augustus spied on Daisy and Lucy to begin with, because he was working for Alejandro and Toby, the two robbers who attacked in the alleyway and want revenge. He has been able to stall them for months but lives in fear, not wanting to sell Lucy or any of her friends out.

Paulo also jokingly kisses Abbey which causes him to feel attraction towards males, specifically David and Mike. It allows him to formally talk to Rachel's friend Matt, a gay who has feelings for Lucy's brother Jordan who also befriends Paulo. Paulo becomes open to the fact that he may be bisexual after talking to Jordan, Matt, and Mike. Mike also goes out with Sandy when she briefly visits, but her talkative nature and disinterest in Mike's passions makes him have second thoughts about the long distance relationship. Lucy returns at the start of of the junior semester, leaving her pets to live with her aunt. She recieves tearful greetings from her friends but alarms Mike. They find that she became better at controlling her temper, but that she's also distancing herself from her friends in favor hanging out with her family and Augustus, and wants nothing to do with Mike. Mike is further upset and on edge by Sandy not speaking to him for weeks.

Volume 7

Paulo asks Lucy out, but Lucy, determined not to reconcile with her friends, harshly rejects him. Paulo is further angered by the thought that Lucy would rather hang out with Augustus, who stalked and harassed Daisy, over her friend group. Additionally, despite his friend's attempts to console him, Mike angrily lashes out at each of them individually. When Paulo reacts fearfully to the thought of Abbey hurting him, Mike attacks him when he tries to pressure Mike into talking to them about Sandy. He also angrily yells at Sue for supporting Lucy when she was violent to him and criticizing his relationship with Sandy, claiming that his friends never respected it. With Sue's concern being rejected, she distances herself from Mike, followed by Daisy who frustratedly remarks that Sandy failed to recognize her when they met over the summer break. Although Paulo apologizes for pushing Mike, Mike guiltily distances himself from his friend group, realizing that he has changed and that his anger has caused too much damage.

Abbey comes to learn about Paulo's past, in which his deadbeat mother influenced how he acts, and when Paulo swears that he would never hurt Daisy like Abbey thought, they start to get closer. Eventually in December, Mike is contacted by Sandy and he pries into why she doesn't talk to him, to which she confesses that due to the long distance and isolation, she had an affair with her hairdresser Francis. Believing that she upset Mike too much to reconcile, she hangs up on him. The weight of Mike's mistakes overwhelm him and he storms out of the house to the park tree he used to hang out at with Sandy, finding Lucy on a night walk. Lucy tries to leave but Mike stops her and spills his thoughts, breaking down, begging her for forgiveness, and to stop hating him. Not wanting to see him in pain from Sandy cheating or his guilt, Lucy agrees to forgive him and asks him to block Sandy. When Mike goes home however he reconciles with a regretful Sandy who calls him back, and the next day he's unable to talk to Lucy, who bitterly alienates him for choosing Sandy over her.

Volume 8

Augustus talks to Mike the day after, condemning him for giving Sandy a chance and blaming Lucy's regression and depression on him. He asks Mike to agree not to talk to Lucy again s that he won't cause her any more stress, and he accepts. When Paulo tries to reconcile with Lucy, claiming that he can trade Mike for her if he has to, she harshly rejects him again, claiming that her so called friends never helped her in her time of need and that she doesn't need them in her life. Paulo tries to explain that they want to see the best in Mike and that she's not flawless herself, especially since she never talked about what bothered her and that they weren't sure how to help her. Paulo is turned off, losing feelings for the girl who took advantage of his hospitality but couldn't be less grateful, and he and Lucy go their seperate ways after he insults Augustus, leading to her slapping him. When Mike reassures Paulo that he's a better person than he thinks, he affirms that he can't let go of Mike since they always put up with the trouble they caused each other.

Mike's mistakes continue to weigh on him until he meets the track team led by James, who has spied on him from afar for months with a desire to recruit him. Having found supportive friends, Mike finds the courage to apologize to Daisy and Sue for yelling at them, and they accept having him back. Conversely, Lucy distances herself even further and struggles with traumatic nightmares resulting from the alley confrontation and attempted suicide. She completely alienates her friends and angrily dismisses Paulo and Augustus when they try to talk to her. But she acknowledges that she went too far in how she treated the former, continuing to suffer alone and in isolation.

Characters

Main Characters

• Lucy-
• Michael "Mike"-
• Susan "Sue"-
• Paulo-
• Abraham "Abbey" Jr.-
• David-
• Tessa Canning-

Side Characters

• Rachel-
• Jessica-
• Sandra "Sandy"-
• James-
• Madison-
• Matt-
• Jordan-
• Alejandro-
• James-
• Molly-
• Katie-
• Stacy-
• Mina-
• Cassidy-
• Yashy-
• Blur-
• Lily-
• Amber "Chirpy"-
• Abraham Sr.-
• Alec McCain-
• Ellen-
• Tiff-
• Kevin-
• Janet-
• Haley-
• Chris-
• Zachary "Zach"-
• Cathrine "Cathy"-
• Lani-
• Sam-
• Charlotte-
• Rose Muir-
• Lucy's mother-
• Lucy's father-
• Mike's father-

Minor Characters

• Aaron-
• Justin-
• Hannah-
• Melanie-
• Jenny-
• Track Team- Consisting of Finn, Felix, Lucas, Max, and Darwin.
• Jay-
• Carey-
• Lary-
• Craig-
• John-
• Turtle-
• Cynthia-
• Tim-
• Noah-
• Emma-
• Lauren-
• Miranda-
• Roger-
• Alexa-
• Flower girl-
• Sex ed teacher-
• Daisy's mother-
• Daisy's father-
• David's mother-
• Augustus' mother-
• Augustus father-

Scrapped Characters

In earlier iterations of the comic, Vera incorporated several fanmade characters into the comic, some of which were made by her friends. Due to creative differences however, the characters were written out when the comic was rewritten, their status now being non canon or simply existing in a seperate timeline from the main one. Some also appear in BCIs.

• Kizuna-
• Liam-
• Mae-
• Wynn-
• Larken-
• Rin-
• Raindrop-
• Carson-
• Carter-
• Eleanor-

BCI

Vera has an archive of exclusive short comics called BCIs, as part of the Bittersweet Club International subscription, in which buyers who pay $29 each year. The exclusive comics depict various stories including "What If" alternate history scenarios of events from the original comic, as well as outlandish reimaginations of it. The BCIs are usually written with a more satirical and comedic tone from the main comic timeline. Most of the BCI comics are non-canon, but some fit within the continuity of the main comic.

Three BCIs are free and available to the public:

• Everyday Life depicts the average day to day lives of the characters including Daisy trying to seek purpose and fulfillment, Abbey coming to terms with his temper, Paulo coping with his living situation and trying to better himself as a person with his work ethic, Molly trying to impress her brother, Mike seeking fulfillment from his long distance relationship, and David being relatively carefree since he distances himself from romantic entanglements.
• Blind Date follows how Rachel and Jessica first meet Matt during their freshman year. Rachel saves him from being harassed by Tessa and tries to seduce him, not knowing that he's gay. Rachel is encouraged to pursue Matt by Jordan, who's oblivious to the crush Matt has on him. Matt, who's ashamed of his sexuality, believes that he's just going through a phase. Jessica on the other hand is aware of whom Matt truly likes and calls Jordan an idiot, not elaborating on what he's oblivious to.
• Grave Concerns tells a dark comedic interpretation of a scenario where Lucy's attempted suicide is successful. When the students are told the news, Mike becomes the most distraught but is "haunted" by Lucy's ghost. Lucy immediately forgives him and follows Mike around, helping him with his struggles with his relationship. As the rest of the friend group grieves Lucy laments killing herself upon seeing that her friends cared for her more than she thought, and regrets hurting them. Years later, Mike is in a struggling relationship with Sandy and raises their daughter Porsche, whom Lucy becomes a godmother to.

The other BCIs are subscription exclusive, but the titles and brief descriptions are available on the official website.

Candybooru

Fans of the comic can make accounts on Candybooru to post fan art. The site currently has over 800 pages of art including those drawn by Vera herself. In addition to art of the characters themselves, it also depicts fan's original characters, hypothetical fan children of the characters (referred to as kittens), and fanfiction comics.

References

1. https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/. Bittersweet Candy Bowl Official Website. Vera. Veronica. 2009. Retrieved 2024-09-25.