Almultimavenger

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY BITTERSWEET CANDYBOWL! this isn't truly the first time i drew lucy (mike, never lol. daisy and paulo though, i've done.) but this is definitely the first time i've shared fanart of them anywhere or talked about it publicly? but honestly, there is a reason why, before bkdk, i just enjoyed things in a silo. it's lonely but it is far more relaxing...

(below is a letter of sorts i wrote on bsky to taeshi. it's real sentimental shit. a bit of reminiscing about the older webcomic days. i'm just reposting it here for my archival purposes :p you don't have to read it)

Happy 20 years, Bittersweet Candy Bowl! Vera asked the populace to redraw her cats in their style, so here they are in mine.

I found the comic when I was in high school circa December/At Loose Ends, some 15 years ago. It's been a pleasure watching Vera's art and writing grow over the course of the comic. The moment when the watercolor style was introduced will always stick with me; it challenged all of my assumptions about how a webcomic should look and what was possible. Through the comic, Vera taught me to have the courage to create regardless of skill level and that the only way to grow was through doing. It gave my teenage self the confidence to post fanart online for the first time, a piece of juvenilia that still is out there in the depths of the candybooru.

And there are moments in the comic that moved me tremendously as a young person in a vulnerable place. The characters helped me through some dark hours.

Now, as an adult, I really appreciate how rich the writing is! The characters are complex, messy, and flawed; they really feel like teenagers. There's so much history and nuance behind the way they interact, and the writing trusts the audience to analyze why the characters make the choices they make. It certainly gives me plenty to talk about on here.

Meanwhile, Mike never has that responsibility. He says as much in the Intermission chapter "Adult Supervision" when their parents go on a date night and leave the kids to watch him. Haley uses that time to get a night to herself for once while Mike gets the crash course he never had to have.

And why has dear Michael never had to watch Chris before while Haley seems to get stuck with babysitting all the time? Ellen states it pretty nicely in "Second String".

Chris "shouldn't be Michael's problem" according to their mom because Mike's her perfect boy who should focus on his studies. Meanwhile Haley doesn't ace her exams and that's reason enough for her to be in charge of Chris. Perhaps her grades would be better if she wasn't in charge of a toddler all the time when she was home?

Now to be fair, Ellen doesn't completely think Chris should be Haley's problem either. Earlier this same chapter Ellen is on the phone with her husband and is upset by his lack of contribution to Chris's care and throwing Haley under the bus all the time. It should be on the parents to take care of Chris and where even is their dad? Definitely not here to help take care of the kids.

She's clearly going to bat for Haley being out with her friends here. But this is short lived when Mike shows up and she talks to him about things.

She just assumes Haley would be around to take Chris and puts the burden on Haley to inform Ellen that she wouldn't be home to take care of Chris instead of either just finding another option or asking and clearing it with Haley beforehand.

Meanwhile Mike taking Chris gets an entirely different treatment as you can see in "Tickets Please"

🫂

We have here Penny, Mike's daughter, with Augustus mom. Also, a design I made for Augustus mom.

Mike got with Paulo's mom, gave her twins! How lucky... Oops, perhaps not that lucky for her.

lucy come get your dog !!