Gaming rivalry is the second chapter of Bittersweet Candy Bowl. The chapter establishes the status of Mike and Lucy's relationship and the origins of Lucy's pink bow tie. This chapter marks the first chapter drawn in the original art style used at the time in Volume One.
Synopsis[]
The chapter begins with Mike and Lucy playing a fighter video game competitively against each other at Mike's house. A match ends when Lucy, finding herself in a corner, uses a move which gives her an unfair advantage over Mike, killing his character despite being at full health. Mike protests Lucy's win, calling the move a cheat. Lucy returns by calling him a sore loser, and they begin fighting over the validity of the move; Lucy arguing it's allowable since it's in the game, but Mike persistent that it's a cheat move and shouldn't be used because it's banned at tournaments.
Their argument is overheard by Yashy and Blur playing cards together nearby, and see this as another instance of romantic-infighting between the two. Yashy gets involved and tells them to make out somewhere else, additionally telling her mother (Lucy) it was only a game, with Lucy telling her she should say that to Mike. Mike comments that Lucy is so defensive it's like he's arguing with a thickheaded jock. Blur through his brashness suggests they just have make-up sex already, and is immediately kicked into the ceiling by Mike.
Yashy comments that Mike has a point about how boyish Lucy acts through her competitiveness, to which Lucy finds irrelevant. Mike support's Yashy's observation as he agrees to his lost, but points out Lucy is so arrogant she can't come to admit herself the move was unfair. Lucy ends up childishly pushing Mike as they continue fighting about the move. She asks if the real reason he's sore about losing is because he was beaten by a girl, to which Mike finds as a revelation stating he could never could have known she was a girl. Getting tired of their gender being made fun of, Lucy promptly knocks out Mike.
Yashy tells Lucy she shouldn't be worried that people find her masculine, mentioning why else would she continue to wear her pink bow - a present from her mother when Lucy began kindergarten in the first place. This is shown through two flashbacks, the first being a two year old Lucy playing with a toy car. Lucy's mother appears and hands Lucy a Barbie doll to see if Lucy would prefer playing with that toy instead. Rather than take to the new toy, Lucy instead plays with both toys by having the toy car run over the barbie doll.
The second flashback moves forward two years, to a four year old Lucy being taken to Kindergarten. Lucy becomes immediately uninterested in playing with the other girls. Before leaving, her mother tells Lucy she has a present and wraps a pink Bow around her neck, telling her daughter she will always be her little girl despite her boyish quirks.
Mike recovers in the present time and makes fun of Lucy stating that even her own mother thought she was a boy. Lucy goes to punch him again but Mike dodges it, asking why she still wears it, prompting Yashy to cheekily state it's for reassurance she is, indeed, biologically female. Lucy responds kicking her into the ceiling much the same when Mike kicked Blur..
Mike tells her not to be upset, stating he was only joking around, but is still sour about the unfair move in the game. Lucy challenges Mike to the video game again, however this time letting him know he could use the banned move as much as he wanted.
Mike does so, beating her fifteen times in a row and revealing to the otherwise stunned Lucy he had secretly mastered the move as even his sister also abused it when she played with him. Progressively both getting better at inputting the move to a stage where the game effectively became a process of who could pull off the move faster than the other. Lucy finds this advantage unfair to the thrill of Mike, and smugly turns the table on Lucy. Having finally gotten the upper edge on Lucy, comments how cute Lucy is when she's beaten.
Lucy gets an idea to get back at Mike and uses her feminine charm against him, apologising to him. In shock of the apology, Mike asks her to repeat herself, and is caught off-guard as Lucy drags him into her. Her plan however backfires when Mike reciprocates how soft her chest is, causing Lucy to strike him. Mike recovers asking if she wants to play something else, to which Lucy agrees to.
Only when Lucy and Mike fight again in the new game, Yashy moves to end the tension by telling Blur she is taking her mother home. She playfully mounts Lucy like a horse telling a blushing Mike they have overstayed their welcome. When she tells her mother to 'giddy-up' she is instead kicked through the roof again by Lucy. Lucy remarks how odd that was before asking Mike if there was another game they could play. Mike makes a freudian-slip from the earlier stunt while mentioning another game, accidentally saying 'Sonic ride you' instead. He catches himself too late, and Lucy stares back, disgusted, ending the chapter.
Chapters | |
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Bittersweet Candy Bowl Omnibus // Volume One Volume Two Volume Three |
Simple Pleasures · Gaming Rivalry · Merry Snow Day · Unfit for Education · The Burden of Parenthood · Flying Lessons · Prom Preparation · Helping Hands · Show and Tell · Gone Fishing · Pep Rally · Off to the Movies · Intermission: Catty Remarks · Puppy Love · Confrontation · Aftermath · Field Day · Unfulfilled Fantasy · Farewell, Middle School · Intermission: Mike’s Birthday · Blurry Memories · Intermission: Yashy’s Birthday · Hot Pursuit · Enter High School · A Difficult Choice · A New Leaf · Wardrobe Malfunction · Intermission: Daisy’s Birthday · Humble Approach · Left Behind · Flirting with Disaster · Intermission: Lucy’s Birthday · Feline Festivities · Mid-term Time · Tread Carefully · Troubled Waters · Carry On · Follow Me · Onwards to Adventure · Bonding · Under Pressure · Crash and Burn · Intermission: Out of the Frame · A Different Side · Intermission: Birthday Double-Team · Rising Temperature · Love My Way · Moving On · Invitation · Arrival · Search and Rescue · Intervention · Return · New Beginnings · Pick Me Up · Turning Tides · Wonderland · A Distance Apart · Unrequited · Another Shoulder · Casting Call · Back and Forth · To The Top · Up to Bat · Mischief Night · Mother's Day · Rehearsal · Feline Filibuster · Pillow Talk ·Call Waiting · On the Sidelines · Carry Me · Dinner Time · On Our Own · Fade Away · December · At Loose Ends · Intermission: Adult Supervision · |
Volume Four | Piece of Cake · Just Beautiful · Buddy System · Ten Seconds to Midnight · Curtain Call · Breaking Up · Leaving Home · Study Buddy · Safe Boundaries · Critical Hit · Happy Hour |
Volume Five | Take Heart · Intermission: Love Note · Local Area · Small Fry · Intermission: Test Drive · Scenic Route · Intermission: Textual Harassment · Total Recall · Trapped · Boy Toy · Intermission: Casual Outing · Class of 2008 |
Volume Six | Guest of Honor · Golden Hour · Intermission: Ice Block · Dial Tone · Table for One · Clean Slate · Model Girlfriend · Love Again · Intermission: Test Dummy · Unspoken Rule · Cut Short |
Not yet in print | After You · Moments Apart · PDA · High Expectations · Mutual Assurance · Escape Route · It's All In The Mind · Fair Game · Sugar Substitute · Witch Hunt · College Material · Unwanted Gift · Time Out · Popularity Contest · Eternal Flame · Burnt Bridges · Fuel Economy · Featured Attraction · Double Down · Track Meet · Intermission: One-Track Mind · Intermission: On Call · Link Play · Intermission: Another Flame · Good Enough |
Bittersweet Club International | Sweet Dreams · Molly's Adventure · Another Path · Magic Tricks · Disaster Dominoes · Another Chance · · Door to Door · Dinner Time · Accidents Will Happen · Mostly Harmless · Another Kiss · First Dance · In Deep · Picture Perfect · Promise · Family Comix · Christmas Dinner · Store Credit · Baby Blues · Another December · Another Boyfriend · Fork in the Road · Love Letters · Blind Date · Augustus, You Jerk #2 · Magical Girl Redux · Play date · Cracks in the Ice · Blood Lust · Candied Bacon · Sob Story · Ships Ahoy, Season One · Ships Ahoy, Season Two · Out of Ideas · Ships Ahoy, Season 3 · Photo Day · Everyday Life · Grave Concern · Ice Breaker · Merry Christmas Roseville! · Elementary School Sweethearts · Ships Ahoy, Season Four · A Better You · Ships Ahoy, Season Six · Another Intervention · Essential Worker · Another Perspective |
Removed chapters | Unfulfilled dayyyy · The First Meeting · First Interaction · Development of Friendship · Chirpy’s Introduction · Unmerry Melodies · Of Little Monsters and Pockets · Do Ask, Do Tell · Wishful thinking · Break Time · Box of Tricks · Hydrothunder Tantrum · Having Kittens · Got It Made · In the End · Unfinished Abbey Chapter · Magical Girl Lucy-chan · Another Plan · Cardcaptor Rachel · Raw and Uncensored · Sensible Precautions · Volume One Introduction · Sweet Surprises · Starting Over |