Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Bittersweet Candy Bowl is an anthropomorphic webcomic by Veronica “Taeshi” Vera. It is essentially a high school drama-comedy about a group of friends and follows their lives from middle school to junior year, and focuses on the relationships between each character. Lucy, Michael, Paulo, Daisy, David and Sandy grew up together at the same schools.

There’s many small plots about the everyday things the characters engage in. The more drawn-out ordeals depicted in the comic concern the introduction of characters like Abbey and Augustus, Lucy’s ongoing struggle to figure out what she really thinks about Mike, Daisy’s deliberations about her self-image, and Abbey’s efforts to confront family issues from his childhood. The comic is written in chapters. It’s most rewarding when read in depth, as each storyline builds upon another.

Although the characters are anthropomorphic, Bittersweet Candy Bowl is not a furry comic. The animal characters were "influenced by Veronica reading Garfield and watching cartoons as a kid." Taeshi says she hopes the comic can be something "enjoyed by all kinds of people, whether they identify as furry or not."

Characters
Lucy: 15 year old Khao Manee cat, born November 7th (the second youngest of the main cast before David and the youngest girl), Lucy is the potentially bipolar female protagonist. She is occasionally friendly and has a sensitive side and is wrought with insecurities, but would rather punch you in the face than expose them. She has a very huge crush on her best friend (and rival), Michael but has not admitted it to him or herself until now. She was rejected however, after confessing because of his long-distance girlfriend Sandy. She later became attracted to Paulo before leaving the series. She was a potential rape victim by one of two thugs in an alleyway in 8th grade. She is deaf in her left ear. She is very short, the eighth tallest and the shortest of the group, but is the fourth most athletic of the group. She is a junior.

Michael: 15 year old Korat cat, born August 10th, Michael is the humble male protagonist. He also called “Mike” (and called “Maishul” by his girlfriend Sandy whom he rejected Lucy for). He is generally easy-going, thoughtful and is adored by most girls but they end up causing most of his problems. He is the 3rd smartest of the group. As the most athletic member of the group, he is an excellent runner, much to Lucy’s dismay. He was Lucy’s first and only friend in kindergarden and have had a bittersweet relationship (hence the name of the comic) ever since. He used to have a crush on Lucy and is not quite over it yet. He and Lucy used to practice karate in secrecy. He used to wear a blue scarf, but now wears a striped yellow and orange one. In contrast to Lucy, Mike has super hearing much to his dismay when it is loud, especially at pep rallies. He is the 5th tallest and most likely very short for his age. He is a junior.

Daisy: 15 year old cat (a hybrid of Selkirk Rex and Ragamuffin), born September 27th, Daisy is smart and cheerful. She spends a lot of her time studying alongside cheerleading. She longs to be considered more than the group’s “little sister”. She is the smartest of the group. Daisy used to have a huge crush on Michael, but got over it and hooked up with Abbey who had a crush on her. She was a victim of potential rape by a cat named Augustus, but was saved by Abbey. As of now, Daisy and Abbey are no longer together. She is the 7th tallest of the group and the 2nd shortest. She is a junior.

Paulo: 15 year old Somali cat, born April 16th, Paulo is bold and brazen. He regularly hits on girls (except for Daisy who was Paulo's first friend when he moved to the group's school in 5th grade) and is often competitive with his friends. Always interested in impressing others, he has genuine concerns for his friends and is a good confidant. Paulo is struggling with the thought of having to pick to be with his lust, Lucy or the love of his life Tess (a senior at the high school) who sadly claims that they can never be together due to the large age difference. He was at one point dating a freshmen named Jasmine, but they have broken up. He has a dark past with two thugs who beat the gang (minus David, Tess, and Abbey) up in 8th grade in an alleyway that even he doesn't remember. He is also 2nd tallest and 3rd most athletic of the group. He is a junior.

David: 14 year old dog (a chocolate Labrador Retriever) born February 22nd, David is one of the only dogs in the series and the youngest group member. He is eternally chipper, dimwitted and Paulo’s best friend and looks up to him. David could generally be considered as the comic relief of the story, but he sometimes makes very astute observations. He is the tallest and 2nd most athletic of the group. He is also into anime, like Toppa Tenga Gurren Lagann, and even compared Paulo to Kamina in a hypothetical situation where he asked Paulo who he would save in a life or death situation, Daisy or Tess (he( David or Paulo?) picked Daisy because of her innocence). He is a junior.

Abbey: 15 year old Abyssinian cat, born July 25th, Abbey is the chivalrous new member of the group. Abbey’s struggle with his troubled past sometimes shows in his behaviour. He has nervous breakdowns when compared to his abusive father, Abraham and hates to be called by that name. He is kind and helpful to others, but if his moral code is broken, he can lash out. He has a huge grudge against Augustus, a mysterious senior, for reasons unknown. He has gotten in a fist fight about Daisy with Michael once. He is the 4th smartest of the group. He was at one point dating Daisy. He is the 3rd tallest of the group. He is a junior.

Sue: 15 year old European Burmese cat, born January 4th, Sue is always hanging around behind the scenes. Her interest in the dramatic doesn’t always extend to the conflicts between Mike, Lucy, Paulo etc. Bright and easygoing, Sue would much rather be acting, directing or taking photos. She (like David) is in to anime and is the 2nd smartest of the group. She has become a very good and reliable (maybe even a best) friend to Lucy. She is barely the 6th tallest, about the same height as Mike and is the 3rd shortest of the group. She is a junior.

Tess: 17 year old cat (a hybrid of half Ragdoll and half Bengal), born December 13th, Tess guided the gang into high school. Tess is a filthy rich rebel. She met the group as they entered high school, and has hung around them ever since. She is hated by the majority of the school because she was a hardcore bully with two others in her sophomore year. Tess drinks a bit and likes to help others, but she’ll have to move on pretty soon. She and Paulo have a crush on each other, but Tess feels they cannot be together due to the fact that this is her last year here. She is the 4th tallest. She has graduated out of the school and has not appeared in the comic since.

Lucy's pets
Yashy: 7 year old amphibian, born September 1st, Yashy is Lucy’s first pet. Yashy is something of a prodigy, although her intelligence is put to questionable use (like insulting others). She is bratty, loudmouthed, and harsh, but remains well-beloved. She was an egg when Lucy found her when she was being ignored by Micheal because of Sandy.

Chirpy: 4 year old pink bird, born April 7th, childish and innocent. Chirpy is attached to Yashy as she believes her to be her mother. She doesn't even know her real mother. Always in awe of the world around her, she follows others but always tries to do the right thing. She tends to give everyone simplistic nicknames.

Lily: A hedgehog of an unknown age, born December 20th, another pet. Lily is a voice of wisdom for her owner Lucy and others that come to her for advice. She is understanding and patient and is usually able to steer people in the right direction. Basically, a plot device. She saved Blur from a burning tree years ago.

As of "Breaking Up", none of Lucy's pets have appeared in the series.

Micheal's pet
Blur: An 8 year old blue bird, born July 12th, Blur is Mike’s pet. He was rescued from a fire by Lily when young and suffers from amnesia (hence the name). He is best friends with Yashy and they are constantly playing together, arguing, or annoying Mike and Lucy.

Other characters
Augustus: 18 year old Siamese cat, born October 1st, you may know him as “Final Fantasy Cat”. Augustus is calm, composed, and has biting wit. A lot of people end up hating him because of it, but he doesn’t seem to mind, as long as his purposes are served. He and Abbey have a mysterious, dark past together, is not on Tess's good side at all (to the point where she would punch him), and has recently started a rivalry friendship with Lucy, the only person not intimidated by him. He seems to serve two thugs who got in a fight with the gang in an alleyway in 8th grade, minus David, Tess, and Abbey. He is a senior.

Jasmine: 14 year old cat, born August 14th, Jasmine is a peppy young girl. Her breed might be an American Shorthair. Jasmine immediately took a liking to Paulo and has taken the role of both his girlfriend and partner-in-crime. She is in many after school activities, so she rarely sees Paulo, much to his dismay. He may break up with her because of this. She is a junior.

Sandy: 16 year old cat, born March 14, Sandy is the Sunny Funny to Mike’s Parappa. Sandy is the enigmatic light on the horizon that ensures Mike’s frustrating unavailablity. After moving away and starting a long-distance relationship, she has had some success as a model. She is the reason for most of Lucy’s and Michael’s angsty relationship and school drama. She is a junior.