#david x paulo x daisy

[lacktastrophe]

My issue with Paulo x Daisy is how it’s pushed in when Paulo’s sexuality is brought up. It bugs me that whenever he considers a guy an option, it’s immediately followed by Paulo x Daisy. I know that it’s important he accepts his sexuality and that him ending up with Daisy doesn’t change that. Why not just have him accept that he’s bi without all the back and forth with James? It’s a bit disheartening to see a chapter start with “ooh gay” and quickly shift to “nah”

Paulo has already accepted his bi-ness though, this happened back in Golden Hour. Paulo had already worked up to the idea that he was Bi in Boy Toy, but Casual Outing was dealing with an inner conflict that was stopping him, and that was really with the idea of others accepting him, particularly given it's a 180 from his earlier idea of believing hyper-masculinity would find him the kind of acceptance he was originally after. Paulo had to do so without Daisy's help through a greater number of interactions, one through David who had his own coming out (Paulo running away too because he's not at all well when he is the one receiving affection/positive afirmation, which also leads to....), and perspectives outside of his own from an older person who is just as scared as he is about his sexual identity and acceptance from others. That enabled Paulo's confidence into him understanding he's not alone with feelings like this or the one dealing with the worst cards out there.

And maybe also becoming juuuuuuust a little less judgy on people.

Had Paulo not already been confident in being bi himself I'd be pretty sure doing what he did to find out if Jordan was gay would've been more difficult if not an option if he was not already comfortable with the idea of trying the thing he does with women would work on men too, nor would I think he would've been more admitted or considering the idea of seeing either James or Mike as valid candidates in Track Meet. Paulo is not here in Track Meet gushing over the prospect of being bi still, he's upset and dealing with a broken heart because he mistook James' natural positive atitude towards him as potential interest of a closer relationship.

I'll take the Knuckle on the head for suggesting Good Enough was about Paulo's sexuality. That wasn't accurate, should've given it more thought; it's about relationships. It's a continuation of Track Meet and goes further with the previous story as Paulo is able to confirm for fact that James is absolutely set on Mike without a doubt, and he opens up to Daisy about the status of his interests among a number of things:

Daisy letting him know he can rely on her for support when it comes to his feelings, he doesn't need to internalise his problems like how Lucy had.

Paulo coming to terms with him losing out on a relationship and dealing with an indirect-rejection given James' interest and move in on a close friend and not him.

We understand Paulo never really tried to move the wheels on those relaitonships because we discovered they were fallbacks. Paulo's admits that his heart is absolutely set on Daisy. He's just jealous of the fact those two are likely ready to hit it off in a faster time than what it's taking for him (or for her for the matter) to work up to the courage of telling Daisy what she really means to him.

And yeah, the last point is that these two do love each other and they both KNOW this. But they are holding out, because neither believe they're Good Enough for the other.

David's still playing match maker

But yeah. I think the belief Paulo x Daisy is being shoehorned in is a misunderstanding. It really is more this was bound to happen because Paulo only ever apparently sought her out when it came to his feelings. He trusted her that much above the others, and this is more of a point especially as Paulo has access to older people who are marginally better adjusted to their sexuality and so on. Considering too that these two only ever see growth through these kinds of one-on-one interactions, it's hard to imagine there really being any other path available. Daisy being the more rational one over Paulo's brashness really just consolidates how they really are made to develop off one another. This is the same sort of thing that's really only stopping Paulo from developing other closer relationships too, whether that was Paulo x David/Jordan/Matt/Sue/Amaya/Rachel etc etc, it really is because Paulo is more comfortable with sharing the deeper ones with Daisy a greater percentage of the time.

Honestly not too different to how Lucy and Mike would only share their feelings between each other, now that I think about it...

[anonfelis]

david x paulo x daisy may be my otp but i WILL dip my toes in other ships

[bramblepaws]

paulo x daisy: boring. boring as hell.

paulo x daisy x david: extremely based and swag

[tensecondstomidnight]

on to Show and Tell! back to an OG 4-pager with this one!

i bet this is the chapter that originally introduced lucy’s deaf ear! i mean, they haven’t really brought it up since the prologue chapter, i think.

CHILL MAN

we’ve got some great faces in this one. the eyes in the early pages are so appealing to me, we’ve got the dot eyes and the “kirby eyes” (pictured above) and then we get that sorta fusion of them that kinda looks like the eyes i draw!

see, like that. also what’s this about girly romance movies? BRING THAT BACK!!! that would be such a cute reference omgggg

anyways yeah, the bit of this chapter is genetics and the different species of the cats! lucy’s deaf ear is attributed to her being a blue-eyed white khao manee, which reflects real life! lucky that she didn’t lose it in both of them. they do a cute bit where yashy thinks her own blue eyes will turn her deaf. i really miss jokes like that, the pets are so cute...

RELAX

anyways mike’s a korat (makes a point of being like “surprised im not a russian blue?” which after looking at them im kinda surprised too!) and daisy comments that she thought mike was a british blue shorthair because he’s “so intellectual.” first of all, he’s totally not a british shorthair and daisy is stupid, but more importantly, what an interesting lore bit this is! everybody is so knowledgeable about cat breeds (makes sense! they’re cats!) but they also have preconceived biases about people of those breeds, likely based on common traits those breeds share in the real world. if you wanna overthink it a bit, daisy just racially profiled mike! looks like yashy is taking the second-place for racism this time around.

daisy is half selkirk rex and half ragamuffin. looking at pictures of those cats, it seems like she represents her breed best when she’s been out in the rain for a bit! she must put a lot of work into those curls.

check out this sequence at the end of page 3. this is soooo cute! lucy getting so visibly envious of someone else getting attention from mike feels like a rarity...

paulo shows up to boast about his breed too! the more they compare their genetics, the weirder it feels. but in a goofy way, because it’s all obviously so lighthearted! paulo is a somali, and the way his breed looks in real life reminds me of a warrior cats character. he mentions his dad is “kinda lion-ish,” can’t wait to see that guy. i headcanon him as sounding like bob from bob’s burgers.

this is another really cute sequence. i like seeing mike and lucy just be friends. sooo cute... and LOOK AT DAISY!! THE SPELL CANNOT BE BROKEN!! PAULO IS TOO COOL!! i’m huge on paulo x daisy so i’m probably gonna gush like that whenever i see them together, haha

the following panels are also such a fun microcosm of what paulo and lucy are. it’s like, the easiest way to explain their dynamic to someone. so perfect!

anyways, yashy claims to be a golden retriever (obviously unintentional but it reminds me of all those “attack helicopter” jokes from like 2016) and david shows up asking to hook up with the supposed golden retriever, only to see yashy and blanch, somehow avoiding getting called the p-word. i wonder why mike gets singled out so much? poor guy.

in the final panel, we get a really funny david drawing and they toss in sue and amaya’s breeds for us to gobble up like the LEECHES we are. obviously, sue is a european burmese, but she’s missing some of the markings you might expect from a cat like her. amaya is a super obvious tabby though, she’s right.

i figured i wouldn’t have much to say about this chapter, since it’s pretty one-note. i’m fine with putting it all in one big post! NEXT TIME: Gone Fishing!

[alywats]

2019... books, man

This year, my New Years Resolution was to read ‘more’. Coming off of a busy year in 2018, in which I only read 4 or 5 books, ‘more’ was not saying much, so I set the goal of 52 books in 52 weeks... even though 2019 promised to be even busier than its predecessor. 

As a student in my senior year of undergrad, who is applying to mathematics grad school, and working, who travelled to 5 new countries this year, who learned to speak another language (poorly), and who saw 16 bands in concert in 2019, WHAT is my secret for getting those pages in?? 

Firstly, I listen to audiobooks while I drive, or do laundry, or when I lived in Budapest this year, I listened to audiobooks while I was walking around the city doing errands. If you have a library card, you can check out audiobooks on your phone from your library. Next, I stopped watching TV and put time limits on my social media apps. I made the conscious choice to read physical books instead, in order to reduce my amount of time looking at a screen. My last major change was my favorite one: it became The Law that for an hour on Sunday morning, I read my book. Most of the time this took place in a cafe with a beautiful cup of tea or coffee to make it feel extra special, but as I got busier towards the end of the year, I would settle for coffee made in my boyfriend's less-than-ideal French press, and his TV show turned down for one episode so I could concentrate on my book. 

Bro, 2020 is the year of reading. Here are the books I read in 2019, plus my rating of each of them. I could talk for hours about each of these reads, but this post is already... very long, so if you for whatever reason, fancy to know more about any of these, hit me uppppp! Reading Rocks!

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs -Chuck Klosterman 5

New American Best Friend -Olivia Gatwood 5

Eating the Dinosaur -Chuck Klosterman 4.5

But What If We’re Wrong -Chuck Klosterman 4

Fargo Rock City -Chuck Klosterman 5+

X -Chuck Klosterman 4

‘Salem’s Lot -Stephen King 4

The War of the Worlds -H.G. Wells 5

Misery -Stephen King 4

A Study in Scarlet -Arthur Conan Doyle 4

The President is Missing -Bill Clinton, James Patterson 3.5

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World -Haruki Murakami 2.5

Core: A Romance -Kassten Alonso 4.5

Murder on the Orient Express -Agatha Christie 4

The Golden Compass -Philip Pullman 4.5

Little Fires Everywhere -Celeste Ng 3

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs -Stephen Brusatte 3.75

American Gods -Neil Gaiman 4

The Gunslinger -Stephen King 4

Guns, Germs, and Steel -Jared Diamond 4

The Rooster Bar -John Grisham 3.5

The Alchemist -Paulo Coelho 4

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl -Jesse Andrews 2

In Cold Blood -Truman Capote 3

Universal Harvester -John Darnielle 3

Deep Thinking -Garry Kasparov 3.5

The Circle -Dave Eggers 3

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency -Douglas Adams 4

The Revenant -Michael Punke 3.75

The History of Bees -Maja Lunde 4.5

Getting Things Done -David Allen 3.5

Consider the Fork -Bee Wilson 4

The Visible Man -Chuck Klosterman 4

Daisy Jones & The Six -Taylor Jenkins Reid 4.5

Outlander -Diana Gabaldon 4

Life of the Party -Olivia Gatwood 5

The Subtle Knife -Philip Pullman 4

Raised in Captivity -Chuck Klosterman 4

Our Lady of the Forest -David Guterson 3.5

Damned -Chuck Palahnuik 3.5

The Handmaid’s Tale -Margaret Atwood 5

The Ocean at the End of the Lane -Neil Gaiman 3

Area 51 -Annie Jacobsen 3

The Israel/Palestine Reader -Alan Dowty 4

Ethnomusicology: An Introduction -Timothy Rice 2.5

Voices of Forgotten Worlds -Ellipsis Arts 3

Becoming -Michelle Obama 4.5

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo -Taylor Jenkins Reid 4.5

Call Me By Your Name -Andre Aciman 3

Downtown Owl -Chuck Klosterman 3

Maybe in Another Life- Taylor Jenkins Reid 3

Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon -Chuck Palahnuik 4

[bittersweetcandybowl]

Paulo x Lucy Or Paulo x Daisy Or the not actual one Paulo x Mike/David

Veronica: PauloxDaisy/PauloxMike are pretty great

[emwinters]

from @gregorysiff I MIGHT JUST, 2020, acrylic and krink on canvas, 36 x 36 in. A new canvas for a new show that will exist this evening. @TZPROJECTS Tonight exhibiting strong with many prolific LA Artists on glass. CURATED BY: TORIE ZALBEN Going Home: a picture show TZPROJECTS 8070 BEVERLY BLVD, LOS ANGELES, CA 90048 May 15, 6 PM - 12 AM — ends May 20, 2020 GOING HOME: a picture show will be a drive-by and walk-up-to art show. @penskeprojects @theartofelysium @projectangelfood @addlanes @4am_gallery @this_means @rude_inn @sophiapenske @rusconistudios @beaudunn @garybaseman @shananys @robertstandish @andymosesart @therealpazdelahuerta @daviddonaldsutherland #gregorysiff Going Home: a picture show is about the notion of home. For some it can be the final destination, for others it can be a feeling. Many unrelated images will connect via a slideshow to create a visual sense of home, meaning and purpose as to where we may be going to and coming from during this unprecedented time in history. TZ PROJECTS is an alternative not-for-profit space located at 8070 Beverly Blvd. that presents the work of both established and emerging artists in experimental exhibition modalities that advocates for the power of art in uncertain times. The launch on MAY 15TH consists of projected video window displays to provide a destination activity for Angelenos during quarantine. RULES: You can view the show from your car or walk up to the window display while adhering to social distancing guidelines. ARTISTS: AARON AXELROD, ADRIAN ARREDONDO, ADRIENNE ADAR, ALDO CHACON, ALEX COUTO, ANDREW MADRID, AMANDA FLOWERS, ANDY MOSES, ANGELA VIENS, ANTHONY JAMES, BEAU DUNN, CHANNING HANSEN, CHRISTY ROBERTS BERKOWITZ, CLAIRE CHAMBLESS, DAISY MECINAS, DIANE HOLLAND, DARIAN ZAHEDI, DAVID DONALD SUTHERLAND, FORREST KIRK, FAWN ROGERS, GARY BASEMAN, JAMES GALLAGHER, JAMES ORLANDO, LEV ABRAMOV, MARINA MASIC, MAX JANSONS, MAX OSTROW, MELANIE PULLEN, NED LOW, OSCEOLA REFETOFF, PATTI PENN, PAUL RUSCONI, PAULO TORRES, PAZ DE LA HUERTA, RIVER GALLO, ROBERT STANDISH, SALOMON HUERTA, SAMUEL J. ROBERTS, SARAH BAHBAH, SARAH SITKIN, SPENCER MAR GUILBURT, TOMMY MAY, ZELLAH DE BELLA, SHANA NYS DAM https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQDAc5nyxf/?igshid=8tq3ckbetgio

[lacktastrophe]

I know it's been hinted at for a long time... but is it just me, or are Paulo's feelings for Daisy coming out of nowhere? I always thought their interactions prior to the current chapter were platonic at most with Daisy being the one developing romantic feelings for Paulo. Am I missing something? (1/2)

They've always been pining for one another but their insecurities and happenstance tend to keep them away and thinking the other is unattainable. They are absolutely compatible, they're both good friends who look out for each other.

Paulo acknowledged his interest in Daisy first back in Intervention when David persuaded him with a hypothetical where he had to choose between her or Tess. Despite all the running after Tess he'd been doing chapters before, the winner was Daisy, of whom he had never attempted to womanize once because of his belief she didn't deserve him at his worst. She's always been his main means of support and accepted him for all of his faults.

He likely would have gone ahead and spoke with Daisy afterwards once they returned from Silvershore, likely becoming a pair, had it not already been that during that period of his absense, Abbey had snuck in and denied us of potential.

We could be sure that Daisy had always had a thing for Paulo too which probably went back to when she first met him. There isn't anything that really makes that as clear but we can attest that Daisy has always liked boys, we saw interest and admiration building up over time quite a bit during the very early chapters and even more so once her relaitonship with Abbey was over when she could put more thought towards her best friend.

Admitting her interest might've taken comparitively longer because as far as she could tell, Paulo hasn't ever shown interest in her, only going after Lucy, which sheds this uneasy light that existed despite their amicable relationships.

Is it coming out from nowhere again? Not at all! All of the moments you're looking for is when Daisy's relationship with Abbey starts showing signs of trouble, the moments specifically are in Guest of Honour, Moments apart and Featured Attraction.

As far as Paulo's sexuality being explored...isn't that happening in this chapter? (Future LackLuster: Actually no, it's relationships. Should've given it more thought, past me.) Paulo has technically admitted that he doesn't see either James or Mike as potentials, so even though it's not happening, he's seriously considered it.

I think Paulo's done enough discovery of his sexuality, we've had chapters like Boy Toy, Golden Hour and Fair game where he either considered the possibility or gushed over Mike. I don't think there's anything more that could really be learned. He's accepting of this fact now though. He still has an eye out for Daisy, more so too since all the distractions, James, Mike, Lucy are all unattainable.

I'm finding myself mostly warmed up to Paulo x Daisy these days but I could imagine why people might hate it as well (Do give me your reason!). I have also reached the point where I feel like this needs to really hurry up and be a thing or die already. It's been dangled over the story's head like a carrot for such a long time and Paulo's constant "Nah, I'm not ready to admit my love for Daisy" has me all.

PLEASE HAVE THEM KISS.

[lacktastrophe]

literally the first thing that came to my mind when i saw that page of daisy thinking of all the girls was "man , paulo sure has bad taste"

lmao, a big oof to anyone who was a fan to one of those.

Paulo x David managing to evade.

[anonfelis]

They've kinda become a big ship of mine? 😳

[anonfelis]

david x paulo x daisy are bi 4 bi 4 bi

[lacktastrophe]

Fair game and Sugar Substitute analysis

One of the things that I always found kinda sucked about keeping current on web-comics is with the update schedule. Though, not necessarily about the update frequency when new pages are uploaded (I mean, going back to one day a week from three is AWFUL, but considering it’s only for a year, I’ll live), but more specifically with the amount of content you digest at that moment in time. 

I’ve grown used to a pattern of glossing over a page before continuing with my day. This is about as good as reading a page out of a novel in much the same frequency; a page a week, getting on with your life, then on a following week try to remember exactly what happened on the page before without having to go there again to be continually up to date. Try giving that a go. Even with BCB’s previous three pages a week you tend to kind of forget what was explored earlier and you have moments where you don’t see the small details and how they fit into the page you’re reading now without going back. And who’s seriously got time to go back and re-read the chapter when it reaches its conclusion and read it from the beginning? Hahahahaha....

Well, we should be doing more of that.

I have been spoiled rotten by manga’s been run by teams as of recent. It’s always nice to see 30 pages or so produced in a months time, I have an easier time retaining knowledge of what’s happened in those stories because of the amount of pages you can consume in one go as opposed to once-a-week web-comics. I thought Homestuck got this right as well when it went to a weekly schedule instead of daily, and the updates started getting progressively larger (admittedly by this point, it was also being worked in a team). It was easier to retain knowledge of events, even if it was...a total clusterfuck by the end...

It’s worth going back and re-reading chapters once they’re all done. I tend to feel differently about them even more so once I see how everything’s come together. Now that Sugar Substitute is all wrapped up, let’s go back over Fair game and see where we’ve reached in this point of BCB’s story.

-

Fair game opens with a non-cast character celebrating a strike, we realise as Madison takes off her blindfold as the other characters celebrate and shout surprise to her, we’re at a promised birthday event for Madison from Moments apart.

We’re with the group of seniors we’ve been more than acquainted with over the last few years. Of course, Paulo’s here too, and we’ve also been joined by two of his friends, Daisy and David. It’s like Golden Hour, but this time Daisy’s here!

Jessica’s got the whole corner of the Alleyway booked so nobody can ruin their evening.

No weirdo’s allowed.

No weirdos, with the exception of both David and Paulo. When clown shoes are involved, so are subtle references to video game characters. 

Madison feels the need to ask who seriously invited these two idiots, and we’re scratching our heads. Technically, these two were only invited because Matt had begged Jessica to, according to the page comments. I’m guessing Madison still hasn’t gotten over her dislike of Paulo and probably never will!  On the plus side, this means they get the chance to have two teams of four running, instead of it just being Madison, Jessica, Matt and Jordan.

With the two exceptions to the rule aside, now it’s Jessica’s turn to be upset about the other let-down that evening; we’re off to a great start as Jordan invited Tiff again at her own disbelief. Tiff, the same girl who ditched him at the prom. Jessica is completely livid over Jordan’s persistence that he and Tiff could be a romantic pair despite so many problems over so many years.

Jordan is absolutely hopeless and keeps chasing after girls who are just impossible.

Paulo is also at odds with Jordan choice and confronts him over Roxy’s absence. He mistakes her name but Jordan knows who he’s talking about. Despite that they did get along together well at the prom, Jordan is still insistent that there’s a connection between him and Tiff.

But she’s already gotten bored and has decided to leave while they’re all talking.

Jordan chases after her, acting as if it was a mistake that she went out the wrong door. Only to find she’d gotten bored so quickly she had called for a ride as soon as they gotten there. She leaves on the back of someones motorcycle.

Sigh.

Jordan goes back inside and tries to save face, but nobody is surprised by the conclusion; Tiff has ditched him again, she isn’t coming back.

Paulo takes the time to grill Matt on his choice of potential love interests; Jordan is absolutely hopeless, especially when he had something good going on with Roxy. Why would Matt see ANYTHING good in someone as hopeless as him? 

Matt doesn’t know, he retorts with some incredible wit claiming it’s more or less the same attraction that Rachel has for him.

Apply wound to burn.

Paulo tries to stand on the same level as Matt to see what’s so great about Jordan. Failing to see some light in his personality, Paulo first tries to imagine if he has any physical attraction to Jordan, he doesn’t. He can’t even imagine Jordan as Lucy and see the same attraction. The two aren’t even alike. There’s no way this is working.

Matt explains Jordan has been there for him at his worst, Jordan’s optimism and upbeat personality giving him some inspiration that there’s more to live towards. We’re all familiar with some of the difficulties Matt’s had to face up until now, so his feelings towards Jordan are that of a real friend.

Paulo gives some thought to Matt’s answer. He can’t help but ask an ambiguous theory about what if ‘he liked him back.’ Matt asks him to clarify seeing as the question was quite open, and while Paulo does letting him know it was for him, we get the impression from his stutter he meant to ask about his own friends as well, likely David as how David shared his affection for him in Golden Hour.

Matt’s sadly sees his crush as only that; a daydream. Given Jordan’s affixation with Tiff, it’s hard to see him as anything other than straight. But Paulo isn’t initially sure given his own feelings, and starts wondering about whether the feelings he has towards his male friends himself is any less valid given he too has only ever chased after women all of his life. This thought process is derailed when Paulo looks away at that moment to Matt with a smug expression over his face, an embarrassed Paulo tries to distance himself from looking any further into it.

Matt might be getting some amusement out of this given how Paulo acted towards him in Golden Hour, but I imagine he’s also just happy to see Paulo slowly coming to terms with his feelings since that point and towards determining what they mean to him. We get more of an insight into why Matt’s like this towards Paulo in the intermission chapter, but this is some good progression from Paulo’s side, and it comes to eventually begging the question from Matt; He’s been crushing hard over Jordan for years despite being positive that Jordan is straight. Has he ever asked him the question and found out for certain?

Matt flusters, he’s too shy to even know how to go about asking in the first place.

Paulo’s things otherwise and suggests it’s not as hard as it looks. A straightforward procedure, simply ask; are you gay?

But, Paulo’s own foil to this direct plan of his, is his own insecurity to his feelings when Matt asks the question back.

It’s a subtle lesson to Paulo that sometimes the more direct method isn’t always the best method. Matt has previous experience having done so, finding himself ostracised when people he thought he could trust suddenly changed their minds on a whim.

Paulo feels terrible about the freak-out, he’s reminded of how he acted towards Matt in Golden Hour. Paulo asks Matt if he wants him to ask Jordan himself so they can find out once and for all.

Paulo isn’t too concerned about what others think of him and there’s no risk to Matt himself even if the worst happens. Matt appreciates the gesture.

We finally get to see some bowling soon afterwards! It’s easy to see who’s done this before as Madison and her gang are easily making short work of the juniors.

Jordan stops Daisy’s next bowl to try and help her out. As Paulo watches on, he can’t help but try imagining again about Jordan. Paulo slightly edges towards thinking that, maybe he does have some kind of attraction.

The teasing has to stop somewhere.

Paulo is still at odds with himself over it. He hates the idea of finding some attraction to someone as dorky as Jordan.

He tries to substite Jordan for Lucy in his own imagination, but suddenly, she turns into some other dork he knows about.

Oh boy, how the tables have turned.

We were teased with the idea that it was David Paulo had been thinking about, this might still be the case, but here, Paulo has instead got secret feelings for his own rival.

He falls off his seat in surprise, only to have Daisy come over to find out what’s going on.

Paulo’s freakout causes Daisy to panic herself, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable around her, but Paulo instead just tells her a fib that he was dreaming and she woke him up from it. Daisy doesn’t even stop to think about why he was sleeping at a party let alone a bowling alley, as she immediately goes to be reassuring to him that nothing could hurt him. She’s an interesting friend.

We finally get some of that best friend Daisy x Paulo bonding that had been absent since Daisy started dating Abbey back in volume 1, as the two talk about lucid dreaming. It’s very interesting to see that Daisy has some really interesting dreams herself about Paulo, even seeing Paulo as some kind of hero.

How cute!

Daww, Paulo says some lovely things to Daisy sometimes.

Paulo is still trying to work out his feelings, but as soon as Jordan gets up from his seat, it’s time for Paulo to get to work.

I hope you’re ready for agonising pain, because this next sequence is just the worst.

Paulo walks in just as Jordan is done in the bathroom. Paulo puts the moves on him just like the does with the women at school. Jordan initially mistakes the flirt Paulo gives as an everyday comment.

And it all goes downhill from here.

God, end it now.

We get our wish when Jordan tries to reciprocate Paulo’s feelings but tells him at the same time he’s not into him.

Paulo, acts quite embarrassed and initiates plan B; Bail!

Paulo coolly shouts ‘Sike’ and tries to play off the whole thing like a joke. An off-handed comment about his little sister however causes Jordan to forget about what happened and flip into defensive brother mode. We get subtle hints that Jordan has been at best tolerating Paulo’s presence in the group. He tells him to leave her alone if he knows what’s good for him.

It’s not hard to wonder why things are this way, Jordan had a theory from ages ago that her friends had done something to cause her to try and throw herself off a building. He’s not at all pleased to hear that Paulo still has his sights on her. 

It makes more sense in the intermission chapter but we cannot hope for more given this immature joke has done nothing but worsened Jordan’s opinion of him.

Thankfully for Paulo, Jordan is more mystified with Paulo’s skill at flirting than the game he played just before. He thinks to try and leverage some of that skill by asking whether Paulo could teach him some skills that he could apply on Tiff, but Paulo already has:

Dont...Date...Gold-Digging...Bitches. 

Marginally avoiding a totally catastrophe in the bathroom, the party continues unabated with grandma Madison celebrating her 81st birthday (alright we’re so over this joke now), and responsible teenage driving when seven of them fill into a five-seater car.

Very responsible.

Jordan is the last person on the trip, leaving just Paulo and Matt.

Paulo apologies and confirms Matt’s earlier suspicions. Jordan does consider himself straight. There’s little chance of it working out. Matt looks devastated initially, but comes to having accepted the result like he did initially, nothing’s changed.

Matt plays it all down; Highschool crushes are sometimes destined to go nowhere. There’s more to life and there’s always that someone out there.

Paulo starts thinking about what’s being said too.

There’s some disbelief in Paulo in how Matt can remain upbeat and positive even knowing that a crush of his will not happen. Compare to Paulo who broke down multiple times when several chances where he could have been romantically involved with Lucy were being sunk one after the other.

But in telling Matt how he could just go out to find love, a number of Matt’s own insecurities about the future tear open. Indeed, Paulo could just go out onto the street and pick up any woman he wants. They might not be the right person, but it’s that easy for him.

It’s not easy for Matt. It’s never been that easy.

Matt reveals he’s scared of what will come now. He feels more alone now and blames his sexuality. He could’ve simply gotten along with Rachel before, he had that opportunity. It would’ve been enough to be accepted, but it wouldn’t have been him. Paulo tries to reassure him that it was correct of him to be true to himself. But Matt is far too concerned with the future; Jordan was the only light he had looked forward towards all this time, one of the reasons he felt he could certainly keep moving. But now what? He wasn’t accepted at home. Could he be accepted anywhere else after school? Who could love him now?

And he’s scared he won’t find any acceptance because of how difficult it is to find other people like him. Like how Paulo couldn’t accept simply being asked if he was gay, Matt fears that kind of reaction from people most of all. 

What if he doesn’t find anyone else like him? What if everyone else is like him; wearing a mask, unable to be themselves?

We see some great character progression from Paulo as he tries his best to reassure Matt that it’s not all lost; he’ll find someone else, there is always someone else.

Greater to his own character development, Paulo’s inner feelings start leaking out as well. He has such a poor opinion of himself, he can’t help but feel scared about the future as well. But he carries such a hopeful opinion of Matt. Surely this one upset is not the end for him.

Hearing it brings Matt out of his crisis.

At the end of the night, Paulo reassures Matt that there’s surely something to look forward to; he’s got his friends.

Matt returns the sympathy, they’ve both got friends, they’ll show the world some day.

That brings the chapter to an end, but why stop here?

In the following intermission chapter we find Jordan and Matt in the library studying for their SAT’s. We’re given the impression that even with Augustus’ help, Jordan is just as hopeless in this aspect of his life like how he is with his love life.

Matt convinces him they should get back to the task on hand. But Jordan can’t help but bring up that Paulo had tried to hit on him at the birthday party before, causing a chill to go up Matt’s spine.

Given Jordan’s hopelessness with Tiffany we’re under the belief he’s so hopeless as not clued into what’s going on around him, but we find that isn’t the case at all. Jordan has been watching. He’s very aware of Paulo’s habits and. . .it seems like there may even be some pity towards Paulo in the end of it.

It’s hard not to understand why things are like this either; Jordan has been acquainted with Paulo in one of two ways; through his sister or through Jessica and Rachel, as he had been friends with them as soon as he started at Roseville high, (this had been more or less supported in the BCI comic Blind Date when we see Jordan with them as Matt joins the group.) Having been friends with two of the culprits who took advantage of Paulo in order to get back at Tess in his sophomore year, it’s hard for him not to not have learned that Paulo had been sleeping around with the both of them, or heard the rumours that he had been sleeping around in general. The BCI Comic DinnerTime supports this when Jordan tries to use this knowledge as leverage against his sister’s romantic shenanigans to get his mother to extend his curfew. 

Despite being associated to each other over the last few months through his relationship with Rachel, it doesn’t appear outside of asking for advice on picking up the opposite sex that they are close friends. Being mindful that Paulo is one of Lucy’s ex-friends, who could be the one responsible for Lucy throwing herself off the building, he’s been largely tolerant but not very open towards a friendship. And when the idea of Paulo becoming romantically involved with Lucy comes up, Jordan is all but against it; he almost lost his sister once, he isn’t going to risk it again. Especially after Paulo’s inability to reconcile with Rachel’s feelings towards him.

Having come to know Paulo, Jordan feels sorry for him instead, believing Paulo is confused and is allowing his feelings to run his life and control him as an explanation to his strange behaviour. He asks if it’s the same with Matt as well, which Matt says is correct. He likely pities Paulo to some extent. But I wonder if it’s because of the chance that, despite appearing like he has a lot of love to give, Paulo appears lonely no matter who he’s with, in much the same way Matt feels isolated and alone through his sexuality.

Matt lets slip at this point that he knew Paulo had went to harass Jordan in the bathroom but it goes by unnoticed by Jordan. Jordan instead downplays that the harassment was all taken in good jest, and strangely enough, it seems to have rubbed off on Jordan; Jordan appears more confident having another male let him know he’s attractive.

The greatest reveal is at the end of the intermission when Jordan jokes about seeing if he could somehow hook Paulo up with Matt. It leaves Matt stunned, and why not?

Jordan knows he’s gay. There’s some solace in that acknowledgment.

At the same time, he can’t help but find some humour in that Jordan thinks Paulo would be a great fit for Matt. He finds that hilarious. There’s only room for one hopeless guy in his life.

I wonder what the next chapter will bring?

[bittersweetcandybowl]

There has been a lot of talk about Augustus x Lucy and I was just thinking, since it's confirmed Mike and Lucy will be together at the end of the comic, as well as it being strongly hinted at Paulo x Daisy, who will be left for him? Abbey? David? Amaya? Sue? Actually, who will Sue be with, thinking of it?

Veronica: When was it confirmed MikexLucy was endgame? o_o;

Pairing the spares was always a trope that kinda annoyed me so I don’t see why Augustus should be lumped together with anyone just for the sake of the ending!

[bittersweetcandybowl]

so, paulo x daisy, rachel x loneliness, mike x sandy (but he also is re-developing a crush on lucy??? despite the trauma he associates with her???), augustus x jordan???????, david x david x david x david x david x david (etc.), and of course, random side character x dodgeball. that's just my predictions for the rest of this chapter, in ship form!

Veronica: RachelxSELF-RESPECT MORE LIKE!!!!!!!