Augustus is gonna get a face full of fist editionWebsite: https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/Booru: https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/candybooru/Last thread: >>150184497
>>150214080Do it Mike
>>150214080Keep your cats inside folks, cats were never meant to go outside
Oh also >>>/trash/77508292 if you want to talk about really trapping these comic cats
>>150214080okay the anime pose is funny as fuck, I'll let this one slide taeshi
Augustus would lose his bullshit attitude real quick if Mike grabbed his ass and introduced him to the group as his boyfriend. Might even be swayed a little
>>150214165not gonna happen because taeshi hates MikexAugustus
>>150214098After glancing through the comments left by the patrons--who have of course reverted back to their usual selves because two pages worth of basic sanity was an inexplicable anomaly--I am certain that Taeshi's fans are dumb enough to buy this whole "it's my characters who are doing this I'm not a cringe writer haha" bit. The universe she wrote is treating this wannabe Hannibal Lector speech like a mental sledgehammer instead of the inflatable rubber squeaky toy it is.
>>150214080Is Augustus blaming Mike for Lucy being on fucking therapy over trying to kill herself? Is that what he's doing?>>150214098Taeshi, that would be a cool metaphor if Augustus wasn't actually one of those cats living in a barn or silo, not free at all but behaving like it is. Judging by James' pose he's ready to squee out loud about Augustus, typical slut
>>150214098i cant tell if james is stanced up ready to defend mike or is just going to be autistically excited about whatever bullshit augustus is saying
>>150214208James is not smart enough to parse what's going on, even if he was grounded enough to notice Mike's reaction. Unfortunately James is both stupid and flighty.
>>150214080I'm just happy Augustus is aura farming again
>>150214080>boxed-in>everything in black and white>geniusWait, is Taeshi jerking herself off over the Lucy dream?
>>150214080Mike has every right to tell him off. I don't know if Augustus is taunting him or subtly going to accept his presence, I'd love to find out.>>150214098James gonna throw hands?>>150214131Bet she's secretly happy.>>150214208Knowing James it could easily be 25-75. >>150214204I imagine so. We all know Mike yelling at angel Lucy happened for no valid reason and was completely unwarrented.For all we know James could be begging to ass fuck the new hot guy.
>>150214259Agreed. I love that they all have their frequent aura moments.
>>150214204>Is Augustus blaming Mike for Lucy being on fucking therapy over trying to kill herself?It's not too much of a surprise, Augustus and Lucy both hold Mike responsible for Lucy's mental health problems and the comic does little to contradict them.I thought initially that this was a reference to Lucy being alone during lunch but Augustus' goal is actually to preserve that state of affairs so, doesn't really fit.>>150214277As you know, all bcb characters are connected to the noosphere and are aware of the finer details of Lucy's nightmare. This is how Augustus can be sure his vague prattling will strike a chord with Mike.As a side note I think it's possible Gus showed up with this much of delay because he was doing his "research" like in the older volumes. And I'm just imagining him watching a few of these movies that he hears James likes, hitting the asylum one and thinking "jackpot"
>>150214098Seems like a view from a distance, maybe we're getting the Live Lucy Reaction next page.
>>150214549Or it's just another way of saying Mike feels alone. But since it would break up the monotony, I'd take little miss font of endless bullshit herself, sure.
>>150214080Oh wow, conveniently Augustus knows about James's obscure director obsession and can play to it despite having no established interest in art movies at all, I never would've guessed.I would hope Taeshi has enough brain cells to rub together to have James call Aug out for bullshitting this on the next page but that would dampen the Mike torture so probably not.
>>150214638In one of her patreon side-comics, Taeshi had Augustus buy a copy of Final Fantasy 7 so he could understand the Sephiroth Cat meme. Ignoring that someone who grew up as an obligatory penny-pincher would have just looked up a free summary online.
The problem is that Lucy was never alone . She isolated herself. Even before the Mike Wazosky rant. People often told her she could count on them, but apparently since some of them are wahmen they dont count, they dont deserve cat rights in Lucys eyes. Paulo was the best bet, even being a huge simp he still valued her and cared for her well being, Just because he was with someone else doesnt mean he stops caring about her.. but Jordham decided that Lucy needed to stay all alone in her dark empty room.Honestly the only ones to blame about Lucy mentale health? her family. And they didnt learn shit. First they drop her to a child, then to a teenager. They still avoid taking any responsability, her mom is literally the worst mother out there "oh I care about you I put you in a Psycho Ward! and then entrust your mental health to another minor who totally wasnt a sketchy boy"
>>150214666Even if she explains this after the fact, that's just bad storytelling. Decent storytelling does the necessary set up for stuff like this: Having Aug listen in to find out James's hobbies which she didn't show, going to movie stores and learning about the topic or searching online which she didn't show, etc. Instead he comes out of nowhere to grief Mike and the justifications will come after if Taeshi bothers to explain it at all.The vain hope being that James catches Aug in the lie as a fake fan, but given this has to end with Mike snapping and James/David both hating him and James being flanderized into a gay bimbo, that's got no chance.
>>150214638We know he is a professional stalker. From when Mike was all happy to be with the gays to now being all depressed because the gays are being gay, it probably passed some time, enough for Augustus to be his self creep again and gain infos. The only explanation possible
>>150214714It's pretty clear that Augustus is doing this out of frustrated cope. He can't do anything for Lucy and so once again Mike is serving as someone else's punching bag. It's so much easier to blame Mike because that makes for a simple answer. Of course it isn't because we've seen that Lucy is fundamentally nuts, and getting Mike off the field will be a band-aid solution at best.The comic will, of course, completely ignore this perfectly obvious answer in favor of something that is both simplistic and nonsensical. Or it will lean into the idea several years too late, long after the story has invalidated any such interpretation.
>>150214815I suspect this is just Taeshi deciding, for simplicity's sake, that Augustus would be a fan because he's smart and cultured and shit. But since two retards are fans of this director, it's starting to look like he's the Dane Cook of avant garde. Or maybe a Nolan equivalent. Really, Taeshi made up a name and from now on it's code for "this knows about him that means they are built different I swear." Watch Lucy turn out to be a huge fan as well.
>>150214921*this character knows
>>150214921>James kills himself after learning he isn't a fan of obscure directors at all and is truly just a basic bitch.
>>150214959>it turns out all these insecure teenagers are just trying to sound deep and latch onto the first moderately non-mainstream anything they come acrossI mean, that's usually how it works, right?
>>150214201>Heh... the stupid patreons are treating this like a comic instead of a cringe meta-analysis like meWhoa...
>>150215217>this is too advanced for me to understand and i feel threatened>better mock it to feel better about myselflol
>>150214204>Is Augustus blaming Mike for Lucy being on fucking therapy over trying to kill herself? Is that what he's doing?You shouldn't be surprised. Everyone in this comic thinks it's just easier to blame mike for everything instead of getting Lucy some actual fucking help.
>>150215217>>150215259It's too early for this
>>150214080Augustus but he spent the last few days stalking the wrong person and doesn't know what topics he was even supposed to be bullshitting here.
>>150215294kek
>>150215294I like your version a lot more. Mike looks like he's having a mental breakdown because he doesn't know what the fuck is happening anymore.
So in the event Mike does try to kill himself and ends up in the hospital, what is the rest of the cast going to do?Act like he desrved it because "Now he knows how lucy feels!"Pass around the blame?
>>150214080>More shit writing
>>150215359Have a fleeting moment of "maybe we fucked up" before quickly reverting to blaming him or shrugging it off in some fashion. Same way Paulo was thinking about how he was a douchebag for how fast and willing he was to throw Mike under the buss for Lucy only to quickly want to give him a swirly after the theater stuff
>>150215359Well first off, Taeshi will never put Mike into a position that gets other characters to introspect. They must always be given some kind of out. Like, say, Michael lying through his teeth, assuring everyone else this had nothing to do with them. Perhaps with a sperg fit thrown in to make everyone walk away in disgust.
>>150215559Double Down came right on the heels of Featured Attraction, which for once makes some basic sense.
>>150214525>>150214638He likely watched the movies despite disinterest just to taunt Mike, which is next-level petty.>>150214666No fun in that.>>150214838I'd love for James to be just so gay for Augustus that it freaks him out, making him stay away from Mike.>>150215217I hope Bittersweet Candy Bowl actually gets serious philosophical studies by archeologists and historians in the future.
>>150214080C'mon Mike, you're like the Gohan of BCB. We don't need another useless sperg out, we need you to go Super Sperg 2. Sustain it.
>>150215359Lucy will feel sad and guilty about it, and then everyone will come to his room to spit in his face for making her sad, Taeshi will make a stupid joke in the author comments that the readers take too seriously and start asking for Lucy to unplug Mike from life support because "caretakers are also victims" and being a victim activates Lucy's UNaccountable so she can just kill him
>>150215940Lucy crosss her arms and say Mike deserved it while crying in secret. Augustus visits Mike's room and sneers down at his comatose body for so thoughtlessly causing Lucy to suffer. Paulo throws himself a pity party while Daisy gushes that it's the manliest thing she's ever seen. Sue continues to be irrelevant. The track team shows some basic concern while David makes stupid jokes that somehow don't earn him a broken nose. James only manages five seconds of earnest thought on the matter before the contractual retardation kicks back in. Taeshi forgets that Abbey was Mike's friend so he isn't brought up.
>>150216067You forgot Taeshi makes a Patreon only BCI about what if "Mike survived the accident" that's basically characters standing on front of each other saying how glad they're actually that Mike is alright, it makes more sense than the rest of the comic and she jokes that this is all made up and non canon
>>150214080Where are the adults? Is this school so small that everyone can eat lunch at the same time?
>>150216361The adults are all playing trombones in the corner or some shit.
>>150215278>just easier to blame mike for everything instead of getting Lucy some actual fucking help.Getting her help implies two things.>Something is wrong with Lucy (there is)> You might have driven her to this point(questionable since I blame Lucy for her weird hang-ups). Either one is something no one wants to think about in this comic, kinda like a girl having a near-unhealthy attachment to a guy while at the same time whooping his ass for no reason.
it's funny reading the discord because there's lots of cringe autistic transfolk but somehow the most embarrassing shit to read is always from the straight male lucy simps
Why does Taeshi hate Mike like she does and then get surprised and upset when readers end up hating him just as much, if not more?What did she think would happen if she kept having a character look bad for a decade?
>>150216397She thinks hating (ironic funny deprecation) but her fans think hating (lynch him from a tree)
>>150216361>Is this school so small that everyone can eat lunch at the same timeNo, the schedules for the senior gang and the moody gang just happen to line up
>>150216397Either she has no concept of cause and effect, or more likely she isn't really surprised and is just forced to pay lip service to liking Mike because she doesn't want to give away the gameif everyone knew this was a story of Taeshi torturing Mike and shitting on him for almost 20 years all those people who believe this is an actual story and are expecting character development would stop reading.
>>150216498>if everyone knew this was a story of Taeshi torturing Mike and shitting on him for almost 20 years all those people who believe this is an actual story and are expecting character development would stop reading.Why would you tortuure a character for something you both made him say and do alongside some sort of reasoning for why it was said?
>>150216535Wild how Lucy's mom was right but she still ended up backing down from her clearly still insane daughter. Now she has to rely on Augustus to tell her anything.>Why would you tortuure a character for something you both made him say and do alongside some sort of reasoning for why it was said?Projecting someone or something that happened IRL onto the character and using them as a stress ball for it
>>150216395>straight male lucy simpsWhy would you think they're not mentally stunted women-children and poorly socialized teenage girls?
On one hand, it's nice seeing a bit of Augustus' old self coming through. At least in the sense of knowing juuuuust the right thing to say to get under someone's skin or in their head.On the other hand, this menacing approach is overshadowed by us - as the audience - knowing how much if a little bitch he actual is and needing Lucy to protect him from punches. It's also bullshit that he also just so happened to know about this Guillermo Del Toro-esque director and enough about the movies to make this kind of jab that only Mike would catch onto. A jab that is a stupid, pointless power move because Augustus is just gonna whimper with his tail between his legs when Lucy goes off on him for "protecting her" when she never fucking wanted it!
>>150216580there's one who's got a weird boomeristic chauvanistic attitude and it's the funniest kind of simping I've ever seen. he defended sandy's blowup at mike over his childishness as "you don't run around like kids with a girl like that".
>>150216397My suspicion is that Taeshi herself, having BPD, can and does go back and forth on Mike. Most people, once they come to hate a character, will not suddenly up and change their minds. But Taeshi seems the type who's never quite grasped that other people genuinely do not think the way she does, a fact which continues to frustrate her.
>>150216491At this point I'm surprised that Taeshi even understands the concept of high school lunch periods.
>>150216498>all those people who believe this is an actual story and are expecting character development would stop readingOr they wouldn't care because the Mike torture was always cathartic. Anyone who is seriously expecting character development from BCB is too stupid to recognize it.
>>150216661That and the fact Mike should not be feeling guilty about this to begin with. Augustus' entire speech would fall apart if Mike redeveloped a single vertebrae.
>>150216752>That and the fact Mike should not be feeling guilty about this to begin withYou forgot Mike is a normal kid and not an autistic retard.
>>150214080Can this dumbass goth cat just die in a river of chocolate or something?>>150214165That's too interesting for Taeshi to do.We're prepping for a nuke-level Mike meltdown followed by abandonment and being ultra-depressed.>>150214204>Implying Lucy is in therapylol, lmao even.But yes, probably.>>150214714Im glad Im not the only one who thinks Lucy's mom is fucking garbage. She's such a brain-dead bimbo idiot pulled right from the 1950s. Only the biggest of gooners would find her attractive and that's after lots of flanderization.>>150214815A decent writer would have more to write about then ways they can make a singular character miserable in a story. Taeshi does that but also goes to the most convoluted and retarded ways about it.Instead of Augustus just re-confronting Mike and threatening him to make his life difficult?He eavesdrops on Mike's gay-bimbo slut and then inserts himself into the convo to talk about obscure movies.????????????
>>150216498Not like anyone still cares about the story or drama/character bashing. We're left with stockholm syndrome "fans"
>>150216793No, you're thinking of Bizarro World Mike. The one we are stuck with is clearly an autistic retard.
>>150216805Here, off the top of my fucking head I'll write a better set up for this story.Augustus, whose taken into Lucy's home for a better life- a known gang-member has a hard time quitting old habits. He hangs out (secretly) with other 'bad kids' under the bleachers, maybe they sell weed to kids or smoke cigs/drink or whatever.He hides it from Lucy, while putting on a good-boy act. This gives him layers. But more importantly, muscle for the next set up.(Lucy can fuckoff with Jordan or Sue or whatever sometimes)Augustus approaches Mike, cornering him alone with his new posse, then begins to needle him with questions - then threats. He has a new 'sort' of gang to back him up. This increases the tension for Mike and makes Augustus seem more unpredictable still. He hasn't completely turned over a new leaf, because its hard for people to change. He's been a gang member since he was 11/12 or something?It's a classic set up, harkens back to typical high school bully tropes and gives Augustus something to do besides have his head inside Lucy's ass 24/7. He threatens Mike because Mike is threatening his happy home life by triggering Lucy.I think that is more in character then him randomly acting nice and talking to James about an obscure movie director.
I suppose a silver lining to this, arguably, is that Augustus is not acting OOC by outing Lucy's suicide attempt. It's hard to believe his castrated pet self would dare to spill his mistress' beans without her permission. So instead he's just trying to guild trip Mike even harder than before.
>>150216793I think mike with a spine would feel guilt but not let himself get rattled to this damn extent.A normal kid would not let Augustus do what he does.
>>150216834NTA but it's perfectly normal to feel guilty about setting off a friend's mental episode and/or sending them mixed signals. It's normal for him to feel responsible for her problems even if that's not the reality of it.What's not normal is having God herself love torturing you in particular.
>>150216880A problem is that Augustus never hung out with any of the other delinquent types before. He's always been a loner and Lucy was pretty much his only friend. So you'd have to answer as to why he suddenly starts now, when he's suddenly on easy street.
>>150214080>Augustus is back to "anime"-ing in publicThis is will from a 7 to a 9/10 if in the next page James says "Mike! You never mentioned you had a "special" friend!"
>>150216904A normal kid would have asked why Augustus and Lucy couldn't just relocate to literally anywhere else on school grounds instead of sobbing with guilt.
>>150216970"Hey, I've never seen you on the short bus before!"
>>150216786Aw dude I LOVE cocks!
>>150216970>"Mike! You never mentioned you had a "special" friend!"What do you mean? James was already introduced to David and Paulo... Oh God! James has a retard fetish
>>150216986A normal kid would also shout at you or punch you in the face for pulling this shit too.>A normal kid would have asked why Augustus and Lucy couldn't just relocate to literally anywhere else on school groundsAlso, this coulda have been done without even talking to Mike. All Lucy does is sit and sleep outside; she could do that in the library or in an empty classroom.
>>150217017And dicks!
>>150216895Until recently I didn't think Taeshi genuinely hated Mike and that the catharsis was coming eventually, but his actions in First Degree Burn are so confoundingly retarded that they only make sense if their purpose is to try and justify additional abuse of him. Like if he'd just told Augustus "no" and walked away, or even said "okay" and then stuck to his word and sunk deeper into hating himself, maybe you could hope for someone to finally reach out to him. But nope! Gotta have him take the double-spineless option so that whatever Augustus does to him is valid.
>>150217082I'm still not sure if she hates Mike or just has no fucking clue how to keep padding out this story besides torturing him endlessly.Her only alternative seems to be the Paulo Show.
>>150214080Mike should just say this to Augustus.
>>150217029The truth is that Daisy was right: Mike (or at least the flanderized version we're stuck with) swings way too far in one direction or another, never finding the right balance. When he finally stood up for himself, Mike turned into an impotent sperg. Now he regrets that and lets everyone walk all over him. Daisy was also right that Mike should prioritize his own well-being more. Not leap to Sandy's defense nor let Lucy and her minion(s) stomp on his balls.
>>150217131Why the hell would Lucy ever admit out loud that Mike frightens her?
>>150214080Remembah da time Mike had track friends? I miss that.
>>150217156>Gaybaitlol who cares?
>>150217096The way she's been gleefully salivating over his impending torture in the page comments and bluesky replies certainly suggest Taeshi gets a kick out of this. It's also hard to imagine that a neutral individual could think of just about nothing else to write about.
>>150217134Cool that after like five years since that chapter, which genuinely spelled out an actionable fault in his character, he's done nothing but get worse as Taeshi exults in pouring salt on the wound.
>>150217131>"Scare me away"Why does she fear him in the first place? Why WOULD she fear him in the first place?Lucy's been so badly mishandled since she came back because Taeshi brought her back without a good reason in universe and its why we never actually get a look at how she actually thinks outside of those dumb ass dreams.
>>150217164>gaybaitWhat, and read 20 chapters of schizo white cat? Yeah, I'd rather suck cock.
>>150217156Gee, I wonder how long before they're given reason to abandon Mike as well.
>>150217096I think it's both.She has some kind of beef with Mike and thinks that she can use it to just pad it out.
>>150217181To be perfectly fair, Daisy is a lousy source of advice and would probably just turn Mike into a monster. Which to be doubly fair would still be a massive improvement and way more interesting to watch.
>>150217082Taeshi removing any moral ambiguity for Mike is a BCB staple >Mike is upset at Lucy for treating him like shit for years>Taeshi has him act OOC and December Lucy so actually he's the bad guy>Mike was rightfully upset about his friends not treating him well>Taeshi has all of them act OOC and bend over backwards for him so he looks like a baby >Mike genuinely has no one to be his best friend but James who is maliciously taken from him>Suddenly Taeshi writes it so Mike has more friend groups than he knows what to do with so he looks like a weasel for sticking with JamesI can't wait for Mike to try and jump off a building, only to crush a child with leukemia and survive
>>150216924How has he "never hung out with deliquent types before" when he was literally in Alejandro's gang?Is Alejandro not a deliquent?In Tess's flashback she had a gang of deliquent kids there - you're saying the high-school doesn't have any?He's only a loner now because of Lucy's influence and that he was younger then the other gang-members.So I don't think him hanging out with other kids with similiar personalities or interests as far as deliquent activties go would be that far of a stretch.IMO, its far less of a stretch then "Approach the gay kid to piss with Mike and talk about obscure movies as some 5d chess move."Just let this fucker smoke on his lunch break.
>>150216793>>150216834I agree with >>150216904 that it's normal to feel some guilt about a friend's mental breakdown if you think you contributed to it. Or you feel like you failed to prevent it or help them through it. I can sympathize with Mike having some guilt over the ketchupening because of their initial fallout and thinking he's at fault to a degree. But Mike's DID try to make up with Lucy and is not responsible for her inability to cope with him wanting to be friends again after she agreed to moving away.But this level of guilt tripping to the point where Mike is traumatized and nearly paralyzed by it would only make sense if Lucy jumped the same night she got Decembered. Because then there would be a stronger correlation between Mike's actions contributing towards Lucy's actions. If that's what happened, then I could be more understanding of Mike having this level of guilt even as a normal kid. But that's not what happened. So....
>>150214208>James is stanced up ready to defend MikeY'know, there's potential for a good story there. James recognizes Gus is making Mike uncomfortable and actually comes to Mike's defense and tells Gus to fuck off, but Mike is motivated by guilt and yells at James that he doesn't know anything about him. James now has a good reason to be bitter at Mike, because what the fuck I was on your side, while at the same time giving a chance for them to mend fences by Mike apologizing and telling the track team about Lucy. Of course none of that will happen, because that's not Mike torture enough.
>>150217213At this point the only consistent moral message this story could hope to convey by the end is that LDRs are fundamentally bad and will ruin your life.
>>150217181You talking about this chapter? This was the last time I saw /co/ geniunely excited for this dumbass comic, like Taeshi would do anything but sink this ship immediately.Then the Mike kissing everyone but still choosing Sandy schtick got pretty old and worn out.This was back in the beginning of 2022 and what even was the fucking point? Mike takes nothing from this exchange.Also there was that really cringy Paulo/Lucy fight where we get the sperg-olympics and reveal that Paulo knew Lucy tried to kill herself and apparently fucked her in that dressing room way back in Curtain Call.
>>150217182>Why does she fear him in the first place? Why WOULD she fear him in the first place?Because Mike is the one person who can get under her skin. He nuked her self-worth in December with a few words. She tried so hard to dismiss and drive him away and they still ended up smooching under the tree. Lucy went right back to putting all of her eggs in the Mike basket and once again suffered for it (which granted was entirely her own fault but it's Lucy, of course she'll find a way to blame someone else). To Lucy, Mike is just plain /dangerous/ to be around. Because she's weak. Lucy does not want to be weak and so will prove to herself she is not.Or maybe she's a fucking lunatic who's hybridized him with Alejandro in her nutbag nightmare. Both could be true at once.
>>150217268I mean at least all of that was interesting and SEEMED, at the TIME, like it might lead somewhere.
>>150217156If only Felix would show up, make out with Mike in front of everyone, and drag him back to the track team table.
>>150217096It's either hate or she finally burnt out. You know, back in watercolor era we at least had some semi-retarded plotlines, that actually included most of the main cast and side chars. Now all we get is reused Sandy drama for 99th time or baiting women (+fags) with homosexual drama that makes no sense and turning everyone bi/gay
>>150217213>Taeshi has him act OOC and December Lucy so actually he's the bad guyEh, December gave Mike more reason to treat Lucy as the devil. Up until then, Lucy's abuse had been purely emotional. December retconned some of the old slapstick into physical injuries they both had wrongly dismissed.
>>150217282This is a great and believable analysis and it'd be great if Taeshi thought about her characters' actions this much.
>>150217220Augustus was only with Alejandro because he's a wuss who felt he had to or risk punishment. Meanwhile Augustus remained alone at school, showing no interest in any similar students even if they did exist. Lucy was the first one to approach and hang with him. The actual realistic outcome is that he grows annoyed with her again, the way he used to.
>>150214098OH I know what next panel will be.Mike is clearly uncomfertable by the situation, it will seem like James will going to ask Augustus to leave, but instead he'll fangirl towards the guy because he's a fucking idiot.
>>150217329That's retarded because you know Taeshi will never let her blorbo Lucy ever suffer from not having support.She has to willingly choose to be alone, nobody would ever abandon her.(Except Mike, because Taeshi wants a particular narrative and is retarded like that)But also why I don't bother talking in detail about how to make the comic better here anymore. Everyone is always bitchy about suggestions.Not that it matters.
>>150217239The problem is that none of this is about the suicide attempt. Lucy is torn up because he won't stop dating Sandy. It has completely replaced the far more important event in her mind. Now if Mike did not know that, his guilt would remain understandable. But his conversations with Augustus and Lucy after EF indicate that, no, Mike absolutely knows this is all about Sandy.
>>150217265*that any relationships with white female cats are fundamentally bad and will ruin your life.
>>150217394Another reason Maulo is the real endgame.
>>150217268Ah yes, back when the comic threatened to upend the status quo and let Mike start exploring certain possibilities after Sandy destroyed his monogamy complex. Good times.
Having the double date chapter right after Mike punches Augustus and loses his friends seems like a weird choice, even if the date ends with Mike getting dumped again it seems like it would be a smaller issue in comparison considering he's already been dumped once before
>>150217373I brought up a notable flaw in your approach so you could modify and improve on it.
>>150217405Poor Mike. Paulo only ever stops crying when he's excited or gets to abuse someone else.
>>150216395>guy who shits on Mike constantly for not taking accountability for every problem in Lucy's life>check his history>someone points out that Sandy never apologized for what a bitch she was when she last visited>he replies "well she grew up in the modeling industry where there's lots of mean girls and apologizing often means admitting defeat and inviting abuse, so it's actually totally understandable"lmao
>>150217460Allow me to make a few predictions>bullshit happens>Mike is exiled from the table>out of the loop Paulo is still on Mike's side>more bullshit happens>Mike's Valentine's Day date with Sandy has become a double-date with Paulo and Daisy>yet more bullshit happens>the disaster of a double-date convinces Paulo and Daisy that Mike is awful and they dump him too>Mike has no more friends at the table>he still refuses to get rid of Sandy>welcome to the status quo for the next decade
>>150217565That sounds most likely, it also means Taeshi can just shove Mike into the background and occasionally show him being sad
>>150217565Screencapping this
>>150217375>It has completely replaced the far more important event in her mind.To be honest, Lucy has barely ever cared about her own suicide attempt except as a way to use it aganist Mike and when she used it to get augustus into her house. No introspection or feelings on her life, it was just at best an inconvenience and at worst a way to always use aganist Mike. Freaking king kf the hill had Peggy's near death experience matter more.
>>150217156>pic>"No!! No!!!!! You're supposed to obey me!!"
>>150217624I hate having to try and parse Lucy's mind because she is clearly broken on levels I cannot comprehend, but here goes:Lucy may not want to think about her attempt because it was proof of personal weakness. That's why she keeps brushing off outside concerns and only ever uses the fact that she did try as a weapon to hurt or shut other people up. Acting like the attempt still affects her ruins the illusion that Lucy is better now. She also may be focusing on Sandy because (A) Lucy has a preexisting obsession but also because (B) if she can blame everything that happened on Sandy's poisonous influence, then Mike is salvageable. Which means that Lucy is neither crazy nor pathetic for still wanting him.
>>150217606That would explain the preview sketches of Lucy seeming friendly and at ease. Now that she's returned to the table, I hope you are all ready for the upcoming Lucy Show Era.
>>150217884I mean, the main thing happening in those pages is Paulo worrying about Mike and being flummoxed that James has turned on him. That's honestly the one thing that leaves me with any optimism at all; maybe fucking Paulo will be the one to finally ask him what's wrong.Or maybe this dogshit status quo will continue forever.
>>150217546It's harder to imagine how someone could like Lucy or Sandy but isn't neck deep in double standards.
>>150217939I'm talking about a different set of sketches.https://bsky.app/profile/taeshi.bcb.cat/post/3lrlrky62wk2z
>>150217812>if she can blame everything that happened on Sandy's poisonous influence, then Mike is salvageable.Probably should have play hot or cold woth a guy's feelings and hit him till he bleed and at the same time use him as your caretaker. Writing in that Lucy has a genuine mental illness would fix alot of the story imo. Cause saving she is sane when having the dream she us having is suspect at best. You cannot even blame the rape attempt since she acted up before it even occured.
>>150217475Just because he didn't show interest doesn't mean it's not a writing possibility. Staying boxed in to Lucy's orbit is Taeshi-levels of brain rot. A more skilled and less psycho writer would expand their story outward, not inward to the blackhole that is Lucy and only Lucy. The set up is already there for Augustus, but Taeshi has intentionally morphed his character to be flatter and submissive and only centric on Lucy's issues now.Taeshi already baited us by thinking Augustus was pissed at Lucy when asking if it was 'OK' That Mike be within 30 feet of her, he looks angry at the end as a stinger. But he's not mad because Lucy insulted him, he's pissed because Mike dared to come in 30 feet of her.I think Augustus is a wuss enough to hide things, to try to keep in people's good graces while having his own motivations. But that'd require him to be his own person and not some parasitic tumor growing on Lucy.
>>150218182>Just because he didn't show interest doesn't mean it's not a writing possibilitySure, and all I'm saying is you'd need to come up with a reason as to why Augustus suddenly goes from a loner at school to seeking out friends, especially if they remind him of his old unwanted gang.
>>150214080How long will this gratuitous torture last? Where is Mike's grit? His wits?For real man, this is just sad to witness (sad as in, annoying and boring). It doesn't really make me sympathetic to Mike, it just makes me feel pissed at both him and Augustus; one for lacking a spine, and the other for being a sociopathic hoe.
>>150217942I have delved too deep and found the weirdest BCB takes imaginable
>>150218059I still think that Taeshi recognizes--academically, at least--that Lucy does have genuine mental problems (cough cough BPD cough). But also considers them forgivable because, you know, Lucy is a blatant self-insert and since when has Taeshi ever taken accountability for her own actions? In her diary comics, whenever Taeshi blames herself, it's framed as a reason to sympathize with her, as an irrational result of her own mental illness, or both. If a genuine fuckup does not fall into either category and cannot be laughed off, she will not bring it up. It is no wonder that Lucy is always given an out, no matter what she does. Why we are always given reasons to feel sorry for her, and why she is ultimately always portrayed as the victim.
>>150218283I hate to say this, but overall they aren't wrong. Lucy would find a more assertive Mike to be hot as hell.
>>150218403She already wants to fuck him. The idea that the only thing keeping Mike and Lucy from a healthy relationship is Mike being more assertive, and/or that a relationship with her of all people should even be a priority for him right now, is fucking insane.
>>150218252I think this comic operates on the assumption that feeling guilt and crying are reasons for others to sympathize with you. Actually changing for the better is unnecessary.
>>150218283>>150218403Mike should absolutely be more assertive, but being assertive does not mean being an angry little gremlin that spergs out everyone.He needs to stand his ground, learn to say no to other people's bullshit, to be decisive... I know this is maybe a lot to tackle as a young dude and all, but it'd be cathartic if he at least showed development or desire to improve in any way, instead of this thing.
>>150218521Well, yes, the direction they are coming from is obviously wrong. I'm just saying Lucy would make love to him like a crazed weasel instead of deploying her usual high horse act.
>>150218403>Women like assertive menNo way
>>150218572One of the more frustrating aspects of Mike's so-called development is that he's already been the sort of person you're talking about. That version of Mike is who Lucy was pining after during the second and third volumes. He got character assassinated real hard to force Lucy's girlboss era. Old Mike would still feel guilty but find this new version of Lucy too insufferable to deal with.
>>150218545Unless you're Mike!
>>150218672Oh, far from it! Mike is one of the most active "beneficiaries" of this approach. You, the reader, are indeed supposed to feel sorry for Michael Sadcat. Of course this never works and 99% of Taeshi's fans want to lynch the kid by his scarf because in the forever unfavorite Mike they see this for what it is: Self-pitying weakness.
>>150216661>On one hand, it's nice seeing a bit of Augustus' old self coming through in the sense of knowing juuuuust the right thing to say to get under someone's skinI disagree, that was one of the dumbest aspects of early BCB. The idea that Augustus was actually so cool and smart that he could do the anime villain thing of talking someone into despair was never interesting, especially given the implausibility of even a dedicated stalker finding out the stuff he knew.At some point Taeshi started paying lip-service to Augustus being an overdramatic chuuni dork, but she still clearly likes him as a genuine omg-so-cool-and-mysterious character. Kind of like how she pays lip-service to Paulo being an oversensitive jackass, but still clearly thinks of him as cool/likable/desirable, or how she pays lip-service to Mike being "too nice", but still writes him as personally responsible for every problem in the comic.
>>150218738I have no fucking idea what she wants us to feel toward Mike anymore. He's not doing self-flaggelating things that make you feel sorry for him at this point, he's just being a pathetic worm.
>>150218626>One of the more frustrating aspects of Mike's so-called development is that he's already been the sort of person you're talking about.Yeah I know, it IS one of the things that pisses me off the most on all a' this.It's not like this mofo doesn't have it in him to be brave and cool-headed, He was before. He had his moments where he got angry, where he would feel sad or guilty, but he never completely lost his shit and started to be a douche to his friends, or became a doormat that gladly accepts people stepping on him.He just suddenly changed for the worst inexplicably, and seeing a character becoming a sad shell of himself with nothing indicating things will be better or that he is trying to improve is just annoying.
>>150218776But he FEELS so sooooorrrrryyyyy, you should feel soooorrrrrrryyyyy for him! It's the same thing with Paulo's pity parties, or whenever one character apologizes and the other one sucks in a breath, touched to their core.
We all await the day Mike does to Augustus what Itadori did to Mahito. Of course, that is highly unlikely, but a man can dream.
>>150217942I like Sandy, because I hate the main 4 and like that she's able to effortlessly make them miserable merely by being so far above them that they tie themselves in knots out of envy.
>>150218854I think the closest we could ever possibly get to that level of destruction is something along the lines of>Mike, finally snapping: "Why the hell are you doing this to me?">Augustus: "Because you didn't keep your promi--."Mike: "What about YOUR promise?"Then laying into Gus for applying band-aid solutions while Lucy spins her wheels in the mud. It still wouldn't happen, of course. More likely Mike loses his shit, socks Augustus, and it's held against him forever.
>>150218915>envyThat only applies to Lucy and mayyyybe Paulo. Daisy wants validation and nowadays it looks like Mike would simply prefer she stop being such a tiresome creature.
>>150218984I don't think you grasp that envy can apply to more than romantic partners.Daisy clearly envies Sandy because Sandy is hot and cool, and Daisy is not. Mike is probably the weakest example, but he does seem jealous that Sandy doesn't have 100% of her mental health and well-being bound up in getting a message every day the way he does, and that she has stuff going on other than pining after him.
>>150218738There's an easy solution to instantly make Mike popular among the paying readers.
>>150219040>I don't think you grasp that envy can apply to more than romantic partners.Oh I can grasp it just fine. It's just that your analysis is plain wrong. Sandy is a narrative speed bump dressed up like a character, one that maintains relevance because her mentally ill womanchild creator won't let the story move on. If Mike finally up and dumped her, only Daisy would continue to care because she never got closure.
>>150219070>Daisy goes from lusting after Mike to being jealous he's a hotter girl than she is
>>150219130>If Mike finally up and dumped herYeah, but he won't. And even if he did, she still managed to keep him, Lucy, Paulo, and Daisy down for about a decade in-universe.In trying to create a villain/roadblock, Taeshi accidentally made Sandy mog the fuck out of all her main characters. That's funny, and I like her for it.
>>150219130You notice you just sidestepped his post entirely and started seething about unrelated shit
>>150219505You've got it backwards. Taeshi intended for Sandy to be a real character (and made good on that for a while) and instead she turned Sandy into an empty prop. From Lucy's departure until her return, nobody cared about Sandy. She was irrelevant, because her only purpose is to stop Mike and Lucy from snapping back together like two magnets.
>>150219749I think what the anon that admires her is saying is that he likes her for mogging out every single one of the main characters (which he dislikes) without even making any sort of effort. Her mere presence causes a great ruckus on their existence.But I agree with you, Sandy is like James, in which she used to be a character, but then was made into a terribly artificial plot device of sorts.
>>150219996I know what they're saying but find it strange they are delighted by a cardboard cutout that is just yet another example of Taeshi's incompetence as an author.
>>150220096Yeah I agree, but there are crazies for everything, as they say.
>>150219548Did you actually buy their idea that Mike is jealous of Sandy?
>>150219996You have understood the basis of my position, yes.To elaborate, I think you have to judge Sandy by era of BCB. If you go by back when Sandy WAS a character, she was objectively better, nicer, and more tragic than any of the main 4. She had genuine pathos and problems, but didn't take them out on others, and even had sympathy for Lucy, her "rival".But if you go by post character assassination Sandy, then you have to compare her to the other characters as they exist NOW, not as they existed back then. And in that case Sandy is STILL objectively better than any of the main 4; she doesn't burst into tears at the drop of a hat, she's capable of acknowledging her wrongs and making effort to fix them, and she isn't a pathetic windsock. The fact that Sandy exists mostly offscreen is actually to her benefit, because it means there's less opportunity for Taeshi to fuck with her. Yes, Sandy has been character-assassinated into being a shallow cheating mean girl, but at the same time Taeshi made Mike/Lucy/Daisy/Paulo so terrible that I still like Sandy better.
>>150214204I only see the OPs, but from what I can tell>Augustus notices Mike is hanging out with James and the track team, who run outside>Augustus tells Mike that he's triggering Lucy by being outside at the same time as she is and to fuck off>Mike desperately wants James' attention but NOT IN A GAY WAY OKAY>Mike is a boy slut that just likes running >James and Brown Dog (new fast boy that James is slobbering over) say they're going outside for lunch>other cool track team members tell Mike he can just chill with them>but Mike NEEDS attention from GAY MEN>so he goes outside anyway>now Augustus is being a sephiroth retard to embarrass MikeWho cares
>>150220665Yeah, I dunno man. It kind of sounds like you just like one pile of shit over the others. Like, do you really think that Sandy is trying to be a better girlfriend for any other reason than keeping Mike? She still bursts into tears, but only to manipulate other people because her personality is made out of plastic. Sandy gets frustrated and yells over dumb shit. I'm not seeing anything that's actually better--at best she's a sidegrade of terrible.
>>150220891Not him but I hate Sandy because more than the other 4 she isn't a character at all anymore, she's just there to keep Mike and Lucy away. She's just a plot device now, EF proved this.
>>150220891The fun thing about nuSandy is that she's terrible, but not to herself. Mike/Lucy/Paulo/Daisy are terrible in ways that not only make everyone around them miserable, but make them miserable too.Sandy is also still unlike the main 4 in that her problems aren't purely self-inflicted. She has a job that sucks, an LDR with a clingy muppet, and had to grow up too fast - but is still pretty upbeat and happy-go-lucky. That's infinitely more likable than Paulo/Mike going "People are mildly critical of me because I'm a huge asshole all the time weeehhhh" or Daisy/Lucy going "People listen to what I say rather than just doing what I subconsciously want weeehhhh".
>>150221142>The fun thing about nuSandy is that she's terrible, but not to herselfGonna be honest, chief. I'm not seeing the fun factor here. It kind of sounds like you're just trying to make up reasons.>Sandy is also still unlike the main 4 in that her problems aren't purely self-inflictedEvery problem you wrote is self-inflicted. Nobody forced Sandy to be a model, or to have Mike as a boyfriend. She could have quit doing either at any time.>being a stupid airhead is likeablePic related.
>>150220987The only time I dislike any of these characters more than others is when they're pulling some stupid bullshit in service to the terrible plot. See the recent Jessica's play fiasco and whatever the fuck Augustus is up to now, as examples. Of course, caveat, some characters do this more often than others.I can understand liking or rooting for a BCB character's older self, not the current skinwalker.
>>150221343>Nobody forced Sandy to be a model What comic have you been reading?
