The author claiming he knows James's "sins" though James is apparently holy and blameless.

Fuck the author and their SA and Abuse Apologia

>>153878905
>No way fag
oooof he's gonna self-harm when he get home later on. Poor poor james

>>153879033
Bitch deserves his pain. Backstabbing little shit deserves worse.

>>153878905
Why is James like this?

But really, he gave zero fucks about Paulo when Paulo was actually gay crushing on him. But now that he has Daisy and lost interest in James, he immediately tries to become a homewrecker first opportunity.

Paulo being spiteful over the tickets to someone who did something wrong GOOD
Sue being spiteful over the tickets BAD

Mike being upset that James moved on from his crush BAD
Paulo being upset over James moving on GOOD

>>153879086
Mike wasn't upset about the crush, the guy got degraded and treated like shit the moment he didn't offer his body.

>>153878905
Pros:
James gets firmly shut down as he deserves, though I'm not sure why Paulo is so blunt about it. Unlike the readers, he should be unware of what a garbage person James is.

Cons:
Sue's artificially-induced character growth that will either evaporate because Taeshi only knows how to tell one kind of story with this character or will stick around and render her a boring nothing-character like nuAbbey.

Lucy acting like a smug cunt for no reason and suffering zero consequences as per usual.

>>153879063
Well didn't James say outloud to Mike that the movie hangout/date was to homewreck sandy? Paulo and co were spying on him and woulda heard that right?

>>153879102
>Mike wasn't upset about the crush
True, its more like James just 180 on him.

>>153878905
>James still trying to get with taken people.
But it's not as bad as Mike wanting people who reject him right Taeshi?

I'm not sure if this page is worse than my thought that James was gonna accidentally spill Paisy in front of Abbey for some forced conflict... now it's just more Paulo show with Sue admitting that Paulo is the bestest person in their friend group(besides Lucy), maybe even in the school!
This comic is either enraging or boring, there's no fucking sweet or we wouldn't have had to create Amy.

>>153878905
Wow man, Sue humiliation ritual & Paulo Show parlay into Paisy date? This might be the actual worst outcome. I'm actually impressed how uninspired this chapter was.

>>153878905
I wish the author respected her own story and characters more. Enough to not have massive and minor continuity errors and have the "lesson" of certain characters be "it's wrong and immature to be mad that their friends and peers treat them like shit, they should put up with it".

Ganbare, Sue-chan.

>>153879191
I think it's worse solely for the fact that James is a shameless, cum guzzling manWHORE who chases after boys that are taken. His infatuation with David is total bullshit anyway

>>153879228
It feels like most his relationships thus far are hollow and ultimately come down to "they can run fast probably"

Cant Paulo and James just fuck or something

File: oy.png (282 KB, 653x489)

282 KB PNG

>>153870710
I agree that Mike enjoyed being both wanted by Lucy and useful to her; this much already seemed apparent to me. But Taeshi is couching his problems with Lucy in a way that absolves her fursona of wrongdoing. It's blatantly clear to anyone who actually reads the comic that Mike got tired of all the baggage that came with Lucy's vulnerability, all of which he had been ignoring, putting up with, or rationalizing away up until Sandy pointed out the abuse. Taeshi of course can't deal with that and for whatever reason tries to gaslight the reader into believing Sandy was "pricky," not vulnerable in her own way. Despite showing how she depended on Mike as an escape from her daily life burdens.

Now that Sue has fully humiliated herself and taken full blame, she's served her purpose and consequently been cut from the rest of the chapter

File: 1735346511660998m.jpg (164 KB, 741x1024)

164 KB JPG

>>153878905
>Paulo is cold to James once he's out of his dick radar
Classic Paulo "put out or get out" Somali

File: 1413591346531.png (422 KB, 519x483)

422 KB PNG

>>153879228
I'm not sure this is James trying to homewreck here when it could be explained as shameless mooching. But if I'm wrong then, wow, I'm so glad that Taeshi blessed the table with a retarded gay sex pest whose only contributions are to glaze Lucy and to provide an outsider's perspective on table bullshit (which only serves to enable further bullshit).

>>153879343
This makes him, like Lucy, morally superior to Mike or something.

>>153879063
All gays are devious by nature of their existence

>>153878905
Everyone talking about James and Paulo, but ignore the fact that Lucy is one dumb illiterate bitch kek

So she disparages everyone else for daring to have an interest that doesn't align with her own. Our heroine ladies and gentlemen.

>>153879120
Paulo clocking James for who he is and putting distance between them would be a welcome plotpoint. All the moreso if that hurt James' feelings.

File: Compensation_112732.png (188 KB, 1416x1244)

188 KB PNG

>>153879383
Of course, if you don't like someone romantically anymore you should shove them aside, spit on their face and kick them in the ribs, if you stay amicable and friendly it means you're playing with the idea of giving them a chance and manipulating them unable to move on yourself, which is also rape btw

>>153879446
But anon, being an asshole for no reason is part of her charm. Aren't you glad she's back to being the table's dismissive bitch who everyone showers with infinite grace?

>>153879063
>>153879120
>>153879158
>>153879228
>>153879360

At least more and more people are getting sick of James and calling him out on his duplicity. They use the snake emoji for him in the discord, literally nobody has anything nice to say about him lmao

>>153879360
>But if I'm wrong then, wow, I'm so glad that Taeshi blessed the table with a retarded gay sex pest whose only contributions are to glaze Lucy and to provide an outsider's perspective on table bullshit
Paulo was already there tho

>>153879489
>They use the snake emoji for him in the discord, literally nobody has anything nice to say about him lmao
I hope the negative fan reaction to James, no matter what Taeshi "does" to counter it (which, let's be real, is just cheap talk), bothers her immensely.

File: 1779728453409625.png (1.35 MB, 800x1105)

1.35 MB PNG

>>153878905
Idk, just rewriting for the sake of it.

>>153878905
>at first I thought it was a red herring, but they wouldn't have introduced that butler for no reason
I swear people only know butlers exist because "The butler did it!" and not because they know what a butler is
This is a bad conversation for fictional characters to have

>>153879615
I like your version better. Even James getting shut down is superior here.

>>153879063
almost like this is what the narrative accused Mike of doing with James hm

>>153878905
Sue once again proving she's incredibly unlikeable. Someone should fix her.

>>153879615
Lucy rewards her peons well it seems, a taste of power to keep them in line. Not too much, but not enough as well, just to keep them wanting for more.

>>153879755
Don't be silly: Lucy only lent it out to hurt Sue for her own amusement. Paulo was a means to an end, as per usual, and was put back in his place accordingly.

>>153879615
>James saying something intelligent

>>153879785
david fuck meant david

>>153879694
I can fix her

>>153879810
Remember to spay and neuter your pets!

>>153879798
I was gonna have him say stupid shit but then I kept looking at Abbey like "Why is he even in that panel? Wtf is he smiling at James like that for? He looks high or something" so I made David voice a joke about it.

>>153879810
No you can't. She's no longer Sue, just another one of Taeshi's narrative tools blunted into the same redundant blunt shape vaguely resembling a hammer.

File: rip.png (323 KB, 800x1136)

323 KB PNG

>>153878905
>>153879033
>>153879063
>>153879053
James is more deserving of the pit of death and abandonment than Carson.
Was this page ever retconned? I don't remember which chapter it was

File: fil.png (919 KB, 687x911)

919 KB PNG

Clover seems so happy! What a nice wife and mother.

>>153879884
SUCCUBUS BEGONE

>>153879360
>I'm so glad that Taeshi blessed the table with a retarded gay sex pest whose only contributions are to glaze Lucy and to provide an outsider's perspective on table bullshit
That's just Carson cept he didn't try and glaze Lucy, just try and powerbottom rape Mike.

>>153879869
It's funny how James turned out to be just a different take on Carson with better PR.

>>153879884
I do not like adult Clover. She has displayed no redeeming qualities at all.

>>153879884
What the fuck is going on with her? She finally got what she wanted and now she's upset and masking it? What?

Any woman around here who can translate please?

File: 1413574843355.png (39 KB, 297x310)

39 KB PNG

>>153879927
>Taeshi introduces a gay character
>he sucks and is probably the worst "member" of the cast
>fast forward a decade or two
>Taeshi introduces another gay character
>he sucks and is absolutely the worst true member of the cast

>>153879967
BPD-informed characterization?

>>153879967
I'm guessing she's unhappy (postnatal depression?) and needed an outlet and figured Devin could be a good one, and then he wasn't. This is me having some experience dating crazy chicks, but eh.

>>153879967
Bet shes mad he didn't fuck her hard and he was being such a bitch. That or she doesn't want to go back.

>>153879967
figurative post-nut clarity now that the fun is over and the reality that she jacked off her ex while her husband and kid are in the next room sets in. i

>>153879999
Possible self-loathing because of her whoreish behavior. A capacity to feel shame would be the only thing going for her at this point.

>>153880033
>Succubus
>Feeling shame
>If anything shes mad she didn't go further and get her way with almost getting caught by everyone feeding off their negative emotions

A priest better be in that house

>>153879884
>>153879967
>>153879999
Post-natal depression is the biggest suspect here. That shit is no joke, it's like regular depression cranked to 11. Like anon said, she was probably looking for an escape/outlet and was disappointed with Devin in the end.

>>153879884
>Now sullen at having completed her dance of depravity, the fell Succubus Skunk seeks to return to her cuckolded husband, as her victim lies there in despair.

>>153880471
Literal honest to god despair too at that

>>153879489
LitS fucked this character over so hard. There's nothing taeshi can do to redeem him, especially because this is all there is to his personality.

>>153880722
Yeah. I don't think anything can be done to save James at this point. He literally is just a fickle and treacherous asshole.
I can already see in the future... at most the insufferable cunt will say 'tee hee my bad!'.

>>153880722
Redemption would be possible if not for the fact that Taeshi thinks he did nothing wrong in the first place.

>>153880849
>>153880972


You could say James is where the cracks started becoming more obvious to even her loyal readerbase. Because after he left mike, people started sending in sympathy for him and thats when she started trying to justify why he deserved it.

>>153880722
>>153880849
>>153880972
Another issue with James' "redemption" is that it would require him to self-reflect, which in BCB terms means just giving a "heartfelt" apology that immediately changes every other character's mind but barely affects his own behavior. This would remain highly artificial to outside readers who are not inclined to give James the benefit of the doubt.

>>153881069
>>153880972
Right? I legit cannot understand how she or anyone would find his behavior reasonable.

Lucy sucks, but I guess I can see how some people would take her side based on the events of Eternal Flame, but James has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He is not a character, he is just a tool.

File: Abomination James, oh wai(...).png (407 KB, 999x763)

407 KB PNG

>>153880972
>>153881234
Your craven past is behind you - ahead lies redemption! You need only cast your cowardice aside and make right what you have wrought.

>>153881234
Taeshi writes like giving an apology is a reset button that means people are supposed to be nice to you now.

File: 1626791869607.png (41 KB, 346x322)

41 KB PNG

>>153881704
Unless you're Mike

>>153881250
>I legit cannot understand how she or anyone would find his behavior reasonable
Consider that what she's doing with James is basically her standard m.o. of embracing double-standards and depending on her fanbase to jump onboard as they always do. She does this with Paulo and Lucy, but they were already fan-favored characters with long-histories and, as you said, some built-in excuses. She wrote entire chapters showing off Paulo's "character development" and plenty of fans bought into those because they already liked Paulo and want to see him "improve." But James is new and unestablished. Perhaps Taeshi thought that James being gay (and turning against the wicked Michael Scarfcat) would suffice to get her audience on his side, but there really is nothing else to James. It's so much easier for even her readers to see through the double-standard when a character has no preexisting bias to benefit from.

But honestly, I think a lot of it did come down to her assuming the readers would look positively on James for turning on Mike. I don't know how relevant of a factor this is because it depends on how many fans seem to accept the whole letters = horrible abuse angle.

>>153878905
There's zero reason for Abbey to even be present in this chapter other than to give Paulo shallow praise for becoming a better person (he hasn't changed at all)
Its especially odd to have him here too since it means he was present to see Sue getting collectively bullied by the group of people he actively chose to distance himself from.

>>153881913
Abbey's only purposes left are to glaze Paulo and provide a "dramatic" sword of Damocles that I'm not sure even Taeshi's most avid readers believe actually hags over Paisy.

>>153881833
Not many it seems. Even for those who hate Mike, what James did was incredibly scummy

>>153881833
I think more people were willing to forgive the letters bullshit because Lucy pulled it off, and even let it slide James was ignoring Mike and took Augustus side very quickly, and even worse they were ok with David being removed from the premises until he was needed to be silly and solve the whole problem with the power of authorial bullshit, but James mocking Mike about his girlfriend AFTER deliberately trying to crash his relationship and blaming not being able to have alone time on him was too much for the cult to handle, it went from "taking Lucy's side is good" to "hating Mike is morally right" very fast and the schism that they had when someone said out loud they hoped Mike would kill himself (not to free him from his suffering) shows that there's a line they're not willing to cross just for Taeshi

>>153879967
>>153879999
>>153880390
this especially tracks if whats his face is gay. he ain't touching her outside of designated sex nights.

File: Heresy 2.jpg (465 KB, 1080x529)

465 KB JPG

>>153879884

I just wish Mike's friends and family were too late to save him, leaving Mike to be a husk of himself and dealing with the consequences of having "killed Mike" in an emotional or psychological way. All they'll have left is a shambling pile of flesh with the same name, while the old Mike is dead for good no matter what they do.

>>153882105
There seems to have be something going on with her husband, but who knows.

>>153879884
He should hug her big fluffy tail~

>>153879383
I think Taeshi's just incapable of writing friendships, judging by her going "oh maybe Augustus IS falling in love with Lucy" on her blog. She can write rivalries, and she can kind of write romance (parts of it, at least), but any time she tries to write characters who are just friends they're either ridiculously hostile or secretly in love.

>>153882792
Except Matt and Rachel

>>153882658
If I put my dick on her tail, could I achieve an orgasm?

>>153882792
I don't think that Paulo is in love with Abbey or vice versa, but their friendship does feel very artificial.

>>153879615
I appreciate it anon. We need all the levity we can get, 'cause fuck knows the comic isn't providing any.

File: Flak0ps-1503785635022315523-0.jpg (223 KB, 1365x1578)

223 KB JPG

>>153879884
>Damn. I look just as miserable as my husband and ex-boyfriend.

File: hate.png (85 KB, 209x278)

85 KB PNG

>>153882326
They wouldn't care so long as still fulfilled his role as helper and/or punching bag. The only way it'd invoke an actual response from them is if he completely snapped one day, going from husk to just suddenly beating the living shit out of someone or going full delinquent.

>>153881970
Lucy being a vindictive shit to Mike makes sense given their history, and Augustus and David helping her twist the knife makes sense given their loyalties. But James had no reason to turn on Mike. James doesn't even know Lucy, and explicitly said he "can tell" Mike's a good person and wouldn't hate him for a mistake in his past. James turning on Mike that hard and fast based on vague hearsay and >implications just makes him come across as a snake, especially since Felix confirms it, and he would know.

>>153880390
It does fuck you pretty bad. Crazy we're sort of just supposed to not talk about it.

>>153879205
>Paisy date
That's a reasonable assumption, and probably true, but it is possible that Paulo simply forgot Daisy exists. It wouldn't be the first time.

>>153881913
KEK this chapter was marketed as Sue's chapter, only for the rug to be pulled from under her by the Paulo Show. Literally everyone in this chapger is involved solely for Paulo's benefit, not Sue. Suefags in the discord feel shafted by it, grumbling that Sue became a stepping stone for Paulo's already overflowing development. Hell, they even say that Sue was pretty much bullied/peer pressured into giving the tickets up

>>153880294
What's this???? A Michelle x Luke art piece that's actually cute as fuck and not toxic???

>>153885541
Can you collage the complaints?

File: BCBPauloSux.png (22 KB, 749x882)

22 KB PNG

>>153885541
I mean, they're correct. Sue was bullied/peer pressured into giving the tickets up, while Paulo once again gets away with a back-handed, blatantly insincere "apology" that absolves him of responsibility for (still) being an asshole.

I'm so tired of the Paulo show, anons. I keep getting suckered into thinking maybe it's going somewhere, only for consequences to once again be revealed as a mirage amid Taeshi's mocking laughter. I feel fucking stupid for getting fooled over and over.

I managed to piss Taeshi off enough in the asks that she had to reassert "this isn't a moral story".

>>153885817
What've you been doing, anon?

>>153885817
It's not, it's the longest masturbatory self insert fanfic ever written

>>153885817
>this isn't a moral story
Then maybe she should stop implying otherwise in-story or trying to justify her shitheel characters outside of it.

>>153885541
>Hell, they even say that Sue was pretty much bullied/peer pressured into giving the tickets up


She basically was. Paulo's "Apology" speech on top of their reactions when Sue got the tickets was telling her "They're gonna look at me bad if I take the tickets"

so she gave em to Paulo.

NGL i would be fine with Sue being the new punching bag, only if it eventually turned into her seeking out Mike for how he managed to deal with it. She knows the score at the table but still talks to him in secret. So while she's trying so hard to get close to Lucy, she's also keeping secret contact with the guy that Lucy thinks ruined her life

>>153885840
You don't even seem to comprehend howmuch I've applied her logic to actual situations of abuse, SA, and how Abraham was justified.
>>153885856
>>153885876
I take joy in frustrating her, it brings me happiness that she at least has to put up with my BS when I have to be subjected to hers.

>>153886015
Post it.

>>153886015
If you get her to actually justify Lucy trying to rape Augustus as a good thing I'll fucking cry

>>153886059
She mentioned how wild some of the asks she had to delete were.
>>153886141
Mind helping me with that? She justified Augustus trying to rape Daisy already.

>>153885817
Based.

File: ChooseYourWordsCarefully.png (282 KB, 1280x222)

282 KB PNG

>>153881970
She can't admit James was being a shit because like with David, James was just acting as her own voice telling the audience who was in the wrong there. If she starts treating James like a treacherous little snake she has to reflect on how bad not just he acted, but Augustus, David, and Lucy were all acting.

I miss when Taeshi hadn't ruined him yet...

>>153885817
>"this isn't a moral story".


This is like answer about Karma where she's trying to hide that she's just selective about who gets it and who doesn't

>>153887728
>If she starts treating James like a treacherous little snake she has to reflect on how bad not just he acted, but Augustus, David, and Lucy were all acting.


She went from saying "Everyone in that situation was shitty" to trying to justify why Mike deserved it for like a week.

File: IMG_1421.png (1.16 MB, 1600x2210)

1.16 MB PNG

>>153887728
>I miss when Taeshi hadn’t ruined him yet
Yesh, but he had to be sacrificed on the altar of Lucyspace. His character must be ruined to appease the god of this universe in her quest to torture the grey cat.

File: 15980 - Draw_Stream James(...).png (739 KB, 1200x800)

739 KB PNG

>>153887728
It could’ve been great…

File: qt.png (2.1 MB, 1750x1705)

2.1 MB PNG

>>153888546
>>153888421
I remember the threads some years ago. Lots of anons were excited for it, but, If her intention was always to turn him into the piece of crap he ended up being, then Mike dodged a fucking MOAB (but got caught in the explosion anyway).

File: FUCK.png (336 KB, 694x500)

336 KB PNG

>>153888911
From the start I knew something was going to go wrong, but I had no clue it'd be as retarded as it was... It's the one interesting thing about this comic, you can never predict how badly it fucks itself.

>>153888911
james and Mike were always going to fall out. Him being someone who, at the time, was able to befriend Mike without bring a bunch of drama and reassuring that he wasn't a bad person basically marked him for it.

It was just that nobody expected it to happen so fast and so sloppily.


She really wanted to use James to show that mike couldn't stand not being number one in someone's thoughts, but anyone would reasonably wonder why James would pull a 180 after all that talk.

File: jamesnake.png (848 KB, 933x823)

848 KB PNG

>>153888952
Yeah. I knew of course it wouldn't work out, since Mike and Lucy is the forced endgame, but I expected James to at least be his friend, to support him, to be part of the foundation that'd allow Mike to catch a breather, grow and heal... but he ended up not only NOT being any of that, but shifting sides for no good reason, falling immediately in love with the second-worst character (David), and joining Lucy, Augustus and David as one of Mike's tormentors.
>It's the one interesting thing about this comic, you can never predict how badly it fucks itself.
That's true. As bad as you imagine things are going to be, it somehow manages to be even worse.

>>153888546
It's funny how this was the only male on male kiss in this comic.

File: IMG_3725.png (3.48 MB, 1600x2210)

3.48 MB PNG

>>153888981
>>153888911
It’s pretty incredible how badly she wrote this. We all knew there’d be no chance in hell that she would let Mike be happy. So, the relationship was doomed from the start. But, it takes a special caliber of bad writing to so blatantly make a character go completely against what he said before and what was already established. She honestly thought her fans would just roll over and agree with her like usual, which is the saddest part.

>>153889082
If James is any indication, then Taeshi is the most masterful queerbaiting homophobe in comic history. She has successfully made a gay character the most hated in this comic without having any actual intent to do so…..or did she?

>>153889082
Yet Paulo is the gay love guru...

>>153888981
>>153889268
The signs that James was a landmine were pretty clear from the outset. Taeshi introduced this high-energy character as Mike was super depressed and looking for something to cheer himself up, who immediately slathered Mike with praise, validation, and reassurance, and self-admittedly was obsessed with and stalking Mike for a while. It was pretty clearly a trap of some kind. Some anons thought the trap was that James would be a casualty of the "Lucy attempted suicide" bombshell, but instead Taeshi fizzled the fuck out of that potential plotpoint by abandoning continuity entirely (I'm still mad). So instead it turned out James is willing to drop Mike and deliberately hurt him, based on hearsay and Mike shoving Augustus (but he doesn't mind Lucy kicking him in retaliation).

The thing that baffles and bothers me is Taeshi's whole "I didn't expect people to be so mad, they should be more sympathetic, it's such a shame people lack empathy" spiel she does with Augusts, Paulo, Lucy, and now James. Like, she's the one who writes these characters going out of their way to twist the knife on others. Does she really not get that readers don't like that? Mike STILL has readers hating on him for doing that IRL years ago.

>>153889951
Bipolar bitches be like that and her harping about empathy is laughable

File: 1770896686575785.jpg (279 KB, 1920x1080)

279 KB JPG

>>153885541
>Hell, they even say that Sue was pretty much bullied/peer pressured into giving the tickets up
They got too cocky thinking they could get a win for their character. This is Paulo's show, and Lucy's World. Everyone else is just living in it.

File: +_66cc21e2875abd69ba81dfb(...).jpg (90 KB, 750x490)

90 KB JPG

>>153888981
>She really wanted to use James to show that mike couldn't stand not being number one in someone's thoughts
Which is bizarre because Mike has been perfectly content to *not* be first and foremost on most peoples' minds. It didn't matter with Sue or Abbey or Amaya. All he wanted with Paulo was to be a friend, period. It was perfectly fine when Daisy got with Abbey and stopped chasing after Mike. It looks a whole lot like Taeshi wanted to have some kind of pottery to balance the books between Mike and Lucy but, as usual, tried to rush things after faffing about for too long.

>>153889951
>>153890004
Taeshi harbors a bully mentality and always has. She is the first to beg for sympathy and the last to give it out.

>>153890724
It does seem to be the case, unfortunately. It was and still is very common for the characters to be a bunch of scrotes. Kind and polite ones get shat on by the narrative, assholes are rewarded, etc. We all know the comic's modus operandi at this point.

>>153890670
>All he wanted with Paulo was to be a friend, period.
Didn't he say to Daisy he just wanted someone in his corner? I genuinely think Mike might have a warped idea of friendship and love due to his upbringing. Seriously, Lucy has been beating his ass for years & their weird ass fuck "rekationship" is gonna have an effect. He tried to justify Lucy making him bleed to sandy and its clear it wasn't the first time Lucy drew blood.

I stand by that if Lucy never jumped this comic would have to really mental gymnastics her shit cause taeshi and co just sweep it under the rug about the abuse.

>>153890960
>I genuinely think Mike might have a warped idea of friendship and love due to his upbringing
He certainly has every reason to now. It's a real shame that Taeshi is incapable of seeing as much, but Mike getting gaslit into believing that having friends or lovers are a manifestation of his own selfish desires has plot potential.

>>153891260
Yes but that would involve actually treating Mike like a character instead some pyscho master manipulator villian like in taeshi headcannon. Plus sympathy to Mike means less to Lucy, especially if you realize he only feels this way due to Lucy actions.

>>153891345
It wouldn't be as bad if she actually, y'know, made Mike the villain she insists he is. Villain Mike could be fun to watch at least.

>>153891371
>Villain Mike could be fun to watch at least.
Not really, look at all the villans taeshi has ever written and they all suck shit. It likely just be sperg Mike again.

File: MikeBrutalowowski.png (325 KB, 466x526)

325 KB PNG

>>153890960
If BCB were a sane comic, written by someone who believes in cause and effect, I'd say that thanks to Lucy brute forcing her way into being his "best friend" Mike developed a complex around what being someone's friend means. In his mind his "role" is to absorb flak and provide one-sided support. He resents the unfairness of his role, but he's still committed to fulfilling it, especially since Lucy got super depressed and tried to kill herself when he said "fuck you, I'm not doing this anymore". Then Lucy came back and used Mike's sense of guilt against him, sending him into a vicious cycle of lashing out, feeling guilty for failing to live up to his "role", and then getting mad because he knows his "role" is unfair. And now Lucy and Augustus gaslit Mike into outright hating himself and thinking he deserves nothing, because it's all his fault and he's the instigator.

What Mike would need to break the cycle is to remember that Lucy forced him into that role against his will, it's not his fault she put all her weight on him when he never asked her to (and in fact repeatedly told her "leave me alone, go play with the others"), and stop feeling guilty. But unfortunately Taeshi seems to think that it IS Mike's fault, and he somehow entrapped Lucy into the dynamic they had. So even though Mike should theoretically be able to say "Lucy isn't my responsibility, she abused me, you guys taking her side is bullshit" and get some sympathy, that will never happen.

File: +_b89e5230e5f0ba455d210d9(...).jpg (115 KB, 566x513)

115 KB JPG

>>153891371
Mayhaps that is what Taeshi is going for, down the line.

Twice now, she's shown a scene where Lucy hugs a haggard looking Mike out on the track. The first time was part of a joke page, but the second was the big dramatic climax of that anniversary animatic from a few weeks ago. Lucy's attitude varied, but Mike was unresponsive in either version. Not really a fitting response for a reconciliation. I have this vague suspicion that, should that scene come to pass, Mike will sucker punch Lucy, figuratively or literally, in order to prevent her from relapsing. Mike is not villain material, but perhaps he can convince himself otherwise and take up the role anyway.

File: 17612 - meme Mike parody.jpg (2.48 MB, 1080x1920)

2.48 MB JPG

>>153891573
Ah, that makes sense. We've seen Taeshi show a scene before putting it in the main comic, like in the scene where Mike and Sandy break up, and Mike uses Lucy for comfort before going back to Sandy, appearing in the rape fanfic that Taeshi commissioned and also in FIRT 1 before being used in Eternal Flame, so, yeah, I now really imagine we'll see that hug appear in the comic.

>Mike is not villain material, but perhaps he can convince himself otherwise and take up the role anyway.

Well, the only things holding Mike back right now are maintaining his image with his family and keeping his relationship with Sandy to prevent her from doing something stupid, so once that's removed and he has nothing left, it would make sense for him to adopt the false villain persona that was forced upon him as a way to keep moving forward.

>>153890960
I wonder if it was a good idea to play the anime humour straightforwardly. I don’t follow this comic religiously and have forgotten some stuff admittedly but that’s what it looked like to me, especially with the pets being written out (shot out back because they don’t fit in anymore) a while back.

>>153879063
Maybe James doesn't believe in bisexuality and assumes Daisy is his beard because of how ugly she looks.

>>153893194
That would be fit in with James's snake behaviour.

>>153893194
That can'tbe the case, because that would actually be hilarious. It's too funny for Taeshi to have written it.

File: image(6).png (779 KB, 933x1158)

779 KB PNG

>>153892498
I could see Mike coming to "enjoy" his new role once he's "dropped the pretense of being a good person" and stops feeling so much guilt. The general emotional deadening of abject despair might be the real reason, of course, but Mike probably wouldn't have the most objective view at that moment. All he would know is that his family is falling apart, Sandy is gone for good, Lucy is writhing on the ground after he socked her in the side as a reminder that he always ends up hurting her, and he feels *nothing.*

What a grand and intoxicating sense of inner peace.

>>153892498
Mike's a good, dogged soul who's approaching his limit. He'll never turn "evil" just because of circumstances out of his control, that's not who he is. Everyone acknowledges that Mike is a good person at his core, it's why his friends kept him around even after he confessed what he said to Lucy. Daisy and Paulo were quick to forgive Mike for sperging out during Halloween as well. He may break, but he'll never fall.

Many fall in the face of chaos, but not this one. Not today, and not ever.

>>153878905
Sue and James are so desperate for attention, I bet they're super easy

>>153896707
I can see Sue being a bit too prideful at first, but she'll fold quickly enough with whispers of sweet nothings in her ear.

James is straight up a cumslut

>>153890670
She, possibly by mistake, gave Mike Lucy's worry about people only wanting them for romantic reasons.

Lucy and James have both shown that if Mike isn't open romantically then he can just fuck off. James showing it is very recent but Lucy showing this is how she handled EF from the tree meeting on.

The concept of them just being friends doesn't register to her and she tried to burry how spiteful she was to Mike since her return under the rug once she realized he broke up with Sandy.

Daisy kissed him, said she didnt like him like that anymore, and from his perspective, her hanging out with him less makes him think the same too.

Taeshi says Lucy has that fear but not only does Lucy sometimes use her body to get what she wants from someone with ease, but also time and time again the comic has shown that people like her for her personality too (For SOME goddamn reason)

>>153879063
he's a well written fag

>>153880390
obviously the woman-only kind of depression is oooh so bad and makes women do super bad stuff. Fuck off with this made up nonsense

>>153890960
>I stand by that if Lucy never jumped this comic would have to really mental gymnastics her shit cause taeshi and co just sweep it under the rug about the abuse.

For me that's the biggest point of contention with Lucy, or how taeshi writes Lucy. The narrative bends over backwards for her because uwu hot cat girl nearly killed herself. And now that automatically absolves her of past and future sin. A part of me holds out hope that Lucy will eventually get called out for her shitty behavior and that just because she jumped off the roof, it doesn't give her carte blanche to behave like a condescending, manipulative cunt.

>>153897165
There is at least a functional setup here for Lucy to empathize with Mike based on shared "experience" (really just unfounded paranoia on Lucy's part, but I digress). Yet Taeshi appears far too deep in her own BPD to notice as much. Acknowledging that Mike has good reason to harbor a similar belief draws attention to Lucy's own lack thereof.

>>153897460
I can't help but notice that Taeshi does try to make up other reasons to feel sorry for Lucy. They just typically fall flat and bow cat's fans understandably focus on the one consideration that actually matters.

File: sueat.png (97 KB, 321x452)

97 KB PNG

>>153897137
>>153896707
>I can see Sue being a bit too prideful at first, but she'll fold quickly enough with whispers of sweet nothings in her
Probably true. Sue is a decent girl, but the does seem a bit desperate for other people's attention. Still, she is not as desperate as Daisy.

>>153898206
That's because Daisy is "why does no one pay attention to me" where Sue is "why is no one paying attention to what I do", Daisy believes herself small but does nothing to put herself forward, her own romance arc was being pushed into screaming her needs loud enough for plot to fall into place, meanwhile Sue has the dumb confidence of someone that thinks she can do a backflip by looking at videos, she loves herself well enough but hates that others don't seem to agree with her. One makes for an actual character and other for a prop

>>153898206
I wanna see Sue get swept off her feet by someone complimenting her work without brown nosing. Maybe deliver her meals straight to her when she forgets to eat due to being to absorbed in her projects. Even agree with her on most arguments, but not afraid to challenge her views, and to pull her back if she goes way in over her head.

>>153897252
If it was intentional he would be, instead he's just going to be inconsistent like every other character. Instead of being a snake who will betray anyone for his current lovebombing target, he's just another Lucy simp.
Until Taeshi goes on some fucking happy pills again we're just getting more BPDemons running amok.

>>153898206
Sue's overconfidence will only last her for so long, at some point she's going to have to stoop down to "everyone else's" level. At that point all the good boys have given up on her and she's going to be stuck debasing herself to find companionship.
In the BCIs she's been demoted to Lucy's full time emotional support blanket, cheating on Amaya because she can't stand the idea of losing more people from her life.

When she realizes everyone is leaving her behind she'll probably try to scramble together something of a boyfriend, so I bet her final years of college will be filled with desperate hookups to try to find someone who will stay with her before giving up and settling down.

Unless she confesses her love for David and elopes after high school. That's probably worse, though.

>>153898632
Hard to say which is which, since at the end of the day the characters are just used as props on Lucy's stage.
I do like Sue, I think she, like the vast majority of characters in this comic, is poorly used. There are lots of potentially good ways of both developing her and putting her through fun situations, but as usual she is just there to kiss ass and serve as a tool.

>>153898849
Same man. I've always liked her, but these threads turned me into a Suefag. She has great potential for romance and development, infinitely more so than the currently dismal scenario of Mike x Lucy, or Paulo x Daisy.

>>153898964
>Unless she confesses her love for David and elopes after high school.
Hell no, anything but that, please... Though, knowing this comic, it'll likely be the case.

>>153895186
Evil ass unfeeling Mike would be a more interesting character to follow around too

File: 1645837512847.jpg (6 KB, 247x220)

6 KB JPG

>>153899313
>"it's for the best" mentality
>zero emotional feedback
>unable to tell or care when he goes too far
Actual villain potential.

>>153897563
unfortunately Lucy can't empathize unless she can get him romantically. And unless Taeshi starts to empathize with him.

Which she won't.

>>153897611
all the reasons she tries to use for Lucy fall flat because they either have to be retcons, stuff she only explains on tumblr, or just aren't in the comic.


The dreams and the letters were ass pulls to justify lucy being a shit despite the little sense both make

>>153900388
Mikefags christ complexes are so funny because things really are better without him.

>>153902010
Hi, bagfag. Still can't have sex with your wife?

>>153901757
>The dreams and the letters were ass pulls to justify lucy being a shit despite the little sense both make
They also don't justify beating someone for years because you felt insecure about a postage stamp, and you romantically rejected said boy already to boot.

>>153902251
Taeshi has tried so hard to bury the real reason for their fall out because it doesn't work in Lucy's favor.

I know people here have said it before, but this comic can never grow beyond the fanbase it has because people will point out that none of what Mike has done justified her physical treatment of him.

And it'll get even worse when it gets revealed she's been retconning pages physically for years

>>153902010
What's better without him?

>>153902010
>Mikesperg hallucinating things to sperg about again

>>153901757
It's really funny how back in volume 1, Mike was worried about how Lucy would react to the letters and she went "tee hee no it's fine actually I'm not bothered at all." I guess she was just malding inside that whole time.

File: 2 of Davids attempts.png (1.54 MB, 745x1200)

1.54 MB PNG

Reminder that David is the origin of every problem in the comic and has attempted murder.

>>153903302
Genuinely pisses me off how this is never brought up. David is such a fuckin piece of shit, the fact that he has fans goes to show how we deserve another pandemic.

I don't want Mike to make up with Lucy after she sees her campaign to ruin his life makes him sad and gives him a hug. I want Mike to suffer permanent damage that brings it all to light and results in a reputation that follows them through college and beyond.

>>153903567
He's objectively a bigger threat than Alejandro.
>Alejandro
Attempted a scam but failed. Nearly killed Mike & Lucy once. Groped Lucy and insinuated he would rape her.
>David
Has scammed his "friends". Nearly killed Mike & Lucy twice. Groped Lucy and insinuated he, Paulo, and/or Mike should rape her.

>>153903567
does he still have fans or is it just outside the discord that hates him? Taeshi's made him part of the main drama now with LitS so she can either keep him a meme dog that doesnt get any karma or actually have him develop.

Odds are that she'll do the former no matter how weird it looks to her readers

>>153900388
Mike doesn't really have villain potential IMO. He's too nice, too ineffectual. He has used his friend's insecurities against them and gotten violent, but he's always just lashing out rather than actually trying to do something. Even at his worst in December and after Lucy's return, he was just kind of mean. In a story with abusive attempted rapists, near-death incidents, and bullies who break limbs, Mike's being a surly asshole doesn't measure up. Even when Taeshi plays Mike's dickishness and depression as deadly serious, it just makes him seem sad and petty.

>>153902010
>things really are better without him
Oh yeah, because this comic would be so interesting if it was just Lucy as the main character.

>>153906545
>Oh yeah, because this comic would be so interesting if it was just Lucy as the main character.
nta but mike is a boring protagonist, mike and lucy's relationship is what keeps discussion alive

>>153906674
That cause Mike isn't allowed to be anything without Lucy. Paulo is allowed to do shit even if he greets reset and Lucy died when she jumped off the roof.

File: lucynightmare.png (1.29 MB, 800x1105)

1.29 MB PNG

>>153903302
>>153903567
He sucks man, like I always say, he is the second worst character. The only things he does are
>talk shit
>do retarded shit
>kiss Paulo and Lucy's ass
That's it, yet somehow everything always works out in his favor, and he never ever gets called out for any shit that he has done in the past; at most, these things are COMPLETELY ERASED out of existence, if needed.

He is the second most powerful creature in Lucyspace, being able to alter past events to suit his needs.

>>153906545
The best part of the comic was volume 2-4 where Mike wasn't even the third most prominent character.

File: consume.png (128 KB, 512x394)

128 KB PNG

>>153906674
>>153906984
I agree that their dynamic is what keeps the story going, but two things to take into consideration are: Is it even goin somewhere to begin with? and second, if it was just Lucy, it'd be equally as boring, it'd be just her acting all gloomy/nonchalant while people come to kiss her ass.
Without the whole 'Mike wronged me' argument, Lucy has nothing to get people to sympathize with her. She'd be just an arrogant and snarky cunt.

>>153907143
Mike is just the fall guy, the one you can point to and say "it's his fault" even when it isn't or he isn't directly responsible, that's what makes him compelling, and that's why his spergouts or getting back with sandy are frustrating, because he has no reason to act that way yet the narrative requires him to do so in order to continue, he is like Paulo in that he can never learn or improve, because doing so would mean Lucy is wrong

File: 1625377681641.jpg (82 KB, 486x960)

82 KB JPG

>>153905289
I tend to agree that Mike's niceness and reactive anger are not fertile ground for future villainy. Rather, my suggestion is somewhat the opposite: Such villainy could stem from Mike's loss of empathy for others, coupled with an emotional numbness that disallows the usual self-defeating impotent rage.

Now, this alone would not be sufficient as Mike could be expected to remain largely non-reactive. I think the key factor would be Mike coming to believe that hard truths need to be faced head-on, no matter how painful that might be. Sandy was never going to work out. He and Lucy were never potential lovers or really even friends--they were just using each other the entire time. His parents should have stopped trying to make it work a long time ago.

Mike was indeed lashing out at Lucy during December, but he was also largely telling the truth. Lucy was and very much still is a parasite. Lucy internalized that truth (no matter how much Taeshi wants to deny it these days) and fell into despair. There's destructive power in truth so bluntly applied. I think that Mike could, in an evolution of his present state, come to see that as acceptable collateral damage when ripping off the band-aid. His friends certainly entertain a number of comfortable delusions they had best be rid of, whether they like that or not. And, because Mike can no longer sperg, they have no convenient excuse for dismissing what he says.

Now, obviously, this can't happen in the current comic. There is no way that Taeshi would write Mike as the Cassandra who points out that Paisy is doomed to implode, for example. She already has Lucy playing wise sage, patching up the group's long term problems with quite literally zero effort. This just seems like a potential outcome if not constrained by the comic's narrative limitations.

>>153907377
In fairness it's not necessarily for lack of trying. When Mike does try to get his shit together or improve in some way it gets sabotaged by one of the white cats.
>Try to do his own thing and make friends with a new group
Lucy teleports in to act like a cunt and generally make things uncomfortable for everyone if not outright assaulting the guy
>Try to move on from Sandy
She pulls the guilt trip card which, combined with Lucy trying to splatter herself, has Mike scared of the possibility of Sandy doing the same

It will never stop being funny to me just how effortlessly Sandy completely and utterly devastates Lucy's life, all without even really being aware of her existence. Like thirty fucking years later and Goldie is still such a figure of absolute nightmare to Taeshi that even in a world completely revolving around Taeshi's self-insert, the Goldie expy is undefeatable.

>>153907835
Imagine if Taeshi had grown up as a person, so that she had the capacity to write Lucy coming to grips with Sandy and even getting to know her as a person.

File: SandyFixesTheWholePlotInA(...).jpg (653 KB, 1600x2178)

653 KB JPG

>>153907519
The problem is that "hard truths" isn't Mike. Mike's whole schtick is that he's so allergic to confrontation that he'll make multiple, mutually-contradictory promises, to his own detriment. Mike will say "sure, of course I can!" even when he knows that he can't, just to put off having to disappoint anyone for as long as possible. The only exceptions are when he's too angry to think straight.

>>153907835
Sandy's hotter, more approachable, nicer, meaner, more charismatic, and smarter than Lucy, and it's not even close. Lucy's only hope was to accept Sandy's mercy, and by refusing Lucy signed her own death warrant.

>>153907989
How come they are about the same height here, but on the later chapters she is one full head taller than him?

>>153907989
We are talking about post-LitS Mike.

>>153908438
>>153908589
The Goldiemalding intensified.

>>153908589
Sandy's power level continued to grow, while Mike neglected his training and stagnated.

>>153908590
Post-LitS Mike is still doing it. At the start of this current chapter, he reassured his mom that he's doing alright and is glad that Lucy's doing "well" without him. Mike just doesn't have it in him to hurt anyone outside the context of his emotional outbursts.

>>153909069
Post-LitS Mike does not seem allergic to confrontation. Instead, he seems to be largely checked out and disinterested in friction rather than nervously avoiding it. Tge path of least resistence. He still retains his empathy for others, so further evolution would clearly be necessary.

File: BCBRecordofhalfaday.png (2.1 MB, 2048x2048)

2.1 MB PNG

>>153903130
>I guess she was just malding inside that whole time.
That's about the best summation of Lucy's fundamental character possible, really.

>>153908589
Mike died and was replaced by a clone

>>153907835
Sandy is by far the most interesting character in this comic and it's not even close. The irony is that she's interesting because the author doesn't know how to write her

>>153907835
It's part of the reason why Amy is so funny.
It's basically saying "Yeah, Goldie WAS the better option."

>>153895186
I think there's a term for no longer keeping the "machine" running normally, letting it all fall apart(or things fall apart from circumstances outside your power), and feeling the weight off your shoulders in the aftermath. I'd be very curious to see unshackled Mike.

Does anyone have the old BCIs?

>>153913919
Alas, links to the last time the Library of BCB-andria were posted (on April) have already expired.

>>153913985
Hopefully the anon that kept it updated uploaded all the recent BCIs that other Patreon anon leaked out of uncontrollable rage

https://files.catbox.moe/gnj7ez.zip

File: Amy Lunch.png (308 KB, 720x1280)

308 KB PNG

>>153912656
>It's part of the reason why Amy is so funny."Yeah, Goldie WAS the better option."
>Not being a complete bitch to a guy and being nice/cool to hang out with works
Truly a mystery.

I miss the artists

File: 27.png (527 KB, 800x1105)

527 KB PNG

Surprise! It was all a Paisy chapter all along.

File: 129-28.png (55 KB, 1280x222)

55 KB PNG

Preview and commentary:

Veronica: Turns out Paulo’s real date was Daisy’s mother all-along!!! He will never get over the older chicks..

>>153914924
>Daisy is sick.
...maybe he'll take Mike out on this movie date?
Nah, it's gonna be some bullshit, I don't even care to speculate what anymore.

Daisy's mom has got in going on

>>153914965
Wouldn't she have said beforehand that she was sick?

>>153914903
>It was all a Paisy chapter all along.

No wonder this fucking chapter turned into another snoozefest halfway. It wasn't enough that the last chapter all about Paisy and was easily the single most boring one in the entire comic. Now taeshi doing everything she can to force us to like Paisy, and I wouldn't be surprised she's pulling this shit cuz the Dldouble date chapter had a, less than lukewarm reception, if I'm being generous.

Taeshi, if you're reading this, how about you spend this energy pushing Mucy since it's your endgame huh? Or have you forgotten again that it's supposed to be the "ultimate endship"?