Abbey leaves Mike to die
Jesus Christ, AbbeyMaybe that bitchy anon from last thread had a point after all
Preview and commentary.>Veronica: Jasmine annoyed that she did too good a job getting Abbey to stop trying to save everyone lol, you reap what you sow, kid!!!C'mon, Abbey!! Go back to the thing you used to do! Just this once for old time’s sake!
Just fucking get on with it already and kill Mike
>>155672544This entire chapter, man.>Haley will save Mike!>Haley's a bitch>Abbey will save Mike!PAISY INTERMISSION!>Abbey flakes on Mike>Jasmine will save Mike!
>>155672561To be fair it's a 50/50 between mike throwing a tantrum or becoming needy what the fuck is abbey supposed to do here?
>>155672544No shit he's getting cold feet, but making him look that calm about it feels forced, the you can't save everybody comment sounds like it did come from a hurt place, but still feels so fucking forced to have Abbey notice what's going on and decide to excuse himself, as anon said last time this is just Taeshi nipping every other way to help Mike in the bud just so her great idea of what actually will work doesn't look stupid in comparison
>>155672662Check up on a bro?
>>155672662Ask if he's alright. Actually has anyone even asked that simple question to him yet? Like straightforward and not in a flimsy indirect way?
>>155672544Oh its not playing into Abbey's trauma and fear of getting hurt again, its actually just throwing an old positive back in Jasmine's face.
>>155672662Last page didn't look like ditching him because there's things that can be done like letting teachers or a nurse know, or even confronting his friends for letting him rot outside, but this is just Taeshi saying Abbey's ditching him because of how own growth, like the fucker isn't trying to help out the person that deserves it the least already out of the grace of his heart because Paulo sure as fuck didn't ask for it.Taeshi can still work the angle that this is traumatic for Abbey but I doubt she cares since she's never liked him
>>155672544Yeah Abbey stocks have dropped once again. Though I don't blame him, he's been burned too many times by that insane friend group.
Is this how suicide works IRL? Just a cascading failure of everyone knowing theres a problem but doing nothing about it.
>>155672725It's worse, this doesn't work as "Abbey learned to stop trying to solve everyone's problems" because he's giving Paulo free therapy, so it goes back to Taeshi's old "some people deserve help, some don't" that she pulls when her assholes are constantly pampered but others "should have known better"
>>155672718Only Paulo, who is know to cross boundaries and dismiss personal space and act harsh and despite what he's told and who's known to make bullshit promises when something is very important to him, asked him if he was alright and got told "yeah, why don't you check on Lucy instead" and Paulo nodded and went about his day ( and then saying out loud that things would be better for everyone else if Mike just got back to how things were with Lucy)
>>155672544Wait what the fuck? When did Abbey EVER come to this sort of conclusion about people? Especially since his past with Mike is nowhere near as rocky as his past with Paulo
>>155672923Truly a fate worse than death, Paulo is the only person that asks about your well-being...
>>155672770Using BCB as an example, suicide is when everyone loves you and cares for you but one guy, and then the one guy says he regrets the way things went and would like to talk it out later, so you jump off a building rather that find a way to work things out long distance
>>155672951Most generous interpretation is him partly blaming himself with his mom dying by getting involved there and this being a sort of trauma response. That maybe combined with him thinking things ultimately going sour when he asserts on these school scenarios. As another anon said, I wouldn't fully blame him for not wanting to get too involved with the tablefags since that friend group is poison
>>155672923Curious since I don't feel like looking for the specific panel but did he actually directly ask if he was alright calmly and genuinely or was it in his usual roundabout asshole way?
>>155672770Not unless the person in question was really good at hiding it. Lucy and Mike are not good at doing that. They wear it on their faces so in theory everyone should be wondering what's wrong. But taeshi is trying too hard to railroad this plot point so everyone else has to be dumber than usual
Lucy WILL save Mike. She can't let her recharge station destroy itself.
>>155672951If you give the writing more credit than it's worth Abbey is afraid that this is a repeat of what happened to his mom and feels powerless and afraid since that ended in him trying to help and instead getting his mom beaten to death, so he's acting selfish and making excuses to stay away from it, and I don't remember if Jasmine knows enough about Abbey to make the connection, as she said anybody might just mistake his depression/malnutrition with tiredness from running all day, remember at least half the table knows he's not eating and David even uses that fact to make fun of him
>>155673009Calmly, he looked concerned, but didn't do much else, and that chapter was followed by an intermission where he asked everyone that was involved sans Augustus what actually happened and the only answer he got was "I killed him" from David.And now that I think about it the fact that David told Abbey that Mike was outside "learning his lesson" should be a fuck huge red flag to anyone
>>155672978>so you jump off a building rather than find a way to work things out long distanceIt is absurd just how hard Sandy absolutely mogs Lucy without even really knowing her existence.
>>155672645We must accept that nobody will save him.His only choice now is to give up on this plane of existence and escape the cycle of reincarnation. Thankfully, he's already in the middle of embracing ascetic practices like fasting, physical conditioning, and isolation. Mike's good end will come from following the path of the buried mummified monks: a Bodhisattva in his quest to become a Buddha. Hell, Augustus can even help him with the burying part!
>>155673212David isn't a character so anything that might come off as serious to normal people gets ignored within story
>>155673229Nah Mike should distort
>>155672561Told you. This is BCB, remember? But then even I never imagined Abbey would just peace the fuck out because Muh Effort, Too Hard.
>>155673281MIKE, DON'T LISTEN TO THE VOICE!
>how Sandy shows up to her and maishuls valentine date
>>155673339What causes a woman to do something like this? How many levels of failure need to happen in her life to end up doing THAT?
>>155673313Listen to the voice Mike. It'll be cool and funny
>>155673393Daddy issues
>>155673281Nah, while some may fall to distortion ,not this one, a least not today.Mike has to leave the world of light, embrace the night, and join the hunt.
>>155673339Sandy being such a shameless slut is really cool actually.
>>155672598>page commentNo she didn't. Abbey is actively going out of his way to help Paulo.
>>155673281I think Mike would actually reject Carmen and be an EGO bro. Lucy on the other would definitely distort
>>155673135>s she said anybody might just mistake his depression/malnutrition with tiredness from running all dayAbbey said that. Jasmine expressed skepticism right after.
>>155673556not even close to the same thing
>>155672729Based on Jasmine's reactions, this is not the right path. If Mike recovers from this, whatever trust issues he developes because pottery will be well justified, possibly even in-comic.
>>155672598I can't believe Jasmine ruined Abbey
>>155673281Maybe Mike should abstract?
>>155673750I fucking wish Mike would have a little red hen moment at the table of absolutely useless friends.
>>155672544Mike X Jasmine stocks up???
>>155673281FUCK YOU SUN!
>>155673829She can't break the Whitecat duopoly.
>>155673716You're right, basic effort and noping out aren't the same thing.
>Mike does nothing for years while Abbey gets bullied and humiliated by Paulo, eventually Mike takes Paulo's side Mike good>Abbey leaves Mike alone because he said he's fine and he's been browbeaten by his entire friend group to stop going out of his way to help peopleAbbey bad
>>155673909Less Abbey bad and more:Situation, dragged out shit
>>155673909Nobodyb has ever claimed that, you strawmansexual deviant.
>>155673947>dragged out shitBut that's like, the entire comic.
>>155673899well yes because trying to connect with someone, where you also are getting something out of is easier and better for your own mental health than carrying the burden of a guy's self inflicted problems when you yourself already are dealing with your own shit
>>155672718>Hey Mike, you alright?>*forced smile* Yeah, 'course I'm alright!>Ok, bye!There you go, anon!
>>155674033I'm glad no one irl has the misfortune of calling you a friend.
>>155674041Too bad Abbey doesn't have the excuse of being retarded. Now he's just selfish and lazy.
>>155674078cope
>>155673227It's a completely one-sided rivalry. Lucy is the only one fighting, and she STILL loses every time.
We still have half this chapter left, right? That’s plenty of time for the rest of the secondary cast to show up, let us know they don’t care that Mike is suicidal, and leave. Just get on with Lucy (or possibly Sandy) “saving” him in chapter 133 already.
>>155674129>picThis doesn't work because it's Mike who's living rent-free in Lucy's mind, not the other way around
>>155674129>t. friendless loser
On another line of inquiry, rereading old pages in order to make the screencaps that I use in these threads often unearths some PREMIUM ragebait. This shit is way purer than those blogposts you're used to, be careful not to OD.
>>155674175It's made by the same person who made that psychotic Daisy cope comic after the library kiss.
>>155674220>prone to kindness>only shows it to people she trusts>trusts no oneSo the vast majority of the time she is not kind. By definition, that means she's not prone to said behavior.
>>155674351I assume taeshi means the pets. Who got removed so there's even less chance to see Lucy being "nice"
Booooring. Gimme Jasmine
>>155672544I'm extremely disappointed in Abbey. I did not expect this of him.
>>155674129>The version of BCB Taeshi thinks she's writing
>>155674220>Just to people she can trustSo nobody
>>155674129Uuuh is the pic author mentally challenged or ...?
>>155674686Worse, a Lucy sympathizer
>>155674686>>155674754So the answer is yes, absolutely.
>>155674686Nah, AgentChimendez is based. They wrote a whole google doc on how Abbey got done dirty in order to prop up Paulo and Paisy.And they don't even like Lucy, they barely draw her. When they do, it's always a punchline where Lucy is being a pathetic girlfailure or kind of a bitch.
>>155674541Fuckin hell a somewhat reasonable understanding of who knows what happened to Lucy.
>>155675404>Nah, AgentChimendez is based. They wrote a whole google doc on how Abbey got done dirty in order to prop up Paulo and Paisy.I was there when the doc dropped in the discord kek. It was a fucking while ago, I don't remember how the discord handled such a comprehensive document sadly
>>155672544This just fucking sucks. If Abbey wasn't gonna fucking do anything why did you even bother? We've already established Mike is burning himself out and no one's doing shit about it, does EVERY character in the cast need to have their "Mike's fucking dying, oh well!" moment individually?Put him in the hospital or make him do something, I don't care which.
>>155674541It took Taeshi almost a year to come up with a patch to that plothole, and her answer is more sloppy retcons. Sloppy retcons that don't even fix the plothole, because she's glossing over stuff characters explicitly said that contradicts this new canon she's come up with.I'm not surprised, but come the fuck on.
>>155675502Yes. Presumably so they all feel bad when something bad actually does happen with Mike or so Lucy can stand on her soap box and berate everyone for abandoning Mike and how she never fucking wanted that.
>>155675502Taeshi couldn't (or wouldn't) write "Lucy reintegrates with the old friend group, Mike falls into depression and isolates himself" organically. Maybe she was worried about how much the audience had come to hate Mike's guts and was trying to correct. Maybe she was just too high on Lucy being a fun asshole who shittalks her friends and got distracted for a while. Whatever the reason, Taeshi decided to defuse the suicide nuke (via massive continuity-destroying plothole), and have Mike apologize for his prior spergery, getting forgiven no questions asked and having everyone glaze him by going "it's okay Mike, you're still a good person!".Unfortunately, this means that now the "Lucy reintegrates with the old friend group, Mike falls into depression and isolates himself" plotline requires that most of the cast act retarded. Anyone noticing ahead of Taeshi's schedule that Lucy is a complete asshole, or that Mike is withering away and surrounded at all times by carrion flies, would derail the plot Taeshi has in mind. So now Taeshi's decided she has to set up the whole thing where Mike brushes off everyone's concern while Lucy wears out her welcome AGAIN, because the first 2 (3? I've lost count) times were false starts.
Will Jasmine save Mike now? MikexJasmine replacing MikexSandy? Please?
>>155674129It's funny how accurate this is, right down to Eren literally Decembering Mikasa
>>155674129Except this is Lucy. This is literally Lucy's mindset. Mike picking Sandy over her has been the driving force behind her hostility towards him.
>>155675971LUCY is gonna save Mike and you're gonna LIKE it
>>155675801>Maybe she was worried about how much the audience had come to hate Mike's guts and was trying to correctI doubt that because she tries way too hard to justify LitS happening to Mike. The most she can say regarding it is "Everyone involved was an asshole" when Mike was defending himself. If she was worred about Mike hate then she wouldn't have written James like she did and then get surprised everyone hates him, nor would she have gotten irritated by questions about Mike just leaving everyone for a new place.It's been said before in past threads but I think she defused the suicide nuke because there'd be no way to have mike reconcile with the others. In their minds, especially with his luck, they would have laid EVERYTHING regarding the suicide and the fight before that at his feet. They'd have no reason to accept him back into the group organically. That's at minimum, the more likely result is that one of them spreads it through the school and it destroys Mike's reputation as a whole. My money on the one that does this is either Jordan, Paulo, David, or Sue.The only thing Mike could do is move away and start a new school life while praying Taeshi doesn't suddenly remember that social media is a thing around this time and have someone from the old school spread it across the web.So she settles for this bad handling of it all.
I bet you're looking forward to Friday!
Assbey
>>155672544>he's not showing up to practice? who cares lol>he's not showing up to the mmo? who cares lol>he's not sitting with his friends? who cares lol>he's not eating? who cares lol>"I CAN'T BELIEVE HE TRIED/SUCCEEDED TO KILL HIMSELF WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING??"
>>155676199I think you underestimate how much Taeshi is stuck on the whole "they BOTH deserve sympathy!" bullshit. Taeshi runs defense for LitS because in her mind that shouldn't "disqualify" Lucy/Augustus/David/James from sympathy. But IMO, the whole reason Taeshi fizzled the suicide nuke and had a year or so of every character (including some she spawned in just for the purpose) taking turns going "It's okay Mike, I forgive you for everything, you had good reasons to be upset and are still a good person regardless!" is because she also doesn't want to "disqualify" Mike from sympathy.It's a very have-your-cake-and-eat-it kind of mindset. Taeshi wants to write spiteful assholes who make each other miserable and are to blame for all their own problems. But she also wants readers to LIKE them and think they're fun, like she does. So she gets frustrated whenever readers go "I don't like them", and tries to correct the record via "both sides" bullshit apaulogetics. And she doesn't have the discipline to not play favorites, so her "both sides" apologetics invariably just end up blaming whichever character she likes less. Then she's surprised when people react by getting even more vitriolic, because she's not very smart.
>>155676857I don't remember anyone telling Mike he was right to be upset outside of Paulo following the table slam and Lucy rejection #2. But I can see why they'd forgive him pretty easily since he was clearly sorry and stopped acting like an angry fuckhead.
>>155672598author: this is of course, actually a woman's fault
>>155673909Some anons really need to get over this whole "you're either with Mike or against him" mindset. Mike can be an abuse victim who's been taken for granted and bullied into depression over the course of years, but that doesn't make everyone who isn't 100% on his side bad. In universe, Mike can be kind of an impatient asshole sometimes, and it's not reasonable to expect his friends to drop everything in order to help him. And out of universe, a bit of light mockery of Mike's pathos is appropriate; mocking these characters is the only way (outside of fan content) to derive any enjoyment from them.That said, some of you mikefags are alright. God knows things get muddied when everyone DOES go far out of their way to help Lucy/Paulo with their bullshit. It's not even like they're more receptive than Mike; like him, they both respond to attempts to reach out to them by sperging out.>>155677049>I don't remember anyone telling Mike he was right to be upsetTalking specifically about the Mike rehabilitation arc (Eternal Flame through to LitS): Lucy in Eternal Flame (I know it was in the midst of blatant gaslighting, but it still technically counts), Daisy in Double Down, James in Date Night, Paulo in New Years, Sandy in On Call, all told Mike it was okay that he was upset, that he had good reasons to be, and/or that he was a good person regardless. There's more examples outside of that particular window, including from Sue, Rachel, Abbey, & Tess, but I'm talking specifically about the "oh shit, my readers hate Mike a little TOO much" era that Taeshi had after overindulging in Lucy being a fun asshole while Mike impotently sperged.
>>155677434>that doesn't make everyone who isn't 100% on his side bad.People would be less pissy if people weren't blatantly aware something is wrong and then shrugging their shoulders about it. It could work if Abbey felt traumatized by his mom, but no, it's about some sorta "growth" about not trying to help all your friends. There are several ways to write reasons why someone might not help, and they can be logical/emotional and work, but Taeshi doesnt even fucking do that. >Mike can be kind of an impatient asshole sometimes, and it's not reasonable to expect his friends to drop everything in order to help him.And the time to have this fucking, Mike isolated due to his actions arc would've been way before he apologized, and you could argue the fucking problem was him being pissy even if he had reason to be mad at his friends. We are literally past that, and now they just shrug their shoulders for no fucking reason. We have actively seen them, even before the sperg era, try to help Lucy with more force or effort (I'm referring to the main table). Abbey, of all characters, has the least reason to act like this with him. Of all their shared male friends, he has come to blows with Mike the least, and their friendship is more amicable than Mike's "best friend". All this has done is make Abbey look like a jackass when it could have been written that he doesnt notice something is off. By having him notice and possibly doing nothing, it makes him look like a dick.These fucking pages have terrible spacing; we literally could have seen if he teels/asks haley in possibly half the used pages.Yes, I'm fuckign angry we are having this fucking conversation again.
>>155677434>Some anons really need to get over this whole "you're either with Mike or against him" mindset. Mike can be an abuse victim who's been taken for granted and bullied into depression over the course of years, but that doesn't make everyone who isn't 100% on his side bad. In universe, Mike can be kind of an impatient asshole sometimes, and it's not reasonable to expect his friends to drop everything in order to help him. And out of universe, a bit of light mockery of Mike's pathos is appropriate; mocking these characters is the only way (outside of fan content) to derive any enjoyment from them.I think most anons know mike isn't flawless. But it's the problem that nothing good is allowed to happen to him long term while other characters do worse and get off with less punishment that gets everyone mikefagging it up. Plus taeshi trying to push this "He's manipulative and OBSESSED with Lucy" narrative that doesn't fit.The current situation has it where Taeshi is more than likely trying to do the "Nobody noticed before it was too late thing" that truthfully does happen to some suicide victims IRL. But like one anon above said, Mike and Lucy are super obvious about not being in a good state of mind and the characters that would normally try harder are just shrugging their shoulders and going "Okay, then". Paulo is his best male friend but we only see him try once lightly and then nothing after that. Abbey giving up so easily this chapter almost makes him taking the lunch to mike in the first place kinda pointless to me. Like you're already IN the situation so why back out now? The way she's going about the isolation plot is just really silly.
Perhaps Abbey's dereliction of his amical duties is simply a result of him knowing that as bad Mike looks and despite the fact that many might fall in the face of Chaos, it's not this one. Not today.
>>155678166Mike's body is more likely to give out than his spirit, imo. he sure as hell wouldn't try to kill himself like Lucy, since it would hurt his mom & Mike isn't far gone enough to think hurting himself would help his mom.
>>155678272If anyone else than Taeshi was writing this, how would Mike come out the other side of all this? Would he experience character development and, if so, in what direction?
>>155678272I have a feeling we have a case of Taeshi being shit at body expression, that for other characters Mike doesn't look as bad as we as readers know he is and it's why he's been mostly dismissed as tired except by two people, the one that knows Mike better than others and put him there and the one that has seen how wasting away looks like but somehow can't act
>>155678631I bet Taeshi felt real clever when she talked herself into thinking this was a good excuse for keeping Abbey uninvolved.
Mike's depressed twink ass needs a dominant boyfriend so bad it's unreal.
>>155678879Francis is freshly single I hear
>>155673895Jasmine is a white & black cat at least...
>>155678962A cat of God too
>>155678717The thing is that if Abbey gave more stupid excuses like "I just remembered something I had to do" or "I need to be somewhere else", anything that focused on how he's trying to avoid facing the conflict, it would be believable and understandable. But this being told as Abbey suddenly remembering a lesson much to Jasmine's disappointment reads more like Taeshi patting herself on the back for coming up for a way to make a kind person abandon others for a selfish but "good" reason>See? Being a good person and sticking to your principles can be harmful to others that need to be reached despite the rules, take that kind people!
>>155678993I agree, Taeshi comes across like a fucking pod person trying to ape how human beings work. I originally wrote "trying to understand," but that would require a depth of thought and intent foreign to her.
>Can't save everyoneWhy is everybody pretending Mike is Hitler or something, what the fuck did he do to deserve this?Oh boo. I yelled at my friends who made fun of my phone girlfriend who gets trained behind my back, big deal.
>>155679091It's not even that Mike is evil in their eyes. He's just very low priority. Maybe things would be different if he told Abbey about his home life situation and guilt tripped him like an actual manipulator would. Oh well. At least now Jasmine knows Abbey cannot be depended on. Dodged a bullet there.
>>155679091Did he even yell at Abbey over that recently? Hell I'm pretty sure Abbey has given him the least shit over sandy. He was the friend Mike showed Sandy's modeling photos too.
>>155679136he and Abby never really had repeated arguments. it wasn't like how Mike and Paulo are with each other.
>>155679312Which makes this whole page weirder. I'd argue that Mike and Abbey have one of the least toxic male relationship in the story. With many of the female intrasex relarionships being pretty toxic. How are any of the girls friends?
>>155678617>Not TaeshiI would guess after things really hit rock bottom and maybe when the divorce thing really reers its head, Mike would realize that all this drama with Lucy, his sham phone gf, and the tablefags really isnt worth it at all. He focuses inward and on his family mainly, and ends up ghosting most everyone else outside of simple and slim acknowledgement. He gives Sandy the boot and hits Lucy with the proverbial cease and desist when she inevitably hears about it magically, saying they should never interact again for both of their own good. If any of the tablefags get on his ass at that point, that is when he lays it out on how they are terrible friends to him and he doesnt want to be around them anymore. Also have him quit the guild for good measure or play some different vidya
>>155679312I think the one single time they argued was back in volume 1 then later had a minor disagreement over Paulo during Behind Closed Doors.
>>155678617>Valentine's Day>Sandy sees the husk that Maishul is and dumps him "for his own sake">Finally collapses not even 2 blocks where he was dumped>Wakes up in a hospital bed>Whole family is there>Dad says he's been a fool and wants to be an actual parent>Relationship is still on ice so parents agree to a split and Dad'll take Mike for a while>Mike is set to leave Roseville for a boarding school>Doesn't tell anyone and the table only find out after Lucy shambles to the greycat house for her overdue fix>Include scene of Haley not opening the door for a freaked out LucyLeast how I'd do it, actually commit to the whole December reflection instead of whatever Lucy saves Mike bs she's got planned. Make everyone that picked Lucy over him have to deal with the fallout of no Mike in her life for real this time.
>>155672544It's a bad idea to help someone in the water when you're not in a safe position yourself. Even the strongest of swimmers are going to get fucked when the drowning person's instincts unintentionally drag both underwater.
>>155680041Imagine if the "Lucy swoops down from on high to save Mike" plot was subverted because Scarf Cat pushed her away.
>>155679091He's willingly trapped in a shitty relationship. No use talking to someone who won't help themself.
>>155680294Abbey is in a better spot than he's been in the entire comic and there is no danger to him outside of Lucyspace bullshit. Bonus points: He's only doing this well because Jasmine helped him.
>>155680296If only
>>155680317But enough about Lucy.
>>155680357The thing is, he has pretty good reasons to push her away. I mean, he's basically her villain, right? He keeps using and hurting her, so we've been told. Plus she's hurt him pretty bad, so being around her can't be pleasant.
>>155680296>End of Curtain Call with the roles reversed>Lucy offers to start all over>"No thanks, bro"Kinda fun to imagine if this comic were any good
>>155677557>Yes, I'm fuckign angry we are having this fucking conversation again.That's fair, but what else is there to talk about? This comic only has 3 characters ("loveable" asshole, raging psycho, and hapless nice person who for some reason is usually framed as the one in the wrong) and 4 plots:>A resents B because B is interested in someone else>A resents B because B is interested in them>A is sad because they're being judged (over stuff they absolutely did and meant maliciously)>A rejects B and B starts melting down and self-sabotagingThe roles are interchangeable and everything else is filler.
>>155680644>burnt out languid smile from Mike as Lucy visibly deflates>there is no malice>it's just for the best
>>1556807918bit knew how to end itself on a decent note, rare for a webcomic to do that instead of just dying.I both laughed and was mad that they didn't get the reward./spoiler]>>155680644I mena, it fit.>Lucy was decaying without Mike present. Mike actively tried to avoid being near Lucy but Lucy had her friends(that she didn't trust). It was just December that gave her a push.Very heavy differences.>Mike was decaying, but Lucy was involved in this. Even before LITS, there were moments when she was intentionally fucking with Mike(Despite EF gaslighting). Sandy shit was a major factor. LITS was Lucy going beyond December and actively and intentionally socially sabotaging & isolating Mike. No one gives a fuck that Mike is isolated.I feel Mike and Paulo relationship, without Sandy or Lucy, could have decayed, considering how often their friendship wasn't exactly great.Plus, Lucy violating the agreement makes her an even bigger bitch, since all this social isolation doesn't mean anything if Lucy can just decide to violate the shitty rules she and her friends set up after bullying him. Especially since Mike will be the one who will get in trouble because that emofaggot won't actually tardwrangle Lucy like he is supposed to.Augustus is such fucking dogshit at the thing he is supposed to be doing. GreyJanny did better, and he did it for free.
>>155680970Imagine if Augustus actually got mad at Lucy for sabotaging the safe Michael free zone he set up for her.
>>155680644I miss this artstyle
>>155680369Lucy's trapped in a relationship?Bot?
>>155681005>Anyone getting angry at Lucy without punishment.Lucy tried to rape him and he barely gave a shit. Seriously, you'd think that be a big deal. Mike rejecting her wouldn't be a reasonable excuse. I wish someone genderbent that page.
>>155677557>>155677754You are both entirely correct that it would come across better if Taeshi wrote Mike as more believably holding it together, with everyone believing his excuses and assuming he's doing fine and just choosing to avoid Lucy. The choice to draw Mike as visibly deteriorating, with a constant cloud of flies waiting for him to stop moving, is dumb.Taeshi has, for some unfathomable reason, chosen to write characters noticing that something is wrong with Mike, and noticing that Lucy and David are being even more awful than usual, but then failing to put 2 and 2 together and just shrugging it off as "none of my business". I choose not to blame the characters for that; It comes across as Taeshi stepping in and assuming direct control to force things to go the way she has in mind. You can practically point out the panels where Paulo, Daisy, Haley, and now Abbey go "I'm worried about MiURK- I AM UNCONCERNED HE WILL BE FINE."And I get that it's the inconsistency that drives anons to Mikefaggery, and that's fair, I just wish some of them were less knee-jerk about it. Mike deserves better advocates, like DD anon. They never get | ABUSIVE | the way some anons do when stressed.
>>155681073>doesn’t understand what relationship means Retard?
>>155681137>thinks I don't understand a word and not that his reddit quip makes no senseBrazilian or Indian?
>>155676369Assholes with Naked Assholes. Honestly, that's what they should've called this comic.
>>155675404>"Seek out a therapist!" >"Alright... Next stop - the rapist." >"NO!"
>>155680644>Kinda fun to imagine if this comic were any goodI don't know, while it obviously won't be written well, I can see the possibility that we're going in that direction by remembering some of Taeshi's comments about the story; chapters 131 to 141 will be mainly focused on Mike and Lucy's drama, Mike's situation is supposedly improving around chapter 133, while Lucy's situation is supposedly only improving after the current arc, so only after chapter 141, with this disparity between things improving for them, it would make sense for Lucy to suffer a kind of reverse Curtain Call.
Wonder if the comic's gonna remember this when Abbey figures things out.
>>155680970If you remove the white cats Paulo wouldn't have even given Mike the time of day. Same way Paulo comes with a curse in the form of David, the white cats come in with a curse in the form of Paulo. Guess I'm going on a tirade here but "The Table" are just circumstance crush friends, of just two people even. Daisy and Sue wouldn't be around if not for Mike, and likewise for Paulo and David for Lucy. I wanted to rag and Mike and Paulo just not clicking but its all of em, fuck. Like Taeshi would no doubt applaud Lucy (and by extent herself) for bringing these two together but fail to recognize that Paulo is another lasting thorn in Mike's life.
>>155681154My condolences on your second grade reading level and crippling need to project.
>>155681367Fair point, but this is curious. Would Lucy end up alone or be followed around by Paulo? I don't think Paulo would have been a good handler for Lucy at that age, to the point I question if they'd be friends without Mike as the handler to balance out the harassment that Paulo would do to Lucy. You know, the stuff that would give her a fear about people only wanting her for her body. Wonder if Lily would get off her fatass and do something about that. I dont count David as Lucy's friend; he is more like a retarded pet.Holy shit, I just realized how little Lucy hangs out wiht her friends without Sue, Daisy, and Mike present.Mike, Sue, and Daisy are an interesting thing since, while the latter 2 did have a crush, it didn't get to the high level of toxicity of Lucy. Makes me curious if Sue could push into the Mike bowl easier than Lucy did, since she isn't as rommanticlaly reatdard as Lucy. I think it'd be a better bittersweet arc than Lucy and Mike since they wouldn't need as many retcons to their personalities. I think I actually might like that BCB better without the whitecats.
>>155681479I feel like Lucy would latch onto Paulo the way she did to Sandy distracted younger Mike. That is, continue to orbit him and wait until he's emotionally vulnerable to move in closer. Augmented of course with slapping him for being a perv while secretly enjoying the attention.
I know what the fuck you're doing, I had suspicions before but I see it now.
>>155681479When you start dissecting key aspects of this story its honestly amazing how many better stories you could come up with. Got the bones of Valentines day fanfic myself because of it. But here's something extra strange. There's a bunch of BCI's around elementary school right? What if Mike left, what if Sandy stayed, crap like that. I went looking for the obvious "What if Paulo was Lucy's one and only" but its not there. There's one for Augustus of all things but not Paulo. I feel like I have a new working theory that Paulo would've never been good enough for Lucy in Taeshi's eyes. Which is extra odd because there's a poly relationship BCI with Mike in the cuck chair, willingly at that.>>155681258I'm not putting faith in that man. In part because I don't trust Taeshi to have the chops for it, like look at his friends and ask what "up" could in be her eyes. But really because at the pace we're going this PART of the ride won't end for maybe 3-4 years.
>>155678617If _I_ was writing BCB?>Sandy shows up and has her chauffeur scrape Mike out of the gutter for their valentines date.>Mike (still in full self-hating mode) has decided Sandy should hate him like everyone else does, because he's evil.>He tells her he's still upset at her, but Sandy says she understands and doesn't blame him.>Mike tries to explain that he's a bad person who drove his best friend to suicide, but Sandy is having none of it and tells him it's not his fault.>Mike confesses that he "cheated" with Lucy, Daisy, and James, but Sandy is just confused and explains that doesn't count as cheating (and she'd know!).>When Mike runs out of reasons, Sandy asks why he wants her to hate him, and if he wants to break up.>Having finally laid out his self-damning doubts out loud and in full, and NOT being hated for it, Mike start crying.>After Sandy leaves, Mike hesitantly starts reengaging with people, and finds that (most of them) don't hate him either; maybe they aren't his BEST friends, but they do like him.>The MMO group is glad to have him back, Paulo and Daisy are glad to see he's eating again, and the Track Team tell him they really don't want him to quit>When Lucy, David, or Augustus try to bully him back down, Mike is scared, but he does stand up for himself. He receives some very slight backup from the friends he's reconnected with going "hey, leave Mike alone".>Mike is still shy and self conscious, still a bit sad and lonely, but at least he's finally internalized that it's not because he "deserves it".
>>155681616Who the fuck are you talking to schizokun?
>>155681719I like this version of Sandy. She strongly resembles her old pre-bimbo'd self.
>>155681170
>>155681719Pretty good idea. It seems like a natural path the story could take if it weren't written by Taeshi.
>>155681479>Makes me curious if Sue could push into the Mike bowl easier than Lucy didI think it's unlikely to be easier, because the white fur messes with Mike's brain chemistry, but Sue has a good chance, considering that, even with everything that's happened in the comic, she's still on Mike's list of options, and she herself, no longer being in love, would still give him a chance if Mike showed interest.
>>155681846I don't take Taeshi's nonsense seriously.
>>155681796Totally unrealistic. He'd be higher up the list and Lucy would spell his name right>>155681846Sue would be a super boring girlfriend to Mike, just dorks hanging out quietly. Exactly what he needs, really.
>>155681876That's probably wise.
>>155681796>A rebound turns into a weekend at Alejandro's house, which turns into everyday after school
>>155678990All those Mike x Jasmine shippers of ages past had the right idea. It's also why Taeshi had to relagate god cat to the background. She's more interesting then the main cast.
>>155683077It's not rape if she asked for it>>155683516Jesus cat trying to pull Mike into church might cause some good drama when he suddenly finds Lucy there as well. Or maybe Jasmine will make a comment about Mike's sinful gay friends that put some pressure on their relationship. It'll be more interesting than what's on display now at the very least
Jabbey bump
>>155681846The only nonsense from this is Mike dating James. Taeshi is just pushing queerbait for the sake of it instead of treating the concept with respect. Not everyone has to be bi, especially during that time period where it was a lot more socially unacceptable. Fuck Matt I guess, dude's gonna get kicked out of his house while everyone just treats James like normal.
>>155684693>not everyone has to be biIt's true, Madison and Jessica are lesbians and Lucy is straight (to Sue's despair)
>>155684777Guys what if it's not bait
>>155684693I suppose most people here would agree that BCB is not a well-written story. We're just here for the trainwreck. It's fun.
>>155684976Why would it ever be not bait?Oh he'd marry Lucy right now, that's why he looked like he wanted a train to pop him when she went to ask for asspats. The only context in which he'd want to marry her right now would be because that's stop her from pushing him down the grave further, literally giving up and letting her win
Trust in the Body Improvement Club arc
>>155684777If she likes this idea of Mike being obsessed with Lucy why doesn't she actually show it in comic? There is barely the faintest hint of that post Eternal Flame despite Taeshi waxing on about it. It's her story so she could write that if she wanted to.
>>155681796Need a new dog character, Lucy was made to be a knot pocket
>>155673229>>155673281>>155673492Oddly fitting lmao
All dog characters are shit. Yes, even Rachel, the one dimensional slut.
>>155684777>Sloppy kiss broke Mike's brain>Next morning he was texting Sandy like nothing happenedHuh?
>>155685745Taeshi changes her mind about what she wants the story to be and retroactively reframes events in ways that make no sense and were not shown because she had a different idea in mind while actually writing it
>>155685816Even knowing that beforehand it was still extremely confusing reading that. A complete inversion of reality. Are the patreon readers getting the REAL comic?
>>155684777I think if, given the chance, she would have never reframed Lucy's physical abuse as a serious issue because she loves pretending it's not a big deal now.
>>155686412IIRC there was a recent answer where she did say Lucy was being hostile and not playful,a sort of "well she earned that scorn so", so even that is still up to whatever the author feels like at the moment
>>155681130reddit is >>> that way
>>155687116>>>/reddit/Go home Mikefag, the /r/bcb hugbox is waiting for you.
>>155687332no way reddit has mikefags
>>155687116>>155687332Oh boy I love fucking cartoon cat console wars. It really brings out the knee-jerk white knights and the fight-picking pissbabies upset their sociopathic self-insert of choice isn't getting enough asspats today. Yes I am superior to you idiots.
>>155687388The reddit is a 4chan colony plus the rejected from the cult, so what do you think
>>155684777>The kiss broke mike's brain.Then why did he even entertain getting back with Sandy.>>155685307Because she either didn't think about it, or the most likely answer, the version of BCB she has in her head is WAY different from what she puts on paper.
>>155687388The subreddit is entirely Mikefags, it's even less ideologically diverse than here.
>>155687034she earned that scorn but then the suicide gave her an out from a fandom perspective. It allows her to dodge responsibility for her part in she and mike losing their friendship and fans can just say "Well Mike was so harsh that he made her try to kill herself! Lucy never did that to him!"
>>155683077I come to these threads once and ctrl f Alej, then I chuckle and leave until the next thread.
>>155688276I miss the horny threads, at least they weren't boring
>>155689581It's hard to get horny when the comic is being this dry and boring. Lucy is at the table again getting ass pats while she broods. Meanwhile Mike is skeletonizing and everyone just seems fine with it. If something more ridiculous was happening sure. It'd be easier.
>>155685276You think Mike would have fought back if she tried to assault him at this point? I'd say no, and the assault would cause him to spiral more. According to the comic/Agustus, would that be Mike paying Lucy what she's owed and they're square?
>>155689994Oh not at all, he would make it ambiguous to her with something like "Lucy... Please..." but it would go unheard, I can see Lucy pleasing herself while little Mike rubs her thanks to the workout he's been doing flowing enough blood to make it respond to stimuli, and as the tingling sensation washes over her she looks at him expecting to see the old Mike looking back at her, but she only gets a repeat of last chapter with a sudden realization of what just happened, that this is her fault and she just sexually abused him and again she runs away apologizing before trying to wipe it out of her mind and everything plays the same, except now she's afraid and constantly looking towards Mike with dread, while he acts the same as if nothing happened, which only makes her paranoia worse. No-selling Lucy is probably the way to get to her the hardest, she doesn't get to attack or defend herself or control a narrative, or hold power on the other Like she did AugustusIt'd be better if not shown but you could make Mike feel like he deserved it, or like it was nothing compared to what he has done to her
>>155689581>at least they weren't boringWell, there's nothing to post anymore.
>>155690265>like it was nothing compared to what he has done to herUh, Mike didn't rape Lucy. I know this is hypothetical, but I am struggling to think how Taeshi would make Mike getting raped his fault?
>>155690551It's less diminishing rape and more akin to the narrative of this comic that "it's not so bad when Lucy does it" which keeps coming up whenever other characters are judged for things she has done and worse. Also it's easy to keep using the suicide card to get out of jail, what does it matter when she does to you when you almost got her killed? (you didn't but you've been beaten the idea into you)
>Mike>Doing anything sexual
>>155690838>Implying he won't just sit there and take it.
>>155689581There were horny threads?
>>155691148Yea long ago. One time there was an entire thread and /trash/ thread devoted to what if the bcb cast got sold into slavery. Those were the days.
>>155684777>Implying Mike would ever not choose SandyCareful Taeshi, your mald spot is showing.>>155684976Then I have given taeshi too much credit by assuming she is merely a bad and impulsive writer; she's actually a complete idiot.
>>155681796>>155683077Speaking of Alejandro it's a shame SST never included those Sue ideas in Second Confrontation. I mean yea I get he wanted to end up story as it was so long, but Sue could have added that contrast with another woman that's so important to Lucy's character. Since Lucy is constantly comparing herself to other girls in the story, namely Sandy. Lucy suddenly finding herself jostling with Sue for the same spot would've thrown her for a loop. Or if Lucy's brain is still in a haze from drugs and pregnancy, the story could've switched to Sue's perspective as she uses her body to try and protect her pregnant friend Lucy from her violent abuser. As for how Sue gets further involved in the story? Maybe Sue has that massive closeted pervert characterization. Writing weird fanfiction having deep dark fantasies she never shares with anyone. And as this pervertedness grows Sue starts to watch videos on shady websites. Clicking on a video intrigued by a white cat looks like Lucy, only to freak out to see it's actually really is Lucy and Alejandro (Sue would still be really turned on though). The next day she confronts Lucy about it and gets roped into it, resisting just enough. You could do the same with the investigative want to do good part of Sue's character. But that'd just be Sue wanting to protect her friend from harm no matter what and not thinking it through (like she always does), compared to Sue secretly living out a dark fantasy.
>>155685300Giving into madness has ever been easier than holding out against it. They are heroes. Look upon their noble struggle and be humbled by it.
>>155691679I (still) disagree. Part of what was good about SC was the ongoing implication (and ultimate reveal) that the only one running on porn logic was Lucy; Alejandro DIDN'T actually have any significant leverage, people HAD noticed she'd been having sex, her friends HAD figured out she was pregnant, etcetera. There was a lot of fun in the theme of Lucy being the only one crazy and horny enough for all the blatant manipulation and extortion to work on her.Having any more "reasonable" character get caught up in it would have spoiled that. The ending showing that when other people (Sue, Augustus, Sam) finally DO get involved the whole fantasy immediately shatters, helps reinforce the point that Lucy is uniquely fucked in the head.
>>155683077Everyday after school then turns into every day for the next 18+ years, times however many children he pumps into her?
>>155693737Lmao
>>155693737It's kind of funny that either of them could say that; after all, not only is Lucy a parasite, but Augustus is quite the parasite himself as well. Even no longer liking working for Alej, he only quit with the guarantee of a safe place to gather resources to finally escape Alej for good.
>>155693737I told you anons that AgentChimendez was based.
>>155693095Different people wanted different things out of the fic. I just cared about the smut and action while others like you cared about the narrative and implications. And at the end of the day SST himself wanted to end the story. And to be honest the fic did run on porn logic a lot of times despite the implications so, the end did feel kind of abrupt (at least to me). But I will admit it did do good getting across that Lucy is insane.
>>155694638I was into all of it, but it spent a lot of time building up to stuff that didn't actually happen.Like all the stuff about how eventually Lucy's pregnant belly will be too big to hide, but she hides it from everyone aside from Sue up until the very last chapter and then it ends.
