How could you possibly think I'm talking about David? Nobody talks about David. Does David try to connect with anyone? Does David really interact at all?
>Oh.
Is Rachel supposed to have forgotten about keeping away from him now that Lucy is back in town? Moreover, does she not know he actually struck out so badly with Lucy? What's her reaction to that? No thoughts that she might now have a real chance with him?
It's been 4 months man, Rachel's over him. She went back to talking to him back in the car chapter but she's not going to shoulder his bs anymore when all you get for it is more bs from Paulo.
>Paulo drifts between Rachel, Matt, Abbey and Jasmine and finally realizes everyone
(including Lucy and Daisy) are sick of his shit >Even David is completely checked out of caring about Paulo's problems >The only person who still does is Mike, and Mike has literally no reason to
Surprisingly based development
She smuggled him into bed when he was so sad he didn't even remember it the next day (fricking weird but that's this comic for you), suggested they be frick buddies with nothing serious involved, insisted on throwing herself on him bodily until he relented on feeling weird about it, it's hard not to imagine she's the one iniating all the sex off-page, and she insisted on continuing when Paulo said he knew the situation (that she wanted) was unfair to her.
There is no way the angle of this chapter is going to be >everyone is sick of Paulo's cryfests and refuse to get involved >David is too much of a moron to care >Mike is the only one who still can give a frick >omg why did i Paulo Orangecat not see it before? >sappy romantic/friendship stuff ensues
Right? Because everyone up until this point has given the crybaby a ton of attention and reassurance. This would be out of nowhere.
I'd prefer it to Paulo continuing to shit on Mike at least, now that James is basically over it'd be nice for Mike to have something going on with somebody and Paulo needs to actually affirm feelings for someone other than Lucy for fricking once
I can't imagine a Paulo x Mike relationship being anything less than abusive, especially nowadays when Mike is so terrible at standing up for himself. Which could at least push the plot forward if either was allowed to use his brain.
Well yeah thats kind of the obstacle isn't it, Paulo getting over himself and not being a c**t. If Paulo could unfrick himself it'd be nice. I'm kind of hoping one genuine moment of reflecting on how much Mike actually means to him, like after he trolled Mike into faceslamming him, would push him there but characters just don't progress in BCB
I would not blame Paulo for that moment since he had reason to be upset with Mike and the kid is bad at self-reflection. But getting into a relationship with Mike or openly reconfirming their friendship, only to turn around and do something terrible to Mike? That could both fit Paulo's general MO and serve as a wakeup call.
>I'm kind of hoping one genuine moment of reflecting on how much Mike actually means to him
I always took this moment to be that.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Why did Taeshi steal Mike's inches? He's noticeably shorter in the edited panels than he is in the rest of the chapter.
7 months ago
Anonymous
I assume it was a test run or some vague idea about self-perception that would not stand up to scrutiny.
7 months ago
Anonymous
To remove his chad gene
7 months ago
Anonymous
Yeah they also had the faceslam makeup. Taeshi just won't let it stick because she can't come up with any more sources of drama so if she ties up any loose ends she'll run out of shit to write about
7 months ago
Anonymous
I could see Paulo being a legit frick about the whole thing, but it would only be justified if Mike rejected him on that basis or if this led up to a Paulo-denies-Mike-three-times-before-the-rooster-crows scenario.
Paulo's had tons of "genuine moments of reflection", they just never stick. He blubbers for a page or two, apologizes to Mike/Lucy/Daisy/Matt, then is the exact same character next chapter.
That wasn't genuine reflection. Paulo doesn't specifically apologize for anything. Hell, he outright said he doesn't know what he did wrong, but he's scared of Mike abandoning him. Hell, I think he's lying since he otherwise just shrugs off Mike's anger.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>he outright said he doesn't know what he did wrong, but he's scared of Mike abandoning him
and when did he say that? because he flat out admits he just doesnt know when to stop until he's already miles past the line
7 months ago
Anonymous
>I'm sorry I take it too far
Ok, which part was too much? Snatching the phone? That crack about real friends from the guy who just tried to trade him for Lussy a week ago? Trying to put Mike on the spot in front of everyone about his problems? Getting huffy about Mike's bitter comment about surprise attacks when Paulo has ambushed Mike repeatedly over the years, including just last week? A true apology comes from a place of contrition, which is why real apologies confess to particular wrongs while fake apologies are vague and general. Considering what a venomous fake friend Paulo is it's barely an apology, it's practically >I'm sorry you don't like how I treat you, if you don't leave me I'll be nicer.
And an apology is worth NOTHING if you do it again. Paulo has repeated everything he did in High Expectations to varying degrees in Witch Hunt, Eternal Flame and Double Down, with the only hint of remorse being in Double Down when he (again) is driven to tears by Lucy's rejection and is reminded that Mike is one of his only emotional supports.
>get away from good or at least friendly relationships because your dick overpowers your brain every time >now they are either avoiding you or uncomfortable around you or staying aside as you asked >WHY NO ONE WANT ME MAN
Make Daisy turn his company down and it'll be a good development
>Paulo forgot to follow up on Tess telling him to stay in touch with her over the internet >Matt views Paulo as a pity project >so does Jordan >Rachel was really hurt how things turned out between them and has been avoiding him for months >Jess and Madison became even less friendly to Paulo because of this >Jasmine pushes back on Abbey's psycho grudge, but she has her beef with Paulo and doesn't want to deal with his drama >Abbey's gained some perspective on Paulo, but they're not friends >Sue doesn't like him and has no reason to >Amaya is a meme >so is David >Lucy's deep in her psycho "I don't need the lunch table if I can't have Mike" mode, and he pissed her off several times over in their last fight >Daisy got burned twice in the last month trying to get closer with Paulo >Paulo and James have been coworkers for 6 months and Paulo knows nothing about him, they're just coworkers, not friends >Mike is the only person who will stick it out, and Paulo repays him by exploiting/devaluing/discarding him when the mood takes him
It's one of those Taeshi-isms where she moves the pieces into place (Paulo feels alone and this will become more painful for him as he becomes aware that High School won't last forever, the lunch table will go their separate ways and Daisy will vanish across the ocean if he doesn't give her a reason to stay), but she doesn't convey what she's doing to the readers so it only makes sense in retrospect.
I am sure we are only seeing things, this was entirely an accident, or this is all built on ooc given how much support Paulo was getting up to this point. Taeshi might have had this plotpoint down on paper but did next to no work setting it up. Also expect her to basically undo it after Mike rejects Paulo and they agree to stay friends or some shit.
>Taeshi might have had this plotpoint down on paper but did next to no work setting it up
Taeshi always does that though. Lucy blackmailing Mike to not talk about Sandy in front of Yashy was supposed to be a symptom of Lucy living in denial that Mike and Sandy would break up any day now and it'd be her turn, which is why she has no qualms about throwing it in Yashy's face when it became clear Mike wouldn't pick her even if he was single. Except Taeshi never put that into the comic so it's only obvious from inference when Taeshi's oot statements.
For a while in late volume 1 and 2 it seemed to be the opposite, that this group of elementary school friends were branching out and meeting new people in high school. It's a shame it collapsed back down.
>The lunch table were branching out and meeting new people >These new people were almost entirely fan characters >With the retroactive genocide of the ocs the lunch table became socially stunted weirdoes
Truly victims of a malevolent godhead
Paulo and Matt could honestly have a nice thing going but unfortunately BCB has this weird caste system going and unfortunately a secondary character simply is not allowed to develop or hold any real significance to a main character. Mike, Lucy, Paulo, and Daisy's only real options are each other, and Taeshi just will not let that change
For a while in late volume 1 and 2 it seemed to be the opposite, that this group of elementary school friends were branching out and meeting new people in high school. It's a shame it collapsed back down.
Rachel refused because Paulo had tears in his eyes, aka "I need a teddy bear right now", not because she cut him off her life. Unlike Lucy Paulo doesn't have the power to bend reality to his needs
>damn nobody cares or wants to listen to me for some reason >but wait here's Mike listening to me for some reason >I better suddenly start caring about him again and fricking kiss him and forget all about like a week ago when I tried to sacrifice him for Lucy's feelings
I can't tell if it'd be less or more moronic if Daisy suddenly popped in and he kissed her instead. At this point Paulo kind of doesn't deserve anyone because he won't fricking progress as a character enough to earn anyone. Why does Taeshi keep doing this?
>Mike quietly slips away when Paulo makes it clear that Mike is at best his last resort >he'd even rather talk to Abbey about it, and Abbey doesn't even like him.
Taeshi, just give me Paulo alone when the hour strikes. I'd give you money for this.
The worst thing Paulo ever did to anybody was dump Jasmine because he wanted Lucy more, and he agonized over that for weeks and then she told him it was OK.
Paulo didn't dump Jasmine though, she dumped him because of his attraction to Lucy and her (not as busy) schedule.
She only got pissy at him after she showed up to Daisy's study party and saw that Rachel was flirting with him. Then she tore him down out of spite when he tried to talk to her after, and started shit-talking him behind his back.
>Paulo breaks up with her for Lucy >five minutes later Lucy's out of the picture and he's fricking Rachel (who even her best friend calls a bawd) >plus there's that whatever the hell it is going on with Daisy >Then he siddles up to her talking about how sorry he is that they ended things the way they did like he's trying to get back together
Honestly, I'd be pissed too.
>Then he siddles up to her talking about how sorry he is that they ended things the way they did like he's trying to get back together
He just wanted to stay friends (which Jasmine 100% implied was what was happening when they broke up). Unsurprisingly Paulo takes withdrawal of affection and abandonment poorly (at least your mother fricking loved you).
Jasmine was implying she wanted to take a break and then get back together when she could find time for Paulo. Getting smacked in the face with Paulo's Lucysimping meant that it wasn't going to be an amicable break-up, even if she was trying to be nice about it.
That doesn't make much sense given the arguement about her not having time for him had already resolved with her ditching several of her activities for that exact reason.
7 months ago
Anonymous
The good old days, when the writing and characters weren't garbage.
Paulos driven everyone away and made it clear he wants LUCY LUCY LUCY ONLY LUCY ONLY LUCY LUCY LUCY LUCY so now that she Lucy's him he's alone
The problem isn't even that it happened its that as usual it seems like Taeshi did it by complete accident and either doesn't know how to move forward with it or refuses to. Like it should be obvious at this point that Mike is his best and only hope but he's still as stagnant as ever. Taeshi REFUSES to progress or resolve plot points because once she runs out of these she's fricked
It accidentally makes sense when you remember that Paulo never offers anything in return for all the comforts he gets from his friends. Sure he offered a car ride...to everyone in school, without priority.
Why would Rachel get tired of him when she seemed to accept her heartbreak over him wasn't his fault and they've had no scenes on-page together since then?
Rachel liked Lucy, was close to Paulo and Daisy and they knocked it off when Matt signaled that it was time for the Birthday Party, not the Pity Party. Rachel has limits and being a shoulder for her ex to cry on is past it.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Arbitrary.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Rachel is also old and wise enough to get over her flings when they don't work out. Paulo can learn a thing or two.
[...]
why not have one after the other
It's not like they've got anything else going on, no need to limit yourself.
7 months ago
Anonymous
its a shame its a bunch of sandy clones instead of rachel clones, but on the bright side i dont think i would want to use a rachel clone as a footrest, a sandy clone on the other hand
7 months ago
Anonymous
Imagine having a Rachel snuggled up on either side of you in bed, and you end up rolling over in your sleep to face one, making the other Rachel feel jealous.
finally someone who gets me. i would have forgotten this comic a long time ago if it wasnt for the suggestive side of the comic and the readerbase
The trash threads are all Lucy rape this and track team gay sex that, I just want to see cats blushing because of sexual tension instead of just blushing all the time for no reason.
7 months ago
Anonymous
rachel is the best girl and i could never do that to her ever
that almost reminds me of when actually reading bcb was the enjoyable part of bcb
7 months ago
Anonymous
>I just want to see cats blushing because of sexual tension instead of just blushing all the time for no reason.
Same, but the anons who draw BCB fanart aren't the anons that often draw normal stuff.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>Implying the Rachel clones wouldn't be the one bossing you around
7 months ago
Anonymous
i could live with being rachels foot rest
7 months ago
Anonymous
Sorry man your going to be leashed, kneeling before them
7 months ago
Anonymous
God I wish Rachel would jump into my lap...
the amount of /bcb/ users that want Rachel to own them is crazy
7 months ago
Anonymous
I want Rachel to call me sweetie and drag me into her bed after I've a rough day, Paulo has no idea how good he had it.
7 months ago
Anonymous
rachel is so sensitive and caring but also ready for hardcore sex she's perfect. but oh no paulo had to go for the white cat with issues
7 months ago
Anonymous
>sensitive and caring >nopes out when Paulo's not being fun
7 months ago
Anonymous
If you like Paulo so much why don't you marry him?
7 months ago
Anonymous
Good, Paulo's the sort of friend who is only worth it for the fun times.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>obligated to stay with Paulo even though they both agreed it would not be a serious thing
7 months ago
Anonymous
Rachel showed more compassion for Mike, a person she barely knew, after he got drunk and cried all over a bed in her house on her birthday.
7 months ago
Anonymous
No she didn't. Rachel was very good to Paulo for the duration of their relationship.
7 months ago
Anonymous
...as opposed to what she showed to Paulo who wouldn't shut up about another girl and spent the post-party bash throwing up in her toilet?
7 months ago
Anonymous
As opposed to this "Oh I forgot I don't want to bother ;)" stuff on this page.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>obligated to put up with Paulo's endless pity parties
7 months ago
Anonymous
>Rachel was kind to Mike once so that means she needs to go out of her way for Paulo forever
How bizarre. Aren't you people supposed to fixate on Lucy?
7 months ago
Anonymous
>but oh no paulo had to go for the white cat with issues
He knows Rachel wants kids of her own. He'll never be able to give her the life she wants. Rachel's happiness is worth more than a short dry spell.
>Rachel, feeling Paulo's gonna be a fricking pain in the ass to deal with, decide to ditch him and actually enjoy her night
HOLY SHIT BCB CHARACTER ACTING RATIONALLY ??? UHHHH BASED ?
All social relationships are transactional, anon. People are friends because they provide something to each other, even if it's just good company or interesting conversation. What does Paulo offer?
>Lucy can't help but fall for Paulo just temporarily every time he takes advantage of her.
Lucy temporarily falls for Paulo when she needs a shoulder to cry on.
rare rachel L. this seems so out of character to me. id get it if paulo was more standoffish to her while they were together but he literally was crying at her shoulder and emotionally vulnerable MULTIPLE TIMES. that's literally how they start their situationship. they even TALKED ABOUT THEIR SITUATION and rachel constantly pushed him away or claimed it was fine. i do not like paulo but literally what do you do when someone is constantly telling you everything's fine and that they are okay with the state of your relationship even when you share your doubts and worries about it with them. like i wish taeshi focused on how this was not a healthy way to communicate because this ISN'T and rachel needs to be able to speak her mind in order to get what she wants like any of us. but taeshi made paulo magically unaware of why rachel was so sad over their breakup which is also fricking stupid because he WAS AWARE TO AN EXTENT and i think did care about rachel as well. i only sort of see it if i do all the legwork and squint that she's just not interested in caring for someone who "doesn't care for her" but not only did they have an arrangement that she NEVER SPOKE UP ABOUT but at the very least i thought they were still friends??? im not even a paulo defender he's stupid as hell for leaving rachel and everything else he does but what the frick is this. rachel cares about people and that's a core part of her character and this isn't earned growth because we literally never see her reaction to lucy and paulo never being together, never see her even DIRECTLY say she has feelings for paulo, and we never get a proper conversation between the two of them for closures sake. not that im entirely expecting that last one because they are both teenagers but FRICK rachel deserves more than to just be constantly cast aside.
>they even TALKED ABOUT THEIR SITUATION and rachel constantly pushed him away or claimed it was fine
This; that time they were talking in the drive-in theater it seemed like Paulo was about to say they should "break up" but Rachel pre-empted him and said she wanted to hold on as long as she could.
>iterally what do you do when someone is constantly telling you everything's fine and that they are okay with the state of your relationship even when you share your doubts and worries about it with them
Paulo was in the presence of a real woman moment.
>a woman acts like a woman >this is bad writing
Rachel strung herself along thinking he'd get serious about her, and when he didn't she got her feelings hurt. If anything Paulo's getting off lightly since Rachel can be a huge spiteful b***h when she feels like it.
>only interesting one was Mike finally getting to enjoy himself
PauloxDaisy fricking SUCKS though kek I refuse to play Taeshis moronic game acting like paulos one true love is Daisy when she's constantly his last resort
This comic would be so much fricking better if Lucy succeeded holy shit
It's basically like that anyway considering she only still exists in the comic as this spiteful malevolent entity that pops into people's arcs and ruins their good times
Well yeah, she's got the Mary Sue aura. Even now, Paulo would surely put his own feelings on hold to ask her what's wrong and offer asspats. No one is allowed to tell Lucy they can't deal with her right now.
Of course she will. Taeshi's being very unsubtle that she's heading for the Mike suicide arc. She might even be tacky enough to have Mike attempt it on the anniversary of Lucy's attempt, which might be the next chapter since that one's also supposed to be "very dramatic"
It's hard for me to imagine Mike going full suicidal. Self-hating, sure, but he'd feel too guilty to go through with something he knows will hurt his family and friends thanks to experience.
I know its old but Mike doesn't even have anything to kill himself over and never has. He's holding himself back for Sandy, if he got fed up he could just... dump her stupid ass
I know Taeshi likes to whitewash Lucy's abuse but I refuse to believe he would ever be suicidal over her
7 months ago
Anonymous
We've seen it does not take much to guilt trip Mike. He tends to blame himself now more than ever before and it's not hard to imagine him getting his own December treatment at some point.
Mike went on an entire spiel about how he now considers himself to be essentially evil, pretty much outright said that James was the only thing keeping him going and is the classic at-risk category of contagious suicide. He can't talk to anyone about Lucy's attempt and blames himself. Besides feelings of guilt aren't that effective at stopping suicide
[...]
The James/Paulo one is odd because James says he thought Daisy and him were a thing. Why would he care in the very same chapter he is chasing a taken guy
James didn't realize Paulo was even an option.
7 months ago
Anonymous
I'm just saying that to go full suicidal and stay within character, Mike would need to be convinced that everyone (friends and family alike) would be better off with him gone for good.
Also it would be annoying for him to go the same route that Lucy did for the sake of pottery. I'd rather he try to run away or something instead.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>Mike would need to be convinced that everyone (friends and family alike) would be better off with him gone for good.
Which is clearly where we're going. Mike's thought process has clearly shifted to >Nobody cares about me >And they shouldn't, I'm a terrible person >My terribleness isn't something I can fix, it's too essential to my character for me to even recognize how terrible I really am >When I attempt self-care I just hurt people and push them away >and when I don't it hurts >Since I don't deserve anything I can do favors for people who do >Pretend to forgive Sandy when I don't >Kiss Daisy >Avoid Lucy >Give Paulo my stuff >then self-remove
So Taeshi's going for BCB being like poetry and rhyming since that's what Lucy did last year.
7 months ago
Anonymous
James clearly gave a frick about Mike, so he still needs some shoving. The most straightforward way to do this, as of the comic's current setup, is to have Mike lose faith in love as anything more than manipulation for attention. >his friends treats him as a given or like garbage unless they want something >he himself has thrown Lucy aside at least twice now because of Sandy >if everyone is a parasite then his whole Lucybreaker speech was for nothing
So we have guilt, self-loathing, and a cynical absence of hope all at the same time.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>James clearly gave a frick about Mike, so he still needs some shoving
Lmao. David flirted with a blushing James and Mike immediately withdrew to try to find some sympathy with Paulo. Less than a week later Mike's chronic stress is worse than it was before James and he's spacing out even while doing little things like pouring soda. James was just there to twist the knife on Mike and hasten his downward spiral.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Considering that Mike is still somewhat operative as an individual, offering comfort to Paulo, etc., yeah he still needs some shoving. Mike won't try to kill himself until he surrenders to total despair and it's clear he has a good ways left to go.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Suicidal people are often able to operate just fine, many have become very good at masking their emotions from others. In fact, they often become more operative as a person once they've made up their minds to commit suicide because they feel as though an end to their suffering is near.
7 months ago
Anonymous
That's cool and all, but we have yet to see any behaviors or hints that Mike is genuinely suicidal. He's still just trucking along, taking everything on the jaw and despairing between temporary pick-me-ups. If Lucy did not try to kill herself until hitting maximum hopeless despair, neither will Mike.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>but we have yet to see any behaviors or hints that Mike is genuinely suicidal
He rehearsed shooting himself right where James could have seen him doing it.
7 months ago
Anonymous
That's too weak for me to seriously count, especially because he probably has no access to a real gun. Lucy at least hiked up atop a building and was obviously considering a practical means of offing herself.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Lucy was still functional enough to get through Sue's terrible play and even lie for her benefit even though she was a hair's breath away from rushing over to Blightville to throw herself off a roof. How non-functional does Mike need to be? Unable to roll out of bed to hang himself?
7 months ago
Anonymous
Lucy was semi-functional but clearly in dead fish mode. Mike is prone to bouts of sadness but is ultimately still too lively.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>clearly in dead fish mode
Still counts
7 months ago
Anonymous
Truly evil Mike when?
7 months ago
Anonymous
Truly evil mike would most of the cast on suicide watch within a month.
Or simply sell out his "Friends" to Alejandro
7 months ago
Anonymous
>sense of empathy is cauterized >enraged by all the bullshit around him
Either he devolves back into a miserable ineffective sperg or goes stone cold spiteful, depending on whether or not he gets a spine in the deal.
The Augustus one was okay because Lucy did not come across as a total Mary Sue. She was still vulnerable and needy as befit that period in the comic, which was a surprise.
The James/Paulo one is odd because James says he thought Daisy and him were a thing. Why would he care in the very same chapter he is chasing a taken guy
James thought he still had a chance with Mike who was miserable with Sandy. He thought Paulo was head over heels with Daisy (against all odds, being the exact opposite in both cases) so didn't bother
It's not that he just doesn't care about jumping into other peoples relationships, it's that he thought Mike and Sandy were already over and Mike just needed saving
>he thought Mike and Sandy were already over and Mike just needed saving
He's not wrong. The BCI AU made way more sense than Mike sticking with Sandy for reasons the comic still cannot adequately explain.
That's the biggest obstacle for a Mike suicide. He knows his parents care about him, Haley has shown that he does matter to him, and Chris is potentially old enough to remember. Mike would need to alienate them all first before he commits to offing himself.
I'd rather see Mike crack and tear up his scarf in front of an infuriated/horrified Lucy while he giddily declares that none of it ever mattered and she needs to get over it.
That's why she gave Mike a new scarf, this one will break before he'll be able to cut off the oxygen. She can't have him enjoying their calls too much!
>Sandy's been playing a long game
Sandy wants Mike to get that exciting feeling of nervous debauchery while she makes out with her many workplace boyfriends.
>One of them messaging your shoulders while another fans you and another brings you drinks
7 months ago
Anonymous
the point is not to last. the point is to enjoy yourself.
why not have one after the other
7 months ago
Anonymous
Suggestive fanart and fanservice is the only reason I still read bcb.
Skim read the thread and what is that anon's problem with Rachel? It's nice to see a character have a flaw and through the course of the story work past it.
7 months ago
Anonymous
There's still a few Paulogists around (for some reason)
7 months ago
Anonymous
finally someone who gets me. i would have forgotten this comic a long time ago if it wasnt for the suggestive side of the comic and the readerbase
7 months ago
Anonymous
>It's nice to see a character have a flaw and through the course of the story work past it.
?????
7 months ago
Anonymous
Rachel thinking she can get him to commit to a relationship, figuring out that won't work, and avoiding falling back into her old habit of trying to fix him.
7 months ago
Anonymous
None of that makes sense. He never wanted a relantionship with her and it was her mistake to think she could just get dicked and not have any consequences.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Yes, that was her character flaw anon.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Paulo has to pay a lot for her character flaws.
7 months ago
Anonymous
My African American gentleman what consequence has Paulo suffered over his fling with Rachel other than Madison being slightly more b***hy?
7 months ago
Anonymous
Made Jasmine angry because Rachel couldn't stop from jumping into his lap at the study party.
Fake-out for a friendly ear when he's down in this chapter.
7 months ago
Anonymous
God I wish Rachel would jump into my lap...
7 months ago
Anonymous
>Made Jasmine angry
His own damn fault for immediately jumping into Lussy as soon as they broke up. That he went on to frick Rachel was just adding salt to the wound >Fake-out for a friendly ear
You try going around being distraught and see how people steer clear of you. It's not like Paulo was even that considerate of Rachel's feelings for him to have a backlog of credit to draw on with her not even pseudo-dating him anymore.
7 months ago
Anonymous
>His own damn fault for immediately jumping into Lussy as soon as they broke up.
He said that's why he wanted to break up. It seems more like Jasmine was mad he was with a THIRD girl.
7 months ago
Anonymous
He said he was in love with Lucy, he didn't say he was going to frick her the very next day or whenever Curtain Call takes place. That makes it seem like he never felt the same way about her (true) and that he was probably cheating on her. (kind of)
Rachel asked him to be frick buddies with no strings attached, turned him down when he was clearly trying to break it off after she clearly fell in love with him and it's his fault it all made her feel bad?
>Paulo does something that hurts Rachel's feelings >he KNOWS it hurts Rachel's feelings >Does it anyway to spite Daisy
Yes it is his fault. It's not on him to force himself to be in love with her, but playing up the Manprostitute Paulo act like that was unkind. It's not like he was actually going to frick this chick.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Rachel's not even there.
7 months ago
Anonymous
It's not like he'd have been any better if she was
7 months ago
Anonymous
These two should hook up
7 months ago
Anonymous
Better ship than anything in this comic.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Better ship than anything in this comic.
paulo and sue do have that old married couple potential
A Paulo x Sue relationship would end in a messy break up, or a murder suicide. There are no other options you know this.
7 months ago
Anonymous
paulo and sue do have that old married couple potential
7 months ago
Anonymous
There's a lot of potential there if Sue would just stop being so childish and respect Paulo's interests for a change.
7 months ago
Anonymous
I do think there's something but it's definitely not there in this pic, so many of these ships ahoy strips completely miss the actual good potential dynamic for the characters for just straight out-of-character lovebombing
7 months ago
Anonymous
I like how the Paulo x Daisy did not show their relationship in a good light. It's so weird how Taeshi is obviously shipping them in the comic and yet never portrays them as a good couple.
7 months ago
Anonymous
Rachel asked him to be frick buddies with no strings attached, turned him down when he was clearly trying to break it off after she clearly fell in love with him and it's his fault it all made her feel bad?
7 months ago
Anonymous
>and it's his fault it all made her feel bad?
Is the anon who's implying this in the room with us right now?
7 months ago
Anonymous
>Made Jasmine angry because Rachel couldn't stop from jumping into his lap at the study party.
Women shouldn't be flirtatious with single guys because it might hurt the feelings of his ex?
She has an obligation to be a therapist to the guy she managed to move on from?
Hilarious how she bends and twists the character's just to make artificial drama. They are only ever enemies or distant when the story needs conflict But then are WEIRDLY supportive,friendly and close whenever Taeshi wants some character to get ass-kissing. There is no consistency or reason behind any of this.
Why the frick would Rachel be so friendly and even give him money then turn her nose up because she notices him crying? Because she wants to twist the knife with Paulo and having his mom abandon him with a new family just ISN'T enough.
I know this chapter will amount to Sad Paulo hours because Paulo hasn't had a chapter being an emo-gay for awhile, possibly to shill some new ship she has no intentions of following up with.
Dammmm if only Paulo had one (1) friend who is literally always there and trying to care for him
A friend who only acts like a meme-shouting moron and never once had a serious heartfelt conversation with him?
Sure would be helpful…
Rachel is there to watch fireworks, not to play therapist for Paulo.
How could you possibly think I'm talking about David? Nobody talks about David. Does David try to connect with anyone? Does David really interact at all?
Rachel deserves to be happy.
Paulo deserves what he got.
>Oh.
Is Rachel supposed to have forgotten about keeping away from him now that Lucy is back in town? Moreover, does she not know he actually struck out so badly with Lucy? What's her reaction to that? No thoughts that she might now have a real chance with him?
It's been 4 months man, Rachel's over him. She went back to talking to him back in the car chapter but she's not going to shoulder his bs anymore when all you get for it is more bs from Paulo.
What makes Paulo so desireable?
But that was pre-feminized, non-cryfest Paulo.
That's just Lucy, she likes being groped
Canon above average dick size
>abandoned
Good, now jump
I´m happy for Rachel.
>Paulo drifts between Rachel, Matt, Abbey and Jasmine and finally realizes everyone
(including Lucy and Daisy) are sick of his shit
>Even David is completely checked out of caring about Paulo's problems
>The only person who still does is Mike, and Mike has literally no reason to
Surprisingly based development
Paulo did nothing wrong to Rachel. She made her bed and slept in it until it stank.
T.Manprostitute
She smuggled him into bed when he was so sad he didn't even remember it the next day (fricking weird but that's this comic for you), suggested they be frick buddies with nothing serious involved, insisted on throwing herself on him bodily until he relented on feeling weird about it, it's hard not to imagine she's the one iniating all the sex off-page, and she insisted on continuing when Paulo said he knew the situation (that she wanted) was unfair to her.
What was it that Paulo did wrong to her?
Commentary and preview.
At least Molly is happy!
Taeshi is projecting her spiteful personality onto Rachel.
Those were my exact thoughts. Doesn't really seem like Rachel
Odds that Taeshi will have even Molly shit on Paulo, as little sense as that would make?
>Taeshi torpedoes Molly's crush on Paulo and Paulo takes it personally that she doesn't remember who he his
Chances are very high!
Even though she did a Molly-crush scene set a couple of months ago
i ship it
manofculture.jpg
Clearly was being sarcastic
You know damn well everyone here is on the spectrum, don't expect your co-shitposters to understand sarcasm.
Based on the cheek fluff, this is younger Paulo.
That filler chapter is set just before Lucy returned in...late September if I remember right.
So right before Paulo was irrevocably ruined by his simping.
It's better than having Abbey suddenly give a frick about Paulo's suffering.
There is no way the angle of this chapter is going to be
>everyone is sick of Paulo's cryfests and refuse to get involved
>David is too much of a moron to care
>Mike is the only one who still can give a frick
>omg why did i Paulo Orangecat not see it before?
>sappy romantic/friendship stuff ensues
Right? Because everyone up until this point has given the crybaby a ton of attention and reassurance. This would be out of nowhere.
I'd prefer it to Paulo continuing to shit on Mike at least, now that James is basically over it'd be nice for Mike to have something going on with somebody and Paulo needs to actually affirm feelings for someone other than Lucy for fricking once
I can't imagine a Paulo x Mike relationship being anything less than abusive, especially nowadays when Mike is so terrible at standing up for himself. Which could at least push the plot forward if either was allowed to use his brain.
Well yeah thats kind of the obstacle isn't it, Paulo getting over himself and not being a c**t. If Paulo could unfrick himself it'd be nice. I'm kind of hoping one genuine moment of reflecting on how much Mike actually means to him, like after he trolled Mike into faceslamming him, would push him there but characters just don't progress in BCB
I would not blame Paulo for that moment since he had reason to be upset with Mike and the kid is bad at self-reflection. But getting into a relationship with Mike or openly reconfirming their friendship, only to turn around and do something terrible to Mike? That could both fit Paulo's general MO and serve as a wakeup call.
>I'm kind of hoping one genuine moment of reflecting on how much Mike actually means to him
I always took this moment to be that.
Why did Taeshi steal Mike's inches? He's noticeably shorter in the edited panels than he is in the rest of the chapter.
I assume it was a test run or some vague idea about self-perception that would not stand up to scrutiny.
To remove his chad gene
Yeah they also had the faceslam makeup. Taeshi just won't let it stick because she can't come up with any more sources of drama so if she ties up any loose ends she'll run out of shit to write about
I could see Paulo being a legit frick about the whole thing, but it would only be justified if Mike rejected him on that basis or if this led up to a Paulo-denies-Mike-three-times-before-the-rooster-crows scenario.
Paulo's had tons of "genuine moments of reflection", they just never stick. He blubbers for a page or two, apologizes to Mike/Lucy/Daisy/Matt, then is the exact same character next chapter.
That wasn't genuine reflection. Paulo doesn't specifically apologize for anything. Hell, he outright said he doesn't know what he did wrong, but he's scared of Mike abandoning him. Hell, I think he's lying since he otherwise just shrugs off Mike's anger.
>he outright said he doesn't know what he did wrong, but he's scared of Mike abandoning him
and when did he say that? because he flat out admits he just doesnt know when to stop until he's already miles past the line
>I'm sorry I take it too far
Ok, which part was too much? Snatching the phone? That crack about real friends from the guy who just tried to trade him for Lussy a week ago? Trying to put Mike on the spot in front of everyone about his problems? Getting huffy about Mike's bitter comment about surprise attacks when Paulo has ambushed Mike repeatedly over the years, including just last week? A true apology comes from a place of contrition, which is why real apologies confess to particular wrongs while fake apologies are vague and general. Considering what a venomous fake friend Paulo is it's barely an apology, it's practically
>I'm sorry you don't like how I treat you, if you don't leave me I'll be nicer.
And an apology is worth NOTHING if you do it again. Paulo has repeated everything he did in High Expectations to varying degrees in Witch Hunt, Eternal Flame and Double Down, with the only hint of remorse being in Double Down when he (again) is driven to tears by Lucy's rejection and is reminded that Mike is one of his only emotional supports.
matt x rachel is real
Unless Rachel has a wiener then Matt is not interested
Paulo suicide attempt when? Can snow prevent this "tragedy"?
Can we just go back to when people were happy once in a while?
>get away from good or at least friendly relationships because your dick overpowers your brain every time
>now they are either avoiding you or uncomfortable around you or staying aside as you asked
>WHY NO ONE WANT ME MAN
Make Daisy turn his company down and it'll be a good development
Oh frick I wish Paulo x Daisy was forced only as a setup for that rejection.
>Paulo forgot to follow up on Tess telling him to stay in touch with her over the internet
>Matt views Paulo as a pity project
>so does Jordan
>Rachel was really hurt how things turned out between them and has been avoiding him for months
>Jess and Madison became even less friendly to Paulo because of this
>Jasmine pushes back on Abbey's psycho grudge, but she has her beef with Paulo and doesn't want to deal with his drama
>Abbey's gained some perspective on Paulo, but they're not friends
>Sue doesn't like him and has no reason to
>Amaya is a meme
>so is David
>Lucy's deep in her psycho "I don't need the lunch table if I can't have Mike" mode, and he pissed her off several times over in their last fight
>Daisy got burned twice in the last month trying to get closer with Paulo
>Paulo and James have been coworkers for 6 months and Paulo knows nothing about him, they're just coworkers, not friends
>Mike is the only person who will stick it out, and Paulo repays him by exploiting/devaluing/discarding him when the mood takes him
It's one of those Taeshi-isms where she moves the pieces into place (Paulo feels alone and this will become more painful for him as he becomes aware that High School won't last forever, the lunch table will go their separate ways and Daisy will vanish across the ocean if he doesn't give her a reason to stay), but she doesn't convey what she's doing to the readers so it only makes sense in retrospect.
I am sure we are only seeing things, this was entirely an accident, or this is all built on ooc given how much support Paulo was getting up to this point. Taeshi might have had this plotpoint down on paper but did next to no work setting it up. Also expect her to basically undo it after Mike rejects Paulo and they agree to stay friends or some shit.
>Taeshi might have had this plotpoint down on paper but did next to no work setting it up
Taeshi always does that though. Lucy blackmailing Mike to not talk about Sandy in front of Yashy was supposed to be a symptom of Lucy living in denial that Mike and Sandy would break up any day now and it'd be her turn, which is why she has no qualms about throwing it in Yashy's face when it became clear Mike wouldn't pick her even if he was single. Except Taeshi never put that into the comic so it's only obvious from inference when Taeshi's oot statements.
>The lunch table were branching out and meeting new people
>These new people were almost entirely fan characters
>With the retroactive genocide of the ocs the lunch table became socially stunted weirdoes
Truly victims of a malevolent godhead
Paulo and Matt could honestly have a nice thing going but unfortunately BCB has this weird caste system going and unfortunately a secondary character simply is not allowed to develop or hold any real significance to a main character. Mike, Lucy, Paulo, and Daisy's only real options are each other, and Taeshi just will not let that change
For a while in late volume 1 and 2 it seemed to be the opposite, that this group of elementary school friends were branching out and meeting new people in high school. It's a shame it collapsed back down.
Co-incides with Taeshi's stagnant, evaporating social bubble.
Paulo forgives Jess and Rachel for raping him but Rachel doesn't forgive him for not being that into her?
Women are terrible spiteful creatures anon
Rachel refused because Paulo had tears in his eyes, aka "I need a teddy bear right now", not because she cut him off her life. Unlike Lucy Paulo doesn't have the power to bend reality to his needs
>damn nobody cares or wants to listen to me for some reason
>but wait here's Mike listening to me for some reason
>I better suddenly start caring about him again and fricking kiss him and forget all about like a week ago when I tried to sacrifice him for Lucy's feelings
I can't tell if it'd be less or more moronic if Daisy suddenly popped in and he kissed her instead. At this point Paulo kind of doesn't deserve anyone because he won't fricking progress as a character enough to earn anyone. Why does Taeshi keep doing this?
>Mike quietly slips away when Paulo makes it clear that Mike is at best his last resort
>he'd even rather talk to Abbey about it, and Abbey doesn't even like him.
Taeshi, just give me Paulo alone when the hour strikes. I'd give you money for this.
So who is moreso Taeshi's self insert? Molly or Lucy?
Madison. Jess has been retooled to be a stand-in for her IRL lesbian crush.
>implying paulo x madison won't happen
>implying paulo x madison will happen and paulo x molly will not
Madison? You mean teenage Molly?
teenage Molly would be way nicer and kinder than the rabid animal that Madison is
No. Why do you think Daisy is bi now?
Err yeah I meant Madison for that post, I'm drunk.
Molly is a Cardcaptor Sakura pastiche...who aged out of it because this comic is too long.
Traceanon, I have a request...
The worst thing Paulo ever did to anybody was dump Jasmine because he wanted Lucy more, and he agonized over that for weeks and then she told him it was OK.
Paulo didn't dump Jasmine though, she dumped him because of his attraction to Lucy and her (not as busy) schedule.
She only got pissy at him after she showed up to Daisy's study party and saw that Rachel was flirting with him. Then she tore him down out of spite when he tried to talk to her after, and started shit-talking him behind his back.
>Paulo breaks up with her for Lucy
>five minutes later Lucy's out of the picture and he's fricking Rachel (who even her best friend calls a bawd)
>plus there's that whatever the hell it is going on with Daisy
>Then he siddles up to her talking about how sorry he is that they ended things the way they did like he's trying to get back together
Honestly, I'd be pissed too.
>Then he siddles up to her talking about how sorry he is that they ended things the way they did like he's trying to get back together
He just wanted to stay friends (which Jasmine 100% implied was what was happening when they broke up). Unsurprisingly Paulo takes withdrawal of affection and abandonment poorly (at least your mother fricking loved you).
Jasmine was implying she wanted to take a break and then get back together when she could find time for Paulo. Getting smacked in the face with Paulo's Lucysimping meant that it wasn't going to be an amicable break-up, even if she was trying to be nice about it.
That doesn't make much sense given the arguement about her not having time for him had already resolved with her ditching several of her activities for that exact reason.
The good old days, when the writing and characters weren't garbage.
Polo was always SHIT
Paulo is into girls! He really is!
Why is Rachel so fricking short Jesus Christ
Rachel was making moon-eyes at Paulo during Daisy's birthday a few months ago, but now she refuses to be around him when he's literally asking her to?
maybe she wants to have some fun for once instead of the usual paulo whinefest these buttholes ruined her birthday already with their drama
It was Madison who was making a fuss over Paulo being there.
Rachel is too nice to throw a b***hfit. Besides, with Madison around it would be redundant.
She wasn't THAT happy to see him, and barely said a word to him. She didn't say anything to him a month later at Madison's party.
what useless fricking friends, jesus christ
>friends
Paulos driven everyone away and made it clear he wants LUCY LUCY LUCY ONLY LUCY ONLY LUCY LUCY LUCY LUCY so now that she Lucy's him he's alone
The problem isn't even that it happened its that as usual it seems like Taeshi did it by complete accident and either doesn't know how to move forward with it or refuses to. Like it should be obvious at this point that Mike is his best and only hope but he's still as stagnant as ever. Taeshi REFUSES to progress or resolve plot points because once she runs out of these she's fricked
She Lucy'd him*
It accidentally makes sense when you remember that Paulo never offers anything in return for all the comforts he gets from his friends. Sure he offered a car ride...to everyone in school, without priority.
Nothing less than Paulo deserves
Paulo is a shitty person. People getting tired of his bullshit and giving him the cold shoulder at last is the most realistic thing in the comic.
Why would Rachel get tired of him when she seemed to accept her heartbreak over him wasn't his fault and they've had no scenes on-page together since then?
Why would Rachel be keen to have Paulo dumping his problems on her like he did to Matt when all she was trying to have a good time?
Rachel put up with the main cast kids getting drunk and crying about Lucy at her BIRTHDAY PARTY, and SMILED about it.
Rachel liked Lucy, was close to Paulo and Daisy and they knocked it off when Matt signaled that it was time for the Birthday Party, not the Pity Party. Rachel has limits and being a shoulder for her ex to cry on is past it.
Arbitrary.
Rachel is also old and wise enough to get over her flings when they don't work out. Paulo can learn a thing or two.
It's not like they've got anything else going on, no need to limit yourself.
its a shame its a bunch of sandy clones instead of rachel clones, but on the bright side i dont think i would want to use a rachel clone as a footrest, a sandy clone on the other hand
Imagine having a Rachel snuggled up on either side of you in bed, and you end up rolling over in your sleep to face one, making the other Rachel feel jealous.
The trash threads are all Lucy rape this and track team gay sex that, I just want to see cats blushing because of sexual tension instead of just blushing all the time for no reason.
rachel is the best girl and i could never do that to her ever
that almost reminds me of when actually reading bcb was the enjoyable part of bcb
>I just want to see cats blushing because of sexual tension instead of just blushing all the time for no reason.
Same, but the anons who draw BCB fanart aren't the anons that often draw normal stuff.
>Implying the Rachel clones wouldn't be the one bossing you around
i could live with being rachels foot rest
Sorry man your going to be leashed, kneeling before them
the amount of /bcb/ users that want Rachel to own them is crazy
I want Rachel to call me sweetie and drag me into her bed after I've a rough day, Paulo has no idea how good he had it.
rachel is so sensitive and caring but also ready for hardcore sex she's perfect. but oh no paulo had to go for the white cat with issues
>sensitive and caring
>nopes out when Paulo's not being fun
If you like Paulo so much why don't you marry him?
Good, Paulo's the sort of friend who is only worth it for the fun times.
>obligated to stay with Paulo even though they both agreed it would not be a serious thing
Rachel showed more compassion for Mike, a person she barely knew, after he got drunk and cried all over a bed in her house on her birthday.
No she didn't. Rachel was very good to Paulo for the duration of their relationship.
...as opposed to what she showed to Paulo who wouldn't shut up about another girl and spent the post-party bash throwing up in her toilet?
As opposed to this "Oh I forgot I don't want to bother ;)" stuff on this page.
>obligated to put up with Paulo's endless pity parties
>Rachel was kind to Mike once so that means she needs to go out of her way for Paulo forever
How bizarre. Aren't you people supposed to fixate on Lucy?
>but oh no paulo had to go for the white cat with issues
He knows Rachel wants kids of her own. He'll never be able to give her the life she wants. Rachel's happiness is worth more than a short dry spell.
Yes, but consider how obnoxious Paulo has grown over time in the pity party department.
I mean this IS the girl who said she wanted to get to know the main cast because they are dripping with drama.
I love Matt's coat/sweater/whatever it is
Matt always dresses kinda cute, I wonder why he's not always (half)naked like the rest of them
>Rachel, feeling Paulo's gonna be a fricking pain in the ass to deal with, decide to ditch him and actually enjoy her night
HOLY SHIT BCB CHARACTER ACTING RATIONALLY ??? UHHHH BASED ?
>ruthless utilitarian approach to social ties
>wasting you xmas night dealing with what is essentially a high school fling
All social relationships are transactional, anon. People are friends because they provide something to each other, even if it's just good company or interesting conversation. What does Paulo offer?
Utilitarian you say?
It's more that everyone in the maim cast is desperate for attention and support. They will take whatever abuse is required to obtain that.
>Lucy can't help but fall for Paulo just temporarily every time he takes advantage of her.
Lucy temporarily falls for Paulo when she needs a shoulder to cry on.
I wish Lucy had to face herself again. Missing the somewhat self-aware Lucy from yester-decade.
You mean a Lucy vs Madison chapter?
I said face herself, not get jacked off by the author.
rare rachel L. this seems so out of character to me. id get it if paulo was more standoffish to her while they were together but he literally was crying at her shoulder and emotionally vulnerable MULTIPLE TIMES. that's literally how they start their situationship. they even TALKED ABOUT THEIR SITUATION and rachel constantly pushed him away or claimed it was fine. i do not like paulo but literally what do you do when someone is constantly telling you everything's fine and that they are okay with the state of your relationship even when you share your doubts and worries about it with them. like i wish taeshi focused on how this was not a healthy way to communicate because this ISN'T and rachel needs to be able to speak her mind in order to get what she wants like any of us. but taeshi made paulo magically unaware of why rachel was so sad over their breakup which is also fricking stupid because he WAS AWARE TO AN EXTENT and i think did care about rachel as well. i only sort of see it if i do all the legwork and squint that she's just not interested in caring for someone who "doesn't care for her" but not only did they have an arrangement that she NEVER SPOKE UP ABOUT but at the very least i thought they were still friends??? im not even a paulo defender he's stupid as hell for leaving rachel and everything else he does but what the frick is this. rachel cares about people and that's a core part of her character and this isn't earned growth because we literally never see her reaction to lucy and paulo never being together, never see her even DIRECTLY say she has feelings for paulo, and we never get a proper conversation between the two of them for closures sake. not that im entirely expecting that last one because they are both teenagers but FRICK rachel deserves more than to just be constantly cast aside.
>they even TALKED ABOUT THEIR SITUATION and rachel constantly pushed him away or claimed it was fine
This; that time they were talking in the drive-in theater it seemed like Paulo was about to say they should "break up" but Rachel pre-empted him and said she wanted to hold on as long as she could.
>iterally what do you do when someone is constantly telling you everything's fine and that they are okay with the state of your relationship even when you share your doubts and worries about it with them
Paulo was in the presence of a real woman moment.
>a woman acts like a woman
>this is bad writing
Rachel strung herself along thinking he'd get serious about her, and when he didn't she got her feelings hurt. If anything Paulo's getting off lightly since Rachel can be a huge spiteful b***h when she feels like it.
This is definitely an edit. Who has the time for this
OmoMeowth commissioned a lot of comics that would be partially uploaded as BCIs. He was into girls pissing themselves, or nearly pissing themselves.
She's got the daddy issues to turn into a real piece of work
The only daddy issues Molly would have is an attraction toward male dogs.
>that Augustus trying to kill himself one
What the frick? Where did that come from? Augustus got completely normified since hanging with Lucy
It's an AU
>only interesting one was Mike finally getting to enjoy himself
PauloxDaisy fricking SUCKS though kek I refuse to play Taeshis moronic game acting like paulos one true love is Daisy when she's constantly his last resort
This comic would be so much fricking better if Lucy succeeded holy shit
It's basically like that anyway considering she only still exists in the comic as this spiteful malevolent entity that pops into people's arcs and ruins their good times
just saying if lucy was the one crying everyone would be all over her asking what's wrong
Well yeah, she's got the Mary Sue aura. Even now, Paulo would surely put his own feelings on hold to ask her what's wrong and offer asspats. No one is allowed to tell Lucy they can't deal with her right now.
Wow just like real life
Answer the question or the rabbit b***h gets it. Frick Marry Kill:
>Lucy's Mom
>Mike's Mom
>Paulo's Mom
>Marry
Mike's mom
>Frick
Paulo's
>Kill
Lucy's (clearly a bpd psycho like her daughter)
I dont care about the moms
Frick Mike
Marry Paulo
Kill Lucy
Frick Lucy's Mom
Marry Amaya
Kill Lucy
Paulo has already fricked paulos mom
Wow, Taeshi really cannot draw action at all. Also I believe the Mike suicide parody is one of the older BCIs but also one of the least tasteful.
Huh, what's not tasteful about a sixteen year old kid killing himself and going to help because everyone is better off without him?
Pure comedy
I wonder if Taeshi will ever drive Mike to actually think as much in canon. Would she try to memory hole the BCI in question?
Of course she will. Taeshi's being very unsubtle that she's heading for the Mike suicide arc. She might even be tacky enough to have Mike attempt it on the anniversary of Lucy's attempt, which might be the next chapter since that one's also supposed to be "very dramatic"
It's hard for me to imagine Mike going full suicidal. Self-hating, sure, but he'd feel too guilty to go through with something he knows will hurt his family and friends thanks to experience.
I know its old but Mike doesn't even have anything to kill himself over and never has. He's holding himself back for Sandy, if he got fed up he could just... dump her stupid ass
I know Taeshi likes to whitewash Lucy's abuse but I refuse to believe he would ever be suicidal over her
We've seen it does not take much to guilt trip Mike. He tends to blame himself now more than ever before and it's not hard to imagine him getting his own December treatment at some point.
Mike went on an entire spiel about how he now considers himself to be essentially evil, pretty much outright said that James was the only thing keeping him going and is the classic at-risk category of contagious suicide. He can't talk to anyone about Lucy's attempt and blames himself. Besides feelings of guilt aren't that effective at stopping suicide
James didn't realize Paulo was even an option.
I'm just saying that to go full suicidal and stay within character, Mike would need to be convinced that everyone (friends and family alike) would be better off with him gone for good.
Also it would be annoying for him to go the same route that Lucy did for the sake of pottery. I'd rather he try to run away or something instead.
>Mike would need to be convinced that everyone (friends and family alike) would be better off with him gone for good.
Which is clearly where we're going. Mike's thought process has clearly shifted to
>Nobody cares about me
>And they shouldn't, I'm a terrible person
>My terribleness isn't something I can fix, it's too essential to my character for me to even recognize how terrible I really am
>When I attempt self-care I just hurt people and push them away
>and when I don't it hurts
>Since I don't deserve anything I can do favors for people who do
>Pretend to forgive Sandy when I don't
>Kiss Daisy
>Avoid Lucy
>Give Paulo my stuff
>then self-remove
So Taeshi's going for BCB being like poetry and rhyming since that's what Lucy did last year.
James clearly gave a frick about Mike, so he still needs some shoving. The most straightforward way to do this, as of the comic's current setup, is to have Mike lose faith in love as anything more than manipulation for attention.
>his friends treats him as a given or like garbage unless they want something
>he himself has thrown Lucy aside at least twice now because of Sandy
>if everyone is a parasite then his whole Lucybreaker speech was for nothing
So we have guilt, self-loathing, and a cynical absence of hope all at the same time.
>James clearly gave a frick about Mike, so he still needs some shoving
Lmao. David flirted with a blushing James and Mike immediately withdrew to try to find some sympathy with Paulo. Less than a week later Mike's chronic stress is worse than it was before James and he's spacing out even while doing little things like pouring soda. James was just there to twist the knife on Mike and hasten his downward spiral.
Considering that Mike is still somewhat operative as an individual, offering comfort to Paulo, etc., yeah he still needs some shoving. Mike won't try to kill himself until he surrenders to total despair and it's clear he has a good ways left to go.
Suicidal people are often able to operate just fine, many have become very good at masking their emotions from others. In fact, they often become more operative as a person once they've made up their minds to commit suicide because they feel as though an end to their suffering is near.
That's cool and all, but we have yet to see any behaviors or hints that Mike is genuinely suicidal. He's still just trucking along, taking everything on the jaw and despairing between temporary pick-me-ups. If Lucy did not try to kill herself until hitting maximum hopeless despair, neither will Mike.
>but we have yet to see any behaviors or hints that Mike is genuinely suicidal
He rehearsed shooting himself right where James could have seen him doing it.
That's too weak for me to seriously count, especially because he probably has no access to a real gun. Lucy at least hiked up atop a building and was obviously considering a practical means of offing herself.
Lucy was still functional enough to get through Sue's terrible play and even lie for her benefit even though she was a hair's breath away from rushing over to Blightville to throw herself off a roof. How non-functional does Mike need to be? Unable to roll out of bed to hang himself?
Lucy was semi-functional but clearly in dead fish mode. Mike is prone to bouts of sadness but is ultimately still too lively.
>clearly in dead fish mode
Still counts
Truly evil Mike when?
Truly evil mike would most of the cast on suicide watch within a month.
Or simply sell out his "Friends" to Alejandro
>sense of empathy is cauterized
>enraged by all the bullshit around him
Either he devolves back into a miserable ineffective sperg or goes stone cold spiteful, depending on whether or not he gets a spine in the deal.
>Paulogays
When will they learn?
Can we just go back to the track team already I've had enough of these pussy ass feelings and crying, it's turning me female
the daisy/mike tree one is so weak. what was the point of making that
Thats the one I didn't even bother reading, lol
At least I got to the end of the Augustus one and was sickened but Daisy drama is too much
The Aug one was kinda nice, I thought! It would have been easy enough for everyone to end up in an okay position.... I hate what the bci's give us
The Augustus one was okay because Lucy did not come across as a total Mary Sue. She was still vulnerable and needy as befit that period in the comic, which was a surprise.
as a guilty auggie/lucy shipper it fed me crumbs
Killing the ship, presumably. On top of furthering whatever boring, sus-as-frick narrative Taeshi is currently running for her.
The James/Paulo one is odd because James says he thought Daisy and him were a thing. Why would he care in the very same chapter he is chasing a taken guy
I think he was under the impression that Paulo was all about Daisy whereas Mike was miserable with Sandy.
James thought he still had a chance with Mike who was miserable with Sandy. He thought Paulo was head over heels with Daisy (against all odds, being the exact opposite in both cases) so didn't bother
It's not that he just doesn't care about jumping into other peoples relationships, it's that he thought Mike and Sandy were already over and Mike just needed saving
>he thought Mike and Sandy were already over and Mike just needed saving
He's not wrong. The BCI AU made way more sense than Mike sticking with Sandy for reasons the comic still cannot adequately explain.
Que? What is ao3
archive of your own
The dialogue was pretty weird but the story ended like it should have. Good job anon, keep writing.
Yeah, kinda hard to get an editor when you are an anon. I'll try better on the next one
Also apparently some Jannie didn't liked me posting that said link, even though it is related to the comic, gave me a short warning ban
Rachel deserves all the happiness. Man she really is best girl
Enough on if Mike suicides, HOW will Mike try suicide
Shoot himself. It wasn't subtle how Lucy yelled at him a little and then Mike grabbed the light gun she was using and turned it on himself.
School shooting and then going the way of WRATH and NATURAL SELECTION
Mike steals a plane and flies it around doing stunts until he decides to crash it in the forest
Quietly, out of the way, and preferably something that would look like an accident so no one would blame themselves.
>suicide
>When his parents are still around
Wishful thinking
That's the biggest obstacle for a Mike suicide. He knows his parents care about him, Haley has shown that he does matter to him, and Chris is potentially old enough to remember. Mike would need to alienate them all first before he commits to offing himself.
Autoerotic asphyxiation gone wrong while watching Francis bang Sandy on his phone, that's what the scarf is for
If she seriously tries to get him to hang himself with his scarf that would be moronic but likely what's happening
I'd rather see Mike crack and tear up his scarf in front of an infuriated/horrified Lucy while he giddily declares that none of it ever mattered and she needs to get over it.
Can Mike really be that based?
I wish. Slightly-too-happy Mike could get under Lucy's skin like nothing else on a regular basis and thus have greater entertainment value.
That's why she gave Mike a new scarf, this one will break before he'll be able to cut off the oxygen. She can't have him enjoying their calls too much!
>this one will break
Nope, it's canonically strong enough for Mike to kill himself with it. Sandy's been playing a long game.
>Sandy's been playing a long game
Sandy wants Mike to get that exciting feeling of nervous debauchery while she makes out with her many workplace boyfriends.
>An alt Sandy for each potential design of Francis
She puts on a different costume every night
How long can you last?
Rachel deserved a better birthday party, unless Paulo was banging her while everyone else went to sleep
the point is not to last. the point is to enjoy yourself.
And they'll make sure you'll enjoy yourself over and over!
>they're beckoning for you anon
i think i'll enjoy my sandy clone harem
>One of them messaging your shoulders while another fans you and another brings you drinks
why not have one after the other
Suggestive fanart and fanservice is the only reason I still read bcb.
Skim read the thread and what is that anon's problem with Rachel? It's nice to see a character have a flaw and through the course of the story work past it.
There's still a few Paulogists around (for some reason)
finally someone who gets me. i would have forgotten this comic a long time ago if it wasnt for the suggestive side of the comic and the readerbase
>It's nice to see a character have a flaw and through the course of the story work past it.
?????
Rachel thinking she can get him to commit to a relationship, figuring out that won't work, and avoiding falling back into her old habit of trying to fix him.
None of that makes sense. He never wanted a relantionship with her and it was her mistake to think she could just get dicked and not have any consequences.
Yes, that was her character flaw anon.
Paulo has to pay a lot for her character flaws.
My African American gentleman what consequence has Paulo suffered over his fling with Rachel other than Madison being slightly more b***hy?
Made Jasmine angry because Rachel couldn't stop from jumping into his lap at the study party.
Fake-out for a friendly ear when he's down in this chapter.
God I wish Rachel would jump into my lap...
>Made Jasmine angry
His own damn fault for immediately jumping into Lussy as soon as they broke up. That he went on to frick Rachel was just adding salt to the wound
>Fake-out for a friendly ear
You try going around being distraught and see how people steer clear of you. It's not like Paulo was even that considerate of Rachel's feelings for him to have a backlog of credit to draw on with her not even pseudo-dating him anymore.
>His own damn fault for immediately jumping into Lussy as soon as they broke up.
He said that's why he wanted to break up. It seems more like Jasmine was mad he was with a THIRD girl.
He said he was in love with Lucy, he didn't say he was going to frick her the very next day or whenever Curtain Call takes place. That makes it seem like he never felt the same way about her (true) and that he was probably cheating on her. (kind of)
>Paulo does something that hurts Rachel's feelings
>he KNOWS it hurts Rachel's feelings
>Does it anyway to spite Daisy
Yes it is his fault. It's not on him to force himself to be in love with her, but playing up the Manprostitute Paulo act like that was unkind. It's not like he was actually going to frick this chick.
Rachel's not even there.
It's not like he'd have been any better if she was
These two should hook up
Better ship than anything in this comic.
A Paulo x Sue relationship would end in a messy break up, or a murder suicide. There are no other options you know this.
paulo and sue do have that old married couple potential
There's a lot of potential there if Sue would just stop being so childish and respect Paulo's interests for a change.
I do think there's something but it's definitely not there in this pic, so many of these ships ahoy strips completely miss the actual good potential dynamic for the characters for just straight out-of-character lovebombing
I like how the Paulo x Daisy did not show their relationship in a good light. It's so weird how Taeshi is obviously shipping them in the comic and yet never portrays them as a good couple.
Rachel asked him to be frick buddies with no strings attached, turned him down when he was clearly trying to break it off after she clearly fell in love with him and it's his fault it all made her feel bad?
>and it's his fault it all made her feel bad?
Is the anon who's implying this in the room with us right now?
>Made Jasmine angry because Rachel couldn't stop from jumping into his lap at the study party.
Women shouldn't be flirtatious with single guys because it might hurt the feelings of his ex?
She has an obligation to be a therapist to the guy she managed to move on from?
>being kind to a friend in need
>be a therapist
Based Rachel recognizing it's another Paulo meltdown episode and getting the frick out of dodge before she can get dragged in.
fell off the ride for a while there
are we still being drip fed once a week?
Yes. Taeshi will probably drag out 1 page a week so that she can have the hour striking the new year coincide with the actual new year.
>2 months of filler taking place in one night
unfathomably based
The highlight of the thread has been Rachel of all people ducking out of a Paulo pity party.
Hilarious how she bends and twists the character's just to make artificial drama. They are only ever enemies or distant when the story needs conflict But then are WEIRDLY supportive,friendly and close whenever Taeshi wants some character to get ass-kissing. There is no consistency or reason behind any of this.
Why the frick would Rachel be so friendly and even give him money then turn her nose up because she notices him crying? Because she wants to twist the knife with Paulo and having his mom abandon him with a new family just ISN'T enough.
I know this chapter will amount to Sad Paulo hours because Paulo hasn't had a chapter being an emo-gay for awhile, possibly to shill some new ship she has no intentions of following up with.
>Panel 1 and 5
Jesus, Paulo just lost a whole foot. Is Rachel the height vampire who stole Mike's inches?
This "I don't want to get involved but good luck with that kbye" shit is obnoxious.
Being around Paulo is the definition of emotional labor.
Holding out hope for a SC chapter tonight
Bittersweet Candy Bowl