Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 28, 2020

Looks like Toni’s still not ready. For kids, that is.

The Truth- Brad has no mojo! TJ needs to leave?

see, Shannon, that’s how it’s supposed to work

TJ is channeling “Paper Moon.” ✨

I knew TJ would manage to make the rules more like Calvinball.

OTOH, he has six pennies to Shannon’s three.

Learning from the master. Next week, she will burn down her bedroom to collect the insurance so she can have a LOT of pennies.

AHA! I’ve been arguing for a year or two that it’s time for TJ to get another place. However clueless Brad doesn’t get it.

The posters who were sure that Toni was ready for a baby and Brad wasn’t should now understand that it seems to be the other way around…

Those tricks won’t work in Vegas, Shannon!

Next TJ can teach Shannon when the game isn’t going well for her, she can cause an explosion and collect pennies from insurance.

Shannon is learning critical life skillz from Unca TJ….

TJ has hoodwinked Brad & Toni, he is the splitting the rental cost with them. They paid for the addition room. TJ is a successful businessman & chef. I bet that they split the utilities. TJ is the Master or maybe the Mastermind?

Shannon is learning from the master.

Okay, the two week metaphor gets down to this: The STRIP is not ready to have kids. Greg is not ready to start bouncing babies off the drawing board. Now can we get back to Gunther and Bets and see how far their relationship/romance has progressed?

They both love their careers. Maybe, just maybe, they don’t need to have children in their lives? (Apart from Shannon).

What Would Dirk Do

Brad knows his wife still is not ready by saying “Sure, we should be more settled before having kids…” to ensure her he is not pressing on the topic but responding to her earlier comments. He softens up his response to avoid upsetting or stressing his wife with his own wants. And, TJ? A card shark babysitting a first grader? That will be what Shannon will teach Brad and Toni’s kids when they come…everything she learned from Uncle TJ.

though, if they really stretch the thought, they could ask TJ to be a live-in nanny for any kids and assist with room and board. that’s another tack I’ve seen people take with having kids these days. Friends, family, a very wide extended net helping out when they can.

Toni works two jobs?

This is a developing set of panels in a pregnancy arc. I feel neither of them is against the idea of having a child, the issue is how given the revolving schedules of firefighters (and no Toni does not have two jobs, they just have opposite shifts) and the fact that they rent a house with not enough room to have a child, and TJ lives there as well. TJ is good with children, so I think the jury is till out on preggers.

Next thing you know, TJ is gonna be teaching the kid how to make a point on the craps table and the odds on a lay bet or rolling snake-eyes, box cars or 10 the hard way…… Rule of thumb TJ, the House always wins!

They need a home of their own, and just why to have to adopt the kid?

Have I missed something? Brad, and/or Toni have side jobs when they’re off shift from the FD? News to me. But, I believe a number of Fire Fighters have side jobs when not on duty. Not necessarily for current financial need, but because it’s something they enjoy, and, can possibly do full time when they’re ready to leave the FD.

Well, there goes the theory many of us had yesterday that Toni is already preggers. —-Hey, no one is EVER really ready!

I am still honestly puzzled why so many posters are so much in a hurry to see Toni get pregnant. It would probably end either the ‘toon, or Toni and Brad’s role in it, just like the ‘toon would probably end if Luann suddenly got married or suddenly decided on a career. It’s like putting a big ‘The End’ on a ’toon, to make such a major change in a character that the whole story line would have to go in an entirely different direction…

“Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.”

The problem is big and Toni is right. It’s still too early for them to have children. But they already have the possibility to learn how to take care of them thanks to Shannon♡.

What a nice way to teach Shannon( I thought TJ was honest)

The De Groot family would collapse if TJ left. The Fuse would close, Brad wouldn’t be able to pay his mortgage, Toni would have to pay for Jonah’s childcare. Dogs and cats living in sin. Chaos!

Looks like a six to me!

Good solid financial sense. Why rush into it during youth, why not take the time to fully enjoy each other first before becoming three or more?

Oh great…teach the kid to lie and cheat.

At least it’s an arc without Bore-nice

It is a simple proven fact. If you wait til you can afford children…you never will.

Well “gee.”

Toni was all on board with TJ staying with them after they got married. And now all of a sudden, she wants him OUT?

And if buying for “rental” owned by your parents is an “issue,” then how much MORE of an “issue” is it going to be paying a monthly mortgage on a house owned by the bank?

I can see where this is going. “IF” New DeGroots ever get a new place, then they are going to ask TJ to live with them as SOME of Us have been predicting for years.

Honestly though, Brad and Toni should get either get better jobs OR

1) Live within their means and make themselves satisfied.

2) Quit spending their life savings “improving” a house THEY DON’T OWN.

3) Put off having kids until they’re REALLY Ready and on the SAME page. Because right now? They AREN’T.

And I wouldn’t put all that much dependence in TJ as he is under NO obligation to stay where he IS Now.

Plus, sooner or later he’ll find out there’s now an empty room at Frank and Nancy’s.

And the last time he stayed there, he stayed for FREE. ;)

Clueless self absorbed Brad would never consider actually providing his wife with a home of their own. Whats up with TJ anyway? Seems like he would want a place of his own – cant he get along without Brad? Time for him to quit being a third wheel.

Nanny and the Fire Fighters.

They’re obviously going to set up something pretty big.

I know three FF. All are married. All spouses have jobs. One is a nurse, one is a teacher and one is the head of school district maint. dept. All live within their means and own homes. All have at least one child. There’s no reason these two cannot afford a house and a child IF they want to do that. If they don’t want a kid, just own up to it. Nobody is forcing them to have one…not even Nancy. I was thrilled they day my daughter told me NO CHILDREN FOR THEM.

Next lesson- counting cards.

I would not want Eddie Haskell for a babysitter and I would not want TJ either.

They’re already raising a child. Granted, Shannon is her niece, but she spends more time away from her dad than with him. He’s terribly neglectful.

Own their own house – Two incomes coming in – both love their jobs – built in house sitter, baby sitter, and gourmet cook. These guys don’t know how lucky they have it.

Just because you have the equipment doesn’t mean that you need to use it.

Toni is painting an impossible scenario, owning a home and living off of one income, as a prerequisite for having children. There would be hardly any children in this country (the world for that matter) if that was a requirement. Only the very wealthy could have families ?? Toni is using this as cover for her own underlying fears, pining away for some idyllic life (like when they were looking at that house/ Mcmansion costing 600k )… like they can’t have children unless they move into something like that? TJ is a built in baby sitter and cook. Brad is right about that. All they need to do is build an addition onto the house.

They are renting from Brad’s parents. Perhaps they can negotiate to make it rent with option to buy, or simply offer to buy the place. Once there they can get a loan and renovate.

My first house was $65k bought from a hoarder. Cleaned up and painted inside, reappraised for $112,000. To 15k loan out on the equity, paved the driveway, sided the house, new roof, windows, deck and porch, still had 5k left. Sold it after 14 years for $215k

dice under the table? russia proverb sayith “Доверя́й, но проверя́й” (spoiler: trust but verifty)

“Now, let me show you how to commit insurance fraud…”

He is doing a great job teaching her what scams she may encounter/run.

Where I live, first responders make a decent lower middle class wage that improves with experience. Toni and Brad either need to up their professional game or become teachers where the “real” money is. Snicker.

Toni’s excuses are things people say when they don’t want kids at this time. B and T still have many years to have children. No need to rush.

She’s learning from the best.

So much for TJ playing by Shannon’s rules. Now his thieving side comes out and the perfect reason he makes a lousy babysitter or, ugh, role model. Thinking Toni is on to him and will intervene. A few called this early on AND a few wanted him to be the Nanny! Nope, no way!

I was about Shannon’s age, and my brother a bit younger, when our uncle taught us to play poker. once we had the fundamentals, he then taught us how to mark the Bicycle cards. it was the beginning of our life of crime (j/k! but true about the poker and cards!).

They are DINKs…..dual income no kids….they should live off one salary & bank the other.

Today is a continuation of the “discussion” re parenthood. GnK are getting us ready for something, but I don’t know what.

Brad and Toni accepting Shannon as a proxy child?

A Brad and Toni spat over family expectations?

A reader survey whether B&T should have a baby? Then they could seek inputs for Toni’s maternity ware, like they did her wedding dress; or name the baby contest.

There are major shifts percolating in Luanniverse. One would assume we are seeing the increasing influence of K in the GnK coauthoring of scripts: Nancy moving out into the world. Gunther’s serious relationship with Bets. Brad and Toni’s “baby talk.” Tiffany no longer being the “poor little rich girl” trope. The softening of Les. The disappearance of Tara and the lingering of Jack.

Yet none of this directly relates to the titles character, Luann! Luann has been in the doldrums since her appearance at the Gulag in January of 2019. Her character has not advanced in any aspect except an apparent jealous curiosity about Gunther’s sex life.

I wonder whether Karen is capable is writing arcs about herself. Recall that it is widely suspected/acknowledged that Luann is the alter ego to Luann when Greg’s developed the strip.

TJ moves into brad’s old room???

3

So, LAST week, Toni was portrayed as “all happiness and creativity”…. happy to play with Shannon and her hamster, happy about the tunnels on the wall, happy to contribute to the tunnels. THIS week, Toni is being portrayed in a more “sour” context… sour to Brad’s off-hand comment, sour about their living accommodations, sour about TJ in general.

It is interesting for me to note….. while MUCH of the more dramatic aspects of “Luann” do read very interestingly for me (Ann Eiffel, Tiffany’s various dramas, Bets and Gunther “issues”, etc), some of the dramas in “Luann” feel less interesting to me because they feel much more like “real-world” day-to-day “kvetching” (Toni this week, Gunther & Les “roommie” issues). Please do not get me wrong…. Greg is great at what he does." I am just saying that for my enjoyment, this particular week, and most of the Gunther/Les roommate weeks do not really add much to my day.

For me, even though for today, the “TJ and Shan” part of panel 2 is pretty much superfluous to the actual story…. the “TJ and Shan” part of panel 2 is also the only bright spot for me today.

So much for those who were saying that TJ had grown out of his dishonest scammer ways. A person who will cheat and lie about the little things will cheat and lie about big things too. It’s one thing to give yourself a gimme when you’re playing a game alone, but when you’re competing against others integrity is important. And now he’s teaching Shannon to be a liar too.

TJ is a great roll model… :D

I’m with Toni here. They’re far from ready. Also, I’m picking up Doonesbury vibes here.

Kind if an odd strip today. It goes in a different direction than yesterday’s.

Before getting married, Brad was usually drawn with his dorky look. More recently, due to his relationship with Toni, he often looks pretty good. However, note the second frame today: Brad looks dorky while explaining how great it is to have TJ In the house. Among other things, women typically need more privacy – which includes taking a bath without TJ pounding on the door. Get a clue – Brad.

Real great roll model there…

Shannon has met her match in TJ. And vice versa.

Did TJ expect that Brad and Toni to move out and TJ keeps the rental?

TJ is indeed the “available” babysitter, but he is teaching the brat to cheat! Enough, already!

<<< Looks like Toni’s still not ready. For kids, that is. >>>I’m tellin’ ya, man…get a dog.

A lot of the posters like to comment on how ‘boring’ a character is, or how that character hasn’t grown, or how the character is actually ‘bad’, but others think the character has reformed, etc.

If anything, I think that the comments are much more revealing of how the posters are, rather than the characters. You can only show so much in three or four frames a day, but a poster who keeps repeating how ‘dull’ a character is can only lead others here to wonder why that poster keeps returning. It doesn’t work to say, ‘well, I like the other characters’ if you keep returning to the same ‘one-track-mind’ when the character you dislike appears. Why not give yourself (and others) a break, and not read during those arcs? Well, because you’d rather rile up people who like that character.

And then there are those one-track-minds who keep insisting that it’s ‘time’ for Toni to get pregnant, that a clock is ticking and all that. First off, the character isn’t that old (and older women have been having babies for a real long time, ya know). Secondly, harping on just that one aspect of a character doesn’t add much to the ongoing conversation.

Moose’s constant Gunther obsession, well, that seems to be the same as the ‘why isn’t Toni pregnant already they’ve been married for YEARS’ thing. One-track-mind. It’s entirely possible, Mordy, that Luann will not end up with Gunther since he seems besotted with Bets despite the fact that she seems more attached to social media than to him.

And Pipe, I don’t read Toni as ‘sour’ about Brad’s so-called ‘gentle’ discussion of baby making. I read her as scared of the whole topic.

This could turn into Calvinball.