Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 29, 2022

Loosen up, Bernice. Have fun while you’re still young enough to have it. Time flies by quickly!

So, the only way she can have fun is by being miserable?

Hearing a mother saying being loose is fun seems rather uncomfortable . . . in a very similar way that it felt rather uncomfortable when my mother asked me to explain to her what MILF meant. (I kid you not, that actually happened).

I dunno.

But IMO, it sounds like deep down inside, Bernice secretly wants to be (the old) Tiffany.

Maybe that’s why RA Bernice with after Tiff with such missionary zeal a few years ago. She can’t be like Tiffany, so she tried to stop Tiffany (And everybody else) from having fun at every turn. It wasn’t “rule enforcement.” It was jealously pure and simple.

It’s not that much of a stretch either. In an arc many years ago, Luann reimagined herself as Tiff.Maybe all the gals want to be “Tiffany.” At least the old high school version of “Tiffany.”

So, is it time to invite Bernice to the next “blackout party?”

I got a feeling, that once Bern lets her hair down, she’ll turn into a Party Monster.

But is the World ready for that?

As Cyndi Lauper said, “girls just want to have fun.”

Loose is fun in a terrifying way, maybe that is why Bernice responds the way she does to the idea of getting “caught”. Good of Nancy to make time for her like this.

Well, I like self-control, too. But c’mon, Bernice! Don’t be a stiff!

Nancy brings normalcy…again!

Bernice doesn’t really seem to act the way she purports to describe herself. She likes self-control, but it is totally lost when her hormones are activated in the presence of Nil or Jack.

Well there’s loose… and then there’s loose! Hopefully tomorrow will have Nancy provide some wise words. Maybe a Cosmo will help! 8^ )

Bernice do you want to be one of those old maid’s or a party girl that is lose and fun but in a respectable way.

What a drama queen!

I think Bernice sees a side of her that she is afraid she can’t control once she lets it “loose!”

Bern gets loose, she will lose something.

Very interesting having the beautiful Nancy Degroot being parental towards her daughter’s friend. To bad Luann doesn’t take advantage of her mother’s wisdom.

Loosen up, but not just loose…

She really fears her “loose” side.

Will this storyline ends Saturday?

I remember Nancy telling Luann to wait until marriage, so I don’t think Nancy would ever tell her own daughter that ‘loose is fun’…

I think bernice is kissing nancy’s ass because she doesn’t want her to think she’s boy-crazy. Bernice, take that stick out and loosen up, you don’t need to be a puritan-esque conservative to make people think you have standards. Just tell a guy what you will and won’t do and if he’s a good boy, he’ll respect your barriers and limits.

Stop being so hard on yourself about your desires. We are human, we all have them. Stop acting like you have no self-control because you do. If you had no self-control, you and the boy would have been caught having sex in degroots house or even in the park.

One can ONLY imagine ms.horners reaction to finding you on top of nil.

When I was about Luann and Bernice’s age, I provocatively asked my mother what “69” meant. Without missing a beat, she replied, “6 minutes, 9 months.”

Balance is hard when you’re that young. Heart break, a few well deserved hang overs and porceline oasis sessesions, and other failures are there to help find that. Those who don’t learn those lessons really never grow out of being a senior in high school. We all know them.

Bernice is the opposite where she’s afraid to fail, which is just as bad as empathy and deep bonding never take shape for fear of it being used against her or being out of control. If she wants a career, she’ll never be able to manage people…which is why she likes psychotherapy – it’s a 1:1 relationship where she is in control of the relationship; she has the power to shape folks to see how they should be.

She needs another plate of Dez’s brownies.

Even though about how annoying, nosy, jealous and unreasonable she can be, it’s almost impossible to not feel bad for Bernice right now. She’s chained to her blocks and fears and desperately try to get free, but she still need them because they made her feel safe. Nancy looks so sad for her. Let’s hope she could find a way for help Bernice to be happier with herself and able to be with Nil without feeling guilty.

How is this the same Bernice that was always in Zane’s lap, and wanted to get married in high school? She is regressing.

Bernice, you’re not “buttoned-up”, you’re severely repressed. You need more help than Nancy can give you. Go to a professional.

The trouble is—Bernice has lived a “buttoned up” life.

She really needs to get out more and see how the “real world” lives.

Ever notice how Bernice’s mouth is always open so much bigger than everyone else’s?? Not just figuratively, but physically as well.

She’s going to let loose soon…and go find Jack

Nancy slides a little closer. “Have you ever kissed a woman, Bernice?” Ooops, sorry. Wrong website!

I want to see a conga line of every member of the Luann cast, lined up to slap Bernice.

Bernice is kidding herself. Self-control is good and a mark of maturity. Over-the-edge scrupulosity isn’t “self-control.”

You know, if Bernice is going to have these heart-to-heart talks with Nancy to fix her psychological issues, why can’t they fix the part that makes her a jackass to Luann?

Bernice, stop being so moral all the time! You need to be fun and happy sometimes!

Nancy, how loose do you want Bernice (and, by inference Luann) to be? There’s loose like Steff appears to be now (and, Tiffany pretended to be, when She, Luann, and, Bernice were is high school,) then there’s loose like Toni.

Bernice is lying to herself. Her real personality is the one she shows when she is alone with Nil. Nobody else is putting pressure on her to jump on top of him, that is all Bernice.

“Loose”?! She finally engages in a bit of “slap and tickle”- with only ONE guy, and thinks she’s “loose” ? Pardon me, but “wtf” ?

This reminds me, as so many things do, of scene in STDS9. Quark was talking about the coming to the station of a Bajoran religious order. He told Odo, “Those religious types all love those Dabo girls, he, he, he, he, he.” Evidently, Bernice is from Bejor, too.

Well, here’hoping that some of that “sarcastic” but loving empathythat Nancy and Frank show with Luann and Brad works with Bernice. She needs to know herself, and find the balance to use the applied side, while enjoying without guilt, judgment, or anxiety the fun side of herself.

Bernice doesn’t need the DeGroot’s for life experience, she should spend a couple of panels with Frazz to get herself straightened out.

It seems that poor Nil must be as inexperienced as Bernice in this situation. He is probably is just as confused as she is. If this is true love, Nil needs to take charge and in slow stages get Bernice to relax and once the deed is done, Bernice will calm down. However, because this is a comic, I think this is just a passing fancy and both will go their separate ways. I like Nil and hope he stays around.

It might not work, but perhaps she should start asking herself “what’s the worst that can happen.” The answer is usually “nothing much.”

Time for a bust out bit of reality!

Bernice is Plenty loose when she is with Nil. She is ashamed of her natural feelings. She just needs to stop being ashamed of normal human feelings.

Here’s a tip stupid – if it’s terrifying and miserable don’t do it.

Bernice is really reminding me of a female version of Gunther a few years ago. I think all she needs to do is relax with her boyfriend.

I feel rather sorry for Bernice. She appears to be uncomfortable with strong emotions and sexual feelings, which is a pity for her; but on the other hand, there is no legal requirement for her to be dashing out there firing on all cylinders. She is entitled to move at her own pace. I get the feeling that she is more concerned about how others perceive her, and whether it is acceptable for her to be more inhibited at this stage. I think Nil gets this, so it’s a shame that she can’t just relax and go with how she feels…which is to be a little buttoned-up. It’s okay to be buttoned-up…her friends should let her be!

Bernice is Highly Aware that there’s an egg inside her that she doesn’t want fertilized, yet yens to ‘run and play’… Many teen friends/relatives have found that out the hard way..

Somebody somewhere (but probably not in this strip) should give her a tall Margarita, a lit spliff, and play anything by the Grateful Dead.

Terrifying and miserable? Sounds more like how you’d feel if you were diagnosed with brain cancer.

Need. Like. Prefer. Bernice should follow her own inner-voice advice and recognize the conditions that make her feel comfortable, especially about sex. If she wants to prove to her friends that she can be more outgoing, there are a lot of things she could be doing instead of making out in the bushes with Nil. Maybe hang-gliding is in her dare-devil future?

My defenses are down…and I can’t escape no how…

But I must confess that I like it…and there’s nothing to be done…

Being miserable is gonna be fun!

Irving Berlin—-ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

Me, I think that she was just embarrassed to sorta-get-caught a compromising situation with Nil. Embarrassment is arguably the strongest human emotion, and it can be quite rattling, especially when it hits a corseted personality like Bernice.

“I tried it. I like it. I don’t like that I like it.”

I wouldn’t mind Bern’s being buttoned up if she didn’t try to button up everybody else.

There isn’t anything wrong with having self control and some people thrive better being buttoned up.

it would be nice if Nancy would let Bernice know that one can be ‘buttoned up’ some times and loose at others. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Remind me not to marry her.

Speaking of buttons, not just Bernice but, with one or maybe two exceptions, every woman in the cast needs to meet some kind soul willing to point out its existence. Perhaps even going so far as to offer assistance in determining its location.

Just exactly what is Nancy advocating for uptight Bernie to do here?!