Bernice is gonna die a virgin in a house full of cats, so why do we waste so much time with her meaningless relationship drama? Surely there’s other characters we could be focusing on; characters who actually have arcs and character growth and don’t go back to their factory settings after each story?
Nil would make a good replacement for Bernice in the future. I can see Nil sitting by the edge of Luann’s bed conversing with Luann just as Bernice used to.
How come Steffo and Kipper get to, and Bets and Gunther allegedly get to, but these two tied themselves in knots to stay chaste? They’re just so weird.
So what happens next week? Do we get a week of Bernice’s post-break-up blues? Now if it went something like this: (Luann) Bernice, come down off that sill. You’re only four feet off the ground nothing will hurt you if you fall. You’ve got to get up much higher for that to happen!"
(Bernice) I can’t I get vertigo if I get any higher off the ground!
That might be funny.
Or we could get a week of Leslie playing with Punk. Or a week of Gunther not doing anything because without Bets he has nothing. Bets is in the Quad which has become a vast disappointment. Putting four women in one room and Greg can’t get anything going except for horndog Stef. If we’re lucky it will be summer vacation, Tiffany will move back into the Mansion, hire a nice young Hiapanic pool boy and get her stef on.
But we’re most likely stuck with Shannon because Greg hates children.
I’m impressed by Bernice. I was sure she would have an immediate jealous reaction towards Nil right after hearing that he might start dating someone else. Has she really grown up, after all?Dunno, she’s smiling now, but I keep thinking that if Nil and Fred start dating, she will sneak after them, insanely jealous.
Nil’s had his turn, and will now recede into the background, to be brought forth on occasion as needed, like Mrs. Horner or Phelpsie-Fogarty. BTW, speaking of Mr. Fogarty, methinks he is based upon bassist Tim Bogert. Do a little Google image search and see for yourself.
“Epic creative surge right now” does not sound like a final ending to this arc. What’s next — Nils rushing off to paint, or him seeking immediate “inspiration” from Bernice?
They are both weird, but that is not the problem. The problem is that they are weird in such very different ways. Such severely mismatched weirdness demands that they just leave weird enough alone!
So, romance thwarted once again for Bernice, once again, in a most surprising, and for most here, a very discomfiting way. I notice by the way, that there is apparently no skin to skin contact in the handshake, as Nil seems to be drawn wearing gloves. Nil is a comic strip 21st century send-up of a century-old Bohemian Paris artiste. Bisexual possibly (too much for so many here, but the reality of bisexuality in the population makes prejudice against merely those who are another “other” hatred and misunderstanding (sorry but sometimes a bleeding heart must preach) we’re dealing with in this contested social, political and cultural period we’re living in currently. Poor Bern, but I think the romance is still in play between these two in the end. Hilarity ensues, but it’s kinda sad though.
I though they would be kissing on Saturday. I was almost right. I don’t think they are broken up. They are both odd and their relationship is odd. I think we will see Nil again.
Young love is so consuming that the people involved don’t realize how special it can be and how heartbreaking it can be at the time of involvement. For some reason, I really like Nil and was hoping for a sweet coming of age romance with Bernice. Maybe G&K are saving this for Luann and someone in the future. Ahhhhhhhh, young love!
This was such a waste of a potentially interesting relationship. I was originally happy when Nil was finally being considered a romantic option for somebody but once again, certainly were Bernice is concerned, romance is quashed for no good reason. (I’m attracted to you therefore I shouldn’t date you.) I am also afraid that’s the last we’ll see of Nil, who was for me the most intriguing guy to show up in the strip other than Piro, who was also eliminated from the cast and who Bernice also ruled out as a boyfriend…
Is the story line really over?I don’t know, Bernice seems to really have damp trousers for Nil. Perhaps the three of them can become a romantic item. I think she’s going straight home to get advice from Nancy on how to nail them both.
wow… not how I thought this would end. It seems that the part of Bern that Nil got a charge out of was her propensity for rules and structure which led to the rigid modernist line drawings. Still I believe they have some physical passion for each another, but it stays buried. True to form, Nil’s passion for his art is greater that for Bern. But will Fred satisfy him?
I must say, getting Nil “right” is hard. He is hardly the same dude who, in the beginning, could scarcely be persuaded to squeeze out a grudging monosyllable. Now he’s positively chatty (if still on the enigmatic side), and his hormonal side isn’t all that Platonic—Platonic hormones don’t raise hickeys. And he’s hardly passion’s plaything on the Alt Sex circuit, if this Fred has been courting him in vain. Not at all waving the Dannon Yogurt flag, “Stir up fruit from bottom”.
beb01 over 2 years ago
Wow, what a nothingburger ending to an admitted lackluster week.
Templo S.U.D. over 2 years ago
very nice, Bernice
lvlax over 2 years ago
And so we bid a fond farewell to Nil.
Bernice is now free to find someone she feels is good enough for her.
Will we ever find out who Fred is? And does Fred get to see his other eye?? LOL
C over 2 years ago
Epic something
AnyFace over 2 years ago
Can she date Jack now? ✨
J. Scarbrough over 2 years ago
Wow! Another weird two-week story arc that built up to yet another flat and anti-climatic ending! Epic creative surge indeed!
BJShipley1 over 2 years ago
Bernice is gonna die a virgin in a house full of cats, so why do we waste so much time with her meaningless relationship drama? Surely there’s other characters we could be focusing on; characters who actually have arcs and character growth and don’t go back to their factory settings after each story?
Ahuehuete over 2 years ago
Is a plain old kiss unchaste?
Ahuehuete over 2 years ago
Anyway, it appears they dumped each other.
alasko over 2 years ago
Right, said Fred.
GirlGeek Premium Member over 2 years ago
I’m glad this is over, I hope we get to see Nil again in the future
Enter.Name.Here over 2 years ago
That has to be the most creative and clever way to break up with a girl I have ever seen.
ronaldspence over 2 years ago
Maybe start your own strip Nil, i would read it’!
kenhense over 2 years ago
I think maybe Zebo the art teacher was a guest writer for this arc.
Rhetorical_Question over 2 years ago
Nil is free!!!!!
Brdshtt Premium Member over 2 years ago
Nil would make a good replacement for Bernice in the future. I can see Nil sitting by the edge of Luann’s bed conversing with Luann just as Bernice used to.
Caldonia over 2 years ago
How come Steffo and Kipper get to, and Bets and Gunther allegedly get to, but these two tied themselves in knots to stay chaste? They’re just so weird.
beb01 over 2 years ago
So what happens next week? Do we get a week of Bernice’s post-break-up blues? Now if it went something like this: (Luann) Bernice, come down off that sill. You’re only four feet off the ground nothing will hurt you if you fall. You’ve got to get up much higher for that to happen!"
(Bernice) I can’t I get vertigo if I get any higher off the ground!
That might be funny.
Or we could get a week of Leslie playing with Punk. Or a week of Gunther not doing anything because without Bets he has nothing. Bets is in the Quad which has become a vast disappointment. Putting four women in one room and Greg can’t get anything going except for horndog Stef. If we’re lucky it will be summer vacation, Tiffany will move back into the Mansion, hire a nice young Hiapanic pool boy and get her stef on.
But we’re most likely stuck with Shannon because Greg hates children.
howtheduck over 2 years ago
How long did this conversation last? It looks like it went from nighttime until daytime.
Airman over 2 years ago
Okay, Nil. As the center said to the quarterback, “Take a hike.”
Busrayne over 2 years ago
So much for this arc. Next.
Brdshtt Premium Member over 2 years ago
Anyone besides me notice that Nil put on a black glove before shaking Bernie’s hand in the last panel?
Aladar30 Premium Member over 2 years ago
I’m impressed by Bernice. I was sure she would have an immediate jealous reaction towards Nil right after hearing that he might start dating someone else. Has she really grown up, after all?Dunno, she’s smiling now, but I keep thinking that if Nil and Fred start dating, she will sneak after them, insanely jealous.
Vilyehm over 2 years ago
The arc aint over if Bernice looks down and notices Nil’s epic creative surge, and…
.
.
Neither one notices the security camera mounted next to the door, prominently displayed, ala Chekov’s Gun style, back there in panel one.
.
.
Will Bernice be proud or ashamed that in one stroke, er…., um…, wave of her hand,…
.
She is now getting more hits on the internet than Bets.
Susan00100 over 2 years ago
I hope next week’s arc won’t be just Bernice blathering to Luann about that pinhead!!
Like it was the week before.
Lord Hearteater over 2 years ago
Nil’s had his turn, and will now recede into the background, to be brought forth on occasion as needed, like Mrs. Horner or Phelpsie-Fogarty. BTW, speaking of Mr. Fogarty, methinks he is based upon bassist Tim Bogert. Do a little Google image search and see for yourself.
Ellis97 over 2 years ago
Bernice, there may be someone out there for most people, but you’re not most people.
OneTime59 over 2 years ago
OK. Finally, the next arc, next week. We have not seen Gunther and Leslie in a while.
Johnnyrico over 2 years ago
There’s definitely a “surge” alright, but I don’t think it has anything to do with art creativity…
mourdac Premium Member over 2 years ago
Repressed smoldering desires – will the wildfire unexpectedly break out in the future? I believe so.
Faith :) over 2 years ago
Wow, Nil broke up with Bernice, made her feel good about herself, and made it so that they stay friends in the future. He’s a genius.
MS72 over 2 years ago
Made for each other.
fuzzmoz over 2 years ago
D.E.N. over 2 years ago
Interesting week. Wonder what Monday will bring?
David in Webb Premium Member over 2 years ago
Bernice, you just had to try it one more time.
cdillon85 over 2 years ago
Bernice picked up on the muse bit well.
Kalkkuna over 2 years ago
AMUSING!
T Smith over 2 years ago
Is that an “epic creative surge” in your pants, or…
Call me Ishmael over 2 years ago
Epic asininity. Will we at last move on from these two exceptionally inane pseudo-intellectual twits and their sad, stunted libidos?
STACEY MARSHALL Premium Member over 2 years ago
They are both weird, but that is not the problem. The problem is that they are weird in such very different ways. Such severely mismatched weirdness demands that they just leave weird enough alone!
comic reader 22 over 2 years ago
And just like that Nil teaches Bernice to control herself.
JRobinson Premium Member over 2 years ago
Typical. Back to Gunther and Bets, please!
Holilubillkori Premium Member over 2 years ago
Let’s turn the page & get onto a new adventure or disaster.. ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
Crann Bethadh over 2 years ago
Weirdness.
markwillman4 over 2 years ago
And Nil is inspired by his muse once again.
Tyge over 2 years ago
So all the excitement was over a mutual dust-off?
But we still don’t know if Nil has been accepting Fred’s overtures from yesterday. 8^ )
rrsltx over 2 years ago
Relationships is this strip must come to an end, even weird ones, in order for the characters to remain at age 19 for the next 25 years.
luann1212 over 2 years ago
So, romance thwarted once again for Bernice, once again, in a most surprising, and for most here, a very discomfiting way. I notice by the way, that there is apparently no skin to skin contact in the handshake, as Nil seems to be drawn wearing gloves. Nil is a comic strip 21st century send-up of a century-old Bohemian Paris artiste. Bisexual possibly (too much for so many here, but the reality of bisexuality in the population makes prejudice against merely those who are another “other” hatred and misunderstanding (sorry but sometimes a bleeding heart must preach) we’re dealing with in this contested social, political and cultural period we’re living in currently. Poor Bern, but I think the romance is still in play between these two in the end. Hilarity ensues, but it’s kinda sad though.
locake over 2 years ago
I though they would be kissing on Saturday. I was almost right. I don’t think they are broken up. They are both odd and their relationship is odd. I think we will see Nil again.
MuddyUSA Premium Member over 2 years ago
Oh..oh..Nils is getting an epic surge………….
Tyge over 2 years ago
I didn’t know Nil wore gloves!
tcayer over 2 years ago
He needs to change his pants…
Cincoflex over 2 years ago
I actually like Nil as a character. He’s easy-going but very much his own man.
Tyge over 2 years ago
It’s obvious that the creators don’t “screen test” these arcs before release.
Same2Ubuddy over 2 years ago
Enter Ox. He catches her on the rebound and years later they have several fat kids.
tremaine53 over 2 years ago
You’re free, Nil! Never look back. Not at Bernice, anyway.
Ordinary Average Guy over 2 years ago
I think a lot of you folks expect WAY too much from a free daily comic.
percheronhitch6 over 2 years ago
Oh, lord, this is too bizarre even for head case Bernice!
dblbaraje over 2 years ago
Young love is so consuming that the people involved don’t realize how special it can be and how heartbreaking it can be at the time of involvement. For some reason, I really like Nil and was hoping for a sweet coming of age romance with Bernice. Maybe G&K are saving this for Luann and someone in the future. Ahhhhhhhh, young love!
MARC MILLER Premium Member over 2 years ago
Git while the gittin’s good, Nil! Flee! Flee!
GaryCooper over 2 years ago
Actually most artists have sexual relationships with their “muses.”
Joe1962 over 2 years ago
We haven’t seen Ann in awhile so maybe Monday’s arc is about her.
kauri44 over 2 years ago
This was such a waste of a potentially interesting relationship. I was originally happy when Nil was finally being considered a romantic option for somebody but once again, certainly were Bernice is concerned, romance is quashed for no good reason. (I’m attracted to you therefore I shouldn’t date you.) I am also afraid that’s the last we’ll see of Nil, who was for me the most intriguing guy to show up in the strip other than Piro, who was also eliminated from the cast and who Bernice also ruled out as a boyfriend…
kaycstamper over 2 years ago
He made it easy on her…
Mordock999 Premium Member over 2 years ago
And so it ends.
With many unanswered questions remaining.
Unfortunately, as usual.
So. That’s leaves Gunther/Bets the only active, unmarried Main Characters still dating. (And NO, Stef and Kip DON’T Count)
For those that have been screaming for this arc to end, looks like you’re about to get your “wish.”
Just when things were starting to get kinda interesting……., ;-)
lorenkinzel over 2 years ago
Is the story line really over?I don’t know, Bernice seems to really have damp trousers for Nil. Perhaps the three of them can become a romantic item. I think she’s going straight home to get advice from Nancy on how to nail them both.
writerofstories over 2 years ago
Cute ending to their “relationship” as it was! (and here’s to (if they weren’t comic strip characters, a better “relationship” in the future)!
BuckarooDave over 2 years ago
Sunday: Frank asks Nancy a question. :-/
tidewaterscot over 2 years ago
Move on. Please
4everbound2 over 2 years ago
A handshake is “un-musey”? Au contraire: throughout history a large percentage of creative types have sex with their muse…
TravelinMan over 2 years ago
So the message of this week’s arc is that sexual frustration leads to artistic creativity?
Hamunaptrasecret2002 over 2 years ago
Oh Golly, not the privacy hut again…that story was annoying and dumb.
moondog42 Premium Member over 2 years ago
Now she can find out if Jack likes girls, and is single
RSH over 2 years ago
wow… not how I thought this would end. It seems that the part of Bern that Nil got a charge out of was her propensity for rules and structure which led to the rigid modernist line drawings. Still I believe they have some physical passion for each another, but it stays buried. True to form, Nil’s passion for his art is greater that for Bern. But will Fred satisfy him?
The Quiet One over 2 years ago
You know Bernice wanted that last kiss, which probably wouldn’t have been a last kiss.
AndrewSihler over 2 years ago
I must say, getting Nil “right” is hard. He is hardly the same dude who, in the beginning, could scarcely be persuaded to squeeze out a grudging monosyllable. Now he’s positively chatty (if still on the enigmatic side), and his hormonal side isn’t all that Platonic—Platonic hormones don’t raise hickeys. And he’s hardly passion’s plaything on the Alt Sex circuit, if this Fred has been courting him in vain. Not at all waving the Dannon Yogurt flag, “Stir up fruit from bottom”.
candomarty Premium Member over 2 years ago
Nil’s comment in the final panel leads me to believe that we’re not done with these two yet.
Jaymi Cee Premium Member over 2 years ago
That girl needs help
Not the Smartest Man On the Planet -- Maybe Close Premium Member over 2 years ago
Swell use of grays in panel one.
ehenwood over 2 years ago
Surely Bernice knows her history and that the vast majority of artists slept with their muses…
Airman over 2 years ago
And as we fade into nothingness, there is one final cry, Who’s Fred?
David Huie Green LoveJoyAndPeace over 2 years ago
Surges and urges.
Sisyphos over 2 years ago
Only Nil could get any kind of surge out of that!…
mfought over 2 years ago
ya when I was 19 I had alot of those creative surges
WilliamVollmer over 2 years ago
Bernice, to borrow from Frozen; “Let it go!” The meaning of the words from that song is the same for this situation, don’t hold your feeling back.
billdaviswords over 2 years ago
“Epic creative surge” by everyone except the artists of Luann. Here’s hoping we leave this lame arc behind.
JustMyThoughts over 2 years ago
Fred-rica ?