Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 19, 2023

Happiness is where you find it

The schadenfreude is strong in this one.

She’ll find a better Gun.Probably not a pea shooter.

That is a seriously flawed relationship from both standpoints. More like an association! 8^ \

At the risk of making another soap box rant, today’s strip brings to mind a major issue I have with Content Creators on the internet (not specifically Bets, mind you), in that so many Content Creators do absolutely nothing. They are all just Talking Heads and nothing more: they film themselves whining about how hard their lives are, or complaining about why a movie sucked, or eating something they shouldn’t be eating, or reacting to other people’s video content . . . and they make a butt load of money doing it, thus bringing a whole new meaning to Dire Straits’ song “Money for Nothin’.” Meanwhile, there are smalltime Content Creators like myself who actually put time, work, effort, creativity, and originality into the content we create, and we get swept under the rug . . . it’s like there’s almost no point in even putting any kind of effort into creating something worthwhile because it’s going to be looked over in favor of a Talking Head who does nothing. Bets is kind of somewhere in the middle of the scale . . . I’ll say she puts a little more effort into her content than most of the Talking Heads do (and apparently makes the kind of money the Talking Heads do), but still not quite as much as some of us do.

It does seem as if he’s happy that she’s not making as much money now that he’s not part of the team…

And did she share that income with Gun?

So, yeah. He seemed doubtful whether or not they were broken up, but they are broken up. When you start celebrating someone else’s failures you don’t get to claim to be in a relationship with them. Also, Luann… big red flag, honey, he ain’t as sweet as he thinks he is.

Uh, you might want to reconsider measuring your self worth by your girlfriend’s income, dude. At least get your own healthy revenue stream and move out before talking s*it about Bet’s finances.

how will long will influencers make money?

Bets might meet someone at a comic con to take Gunther’s place. Then Gunther will have a broken heart. BTW, there will be a Comic con in Sacramento next March, the weekend of the tenth. When there was one in Roseville, I was unaware of it. I was driving on 16th Street in Sacramento when suddenly a Ghost Busters van came up beside me in the next lane.

Seems like her zillions of subscribers to “Bets ‘n’ Gun” would have at least some millions of Gun fans, and there would be a lot of comments from them about how Gunther suddenly went missing. (I can’t call a guy who organizes his sewing desk “Gun,” sorry Karen.) A lot wouldn’t like this recent development. So it makes sense that her following would drop some.

In Bets case you really have to know your audience to make money from being Influencer.

Gun is right happiness does come from unexpected places.

Yea, Gunther has good manners!

Asparagus Sticks? They look delicious! Gunther has a sandwich? Not a burger.

Too bad that Luann doesn’t have a career yet?

Gunter’s happy an smug cause Bet’s revenue’s slipped without him bein there? Wonder what Bets wuld think of that

Schadenfreude, y’all!

nice try gunther, he is just deluding himself

Tiffany must be on her break?

Perhaps, he just thinks that they were better as a couple.

WOW – A conversation with actual content.

Well, I’m glad he’s glad her revenue has slipped. She’s made enough money off his participation.

The comment about her revenue dipping is a clinker, but he hasn’t said anything bad about Bets. I’m sure both of them would wish the other would change their mind and come back…but if Gunther is pursuing engineering, tooling around in a van and helping with videos isn’t going to get him any closer to that future. He’d like to be right where he is, but with Bets by his side. She probably feels the same way, but it’s just not possible unless one of them gives up their interests.

“It was a totally amicable parting”—yet vengeance is sweet.

The look of sheer joy on Gunther’s face is priceless. Bets ‘n’ Gun minus Gun is not a viable enterprise, and Bets coming to realize that, well, that’s all right. Side note to Greg and Karen: No hardcore Trekkie only has one (Uhura) outfit. Bet Bets has a Janeway, a Burnham, a Mariner, a Tendy, a Klingon, etcetcetc. I know the basic is easier to draw……lol

Awww Gunther.. That seems petty. If you love Bets like you said you did, you should want her to succeed with her endeavors.

I bet Ox is wondering.."Why didn’t she eat with me??* lol

Gunther?

Listen to Me.

”Happiness is a WARM, (Yes it IS) Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!” – The Beatles – White Album

Bets is a smart businesswoman. I bets she finds a replacement Gun in no time.

Wow. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. Or even a plastic spork.

They are friends. Enjoy the coolness of it. Don’t expect anything more to come of it.

Uh-oh Gunther expects now that Bets has lost revenues from loss of followers due to his absence that Bets will come home. Nope. She will meet someone else and replace you.

So, it seems that the “used” has finally seen the “user” for what she really is. And when the user’s “significantly slipped revenue” starts affecting her lifestyle …. does she reel her enabler back in?

Well, first of all I retract my comment about Bets not being an idiot. (If Gunther is representing things accurately, and she does indeed want to “quit” college, and not just take a break, that is). Short-term profit that you don’t use towards a long-term plan is temporary (and a waste of opportunity).Second, Bets had a successful online whatever it was before meeting Gunther – this Bets-n-Gun site, I don’t exactly remember. Did she start a new, additional site for the two of them? Did she rename her original one? (If she did, that would also be stupid). I know there was a mention of it when she took the first photo of the two of them, but really don’t remember…

For the love of God, MOVE ON, MAN!

“She changed my life; I changed hers. She realizes now.”

Quitting college and making a career on the road is pretty stupid and definitely not a decision that someone who cares about their relationship would make.

Wipe that smug smirk off yer face, Gun! :D

Schadenfreude much?

“I find I really enjoy seeing her fail.”

What is Gunther talking about?

My wife & I want her short videos of a couple who try silly challenges they see online. They do it in the funniest way possible and spend most of the time laughing. Sometimes their kids help. Each video is only a few minutes long, but they make my wife laugh out loud, and that is a wonderful sound to me.

There’s always the Only Fans option for Bets.

Im trying to make money on the net although I don’t know if I am or would be defined as an “influencer” but this is interesting. He misses her but seems ro enjoy she’s making less without him. Is he hoping she comes back? I have to admit the two friends are so comfortable with each other. Does that mean anything beyond frindship?

Happiness comes from realizing your own value.

Here, Gunther can put a dollar amount on it.

Is Gunther seeking validation for “returning home plans”? Gunther decline the offer to stay on the road. Bets, the entrepreneur is following the example of Bill Gates who chose business over school.

He’s the Burns to her Allen?

Ah, Gunther slowly transforming into a man.

Ironic: Gun/Bets is kind of a parallel to Quill/Luann. One focusing on their career; the other feeling left out/neglected.

Gun is under the impression that he can’t be replaced.

So is gunther pleased her revenue is down because he’s spiteful or because she might come back to him to get it back up?

if betts does come back will she return to school OR expect him to leave it to be with her leaving him to wonder is she with him for him or for her ‘fans’

Why do I get the feeling that this is going to lead to something more than simple bonding?

Ah, human nature… (sigh).

Enough of this.

Well played, Gunther! He does not seem to be pining for Bets. He also appears to be clueless about Luann’s possibilities. Definitely a sigma; red-pilled for sure. He knows that it’s about the money, and almost appears confident that Bets will eventually sling back. Whether he takes her back is uncertain, but it’s great to see him looking happy via feeling vindicated. This is MGTOW at its’ simplest and most-practiced; no hate, just moving on. Men know how to be happy by themselves. The rest of that is left unspoken here.

Wait a minute. Does Gunther get a cut?

Not to be overly picky, but the first panel is confusing. The last two blurbs are aimed at Gunther, but he thanks Ox. Why? Unless the larger blurb was Ox’s remark, then it’ll all make sense. Oh, now I see it. Gunther is thanking Ox for the burger.

Seems to me that Gunther and Bets have a lot of fun together, but their long-term plans just aren’t compatible — and neither of them have really come to terms with that fact yet.

In today’s episode, Gunther illustrates the joys of schadenfreude.

I guess just a LITTLE bit of Schadenfreude never hurt anybody…

And is Ox serving the burgers with his hands???

Now if she comes back he won’t know whether she misses him or the income stream. And yes, he is owed money now that they know without him, her income has decreased.

Wait so, her audience is disappointed she cut out the Mama’s Boy who didn’t want her to do interesting stuff that would liven up her videos like going to exciting new locations? How odd.

Also, the more we see from Bets and Gunther the more I dislike them as a couple. They’re both so petty and wrong for each other (as if the whole living together to spite Irma and him not having the guts to smooth things over with Irma), now he’s basking in her losing viewers so she’ll come crawling back to him? Real delightful…

Ok, Gun, but do you really want her to take you back just because you’re good for her bottom line?

If Gunther went back to school and started failing his classes, would Bets be reacting with such smug happiness? Say what you will about her various faults, but from what I could tell she always supported Gunther’s passions.

I think that the second and third panels are the best-looking that Gunther has ever been drawn.

Influencer, the bane of society

That is the first time I seen him smile like that in the last block. He does have fries, he happy that Bets is losing her fans because Gun not there with her.

I think it’s kind of nasty on Gunther’s part to rejoice in the fact that Bets is making less money without him. I predict he will soon be replaced by someone else. “Bets and Gun” was her creation and his contribution was largely to provide costumes and hit his marks when she told him to. If he truly cared for her as he claims to he would wish her only good things. I know he’s still smarting about the way things ended but still….

People probably thought it was a chicken with firearms…

Never seen Gun so happy and content…

If Bets really wants to leave college for a career on the road i thing she’s making a mistake. But if so, I fear it will be way longer than I thought before she returns. It’s funny to see how Gunther is satisfied with the thought that Bets’ income has decreased without him. You can tell he’s not really happy with how things ended with her and he’s aware of his value as a streamer and knows that the cosplays he makes are loved. I want to think that Gunther hopes for Bets’ return. But for now it’s nice to see him smile with Luann and how much she understands him and laughs with him.

I wonder why Ox is in this scene? He is superfluous to what is happening. But maybe it will lead to he and Luann speaking and we can learn more about him.

Oh hum…….

I still think Gunther and Tiff will eventually get together. I’ll be collecting on my Roth IRA then but it will happen.

“It’s not enough that I should succeed, others should fail.” — various attributions

Hope those fries aren’t as salty as Gunther.

Maybe they’re not potato fries – these days you can get different types made from other veggies.

Yes, that should make him very happy……

Hoping Greg Evans goes back to the Gunther and Tiffany match up.

Much as I’d like to think Gunther’s reaction is pure schadenfreude, that (sigh) unfortunately just wouldn’t be Gunther. I’d be more willing to bet he’s just hoping she comes running back to him after she fails. If he would just MAN UP he’d use this time of absence to move on to a new interest. (And the ideal one is right there in front of him). But…too much to hope for in the Luannverse.

First time Gun seems happy… sadly at someone else’s expense.

Gloating isn’t a good look on you Gunth.

What’s pretty clear to me is that neither Bets nor Gun have any respect for one other.

It seems odd that Bets’ revenue would fall off without that nerdy guy as a background tag-along in a mundane life, but it seems to be making a lot of commenters here happy, so GnK must know what they’re doing to please their readers.

Gunth smirking over it? Luann – and Bernice – take note.

Now,now,it’s too early for gloating.

And I didn’t think Gunther knew HOW to gloat.

All they’re doing is making Bernice hungry.

And what happens should Bets give up the ghost and come back to the dorm to find “somebody sleeping in her bed”? And it’s not a bear.

Anyone see what Gunther is doing here? Credit to him where credit is due. He’s giving Bets space to do her thing. On her own. It appears reality is that they make a good team, he knows that, she knows it, but might be attempting to prove that she can make it on her own without him. Time will tell if she will compromise or face reality that her online “success” is attributed to Gunther’s talent behind the scenes. Well done, Gunther!

Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

It’s not often a development in this strip leaves me satisfied, but Bets still using Gunther’s name on her feed that he’s not part of and taking a hit because of it? Perfect. She was an awful, self absorbed character. And in this cast, that’s really saying something.

Passive-aggressive actually looks good on you, Gunther.

Apparently a doe-eyed Lu makes him happy…

Gunther and Tiffany will never get together. He is way too boring for her.

Sounds like Bets life of adventure is going to be coming to an end. Lack of money. Seems Bets alone doesn’t attract the same number of subcribers as Bets and Gun.

Bets had a lot of followers before this road trip. I’m trying to figure out why so many people are following her? She doesn’t dance, sing, play an instrument or do comedy. She isn’t an actress or a reality star. The stuff that she and Gunther do together seems boring. Outside of the cosplay stuff, what makes her interesting?

So they’ve ordered food . . . this is turning into a date. ;)

Unbeknownst to anyone but me a new artificial intelligence had been tasked with discovering any interesting trends in society. And one of the things that it noticed was a dramatic rise in income when Gunther was added to one video stream. It also noticed a dramatic drop when he was no longer seen. And it further noticed that the quality of the costumes worn by his former girlfriend rose and fell at the same points. This information was forwarded to some big entertainment folks who realized the great talent that Gunther had shown under very strange conditions. As a result they sent someone out to Gunther to offer him a job designing costumes in their upcoming movies. Gunther explained that he was committed to his college. He said, “you mean you did all this while still going to college? great you can continue we’ll just pay you a vast amount of money to do this on the side. Even half of what you did for your girlfriend will make us billions.”….and Gunther lived happily ever after.

tomorrow: Ox does The Heimlich when Gunther chokes on a french fry. =:-O

Luann still ignoring Ox.

Not only does “happiness” come from unexpected places, but so does revenge! The use of the name “Bets ‘N’ Gun” might open way for Gun to file a lawsuit for, what, half the profits of the site so named?