Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for June 08, 2016

Soooo…the last weekday strip that actually had Luann in it was on May 20. What’s the over/under on when the next one will be?

Just open your eyes, Bernice. No, not physically, but… but… what’s the adverb I’m looking for here?

No, he’s not ‘after’ Tiffany. She doesn’t fit the image he has in his head about the ideal mother for his 2.5 kids (and he is the one who said he was expecting to have 2.5 kids. I didn’t make that one up…)

Or, LOL, did you mean Bernice was right because he’s pursuing her, and she is not ‘sensible’?

Oh come one!! Its clear he is interested in Bernice. She is totally clueless. She is after a vacant scarf apparently, and Tiffany is not romantically interested in Gunther (I could be wrong being a lawyer I hedge my bets) and he is not romantically interested in her. Neither he nor Bernice gets any satisfaction, but he wants her to be romantically involved with him. The comment about Rosa does open up a line of attack for him. That was so out of character, and what did he do? Run away. I don’t know what will happen, and I would love Rosa to come back, and make Gunther even more conflicted, but this Tiffany thing, or Bernice having any sense—she does not—is not the point at all. She is doomed to be forever unhappy as a romantic success, but then neither is Tiffany, or Luann. The only one that is successful is Brad and Toni. By the way I am still worried that Bernice is about to have her heart broken. Maybe then? Hmmm.

Bernice is being obtuse. Maybe his Peru experience taught him to be more sensible. And obviously he is pursuing her by setting up dates and making the effort to spend time together.. You tried, Gunther, but she is not looking.You know, I’m still recovering from the overly long Valentine’s Day break up. Pursuing other story lines is just fine with me.

And once again Bernice despises Gunther. The worst part is that she doesn’t even realize that.

“Two Big Scoops Of Vanilla”“I Don’t Follow”“Forest For The Tease”" ‘Poof!’ Of Purchase"“Looks Can Be Deceiving”“Mister E And Miss Perception”“Stop Making Sense” (♪)“On The Sunny Dark Side Of The Street” (♬)“Two Dogs, Chasing Wild Geese Up A Tree”“Under His Wheels, Under Her Nose”“A Short Walk Off A Long Gone Piro”“People Who Live In Glass Houses Should Not Throw Out Their Rolling Stones”or“Clueless In Seattle”

Funny how he’s standing in the light, while she walks on in the dark….

Gunther’s problem is that he’s trying to put together romance in his head instead of being sensitive to the emotional realities of others and going more with the flow. If he had stayed longer with Tiffany and enjoyed it, the relationship might have put some more hair on his chest and built up his confidence. He might later have found another woman who is both attracted to him and is smarter than Tiff. And if he could somehow make up with Tiff, it might be in his best interest.-But at this point, Bernice is a very low flame compaired to the very experienced Tiff. Bernice needs a strong, handsome guy to pump up her fire. Gunther does not currently have that kind of vibes and so she is not attracted to him. With more maturity (and some experience), Bernice might think differently. But right now she’s an immature damsel in a tower, awaiting the perfect knight.

…Though, to be honest, he is doggedly determined to chase after someone who is ‘under someone else’s wheels’. At some point, you gotta know “when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run…” (♪)

Oh and for those of you who were saying Gunther was mean, Bernice delivered a denouement in panel 2 after reminding Gunther about his trip to Peru to follow Rosa, and his “going after” Tiffany, then in panel two walking off saying I don’t see you see you pursuing anyone sensible." She simultaneously knocks down Gunther very surgically, Tiffany, being not a sensible choice (even though Gunther is not after Tiffany and she is not after him) and Rosa who ran off to Peru. She is a mean girl. But I think she is going to get her comeuppance. Piro is going to ice her so bad, I feel sorry for her, and I hope she learns from it.

I think Greg Evans is drawing attention to the “Streetlight effect” in the last panel:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetlight_effect

Ahah! I got the light! Rosa is coming back to Piro.

Way to go Gunther. You will have this thing settled by Saturday.

Beware, Gunther. Snarky now, snarky forever. Go for the gold, not this drab crab. She has absolutely nothing to offer to any man and doesn’t even care to try cranking up the glamor gear. Go home to Tiffany, Rosa has probably married some banana farmer by now and is saving all the Peruvian mountain people, with a baby slung over her shoulder.

for someone trying to be a counselor, Bernice is certainly thick

I can kind of feel for Gunther here…..I once took a girl I was really interested in out on a date, only to have her spend the whole time talking about another guy in our group and how she hoped to get together with him. Then he married her best friend, so I guess there’s a moral there, somewhere…..

Just eat your free cone!!

She must be trying to follow in the footsteps of Miss Phelps.

Nobody likes you Gunther

Go Gunther, Go!

Poor, POOR, Gunther.

His “ships are SAILING” All Over the Place.

…,And He’s NOT Aboard ANY of Them…..,

the heart wants what it wants , yup all i got .

There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See

It’s a good thing counselors are a disconnected party in the situation. In her own world, she has all of the facts confused.

Gunther likes pistacchio, so why his ice cream is all white?

Duh Bernice!

I don’t think Tiffany ’wouldn’t’ be interested in a relationship with Gunther (I remember her reaction when he announced his intentions to pursue Bernice). She just decided she would be his friend first, and support him in his choice.

Touche,Gunther.

Again, I say, give it up Gunther.

We need some new characters in this strip. Are Quill, Gunther and Piro the only eligible males in these girls’ lives? And if you cannot create new characters, bring back Aaron Hill and have him fall for Bernice. Now, THAT could be interesting. By the way, when do we learn why Piro didn’t show? Was he sleeping one off? Personally, he seems like such a loser.

Gunther needs to forget Bernice. She obviously isn’t interested in him. They say the best romantic relationships start out as friendships, much like the one between him and Tiffany, and she does act as though she is attracted to him. Perhaps when he goes to her to report on how his evening went, he will start to see what he has right in front of him.

Bernice needs to end up with Pru.

It would be easy to not recognize this as pursuit.He might consider announcing his goal.

OMG Gunther, just because you like her doesn’t mean that she has to like you….this storyline is really getting on my nerves….Just put Gunther with Tiffany and leave it be!!!

and what ice cream shoppe is only open between 6 and 8 ?

Think I’ll skip the rest of the week.

Love the streetlight shining down in Gunther in the last panel. (“Ecce homo qui est faba…”)

“Streetlight …… people …..” ……….(Journey)

You’re all wrong. That’s not a street lamp. Gunther’s in the transmogrifying beam of the Luanniverse Mother Ship. Tomorrow he’s a cockroach. Hat tip to Watterson snd Kafka.

Bernice has always like to announce faults in others, even when it’s not true. But she definitely doesn’t see her own faults when others tell her.

“Wake up”?

LOL!!!

Rude, mean spirited, ignorant to what’s going on around them… no wonder Bernice and Luann are friends.

Gunther needs to accept that Bernice is not attracted to him. This is him and Luann all over again. How many years did it take for him to realize him and Luann were only going to be friends.

Plus we have been given no indication Piro is a “bad” person. Just that he might be homeless.

When did Bernice become Luann?

No, Gunther. Your line is “I’m not after Tiffany.”

Apparently it isn’t just blondes who are clueless.

Late last night, about 12:30, i mentioned to Argythree:“Their conversations remind me of parallel play in toddlers who are still too young for cooperative play. They go on in the same location, and sometimes have overlaps, but each is mostly independent of the other.”Tired as i was last night, i still – after catching up on sleep – think that is correct.While on the surface Bernice seems to be making less sense, it takes accepting Gunther’s premises which are based on lack of observation to conclude that. Both of them remain clueless to me. Each sees only what she or he wants to see, then goes from foundationless conclusions, and in thst way each is to be pitied.I also do not know if it is worse that Gunther has not learned that social skills are to be valued or even to some extent that they exist, or if it is worse that Bernice actually thinks she understands others when she has not figured out the basics of how to listen or how to observe. Her career goals are so far different from her practised skill set that it is scary.So, they are like tiny kids who have not advanced into cooperative play, instead “conversing” the way those toddlers engage in parallel play. Argy, i went back to later notes from last night that happened after i hit the hay, too.

She maybe a smart young woman, but still totally blind and clueless.

5I still hope it goes as Bernice is suggesting…. Bernice & Piro, and Gunther & Tiffany. That seems more exciting as story arcs.However, with that said, it seems even more likely today that Greg may actually be planning to get Bernice and Gunther together. If Gunther’s plaintive statements do not get too riled up and angry sounding, he may break through Bernice’s lack of awareness of Gunther’s interests in her. I could imagine the scenario where Greg has Bernice realize that Gunther is interested in her, and then she actually thinks about if she is interested in him…. and she MIGHT actually decide, yes!Although, I still hope she does not. If she does find Gunther someone she might date, I am sure Greg will find a way to keep the interactions interesting and entertaining. But, I still hope instead we see more of Bernice & Piro, and also more of Gunther & Tiffany.Today, I really enjoy Greg’s use of the streetlamp to highlight (hah, that was a pun of sorts) Gunther’s statement to in effect, “Look at me!”. It was a very clever way to portray this. Interesting that it appears that Gunther has a double dip of vanilla ice cream, and Bernice has what appears to be a scoop of vanilla topped with a scoop of chocolate. Is this psychologically an indication of their generally safe demeanors…. that they choose common, safe flavors…. with Bernice showing just a hint more of an adventuresome nature with the chocolate? Or…. is it just too hard to show a more complex ice cream on a small drawing…. such as rocky road or some such thing? :)

I think that Gunther understands math better than chemistry. No chemistry here, go back to Tiffany.

“Sensible” doesn’t fly well at that age.

Gunther standing under the spotlight as he delivers his line. How apropos.

Hmmmm, Gunther’s idea of sensible is fitting within a plan rather than within the world, and i doubt Bernice uses a wide definition, either.sent this from a different computer so do not know if i have the same sign in on it, or even if it will work…

Most of the people who think Bernice should just cave and go off with Gunther are guys. And traditionally, guys have always expected women to settle for Mr. Right Here and go with someone they are really attracted to…

no she is not looking … she is to focused on Piro..

“Sensible.” Now that’s romantic.

Next Someone jumps out from behind a bush and tries to attack Bernice, she screams, Gunther shows up & punches his lights out. Then Bernice cries on his shoulder, then they kiss. I’m on the fence as to whether they “U-Know-What” or not.

Tiffany has already told him that she isn’t interested in being more than a friend. Friends are hard enough to come by. Good friends at that, not the fly-by-nigh ones.-True dat!

“Next Someone jumps out from behind a bush and tries to attack Bernice, she screams,”*Doc – Good scenario. But looking closely, we see that when the light is on G-man, Bern is gone! Obviously, she has already been kidnapped (in which case G-man will rescue her) or is already aboard the space ship (in which case G-man will help her adjust to little green men). Either way, they’re in for an adventure together!

Aha! Apparently he’s going to commit himself – if she gives him the chance.

Love the “spotlight” on Gunther. :-)

Just back from the long ride to and from the vet’s so quick family note:The darbepoetin actually got Pivot’s red blood cell count back into normal range! There she was, so anemic that no one would have been at all surprised by her passing at any point from that, and dealing w chronic kidney disease, heart disease, and a malignancy, and she goes and rallies yet again. IF the med worked it was supposed to take weeks and that was optimally with supplementary iron megadoses which she was unable to tolerate. Yet, here she is with only the amount of iron in cooked chicken livers and she is producing red blood cells again w the darbepoetin. The ferret expert vet’s final statement today which was delivered with a huge smile: this elderly ferret should have long ago been dead… She just has not read the book on any of the health conditions she has." So, as long as she can have a quality life…

A very little Freudian slip. A half-slip, maybe…

I am becoming inclined to side with those who are indicating a paradigm shift in the strip’s two main characters..Through all the years, it’s been Luann who had most of the problems, and Bernice acted as something of a level-headed therapist, albeit snarky much of the time..Now Luann broke up with Quill, went to NYC, and came back with a significant change in personality. If this “new” Luann continues in that direction, she’d be the one to give Bernice advice now..BUT: We seem to have the slightly flaky Dez in that role now. The “destiny deck” is her version of a Ouija board, and her plot to help Bernice appears to have completely backfired..Bernice is becoming very unlikable and Luann is becoming a stronger person. She even has the beginnings of a new confidant in Pru, who she calls “the sister I never had” … which is sort of the role Bernice played in her life up until now..Poor Gunther is now caught in the middle of all this, and we still don’t know what’s going on between his mother and Mr. Grey … could he end up cousins with Les by marriage?.I think we are seeing the start of a shift here, with Luann making a couple more new friends, and a few more characters disappearing. Including Bernice and her circle. Quill will likely go back to Oz soon, and the Gunther-Les-Mr. Grey story arc can play out @ The Fuse..And eventually we’re likely to see new “Brad and Toni DeGroot” story arcs, which will probably involve TJ, and (my prediction) will include Jonah giving the newlyweds Shannon as a wedding present..But at this point I’ll be surprised if Bernice, Dez, Piro and Hair are still around a year from now. I haven’t made up my mind about Tiffany yet, although she could decide not to continue going along with her father’s wishes and leave the halls of academia. (Maybe she can be part of a Crystal-Knute-Tiffany circle.).Boy, am I long-winded today, or what?

I doubt Bernice is angry, NG. I think she views Gunther as clueless so not an anger trigger, which is funny because she is clueless, too. In fact, both are so muddled that i fear that if they actually dated they woukd get lost in the fog they’d generate and never be seen again!

I’m not convinced that Bernice is clueless. I think she’s just not interested in having a romantic relationship with Gunther and this is her way of avoiding it. Gunther couldn’t have been any more forward and blunt about his intent… “I’m going to take you for dessert!”. There’s a devious side to Bernice. When she first asked Gunther to go for coffee, she was just trying to get the scoop on Piro and Tiffany; she was probing his knowledge and trying to create a scenario that would prevent any Piro and Tiffany liason. She’s intrigued by Piro and that’s not likely to change until circumstances dictate.

When not busy with school, Piro works in the mustelid snack industry to make ends meet. Here is his employer who communicates far more clearly than either Gunther or Bernicehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kTd_K1kpjDU&feature=youtu.be

And, she’s supposed to be.

I know that feeling.

Two blind ships, passing in the night. At least there has been no collision and sinking. Both, however, might benefit from a good dunking as a wake-up port-of-call….

Earlier today someone referred to three panels with the characters separated in the final two. Hours later i just looked again and i am so glad that person posted that and wish i coukd find that post to give credit. There are two panels, BUT the stem of the streetlight separates the two individuals emphasizing the situation. It is a beautiful touch.

Well, why not 2K? I’ll tell ya why….cos it’s the only one on campus! – One of these days, Moony will get around to putting another 2K, an additional “16 or 17” blocks closer in the vicinity…

A Bernice and Gunther match-up is not sensible. Meet someone new, G-Man. There are other women in the world than just Luann, Bernice, Tiffany, and Rosa. If you look really hard, you may find one who likes sewing and who wants to raise 2.5 kids in a home with a Granny flat attached. Maybe she enjoys milk and cookies at bedtime, too! Bernice is not that woman, so stop trying to make something happen between you.

Reminds me of a skit from “The Electric Company”. Two teens have a courtship, and it takes the same amount of time to say “I lo….Lu…I lo….I Lu….”

JPuzzleWhiz said, 10 minutes ago@SukieCrandallsent this from a different computer so do not know if i have the same sign in on it, or even if it will work…

Nope — it didn’t work!

(Just kidding, I could never resist a good joke!)Or even that one! ;-)

I’m honestly getting tired of Gunther’s actions. He just keeps pushing her to be with him because they are “sensible” together. Just what every girl dreams of. Who needs falling in love when you can fall into a sensible partnership?

Imagine, if you will, that Piro’s aim is to make a silent film about Aloha Wanderwell, an actual adventuress who was in many silent film documentaries…http://www.alohawanderwell.com/movies/

I’m so over Gunther.

Hmmmm, exoskeleton… Entirely possible.

Spoiler:MADMade Actual DialogueNot a healthy way to do it, though…

Why not something off the wall like Rosa and Piro?

Because Rosa is off in “banished character land” along with Aaron, Zane, Ann Eiffel, Delta, Dirk, Mr. Fogerty, and Miss Phelps..That’s “why not”.

I think the Destiny Deck is more like a tarot deck than a Ouija board.

She thinks it is, which is why I needed to push the envelope farther out to make it something else in that genre.

I am wondering if those graph paper/ grid shirts he wears are actually titanium grids that hold his torso up in place of a spine – sort of like an exoskeleton…

Then explain how he’s managing to remain upright without those shirts, which he got rid of a year and a half back.

Uh-huh. Right. If you say so.

Gunther is gay.