Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for June 10, 2016

Gunther: good job!

What’ve they done? Ruined their friendship that’s what.

Wow. Either Gunther has found his grapefruits or he’s lost his mind!

What a horrible insult, to tell a person she is a better person than her actions suggest.

wow, he has a pair, but it sounds like he fumbled the end a little, still decent though

College is full of girls. Ending up with the girl you went to high school with is a fail.

A real friendship grows stronger after a confrontation like that. Sometimes people need to hear that their friends consider them better than they’ve been letting themselves be.

Both FINALLY are having realizations! They were hard won, but sometimes painful lessons stick better.My hope if that Gunther’s “What have i done?” Means that he realized that he undervalued Tiffany and shoukd woo her.I am not sure that Bernice yet understands what she has done let alone what led to it.NG, left a couple for you late yesterday if you did not see them.

Might work!

It would be just fantastic if Gunther stopped at Tiffany’s suite to complain about Bernice, and the kiss everyone has been yacking about happened between G and T…

Yesss! Great job Gunther again!! Literally jumping down and screaming right now!!!.It looks like Bernice isn’t going to be obsessed with Piro any longer. Thank goodness :)

DavidHuieGreen said, 9 minutes agoWhat a horrible insult, to tell a person she is a better person than her actions suggest.Can not tell if you are joking or not, Dave. I see it as a wake up call to live up to her potential. Strong, but something a person does not do for people who do not matter in some way.I still think he has no right to be passing jdgement on a man he does not know, but that is another matter.

There is no worse insult in Gunther’s universe than for a person to be considered ‘dumb’.

I honestly hope he decides to forget about Bernice. But you’re probably right. He’s still stuck in neutral with his vision of his future, and he can’t imagine someone without academic direction as his partner in life…

I called over to “Banished Character Land” and they are making a room ready for Piro.

Thanks, Brd, i did see both that and the sixth letter one, just had a demanding day so very on and off the site, sometimes before i could reply.

“Oh, and One MORE thing, “Ber-Nice” Now that I’ve been a “gentleman” and seen You Safely to Your Dorm Room, even though You INSULTED Me under the Street Lamp.“I” and Many fans who are too Afraid to Post about it on the Various and Sundry Luann Forums? “WE” Hate Your Current “Hairdo!” HATE IT! It makes You look like The Sphinx, wearing Glasses! So, have a Very Pleasant Night, “Ms. Sensible!” And as for the Ice Cream? YOU’RE WELCOME!!"- A Mortally Wounded Gunther, Stomping Off to the Safety of His Mom’s basement to re-evaluate His Life….,

Blech…

Wow. 28 posts in the first 30 minutes despite the very late hour. I wonder if Friday is going to be one of those 300 posts days? We all see progress since both had revelations, but none of us know yet quite what those are nor what they will mean, so a lot of options to consider…

Gunther fumbled? The (potential) relationship ruined?

Hardly. Gunther said exactly what needed, what had, to be said. The air is now cleared. They now have a foundation on which to build a strong relationship. And that’s exactly where I see this heading.

Boy people keep trying for the Gunther Tiffany romantic angle even though Gunther has made clear that is not what is happening. I doubt if they will be more than friends, but whether Bernice and Gunther have a relationship remains to be seen. Bernice keeps jumping to incorrect conclusions, having a combination of unrequited desire for a vacant suit, Piro, so based on those conclusions, as Gunther explained, she tried to manipulate Gunther to be with Tiffany whom she does not respect, and does not really know anymore. Her old conclusions about Tiffany are wrong; Tiffany is growing, she is not. Gunther finally told her, now he has second thoughts whether he should have (he should have) and Bernice is left to realize that her angling all this for Piro, who is not worth it, demeans her. The proximate act here has to be on Bernice’s part I think. She has to apologize to Gunther first. Open her eyes. Then if this is to go anywhere they both have to finally take the next step, seeing each other for real for the first time. This is all about Gunther and Bernice, Tiffany is important, Piro is a secondary character, but the issue, in my fervid mind at least, is between these two long time characters. I think a lot of that will happen this year, the year the characters are in that stage in college, and the wedding of Toni and Brad, whom I predict we will see again soon, but the romance between this two with all their issues in relationships is being tested here.

This was a fantastic strip. It has lots of ambiguity as to what will follow.Gunther said what needed to be said out loud. Is he wondering how he said it out loud, that he realizes Tiffany’s value, or afraid that his relationship with Bernice is completely over?Is Bernice realizing she has been a jerk pining for Nowhere Man or that maybe she undervalued Gunther? For the record, Piro doesn’t know Bernice exists and is not around even when he says he will show up.Will Gunther go and talk to Tiffany? I hope so. I alos hopes he tells her that he finally realizes what a good friend she has been to him. Will Bernice now find Piro in the commons or watching Barbarella in her room? This is very promising.

actually Gunther finally said all the things he should have said! and Bernice needed to hear it! maybe now they can both see straight.

I thought our eyes & ears led to the brain – but i guess not. Geez – right now – I don’t think Berneice should have that much to regret. Gunther is playing both actor and audience.

I am not sure that in the context Gunther calling Tiffany “Dumb” is the same that calling Bernice “Dumb”.

In fact, I am pretty sure the author means Gunther talking about Bernice being dumb the both time, using Gunther mouth.

On the other hand, it make perfect sense for Gunther to say that Tiffany is “dumb and doesn’t get it” when refering to Tiffany academical studies with another egg-head. I am not even sure, he consider it as an insult, just a qualification of her academic capacity and definitely not incompatible with here being smart in other fields and a nice and friendly person.

I have several people in my acquaintence that I like very much and respect but would qualify as “dumb” when refering to their computer-litteracy or practical sense.

But I am, deeply, a bad person…

By the next day, we will see Bernice in Luann’s room as she tells Luann everything about her and Gunther.

If these two would just listen to themselves one time, the entire story arc would end and they’d be gone. With any luck, to a new spinoff strip with the two of them as a new couple setting up house together.

“Miss Phelps, help!”

I suggest change the name of this comic strip to “Gunther”.

June 11th 2016, the date either Bern cries herself on Dez’s shoulder or she rushes toward Gunther and kisses him passionately

Those two should get married. They would have a wonderful divorce.

What have you done, Gunther? The right thing. What have YOU done Bernice? I think he just told you.

Gunther’s anger has been coming across as entitlement to me, as if his liking Bernice means she has to like him back or else. You can be disappointed that she likes someone else, not angry that she didn’t acquiesce to your plan for her. He may be trying to spin it that she is in the wrong for pushing him toward Tiffany, but I ’m not buying that that is the reason he is mad. Gunther is making me uncomfortable.

Two open questions, waiting for answers. Staying tuned.

My read on it is that Gunther didn’t call Bernice dumb, he said that what she just did was dumb. Smart people can do dumb things once in a while. For that matter, he was really challenging her ethics, more than her intelligence.

Neither Tiffany nor Bernice should be on his list right now, anyway. He has too much accumulated baggage with the both of them. Tiffany, in particular, is much more valuable to him as a friend and advisor in an area where she does know a lot more than he does, and is willing to help him learn.

I could see him with either of the two in the future, but not right now. He needs to find one of the several hundreds of women in the student body that he hasn’t met yet.

Poor Bernice, on the other hand, is only now beginning to realize how little she understands. After years of mocking Luann’s misadventures, she may be starting to realize that her mockery doesn’t guarantee her any better ideas. We can hope she’ll at least figure out that her tactics suck!

We still don’t know very much about Piro. Nor, I think, does Bernice, besides thinking that if he’s even potentially “sleeping with” Tiffany, he’d be quite a catch if Bernice could steal him away.

I think we, as the audience, are being deliberately kept in the dark about whether he’s a student or not, how close he is in age to the others, if he might be gay, a veteran, or homeless, whatever. He could certainly teach Bernice a thing or two about keeping your mouth shut in order to learn.

“The Nitty Gritty”“The Point” (♬)“The Bottom Line”“Truth Be Told”or….“Nuff B. Said!”

Nope, not a ruined friendship. This is how an actual solid relationship starts: something starts to matter, and someone speaks a difficult truth.

Gunther looks genuinely upset. Bernice’s body language…looking not so upset, or happy or anything. I’d expect a grimace at least.

Actually, Gunther’s last (spoken) line to Bernice, “You’re better than Piro” is a bit too egocentric. He’s actually saying “You deserve someone better than Piro, that someone being ME”. This put-down of Piro ( consitent with his previous statements ) shows a far-to-quick to judgement attitude that has to be dealt with at some point.

“What have I done?” Well, you told her what she definitely needed to hear. Hopefully she will wake up. This is so true to life, it is hard watching a friend have hopes of being with someone who has expressed no interest in a relationship. Poor Gunther, Poor Bernice.

He still did not come right out and say to B that he has the hots for her

Gunther has to emotionally stabilize, a bit. He’s either blowing up or bumbling and stammering and sweating in panic. Personally. I wish he’d go for the gold…..both he and Tiffany would be better for it.

There you go. Wake up call delivered,

Hmmm, a psych major needing help with relationships, who’d have thunk?

So Bern attacked rid and gun got angry and blew his stack… make sense… he should realize by now that she is not interested and move on… what’s next?

My guess gun will run into poor and Piro and learn some tragic secret that will garner sympathy… while Bern is going to run into this in the hallway and say something that leaves them both confused

Tiffany not rid …stupid spell check

Could she be any stiffer in the last panel?

G and B are right for each other.But not yet.Bernice first needs to learn a lot more about life, people, and relationships. She lives in a world of imagined good and bad.Once she figures it out, she might be ready for a real relationship.Alas, that day might never come, and she might remain stuck.

As an earlier commenter remarked, if they got married right now, they would end up in a beautiful divorce.Mostly because Bernice has no clue how wrong and aloof her expectations are.

Self-Images Change— attitude adjustments.*Gunther: “What have I done?” = I may have just lost the girl I wanted to be with because I had to stand up for myself. I am no longer a wimp.*Bernice: “What have I done?” = I’m an innocent little girl; why is he saying I’ve done something wrong? Oh wait, maybe he’s right."

They both need to talk with someone right now. Gunther with Tiffany or Quill (remember him?) and Bernice with Dez or Luann (remember her?)

Gunther grows a set and a spine!Haven’t seen this much growth since he went off to Peru!

Ha ha!

YEAH, GUNTHER!

Way to go, Gunther! It’s about time somebody told off Ms. Know-It-All." You’re not a counselor yet, Bernice, you have a LOT to learn about people. And about yourself, first.

That’s right Gunther stand up for yourself, she doesn’t know what she’s missing

…and another thing…you owe me for the ice cream cone!

Now that relationship bridge is burnt, we can enjoy the Tiffany and Luann fight for Gunther’s affections.

Kudos to Gunther for finally speaking his mind to Bernice!! She deserved to be called out on her behavior big time. Enough with the sneaky moves, Bern, if you’re interested in Piro, be direct!

If this wakes her up, Gunther might have just won the grand prize, a lady perfectly matched to him. BUT, only if he sticks to his guns. If he talks himself into grovelling, she’ll rip into him.

Tiffany does have a thing for Gunther. When he talked of asking Bernice for coffee, Tiffany said she could make coffee.Bernice has broken his focus on her.He should appreciate what he has with Tiffany.Bet now we shift back to the Fuse and Les to keep us frustrated

4Hmm. Not the best day for the progression of the story, IMO:1) While I think it is good that Gunther got some things off his chest, I am not overly happy with what he said.2) I am not sure if I would say that Bernice thinks Tiffany is a “horrible person”, nor would I say that Bernice “pushed” Gunther to go after Tiffany. IMO, I think Bernice is (lately) only mildly annoyed at Tiffany, and in some instances seems to find her ok. I also seem to feel that Bernice mainly was encouraging Gunther, not pushing him. Her motivations for pushing him…. not exactly sure, but since she had been pretty clueless about his interest in her until this point, I do not think she was trying to “get rid of him”.3) Saying Bernice is “dumb” is just as annoying when it is directed at her as it was when he said it about Tiffany, IMO. I think that is a horrible choice of words to express about anyone in the way Gunther is meaning.4) Saying that Bernice is “better than Piro” is a bit rude too, IMO, as Gunther knows next to nothing about Piro. It reads like a slam about Piro AND a slam at Bernice at the same time. …………………………………………………………………….Now, with all that said in the above, my biggest worry, however, is that in the last panel…. the shared “What have I done?” thoughts by both of them…. sadly suggest to me that the trajectory we may still be traveling on is that of the “arguing pair who suddenly find a romantic passion” sort of story. I can unfortunately now see how both of them could, perhaps even on Saturday’s panels, suddenly turn around and face each other, and then rush towards each other…. embrace… and perhaps even kiss. I certainly hope this is NOT what Greg has planned. But, we shall see.

BOOM! He dropped the mic. Now she’ll look at him in a total new light. Hahaha! The girls are always going after guys not interested and ignoring the ones that are….ahh life :D

“Better than Piro?” -How can Gunther say that with any conviction? He doesn’t even KNOW Piro!-With the exception of Hair and maybe Dez, NO ONE really knows Piro.

Gunther is now someone that Bernice can respect. Their future is now possible.

I married the girl I went to high school with — 45 years later, after we’d both been ‘round the block: kids, marriages, deaths and all. It happens, and it’s very good. May you all enjoy such an Indian summer.

I think it’s time for Brad and Daytona to get married and start a family and then get back to the college kids in Sept.

Gunther doesn’t really know Piro. But he ventured to say that to leave the door open for Bernice to reconsider.

Welcome to adulthood Gunther. Sometimes you have to speak your mind even though it may piss someone off.

I think both Gunther and Bernice will turn to Luann. And also maybe Tiff. I also think that next week will be a completely different direction like Toni and Brad’s wedding, as per usual. I lol at the comments about Bernice’s hair. Maybe Tiff and Bernice will get together to talk and Tiff can redo her do?

As I said a couple days ago, G-man had to dump Bern before she would find him attractive. So now, if she chases after him, I’ll say, “Told you so!” or not.

This is real stupid.

Please don’t let the idiots hook up.

Bernice reminds me of my college-age self, in that I was a psychology major and thought I had everyone and everything figured out. Boy, was I wrong. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and neither does Bernice. However, Gunther’s tirade may begin to open her up to new ways of being and doing—although I think Gunther would be wise not to begin a romantic relationship with Bernice.

What is Toni Daytona up to?

Let me add my way-out there comment. I think Gunther would be better off with Tiffany, and Bernice would be better with Piro. Gunth needs a Yang to his Yin, and same goes for Bernice and Piro. Tiffany could use someone who is actually nice and thoughtful. Nuff said.

Boy finds girl. Boy loses girl. And now…

Here is different take on this. I think that yin-yang theory supports Gunther and Tiffany is a couple. They fill gaps. Bernice and Piro is another Y-Y but how much do we know about Piro?

Gunther don’t be blue. Look underneath the blues and see what’s waiting for you.

One more day this week. I wonder who will show up Saturday? Dez, Piro, Tiffany or someone else?

This is called “Reality check table 2”.

I doubt that Bernice actually cares about Gunther’s feelings. So why is she asking “What have I done?”

I so wish this really meant this forced pairing is now over, but I’m sure it just means they now realize they should be together. Yawn. I like Tiffany and Guther together so much better.

I hope the next time we see Gunther, he has a new appreciation of TIffany.

From My Fair Lady……….“Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words.” And, from Olivia Newton John……“Let’s get physical.”

Rosa may be gone but, I still believe, not OUT.Either she is going to return with a husband and a kid OR with a longing for her Gunther

Lets all face it. Rosa is the best of both Tiffany and Bernice i.e. she is the best match for Gunther.

This time Gunther got mad for a good reason and to a purpose.

Go Gunther! Go Gunther!

2 greats within a week. Each a legend in their won time and surroundings.

cleared the air, now waiting for “I’m sorry” in unison

Boldface works differently than Disqus on GoComics. * + word + * (omitting the spaces and the plus signs) gives you word.

Thanks

One of our local great sportswriter wrote:

“They each defined their sports more than their sports defined them.”

Question: Does any other comic strip get this many comments?

What if that’s not the real Gunther, and Evans secretly replaced him with a clone with guts? Ja, ja, LOL. Now seriously, Gunther definitively grew a pair. All I have to say is: GOOD JOB GUNTHER!!!!

That’s awesome! I heard the same, that he was pretty humble and reserved outside the ring.

I noticed that too. I like Crankshaft (the comic strip) enough to check out the comments, but 1) the comments are all negative, and 2) many of the comments seem to be based on insider knowledge that the commenters don’t bother to share. No fun, no balance.

TEST, TEST, TEST.

Thanks, JPuzzle!

You’ve just created a MONSTER…,

I am disturbed by Gunther’s remark that Bern in better than Piro. He doesn’t know anything about Piro. Rather Gunther is making a strategic remark with the hope that it will wean Bernice from her obsession.. sort of the flip side of Bern and her strategies (which have caved… so far).

(“Comeuppance, See Me Some Time") heh, heh!

I also have a few high school classmates who found each other back then and are still happy. For most that is not the case, but it certainly can be.My father wound up marrying a high school classmate 45 years later! Both had lost their spouses and my stepmom’s mother remembered that she liked Dad in high school and mentioned that to my maternal grandmother. Those two got them together. They went out to play golf. Dad never learned golf until Mom was ill. She then bought him left hander clubs and made him learn because she figured it would be a way for him to meet women.Sometimes people who were students together get together as a couple well after high school, after learning and growing more.

What have you done, Gunther? You’ve burned a bridge behind you, and rightly so. Resolve never to rebuild it, and move ahead. There are thousands of single women at Moony Uni, so maybe one of them is the girl of your dreams who will prepare a plate of cookies and milk every night for the rest of her life. Go find her.What have you done, Bernice? You’ve manipulated people in pursuit of a fantasy. In other words, you’ve made a fool of yourself. It happens, we’re all human. Remember that, the next time you’re in a mood to write someone up for a silly infraction of those ridiculous rules you carry around with you on your rounds.What have you done, Piro? I don’t know, and I don’t care. Just keep doing it, whatever it is, wherever you’re doing it now, since that’s out of our sight.

Fuggettaboutit…

Burning bridges….

This is an opportunity for both Gunther and Bernice to get themselves on a New Path toward a satisfying life, rather than their wreckage up to now….

You both blew it, Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt!

Maybe he spelled it backwards to indicate that he’s the reverse of a troll.

__

No don’t give credit where it’s not due!. …was just trying to be clever but you saw through it from the get go!

:-)(On reversals)

What an honor!!

LOL. Now I think you need to suggest one for “Wikipedia” Crandall …no disrespect intended! (She has great knowledge!!!)

Now that it is quieter here: Pivot ferret began playing again today, not a lot but definite play. She is an amazing old lady the way she just keeps optimizing her situation.

Oh, and though i do not have an avatar i do have a bit of a personal motto that i try to fulfill: Live to learn and learn to live.

OOOOOOOOH! I love it. (is OOOOOOOOH kind of a reverse for Hoot)

C’mon @SukieCrandall …Do it !!!

I had just read .“What’ve they done? Ruined their friendship that’s what.”.and was thinking that even though they should be more civil to each other, the feelings were that each cared for each other at the very least as friends and they respected each other, so to tell one that she was better than the way she had been acting should not ruin a friendship just because they had finally said what they should have said weeks of strips ago..Nobody can really read minds and we men tend to be dense toward understanding hints women often think are so obvious that it would be an insult to explain them.Then they are mad at us for being male and needing explanations regarding different mental processes than those with which we are most familiar..I tried to sum it up in.“What a horrible insult, to tell a person she is a better person than her actions suggest.”.but the different mental processes were not as obvious as I had thought, which in a way kind of proves my point, when you think about it..I think I’ll give myself a pat on the back because nobody else gonna.

Spoiler:Self-examination.Surprise!And he talks…

That is beautiful! When i am more awake i will try to figure out how to use it. No cheating. I will see first if i can do it.

For Heaven’s sake, Argythree. get it right. 2.4 is the official figure, not 2.5.

WoW! , Gunther grew a spine…….but used on his “sister”Bernice. how about trying it with “Paris” (Tiffany)?

Well, well, well…looks like Gunther found his cojones.