Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 19, 2024

Good advice, Gunther! The key is to be in the moment. Put down your phone and LIVE your best life. ;)

I think Gun is on to something! Let’s see if they can come up with it!

Yee haw.

What good is putting on a show, if there is no audience, to an attention seeker?

Why is Gun wasting his time?

Gunther has a kind heart but he is wasting his time. Get out there mate, and enjoy your life. You’ll find a good partner one day.

Not right Bets, you are addicted to attention from others. That is not healthy.

Wow, I didn’t realize Bets was so totally addicted to ‘anti-social’ media. She can’t even remember just going to cons for the fun of it, and not to communicate to ‘fans’? I had hopes that she was the one for Gunther, but it sure doesn’t seem like it…

Bets, put down the phone, the phone can not control your life. Live in the moment.

Bets has been on social media so much that she forgot how to really live.

Some Boomers think they’re all like this, it’s weird.

Yes, this is what I’ve been talking about. And it’s oddly appropriate that down to earth Gunther is advocating cosplay fun purely for it’s own sake. While sadly, Bets is finding herself missing the feeling of validation. And why does she need it? No really, I think there’s a backstory here. One that connects to Bets’ poor dating history. And non-connection to her family.

Endless.

They need to talk to Dez about celebrating life?

Lol.

He buttons his pajama shirt to the top, too

I am so tired of both of them, especially Bets…Gun is better off hanging out with Les and his kitty…would love an arc with Ox and Tiffany…

No, she can’t, Gunny. She’s totally addicted to social media.

It’s best for you to make a complete break and go seek greener pastures. And the first thing to do is to move out of the gulag and far away from “Mommie Dearest” and her creepy husband.

Maybe go back to Peru? Rosa might still be there.

The goal: To share your life with each other instead of with the entire online world.

How cn we possibly have sex without a gallery of fans an onlookers? What th hell is the matter with you Gunter??

She isnt worth the trouble gun.

THERE it is! Instead of giving up (like so many people in the comments want them to do), Gun is finding a compromise. Relationships are work. Sometimes more than a full-time job. But if you love the person, it’s worth it. And they love each other. The best part is Bets IS considering it, but she’s in a massive slump and needs that push to help with her social media remission.

I know a perfectly good airplane someone in this strip jumped out of.

Gunther, when you ask your girlfriend to do something with you with no social media, and her response is “What’s the point?”. that’s when you should realize that it was never about her being with you, it was about getting social media hits.

Wild and wacky… Isn’t that what the whole van trip was supposed to be about?

Yeah. Try to remember.

Bingo Gunther! Let the adventures begin. There is a great big wonderful world out there to explore. Doesn’t matter if to are 6 or 76!

Bets has a huge complex, doesn’t she?

“Just to be in the moment” Turn out the lights and…

I like where this is going. I love when Gunther has this positive attitude and the desire to help those he loves. These are the moments where he’s able to bring out the best in himself. I’m sure he’ll be able to make Bets rediscover the pleasure of doing things just for fun. But I’m curious to see how they will react if some old fan asks them if they can take a photo together in their cosplay. Maybe they could even start posting photos of them again, with moderation.

Okay.

This has moved into the “Bets is HOPELESS_ category.

And by the way. They USED to do fun things together without involving Bets’ So-Med.Check out the Strips dated August 12th thru August 17 2019. They showed up at the Fuse after a Cosplay event and Bets didn’t whip that phone out once. (Yeah, Yeah she could have whipped it out during the Cosplay event but we didn’t SEE that)

But it’s now abundantly clear that the most “important” thing in Bets’ life is her “fans.”

And Gunther needs to ask himself (ONCE MORE) ”Is Bets really WORTH the effort?”

Go Gunny! Take the lead!

Take a walk in nature, reconnect!

Yeah, like run through the dorm/campus buck naked. It would be the first time a full moon and new moon appeared together.

I wonder what Bets’ childhood was like.Do characters introduced after time skips exist in the original timeline? Does the time vortex only affect the main characters, but out of focus are subject to aging? Was Bets born around 1970 like Gunther but pushed forward, or was she born around 2000?

Hey Bets lets try the newest thing. It’s called “Dopamine fasting”. It’s an appealing concept: Stop addictive behaviors for a while — think social media, video games, gambling, porn, junk food, drugs, alcohol — to reset your brain’s reward circuitry, so you can feel great just living your life with Gun enjoying things without an audience or additives.

[singing] Try to remember the kind of September, when grass was green, and days were mellow!

i thought this was Luann , forget it .

Trying to keep Gunther away from Luann, is going to end up pushing him away.

Run away, Gun. Don’t walk . . . RUN!

Bet’s comment in the first panel tells us everything we need to know about her.

I’m convinced social media will be the downfall of mankind. People will be busy posting TikToks while the zombies eat us all.

Please Bets, listen to Gun if you actually care about him, and about your own life.

Putting aside the bizarre, “Why do anything fun if no one sees it and gives me a like?” mentality of Bets here… doesn’t this contradict her stance a few days ago where she was complaining about her hoards of Bets’n’Gun obsessed fans recognizing her IRL? It’s like she WANTS to be a contrarian. Does Bets desperately WANT Gunther to just break up with her cause that’s kind of what it comes off as. Being real here, I don’t blame her since yesterday’s “we could be happy apart, but I’d much rather us be miserable and unsatisfied together!” is just hopeless and sets a horrible relationship dynamic.

But she’s right. There is no point to living if you don’t have hundreds of social media fans, friends and likes. The smart phone has taken away the need to do “things” for fulfillment. With a phone to stare at, it wouldn’t matter if you were in a cozy little prison cell.

This is the updated version of a tree falling in the woods.

He remembers past glories!

It’s going to take time, but she can learn how to do it. A social media addiction rehab….

Wow, Gun being manly. Can we stand the strain?

“..women- can’t live with them, can’t live without them.”

why is this arc wasting our time?

How “F” ing PATHETIC!

Love, compassion, kindness, caring …

I’m in the “hope Gun can help her” camp.

Bored with all this already. Lets move on.

Even Steffi and Kip better understand their relationship. It is mutual attraction and enjoyable sex, no strings attached.

Addictive as nicotine.

It’s time for the Bets character to pack up and leave forever. She adds absolutely nothing to this strip.

Life was so much more fun before all this social media hit us. I know that when I was their age, I was in the NAVY, and I am SO grateful that the internet didn’t exist!! Man, that could have totally ruined my future…LOL!!!

If your happiness depends on the approval of others, you are in real trouble.

Bets needs help!

Be spontaneous, Gun! Just do her!!

And there is problem. Social Media was her LIFE. It would’ve been good if G&K gave a lot more background on Bets’s family life than the little speck they gave. Unless I missed it.

She has forgotten life before Gunther.

Forever and Ever, Amen

Song by Randy Travis

“You may think that I’m talkin’ foolish

You’ve heard that I’m wild and I’m free

You may wonder how I can promise you now

This love that I feel for you always will be

But you’re not just time that I’m killin’

I’m no longer one of those guys

As sure as I live, this love that I give

Is gonna be yours until the day that I die

Oh, baby, I’m gonna love you forever

Forever and ever amen

As long as old men sit and talk about the weather

As long as old women sit and talk about old men

If you wonder how long I’ll be faithful

I’ll be happy to tell you again

I’m gonna love you forever and ever

Forever and ever, amen

They say time takes its toll on a body

Makes the young girls brown hair turn gray

But honey, I don’t care, I ain’t in love with your hair

And if it all fell out, well, I’d love you anyway

They say time can play tricks on a memory

Make people forget things they knew

Well, it’s easy to see, it’s happenin’ to me

I’ve already forgotten every woman but you (or in this case every man except Gunther)

Oh, darlin’, I’m gonna love you forever

Forever and ever amen

As long as old men sit and talk about the weather

As long as old women sit and talk about old men

If you wonder how long I’ll be faithful

Well, just listen to how this song ends

I’m gonna love you forever and ever

Forever and ever, amen

I’m gonna love you forever and ever

Forever and ever, forever and ever

Forever and ever, amen"

Rita Hayworth, one of our most glamorous movie stars,had 4 unsuccessful marraiges. When asked why, she said

“All of my husbands married Rita Hayworth and woke up the next morning with me instead”

So now we know. It’s all a show for Bets.

Maybe some peyote would help get things started

Shipwreck in the making.

If Bets & Gunth go act wacky in public, someone else will record and monetize it. Why should Bets volunteer herself to be content? She’s smarter than this. Gunther, on the other hand….

Funny how Bets can’t remember the way the so-called “fans” talked about her while they were looking at Stef’s post.

I can sort of relate to Bets. Trying to quit medical marijuana. Day 6 here sober, YAY!It’s hard to break old habits. I’ve always wondered why they never talked about Bet’s family. She obviously isn’t close to them.

Wild? Wackiness?? Gun has never been either wild or wacky in his life. As for Bets, she’s gone cold turkey from social media. Can’t even remember how to have fun without documenting it for a bunch of strangers. The sad part is this is actually pretty realistic.

A kitten did occasional wonders for Les.

What Bets needs is a pet.

A live, non-digital pet.

This girl is hopeless.

If it isn’t on social media, did it even happen? Well, considering the number of fake people and personas online…probably?

It may be time to move on Gunther.

AH HA! A new disease: PSMDS – Post Social Media Distress Syndrome.

Bravo, Gun.

Betts has forgotten how to have fun, without telling all those fans.

Social media has proven to be an addiction and Bets is going to need professional help to wean herself.

Gun, you should want a girlfriend, not a project.

Well, she’s trying to remember. She’s been depending on it for so long it’s hard. I hope she can break through and do as he suggests. If so, she could reclaim her wild and fun self and find real joy in the real world.

Pardon my rudeness, It’s bedtime. This has gone on too long for adults.

GFZ\\[,,

You can do it Bets! You can remember!

Go, Gunny and Bets!