Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 15, 2016

that’s something to really ponder about

And the boomerang is back.

Turning the tables. Nice.

No, Quill…you care so little, so she’s ending it.

“A Lover’s Arrow”“Winter’s Hand At Sunset”“Minutes To Dusk”“Crashin’ With A Passion”“Breaking In A Broken Heart”“From Kissin’ To Dissin’ "“Exit Strategy”“To Wit, Cue A Quick Quit”“Your First Rodeo”“Got Some Beef, With Sour Grapes”“It Stings, Because My Aim Is True”“Three Pointing Back At You”“Livin’ On The Fault Line” (♪)“Cruel To Be Kind” (♫)“Too Hot” (♫)or“It’s Your Fault For The Rift "

Actually, Quill doesn’t care about their relationship so much as Luann does, simply because he has something else in his life that he really cares about deeply (and he has made no secret of it). For Luann, however, having a boyfriend has been her only driving ambition, all throughout high school and on to the present. Sure, she likes working with kids, but only if she has to have a job. Quill is driven to pursue his career, and Luann is still unsure what path she wants to follow. So yes, the relationship is more important to Luann, because she has no other true passion in life. Quill’s remark on panel 3 is thus spot-on.

Uh oh. Keep going, Luann. Tell him it’s because the two of you don’t make each other happy. And at the very least, he doesn’t make you happy. And what the h, Quill? Isn’t this what you wanted? An end of the relationship and you don’t have to be the one to end it?

They are not currently right for each other, so, yes, sometimes ending something which makes both miserable can be a considerate act of caring.

I know Luann’s the protagonist, but Quill’s got a much healthier viewpoint on life. Looking at what he’s done and how he’s tried to communicate, I don’t fault him for what’s happening. First Luann wouldn’t talk. Then she jumped straight to “I’m done.” Quill deserves better.

Just a quick thought. Not to take sides although I am a proud Trufan, but turning it around on Luann is a classic guy play. Put the issue on your girl, or wife, etc. He still needs to acknowledge his part in how she feels, and how he is going to fix things, while there is still time. She needs to hold heard to her point, PAY ATTENTION TO ME please, and maybe we can keep this going.

Quill she feels you’re putting more time in your acting career than to her. Some women are material and others are emotional; luann is emotional.

Rip the band-aid off and let’s get Luann and Bernice involved in a storyline which would be more interesting than this.

Just rip off the band-aid and get the fight started

“You’re the one who’s upset!” he yells. As if he’s not. What a doofus. A passive aggressive one. I guess Team Evans wants to tease a breakup, without their (sane) readers caring if it’s a good idea or not anymore!

Don’t let him manipulate you.

I hope Luann is not fooled by Quill’s last statement. She cares about having a relationship where both people are ‘relating’. That doesn’t seem possible with someone who is so absorbed in building a career that he has no time to even spend Christmas with a supposed significant other.

I’m hoping this non-relationship ends, and like others have suggested, Luann uses those tickets to take Nancy to New York for a mother-daughter trip that can help Luann find her direction in life, while giving her a chance to see the sights…

Still with Quill & Luann? Didn’t expect that.

Quill was better at having a relationship with Luann when he was still in Australia. His parents are distant and he’s used to that, not relating to a real person.

From Lobo:.“Don’t Expect Me To Be Your Friend”..I stopped sending flowers to your apartmentYou said you aren’t home much anymoreI stopped dropping by without an appointmentCause I’d hear laughter coming through your door..Sometimes late at night you’ll still call meJust before you close your eyes to sleepYou make me vow to try and stop by sometimeBaby that’s a promise I can’t keep..I love you too much to ever start liking youSo lets just let the story kinda endI love you too much to ever start liking youSo don’t expect me to be your friend..I don’t walk down through the village or other placesThat we used to go to all the timeI’m trying to erase you from my memoryCause thinking of you jumbles up my mind..You always act so happy when I see youYou smile that way you take my hand and thenIntroduce me to your latest loverThat’s when I feel the walls start crashing in....You imagine things when you read.I remember old songs.

I hope once this is all over, the strip drops Luann and follows Quill. He’s far more interesting, and she’s such a baby.

I’ve been overly sympathetic towards Luann’s point of view; however, it does occur to me that last summer when they had planned on going to New York, it was Luann who changed her mind after she was offered a summer job teaching and Quill was very supportive. So they planned to go at Christmas and Luann changed her mind because she felt the need to support her parents venture at the Fuse…and Quill was very supportive and continues to be supportive at the Fuse. So it’s not like Quill hasn’t been supportive (even though I think he has put his emotional friendship with Pru ahead of Lu). It was obvious to me when he said “Luann, you can speak to me anytime” and “uh oh” then he still had feeling for Luann. It was okay for Luann to put her career ahead of already made plans with Quill but when he does the same (altho he should have discussed it with her first), she goes all psycho on him. I have decided to stop taking side; they are both flawed and at fault (as are people in real life much older than them). I was hoping they would work things out, thought it was over yesterday, now there’s a little spark of hope. I hope the creators aren’t jerking us around again with this spark of hope. One thing is for certain, the creators are never going to let these two go to New York together while single and unchaperoned.

Oh, man….wake me when it’s over! Hey, Mordock- you around? I think I need a coffee!

She has the boomerang back on.

?

Quill is a better debator. However he was sneaky about arranging the spring break gig when an argument with Luann gave him a window. And is Pru doing the spring break gig with Quill? In any event – Quill has not shown Luann any kindness and understanding through all this. The relationship – if it continues – promises to have the same problem.

This is getting repetitive.

This is getting very, very repetitive..This is getting very, very repetitive.

Super irony here for Luann.

This is getting very, very, very repetitive..Same song, second verse . . . .

… and tomorrow Mr. Gray shows up and shoots them both because they’re now eating into his story arc time.

New poll up: Who will be first to get a long-term boyfriend?

Does this mean Luann isn’t going to apologize after all?1) 13 votes – Other2) 10 votes – Nope3) 6 votes – Future hazy, try again later4) 2 votes – Stranger things have happened…5) 1 votes – Probably notOther: You gonna eat that?; I’m beginning to think that Luann is crazy; Inner Beauty doesn’t apologise; Why should she?!; Quill, I’m sorry you’re such a turd; Yes (I’m just following your wording carefully); She should; Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future; Yes; Nobody should apologize for thinking a loved one cared enuf to be together; Yes, it does mean that Luann will not apologize; after Saturday’s strip? uh, no

Easy response, Luann. I care more about the relationship than you do, because I don’t have the theater in my future. Maybe kiss and say goodbye.

Dum dum DUMMMJust the facts, Ma’am.

Ok Quill, don’t blow it. She broke it off so just let it go, or she’ll be back in your life again. You’re free man, enjoy it.

As I said yesterday, the Trufan Church won’t tolerate a breakup, and Evans has long since surrendered all vestige of creative integrity to said Trufan Church.What happened to Mr Grey’s payoff from MapaDeGroots, by the way? Half of February is over and obviously this week is going to be spent reconciling the Quilluann duo. So is that going to join the Endless List of Dumped Plots this strip specialises in?

“You care so much you’re ending it?” – What a conundrum for Luann to solve. It’s a no-win situation for her, I guess. Might as well break up.

Quill has always told her how important his career is. she can’t handle that.

Thing is, he isn’t trying to ask her not to break up. He’s trying to justify his treatment of her. And he wants to make her feel like it’s her fault. She booked a New York trip because she wanted to surprise you as a couple. YOU took the acting gig solely for yourself. And that pathetic “We can go in the summer” just makes it worse. Like your relationship is just a minor distraction from your career.…It’s attitudes like your’s Q-ball, that are the reason the divorce rate for actors is so high.

What we have heeyah is a failyah to communicate!

C’mon! Make it stop already!

Yes, YES! END It, And END It QUICKLY!

And Let’s get BACK to the FAR More Interesting Tiffany/Gunther/Bernice/Piro, “TRAIN WRECK.”

Oh, and YEAH, Q-Ball Its All YOUR “Fault!” In America Its ALWAYS the Guys “Fault” Despite the Fact that 99.9% of the Time, It ISN’T…..,

I don’t think Quill’s last question is a bad one, since she IS the one who’s pushing the breakup. He may be better off without her. Nothing like a nagging significant other to derail your own long-term personal goals and all Luann ever seems to do is complain. Yeah, THAT’s the lifetime we all want to spend.

Quill is the only one with a lick of sense in this relationship. That guy should run as fast he can away from Luann. She hasn’t experienced any growth as a person or as an adult. Tiffany and Luann are two sides of the same coin, but even Tiffany has shown more growth than Luann. What is Luann doing? Community College, living in her parents house. She’s not going anywhere and she can’t expect Quill to put his life on hold because she’s treading water.

She needs to pull the plug. He’s just not that into her, and she will always take a backseat to his career.

thinking what to write is giving me a headache! its obvious there’s no time for a commitment here.

Luann has made a sound decision to terminate the relationship. Relationships can not be one sided or all the effort from one party. It takes two! Quill is throwing the blame back on her. Will Luann has the determination to stick with her decision? This forum’s comments makes many good points that one person can not cover.

Staying tuned……..

I hear a lot of ’It’s Quills fault’ and then a lot of ’It’s Luann’s fault’ but I think that they just aren’t compatible with each other. There’s no fault; oil just can’t mix with water. They’re suited more to be just friends rather than lovers.

Like I said, ain’t over till it’s over, and this relationship is NOT over……

you know, yesterday’s strip kinda of nails it for this… when he was in Australia, he made time for her, he made an effort to schedule calls, video chats etc… now that he’s in college, she’s not really on his radar anymore… I mean, looks at the past where he shipped a gift well in advance and made plans with others to decorate and do a meal and creates a surprise that centered around her… and now that he’s living locally, in college, he can make plans to pick up an acting role, but he can’t even really remember that he’s been promising her New York for ages.

Before he fought to make “them” happen and now it’s not even on his radar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prtbj4MtDU

He keeps excusing himself from the relationship. Maybe he has an intimacy problem and can only handle distant relationships. The plot thickens….

This strip is like a Great Lakes freighter…………it just plods along, taking forever to make a turn. I don’t know, but the strip that appears on Mon., Feb. 15, must have been drawn weeks ago, so whatever commenters write really has little or no effect on anything. The game is over, but the fans are still yelling at the umpire.

Quill is barely a friend at this point. He gives nothing, he shares nothing. If he cares, this would be a good time to let her know. If he walks away thinking this is Luann’s fault, then he will repeat this pattern and find himself losing girlfriends over and over.

Ottodesu said, about 5 hours agoDum dum DUMMMJust the facts, Ma’am.

Hi Otto! Welcome back!

I was afraid that Quill might adopt this hyper-rational pose. In some debating sense, he is scoring points. But it is much harder and more impressive to say, “I understand how you might feel a bit abandoned, Luann. I seem to get totally caught up in my passion for the theater.” Luann needs to ask, “is there a way we can have more time together, and yet, you can have enough space for you career goals?” If the answer is “no”, they need to try separating for awhile. What I like about this arc, and others do not, is that the two of them have complementary blind spots.

Luann has a goal. She works in her field, she makes sacrifices for it, she studies it in college. Just because she does t make pronouncements about it, or put it between herself and her friends doesn’t mean she is aimless. People here who state over and over (yawn) that her only goal is a boyfriend, can’t see the person Greg created. What she wants in a relationship is closeness and sharing. That is normal!

Good spot for the tuning tympani strike: “BOwuMMMM!”

No; she is ending it because there is clearly no different future in it that what is readily observable [past activity being the only available predictor of future behavior], and she wants someone who reciprocates her feelings. A great example of insanity is to repeat actions expecting different results.

Something tells me there is going to be a ‘kiss & make up’ Tuesday or Wednesday. Lets go back to Toni & Brad wedding plans and let Luann & Quill sulk in misery!

Oh, good. Lu changed back into her original shirt and necklace. Yesterday was just her Sunday finery

The thing is, Luann knew all along since Quill returned from Australia that he had a passion for his college career as a drama student, and she was (and still is) just drifting. It is thus inevitable that she would want to spend far more time and effort to pursuing this relationship than he would. What’s happening now is just the inevitable, playing out.

So was yesterday’s skype another flashback?

8Wow, very good piece of writing, Greg!So very true to life in so many different ways. Impressive.I think today’s panel shows several key points about relationships:1. To me, Luann is breaking off the relationship because it does not suit her needs. That is fine, of course. That is what she should do if it really that bothersome and horrendous for her.2. However, I also think that Luann is not viewing the relationship particularly in a mature fashion. She is still very much in the “giddy” “go to the hangout spot” “spend most every moment outside of the minimum fpr anything else” sort of “high-schoolish” sort of romance (not relationship). Again, that is all well and good for her if that is where she is at. 3. But, I think she is NOT really working particularly hard at seeing Quill’s needs and perspectives… in a LOT of different ways. She seems to view his work on his college studies and career goals as simply getting in the way of their “giddy fun” and his college studies and career goals as only being a pain-in-the-posterior for her in terms of what she wants out of the relationship for herself. Again, this is perhaps understandable for a young person who is a) not particularly concerned about her future, b) not thinking about how to grow and develop to be a PARTNER in a relationship where both people have goals and aspirations, and c) is focused mostly on the here and now…. and not really looking much if at all towards the future.So…. while I still think that there will be an (IMO unfortunate) reconciliation of Luann and Quill… I think that Luann and Quill want very different things out of their relationship, and (also IMO), Luann has the LESS MATURE attitude in regards to how to work towards building a mutually functional relationship within a couple than does Quill. Quill has issues he can work on as well, obviously, but at this juncture, it still reads to me that it is mostly that Luann needs to grow and develop and mature a fair amount for this more complex, adult type relationship to truly function successfully.

Luann should pull a “Funky Winkerbean” and jump 20 years ahead to show how miserable all the characters will be after all the poor decisions they’ve made in their youth.

Suddenly it’s time to grow up and leave those self centered teenage years behind. Your a young adult now. A little trust in your favourate guy would be a good start.

Well, apparently Quill isn´t interested in changing his ways to mend things – so why should Luann allways be the one to be flexible?

Luann just can’t understand Quill’s being committed to anything other than spending time with her, such as actually working hard at his drama training. After all, her own approach to college is less than a narrow focus:

Another week of this bickering to endure? Maybe I’ll take a week off from reading.

I’m fascinated that Quill seems to expect Luann to just be there when he wants to see her & otherwise away from him. That’s not how relationships work at all. Yes, theater is Quill’s passion. That doesn’t make Luann’s expectation that he actually keep dates unrealistic or childish.

Has he been honest? Has he told her that his career in theater will always be important to him than his relationship with her?

Quill,never use logic on a female – it will bite you in the butt, every time!

Lightbulb time.

Must we prolong this? Either Quill needs to quit all this “plan for the future, have a real life” stuff, quit school, and get a job at McDonald’s so he can devote his every moment to worshipping Luann, or Luann needs to grow up.

Does anyone else wonder how much Quill’s hiding from feelings other than anger and his passive aggressive nature will limit his range as an actor or director? How about the opposite? Might some emotionally painful roles in his future open him up to grasping others more? Right now i would like to see these braided streams (Quill and Luann) flow separately and have time not as a couple. I think they both need that. Maybe they will rejoin at some time in the future as braided streams can do, but maybe not. Maybe they actually can be friends.

“You don’t know how to listen—your promises don’t keep,
Come back, Quilly, when you’re not a creep.”

.Every now and then I get the faintest hint you’re not a Quill fan.Probably just my imagination though…

Touche’ Quill

SHE’S the only one who seemed to care about keeping it going…

What "relationship"" There is no relationship to end.

Leave Luann Quill! She’s a psycho! You deserve much better.

> Since Luann is still being done by the owner/creator I have no grounds to complain about anything just because it doesn’t go the way I might want it to.>That’s basically what being a Trufan is all about: “Evans did it, so it’s right BY DEFINITION, and no one has any reason to take exception to whatever he does, since he is the creator.”

The reason Quill hasn’t been labeled as immature like Jonah is that he hasn’t been avoiding his responsibilities, plus he has been upfront about his goals and desires from the very beginning. Unlike Jonah, Quill doesn’t have a daughter that’s depending on him. Him neglecting Luann isn’t even in the same league as Jonah’s neglecting of Shannon. And Quill has always been honest with Luann about his aspirations, so while his acting commitment may not be to her liking, she knew that going into the relationship.Quill pursuing his career and placing it first isn’t immature. Hanging onto a dead-end high-school relationship out of convenience certainly is though. Time to grow up and break it off already.

agree with your interpretation. He is saying it’s not ALL his fault, but Luann then twists this around, instead of accepting partial responsibility, to defensively stating that he’s saying it’s all HER fault, which is NOT what he said at all!!!!!

Quill is a college student who is working hard at pursuing his course of study there (drama). Luann’s main interest is spending time with boys. Just who here is “immature”?

@Bryan Shipley. Were they not speaking for a month? I missed that time frame. Yeah, Luann pushed the relationship a little hard for their young age. But it seemed to me that Quill is a little short on empathy. Typical actor. Maybe a couple more boomerangs coming up. Maybe Luann will find out that Pru is involved in the spring break gig (a deal breaker). After that – Luann may find out that Pru prefers women (deal resurrected). Evans has been good at relationship ping pong.

Quill doesn’t want a girlfriend. He wants a groupie.If that’s really what he was after, you’d think he wouldn’t have been so agreeable to their physical relationship remaining stuck at First Base forever.

Sallymargaret, you state… “Quill doesn’t want a girlfriend. He wants a groupie.”That is rather provocative and preposterous. You are basically stating that because Quill is doing what he would like to do in terms of college and his career and is not simply following whatever Luann wants that he “wants a groupie”?!?? In my earlier comment I stated that both Quill and Luann have problems in this relationship. But, I still feel that on average, Quill is acting far more mature about having a post-high school relationship than is Luann at the moment. She is acting as if Quill’s college effort has no bearing on anything of merit for life. Please read my earlier comment for a better explanation if you wish.

It’s interesting how Quill and Gunther seem to share the same idea of what ‘relationships’ are.

Gunther still has the idea that he will finish engineering studies, find someone to marry who will be content to be a homebound mother, and maybe most importantly, his own mother will live in a ‘granny flat’ (probably in the backyard of his home) and will conveniently be there to babysit whenever Gunther and wife want to go out.

In fact, Gunther fell to pieces, not over the fact that he and Rosa had different ideas of the future, but over the thought that his mother might not just sit in a little box in his backyard for the rest of her life, waiting to be needed as a babysitter.

Quill apparently has the same idea about a girlfriend. She is supposed to be on call whenever he doesn’t have an acting job, and otherwise content to wait for him to have time for her. Just like Gunther’s view of his relationship with his mother.

JPuzzleWhiz, Quill appears to be on a student visa. If the part is connected to his studies then it would depend if it was a departmental requirement. What can NOT be done is to earn too much money or have the wrong type of income because a student visa is not a work visa. Yes, i looked up the restrictions on those with student visas. :-).

Couples counseling is an interesting take on a possible way to move plot and character insight. Thanks for mentioning that!

> Is it possible that turning down the job opportunity might have an effect on his visa?>Actually, accepting a paying job puts Quill’s visa in great jeopardy. We must assume he is doing this job for the experience, not for salary. (Yes, I know that Quill also worked on the food truck for TJ, and as many of us pointed out at the time, that’s prohibited. We were told by other commentators the usual “It’s just a comic strip, so the real laws don’t matter” or, more plausibly, that it was all probably being done illegally under the counter, because it’s TJ.)

“Game, Upset and Match”^Well, some think it’s not over, just yet. But then, again, some feel they’ve seen enough to be convinced that it is. Either way, seems like this is going to be one of those “major milestone moments”… – “Aussie How Upset I Am?”^Heh, heh- “Aussie” where you were going, with that!

They, Quill and Luann, are both immature in some ways and mature in others. It just goes with the age group, and with the way that people typically mature a bit at a time in chunks.

In all fairness, he said in P1 that it’s “not all my fault”.^Good catch!

Here we go again….^Yup! A new day’s strip! By the way, did you happen to see any of my responses? If not, here’s a reprint of my response, when you first asked:

“Does anyone have a clue what your ramblings are all about?”^(To which, I responded:)

“Monkey, catfish, blue donkey, keep off my lawn, you crazy kids!– Who put the banana soda in my pie-hole filling station? Did you pay for that? Alpha Epsilon Gamma Charlie Delta 4077-2.9,9 1/2, Put that down!– Will someone shave my hairy mole? And get the mirror that makes me look pretty! Why thank you, officer! Yes, I will do the Tango with you! But first, we have to put Mr. Magoo back in his birdcage…– Oh, sorry! I forgot to translate. What I was saying, just now was: “Hi! Nice to meet you, too! I’m so glad we could get off on the right foot, instead of having our first communication to be one of animosity…”.AKA: “It would sound nicer to say: I don’t understand what you just said. Could you explain this, please?”. To which I would say: Sure! No problem!”. "

“we still call each other several times a day, never seem to run out of things to talk about, and frequently ask each other out on dates.”^I admire that greatly!!

Your description sounds like Steve and me. One friend said that the thing that struck her was how much he and i talk with each other. We do date each other still, too, like you and your wife do.

That’s a wonderful prospect! Have a wonderful time, you two!

Stupid Qull Questions Top 3 List:-3: “So…we’re breaking up? On Valentine’s Day?”-2: "You care so much you’re ending it?-And the number one Stupid Quill Question is (drumroll)!-1: “OK, but could you tell me what the question is?”

This is fun. 100 would-be therapists lined up at the gate ready to analyze imaginary paper people. Interesting, in depth reports, drawing on past experiences to come up with opinions and advice and solutions. I’m not being a troll, I’m just amazed and sometimes amused at the interest taken in this strip.

It’s going to be a reconciliation, I fear, which will leave us exactly where we were.

Quill doesn’t care? He came all the way from Australia (the 2nd time) for Luann.

sheesh…. I thought this was finally over… now they have to argue about the break -up …. argue about all the arguments. .

He walked off.

And let’s remember Quill’s no-show on Christmas.

Who was Quill with on Christmas?Who was Quill with on New Year’s Eve?…

Brd and Jay, you have been making me smile a lot today! In less than a week we will have the 37th anniversary of the day we first said, “I love you.” For us that is one of our more important days of the year. Have fun on your picnic today! It is snowing here so i am using the cold as an excuse for extra hugging today!

@IamJayBluE wrote:Funny, how in the “formative period” of their relationship, there wasn’t that many conflicts and issues- though there was plenty of "romance and smoochin’ ".==How can you say this?.It was the other way around..Recall they refused not only to kiss (after a couple early occasions), but not even to date. .They only once had a very restrained “non-date.”Totally REPRESSED..There was NOT plenty of "romance and smoochin’ " in the “formative period” of their relationship..They had lots of conflicts and issues then — who would get credit for the song they recorded — the fact that he could go back to Australia at any time, etc. They were afraid of "romance and smoochin’ "

“you wanna break up ? Fine!…’”…doesn’t sound like too much concern….. that’s the key issue, consistent with Luann’s comment in the 2nd panel.

i like the fact that there are both “trufans” and “very critical” readers here. What is boring are the slurs or open contempt that sometimes passes between them. There is no accounting for taste, but I think this arc is extremely important for both Luann and Quill. Luann doesn’t express herself as adroitly as Quill, but she knows that something emotionally important is missing for her. I just don’t see one of these as more mature than the other, as PT suggested.

They were afraid of “romance” and not at all involved in any wild smooching. Even with the play they were in, they were worried about an on-stage kiss. .REPRESSION and fear of getting too involved.

I think that should come in 4th.

Schrodinger’s Dog said,@LDoverbut isn’t that one a little unfair, as Quill was helping clean up The Fuse after the Christmas event, allowing Luann to be with her family. This was an act of consideration, not one of indifference, and should not be painted as such.====The clean-up after the play was the night of December 21st..It was not Christmas or Christmas Eve.

THUS WE HAVE QUILL UNACCOUNTED FOR ON BOTH CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S.

Pru was missing, too, even though she has a room at the DeGroots. . Was she hanging out some place all by herself? .Luann may well have had the tickets ordered by then.

NO, NO, NO, NO NO!!!!!!

-

DO NOT LIKE where this is going!!

-

Luann, RUN!! DO NOT let this manipulating creep jerk you around. He basically just told you: “My career comes first above everything, I’m not going to put any time, effort or energy into maintaining this relationship, because I just don’t care! You have to do all the work to maintain the relationship, and you will have to continue to do all the work, so if it fails, it’s all your fault!” -He already pretty much told Gunther he prefers Pru’s company to yours, and he’d rather spend what free time he has with her.

—

RUN LUANN!! GO NOW!!!!

That’s my take too. He doesn’t have a problem with Luann going off & doing her own thing as long as it works with his plans. It’s when she wants something that might require him to make an adjustment he doesn’t want to make that a problem happens. Even the fight at New Year’s starts because he doesn’t like her attitude, not because he cares about having a good night out with her.

Quill wants to work hard at his acting studies, and that’s the focus of his time and efforts right now, but he also wants to have a girlfriend. This is exactly the situation faced by most college students everywhere. Luann attends a Community College (with no obvious objective), but definitely her top priority is having a boyfriend. She wants to impose that set of priorities on Quill, and it’s not working.

wantcomicsnow said, 2 minutes agoLuann, RUN!! DO NOT let this manipulating creep jerk you around. He already pretty much told Gunther he prefers Pru’s company to yours, and he’d rather spend what free time he has with her.-————-Who has Quill spent January with?.What has Pru been doing in January and half of February?.She is not a student. Does not seem to be with the DeGroots much. There is no production planned at the warehouse.

Maybe if Luann were actually interested in school, even in clubs and extracurricular activities there, she would be more tolerant of Quill’s having a life outside of his time with her.

Nope I’ve noticed it too. Luann works, goes to school, babysits & hangs out with other friends. She seems to want to have one night a week or so with Quill & when that isn’t something he’s willing to do? You know he isn’t interested in a relationship. At least not a real one.

So if Quill wants to stay with Luann (as today’s conversation seems to indicate) then why is it that he hasn’t sought her out since New Years? He isn’t saying they broke up so her buying the tickets should have been something he expected. Or at least he should have been thinking he needed to talk to her before he took the job to a) clear the air or b) end things properly. Instead he seems to have expected Luann to come to him, apologize & then just accept that acting comes first again. That sounds like a groupie, not like an actual love interest.

Luann has little interest in schoolwork and never has, as she often admits. She has always been obsessed with the concept of having a boyfriend. That is still the case, even though she is in her second year of college. There was no point in “aging” the cast of this strip and letting them graduate from high school, if she’s going to behave in exactly the same way as she did when she was 14 years old.

Why does everyone keep insisting “Luann isn’t a student——you never see her in class!”

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You never see Quill in class either.

Or Bernice.

Or Dez.

Maybe once or twice Gunther and Tiff.

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Yet everyone agrees that they are hardworking, dedicated students, while Luann’s just a loser who, oh, I don’t know, sits at home all day watching TV?

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Luann does need to grow. Dumping the Q-fuss would be the first major step. I hope she takes it.

Exactly. Gunther & Quill rarely talk about classes or work when they’re together. They talk about their love lives (or lack thereof) and not much else

Toilet paper and sex?? Who would have thunk it? I accept Trufan because I defend Luann and her friends, although I would definitely be critical if I saw the need., But I don’t denounce anyone, I may disagree, and ask questions as to how somebody came to a certain conclusion. Trust me I edit myself before I say something personal, and in the cases where I did not I apologize. Its our country’s tradition to argue. We eventually come to a conclusion, or not, witness our political divisions. We will though eventually. One thing I bet though, trufans or the opposite: they all like the strip, even the ones who are so critical of it. They read it every day, and in one way or another it brings a little joy or opportunity to snark to someone’s day. And trust me, there have been some days that Luann was the one good thing about my day. So yes I cop to Trufan, but that does not mean I have to be a you know what as well.

Seismic said, 35 minutes agoQuill wants to work hard at his acting studies, and that’s the focus of his time and efforts right now, but he also wants to have a girlfriend. This is exactly the situation faced by most college students everywhere. Luann attends a Community College (with no obvious objective), but definitely her top priority is having a boyfriend. She wants to impose that set of priorities on Quill, and it’s not working.Look at what you have written. Luann is NOT the only one who is trying to impose preferences on the other. Quill is ALSO doing so. In your own words you can see that if you look at your description of Quill.

I want to apologize to the blog in general. I chose to comment and I enjoy it, it helps share my enjoyment with the strip. I hope I help make someone’s day even if we are on totally different sides of Luann and Luannverse. No harm, no foul. I had a senior moment on a comment were the suggestion was that Luann could go to New York with Toni and use those tickets, and I could not for the life of me remember who Toni was. ARGGGGGGGGGH. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I have read this strip almost from the beginning, and to forget Toni, with the amazing beautifully developed story she has, and what she has done with Brad, ARRRRRGGGH. I felt a need to do that. I feel like Charlie Brown after he, AGAIN, tries to kick that football, as if Lucy would ever reform (lol).

“You care so much you’re ending it?” Gotta admit, Quill has a point there.

Yes, absolutely. Each day is a gift, whether Valentine’s Day or not.

When Quill tells Luann that his drama study is important to him an he wants to devote time and effort to it, does Luann ever reply “Yeah, I guess I should spend that much time and effort on my studies, too”? Didn’t think so. She wants Quill to spend less time working at Moony and more time being with her. She should break up with Quill and find a new boyfriend with no real goals who is just drifting aimlessly through life. They will spend all their time together, take a lot of random courses without learning anything in particular, and then they can graduate and have no further ambition other than to be together for the rest of their lives.

Wantcomicsnow included the following in a post:that they are hardworking, dedicated students, while Luann’s just a loser who, oh, I don’t know, sits at home all day watching TV?That sooooo made me laugh! I first had a career in retail management and did some charity work and on and off jobs that needed management skills, then in my second you g adult phase i helped with Mom’s care during her final year and helped keep her and Dad out of bankruptcy (hard time), then in my third phase i began college at a major university as a self-supporting adult student who happened to be living in the family home because i was teaching my father to care for himself and using home grown and friend grown/raised/caught foodstuffs to fill the freezer with healthy homemade meals so that he woukd be safe on that score once i moved out. Anyway, on one particularly busy day working on a course paper he came home to find a chore not done and had the nerve to accuse me of sitting around all day watching soap operas! Talk about self-delusion! Another time i got a laugh, though. I purposely had not changed his bedding. He NEEDED to learn how to do that, which is what i told him when he yelled at me. He retorted that he did not know where the clean sheets were. So, i told him. He went silent. Then in a little voice he said, “But I didn’t want to know!” (Amusing interlude before topic returnSo, back to the topic, and how the first story relates: sometimes people have premises or stereotypes, or both that they hold very tightly, and i think just as my father assumed that i had watched soap operas which have never interested me when i was up to my eyeball researching a paper, so, too, do some want to imagine Luann as other than the character is presented as being even though work and class strips for her have appeared.

She won the art contest with a submission she literally scribbled together at the last possible second, so perhaps that isn’t the best example of how busy she’s been keeping.

And since when has she been working? I know she had a summer job, but summer was a long time ago.

Of course, even if she did all that it wouldn’t disqualify her from being considered “aimless.” That term generally refers to someone just coasting through life with no goal or destination, and that does apply to Luann pretty accurately. Sure she goes to school, but what is her major? Even if not declared, shouldn’t she have a focus at least? What is her career goal and what is she doing to achieve it? Let’s say she wants to be a teacher: how much closer is she to being one than she was at the same time a year ago?

You can make a good argument for her not being idle, but “aimless” remains a fairly accurate description of her.

If “it” means making Luann his reason for living, then yes. (Basically, that was his reason for being introduced to the strip. He was a character with no personality or attributes other than “Australian” and “Luann’s boyfriend”. His only reason for being here was to worship Luann’s inner beauty. “Ambitious” just wasn’t in the mix.)

That Luann is not ready for a serious relationship is herein made clear. She should thank Quill for that revelation, and then move on with her life without him.

" So I wrote my own lyrics for Quill, which took s little doing,".And did an excellent job.

What’s wrong with it is Luann’s insisting that Quill, who does want to be an actor, should neglect that ambition in order to make his relationship with her be his main objective in life. She’s trying to force her own life plan (or lack of one) on him.

Nothing wrong with wanting to get married OR be a homemaker. It’s just that for the majority of the time, women had no choice but to be housewives because that’s what society—not to mention federal and state laws—dictated. Never mind that many of them wanted to pursue other goals, that some didn’t feel marriage and/or motherhood suited them, or that said laws were based on very faulty reasoning and logic. That’s why some here on this board are very critical of Luann’s apparent goal to just have a boyfriend; it’s a throwback to the “women and girls must have boyfriends/husbands to be real women” stereotype that we’ve tried—and are still trying—to overcome.

Your “groupie” comment IMO completely places the blame for all this on Quill because he takes his college work seriously and works hard at The Fuse. The real problem is IMO that both, but especially Luann communicates poorly.

The keyword in your paragraph is “ambition”. That woman’s goal was to be married, and she did it. She knew exactly what she wanted and went for it.That’s not the case with Luann, who has outright stated (in strips posted on this very page) that she has no goal. She also said, and I quote: “I don’t know what career I want.”There’s nothing wrong with a person deciding that work isn’t for them and family life is their true ambition, but Luann’s own words show that she isn’t thinking along those lines personally. You’re assigning her goals that she herself never admitted to, therefore presuming intent despite evidence that directly contradicts that intent.

no Quill, she’s just tired of apparently making effort into a relationship that doesn’t bring any value to her

> He’s not furthering his ambition to be an actor by neglecting his girlfriend on Christmas day.>Weren’t he and Pru working to get the Fuse ready for a New Year’s show?-> He’s not furthering his ambition to be an actor by breaking dates with her right and left.>In all the years they’ve been going together, he’s broken a couple of dates (I’m told). That’s certainly normal, and it’s hardly “left and right”. On the occasions people have mentioned, he did in fact have a rehearsal or other activity that was indeed part of furthering his acting ambition.

A major non-starter when it comes to communicating is when someone starts talking about “fault” …. “your fault vs. my fault”.. That pretty much stops all rational discussion. Both L and Q have this problem. They don’t discuss what each wants in a relationship… it’s mostly finger pointing.

re: illustrating the non-realtime passage of time in a Comic strip:

Karen’s post from Facebook today:

The conflict continues…This storyline is an excellent illustration of the strange way comic strip time works. This disagreement between Luann and Quill started last Monday, though in “real life” only a few minutes would have passed. Yesterday’s Sunday strip actually connected to the daily storyline and identified that this conversation is taking place on Valentine’s Day. Meaning Luann and Quill started a conversation last Monday that “actually” happened yesterday but is still continuing today. Got it?

Quill hasn’t contributed anything to their relationship in so long that Luann has finally had enough. I don’t blame her, and I don’t like how Quill is trying to pass the blame on her. I don’t look forward to any story lines of Pru and Quill becoming an item, at least not while Pru is living at Luann’a and is involved in her parents’ business.

I say they break up, Luann goes on the NYC trip alone, has an awesome time, and grows as a person. And maybe meets someone else.

“I wonder how many pro quill guys are divorced?”A really interesting question.

“So I wrote my own lyrics for Quill, which took s little doing, but all I got were negative remarks.

I didn’t say anything but I think it was OK!

Quill, RUN! Luann, get a grip!

Oh I think Quill just reverted back to the Quill I was hoping was still there…he usually is able to talk sense into Luann when she is freaking out over trivial matters.

This is so idiotic and frustrating reading this. The fact of the matter is that they’re inexperienced YOUNG PEOPLE who don’t have the necessary experiential knowledge of how to manage a complex relationship. At their age, they shouldn’t be focusing so closely on relationship which is likely going to fall apart — they nearly always do at that age.

Fer gawd’s sake, break up, move on, and get on with their lives. It’s not the end of the world! They need to live and learn.

Touche Quill!