Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 13, 2019

gee… Tiff’s running out of options that quick

Welcome to “Lifestyles of the Poor and Pitiful.” Next up, the ten best ways to prepare a Top Ramen lunch.

I guess Kafe Kablooie must have raised its prices.

YESSS! Tiffany and Ox! I still hope they’ll get together at some point. Ox seems to just accept Tiffany as she is, and she could learn a lot from his direct, honest approach to others.

Looks like Ann whacked Tiffany’s credit card. Tiff has no cash?

I feel a great disturbance in the force: Anne has gotten in Tiffany’s head and she’s influencing her spending choices.

Ox hates bullies and has been known to protect people from them. If Ox found out Ann was bullying Tiffany, he would want to do something about it.

So, are Frank and Nancy making their living off this place now?

Is Al Gray still involved in this venture?

Is that bottled water? If so, Ann will object to that too.

What is Tiffany looking at in the last frame?

I gotta wonder here. If it were any woman OTHER than Ann teaching Tiffany financial responsibility, would “folks” get as upset?

What if it were Nancy here doing the SAME thing to Luann? Would the “fans” be calling for Nancy’s head? Or praising her for being a responsible parent?

Yeah, things look bad for Tiffany here, but it ain’t the end of the World. And it’s better that Tiff learn this “lesson” NOW while she still has the monetary support of her Pop, than later when she’s truly on her own. Nothing worse than having to pay rent, a car payment, and sizable credit card debit and then learning that your job hours (and pay) have been cut in half. Or eliminated.

And Tiffany still has her new found friends including the mighty Ox. So things ain’t so bad.

UNLESS, it is found out that Tom Farrell is under Federal Indictment because he’s one of those wealthy parents that bribed university officials to “ease the way” for their kids to get into various Universities.

Then, I’m afraid Tiff is in “Deep Play-Dough.” ;)

Can’t quite tell, but it looks like Tiffany might not be driving her exotic red sports car she had when she and Gunther we’re coming back from the great salamander hunt.

Knowing Greg, he probably took that away, too, and gave her a 10 year old VW Bug that’s running on 3 out of 4 cylinders.

DING! Reality, checking in!

Oh, so Fuse is expensive, eh? Or you don’t want Ann to be alerted again? For Pete’s sake, call dad and ask if you were put on a budget. Find out if Ann is conning you. Have you forgotten who she was back at Weiner World?

If she orders some hot water, she can dump some catsup, salt, and pepper in it and have some “poor man’s” tomato soup for free. Just stir and go…

Tiffany already did call Dad, at the beginning of this arc, to tell him Ann cut up her card.

He asks to speak to Ann…. then Ann hands the phone back to Tiffany… and it sounds like it’s all OK with him.

It was way back in January…

This day and the next:

https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2019/01/18?ct=v&cti=1084954

Maybe Tiffany will make the connection between the idea of getting a better paying job, and actually having her own money to spend.

Greg is playing the Poor Little Rich Girl bit to the max. I haven’t seen this much Poor Little Rich Girl pathos displayed since the Little rascal short films of the 1940s! :o\

A single one of those items is too expensive for Tiffany at Kafe Kablooie?!? Posh joint!

Poor Tiff! Is this what it has come to now?

Well, Tiff will find out “what’s what” when Daddykins kicks her off “the gravy train”.

I don’t agree on Anne Awful controlling what’s not hers but I do agree it is time for Tiff to stop being Paris and start being Tiff. That’s her nightmare but it has to happen in order for the rest if her life to happen. Time to grow up Tiff.

Ann hasn’t put a monitor on Tiffany’s car, so she can nag her about wasting money that way? Sounds a little inconsistent. Yells at her dropping nearly a c-note for a “mani-pedi” (which she more than likely does at as well,) but not for driving over to the Fuse. (Presuming that there is Public Transportation available to take her from the Dorm, to the nail salon, then to the Fuse, and, finally back to her Dorm.)

Enter: Sugar daddy with credit card.

nice to see Ox back

Honestly I have 0 Sympathy for Tiff’s “financial” issues. I agree that Ann is still the villian for so gleefully enforcing them and manipulating daddy, at the same time, “Daddy’s little girl” is a cliche for a reason. Having dated someone who lived off Daddy for a number of years, I know the damage it does. She needs to be able to pull her own weight, though I’m surprised that daddy doesn’t have a foundation for her or some other generated income given some of the previous strips. Clearly “Eyes of Zye” or whatever didn’t generate enough royalties to give her much pay.

I hate this story line.

Tiff’s lazy and spoiled. she will just learn from Ann and find herself a sugar daddy.

Any Adult Driving around without Ten Dollars in Their Wallet is just Sad.

Hasn’t this “Ann VS Tiff” arc gone on long enough? It is about time we had some sort of conclusion here. Ann can be the scum of the earth for only so long. Is Tiff’s father that stupid or is he so physically attracted to Ann that he is blind? And if he is blind, why has his business not gone bankrupt? Surly Ann is embezzling from it, draining his bank accounts.

I have some real problems with this story arc. I think we’re supposed to be seeing Tiffany learning through Ann’s “Tough (not) Love” to become financially responsible but unless Ann is going to go through some semi-reformation like Les, Tiffany will be in a no-win situation no matter what direction she goes. If she stays dependent on her father’s money, Ann will be in control of the purse strings. If Tiffany develops financial independence like many here (not unreasonably) believe she should, Ann gets all of Tiffany’s father’s money. That makes this arc very hard for me to watch, with only the remote hope that Ann finally gets tripped up by her own schemes.

2

So is this Tiffany grudgingly exhibiting a form of self control here or has Ann cut her access to the credit card? I am leaning toward this being Tiffany attempting to exert control. And, if so… it will be a learning process for her. Perhaps good for her in the end…. but occurring in a resentfull and annoying way (evil Ann).

You know there is an interesting Luannverse paradox here that I am not sure we are commenting on. Ox, the beloved protector, comes himself from a wealthy and powerful family (I believe his dad is a powerful attorney) but he is humble, and wants to support himself, and works as a waiter at the Fuse. Tiffany is worried about being able to pay for lunch at the Fuse because Ann is now the apparent gatekeeper of her access to her dad’s money through the debit (?) card; it’s also a control battle, Ann the Awful, controlling, Tiffany the privileged Princess, through access to the money of a distant father. Is there a solution? Who knows? Hilarity and suspense ensues.

Maybe Tiffany is working on her emotional eating (she does look a bit thinner). Her train of thought was about not letting Ann control her – and yet she’s letting Ann do just that. Maybe when Tiffany sat down with the menu – she realized she was spending $$ (on food which she hopes will make herself feel better) because she is having a knee jerk reaction to Ann.

High gluten water?

Low fat water?

Tiffany can surely find some man to pay for her food and drinks. In real life, college men would be eager to spend time with a pretty girl and would be happy to pay for things for her.

Tiff just order her appetizer now she looking at her main course choices.

Tiff claims that she will not let Ann control her. And yet, she does. Maybe hire a private detective to find out everything, then send report to the cops(Tiff’s daddy would never believe her, Ann remains a bully)

You don’t NEED lunch, chunker!

If I was Tiffany, whenever a message came through from Ann Eiffel, I would forward it to her father. She hasn’t talked to her father about her spending, only what Ann has said, and it should be obvious to anybody that Ann has taken on this whole Tiffany spending thing for her own gain.

Give her a break! She’s been led down this garden path by her dad her whole life, and now is expected to act like an adult? Ann Eifel is totally enjoying wiping her feet on Tiffany, and her father is a douche for letting it happen.

If there are kiddie portions that might let her have a satisfying taste without a large expense?

I am still hoping that the family money actually turns out to be at least part in trust to Tiffany from her mother.

Hey! Everybody was so happy to see Ox and many are so sure Tiff will run into Les that We FORGOT “who” runs “Kafe Kablooie.” Old Smiley!

Look I’m not a fan of his by ANY stretch of the imagination. But he was the last guy that put a STOP to Ann Eiffel. And handedly too!

So You got Les, Ox who also put the brakes on Ann, and Les who stabbed Ann in the back. If these three guys can’t come up with a workable plan to Stop, Ann then Tiffany is DOOMED.

Unless of course somebody enlists Al Gray……..,

Ox would be happy to help out Tiffany. She may not have much money, but I’m sure she could find other ways to pay him back.

Tiff, get a job! or use your savings(if you even have any).

Slowly, Ann’s strategy starts winning on Tiffany. But if this will help her to learn how to not waste money and will make her grow, it’s fine.

Only one hope. Bear it thru. Graduate and get a high paying job. Move far away as quickly as possible and sever all financial ties.

Ox and Tiff seem as if they could have true friendship. Ox seems to be someone Tiff could talk/complain without judgement. Ox has the lawyer uncle who he might mention Ann and the situation. If the Uncle wanted to lend a hand, he might look into Ann and find an old warrant for past schemes. This could be brought to Tiff’s father who would drop Ann and see how Tiff saved him(money) and he could recognize his failures as a father and change his ways. He doesn’t need to give Tiff free access to credit but maybe he could give her a job at his company. This could give them time to get to know each other as parent and daughter and we could end the Ann saga.

She is finding out late in the game about over spending when she had carte blanche. Much harder now than if she had restraints early on.

Yes, things look bad for Tiffany now… But she’s gone to the right place for help, whether she realizes it or not. Bernice is doing what she can, but this situation requires opening up to the bartender, as many people would do. So, Tiffany talks to Ox about everything Ann has been doing, and he helps her talk to the DeGroots about the Souffle Lingerie parties.

And maybe, just maybe, Les overhears. Les was able to cut ties with his no-good mother, but I like to think he values his friendship with Tiffany. And when he realizes just how much Ann is making her suffer, he’ll talk to his Uncle Al about it.

I’ll admit that Tiffany was not my favourite character in this strip. But I want to believe she has changed at least a bit. Would the old Tiffany have been concerned with her friends getting ripped off? She even made sure Luann got a refund! That says something! And Tiffany has been punished for it ever since.

Enough is enough! Something has to be done before Tiffany is pushed past the breaking point.

It’s good to see Oxford again! Could he be the solution to Tiffany’s problems?

Prices at small restaurants and cafes are through the roof; it’s a zero sum game now and Tiffany notices. The latte probably costs 9 dollars (actually I wouldn’t know since I don’t eat those).

Is it me or does the fireplace seem on the short side of the “lodge” in the exterior panels and on the long side in the interior panels?