Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 23, 2021

YESSSSSSSSSS!!

Well sanity has prevailed. But now what? Doesn’t look like the Gulag is in play, soooo…?

Big Al! The Fixer!

“That was easy,” says the Staples button.

Bets is finally the voice of reason

No, Al. It is not fixed the way you think. They will just get an apartment together without getting married. They will just do the deed outside of your roof, off your property. Nothing you can do about it – like Gunther said, they’re adults. They don’t need your permission to leave the nest.

But they still want to shack up, problem not solved.

Situation:

Defused. ✨

Tomorrow, back to Christmas dinner plans. But…what about Luann? (Cue soapy organ music)

It is just as well. If you need someone’s conscent, you aren’t ready to commit. I thought Betts wouldn’t accept. I’m glad she isn’t running away like she did before. The relationship is growing but not overly fast.

We’re stuck with Bets for a while, now. “Some day, yes” are not the words of one who is about to run away…at least, not with that facial expression she’s giving.

Then again, deception is a part of the game.

I like Al. There’s a reason he’s a successful guy.

“Phoo,” is RIGHT, Irma.

Bets may be a bit Wacky, but she does have some common sense. Her star just went UP a couple of notches, with Yours Truly.

And Look. She hasn’t even whipped that stupid phone out yet.

And while I’d like to think that Gunther was just bluffing….,

Ah. Who am I kiddin’? He wasn’t. At any rate, Al just called it.

Now, can We forget this “living together” foolishness and just have a nice quiet Christmas Dinner like Gunther wanted to do in the first darn place?

Exhale Irma “Al fix this” Why?

Man, Mr Gray is completely clueless. “You didn’t want them to live in sin, so I persuaded your spineless son to propose. What’s wrong with that? Oh, you changed your mind? I don’t care one way or the other. Still want them to pay rent, though, because she’s a girl, unlike Les.”

Gunn for the win!

…Did Al just play them all?

I have never had much of an opinion on what kind of guy Al is. Now I do. He is a first-rate, A-1 jerk!

Too FUNNY!

I think Bets heard R-E-N-T

I’m surprised Bets didn’t say yes, just to watch Al and Gunther’s Mom heads explode.

Sweet the way Bets handled this sticky situation.

You’d think Irma and AL would be tickled pink that gunther wants to marry bets. But they’re too immersed in seeing gun as a lil boy.

Score one point for Bets, but Al takes the game. His money, his rules. So, now what? Dinner? Put this arc in dry dock and hope not to see Shannon tossing up her Christmas cookies?

LOL, wow – that Al is a real fixer, isn’t he?

Gunther is not little gunny anymore. He earned his Manhood today.

I think Al is exactly what this family needs.

What a friggin dork / mommy pleaser

If Gunther threatens to move out, I bet Momther would beg him to stay. And then Bets can share the tiny house with him and Les. And no one will ever have to pay rent.

Wait, did Al actually manipulate this whole thing? How smart is he anyway?

So my guess is that Bets can stay in the main house over the holidays as I am sure Al and Irma have an extra room. I know there is a spare room in the gulag but I have a feeling Al will not offer it to keep Irma from freaking out as she obviously is going to have issues about letting “her lil Gunnie” go so this might be a decent compromise.

The question now is whether Gunnie and Bets are technically engaged? Does Al have some wise guy connections to get Gunther a piece of ice/engagement ring rather cheap or does he go old school and remind Gunther what the jewelry stores always try to sucker people into: that a proper engagement ring has to have a value of 2 months of the man’s salary. Of course, since Gunther is not employed, that would be $0 right now! Anyhow, it will be curious as to how much control Bets and Gunther are actually going to have concerning this? Irma will want Gunnie to wait 10+ years, Al will want the kid to get his degree and start earning coin, so what does Bets want? Gunnie will probably do whatever Bets says so his opinion is secondary.

Is it?

“We have to be married to live together”I’m sorry, what century does Evans think we live in?

I think Al wanted to proof them for see if Gunther and Bets were serious. Now he seems satisfied. Bets and his stepson passed the test ♡! Maybe now Al will be ok with Bets moving in with Gunther… but Irma is still against it. Time to overcome mom’s resistance. Go Gunther! Go Bets!

Okay “Gun”, time to fly the coop / empty the nest / take wing, and get your act together!

Al is very, very good.

d***. Gunther always gets the short end of the stick.WHO is AL to him? NOTHING. Call him a “step-father”, but that’s because of IRMA’S CHOICE. Not Gunther’s. Apparently, AL is just as much of a villian as Ann Awful.To the credit of both Gunther and Bets, She did NOT say “no.”

What’s fixed? No living together, no marriage, and no rent. Sounds like an episode of I Love LUCY

“I’m not living anywhere near your psycho mother or creepy roommate. I’d rather deal with my loser parents!”

Dodged a bullet there

Guess you’ll just have to wait a little longer for that special canoodling time.

I think we all saw this coming.

All this insanity because Bets wanted to spend the Holiday break with Gunth.

She does care for him after all.

Is anything ever really fixed? As you go through life situations, they tend to develop into something that you thought needed to be fixed into something completely different.

Les called it right from the start.

Bets handled that quite well, I think.

Bets to the rescue! Now that’s a loving caring lady. Yep, she’s a keeper and good for Gunther in many ways!

Will Luann ever get married?

So. What’s the time window from when Tiff was eating pancakes? She went to the dorm, everyone did strange things, she showered, Gunther saw, Bets was weird, Gunther and Bets talked about Christmas with mom, Bets asked if she could move in, they went to the Gunlag, Gunther said he wanted her forever, Les objected, Bets convinced Les, Gun and Bets went to mom’s, Al made inappropriate comments, Gunther proposed, Bets told him to stand up…. so—- we are still on the same day as pancakes? Has there been a costume change that I missed (besides Tiff, lol)

I really like Bets today. I like the whole way they did this story. Now they have time to plan that pirate wedding that she has in mind!

reverse psychology on Gunther’s part. Now the parental units will be relieved they are only shacking up for the holiday break

WHEW! Well at least the marriage is avoided – as I predicted and hoped. But things might not necessarily be “fixed.” Let’s hope they don’t just run off and go through with their original plan at another location.

I don’t think Gunther was totally serious about proposing, either.

I gotta feeling that Al and Irma’s marriage will be over very soon.

Betts wants to hook up on a semi permanent basis, right now. Not get married. At least one them has sense.

No two ways about it, she’s a keeper.

\\//_

A triumph is n misdirection play. Bets adroitly handled the marriage proposal while keeping the love strong, Irma relieved, Al redeemed. Only stage one though.

So, as we head into the darkening embers of the year, we must feel a little sorry for Les who now has to put up with the sounds of humping and bumping all night long in Gunther’s room.

Gee … the situation is solved …. just like that. Who’d have guessed??

Phew! Dodged that bullet….

Got lucky there Gunther.

“Someday, yes. But not this way. I want you to be put on the spot to marry me only when you get me knocked up.”

Didn’t I see this on an episode of “Friends”?

I love the way Greg drew Bets and Gunther in the last panel, hands entwined, a sweet little caress on the chin letting Gunther know how much she cares about him.. very nice!

Not for nothing but if Gunther and Leslie are living there rent free; the house is technically an extension of the bigger house so Al can dictate what happens there, or not. Now if Gunther was paying rent, it would be a different situation.

Hold the phone here, folks – are they just gonna go somewhere else?

Darn, I was looking forward to some of Al’s acquaintances in dark suits and sun glasses standing by Gunther to be sure he goes through with it or he sleeps with the fish.

Fixed? Hardly! Nothing has been resolved on the live in situation.

Wait. He was SERIOUS?! I thought Gunther was joking or calling Al’s bluff or something. Guess he was never the smart one of the group after all.

I think this is the first time I’ve heard Irma give a loud order! =:-oBets, again, exhibits common sense. As I’ve said before, Gunther isn’t ready for marriage.

he should move in with her at her dorm! think of the fun that would be!

Crazy old bat, you can’t have it both ways.

Given Bets’ history, I expected her to run away at this point.

A situation of stymied love.

OK, so this is gonna head back to the dorm room, and get cozy. The arc will have another moment like the one that began it, only it will be Tiff happening upon the happy couple “in flagrante delicto.” Hilarity ensues.

This will set Tiff upon a course to win Gunther, in the coming year. She will succeed in 2023. She will then get an offer that she can’t refuse of some kind that will serve to put her back into pampered princess mode, and break Gunther’s heart. Luann to the rescue. Wedding in 2025, or so.

Somewhere along the way, Bernice figures herself out, as do Brad & Toni.

I’ve begun to notice that there’s more detail being packed into the dialogue of recent years. It serves as a way of accelerating the story-telling process. I shall dub it “Doonsburization.”

Smart move Bets!

I love that she didn’t say no, and that Gunther seems to understand. His mother and Mr. Gray though—-who knows what they’re thinking.

Al is the brains of the operation.

STILL horrific.

I lost a friend trying to “fix” something like that so I never tried again. And they got married anyway and had filed for divorce 3 months later. The bride still never forgave me for suggesting they were not compatible. He was of the attitude: I need more friends who will tell me the truth.

She wants her cake and eat it too! Live together but dont tell me what I can and cant do.

Al did NOT fix anything. He had no idea what Gunther would do nor how Bets would react. He is just being a controlling jerk and he does not have Gunther’s welfare in mind. Al is the same way with Les. Not caring at all.

There’s a great chorus to a song:You don’t cut turkey with a tablespoon,You don’t eat oysters in the month of June,You don’t light matches in a gas balloon,And you don’t get married in one afternoon.

“Someday, but not this way…” Good approach!

Hanky Panky it is, then!

still 2 days … anything can happen. Maybe Knute is a registered “ordained” minister in Cali … or Dez is. Bets relates the story upon returning to the dorm, and Dez says “Oh no problem! I can marry you guys if that’s what you wish!” ….

Hopefully somewhere nice and private, Bets gives Gunther his first Hanky Panky for Christmas.

It’s nice when marriages fail before they start. It saves a lot of paperwork.

vasectomy + tubes tied = fixed

Gunther,move out now!! You missed a lot of fun!

Huh. False alarm :-)

Never demand what you don’t want.

Someone might give it to you.

Fixed what? They still can move in together. Bets is great for Gunther.

Seriously dislike his overbearing parents now. Trying to dictate how he’s supposed to live, just cause they gave them a guest house. And Gunther needs to grow a spine. You don’t go rolling over just cause your parents say jump.

I hear Al Green singing in the background.

Al gets my kudos today.

It’ll all end in recriminations, tears and broken dishes…

Al seems to know when to intervene and when no to intervene…that’s a rare skill. Most people just stick their nose in all situations and create a bigger mess a lot of the time.

You know, now that I think about it, this is not too unlike how my wife of 26 years and I got married. We found a house we both liked, and decided it would be better all around if we got married first before we bought the house.

Al. once again, knew exactly how to approach this!

Good News: Bets wants to be with together with Gunther.

Bad News: Not right now.

And then Rosa returns with their “love child”

I will predict that Bets just gained points with Irma and Al; and goof is the perfect word to describe Gunther.

Bets knows they got to pump these brakes.

I really love Uncle Al!

So, Bets just moves in for winter break. Even if they “get caught” (Les will whine—and also eavesdrop), Irma will stop Al from evicting Gunther.

“♪♪ Someday, We’ll Live Together”

“Heard Mentality”

“What A Fix!”

“Phooo Fighters”

I retract every bad thing I’ve ever said or thought about Bets.

And, so, now it’s all on Bets! Not really fair, but Irma and Al don’t care, as long as Gunther remains unhappily alone.

What a relief….

Que sera sera

Scenes that I think I missed. Al getting down on one knee to propose to Irma. Al wondering if Irma’s IRA was big enough to warrant him getting down on one knee. Al checking to see if his chiropractor’s number was still on speed dial.

God, this is too adorable <3

If Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn can do it for decades so can they.

This girl can be quite a character, but she’s intelligent and cute. Hopefully, they can make this work.

I never realized just how much of a turd Al was.