Those Old Chestnuts

Today we’re hearkening back to the days when this used to be a “comic” strip. Les borrows one of Bull’s fractured sports metaphors to illustrate his lack of success with the ladies. In TB’s latest round of retconning, Teenage Funky sports a turtleneck, and is full of worldly advice on how to score, whereas we longtime FW readers know that despite his “cool” name, Funky was only a shade less uncool than Les.

Jump to the present, where the lifelong friends are so out of touch with one another that Funky is shocked, shocked to learn of this long-simmering love triangle.

So Crazy

Link to today’s drama

ryokomayuka
June 2, 2011 at 12:45 am
You know for someone who has wanted for something for such a long time Susan is seeming to give up very fast.

Epicus Doomus
June 2, 2011 at 1:31 am
All it took to undo decades of obsession was one kiss? That doesn’t really, uh, reflect too well on either of them, does it?

Flummoxicated
June 2, 2011 at 8:58 am
Imagine the cold fish Les must be for Susan to start backing away so fast after declaring the secret of her heart that really wasn’t all that secret.

Very astutely observed, gang!

Susan sees her opening and wastes not a minute in taking her shot. Did Les physically push her away or tell her no? All he did was raise his eyebrows! But that’s all the rejection Susan needs; after all, she had anticipated this (“…part of me knew that all along…”). She uses the occasion for some dramatic monologuing, followed by a “Good-bye!

Ding-A-Ling

If Les’ eyebrows were arched any higher, they’d be halfway down his back. Susan has spoken those three little words that we’ve learned have the power to render Les mute. He can’t even muster an “I really care about you” this time; hell, he can’t even bring himself to look at her.

I was ready to commit the zen-sounding “unring a bell” to the Batiuktionary, but the Google turned up lots of results. Wikipedia tells us it’s “an analogy used to suggest the difficulty of forgetting information once it is known”.

It also happens to be a song by the great Tom Waits:

You Can’t Unring A Bell

Liplock!

Les gets Susan up to speed regarding the movie option, up to and including his grudging acceptance of having to deal with those “Hollywood” people. No sooner does he conclude this update than Susan launches herself at him.

“I guess you’d better!” listen to Hollywood, Susan advises Les, before she engages him in some tonsil hockey. What a weird, vaguely threatening turn of phrase. Why not just go straight to “I’m so happy for you”? This is the plucky gal who stood up to the parents who bitched about the cancer play. Does she not share Les’ highfalutin’ convictions about his “art”?