love-and-rockets
Original: love-and-rockets on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Child: "Dad, how do I know if a girl is 'the one'?"
Dad (reading a book in an armchair): "No such thing."
Panel 2:
Dad: "It's not about finding the perfect person. It's about going through the stages of life together. It's like this 3-stage rocket."
(A toy rocket sits on the desk.)
Panel 3:
Dad: "Here, see the first booster is called 'sex.' It gets things off the ground, so to speak."
Panel 4:
Dad: "Eventually, you run out of fuel there, so you discard it. You hit the second booster, which is called 'affection.'"
Panel 5:
Dad: "Once affection runs out, you switch to your final booster, which is called 'love.'"
(Dad holds up the small final stage of the rocket.)
Panel 6:
Dad sits with the rocket pieces in his hands.
Panel 7:
Dad raises his arms triumphantly, smiling, as the assembled rocket implicitly launches.
Panel 8:
Child: "That's so dorky, but so sweet."
Dad: "Sure. Anyway, after that you can coast on inertia for a good 30 years before things break apart."
(Dad stares blankly ahead.)
Votey:
The father, with wide blank eyes, holds his wine glass. He says: "Or you can just de-orbit early."
Child: "Dad, how do I know if a girl is 'the one'?"
Dad (reading a book in an armchair): "No such thing."
Panel 2:
Dad: "It's not about finding the perfect person. It's about going through the stages of life together. It's like this 3-stage rocket."
(A toy rocket sits on the desk.)
Panel 3:
Dad: "Here, see the first booster is called 'sex.' It gets things off the ground, so to speak."
Panel 4:
Dad: "Eventually, you run out of fuel there, so you discard it. You hit the second booster, which is called 'affection.'"
Panel 5:
Dad: "Once affection runs out, you switch to your final booster, which is called 'love.'"
(Dad holds up the small final stage of the rocket.)
Panel 6:
Dad sits with the rocket pieces in his hands.
Panel 7:
Dad raises his arms triumphantly, smiling, as the assembled rocket implicitly launches.
Panel 8:
Child: "That's so dorky, but so sweet."
Dad: "Sure. Anyway, after that you can coast on inertia for a good 30 years before things break apart."
(Dad stares blankly ahead.)
Votey:
The father, with wide blank eyes, holds his wine glass. He says: "Or you can just de-orbit early."
Alt text
An eight-panel SMBC comic. A child asks their dad, who is reading in an armchair, "Dad, how do I know if a girl is 'the one'?" The dad replies, "No such thing." He explains that it's not about finding the perfect person but going through the stages of life together, comparing it to a three-stage rocket (a toy rocket sits on his desk). He describes the first booster as "sex," which gets things off the ground; the second, after that runs out, as "affection"; and the final booster as "love." He gleefully raises his arms as if launching the rocket. The child says, "That's so dorky, but so sweet," and the dad, now staring blankly with wide eyes, adds, "Sure. Anyway, after that you can coast on inertia for a good 30 years before things break apart." Votey: the dad, eyes wide and blank, holds a glass of wine and says, "Or you can just de-orbit early."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.