emotional-stripper
Original: emotional-stripper on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (exterior establishing shot of a strip club at night, neon sign reading "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS," a taxi parked outside):
Man (off-panel, the customer): WHY AREN'T YOU WEARING SEXY CLOTHING?
Panel 2 (a woman in a yellow top sits/leans, facing the seated customer):
Woman: I'M AN EMOTIONAL STRIPPER. IF YOU GIVE ME DOLLARS, I'LL BARE MY INNER FEELINGS.
Panel 3 (the customer, a man in a red shirt, holds out a green bill of money to the woman):
(no dialogue)
Panel 4 (close on the woman's face, looking pained/earnest):
Woman: I DON'T THINK MY PARENTS LOVED EACH OTHER. THEY WERE AFRAID TO SHOW AFFECTION FOR ME BECAUSE EACH FELT IT WOULD DEMONSTRATE TO THE OTHER THAT THEY WERE CAPABLE OF THAT WHICH THEY COULD NEVER SHARE.
Panel 5 (the man in the red shirt looks deadpan; the woman smiles and leans in; the man again holds out a bill of money):
Woman: FOR AN EXTRA $50, I'LL TAKE YOU UPSTAIRS FOR A LITTLE PRIVATE ACTION.
Panel 6 (the "private action": the two of them lie flat on their backs on a rooftop at night, side by side, gazing up at the city skyline):
Woman: I WISH I FEARED DEATH MORE. I BET SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE ARE TERRIFIED OF DEATH. SO MUCH TO LOSE.
Votey:
(A loose hand-drawn close-up of a man's face, looking up.)
Man: I bet you say that for everyone.
Woman (off-panel speech): Nah, baby! Nah!
Man (off-panel, the customer): WHY AREN'T YOU WEARING SEXY CLOTHING?
Panel 2 (a woman in a yellow top sits/leans, facing the seated customer):
Woman: I'M AN EMOTIONAL STRIPPER. IF YOU GIVE ME DOLLARS, I'LL BARE MY INNER FEELINGS.
Panel 3 (the customer, a man in a red shirt, holds out a green bill of money to the woman):
(no dialogue)
Panel 4 (close on the woman's face, looking pained/earnest):
Woman: I DON'T THINK MY PARENTS LOVED EACH OTHER. THEY WERE AFRAID TO SHOW AFFECTION FOR ME BECAUSE EACH FELT IT WOULD DEMONSTRATE TO THE OTHER THAT THEY WERE CAPABLE OF THAT WHICH THEY COULD NEVER SHARE.
Panel 5 (the man in the red shirt looks deadpan; the woman smiles and leans in; the man again holds out a bill of money):
Woman: FOR AN EXTRA $50, I'LL TAKE YOU UPSTAIRS FOR A LITTLE PRIVATE ACTION.
Panel 6 (the "private action": the two of them lie flat on their backs on a rooftop at night, side by side, gazing up at the city skyline):
Woman: I WISH I FEARED DEATH MORE. I BET SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE ARE TERRIFIED OF DEATH. SO MUCH TO LOSE.
Votey:
(A loose hand-drawn close-up of a man's face, looking up.)
Man: I bet you say that for everyone.
Woman (off-panel speech): Nah, baby! Nah!
Alt text
A six-panel SMBC comic set at a strip club. Panel 1 is the club's exterior at night with a neon "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS" sign and a taxi outside; a male customer asks, "Why aren't you wearing sexy clothing?" Panel 2 shows a woman in a yellow top replying, "I'm an emotional stripper. If you give me dollars, I'll bare my inner feelings." Panel 3 shows the seated male customer holding out a dollar bill. Panel 4 is a close-up of the woman's earnest face as she confides, "I don't think my parents loved each other. They were afraid to show affection for me because each felt it would demonstrate to the other that they were capable of that which they could never share." Panel 5 shows the man holding out more money while she leans in and offers, "For an extra $50, I'll take you upstairs for a little private action." Panel 6 reveals the "private action": the two of them lie flat on their backs on a rooftop, gazing up at the city skyline, as she muses, "I wish I feared death more. I bet successful people are terrified of death. So much to lose." The joke is that stripping is replaced with baring deep emotional and existential thoughts. Votey: a loose sketch of a man's face looking up, saying, "I bet you say that for everyone," with the woman cheerfully insisting, "Nah, baby! Nah!"
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.