coupling
Original: coupling on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man (red-haired, in red shirt): WHAT'RE ALL THESE MONITORS?
Green alien: OH! YOU'LL FIND THIS INTERESTING.
Panel 2:
Green alien: WE TAKE A HUMAN COUPLE, THEN WE ALTER THEIR CHEMICAL PROFILE. FOR REASONS THEY CAN'T EXPLAIN, THEY CEASE TO FIND EACH OTHER PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE OR SEXUALLY DESIRABLE. THEN, THEY CONCLUDE THAT THEY'RE NO LONGER IN LOVE.
Panel 3:
Man: THAT SEEMS MEAN?
Green alien: IT IS SO FUNNY. IT'S ALL HORMONES, BUT YOU CAN WATCH THEM CONFABULATE COMPLICATED EXPLANATIONS!
Panel 4:
Green alien: OH! HERE'S ONE NOW!
Monitor (a human woman): I WAS SO INVESTED IN OUR RELATIONSHIP, IN OUR KIDS AND HOME, THAT I CEASED TO BE MYSELF. THAT WAS WHEN YOU FELL OUT OF LOVE WITH ME.
Alien laughter: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOOOOOOO MAN! WHAT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Panel 5:
Green alien: THERE GOES ANOTHER!
Monitor (a human man): I THINK, LOOKING BACK, THAT I WAS IN LOVE WITH A NOTION OF YOU, WITH THE IDEA OF BEING YOURS.
Alien laughter: AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH GOD, OH GOD! LOOK AT THEM! THEY'RE JUST PRIMATES, AND... AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
Panel 6:
The man stares, unsettled, as the alien doubles over laughing.
Panel 7:
Man: SO, THIS IS A NEURO-SOCIAL EXPERIMENT, OR...
Green alien: IT'S THE THIRD MOST POPULAR COMEDY SHOW IN THIS GALAXY.
Votey:
Green alien (sketchier style, close-up of its face): IT'S WHY WE INVENTED YOU GUYS.
Man (red-haired, in red shirt): WHAT'RE ALL THESE MONITORS?
Green alien: OH! YOU'LL FIND THIS INTERESTING.
Panel 2:
Green alien: WE TAKE A HUMAN COUPLE, THEN WE ALTER THEIR CHEMICAL PROFILE. FOR REASONS THEY CAN'T EXPLAIN, THEY CEASE TO FIND EACH OTHER PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE OR SEXUALLY DESIRABLE. THEN, THEY CONCLUDE THAT THEY'RE NO LONGER IN LOVE.
Panel 3:
Man: THAT SEEMS MEAN?
Green alien: IT IS SO FUNNY. IT'S ALL HORMONES, BUT YOU CAN WATCH THEM CONFABULATE COMPLICATED EXPLANATIONS!
Panel 4:
Green alien: OH! HERE'S ONE NOW!
Monitor (a human woman): I WAS SO INVESTED IN OUR RELATIONSHIP, IN OUR KIDS AND HOME, THAT I CEASED TO BE MYSELF. THAT WAS WHEN YOU FELL OUT OF LOVE WITH ME.
Alien laughter: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOOOOOOO MAN! WHAT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Panel 5:
Green alien: THERE GOES ANOTHER!
Monitor (a human man): I THINK, LOOKING BACK, THAT I WAS IN LOVE WITH A NOTION OF YOU, WITH THE IDEA OF BEING YOURS.
Alien laughter: AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH GOD, OH GOD! LOOK AT THEM! THEY'RE JUST PRIMATES, AND... AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
Panel 6:
The man stares, unsettled, as the alien doubles over laughing.
Panel 7:
Man: SO, THIS IS A NEURO-SOCIAL EXPERIMENT, OR...
Green alien: IT'S THE THIRD MOST POPULAR COMEDY SHOW IN THIS GALAXY.
Votey:
Green alien (sketchier style, close-up of its face): IT'S WHY WE INVENTED YOU GUYS.
Alt text
A seven-panel SMBC comic. A red-haired man in a red shirt is given a tour by a smiling green alien in a room full of monitors. The alien explains that they take a human couple and alter their chemical profile so the couple stops finding each other attractive, then watch the humans conclude they are no longer in love. When the man says that seems mean, the alien calls it hilarious, saying it's all hormones but the humans 'confabulate complicated explanations.' Two monitors show humans tearfully describing their breakups in emotional, introspective terms ('I ceased to be myself,' 'I was in love with a notion of you'), while the alien howls with laughter and mocks them as 'just primates.' The man stands uneasy as the alien cracks up. When the man asks if this is a neuro-social experiment, the alien replies it's the third most popular comedy show in the galaxy. Votey: a rough close-up sketch of the green alien's face saying, 'It's why we invented you guys.'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.