a-change

A five-panel SMBC comic. A bespectacled, bearded man tells his red-haired partner, Dave: "Dave, I have a confession. You know how you only ever wear ratty old band t-shirts and ill-fitting jeans?" Dave answers, "Yes?" The man continues: "I've been slowly switching them out for attractive clothes over the last ten years of our relationship." Dave exclaims, "WHAT?!" then marvels, "My god, it was so subtle I didn't notice." The bearded man replies, "It wasn't subtle. You've been putting on a vest, cufflinks, cologne, and sensible shoes for years" - and indeed Dave is now shown in a sharp vest and suit. Dave looks down and asks, "Is this a silk jockstrap?" The man says, "It is a payment to me for services rendered." In the votey aftercomic, a close-up of the bearded man adds, "Also you work for an NGO that protects endangered species," and Dave's off-panel voice yells from a speech bubble, "WHAT?!" The joke: the man has been secretly reshaping every aspect of his oblivious partner's life, gradually and without his noticing.