698: You Hang Up First

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You Hang Up First
No, YOU stumble past a series of post-breakup hookups in a daze as you slowly realize what you've lost and how unlikely you are ever to get it back first.
Title text: No, YOU stumble past a series of post-breakup hookups in a daze as you slowly realize what you've lost and how unlikely you are ever to get it back first.

Explanation[edit]

Telephone conversations end when someone hangs up.[citation needed] There's a traditional cliche of young romantic partners, both of whom are so besotted that they can't bear to hang up on the other. As a result, the end of the call devolves into a cycle where each one teasingly insists that the other one hang up first. It's a sweet, if somewhat mawkish display of how infatuated they are with each other.

As xkcd often does, this comic takes the cliche to its logical extreme with Cueball and Megan, by turning it into an argument resulting in their breakup. What's normally a cutesy game between lovers becomes a battle of wills, leading them to break up because neither is willing to back down. And then, even after they break up, both are still unwilling to back down, with Megan insisting that Cueball "move on and find somebody else first."

Transcript[edit]

[Cueball is sitting on a bed, on the phone.]
Cueball: You hang up first.
[Megan is lying on a bed, on the phone.]
Megan: No, you hang up first.
Cueball: No, you hang up first.
Megan: No, you fucking hang up first!
Cueball: You hang up first, or we're OVER!
Megan: Then I guess we're fucking OVER!
Cueball: FINE!
Megan: ...
Cueball: ...
Megan: You move on and find somebody else first.


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Discussion

Of course, even after they broke up, neither will hang up. Mountain Hikes (talk) 03:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

How do you know they're adults? 108.162.237.250 14:09, 18 May 2016 (UTC)