Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

In this comic, a steampunk enthusiast in a top hat and goggles explains that he pretends to live in a world with "Victorian aesthetics and futuristic technology," noting it takes a lot of imagination. Someone scoffs "Pff!" The next panel delivers the counter-punch: "Adults pretend to live in a world where the esteem of their office manager is existentially fulfilling." The steampunk kid responds: "My God... you guys are the best roleplayers in history."

The comic defends nerdy hobbies like steampunk and cosplay by turning the mockery back on mainstream adult life. The joke is that conventional adults engage in a far more elaborate and implausible form of make-believe -- pretending that corporate hierarchies and office politics are genuinely meaningful and fulfilling. Compared to that massive feat of collective imagination, pretending to be a steampunk adventurer is modest and self-aware. The final line reframes ordinary working life as the most impressive (and saddest) act of roleplaying ever undertaken.