422: A Better Idea

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A Better Idea
It's *almost* enough to make me want to redo high school.
Title text: It's *almost* enough to make me want to redo high school.

Explanation[edit]

In the United States, prom (short for promenade) is a semi-formal (black tie) dance or gathering of high school students. They normally are awkward experiences for nerdy people.

A LAN party is a temporary gathering of people with computers or game consoles, between which they establish a local area network (LAN), primarily for the purpose of playing multiplayer video games. They are normally very informal.

Cueball and Megan are likely going to prom together, but they stop when they see that there's a LAN party in formal attire, meaning they wouldn't be out of place. The comic title is likely what one or both of them would say in this situation, since the LAN party is probably much more appealing than a formal ball to them.

The title text indicates that Randall would have loved for such a thing to be possible, so much that he very nearly would redo high school just to participate.

Transcript[edit]

[Cueball wearing a bow tie stands holding hands with Megan wearing a dress. On the left, there is a sign pointing left, which reads "PROM"; on the right, there is a sign pointing right, which reads "LAN PARTY IN FORMAL ATTIRE".]


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Discussion

Why almost? 173.245.55.217 16:39, 4 December 2013 (UTC)BK

Maybe because Cueball realizes that this prom brings him to an ordinary life, no LAN parties any more, but he just wants go back to that parties.--Dgbrt (talk) 21:58, 4 December 2013 (UTC)
My guess is it's because high school itself isn't necessarily all that pleasant (though your mileage may vary); would you really enroll in four more years of high school just for a single LAN party in formal attire at the end? Even if you could be the appropriate age for the duration? The title text indicates that he doesn't quite consider the trade-off likely to be worth it. Nyperold (talk) 20:00, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

This could be looked at as exactly the reverse as well, and I don't see any clear way to pick one over the other as the intended meaning of the strip. Cueball could have simply dumped his date and gone to the LAN party. Now in hindsight he regrets that he chose the LAN party over the possibility of a continued relationship with his prom date. (Who we assume would have dumped him on the spot!)ExternalMonolog (talk) 21:27, 21 January 2014 (UTC)ExternalMonolog

Why are we assuming Cueball is the one interested in the LAN part instead of Megan? The comic gives no indication whether Cueball, Megan, or both are enticed by the prospect. 162.158.69.169 21:19, 26 September 2017 (UTC)

I always assumed that "LAN party in formal attire" was a joke that combined "LAN party" and "lawn party in formal attire."Birdsinthewindow (talk) 02:32, 25 April 2022 (UTC)