Editing 506: Theft of the Magi

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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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This comic is a satirical play on {{w|O. Henry}}'s short story "{{w|The Gift of the Magi}}." In O. Henry's story, a couple with very little money goes to great lengths to purchase gifts for one another. The wife sells her prized possession, her hair, to purchase a fancy chain for her husband's prize possession, a watch; the husband sells his watch to purchase some fancy hair accessories (clips/combs) for his wife. The story is about selflessness, as each party sold their prize possession to purchase something to enhance the other's prize possession.
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This comic is a satirical play on O Henry's short story {{w|The Gift of the Magi}}. In O Henry's story, a couple with very little money go to great lengths to show purchase gifts for one another. The wife sells her prized possession, her hair, to purchase a fancy chain for her husband's prize possession, a watch; while the husband sells his watch to purchase some fancy hair accessories (clips/combs) for his wife. The story is about selflessness, as each party sold their prize possession to purchase something to enhance the other's prize possession.
  
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In this comic, however, the opposite occurs: [[Black Hat]] stole [[Danish]]'s {{w|Roomba}} (an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner) and sold it to buy {{w|Left 4 Dead|a new game}} for his {{w|Xbox}}, while Danish stole Black Hat's Xbox and sold it to buy a "dueling harness" for her Roomba, highlighting their mutually destructive selfishness. Although these actions reflect their sociopathic personalities and are at each other's detriment, both are apparently touched by the simultaneity of their selfish actions and the symmetry of the consequences. This is a play on the reaction that readers typically have upon reading the O. Henry story: although neither of the characters can actually use their gift, the gifts are touching nevertheless because they are literal symbols of the self-sacrificing love the characters have for each other.
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In this comic however, the opposite occurs: [[Black Hat]] sold [[Danish]]'s {{w|Roomba}} (an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner) to buy {{w|Left 4 Dead|a new game}} for his {{w|Xbox}}, while Danish sold Black Hat's Xbox to buy a "dueling harness" for her Roomba, highlighting their possibly mutually destructive selfishness.
  
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An alternative interpretation is that the word "AWW.", rather than an expression of being touched, is an expression of disappointment.  Thus they are each disappointed by the turn of events.
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The "dueling harness", also mentioned in the title text, is apparently an invention by [[Randall]], perhaps imagining that Roombas might be pitted in some kind of {{w|Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars}}.
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The "dueling harness," also mentioned in the title text, is an invention by [[Randall]], which presumably would allow Roombas to wield weapons and battle each other like the robots in ''{{w|Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars}}''.
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Black Hat is holding up a copy of ''Left 4 Dead''. Danish is holding up a small harness.]
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:[Black Hat is holding up a video game. Danish is holding up a harness.]
 
:Black Hat: Hey. I sold your Roomba on Craigslist so I could buy myself ''Left 4 Dead''.
 
:Black Hat: Hey. I sold your Roomba on Craigslist so I could buy myself ''Left 4 Dead''.
 
:Danish: But I eBayed your XBox so I could get this dueling harness for my Roomba!
 
:Danish: But I eBayed your XBox so I could get this dueling harness for my Roomba!
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:Black hat and Danish at the same time: Aww.
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:Black Hat: Aww.
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:Danish: Aww.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
 
[[Category:Video games]]
 
[[Category:Video games]]
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[[Category:Roomba]]
 

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