Editing 3246: Speedrun

{{comic
| number    = 3246
| date      = May 15, 2026
| title     = Speedrun
| image     = speedrun_2x.png
| imagesize = 288x343px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Usain Bolt holds the world record in the 100 meter speedrun.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a SPEEDRUNNING BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
{{w|Speedrunning}} is the sport of completing a {{w|video game}} as fast as possible.
This comic shows Cueball sitting at a desk complaining that his speedrun got deleted off of [https://www.speedrun.com/ Speedrun.com], which is a popular leaderboard aggregator for speedrunners.

A {{w|tool-assisted speedrun}} (or TAS for short) is a speedrun that uses software tools to make certain hard or even humanly impossible inputs easily. ''{{w|Lateralus}}'' and ''{{w|Ænima}}'' are albums by the band {{w|Tool (band)|Tool}}. This comic makes use of a pun, where rather than using third party tools to assist him in beating a video game as quickly as possible, Cueball is getting "assistance" from the rock band Tool in the form of background music to help him concentrate, which would be considered 'third-party' if Tool was not directly related to the game. In real life, a speedrun would be unlikely to be removed based on the music one is listening to while completing it, though it may be considered similar to using a {{w|metronome}}, a [https://www.reddit.com/r/speedrun/s/ODqJcAWcKg controversial topic] due to the fact that a metronome could be very useful if the game one is playing requires some sort of rhythm or precision. The comic could also be referencing Alex Honnold’s ascent of the Taipei 101 tower, during which he listened to Tool.

The title text is a pun on the word "speedrun". {{w|Usain Bolt}}'s 100-meter dash record is a world-record "speedrun" in the sense that it is literally a speedy run and also an attempt by someone to complete a task as fast as possible (it is common on the internet for people to jokingly refer to a task they are completing very quickly  as a speedrun). The notion of such a record being classified as a legitimate speedrun isn't farfetched as Speedrun.com has some leaderboards for [https://www.speedrun.com/series/IRL In Real Life] records. The use of "speedrun" to refer to an actual fast run may be considered to be a case of [[3123: Canon]].

It is possible that speedunning was on his mind due to the recent social media tend of {{w|Scientology speedrunning}}, in which someone attempts to get as deep as they can into a building belonging to the {{w|Church of Scientology}} before being kicked out. Because of this trend, the concept of speedrunning has been on many people's minds, regardless of whether or not they participate in the trend. 

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a laptop. Megan is standing behind him.]
:Cueball: Aw man, Speedrun.com removed my world record just because I listened to Lateralus and Ænima to get in the flow.
:Megan: Oh, a copyright thing?
:Cueball: No, they don't allow Tool-assisted speedruns.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Puns]]