420: Jealousy

Jealousy

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Title text: Oh, huh, so you didn't know that story?

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Explanation

In the first four stanzas of this soliloquy, Cueball reminisces fondly about meeting Megan at a party where they quickly had a romantic rapport and spent the night together. The next two stanzas are a lamentation that Megan is now married and can never have that same experience again. The final stanza reveals that this is not merely Cueball waxing poetic about a previous love, but that he is actually making a toast at Megan's wedding reception.

The men serving in a wedding are known as the groomsmen and, in traditional weddings, are selected by the groom. Cueball may be the best man since he was asked to give a speech, so the groom likely considers Cueball a very close friend. At a wedding, toasts are short speeches given to celebrate those getting married and wish them well in their future together. Cueball's speech is entirely inappropriate for a wedding: he is clearly bitter about the marriage, and discussing a newlywed's previous romantic involvement may distract from focusing on their future.

The title text implies that the groom had no prior knowledge of Cueball's and Megan's dalliance. This new information may cause the groom distress in various ways. He may be hurt by Megan not sharing this event with him and could start to worry that she is not honest or open about other things in her life. This effect could be amplified if Megan was already in a romantic relationship with the groom when this event happened, as he may consider it a form of cheating. He may also worry that Megan's previous love for Cueball didn't end, and that it will get in the way of the groom's relationship with Megan.

The title suggests that Cueball is envious of the groom, since his previous encounter with Megan did not result in a lasting relationship while the groom's did. He may be intentionally making an inappropriate toast to embarrass the couple as a result of his bitterness, or he may simply be unable to act like he's pleased about the marriage. Either impulse could be amplified by the influence of alcohol, which is often enjoyed at weddings.

This was only the third time the name Megan was used in xkcd, the first time being in 159: Boombox.

Transcript

[Dark scene shown, with Cueball and Megan sitting in the moonlight let in by the only window.]

Megan and I first met at a party at her sister's.

We hit it off, opened up, shared secrets, and talked about everything. Around us, the party waned, but we hid from sleep together, talking through the deepest hours of the night.

The dawn found us curled up on a couch, asleep but still together.

That experience, connecting with a stranger and falling recklessly in love is one of life's greatest joys.

And now that you're married, you'll never experience it again.

It's the price you pay for everlasting love. It's a small one, but I hope it stings a little.

Anyway, I wish you and Megan the best.

...Hey, man, you asked me to do a toast.

Trivia

This comic used to be available as a signed print in the xkcd store before it was shut down.

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Discussion

I love this one, if only for the fact that it's arguably the coldest, bitterest humor of any XKCD strip. 173.245.55.210 17:19, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Coincidentally, I happened on nos. 420 "Jealousy" and 807 "Connected" consecutively while clicking through the random button on the XKCD site. Randall wouldn't mess with randomness, right? 199.27.133.83 18:48, 4 January 2015 (UTC)Merek

Surely not. NixillUmbreon (talk) 17:07, 3 March 2019 (UTC)

imagine unironically acting like a retard at somebody's wedding lmao

what if its Cueball's best friend words at Cueball and Megan wedding. he s jealous (title) of their eternal love so he tries to downplay it with twisted ideas such as "you ll never experience it again". of course transitioning from alone to connected you wont experience it again, because now you re eternally connected.

goddamn dude, i just got attacked by xkcd lmao. Still one of my favourite things, idc :) stevethenoob 00:07, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
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