Editing 1141: Two Years
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic marks the second year of [[Randall Munroe]]'s wife's battle with cancer, and appears to depict actual events from those two years. Randall is depicted as [[Cueball]] and his wife as [[Megan]], as usual for both | + | This comic marks the second year of [[Randall Munroe]]'s wife's battle with cancer, and appears to depict actual events from those two years. Randall is depicted as [[Cueball]] and his wife as [[Megan]], as per usual for both. |
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[[Image:two years key.png|right]] | [[Image:two years key.png|right]] | ||
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*Panel 3: The two of them spend time alone together, experiencing something beautiful in the world for it may be one of her last chances to do so. Randall reinforces this sentiment in panel 8. In this panel (#3) she wears a {{w|knit cap}} presumably because it is cold, as well as the fact that patients with hair loss from chemo are urged by doctors to keep their heads covered to protect their scalps from the sun. | *Panel 3: The two of them spend time alone together, experiencing something beautiful in the world for it may be one of her last chances to do so. Randall reinforces this sentiment in panel 8. In this panel (#3) she wears a {{w|knit cap}} presumably because it is cold, as well as the fact that patients with hair loss from chemo are urged by doctors to keep their heads covered to protect their scalps from the sun. | ||
*Panel 4: The couple waits for a phone call from her doctor to hear the results of a scan. Both are clearly impatient and anxious. | *Panel 4: The couple waits for a phone call from her doctor to hear the results of a scan. Both are clearly impatient and anxious. | ||
− | *Panel 5: More chemotherapy. The couple plays {{w|Scrabble}}, in which players use letter tiles to spell words in a cross-word style. She uses the fact that she has cancer as leverage to get Randall to ignore the fact that the word she has played ('''zarg''') is not a real word | + | *Panel 5: More chemotherapy. The couple plays {{w|Scrabble}}, in which players use letter tiles to spell words in a cross-word style. She uses the fact that she has cancer as leverage to get Randall to ignore the fact that the word she has played ('''zarg''') is not a real word. |
*Panel 6: Someone suggests they come for a visit next year, but all they can think about are the words "next year." Their future is entirely uncertain because of her health, making long-term planning a consistent source of worry and doubt. In this panel she wears a knit cap to hide her missing hair. | *Panel 6: Someone suggests they come for a visit next year, but all they can think about are the words "next year." Their future is entirely uncertain because of her health, making long-term planning a consistent source of worry and doubt. In this panel she wears a knit cap to hide her missing hair. | ||
*Panel 7: Randall and his fiancée marry. With the chemotherapy completed, her hair has grown back enough that she has stopped using her knit cap. | *Panel 7: Randall and his fiancée marry. With the chemotherapy completed, her hair has grown back enough that she has stopped using her knit cap. | ||
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*Panel 11: Randall and his wife go out to dinner to celebrate the fact that she has made it two years since her {{w|biopsy}}. This turns awkward for [[Hairy]], the waiter, since he had assumed it was an anniversary of their marriage. | *Panel 11: Randall and his wife go out to dinner to celebrate the fact that she has made it two years since her {{w|biopsy}}. This turns awkward for [[Hairy]], the waiter, since he had assumed it was an anniversary of their marriage. | ||
− | The title text is referring to a possible {{w|Chemotherapy#Neurological adverse effects|side-effect of chemotherapy drugs}}, the inability to concentrate. It could also just be the fact that the chemo can make you feel just terrible. When whatever effect kicks in, she loses the rest of their Scrabble games for that day. However, as we see in panel 5, there is a reason why she wins ''all'' of the first half of their games. But this is not enough, or she even forgets to play on the cancer, when the drugs | + | The title text is referring to a possible {{w|Chemotherapy#Neurological adverse effects|side-effect of chemotherapy drugs}}, the inability to concentrate. It could also just be the fact that the chemo can make you feel just terrible. When whatever effect kicks in, she loses the rest of their Scrabble games for that day. However, as we see in panel 5, there is a reason why she wins ''all'' of the first half of their games. But this is not enough, or she even forgets to play on the cancer, when the drugs takes effect. |
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+ | Knit caps have only been used a few times in xkcd, most prominently on [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|Knit Cap Girl]] in [[1350: Lorenz]], see her section for more details. | ||
− | + | This strip is continued in [[1928: Seven Years]]. | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:[Randall and Randall's fiancée (wearing a knit cap) are listening to a Cueball-like friend. A large thought bubble is above their heads and it obscures the friends talk. The text below, split in three is the only part there can be no doubt about:] | :[Randall and Randall's fiancée (wearing a knit cap) are listening to a Cueball-like friend. A large thought bubble is above their heads and it obscures the friends talk. The text below, split in three is the only part there can be no doubt about:] | ||
− | :Friend: So next year you should come visit us up in the mounta | + | :Friend: So next year you should come visit us up in the mounta |
− | ::a | + | ::a |
− | ::and | + | ::and |
:Randall and Randall's fiancée (thinking): '''"Next year"''' | :Randall and Randall's fiancée (thinking): '''"Next year"''' | ||
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==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
− | While it is known that Randall's wife has since survived more than two years past the date of the invitation in Panel 6, it is unknown whether the invitation was later accepted | + | |
+ | While it is known that Randall's wife has since survived more than two years past the date of the invitation in Panel 6, it is unknown whether the invitation was later accepted, as the followup comic [[Seven Years]] does not seem to include a visit "up in the mountains" among its various other recreational activities. However, since it is possible that the invitation was made up for the comic in order to represent the worry over any invitation envisioning the future at that time, it is possible that it was never proposed as depicted in the comic. Therefore, the real life invitation(s) which inspired the inclusion of Panel 6 in the comic could perhaps have referred in real life to an activity that is actually depicted in [[Seven Years]], or to some other activity, which then may or may not have been realized. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | ||
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] | [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | ||
[[Category:Cancer]] | [[Category:Cancer]] | ||
[[Category:Romance]] | [[Category:Romance]] | ||
[[Category:Video games]] | [[Category:Video games]] | ||
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