3172: Fifteen Years

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Fifteen Years
"Want to feel old?" "Yes."
Title text: "Want to feel old?" "Yes."

    Explanation

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    Randall's then-fiancée, now wife was diagnosed with cancer in late 2010. This is a matter he has discussed in the comic multiple times before, with Randall being depicted as Cueball and his wife as Megan. At this comic's release, it had been 15 years since her diagnosis and treatments.

    This comic continues previous comics in the the series – 1141: Two Years, 1928: Seven Years, and 2386: Ten Years – the initial parts of which are shown in the first 20 panels, which are grayed-out.

    The first of the new panels shows Randall and his wife in bed, with Randall reading her a book. He wants to stop because they need to get to sleep, she convinces him to read one more chapter. It didn't take much arm-twisting, her argument was simply a grunt.

    The next panel appears to depict the Covid-19 pandemic. Hairy, Megan, Cueball, Ponytail, and White Hat are all wearing masks and looking at cellphone graphs showing the progression of the virus. Happily, they both survived this.

    The next panel shows them feeding birds. It's apparenly winter, since Randall is wearing a knit cap and they're both wearing scarves. There are three birds around Randall, including one perched on his head; there's one bird that has landed on Megan's phone. Randall concludes that the birds like his birdseed more than hers.

    Transcript

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    Discussion

    Part of a series:

    --Pgn674 (talk) 21:28, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    Category:X Years. 64.201.132.210 22:03, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    "Growing old is a fabulous alternative to death." 85.255.235.101 21:30, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    OH MY GOD THIS IS SO SWEET EEEEEEEEEE. So happy for you Randall! <3 42.book.addictTalk to me! 21:36, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    this made me, too, tear up - Vaedez (talk) 00:22, 25 November 2025 (UTC)
    Me too - love it. I do feel old but I'm old now, so it's better cause the alternative... --Kynde (talk) 08:49, 25 November 2025 (UTC)
    Honestly! Hands-down one of the best series of comics Randall's made. I can't believe I got to see this! RadiantRainwing (talk) 19:02, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Growing old ... together. 64.201.132.210 21:59, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    The paragraph about the title text could use a reference to the series of comics of the form "Students graduating this year have never...". I'm not sure how to find them. Barmar (talk) 22:11, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    I added a link to what I think is the right category. It might be a little too broad though. 2601:281:C802:9170:0:0:0:4150 01:53, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Just. The. Cutest. This is an ideal relationship.--Maxcodes (talk) 22:32, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    I love being reminded I’m (pretty dang sure I’m) going to die alone, yaaaaaay 2600:4040:12A0:E200:D1D1:1F63:C1A:31F2 23:05, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

    Please don't sell yourself short! Being without a romantic relationship doesn't have to mean being alone <3. You have time to develop deep friendships if you find out how! 45.42.74.249 15:45, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

    yay they have survived Mathmaster (talk)

    As John Lennon once said, “Grow old along with me.” KelOfTheStars! (talk) 00:19, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Actually, that was Robert Browning in his poem Rabbi Ben Ezra. --2A00:23CC:D248:8901:9DA0:24CB:6AE7:BB09 09:01, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

    This weekend, as well as today, I've been quite sick. This was a much-needed boost. <3 love ya, Randall. --DollarStoreBa'alConverse 02:28, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    This might be my favorite xkcd comic of all time. 68.2.204.250 03:02, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Yessss! RadiantRainwing (talk) 19:02, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Based on the pattern, the next in the series will be "Eighteen Years" 209.52.88.184 03:23, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Nah, a +5,+3,+5,+3 seems too basic. Maybe 22 would work, since this is maximum k for which the grid graph P_2 X P_k is a subgraph of the n X n knight graph. Definitely didn't just copy from the oeis. ANYWAYS, by the time they get to 46 we'll have solved it by then... --2.50.0.22 03:39, 25 November 2025 (UTC)
    I feel like there's an implicit 0 at the start of the sequence (representing the initial diagnosis), which makes A246128 the only match and therefore the next one will be 23 years. Zmatt (talk) 10:59, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

    Very happy for Randall here, this is very sweet. Clayel (talk) 03:42, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    Why is my vision getting so blurry? Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 08:29, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    This is such a BEAUTIFUL comic! So happy for the two of them VascoTabasco (talk) 11:44, 25 November 2025 (UTC)Vasco

    I come here for a wry smile, not to be made to weep. 31.94.28.99 (talk) 14:49, 25 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    Then smile wryly (wryly? really?!?!) about the symptoms we all are getting ;-) 195.49.224.20 18:06, 25 November 2025 (UTC)
    Don't you mean 'wreally?'? 82.13.184.33 08:35, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

    After rereading the series, I wonder what happend with the date they made for the 2024 eclipse. 195.49.224.20 18:06, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    My sister found out she had breast cancer in August so this hit me harder than previous 'installments' have. This is also a type that is resistant to pretty much anything but chemo which she is undergoing now. These give me hope, though, knowing someone else made it through their treatments. 108.85.230.207 (talk) 18:31, 25 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    This is just the sweetest. Also, the longest. Several seconds to scroll all the way down at this point. RadiantRainwing (talk) 19:03, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

    I always hoped there’d be a follow-up of them watching the 2024 eclipse like they hoped to in “Seven Years”— this doesn’t indicate if they saw it or not, but I hope they did. <3 69.116.215.42 (talk) 20:33, 25 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    What a beautiful love story! Here's to the next 15 years for you and your wife. 12.129.176.226 (talk) 10:45, 26 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    I hope for them to have a wonderful time together, Randall, I really love xkcd. Got cancer myself in 2010 and know what it feels like to still become old in love. 127.0.0.1 (talk) 10:49, 26 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    This is so very very sweet, I wish them all the best! 141.53.67.241 (talk) 13:15, 26 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    Wow. Sweet, scary and real. I'm in the middle of my Year Two and so much of the comic is familiar. I wish Megan and Cue the best of luck. 2600:1702:7a0:8230:1144:7f10:8b8d:3f6f (talk) 15:13, 26 November 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    Wow. Just wow! Such a deep and sweet post. Phoe6 (talk) 18:02, 26 November 2025 (UTC)

    Awww.... 66.189.7.60 16:35, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

    You bastard Monroe. If I'm crying on the train home from work, I should at least be crying about my own stuff, surely? Yorkshire Pudding (talk) 18:14, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

    Well, I did not expect to cry over the latest XKCD comic. Congratulations to you both on finding each other and helping to keep each other alive. 104.160.57.13 (talk) 13:17, 28 November 2025 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    I concur with the last 2 comments... "I think we're getting old" [... together ...] "It's all I wanted" makes my eyes leak drips of bittersweet joy 2607:F2C0:F00F:8C00:0:0:0:CB9 19:42, 30 November 2025 (UTC)

    The title text could also be a reference to the proverb "everyone wants to get old, but no one wants to be old". 82.132.239.204 (talk) 12:48, 1 December 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    This is one of the best XKCD comics I ever read 2607:FEA8:52A6:F100:3930:279A:3B23:94C7 04:58, 3 December 2025 (UTC)
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