THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => ALICE GROVE => Topic started by: Kugai on 01 Feb 2015, 11:54
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Another Month upon us.
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Hm... If the vacation does indeed become permanent, then "Blue Monkeyboy Waiter" is plausible. Ardent's going to need to make money somehow, and I don't see him having a lot of marketable skills.
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Gavia can always blow stuff up. Unless, of course, that talent is cancelled by her nanotech getting smooshed by Alice.
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If multiple votes were allowed, I'd vote for both Alice going on a Quest and the Vicissitudes (accidentally) causing chaos. However, two panicking super-children is the most likely content of the next chapter. Alice's quest will follow later on once she's sure Jack and Maggie Wheelright have their... er... 'guests' nailed down to reasonable behaviour.
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Ask and ye shall receive BenRG, there are now TWO Voting Options available.
And to be fair to everyone else, I've reset the Vote Count to zero so you may all Revote.
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Hm. Any possibility that Chapter Two might be a cutaway to the outer world, showing just what the hell's up with the Praesides?
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Ask and ye shall receive BenRG, there are now TWO Voting Options available.
And to be fair to everyone else, I've reset the Vote Count to zero so you may all Revote.
Dangit!
Should've read that first, THEN voted.
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Here are some of my impressions after reading Chapter One:
- Alice's "grove" (for lack of a better word) seems to lack basic civil administration. There is a doc (http://40.media.tumblr.com/2cba17d0661e6821d52556e7576b1e14/tumblr_nhdhs7tSw71tl5t55o1_1280.png), probably providing basic health care, but no signs of a mayor or police force (I guess the explosion would have triggered some action if they existed).
- Alice seems to assume the role as witch, mayor, judge, adviser, or police force whenever necessary. She is treated with respect, people seem to be in awe of her.
- This tells me the grove is not part of a bigger society, but a relatively happy, isolated, self-sufficient, and possibly quite primitive community of a few hundred people maximum.
- Also, Alice is not part of that society. She knows things others are not aware of, and has strange powers. The best analogy I can think of, is that she is some kind of foreign aid worker or caretaker, charged with governing this place and keeping the inhabitants happy.
- So, what is the bigger context? Is the grove some kind of preserve or museum? The outside world may use it as a kind of social experiment, or just for their own entertainment, but are prohibited from interfering with it (except for Alice, of course).
- The outside world seems to be run by the Praeses, which seem to be a collection of AIs. The AI known as Cupressaceae seems to be Gavia and Ardent's superior, mentor, or possibly (rebellious) slave.
- Ardent and Gavia seem to be utterly spoiled brats, possibly from always getting what they want. Cupressaceae might want to improve their behavior, by forcing primitive life upon them for a while.
- As the grove is not used to visitors, this is probably not a common punishment (or there may be other groves also set up for this purpose).
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Here are some of my impressions after reading Chapter One:
- Alice's "grove" (for lack of a better word) seems to lack basic civil administration. There is a doc (http://40.media.tumblr.com/2cba17d0661e6821d52556e7576b1e14/tumblr_nhdhs7tSw71tl5t55o1_1280.png), probably providing basic health care, but no signs of a mayor or police force (I guess the explosion would have triggered some action if they existed).
- Alice seems to assume the role as witch, mayor, judge, adviser, or police force whenever necessary. She is treated with respect, people seem to be in awe of her.
- This tells me the grove is not part of a bigger society, but a relatively happy, isolated, self-sufficient, and possibly quite primitive community of a few hundred people maximum.
- Also, Alice is not part of that society. She knows things others are not aware of, and has strange powers. The best analogy I can think of, is that she is some kind of foreign aid worker or caretaker, charged with governing this place and keeping the inhabitants happy.
- So, what is the bigger context? Is the grove some kind of preserve or museum? The outside world may use it as a kind of social experiment, or just for their own entertainment, but are prohibited from interfering with it (except for Alice, of course).
- The outside world seems to be run by the Praeses, which seem to be a collection of AIs. The AI known as Cupressaceae seems to be Gavia and Ardent's superior, mentor, or possibly (rebellious) slave.
- Ardent and Gavia seem to be utterly spoiled brats, possibly from always getting what they want. Cupressaceae might want to improve their behavior, by forcing primitive life upon them for a while.
- As the grove is not used to visitors, this is probably not a common punishment (or there may be other groves also set up for this purpose).
Good Analysis, I personally think Alice is one of Ardent's and Gaiva's people (or at least affiliated with them in someway). Would explain what she knows so much about them and why the townspeople would hold her in high regards.
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Hm. Any possibility that Chapter Two might be a cutaway to the outer world, showing just what the hell's up with the Praesides?
I don't think so myself. Jeph has gone to a lot of trouble to invest readers in this story by giving them lots of unanswered questions about Praesides, and it strikes me as too early in the story to start giving us answers. Mysteries can't be resolved too soon or it ruins the effect of having them in the first place. Also, the fact this story is named after Alice indicates to me that it is highly unlikely we will ever be very far away from her and she is currently nowhere near a Praesides.
I predict chapter two is going to be based around gags of Ardent and Gavia experiencing culture shock as they adjust to the fact they are trapped on a primitive world. Gavia looks like she's about to have a full on freak out and after her explosion display I think she's going to find herself a deeply unpopular person in the village, and Ardent clearly has no idea how their society works as he is only familiar with the concept of an economy based around money in theory and was shocked it is appropriate for women to respond with physical violence to being propositioned.
I could be wrong though. For all I know, Alice has ways of communicating and gathering information from the places outside her home that she is about to start using.
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My expectation/hope is that chapter two will start with us discovering just what the hell Jack has been doing all this time.
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My expectation/hope is that chapter two will start with us discovering just what the hell Jack has been doing all this time.
"Miz Alice? I got the towels and hot water you asked for!"
"Good. Gavia, whilst you're stuck here, your first lesson is to wash down my dirty dishware."
"WHAAAT?
"Ardent, you can dry afterwards."
"WHAAAT?"
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And Alice is grinning her creepiest grin while she says the above. She's enjoying this part.
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Withdrawal symptoms starting to set in.
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Argghhhh puhleeeeese update today!!11!
Still I must say adding the structure of chapters is a nice idea.. just without the break would be best! :psyduck:
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My expectation/hope is that chapter two will start with us discovering just what the hell Jack has been doing all this time.
"Miz Alice? I got the towels and hot water you asked for!"
"Good. Gavia, whilst you're stuck here, your first lesson is to wash down my dirty dishware."
"WHAAAT?
"Ardent, you can dry afterwards."
"WHAAAT?"
This turned out to be a surprisingly prescient prediction (minus the part about Jack).
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Bet that this has been the first 'Real' work those two have done.
And nice to see Ardent got his tail back. :)
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It's been "weeks", but that's still pretty quick to regrow a full-length tail, I'd say.
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It's been "weeks", but that's still pretty quick to regrow a full-length tail, I'd say.
That's the wonders of nanotech, I guess! Ardent's nanobots have probably been working overtime to turn every bit of excess nutrient he consumes into a new tail. He's probably been 'overeating' by baseline human standards but something tells me that Alice knows how the technology well enough not to mind.
Notice that Gavia is flying and telekinetically manipulating the pail. I think that she has decided that she is not going to touch the dirt (yuck!) or get her hands dirty with these 'primitive' chores and implements (yuck!). I have the feeling that Ardent is going to throw himself into the local culture feet first (if he and Jack don't end up as BFFs, I'll be surprised). I'm also betting he'll unintentionally cause a lot of trouble along the way! Gavia, on the other hand, will probably have to be dragged kicking and screaming into socialising with the 'primitives' or having anything beyond the bare minimum to do with this world where she's stuck for the moment. Whilst Ardent is happily wearing what I suspect is a shirt Jack leant to him, Gavia is still wearing her futuristic space-robes. Wearing the disgusting bio-product apparel of the Preserve is another thing that she will only do under threat of immediate harm.
Something tells me that Alice would consider dragging Gavia kicking and screaming to do something or forcing to do something to fit in a personal pleasure. I'm waiting for the first time we see poor Gavia stuffed into one of those 19th Century dresses to attend the Town Fayre or something. :-D
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It's been "weeks", but that's still pretty quick to regrow a full-length tail, I'd say.
"Regeneration is not an instant process," study co-author Elizabeth Hutchins, a graduate student at the university, said in a written statement. "It takes lizards more than 60 days to regenerate a functional tail."
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105004
That is over eight weeks, and Ardent is significantly bigger than a lizard. But most lizards don't have nanotech and rich resources of handwavium.
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Bet that this has been the first 'Real' work those two have done.
And nice to see Ardent got his tail back. :)
Also nice that Ardent found some clothes as well lol
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Also nice that Ardent found some clothes as well lol
I'm wondering if Jack lent him those clothes. I have a bad feeling that Ardent will 'corrupt' Jack and Jack, in turn, will 'corrupt' Ardent.
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Yeah, blue nipples make me feel weird.
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Yeah, blue nipples make me feel weird.
I think that is a sign of the onset of hypothermia.
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Well, it depends rather whether they are your nipples or someone else's.
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Ferdinand to Alice's Miranda?
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Cool, he regrew his tail.
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It was taped back on. Duct tape: it's useful for everything.
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Cute lil plant guy has teeth?
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The best plants eat animals.
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We'll call him Audry III.
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Feed me, Seymour!
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Is that thing from Mario?
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The Yin and Yang of their High Tech world.
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Gavia seems like the type of person to buy extra lives on Candy Crush Saga.
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The Yin and Yang of their High Tech world.
Not quite; Ardent just doesn't use it constantly. This plays into my idea that the Praesedes want the Vicissitudes to learn how to live low-tech and in a less self-centered society.
Yeah, that's a carnivorous plant alright. I'm wondering wondering if removing 'alien invaders' like that is part of her job as Caretaker? Will Audrey III be replanted or thrown into the fire? If it's the latter, then Ardent and Gavia are lucky to be alive!
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So Ardent's a biohacker and Gavia prefers technology indistinguishable from magic. I get the feeling that, in their society, for however many people (n) you gather, you'll find n# of philosophies regarding how they use their technology.
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So Ardent's a biohacker and Gavia prefers technology indistinguishable from magic. I get the feeling that, in their society, for however many people (n) you gather, you'll find n# of philosophies regarding how they use their technology.
More like n2.
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So they're humans... huh.
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So they're humans... huh.
Humans from such a technologically advanced society that total body modification or the casual use of technologically-provided superpowers are considered mundane and day-to-day things.
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I think we just got Alice's philosophy on all of this too.
Gavia can float. Jack saw Alice "flying" when she fell from the wind turbine, and survived.
I think Alice can use nanotech, but it's a "only in cases of dire emergency" thing.
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I think we just got Alice's philosophy on all of this too.
Gavia can float. Jack saw Alice "flying" when she fell from the wind turbine, and survived.
I think Alice can use nanotech, but it's a "only in cases of dire emergency" thing.
Gavia seems like the type of person to buy extra lives on Candy Crush Saga.
So to use a similar analogy, Alice is the kind of person that looks for a guide when she gets stuck?
(Ardent would be the dude that buys those 20$ skins in League of Legends)
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Is that thing from Mario?
Yes, it is a potted piranha plant (http://www.mariowiki.com/Potted_Piranha_Plant). Probably very dangerous. Apparently, genetic engineering has progressed to a level where they can create plants from fiction.
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I think the over-reaching arc of the comic is going to revolve around the introduction of nanotech to the society Alice lives in.
Alice is clearly trying to prevent such an introduction. I'm assuming she has nanotech herself ('flying', being referred to as a witch by the locals) and that is why she lives a bit out from the town. She's made it obvious she doesn't want Ardent and Gavia mixing with the townspeople, referring to them as "simple people with simple lives" (http://www.alicegrove.com/page/28). I get the impression she isn't all that sold on nanotech, even if she uses it herself when necessary. She certainly thinks the town would be better off without it.
The question is, is this the plan of the Praeses in tricking Ardent and Gavia into being trapped wherever it is the comic is based? To introduce nantoech to a simple townspeople? And is it for benevolent or malicious reasons?
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I think we just got Alice's philosophy on all of this too.
Gavia can float. Jack saw Alice "flying" when she fell from the wind turbine, and survived.
I think Alice can use nanotech, but it's a "only in cases of dire emergency" thing.
Gavia seems like the type of person to buy extra lives on Candy Crush Saga.
So to use a similar analogy, Alice is the kind of person that looks for a guide when she gets stuck?
(Ardent would be the dude that buys those 20$ skins in League of Legends)
Hey! Don't judge me.. DJ Sona is cool....
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"I reject everything about your modern civilization! Except for the parts I like."
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It's entirely possible that Alice's nanotech is fully integrated into her system and that she couldn't be rid of it if she wanted.
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I think we just got Alice's philosophy on all of this too.
Gavia can float. Jack saw Alice "flying" when she fell from the wind turbine, and survived.
I think Alice can use nanotech, but it's a "only in cases of dire emergency" thing.
Gavia seems like the type of person to buy extra lives on Candy Crush Saga.
So to use a similar analogy, Alice is the kind of person that looks for a guide when she gets stuck?
(Ardent would be the dude that buys those 20$ skins in League of Legends)
Hey! Don't judge me.. DJ Sona is cool....
I head she has some funky meta stuff, like being capable of changing songs and having your teammates listen to your beat. I know some actual DJs have looked at it if only for the novelty xD
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Okay, the last comic made a lot of things clear to me. Mainly because Gavia referred to human history. That implies that she and Ardent are in fact human, even if they live in space, not aliens at all.
I think we're looking at a classic sort of post-singularity/post-human world here. AI has advanced so much that they're basically indistinguishable from gods to normal folks. Present day high technology is indistinguishable from magic. Humans can alter their DNA at a whim. Most humans may have downloaded into machines at this point, which might explain why the Earth seems (so far) to be empty. Alternately Alice's "grove" might just be a tucked away refuge for baseline humans.
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So Ardent's a biohacker and Gavia prefers technology indistinguishable from magic. I get the feeling that, in their society, for however many people (n) you gather, you'll find n# of philosophies regarding how they use their technology.
More like n2.
I would hypothesize that it's more nx.
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What about n! ?
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Ahem:
(http://img.geocaching.com/cache/3b3d5668-4982-440a-9306-70c1342dd45a.jpg)
:parrot:
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Why is everyone taking it as a given the Praeses are AIs?
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Why is everyone taking it as a given the Praeses are AIs?
Ardent did call one an "it", but maybe it could just be extraterrestrial
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Given the extent of tinkering with one's own body that is implied to be possible in this universe, the distinction between AI and human may be a bit arbitrary. Some people point to AI upgrading its own intelligence as a critical point, but I don't see the human equivalent of that scenario mentioned nearly as much. Such tinkering with the structure of one's own mind may have odd effects...
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What made me think the Praeses were an AI was that Gavia talked up to the sky (as opposed to the SF equivalent of a phone) and not only expected to be heard instantly, she also expected action to be taken instantly. It's usually AIs rather than humans who are capable of that sort of thing. Clearly this is the usual thing which happens when Gavia talks to a Praeses as when she got no answer within ten seconds she knew something was hideously wrong and got really upset.
Also, at one point Alice said it wasn't possible to trick a Praeses. I wondered if that was propaganda, but it could be considered another hint that Praeses aren't human as humans are very trickable.
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Well, we know they're not Borg
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Still don't see why they have to be AIs. Plenty of mythical/scifi beings may be capable of what the Praeses are implied to be able of. Could be energy beings; could be a collective responsible for watching this particular habitat. Could be "the spirit of the world", for all we know.
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My guess is that the Prasedes will turn out to be non-human and possibly non-physical intelligences. However, they are going to be so different and advanced that fitting them into neat pigeon-holes of nature is going to be difficult. They may be descended from what were AIs hundreds of generations ago but have been 'evolving' since then and have done so in such radical ways that the only thing that divides them from biological life-forms is the materials that make them up.
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It would be interesting if it turns out the entire strip takes places with the Orion's Arm universe. So far I see no evidence to suggest it doesn't besides the Praeses not having names of the major Archai. But they could be lesser Archai after all.
http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-front (http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-front)
I suspect it is not in the Orion's Arm universe, but I also expect it's setting which draws from many of the same source authors in hard science fiction. Jeph has said that Iain Banks was the single strongest influence on his writing. I'm definately getting a "The Culture" vibe from this setting.
http://jephjacques.com/post/52576357846/iain-banks-1954-2013 (http://jephjacques.com/post/52576357846/iain-banks-1954-2013)
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But is Alice human? She has never said so, and we have never seen her eat. Those jars may have been lab supplies rather than food.
Is Gavia a fish out of water visiting a witch out of fodder?
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But is Alice human? She has never said so, and we have never seen her eat. Those jars may have been lab supplies rather than food.
Is Gavia a fish out of water visiting a witch out of fodder?
The Praeses are demanding a payment to the pun jar, as the scarcity economy needs to be explained to Ardent.
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But is Alice human? She has never said so, and we have never seen her eat. Those jars may have been lab supplies rather than food.
Is Gavia a fish out of water visiting a witch out of fodder?
Well, we haven't seen her eat, but the fact there's an outhouse suggests she at least does other things humans do...
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Not convincing. Others may have lived in the house before her. Also, guests are more likely to need an outhouse than food.
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Guys guys guys. Everybody poops.
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So, what's the chance the flower in the latest strip chimes in with something next strip?
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Hmmm.. Perhaps it's a Praeses remote terminal? Say, supposing the Praeses are named after genus of trees because they are actually intelligent tree caretakers. Each overlooking their own grove, but all interconnected via plant-fiber network. Actually I started this as a joke... but I don't know. It has some appeal as a concept, and fits what we know before. That they would be referred to as 'it'. They would be incredibly long lived, could easily be 'awake' all the time and so expected to respond. They would need volunteer caretakers to deal with things they couldn't do, being immobile plant life. They could be sufficiently alien in thought patterns that it would be thought impossible to trick them. Possibly Alice's Grove (and others like them) aren't like a zoo.. but rather a colony or reclamation project. The people 'up there' have become so dependent on the Praeses and tech advanced enough to have super powers and changed your body on a genetic level, they've lost touch with nature. So you have these colonies, set down and left to develop naturally, with minimal tech for generations. An intelligent tree can certainly afford to take a long view planning approach. And the Viccisitudes have been tricked into coming down here so they can experience what natural life is like.
Talk about your literal epileptic tree....
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I kept banging my head and wracking my brains because it all sounds oh so familiar - then I looked at my anime shelf and the title jumped out at me - Tenchi Muyo!
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But I don't think Alice is Tenchi
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Nah, that's Jack's job.
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So does that mean that Alice is actually Ryoko?
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New comic up!
Well, Alice is certainly mean enough to be Ardent' mum! I do see Alice's point, although I do wonder if there is an essential antisocial aspect of her personality coming through here. She doesn't want to go to town because she doesn't like doing that.
BTW - I loved Gavia in Panel 3! Any remaining doubt that those two are just kids has now been quashed!
Prediction:
Ardent is going to sneak off when Alice is distracted and go to town. He will drag Gavia along; she'll make a show of protest but she'll cooperate as she's tired of being stuck at the cottage too. They will run into Jack and Maggie 'big ass' Wheelwright, who will introduce them to some of the town's charms. After the two out-of-town kids relax, they'll do something to attract Alice's attention. She'll be shocked when the two locals beg her not to punish their 'friends'.
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Fix'd typo
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I can see that Ardent at least, and possibly Gavia, are going to get bored of staying in the forrest cottage doing chores and wander off to do something more interesting soon, probably go to town. I'm surprised Alice can't see it coming. Although, considering how the townsfolk react to Alice, it's conceivable Alice might never have come across people who won't meekly do everything she says, trusting she knows best. The terrible twosome is about to put her through a steep learning curve if so.
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Maybe that's what Alice is waiting for - Ardent and Gavia heading back to town and get hit with the reality of their new life.
Or something like that.
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Maybe that's what Alice is waiting for - Ardent and Gavia heading back to town and get hit with the reality of their new life.
Nah, I think that Wildroses has hit the nail on the head. Alice is expecting complete and unquestioning obedience because, during her time in the Bubble, that's what she's got from the locals. Unfortunately, Ardent and Gavia don't have that level of complete awe for her that the locals have. Consequently, I think that they will wander off and end up causing trouble with the friends that they will make. Alice will come storming over after they cause a major disruption (say, Gavia showing off her telekinesis in the way a RL teen girl would show off the apps on her cell or Ardent launching a song-and-dance number in the town square).
Alice will probably be shocked beyond words when Jack stands between her and them and tells her that he won't let her hurt his friends. I can see her splutter, go bright red and rage; when that doesn't work, she'll turn her back, close her eyes and then smile, just a little. That will be the moment in which the two kids shift in her mind from being prisoners that she's monitoring until the Praesides come to collect them to being two youngsters who are her charges and responsibility to raise to useful adulthood.
I can see (many moons from now) a panel where Alice is doing something 'big sister'-ish like braiding Gavia's hair for a town festival or something whilst Gavia chatters excitedly about something Miss Wheelwright showed her in an illustrated paper. I suspect that the Praesedes' plan is for them to learn what a family really is and how to live in a close-knit community. The next level up of 'why' will probably be revealed at a later date.
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Responding to a few posts on page one, why are we assuming Alice uses nanotech? When Alice discovers Gavia uses it, then easily overpowers it, my thought was that she had natural superpowers beyond the capabilities of nanotechnology.
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Responding to a few posts on page one, why are we assuming Alice uses nanotech? When Alice discovers Gavia uses it, then easily overpowers it, my thought was that she had natural superpowers beyond the capabilities of nanotechnology.
It boils down to this argument: We have only seen three people in Alice Grove who have demonstrated more-than-human abilities. Of those, two have attributed these, directly or indirectly, to nanotechnology. Whilst it's conceivable that Alice has a different source of power, for now, Occam's Razor advises that we attribute all super-human abilities to the same means unless another source is specified in the text.
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You may be right. It just doesn't seem that simple.
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They will run into Jack and Maggie 'big ass' Wheelwright, who will introduce them to some of the town's charms.
I vote for a pool hall.
Though it seems equally likely to me the next story involve some other thing Alice has to respond to, and the complications of having the Vicissitudes with her justifying their name.
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I'm sure it's been brought up before, but comparing this (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2897) and this (http://www.alicegrove.com/image/111236978494) the only possible option is that this is post-apocalyptic Northampton and Penelope (and/or Pizza Girl) was the only survivor from pre-apocalyptic* Northampton.
*Seriously, autocorrect? I type pre-apocalyptic and your suggestion is pee-apocalyptic? WTF. :psyduck:
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*Seriously, autocorrect? I type pre-apocalyptic and your suggestion is pee-apocalyptic? WTF. :psyduck:
Yeah, I'd watch something like that.
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I'm not sure I buy the Alice as Pizza Girl theory. It's just a little bit too out there.
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I'm not sure I buy the Alice as Pizza Girl theory. It's just a little bit too out there.
Pen-Pen has lips, Alice doesn't.
Wait, Alice doesn't have lips? She's trans right? :mrgreen:
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(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/black/scornful-smiley-emoticon.png)
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Comic.
- This is bothering Gavia more than anything.
- I'm not putting much into the constellation splatter in the background, as any indication we're not on Earth.
- There must not be a whole lot of room in the cabin if Ardent has to sleep on the floor next to Alice.
- This may or may not confirm that Alice is a "real human" and not an AI.
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I just love the sibling interaction between Ardent and Gavia. They're basically typical teens with Clarke-tech superpowers.
Jeph managed to make Gavia look really forlorn in panel 3. Poor kid is marooned far from home. Fortunately for her, she's got a brother to blame for it! I'm still thinking that they were tricked into this situation.
Regarding the sleeping arrangements, I think that Alice is hoping that Ardent and Gavia are only short-term guests, so she hasn't acquired extra furniture. We'll see if that changes with time. Also, Alice knows Ardent has sneaked out. I think that she probably trusts the kids more than she says; she just wants them to get to the point where they volunteer to do things her way to get what they want.
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Alice may also be wondering if the terrible twosome really are as trapped as they claim and this isn't some elaborate plot against her town, so she wants to watch them while they believe they are unobserved. I bet she's hiding in the bushes listening to them talk.
I also think Gavia being mad at Ardent for their current situation is justified. Gavia wouldn't be down there if Ardent hadn't have gone, something everyone agrees is not allowed.
And as I was writing that I began to wonder...how did she know Ardent had gone to the forbidden world and who decided she should fetch him? Was it all her idea, or did someone else ask her to? Or was she manipulated into thinking it was her idea as part of a larger scheme?
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And as I was writing that I began to wonder...how did she know Ardent had gone to the forbidden world and who decided she should fetch him? Was it all her idea, or did someone else ask her to? Or was she manipulated into thinking it was her idea as part of a larger scheme?
To me, I think it's pretty clear that Gavia was manipulated into going after Ardent.
I can see Cupressaceae saying something to Gavia like this: "Alas, my dear, your brother has done something rather foolish! He has gone into one of the Preserves against the law! I could have him retrieved quite easily but that would mean an official report being placed on his record! It could ruin him and anyone who is associated with him! Ah, if only someone could quickly pop into the Preserve and fetch Ardent back before anyone else finds out! Oh well, there's no possibility of that, I suppose! I will now take an over-exaggeratedly long time to make my official report whilst leaving behind a transporter programmed for his location and with all the security locks disabled for some reason. Don't do anything rash, my dear! Everything is under control!"
Gavia, either out of love for Ardent or a desire not to be tarred by his brush, took the bait and Cupressaceae then quietly shut down his/her/its signal receiver channel for the Vicissitude kids, thus ensuring that he/she/it doesn't get any recall requests for them.
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What about n! ?
I read this as "ni," and immediately wondered if Gavia and Ardent were looking for a shrubbery.
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Then they are in luck. Alice's cabin is surrounded by shrubbery (http://www.alicegrove.com/image/110592245349).
Hm, hadn't noticed until looking at that first panel just now how close the outhouse is to the well. I suppose if the groundwater flows in the right direction it won't be a problem. I still would have put the outhouse farther away.
Anyway, back to today's comic: When I saw that first panel I thought Ardent was looking longingly at Alice. I mean, he did come down here to get laid, and he's had zero luck with that so far. Turns out he was just looking for a chance to sneak outside.
I wonder if Gavia has an altitude limit. And if it's a natural limit, or just whatever will keep her from getting in trouble with the FAA.
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I think she's probably limited by how much her Nanotech can protect her from such things as Oxygen Deprivation or running into Birds.
I wonder if Alice will have to build an extension.
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Next strip, Gavia and Ardent being chased out of town by villagers with torches and pitchforks.
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"They didn't start until you turned on that chase music!"
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Thanks a lot, it's stuck in my head now (you know the one).
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I got news for these two
Alice ain't asleep
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I got news for these two
Alice ain't asleep
I'm expecting/hoping for more explosions. There's a reason why Michael Bay wins so many best director Oscars. Explosions, so majestic.
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Michael Bay?
MICHAEL BAY??!!!
YOU GO WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT THIS INSTANT!!!!!!!
;D
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He's a hero, don't you speak ill of him!
(sarcasm aside, I read somewhere that he's actually very respected by other directors for how he films things, it's just that he mayyyyyy love explosions and money much more than making good movies)
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There was an entire TV series just about watching him.
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Okay, Ardent? It's nighttime. The chances of you finding anyone awake to hang with is low, to say the least! I can see the two of them asleep in the town square until they are awoken by the town waking up at the break of dawn.
I'm pretty sure that Gavia is worried about nothing in regard to the townsfolk. They don't strike me as aggressive. Once they are sure she isn't going to blow up anything (with the possible and deserved exception of her brother), I'm sure that they'll warm up to her.
I'm going to make a few predictions:
- Ardent and Gavia are going to make friendships in this chapter that will change their lives;
- Alice is following them; we'll occasionally see her tackling beasties so that the kids don't have to;
- Alice is going to watch silently and not interfere until it's time for the kids to return to the cottage; she may even flash back to her arrival, years back.
Overall, this is going to be a chapter of character building and more than a little fun.
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Yeah, it totally occurred to me too that Ardent may not realise Alice's town has no night life. It also occurs to me that the last time any townsfolk saw Gavia she was unconscious and badly beaten, and Alice was responding to queries about what she was going to do with Gavia by saying things like: "That's none of your concern" and "Help me take her to my place. I want answers." So there is a chance some people may respond to Gavia with pleased surprise rather than appalled surprise. "You're still alive? How wonderful! We thought Alice killed you."
I'm hoping this chapter we get to see townsfolk talking about Alice when she isn't around. Or when they don't know she isn't around. The open eye when Ardent sneaked out means she is totally following unobserved.
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Girls that actually are up at night are the people Ardent is looking for. If he find them he'll be ecstatic (if they don't hit him anyways).
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I've got so many ideas of what I'd like to see in Alice Grove. One would be for Doc to have a crush on Alice. Normally, he's the voice of her conscience and the only one in the town who doesn't treat her as the 'witch' who can 'put out the sun'. However, he's also very concerned about how she isolates herself. He knows enough basic psychology to know the problems that causes.
"I don't have any illusions about you, Alice. You're ageless; you've been here at least eighty years but don't look a day older than when you arrived, if the Town Elders are to be believed. You're invulnerable; I've seen you walk into infernos to save people trapped by fire and not even get singed. You can do things that no other human can do. With all that, though, you're still human and, if you won't bend, you will eventually break."
I'd love for her to ask him where he's got all this and he points out that he learnt most of it as a child sitting at the feet of a blonde woman who lived in a cottage out in the woods, just as she had since his grandfather was young.
Girls that actually are up at night are the people Ardent is looking for. If he find them he'll be ecstatic (if they don't hit him anyways).
They typically expect payment, something about which Ardent has imperfect comprehension. Additionally, they're professionals with standards. I think that Gavia is going to be laughing herself into a hernia before the night is over if explicit's scenario comes true.
[edit]
I'd also like for there to be something of a running joke that goes like this: When Jack wakes the Vicissitudes up, tomorrow morning, he nervously asks Gavia if she is going to blow anything else up. She is offended: "Hey! I didn't hurt anyone! Besides, I had a good reason!"
"Really, what?"
She gestures at Ardent. "I was mad at my idiot brother!"
"Oh! That explains everything!"
Basically, as Jack shows them around town, everyone who asks Gavia if she's still blowing stuff up gets the same answer with poor Ardent exclaiming "Hey!" Finally he asks why it's "Let's dump on Ardent day!" Gavia's response?
"Brother of mine, are you saying that, in your sixteen years, you have never realised that every day is 'Let's Dump on Ardent Day'?"
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Michael Bay stuff
I can't recommend Pain and Gain enough.
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I'm suspecting that what we're being set up for is a "what the villagers really think of Alice" montage.
"She just appeared outta nowhere one day, kinda like how you did..."
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Um. I am beginning to understand why Alice has a reputation for being a witch. And why the townsfolk are so respectful, even somewhat fearful of her.
*backs away, rather quickly*
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Oh deer!
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Am I the only one seriously creeped the fuck out by those deer?
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Am I the only one seriously creeped the fuck out by those deer?
I'm gonna make the assumption that no, no you're not.
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It's a fake!!!
Or not.
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At least the hills have eyes... Wait, that's not good at all!
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Am I the only one seriously creeped the fuck out by those deer?
Definitely not.
Suddenly, things are not what they always seem - or appear - to be.
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I'm sure that deer's had a hard life, I don't think we should make fun of it.
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I'm sure that deer's had a hard life
You have no-eye-deer.
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Forget the eyeless deer and the man-eating plants...what sort of nightmare fuel are they looking at in the last panel?
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Ann Coulture twerking
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Ann Coulture twerking
(http://media.giphy.com/media/16q4pTTzmIM1y/giphy-facebook_s.jpg)
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Am I the only one seriously creeped the fuck out by those deer?
I can to the thread to say they creeped me out.
I'm guessing it's a very stern Alice they're looking at off panel.
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My question is whether we are seeing the real strangeness of this world peeking out from under its apparent normality, or whether Alice has some way of messing with people's perception as a means of control or policing boundaries.
The second seems the more likely interpretation to me.
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Do notice that the plant is similar to the one that Alice was holding in the "chores" strip a while back.
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Okay; carnivorous plants and creepy animals that only look like deer. I don't think that this is Earth.
Am I the only one who thinks that the locals call that place the 'Haunted Forest'? Creepy by day; tends to be seriously lethal at night! They think that Alice is either crazy or a witch for living there. To her, controlling the Flora and fauna is just part of the job.
Forget the eyeless deer and the man-eating plants...what sort of nightmare fuel are they looking at in the last panel?
Alice, hovering just above the tree canopy, glaring down at them and tapping her toes. I'm expecting a sci-fi version of a disappointed guardian's chastisement of disobedient kids.
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My question is whether we are seeing the real strangeness of this world peeking out from under its apparent normality, or whether Alice has some way of messing with people's perception as a means of control or policing boundaries.
The second seems the more likely interpretation to me.
Or maybe this is only found around Alice's house, placed here by her, but still real. The potted plant she is holding on a previous may be a clue that it is so.
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Things just got seriously interesting.
Maybe Alice was protecting Ardent and Gavia from the village, not the other way 'round.
That last panel makes it look like something even scarier is coming at them from out of panel
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Alice knows they left. I was wondering when she'd intervene. I'm gonna say this is it.
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Alice knows they left. I was wondering when she'd intervene. I'm gonna say this is it.
"You two are grounded for a week!"
"We have already been grounded for two weeks."
"Oh... yeah... Heh. Is my face red!"
More seriously, I think she's going to tell them that, if they're so desperate to go into town that they would do something so unimaginably stupid as this, she'll take them in tomorrow. However, the minute things go bad (and she's sure it will), she's going to only wait long enough to say 'I told you so' before banning them from ever going there again.
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Okay; carnivorous plants and creepy animals that only look like deer. I don't think that this is Earth.
I also don't think we are in Kansas anymore.
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So, I was reading Alice Grove, and then suddenly it turned into Night Vale and I don't know what is happening I'll just be hiding under the bed until the visions go away.
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See no evil, deer no evil, speak no evil.
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I actually think we are on Earth - just a really badly fucked-up Earth.
And I'm thinking that it's so fucked up that the deer could still see them, despite its absence of eyes. :psyduck:
No wonder Alice is annoyed at the prospect of external intervention by higher-tech powers. That's probably what caused this mess in the first place.
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Or it could be a world where humans are imprisoned/restricted to a rural world state. Who knows, perhaps Alice is a live-in Warden, keeping the inmates from reaching a dangerous level of technology or to ensure no undue influence from outside sources.
Think the Village but with aliens and nanomachines instead of Adrien Brody.
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What if the deer is Alice.
"BEHOLD MY TRUE FORM!"
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This isn't even her final form!
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Personally, I think the forest is a genetics experiment. We already know that their society (the one Ardent, his sister and Alice belong to) can manipulate genes (including on currently living organisms) and nanotechnology. I suspect the villagers are either people who sick/afraid of the dangers of that technology or their descendents. I think that Alice's job is to keep the technology going so that the residents don't have to worry about it, fills in with other jobs (e.g. doctor) and is responsible for stopping the local society sliding from sliding into something too primitive.
As for the deer, I think that the original inhabitants (who I suspect were not technophobes) were trying their hands at various genetic experiments. In one meeting they were trying to think up what to make next. One person says, "No idea!" After that a smart-alec geneticist decides to make it.
The fact that those plants look so much like Audrey II, they have to be engineered. Come to think of it, I suspect that the original inhabitants of that land were probably bored genetics students. Those creations would be just the sorts of things I would expect from bored undergrads.
{edit} I've just had a scary thought: What if the people who created those animals were secondary school children (or even primary age children)? It makes the decision to want a simpler life easier to understand if they society that Alice comes from is one where genetic engineering is so common that even children are allowed to use it.
However, I think we can rule out "prison". The villagers think of Alice as a "witch" and seem confused by what Ardent is. If they came from the same society as Ardent, they would have had a good idea what he was. This implies that these people are 3rd generation or later. Their attitudes and beliefs seem too hard for those who just adopted them to adapt to a new situation. These people have been living in that culture all their lives
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What makes time think Alice belongs to that society?
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What makes time think Alice belongs to that society?
She can repair tech, she understood exactly what they were using and how their society functioned. Her dialogue with them seemed to impart a level of cultural understanding that would be hard, but not impossible, for an outsider to learn. On the balance of probabilities, she is likely to come from their society.
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I mean still belongs.
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You know, what if Alice is the villain, intentionally keeping the locals in the dark to keep them from rising against something?
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I haven't been willing to rule out the possibility that Alice's presence may not be as beneficial as it appears for the villagers for a while. I'm waiting on more information before deciding. Another reason I'm keen to see Gavia and Ardent interacting with villagers who think Alice is not around and will speak frankly.
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Another reason I'm keen to see Gavia and Ardent interacting with villagers who think Alice is not around and will speak frankly.
Would they be willing to talk to a fuzzy blue guy and his highly destructive sister, who made her entrance flashing frying parts of the town?