THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Comic Discussion => ALICE GROVE => Topic started by: BenRG on 30 Sep 2015, 23:28

Title: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 30 Sep 2015, 23:28: So, we're into volume 3 now and things are starting to roll.

Just what is Ardent's deal? I'm saying 'pawn' but I'm not automatically convinced that Alice's worst fears are anything but paranoia coming from millennia of being the Town's sole protector and being totally socially isolated.

I'm serious. I'm wonder whether, if someone outside did give Ardent this ability, I'm wondering if it was out of misguided humanitarianism. "We want to help! What's that? You don't want or need this sort of help? Oh... er... Our bad?" It's just that, because the Upgrade only works when the carrier isn't thinking about anything in particular, they needed someone with Ardent's... unique intellectual qualities.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 30 Sep 2015, 23:45: I'm beginning to wonder if Gavia is capable of walking at all.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Verteiron on 01 Oct 2015, 08:53: I think Alice is overly paranoid due to being... whatever she is. I think her caution is justifiable, though, and I think her reasons for keeping Ardent away from machines are sound, but not the motives she ascribes to the Praeses. I think it more likely that the Praeses are trying very hard to reestablish some kind of contact with the surface world, and started off relations by sending what they thought would be a welcome gift: a solution to all the things the Praeses perceive as hardship.

Obviously, there is quite a disconnect between Alice and the "thinking trees", but I don't think her opinion can be relied upon, either.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Welu on 01 Oct 2015, 09:29: Quote from: Kugai on 30 Sep 2015, 23:45
I'm beginning to wonder if Gavia is capable of walking at all.

She's walking in this page. (http://www.alicegrove.com/page/64)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 01 Oct 2015, 21:15: Why am I suddenly hearing the theme from The Six Million Dollar Man?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Undrneath on 01 Oct 2015, 23:10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7zNY0I5JNI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7zNY0I5JNI) now it's in my head too.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 01 Oct 2015, 23:28: That is the first laugh-out-loud moment that I've seen in Alice Grove for a very long time! The 'penny drops' expression in panel 3 was particularly funny!

In some ways, it's comforting to know that Alice is imperfect and can get her priorities in a mix because of heightened emotions, particularly fear and anger.

[Edit]
I just noticed Jeph's footer text. Assuming that he is serious (and there is no realistic reason for doing so), this means Alice can run at ~375mph or about the same speed on land that early-WW2 fighter 'planes could fly. She's definitely cybernetically augmented if this is borne out.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Neko_Ali on 02 Oct 2015, 06:43: You know, I have been wondering since the Ardent-slap comic if she had done something about the pump. I mean she seemed pretty freaked out and her first thought was to evaluate Ardent and see if he was a threat, so letting it slip her mind that the upgraded pump was gushing water everywhere could be seen. But when she settled down to having the kids experiment I figured it was just assumed she had shut it off or destroyed it before returning to her house. It's actually kind of good to see that she can both be surprised and forgetful at times. It shows that she isn't as infallible as she likes to think. Now if only she takes that lesson to heart.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: KOK on 02 Oct 2015, 09:08: Quote from: Welu on 01 Oct 2015, 09:29
Quote from: Kugai on 30 Sep 2015, 23:45
I'm beginning to wonder if Gavia is capable of walking at all.

She's walking in this page. (http://www.alicegrove.com/page/64)

No longer. The URL of every page changes every time a new one is posted.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: cesium133 on 02 Oct 2015, 09:12: Since it's a Tumblr site, the URL you get in your browser isn't a permanent link. This is the permanent URL for that comic (http://www.alicegrove.com/post/109551157994/thats-the-end-of-chapter-one-alice-grove-will-be).
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: KOK on 02 Oct 2015, 23:02: How did you find that URL?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 02 Oct 2015, 23:46: Quote from: KOK on 02 Oct 2015, 23:02
How did you find that URL?

Click on the strip itself and Tumblr takes you to the actual art page with a unique permanent URL.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: KOK on 03 Oct 2015, 00:08: When I do that, I get http://www.alicegrove.com/image/110592245349 . A permanent link, I suppose, but nothing like what cesium133 posted.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 03 Oct 2015, 00:57: Just remove "image/".
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: cesium133 on 03 Oct 2015, 06:17: Quote from: KOK on 02 Oct 2015, 23:02
How did you find that URL?
There's a little gray link that looks like a chain link below the image. It's easy to miss with the color scheme Jeph is using on it.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 05 Oct 2015, 18:50: Quote from: BenRG on 01 Oct 2015, 23:28
She's definitely cybernetically augmented if this is borne out.
Not definite.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 05 Oct 2015, 19:56: Ardent was panting from the run, she was not. She may have air-independent propulsion.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 05 Oct 2015, 20:17: Well she might be able to fly, and she has super strength. I wasn't doubting her abilities, just not sure whether they're tech-granted or natural.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 05 Oct 2015, 23:25: Never underestimate the human ability to work out how to make machines do the 'on' and 'off' thing. It shouldn't be an instinctive skill but it really does seem to be. Ah, the children are growing up, Alice! Maybe you don't need to always be so 'hands-on' and try to think for them anymore!

Meanwhile... Hey, Ardent! Is that your lungs you've just coughed up?

Quote from: Method of Madness on 05 Oct 2015, 18:50
Quote from: BenRG on 01 Oct 2015, 23:28
She's definitely cybernetically augmented if this is borne out.

Not definite.

I would say so. I can't see any biological structure, no matter how genetically altered, being able to handle those forces for long without shattering (rigid) or snapping (flexible).
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 05 Oct 2015, 23:45: Well, at least they managed to take care of the problem without her help and without things becoming a disaster area.

And Pie sounds good.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: FunkyTuba on 06 Oct 2015, 11:59: Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 05 Oct 2015, 19:56
Ardent was panting from the run, she was not. She may have air-independent propulsion.

Yeah she was pretty obviously not worn out by that run... maybe Ardent never had to run up in their orbiting dwellings?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 06 Oct 2015, 14:05: Quote from: BenRG on 05 Oct 2015, 23:25
I would say so. I can't see any biological structure, no matter how genetically altered, being able to handle those forces for long without shattering (rigid) or snapping (flexible).
...dude. Superman. That's an extreme example, but they're equally fictional. So why is it silly to assume Alice is a metahuman of some capacity?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 06 Oct 2015, 14:15: Quote from: Method of Madness on 06 Oct 2015, 14:05
Quote from: BenRG on 05 Oct 2015, 23:25
I would say so. I can't see any biological structure, no matter how genetically altered, being able to handle those forces for long without shattering (rigid) or snapping (flexible).

...dude. Superman. That's an extreme example, but they're equally fictional. So why is it silly to assume Alice is a metahuman of some capacity?

I'm trying to avoid invoking the argument that "It's magic, we don't have to explain shit". For all Jeph has been invoking a lot of Clarke-tech, it has managed to remain semi-plausible to date.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 06 Oct 2015, 14:16: Dude, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable yadda yadda. So is handwaving it as "nanotech" any less absurd than "she's naturally powerful"?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 08 Oct 2015, 18:16: Thpathe pie!
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: cesium133 on 08 Oct 2015, 18:30: The sky color suggests it's evening, but their shadows are short. Unless the sky's orange for another reason...
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 08 Oct 2015, 18:36: Just an autumn evening with a spectacular sunset, I'm guessing.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 08 Oct 2015, 20:50: The definitely need Pie in Space

And I think that Alice is a wee bit jealous of what Ardent has done.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 08 Oct 2015, 21:01: Yay pie!
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: SubaruStephen on 08 Oct 2015, 21:30: (https://media0.giphy.com/media/uam2mkhurqxBC/200_s.gif)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 08 Oct 2015, 23:06: I invite Jeph to deny, if he dares, that the whole 'pie' thing had just been a set up for that punchline. :laugh:

Seriously, though, this is an interesting twist. I think that Alice is going to have to confront whether there really is any reason to 'control' the amount of technology in the world or whether she's she's acting out the fears and scars arising from the long-ago apocalypse.

"Orange O'Clock' eh...? Oh, that's why the colour balance seems off! Jeph has filtered everything with a little orange because the characters are outdoors in the evening!
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 08 Oct 2015, 23:20: It's really confusing here because I run f.lux which sucks the blue out of my display before I go to bed.

Why didn't the townspeople ask Alice to fix the pump when it was "actin' up for months"? Too intimidated? They've relied on her for lots of things, why not this one?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 08 Oct 2015, 23:23: Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 08 Oct 2015, 23:20
Why didn't the townspeople ask Alice to fix the pump when it was "actin' up for months"? Too intimidated? They've relied on her for lots of things, why not this one?

They're a stoic, tough folk who don't complain or seek help easily. It was working (after a fashion) so they just collectively shrugged and got on with it rather than make a fuss over what is merely an inconvenience. I think that's a fairly common social trait of agrarian societies.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: KOK on 08 Oct 2015, 23:54: Quote from: BenRG on 08 Oct 2015, 23:06
"Orange O'Clock' eh...? Oh, that's why the colour balance seems off! Jeph has filtered everything with a little orange because the characters are outdoors in the evening!

The colors remind me of comics in magazines.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: hedgie on 09 Oct 2015, 00:39: Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 08 Oct 2015, 23:20
It's really confusing here because I run f.lux which sucks the blue out of my display before I go to bed.

Hmm. What's your normal colour temperature? When f.lux isn't running. I didn't have much of a problem seeing it under redshift (does the same thing), but the drop for me is only from D55 to 3700K
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: dexeron on 09 Oct 2015, 06:08: Oh god, it all makes sense now.

It's all a horribly complicated plot by the Praeses to finally get their hands on some delicious pie.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: cesium133 on 09 Oct 2015, 06:11: That makes me wonder what trees would think of pecan pie.

"They make it out of WHAT!?"
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: War Sparrow on 09 Oct 2015, 08:11: Mmm, pecan pie. Now i want butter tarts. Or sugar pie, because I hate my teeth apparently.

The kids are growing up, Alice! They didn't want to ask mummy for help with a silly problem, but are grateful when a peer of sorts fixes it.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 09 Oct 2015, 12:57: I want Cherry Pie

*Puts on trench coat and records that on protable tape recorder*
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: War Sparrow on 09 Oct 2015, 14:16: I just remembered that sugar pie is made of maple syrup, which is distilled tree sap. That's an even worse thing to give to a tree person. Maybe that's why the Praeses are(allegedly) trying to restart the war..to save the Maples and Birches from having people harvest their blood.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 12 Oct 2015, 23:32: I've just realised something - Alice, Ardent and Gavia are still sitting on whatever they're sitting on throughout the current strip. That means that either the guy who comes to thank Ardent is very short (I'm talking true Dwarfism short) or they're sitting somewhere elevated. At a guess, are they on top of the new enclosure built around the Upgraded pump?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: pwhodges on 13 Oct 2015, 02:38: The buildings behind them say yes.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Stoutfellow on 13 Oct 2015, 18:12: Crazy Nolan was never the same after that mule stepped on his head

I had to look again: you can see the dent.
:-)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: bhtooefr on 13 Oct 2015, 18:16: The other interesting thing is that there's solar panels in use as well - that's semiconductor technology right there.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 13 Oct 2015, 18:20: Ardent to Whiskey Girl: "I can't fix your dad's still, but my powers have... many other uses!"
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 13 Oct 2015, 18:44: Ardent's a teenage boy. He must have "upgraded" himself to the max by now.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Neko_Ali on 13 Oct 2015, 19:05: Quote from: bhtooefr on 13 Oct 2015, 18:16
The other interesting thing is that there's solar panels in use as well - that's semiconductor technology right there.

This stood out to me as well. So the townies apparently use electric powered machinery, but not much maybe? A solar panel isn't going to provide a lot of power, but we don't know if she only has one panel, or how common they are. But she knows what one is, and all the townsfolk are savvy enough to know Ardent could upgrade their stuff. That moves my estimation of their tech level up several notches. I was thinking they mostly lead an Amish level of existence before now.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 13 Oct 2015, 23:15: I hope that Alice is listening here. Now, is this a taste for more advanced technology in the populace or is it more a case that they're just thinking: "He can magically fix stuff" and haven't thought (or even are aware) of the 'Upgrade' end of Ardent's special abilities?

Note: Solar panel =/= solar-electric power generation. It could also be part of a heating system although that sight still have some electrical aspects to it if it isn't a solar thermal system. FWIW, solar-thermal is the sort of technology that I could see Alice trying to introduce.

All things said, though, I do think that Alice needs to wonder if her interdict about advanced technology is about protecting these people or if it's about protecting the scars she got in the Last War.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Wildroses on 14 Oct 2015, 06:34: I wonder if Ardent might inadvertently have caused tensions between Alice and the townsfolk which could be nasty. Quite naturally they want Ardent and his magic touch to upgrade all their faulty technology, but Ardent is telling them all he isn't allowed to, and I'm presuming it is clear Alice is the one who has forbidden it. I'm impressed he's holding out and refusing to budge in that last panel when he is facing his greatest weakness.

The war is a very far distant piece of history to the townsfolk, not vivid and awful like Alice's memories. Being told: "No, you can't have access to more advanced labour saving technology because it might eventually cause a scarcity of resources and cause wars" may not go down so well. Alice certainly knows how to make people afraid and is not afraid to do so, but if enough villagers get annoyed they may find the courage to defy her.

Alternatively, maybe they should keep an eye on Ardent to make sure he doesn't get kidnapped and forced to touch things. I wonder if shoving his hands onto machines would cause them to change, or if it needs a subconscious prompt before anything happens.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 14 Oct 2015, 13:34: The Nanos would probably need some form of focused programming in order to do the job that's required.

I wonder, was this the Praeses plan all along?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: ysth on 15 Oct 2015, 02:53: Have we seen Whiskey Girl before?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 15 Oct 2015, 03:03: Quote from: ysth on 15 Oct 2015, 02:53
Have we seen Whiskey Girl before?

I don't think so but I strongly suspect that Ardent hopes to see her again! :wink:
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: DSL on 15 Oct 2015, 17:21: If Ardent were to have the same effect on the milking machine as he did on the well pump -- poor Bossie!

EDIT: Fixed small-keyboard, big-thumb errors.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 15 Oct 2015, 18:20: Have you been drinking some of her whiskey DSL? ;)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 15 Oct 2015, 22:18: Ardent

Master Chugger
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: jwhouk on 15 Oct 2015, 23:11: Don't give him a beer bong... heaven help us all.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 15 Oct 2015, 23:29: I strongly suspect that Gavia is unaware of the concept of a 'designated driver'. Alice is also hanging around because she figures she's going to have to carry Ardent home tonight. I wonder if this is giving Alice flashbacks to college?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Welu on 16 Oct 2015, 00:11: Let's hope Alice keeps a good eye on Ardent and his new friends. It can be hard to control a bunch of rowdy drunks and Ardent only needs to touch machinery for a second for it to be effective.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: hedgie on 16 Oct 2015, 01:13: My .sig is oddly appropriate for this comic.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 16 Oct 2015, 05:35: Sounds like the barmaid can take care of herself, Alice.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 16 Oct 2015, 07:11: Sounds more like Alice is protecting Ardent from the barmaid.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 20 Oct 2015, 00:15: So... Three companions... four, if Jack decides to come along for the ride for some reason... are about to set off on the Quest of Ardent. Gavia thinks that this is all quite crazy but it isn't as if she really has any serious choice if she wants to find a way home.

Alice has just admitted that the state of the world beyond her personal region is unknown to her. There could be anything - super-mutated post-humans specialised for arboreal or subterranean life, AI colonies, vast radioactive deserts where the Blink went horrifically wrong. Maybe, ultimately, we'll visit the Space Habitats and learn a little about Gavia and Ardent's home culture.

Here's a thought: I believe that seeing that the townsfolk were able to fix the pump without her was the final key. Alice is now sure that they can care for themselves even in the event of her extended absence. So, she can take the time to give this matter the attention that it deserves.

We are now ready for the coming of Volume 4:

The Lord of the Nanomachines
~~~
The Fellowship of the Space Frat Boy
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: pwhodges on 20 Oct 2015, 02:55: Well, Alice said "this town"; so her sphere of influence is quite circumscribed. She shows no sign of being concerned about outside invasion of any kind (other than from space), so either there are very few, if any, people outside the town, or other towns have their own equivalents of Alice looking after them. However, she's not hinting at consulting with any peers of that kind, and her loneliness suggests there are none.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 20 Oct 2015, 04:19: That she knows of. She may discover that other towns have their own Alices.

And by "their own Alices", I mean exactly that - they are all her. :-D
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: osaka on 20 Oct 2015, 04:31: Quote from: BenRG on 20 Oct 2015, 00:15
the Quest of Ardent.

I doubt it is that of Ardent. It has been shown on several occasions that his is a quest for booty.

EDIT: And pie. I forgot about the pie. I should not have forgotten about the pie.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 20 Oct 2015, 05:00: Never forget the pie!
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 20 Oct 2015, 14:34: The Village
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 20 Oct 2015, 17:07: The less said about that movie, the better.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 22 Oct 2015, 18:31: Comic's up.

So who wants to place a bet on the identity of Cora Goodwell? Is she Whiskey Girl, or someone else?

I'm betting that we never find out.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 22 Oct 2015, 18:37: Further proof that QC and Alice Grove take place in the same universe!

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2337
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: mikmaxs on 22 Oct 2015, 19:31: So, if Ardent has that head mounted above his head, why was he surprised at seeing one in the woods? It seems odd that he would have never seen one before.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 22 Oct 2015, 19:42: I don't think that's Ardent's bed.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 22 Oct 2015, 21:23: I strongly suspect you're right.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 22 Oct 2015, 21:31: Specifically:

1. Ardent's bed doesn't have a headboard.
2. Ardent shares a bedroom with Alice and Gavia, neither of whom seem like they'd be cool about a sock on the doorknob.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 23 Oct 2015, 00:25: I wonder what made Ardent dream about whales in a pink candy-floss ocean?

Notice that Alice doesn't seem angry at Ardent having scored, only mildly irritated that she has to track him down and roll him out of bed when she's got plans. I think that her attitude is that he and the ladies of The Town can do whatever they feel like so long as she's satisfied that he's respecting them and they don't feel under any obligation to him that's making them act out-of-character.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 23 Oct 2015, 00:48: What do people make of the band of lights in the sky that go all the way to the horizon in panel 3 of the previous strip? Satellites?

http://www.alicegrove.com/post/131520030849/they-would-have-ended-up-being-eaten-by-bats-or
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 23 Oct 2015, 00:54: Quote from: improvnerd on 23 Oct 2015, 00:48
What do people make of the band of lights in the sky that go all the way to the horizon in panel 3 of the previous strip? Satellites?

http://www.alicegrove.com/post/131520030849/they-would-have-ended-up-being-eaten-by-bats-or

It might just be the Milky Way; as there won't be much bright street lighting, the view of the night sky from The Town is probably something you don't often see from the cities here in the industrialised world.

The other explanation is that those are the Space Habitats. Alice did say that, after the blink, they suddenly appeared from nowhere like 'thousands of new stars in the sky'.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: HiFranc on 23 Oct 2015, 01:23: I can't stop wondering if Cora Goodwell is the same as when Ardent took her to bed. I suspect that part of the reason she's hiding is that his nanobots have "upgraded" her.

{edit} "A child in the body of someone much older who has yet to fully appreciate his place in the scheme of things" fits most teenagers (at least in Western culture).

{edit 2}
Quote from: mikmaxs on 22 Oct 2015, 19:31
So, if Ardent has that head mounted above his head, why was he surprised at seeing one in the woods? It seems odd that he would have never seen one before.

Maybe he thought that Alice had a weird reason for removing the eyes?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Carl-E on 25 Oct 2015, 20:05: I wonder if the whale tail in Ardent's dream has anything to do with miss Goodwell... :evil: :-D :psyduck:
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: SubaruStephen on 26 Oct 2015, 18:45: Huh, is Gavia's hair growing out, or does she just have a case of bed-head?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 26 Oct 2015, 19:11: Come to think of it we've seen no evidence of a postal service at all.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 27 Oct 2015, 00:24: I think that, in today's strip, Alice is learning just what it is to be the babysitter or older sister to a pair of annoying, intelligent but also highly spoilt and entitled kids. When they're not fighting, they're asking smart-ass questions or making suggestions that no sane person would make but that they seem to think are eminently sensible!

Speaking of sisters... I think that we might be about to meet one of Alice's 'siblings'. In doing so, we might also come to learn more of her true nature.

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 26 Oct 2015, 19:11
Come to think of it we've seen no evidence of a postal service at all.

We've just got it. Alice said 'no mailbox' not 'no mail service', although I'm betting it's a lot more like the Pony Express (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express) than anything we're familiar with.

Quote from: SubaruStephen on 26 Oct 2015, 18:45
Huh, is Gavia's hair growing out, or does she just have a case of bed-head?

It's probably just an artefact of how Jeph drew her. If you need an in-universe explanation, the wind blew her hair from behind.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 27 Oct 2015, 01:13: Quote from: BenRG on 27 Oct 2015, 00:24
We've just got it. Alice said 'no mailbox' not 'no mail service', although I'm betting it's a lot more like the Pony Express (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express) than anything we're familiar with.

I'm guessing it's a little more like this....

(http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/the-postman-1997/large_7V6X3C6WAQcSBEXqbQ9HpPLrc8p.jpg)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 27 Oct 2015, 05:22: The Fallout fanboy in me imagines that we're going to see Alice in her 'travelling clothes', including jerry-rigged armour and a blue-and-gold jumpsuit with the number '101' in gold on the back and on the collar.

:wink:
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Welu on 27 Oct 2015, 06:33: I'm liking Gavia's fuzzy head.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 27 Oct 2015, 14:14: If Ardent starts singing Bilbo's road song, I vote we hit him with a frying pan.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: PopuluxeCowboy on 27 Oct 2015, 20:12: Quote from: SubaruStephen on 26 Oct 2015, 18:45
Huh, is Gavia's hair growing out, or does she just have a case of bed-head?
I think it's Gavia's hair growing out. It makes sense. They'e been there for a while. Of course her hair would grow out.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: jheartney on 28 Oct 2015, 13:18: Who's Alice's "acquaintance?" I vote Bubbles. Or another Alice clone.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: hedgie on 28 Oct 2015, 14:18: Nanny Ogg, obviously.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 29 Oct 2015, 12:49: Naah, it'll turn out to be Joyce from DoA
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: wlewisiii on 29 Oct 2015, 20:27: Quote from: BenRG on 27 Oct 2015, 05:22
The Fallout fanboy in me imagines that we're going to see Alice in her 'travelling clothes', including jerry-rigged armour and a blue-and-gold jumpsuit with the number '101' in gold on the back and on the collar.

:wink:

I was thinking the Morrow Project patch of gold MP over infinity on black but yours will do.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Method of Madness on 29 Oct 2015, 21:04: Yeah, Gavia, you kinda are.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: SubaruStephen on 29 Oct 2015, 21:16: Well, it took 100 pages, but Ardent FINALLY put some clothes on.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: cesium133 on 29 Oct 2015, 21:23: Well, he did have clothes on at one point earlier. Given his track record it won't last long.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: BenRG on 30 Oct 2015, 00:32: I think it tells you a lot about Ardent's personality that, after everything that has happened to him over the past volume or two, his response to this turn of events is: "Yeah! Adventure!" Pure enthusiastic optimisim; that's our Blue!

Meanwhile, Gavia continues to sulk, scowl and... well, basically act like a teenage girl. Which makes her insistence that "We are not children" all the more ironic.

Quote from: jheartney on 28 Oct 2015, 13:18
Who's Alice's "acquaintance?" I vote Bubbles. Or another Alice clone.

No AIs left on Earth, remember? I'm thinking that it might be one of Alice's kind or possibly someone with a connected back-story to Alice. It's quite likely that, due to events, any friendship that they may have ever shared has long since been buried in millennia of petty disagreements, inadvertent slights and that, after a few thousand years you could get tired of anyone's face.

[edit]
Wait a minute! There's a Big Red Button? Since when has there been a Big Red Button and what exactly does it do so that Alice will know to come running? Proof that she has a radio transceiver in her somewhere?

(https://thetimedok.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/big-red-button.jpg)
Big Red Button!
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Zebediah on 30 Oct 2015, 04:35: In the first panel of the next comic, Ardent has grown a beard and Gavia's hair is down to her waist.

Alice: "We should be about halfway there now."
Gavia: "Only halfway?"
Alice: "I told you when we started that this was going to take a while."
Gavia: "We've been on this road for three years now!"
Alice: "Hush, child. I'll let you know when we get there."

:-D
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 30 Oct 2015, 12:22: I wonder if they'll run into a Gandalf?

:-D ;)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: pwhodges on 30 Oct 2015, 12:54: No, Granny Weatherwax. We'll discover that Alice is the practical one - Nanny Ogg, if you like.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Oct 2015, 12:57: For the Big Red Button, I see two possibilities:
1) They don't press the button and Alice is annoyed that the villagers have (once again) proven they don't need her.
2) Ardent and Gavia are a distraction sent to get Alice to leave the village, at which point the Prases will attack... and when the button is pressed, Alice will be too far away to help.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 30 Oct 2015, 18:09: Quote from: pwhodges on 30 Oct 2015, 12:54
No, Granny Weatherwax. We'll discover that Alice is the practical one - Nanny Ogg, if you like.

I can NOT see Alice ever singing The Hedgehog Song.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: DSL on 30 Oct 2015, 20:10: Quote from: cesium133 on 30 Oct 2015, 12:57
For the Big Red Button, I see two possibilities:
1) They don't press the button and Alice is annoyed that the villagers have (once again) proven they don't need her.
2) Ardent and Gavia are a distraction sent to get Alice to leave the village, at which point the Prases will attack... and when the button is pressed, Alice will be too far away to help.

3) The entire contents of an ancient library are downloaded via quantum tunnel into the Praeses, immobilizing them. Gavia screams and disappears. (Hey, a red button is a red button)
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: anahata on 31 Oct 2015, 01:16: Quote from: BenRG on 30 Oct 2015, 00:32
Ardent's ... response to this turn of events is: "Yeah! Adventure!" Pure enthusiastic optimisim; that's our Blue!

Meanwhile, Gavia continues to sulk, scowl and... well, basically act like a teenage girl.

It's quite clear to me. Ardent is a dog: Gavia is a cat.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Pilchard123 on 31 Oct 2015, 04:43: Quote from: improvnerd on 30 Oct 2015, 18:09
Quote from: pwhodges on 30 Oct 2015, 12:54
No, Granny Weatherwax. We'll discover that Alice is the practical one - Nanny Ogg, if you like.

I can NOT see Alice ever singing The Hedgehog Song.

Ardent, on the other hand...
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Kugai on 31 Oct 2015, 11:27: Quote from: anahata on 31 Oct 2015, 01:16
Quote from: BenRG on 30 Oct 2015, 00:32
Ardent's ... response to this turn of events is: "Yeah! Adventure!" Pure enthusiastic optimisim; that's our Blue!

Meanwhile, Gavia continues to sulk, scowl and... well, basically act like a teenage girl.

It's quite clear to me. Ardent is a dog: Gavia is a cat.

And a grumpy Cat at that.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: improvnerd on 01 Nov 2015, 01:24: Quote from: Pilchard123 on 31 Oct 2015, 04:43
Quote from: improvnerd on 30 Oct 2015, 18:09
Quote from: pwhodges on 30 Oct 2015, 12:54
No, Granny Weatherwax. We'll discover that Alice is the practical one - Nanny Ogg, if you like.
I can NOT see Alice ever singing The Hedgehog Song.
Ardent, on the other hand...

I can't seen Ardent being that subtle.
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: Pilchard123 on 02 Nov 2015, 00:08: Since when was the Hedgehog Song subtle?
Title: Re: Alice Grove MCDT - October 2015
Post by: hedgie on 02 Nov 2015, 00:32: Maybe he's more partial to "The Wizard's Staff Has a Knob on the End".