Topic: Alice Grove MCDT - April 2015 (Read 116804 times)

Zebediah · « **Reply #100 on:** 09 Apr 2015, 19:28 »

He actually had clothes a while back, but appears to have abandoned them.

Half Empty Coffee Cup · « **Reply #101 on:** 09 Apr 2015, 20:11 »

Quote from: Half Empty Coffee Cup on 02 Apr 2015, 23:01

We've learned two things here.

1. Alice is a few thousand years old. This is the less interesting of the things we've just found out.

2. For all the technological wonder of the civilization that Ardent and Gavia are now estranged from, such longevity is rare, if at all heard of.

Score. Ages in the multi-millenia range, (mostly (Thanks, Alice)) debunked.

Kugai · « **Reply #102 on:** 09 Apr 2015, 23:06 »

Ahhhh kids

BenRG · « **Reply #103 on:** 09 Apr 2015, 23:43 »

I can already see Alice trying to break this up whilst not too obviously laughing her butt off. I wonder just where this may go and whether the blond kid will insist that Ardent is his pet because "I caught him an' everthin'!"

Now... why does the phrase 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' jump into my mind?

BTW - Gavia is right that Alice doesn't seem the sort to joke about stuff. Lie outright on the other hand? That's plausible!

TinPenguin · « **Reply #104 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 01:35 »

Lie? When did she lie? She never said "I am Alice, I am eternal, tremble ye nations." Gavia asked a question, and Alice implied the answer was obvious.

Consider:
"How would you know that giant redwood tree is thousands of years old just by observation?"
"Think about it."

BenRG · « **Reply #105 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 01:54 »

The more I look at this strip, the more I think the blonde who lassoed Ardent is a girl but it's difficult to be sure as I think they're all 10 years old or younger when sexual dimorphism is a lot less distinct.

I expect Gavia to block the big kid's attack with her nano-shield (impressing all three kids - "Woooaaahhh! Coooooolll!").

I suspect that the kids will insist that they have 'captured' the two space-teens and that they have to come back to town as 'prisoners' and that is how they get back to the town. Here's a thought: I don't think that Ardent and Gavia have ever been kids. I suspect that technology and social sophistication has slowly whittled childhood away to almost nothing in their world. So, I suspect that they may end up enjoying interacting with the Town's children in an innocent way.

Quote from: TinPenguin on 10 Apr 2015, 01:35

Lie? When did she lie? She never said "I am Alice, I am eternal, tremble ye nations." Gavia asked a question, and Alice implied the answer was obvious.

I'm talking about Alice's general demeanour. I have no problem believing that selected portions of her exposition in the chapter was potentially baldly untrue and in line with an agenda to frighten the Vicissitudes into compliance.

osaka · « **Reply #106 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 05:10 »

If you're going to "get the demon", I'm pretty sure that the absurdly pale floaty girl with red eyes looks more like the demon than the blue guy with a tail. Although the tail will imply some demonhood.

Please Gavia don't hurt 'em

Zebediah · « **Reply #107 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 05:19 »

Plus the floaty red-eyed girl is the one who firebombed the town. Definitely the demon.

eschaton · « **Reply #108 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 07:04 »

Ardent's use of the term "baseline human" is straight out of Orion's Arm.

Of course, since it seems to have been established that there is no strong AI in this series (which leaves me wondering what the Praeses are exactly) we know it's not Orion's Arm itself.

BenRG · « **Reply #109 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 07:08 »

Quote from: eschaton on 10 Apr 2015, 07:04

Of course, since it seems to have been established that there is no strong AI in this series (which leaves me wondering what the Praeses are exactly) we know it's not Orion's Arm itself.

Actually, all we've established is that Gavia believes that an AI distributed through a community of nano-machines is impossible. That's not entirely the same thing.

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #110 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 10:31 »

yeah, I don't think anything's quite Established yet at all, certainly not the non-existence of anything

Alice herself is still a significant wildcard, we won't know her true limitations or the real parameters of her Grove and its position in the universe until a situation comes up that she can't handle (if it does)

pwhodges · « **Reply #111 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 11:29 »

Quote from: FunkyTuba on 10 Apr 2015, 10:31

until a situation comes up that she can't handle (if it does)

Oh, it has. She said she can't send Ardent and Gavia back.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #112 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 11:32 »

Can't or won't?

BenRG · « **Reply #113 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 11:54 »

She was annoyed enough with Ardent that I'm leaning towards "can't". If that was just a show, she's a very, very good actress.

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #114 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 13:43 »

Quote from: pwhodges on 10 Apr 2015, 11:29

Quote from: FunkyTuba on 10 Apr 2015, 10:31
until a situation comes up that she can't handle (if it does)

Oh, it has. She said she can't send Ardent and Gavia back.

Fair enough... that's one stated limitation, but it's also predicated on her pre-Gavia understanding of her situation. I'm thinking even Alice's bets are off at this point given their "specialest snowflakes" status and the IMPLICATIONS that derive from it.

Gladstone · « **Reply #115 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 19:17 »

Breaking News: Gavia still hasn't learned anything, also is not a piñata.

Zebediah · « **Reply #116 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 19:32 »

But Ardent HAS learned something. Sort of. A little bit.

Kugai · « **Reply #117 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 21:49 »

Bad Gavia, bad.

At least Ardent knows how to wield a Smackystick.

hedgie · « **Reply #118 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 22:17 »

Sadly, it's not thick enough to be a clue-by-four.

Energia · « **Reply #119 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 22:43 »

2 bops until she emits an 'Ow!' She must have really been in the moment!

Energia · « **Reply #120 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 22:50 »

... and why is Hanners in the first panel?

BenRG · « **Reply #121 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 23:31 »

This may be just me but, either Gavia was playing along and got carried away or she has a wee bit of an anger management issue. If it's the latter, then we may have a clue as to why the Vicissitudes were marooned. I mean... she looked like a different person! DID or something?

Jeph did say that, sometimes, humour demands to take precedence over story. I get that but the insert panels were a bit too animé for me.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #122 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 23:42 »

Her first appearance makes it easy to believe she has an anger management problem.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #123 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 06:29 »

She just really likes using her powers. It half seems to me that it's like she just got them, so she wants to do everything with them. That, or she's had them so long she just doesn't really remember how to do things without.

Kugai · « **Reply #124 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 15:04 »

I think it's a bit of both.

Gavia's so used to using her abilities and has, I feel, probably gotten just about everything she wants with them she knows no other way.

I think she's more the spoiled brat of the duo.

jwhouk · « **Reply #125 on:** 15 Apr 2015, 05:42 »

More, of course, being a relative thing.

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #126 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 20:51 »

It's official, Alice is better with kids than I am.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #127 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 21:03 »

It reminds of Morticia Addams volunteering to read stories to children at the library.

improvnerd · « **Reply #128 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 21:15 »

Seems like scaring the crap out of kids might be the best thing Alice can do for them. Gavia has tried to set people on fire when threatened in the past, and it looks like she would have again if Ardent hadn't got out his bopping stick.

It also underscores the more general message that you don't mess with Alice stuff. If it's Alice stuff, it's off limits for a very good reason.

improvnerd · « **Reply #129 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 21:17 »

Also, how do we know Alice isn't speaking from experience?

She may have lived for thousands of years, but that doesn't mean she hasn't died lots of times.

Kugai · « **Reply #130 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 23:08 »

Alice

Proud Award Winning Childcare Worker.

ChaoSera · « **Reply #131 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 23:26 »

Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?

BenRG · « **Reply #132 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 23:31 »

Some people just don't have an instinct for children; Alice is clearly one of them! You can tell that this is not meant to be threatening by her body language. She's trying to be a kind, wise and maternal sage... and failing!

I'm also fairly sure Alice thinks that this whole incident is cute!

Notice that she didn't correct them about Gavia being a 'demon'. Psychology or possibly her own opinion on the girl? Gavia does have entitlement and anger issues as well as a homicidal side, after all!

Quote from: ChaoSera on 16 Apr 2015, 23:26

Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?

Not really, beyond being a blonde girl.

Half Empty Coffee Cup · « **Reply #133 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 00:33 »

Some Real Talk from Alice. If you intend on attacking the person who has firebombed your town with sufficiently advanced technology, the only thing saving you is that person's patience.

Welu · « **Reply #134 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 01:53 »

I love that last panel. Alice's gentle smile compared to the children's horrified expressions is brilliant.

Energia · « **Reply #135 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 02:59 »

Quote from: ChaoSera on 16 Apr 2015, 23:26

Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?

Yep. Even moreso in the previous comic.

BenRG · « **Reply #136 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 03:02 »

Potential future moment:

ALICE: "Children, it's obvious to me that you won't understand the dangers inherit in certain people until you are familiar with them. That's why you're going to be accompanying Miss Gavia and helping her to acclimatise to the town. Until I say differently."

KIDS and GAVIA: "Aaawww!"

explicit · « **Reply #137 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 10:49 »

I mean, my company would hire her as a teacher...

osaka · « **Reply #138 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 13:50 »

Alice is my spirit animal now.

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #139 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 14:03 »

Quote from: Half Empty Coffee Cup on 17 Apr 2015, 00:33

Some Real Talk from Alice. If you intend on attacking the person who has firebombed your town with sufficiently advanced technology, the only thing saving you is that person's patience.

Actually in this case it was that person's brother's BOPs

osaka · « **Reply #140 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 14:11 »

Well, nobody likes getting bopped.

Wildroses · « **Reply #141 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 18:03 »

I do think Alice is good with kids. I mean, I don't think she could have said anything better to completely discourage them from attacking Gavia ever again. That's real horror on those three little faces.

It also helps my theory that Alice is not taking the terrible twosome to town more because she is trying to protect them from the townsfolk rather than vice versa. It's possible their society traditionally reacts to the non-standard by utter destruction in the name of staying perfectly balanced. I have another theory that this society is descended from people who were deeply traumatised by science.

It is certainly supposed to be Alice's job to deal with the unusual though. The farmer instantly sent Jack to find her when they found Ardent, and later when Ardent was surprised the townsfolk weren't coming to see him Alice said it was because he was with her and so none of their business.

hedgie · « **Reply #142 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 18:50 »

Quote from: osaka on 17 Apr 2015, 14:11

Well, nobody likes getting bopped.

Obviously, you don't have a fetish for head-trauma. But sometimes, we are stranger creatures than any alien.

DSL · « **Reply #143 on:** 18 Apr 2015, 08:27 »

Quote from: ChaoSera on 16 Apr 2015, 23:26

Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?

Specifically, young Hanners the first time she tried to show someone how to draw a kitty.

osaka · « **Reply #144 on:** 18 Apr 2015, 08:38 »

Of course I don't, that shit hurts a lot.
These people and their fetishes foken ell.
Stop the earth, I'm getting down here.
Buncha weird motherfuckers
Fuck is wrong with these people

tywren · « **Reply #145 on:** 18 Apr 2015, 16:51 »

Quote from: DSL on 18 Apr 2015, 08:27

Specifically, young Hanners the first time she tried to show someone how to draw a kitty.

Except that's not what young Hanners looks like, it's what current Hanners looks like. For a view of young Hanners, check out the flashback in the Station arc.

Aziraphale · « **Reply #146 on:** 18 Apr 2015, 19:26 »

Quote from: improvnerd on 16 Apr 2015, 21:17

Also, how do we know Alice isn't speaking from experience?

She may have lived for thousands of years, but that doesn't mean she hasn't died lots of times.

Plot twist: She's a Trill.

TinPenguin · « **Reply #147 on:** 19 Apr 2015, 00:07 »

Quote from: tywren on 18 Apr 2015, 16:51

Quote from: DSL on 18 Apr 2015, 08:27
Specifically, young Hanners the first time she tried to show someone how to draw a kitty.

Except that's not what young Hanners looks like, it's what current Hanners looks like. For a view of young Hanners, check out the flashback in the Station arc.

And young Hanners had demons aplenty of her own to defeat.

ZoeB · « **Reply #148 on:** 22 Apr 2015, 02:44 »

I'm not sure being burned is the most painful way of dying. Breathe the fire in, and you suffocate quite soon. And 3rd degree burns stop hurting when the nerves get destroyed.

It's *not* dying by fire, but keeping yourself alive, seriously but not fatally burnt that stings a bit.

As I said to the nurse in the resus ward who was testing my arm for sensitivity "Yes, it hurts, that's good, nerves still exist". She felt a lot better about having to do it when she realised I knew why it was being done, and wanted it to be done. I could tell she was in intense distress about it beforehand - who wouldn't be? Fortunately it looked worse than it was. No permanent damage to airways, eyes or structures (nose, lips, eyelids etc), just upsetting to look at. Though I have to say that despite the warnings, when I looked in a mirror I felt relief that all I'd lost was my skin. It looked a mucky mess, but appearances were deceptive. Everything was healable in time, it just...stung a bit. Significantly uncomfy, especially since I have a bad reaction to morphine. Had I been fatally hurt, it wouldn't have been nearly so unpleasant. I prefer Life though.

I'm not saying being a serious burn victim is better than having to treat one - just psychologically easier. I'm not sure I could have done her job, so anything I could do to relieve her burden was needful.

Telling the children a little white lie that might stop them from getting into real trouble was responsible. And it is uncomfy, after all.

Kugai · « **Reply #149 on:** 22 Apr 2015, 14:54 »

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Author Topic: Alice Grove MCDT - April 2015 (Read 116804 times)