Topic: Alice Grove MCDLT - December 2015 (Read 8759 times)

improvnerd · « **on:** 01 Dec 2015, 22:21 »

Roast giant chameleon tail was a traditional holiday meal when I was growing up...

Sorflakne · « **Reply #1 on:** 01 Dec 2015, 23:10 »

Alice Grove lives!

BenRG · « **Reply #2 on:** 01 Dec 2015, 23:27 »

I think that this is a lovely bit of Alice/Gavia bonding. It reminds us that Alice, despite her superiority complex, is an essentially decent woman. I think that it also confirms the 'adopted sibling' model for their relationship, especially with the hasty last-minute snark.

I find myself wondering when was the last time Alice's conscience bothered her for killing something? Or if it ever has? Such a reaction might, after all, run contrary to the purpose for which she was created.

How freaked out is Gavia? Notice that she isn't levitating! The last time that she did that was when she failed to contact the Praeses. So, we are in 'existential crisis' territory here!

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #3 on:** 02 Dec 2015, 05:44 »

The last time Alice's conscience bothered her over killing is when she couldn't kill Ardent. On the other hand, she seemed gleeful while beating Gavia to death the first time they met, so...

sitnspin · « **Reply #4 on:** 02 Dec 2015, 06:10 »

I think it had been a long time since she could fully unload on someone. Think how long she'd been constantly holding back.

Zebediah · « **Reply #5 on:** 02 Dec 2015, 06:10 »

Alice's conscience wasn't bothering her while she was trying to kill Gavia, but it probably would have later if she had succeeded.

On the other hand, Gavia's conscience would not have bothered her one bit if she'd killed any villagers in the initial attack because she had not yet come to see them as real people. It would bother her now, but then she's learned quite a bit during her exile.

Kugai · « **Reply #6 on:** 02 Dec 2015, 11:50 »

And the continuing of Alice bonding with Gavia takes another step forward.

Deadcoder · « **Reply #7 on:** 03 Dec 2015, 06:26 »

Shoutout to Jeph for this one. Gavia is completely realistic, to the point of being disturbing. Having been where she is, this was like looking at an orange mirror. Jeph, you kick ass.

cesium133 · « **Reply #8 on:** 04 Dec 2015, 13:17 »

Apparently all it took was a giant potoo to get Ardent in the sack with Alice.

BenRG · « **Reply #9 on:** 04 Dec 2015, 13:18 »

Quote from: cesium133 on 04 Dec 2015, 13:17

Apparently all it took was a giant potoo to get Ardent in the sack with Alice.

Although not in even remotely the way he'd hoped, fantasized or even sometimes feared.

Ardent wants his mummy!!!

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #10 on:** 04 Dec 2015, 21:05 »

Oh great, Yelling Bird is gone, now replaced with Screaming Bird.

BenRG · « **Reply #11 on:** 05 Dec 2015, 06:32 »

Interesting Tweet from Jeph.

He makes a good try at back-peddling but I think that this confirms that we're reading events taking place at around 7000AD or not long thereafter. To me, it also implies strongly that Earth's biosphere has been artificially modified; natural selection couldn't generate such extreme environmental adaptations in such a short length of time.

I'm beginning to wonder if the contact Alice is taking Ardent and Gavia to meet is the Aliceverse's equivalent of Oracle from The Matrix.

pwhodges · « **Reply #12 on:** 05 Dec 2015, 09:42 »

Quote from: BenRG on 05 Dec 2015, 06:32

natural selection couldn't generate such extreme environmental adaptations in such a short length of time.

I wouldn't like to be too confident in asserting that, particularly as we don't know what conditions have been like in the interim in the matter of environmental radiation especially.

Kugai · « **Reply #13 on:** 05 Dec 2015, 11:54 »

Don't you love just getting back to nature?

improvnerd · « **Reply #14 on:** 05 Dec 2015, 23:12 »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK-7YtkSsjY

Carl-E · « **Reply #15 on:** 06 Dec 2015, 20:47 »

Is it just me, or does Ardent seem particularly attractive to the local fauna?

Wonder if it has something to do with his "modifications"...

osaka · « **Reply #16 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 05:45 »

I'm pretty sure it's just that he looks tasty.

improvnerd · « **Reply #17 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 19:19 »

Looks like they've just fallen through a time portal to early 21st century America.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #18 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 20:49 »

Okay, interesting... Alice ducked behind Gavia's shield as well. Is this something that can get past or around her invulnerability?

hedgie · « **Reply #19 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 21:01 »

Even if she's invulnerable, it is entirely possible that her clothing is not. Perhaps Alice just doesn't want to be wandering about in the nude (even super-witches can have a sense of modesty y'know).

wlewisiii · « **Reply #20 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 22:18 »

It's also easier to observe enemy actions through a clear shield - knowledge of which then helps determine appropriate tactics.

Also, she can better ensure the safety of the kids by keeping all three of them behind Gavia's shield.

HiFranc · « **Reply #21 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 22:45 »

Is it me or is she too far back to be properly protected?

I take it that someone doesn't like visitors?

Kugai · « **Reply #22 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 23:16 »

Now that's not very friendly!!

BenRG · « **Reply #23 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 23:44 »

I've got the feeling that, the last time Alice parted ways with her contact, their last words to her were: "I don't ever want to see your goddamn face ever again!"

Alice may not be invulnerable to everything. For example uranium/polonium alloy that can penetrate her super-tough skin and poison her from the inside out.

Sorflakne · « **Reply #24 on:** 07 Dec 2015, 23:48 »

Quote

Welcome to BULLET HELL

So Alice Grove actually takes place in Gensokyo?

BenRG · « **Reply #25 on:** 08 Dec 2015, 03:38 »

Looking at the strip again, Alice is actually is not entirely under cover. You can see a bullet impact in front of her right knee. I think that she's just sheltering from the worst of it but isn't worried about taking a few hits. Basically, she can handle being hit by one or two rifle-calibre bullets without suffering significant damage but being hit by a sustained burst from a minigun is an entirely different matter.

I've got a feeling that Alice is going to get in a fight with their assailant and, after she disarms them, they're going to stop and say something like: "I'm glad to see that you haven't lost your touch, Sentinel."

Alice will reply: "I'm not that person, any more, Templar. I haven't been for millennia."

The assailant will smirk. "Keep telling yourself that, Ali. Keep telling yourself that. Now, what brings you to my sector?"

Stoutfellow · « **Reply #26 on:** 08 Dec 2015, 04:48 »

Hmm. This is the third time Ardent has used the word "dog" to refer to some sort of bird (chickens, the birds in the cave, and the potoo). He hasn't used it to refer to anything but birds. Coincidence?

BenRG · « **Reply #27 on:** 10 Dec 2015, 23:45 »

Yeah, it looks like Alice might have lots of issues with her long-term relationships. A long list of dangerous immortals whose last words to her were a death threat of some kind!

Also:

She is bulletproof!
Infinite ammo cheats (probably using molecular replication) are obviously a thing.

[EDIT]
It occurs to me that I may have got this entirely wrong. Notice that the full weight of fire is being directed at Gavia. Even after Alice steps out of cover, she's only being hit by the occasional shot. I'm thinking that, whoever this is, she doesn't like Spacebournes.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #28 on:** 11 Dec 2015, 12:13 »

Quote from: Stoutfellow on 08 Dec 2015, 04:48

Hmm. This is the third time Ardent has used the word "dog" to refer to some sort of bird (chickens, the birds in the cave, and the potoo). He hasn't used it to refer to anything but birds. Coincidence?

Anything over a few thousand rounds would feel infinite in a situation like that.

Kugai · « **Reply #29 on:** 11 Dec 2015, 13:22 »

I'm thinking Ben has it. The main weight of fire is definitely aimed at Gavia and Ardent, though I think some of it is being directed at Alice as well. Not that it's doing any damage to Alice, who proves yet again she's not entirely what she appears to be.

Stoon · « **Reply #30 on:** 11 Dec 2015, 18:38 »

Did Jeph mean to say "Thay under cover....?"

Method of Madness · « **Reply #31 on:** 11 Dec 2015, 19:09 »

I was wondering that, too. Not sure what kind of keyboard makes "th" instead of "st" a reasonable typo.

Also god damn it, I forgot to check for the new monthly thread until today.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #32 on:** 12 Dec 2015, 12:52 »

Alice's speech patterns change under stress?

Stoutfellow · « **Reply #33 on:** 12 Dec 2015, 13:19 »

My first thought was that she was lisping, perhaps deliberately ("Thtay"). But she's not lisping earlier on the page, so that's probably out.

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #34 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 14:45 »

Maybe a bullet ricocheted off her tongue?

hedgie · « **Reply #35 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 17:43 »

Maybe Jeph forgot to proof read.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #36 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 17:45 »

What's the L in MCDLT?

improvnerd · « **Reply #37 on:** 14 Dec 2015, 03:13 »

Lettuce.

http://mcdonalds.wikia.com/wiki/McDLT

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 Dec 2015, 11:55 »

Which is odd to have, because Christmas falls in the month this thread covers, so the thread should have Noel.

Kugai · « **Reply #39 on:** 14 Dec 2015, 12:32 »

It does IICIH, but I haven't used that name in years.

osaka · « **Reply #40 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 04:04 »

So what's Zer0 doing there?

BenRG · « **Reply #41 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 04:04 »

New comic!

Okay, so Alice is obviously so tough that something that would be a vulnerability in anyone else is just a cause of pain and inconvenience for her.

And...

ALICE HAS A SUPER-SUIT!!! (Goes fanboy)

I think any serious doubt that she is some kind of super-soldier, either synthetic or nanotechnology-enabled is gone. Notice that her costume is similar to Gavia's but has a different colour-scheme. An indication of a common design/origin to the technology?

ChaoSera · « **Reply #42 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 04:16 »

The question is, is this what Alice really looks like and her usual outfit is some kind of holographic Projection or can she "summon" this suit when she needs some extra power? Personally I'd say the former, it would explain why her clothes didn't catch on fire when Gavia bombarded her at the beginning of the comic.

BenRG · « **Reply #43 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 04:26 »

@ChaoSera,

I doubt that this is the 'real her'. Notice that Alice only deployed her armour after getting angry about the pain of being hit by the bullets. She wouldn't need to do that if it was always there. She's tough enough to be essentially invulnerable to injury (although not harm). With the armour deployed, it is that much harder to hurt her too.

It is much more likely that she wears a nanotech sheath like Gavia that she can make look like anything she wants. The one thing we've never seen Alice not wear is her vest and shorts. So, I'm thinking that's the 'disguise' mode of her armour. What happened is that it has expanded, covered her overalls and taken on its combat configuration.

I wonder if the armour has any offensive modes like Gavia's fireballs and energy knuckledusters?

Method of Madness · « **Reply #44 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 05:23 »

Alice Grove has evolved into Alice Beekeeper!

Kugai · « **Reply #45 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 12:22 »

LEVEL UP!!

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #46 on:** 21 Dec 2015, 15:09 »

she looks a little like Gold Robot from Daft Punk, but with no hardware

Easy Chowder · « **Reply #47 on:** 24 Mar 2016, 20:02 »

Quote from: Stoon on 11 Dec 2015, 18:38

Did Jeph mean to say "Thay under cover....?"

I was just rereading and came across this, and it almost reminded me of a time earlier when Alice (I think it was Alice) said ("said") skill instead of still. If/when I have time I'll probably read through and see if there were any more. Curious if that's just a coincidence or an intended thing, like a glitch or something.

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Author Topic: Alice Grove MCDLT - December 2015 (Read 8759 times)