Out Of The Loop 2014-03-17

[kingklash]

Hopefully 'Stela's Plant side can filter out the salt content of the ocean water. But, I'm hoping she learned to do "Party Tricks" from Berdine and Nadette, which would come in handy when building sand castles. She can be a snapdragon dragon guarding it.

[hpoet]

Now, now, Aunty Jin, it's not nice to ogle a young girl's ginormous hooters. A discrete glance, yes, a rapt stare, no.

Nobody introduced Jin to Atsali, so Jin doesn't know she is adopted by Kathryn, who Jin also has never met outside of a bar night before Kathryn got a life. Jin's probably thinking that with that cleavage Atsali has to be Monica’s teenage daughter and she is 18 years out of the loop!

And to think I was just thinking that a six-foot-and-change teenage girl with natural white hair and a ginormous rack would startle anyone as it is... But of course you're right, given Kevin's height and Monica's body.

[Mark N]

Hopefully 'Stela's Plant side can filter out the salt content of the ocean water.

There are plenty of plants that survive in salt water. She may just have the attributes of ALL plant types and can therefore survive on any type or amount of water. She may be able to make due in dry times like a cactus to high salt like reef algae.

[Dave]

So why did Bud and Brandi start the MiB? (To have someone fill in when the three of them were inactive?)

And when? The MiB were active in 1970 (Mapimi), long before the golem girls sobered up ...

... so, just how drunk were Bud and Brandi when they formed the MiB?

As to the "when", it was apparently a long time ago... not very long after the Lanthian civilization was destroyed. When Euryale first told Monica about the MIB, she said that that this happened soon after the three GGs were given into the care of Tepoz. They "took an active role as guardians 'n keepers of secrets... tha new world crew, under Tepoz 'n the gurls, formed a security force."

Are we sure this security force formed by the new world crew, under Tepoz and the girls, is the same as the MiB formed by Bud and Brandi? It's not named as such, and as far as I can tell, they were not quite in the same business. (The MiB are neither guardians nor a security force as such; from what I've seen of them, I'd rather say special forces and clean-up crew, or even "keeping things running smoothly".)

Not sure, no, not in an absolute sense. I suppose it's possible that Bud and Brandi have chosen to create two entirely separate clandestine paranormal organizations, over the years. I think it's more likely, though, that they're essentially the same group. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any reason why Euryale would be telling Monica about this part of history, just after having broken the (distressing-to-M) news about the existence of the MIB.

They may not be organized and acting in precisely the same way today as they were, thousands of years ago, or course. Organizations do evolve over time (often greatly) as the world situation and politics change, and clandestine organizations are no different than any other in this regard. Consider, for example, the degree to which the CIA has been either involved in, or forbidden to be involved in "private army" paramilitary operations over the past fifty or sixty years... at times they've been in a nearly pure "information gathering and intelligence" mode, and at other times they've been sending assassins around, performing "enhanced interrogation", running private prisons, "extraordinary rendition", and so forth.

The MIB / security force might have played a more visible, active role back in The Day - helping deal with the immediate consequences of the Lanthian disaster, and trying to secure the ex-Lanthian technologies (especially weapons) to avoid further conflict and disaster. We have some indications that this didn't entirely work - the Vimana cells were turned into weapons, at least for a while. If they were actively involved in "security by suppression of Really Dangerous Stuff" this could have evolved into the role that the MIB plays today - covering up the more obvious signs of paranormal presence and activity.

The MIB now seems to be associated with the U.S. Government, at least to some extent. From what Euryale said, though, the MIB predates any present-day government in the world by many thousands of years.

If the MiB and the security force are the same. But if so, why is Euryale in a single scene (two pages apart) giving two different accounts of who formed this group?

Seems to me, the pieces don't fit.

My read on what Euryale said is rather different than yours. I don't see what she's saying as two different accounts, just two different wordings of the same bit of back-story. The GGs were placed in Tepoz's care. We know he went to a good deal of effort to "disentangle" them and restore their individual personalities and memories. At some point after that, Bud and Brandi took an active role in secret operations. As part of that job, they and Tepoz organized some of the Lanthian survivors to create a "security force"... and, perhaps, chose to guard some of the more dangerous secrets themselves rather than revealing them to the whole organization.

I could certainly be wrong here, but it seems to hang together... one long-lived clandestine organization, "fueled" by access to paranormal and old-technology whizbangs.

[TheDOCTOR]

♫ Aunt-ie Jin. Open the do-or and let 'em Ii-iinnn. Someones knockin' at the door. Somebodys ringin' the bell.... ♫
Deep Breath Jin. Just relax,enjoy being with friends and play "Catch-Up".

[Dave]

Ooooh, poor baby... Are you lost?

No. Alan just fed her rather too much cough syrup during last week's cold.

[TazManiac]

♫ Aunt-ie Jin. Open the do-or and let 'em Ii-iinnn. Someones knockin' at the door. Somebodys ringin' the bell.... ♫
Deep Breath Jin. Just relax,enjoy being with friends and play "Catch-Up".

Sister Suzie...


Uncle Ernie...

OK, so now I gotta go and dig out some Beatles, thankyouverymuch...

Obstensably, it was a crisis with TINA that got all the gals to the Island, now that there is a gathering of the clutch and the coven, what of my Tina-ski? (She's looking rather fetching in that Bee-Key-Knee, say what?)

(I'm pretty sure my spell check, aint...)

[jwhouk]

Point of order: that was Wings, not That Other Band Sir Paul McCartney was in.

[TazManiac]

Point of order: that was Wings, not That Other Band Sir Paul McCartney was in.

I see your point, but in my defense if youd followeed Prince as long as I have the groups' distinctions become moot...

(and I _like_ Wings...)

[jwhouk]

I lived through it, man. I know the difference between Paul belting out about Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and listening to "You Never Give Me Your Money."

[Julie]

I lived through it, man. I know the difference between Paul belting out about Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and listening to "You Never Give Me Your Money."

Amen. Not that I lived through it, but the distinctions are pretty noticeable.