maskormenace

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[After the last few days, there is a single temptation in Kate's mind: to put this off. To let it rest. She's earned it. Then again, she'd end up guilting herself and worrying about it too much, so it's worth getting it out of the way. Besides, all of it is important, and she wants to help.

So, it's back to the daily grind.]

Hey, everyone, a few things of note! First, I've updated the FAQ to reflect a few questions from you guys, as well as the recent bills that passed (or failed to pass). Hopefully, this clears up some things, and as always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

On to the cleverly numbered points!

1. Shepard and I spent the last couple of months looking for information on some of the people from Annie's list. I call it Annie's list only in short hand.

I've compiled that information in this document here. Hopefully, that will add some light to things. Whether these people are Hornets or not is yet to be made clear, but I do want to draw everyone's attention to Eleni Wang and the fact that she might be in Greece. If you're up for going to Greece to ask her some questions, I think you should do it.

2. Unrelated to this, my team is looking for some new members! We call ourselves the Young Avengers, and we're a branch of a much larger team of heroes from back home. While this won't give you officially sanctioned Avengers-status due to the circumstances of being here, we are looking for a few extra hands.

The only conditions we have are that you're at least seventeen (though we can be a little flexible on this point), and that you're willing to work with us as a team to do some good. We all play to our strengths, and we'd love to work with some of the heroes here moving forward. As a team, we're a little less "you must do this" and "you must go here. Also, we're very fun, and you can annoy Loki a lot.

If you're interested, you can either drop me a line here or contact me privately with your credentials.

Oh, and I figure it's implicit in our name, but we're generally looking for younger heroes.

Thanks!

3. My twenty-second birthday is this Saturday, and I've gotten one of my favorite diners to agree to let me throw my party there. It's intended to be a less rambunctious gathering, especially with Christmas right around the corner. If you know me, you're probably invited. Please use your judgment wisely! Also, gifts are not required. Sorry for the short notice.

The location is [insert Maurtia Falls location that's near Loki's apartment.]

That's all!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It takes a certain level of nerve to get that information, and that person also didn't care that they might not even understand what the scientists had to say.

[ A sigh. ]

It wasn't that I didn't care that I didn't understand. Someone dropped a glass while they were talking. Besides, grammar and gamma sound ESSENTIALLY the same. It's just that first r that's different.

I should have looked into it more before I gave the information. I probably sounded like a complete imbecile.

You don't really need to defend yourself.

And you should have looked into it more, but not because you sounded like an imbecile.

Yes, I know, for fact-checking. These two were totally legitimate, though - they really work with the Porter, and they had NO clue I was there. The information was real, I just hadn't the faintest idea what to do with it. So I needed to get it out to people who knew more than I did.

So you picked the tabloid reporter who thought that revealing people's dirty secrets was a "fair" move? When that information would likely be twisted beyond believe?

(And she did twist it, considering.)

She gets attention. When she makes a post, people flock to it. To approve, to disapprove - they pay attention.

And you think that's a good thing?

It's not. It's really not.

And honestly, given what I know about your world, isn't that kind of sensationalism something you should be rallying against? It could get people hurt.

In my world, "journalists" are coddled lapdogs who are slipped scraps by their masters. They haven't even got the courage to print how many people are dying in America - we've got to guess half the time. All they'll write about is Devereaux's latest tie pin, or interviews with commoners who "disapprove" of the ingratitude of their fellows.

Ms Lounds is courageous. And, yeah, she gets attention, which IS a good thing when I'm trying to get the word out about something we might be able to fix. That's enough for me.

There is a difference between free speech and publishing whatever you want as news. It might seem "brave" that she's putting stuff out there, but it isn't. She got targeted last month with those files because the person who gave them to her knew they could. It was as simple as that. They knew it would go somewhere.

And you can't suggest that someone does something about something when it might be a dead end entirely. And you can't think that me looking into it is a good thing, when it could just be baseless hypotheses.

Honestly, I'm more worried that you looked into getting more information and ran on ahead after I gave you that dump of information. Weren't you the least bit suspicious about their theorizing?

No. They believed what they were saying. And they had no idea anyone was listening. I think everything I heard was the truth, as best they knew it.

What Billy and Hange Zoe learned were both things they believed, but easy to doubt. Honestly, I'm still stuck on the part where you think Freddie Lounds is the courageous person to look up to in order to get information out there.

I like you because you're smart and brave; I like her for the exact same reasons. They're good qualities, and ones that you don't see so very often. And I know she's done some perfectly rotten things, but I don't know anyone who hasn't, really.

You're giving her traits that aren't actually hers. She's not worthy of admiration, Kitty, and it's actually really worrying that you think she is. That's all.

[Kate is not budging on this one.]

Maybe. I guess if I'm wrong, I'll regret it eventually, won't I?

[Why is Kitty so stubborn? Kate wonders.]

Why regret it at all?

Well...It's trust someone, or it's trust no one, isn't it? And I won't get anywhere trusting no one. And she seems like someone who can really make a difference. People are scared of her. That's usually a sign that something's going right.

I need people to trust. And I haven't got many options who are better than her.

People are afraid of her because she's doing stupid, dangerous things, Kitty!

And it's not trust someone or no one. It's "don't trust this dangerous person."

Are you that incapable of seeing my point? Freddie Lounds is dangerous, reckless, selfish, and only out for herself. And for some reason, you think she's admirable. She's not.

Of course I'm not incapable. I see your point, I really do. I just haven't seen any real evidence that it's really true. That's all. If she does burn me, then, well, it'll be on me.

I know she's made you angry. She's made lots of people angry. But she's not unpredictable. Being predictable makes her trustworthy.

If I'm wrong, I apologize in advance, but what I'm worried about is that you think it's okay to bring to light potentially incorrect information about powered imPorts that can (and has) ruined their lives because Freddie Lounds thought she had a moral backbone. Now, you might not be afraid of your file. I'm not, because the stuff I don't want on there isn't on there, nor will it ever be. But some of these imPorts did face difficulties. Many of them were upset. I'm concerned that you think it's okay because they were powered imPorts who may have done something terrible because of your biases.

I advise you to take a good look at it again. And when you're done with that, take a good look at this.

Ellie is a really sweet person. I met her when I first got here. And this is the last thing she deserves. Not to mention Spider-Man, who's been put through the ringer, having to admit that he was Spider-Man! His worst enemy is here, and now he and his loved ones are in danger! Plus, a lot of this information was wrong.

In terms of giving her that information you provided, you were relying on her putting it out there. But this is where the big picture doesn't come in, and I've already scolded you enough about that. But Freddie Lounds should only be used in the scenario that you can rely on the information you're providing, and that you can somehow back it up. I put doubt on what you found because a) I didn't realize it came from you (running around anonymously isn't going to help anyone, like I've said) and b) because even if that scientist believed it, it still begs the question of whether it was just his belief, given that we know that the scientists don't know much. Skye got into their systems a couple months ago. You can ask her about it. She also apparently tried to hack Lachesis, but got arrested right after, so there are limits to these things.

But the big thing is, no one should be believing in or relying on Freddie Lounds for information. If you come across stuff, own up to it. Say you heard something. It's risky, but do you really need a filter for the same information that she'd be sensationalizing? I don't see the point to that.

Edited (bad html) 2015-01-07 21:06 (UTC)

[ There's a long pause. Finally: ]

I hadn't seen that Ms Langford lost her job.

[ And another long pause. ]

The thing about trying to get information like this is that they can't know who it is who's listening in. I can't post this information as myself, because then they'll know to be on the lookout for me. Tell me someone else who would post it, and who people would listen to, and I'll go with them.

Me, Loki, Annie. Thomas might be a good choice. Kanaya. Rose. I can pull up a list and keep going, if you'd like.

Journalists, I mean..

Why a journalist, specifically?

Because I don't want the information to be limited to imPorts alone. If it's important, it's important enough for everyone to know.

So you went to a sensationalizing tabloid writer? Right now, we barely have a presence of our own in the media. Putting information out there that can scare people is just going to make it worse, and ruin what chances we have at that.

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