maskormenace | two ✩ video

[ ID reads Karen Starr.

Long time no see, network. This time Karen's post is not coming from the small comfort of her government housing, but from a brightly lit office. Situated against one of the walls is a dark red couch, a pillow propped up against the edge. The windows, though not quite large but neither small, reveal De Chima in the background for anyone who might recognize it immediately.

Though she's been living in her office for a couple of months now, the room doesn't look as lived in as one would expect it to. That's because Karen made sure to tidy up and make the office look as professional and presentable as she could before she dared to turn on the feed. However, her cat can be seen sitting in her office chair, peering over the edge of the desk and reaching for an elastic that's been left on the surface.

Karen, with her hair tied away from her face, smiles into the camera. ]

Hi there. It's been ages, I know.

Since there are many of you who don't know me: I'm Karen Starr. I'm co-CEO of Starrware Industries, located in De Chima, Virgina. We're an R&D company primarily focused in coming up with solutions to the planet's environmental issues. We've been trying to get approval on studying even a small sample of nanotech, but we haven't heard back aside from a "request pending" notif. So, at the moment my team is mainly working with artificial technology and semi-organics.

Anyway, we've been up and running since about September now. We're a pretty small firm, but recently business has picked up so we can afford a few new employees. I won't lie: the wages aren't really high, though if you're interested in doing some good for the planet and working alongside people with a similar passion and vision then you're more than welcome to drop off a resume at my office or contact me privately. There's a lot of bright and talented imPorts here, so I'd love to work with you if you're interested.

[ There's suddenly a light crash as pens and some papers are pulled off the table courtesy the cat. Karen gives a hapless shrug and then adds: ]

Annnd that brings me to a random question: anyone know any good real estate agents around here?

[ Seriously, it's time to stop living in an office. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ A beat. ]

A chance?

Well I am a superhero. That means we help save the world and protect people living in it. For me, it's protecting the world from the Phantom Empire.

Oh, you're worried about...

[ Ah, she understands better now. ]

Has anyone told you about the whole time "freezing" thing?

They have, but...well, I just can't really believe that! It's too good to be true.

It does sound crazy, but it's true. People have gone back to their world for some time and found themselves back in the same point in the timeline they left.

How's that even possible?

I wish I could explain that you. I'm not an expert on time.

Do you know anybody who is? Cause, there's 'time not moving back home because of weird time powers' and then there's also 'time not moving back home because people are imprisoned and don't know that time's still moving'...if that makes any sense.

It's kind of a combination of both? I seriously haven't a clue how to explain it, but our individual timelines seem stuck while we're here.

I don't know anyone personally. I could ask around.

Really? Not gonna lie, I'd appreciate that.

I'll let you know if I get some kind of decent answer.

You're the best, Ms. Starr!

Hey, it's no problem.