VOLUME III: 46 – Introduction Roulette

Weaver looked up. “Name, background, skills. Keep it professional.”

That last part was aimed directly at Jules. She ignored it.

Amy went first.

“Hi, I’m Amy Faith Baltazar,” she said, sitting with posture so sharp it could cut a budget proposal. “Originally from the Philippines, currently based in Canada. I sing, produce, mix, and cry over Reaper files. I used to be with another company before transferring here.”

Her tone was calm, polished. She’d definitely prepped bullet points.

“I’m really grateful to be here and excited to collaborate with all of you.”

She smiled, then added, “Also, I’ve already made a folder for team resources. Please check your shared drive later.”

Jules audibly gasped. “Wait, I love her.”

Amy blinked. “Thank you?”

Then Jules stood up like she was testifying in court.

“I’m Jules. Brooklyn-born, gamer-raised. High school was a scam, but I stole the Wi-Fi, so it’s fine. I play everything, mod everything, and break everything—usually in that order.”

Rika frowned. “Are you… certified in anything?”

“No,” she said. “But I’m top 1% on Chess.com, and I can speedrun Elden Ring while building a keyboard.”

There was a pause. Jules beamed.

“I also love pandas, the colour yellow, and this cookie stick,” she said, taking a bite mid-sentence. “That’s it. That’s me.”

“Noted,” Rika said, blinking very slowly.

Basil stood next.

He didn’t speak right away—he just adjust the cuff of their jacket, casually showing off a vine tattoo that curled down their wrist.

“You can call me Basil,” they said. “I live in the Bay Area. I'm an illustrator. Digital, traditional, spiritual.”

That wasn’t a joke. Basil radiated the exact energy of someone who would hand you a print of your soul mid-conversation.

“I stream art. I tell stories. I like characters with too many eyes.”

Jules snapped her fingers. “Wait! You’re that Basil! The one with the painting where the girl’s crying into a puddle and the puddle has teeth?”

Basil gave a soft smile. “That one was based on my childhood photos.”

Amy looked mildly alarmed.

“I’m also nonbinary. I use they/them,” Basil added. “And I do my own nails. That’s relevant if anyone ever wants recommendations.”

They sat again with a grace that suggested they were being filmed.

Noah went next.

He stood, gave a lazy half-wave. “Noah. Bay Area native and am currently still here. I used to stream on the side while working in sports rehab. Now I do this full-time and only fix knees on weekends.”

Jules made a tiny wow under her breath.

“I play Apex, Splatoon, Monster Hunter—whatever lets me pretend I’m not a responsible adult for fifteen minutes.”

Amy looked mildly terrified.

“Anyway,” Noah shrugged. “Graduated. Burned out. Did a pivot. That’s the résumé.”

I raised a brow. “You forgot your tragic backstory.”

“Saving that for debut,” he said, sipping his drink.

“Smart.”

Then Sasha swung his legs onto the table like a man who got lost on purpose.

“Name’s Sasha,” he said. “From Birmingham, UK, but currently vibing in San Francisco. I stream loud games, yell a lot, and once got banned from a Rust server for being too good at psychological warfare.”

Jules nodded like that was relatable.

“I dropped out of civil engineering because I realized I cared more about frags than bridges,” Sasha continued. “Now I scream professionally.”

“YouTube channel?” Amy asked.

“Yeah. Don’t doxx me this early.”

“We will,” Basil said.

“Fair.”

Then, finally, all eyes turned to me.

I sat up straighter, suddenly feeling like my hoodie was made of static.

I cleared my throat. “Hi. My name’s Aoi.”

That got a blink from Sasha.

I ignored it.

“I used to work in media. Now I yell into a mic for a living. I like weird horror games, awful romance games, and breaking emotionally at 3 a.m. to gacha pulls.”

Noah gave me a thumbs-up.

“I also play the piano,” I said. “Just… not often. Or well. Or in front of people.”

Amy’s eyes lit up. “We should do a music stream sometime.”

I blinked. “Sure, that would be fun.”

She smiled and jotted something in her notes.

Jules clapped.

Weaver sighed.

Rika cleared her throat like she was about to file a formal HR concern.

“Now that we’re all acquainted,” she said. “Let’s get started.”





Hi, my lovely chaotic gremlins ( T∀T)

Sorry, this one took a little longer than usual to hit your screens! There were already drafts brewing in the background (gremlin drafts. messy drafts. drafts that stared back). The plan was actually to finish writing 5 full chapters before dropping a big, satisfying batch for you all here on Patreon— but life did its thing, I got busy and I didn’t want to leave you hanging any longer.

So! For now, I’m releasing two chapters (46 & 47) while I continue cooking the rest. Think of this as the soft opening of the Gen 4 descent arc ((o(^∇^)o))

Thank you so much for your patience, your support, and for believing in this story even when it takes its sweet time coming out of the oven. You all are the real MVPs and I appreciate you deeply.

And to the new patrons who joined recently~ welcome to the chaos corner! I’m so grateful you’re here. Please make yourselves comfortable, steal some pudding, and emotionally spiral with the rest of us 🫶

More soon. I promise.

~Edeshei 🧃