I return to the Visage Spire with breathless excitement and an odd sense of familiarity. I’ve been here before as a tourist, but never as a witch, and never to the upper levels… except once, in my Venusian vision, and those false memories still linger in my mind.

Per instructions, I land on a balcony just below the executive side of the tower’s split upper section. A secretary is waiting to usher me into the building with a smile and an offer of coffee or tea. Having just gulped down a Dusk-branded galaxy latte from the Starbucks right outside the Spire, I politely decline.

Radiance makes me wait, which I was expecting. My team—Striga and Agatha, mostly—helped me prepare for this interview, since I’ve never actually gone to one before. Apparently, a lot of interviewers play the waiting game because they have control issues or learned bad habits from business culture, but Radiance has a more practical concern: any witch that can’t control her emotions is a dangerous liability for Visage.

So I left my whole afternoon open for this, and I brought pen and paper to keep myself entertained; I’ve been diligently sketching out new familiar designs since I came back from the World of Glass. I want access to more than just the demon aesthetic, and my encounters in the other world taught me just how lacking my toolkit really is right now.

After fifteen minutes pass, Radiance’s secretary apologizes for the delay and offers a selection of scones. I thank her before greedily devouring the lemon option. Another fifteen minutes later, I’m finally called in.

“Ms. Dajani will see you now.”

Kamilah Dajani has a luxurious corner office, the back and right walls being entirely glass and offering a gorgeous view of the city below. The other walls are pristine white, with the left hosting a myriad of framed certificates and shelved trophies from the various charities that Kamilah has worked with or contributed to. The office is big enough to support a koi pond in the corner opposite the glass walls, with a handful of very handsome fish swimming around between rocks and greenery. Kamilah’s executive desk is comparatively modest, though probably quite expensive, a dark wood affair kept neatly organized and placed atop a robin-patterned rug. A slim laptop is open on the desk next to a folder, a pen cup, and a picture of a little girl in a Disney princess costume—her daughter, presuming from appearance and what I know of Kamilah’s family.

Radiance herself stands by the floor-to-ceiling window that makes up the right wall of her office, hands clasped behind her back as she looks out on the city. She’s as frustratingly beautiful as she was when I met her in Ferromancer’s workshop, though her golden eyes have taken on new meaning after my time in the other world—is it intentional mimicry of the King in Yellow and her children, or mere coincidence? She’s wearing some kind of one-piece suit—jumpsuit, I think it’s called—of the same fabric as her last outfit, pure white but shimmering with rainbow color. She’s traded the flats for heels and the diamond earrings for a diamond necklace, but the overall effect is the same: opulent, regal, and focused.

“Archon,” she says, turning to greet me with a warm smile. “How lovely to see you again. I was quite pleased to hear your name from Sweet Tooth and Kira Kira.”

Once joining Visage became a clear goal, we made sure to get me back in the Ossuary at a time when Sweet Tooth would be around. She’d already been pushing for me to give Visage a try, so telling her I was interested was all it took to set up an interview. “Thanks for taking the time out of your day to see me,” I smile back. “Being up here is like a dream come true.”

“Well, we’re always happy to fulfill a dream.” Radiance’s laugh is so well-practiced that I’d believe it was sincere if I didn’t know better. “Please, take a seat. Let’s discuss your application, darling.”

“Of course,” I say, sliding into a chair and keeping my wings carefully folded behind my back. “I appreciate the quick turnaround on this. I was amazed when it only took a few texts to secure an interview.”

“You’ve been a subject of some scrutiny,” Radiance says with the faintest hint of amusement. “Sweet Tooth is quite the eager recruiter, so I’d already heard of your cautious interest and had set an eye in your direction. What convinced you to go back to her?”

This is the “Why do you want to work here?” question, if my research has taught me anything. “To be honest,” I say with a grin, “I was already fairly convinced, but I like to do my due diligence and measure all my options before I commit to anything. Plus, Kira seemed real unhappy about the prospect of working on a holiday, and it’s usually not a good idea to start a new career by pissing off one of your future coworkers.”

Radiance puts on the slightest smirk. “A wise policy.”

“Really, though,” I continue, “in some sense this was a long time coming. I’m a huge fan of Visage, always have been. I’m right there in stream chat cheering on Glamour and Memento, keeping up with Dusk and Dawn, buying the Pearl Princess merch. I was there for Agatha Cain’s debut. I’m not gonna tell you that fame and fortune aren’t motives for me, because who doesn’t want that? But to be perfectly honest, getting the chance to interact with my idols as something more than a fan—as a peer—is what really drives me.”

Her smile warms. “Your enthusiasm is delightful to hear. Do you have a favorite?”

“It changes every month,” I confess. “Memento and Dusk while they were running hot on their rivalry storyline, Pearl Princess before that, and right now it’s probably Agatha. She’s so adorkable it hurts, especially when she takes off her glasses and tries to act all cool about it.”

“A versatile spread,” she notes with interest. “Knowing our roster so well, I’m sure you’ve noticed that each of my girls has a particular appeal to their less violent activities—a niche, to use the parlance. I’ve watched the footage of your public appearances and heard the assessments from Sweet Tooth, Kira, and Bombshell, so I’m reasonably satisfied that you can perform for an audience—and, of course, we will be happy to help you refine those skills further—but the central question remains: what do you bring to Visage?”

I let a bit of mischievousness seep into my expression. “Like I said: I’m a fan. I know exactly what it’s like to be watching those streams, following those girls, and making ill-advised purchases because you need what they’re selling. Cracking packs for a shot at the chase cards, rolling on gacha for your oshi, ordering the drink you’re almost certain you won’t like just because it has her name on it… I’ve done it all. I know what makes it appealing, and that means I know how to make it sound appealing; in more mercenary terms, I am the perfect pick for all your brand integration needs. You want me to sell a crossover, I guarantee I already have an account in whatever game it’s for. I’ll make deck techs promoting every Magic card with a Visage name on it. I’ll be the ascended fangirl urging all the other fans to join me in consuming, and it won’t feel fake or forced because I was already doing that before I ever became a witch. Hell, get some magical girls on board and I’ll run a weekly segment just to show off all the things I love about them.”

Radiance gives me a more appraising look. “Hmm. Yes, I think I can work with that. Let’s talk branding…”

Being a full-time streamer requires a certain kind of setup that I cannot get away with hiding in the space I share with Sophia. Luckily, I was already making plans to secure an apartment of my own with Ferromancer’s assistance.

There’s a block of nice apartments around a park spacious enough to have its own duck pond. My new place has a balcony that gives me a perfect view of the ducks, which means I’ll need to get a comfy chair out there at some point. The apartment itself is totally open plan, basically everything visible from the entrance. There’s a kitchen on the left below a loft bedroom, with the pantry tucked under the stairs. The bathroom is actually downstairs, right across from the kitchen, and the rest of the main floor is living space. My new bedroom is still mostly unfurnished, but I have higher priorities: the spacious walk-in closet just next to that bedroom is being converted into a dedicated streaming room, and that’s what I’ve spent most of my time working on.

Tuning details will take active coordination with Visage’s people, but I’m plenty capable of plugging cables into computer ports. Once the rig is stable, I take a break from tech work to open Discord and inform the nerds.

Alexandria: sup fuckers

Alexandria: guess who’s working for Visage now?

Mordacity: the ghost of Andrew Lloyd Webber, resurrected in rank defiance of the laws of magic and mortals to complete his visionary masterpiece Cats 2: This Time it’s Purrsonal

a single femur: Andrew Lloyd Webber isn’t dead

Mordacity: that’s what you think

Mordacity: real cats-heads know that he was replaced by a biosynthetic clone loyal only to the man in the yellow hat (who once shot me in a dream)

a single femur: You rube, clearly he’s working for the Sino-Afghanistani military-industrial complex to further their ideological agenda

Alexandria: what are you people TALKING about

Mike Trout: The military…

Mike Trout: mmfgh,,

Alexandria: I am a streamer now!!!! RESPECT ME

Mordacity: that’s like the complete opposite of how streamers work

Mike Trout: yeah as a retired top 1000 Twitch legend, you don’t get shit for respect

a single femur: This cannot be true, you cannot have this many backstories

Mike Trout: motherfucker I have layers. like an ogre

Mordacity: nothing is more reviled than the ogre…

Alexandria: I come here and I tell you people OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF MY HEART

Mordacity: well that’s definitely not true

Mike Trout: do you have any goodness in your heart?

a single femur: Do you have a heart?

Alexandria: so who wants to be a mod in my stream chat

a single femur: What would be my weekly allowance of unjustified bannings

Mike Trout: Wait can i ban my fellow mods? please please i’ve wanted to ban femur in something for Literal years

Alexandria: yes and yes. let chaos reign

Mike Trout: this is a fantastic approach to moderation and I am sure it will only go well

Mordacity: that’s more tempting than crack heroin but sadly i cannot as i have Other Business in the coming months. very important official Mordacity work that will leave me zero time for bullying my friends in front of a live audience of thousands

Mordacity: HOWEVER

a single femur: Here we go

Mike Trout: Goodbye forever! It was nice knowing you!

Mordacity: i’m coming to visit in January

Alexandria: oh shit

Alexandria: why????

Mordacity: what the fuck that’s so rude

Mordacity: anyway. reasons. smile

Mike Trout: hey wait that’s my bit

a single femur: We got a fuckin bit thief here

Alexandria: mods, twist her balls

Mordacity: jokes on you there is nothing on earth i cannot pretend to get off to

Alexandria: hey isnt jan ur birthday

Mordacity: shut the hell your mouth, i was never born

Mike Trout: Real as fuck

Alexandria: anyway this is a real offer

Alexandria: paid position, even

Alexandria: just have to comply with manager-chan’s standards

a single femur: You did not just say “manager-chan”

Alexandria: i think you’ll find that i did

Alexandria: it’s on her business card and everything

Alexandria: more importantly, and in all sincerity, it would be nice to have you guys around for this

Mordacity: gay

a single femur: You are allergic to sincerity

a single femur: I cannot promise I will be any good at it but I will do my best

Mike Trout: Yeah I’ll join, sounds fun

Alexandria: yessssss excellent

Alexandria: okay back to work, I need to finish setting up my stream rig

Of course, what I actually mean is that I have a bunch of video games to start installing on the new computer. The rest will have to wait.

Once there’s nothing more to do with the computer, I step back out to the bedroom and lean over the loft railing, looking down on my new apartment. Erica donated a nice tv and a few pieces of furniture, but I’ll have to get more. I’ve also got a few boxes of stuff I was storing in Ferromancer’s workshop that I need to unpack, and I’ll have to do a grocery run at some point to stock the kitchen. I’m not in the habit of cooking and that’s not going to change any time soon, but what streamer is complete without a mountain of snack food and energy drinks?

Still. It’s a nice apartment, and it’s mine. My place. My home. My little sanctuary.

And one day, I’m going to bring Sophia here.

[commentary]

One more chapter to go.

A special thank you to my Grandmaster-tier patrons, whose support has kept food on my table: CaosSorge, Crows Danger, Demi, Lirian, M, Mhai Wind, Moth Court, October, and PR4v1 Samaratunga.

If you like this story and want to see more of it, please go to the RR page and leave a rating or review! Web serials live and die on audience support, and this one is no exception. The better the story does on RR, the more people click through and read, the more motivation I have (both on a mental health level and on an “able to pay rent” level) to keep writing and to write faster.

The next scheduled break week starts on the 26th of October. It’ll be a double length break for the end of book one.

[/commentary]