VOLUME III: 47 – PowerPoint Presentation

Weaver dimmed the lights.

Like it was a theatre.

Like we were about to debut for real. No stream overlays, no shaky mics—just six nerds and a pink PowerPoint.

The projector clicked.


Slide 1: “WELCOME TO PROJECT PARFAIT ONBOARDING.”


Soft pink. Corporate serif font. A faint watermark of the Parfait logo glowing behind the text like a secret handshake.

Basil leaned in. “That font’s kinda cute. It's givviiing.”

“They really prepared for this” I murmured.


Slide 2: “OUR VISION.”


Basil tilted their head. “Okay but this color scheme? I’m emotionally invested.”

Amy was already underlining headers and making margin notes with color-coded highlighters. I hadn’t even opened mine. Jules, of course, was using hers as a fan and mouthing along to the words on the screen like it was karaoke.

Weaver beamed like a golden retriever with a mic. “At Project Parfait, we believe in talent-first creativity, dynamic storytelling, and values-driven growth.”

He said it like a TED Talk. With jazz hands.


Slide 3: “OUR VALUES”
• Authenticity
• Connection
• joy


Jules raised her hand. “Why is joy lowercase?”

Rika smiled like a lawyer about to win a case. “It’s a design choice.”

Sasha, to his credit, actually nodded at the screen. “Okay but this is still better than the onboarding I had at Tesco."


Slide 4 had charts.


Amy immediately leaned forward like it was a spreadsheet-based thriller.

Sasha snapped a picture. “I’m stealing the layout.”

Noah squinted. “Wait, this is actually useful. What’s the axis?”

“I think that’s debut month versus growth rate,” Amy muttered, already flipping to the appendix.


Slide 5: “WHAT MAKES A PARFAIT TALENT?”


Sasha raised his hand again. “Rizz?”

Amy turned so slowly toward him I thought her neck might creak. “Professionalism.”

“I’m just saying,” Sasha said. “I bring charisma and thumbnails.”

Basil chuckled. “He’s not wrong.”

Jules said, “Sasha has the power of bri-ish accent.”

Weaver advanced three slides at once—either on purpose or because the clicker betrayed him. “Okay! Branding is a lens!” he announced, too eager to be stopped.

The words “BRANDING IS A LENS” floated over a stock image of a stylized VTuber interface mockup—cute UI borders, an exaggerated emote wheel, a polished 2D model mid-wave.

“Preeetttyyy,” Jules whispered.

“She’s terrifying,” I replied.

“She’s me,” Basil said solemnly.


Slide 9: “YOUR CONTENT IS YOUR LEGACY.”


I scribbled “existential?” in the margin. Amy added a heart beside it.

Weaver’s voice didn’t waver. “This is your chance to make something that sticks. Not just trends. Stories. Vibes. You.”

It was cheesy. But it worked.


Slide 10: “OUR MISSION: Create With Care”


He paused, then spoke softer. "Parfait’s only a few years old, but we built this place to be different. We wanted structure without stifling, freedom, and creativity. A studio where both staff and talent can grow.”

Amy exhaled. Basil sat back, smiling.

Jules whispered, “That’s actually beautiful.”

"This isn’t a factory line. This is a studio. A stage. A safe place to fail loud and grow louder,” Rika added, almost too casually. “We’re not perfect—but we try. And that’s what makes us better than most.”

For once, the room was quiet.

Noah and I both look at each other with the same gleam in our eyes.


Slide 11: “DEBUT PREP BEGINS NOW.”


Underneath:
• Assigned managers
• Finalize model concepts
• Content strategy brainstorming
• Key visuals and debut teaser
• Talent-to-talent chemistry check


Rika clapped her hands once. “After lunch, you’ll meet your individual managers. Until then, we’ll be watching how you all interact.”

“We’re being watched?” Sasha gasped.

“We’re being observed,” Basil corrected, prim.

“We’re being evaluated like rare Pokémon,” Jules whispered.

Amy raised her hand. “Will we be assigned concept consultants today or after the chemistry review?”

Rika lit up. “Excellent question! You’ll each meet with your individual manager after lunch today. We’ll be observing group dynamics until then.”

“Do we get free company merch?” Jules asked.

“No,” said Weaver. “But we do expect you to be professional, flexible, and—most of all—yourselves.”

Everyone stared.

“Within reason,” Rika added as she switched the next slide.


Slide 12: “LET’S BUILD SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.”


I didn’t write anything under this one.
Just stared for a second.
Then smiled.

We were really doing this.

Noah leaned over, voice quiet.
“Looks better than my old clinic orientation.”

I laughed as I turned to him.
He met my eyes, laughing too.
Yeah. We both knew how far we’d come to get here.