The agents of this thread are pretty fucking too: Let's Play Lobotomy Corporation

[TeeQueue]

The LobCorp wiki suggests "Old Faith and Promise" might be inspired by an event in a Korean mobile game, where there was a similar 'breaking' weapon enchantment system. Normally, you could obtain tickets that would keep a weapon from breaking if the enchantment failed, but the weapon's boost would be reset to 0 if that happened.

The "Kiri's Promise" event let you buy tickets where, if the enchantment failed, the weapon would be completely and totally unaffected, retaining its previous enchantment level. I'm told they cost $40 a shot!

People complained.

Honestly, it reminded me of my MapleStory days-there's a scrolling system they introduced some time later that does the exact same thing to you in it, and the scrolls that kept things from breaking were also pricy cash shop items. This is just kind of a thing in some games that require you to have equipment. Nobody likes it anywhere, either.

[Gespenst]

old faith and promise is simultaneously amazing and garbage. doubling a weapons power is amazing but the chances on that are trash. while you can re-buy weapons in the preparation screen, you can't build up PE boxes so your re-tries are strictly limited (if you even care to reset for it in the first place) and anything strong enough to be worth the modifier is too expensive to roll the dice on.
like most tools it exists to be a trap. every tool we've seen is a trap. the mirror eats stats if the same person uses it repeatedly, the portrait kills people if someone else uses it, both of these tools have the same unlock condition for their information. similarly YMBH has "time used" for it's unlock, the tool that's best used for a few seconds at a time. it will gleefully teach you the hard way that agents that gain too much stats are doomed by strongly encouraging you to build up a gigantic stat modifier by using it for several minutes. of course OFaP is special because it's backlash persists through resets, if you lose an irreplaceable weapon (like if you've lost it's source from a reset) you're not getting it back.

[TeeQueue]

It's true that every tool we've seen is a trap on some level.

However, Old Faith is definitely distinctive in that it is the first trap I haven't found some sneaky use for anyways. In that sense, it is the first properly useless tool!

[Gespenst]

It's not exactly useless, because you can buy gear in the deployment screen you can replace weapons you lose as long as you have enough PE boxes, if it's something like Blue Star hat's really useful for training then you'll pretty much always have a decent surplus of boxes. that said repeatedly resetting to gamble on Old Faith sounds like the single most boring way to gain power short of grinding to rank V on One Sin.

[AweStriker]

The LobCorp wiki suggests "Old Faith and Promise" might be inspired by an event in a Korean mobile game, where there was a similar 'breaking' weapon enchantment system. Normally, you could obtain tickets that would keep a weapon from breaking if the enchantment failed, but the weapon's boost would be reset to 0 if that happened.

The "Kiri's Promise" event let you buy tickets where, if the enchantment failed, the weapon would be completely and totally unaffected, retaining its previous enchantment level. I'm told they cost $40 a shot!

People complained.

Honestly, it reminded me of my MapleStory days-there's a scrolling system they introduced some time later that does the exact same thing to you in it, and the scrolls that kept things from breaking were also pricy cash shop items. This is just kind of a thing in some games that require you to have equipment. Nobody likes it anywhere, either.

PSO2 even has something like this, but only for units (read: armor) - and even then the most I've seen it do is drop its enhancement level by 2, out of a maximum of 10.

It remains to be seen whether that's getting kept for New Genesis, but we know very little about New Genesis yet anyway.

I'm late to this thread! Seems like a stressful game so I think I'll probably skip playing it too.

[TeeQueue]

Synchronizing Memory Repository . . .

Day 19: Story

Music: Sentimental Moment


There once was a great AI, a sentinel of a company. The AI was so intelligent that many people feared it. Those who knew the AI left the company one by one.



The good AI waited, as that person was once a friend.



As a sentinel, the AI could no longer ignore the person’s actions. So it made a very, very difficult choice. No one would see that person ever again…



Another random line, but this one has just enough variation that I want to post the other three:

The AI was a bit sad, but it had no regrets about its decision.

In the end, it didn’t matter to the AI whether or not it was close to that person.

The AI did what it perceived to be the best course of action. A machine is a machine, after all.



And one more random line, but there's only two options and the other is pretty much the same.

In summary: Angela tells us a story that definitely isn't about her and B. _{It's totally about her and B you guys.}

Music: Town - Alone in a Crowd


Malkuth, friendship should not be an excuse to lie. Manager, Netzach is high as a kite on Enkephalin. He’s completely out of it.

You’re such a rat! What if Netzach gets punished?



Malkuth's looking like she wants to strangle Yesod.

Please don’t punish Netzach, manager.

Netzach is neglecting his responsibilities yet again, and so are you. Shouldn’t you be participating in your team’s internal meeting right now?



Capturing this just for Malkuth's customer service smile here. She's definitely annoyed right now.



Yeeeah… I'll go track him down. Thanks.

(You managed to find Netzach)



Man, why’s the ground shaking like that? Is it another breach? Lemme guess what you’re thinking.



I know, I’ve read your mind. I get that a lot from the other Sephirot. But, just think about it for a sec.



Is it wrong to try and escape from that reality for even just a moment? Look, I think we should be celebrating the fact that we survived another day. I don’t give a damn about the future of the company or whatever like that. There’s no tomorrow here. No hope. What have I done wrong?



If that’s the case, I repent, so tell whoever did this all to forgive me…

…

Forget it, I just… want to see this place crumble to pieces…

In summary: B didn't need to tell us AI could lie, Malkuth just showed us all on her own.

Anyways, Netzach is very drunk, and laments his fate in no uncertain terms at all. He wants out, and if he can't get it, he might as well get wasted. He's not without spite, though: If you haven't been reading the flavor text for the missions I definitely think you should pay attention to the next one.



I've had one death, Netzach.

In this timeline, maybe.

Okay, okay, two deaths! And a couple of panics, but Sephiroth wasn't even my fault, that was to prevent something even worse from happening and he got better in like four seconds-

You're totally killing my buzz, Manager. Just do the mission, if it's so easy.

Fine. I'll show you what I can do. Again.





Rough day, boss?

You have no idea. Find anything?

There weren't any signs of a body anywhere I could get to. Not even any signs of a struggle. I've never seen a crime scene I couldn't pick out…

Hm. Do you think that an incredibly advanced, state-of-the-art AI could have covered it up completely?

I guess in theory, but… No. You don't think-?

I'm pretty sure she just… confessed. Kind of. In her Angela-y way.

Holy shit...

From what she said… I think it should be fine, as long as we don't get in the way of company operations, but I'm going to keep a very close eye on her anyways.

Should you be telling an employee all this?

No. No I should not. However, if something happens someone'll have to be able to step in.

And what happens when I bite it?

_{I rewind and do it right the next time.}

Did you just mutter something?

Not at all. Don't worry about it, I won't let you die.

Well, that's not suspicious at all.

Heh, sorry. Manager's rights. I won't keep you from your precious Malkuth any longer, though. Get back to it, tiger.

I keep telling you, it's not like- I'll take care of the Control team as ordered, boss.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: New agents! Bees! A total lack of danger!








Chinely, I just got notice that you were returning to active duty!

I sure am! I just finished my training regimen for handling my work, too.

Oh, you mean those classes Hod gives where they fast-track your statistics to the next level? Those always make me ache all over after…

Oh, not that. I've just finished reading through the works of this 'Junji Ito' guy. He was a true visionary!

Your training was just reading?

And watching TV, yeah. See, I wasn't assigned anything to do, and the back-end work… well, the clerks mostly take care of that stuff. So, what I did was go ahead and look at anything that could possibly be helpful-horror, magical girls, horror involving magical girls… this one series about a talking bird, and a whole lot of office life shows. I should be prepared for anything!

If you really think that'll be okay…

I'm sure it will! Just in case, I also watched a bunch of shows about swordfighting and guns and stuff, and once I heard about the bees I grabbed a zombie movie, too... _{It's basically the same thing, right?}

I guess that's close enough… Well, good luck! Have you met the new hires yet?

Oh, yeah! They looked all rabbit-eyed like we did back on day 10. I'm glad we're not newbies anymore.

If theoretical experience counts, anyways…

Ah heck, just you wait-I'll show everyone my skills tomorrow. It'll be just like my animes! You'll see!

Alright, best of luck Chinely.

You too.



Running Sephirot Protocol...
Beginning TT2 Acceleration...
Weakening Qliphoth Deterrence...
Resuming Energy Extraction and Refinement...
Checking TT2 Reconstruction...
Sephirot Reconstruction Complete.

The memories of all the Sephirot have been Synchronized.

[TeeQueue]

I'm late to this thread! Seems like a stressful game so I think I'll probably skip playing it too.

You are actually just in time-we've just finished catching up to the original thread so everything from here forward should be new content.

I also went ahead and updated the second post with all of the neat fanart and memes that the thread's spawned as well so it might be worth a look.

[LPFinale]

It's good to see this all caught up. It was a long journey, but now we're ready to roll again with tales of smol stretchy birbs that always leave their Containment Units and cosmic horrors beyond our understanding that hopefully never leave their Containment Units.

[Jadecore]

I never did get far in the original thread, but I've been reading along happily since we jumped over here! It's a nice feeling being up to date.

[Quackles]

I've got a present for you!
:lobcorp: is now a smiley!

[jimmydalad]

I've got a present for you!
is now a smiley!

[Talow]

is absolutely perfect.

[TeeQueue]

This is literally everything I could ever ask for. Thank you.

[Gespenst]

Your partner's a murderer and all of the department heads are insane?

[Tanegashima]

At last we're caught up and I can shitpost post fanwork here.

[jimmydalad]

So I borrowed Talow's profile picture because I just had to do this.



It just felt right.

[TeeQueue]

So I borrowed Talow's profile picture because I just had to do this.



It just felt right.

every time I see it.

[Tanegashima]

It begins.

[Talow]

Can't say I was expecting to get fanart. Cool.

[TeeQueue]

Day 19: Gameplay

Music: neutral 1


We get our second Netzach research, and I go with my usual rule of 'Between prioritizing HP and SP, choose HP.' We can pull agents out of panic, and we've got plenty of White damage to do it with.

You're sure about this, Yesod?

You saw the numbers yourself. You can't say there's anyone more perfect for the job.

Yes, they're amazing across the board, but this is ALEPH gear-a weapon that could level anything it's pointed at. Untold power. Can we trust them with it?

You're worrying too much. After all…



Bothering to abuse her power would be too much like work for her tastes.

Right. On to other matters. Malkuth, how are the new agents?



They're all ready for assignment! Chinely's been placed back on duty as well.



Alright, let's get this over with. We're performing a weapons demo today, so let's try and call it after the noon.





So… can you do it?

Just watch.



Orders from the top, everyone! Chinely, Fat Sam, Omni, make sure to do your best today.

Mmm.. Looks like you'll be starting with the mirror, one of you will hit the radio, and we'll play it by ear with the rest.

Don't worry about it, I'll show you guys the ropes.

I shall wait and observe before I take action, then.

I've seen how it goes from the CCTV feeds. You don't have to worry about me. How's the hair doing, Seyser?

We're at a solid 3/10. Nothing to worry about, yet.

Perfect. I've seen it working long enough to know it's a good bellweather.



Let's all do our best today!

Oooh…

I know it's quite a fashion statement, but you can't just go staring at Mizu, Kaori.

But she's iinteresting… She smells like jerkyy...

Do you want one? I know how to get them.

No thaanks… It's better if I just waatch…

So. That's the new kid, huh? What do you make of her, Talow?

She seems… a bit single-minded.







(He didn't rewind for Ishmael, but he does now? What's going on..?)

Retry count: 2. I got too focused on getting some cool 'Zeta21 kicks some ass' footage and forgot that I let the Red-weak agent go working with Green Dawn around.



Hey, Kaori. Remember, you've got armor that's weak to Red. You'll be working with the Scarecrow today, but if you hear any Green or Amber alarms, you need to stay in here. Okay?

Aaaww… But the Amber ones look so cuute..!

Great, we have a new weirdo. I'll just be over here practicing with my whackin' club.



Ah, an upgrade. I'm free of Training, let loose to show off my true abilities in this place. So, what is my duty on this morning? What horrible beast shall I be working with?

You're on beewatch duty.

Beewatch duty?

Beewatch duty. Twee and I've got Blue Star, and someone from info's working with the bee. It's your job to sit here and take it when she gets angry, and to murder a bee if it pops out.

But my talents…



HAHA, speak of the devil! Someone's beefed it up already!

Sephirooooth!!



...okay this officially sucks.

Quit bitchin' and get to work. These things aren't gonna kill themselves.

Thankfully, all of the bees spawned in our main room, meaning they never got a chance to wander around and cause more problems.



Meltdowns have appeared Manager, and we've got a Violet Dawn coming in.

Got it… Hey, Malkuth-can you send Chinely down to YMBH? I had an idea.

Yes sir!



Either this thing is going to rip my guts out, or this is one of those things that give me superpowers.

It's both, but just say yes and get out of there right… now.

Okay! Now what?

Now you report to Laetitia for work duty.



Say… are you secretly a 3000 year old wizard-vampire? No reason, just curious.

_...no?

Huh… what's that noise?



Bees. It's always bees.

Sephirooooth!!

Manager, waving your fist in the air does not seem like the most efficient use of your time.

Right, right. Safety team can handle most of them, but the one heading to information… Zeta21, it's time for a test run.



This is such a pain…

Just try and keep clerk casualties to a minimum.

Got it.



The Sound of a Star weapon summons 3 balls and attacks the enemy with them-hitting multiple enemies 3 times each in a rather large area. As Zeta21's SP goes down, it'll fire only 2 and then 1 ball, however, so it's a very feast-or-famine weapon.



You should run away.

I can't do that and leave you behind, Zeta21! You're one of our idols!

No, seriously, this would be much easier if you'd just run away.

The area-of-effect ability of this weapon is very useful for dealing with bees, as we're able to kill them faster than they can repopulate. Even the worst ALEPH weapons tend to be really powerful.



Tenebrais? What're you doing here?

Heard there were bees. Figured I'd come help.

No need! It looks like Zeta21 managed to get them all by herself. It was totally one of those crazy curbstomp fights you see when someone's just gotten a power-up.

Truly, a performance worthy of praise. Mother's cells have merged well with that one.

...they're multiplying.

Hey, since you're here anyways, want to do some work with Rudolta? Think of it as training to ignore unpleasant things.

Yeah, I could go for that right now. Back in a second.



Violet Dawn.



Oh come on! I wanted in on that! Please don't die, please don't die..!



DAMMIT!

Violet Done.

Huh… something's missing. Hey, Hod?

Huh?

You haven't mentioned Punishing Bird all day.



Um… Mizu's been working with it, sir!

Don't remember signing off on that… Whatever, if she's having fun with it.

All I'm saying is, you could definitely manage to cram six whole pizzas in there. That'd be a lot more tasty than a person.

:thunk:



Manager, we are cleared to end the day at any time.

I know, but I'm waiting for the Noon to show up so we can have a proper demonstration of the new weapon. We'll get through things.

At this point, whenever Mirror goes off we can toss one of our maxed or near-maxed agents into it to ensure they get the Grand Senior title. Their stats don't change either, so it all works out. We also send Boksi to handle the Old Faith meltdown.



I never get tired of this face.



Is it just me, or have we become the facility's hangout room?

Well, we are a central location… and the closest department to dispatch someone for Queen Bee to boot.

I kind of like it.

Chinely… why are you wearing that?

Oh, this? Protagonists wear a lot of pointless belts, so by putting this on I'm less likely to die now. Also, it looks cool.

...okay, then.



Hey Manager, we got bees again.

Sephi-

Not quite, X.



Hey, I'm just here to polish off what's left of my Fortitude? Let's take it easy.

…Creden-ti-aaah heck, it just doesn't feel the same. Have Safety handle the ones in the room.

And the one in the hallway?



I hope you're ready for a beeting!

It should take care of itself.



In better news, we've got a Green Noon incoming. That should be perfect, right?

Yes. Took it long enough.

I don't believe I've mentioned this before, but a Noon ordeal can spawn at the end of level 3, 4, or 5. This is the latest into the day one can show up for us. Just before the Noon starts, I send everyone in the entire facility up to Control, in order to keep them out of the way. Everyone, that is, aside…



Zeta21. I have a special assignment for you.

Alright, let's hear it.

You've been given a new weapon, and we want you to showcase its power. We'll be fighting a Green Noon. You'll be taking care of all of them, by yourself.

Sounds like a pain in the ass, boss.

I'm sure it does. Get to it.



If I do, you're getting us that beer machine.

Did Netzach put you up to this?

Sure did. What're you gonna do, fire me?

I'm honestly not sure whether to fire you or be impressed by the effort.

Manager, we cannot-

If you can kill every one of them, by yourself, then I'll make it happen.

Manager.

...Deal.



The weapon hits Green Noons like a truck, needing about 5-6 shots to kill each one.

Control's clear. Heading to Training.



The Green Noon tries to use its chainsaw, but Zeta21 is really fast...



So it only hits once in the time it takes Zeta21 to get out of its attack range. We can then get to the other side and attack it from a distance to take it down.



Like so.

Impressive weapon!

And the person using it is pretty good to boot. You wouldn't believe she was ever a clerk, would you Manager?

...Fine. There can theoretically be some useful clerks. I guess.

Thank you.



That's two.

Alright, head to Information next.



...yeah, I'm going on break.

Medea has the armor, so Zeta21 still takes heavy damage from these things. It's unfortunate, but we do have to pause to heal.



Okay, that's three. Where's the last one?

Heading to Control's main room. You'd better hurry.



It's nothing personal. You're just standing between me and beer.



Oh…

My…

Perfect!

ALEPH weaponry, everyone!



:wth: Dude, we were watching on the CCTV cheering you on! That kicked ass!

...yeah, I'm clocking out for the day.

O-oh, yes! Of course! Take as much time as you like, we'll all cover for you, Miss Zaida, ma'am!

Cool. Just gotta' let the captain know.



Captain, I'm heading out for the day.

Okay, kiddo. Have a good one!

Tylana..? When did you get that mask?

Oh, about an hour ago during the last meltdown. Mizu's right-it does smell like jerky.

I don't like it. It reminds me of something somehow… unpleasant.

Honestly, we should probably call it here anyways. We've got new combat numbers to crunch.

Quitting while you're ahead, eh?

You'd know if you were awake before, but that's sort of our thing here. Lobotomy Corporation: Quit while Ahead, Survive 'til Tomorrow.



X, that is not our company slogan.

Well, maybe it should be.

Perhaps it is simply a matter of understanding. Allow me to tell you about our great and brilliant founder, A, and the reasoning and effort he put into coming up with a perfect slogan for our corporation…

Special mention here goes to Mizu, who has joined the maxout club as well.



...which is the 107th reason why "Face the Fear, Build the Future" is the greatest, and only, true motto for our great company. Reason 108 is-

Speaking of, why is it that so much of my HUD stuff says 'MAKE the future' instead?

…

Just curious.

We outsourced its creation to another Wing. As expected, their work was subpar.

Of course.

As I was saying, reason number 108 is…

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: We meet a brand-new Sephirah!

[Tanegashima]

I, for one, eagerly anticipate watching the anime squad in action.

[Nanimani]

Yup. New people seem good. Kaori just immediately dying is just so I can't help but smile.

[Talow]

Hurray Kaori's death being a one-off. Hopefully.

[Jadecore]

These new kids seem like huge dorks. I like them. Also, I do hope the beer machine goes alright. I don't personally like beer, but sounds good for general morale.

[Gespenst]

ugh. we are in one of the worst parts of the game, the boring bits. between safety and training you have ten days for eight abnormalities, having two days in a row without getting any new "friends" to play with just sucks.

[Nanimani]

ugh. we are in one of the worst parts of the game, the boring bits. between safety and training you have ten days for eight abnormalities, having two days in a row without getting any new "friends" to play with just sucks.

You know what that means, though.
Challenge runs!

[TeeQueue]

That is absolutely how I roll... Though TBF day 20 is probably the least silly challenge I've planned for so far. Probably. It's just a lot of little things.

[TeeQueue]

Training Team Bonus Content

Team description


Clerk/Agent bonuses

Captain bonus: +4 All Stats

Team armband


Hod sprite


Story background

[TeeQueue]

Lobotomy Corporation is on sale again, if you've been waiting for one.

[TeeQueue]

Day 20: Story

Music: Romantic Memories


Today is random Angela lines day, every other line of hers seems to have 3 different options. For instance, after this one:

It was horrible beyond words.

The agony made me want to leave everything behind.

No one could understand the loneliness I feel.



Then another random pick from 3:

Because I am a machine.

You shouldn’t really expect that kind of reaction from me.

Well, I could pretend to try if you insist, but it wouldn’t be genuine.



And after this is one last random group of 3:

As often as I desire.

Perhaps.

Until I am finally obsolete and deprecated from this world, yes.

In summary: Angela talks about the loss of B, and how it makes her feel. Her answers are mostly variations on the same feeling, but the last branching option actually does have outright differences. Which is it? Can she choose not to be cold, or is it just programming?

Music: Forgotten Entrance of Memories


Our new Sephirah here is Tiphereth. As you can see, she is smaller than the others by a large margin. To make up for this, she is usually very angry about things.

What has he done this time?

He finally gave me the report of our joint operation just now; it was due yesterday! I can’t even find him anywhere now. I’m sure he’s just sleeping away somewhere, drunk as a fish.

The Upper Sephirot should know where he is, go ask them.

I don’t want to talk to them!



What is the point you are trying to make here, Tiphereth?

…I am suggesting that we should replace Netzach.

Tiphereth. The replacement process is not meant to be a tool you can haphazardly abuse to remove any Sephirah you dislike.



The Sephirot can only be replaced when they have what we consider to be a serious flaw, and can no longer perform their duties.

Netzach easily meets any condition of flaw that could be set, then; he’s not doing a single thing right…





Let me add one more thing, Tiphereth. Even if we were to replace Netzach, do you really think that the new Netzach would become a diligent, hard-working Sephirah, wholly unlike the previous one?



Please refrain from talking about the replacement process in such a rash manner.

…………

I know how you feel, but Netzach is a different matter.

…………



I reminded Lady Angela about the replacement process! Your days of irresponsibility will soon be over!

You think I’d be scared of a threat like that? I hate to disappoint you… But that’s exactly what I want, Tiphereth. Don’t you get it?

…Let’s see you say that when you’re crushed into a pile of scrap.



I bet Miss Angela’s having regrets as well. I feel the exact same way about myself as little Tiphereth does, you see. Why haven’t I been smashed up yet? Miss Angela could get someone better than me to fill my position anytime she likes.



.........

Well, this is awkward. I don’t expect you to say something nice to me. Don’t worry about it.

In summary:

Okay, so… Tiphereth wants Netzach to be replaced, but Angela says he can't be because he's serving his role in a play... so Netzach's whole thing isn't a bug, it's a feature? Tiphereth starts pouting, Netzach shows up, she yells at him, and then leaves. Netzach mentions again that he doesn't care if he gets replaced, and is confused why Angela won't just destroy him already.

This makes everything awkward, so he gives us our mission so we can just go on our way.



Um… Hey, Netzach?

…

You know what, you just... get some sleep. I should be able to handle this. Just try and pull yourself together for tomorrow… I do need you to do your job at some point.

...



_{Geez… what am I gonna' do about that guy…?}

Manager? Um... is there something I can help with?

No. Well… maybe. You like Netzach, right?

I suppose we get along..?

He's taking the day off under my orders.

Oh! Um… I could schedule additional counseling sessions for him. I'm sure that would help!

Do that, please. I'm also going to be cutting back on the agents we have deployed today… Do you think you can schedule sessions for the ones I'm taking off-duty as well? Better safe than sorry.

Of course, sir!

And no enkephalin. No matter what they tell you.

O-of course, sir!

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: A new Noon looms.










X.

What.

Am I to understand correctly that you have given Netzach the day off? First you've overridden me on the beer vending machine, and now this. This is not acceptable. We have certain obligations which must be met-

So it's about money. Got it. How much did the vending machine set us back?

It's about ensuring that the company's needs are met, not the employee's. By giving Netzach special treatment-

I'm trying to keep us from having another day 5 on our hands.

That happened entirely because of your ill-informed meddling, Manager. So long as you do not attempt to make changes, nothing will prevent the standard day-to-day gathering of energy. Doing things like installing vending machines and providing days off will simply slow down our progress towards our goal.

It's not that big of a deal. We're doing fine so far, aren't we?

Manager, while efficiency has gone up under your guidance, we cannot allow our AI to take personal days.

Okay… I'll take care of Safety myself. That should resolve it, right?

That still does not justify the loss in income we incurred by installing the vending machine.

Then we'll work extra. How long would it take?

Eleven meltdown periods should cover our quota and the lost income.

Eleven? We've never gone that late before...

Manager, the loss of any energy would further exacerbate the issue, so it is of utmost importance that no meltdowns be allowed to expire, as well.

Tch… Is it too late to pull those agents back from their time off?

Regrettably it is, X. They have been provided with other duties. If you would like to table this discussion for another time, that would be perfectly acceptable.

...Nah. Let's do it.

I beg your pardon?

Three agents per department should be more than enough. I'll handle Safety and get everyone through the day no sweat. There's no issues if I can do that, right?

…I… suppose not, X.

Great! I'll see you later for the wrapup meeting. We'll have some champagne.

Very well. The best of luck to you, Manager.

...I'm going to need more coffee.

[Talow]

I'm sure X taking over safety duties from Netzach for a day can only go well.

[Tanegashima]

I for one believe in X, there's only been three deaths two deaths one death on his watch! Clerks don't count.

[Wordybird]

If X can't do it, no-one can. So probably better prepare those wills in advance, team.

[Quackles]

I for one believe in X, there's only been three deaths two deaths one death on his watch! Clerks don't count.

OwOne death!

[DKII]

Oh wow I caught up. This game seems like a perfect one to LP, with "Enjoyment from Watching/Reading" >>> "Enjoyment from Playing". And I love the extra stuff you're writing up, too!

[Gespenst]

Oh boy, the head of safety is actively trying to get "retired" by not doing his job, and that's "working as intended".
I'm very worried about X taking over safety for a day because that would mean that the Sephirah are in charge of the other departments, I certainly wouldn't trust Malkuth to keep her agents alive, heck she'd probably "retire a bunch of them because stopping to heal in the main room is "not working hard enough".

[TeeQueue]

Day 20: Gameplay

I'll just go ahead and put this here:

Retry count: 4. I forgot to change around my equipment and instantly quit, and then I think I accidentally right-clicked Pbird when trying to move an agent? Punishing Bird ate somebody offscreen, at any rate. Neither has any good footage available, so they're mentioned here for the sake of accuracy.

I swear I'm good at this game.

Music: neutral 4


Huh… I guess Netzach finished his research before he got super drunk? Well, I'll take it.

He is quite capable of performing his duties even while inebriated. This entire exercise is largely meaningless.

Yeah, well, we're doing it anyways. Let me just shuffle around our agents...

DAY 20 CHALLENGE: MANDATORY CRUNCH

Rules: Complete Netzach's "Total Efficiency" mission. Get to Meltdown level X, and fill the gauge again once. All meltdowns must be worked.



Our facility for today. Zeta21, Mizu, Twee, Boksi, SeyserKoze, Tylana, and Mr.Blond are all sitting out today. The first two because they're maxed out, and the rest because they're competing with much weaker agents. Since this is a long day, we should do some training.





All we need to do is what we’ve always done.



Netzach's taking a personal day, so you'll be reporting to me directly today.

HAHA! Marvelous! I'll simply do as I normally would!

Huh?

I've been working under an unconscious Sephirah most of the time. Why, I don't even need input to figure out how to murder bees anymore!

Uh-huh. Well… Tenebrais, Credentia, you're working with Blue Star. Try and get your Prudence and Justice maxed out. Oh, and… one other thing.

Make it quick. I got a heart to break.

You two… Are you related?

We're sisters!

Ah. Well, good for you guys! Making it to a wing together. Your parents must be prou-

Shut the hell up, Manager.

Er-yes ma'am.

Oh my. I'll just… get to work.



Orders from the top, everyone!

Let's see… Omni, you're working with the Forsaken Murderer. Chinely, 1.76 MHz. Your objectives today are general growth, and to see if you can gain any new E.G.O Gifts. Good luck, everyone.

Those belts do look pretty cool, I guess...

The only downside is that sometimes debris falls in and gets stuck there while I'm ninja-running through the halls.

I can see how that might be a problem… Maybe if you tightened it?

Oh, good idea. They are belts.



Hod's in meetings with agents all day. She left me this folder for you, Medea.

Thank you, Delta28. Let's see… Sephiroth, you'll be working with Knight of Despair on your Temperance, now that I've finished taking care of getting her gift.

Splendid… her aesthetic speaks to me.

Fat Sam, you're on Scarecrow duty, but it looks like you'll be flexing to Ppodae on occasion.

I shall take all of the photos.

Good. I wanna see the cutie-utie face too.



It's time. Remember to follow the protocols.

Okay… Talow, it looks like you're on Queen Bee duty. Your Fortitude's the only thing that you really need.

Hm..? Oh, yeah.

You seem distraacted. What's uup?

Nothing in particular. Can we run a clerk over to Training to make sure the newbies all know not to poke the bird? I don't want any casualties because someone gets trigger-happy.

Sure. Anyways... Kaori, you're in for a treat-You'll be working with Laetitia.

I'll do my beest..!

I'm sure you will. Make me proud, kiddo.

That's our basic work rotation for the day. The newbies get some experience, the older agents get some polish, and things should, theoretically, go smoothly.



You know, Queen Bee, if there's one thing I'll never get used to it's how an agent equipping the wrong E.G.O gear makes the manager abandon everything immediately to rewind time. He can't just ask Credentia to change out shirts with Fat Sam, he has to go back in time to make it so that he never screwed up in the first place. How messed up is that, huh? ...Not that you can understand any of this.



Our first meltdown. This will get worse before it gets better.

So, Zeta21… how are you fitting in with your new position?

There's not much to say about it. I do my job, and make sure not to overwork myself.

You say that… but your stats are as high as any agent's can be. You've been working very hard!

Of course. Now that I can't grow any further, the manager's got no reason to put me to work. Permanent. Breaktime.

I see… go on.



Tenebrais gets her weapon upgraded via Old Faith, and it absolutely makes her day.



Our second meltdown, and we have Green Dawn.

So, Mizu… Um… I don't know how to put this. Your mental corruption score is at 79%. I don't need to remind you that 80% or higher makes you unable to perform work…

Don't worry about it, it's fine!

This isn't fine at all! You need to bring your corruption down, before someone gets hurt!

Nah, it's fine! That's what I always get~ I think it's because the cuties really like me, and I really like them too.

That's another thing… they're Abnormalities. Dangerous constructs of the mind. There's nothing cute about them?

A cutie is a cutie, and these cuties are cuties! That's all there is to it.

Aha… I see.



I really wish these powerups carried over between days. I love this thwacking power!



Good job, Tenebrais!

Still pissed at you, boss!

Er… right. Keep doing your thing, then. I'll be busy-



Hod you are literally in a meeting how the hell.

She sent me a recording to use in case of an escape.

I see. I'll make sure it gets taken care of.



I can't help but feel like this was somehow retaliatory.





We're getting there.

So… Twee. It says here that your hobby is… occult research?

Yep! I'm absolutely sure that magic is real, and the Abnormalities are somehow related to it, just like WARP trains are.

Those are both Singularities of two of the Wings, Twee. They don't exactly count as magic…

But can you say for sure? There's all sorts of rumors that say that not even the companies themselves know exactly how their singularities work. I just happen to think that they work by magic-and I want to prove it!

That's very interesting! And does this ever get in the way of your work?

No, not at all. Well… sometimes.

Go on?

Sometimes when I'm doing my work I'll do tiny experiments, just to see if anything changes. Things like drawing magic circles on the floor, or trying to will things in the room to move. Nothing's come of it yet, but-

Please keep in mind that it's very important to keep your head about you while you're in the containment cells. Abnormalities are dangerous!

Oh, I know. It's fine, though, I always get by okay.



Aww… no smiling? What a shame!

Mr.Black is being used to work with TSL's meltdowns, simply because I think Mr.Black in a Shy Look mask would be hilarious.

I have to admit, this is a little more tiring than normal. We should still be fine, though.

You could always call the day here. I am certain we could recover from any loss.

We're fine.



We're probably fine. Yesod, send us some support!

Very well. D.A.D., resolve the issue.



Be careful, you two! It wouldn't do to bee a bee! HAHAHA!

Oh, I'm keeping that one.

It's all yours!

Less talking, more smashing!

Phew… Yeah, see, we're fine. Good job, everyone.



We're getting up there in the Meltdowns, but there's still only 7. Remember, since Medea has the Knight of Despair buff we only have 11 actual agents to perform works with-things are going to get tight, but not yet.

Um… Boksi. I've actually received a couple of complaints about you being difficult to work with?

I'm hardly surprised. I mean, think about it. You're some Backstreets gopher or-heaven forbid-an Outskirts slumdweller, and somehow you've found yourself falling ass-backwards into a position at Lobotomy Corporation, one of the great Wings of the World. Now you've been assigned to a team, and who are you faced with? Why, the pinnacle of the elite-Nest born, Nest raised, with a glittering intellect and incredible looks to match. A man capable of performing any task set before him, with style, grace, and panache. Why… I can't blame them for finding it a difficult situation. It would be best for us all if you would keep pedigree in mind when assigning agents, to prevent them from being intimidated by my overwhelming prowess.

Um… I see. I'll certainly... pass that along!

My thanks, Hod.



Now… you want your room cleeaned… so that you can be more festiive… Hmm… Ookaay.



Medea, you don't have to play that every time… and why is the noon indicator purple?!

That's violet, Manager. We're reading a Violet Noon.

...did anyone else just hear ominous thunder?



I shall endure this trial as well. Ow. Ow. Ow.

Hm. Everyone, please report to Safety's main room. We don't know what this thing does, and staying together tends to be the best way to handle new threats.

Hey… Medea? You might want to stand outside. Just in case.

You think so? Well… why not?



Omni, would you please push us to the next level?

You got it, Manager.



I heard the alarm, but... Where is it?



Above us!

Is that a… portal?!

Something's coming!



HAHAHAHA! Such exquisite pain!

Wait, everyone's okay? What the hell just happened?!

What indeed? I've probably just made several of you think I'm a wizard, so let me explain. First, let's meet Violet Noon:



Violet Noon, or Grant Us Love, makes just about everyone have to retry a day the first time they see it. It comes out of nowhere, lands in one of the major rooms (the main room only in Safety/Training, and one of the non-corridors or elevators in Information/Control), and deals 100 Red damage to everyone inside. It can't do much of anything after that, but it doesn't need to. Violet Noon is all about knowing the trick, and once we do we'll never lose anyone to it again unless we take too long to kill it/it kills too many clerks on drop-in and it frees something nasty.

As for how we survived without much more than a scratch? Lobotomy Corporation's code is made of spaghetti and duct tape in places, and Violet Noon's targeting is a major example. Due to a coding oversight, its initial attack only targets agents from its department for damage. This means that all agents from other departments are immune to its attack. It just sort of… misses them, somehow. Since Safety's members are all tanky enough to survive 100 Red damage, that means I've just let a Violet Noon fall on the head of everyone in the entire facility, and nobody died.



For reference, here's where the Safety Team's HP is at after that big hit.

Let's never do that again.

Sounds good to me.



And here's a shot of it glowing. This would lower a QC by 1, but its target is a random abnormality in the department and if it targets something without a QC to lower it just fizzles-since Murderer didn't breach and I didn't see 1.76's counter decrease, I can only assume this was one of those times.



In the end, Violet Noons: rude the first time, and generally a cakewalk after that.



We've reached VII and things are still manageable, but we have only two active employees in Training and three meltdowns to work. We grab Bishop and have him go deal with Punishing Bird-



...well ok then. The meltdown didn't expire so we didn't lose energy, and we'll take it.

So, SeyserKoze...

Please, call me Seyser.

Seyser, I understand you talked with Medea before about your worries in this place. Are you still working through that?

I am. I'm still sure that one of these days I'm going to wind up dead, and I can't rely on just my hair to tell me when-all the vibrations are starting to make my neck hurt, so I have to get the sensitivity tuned.

How does that… work? It's not attached to your head at all.

Oh, I'm not really sure how it all functions. It just works.

I… see. Well, I just want you to know you can always tell us if you're worried about anything.

In that case, can I have a raise?

I'll pass the request along.

...Yeah, I figured.



_{What the hell is going on..? Nobody? Not one person? That's… never been a thing. Not the first time, anyways…}

We take this opportunity to throw a couple Repression works on to Talow so he can max Justice too.



This one isn't a big deal. With 11 agents and 12 meltdowns, we just have everyone who can tag one thing and then throw Fat Sam at Punishing Bird when he's done with Ppodae.



:hai:

:hai:

It works out fine.

Mr.Blond, you've been kind of a firebrand ever since you got on staff.

I'm here to do a job, and I'm not going to let anyone get in the way of handling it.

That's an admirable attitude! Are there any issues you're running into on the job?

Yeah: I'm surrounded by idiots. Half of this place have some kind of weird crazy issue, whether it's Mr.Black's creepy smiling thing, or just… Mizu. Feels like nobody's here to take work seriously but me.

It sounds like you'd function best working under a no-nonsense Sephirah, then. I'm sure you'll find something soon enough.

Thanks. If anything opens up, I'll think about moving over.



Hahaaa… I got the power of heaart..!

Huh? Oh.. yeah. Don't work anyone but Laetitia or that thing'll go off.

Oooh, sounds iinterestiing…

Management details say you'd die.

Oh… Maybe later, then…

This isn't good. We can no longer use Kaori for anyone but Laetitia, leaving us 10 agents to work the remaining 15 abnormalities, and our next meltdown is going to hit 13 of them.



You've been given the Knight's tear, I see?

Our souls have resonated-I sense Mother in her. She is to be allowed at the Reunion.

...A yes would have worked.



Huu boy. Another easy enough one, we do the same change-up in Training, and this time send Mr.Black to deal with Shy Look after he finishes with Old Faith.



I almost forget about One Sin, but Bishop makes it in time to save my rear there. No trouble overall, but the next level is going to be 15 meltdowns, and we still only have 10 agents for most of them.

Tylana… Both Yesod and D.A.D. has given you a number of very good reviews. You've got a level head, and you're flexible enough to deal with most situations at this point.

Thank you, ma'am.

We're just about due for a new department to open up, and I think you should put your name in for captain! With your experience, you'd be a shoe-in for this next team!

You think so?

Yeah! Oh, but according to my construction notes, the next department is yellow. That's okay, right?

...what? Why wouldn't it be?

Um… Right! Nevermind! You should go for it!

Thanks, I'll do that.

---

All the sessions are done, sir! Thank you very much for waiting for me.

You're just in time. We're about to have a lot of meltdowns, and I'm not sure we've got the time to hit them all. I'm trying to plan out what to-



...actually, that's perfect. All agents, avoid that bird!



Fifteen meltdowns spawn across the facility, and with one abnormality breaching it means we have to work every abnormality we have. Kaori can handle Laetitia, so that leaves 10 agents to work 14 abnormalities.



Here's our first move-the abnormalities with a yellow band on them have been set to move. After this, Talow goes to the Bee, and Chinely is sent from the Mirror to work 1.76. Credentia messes with Old Faith, and in the end Fat Sam handles and Scarecrow after working Ppodae.

Phew.



A little bit later, and Punishing Bird is still out. Until it's dealt a certain amount of Red damage or someone attacks it, it will never go back to its own cell willingly. I basically spent the entirety of X juking it around and keeping it from getting to do anything. Prior to this meltdown, we put Omni in front of Mirror, Credentia in front of You Must Be Happy, and D.A.D. in front of the portrait.

Safety team is all set. Is everyone else ready?

We'll perform the operation perfectly!

Ready to proceed.

Um… let's do it!

I send Bishop to work with One Sin, since a 17 second work time will give him most of a minute to handle anything else that needs doing.



When we hit a meltdown at level X, the level stays at X and new meltdowns spawn on every single available abnormality in the entire facility. I call this a 'wraparound,' because I like giving things names.

Because Punishing Bird is still breaching, no meltdown can spawn for it.



Here's our first step. Omni and D.A.D. are already working with their tools, and Credentia is heading for YMBH. Forsaken Murderer, Old Faith, Scarecrow, Rudolta, and One Sin are the only four abnormalities left to handle after these orders resolve.



Mr.Black finishes with Today's Shy Look and heads for Rudolta, D.A.D. takes care of Old Faith, Omni handles Forsaken Murderer, Bishop walks back to One Sin, and finally Fat Sam gets cute puppy ears walks over to take care of Scarecrow. It's hectic, but we manage with ~10 seconds left.



Made it on time, Manager!

Alright! That's all of the meltdowns. Somebody take care of that bird so we can all go home.



Glad to do it. Can you just take care of this crick in my neck?



X… You actually did it.

Of course I did. I'm the best damn manager this place has ever had.

You certainly deserve to applaud yourself this time. For the time being, I will cease lodging any complaints regarding the beer machine.

Thank you.



Looking good, Omni!

Well, you made it look so good that I couldn't resist!

You know, I bet if we wore differently colored outfits, we'd be unstoppable. I could be red, and you could be green… Mr.Blond has one too, right? He could be blue.

Do you think we could get Medea to wear one? We could use a pink.

What about Kaori?

...naaaah.

_{All things considered... That's just too suspicious. But there wasn't anything unusual before, so…}

Are you okay, captain?

Huh? Oh-yeah. I'm fine. Malkuth, I'm going to head out a bit early. There's something I need to look into.

There is? Alright, I'm sure it's important. Right?

Yeah… this is a biggie.

Okay! Everyone else, let's pack it in! It's time to go.



It wasn't exactly by the numbers, but the job got done.

WE MADE IT! I'll go ahead and include all of our stat growth for the day, since we went a fair bit longer than normal.



Talow and Credentia have joined the maxout club, and most of our agents are getting incredibly close to it. Everything's coming together nicely. Now, it's been a while but since we're finally opening a new department we get to finally pick another abnormality.

Music: never frozen bottom flows


O-02-62: Its scale would never neglect the weight of even the smallest sin.
O-01-15: "One day you'll understand. The meaning of the desperation on their faces when the roulette spins."
F-01-37: "The snow is steadily melting… Perhaps because spring is coming, or it might be the palace collapsing."

While I could tell you all sorts of things about -15 being a fan un-favorite abnormality, or about -37 being a perfectly serviceable HE-class Prudence trainer with a uniquely easy to farm gift, I won't bother because absolutely none of it matters right now.



-62 is a Bird, you see.

Hwuuuugh… Time for a good stretch. After all of that, the day's finally over. Time to relax…

Manager, there is one more object on your itinerary today. You need to select an abnormality.

What are you talking about? I did that already.



I am fully cognizant of that, Manager. I am asking you to do so again.

T-05-41: "Blood covers the whole floor, screams echo, people are running away..."
D-01-105: "Tales say that the moon bewitches man, yet in reality, it is the man that despairs at the moon."
T-01-68: "Where does one go when they die?"

At this point, your average new player is probably just hitting their stride. They've got things figured out, they're getting gear and leveling agents, and they more or less understand how to work with their Abnormalities. Suddenly, this happens. Now you're dealing with two new abnormalities, and none of the ones which showed up for us this time around are any less than HE-level to boot. It turns out the first 20 days were actually just a warm-up.

Moving on, we have a pick to make. -41 is a HE-level dual Fortitude/Justice trainer with 3 sets of armor. It's volatile and likes to breach if we're unlucky, but it's not a very hard suppression to do for our facility. -105 is a WAW which can sort of train Temperance, but overall isn't very good for it. Its main selling point is WAW-tier equipment which can create shields when attacking. -68 is probably the worst of the HE-tier Justice trainers, having a Fortitude cap on agents working with it. It's not that much trouble since all it will do is breach, and it has a really cool weapon, but it is only truly good for Repression, and arguably Insight.



While any of the three would be a good pick, I wind up going for -41 for two reasons. The first is that it gives me a good Fortitude trainer that doesn't turn half my staff into bees. The second comes down to gear: -41 gives 3 sets of E.G.O suits, and we are sorely lacking in suits for our agents to wear.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Literally 10 lines of story text.

[Tanegashima]

I love the Anime Squad.

[DKII]

With so many agents maxing out already I'm curious how much is left in the game. I'm guessing since we have barely got into the Waw/Aleph stuff that we're mostly just over-leveled from all the optimized training?

Can't wait to see the new department. If I remember that last Malkuth mission right, we're going to start seeing Dusks as well now.

[TeeQueue]

With so many agents maxing out already I'm curious how much is left in the game. I'm guessing since we have barely got into the Waw/Aleph stuff that we're mostly just over-leveled from all the optimized training?

Can't wait to see the new department. If I remember that last Malkuth mission right, we're going to start seeing Dusks as well now.

There are 50 days in the game, though given we can mess with time that may or may not be how many we have to play. We are way ahead of the training curve for a first playthrough, these stats this early are more what you’d expect to see on a second or third loop. We’ll be limited in what we can do from here forward by our gear more than anything.

And yes, you remember correctly.