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

[TeeQueue]

You start on the last day you were at. In effect it's just a Retry with extra steps.

[TeeQueue]

Day 48: Story

Music: Intricate


With Abel defeated, the office has another meltdown.





It's… seen better days.



And so, it seems, has today's A.



We’ve become too cold to continue cherishing such a thing. No, in fact, we weren’t meant to bask in such warmth in the first place. You feel it too, don’t you? I can see you already feeling the nostalgia in the air right as you stepped into this room.

.......



Those two doors that never wanted to be opened, but had to be.

We hear a knock.



Can I come in?



I wanted to pretend I wasn’t in the room… Because I knew what she was going to tell me. Sometimes, her thoughts could be extremely reckless.



Here we hear a door opening, and then footsteps.



Those eyes, soaked with red, as she had to endure cruel reality. She walked into your lab and started illustrating her hypothesis. Carefully, yet decidedly. You wanted to tell her it was preposterous, but like always, she had you persuaded. You had no choice but to admit it was the only way.



Was how much it hurt to listen to her put it so calmly, as if it were none of our business. And how much we loathed ourselves for just having to tolerate it.

Music: The song here isn't in the OST that I could find, so I made a video of the next bit. It goes from here through the next time we see A.


















Music: None




Music: Deep Horror Underscore


She was on the edge. One more step would make her fall. Then that day, when Enoch’s breath stopped, she finally realized… That her path was always in her sight.



And she’d never lift her head again.



When we progress, the screen flows downwards.



Now we can hear water dripping.

Only the sound of flowing water filled the air… I just kept yanking the doorknob like I were insane. Yet I hoped it would never open…

There's also effects of yanking on the doorknob throughout this section. Project Moon really went above and beyond for Day 48.



When we click, we hear a door open again.



As the scene fades to white.



She stepped into the bath herself… So that not a fragment of needless emotion, like guilt, would pile up on us. I… we saw with our eyes, so clearly. She was bleeding out and delirious, but still she held on to life.



……

Why was she so cruel, and why did we have to become so cruel? We asked this question without an answer, to the toast that celebrated our success blossomed with death. However…



You have come to the right place. This is the room where she sleeps. Don’t worry, she won’t wake up with this much noise. Can you meet her again? Let’s do it like this.



The screen fades to black, before…

Music: My Inspiration


I have something I should confess. I actually have a much weaker heart than everyone thinks. I always say stuff like “count on me” and “just follow me” in front of everyone… But I’m never sure about the things I do. If anyone were harmed or put in trouble because of what I do… I would definitely be shaken and end up hating myself. I know that. That’s why I need to ask you for a favor.



We humans have weak hearts. One crack and it will easily crumble. I am no exception to this, but you… You’ll endure through it. There is only one way out, and it’ll never change. You know what I’m trying to say, right?

........

Are you unsure?



It’s like... being a plant, photosynthesizing. Ease up your tension, and just close your eyes… Yes, just like that. Make yourself as comfortable as possible, so that your mind finds itself comfortable too. It tickles, no? But just wait.

Music: None












Music: Gothic Mood


.............



I was the only one who could fulfill her ideal. I was the only one who could finish it… Only me… However, she never told me this path of hers would be riddled with such vicious thorns and spikes…

…..



This bucket is the beginning and the end destination of this place. Cogito is endlessly produced here, spewing out life and death. When we saw that the bath was overflowing, we thought everything was over. However… We couldn’t have been more wrong.



She saw every path we walked.



She sacrificed everything of hers without a trace left behind, but I… You and I, we remember the things we’ve done to become a Wing, to stay a Wing. It was revolting at first. But you see how we acclimated to it after the first few times? We flawlessly realized our hideous actions just like all the other Wings.



The story of how human sacrifices are required to fulfill our ideal needed to be continued. So we had to put on the guise of simply being manic about energy production. Though we know the truth too well.



Probing and combing through the brain of a woman to blend into the world, to evade the Head and the Eye? Throwing a person into the jaws of a monster just to gain some energy? Reincarnating your colleagues just to make them live through the same agony again? Do you really think those are things any normal person would do...? Yet we closed up our eyes and ears, and numbed ourselves. We eventually felt nothing for what we do.





Does it really matter at this point? No, it doesn’t. We were wrong from the start, our very existence is wrong. You and I, all that’s left for us is atonement.

Music: Requiem


You know we didn’t meaninglessly embrace this pain. Tiphereth knew that a long time ago. I guess that’s why he always walked ahead of me. One day, I realized that you were also looking towards somewhere with a clear vision, just like he did. I just didn’t want to admit that I was lagging behind. I think that’s why I was always so frustrated.



That’s the reason why I said I’ll count on you, and hold expectation. Promise to show me someday… And show the world the fruit of our pain and labor.





You know what? Photosynthesis is for plants after all. Things that actually take sunlight. It was never for something like you and I. Don’t you know this already? We drove Carmen to death, we just saw that…

Music: One Way


It always felt like I’m missing something. But I never knew what that something was. I vented this anger of mine in a rather bad way, as you saw. This madness without purpose would never go away.



Look, we’re never going back to how it was before. The situation’s changed way too much. But I was able to keep my promise with her because you stopped me, at the very least. You also have to remember this. She would want you to protect what we have left, rather than just languish in guilt.





Yes, she entrusted us with what’s left. But we were not the person who Carmen thought us to be, no. The only person that believed in us was gone. There was no one left around us.



Of course, Carmen’s moving speech did pique my interest, not gonna lie. However, the decisive factor for me… It was because I liked how everyone here trusted Carmen. You know how meaningless the word “trust” is nowadays, don’t you?



Carmen trusted in you entirely until her moment of death. Everyone else who remained did too. Why do you think I decided to stick with you until the end? Just look around you now. Everyone gathered here just for you. And they’re waiting expectantly.





Carmen lies here, neither alive nor dead.



We are obliged to remain trapped in this cycle of eternal punishment. Yet still you want to reach for tomorrow? You want to escape this endless regret and atonement? There is one final door past here that wasn’t written in the story. It’s one I can’t open. It only opens to those who are not soaked in regret.





In summary: Abram reminds us of how Carmen outlined what they were going to do, Carmen was the one who everyone pinned their hopes on, Carmen was the one who offed herself so we could guiltlessly move forward with the project, Carmen was the one who made us promise not to stop until we were done… Basically, a lot of Carmen. He then shows us her new form as the bucket, before saying that our plan is meaningless and we should focus on atonement instead. Thanks to our ordeals in the Middle Layer, we're able to overcome his questions and move forward through a door which only opens to someone who "isn't soaked in regret."

You actually opened it…

I'm a man of many talents. You should know.

It won't matter. You shouldn't travel beyond here. There's nothing left for us… This trial will be the last. Then, at last… we can sink as we should have so long ago.



Maybe it's just because I'm a lot newer around here than you, but I don't think sinking is the play. We've got a job to do, and that's to bring everything to an end.

Bring everything to an end… Do you even know what the plan is?

...I am not clear on that yet, no.

Exactly. We're trapped doing heinous things for an eternity to accomplish her will, but you don't even know what the plan is anymore. Instead we just perform these atrocities day after day… and for a goal we can't hope to meet.

Oh, I can just tell you're going to be a joy to talk to all day.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Tiphereth's suppression continues to do nothing of note








Music: None. It's just some wind blowing.

[TeeQueue]

Day 48: Gameplay

Music: neutral 2




I did a bit of weapon-swapping today. Notably, Medea and Mr.Black are using the Sound of a Star weapon with the Smile E.G.O suit. More importantly, though…



BICEPS has achieved his ultimate form.



You're seriously throwing the Red Mist at us again..?

She was right. We deserve to be destroyed.

I see… Tenebrais.

Yeah?

What're our odds against your boss, if we had to fight her again?

I beat her myself. Put a crew behind me and it's cake.

There you have it. We're not going to get destroyed by something like that. I don't have time for things like regrets.

That's alright… I brought enough for the both of us.

Let's get this over with.

Agreed.



Music: Dark Fantasy Scene


All we've done… all we can ever do is sow pain.



Looks like he's dragged Chesed back out to play. Middle Layer Captains, can you confirm?



Yeah, I've got eyes on a weird glitch like the Uppers reported yesterday.



Tiphereth's here, too…

Hmph. What an unoriginal bastard.

Hey, that's me you're talking about. _{Not that I disagree…} Tenebrais, confirm Red Mist's position and we'll move in to-

She ain't here.

What.



There's nobody upstairs. Shame, I was looking forward to giving the boss's imposter a piece of my mind.

So for now it's just the two.

Two at once should be more than enough for us, who have never been able to manage this place properly even once. Now… sink with me.

Only regret awaits you tomorrow. It’s a well deserved punishment for someone as trifling as us.

We tried not to put trust in anyone, but we shamelessly woke up our colleagues who had fallen into eternal slumber when we needed them…

Do not fear the submergence. Accept it. Let us sink together at Carmen’s side.

Day 48's challenge is the Middle Layer, but like yesterday it doesn't all happen at once. We start off with Chesed active, and he'll be stuck in 2-color mode all day. The damage multiplier is the same as when we first fought with Chesed, so the same caution applies now as with his first fight. Meanwhile, Tiphereth… Well, she's supplied the background music? Arguably she's the reason that this day wouldn't end until Level 10 instead of Level 8, but Day 48 rarely ever lasts that long in the first place. So, basically, it's just Chesed again for now.

I'm sorry, Tiphereth. Your suppression is just irrelevant here.

Our biggest problem for right now is the Pale damage boost making WhiteNight into a terror, but luckily we have a countermeasure for that.



Mizu.

Ooh! Manager! I was just thinking about you~

I'll try to avoid being terrified by that. Head up to safety, you're working with WhiteNight today.

Okee-dokie! Hold down the fort, you two! Or… uh… I won't haave to kill you~~

What was that?

I think it's supposed to be an impression of Binah...



Mizu's entire plan for the day is to sit up here in a corner and work WhiteNight whenever the opportunity arises. Since her armor is a 0.2x, Chesed's Pale mode will kick it back up to a 1x multiplier, and the CENSWORD's 40% damage refund will effectively let her survive no matter what.



We will have to use HP bullets between works on occasion, though. Chesed-boosted WhiteNight hurts.

So you've got a plan for that new monster…

All you're basically doing is throwing Chesed at me all over again. I couldn't even face you if I hadn't overcome his Suppression.

…

The downside of having to use one of our Paradise Lost agents to handle things is that we only have Twee left over to handle any threats. However…



I made sure that Twee would be assigned to Chesed's department for 7 days before today, so that she can get her Captain bonus back. As a reminder, this bonus is a 0.8x multiplier to any damage she takes, stacking on top of every other bonus. Sending her to Knight of Despair will put her 0.5x multiplier on Twee's R/W/B defenses as well-and I was informed just last week that her debuff to Pale damage is only a 1.5x multiplier, instead of a 2x like the game tells us it should be.

This means that Twee's final defenses against attacks are 0.08/0.08/0.08/0.24. On top of this, her weapon recovers her HP/SP with each attack (further boosted by the E.G.O Gift she got from Nothing There), she negates any damage taken below 10, and at random she'll generate 100 point shields to protect her against anything strong enough to overcome her insane defenses.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Twee is functionally invincible. Outside of instant kills, she can take any hit in the game and heal it off before she has the opportunity to get hit again. Using this, we're going to break Day 48 wide open.

But first, let's talk about some Abnormalities.



First up is -12, who is a nice old lady in a rocking chair.



Dearie, dearie, would you like to hear a story?

Apparently, I would.



This is also her Abnormality name: Old Lady. Old Lady deals White damage, and is generally easy to work with. She does have one quirk, though: She's rather needy. Every time we work with an Abnormality while she's not currently being worked, her QC will decrease by 1. When it hits 0…



Her room becomes filled by this black fog. Sending someone to work with her in this state will immediately end the work with a Bad, gathering 0 energy but clearing the darkness fromthe room..



The Agent sent in is covered in a dark aura, and takes White damage every few seconds. During this period, they cannot move.



That's all there is to Old Lady. She's completely safe to ignore.



Our other new Abnormality is -60. It is a collection of scribbles.



Being a TETH like Old Lady, it's no problem for anyone in the facility to work with it.



Its name is Fragment of the Universe, and when its QC hits 0 it will breach. As a TETH, this is completely nonthreatening. I'll give it a chance to wander around and kill things once everything's less busy.



As a final bit of trivia, its Work Preferences and Results data are the same as the ones on Apocalypse Bird's data reference. Neither Abnormality manages to do anything particularly unusual today.



So diligent, even like this… but I can see through you, you know. This room represents our mental state. You're crumbling.

Hold up. It seems to represent your mental state. Not mine.

We're the same person.

I don't think someone who gave up on something as small as the Middle Layer suppressions is the same as the me I am today.



Of course I gave up. You heard from them yourself as you helped the Upper Layer. The things we've done… how could we feel anything but guilt?

Ah… I get it. So that shook you up, and then you believed in the righteous fury and condemnation of the next set. And so we wound up like this. Tch.

Don't talk like you're better than me. Countless people have died under both of our watches, because of our plan.

Clerks, yeah, but I've managed to keep a hold on… just about everyone I can actually have any control over.



I'm a little amazed you can say that with a straight face while murdering your own Clerks.

Okay, they're going to die anyways when you unleash Gebura. I'm just giving them a merciful out? And it keeps Queen of Hatred happy, so it works out.

You know, all you'd have to do to keep her happy is work her right before the Meltdown, and change it over at 17…

You did that every level, everyday?

I thought it'd be a start towards making amends… but even that failed in the end… No small act of kindness could make up for what we've done.

Starting to see why you went nuts.

Day 48's first three levels, outside of the WhiteNight issues I outlined a little bit ago, go more or less the same as during our Chesed suppression. We have to juggle 2 colors from the start, but the handling instructions are effectively all the same. It's actually about equal in difficulty to Day 47's opening three levels unless we get very unlucky.



In preparation for the Dawn, I position our agents in these three elevators for quick access to the entire facility. Honestly I came up with this method on the fly to deal with the Day 46 Dusk, and it's proven much better than my old 'everyone in one elevator and pray you don't get a Black Fixer in Records' strategies from before this LP started. Funny how that works out, really.



You're smiling. How can you smile?

Well, you see, Punishing Bird makes a very funny noise when it-

Hurts them. Thoughtlessly enjoying their pain...

Dude, have you ever actually paid attention to our agents? They get by.

Ooh, this new beak massage technique is really something! My shoulder's perfectly fine now.

See? The bird's basically the Training team's mascot by now.

...this is a farce.

Are you just the shard of me that hates fun? Is that it?

That you can so shamelessly watch and laugh, knowing what we've done… the blood on our hands… knowing that this existence is meaningless. That we can't ever leave this place. That Carmen's desire is forever beyond us...



It's no wonder you could open the door… someone as cruel as we are shouldn't exist.



The game's just thrown us a curveball. Under normal circumstances the Red Fixer is the least threatening of the Fixers. However, we've happened to roll one alongside Chesed's Red damage boost. Unlike the White and Black Fixers, who can be reliably dealt with through heavy use of hit-and-run tactics or spamming Black shields, Red Fixers have that 70-100 damage beam. With Chesed's 5x damage multiplier, it becomes 350-500 Red damage. This means a hit from that thing is roughly equivalent to running through King of Greed during her breach.

A Red shield won't protect us against that, and since its death attack is also a 70-100 damage beam… we've hit the one situation where a Red Fixer is actually a legitimate threat to us.



Since his beam will kill anything in its path, I move the team out of the Disciplinary elevator and over to the left side, and clear out the Training team of its Clerks. Under normal circumstances we'd want to closely micromanage engagements inside of an elevator, spam Red bullets after each attack it makes, retreat when it starts its beam, and finish off its last few hit points with Der Shooty in order to ensure that it doesn't hit anyone with its death beam.



Woah, I almost felt that one.

I have Twee, though, so instead I just have her solo it. The beam is the only attack Red Fixer has that can even scratch her, and only if her Paradise Lost shield is down.



It can't kill her, though-this is slightly over 25% of Twee's total HP, and she regenerates with every attack. Having a full-powered Paradise Lost Agent greatly simplifies the threat of Day 48's Chesed-boosted Fixers.



With the Dawn done, I return everyone to their usual posts and get back to work.

Hey, y'know… Abram. Not to rub salt in your wounds or anything, but I don't think that you've really thought too hard about what you're trying to do or why.

What do you mean by that, you damned nameless bastard?

Tiphereth… she stopped you, and I understand that, but all she really wanted was to believe that everything we were doing had a point. She didn't have it in her to hurt our agents herself. You're really only throwing one thing at me today, and it's a trick I've seen before. You'd know that, if you paid attention to them.

I'm doing the only thing I can to make up for all I've done…

Without thinking for a minute if it's the right thing to do in the first place. That same Tiphereth put her trust in me-us-to show her that what would come at the end would be worth all of this.



We don't have the right to anyone's trust.

That's not something we get to decide. Since she offered it, I've responded in kind.

Even with all this blood on our hands?! You can't just-

I can, and I will. Like I said, I gave my word.

Carmen made us promise before she knew it was impossible. We had no idea what we were agreeing to. We shouldn't-

Carmen isn't the only one I promised. Before this all started, I promised everyone an ending. The Sephirot, the Agents, even the Clerks.

Then it's fine. We'll all sink together-and that'll be the ending we've promised.



No dice. That sounds like a shitty way to close things out.

It turns out that we're lucky today. On Day 48, Gebura arrives at Meltdown Level 5. This means that 66.5% of the time, we'll see a Noon either on Level 4 or 5 and have to deal with it in addition to the rest of the day. However, we've landed on the 33.5% chance that the Noon will spawn in on the transition to Level 6. This means we only have to fight one Fixer today, which is a good timesaver if nothing else.



A meltdown lands on the Mirror, and I have Bishop use it.



It puts his Temperance back to where I can LOB it back up to EX, so this is basically just free stats for him. Nice.

It's the only way we can pay for what we've done.

Unless we just… y'know, finish the project.

And you think you can do that? We aren't capable of it. It took us tens, hundreds of tries starting over from scratch just to resolve the situation with the Upper Layer… With our sins crawling down our back, we lacked the resolve to carry on.

Seriously? I took care of them by day 30.

Aha… nice try. Which day 30?

The first one.

…how?



Since we won't be advancing the Meltdown Level any more after the next level, I use this opportunity to clear out the rest of the Clerks. Queen of Hatred shouldn't be a problem today.

I… did my job? I left parts of it to the Agents, sure, but I just did what I was supposed to with each Abnormality.

This place is designed to prevent that. Every inch of ground needs to be fought for, every scrap of information built on the deaths of our employees. A single wrong Abnormality pick at the wrong time, and this facility becomes a place of death.

Oh, that would explain the gut feelings. Every now and then when I looked at a cell I just realized: "Nope. Not that one. That's death."

But… you don't have any memories.

Yeah, so? Doesn't mean my instincts are any worse.

...Ah. I see. All is lost. Truly, there is no hope. Please, let us sink together.



I do keep the Clerks in Safety around, just to make sure our regenerators are healing as much as possible. It's fine, since 5 clerks won't cause any breaches. I also wait to ensure we go into the next level with a WhiteNight work, to maximize the time I have to handle things.

I don't know what you're on about now, but we're not doing that. Come on, we're stronger than this. Let's move on.

I cannot escape from this place. Neither can you. That is the unfortunate truth. It's best we sink now before we inevitably spread even more suffering through this place.

You're not listening to me. _{Was I always this stubborn?} Whatever. I'll just force my way through.

Music: Insignia Decay


Agreed. There's no point in talking to you anymore.

Don’t hold hope in anything. For the sake of our employees who died hopelessly.

If existence itself is an ailment to us, there is only one way to cure it. Just shut your eyes, and never open them again.

We destroyed everything while holding her warmth in our hands.

Tell me, what great purpose did we fulfill with all those actions?

At level 5, two very important things happen.



Boss, she's here! Ready to engage on your order!

Stand by, Tenebrais. I've got an idea.

The first is that our glitchy Gebura finally shows up. Defeating her is one way to end the day, and it's easily the simpler option.



This is because of the second thing: Chesed turns off. If we continue to go through the day, he'll turn back on at level 8. We don't want that, because he'll be boosting 3 damage types like he did at the end of his suppression-and there's a firm possibility we'd be dealing with both a White Dusk and a White Midnight under the damage boost.

Suppressing The Red Mist is definitely the better option, here. :shepface:



I have everyone in the facility hide in my favorite elevator, and send Twee to pick a fight with The Red Mist. While we could have everyone go after her and kite around (and it'd certainly be faster)...



My primary goal today is safety, and Twee is basically invincible. None of Red's attacks will hurt her in Phase 1.



After soloing this fight with Tenebrais before, I have to say this feels quite relaxing to watch.

She can't even hurt me through this E.G.O, sir!

Hmph. A tool that shouldn't exist… I've never seen anything like that WhiteNight beast before.

Don't get mad just because I have better toys than you. Tenebrais, are you seeing this?

Yeah. That's definitely not the boss. She's a pale imitation, like the others.

Like a... Pinkish Mist?

Yeah. Pink Mist there's a lot weaker.

On Day 48, The Red Mist also spawns with fewer HP than normal-60% of its total, or 1800 per phase instead of 3000. This makes fighting her much faster than the first go-around.

Pink's on the move!



Part of it is because she has fewer HP than she did before, but it's also faster because she's coded to use Road of Gold every time she loses 1000 HP. This means she'll be able to move one fewer time per phase.



She still can't actually hurt Twee, and as the fastest agent in the facility it doesn't take her long to catch up and knock The Red Mist into Phase 2.



This can't be possible…

Oh, it's quite possible. I won't say I haven't felt despair before, but I'm not the kind of guy who'd give in to it. Not as long as I have everyone here to rely on.



Phase 2 is just more White and Red damage than Phase 1, but since none of it is enough to scratch Twee…



Man, it's too bad we didn't have this suit around for the first fight, huh? Your job would have been so much easier.

Don't forget that the only reason you're able to be that powerful is because we're keeping Mizu glued to that freaky bird-bean.

Things go more or less the same way.



Her Legato sends her to Safety, the one department we still had Clerks in.



And she quickly removes them.



One thing I hadn't had the chance to show off yet: Her spear will actually leave people that it kills splayed out on a strange red tree. It's a cool visual effect.



She still can't actually touch Twee, though, so we push her through to phase 3.



Twee takes no damage from the sword toss, as well-this is from her yellow shield, though.

You don't understand anything.

I understand that everyone here has put their trust in us to see this through to the end. You're the one that doesn't understand.

You degraded fool… you're going to ruin yourself. At least the end I seek is painless.

All you're doing now is running away! Take responsibility for the stupid shit we've done! Dying? That's easy. Anyone can die. Living? Finishing what you started? That's something not everyone can do.

That desire is exactly why we've hurt everyone over and over, countless times.



For Phase 3 we have to change our strategy. Twee's outgoing damage determines how much she regenerates, and Red Mist has a 0.2x Pale resist in this phase. Additionally, she gains access to Justita. If it hits Twee, even its weakest attack will still deal ~12 HP damage to her, enough to make her bleed. This is where Medea and Mr.Black come in. As I mentioned earlier, they're both wielding Blue Star's weapon and wearing the Smile suit.



The two of them get hit by a spear while getting into position-but their suit makes the damage they take much more manageable.

We're properly prepared!

Everyone just stay back and let us take care of this.



That spear is the only damage they'll be taking this phase.

You see, Gebura's AI is a little bit buggy in Phase 3. As long as a target is in the room, she will pick a direction, pick an attack, and attack in that direction. However, she never checks to see if the target is actually in range of her attack. Because of this, Very Long range weapons like Blue Star can target her from outside of her maximum range.



The two of them proceed to melt Red Mist's HP bar.



Then, after avoiding a Gold Rush, they do it again. Phase 3 is much easier when we aren't trying to do the entire thing with a single melee weapon.

Tenebrais, we've done our part!

She'll likely be headed your way next! Try to catch her in the act! HAHAHAHAHA!



I finally got a gif of her breaking the Smile E.G.O! Anyways, we're on to Phase 4, which works the same as it did on day 40 as well.

I see that you're strong. I acknowledge that you have power, even if it's stolen from others…

Then get out of my way, Abram.

I won't. All my regret, my determination to pay for our crimes… I'll put it all into this one attack. I have to stop you. I must stop you, before you damn us to an eternity of this endless hell..!

Then we'll stop you and move on towards tomorrow.



Red Mist goes for a run, and I burn our first slow bullet and order our agents to run like hell.



This is closer than I would normally like, but we should be fine. It takes her a bit of time to go down each elevator.



I fire the second slow bullet at the bottom of the elevator, but it turns out I didn't need to bother.



She takes a knee in the same elevator while trying to leave.

She's down. Everyone, you know what to do!



Aww hell yeah!



With only 60% of her original HP, our facility can take her from 100% to dead in seconds. It's over.

A fake like this could never stand up to the real thing. Let alone the woman who beat her!

And the backup helps too, I'm sure!

Don't get cocky, mosshead.

...my greatest effort, and it wasn't enough.

Are you going to let me pass now?!

I must. You've beaten me. I see now that this oncoming disaster cannot be stopped. Ah… woe unto this world…



...I've done some terrible things in the past, I can't argue with that. I just can't afford to let it all come to nothing.

How difficult Day 48 is comes down to a combination of how well we handle damage-boosted Fixers and how good we are at fighting Gebura. Because of this, I consider it a breather between the more difficult days 47 and 49. It's very possible to lose someone to Gebura if we're not careful, though, as she hits very hard throughout.

There's that quiet again. It's unsettling.

...Sooner I pick the next Abnormalities, the sooner we'll be out of here. Let's get to it.

Music: never frozen bottom flows


Our first pick of the day is -76, a HE abnormality with an ability that makes it somewhat hard to show off properly. It's relatively low-risk as long as it's handled properly and is a good earlygame Justice trainer, though, so I can give this one a strong recommendation to anyone playing through the game-its suit, especially, is fairly versatile early on.



Our second pick, -18, is a TETH Abnormality that's kind of hard to place. It deals White damage, but the most reliable training with it is Instinct, and while it can do attachment you generally don't want to do Attachment work with it. I don't like it very much, but it's a nice stable Abnormality we can take to round out the department.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Never go full anime.

New Guidelines

Old Lady
Fragment of the Universe

New Gear


Requirements: None


Requirements: None


Requirements: None


Requirements: None

New Story

Old Lady
Fragment of the Universe (Part 1)
Fragment of the Universe (Part 2)
Fragment of the Universe (Part 3)

Bonus

VIDEO: Day 48

[DKII]

You made that day look pretty easy. It seems like defeating Red Mist shouldn't have ended the day, since it was only part of the set. The last two suppressions together tomorrow seem like a troublesome combination though.

[TeeQueue]

I've heard that it didn't used to and you had to beat her up AND hit level X. I can't confirm that, though.

That said, Day 48 is really just a test of 'can you beat Gebura without sheltering,' yeah. As for tomorrow.... It's troublesome, yeah.

Luckily I've had a lot of practice.

[TeeQueue]

Day 48 Extra + Ending B

To start with, Day 48 has a couple of unused lines during its story portion. The first comes right after we open the second door, right after this:

My eyes began to soak with red as I realized that hers would never open again.

The second is while Carmen is speaking to us lying in the grass. There's an extra line pair of lines after the ellipses here, before she tells us we'll endure through it:

We humans have weak hearts. One crack and it will easily crumble. I am no exception to this, but you… You’ll endure through it.

You’re not the same as the rest of us, right? No matter how cruel this world may get…

Secondly, we haven't seen all of Abram's text for Day 48. If we push on after Gebura, he does get new text. I'll put it here:

You will never escape your guilt if you stay that way. You will curse your existence, and every single day will be painful.

Carmen left without a smile, never to come back to nap under the warm sun.

You have to let it all go, you don’t even have the strength to grip onto anything…

The things I’ve let go have drifted too far for me to take up into my hands again.

Why must I be abandoned by the world, alone like this?

Yes, there was only a path of despair in the sky she often looked up to.

Desire is void and meaningless. Can’t you hear it? The doors are closing, and they will not open again.

I’m perfectly fine with my life expiring here and now. Only stigma awaits those who cannot overcome the trial.

It was my duty to protect my coworkers, my friends… but I couldn’t save even a single one of them.

The scene, the air, the pain of that day… It all comes back no matter how many times I try to void it from my mind. Tell me, how do I escape from this?

Do we really deserve to persist in existing? Meanwhile as we step on all those sacrifices?

Let us sleep peacefully… Let us sink and flow to the bottom of the river with Carmen. She must have been lonely for such a long time…

Finally, there's what happens if we lose the day or haven't cleared the Middle Layer's suppressions.

Ending B

Music: Here Together


Seems you finally accepted it. You and I, we’re failures.

This opening is only for failing the questions, of course.

......I thought you might have had a different outcome, seeing as you found the answers. Yet even you failed. It must mean that failure is an inevitable cycle for us, then.

As before, this is the only difference in this scene.



Even though we’re failures, we managed to achieve at least one thing. We’ll be able to see… Carmen again like this. Although we can’t take a nap, lying in the field under the warm sun like we used to…



Don’t worry, she’ll understand. She’ll tell you that even though you couldn’t make it to the end, you did a good job getting here at least. You’ll have eternal rest with her. We should have just listened to Benjamin in the first place…



……

Carmen is our sun, so it doesn’t matter if we stay underground forever.



We get a transition into this image, and when we click…



We get sirens and klaxons and a pulsing red tint for the remainder of the scene.



Let us sink now, Carmen. I know you can’t hear my voice… But I don’t care.



I hope that I’m with you when I open my eyes again someday.







Once the screen goes black, we hear a door shutting and then get kicked back to the title screen.

Ending B is much more final than Ending A was. Abram opts to destroy the facility and put a stop to the entire plan in order to atone, and as a result we see our first actual Fourth Trumpet.

[Kacie]

X really is a different person than A, because X doesn't have weight of all the failed attempts (in his memory). Lacking (or disengaging from) the emotional weight allows one to have perspective and clarity.

[TeeQueue]

Day 49: Story

So if nobody's gotten this far before… It's just me here now, right? I guess that means we'll get this project dusted, humanity'll be saved, and that's that.

Music: Gloomy Cathedral




...Okay, I'll bite. Why do I look like I belong on one of Chinely's TV shows?



You won’t believe how long I have been painstakingly waiting for you. Ah… The wait was getting so, so boring. You know, the world made of dots is no longer interesting to those who’ve realized the existence of lines, so to speak.



Singularities are manifested day after day. Everything changes in the blink of an eye. The Wings and the Head control this world, and now humanity cannot live without their constraints. Every single person just stays silent, even though each and every one of them knows how many ethically morbid compromises the Wings are making. Those who are not under the spell of control die as loners and failures. That’s where we’ve ended up.



Those are the questions that bring upon growth, but people stopped asking them a long time ago. All anyone has left these days is to die a slow death. Nothing is as boring as watching a predetermined fall. So… We managed to find it.



Unfortunately, the majority of humanity wouldn’t find their light on their own throughout their entire life. We are bound to be unhappy as long as we are chasing an illusion without realizing the truth. People began to hide their light in the deepest recesses of their hearts.



Yes, we could see the truth. The Abnormalities are no longer abnormal; they are no mere fantasies anymore. They are our truer forms. Restored to being by drawing a little speck of light from our hearts.



They feared and tried to contain the Abnormalities. Do not place blame upon their ignorance. It is only natural for one to fear being naked in the face of the world. At least you and I know one thing. Carmen shall be our forbidden fruit for the new humanity.

Music: Once upon a time


I am Adam, soon to become the root of this new humanity. I will wait for the fruit to ripen and come to life after I seed this vast forest. The forbidden fruit shall enlighten us all with the long forgotten knowledge branded in our hearts. Just a single bite will open their eyes and grant them wisdom. They will be free of the sin of forgetfulness for what we truly are… And they will understand that they should feel shame for covering it in their shell.



Just imagine it. Everything that was suppressed, bursting out in every shape and figure possible. Does it not make you tremble in excitement? We’ve always asked this question…



No one could answer that… But I found the answer. I shall show you. So join me.

Music: Into the Deep


People live with their own anxieties. It is a natural price one must pay for confronting the unknown. However, I did not accept that anxiety, that fear. I devoured them to survive in this world. That was the first and final sin I have committed. I have no regrets about it. It was for survival.



I knew so, witnessing your face as you ripped through my brain back then. You may also say it was an inevitable process. However, it is about time you faced the fear that you have now forgotten, and dare I suggest… Face that fear if you want to stop the cycle.





You are only saying this because you are afraid, aren’t you? If you truly think it is a misdeed to deprive them of the act of facing their fear… Then listen well.



Helping to shed everyone from their empty skin, can you not see how that is the greatest good of all? People need someone like us. Think about the wave of redemption that will follow.



Please remember the reason why I happily let you pass. I did so because I wanted to see you fly with your own strength, despite being left in this harsh world with a skin as fragile as yours. Perhaps if we had talked more sincerely in the past… Perhaps… it may have resulted in better circumstances.



We live in endless conflict and regret, starting from birth up and unto death. We grow by embracing that conflict—that regret—and we walk towards the future.





Our days will be filled with marvel and wonder that you cannot possibly imagine if you join me. You are painfully crawling through each day, and you still aren’t even sure if you are on the right path.



I cannot spare any more time. If you are not ready, I shall go first.

Not so fast there, Adam. Who ever said you were leaving?

..Are you…?



In summary: We meet the next shard of ourselves, who calls himself Adam. He believes Abnormalities to be the true form of mankind, and wants to make all of humanity shed their skin and become them. He demands we join him so we can enact the answer he found, but our experiences in the Lower Layer allow us to come to our own conclusion. Not wanting to let the world get turned into horrorterrors, we decide to stop him.

You honestly believe yourself my equal? I, who have discovered the answer to the great questions plaguing humanity? Who has done more than any other of our fellows?

About that... Pretty sure Angela wasn't lying when she said she hadn't observed anything beyond 70% seed completion.

That machine walks in step with the endless cycles of this immaculate design of ours. When I first defeated Gebura and set her back to right, it was on the 45th day of one such cycle. You're quite right: she wasn't lying.

I see...

I went forward step by step, overcoming those weaker versions of myself until I reached this place. But… you're right-I needed still more energy to carry forward. Still, I couldn't risk losing my glorious epiphany to a reset. I chose to wait here for another self so that our light, our seeds together, would be enough to meet our requirement. And so, here you are. Once you agree, we shall be in accord. Then, we save the world.

There's no way I'm agreeing.

Oh, you've made that quite apparent. Still, you've no chance against me. Your every instinct, each and every gut feeling you've had to guide you and show you the proper way to manage… They were a gift from myself.

A gift?

I had to do something to ensure you would make it here before I was as withered as old Abel. A way to resonate within you, and let you have information you never experienced yourself. Just like that strange girl from the Extraction team...

You didn't.

Oh, but I did. I already know everything. There's nothing within the Well which could surprise me. Indeed, it only confirmed what I already knew.

_{That you were already crazy?}

That the world wishes for this freedom. We shall set everyone free, unmaking their fears as we etch an eternal paradise upon this earth!

...Yeaah… I've decided. I'm definitely going to stop you.

You have no hope of doing so. Look at yourself. A poor degraded shell of what I was before, barely able to follow the simple conversations of Abel and Abram. Meanwhile, this cognitive form which I hold to remains as sharp as it ever was. Even your skills are but a pale imitation of my own. No copy can ever hope to match the true artistry of the original.



I'm going to make you eat those words.

You're going to try.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: X tries to save the world from his edgy teen phase.








Music: More weird wind ambiance, it's not in the OST.

[DKII]

Yesss, let's destroy the most hate-able version of us...

[AweStriker]

...Well, that's certainly an outfit.

[BeachedSpider]

The real Final Fantasy has begun..

[TeeQueue]

Day 49: Gameplay

Music: neutral 3


Hey, Manager… are you sure about this?

We've been sitting on this LOB for weeks. If I don't use it for something, what's the point?

High scores?

We can trade them later for a nice chianti to go with our meal!

I wouldn't mind using them to further power my plan.

Hey… who is this guy?

Megalomaniac wanting to save everyone by turning them into monsters, hopped into chat and I can't kick him out.

Again? Where do you keep finding these people?

Does it matter? Let's just kick his ass and move on.

Yes, bray now while you still have a chance. Soon, this nameless one-

Nameless one? We've been calling him X.

-shall join me, and we shall show the world wonders untold.

He doesn't listen to people. Anyways, if previous patterns hold up we should be dealing with both the Lower Layer suppressions together.

How troublesome...

It is. I don't like it, but the best way to deal with this is to make sure that we have some extra hands on deck. And to do that…

We train some new employees?

That'd take forever. No, we're calling a temp agency.




This is way outside the standard contract, Manager. You need temp workers from us? Why?

Because I am currently trying to stop a second, completely insane, version of me from turning all of humanity into Abnormalities.

Fine. I'll figure out the paperwork, but you're going to have to provide us some extra energy for this job.

No problem. Thanks for the help on such short notice.





I finally spend our stockpiled LOB buying up 22 more agents for the day. Each one has been boosted to Fortitude/Prudence/Temperance 4, since An Arbiter deals enough Black damage throughout the facility to cause our base hires to die instantly in the somewhat Black-weak E.G.O suits we have left over for them. It's a good idea to try and buy Fortitude/Prudence 4 agents to fill any open slots the facility has. Without further ado, let's introduce today's temps:

Control:


Information:


Safety (Which only gets 1, as Mizu has moved here to babysit):


Training:


Central Command:


Welfare:


Disciplinary:


Records:


Extraction (Who gets one extra, for reasons outlined above):


Architecture:


They're going to be serving as a buffer against us getting screwed by the RNG, since if someone like Mizu gets instantly panicked/killed we're going to be left without good options to handle WhiteNight today.



Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I've checked over the notes from our past suppressions, and cross-referenced them with the last two days. I think I have an idea of what to expect.

So it's plan time! What are we doing?!

You guys just focus on working. All the hard stuff is on my end.

Things that you won't be able to manage, since we are no longer dealing with threats which I have experienced. None have ever made it farther than I, after all. How could they? I know everything.

Oh yeah? Then what am I about to say?!

Wrong.

Wrong! It's… dammit. One more round!

I think not. It is time for me to go ahead.

Fine. Then let's settle this and put a stop to your nonsense for good.



Music: 090909090


How shameful. Do you truly want to let people suffocate, trapped away in their skin?!

Of course not. I make sure everyone gets the air they need to breathe. Thing is, they kind of need that skin to live. As people.

Very well, then. I shall take your crutch away from you. The infinite time which allows us to process orders…

Talow, I take it we have confirmation?



Sure do, boss. It's uh…



It's really shmovin'!

Whatever that means.

Right, so you've overridden the TT2 protocol and added a penalty that kills people when I use it. That's what you were going to say?

If you understand so much, why don't you see what I'm trying to do? What the true answer is?

Because I can recognize patterns. All that lies at the end of what you're doing is the apocalypse.

If it takes the end of the world to build a perfect paradise, then so it shall be.

The path I traveled was riddled with thorns; it was a penance with no end in sight.

And thus, I have revealed myself. I, who shant cling onto the mere past, the regrets, or the trifling memories.

People live every day looking up to a hope they cannot reach while shedding tears of pain. We have the power to save them, should we not rightfully use it?

They will perish in torment if a savior does not come to them, just as mankind was rescued from the Great Flood a long time ago thanks to the man who built the Ark.

Day 49 is considered the single most difficult challenge in all of Lobotomy Corporation. Unlike previous days, Hokma's effect has not been toned down at all. Like before, pausing costs us 1 Agent instantly dying/panicking + 1 additional Agent each time we do it after the first. We also can't change the game speed at all. This means that any mistakes when handling the Fixers will quickly snowball-it's important to be precise and decisive. Hokma, as ever, is all about preventing any fires from starting.

Unfortunately for us, at the start of Meltdown Level 5 Binah will be dousing the facility in gas and throwing a match. She still spawns in all of her special Meltdown types throughout her fight, and since many of them have timers of 45 seconds it's a big ask to work them all without pausing.

But wait, there's more! Remember the memory issues I mentioned all the way back in the OP? Binah causes a lot of things to be going on on screen, and this makes the game lag. Lag also affects our ability to input commands to our agents, meaning each click in assigning a work will take longer than normal. This becomes even worse when we're playing zoomed out, which we want to do in order to see and move to where all the meltdowns have spawned. No matter how quickly I move, I cannot issue orders fast enough to allow me to beat the timer. This means breaches, and it means Binah is basically invincible.

By this point in a first playthrough, most people have gotten the hang of things and will have created a team of Agents who they're incredibly attached to. They'll want to avoid letting them die at all costs, and this means not pausing when they need to, and it'll mean losing the day.

While Day 47 was a check to see if we've been slacking on training our agents, and Day 48 was basically just a test to see if we can suppress Red Mist the right way, Day 49 is a test of something else: How willing are we to let the Agents we've made and spent the whole game with die, and how well can we improvise if chance kills someone important?

I will be letting Agents die today.

Because I am doing that, I will be showing off how to destroy the hardest day in the game. This will not be a close fight.



Mizu's job today is to sit in this elevator and continuously work with WhiteNight. She will not be leaving this corner.

I see that in the end you've added a few more hangers-on. It won't matter.

Would you shut up?

I shall not. For as long as I am here, I shall preach the truth which has been shown to me.



Our first step is to murder the Clerks. If we didn't have Queen of Hatred in the facility I'd take out as many as possible each level and aim to have them all dead before Level 3. Instead, we'll be taking out the Lower layer at 1, the Middle at 2, half of Upper at 3, and the other half at 4. That will let us keep Queen happy through the point where Binah spawns in.

I've heard your 'truth.' You're not the first asshole to come in here wanting to rob man of their forms and force an evolution. See, listen.

Manager!! No matter how long it taketh, nor how magnificent thy arrogance beeth, My magnificence shalt inevitably shine forth! My apostles shall save all of man, and My-

See that? That's what you sound like.

My… My my my. Don't you see, this is simply more proof! That creature's existence means that this is what all of mankind wants!

Not sure how you get from "freakishly horrifying bean fetus to "mankind wants to be monsters," but I don't really care either.



I queue up our first load of works, and Twee moves to enter her invincible mode. Since Parasite Tree and WhiteNight are both in the Upper Layer today, I focus mostly on this section to keep things simple.

This beast was newly created-I've not seen its like before. Something resonated within the well of man's unconsciousness to cause that.

You looked in the Well and went so nuts it bleached your hair. How does that make this thing?

Fool… do you know nothing of the Well and the Bucket? All I did was provide the possibility, which mankind became aware of. From there, all one would have had to do is-

Oh wait, I just remembered: I. Don't. Care. You're insane, so your answer is going to be insane.

The truth hurts, doesn't it? Stop running from it! There are still more wonders to manage that you haven't seen yet!



For instance, this being here!



Or this specimen. Shouldn't you be doing your job, nameless one?

As far as I'm concerned, my job is stopping you. Those two can wait until tomorrow.

But there shall be no tomorrow here! I have thrown away the past without regret, and become the savior this world requires!



Prior to pushing into the next meltdown level, it's important to zoom out so that we can see where the Meltdowns spawn.

You can't just throw away the past!

Nonsense. You saw what occurs when you hold on to the things we've done. It left weakness in the hearts of Abram and Abel alike. There is weakness in your heart as well, nameless one-left there by your clinging to sentimentality and the past. It's why you cannot fathom what lies ahead.

You're mistaking being human for a weakness. I've faced my past and taken a good hard look at it-and from there I know where to go in the future. If we don't learn from our mistakes, how can we grow?

What need have I for growth? I already know everything.



Humanity's flesh prison is a weakness, and your sentimentality ties you to it. You may have overcome Abram's regrets, but you are still bound by his weakness.

If the alternative is to embrace nihilism, then I'll take weakness every time.

This isn't nihilism, you degraded fool; it's evolution!

An evolution that takes away everything that makes us human!

Because humanity is the disease Carmen spoke of!



I take care of the Middle Layer's clerks now. If our Dawn spawns in the Upper Layer we'll have to scramble to handle it, but otherwise we should be fine.

She wanted to cure humanity!

And to do that, we must cure humanity!

That's completely asinine! You don't cure an illness by ripping someone in half!

This is simply setting their true natures free to roam!



I also set up in the three-elevator formation from the previous days to deal with the Dawn coming up.

What would you know about people? You surrounded yourself with robots!

So did you.

Yeah, at first. I've realized that that was a bad idea. While you just discarded our past whole cloth and washed your hands of it, I've been busy learning from it.

I don't need to learn anything more about them.

You know everything, right, got it. But you clearly don't.



Every single person here came from somewhere. They have a story, their own reasons for existing!

And in your transient lifetime, you'll learn nothing more than a speck about any of them. Humans cannot connect as humans.



And what about you? You know everything.

I know that their stories do not matter. Their true essences strain against their shells, wishing to be let go.

And that's why I'll never agree with you. People matter.

You're ablaze with contradictions, nameless one. If they matter, then why have you executed the clerks every level?



It's called the trolley problem. Are you aware of it?

Of course I a-

Good, then you can learn how incredibly annoying it is to have someone talk over you to tell you something you already know.



Honestly, the hardest part about the opening stage of Day 49 for me is always dealing with 1x speed. It feels so slow.

Let's say there's a trolley with two sets of tracks. If the trolley keeps going down its path, it crushes five people and they all die. There's an alternate path, but there's one person on it. You're standing at a switch that changes which track they're on. Do you do nothing, let five people die, and avoid responsibility? Or do you take on the act of deciding yourself to kill that one person?

When those same people are given my salvation, they shall become Abnormalities and free of death. The trolley is immaterial.

Dude… No. Just no. I was thinking "switch the track, then execution bullet the person so the terrifying Bird doesn't get angry." How did you somehow choose the worst possible answer?

You're only saying that because the bigger picture escapes your pathetic mind.

Says the guy who's very existence turned our mind palace into some kind of junk heap! I mean, look at it!



What is this?! Some kind of freaky man-diagram?!



You could not begin to fathom the incredible importance held within those-

It's weird is what it is! Like, I could at least understand Abram and Abel! There is no part of you that isn't plain… cringeworthy!

What did you just call me?

Cringeworthy!

…



I'm not cringeworthy.

You're totally cringy, Adam.

You just don't get it. When you understand the key secrets of all mankind, no one ever gets it!

For the Dawn, we want to quickly scout out where our Fixer is at. To do this I glance around the upper Layer for red, then I look close to the elevators the other two teams are in, and then through Central and Architecture.



Turns out today's is a Red Fixer, above the Welfare elevator.



I let it come to us, so that I can drop a Red bullet on the entire elevator-this much focused DPS isn't something the fixer can take down for long.



I also reapply after every attack the Fixer gets off. We've got plenty of bullets and they refill each meltdown, there's no reason not to splurge.



There we go. The Dawn's been taken care of without a single problem.

Oh… not even one problem?



What the… how'd that happen?

I told you you weren't as good at managing as me.

Oh shut up, I'm still doing fine.

This is actually rather odd. Kay-Hoss was wearing Woodsman's suit,which is a 0.8x Red multiplier. That shield around where their corpse should be means they were killed in one shot through the shield-otherwise it'd be shattered.



A bit of research shows why-I forgot to power them up like the others. Because of this the chip damage they took from attacks going over their shield combined with the beam to result in a death. That's on me-but it also serves as an important lesson: Hod-boosted newbies seem tough, but they're very fragile in the endgame.



Anyways, I clear out Training and Information-please remember to try and shoot at clerks who aren't in the same room as your Agents. I'm being needlessly careless here.



I will say, I expected an immediate meltdown.

Yeah, well, luckily I dealt with this before. Hokma's interference with the TT2 protocol was only a pain in the ass, but it let me figure out how to do this.

It matters little. I'll show you how short your resolve falls soon enough, when faced with a memory of that day whose horror forever dyed our-

You're calling on an Arbiter right at the start of level 5. Right?

...You don't know that for certain!



Bird you have two seconds to change your mind or you are in for some hurt.

It's an Arbiter. And it's probably then because gathering the power you need takes a while.

How would you know that?!

Pattern recognition. You keep calling me degraded, but… If anything, I'm better at this manager thing than you ever were.



You take that back you cocky little-!

Now now... that's not very "man who knows everything" of you.

...Enjoy your moment. It ends soon.

This is a stroke of luck on our part-like on Day 48, we have a 1-in-3 chance of skipping the Noon, and we managed to hit it again. Dealing with a Noon at the same time as the Arbiter is enough of a hassle that most people advise just resetting when it happens, and if they'd shown up here then the day would have been a lot bloodier than it otherwise would have been. White/Black is the worst pair of Fixers to have show up alongside Binah.



I don't see why you're so mad. It's a fact that I've dealt with these problems before. They're actually why I was able to mount a defense against your bullshit in the first place.

You learned from them? The only one who was worth learning from was Carmen, and she's dead now. You've seen her.

And I was horribly traumatized by the experience, yes.

You don't sound horribly traumatized.

I carry it well.

Really? Well, I'll bet you'll slip.

I will not.



See? My aim's perfect. I can shoot around agents all day.

I see… carry on then.

I will, tha-

THE FLESH IS NAUGHT BUT A PRISON WITHIN WHICH OUR TRUE NATURE IS SEALED!

GAH!



All day, you said?

Dude!

Hey boss, while you're doing that can you take out the other one?



Never execution bullet Clerks anywhere near your Agents when you can't pause! This is basic stuff! Why do I never follow my own advice?!

Even this far out, carelessness is the ultimate enemy.



Anyways, I spend the rest of the level setting up to intercept Binah. Much of the reason she gave us so much trouble when we fought her on Day 44 was because we couldn't set up our Agents to avoid her spikes and we couldn't clear the Clerks out-which meant if we weren't careful Big Bird and Mountain would breach.

This time around we've assigned one Agent per hallway, or two to the longer ones. This means each Agent can only realistically be hit by a single spike, which they're all tanky enough to live through.



The boss had better know what he's doing…

Backwards Clock? That old relic isn't good for anything. What are you after..?

I thought you knew everything.

Everything that matters.

I also prime Backwards Clock.



Finally, Twee goes to Extraction's main room to greet our incoming guest.

I am nothing if not merciful, nameless one. Let me offer you one final chance to-

Better idea. Let me offer you one last chance. Give up now, and I won't expose you for the cringy supervillain wannabe you are.

I am but a single step away from the completion of my plan, and you call me a "wannabe?!"

Damn right. You're trying way too hard. Assuming you have all of the answers just means that you're running from your own fear.

Oh, is that what you think this is?!

Sure do. The way I see it, you realize the scope of the problem we're dealing with. Your solution, though, is the equivalent of saying "If everyone was dead there would be no conflict." It's true, yes, but that doesn't make it any less shitty of a solution.

You don't even know if your plan will work! You don't even know what it is!

Neither do you. And that terrifies you.

How dare you!



If there was no chance, you'd have lorded it over me. If it was a better plan, you'd have accepted it without question. You don't actually know. You can't-because to this point we've had the same opportunities, the same information. There's only one difference between us-I actually got the whole job done.

Haha… hahaha… I can't believe this! Is your mind already becoming a moldly puddle? I thought we would last at least a little longer than this before becoming like that whelp!

It doesn't matter what I say to you. This plan of yours is your escape. It means you don't have to make any more hard choices. You don't have to worry about having any more difficult days managing Agents in this deathtrap. You made it to the end and then you gave. Up. Tell me, did you even have a plan when you first got here? Or was that a sort of on-the-fly thing?

………………………………………I've decided. I'm through being merciful.

Good. Because you're a whole damn box of cringe, and I'm going to throw you back into the back of my closet where I can forget about you forever.

Music: Haunted Streets


You arrogant, sinful fool... By the time I'm through, you won't have it in you to disagree with me ever again!

We must use this power if we have it.

You know how many sacrifices have been made to come this far. We cannot let them be in vain. So join me.

We are all sinners. Our imperfect eyes could not see the world properly. It is time that I purified them.

Binah spawns in at 5, but we're ready for her.



She begins with her shockwave, and Twee demonstrates that before her first wave goes off, her resistances are actually their normal 0.8x.

Now either you let the Abnormalities rampage, or you lose one of those Agents you profess to care for so much!

Yeah… remember the trolley thing?



Same idea.

So you're a hypocrite after all.

The ideal would be to save the agents and kick your ass-but kicking your ass is the priority. A handful of people against the entire City is an easy choice.

We burn our first pause here. It's important to wait for the shockwave to have passed, or else otherwise the Meltdowns may not all have finished spawning in.



The lower left didn't have any death notices when I paused, so I quickly go through the facility with an Abnormality's window to find who's panicking. Here, The Great Evil King got hit. Their highest stat is Fortitude, which means they'll have a Murder-type panic. That would mean either them killing more agents, or dragging a lot of them together to snap them out of it.



It's honestly more trouble than it's worth.



Outside of that we just have to make sure to cover every single meltdown that spawned. It's important to make pauses count and spend some extra time on them to ensure you've hit everything-we want to keep them to a minimum. I usually also keep a mental note of anything like Shelter or Yang that needs to be worked, and make sure not to zoom back in until they've been handled.

Once we're prepared, I unpause.



The facility gets to work, but Binah's charging her Fairy attack in Pale damage. As a reminder, that's 220-300 base damage.



It cannot even scratch Twee with her shield from Paradise Lost's special up.

How is that possible..?!

What happened to knowing everything that mattered? It looks to me like you overlooked something important: my Agents are badass!



She falls asleep seconds later, and some of the attackers I ordered on her during the pause come in. Like Red Mist yesterday, the Arbiter only has 60% of her original HP.



This means she goes down fast once the team gets on her. Meanwhile, I pull the camera up to Central and wait. Binah's going to change to Phase 2 before she wakes up and she won't be able to attack without going through another spikes cycle, so the agents down there are fine.



This is what we're waiting for-the interference means she's entered Phase 2. We want to start working Backwards Clock now, since it has a fairly long startup.

Alright. It's time. I just have to pick someone and-

Don't bother. I'm already there.

Talow?! What are you doing there?

Making the most of the day, or something like that!



If you do that, you're going to die!

That's what I'm counting on!

HAHAHAHA! The springtime of youth, is it? I'll toast your memory!

I as well!

Dammit, if I'd known you were going to do this I wouldn't have wound the thing!

Come on now, kiddo. It's his choice.

...Stupidly dramatic to the end, huh?

Guess so. Hey! Manager!

What's up?

I'm getting really tired of waking up every time I die. No matter what it takes, finish this. If I wake up again in this crapsack facility, I'm going to punch you!

...Got it.



When activated, Backwards Clock instantly suppresses any breaching Abnormality-but it does not work on the Arbiter. More importantly, it instantly clears all meltdowns from any cells that have them.



In exchange for his life, Talow completely trivializes Phase 2 of this fight.

I don't believe this… Backwards Clock?! But that's… useless! No manager would ever need it!

Every Abnormality in this facility has its place. Some of them are really, really niche, but a good manager remembers all their tools!

It doesn't matter… no… no it doesn't matter at all. The Arbiter will… no, I will…



I'll take you down! I cannot be defeated! I hold in my hand paradise!

Phase 3.



She begins with another shockwave before starting to set up her Pillars attack.

Can you feel it?! The onrushing tide. It cannot be stopped by your hands!

Hey, Adam. Let me ask you something. Do you know whose TT2 command authorization is higher between Hokma and Binah?

What does that have to do with anything?! Cease your useless jabbering!



Best, know-it-alliest manager of all time, huh? Never even paid attention to the organizational flowchart.

Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!

This time, though, we can pause. Honestly… I probably didn't need to do this. After around 20 minutes of playtime and accidentally shooting Sephiroth in the head, though, I opted to go with the safe strategy. For once.



A quick look shows that Credentia and Sorcrane are both panicking now. I let them be, neither one is a particularly problematic panic type for us. From there, I go through and set everyone to work the Abnormalities with the Pillar meltdowns on them.



The panics trigger Punishing Bird's breach and it had one of the meltdowns on it, so we'll be triggering the pillar glitch we saw last time once again.



We unpause, and I focus on hitting the Arbiter with a Slow bullet the moment I start seeing numbers instead of 'IMMUNE.'

This is impossible! You're not better than me! You're nothing! I made you!

What made me wasn't you, Adam. All you did was nearly screw up a 10,000 year plan because you couldn't pull your head out of your own ass.



We pour damage onto the Arbiter.

I am what I've experienced. The second you discarded your history as irrelevant, you lost any ability you had to make the future.



The Arbiter tries another shockwave to set up a second Pillar attack.

You don't know what you're talking about! I haven't discarded anything, I've evolved beyond-

I'm not falling for your crap, Adam!



We pause, and quickly send people to work the meltdowns.



You're a frightened little kid, who faced the fear of the unknown and ran. You hide behind fancy words and false pretenses, and you've bought into your own hype so much you can't even see it anymore!



Once the attack is broken, it's just a matter of time-the Arbiter's attack cooldown won't empty before she's defeated.

We've both been through hell… but at least I didn't bend my back.

No-no, you can't-! The salvation of all humanity depends on this-! Don't… I don't want to disappear!!



In the end, she doesn't leave the Extraction main room.

We're done here. Get the hell out of my groupchat.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!



Nine..? Tch, more than I would have liked… and in all the chaos I couldn't make out who we lost at the end. Still… thank you all for your help. I won't forget you.

In the end we didn't go beyond a First Trumpet while handling Day 49, and got out with a handful of deaths. This was about as smooth a 49 as we could ask for with our current facility. Day 49 is incredibly intimidating, but the ability to set up for Binah takes a lot of the bite out of her if used correctly. That said, don't think things have to be this smooth! Some players reset until the Arbiter goes down through Architecture (Either a 1 in 10 or 1 in 5 chance, depending on how her pathing actually works) and trap her there with Rabbits. Others just go all in on making it to the final Meltdown level while ignoring everything else-it doesn't matter if Day 49 goes smoothly or if we scrape by with only 1 Agent left at 3 HP, there's a hidden modifier to our LOB that gives us a minimum of 21 as a reward at the end of the day to prevent us from getting stuck. Because of that...



Any Day 49 that we walk away from is a good one.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: The Calm.

Bonus

VIDEO: Day 49

[BeachedSpider]

It's hard to imagine there's any challenge in this game that's more difficult than what this day throws at you. Big congrats on overcoming it in style, and not just that, but also mixing in your narrative with it! The unique and fun thing about your LP has been turning what would usually be ambient simulator events into a pretty engaging boss fight between our protagonist and their evil counterparts, and this last update was a beatdown that any anime climax should be envious of.

[TeeQueue]

Day 49 Extra + Ending C

Adam is a very chatty boy, and he has more dialogue for if we press on and avoid dealing with the Arbiter! I'll put it here before we move on to the main event.

People are too ignorant to see what is occurring in the world above them. However, ignorance is not a sin. Disbelief is.

Humanity had to give up on freedom and desire for survival, but do you think those are truly gone? No, they merely have been waiting for the chance to rise again.

The desires humanity has forsaken are floating deep under the stream. People shall be forever isolated from themselves and will never be free if they stay this way.

They thirst for pure desires. We shall fill their glasses with the juice and wine of the forbidden fruit.

Freedom is a necessity for one to be truly human.

The sky shall fall, and mankind shall become holy. They will reach their promised glory as they change in the blink of an eye.

I know that you are not certain of what lies ahead for you. The future you yearn for may never come. I can show a proper future to you instead, right before your eyes.

Let go of your fear and gain true freedom. Doing so will also cure the disease she tried to heal.

Can you not hear the trumpets...?

How shameful. Do you truly want to let people suffocate, trapped away in their skin?!

They are moaning in agony, even as we speak. Why can you not hear them?

Just one bite of this sweet fruit will redeem them, all of them!

Now then... let's get to the main event, shall we?

Ending C

Music: Vast Landscape


The game over text actually lasts a little longer than this single line.

Do you wish to know why it has come to this? It is due to your lack of self faith. Faithless actions only result in a dreadful death.

He just has to rub it in.



You are me, and I am you. I am the only one of us who realized the one truth, and stood atop the world itself. I am the you who shall leave the paths I walked once, and choose to join the world she truly wanted to create. And you and I, we shall be the us who can do whatever we imagine from now on.



The screen shakes during this portion.



Witness how this loss-ridden world is perfected by us. The foolish god named rationality ruled over this world until this moment. No, to call it a god is an overstatement. It is simply a tragic illusion. We shall drag it down from the heavens with our own hands and open everyone’s eyes to the truth. Yes, the world Carmen yearned for will soon unravel before your eyes.







From here, there's the sounds of panic and screaming in addition to the music.





Let us create this paradise, you and I. Even the Head and the Eye are merely human. They cannot stop those of us who have accepted the truth. You know that everything we witnessed in this land is only a shadow, and that you never saw the truth until now.



Those abandoned, those who hold power, those with wealth, those who remain hopeful, all of them. The tree of humanity will reach the root of this world. Again, behold.



Then we return to the title screen. So, that's Ending C. Adam unleashes his plan to turn everyone into monsters. This is a textbook example of a 6th Trumpet-the devs have clarified in interviews that the Head would be able to clean all of this up eventually, but in the meanwhile Lobotomy Corporation is definitely done for.

Poor Adam. Even when he wins, he can't really win.

[TeeQueue]

It's hard to imagine there's any challenge in this game that's more difficult than what this day throws at you. Big congrats on overcoming it in style, and not just that, but also mixing in your narrative with it! The unique and fun thing about your LP has been turning what would usually be ambient simulator events into a pretty engaging boss fight between our protagonist and their evil counterparts, and this last update was a beatdown that any anime climax should be envious of.

Lobotomy Corporation is one of those games that is really boring to watch someone experienced play, so I'm always relying on the narrative to sort of carry things. I'm glad it's hitting for you! While this one wasn't my best day 49... well, I did beat it and on the first try.

In this game? We take those. (Also Sephiroth dying was funny)

[AweStriker]

Now that we've rejected Plan Abnormality Apocalypse, what's next?

[DKII]

While I'm kind of disappointed that a nearly flawless run results in so many deaths here, that combination is so massively impossible that I'm still impressed with that run. I wonder if Hokma's thing with killing an agent to pause (instead of just removing the pause entirely) was done just to make this strategy viable for this day.

[gaphodil]

What is this?! Some kind of freaky man-diagram?!



You could not begin to fathom the incredible importance held within those-

It's weird is what it is! Like, I could at least understand Abram and Abel! There is no part of you that isn't plain… cringeworthy!

What did you just call me?

Cringeworthy!

…



I'm not cringeworthy.

You're totally cringy, Adam.

i was inspired

[clearcardinal]

That's great!

[TeeQueue]

i was inspired

oh my god this is AMAZING

[TeeQueue]

Day 50: Story



The day starts off with another Suppression complete message.



And now that we know ourselves, our third eye is open.



Music: You are a giant


They must have tried to stop you because their own tomorrows are not on the horizon. But you gave up the path to stay in those yesterdays with them.



You must have realized that as well, seeing as you have made it to this point without hesitation. I had known… For a very long time… That we all lost our hearts.



...That’s what makes Carmen different from us. Instead of turning away, she wanted to save them, and guide their souls back. She was the one who made the noble decision to dedicate herself to save humanity. Yet I, who held no such ambition, had to continue her legacy.



Maybe I was not the right man for the job. As you can see, we’ve become just like the other Wings, committing atrocities just like them. The employees here have repeated hundreds upon thousands of deaths…



All the while I just sat and watched, justifying it all as the means to realize her ideal. This sin shall never be forgiven. Nonetheless… We must finish this. If these wrongdoings can finally cut this vicious cycle once and for all… I will gladly take this burden upon myself.



Every single person has their own light. In the light, they create their own stories, and lay down the roots of their existence in it. We are merely there to sow the seeds. It is up to the people to bloom it in their own ways.



Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see what kind of forest will grow. Besides, we still have one last thing to do… It is something we have done countless times.



You’ll make it. I know you will. Come now.



In summary: Having attained true knowledge of who we are, we complete the Seed with The Knowing I. We then meet a final A, who is our true self. He admits that Carmen may have made a huge mistake, and that we have done a lot of horrible shit. Still, he's willing to follow through on commiting hundreds of sins if it can lead to one particularly good deed. He mentions that we won't be around to see what happens when the Seeds we sow bloom, before declaring that we need to manage the Abnormalities one last time. This will be our final day at work as the manager.

So… Why won't we be able to see what happens?

You already know, don't you?

...yeah. Sucks. But then...

You know everything we've done. It's not like we can expect to escape from our sins forever.

Even if I disagreed… in the end, it's the trolley problem again.

If you have the switch, and you're the one on the track…

The right answer is to push it anyways. And, hell, even if we did go back and tried to find another answer…

We know Adam didn't lie. We're stronger mentally than the rank-and-file workers, but…

There's no telling how long we'd be able to hold off having a permanent breakdown. And those…

Can't be recovered from for more than a short while. Hey, are you getting…

Tired of finishing each other's sentences? Yes.

Oh thank god, I wanted it to be a bit, and then it went on too long and-

I know. You're me.

And you're me. You want to turn on the light now?

Nah… it'd get confusing for those guys.

Ah, you're right. Best to keep clear who's talking.



Hey… we didn't finish the dissolution in this loop, did we?

Not yet-there were more Abnormalities than I could actually get in one facility. Why?

Ideally, we'd have it done to maximize our light output. No big deal, we'll just have to watch a few videos before the end.

Those things Abel made? I've seen a couple, they're pretty good.

Yeah, we can do some awesome stuff when we put our mind to it.

Like what's coming at the end of the day?

Exactly. Let's do it.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: > (S) X: Ascend

[DKII]

So, suppression is over, so our Sephira buddies are going to be back? We haven't directly heard from Angela in awhile....those mysterious lines at the end of the last few story updates have been pretty ominous though.

[TeeQueue]

Day 50: Gameplay + Ending

Music: neutral 1


One final look at the loading screen. On day 50 we get one last department… sort of.





In the end our casualties were Sephiroth, Boksi, Credentia, Talow, and Sorcrane. The temp squad can retire, having done their job.

Alright, team. Just one more day and we're ready. How's everyone doing, Angela?

Uhhh… about that. The Sephirot are still offline. Angela, too.

What?! Why?



This is still a Suppression. We need every last bit of energy we can get to finish the project.

Dammit. And the crew morale isn't gonna be great, what with the deaths…

I wouldn't be so sure. There's only one way to find out, right?

I guess you're right… Well, whatever. It's time to get to work.

DAY 50 CHALLENGE: YOU HAVE ONE JOB

Rules: Don't screw up.



Music: the night sky




No meltdowns, and no ordeals… It's just a quiet day?

Of course.



We've reached our goal. We know who we are, and what we're doing. This facility, born of our mind, won't be as turbulent as normal anymore. After all… we're of one mind.

Have to be honest, I was expecting a sneak attack.

I know. But this is really it.



Day 50 is the final day of work at Lobotomy Corporation, and while there's work to be done and one last batch of energy left to collect the hard part is basically over. For any manager with the skills to get past days 46-49, Day 50 is usually just an interactive day-long cutscene.

Usually.

Where shall we start, Manager?

With the new Abnormalities, of course.



We start with -76, which is rather hard to show off properly. I have one of our Agents work with it for the moment.



Hey, boss! How are you doing?

Same as usual? How about you two?

Pretty great. There's something in the air today.

Hod again?! Hold on, I'll-

Not like that. Can't you feel it? It's like… bubbles from inside. Things might finally turn out okay.

...hope?

That was the word! Yeah, hopeful. I've had this stupid grin all over my face. I mean, ten years. Who knows how much new anime's been released?!

I should… check on the others.



And then I said, "No thanks, it'd cost an arm and a leg!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

...Heh. That is pretty good, I guess.

Should… we be worried about this?

The facility's operating in an unusual way today. The energy reaction's having an effect on everyone's mood. Nothing to be concerned about.

Well, alright.



The Meltdown Level buzzer doesn't go off today, but Queen of Hatred will still track employee deaths per level. This can make it easier than normal to forget to kill 3 Clerks to keep her happy.

I should be furious. This damn empty room… the sounds of clerks dying right outside, as usual. It's just like Gebura said. But in the end… all I get is this sense of clarity. Calmness. Is this what being a real warrior's like?

...I don't like it.



While waiting for the work with -76 to be done, I also take a peek at our new department: Da'at. Da'at doesn't have any abnormalities, its only employee is Carmen, and it serves as a convenient hallway between Records and Extraction. That's really all there is to it.



After our first work, we have enough boxes to get our first Abnormality's name: Schadenfreude. For anyone familiar with either German or memey 00's-era Broadway musicals, the name alone is probably enough to tell how it works. For the rest of you, let's watch:



While watching Schadenfreude, all PE boxes that would be rolled are automatically failures.



Its QC also goes down by 1 for every 5 seconds we watch it being worked.



This can lead to it breaching, of course, at which point it will run around causing havoc.



When breaching, it is a weird metallic spider with a fleshy undercarriage, and when it attacks…



It does so with twin buzzsaws, strong enough to cleave off half of Steve's HP here. That said, dealing with it is very simple: just don't look at it. Ever.

While offscreen, work with Schadenfreude proceeds normally. When breaching, if it's offscreen its defenses lower and it cannot move or attack. So long as we set work orders and then keep our screen off of it entirely, it will never cause problems.





Our other Abnnormality, -18, initially goes by Wall Gazer. She likes Temperance work, but doing it lowers her QC. When it hits 0, she gives us the game's one and only "jumpscare."



The screen shakes and goes staticy and we hear a female scream. Back in very early development this was much worse (I'll grab the Wiki's picture when we get to the Abnormality Roundup), but Lobotomy Corporation is ultimately not a game about jumpscares.

Whenever this happens, she deals White damage to all agents in her department. Because Architecture has no Clerks at all, I do not care about TETH-level White damage in Architecture. The only work I do with her is Temperance.



While working on her, we also pass our first energy milestone. The final day isn't measured in meltdown levels, but by how far we are on our daily goal. Every 150 energy, A will chime in.



Dizzy? What do you mean-?



With a great rumble and shake…



The entire facility begins to turn.

What the hell?!

This is also normal. Just proceed as usual, our relative gravity hasn't actually changed.



Wait, was this always the plan?!

Of course. You had to have noticed the Tree of Life was upside down, right?

…

You… noticed it was a Tree of Life, at least?

……

_{Oh boy.} Anyways, it's vital that we orient ourselves. Otherwise we'd be sowing seeds into barren ground, rather than fertile soil.

I'll take your word for it. Hey, wait… Zoom in.



...and that's where soap comes from!

Mizu… what are you doing in Da'at?

Talking to a Bucket. She never says anything back, though…

Why are you talking to the… Bucket?

Iunno. Miss Binah does it a lot, though, and you did say to be like Miss Binah.

Just… just get back to watching WhiteNight, Mizu.

Okee-dokie!



All the Temperance work lets us quickly unlock Wall Gazer's details, and her true name: The Lady Facing the Wall. I also get a very good shot of her cell when she activates her "jumpscare:"



It's not exactly terrifying.



Manager, I've taken a quick look at everyone-they're not acting like usual. I'm worried-or I should be worried. Instead I'm registering a mild confusion. This isn't normal.

You're not wrong, but… Ugh, can you handle this one? _{I'm not great with details.}

Of course. What we're doing here is planting a seed of light into people's hearts. A means to allow them to tell their own stories, and live as humans once more. That energy is permeating the facility, in preparation for the plan's completion. Everyone here is feeling its effects.

How do you know this won't turn us all into monsters?

Oh, that was yesterday. We kicked his ass. Don't worry.

...Typical Manager. Alright. I'll leave it in your hands.



We finish Schadenfreude's full notes as well. It's an excellent early game Repression trainer, once we learn its quirk.



At 300 energy, the facility turns again.



Hey, speaking of which… when we're done, what happens to the employees?

I didn't actually factor that in originally. Did not think we'd give a shit at this point.

We weren't the best person.

Still aren't. We'll have to keep the facility sealed up for the time that the light is shining on the City... but I'll leave a note with Malkuth to let them out after. Angela should be able to process their paychecks.

Oh yeah… what about them?

What about them? Once they're done, their mission is over. They'll probably all shut down once their work is done. Machines aren't people, no matter what they seem like.

...ah. Yeah, guess that's true.

Don't feel bad. I'm sure they're all glad to know that we finally succeeded.

Yeah… you're right. Okay. Let's press on.



Hey, voyeur. You're watching, right?

That's not my name, but yes. I am. Because it's my job.

Cool. My head says I should be a wreck, but I'm not. What should I do?

Honestly… wait. What we're feeling should pass soon enough. You can be a wreck then.

I hate waiting. And being a wreck.

Then pick up a hobby?

...hmm…



450 energy passes by without an issue.



It's fine. I've had it easier than the others, anyways. One more day is nothing.

I'm glad you understand.

Mmm. Speaking of, why didn't you tell Bishop? That we weren't going to be leaving.



You know him. He would have gotten obsessed with trying to find a way to fix it.

Yeah… that sounds like him. You know he's gonna' be pissed, right?

By then, we won't have to worry about it. We'll call it one more sin on the pile. For old times' sake.

...Eh, why not? If you've already eaten the poison, you might as well lick the plate clean.



Oh hey. You're with me again today. I volunteered.



Well, they won't need me anywhere else. And, honestly? Mizu's in training right now. She's kind of much?

:hai:



Other me, why is Queen of Hatred hysteric right now?

...I forgot to kill Clerks.

You forgot to kill Clerks. Please don't do that again.

Got it. On it. I will definitely not forget.

Great. By the way, we're spinning again.

What?



600 energy down. Nearly halfway there.



Now you're just blowing smoke.

Regardless of how it happened, you're the one who did it. We're our best self, progressing in ways I'd never planned for in the first place. That sort of progress isn't something we could have done without you. Puff your chest out more.

Hunching over lets me move the mouse better.

...We don't really need our spine, I guess.



It's not possible to express in screenshots, but the play area also feels smaller on Day 50. I can't drag the camera as far to any one side as I'm used to. It doesn't really matter, though, given that Meltdown Level 3 has hit and there's not even a Dawn Ordeal to fight.



We hit the halfway point here, and the facility is now completely upside down. Playing the game upside down is slightly disorienting, at worst. Compared to what came before, it's a nice way to cool down.



Right. All that's left is to fire it off.

Not quite. We've still got a ways to go.



Okay, we've concluded the graduation party for our ex-Captain.

I'm still not sure that's the best term for what happened.

I'm the new boss, I get to choose what we call things. Besides, the atmosphere today totally screams 'graduation' more than 'funeral.'

Eh, I guess you're right. :razzy:



Around this point I finally finish getting gear from the new Abormalities, which means I start working more. That in turn means Parasite Tree becomes a bit more of a problem. We snap this guy out of it the normal way-I don't need any more kills this level.

Music: Sun and moon


At 900 energy, the facility shakes again,and with the sound of rocks crumbling…



We begin to move upward.



Still not entirely sure I'll be able to do it without having a panic attack.

You'll be fine. We're stronger than we ever knew.

Heh… in the end, Carmen was right again.

Was she ever not?

Point.

From here until we reach the surface, we'll be getting more crumbling and dust every few moments.



Medea and Mizu are out! What do you wanna do?

Relax. Everything feels like it'll just work out right now.

Mmm… you're right, but I still have all this energy. I feel like I barely did anything!

Don't be silly. You helped yesterday, you worked… Uh, Ppodae?

That still doesn't feel like much. Mizu's out working with WhiteNight right now, and Medea's protecting all of us from Punishing Bird's breaches.

Trust me, it's enough that you're here.



For the next energy breakpoint, nothing else happens. A keeps talking to us, though.



Ten years, wasn't it?

For them. For us, it was closer to ten thousand.

Shame I only really remember about 60 days or so of it.

Trust me. That's not a shame at all.



Attention, all hands. Please brace for impact. We may see some mild functionality loss in the near future.

Functionality loss?

Eh, you'll see.



At 1200, we break through to the surface.



Oh come on, it can't be that bad…



And lay eyes on the city for the first time in countless days.

Holy crap. It is that bad.

This is where Day 50 can become a problem. For some reason, from this point forward the only functions that still work are clicking on Abnormality cells and on the work boxes that come up after. We can't click off of them to deselect things. We can't box and right click to move agents. We can't click on agents to wake them up if Parasite Tree grabs them. We can't use bullets anymore. If something were to breach right now, we would be at an incredible disadvantage.

Luckily, that shouldn't happen unless we're playing like idiots.



Hey… D.A.D. is doing repression work on Queen of Hatred while she's hysteric.

So they are.

Why are they doing that?

Because I misclicked..?

…

Maybe they'll manage to get a good result?



You had one. Job.

It's fine, it's fine. I'll just why can't I control anyone?!

What part of 'mild functionality loss' did you not get? We just rammed through several hundred feet of rock!

That's not mild functionality loss!

Well I didn't think you'd let an Abnormality out!

...hey. Managers.



Sounds like you've got just the thing to take my mind off of all this crap.

Yes. Please, do your thing.



While we can't use any of our normal options to deal with the Queen of Hatred, we can still order agents to Suppress her by clicking on her cell after a breach. Tenebrais, Twee, Chinely, Medea, and Mr.Black all get sent to handle her-their strong Black resistance is going to be important since we can't protect them. They'll head automatically to her location in Control and attack.



She fires her laser, but this group can outdamage it. Once she's done firing, she does something a little odd.



She teleports down to Extraction, waits for a couple of seconds at most…



And winds up here, in Control again. Unlike before, any beam Queen of Hatred fires will cut right through the main room of Control and damage Bishop, Omni, and Chinely. We need to get them out of the way, but we can't actually control them.



We can assign them some work to do, though.

Agents who have been assigned work will walk towards wherever we tell them to go. Since the entire Control team is so fast…



By the time the laser starts, everyone's safely in their own cell. Bishop will only have ~11 seconds before he pops back out, but by then the laser should be done.



Once more, for old times' sake, eh?

Seems that way.

Bleh. This feels like I'm just phoning it in.

It is the E.G.O that does most of the work…

You know what I mean. It feels different.



In the end, our team puts Queen of Hatred down before she can do any real damage to us. While the interface is much more difficult to use now, it's still possible to suppress most conventional Abnormalities with it.

You actually pulled it off...

I guess I didn't get this far for nothing? Now, let's never speak of this again.

Agreed.





This quote was supposed to come at 1200, but I think it may have been delayed by Queen of Hatred's breach.

Almost ready to switch this baby on. Attention all agents, please put on the sunglasses we have prepared for you.

Is this why they were the standard emergency toolkit?

You mean in the standard emergency toolkit.

I know what I said.





At 1350, the screen flashes…



As our facility begins to emit a bright beam of light into the sky.

...It's beautiful…

That's the result of all our hard work, born from our psyche. You feel that tingling, right?

Yeah.



If there's anyone you want to say goodbye to… you should. The sublimation process has already begun.

Is that why I hear the Moonlight Sonata?

...no, no it is not. Is someone working with La Luna?



Tenebrais?!

Sup, boss.

What are you doing? That's not-

Well, someone managed to stop me from feeling angry about the bullshit that went down yesterday. You, I'm guessing.

Unfortunate byproduct of us fixing the world.

Uh-huh. Well, since I don't feel like crying or screaming, and beating the crap out of an Abnormality didn't feel like anything... I'm doing this. For Sorcrane, and mosshead, and my sister. The others too, I guess.

But why Moonlight Sonata?

Stupid Abnormality only knows the one song.

Ah. Look… Sorry I couldn't-

Shut up. I don't want your pity. This is just how things end around here. Normally, I'd knock some lockers over. Can't do that. So I'm playing. The damn. Piano.

Yes ma'am.



I'm feeling really good about today.

Boss would've wanted us to live every day to the fullest.

Then we'll do that.

It's weird that they're not mourning him…

Well, it is Boksi.

Hey, he's pretty okay. Now.

Was pretty okay now.

Forget it, this is making my head hurt.

No, that's the beam of light we're shooting into the air.



At 1425-ish I get my next update. The city itself lights up.



Oh… good. We're almost done.

You holding up okay..?

Just tired. Moreso than usual, even though nothing's been happening today.

Mm. That's normal. We've taken quite a lot out of ourselves already.

What if… I need a minute to collect myself?

...Mmm… since it's based on our energy count, you could call Der Freischütz.



On a side note, Der Shooty's mouse is flipped today when he's hired-though the trailing bullets behind it are not. I don't know why this makes me smile, but it does.

Better?

Yeah. I've set everyone... _{everyone to go.}

Alright then. It's time.





At 1450, we get one last message. The City is bathed with light, and there's only a little more energy to get.

No second thoughts, right?

_{Why're you asking questions… that you already know the answer to..?}

Alright then. Get ready. When this ends, so does our work.

<sub>Right. I know just... how to end it...



Let's go… go out the same way we started… way back then. Mizu?</sub>

Yessir?

_{Go... say hi... to One Sin... One more time. After that… Bear brand Beer... for everyone. On… on the company's dime.}

Okeedokie!



Hey, Mizu? You hear anything from X?

Just to work with Onesie! It's been a while, I hope it still likes me.

Huh. He went offline right after he gave that final order…

You worry too much.



:skeltal:

Oh, Onesie. You always know just what to say.

The second we hit 1500 energy, the day immediately ends.





_{We… did good, right?}

There's no way for us to know. But… I think so.



The camera begins to pan up, alongside the beam of light.



And as the day ends, we're hit by Day 50's one completely unavoidable death.



Ours.

Music: You are a giant


The screen fades back in to the beam of light firing out of our facility.



The tree cultivated from the process of infinite possibilities is closer to the sky; it is more fierce than anything else. The borders between the past and the future, reality and illusion, the body and the mind, space and time… They all were slowly fading away.



But I know that it is not just nothingness. You shall be the infinite light.



Remember this name of ours. Now…



In the end, Ayin repeats Carmen's own advice back to us.





So ends Lobotomy Corporation's main story! Project Moon was a bunch of untested amateurs when they made this game-and it shows in a lot of the janky programming and odd bugs-but their earnestness shines through and the atmosphere of everything makes for a very good game overall. The names on either side of the beam of light are the names of Tumblbug backers.



Anyways, this has been my first Let's Play. Like most things involving Lobotomy Corporation it was an exercise in spinning a dozen plates while half of them are on fire. Even though I made a number of errors, I think it worked out for the best overall. I honestly don't know what things would have ended up like if I hadn't accidentally lost the footage all the way back on day 3, and frankly I think making that update helped me hammer down exactly what I wanted to write. I feel like I've more 'gotten lucky' than 'been skilled' when making this LP, if that makes sense.



I really do like the new Translation, and CKC did a great job with it. Project Moon was even kind enough to put in all of the people who helped them with proofing+testing the new translation when they updated the game-considering that this project started as an unofficial fan translation, that was really nice of them. It's also a little embarrassing, because...



I helped out a bit with testing how the new tutorial looked and read, so... Turns out I'm in the credits now. Speaking of which, now that we've beaten the game I should probably play the tutorial sometime, huh?

Anyways, the credits cover a lot of other categories-mostly translation based, but there's one more person to thank.



This thread wouldn't be what it is without everyone chiming in, making cool art or miniature stories, sharing theories, and just enjoying watching a really hard game getting taken apart. Thanks to all of you for an amazing thread. Seriously, it's been amazing.

Setting that aside, once the credits are over we go back to the main menu. However, it's had some changes.

Music: Wind ambiance


This is the new title screen for having beaten the game without hitting 100% Abnormality Dissolution. Our beam of light is firing into the air, seeding the world with new possibilities like we planned. The options have been moved to the right, and clicking on the L in the bottom-left will still wipe our save data if we want to. Challenge Mode is now open as well, which we'll cover another time.

There's still the 100% completion cutscene left to see... but outside of that the story of Lobotomy Corporation is now over.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation:
The Seed of Light Scenario Status: COMPLETE
Distribution of Light Status: IN PROGRESS
Please wait. . . . . . . . .

New Guidelines

Schadenfreude
The Lady Facing the Wall

New Gear


Requirements: Temperance 2, Prudence 2
*Not affected by Attack Speed


Requirements: None
*Bonus effect applies whenever Employee is anywhere on the screen at all


Requirements: Prudence 2


Requirements: None

New Story

Schadenfreude
The Lady Facing the Wall

Bonus

VIDEO: Day 50
VIDEO: Ending+Credits

[TeeQueue]

For anyone who's worried about the entire LP ending right here, don't be. X may be as dead as Uncle Ben, but I've still got a lot more to do. This post is going to basically be my checklist, so that if I've forgotten anything someone can ask about it and I can go "OH RIGHT THAT" or "I'm good, thanks, but you can talk about it."

In the order I think of it:

-Architecture Bonus Content
-Abnormality Roundup for Architecture Abnnos
-Challenge mode showcase + show off our remaining abnos' penalties for working them badly
-Better Call Paul: The complete series (Rolling up the data from the gameplay days + abno roundup + mishandling them all into one post, doing this for the remaining abnos in game)
-Show off Abnormality Storage Glitch and some of the exclusive dummied out tester equipment; also, break the game
-Finally show off the Tutorial and learn how to play maybe?
-Get 100% completion cutscene
-Consider sleeping

[Gespenst]

This LP was a wonderful ride, you sold me on a copy of the game really early (and now that it's hit the end I finally feel safe starting up LoR)
it really is a shame that I hit a point of burn-out in the middle layer because the game was really fun, just a lot of work to get thrown away because Nothing There got grumpy and ate one of my best Agents really late in a day.

[AweStriker]

Screaming Wedge suit requirements say “go here” instead of… whatever they’re supposed to be.

[Seniorswitchback]

Well that was a from start to not quite finish. I wish I could say thank you enough for this since between this and LoR the series has jumped to one of my favorites out there. And I think I there’s a major thanks from all of us for letting the group participation work out. This may not be the end but a fitting conclusion for X/A. But not for the many, many deaths of Paul that are sure to come, truly the real hero of Lobotomy Corperation.

[cryptologicalMystic]

Day 49 hurt my heart, a lot. I started drawing this right after the relevant update came out and made this account solely to post it.



(I don't know what the etiquette around in-post images is here, so if I've messed something up, please tell me so I can fix it!)

Thank you for making this LP, TQ. I don't have words to describe just how much I love it.

[TeeQueue]

Day 49 hurt my heart, a lot. I started drawing this right after the relevant update came out and made this account solely to post it.



(I don't know what the etiquette around in-post images is here, so if I've messed something up, please tell me so I can fix it!)

Thank you for making this LP, TQ. I don't have words to describe just how much I love it.

I don't know what the ettiquite is, but this is great and I like it a lot.

also thanks AweStriker for the catch. I'l lfix it. It should say 'None.'

[DKII]

That was kind of anti-climactic after Day 49. More of an epilogue I guess. Weird that the whole interplay with Angela never went anywhere; maybe we'll see more in the 100% scene?

Anyway the narrative you had going was great and I really enjoyed reading through this thread, even having never heard of this game before. So thank you.

[BeachedSpider]

The game is wonderful and your LP has been equally as wonderful. honestly, updates from this project has been something I've consistently looked forward to since it started, and although I know you're not finished quite yet, I want to say thank you in advance for all the work you've put in!

[Gespenst]

I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it seems to me like the ending was basically creating a gigantic god-machine to perform an act of creation in order to fix society's turbo-depression by literally creating hope.
I'm not sure if I'm completely off-base here, but that's what it looked like to me.

[TeeQueue]

Abnormality Roundup 12

Normally this is where I talk about my feelings on how the facility is doing, but that's sort of no longer an issue. Instead, I have a silly contest to announce the winners of: the Retry Count guessing game. Let's see where the Retry Count wound up as of the end of day 50.

Retry count: 17

Yes, that does mean that day 47, 48, and 49 were all clean 1st tries for me. I did keep swearing I was good at this game. Anyways, that means our winners are…

Nanimani, Maigius, Sage Grimm, minutepiratebug, ConfusedPig, and azren

Congratulations to all six of you on your ULTIMATE BRAGGING RIGHTS!!!

Crumbling Armor



Crumbling Armor looks like a good early-game Justice trainer, but in practice this will lock earlygame Agents out of training their Temperance and make their lives more difficult. It actually works best as an Fortitude trainer for any Agent with 2+ Fortitude, and since its E.G.O gift is unquestionably the best in its slot for Agents who prioritize Justice over anything else it's a good plan to have agents who are done with training work Repression on it to get the guaranteed gift drop.

Between this, its inability to ever breach, and its early game Pale damage weapon Crumbling Armor makes for a solid pick for any facility-at worst taking only 1 extra LOB to make an Agent have Fortitude 2 to handle it.


Der Freischütz



Once we've either Suppressed Hod or gotten a basic Justice trainer to get our Justice up to 3, Der Shooty here is nothing but a benefit to any facility. His GUN ability allows us to remove Clerks quickly and cheaply before we get Execution Bullets, his Black damage type lets us train efficiently using any of his 3 available work types, and his weapon and suit are great for making a single Agent into a solo operative capable of dealing with Amber Dusk by themselves. His E.G.O gift is also one I value highly for its high Justice boost and the impeccable taste of having a pipe. There's very few reasons not to take this particularly nice Abnormality, and the only situation where I pass him over is when there's something else I want more, like a Bird or WhiteNight.


Beauty and the Beast



Remember way back at the start, everything I said about 1.76 MHz being a great Justice and Prudence trainer? Beauty and the Beast is the same, only rather than letting us pick between focusing one or the other it basically forces us to consistently go back and forth between them. Because I prefer being able to focus on Justice in the early game, this makes it slightly worse in my opinion. Still, it can't breach and it gives out far better gear than 1.76 MHz so there are upsides to taking it. Either one is good in the early game for getting our Agents' Justice stat up and running.


You're Bald...


All Bald Agents working with You're Bald… get an 85% boost to their Work Success rate.

You're Bald… is a meme and I love it.


Old Lady



Old Lady is a very demanding Abnormality, as any time an Agent enters a containment cell while she isn't being worked her QC will decrease by 1. At 0 she's mostly harmless, though, so this makes her overall a very safe Abnormality to keep around. She deals White damage, making her a good Insight trainer, and her Attachment rates can be helpful for getting a new agent up to Temperance 2 or 3 quickly. The biggest selling point for Old Lady, hough, is going to be her E.G.O weapon. It's a White damage gun, which can be invaluable when dealing with Wander-type panics in the early game. She's not very threatening, so there's little reason to avoid picking her if the alternatives are things that pose a higher risk.


Fragment of the Universe



Fragment of the Universe's Black damage type and good Attachment rates make it the hands-down best Temperance trainer in the early game. Its damage type can be a problem for Agents in the basic suit, but even equipping Penitence from One Sin is enough to make it a relatively safe work. On top of this it's a relatively nonthreatening breach for Hod's early missions, its Spear is one of the earliest sources of Black damage in the game, and Spears as a whole are generally very good weapons between attacking fast and having decent range. Moreover, a 0.6x Black multiplier on its suit is excellent up until we start regularly handling WAW Abnormalities, and can work fine even with most of those.

I was actually hoping for Fragment relatively early on in the run, but we didn't happen to run into it until it was well past the point where I'd grab it. Still, it's a solid pick.


Schadenfreude



Once we know Schadenfreude's trick, it serves a singular purpose in the facility: boosting our Agents's Justice stat into the stratosphere. It's very good at this trick, as it's got one of the best success rates for Repression work in the entire HE level. On top of that, its E.G.O suit is well-rounded and has a 1.5x Pale resistance with an additional defensive bonus to help break into working Judgment Bird. It also breaches for Hod/Gebura's missions, and is a completely free suppression so long as we just look away.

The hardest part of Schadenfreude is figuring out the initial gimmick behind it, once we've done that it's pure profit. It's really that simple.


The Lady Facing the Wall



Due to how the Work Success rates are calculated, that Attachment number ensures that each box has a 95% chance of success. Setting that aside, The Lady Facing the Wall is… interesting. She's a decent Justice trainer to get up to 3, which is where we want to be for things like Der Shooty, but other than that her numbers aren't great for her damage type. Her QC decreasing on Attachment works also means that any low-powered Agents and Clerks in her department are doomed if we go for her best work type. Her jumpscare is nowhere near as bad as it used to be back in the beta, though, so that's really the only penalty.

Her weapon is a HE-level ranged White weapon, which sounds good until it's been equipped on an agent with less than Fortitude+Prudence 3 and it makes them panic. Once we've finished Hod's suppression it's remarkably solid, though, and more ranged White damage is never bad. Overall she's a fairly safe pick since even at her worst she's doing mostly chip damage to our Agents-she's only really dangerous when she goes off and panics a bunch of Clerks while we have CRA's in the facility.

[TeeQueue]

Architecture Team Bonus Content

Team description + Agent bonuses

Captain bonus: All stats +7
*Architecture team has no Clerks, and thus no Clerk bonus

Team armband


Abel sprite


Abram sprite


Adam sprite


Ayin sprite


Carmen sprite


Angela sprite


Assorted story backgrounds
Day 46


Day 47


Day 48


Day 49


Day 50


Standard Angela background


Carmen Memories background


Hokma Beach


Da'at background (Thanks Miinipaa)

[TeeQueue]

Tutorial + Bunny

Lobotomy Corporation's Tutorial is a 3-part affair that tells us how the game's controls work, and it can be accessed from the main menu at any time. After sitting down and getting it all recorded, I decided the best way to deal with it would be to make a video of the thing-otherwise we'd have roughly 120 screenshots of tutorial with nothing in the middle.

VIDEO: Tutorial

The Abnormality we deal with in the Tutorial is completely unique to it: Abnormality 0-00-00, Standard Training-Dummy Rabbit. I stitched together images from the tutorial to get a full (albeit mostly darkened) Abnormality page for it, and grabbed its story as well. Both are here:





The Standard Training-Dummy Rabbit's appearance is actually a reference to the way Employees looked in early builds of Lobotomy Corporation, specifically this early trailer from Project Moon.

If you flip the guy in it upside down and put him in a bodybag…



It bears a pretty neat resemblance! It turns out that L Corporation can even find a continued use for its obsolete employees.

[Kacie]

I teared up at the end of the game. Excellent writing, TeeQueue. And congrats on the translation, too!

Thank you very much for sharing this game and writing for the characters.

[TeeQueue]

Sephirot + Rabbit Dialogues

Because of how I played through Lobotomy Corporation, there wound up being a lot of Sephirot heads-up dialogue that we never got to see. In addition, the Rabbits are quite chatty and I'd like to put Myo's normal text somewhere around as well. So this is a post for all of that.

Rabbits

On calling the Rabbits:
Just leave it to the Rabbits.

The Rabbits have come to graze the grass.

Hippity hop~ It’s time for the Rabbits to graze some fresh grass.

On losing 50% of Rabbits:
Half of the Rabbits have returned to the grasslands.

Half of the Rabbit Team’s Wiped Out:. Not gonna lie, the monsters in this place are a goddamn nuisance.

Welp, that half of the Rabbits was ready to die. This amount of death is mostly seen in missions exploring the Outskirts or clearing through the Ruins.

On losing 80% of the Rabbits:
80% forever out of commission. Missions in the Outskirts would be more profitable than this.

80% of my Rabbit Team gone for good. Who was the madman that thought keeping these monsters in the city instead of beyond the Outskirts was a good idea?

On all Rabbits being killed:
All the Rabbits are Wiped Out:. Sigh… Good luck with the rest of the situation.

The whole Rabbit Team has returned to the grasslands. This mission has failed.

They’re all dead. I’d rather take on expeditions to the Outskirts or the Ruins than be involved in this place.

On successful Suppression:
Thank you for the meal, it was satisfying.

Call us again sometime, all we need is some grass.

If I could, I would have participated directly myself.

The mission is complete. We’ll now forget everything that has occurred here.

On warping in:
The Rabbits have come to graze the grass.

Commencing assignment.

Uproot the field.

Gnaw it all away.

On engaging a Clerk:
How unlucky you must be.

You’re forsaken by this company.

Another to purify.

On engaging an Agent:
Even if you wield a fancy weapon, it will be just grass to the Rabbits.

You and I are fundamentally different.

At least your weapon seems useful.

Another to eliminate.

Seems you have some good equipment.

On engaging a TETH:
Risk level low.

Removing target immediately.

This is barely a warm-up.

On engaging a HE:
Risk level moderate.

Just like dealing with those kids from the Backstreets.

What weird monsters.

There are tons of creatures like this scattered around in the Ruins.

We could work up a bit of sweat with this one.

On engaging a WAW:
Risk level high.

It’s been a while since we fought a target as dangerous as this.

Did they bring these things from the Outskirts or something?

Why not use these things in the Wing Wars?

God, this place is crazy.

On engaging an ALEPH:
Maximum risk level.

Just what the hell is this place?

I don’t think something like this can be handled by just us Rabbits alone.

They’re mad to use beings from beyond the Outskirts.

I thought these kinds of freaks were only seen in the depths of the Ruins.

On Panicking (Remember that Rabbits die when they would panic):
Maximum mental corruption reached. Commencing automatic disposal.

Automatic disposal to eliminate all human risk.

On successful Suppression:
Mission has been completed.

We return now.

There’s no more grass to eat.

What a rough meal.

Sephirot heads-up quotes

On Agent Panic:
Manager! [Agent]’s gone mad, please handle them soon!

I suppose [Agent]’s mind was weaker than I evaluated, please take care of them quickly!

Manager, [Agent] is currently panicking. Please deal with them quickly.

Maybe it’s not just [Agent]’s fault for going mad, manager.

On Agent Death:
[Agent] has stopped moving. We’ll need to improve the joint-training programs!

I know [Agent] has died, manager, but please complete your duty!

[Agent] isn’t moving anymore. I’m sure their death wasn’t in vain. We did our best.

[Agent] may have died, but I know you can finish the day, manager.

On Breach:
[Abnormality] has escaped its Containment Unit. What are your orders?

Manager, [Abnormality] has broken out. Can you dispatch some Agents to deal with it?

Once you confirm that [Abnormality] has escaped and handle it accordingly, this place will return to peace.

[Abnormality] has broken out. Everyone, please be careful.

Team Wiped Out:
The Control Team has been Wiped Out:. Did I overestimate your abilities, manager?

The Control Team has been completely annihilated. Are you sure you did your best?

All of the employees from my department have died, manager. I’m certain everyone tried their best.

The Control Team has been annihilated.

On Agent Panic:
Manager, [Agent] has lost their mind due to a rapid increase in mental corruption. Please assess the situation with haste before more problems are caused.

My subordinate, [Agent], has gone into a panic due to excessive stress. Please take care of them quickly for the sake of the rest of the workforce.

Manager, please look into [Agent]’s abnormal mental state before they cause more accidents.

[Agent] has gone mad due to their high levels of stress. Please hurry, there may still be time to save them.

On Agent Death:
[Agent] from the Information Department is dead. Please pay more attention to our employees, manager.

[Agent], my subordinate, has died because of your incompetence. Nothing will be able to compensate for the employee’s death.

I have confirmed that [Agent] from my team has died.

[Agent] is dead. It is unfortunate, however, please remind yourself that this place isn’t an ever controllable paradise.

On Breach:
[Abnormality] has escaped its Containment Unit. We must suppress and recontain it as soon as possible.

Were you aware that [Abnormality] escaped from its containment? If not, I must say that your ability as the manager should be called into question.

[Abnormality] has broken out of its Containment Unit. Please suppress it quickly, as always.

[Abnormality] has escaped its Containment Unit. Let’s figure out how to overcome this situation.

Team Wiped Out:
…The Information Team has lost all available personnel, requesting reinforcements.

Clearly your poor judgement is what has led to the total annihilation of the Information Department.

Every employee from the Information Team has died.

Additional reinforcements from other departments are needed. All personnel from the Information Team are dead.

On Agent Panic:
Hey, manager? [Agent] from the Safety Team’s gone nuts, can you check them out?

I think [Agent] from Safety is a bit unstable right now. Could you watch ‘em for a bit? Though they’ll probably go insane again anyway…

Manager, [Agent]’s mental state isn’t the best. Please check up on them.

Even if it may be a temporary solution, please check in on [Agent].

On Agent Death:
[Agent]’s died… Looks like the Safety Team wasn’t “safe” after all…

[Agent] from Safety has died… Guess their “safe” life ends here today.

[Agent] is dead now, but I don’t think you should give up just yet, manager.

I think [Agent] deserved to stay in this world more than I do.

On Breach:
You probably want to know that [Abnormality] has escaped… I know it’s tiring, but please try to take care of it quickly.

[Abnormality] broke out. Boy, can we get any more hopeless?

Please pay attention to [Abnormality]. You know what kind of disaster could happen, manager.

[Abnormality] broke out. Please show a bit of effort so not all hope is lost.

Team Wiped Out:
Safety’s been Wiped Out:. If there’s anything you want to say, I can listen.

My team’s been completely beat. I see stuff like this a lot… but I always feel helpless…

All of Safety’s employees are dead… I did see you try your best though, manager.

All my department’s people are dead… I can never get used to this.

On Agent Panic:
Um… manager? [Agent] from the Training Team is acting weird! Please pay close attention to them!

Hey, manager? [Agent] looks really fragile right now. I hope they’ll recover soon…

Manager, [Agent] from my team seems to be panicking.

[Agent]’s mental state seems very unstable. Please make sure they don’t get any worse.

On Agent Death:
[Agent] has died… Did you see how they looked? I… I saw their desperate expression…

Manager, [Agent] is dead… I knew I should have worked harder…

[Agent] died. I know you might be feeling guilty, but please, don’t give up here.

Manager, [Agent] has died. You and I, we… We tried our best, but we failed…

On Breach:
Manager! Please look into [Abnormality]’s current position! Hurry, many will get hurt!

[Abnormality] has escaped. You've got to suppress it as quickly as you can, manager!

Manager, if we don’t suppress [Abnormality] soon, many of our employees may get hurt.

Um, please take care of [Abnormality].

Team Wiped Out:
A—All of them are dead? That can’t be true… I worked so hard for them…

……I-I couldn’t help them… What do I do…

All of my coworkers are dead…

…I’m going to keep working hard… I won’t give up, even if things like this happen in the future…

Tiphereth is interesting. The translators left this note in the files:
<!-- Hello, CKC here! The Tiphereths have some duplicate lines, so we've differentiated them just a bit for pre- and post-suppression →
I checked the original Korean text, and what I found is that the lines that never change are all the ones that Tiphereth B says. Just like how when Tiphereth A is down for Suppression B's lines will still play, it appears that successfully Suppressing Tiphereth A wasn't supposed to have any effect on Tiphereth B. He never changed, after all.

I don't know where I'm going with any of this, I just find it fascinating.

On Agent Panic:
Do you even keep your eyes open? Can’t you see that [Agent]’s mental corruption is through the roof?

[Agent] seems to be mentally unwell. You still have time to salvage them if you pay attention right now.

[Agent] from my department has already reached dangerous mental corruption levels.

[Agent] doesn’t look good. You still have time to get them back to normal if you pay attention right now.

On Agent Death:
I didn’t expect you to be worse than the Upper Sephirot. You could have stopped [Agent]’s death if you paid more attention.

[Agent] from the Central Department has died. Seeing such incidents makes me so sad.

[Agent]’s died. Chin up, will you? I still have a lot of expectations for you.

[Agent] from my Central Team has died. Seeing someone pass like that makes me so sad.

On Breach:
Clearly the managers before you handled Abnormalities way better than you. [Abnormality] is on the loose!

[Abnormality] broke out of its Containment Unit. Let’s suppress it before it wreaks havoc.

[Abnormality] has escaped. I believe you can do better than your predecessors

[Abnormality] broke out of its Containment Unit. We’d better go and take care of it before the situation ends up worse.

Team Wiped Out:
They should have made me the manager… The Central Department is no more.

My whole department is gone, I hope you did your best.

The entire Central Team has been annihilated. It’s too soon to give into despair, though. We’ve been through worse.

My whole team is gone, but I still trust that you did your best.

On Agent Panic:
Doesn’t it look like [Agent] is in a bad state?

[Agent] has gone mad. Clearly we accidentally allowed a coward into our department.

[Agent] must be going through some mental issues. Hurry and take a look at them.

[Agent]’s gone crazy. I’m sure they fought as hard as they could, right?

On Agent Death:
[Agent] has died. They were a valiant employee.

[Agent]’s dead. Ready to avenge them?

[Agent] has died. They were brave to the very end.

[Agent]’s dead. Don’t let anger over their loss have its way with you.

On Breach:
It’s time to show what we’re made of. [Abnormality] has broken out. Time to teach that damn thing a lesson.

You ready, manager? It's time to take down [Abnormality].

[Abnormality] has escaped! …No need for panic, let’s take a moment to plan our course of action.

Manager, let me know when you’re ready. You know, for handling [Abnormality]’s escape. I’ll be waiting.

Team Wiped Out:
Disciplinary’s employees have been Wiped Out:. They had noble deaths in my department, tragic of course, but I’m sure they tried their best.

All of my department’s employees have been slaughtered. Never forget what happened here today. Next time, show those damned things no mercy.

All the employees on my team have died. Their deaths are noble ones.

My whole team is annihilated. Make sure to remember their faces and their stories.

On Agent Panic:
Geez, manager. Do I really have to remind you that [Agent] has gone mad for you to notice?

[Agent] has lost it. Really, you should pay some attention to them.

Hey manager, [Agent]’s sanity doesn’t seem to be in a good spot.

[Agent] seems to be dealing with a mental break. Give ‘em the care they need, manager.

On Agent Death:
[Agent] is dead. You’re paying attention to all this, right?

[Agent] has died… Man, I need another cup of coffee.

[Agent] has died, time to grab some coffee. I’ll be back quick, manager.

[Agent] is dead. Let’s be more careful next time.

On Breach:
Hey manager, [Abnormality] is on the loose right now. Pretty bad stuff will happen if you don’t suppress it soon.

You aren’t taking a nap, are you, manager? [Abnormality] has broken out of its Containment Unit.

Hey manager, [Abnormality] is on the loose right now. Horrible things could happen if you don’t suppress it soon.

Manager? [Abnormality] has escaped its Containment Unit. You should suppress it as quick as you can before it causes irreversible damage.

Team Wiped Out:
Welp, all my competent employees are dead now. How are you going to compensate me for all this?

Geez, how’d you even become the manager in the first place? The whole department is dead. It’s all over.

All of my employees have died. I knew their deaths were bound to happen someday, but it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Don’t worry about it too hard, manager. I saw you tried your best.

The Lower Layer's Sephirot each only have two lines per category, because they don't actually undergo any changes during their Suppressions. Again, it's a really neat attention to detail.

On Agent Panic:
The spirit of [Agent] is now lost in the realm of dreams.

The boundary of [Agent] has crumbled. This employee won’t return to us easily.

On Agent Death:
I can hear the thrilling sound of life’s end for [Agent].

[Agent]’s early demise shall become another one of the numerous tombstones of this place.

On Breach:
[Abnormality] has escaped from its Containment Unit and vagabonds through the facility. Perhaps we’ll get to see something interesting for once.

[Abnormality] has left its Containment Unit. Mayhaps it was too small to hold it?

Team Wiped Out:
Ah, silence, one of my best companions. No one remains.

After one’s final breath, only silence lingers.

On Agent Panic:
It appears [Agent]’s mental state is unstable.

[Agent] is wandering about, aimlessly searching for the sanity which they have lost.

On Agent Death:
A new employee shall come and replace anew the now deceased [Agent]. The cycle continues.

There is no need to suffer harshly for the loss of [Agent].

On Breach:
[Abnormality] has escaped. I do not wish to see you suffer for the death of your employees.

Death follows the trails of [Abnormality]’s escape. Please be careful.

Team Wiped Out:
That’s okay. If there is another chance for you, use this failure and loss as a stepping stone to do better next time.

There’s no need to cling to them. Now then, let’s try again next time.

[TeeQueue]

Challenge Mode



Today I'll be giving a quick overview of Challenge Mode, a new mode which unlocks once we beat Day 50 and hit the credits.



When selected, it pulls us up to the deployment screen for day 51, with the same exact setup we had when we last beat the game. There are a couple of changes, however. First off, every department has the "Conditions Not Met" sign next to its name-supposedly we used to be able to refight the Sephirot and that was patched out, leaving this as a relic. Either way, the highest Ordeal level shows as Dawn. This is a lie, as day 51 has no ordeals-but they do start showing up again on day 52 onward. There's also another change that's possible to see before starting, but it's a bit more hidden. We have to bring up an Abnormality's info to see it.





All of those nice bonuses we've been getting to our Work Success are gone now. This means that we'll get fewer successes on our works overall, and it changes a lot of our calculations for working with WAW and ALEPH abnormalities after they start getting Overload penalties.



Starting the day, a few other things become apparent. In no particular order:
-Like day 46-50, only 5 Clerks per department
-Architecture keeps its Day 50 design
-Da'at remains between Records+Extraction
-All department Meltdown Resistances have been removed.

Additionally, we no longer get Memory Repository checkpoints. Challenge mode is a marathon from day 51 every time we start. No more Abnormalities get chosen, either, so what we see is what we get.

As a side note, Da'at's existence breaks a couple of Ordeals-any ordeal which spawns itself on a per-department basis will never be cleared during Challenge Mode, because the game doesn't spawn a group in Da'at but will nonetheless be looking for Ordeal defeats as if it had. In effect this means some ordeals just won't give us bonus energy. Oh well!

Our energy goal starts at 1290, and increases by 30 each day. In general if you can beat the game then Challenge Mode should just be a sort of playground to test various things out or focus on the main game loop if it's what you're into.

I'm in a hurry, though, so I've slapped on a mod which allows me to access the game's console commands. Now, by pressing the ` key a command prompt comes up. There are a number of console commands we can use-when I post a list of all the mods I used I'll include a link to more thorough documentation-but there's only one that matters for our purposes.



We type in the magic words (a reference to a book series whose author should really stop talking), hit enter, and instantly get 9999 energy towards our goal.



This instantly clears the day and lets us continue. I then do this about another 48 or so times. In total, it takes ~an hour and a half due to load times. Each day gives us 7 LOB, so it's quite possible to build up a new group of agents should we lose a few along the way.



Anyways, here's us an hour and a half later. Don't worry about the missing Agents on the right, I used them for some other content I needed to get. Any losses or gains from Challenge mode don't count towards our actual save-this is all just for fun.



I load in to day 99, beat the day, and click to advance.



This day took ~13 seconds all told. My average time spent on a day was closer to 3 seconds-the load times associated with a larger facility can get to be pretty bad and since we'd be playing so much in a row to get this far legitimately the memory leak could become an issue as well. Still, we finally get to see what happens if we hit day 100. When we hit continue...



During the loading screen, the game loops us back around to day 1...



And then restarts, kicking us back to the title screen. Day 99 is the absolute end of Challenge Mode, and any attempts to go further will cause the game to restart. There are no prizes for getting to the end, only the satisfaction of knowing you're very good at gathering energy. Congratulations!

[TeeQueue]

Miscellaneous Horrible Death Showcase

It's time to cover the remaining negative effects of our facility's Abnormalities. This was all done in Challenge mode, on day 51. This is going to be in no particular order, so sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the horrible death!

Skin Prophecy



I've mentioned before that Skin Prophecy kills agents on panic, so I shoved Murdoc into the book and then threw them at The Dreaming Current. We'll need people to panic in there to lower its QC, so it's a convenient Abnormality for showing this off.



It's Lovecraftian tentacles, all the way down.

Crumbling Armor

Crumbling Armor says that it will kill any Agent working it with a Fortitude of 1.



We test that with an Agent custom-made for it. If I'd been thinking this would be one of the ones submitted for the thread… but I was not thinking, so this is just some random.



Honestly, it's no big loss. The death happens after the work is done instead of at the start of it, but otherwise is identical to the Attachment work death we saw from Twee earlier.

The Dreaming Current

Alright, now for one that has a little more meat to it. The only ways to get The Dreaming Current's QC to breach normally are by working it with a Temperance of 1, or by having an Agent panic in its room. When it does breach, though, it can make a lot of trouble.



When it initially breaches, it rests at the end of a corridor. When it does, several corridors get marked with a strange rainbowy effect.



These hallways cut the speed of any Agent in them by 60% (Thanks MiiNiPaa!). They're also supposed to drain HP and restore SP of the Agents in them, but that's bugged and never happens. These hallways represent The Dreaming Current's territory. After a few seconds of resting, it starts to move.



It is very fast, so much so that Agents can't really expect to hit it while it's moving.



It also deals 150 Red damage to anything in its path as it charges. This clerk is incredibly dead.



As it charges, The Dreaming Current will blast through every one of the hallways that it's marked in a random order, until it reaches the other end of its path. Once it hits that end, it pauses, rests for a moment, and charges in the other direction back the way it came. Because of this, there are only two spots in the entire facility where The Dreaming Current is vulnerable.

Suppressing it is basically just a matter of waiting for it to get to one end or the other, and then attacking it.



It doesn't take long, as the drugshark only has a total of 200 HP to burn through.



This concludes The Dreaming Current-it's intimidating up until we see that the places where it stops aren't random, and once we realize that it stops being a real threat.

Warm-Hearted Woodsman

We've seen Woodsman drop to 0 QC a number of times across the LP, but we've never actually worked it while it was at 0 because we knew it would kill someone instantly.

So let's kill someone instantly!







Woodsman crumples up the Agent sent to work with it, and crams them into the open part of its chest before walking around.



Woodsman has two different attacks, a single slash and a multi-hit combo that deals signifigant damage. It's actually able to defeat Lightli in single combat, despite their decent Red resistance.



It winds up beating Lightli using its multi-hit Axe attack, which has the effect of destroying the body of the Agent it kills. This is unfortunate, because I was hoping to show off its other ability. Woodsman can pick up corpses and slam them into the cavity on its chest to recover its HP.



Its main weakness is its short range, letting us kite it around with ranged attacks-and for a facility as tough as ours is it can't really do much if it does breach.

The Little Prince

Our little blue mushroom friend has two main abilities. The first happens when someone works on it five times in a row.



The Little Prince reveals its true form, and the Agent inside is transformed into a spore monster.



It fills the hallway with spores that don't do anything, and attacks for Black damage.



Upon its defeat, all agents in the same room as it get a dark blue spore effect around their head for several seconds-this inflicts low White damage for a period of time. Any Agents panicked by it run for The Little Prince's containment cell to trigger another transformation.



Here's a close-up of the spore monster. Additionally, it can possess a random agent when its QC hits 0. This possession can be removed by clicking on the agent multiple times, just like with Parasite Tree.

The Naked Nest

I ran into one major problem when trying to trigger The Naked Nest's negative effect.



Our agents are too damn beefy! This is the best result I got in my preliminary attempts,and T.Hinman here only has a ~30% chance to become infected. When I say this thing is safe to a developed facility, I mean it. I wind up swapping over to Gaia, who has 30 fewer HP than T.



After two more attempts, we finally get hit by the infection. In this state the infection can spread randomly to other Employees, so a wandering Clerk can easily result in a large number of Employees all getting infected at once. It has a startup time, so if the day is ended during this part the Agent will be alright.



Once they transform, however, it's too late.



The Agent will wander the facility and attack anyone they come across for low Red damage, only ignoring other infected Employees. Unlike most transformations, however, the Agent will still count as an Agent. There's no LOB penalty for ending the day with them like this as it doesn't count as a death (though they still vanish), and they still gain HP/SP from the regenerators.



This also means they count as an Agent for Punishing Bird, so Gaia makes the one mistake you never want to make in this facility.



Even if you're an Abnormality now, Punishing Bird will not take your shit.

Beauty and the Beast

This is a short gif of what happens should we do Repression work Beauty and the Beast twice in a row.



It dies, and the Agent becomes a new one through a horrifying transformation process! Nothing major, really.

Fragment of the Universe



When Fragment of the Universe breaches, its appearance changes slightly. It gains two attacks in this form, a Tentacle attack that deals low Black damage in melee range and a singing attack which deals White damage to an entire room.



Even Dimi can solo it at this point, but it can be troublesome in the very early game.

Behavior Adjustment

Behavior Adjustment's negative effect goes off either when the Agent holding it panics, or when they attempt to return it within 30 seconds of equipping it. The best way to show it off is to have an employee take it out of storage and put it right back.



This may seem cruel, but in my defense we all knew I'd be killing him off at some point this update.



When Behavior Adjustment kills someone, they pull out their own eyes and cackle madly until they finally die. It's honestly pretty damn metal.

Heart of Aspiration

Last but not least is Heart of Aspiration, a normally benign Abnormality. It also has an issue if it's returned early-in this case before the holder does any Suppression work.



We are going to be having Twee serve as our case study today.



Here's Twee before clicking 'Return' on the Heart's cell.



And right after. Unlike Behavior Adjustment, Heart's panic is instant, and it forces it to be the Murder-type as well.



Twee immediately goes to work murdering everyone.



And I call in the Rabbits. They're the last, best hope against…



Oh that's… that's not good at all.



Twee wipes out the entire Rabbit Team by herself, which refills her SP gauge thanks to the effect of her Paradise Lost weapon. This breaks the panic, but it also kind of breaks her scripting?



She continues to attack, even without anything to target and with her sanity restored. New bug discovered!

Issuing an order fixes the problem, so I order her to go back to the Safety main room.



Twee kind of scares me, you guys.

That's all for now-there's still one more Abnormality I need to talk about a little more, but I'll save her for next time.

[AweStriker]

Twee is pretty scary...