The Arbiter-looking person is the M-corp employee and she'll arrive soon - CALM.
The pipe-thing is near - PANIC!
In other news: Frank is cute, energy well spent.
That Hadache thing is worrying. Wonder if it's something anyone would get from the PRODUCTION room or just a unique reactin from D.
>Foster the Timekeeper's Schedule with Employee B and C. Can you fix its face?
>Entertain Atom Bomb Baby with the Agent. Have him go lovey dovey on it.
>Entertain Hard Times with Employee D. Tell it we might have a foreign threat for it to deal with and if it plays nice, maybe it can handle it.
>Warn Employee D about Hard Time's...habit of trying to pummel people.
>Peek into Employee F. We don't know too much about her.
>Employee A, FEEDED sounds stupid. But we like stupid. APPROVED!!!
I think we might want to be careful with little ms bomb
One of concepts is heartburst
Which doesn't sound good
Also the armor....... do we have a pen and paper so we can interview it by having it write its responses?
Also
Mayhaps we can declare an end of shift fight between Headstrong and an agent?
After we deal with the 'excess inventory' that is crawling through the pipes
Maybe make an announcement to avoid the plumbing or for something to come out of the plumbing?
You reckon the Armor is something like a reverse Ppodae + Woodsman where if we Foster it it kills the next Employee that works on it and possibly breaches?
I think we might want to be careful with little ms bomb
One of concepts is heartburst
Which doesn't sound good
Also the armor....... do we have a pen and paper so we can interview it by having it write its responses?
Also
Mayhaps we can declare an end of shift fight between Headstrong and an agent?
After we deal with the 'excess inventory' that is crawling through the pipes
Maybe make an announcement to avoid the plumbing or for something to come out of the plumbing?
Heartburst sounds like absolutely depriving the shit out of it, so I doubt we can accidently go down it. As for the other points: I'm pretty sure we have enough paper around to use.
Just find some blank stuff and give it to D, I approve of it.
As for the fight thing, yeah, I'm saving it to the end in case one of the other abnos or the Ordeal beats the shit out of him and it counts.
As for the reverse Foster thing
That could very well be possible. But if we could aim that ire somehow, we might be able to use it as a really nasty fighter. Kinda like if we could aim Woodsman to always target other abnos.
IF nothing else, killing D wouldn't be too much of an issue if that is the case.
Yeah
I don't think D is malignant at least
Though a question, Any of you looked at Lavos quest or read over protective monster quest
Me thinks D might be a 2 for 1 special if you catch my drift
That could very well be possible. But if we could aim that ire somehow, we might be able to use it as a really nasty fighter. Kinda like if we could aim Woodsman to always target other abnos.
IF nothing else, killing D wouldn't be too much of an issue if that is the case.
Yeah
I don't think D is malignant at least
Though a question, Any of you looked at Lavos quest or read over protective monster quest
Me thinks D might be a 2 for 1 special if you catch my drift
Edit also my advice consolidate posts, mods are touchy about this if I remember correctly
Hopefully being the key term. (Also I was referring to hard Times but that works too)
Also, any clue how the Schedule works? Because if either of the music submissions ended up going through secretly, things could end up very very bad.
Judging from the bits of info
An impromptu time adjuster except instead fiddling time directly it simply rewinds and fast forwards a person's 'narrative' or 'schedule', so arguably a retrace dodge for lack of a better term
Could also have some aspect of luck or fate manipulation to probably protect itself and its owner
Admittedly basing this on what limited info we have
Could be a simple artifact like the clock from L Corp, Could be tsukomogami esque being, an artifact with its own mind
All I know is that it isn't malignant and possibly friendly as long as we treat it right
Unlike those occult coalition guys in scp who tried to shred a benign teleporting chair via wood chipper and turned it into a splinter nightmare
Don't get me wrong
The only screwy aspect might be that it solidifies timelines meaning we can't alter our histories or that it might make things screwy with shift changes or will make ending the day once we complete our stuff mandatory or it gets annoyed with tardiness
It could have a downside
It just probably probably rear that side if we get lazy, complacent or dither and be 'late'
It might be that
But if it is it'll likely just take over the shift for us and make sure it gets done no matter the cost
Slave of the schedule and new world order kind of thing does paint a depressing vibe though not an orwellian one
Just a depressed extremist vibe or conspiracy member who has lost hope after being victorious
Don't be too sure
This ain't lobotomy corp despite being inspired by it
Who knows what anything can do
Could be utterly benign short term only to become a white night level entity by a later trigger we can only theorize
'Assume nothing
Anticipate everything' should be the creed we follow for this
I'm appeased by the discussion like an analysis devouring pagan god. LUCY *smells* hints out by being LUCY, so keep paying attention. Gentle reminder to use [] or > to finalize your vote on the course of action, otherwise I don't see it. Copying other people's votes is sufficient.
I'm appeased by the discussion like an analysis devouring pagan god. LUCY *smells* hints out by being LUCY, so keep paying attention. Gentle reminder to use [] or > to finalize your vote on the course of action, otherwise I don't see it. Copying other people's votes is sufficient.
Aye aye overseer
>Foster the Timekeeper's Schedule with Employee B and C. Can you fix its face?
>Entertain Atom Bomb Baby with the Agent. Have him go lovey dovey on it.
>Entertain Hard Times with Employee D. Tell it we might have a foreign threat for it to deal with and if it plays nice, maybe it can handle it.
>Warn Employee D about Hard Time's...habit of trying to pummel people.
>Peek into Employee F. We don't know too much about her.
>Employee A, FEEDED sounds stupid. But we like stupid. APPROVED!!!
I remember following the original version of this quest on 4chan. Good stuff. Glad to see it still around. Am horrible at voting so I'll just second these other suggestions, they look decent.
>Foster the Timekeeper's Schedule with Employee B and C. Can you fix its face?
>Entertain Atom Bomb Baby with the Agent. Have him go lovey dovey on it.
>Entertain Hard Times with Employee D. Tell it we might have a foreign threat for it to deal with and if it plays nice, maybe it can handle it.
>Warn Employee D about Hard Time's...habit of trying to pummel people.
>Peek into Employee F. We don't know too much about her.
>Employee A, FEEDED sounds stupid. But we like stupid. APPROVED!!!
>Foster the Timekeeper's Schedule with Employee B and C. Can you fix its face?
"Bong bongbong bong bong!" Employee B is gesturing violently towards a nearby pipe in the breakroom. A quick peek tells you the water is clean and fresh and only mildly contaminated by the substandard metals used in the piping.
"Please do not ask too many questions around here..." Employee C's face is twisted into an inscrutable expression. "You must learn to take things as they are."
beep
"And here is the work order. Shall we proceed, Miss Smith?" Employee B still looks distraught. Employee C retrieves his toolbox.
Employee B and C approach the timepiece.
Agent GUY looks on with suspicion.
B: Bong, bong bong bong.
C: Certainly.
GUY: This is another work order?
C: Yes, Mister Smith. We now only require your permission for the anomaly.
GUY: Go ahead. And cut it out with that "Mister Smith" stuff, I told you it's just Guy. Only guy around.
C: Well, it's merely a formality, I meant no harm.
GUY: Don't fix what ain't broke.
The Agent seems to relax, though is still alert.
Employee B takes the watch and inspects it closely.
The broken face of the watch nonetheless keeps the time.
B: Bong bong.
C: Hmm. While we don't have very fine tools on hand, we can at least remove some of the broken glass.
He takes out the screwdriver and multitool, and begins inspecting the timepiece.
C: The time being displayed... it's different from now.
B: Bong bongbong.
GUY: It's 11:14 AM, clearly.
C: 9:14. We all seem to be in disagreement. Does anybody really know what time it is?
GUY: Well, the thing on the side for adjusting to the correct time is stuck.
C: Mmm. I'll try to fix the crown then.
Employee C turns the watch over and touches the backcover with his screwdriver. crack
Glass shatters, and the anomaly's inverted light illuminates the entire room for a split second. After the sudden flash, the three employees have vanished into thin air... Faraway, you *smell* the distant rumbling of trains... The pungent stench of broken glass and burning diesel lingers throughout the breakroom... The system will not function if we don't keep the schedule tight.
Employee A has stopped working at her excessive biological studies and is looking around as if expecting the employees to jump out at her. There's a tension in her face, which it passes away into an uneasy calm.
Employee E continues sleeping soundly. Employee A decides not to wake him up.
The Work Order on The Timekeeper's Schedule is complete.
Assigned: Employees B and C, Agent GUY
Type: Foster
Work Result: Neutral
E-Energy Generated: +0/∞
Anomaly Mood: N/A
Employee Morale:
Employee B: Nervous
Employee C: Neutral
Agent GUY: Neutral
Employee Aspect Revealed: N/A
Work Notes: N/A
You take a look throughout your facility, but realize the employees are not in the facility or outside of it. Mmm. You don't like the sound of the situation. You take another look around the facility, just in case. You take another look, just in case. You take another look, just in case. You-
"A-Admin... Is everything alright over there?" Your rapid switching of tabs alerted Frank.
"NO. I THINK SOME EMPLOYEES ARE DEAD." She only blinks in response.
"If they're really g-gone, then..." Frank frowns. "There's still lots of work to be done, w-we can't fall behind... that's totally irresponsible of them, isn't it? J-Just to die like that?" You're taken off-guard by by the absolute rudeness of her response. It's much different having to interact with a Drone in person. :}
"D-Do the logs say they're all dead, dead, dead?"
"NO." Huh?
"A-And did you recover the bodies for proper disposal procedures?"
"NO." Ohhh.
"S-So things are going to work out if it means the d-d-dead don't need to be taken. It's just a matter of waiting." The secretary sighs and offers a little smile before heading back to work.
"YEAH, I GET THE PICTURE. I CAN. WAIT." You don't like it, but it's what Frank says. Just a matter of time.
>Entertain Atom Bomb Baby with the Agent. Have him go lovey dovey on it.
Agent GUY is currently unavailable for the work order. Nuts! ( ; ω ; )
From the looks of it, the anomaly seems to have recovered from its emotional devastation. It's just starting at one of the containment cell cameras, its body twitching every so often.
Anomaly Mood: Discontent -> Neutral.
>Entertain Hard Times with Employee D. Tell it we might have a foreign threat for it to deal with and if it plays nice, maybe it can handle it. beep
Employee D is in the middle of the hallway, recovering. She stops trembling like a whipped dog as the order comes through. Her eyes flash through her sunglasses as she reads the order. D brushes herself off and whistles a showtune to herself as she enters the break room.
"Heeeeeeeeey Aleth. I need your help." D points a finger gun and gets a stink eye in return. "And where did everyone else go?"
"Hmmm. Reminds me the nosebleed again?" A glances up from her research notes. A lot of human anatomy stuff, really baseline. Something about a pharmaceutics application form for a reconstitution mix is included. And the "parasite factory"?
"Yeah, what about?" D's smug smile twitches.
"I'm not just going to pick your brains off the floor and stich you back together when you get pasted. Not without a waiver at least." A seems to be losing interest. "I'm not running myself liable or a charity either. Not after the first time."
"Pleeeease? We're coworkers after all. We need to work this out together." She's trying at the pathos of a child begging her parent for permission to keep the fly that followed her home...
"No."
"Jeez. You're really wounding me here, you know." D feigns absolute dismay. "I'll give you a 20 and a promise not to annoy you for an hour if you help out with this work order."
A gives a critical look, but ultimately relents. She stands up and raises two fingers. "Two hours."
"Deal." A packs up her bag and follows D out of the room.
Employees A and D enter the containment cell.
D: Yo.
A: Yello yello. The machine slowly, almost imperceptibly groans as it turns to face them.
Its locker face is severe and as immovable as the iron it's made of. SCANNING... PROCEED. PROCEED.
D: - Do we just continue or? -
A: - Yes, hurry up! Say the rest of the work order. -
D: - You don't need to be so hostile- - Red light flashes out of the anomaly. Need fuel... more fuel. Low fuel. Limited.
A nudges D hard with her elbow before she gets caught up arguing again.
D looks shocked, but immediately assumes a disarming smirk. Looks kinda devilish, though.
D: Alright, listen up.
D: There's a foreign threat coming to this facility, major bad vibes coming our way, and we need YOUR help in suppressing it.
Frank: - "major bad?" - Yes. To be frank, our current facility is not well-equipped for invasions.
A: Are you willing to provide combat assistance?
D: Otherwise, it's going to go butterflies for us.
The keywords used elicited some motion from the hands, but there's no overall reaction from the anomaly.
Employee D seems to be focusing on something.
A: Tis a failure. Let's-
D: And you'll be able to get all the blood you can drink out of it!
D: That's what Chardy said you need, right? The entire machine groans under its own unstable weight as it moves forward. D: - Now we're cooking! -
The machine takes another shuddering step.
D: UH-
A: Please just stay in this cell for now.
A: The foreign threat is not here yet so there's no need to overexert.
D: We'll be the first to know when it's here.
A: My coworker will give the signal. Remember her face, alright?
The machine remains still as its engine continues to grind on and on, endlessly. FEED. FIGHT. FORWARD. The struggle continues. Never asked for this.
The employees watch and wait for a few more minutes, but there's no further reaction.
Employees A and D exit the containment cell, both with a more pleased expression on her face.
The Work Order on Hard Times is complete.
Assigned: Employee A and D
Type: Entertain
Work Result: Good
E-Energy Generated: +6/???
E-Energy Generated/Hour: +2
Anomaly Mood: N/A
Employee Morale:
Employee A: Miffed -> Neutral
Employee D: Neutral -> Fresh
Employee Aspect Revealed:
Employee D - Sanguine (Foster+, Entertain++, Deprive-, Max Morale+)
Work Notes - Employee D:
- Whatever's going on in that head of his or whatever reason he has, he seems willing to fight. Just trust me on this, seriously. I got a good feeling about this.
- There's a bit of a reaction when there's combat or fuel being mentioned. Really instinctual. Thoughts on that?
- I'm like a sewer gator whisperer but for robots! AND I don't get mauled on live television!
Oh yeah, that was pretty intense. You're pretty sure you had the uncensored full cut of that saved on a VHR somewhere.
Work Notes - Employee A:
- Mission success, that's all I can say about the work.
- Manager, please consider hiring employees with a more professional outlook.
- What kind of threat is she referring to? Is something going to happen?
- It should have taken Daisy at least a day longer to recover than she did. I'll dissect her later.
>Warn Employee D about Hard Time's...habit of trying to pummel people.
Oh right! You forgot!
DM - Employee D
LUCY: Employee.
D: Yeah?
LUCY: This anomaly has demonstrated violent tendencies and can really knock you off your socks.
LUCY: It had almost crushed Employee B's head between its huge hands, for example.
LUCY: Be careful around Hard Time!
D: Gee!
D: Thanks for telling me, chief!
D: You came at a real fine and fair time with the warning.
LUCY: You're very welcome.
It's important to keep an eye out for imminent threats to employee wellbeing. Another job well done. ᕙ('▽´)ᕗ
>Peek into Employee F. We don't know too much about her.
Let's peek into Employee F!
Somewhat maladapted humanoid form, too long - it's not a mystery that M Company Drones (Workers) are so so weak, but she's really wispy.
Quite a large Johnston, rather conductive but also sensitive to electrical fields and subsequent interference.
For a later generation, she's rather... developed? That's the word, yes. She's *folded* up correctly and politely.
Nice knife! Cute gun! Cool business poncho!
Overall, not really very special for a Drone.
"Is that you Admin?" The secretary perks up, no doubt feeling your electric presence. Or maybe she's just noticing the silence. "Did you need something?"
"I HAVE ENVERYTHING I NEEDED. THANKS FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION." It's only polite to thank people after the fact, even if she doesn't know it happened.
Employee F just looks rather confused, so you explain. "SOMETIMES YOU OBTAIN A BONUS YOU SIMPLY CANNOT FATHOM. GET USED TO IT, WORLD IS A COMPLICATED PALCE. =)"
"Ah. O-Of course." She takes the answer in stride and returns to work.
>Employee A, FEEDED sounds stupid. But we like stupid. APPROVED!!! It's not stupid - you like the sound of it! Thus, it cannot be stupid because of your SUPERIOR INTELLIGENCE.
DM - Employee A
LUCY: I like the sound of FEEDED.
LUCY: Approved!!!
A: Hmm?
LUCY: FEEDED. Foster, Enable, Entertain, Deprive, then the additional Extraction and Decommission works.
A: Hold onz
A: Why decommission?
A: Didn't the recruitment flyer say this was a "state of the art anomaly research facility"?
LUCY: Uh.
LUCY: We can add Research as a potential work. But then we would have FEEDEDR.
LUCY: FEEDDER.
LUCY: FEEDED/FEEDER.
LUCY: FEEDED-R.
LUCY: What do we do.
There's a small pause.
A: Whatever works.
A: Words are words, just get on with it.
A: Ooooo you show so much style by cracking acronyms together ooooooz
LUCY: Okay.
LUCY: Let's go with FEEDER and Decommission work as a last resort.
A: As you say, boss.
Decommission. Employees will attempt to destroy the anomaly with everything they got. Will hopefully be reserved for the worst case scenarios.
Extraction. Employees will attempt to harvest loose bits of the anomaly, whether directly from the source or from its emissions.
Research. Employees will attempt to study the anomaly without much direct interference. Can be done on other mundane and anomalous objects. Inferior peeking really, but maybe employees know insights you don't? Unlikely >:}
SPONSORSHIPS:
M Company: Assist in inventory destruction. INCOMPLETE.
H Company: beatthelivingshitoutofhim. INCOMPLETE.
Anomaly and Oddity Work Orders [1 Hour]
>ATOM BOMB BABY.
>Hard Times.
>The Timekeeper's Schedule.
>WALKING LIGHTNING Oddity.
>PRODUCTION Room.
- Employees A, D, and E, and Agent? GUY are all available.
Facility Interactions and Miscellaneous Works [Variable]
>Launch an expedition into the 2nd floor. (Who?)
>Peek at something? (What?)
>Make an announcement over the intercom. (What should you say?)
>Send a message through the PDA system? (Ditto.)
>Host an interview with an employee. (Who?)
>Write in.
You can sense someone's tie just at the corner of your *house.* Oh, that must be-!
"HEY FRANK SOMEONE IS HERE TO CLEAN MY CLOCK. SORRY PIPEWORK. PLEASE LET HER IN FROM THE TOP DOOR OF THE FACILITY."
"Hmm?" Your secretary looks up from her ever-expanding nest of papers. "Whom?"
"M COMPANY WANTS US TO KILL A SUPER SIZED MEAT MONSTER THAT'LL COME THROUGH THE PIPES IN ONE HOUR AND I WANT YOU TO GREET YOUR FELLOW DRONE WHO'S GONNA HELP US KILL IT DEAD DEAD DEAD" you calmly explain. "YOU KNOW"
"Hmmm?" Frank splutters. "D-D-Did you tell the others about this!"
"OOPS" Your secretary starts choking back on yelling, whether at you or in panic, you don't know. You kept an eye on the threat and you just assumed everyone else would know about it because you knew all about it and now just Frank actually knows about it for real. NNGHHHHHHHHHH-
"WHAT DO WE DO FRANK"
"Ad-Admin, we need to talk about keeping a proper to-do list after this. I-I'll receive the guest as you s-said." Frank adjusts her business poncho and leaves the Control Room. You sit in the dark, feeling a little ashamed of yourself for no good reason at all.
An M Company gold-and-black honeycomb tie skips into the facility. She's wearing a gray slaughterhouse apron over her working clothes and a wide and wonderful smile on her face. The fibers of her work gloves are stained with some fluid already dried black and oxidated. Come to think of it, there's something overwhelmingly simple and familiar about her facial features, especially compared to Frank's increasingly anxious face following close behind.
"GWOAW! I wasn't aware there was there was a facility revival movement by P Company. Renovations so new, it's still pretty filthy from the construction!" Your facility haven't been properly cleaned in a long time ;_; The representative smacks a fist against her palm. "Can we touch base here and get the ball rolling on this inventory liquidation case, 202095?"
"Guh." Frank looks somewhat overwhelmed by her smaller companion's enthusiasm. "202717, I don't think that's the most important- Shouldn't we deal with-"
"Gee, 202095, you'll never be able to climb the corporate ladder with that wishy-washy, dilly-dallying attitude~ Let's get pumped instead, alright?!" The M Company employee grabs Frank by the hand and strides into the break room. She assesses the sorry state of the room before whistling. "Yeppers deppers. This's a good spot as any. Nice and juicy exposed pipework and all that."
She takes out a little red screen and starts typing out something before slamming a long metal pole into the ground with enough force to crack through the cheap tiling to the metal floor underneath. A coordinates system? Tracked right down to your facility location, too. A harsh, lurid red light is emitted from the body of the machine and the savory smell of umami fills the facility.
"Who are you and what are you doing?" Employee A demands.
"Hey, Frank," Employee D says blandly, having been taken off guard by the sudden turn of events. "How's it going?"
The Mployee leans over and whispers to the secretary. -Woaw! That one on the left could definitely benefit from CacaoCo's pharmaceutic products. Maybe she'll respond best to news of a new anti-aging cream in the works?- You and Frank are both horrified by the sheer audacity of the suggestion.
Your body shudders and you begin to feel a deep wrenching pain as the pipework writhes and coils...
How do you want to handle the M Company employee?
>Ask her to rally up the employees in preparation for the upcoming Incident.
>Peek on her just like you did with Frank. There's probably not much of a difference internally, but what's with that tech?
>[THE ELECTRIC EYE] Ignore her. Take your time to peek on the nature of the incoming threat instead. (Roll 1d100, best of three.)
>[VID HEAD] Ask her for a discount or a coupon on M Company products! You see them all the time on TV advertising - Drones love hot hot deals!
>Write in.
Rough week, made it through, wrote it out, played some Lobotomy Corporation 13 with friends, all is good. I learned that you have to make the post first then make the rolls when you edit the post on SV - weird huh? Also, get pumped for LIMBUS IN LESS THAN FIVE HOURS.
