LP Beach

Posted: **Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:14 am**

That seems like a relatively painless day aside from the bit where there's 0 art tasks for Ashley.

Posted: **Thu Aug 20, 2020 1:57 pm**

Talow wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:14 am
That seems like a relatively painless day aside from the bit where there's 0 art tasks for Ashley.

Certainly. I was also impressed with how even with her slow speed with non-art tasks, she still did them just fine.

If only not pretty much everything stresses her out...

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:37 am**

Episode 17: Outro Update

Video:

Alright, last time was one of the most underwhelming Episodes we've had in a while. Let's hope an Outro makes up for that, eh?

We really leveraged that challenge into a win-win solution for the whole team!

Dude, does this guy even speak English?

I would just like to say that these are the first lines Luke has had throughout this whole Episode, and they're gold.

As celebration, we're going to have a surprise company party, this evening!

What, tonight?!

Absolutely!

Oh god, Duncan, you've gotta inform and schedule these things several days in advance, if not weeks.

...you know, something about that phrasing combined with his management tendencies kinda just makes him sound like a hopelessly out-of-touch dad. There's something kind of charming about that despite what's about to clearly go down.

Is this some kind of horrifying joke? Are we on camera?

Is Ashton running a better hedge fund than Danny, or something? Or are hedge funds out of style already?

Pearl, don't worry, there will be exciting activities for you too!

God I can't help but picture him slowly holding up the knitting as he says that in a singsongy voice. "And I've got your knittiiiiiing~" Just such pure enthusiasm after probably finding her knitting misplaced in the smoking lounge's trash can.

Sorry, cap'n Duncan! I have a party to go to downtown!

Me too! I am so out of here.

Are they anyone's idea of class, if they even care enough to think about that, Ashley?

Aaaaand they're gone.

But... Pearl? Denise?

I'll see you tomorrow.

I'm sorry, Duncan. I don't think anyone wanted to go... they're all exhausted after all this work.

Iiiiiiit's a bit more than that, Denise.

Well... they don't like you, sir.

Oh so we're just gonna come out and say it, okay, that's the plan, of course

I think they'd rather spend time with other friends after work.

But I'm a good captain! A leader!

See, it's stuff like this... it's so specific and fantasy-like, it really makes me wonder if Duncan legit doesn't know any better. Like he never learned how the world works.

Actually...

What...? You don't mean... But I try so hard!

Well, you're good at the kind of work people do here. You're just not good at telling other people how to do their jobs!

Oh Duncan, honey, this office needs to have a long chat with you before Brooke Conkling sees fit to have one with you. I think you'd rather have a few verbal lashes than a tanned hide.

Well, not everyone is!

*cough* Pearl *cough*

I'll have to think about this a bit.

You spend so much time thinking about how to do it right, but...

Next time, we see what we've wrought yet again. See you then.

Connecting...

Checking Status: Online

Chatroom Created

...huh. Didn't see that one coming.

Yeah, I can't say I expected "Wild Mike's Pizza & Skateboard Park" to be the tipping point in all this. Just... whew.

I don't feel bad for him, but that was a unique level of delusional that was just broken.

Eh, I might feel for him just a little. He seemed so excited, like everything was coming together finally. Unfortunately, the plan was tanked from the start, considering the past few weeks.

Fine, it was at least uncomfortable to see him squirm like that. Kinda shatters that image of some tyrant running the office ragged with ill-conceived schemes.

Seems like the hammer's gonna be shelved for the time being, so long as he adapts well to what he just heard. Denise strikes again.

She does seem willing to say what needs to be said, despite how awkward things get sometimes. Very candid personality.

Even if that's not directly what I need her to be, it's proven time and time again to have kept things from exploding into something worse. It's a relief to see that it wasn't a couple of flukes last time; she knows how to strike when the iron's hot.

That said, it's kinda late. They really got held up this time. Talk to you later?

Sure. I get the feeling we'll have more to go over soon, anyway. G'night.

Chatroom Closed

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:21 am**

I mean, there's something to be said about someone who's willing to accept criticism. Very few people would take that so well, I think.

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:23 am**

Somewhat ominous lead-in to the season finale, can't wait to see how it blows up in the last episode and what twist kicks off the next season.

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:38 am**

Ashley was right. Skate punk was passe after 2004-ish. Nobody in 2007 was still listening to Sum 41 or Good Charlotte anymore. Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance were the cool things.

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 5:35 am**

Junpei wrote: ↑
Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:38 am
Ashley was right. Skate punk was passe after 2004-ish. Nobody in 2007 was still listening to Sum 41 or Good Charlotte anymore. Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance were the cool things.

If it's any consolation, the happenings of this game can easily be described as Panic! In The Office.

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:55 am**

Panic! In The Office wrote:Welcome to another workday
Coffee brings us back to life
Did some tasks and worked financials
Stress me out and watch me die.
Hey now Pearl's on the couch
It should be mine
That's another goal completed
We just might finish work tonight

And if you don't know now you know

I'm taking back my couch
All set up for napping
The workday is so sapping
Oh yeah
The couch
So close I can taste it
This sleep is mine, I'll take it
Oh yeah

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 7:30 am**

HAHAHAHA, PERFECT

I love it

Death of a Bachelor was my favorite Panic album, and Emperor's New Clothes is one of my favorite songs on it.

Amazing

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:59 pm**

Denise is good

Posted: **Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:33 am**

Episode 18: Story Update

Video:

Well, last time, we had a hard talk with Duncan. This time...

It seems Duncan's still taking some time to think about all of this.

I see we're off to a great start.

He was wearing raggedy old sneakers!

Were they dirty or something, dear?

I have a very tasteful car, what if someone saw?

Yes, I'm sure people could see his bargain bin shoes while he's driving your car. You know, that time when his feet are INSIDE the car.

Hmm. No, he hasn't been here. I didn't see him yesterday, either.

I guess some time has passed since the night of Wild Mike's Cancelled Company Pizza Party. Hmm...

Maybe he's left early for Memorial Day weekend!

Craig? I thought you were seeing Danny?

Danny?

Eww, no!

Ohhhhh boy, here we go.

He works for OmniBank, that's such a tired old investment firm!

So. Shallowness and weird criteria aside, you might recall I said something in the post yesterday:

LPFinale wrote: ↑
Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:37 am
Is Ashton running a better hedge fund than Danny, or something? Or are hedge funds out of style already?

My brain kinda melted at some point and made me think we'd seen the above conversation already, and I even got the wrong name; Craig runs the hedge fund. I wonder how intensely nonsensical my musing seemed as a result...

Um, I hate to interrupt all the discussion about better banker boyfriends, but about Duncan...

Yes, he's being tremendously irresponsible!

To be honest, the workload yesterday wasn't that rough, though that might've just been the low-pressure Goals making it seem that way. It was definitely the first time we had to deal with guaranteed 2-Task Bursts.

It's fine with me, man... No boss-man to push me around with his fascist 'job' propaganda...

For those of you who joined us from the original thread, yes, this is indeed the line I named it after. And this whole conversation is still amazing.

Blood money, man! Blood money.

They're still sending over an awful lot of tasks!

Fine, whatever!

...well. That's certainly a way to make an impression once there's room to properly get to know you, Ashley. I know the crunch is gonna be rough this time, but wow.

That boy does enjoy his sleep.

I can't just let him sleep! This is an office, we have jobs!

Look here, little Miss Grasping-For-Authority!

Get rid of? But I...

I mean... okay, true, but both of them were in declining mental health from this place. Guess Pearl's not taking that into consideration, though. It's can be pretty hard to look past the base-level motivations of "Usurp Denise" with her to really think about what makes her tick beyond that, what she's grown attached to. ...that's not to say she's a good person, to be clear, but it's food for thought.

If you insist on running this team ragged like Duncan did, I'll make sure the board of directors hears about it!

YA DON'T SAY, OFFICE QUEEN?

Well! She's certainly one to be talking...

Indeed you could. You've been doing it this whole time, and we'll see to it you do so again, and again, and again, for as long as it takes. You've got this, Denise.

Next time, we have an appropriately challenging capstone to Season 3, though I suppose Season 2's Finale is gonna be hard to top for a while, in terms of challenge. See you then.

Posted: **Sat Aug 22, 2020 10:07 am**

Oh, this is going to be spicy. I'm on the edge of my seat!

Posted: **Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:34 pm**

"Too much stress is not good for morale!"

Pearl, Pearl, Pearl. Do we need to talk about all the things you've been doing inside the office? Especially with Tara?

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 4:06 am**

Episode 18: Gameplay Update, "Abandon Ship?"

Video:

Well, time to power through crunch time without a full office. What could go wrong?

Well, that's certainly a lot more pressure than what we had yesterday, especially since every last one of these Goals unlocks an Optional Goal this time.

Mahavir and Denise's will basically be a non-issue, but Pearl's Goals will be the focus of our micromanagement today. That's no small feat she's asking for at the bottom of the list, after all. ~~Even if it's got a typo from an earlier version of the Goal, shhhhhhhhh~~

Starting positions. Mahavir begins on the Couch, so we can actually finish his Goal today, but he'll have some starting Stress each Day.

I grab two Coffees with our starting budget and make sure to have Pearl work on her smoke break while Tasks are coming in. Luke does just fine chipping away at any significant Writing Tasks that come in for her.

With that, we have Pearl get started before this all makes Denise lose it. I'd show that off, but for some reason GifCam was very displeased with making this gif in particular. It works just fine with a similar kind of gif later, so I'm not sure what the deal is, but I doubt you'd have wanted to see pink splotches covering the screen everywhere.

With her first Coffee's worth of work done, I send her back to calm down. The work's only just begun, after all; she'll need the time to herself.

Second verse, same as the first.

Oh right, weird little note here, Luke and Ashley get a bit more stressed out from the Smoking Lounge than normal... by a +0.5 Moodifier. They normally have their global Moodifier at +1, with an additional +1 put in manually each Episode, but this time the Episode Moodifier is +1.5. As a result they're technically over the Stress State Limit even when working on their calm Task Types, but they tend to... kinda glitch out a bit. For those of you watching the video, I'm pretty sure you can see a few moments where they seem to jitter back and forth between Normal and Stressed at their desks.

Anyway, the increased Stress really gets to Luke since he's working on the Writing Tasks a bit, so I send him to the Water Cooler to calm down.

Restocking on Coffee. I grab more than I need for today since we'll definitely need these tomorrow for reasons you can probably guess.

This'll be Pearl's last round of Tasks, and it should be just enough since they're coming in really, really fast today. Luke'll be sent away in a minute to keep her from Burning Out.

Mahavir's up and at 'em, but there's nothing left for him to do today. He'll be available to help tomorrow, though.

Pearl managed to get all her work done for today, and on top of that...

Denise, of course, kept her word. That gives us plenty of Optional Goals to work on tomorrow.

And there they are! Fairly simple, but still need to be managed carefully considering what's left for us to do.

So Pearl wants the others to get to work as well (Ashley's got a corresponding Goal available once Pearl's done in the Smoking Lounge), and Luke wants to listen to the Radio while Ashley wants to vent to Pearl. That last one in particular will require careful management of our time, considering that's 120 Seconds while Pearl still needs to finish her smoke break.

Starting positions, Goal reminders, and Mahavir's starting Stress.

There's that Stress State again. Mahavir will be relegated to Financial duty today while Luke handles any Writing and Technical Tasks that come in. The extra Stress will be rough at normal speed though, so...

He gets some Coffee to keep the pace up, minimizing that extra Stress.

Remember, a doubled Work Rate means half the total Stress he'd be getting while working, and the value of that can't be understated.

This is kinda tight, though. Sending Ashley to the Bathroom immediately wasn't the wisest move, since Luke's pretty close to a Burn Out and Pearl can't leave the Smoking Lounge if we wanna be efficient about this. ...which, I mean, of course I do.

Luke's Stress bar got super, SUPER close to reaching 100; it even filled all the way visually before Ashley got out of the Bathroom. Way too risky on my part.

Pearl's finally done, so we can stop stressing out Luke and Ashley with all that smoke. In fact, now we can turn on the Radio to start working on that Goal.

And there's Ashley's buckle down counterpart. We'll try to get to that a little bit before the end of the day.

Oh yeah, and we're seeing this notification a lot sooner than usual. Get used to that. Both Optional and Required Goals will start taking more focus and commitment to get through.

See that pile of 5 Overdue Tasks? I sure didn't. I'm just lucky I was about to send Ashley back to her desk anyway.

Nearly ended the run right here. If there were ever a time where I was grateful that completing a Task that has ever been designated Overdue reduces Denise's Stress by 2.5 instantly, it was during this run.

And there we have it. A decent amount of progress on that, considering Ashley won't have much time away from the Water Cooler tomorrow.

This should be overall kinda simple, but Ashley's Goals will be a bit tight if we're not careful.

Starting positions, Goal reminders. Today's not as cut-and-dry as other final days, I've gotta say. As a reminder, this Episode's 3-Star Limit was 4 Days; if we weren't playing as efficiently as we were, this Episode would be a pretty tight squeeze to finish on time.

Getting some Tasks prepped for Ashley, with a Coffee waiting for her. We can't have her be at her desk for very long today, or we'll run out of time.

Oh yeah, since Luke was pretty much already done with his Task quota, I just gave him a particularly long Writing Task to get it over with. On the bright side, Ashley's got quite a few Tasks ready for her to polish off in a timely manner.

Good, plenty of time left after that. Mahavir's gonna be slammed with Financial Tasks right about now, though.

Thankfully, since Ashley doesn't need that last Coffee we bought, we can use it on Mahavir to deal with this unfortunate Task Type RNG.

I'm not entirely sure why I was so preoccupied with chipping down these Writing Tasks with Luke that I sent him to the Bathroom, of all places, to get them from him. The Radio's right there, and-

...ah, right. The Radio. I was supposed to turn that on. God, it's a good thing we took care of most of that Goal yesterday.

Managed to give Ashley her final round of Tasks. They'll be done with time to spare, and that's a big comfort.

There's the Radio Goal...

As well as Ashley's Task quota...

And finally, her venting session. About a quarter of the day left, too. Think about everything we did to save that much time. We needed a lot of it.

Phew. The 3rd Day being actually kinda close does make me wonder if I actually got the 3-Star Rating the first time I played. I wouldn't doubt that enough wasted time could put us in hot water in that regard.

Next time, the Season 3 Finale. See you then~

Goal Writeup

Time Per Day: 140 Seconds

Task Types

Art Tasks: 25%
Financial Tasks: 25%
Technical Tasks: 25%
Writing Tasks: 25%

Task Bursts

2-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 7-10 Seconds: 50%
1-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 4-6 Seconds: 50%

Task Sizes

2-Bar Tasks: 25%
3-Bar Tasks: 50%
4-Bar Tasks: 25%

Required Goals

"Make sure no one stresses out for one day. (No Burnout)" Unlocks Optional Goal #1
"Take a long nap on the couch. (135 Seconds)" Unlocks Optional Goal #2
"Take a cigarette break in the smoking lounge. (135 Seconds)" Unlocks Optional Goal #3
"Buckle down and finish twenty-five [sic] tasks. (30 Tasks)" Unlocks Optional Goal #4

Optional Goals

"Listen to the radio for a while. (80 Seconds)"
"Complain to Pearl at the water cooler. (120 Seconds)"
"Pearl wants Ashley to buckle down and do fifteen tasks. (15 Tasks)"
"Pearl wants Luke to buckle down and do fifteen tasks. (15 Tasks)"

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 4:33 am**

Oh boy, I wonder what's going to happen in season 3's finale.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:21 am**

Maybe the game will end with everybody quitting C.A.I. and being free.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:23 am**

Clearly it'll be Duncan quitting. Denise has an effect on people that helps them, but is utterly destructive to C.A.I.'s employee turnover rate, and he's the last one she had one of her patented pep talks with.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 5:57 pm**

I agree on Duncan, but I'm kind of surprised he didn't show up in the final gameplay segment to demand 240 seconds of video game time or something.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:24 pm**

Jeez, all that petty cash at the end there. That's almost enough for everyone in the office to have a stapler.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:25 pm**

Blastinus wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:24 pm
Jeez, all that petty cash at the end there. That's almost enough for everyone in the office to have a stapler.

You know Mahavir would just rather use it for partying so he can meet up with people; Luke would use it for his "teas"; Pearl would use it to buy more cigarettes and Ashley would complain that it's a pittance and leave in a huff without even touching the money.

Denise? Diet soda.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:06 am**

Season 3 Finale Update

Video:

Last time, we had an Episode that would've been pretty challenging to get the 3-Star Rating on if we weren't being this efficient. And now... we end off the Season.

I think you kinda already have, Denise, but at least you're acknowledging it now.

Oh hey, there he is, he's just-

~~checks clock~~

...3 days late, no big deal.

Ahh, my old stomping grounds. It's good to be back!

Duncan! You're back?

Oh heavens. What will it be this time?

I think this announcement will be a little different than the others, Pearl. Just a hunch.

I'm making my aspirations into realities! Actualizing my potential!

I don't know how else this speech would end, Denise, sooooooo...

Sadly my dear, I am. My visions take me elsewhere! And, well, I shouldn't say much without a non-disclosure agreement...

What... a gym?

The sheer bafflement oozing from that line if you read it a certain way... ooh, that's the good emotive stuff right there.

That is an extremely detailed description that lends itself to my headcanon, Duncan.

This... is my dream!

Oh Duncan! I'm so happy for you!

See, Mahavir gets it.

Ahem.

A BUSINESS partner, Mahavir.

¿Por qué no los dos?

Sounds fabulous, am I right?

Again I say, "¿Por qué no los dos?"

Denise, my dear.

I was stuck in a rut! Not exploring my true potential! Now, I must be off to discuss details of our new venture!

Best of luck, Duncan. Hopefully the local cafe makes a good coffee and food suited to both of your tastes.

That's three down. I think we're making good time, how about you?

Well, that was certainly...

Adorable?

Yes

Reprehensible!

Do you always have to be the mood-killer? ~~The answer is yes, by the way.~~

Well, pay it no mind, everyone.

Hmph, so irresponsible!

I mean... fair enough, but that kinda makes it clear where your priorities lie.

Oooh, right, Memorial Day Weekend!

I'm going to go yachting off Montauk!

Apparently Montauk's in New York, near the southern shore of Long Island. Considering Duncan mentioned Manhattan when talking about where Ashley's family's from, I'd guess C.A.I.'s somewhere in New York. The state, not the city, I can't narrow it down that far myself.

Party Saturday, clubbing Sunday, and Monday... sweet Monday is for sleeping!

I'm heading out of town for the Skydance Tribal Music Festival. What are you up to, Denise?

It's been so busy around here that I've neglected some yearly spring cleaning!

Oh, Denise. Honey. You really deserve way better than that on your weekend, after the past few weeks. ...hell, the past few months, honestly, your entire time at C.A.I.'s been a trip and a half.

What? You're going to spend this gorgeous weekend CLEANING?

Aww, man. You should at least enjoy some nature, you know? You're looking kinda pale!

I will keep the curtains closed and you'll deal with it, Luke. Denise might be the kind of person who'd like the outdoors, though, so...

Well, I did just earn my first whole day of vacation!

That's right, dear.

...did the room just get colder? By like, 10 degrees Fahrenheit?

Hmm.

All right!

I can take care of everything around here!

Next time, we see... just how well Pearl takes care of the office. See you then.

Connecting...

Checking Status: Online

Chatroom Created

Okay, I'm just gonna get this outta the way for the important bit, Duncan's departure is good overall even if the paperwork will be hell without advance notice, THIS LADY'S GONNA BE AN ISSUE.

I'd rather not dwell on Duncan, so yes, I'm glad to point out that she's about to overstep her bounds by a mile.

I know I said I was fine with Denise getting some experience with this kind of management hell, but we can't let this happen. I need you to figure something out, and fast.

What, can't step in at the moment? Whatever happened to that hammer you shelved?

What happened is that there's a seedy board of directors getting more skittish about what I do by the day and I've got nothing to distract them anymore.

Wait, WHAT? ...you know what, I can't ask for the details in here anyway, I'll just get to work. Anything in particular?

We have no idea what she's doing yet. Figure that out first, then work from there.

Alright, then. Seems I'll have to pull out all the stops for this one. I'd say you owe me, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a stake in this as well.

Then do what you can when the weekend ends and report back. I'll be waiting... and stalling for time.

Will do. Just hold out a bit longer, okay? I'll see you then.

Chatroom Closed

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:11 am**

Oooh no.

Oh dear.

Oh boy.

Denise, Mahavir, Luke, and Ashley are going to have some Things to deal with. And Winston, too.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 3:22 am**

It would be funny if you got to control Pearl in Season 4.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 3:25 am**

...yikes. That's not a good sign.

Poor them!

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:01 am**

Denise is just taking ONE DAY off. Just one day. How much damage can Pearl do in ONE DAY?

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:29 am**

yamiaainferno wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:01 am
Denise is just taking ONE DAY off. Just one day. How much damage can Pearl do in ONE DAY?

Denise returns to see five copies of Pearl standing around.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:36 am**

As much as Duncan accomplished in... four?

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:27 pm**

MiiNiPaa wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:29 am

yamiaainferno wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:01 am
Denise is just taking ONE DAY off. Just one day. How much damage can Pearl do in ONE DAY?
Denise returns to see five copies of Pearl standing around.

One Pearl for each employee! Except for Pearl herself, she's just being cocky at her desk doing her tasks.

They would continue to prattle on or smoke just to annoy the employee next to them, giving everyone +2 Moodifier for the shift.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:52 pm**

Episode 19: Story Update

Video:

Well, then... I think we're all prepared for the worst. Or we aren't. Probably aren't.

Ohhhhhh no. That's the worst vibe from a Season title yet considering the context.

Well, uh... at least we get a redecorated office out of the deal???

Ah, there she is. Hopefully her day off went well.

Hi everyone, I'm...

Pearl happened. You sure picked a good time to go on vacation.

Well, at least Winston's back. Dunno where Mahavir went, but we can always say he overslept by a few days.

But I was only gone for one day!

Go figure.

I get the feeling that, at minimum, Pearl didn't exactly go on vacation for Memorial Day Weekend. Mahavir certainly didn't during the holiday season, and they even paid him to stick around.

But now it looks like you've got whole new problems. Pearl's making a power play, trying to take this place over.

...I JUST noticed that one little "Smile " sticker at the bottom of the corkboard. God, all that reminds me of is how saccharine the decor for elementary school classrooms was.

What? Poisoned?!

Uhhhh yeah, wait WHAT

...oh. Yeah, uh, somehow I doubt that an infamously indiscriminate weed killer has gotten in the water supply while only affecting you specifically, Luke. Especially when I don't think you even use much water besides the water cooler for your... tea... Luke, did you get a new blend during the Skydance Festival?

Just don't let anyone near my water cooler, it's the only safe source of water I have left!

...hah. Hahaha. Oh god. This new little quirk. That's gonna be A THING.

And of course, some things never change.

As I was about to say... everyone else is a little tweaked, too.

Ah, I see our errant office manager is back at last.

One. Day. That's literally the entire extent of which she was gone, Pearl, not like you care to elaborate.

Oh, I do miss those charming nautical metaphors our former supervisor used to use.

What happened to him?

Really weaving your narrative for the new girl, huh? ...also, uh, literally who is that?

Pearl... what's going on? Who's this?

Never you mind, dearie. Just drink your diet pop or whatever that stuff is.

That's what we're worried about.

It's good to have you back, Winston, however long we'll have you.

Everyone! I want you to meet an excellent new addition to our team!

Okay, as much as I'd wanna bash Pearl's plans here, she's... not kidding. At all. Those arrows on her desk aren't for show like Pearl's. That's not to say she won't be a problem, but... there's some power to be had in that chaos.

Oh Pearl. You needn't flatter me so.

No, but I get the distinct feeling that you think it does.

And she's modest, too! Furthermore, I'm pleased to announce that the C.A.I. board has approved my new initiative to revitalize this office.

...wait, she has the board of directors behind her on this?

And what is PEARL supposed to stand for?

Perpetually Evoking Aggravated Rage in Laypersons?

It doesn't stand for anything. It's my name, you silly boy.

Hah!

Nadine will be assisting me with it. But Denise, I will need you to help execute some of the, ah... ...ground-level details.

Oh REALLY, now?

We need to improve everyone's skills in their deficient areas.

Excuse me WHAT?

Nadine, come! We have much to discuss.

I can't believe this!

I know, right? I dunno what she thought he was getting away with in the cross-training. Seems like she only thought a line was crossed in that regard when she was told to go relax and knit.

Can she really do all this?

If she really has approval from the board, she can do whatever she wants.

For what it's worth, I think you CAN make it work, Denise. It's just gonna be kind of a pain for everyone involved, Pearl included.

Next time, we get our first look at what Project PEARL has to offer. See you then.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:57 pm**

Pearl! You should know better than to create an acronym with no meaning. People will find hilarious backronyms to fit it.

PS: My take is 'Pain in Everyone's Ass, Resolved by LPFinale"

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:31 pm**

Please Eradicate Any Rebellious Lady

Seriously can we get rid of her.

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:50 pm**

Cross-training?? Again??

I can hear Winston's blood veins popping in his head. You just KNOW Pearl will make him cross-train art tasks!! Again!!

Posted: **Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:39 pm**

Ashley said nothing this entire intro.

And, well, at least if the cross-training is just "everyone has to read some manuals", it'll be easier to deal with in terms of stress than them actually having to do work that stresses them out.

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:02 am**

Pearl better be the next employee to leave. Else she might get killed.

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:45 am**

Requesting a challenge update where Pearl burns out every day. Preferably as early in the day as possible.

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 3:13 am**

What's your opinion on what we've seen of Nadine?

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 3:28 am**

DKII wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:45 am
Requesting a challenge update where Pearl burns out every day. Preferably as early in the day as possible.

Seconding this challenge.

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:41 am**

Talow wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 25, 2020 3:28 am

DKII wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:45 am
Requesting a challenge update where Pearl burns out every day. Preferably as early in the day as possible.
Seconding this challenge.

Thirding!

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:56 am**

LPFinale wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:52 pm
And she's modest, too! Furthermore, I'm pleased to announce that the C.A.I. board has approved my new initiative to revitalize this office.

[...]

If she really has approval from the board, she can do whatever she wants.

I call bullshit. One thing corporate holds in higher regard than their profits is hierarchy. At board level the mere thought of jumping over someones head is inconcievable and the act of it considered a treason which breaks the foundation of corporate life itself. If it was corporate-sanctioned, Denise would receive a set of instructions which would be due yesterday. And project PEARL? Someone on the board passed the chance to claim all the credit for himself? Yes. Definetly bullshit.

Posted: **Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:16 pm**

Nadine Writeup

Task Type Stats

Art Tasks

Work Rate: 5; Trainable to 7, then 9, then 11
Moodifier: +4

Financial Tasks

Work Rate: 14; Trainable to 16
Moodifier: +4

Technical Tasks

Work Rate: 7; Trainable to 9, then 11
Moodifier: +4

Writing Tasks

Work Rate: 14; Trainable to 16
Moodifier: +4

Likes/Dislikes Summary

Nadine shares her relaxation point with Pearl, the Smoking Lounge. It offers the same Moodifier as Pearl at -4, which is pretty good, but the Smoking Lounge will stress out two different people at this point in the game, which can get dicey. Note that there are two open spots in the Smoking Lounge, so both Pearl and Nadine can be there at once if you really feel like you can handle the increased Stress on the others. Also, Pearl isn't bothered by Nadine smoking; likely some kind of preferential treatment.

Nadine likes the AC, so that's good to keep in mind, especially when Winston's around. A tag team able to handle pretty much anything besides Art Tasks is pretty good. As for the "crushing people's dreams" bit... well, that'll manifest itself a bit later. Do note that it's nothing specific and will change form to whatever she feels like that day.

Her stressors are common enough that I'd honestly consider her an honorary Stress Sink Employee. It's not that many when you get down to it, but the ones she does have become super, super prevalent. She dislikes people at the Water Cooler, the Couch, and a place we haven't seen yet. On top of that, she dislikes the Radio, so much so that it actually outpaces her relaxation from the AC; if we were to have both of them in the same office configuration, turning them both on would stress her a bit (+3 from the Radio, -2 from the AC, overall +1). Oh, and keep in mind that she doesn't actually care about the Arcade Machine, despite it being pictured in her dossier.

General Summary

Nadine is a rare case where someone with multiple Up Arrows actually has the stats to back it up. She gets stressed at a pretty fast rate from work and she's half of a Stress Sink Employees, but her Work Rates for Financial and Writing Tasks are so high that she could actually finish a task or two before capping her Stress, unlike Pearl, who can barely get things done while being a full Stress Sink Employee due to her barely above-average Work Rates.

Her Technical Task Work Rate is okayish, but the Moodifier it's attached to makes it a bad idea overall if anyone better is available. I feel like I really don't need to point out that you shouldn't give her Art Tasks, but she doesn't get wrecked by them quite as hard as other deficient Employees do, either. Unfortunately, that rarely, if ever, becomes a practical difference due to her various stressors making working for that long on a Task being a terrible idea.

All in all, Nadine is a good addition to the team despite her horrendous interactions with other Employees. Her stats are just that good and flexible. By the time she joins, there hasn't been anyone with a Work Rate on Financial Tasks that was 10 or higher for several Seasons. It's refreshing, to say the least. Just please, do keep a careful eye on her Stress Meter... she'll surprise you with how worked up she can become on such short notice.

Burn Out Sprite

LP Beach

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