As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Fridge Brilliance
- Aside from the obvious references to things like Agent statistics, there are a few moments where gameplay mechanics from Lobotomy Corporation inform some of the story beats and actions taken by the characters.
- In Episode 6, Taii complains about how slow they are, which keeps them from reaching panicking agents in time to stop them before they can hurt themselves or others. A talk from Shasha about the responsibilities of the Disciplinary Team motivates Taii to become an "iron fist of peace" and increases their determination to protect others. In-game, Agents with a lower Justice level with have a slower walking speed. And Taii apparently took Shasha's advice to heart and worked to increase their Justice stat, as by the time of Episode 36, they've been determined to have enough Justice that they're allowed to perform Repression work on the Blue-Smocked Shepherd.
- Abnormalities like the Hookah Caterpillar and Red Queen are noted to have been initially very dangerous since it wasn't certain what kind of works they prefer or not. In-game, the only way to learn what kind of work can safely be done on most Abnormalities is a process of trial and error. Even if that can risk death of employees, or worse, the Abnormality breaching and wreaking havoc.
- In Episodes 19, Shasha brings up the possibility of bringing in the Rabbit Team in the event of Hookah Caterpillar breaching. In the game proper, the Rabbit Team is unlocked via research by the Disciplinary Team.
- Episode 32, it's mentioned that some employees panicked and ended up releasing all of the Abnormalities in the branch as a result. Ingame, there are a variety of different responses to panic depending on one's stats. In particular, the "Shutdown" reaction, corresponding to a high Justice stat, has an Agent going around and releasing Abnormalities from containment.
- One of Catt's retellings of their seniors involves a story where one panicked and began running madly through the hallways, which caused another senior to fly into a panic themself while in the midst of an attempted suppression. This is likely caused by a Wander panic response, which is noted in-game to be capable of draining the sanity of those in the vicinity of the panicked, and can cause nearby clerks or even other agents to panic themselves.
- In that same chapter, Catt's beloved senior agent goes on a rampage, slaughtering Clerks and Agents alike before they're put down. This is no doubt the Murder panic response, where Agents with high Fortitude turn their strength onto others until they can be suppressed or killed.
- Taking place immediately after the above incident, Catt's attempt at their life as a result of witnessing such scenery (which in-game can also cause further Agents to Panic if not stopped in time) can also be taken as a variation of the Suicide Panic response, where panicked Agents with high Prudence will attempt to take their life after being left alone for long enough. However, unlike the game where those Agents will snap their own necks, Catt opted for the roundabout method of eating the cake off the Bottle of Tears, which ends up failing due to their high stats at the time.
- With how vital E.G.O. is for the protection of Agents, it may seem odd that not all of them have any equipped from their first day. However, Episode 1 takes place directly after the Hookah Caterpillar has wiped out the entire Disciplinary Team sans Catt and Shasha, and possibly also Agents from other Departments. For a majority of the game, any E.G.O equipped on an Agent is lost after said Agent's death, and can only be regained by generating enough Enkephalin from that particular Abnormality to generate a new set. Thus, it's possible that the newer Agents didn't have any E.G.O because all those deaths meant that there wasn't any to distribute at the time.
- Episode 6 has Shasha telling Flower and Taii about the responsibilities of the Disciplinary Team (i.e, knocking sense back into panicking Agents so they don't cause harm to themselves or others). During this talk, Shasha explicitly compares the Disciplinary members to "savage dogs" who will do anything to protect their "master". This comparison becomes more fitting when one becomes aware that the E.G.O. that Shasha wears is that of Reddened Buddy, a dog Abnormality that turns into a savage beast for the sake of it's master's will.
- Word of God states that the Blue Smocked Shepherd has a special ability that allows them to listen and peek in on the Abnormalities within the area they're currently in. For instance, in an effort to get Taii to allow them to breach containment, the Shepherd tries to convince Taii to give their attention to various other Abnormalities like White Lake or the Servant of Wrath, explaining that such Abnormalities would breach containment if left unchecked. What's the job of a shepherd? To keep watch over their surroundings and protect their 'flock'.
- Unlike the Lobotomy Corporation game, where the Manager doles out all the work to each individual employee, the dispersal of tasks in this branch seems to be handled by the Department Heads with no mention of the Manager's influence. The reason for this seemingly hands-off behavior becomes clear when it's revealed the Manager has been Dead All Along.
- Daisy has a few unusual quirks even outside their normal lackadaisical attitude. Including the fact that they call all their subordinates "kids" and having a designated Training Department nap time. These make much more sense if you're aware of Daisy's backstory revealed by MIMI, which reveals that one of Daisy's occupations prior to joining the Lobotomy Corporation was being a schoolteacher. Seems some old habits die hard.
- When attempting to flirt with Rose, Al makes an offhand remark about how they wish they could "be an Abnormality managed by a person like [Rose]". After their battle with Nobody Is, they don't get further interactions with Rose, but they do end up becoming an Abnormality by way of being assimilated by Nobody Is.
- When describing Titania's backstory, Al claims that her "husband", Oberon, may actually be completely nonexistent. Later, the Abnormality "Nobody Is"—which seeks to have its own identity—takes on the name of Oberon in order to gain said identity. This ties in thematically to the belief that Oberon is not a being that has ever actually existed; Thus, "Nobody Is Oberon".
- In Episode 51, before Joe's arrival, Shasha is surrounded on all sides by a multitude of roses and clouds of teal smoke (produced by the Staining Rose and Hookah Caterpillar, respectively), claiming that they'll "accept" their vengeance by preparing to let themself be killed. As Department Head, they're held responsible for the lives of the Agents in their department, nearly all of whom in their previous team died to the Hookah Caterpillar. And according to MIMI, Shasha would've sacrificed themself to the Staining Rose had Rose not accepted the responsibility, but chose to let Rose make the choice on whether they'd do it or not. Both the Staining Rose and the Hookah Caterpillar have caused deaths Shasha felt responsible for, and thus those two in particular are the ones to corner them act as a form of "vengeance" for those they failed.
- Beozzi's behavior becomes increasingly more obsessive and erratic the longer their bond with the Servant of Wrath continues. In the Lobotomy Corporation game proper, it's said that Enkephalin is not only an energy source, but also has use as a highly addictive mood-altering narcotic. It's also revealed later in the arc that Beozzi's E.G.O. gift from the Servant of Wrath contains an unusually high level of Enkephalin, meaning Beozzi's increasingly unusual behavior (with their pre-existing history of feeling lonely and unworthy of friendship) may be at least partially symptomatic of long-term Enkephalin exposure.
- Sure enough, Word of God confirms that Beozzi's already strange views on friendship had been amplified once they received the E.G.O gift.
- After the Hookah Caterpillar has been suppressed, Rose attempts to goad Catt into killing them by punching them in the back of the head. This causes a rather surprising reaction in the normally cool-headed Catt, whose face instantly becomes serious and more than a little freaked out as they turn around, seemingly about to draw their weapon, before settling on simply punching Rose in the stomach. This response makes more sense after learning their backstory in "Bottle of Tears", wherein their most admired senior underwent a Murder-type panic, and went on a rampage that involved said senior punching their fellow employees' faces in.
- Taii appears to be one of, if not the most (relatively) well-adjusted members of their team when it comes to managing Abnormalities, such as during the Hookah Caterpillar arc, where the most the titular Abnormality could do is make them feel a sense of familiarity while in its unit, while others would be left deeply disturbed and stressed by it. It's likely that Taii's previous job as a Training Team counselor helped them learned how to handle their emotions in a healthier way in order to help others do so, which keeps them from internalizing negative ideas of themself.
- Joe and Toma indicate that performing Instinct work on The Road Home carries a high risk of inducing a breach. In the game, Instinct Work is described as satisfying an Abnormality's basic needs, which includes feeding and grooming it. What causes the Road to breach in her namesake arc is being offered food by the Agent managing her. Oftentimes, food can be associated with comfort and familiarity, and remind one of where they came from. The reason Instinct Work is so risky to perform on the Road is because it risks making her feel homesick, and subsequently, make her want to return to her "home".
- Tangle, a disembodied head with long, prehensile golden hair, is clearly meant to reference the fairy tale of Rapunzel, but it becomes a doubly clever when you know that "rapunzel" is also a type of lettuce, something that typically comes in "heads".
- In "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (the play that Titania's concept is derived from), a spell cast by Oberon's servant causes the Fairy Queen to fall in love with a human man—whose head happens to have been turned into a donkey's. Thus, it's extra fitting that this Titania ended up accepting a non-human shapeshifter, taking the form of a human, as being her husband Oberon.
- The Road Home's friendship with the Servant of Wrath can easily be compared to Dorothy Gale (The Road's literary inspiration) befriending Princess Ozma, seeing as how Ozma—like the Servant—also has a more masculine form and is associated with the color green.
- Following Pygmalion's defeat in Episode 25, Purin is seen to have calmed down as they rest on Daisy's lap, in spite of them panicking earlier due to the aforementioned Abnormality's attacks. This may seem sudden at first, until one realizes that Daisy possesses a gun capable of dealing WHITE damage, and ingame, Agents can be calmed by other Agetns shooting WHITE damage back at them. Thus, Purin would've liked calmed down by Daisy using their weapon on them.
Fridge Horror
- According to supplemental materials, had Rose refused to sacrifice themself to the Staining Rose, Shasha would have taken their place, rather than trying to make Catt do it. Catt already didn't react well to the death of Rose, who was a close friend they were on rocky terms with at the time. How would they have reacted had the one to die been Shasha, the last of their surviving seniors and mentors, and one of the few people whom they recognize even a modicum of authority from?
