Adrian

Adrian
Department	Records Team
Layer	Atziluth
Assignment	Big Bird The Firebird Judgement Bird
Equipment
Equipment	E.G.O Weapon - Moonlight E.G.O Suit - Twilight E.G.O Gift - Tough E.G.O Gift - Bloody Desire E.G.O Gift - Feather of Honor E.G.O Gift - Gold Rush
Titles
Level I	Attentive Newbie
Level II	Attentive Employee
Level III	Attentive Senior
Level IV	Nefarious Senior
Level V	Nefarious Grand Senior

"ALEPH level threats and breaches? Yeah, sure. They're scary, potentially make you lose your sanity completely, and will kill you and possibly your entire department. Pray that you'll be lucky to never experience a threat that could potentially destroy the whole facility and kill the entire work force, Manager. Once was enough."
― Adrian

Adrian is an Employee and Captain of the Records Team under Hokma. The player meets him very early in the game, on Day 7, after completing the first mission for Yesod. He is then met again on Day 36, prior to unlocking the Records Department. Day 37 onward, Adrian will be present as an Employee available for Deployment.

Adrian is a notably handsome young man of above average height and a lithe, well toned build. Adrian sports numerous scars from working at the corporation for a considerably long time, and numerous Abnormality Suppressions. He has sharp features, with slanted red eyes and well defined brows. He has short, wavy hair, whose long fringe falls over his face. The left side of the fringe is tucked behind his ear.

Being one of the higher ranked Employees, Adrian's assignments are all high risk level Abnormalities, all of which being WAW levels. He is notable for working exclusively with avian type Abnormalities. His main assignment is Big Bird, and has secondary assignments with Judgement Bird and The Firebird.

Personality

Adrian is an eccentric but chipper and charismatic man who always finds himself casual with just about anyone around him. He's quite popular among employees for being a social butterfly and never failing to warmly welcome new hires. He's emotionally in touch with his co-workers and on occasion, finds himself looking after departments outside his own. When others mourn their fallen co-workers, Adrian is there to help them process their deaths and to comfort them, regardless of their department. He's more often than not one of the first to send condolences to other departments, and continues to do so despite numerous warnings from the other Sephirah.

Eccentricity is what Adrian is best known for. Some would even say his eccentricity won't get him killed by an Abnormality, but by the Sephirah. He's got enough grit to speak very casually to them, and even tease them on occasion. He ropes his co-workers into doing silly antics for the sake of recreation, and is willing to play the fool for just about anyone. With the grim atmosphere of the corporation, how Adrian can still pull this off is a wonder to most. The truth is that Adrian had long lost the light in his eyes, and he would go so far to simply feel a sense of normalcy in an extreme environment. It's a stimulus that he craves constantly, and he will get it, and give it, no matter what anyone says. What he fears more than death is stagnation. All Adrian wants now is not to achieve his hopes and dreams, but to simply feel anything other than constant pain. As a result of this, he tends to mistake feeling one thing for another, such as desire for genuine feelings.

Despite all this, he's a very hard worker, yet still has the time and energy to pull off antics that paint him as irritating and vexing and earning him the derision of the Sephirah. No matter how hard he works, he's made a reputation for himself that he seems to be uncaring and dismissive of the dangers posed by his work. The truth is that Adrian is very aware of the dangers, and he is simply weathered and experienced enough that laughing at danger is simply a natural response for him. His position as one of the stronger employees places a huge burden on his shoulders, and he does what he can to always be in top performance. It's what he can work with better than being left to his thoughts. He also might as well try to have fun when he can.

With his experience, his assignment to higher risk Abnormalities and his experiences in WAW and ALEPH suppression, Adrian also takes up a more "heroic" role among his co-workers. This is both appreciated, as it raises morale; and deplored, because to others, it's belittling and seen as a stunt show more than anything. Adrian's heroic stunts are not to impress others, but is more an act of martyrdom where having as little casualties as possible is his highest priority, even at the cost of himself. He burdens himself with this responsibility because even though he's one of the people who helps others make peace with death, he doesn't take it too well himself because of his emotional attachment. It's even more painful when he finds himself having to erase the data of these employees himself. This is something he doesn't share to his co-workers, and is a burden he bears alone.

Story

History

Adrian Laurence Cho was born to an upper middle class family, at least, in the standards of The Nest his family resided in; with thanks to his mother, who worked as an engineer in U Corp and was paid very well; and his father, an Associate Investigator for the Hana Association. He is the eldest of two sons, and the family managed to live a rather safe and comfortable life in the city away from crime and exposure to Abnormalities. Adrian grew up just as rowdy and noisy as any young boy was, and was not left wanting by his parents, who worked tirelessly to provide for him and his brother. Despite the very dangerous lives his parents led, Adrian and his brother were never exposed to any sort of danger.

Living comfortably meant Adrian had all the time and means to pursue different interests and hobbies. From a young age, his mother's work as an engineer was Adrian's exposure to learning more advanced technologies, which he found fascinating until his adulthood. He would always ask his mother if he could help sometimes, even though his mother would refuse due to possible hazzards. He also had the means to play video games, which was a bonding experience he shared with his brother. He also loved birds, and kept some as pets while growing up. In his teen years, he learned how to mod his own games and eventually researched on how to fix his own devices before he would need to take them to the shop. Finding joy in tinkering with these things was the biggest influence in Adrian's choices for higher education. He was never really fond of sports, but was encouraged by his parents to at least exercise regularly, and as a result, was enrolled in some sports classes throughout his childhood and teen years, much to his dismay.

In school, Adrian was as average as one could get, occasionally getting above average grades. He wasn't very popular until he reached puberty, and physically matured handsomely. What set him aside from other popular kids at school was that he would rather sit and program things instead of playing ball. He was not necessarily bullied, as he had a set of friends he closely bonded with, as well as admirers for his looks. Even if he was bullied, it wasn't necessarily traumatizing because he had pillars of support. Adrian was able to bond well with different niche groups in school thanks to his interests as well as appearance. He wasn't exceptional, really, but he was friendly to most people and got around a lot. Unsurprisingly, Adrian's best subjects fell under technological sciences and mathematics, and graduated with at least above average grades. Not necessarily outstanding, but high enough to make his parents extremely proud of him.

Adrian applied for numerous universities, and even tried his luck in more premiere universities in different Nests. He initially wanted to get into Game Design, but due to being waitlisted in the course, he was put into Information Technology, his second choice. He was able to get into a premiere university in District 12 out of the sheer chance he got a scholarship from scoring well in the entrance exams. However; he was concerned about living costs, and while his parents were happy to help him pay his rent, Adrian wanted to work on his independence. He took up a few part time jobs here and there, and settled for most of his part time work doing repairs at a computer shop. He was also paid by friends and peers who had small businesses and needed a face to model their merchandise. Through these small favors he did for his friends, he also got to do favors as modeling for fashion majors, connecting him well with people and even getting himself a minor modeling gig, getting access to excellent quality protective fabric, a heavily coveted material among citizens. During these gigs, he admittedly experimented with numerous men and women, but never actually committed to anyone. Adrian's busy life actually helped him stay fed and with a roof on his head. Adrian essentially thrived in university, no matter how busy it got for him, managing to graduate with an honors through hard work. Even after graduation, Adrian managed to keep in contact with his friends in university, and even thought of looking for jobs in the same places.

Work was not hard to come across for Adrian, who jumped at every opportunity he happened upon. However; he was not so lucky in finding good work environments nor working for the same companies as his friends. He always happened upon toxic work environments, underpayment, and insufferable bosses. As he hopped from company to company, he used his modeling career to keep paying the bills and putting food on the table. Eventually, he tired out and moved back with his parents and brother, who were happy to welcome him home. It was upon returning home that Adrian found a potentially good new workplace. When his application was accepted, it was like a dream come true for him. The place was decent, but the pay and other employees were good. It wasn't the best work environment, but it was much better than where he previously worked. Adrian quickly got accustomed to the place and was able to bond well with his co-workers.

Unfortunately, the company cut the wages of their workers only a few months after Adrian started working there. Adrian, along with numerous other employees were in uproar, and left the company. He didn't want to waste his degree by going full time into modeling, and continued to look for work while his small modeling career at least kept his finances stable for the time being, hopefully saving enough to actually move out and be totally independent. Finding himself low on luck and upset that he may have to go full time modeling, he had heard from his old peers in university that Lobotomy Corporation, an Wing, was having a huge job opening. He took this as an opportunity to actually put his degree to use, and a chance to work at one of the biggest corporations at the time. His parents were not happy with the decision, despite his mother being a long time Department Head at U Corp. Compared to other Wings, Lobotomy Corporation had lower standards for hiring, and did not thoroughly screen their applicants and that their job openings were much too frequent. While his parents and brother tried pitching in different alternatives, Adrian was set on applying at Lobotomy Corporation. Realizing that there was no changing his mind, his parents only hoped that Adrian would write home, and most of all, come back alive. Despite the ominous warning, Adrian returned to District 12, the Nest that Lobotomy Corporation handled.

Plot

Adrian took up the job offer into Lobotomy Corporation, and was quickly put into Hod's Training Team for basic training. There, he met some of his old peers from university. Although he accepted the job offer for being part of the IT staff, he didn't understand the required combat training. Any questions he had was left vaguely answered by the Sephirah, up until he was told by a senior that it was for emergency purposes. Still wholly unsatisfied with the answer, Adrian pushed on questioning, but was met with nothing. Just as quickly as combat training was finished, Adrian had found his old peers left, unwilling to stay and find out what the vague and ominous training procedures were for. Adrian stayed and passed the basic training program, with little remarks. Due to his specializzation in IT, there was no doubt he was to be placed in the Information Team under Yesod.

Adrian was not at all prepared for what was presented to him. Looking up information on these "Abnormalities" and recording notes from other agents only brought up more questions. The only time Adrian finally and fully understood the weight of his job was when he witnessed a breach, and the deaths of two co-workers. At the moment, he was shocked and wasn't able to function properly in the next days, having Yesod force him to get checked by the Welfare Team. Even after psychological treatment from Welfare, it was still difficult to properly function. Adrian had to force himself to work on these Abnormalities while fulfilling his duties to the Information Team. With time, Adrian had become accustomed to his work in Lobotomy Corporation, and mustered enough courage to join in on Suppressions himself. In order to get used to the thought of fighting these Abnormalities, Adrian forced himself to help with suppressions even with high mental corruption levels. This has more often than not led to numerous close calls and visits to Welfare. When asked by his Sephirah why he would be so careless, Adrian expresses that he fele helpless when he witnessed his first breach, and he could have helped his co-workers. If he was going to stay in Lobotomy Corporation, he'd have to be rid of his fears. This naivete earned him some warnings from the Sephirah, so it was shocking that Adrian kept surviving each passing day.

His progress was rather steady, but his progress was noted by Yesod, his Sephirah at the time, to have greatly improved since arriving. Adrian was no longer nervous, and even began taking initiative to saving other employees during breaches. The more desensitized he was, the quicker he improved. He was calm enough to actually start connecting and making personal relations with his co-workers to the point he had considerably relaxed to even pull off silly antics when Yesod was not around. He was eventually recognized as a morale booster within the Information Team, and eventually moved up into dealing with higher threat Abnormalities, becoming the Information Team Captain at that point. A short while prior to becoming Captain, Adrian was sent to Disciplinary to undergo training as a Captain from the Senior Agent and Disciplinary Captain, Ezra; especially because he still had concerns regarding his mental corruption levels and combat skills. However; the longer Adrian stayed in Lobotomy Corporation, the more the light faded from his eyes. What mattered to him now was to stay alive, and if he could, save as much employees as possible. He would never admit it, but that first breach still haunts him, and he hopes that he will reach a point it no longer does. The desensitizing to the work; however, made Adrian's work more bearable. Thanks to the desensitizing and franky unaddressed trauma, it made Adrian's work as Captain much easier.

It had come to a point that Adrian was constantly being sent to the lower levels to assist in WAW level Suppressions. While he was acknowledged as a morale booster and was the Captain of the Information Team, Adrian's skill has been acknowledged by the other Sephirah, and he was offered a position in the Record Team under Hokma. Due to his attachment to his co-workers in Information, Adrian had a difficult time making the decision to move. However; it was for the best. His workload became much harder; because he was in charge of handling employee data, and each time he had to expunge the records of his old friends and acquaintances from Information and other departments, it would weight heavy on him. To manage his feelings for his new job, Adrian more often than not opted to handle Abnormalities more, including suppressing them due to easily breaching. Adrian struggled to keep his facade with antics and eccentricity, not wanting to burden his co-workers with his emotional struggles. He stopped counting the days he lived, and just did what he could to stay alive and keep his co-workers alive and sane as well. Due to his survival and ability in handling high risk Abnormalities and in their subsequent suppression, Adrian was eventually made Captain of the Record Team, but due to his past tutelage under Ezra, he did not need to revisit Disciplinary to see her again. The promotion was very welcome in the department, thanks to his amicable, but eccentric, personality.

However; the reality of not being able to save everyone hit Adrian hard. His first suppression as Captain was an ALEPH, Nothing There. His experience in suppressing WAW Abnormalities paled in comparison to his experience with Nothing There, and he lost his entire team, the suppression having to be dealt with by the Rabbit Team. He survived with significant injuries, but his physical injuries hurt much less than the pain of loss. The reality of it all was, no matter how elite he and his team were, ALEPH level threats were unpredictable, and it was said that he was lucky to even have survived. His Sephirah, Hokma, had told him that it would do better for him to let go than to hold on. While Adrian knew he was right, he still refused to listen, not giving into becoming indifferent. He took around a month to recover, and even if he had to be rested for longer, Adrian had to come back to the department ASAP. In time, his team was replaced with newer ace employees of the Record Team. Unsurprisingly, he got along with all of them. He developed a new hopeful outlook, and even to his surprise, he and his new team have been successfully suppressing ALEPH threats in their department and assisting in other departments.

At an unspecified time before the arrival of X as manager, there had been an incident with Apocalypse Bird. While Adrian assisted in destroying its eggs, he also focused his attention on keeping the safety of the clerks and injured agents as well as trying to bring available agents to handle breached Abnormalities. He sustained very significant injuries during the ordeal, and passed out just after the last egg was destroyed. This incident caused the deaths of his second team, who mostly survived the ordeal but died from their injuries being treated in Welfare. Adrian had actually died from sustaining injuries himself, but was able to be resuscitated. His other teammates were not to lucky. One was able to be resuscitated as well, but was quickly transferred to Training after recovery. When Adrian was brought back into the field, the manager at the time gave him the Apocalypse Bird's E.G.O Suit, Twilight, as a reward for being able to mitigate the damage done by the Abnormality and for keeping casualties to a minimum, fulfilling his duties as a Team Captain. It is because he and another high ranking employee don the Apocalypse Bird gear, the Abnormality will no longer show up.

The Apocalypse Bird incident had noticeably cracked Adrian, who no longer felt fear in handling ALEPH breaches and was very easily taken to asserting dominance over WAW level Abnormalities. To him, nothing could be as bad as that incident, and he wears the prize as rememberance. After the incident, it was noted that Adrian would laugh at the threat of a breach, and run in with his team and other available agents he could bring. He had also developed a reputation for taunting breached Abnormalities before moving in to suppress them. With his new team, all of who comprised of survivors of the Apocalypse Bird incident, would do ridiculous antics at work and express annoyance at breaches.

As of recent, Adrian remains the Captain of the Record Team and one of the longest surviving employees in the department from not only skill, but absolute sheer luck. While he is the Captain of the Record Team, the Sephirah have also put him in a special sort of squad that comprises of the Captains of different departments to handle more difficult ALEPH threats such as The Mountain of Smiling Bodies, Blue Star and CENSORED. Personally, he still takes the time to visit other departments and socialize, visiting the Information Team much more than others due to sentimental value. When X became manager, Adrian went up to Asiyah to greet him, and later wholeheartedly offered his service upon unlocking the Record Department.

Trivia

• He is currently 29 years old and an employee for 6 years. His birthday is November 4.
• Adrian's living quarters in the facility is decorated with numerous crystals and minerals he got from home, to at least make the place feel a little less empty.
• He collected crystals since childhood, but only for the aesthetic value of the stones rather than spiritual.
• Adrian is very, very fond of birds. He used to keep some as a pets growing up. His love for birds extended to his work in Lobotomy Corporation with his current assignments.
• He has numerous other E.G.O Suits, all of which come from his current Assignments - Justitia, Lamp and Feather of Honor.
• In his earlier days, Adrian worked with the Red Shoes. He is fortunate enough to have not fallen victim to it, despite beign possessed numerous times. His red lipstick is a prized gift he has from Red Shoes, and has always been seen wearing it to work since.
• Adrian limits his social circle to within the corporation at this point. Any friends he's made prior to Lobotomy Corporation he has cut off due to the fear of revealing the truth about his work. Likewise, he omits a lot of details about work from his own family.
• Despite essentially being a Senior Employee, Adrian doesn't want to desensitize himself to the deaths of others. He will always be found cleaning up the bodies of dead employees and paying last respects to them instead of just leaving them and throwing them out.
• Despite being friendly with everyone and having personal relationships with a lot of employees, he isn't referred by his nickname, Addy, often. The last people who referred to him as Addy were his original team, and to the shock of everyone, Yesod. Though, it's ambiguous as to why the latter does this on very rare occasion.
• Adrian was already working in Lobotomy Corporation much long before Yesod refused all personal relationships with his employees. It's heavily implied that they were actually intimate with one another when Adrian still worked in Information and Yesod legitimately bonded with his employees, but nothing is confirmed nor denied. (Spoiler: They're exes)
• Adrian and Yesod currently have an ambiguous, sort of strained relationship, and it's caused rumors in the Information Department for a while; even after Adrian was transferred to Records. It became extremely awkward when it was revealed what Yesod really is.
• Big Bird has taken a strong liking to Adrian, and will often chirp happily and be restless while Adrian does his work with it. Likewise, Adrian adores Big Bird and works fantastic Attachment with it.
• Adrian doesn't let others know he used to model before coming to Lobotomy Corporation, he thinks it might affect his image. Should anyone find out, he has to make sure it does not spread at all.
• Adrian's sexuality is for him to know and for us to find out. He never got to settle on what he really is, and now that isn't even a priority.
• Because Adrian did IT, there are times he has come across some more private things employees send to each other and is alarmingly spread around in the corporations servers while doing maintenance. He joked about a pay raise.
• Adrian and his team do the equivalent of making TikToks on slow days. On occasion, these have been rudely and unfortunately interrupted by breaches.
• Because of his social nature, Adrian always goes around other departments and makes merry with others. This has led to a very positive reputation among employees.
• Adrian's main hobby is programming. He's made little apps that help him manage things and some programs for different functions. He has also shared these with numerous employees.
• Even if Adrian was in charge of expunging the data of his dead teammates, he always made backups that he keeps in a hard drive. It's the least he can do to remember them.
• Adrian is the ONLY Captain that still hasn't been able to properly wield EGO to its full capacity. It has happened only once, during the suppression of Gebura, because he quite literally almost died.